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Archive for September 18th, 2013
British anti-fracking occupation will continue
Posted by Grist: John Upton on September 18th, 2013
Grist: British opponents of fracking will continue to occupy the side of a road in a village 35 miles south of London - and they won`t have to fear being arrested for trespassing. A court ruled that a local council`s eviction notice was flawed.
The encampment of anti-fracking protesters in the village of Balcombe has become a symbolic occupation that at times has swollen to thousands of people. More than 100 have been arrested during protests since July. It`s the highest-profile battle in a war being...
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In flood-struck Colorado, concerns about fracking spills
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on September 18th, 2013
Reuters: Contaminated water spilling from flooded oil and gas drilling sites in Colorado is refocusing attention on the environmental risks surrounding America's fracking boom.
Floods that have devastated north-central Colorado, killing eight people and displacing thousands, have also dislodged storage tanks that hold drilling wastewater left over from the production process known as hydraulic fracturing, or fracking.
While the impact of leaks is yet to be assessed, environmental groups, which oppose...
Tribunal finds Ecuador released Chevron from pollution liability
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on September 18th, 2013
Reuters: In a dispute stemming from a lengthy legal battle over Amazon rain forest pollution, arbitrators ruled that Chevron had already settled claims for damages in agreements with Ecuador despite a $19 billion award against the oil company.
The international tribunal, acting under The Hague's Permanent Court of Arbitration, said in a ruling on Tuesday that Ecuador opted not to pursue damages beyond the country's 1995 and 1998 release agreements with Texaco - a company bought by Chevron in 2001.
Those...
Japan balked steps to control Fukushima water in 2011: memo
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on September 18th, 2013
Reuters: Japanese authorities, now struggling to contain leaks of radioactive groundwater from the wrecked Fukushima nuclear plant, were urged two years ago by U.S. experts to take immediate steps to prevent groundwater contamination but decided not to act on the advice.
The advice to the embattled operator was outlined in a memo to government officials just two months after the accident, but then shelved, according to two officials who participated in the discussions and documents prepared by both governments...
13 Arrested Protesting Keystone XL at TransCanada’s Houston Headquarters
Posted by Rainforest Action Network: None Given on September 18th, 2013
Rainforest Action Network: Thirteen activists were arrested while staging a peaceful sit-in at the Houston TransCanada Headquarters in opposition to the Keystone XL pipeline. Dozens of Texans rallied nearby in support of the activists who risked arrest at Monday`s protest. Activists rallied across the street in Market Square Park with signs before marching to the TransCanada office and staging a sit-in in protest of the foreign oil company`s efforts to build a giant pipeline through American soil so it can export the tar...
Obama’s energy, EPA chiefs say climate plan won’t kill coal
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on September 18th, 2013
Reuters: New rules limiting emissions from U.S. power plants that are expected to be proposed on Friday will "provide certainty" to the coal industry, environment and energy chiefs told lawmakers anxious about the fuel's future.
"We believe coal will continue to represent a significant portion of the energy supply in the decades to come," Environmental Protection Agency administrator Gina McCarthy told the House of Representatives Committee on Energy and Commerce on Wednesday.
McCarthy's testimony,...
Mexico could be hit by more storms, warn weather forecasters
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on September 18th, 2013
Guardian: With much of Mexico still reeling from the death, destruction and chaos caused by the impact of two tropical weather systems two days ago, forecasters are warning of more storms ahead.
Tens of thousands of holidaymakers remain trapped in the resort city of Acapulco, so far the most visible victims of tropical storm Manuel that came in from the west on Monday, their frustration increasingly obvious in the long queues to get on the waiting lists for flights out of the city organised by the army...
Four New Legless Lizard Species Identified in California
Posted by Nature World News: James A. Foley on September 18th, 2013
Nature World News: Four new species of legless lizards have been found in unlikely habitats in California. The snake-like creatures were discovered on the end of an airport runway, at the edge of the Mojave desert, a vacant lot in Bakersfield and on an oil derrick.
The discovery raises the number of legless lizard species known in California from one to five.
"This shows that there is a lot of undocumented biodiversity within California," said Theodore Papenfuss, a herpetologist, with University of California,...
Climate change could kill off Andean cloud forests
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on September 18th, 2013
Mongabay: One of the richest ecosystems on the planet may not survive a hotter climate without human help, according to a sobering new paper in the open source journal PLoS ONE. Although little-studied compared to lowland rainforests, the cloud forests of the Andes are known to harbor explosions of life, including thousands of species found nowhere else. Many of these species-from airy ferns to beautiful orchids to tiny frogs-thrive in small ranges that are temperature-dependent. But what happens when the...
Looting hits Mexico’s Acapulco as floods squeeze supplies
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on September 18th, 2013
Reuters: Looting broke out in the flooded Mexican beach resort of Acapulco as the government struggled to reach tens of thousands of people cut off by flooding that had claimed at least 70 lives by Wednesday.
Stores were ransacked by looters who carried off everything from televisions to Christmas decorations after floodwaters wreaked havoc in the Pacific port that has borne the brunt of some of the worst storm damage to hit Mexico in years.
Tens of thousands of people have been trapped in the aftermath...