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Archive for September 10th, 2013
Fukushima plant operator names U.S. adviser to aid clean-up
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on September 10th, 2013
Reuters: Tokyo Electric Power Co, the beleaguered operator of the crippled Fukushima nuclear plant, said it appointed a former U.S. nuclear regulatory official as an adviser - a sign that it is prepared to reach out for foreign expertise in the face of criticism over its handling of the March 2011 disaster.
Tokyo Electric (Tepco) said in a statement that Lake Barrett, an independent energy consultant and former head of the U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Civilian Nuclear Waste Management, will advise...
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As West Warms, Wildfires Expected to Double by 2050
Posted by LiveScience: Becky Oskin on September 10th, 2013
LiveScience: Yosemite National Park's Rim Fire dashed the plans of many campers over Labor Day weekend. The iconic views of Half Dome and Yosemite Valley's sheer granite walls disappeared behind a sudden influx of thick smoke the night of Aug. 30, just before most visitors arrived for the holiday. The air quality was deemed to be unhealthy for outdoor activities, according to California air quality officials. Smoke from the still-burning fire continues to cause unhealthy air quality levels for sensitive people...
Glacier National Park Prepares for Ice-Free Future
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on September 10th, 2013
National Geographic: Our hike up to Grinnell Glacier in Glacier National Park winds through alpine meadows, along the edge of ice-cut cliffs, up a waterfall staircase, and around a stubborn ram. The views are breathtaking in the most literal sense of that word.
The three lakes filling the valley below us are an impossible blue. As the trail cuts back and forth, we catch glimpses of Grinnell’s steel white face. And then finally, we’re there, standing at the edge of a giant ice bath as two young boys skip rocks across...
House destroyed as firefighters battle bushfires in western Sydney
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on September 10th, 2013
AAP: Bushfires in New South Wales have destroyed at least two houses and injured two firefighters.
The NSW rural fire service (RFS) said one house had been destroyed in Hawkesbury Road at Winmalee, in the Blue Mountains, and two firefighters battling the blaze there suffered minor burns.
A second house was lost in Marsden Park in the Blacktown area, in Sydney's west.
Five firefighters had been treated for smoke inhalation.
Briefing parliament on Tuesday, the NSW premier, Barry O'Farrell, said...
Return of bogs in Britain?
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on September 10th, 2013
Telegraph: Experts are calling for a third of the country's peatlands, covering a million hectares or almost 2.5 million acres, to be in good condition or under restoration schemes by 2020.
A failure to preserve the UK's peat areas, which occur both in uplands and in low-lying wetlands, could see billions of tonnes of carbon they store being lost to the atmosphere, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) UK peatland programme's experts warned.
Peatlands store twice as much carbon as...
Canada: TransCanada: Energy East Oil Pipeline to Create 2,000 Jobs
Posted by Globe and Mail: Shawn Mccarthy on September 10th, 2013
Globe and Mail: TransCanada Corp. is promoting its Energy East pipeline project to Canadians with a promise that it will create thousands of jobs across the country and pour billions of dollars into government coffers.
On Tuesday, the company released a Deloitte & Touche LLP study on the economic impact of the $12-billion pipeline, which would bring about 1.1 million barrels a day of Western Canadian crude to refineries and export terminals in Quebec and New Brunswick. As part of its effort to woo those in the...
Large-scale opposition among Borneo villagers to deforestation
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on September 10th, 2013
Mongabay: Nearly two-thirds of villagers surveyed across rainforests in Indonesian and Malaysian Borneo are against large-scale deforestation due to the adverse impacts on livelihoods and the environment, finds a comprehensive new study across 185 communities. The research, conducted over a one-year period by an international team of scientists, is published in this week's issue of the journal PLOS ONE.
The study found that people who live near forests place the greatest value on the benefits they afford,...
Canada: Government leaks on oil pipeline make for slippery politics: Steward
Posted by Toronto Star: Gillian Steward on September 10th, 2013
Toronto Star: When it comes to oil and pipelines these days, leaks seem to be inevitable. Not so much actual oil leaks but leaks from government that are designed to bamboozle U.S opponents of the Keystone XL pipeline into believing that Canada is serious about reducing the greenhouse gases churned out during production of the oil running through the pipeline. The latest leak occurred last Friday when Stephen Harper’s team leaked to the CBC a letter Harper has sent to U.S. President Barack Obama formally proposing...
Team Australian Greens is growing
Posted by Guardian: Bob Brown on September 10th, 2013
Guardian: The new parliament will have more Greens, and more parties, than ever before. It will test the patience of the press gallery which lives for the simplicity of two-party politics and the jousting of personalities above the contest of ideas for Australia's future.
The Greens held Senate seats in Tasmania, Western Australia and South Australia. In Victoria, Janet Rice picked up a new Senate place and the party's deputy leader Adam Bandt consolidated his hold on the house of representatives seat of...
West: California: Fires Prompt Air Quality Warning
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on September 10th, 2013
New York Times: Air quality officials are warning San Joaquin Valley residents of potential health hazards because of increasing ozone levels and smoke from lingering wildfires. The San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District issued an air alert, the second this year, on Monday for San Joaquin, Stanislaus, Merced, Madera, Fresno, Kings and Tulare Counties and parts of Kern County. Officials have advised people in those counties to reduce prolonged exposure to the air and strenuous activities. High ozone levels...