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Archive for January 19th, 2014
Wildfire in hills near Los Angeles is largely contained
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on January 19th, 2014
Reuters: A wildfire in the hills near Los Angeles was more than 75 percent contained on Sunday, after blackening some 1,900 acres of drought-parched shrubland and destroying five homes, officials said.
The so-called Colby Fire, which officials said started from a campfire, was expected to be fully contained by Tuesday, said Nathan Judy, a spokesman for the Angeles National Forest & Fire Department.
The blaze, centered in the San Gabriel Mountains on territory that is part of the Angeles National Forest,...
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Red toad discovered in Peruvian mountains
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on January 19th, 2014
Mongabay: Scientists have described a previously unknown species of dead-leaf toad in the Peruvian Andes.
The species, which is a master of camouflage, is named Rhinella yunga after the Yungas, the montane forest ecoregion it inhabits. It lives in leaf litter, where it blends in with its cryptic coloration and leaf-like body shape.
Until its description in the journal ZooKeys, Rhinella yunga was classified in the Rhinella margaritifera group. While Rhinella margaritifera is applied to dead-leaf patterned...
Extreme El Niños Could Hit Twice As Often
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on January 19th, 2014
LiveScience: The most intense El Niño events may soon hit every 10 years, instead of every 20 years, thanks to warming water in the eastern Pacific Ocean, a new study predicts.
An El Niño is the warm phase of a long-standing natural climate cycle in the Pacific Ocean. When changing wind patterns start piling up warm water in the eastern part of the equatorial Pacific, the redistribution of hotter water triggers changes in atmospheric circulation that influences rainfall and storm patterns around the world...
Drought offers an opportunity to consider water policy
Posted by LA Times: George Skelton on January 19th, 2014
LA Times: So it's official: We are in a serious drought. That means this: Next comes serious flooding.
But we'll still be in a declared drought.
That's just the nature of California weather patterns -- and water politics.
A drought proclamation, as issued by Gov. Jerry Brown on Friday, changes the political climate. It focuses public attention on the need for costly new waterworks.
Therefore governors and water officials are always reluctant to declare a drought over, even when rivers again leap...
Total pledges tighter safety standards over UK shale gas operations
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on January 19th, 2014
Guardian: Total, the first major oil company to join the race to find shale gas in Britain, has promised to bring high safety standards to the controversial industry and shrugs off any fears of damage to its reputation.
But environmental campaigners say the French group should not be allowed to "frack" for shale until the result is known of an investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) into a gas blowout in the North Sea.
The Paris-based group said it had carefully investigated the environmental...
Saudi ‘welcomes’ US shale oil boom
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on January 19th, 2014
Agence France-Presse: Saudi Arabia, an Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries kingpin, is unconcerned by the US shale oil boom, Oil Minister Ali al-Naimi said Sunday as he met the US energy secretary in Riyadh.
"We discussed the increased production of shale oil in the United States and elsewhere. The kingdom welcomes this new source of energy that helps fulfil the growing world demand for energy, and helps stabilise oil markets," state news agency SPA quoted Naimi as saying.
In October, oil production in...
Enbridge’s Alberta Clipper Pipeline Halted After Pump Station Spill
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on January 19th, 2014
Reuters: Enbridge Inc said on Saturday that it had shut down its 450,000 barrel-per-day (bpd) Alberta Clipper pipeline, the largest source of U.S. oil imports, after an oil spill at a Saskatchewan pump station.
The estimated 125 barrel spill was mostly limited to the Rowatt pump station, located south of Regina, though some windborne oil sprayed onto the property of a nearby landowner, said Enbridge spokesman Graham White.
Enbridge is investigating the cause along with the National Energy Board, said...
Fracking has conquered US. But here’s why it can’t happen in Britain
Posted by Guardian: Paul Stevens on January 19th, 2014
Guardian: By announcing in December that it would award shale drilling licences in 2014, the coalition government has made plain its enthusiasm for shale gas. This zeal stems from the belief that an increased domestic gas supply will drive down national prices, at once enhancing export competitiveness and addressing growing public concern over rising domestic energy bills. But this strategy is misguided: unlike in the United States, a shale gas revolution will not bring down prices in Britain.
Proponents...