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Archive for September 25th, 2013
Late Cretaceous Climate Could Foreshadow Earth’s Future Climate
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on September 25th, 2013
RedOrbit: Scientists have long believed that a continental ice sheet formed more than 90 million years ago during the Late Cretaceous Period. During that time, the climate was much warmer than it is today. A new study from the University of Missouri (MU) has found evidence suggesting that this belief is incorrect, that no ice sheet formed during this time. The findings of this study, published in the journal Geology, could help environmentalists and scientists predict what the earth`s climate will be as carbon...
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Michael Froman, U.S. Trade Official, Lobbies For Tar Sands Oil In EU Negotiations
Posted by Huffington Post: Kate Sheppard on September 25th, 2013
Huffington Post: Building the Keystone XL pipeline is only part of the equation. Once the Canadian tar sands are pumped and piped to refineries on the Gulf Coast, the industry still needs to find buyers for its end product -- much of which will be exported.
That's where U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman comes in.
Environmental groups in the U.S. and the European Union are worried that Froman, the chief trade official for the United States, has been quietly working to pressure the EU to make it easier...
Thai provinces hit by floods, authorities say industry safe
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on September 25th, 2013
Reuters: Nine people have died and more than 1 million have been affected by flooding in Thailand, officials said on Wednesday, but authorities offered assurances that floodwaters would not reach central industrial areas and near Bangkok as in 2011.
Widespread floods in 2011 killed more than 800 people and caused massive disruption to industry, cutting economic growth that year to just 0.1 percent.
Authorities discount the possibility of any similar disruption, but have expressed concern over one industrial...
Industry renews call to shut down oilsands environmental agency
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on September 25th, 2013
Edmonton Journal: For the second time, the oil industry is pushing to close a key environmental agency specializing in scientific and policy work to clean up the oilsands, according to documents obtained by the Journal.
But Environment Minister Diana McQueen on Wednesday defended the “important work” done by the Cumulative Environmental Management Association (CEMA) in coming up with science-based policies to clean up open-pit mines, reclaim land and protect water in the northeast.
“CEMA plays an extremely important...
Obama Appeals to Trout Fishermen on Power-Plant Pollution
Posted by Bloomberg: Mark Drajem on September 25th, 2013
Bloomberg: The Obama administration is trying to build support for a key element of its climate-change plan with appeals to everyone from trout fishermen to fans of Al Roker on the Weather Channel.
The push to promote the Environmental Protection Agency’s plan to curb carbon dioxide from power plants stands in contrast to the low-key approach of President Barack Obama’s first term, when it downplayed the hazards and trumpeted an “all of the above” energy policy.
“It’s very important to get out ahead of...
Slowly, Democrats embrace fracking
Posted by Washington Post: Reid Wilson on September 25th, 2013
Washington Post: If any state emerged from a decade of economic recession in strong shape, it was North Dakota. A booming oil industry that`s taken shape on the western side of the state, fueled by the process known as hydraulic fracturing, has kept North Dakota`s unemployment rate at a level less than half the national average while injecting millions in tax revenue into state coffers.
Now, other states want in on the economic benefits of fracking -- and blue states are rushing to grab a piece of the fracking...
Republicans See Keystone Pipeline as Card to Play in Last-Minute Fiscal Talks
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on September 25th, 2013
New York Times: As a possible government shutdown looms, environmental activists who oppose construction of the Keystone XL pipeline say they are increasingly alarmed that the project might become a bargaining chip in last-minute negotiations between Republicans and President Obama to avert a fiscal crisis.
If built, the 1,700-mile pipeline would carry millions of gallons of crude oil from Alberta in Canada to American refineries on the Gulf Coast. Because it crosses an international border, the pipeline requires...