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Archive for September 19th, 2013
Antibacterial Products Promote Bacterial Resistance in US Waterways
Posted by Nature World News: James A. Foley on September 19th, 2013
Nature World News: A popular synthetic antibacterial compound called triclosan is fueling the development of resistant bacteria in US waterways, according to research published in the journal Environmental Science and Technology.
This study marks the first time triclosan resistance has been documented in a natural environment.
Triclosan is an ingredient found in a range consumer products, added to reduce or prevent bacterial contamination. Originally invented for use by surgeons in the 1960s, triclosan can now...
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Malaysia: Indigenous Penan Again Blockade Murum River Dam
Posted by Environment News Service: None Given on September 19th, 2013
Environment News Service: The Penan indigenous people affected by the Murum dam in the Malaysian state of Sarawak on the island of Borneo have renewed their blockade of the dam site.
They say are protesting because the state government has failed to fulfill their demands for fair compensation, enough land for farming and a share in the profits flowing from the dam.
Penan blockaders at the Murum dam site, September 2013 (Photo courtesy Bruno Manser Fund)
The Sarawak government's US$1.3 billion Murum dam will impound...
Fracked Shale Formations Could Store Carbon Dioxide, Study Says
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on September 19th, 2013
Yale Environment 360: Storing carbon dioxide in the same shale formations that produce natural gas may be an effective way to sequester carbon dioxide produced by fossil fuel-burning power plants, according to a U.S. study. Computer models by researchers at the University of Virginia suggest the Marcellus Shale, a 600-square-mile formation in the northeastern U.S. that is a center of hydrofracturing natural gas, is capable of storing half the CO2 emitted by U.S. coal plants from now to 2030. Fracked shale wells are good...
Colorado Flooding Imperils Oil and Gas Sites, Causes Spill
Posted by National Geographic: Patrick J. Kiger on September 19th, 2013
National Geographic: In the wake of unprecedented massive flooding over thousands of square miles in Colorado, government officials and private companies are rushing to secure the region's heavy concentration of oil and natural gas wells, and prevent dangerous chemicals and toxic waste from contaminating the region's water.
Late Wednesday, reports emerged that at least 5,250 gallons of crude oil had seeped into the South Platte River in the north-central part of the state. The oil was leaking from damaged Anadarko...
Report Confirms Fracking Pollution Sickens Residents in TX As Regulators Walk Away
Posted by Earthworks: None Given on September 19th, 2013
Earthworks: A new report released today by Earthworks provides an important window into a disturbing national pattern regarding the oversight of fracking-enabled oil and gas development: regulators, charged with protecting the public, are actively avoiding evidence that fracking is harming the public. The report focuses on Karnes County, TX, in an attempt to illuminate a growing national pattern of absentee regulators.
Based on state reports and independent environmental testing, Reckless Endangerment in...
5,250 Gallons of Oil Spill into Colorado’s South Platte River
Posted by EcoWatch: None Given on September 19th, 2013
EcoWatch: A damaged oil tank has dumped 5,250 gallons of oil into the South Platte River south of Milliken, CO, yesterday.
Gary Wockner of Clean Water Action said in a statement Wednesday night that the spill "exemplifies the danger" of drilling and fracking in floodplains.
"This state of Colorado and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency must force Anadarko [the owner of the oil tank], to clean it up--no matter the cost--and make reparations to the public, including paying fines and enforcing the...
Most US companies ignoring SEC rule disclose climate risks
Posted by InsideClimate News: Zahra Hirji on September 19th, 2013
InsideClimate News: Almost 75 percent of the nation's publicly traded companies are ignoring a three-year-old Securities and Exchange Commission [3] requirement that they inform investors of the risks that climate change may pose to their bottom lines, according to a citizen researcher who has compiled what may be the country's biggest searchable database of climate risk disclosure.
The data, culled from the annual reports of 3,895 U.S. public companies listed on major stock exchanges, found that only 27 percent...
Social costs of electricity from coal make it uneconomical, researchers assert
Posted by ClimateWire: Daniel Cusick on September 19th, 2013
ClimateWire: New research from a national environmental group finds that the cost of producing electricity from renewable resources like wind and solar is lower than that of conventional coal-fired generation when factoring for the adverse costs of climate change and human health impacts.
That conclusion, derived from analysis on the "social cost of carbon," is at the heart of a study published in the Journal of Environmental Studies and Sciences by Laurie Johnson, chief economist of the Natural Resources...
Colorado’s problem turns from water to sludge
Posted by LA Times: Matt Pearce on September 19th, 2013
LA Times: The panicked escapes that took place in this riverside town last week were worth it: The trailer parks that frame the shoreline of the swollen South Platte now sit smashed and throttled by mud.
And not just any mud. When the flood claimed the nearby wastewater treatment plant too, officials and residents worried that the deluged edges of Evans had turned into a toxic open sewer.
"In our living room, there's 6 to 8 inches of pure, black mud," said Karen Kesterson, 68. "You just kind of slide...
58 more missing after massive Mexico storm, mudslide
Posted by Associated Press: Michael Weissenstein on September 19th, 2013
Associated Press: The death toll from devastating twin storms appeared set to nearly double after officials said late Wednesday that 58 people were missing and presumed dead in a massive landslide that smashed through a tiny coffee-growing village deep in the mountains of southern Mexico.
The storm that devastated the Pacific coast over the weekend regained strength Wednesday and became Hurricane Manuel, taking a route that could see it make landfall on Mexico's northwestern coast. It would be a third blow to a...