RSS Feed
Archive for September, 2013
Life inside a Chinese mining company
Posted by Guardian: Hua Ming on September 6th, 2013
Guardian: At first I was sent to an old factory, more than fifty years old. The technology was backwards and the only environmental protection equipment was a few dust filters and a simple water treatment station.
For many workers, environmental protection just meant keeping things clean. During environmental protection bureau inspections furnaces would be shut down, and my job was to check none of the chimneys were giving off any smoke.
I left there and was moved to another of the company's smelting...
Tigris River Flotilla Celebrates Water’s Role in Shaping the Cradle of Civilization
Posted by EcoWatch: Pete Nichols on September 6th, 2013
EcoWatch: When I first visited Iraq in 2010 to help launch the Upper Tigris Waterkeeper, I never imagined the impact the presence of a Waterkeeper would have on the river that nurtured the cradle of civilization for millennia. The Upper Tigris Waterkeeper has changed the dialogue on water issues throughout the region through community outreach and education, water quality monitoring and assisting the Iraqi government in developing strong water policy.
Now, in the midst of pending turmoil in the Middle East,...
Posted in Water Conservation 
Comments Off on Tigris River Flotilla Celebrates Water’s Role in Shaping the Cradle of CivilizationCould water markets encourage collaboration and reduce conflict?
Posted by Guardian: Giulio Boccaletti on September 6th, 2013
Guardian: This week an estimated 3,000 water professionals convened in Stockholm for World Water Week. The theme of the conference – inspired by the UN General Assembly, which declared 2013 International Year of Water Co-operation – was "water co-operation and building partnerships".
The choice of theme highlights a fundamental challenge for the water sector: its practitioners have limited control over its performance.
The water sector only manages the underlying natural infrastructure in a particular...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Could water markets encourage collaboration and reduce conflict?United Kingdom: Save our voles: Water vole numbers down a fifth in just three years
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on September 6th, 2013
Independent: Water vole numbers across the UK have dropped by more than 20 per cent in just a few years, crushing the hopes of a comeback that followed positive numbers in 2010, according to experts.
The stubby-nosed creatures used to be widespread throughout the country’s waterways, but a number of factors have seen populations plummet by as much as 95 per cent in the past four decades.
Information from the water vole database shows that in the face of habitat loss, weather extremes and the deadly and...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on United Kingdom: Save our voles: Water vole numbers down a fifth in just three yearsSummer 2012’s Extreme Heat Expected To Repeat Due To Greenhouse Gas
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on September 6th, 2013
RedOrbit: Last July was the hottest month in the history of US weather record keeping, but it may not hold that title for long, researchers from Stanford University claim in a recently-published report.
According to Noah Diffenbaugh, an associate professor of environmental Earth system science at the California institution, and research assistant Martin Scherer, extreme weather is more than four times more likely to occur now than it was during the pre-industrial era.
In research that was part of a larger...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Summer 2012’s Extreme Heat Expected To Repeat Due To Greenhouse GasAfrica’s mines ditch polluting practices to produce its first Fairtrade gold
Posted by Guardian: David Derbyshire on September 6th, 2013
Guardian: In a bustling area of Nyarugusu, in the heart of Tanzania's gold lands, a stocky man is fanning a dustbin lid of smouldering charcoal, gold ore and mercury on the pavement. Each waft sends a cloud of toxic vapour into the faces of children and adults as they gather to watch.
The burning of mercury is a common sight in the streets, homes and cottage-industry mines throughout east Africa. The liquid metal is used to extract the gold and then vaporised to leave behind flakes of the precious metal....
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Africa’s mines ditch polluting practices to produce its first Fairtrade goldHow cloud technology can bring clean drinking water to India
Posted by BusinessGreen: Kristine A. Wong, GreenBiz.com on September 6th, 2013
BusinessGreen: Imagine not having access to clean drinking water because you refused to vote for a particular politician, or didn't pay bribes to the driver delivering your supply. Even after doing both these things, you're still not sure just exactly when the next delivery will arrive.
This is the case in India, where access to drinking water is not universal. As India increasingly urbanizes and water becomes even more scarce, solutions that raise access will be more important in the coming decades.
That's...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on How cloud technology can bring clean drinking water to IndiaUnited Kingdom: DECC won’t back Cameron’s fracking price promise
Posted by Ecologist: Alex Stevenson on September 6th, 2013
Ecologist: The Prime Minister's argument that fracking will reduce UK energy bills is grounded in "baseless economics".
David Cameron faces increasing isolation within his own government over fracking after it emerged the Department for Energy and Climate Change (DECC) is avoiding backing his claim that gas prices will fall as a result of shale gas development.
Internal DECC memos - seen by the Ecologist - reveal unwillingness within the department to reinforce the Prime Minister's appeal to energy consumers...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on United Kingdom: DECC won’t back Cameron’s fracking price promiseSouth Korea extends Japan fisheries ban as Fukushima concerns grow
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on September 6th, 2013
Reuters: South Korea on Friday extended a ban on Japanese fishery imports to a larger area around the crippled Fukushima nuclear plant due to growing concerns over radiation contamination.
Further fuelling those concerns, the plant's operator Tokyo Electric Power Co, or Tepco, said it was "very concerned" that radioactive water could flow towards a bypass it is digging to divert clean groundwater around the damaged reactors and into the sea.
The bypass is a key element of the company's attempts to contain...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on South Korea extends Japan fisheries ban as Fukushima concerns growHarper sent Obama climate change offer to win Keystone
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on September 6th, 2013
Reuters: Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper, trying to win U.S. backing for the Keystone XL pipeline, has sent a letter to President Barack Obama proposing joint action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the oil and gas sector, CBC News said on Friday.
The White House has not responded to the letter, which was sent in late August, CBC said, although Harper met Obama briefly during the just-ended G20 Summit in St. Petersburg, Russia.
Obama has the final say over whether to let the pipeline cross...