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Archive for December 9th, 2013
Siliguri residents hold tree wedding for environment conservation
Posted by Malaysian Sun: None Given on December 9th, 2013
Malaysian Sun: Residents of Siliguri District in West Bengal came together recently to'save mother nature' through a tree wedding ceremony. The ceremony was held on Sunday. Traditional marriage rituals were performed for intertwined trees, adorning Indian attires, a sari and a dhoti, representing man and woman. Organizers said the symbolic tree wedding was conducted in a bid to stop deforestation. "I have arranged the tree marriage as trees are being cut down and to take forward its progeny. With the help of...
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Australia: Firefighter numbers ‘need to double by 2030 as climate change bites’
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on December 9th, 2013
AAP: Australian fire services will need to double their numbers of boots on the ground by 2030 to cope with the increased bushfire risk caused by climate change, a new report says.
Be Prepared: The Changing Climate and Australia's Bushfire Threat is the first report from the privately funded Climate Council, born out of the axed Climate Commission.
At the report's launch in Sydney on Monday, co-author Professor Lesley Hughes warned the "context" of fire in Australia was changing.
"We've had since...
Talks May Water Down Wisconsin’s Controversial Frac Sand Mine Bill
Posted by Journal Sentinel: Lee Bergquist and Patrick Marley on December 9th, 2013
Journal Sentinel: A bill that would rewrite regulations for sand mines is up for an overhaul after worries were raised that communities would lose some of their authority to enforce local ordinances.
The legislation emerged Oct. 16 as Republicans showed an eagerness to help a growing industry that provides a critical ingredient to extract oil from domestic wells.
As mines proliferated across western Wisconsin, some have faced opposition, including cases where localities have set new or stricter restrictions....
Australia: Reality bites as climate change adds fuels bushfires
Posted by Age: Tim Flannery on December 9th, 2013
Age: In October, huge bushfires devastated communities, property and livelihoods in the Blue Mountains, west of Sydney. Tragically, two lives were lost. As the Climate Council's first major report makes clear, our changing climate is increasing the chances of similar events in future.
Yes, bushfires are part of the Australian experience, but large and severe bushfires in October are unusual.
There has been considerable discussion in the media around the link between climate change and bushfires....
A new look at climate change
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on December 9th, 2013
Reuters: The annual United Nations climate change talks, which concluded last month in Warsaw, unfortunately found little common ground on carbon. The talks broke down over the world`s richest nations’ inability to agree with the poorest on how to address the financial costs of global climate change.
While disappointing, it`s not surprising. Developed countries like the United States and the nations of the European Union, which have wielded the largest carbon footprints over the past decades, are not as...
Canadian Energy Companies Struggle Aboriginal Needs Pipeline Projects
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on December 9th, 2013
Globe and Mail: On its 4,000-kilometre path across the country, TransCanada Corp.'s Energy East's pipeline would traverse the traditional territory of 180 different aboriginal communities, each of whom must be consulted and have their concerns accommodated as part of the company's effort at winning project approval.
The Energy East plan is to bring 1.1 million barrels per day of western crude to eastern Canadian refineries and export terminals; it has been touted by politicians and its proponents as a nation-building...
Enbridge 9B Pipeline Reversal Plan Approved in Quebec
Posted by Montreal Gazette: Kevin Dougherty on December 9th, 2013
Montreal Gazette: A Quebec National Assembly committee has given unanimous approval to the controversial plan by Enbridge Inc. to reverse its 9B Pipeline to bring western Canadian crude to Quebec oil refineries, but with conditions.
Fearing the pipeline would be used to export western crude through the province, the first recommendation of the committee is that Enbridge agree to transport oil only to Quebec refineries.
Quebec has two refineries, Suncor Inc. in Montreal and Valero Inc., formerly called Ultramar,...
Ancient farming seen curbing extinctions of animals, plants
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on December 9th, 2013
Reuters: Ancient farming practices, such as raising fish in rice paddies in China or Aboriginal Australian fire controls, will get a new lease of life under plans to slow extinctions of animals and plants, experts said on Monday.
Turning to traditional farming is seen as a way of limiting what U.N. studies say is the worst spate of extinctions since the dinosaurs vanished 65 million years ago, driven by a rising human population that is wrecking natural habitats.
A 115-nation group seeking to protect...