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Archive for September 3rd, 2013
Fukushima Radioactive Plume to Hit the U.S. by 2014
Posted by CleanTechnica: Nathan August on September 3rd, 2013
CleanTechnica: The first radioactive ocean plume released by the Fukushima nuclear power plant disaster will finally be reaching the shores of the U.S. sometime in 2014, according to a new study from the University of New South Wales--a full three or so years after the date of the disaster.
Surface (0–200m) of Cesium-137 concentrations (Bq/m3) by (a)April 2012, (b) April 2014 (c) April 2016 and (d) April 2021. Image Credit: University of New South Wales
Many researchers, and also officials from the World...
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Keystone Delay Giving Time for Opponents & Climate Concessions
Posted by Bloomberg: Jim Snyder and Mark Drajem on September 3rd, 2013
Bloomberg: A decision on whether to approve the Keystone XL oil pipeline may slip into next year, giving opponents time to marshal efforts against it while offering President Barack Obama a chance to wring concessions from Canada.
The U.S. State Department is reviewing TransCanada Corp. (TRP)’s request to build the $5.3 billion link from Alberta’s oil sands to U.S. refineries in the Gulf Coast. The department said it won’t complete its environmental-impact review of the pipeline until after reviewing and...
Gas driller freezes plans in rural Britain after fracking protests
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on September 3rd, 2013
Reuters: Oil exploration at a site in rural England that sparked anti-fracking protests two weeks ago will be put on hold later this month and reconsidered next year with the freeze hailed a "cautious victory" by campaigners.
Shale gas driller Cuadrilla Resources on Tuesday withdrew an application to extend drilling and horizontal well testing at a site near Balcombe village in West Sussex beyond September 28 when its current permit expires and said it would submit new plans.
The new application for...
In the Path of Exxon’s Pegasus Pipeline across Arkansas: People, Water, Farms
Posted by InsideClimate: None Given on September 3rd, 2013
InsideClimate: The oil that erupted in the town of Mayflower back in March began its trip in an Illinois hamlet named Patoka, 90 minutes east of St. Louis. It shot down ExxonMobil's 20-inch Pegasus pipeline, under farms and forests, over the Mississippi River via a state highway bridge, through the Missouri Ozarks, across the Arkansas state line and, a few miles later, near the workplace of one Glenda Jones, whom you can find on a summer Saturday at her bar job, watching the Cardinals thump the Cubs. The other...
Romanians protest for second day against gold mine
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on September 3rd, 2013
Guardian: Protesters gathered in Romania's capital Bucharest late on Monday for a second day of protests against the government's support for a plan to open Europe's biggest open-cast gold mine.
The more than 1,000 protesters were surrounded by riot police as they sat down on the street, tapping plastic bottles on the ground, chanting "United we will save Rosia Montana."
Canada's Gabriel Resources Ltd plans to mine 314 tonnes of gold and 1,500 tonnes of silver in the small Carpathian town of Rosia Montana...
Japan to construct ice wall to stem Fukushima radioactive water
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on September 3rd, 2013
Guardian: Japan's government is to spend almost $500m (£320m) in an attempt to contain leaks and decontaminate highly toxic water at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.
The measures, announced on Tuesday, come as the plant's operator, Tokyo Electric Power (Tepco), struggles to prevent leaks into the Pacific Ocean and to find a way to contain and treat the huge volume of water that has accumulated at the site since it was hit by a tsunami in March 2011.
The decision is widely seen as a safety appeal...
Climate change causes $1.1 billion in losses in Costa Rica, study finds
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on September 3rd, 2013
Agence France-Presse: Puntarenas, on Costa Rica’s central Pacific, is the province most affected by climate change, with damages in the six-year period reaching $164.5 million. Alberto Font A new report claims that climate change has caused $1.13 billion in damages in Costa Rica from 2005-2011 – just under 17 percent of that in the agricultural sector. A recent study released by Costa Rican officials shows that the country has accumulated approximately $1.13 billion in losses due to climate change from 2005 to 2011,...
Japan to fund Fukushima ‘ice wall’
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on September 3rd, 2013
BBC: Japan is to invest hundreds of millions of dollars into building a frozen wall around the Fukushima nuclear plant to stop leaks of radioactive water.
Government spokesman Yoshihide Suga said an estimated 47bn yen ($473m, £304m) would be allocated.
The leaks were getting worse and the government "felt it was essential to become involved to the greatest extent possible", Mr Suga said.
The plant was crippled by the 2011 earthquake and tsunami.
The disaster knocked out cooling systems to...
Pollution, Not Rising Temperatures, May Have Melted Alpine Glaciers
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on September 3rd, 2013
National Public Radio: Glaciers in the Alps of Europe pose a scientific mystery. They started melting rapidly back in the 1860s. In a span of about 50 years, some of the biggest glaciers had retreated more than half a mile.
But nobody could explain the glacier's rapid decline. Now, a new study from NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory uncovers a possible clue to why the glaciers melted before temperatures started rising: Soot from the Industrial Revolution could have heated up the ice.
Scientists trying to understand...