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Archive for January, 2014
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...
Posted in Water Conservation 
Comments Off on Total pledges tighter safety standards over UK shale gas operationsSaudi ‘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...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Enbridge’s Alberta Clipper Pipeline Halted After Pump Station SpillFracking 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...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Fracking has conquered US. But here’s why it can’t happen in BritainUnited Kingdom: Nuclear waste site consultation was rigged to favour Sellafield, say experts
Posted by Guardian: Jamie Doward on January 18th, 2014
Guardian: The government stands accused of drafting the consultation process to select the site of a multibillion-pound nuclear waste storage facility to favour a location that some geologists claim is unsuitable for burying radioactive material.
Two leading geologists told the Observer that they believed the government was keen to push through Sellafield as the site of the facility, a subterranean tunnel network that would be the size of Carlisle, despite an official inquiry demonstrating that its geology...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on United Kingdom: Nuclear waste site consultation was rigged to favour Sellafield, say expertsEasing conditions help Australian fire crews
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on January 18th, 2014
Agence France-Presse: Easing conditions on Sunday helped Australian fire crews battling major wildfires that destroyed 25 homes in the nation's southeast following a week-long heatwave, with warnings of a long and dangerous season ahead. Firefighters in South Australia and Victoria states said they had gained the upper hand over a series of blazes which started this week during a scorching heatwave that brought temperatures in excess of 40 degrees Celsius for several consecutive days. Infernos in South Australia levelled...
California’s Drought: The New Normal
Posted by EcoWatch: None Given on January 18th, 2014
EcoWatch: Scientific projections regarding climate change suggest that these dry conditions could become the new normal. The drought proclamation formally recognizes that "extremely dry conditions ... may continue beyond this year and more regularly into the future." This calls for permanent and fundamental changes in our behavior.
Here are five ways to get started:
1. Reduce leaks: As a homeowner or renter, the best way to determine if you have a leak is to turn off all taps and see if the dials still...
Climate change alters land map of India
Posted by Hindustan Times: Snehal Rebello on January 18th, 2014
Hindustan Times: The adverse effects of climate change are being felt on more than a fourth of India’s landmass over the last four decades. While some parts of the country have turned arid, others have witnessed more rainfall.
A study by the Central Research Institute for Dryland Agriculture (CRIDA) at Hyderabad has revealed that about 27% of the country’s geographical area has been directly impacted by climate change, a result of increase in mean surface temperatures coupled with changes in rainfall pattern between...