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Archive for November 8th, 2013
Industry Word Games Mislead Americans on Fracking
Posted by EcoWatch: David Manthos on November 8th, 2013
EcoWatch: Hydraulic fracturing, better known as fracking, and other drilling practices have unlocked previously inaccessible reserves of oil and gas across the U.S. and the world. However, some of the debate over fracking is distorting public understanding of these practices and interfering with good decision-making about this recent boom in unconventional oil and gas production.
We often hear statements like this from industry and pro-drilling politicians:
America has drilled and fracked more than 1...
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Amazon deforestation could cause droughts in California
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on November 8th, 2013
Mongabay: Complete deforestation of the Amazon rainforest could reduce rainfall in the Pacific Northwest by up to 20 percent and snowpack in the Sierra Nevada by up to 50 percent, suggests new research published in the Journal of Climate.
The study is based on high resolution computer modeling that stripped the Amazon of its forest cover and assessed the potential impact on wind and precipitation patterns. While the scenario is implausible, it reveals the global nature of the ecological services afforded...
Did Canada Just Have the Largest Coal Slurry Spill in Its History?
Posted by EcoWatch: Donna Lisenby on November 8th, 2013
EcoWatch: A scary thing happened on Halloween near Hinton, Alberta. Canada had what may be the largest coal slurry spill in its history when a dam failed at the Obed Mountain coal mine and 264 million gallons (1 billion litres) of waste water contaminated at least 25 kilometers of the Athabasca river. Ten municipalities located downstream of the spill were warned not to withdraw raw drinking water from the Athabasca river until it was deemed safe. Residents were also warned not to let their animals drink water...
Antarctic Researchers Discover Strips of Rock That Slow the Flow of Glaciers
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on November 8th, 2013
Yale Environment 360: Narrow ribs of dirt and rock beneath Antarctic glaciers help slow the glaciers' flow into the sea, according to new research from scientists at Princeton University and the British Antarctic Survey. Using satellite measurements of the Pine Island Glacier and Thwaites Glacier, both in West Antarctica, researchers discovered bands they call "tiger stripes" underlying the glaciers. The stripes serve as zones of friction and prevent sliding, much like non-slip flooring, the researchers report in Science....
Will Haiyan’s impact in the Philippines be worsened by deforestation?
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on November 8th, 2013
Mongabay: While it's too early to assess the impact of Super Typhoon Haiyan - reportedly the strongest tropical storm ever recorded to make landfall - in the Philippines, the damage could be exacerbated by the large-scale loss of the country's forests.
According to the national Forest Management Bureau, forest cover in the Philippines declined from 21 million hectares, or 70% of the its land area, in 1900 to about 6.5 million hectares by 2007, mostly due to intensive logging and subsequent conversion to...
Healthy Rivers Build Greater Resilience to Climate Change
Posted by EcoWatch: None Given on November 8th, 2013
EcoWatch: Climate change is bringing more extreme floods and droughts, and large dams can compound the impacts of both. Dam failures, levees that cut off rivers from their floodplains and hydropower projects that lay idle in times of drought reduce the ability of societies to cope with the impacts of a changing climate.
The new report, Civil Society Guide to Healthy Rivers and Climate Resilience, by International Rivers explains how rivers strengthen climate resilience, how large dams increase our vulnerability...
UN draft stresses risk of global warming, from economy to health
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on November 8th, 2013
Reuters: Global warming poses a mounting threat to health, economic growth, crops and water supplies, according to a draft report by top scientists that puts unprecedented emphasis on the risks of a changing climate. A leaked 29-page draft by the U.N. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), about the impacts of rising temperatures and due for release in March 2014, mentions "risk" 139 times against just 41 in its last assessment in 2007. The increased stress on risk may make the case for cutting...
Powerful Typhoon Causes Mass Disruption in Philippines
Posted by New York Times: Floyd Whaley on November 8th, 2013
New York Times: A powerful typhoon that ripped through the Philippines on Friday killed at least four people, officials said, but at least initially it appeared not to live up to fears that it would be a particularly catastrophic storm. Typhoon Haiyan, called Yolanda in the Philippines, slammed into the island of Samar, on the eastern edge of the Philippines, early Friday morning and sped across the islands in the center of the country. Some areas remained unreachable Friday night because of problems with phones,...
New German government would put moratorium on fracking- party officials
Posted by Reuters: Markus Wacket and Hans-Edzard Busemann on November 8th, 2013
Reuters: German Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservatives and the Social Democrats (SPD) agreed to retain a moratorium on fracking for gas and cut incentives for wind power in areas where it is abundant, if they form a new coalition government.
Merkel's Christian Democrats (CDU) and its Bavarian sister party, the Christian Social Union (CSU), emerged as the largest force from the September 22 election but they need a partner.
They are making progress in talks with the centre-left SPD to form a government...
Keystone XL ‘Not in Canada’s Best Interests,’ NDP Says
Posted by Globe and Mail: Shawn Mccarthy on November 8th, 2013
Globe and Mail: NDP energy critic Peter Julian led the debate on an opposition motion, saying the oil-sands pipeline - which will ship bitumen to the U.S. Gulf Coast for processing - represents yet-another example of Canada failing to extract maximum economic benefits from its resources. The Liberals have joined the Harper government in supporting the Keystone XL project.
"We are simply giving away a resource without putting in place the smart economic policies that allow for the value-added jobs that need to...