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Archive for October 11th, 2013
Brazil ethanol exports to U.S. at risk if EPA eases blend rule
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on October 11th, 2013
Reuters: U.S. imports of Brazilian sugar cane ethanol could be cut by more than half if a draft proposal to reduce next year's U.S. biofuel blending mandate is enacted.
While the U.S. corn-based ethanol industry has issued the most fierce complaints over news this week that the Environmental Protection Agency may ease volumes, it may be Brazilian ethanol producers like Raizen and traders like Royal Dutch Shell PLC and Vitol S.A. who suffer a deeper blow. There import business has been booming thanks to...
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Corrosion may have led to North Dakota pipeline leak: regulator
Posted by Reuters: Selam Gebrekidan on October 11th, 2013
Reuters: Initial investigations following a 20,600-barrel leak on Tesoro Logistics LP pipeline in North Dakota point to corrosion on the 20-year-old pipeline, state regulators said on Friday.
The six-inch pipeline was carrying crude oil from the Bakken shale play to the Stampede rail facility outside Columbus, North Dakota when a farmer discovered oil spouting from the pipeline on September 29.
This is the largest oil spill in the state since it became a major U.S. producer. It is the biggest oil leak...
EPA says nothing final on ethanol blend; industry group cries foul
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on October 11th, 2013
Reuters: The Environmental Protection Agency on Friday sought to calm a furor over its apparent proposal to reduce ethanol use in gasoline next year, saying that no final decisions had been made about the contentious mandate.
On Thursday, Reuters and other news outlets reported on EPA documents that showed the agency proposing an unexpected drop in the amount of corn-based ethanol that would be required for blending next year, a historic retreat from the 2007 biofuel law and a major victory for the oil...
Nitrogen from Agricultural Fertilizers Threatening U.S. National Parks
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on October 11th, 2013
Yale Environment 360: Ammonia emissions from agricultural fertilizers are threatening sensitive ecosystems in U.S. national parks, a study led by Harvard researchers has found. Thirty-eight national parks are seeing nitrogen deposition levels at or above the threshold for ecological damage, the study says. In natural ecosystems, excess nitrogen can disrupt nutrient cycling in soil, cause algal overgrowth, and make aquatic environments acidic. While some of that nitrogen comes in the form of nitrogen oxides (NOx) from...
Even water rich Great Lakes residents must adapt to climate change
Posted by Great Lakes Echo: Emanuele Berry on October 11th, 2013
Great Lakes Echo: According to a new report by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, 40 percent of the world’s population will live under severe water stress by 2050. While the Great Lakes region is water rich, the report suggest that even water wealthy areas should work toward adaptive policies to secure freshwater’s future. Kathleen Bresnahan Dominique is an environmental economist at the OECD and author of the publication “Water and Climate Change Adaptation: Policies to Navigate Uncharted...
Climate: Rising sea level threatens Everglades
Posted by Summit County: None Given on October 11th, 2013
Summit County: A combination of sea level rise and upstream freshwater depletion is leading to a decline of the Everglades freshwater plant communities, as salt-loving mangroves spread farther inland.
Satellite imagery over the southeastern Everglades confirms long-term trends of mangrove expansion and sawgrass habitat loss near the shore, according to a new study published in the scientific journal Wetlands.
“I was very surprised at how well the results matched our understanding of long-term trends and field...
Radical climate change within 34 years: Study
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on October 11th, 2013
Agence France-Presse: Earth may experience a radically different climate already within 34 years, forever changing life as we know it, said a study Wednesday that aims to bring the dangers of global warming into sharper focus. On current trends of greenhouse-gas emissions, 2047 will mark the year at which the climate at most places on Earth will shift beyond documented extremes, it said. This date is pushed back to 2069 under a scenario in which fossil-fuel burning emissions are stabilized, said an analysis of climate...
Pa. releases climate change report 18 months late
Posted by Associated Press: Kevin Begos on October 11th, 2013
Associated Press: Pennsylvania this week quietly released an updated report on what impact future climate change may have on the state, about 18 months after it was due.
The Pennsylvania Climate Impacts Assessment Update was posted to an open database, but state officials issued no news release.
The report paints a mixed picture of possible impacts, with many uncertainties for after 2050.
Penn State University forestry expert Marc McDill, who worked on the report, said the evidence is "very, very strong"...
France Upholds Fracking Ban
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on October 11th, 2013
New York Times: France's highest court on Friday upheld a government ban on a controversial drilling technique known as hydraulic fracturing, in a defeat for a method that has revolutionized the oil and natural gas industry in the United States.
The Constitutional Council ruled against a challenge by Schuepbach Energy, an American company, whose exploration permits were revoked after the French Parliament banned the practice.
The method, known informally as fracking, pumps water, sand and chemicals under high...
Nations adopt landmark mercury pollution convention
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on October 11th, 2013
BBC: Nations have begun signing a legally binding treaty designed to curb mercury pollution and the use of the toxic metal in products around the globe. Mercury can produce a range of adverse human health effects, including permanent damage to the nervous system. The UN treaty was formally adopted at a high level meeting in Japan. The Minamata Convention was named after the Japanese city that, in the 1950s, saw one of the world's worst cases of mercury poisoning. In January, four years of negotiations...