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Archive for September 3rd, 2013
Japan to Build $320mil Ice Wall Around Fukushima Nuclear Plant
Posted by Nature World: James A. Foley on September 3rd, 2013
Nature World: In an attempt to stop contaminated water from leaking out of the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant and entering the flow of groundwater that empties into the ocean, Japanese government announced Tuesday a plan to build a costly "ice wall" around the crippled nuclear plant.
At at cost of 32 billion yen (about $320 million) the underground ice wall will theoretically prevent contaminated groundwater from flowing out to sea by freezing the soil. Freezing the ground as a method of pollution control...
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Soot from Europe’s Industrial Age May Have Spurred Melting of Alps
Posted by Nature World: None Given on September 3rd, 2013
Nature World: Soot, also known as black carbon, could have been the reason behind the abrupt retreat of the mountain glaciers in the Alps starting in the 1860s, according to a new study published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
If correct, the theory could solve a longstanding scientific debate as to why the glaciers began melting even decades before global temperatures started rising.
Records dating back to the 1500s show that large valley glaciers in the Alps suddenly melted...
United Kingdom: UK’s Fracking Dilemma Continues
Posted by EcoWatch: Laura Beans on September 3rd, 2013
EcoWatch: According to Friends of the Earth (FOE), the UK government plans to end people`s right to be notified about plans to drill for gas and oil beneath their homes and on their land, amongst other changes in the law for onshore oil and gas planning applications.
"It`s little wonder communities don`t trust the Government over fracking when their rights are so clearly being bulldozed aside to smooth the path for the big fracking firms," said Andrew Pendleton, head of campaigns for FOE.
Anti-fracking...
United Kingdom: Peat bogs and fenlands ‘hugely important’ in conflicts
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on September 3rd, 2013
BBC: The UK's peat bogs and fenlands played a major role during times of conflict but they have been often overlooked or forgotten, a conference will be told.
Delegates to a three-day gathering in Sheffield will hear how sphagnum moss was harvested from UK wetlands for wound dressings during World War One.
Other war-time uses included using peat as bedding for the army's horses and as an alternative fuel source.
The conference will also look at how the habitats helped defending forces.
"Throughout...
Hurricanes Become Less Threatening To US Coast, Based On Climate Models
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on September 3rd, 2013
RedOrbit: Recent studies have painted a pretty grim picture for future hurricane seasons, with more frequent and intense storms occurring in the Northeast due to a changing climate. Last year’s superstorm Hurricane Sandy was labeled as evidence of such climatic storms impacting the US Atlantic coast.
However, a new study by researchers from Columbia University and Colorado State University is suggesting climate change could eventually keep such hurricanes from making a sizeable impact on US coastlines....
Groups Battle Pesticides, GE Crops on U.S. Wildlife Refuges
Posted by Environment News Service: None Given on September 3rd, 2013
Environment News Service: The use of pesticides and the planting of genetically engineered crops on U.S. national wildlife refuges are illegal and damaging to the environment, say four advocacy groups who have filed a federal lawsuit to halt these practices on national wildlife refuges across the Midwest.
The Center for Food Safety, Beyond Pesticides, Sierra Club and Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility, or PEER, filed the lawsuit August 27 in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California....
Defending Indigenous Rights Against Dam Project in Panama
Posted by EcoWatch: None Given on September 3rd, 2013
EcoWatch: Civil society organizations filed an amicus brief last week in Panama’s Supreme Court of Justice in support of a challenge by indigenous people to the environmental review of the Barro Blanco hydroelectric dam.
Supporting a lawsuit filed by the Environmental Advocacy Center, Panamá (CIAM), the Interamerican Association for Environmental Defense (AIDA), the Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL) and Earthjustice argue that the Panamanian government violated international law by approving...
Fracking in Texas: Seen as the future, also viewed with fear
Posted by Al Jazeera: None Given on September 3rd, 2013
Al Jazeera: The Eagle Ford shale geological formation unfurls through the lower third of Texas, stretching 400 miles long and 50 miles wide from East Texas to Mexico, from Brazos County northeast of Houston to the Burgos Basin just over the border.
It could turn out to be the largest recoverable oil deposit ever found in the Lower 48.
And that, according to Dewitt County Judge Daryl Fowler, is a good thing. Fowler -- a native Texan who ran for office as a pro-oil Republican -- owns a ranch here in the...
Firefighters gaining upper hand on Rim fire in Yosemite
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on September 3rd, 2013
LA Times: Firefighting officials said Monday that they are gaining the upper hand on the massive Rim fire burning in and around Yosemite National Park. Containment jumped overnight from 45% to 60%, the weather was cooperating and some firefighters were beginning to be taken off the line, authorities said.
By midday Monday, the fire -- the fourth-largest blaze in California history -- had burned 357 square miles. That was up from 348 on Sunday, but there were signs that the tide was turning in firefighters'...
As reservoirs shrink and farms expand, Chile’s agriculture at risk
Posted by Santiago Times: Sarah Tory and Rosalind Adams on September 3rd, 2013
Santiago Times: Last year the river in Petorca ran dry, leaving a dusty brown ditch running through the once fertile valley in Chile's ValparaÃso Region, home to 40 percent of the country's avocado production.
The area, forming part of the "norte-chico" zone that starts north of Santiago and runs all the way to the southern edge of the Atacama Desert, contains some of Chile's most important agriculture pockets. It's also one of the driest parts of the country.
Here, almost all the rain falls over a short...