RSS Feed
Archive for January, 2014
Polar freeze grips United States, disrupting travel, business
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on January 7th, 2014
Reuters: A blast of Arctic air gripped the vast middle of the United States on Monday with the coldest temperatures in two decades causing at least four deaths, forcing businesses and schools to close and canceling thousands of flights.
Shelters for the homeless were overflowing due to the severe cold described by some meteorologists as the "polar vortex" and dubbed by media as the "polar pig."
Temperatures were 20 to 40 degrees Fahrenheit (11 to 22 degrees Celsius) below average in parts of Montana,...
Posted in Water Conservation 
Comments Off on Polar freeze grips United States, disrupting travel, businessOil glut stirs debate over US crude exports
Posted by Houston Chronicle: Jennifer A. Dlouhy on January 6th, 2014
Houston Chronicle: As a new year dawns in the nation`s capital, the Obama administration and Congress find themselves grappling with a scenario that was unthinkable just a few years ago: What to do with the domestic oil flowing out of West Texas, North Dakota and other states?
The climb in domestic crude production has created a dilemma for both lawmakers and the White House, who are facing new pressure from oil companies to relax the nation`s 38-year-old ban on exports of the unprocessed product.
The current...
Harper Says Obama Punting Won’t Stop Keystone XL
Posted by Bloomberg: Andrew Mayeda and Christopher Donville on January 6th, 2014
Bloomberg: Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper said he remains confident the Keystone XL pipeline will eventually be built even as President Barack Obama delays making a decision on the $5.4 billion project.
“He’s punted,” Harper said of Obama in an interview at an event today hosted by the Vancouver Board of Trade. “He said, ‘Maybe.’”
Harper said he still hopes the Obama administration “will in due course see its way to take the appropriate decision.” While he said he couldn’t put a timeline on a...
UK storms bring more flood warnings and transport disruptions
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on January 6th, 2014
Guardian: The latest storm to hit the UK is causing disruption for many people returning to work after the Christmas holidays.
Roads have been closed and train services have been cancelled or delayed in some areas because of the weather.
Waves of up to eight metres (27ft) were recorded at Land's End – the most southern tip of the UK. Forecasters are warning that coastal areas could see more flooding as the heavy rain and gusts of wind continue to batter Britain.
In Aberystwyth, people in seafront...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on UK storms bring more flood warnings and transport disruptionsClimate policy row escalates as Australian temperatures soar
Posted by BusinessGreen: Danny Bradbury on January 6th, 2014
BusinessGreen: Reports emerged late last week that last year was Australia's hottest on record, even as politicians continued to battle over the repeal of the country's carbon tax and its response to escalating climate impacts.
The Australian Bureau of Meteorology reported on Friday that the average temperature for 2013 was the hottest since records began in 1910, clocking in at 1.20C above the 1961-1990 average. Moreover, the 10-year mean temperature for 2004-2013 was 0.50C above average, the Bureau said. ...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Climate policy row escalates as Australian temperatures soarU.S. EPA unlikely to step up fracking enforcement efforts for now -analysts
Posted by Reuters: Valerie Volcovici on January 6th, 2014
Reuters: Federal regulators are unlikely to step up enforcement of potential water contamination cases linked to natural gas drilling - despite new concerns about water safety - given a lack of political will and limited resources to pursue such cases, analysts said.
A report quietly made public on Christmas Eve by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's internal watchdog brought back into the spotlight concerns about the effects on water quality from the drilling technique known as hydraulic fracturing,...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on U.S. EPA unlikely to step up fracking enforcement efforts for now -analystsColorado River Drought Forces Painful Reckoning for States
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on January 6th, 2014
New York Times: The sinuous Colorado River and its slew of man-made reservoirs from the Rockies to southern Arizona are being sapped by 14 years of drought nearly unrivaled in 1,250 years. The once broad and blue river has in many places dwindled to a murky brown trickle. Reservoirs have shrunk to less than half their capacities, the canyon walls around them ringed with white mineral deposits where water once lapped. Seeking to stretch their allotments of the river, regional water agencies are recycling sewage...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Colorado River Drought Forces Painful Reckoning for StatesFlood-hit UK must prepare more extreme weather, says climate adviser
Posted by Guardian: Rowena Mason and Sam Jones on January 5th, 2014
Guardian: Britain needs to face up to a radical change in weather conditions that could be the result of global warming, and spend much more on flood defences, Sir David King, the government's special envoy on climate change, has said.
Amid the worst floods for decades, King said the UK must do more to manage the problem, potentially doubling spending to £1bn a year by 2020, as extreme weather events are likely to become more frequent.
The former chief scientific adviser spoke out as the UK braced itself...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Flood-hit UK must prepare more extreme weather, says climate adviserUnited Kingdom: Ray Mears calls for green belt protection
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on January 5th, 2014
Telegraph: Ray Mears, the survival expert, has called for the countryside to be protected against government plans to build new homes on Green Belt land.
The television presenter, 49, said allowing construction to go ahead on the Green Belt would run counter to the original idea of setting aside parts of the countryside so that future generations can enjoy them.
He accepted there is "pressure' to use such areas to lessen the burden of the housing crisis, but insisted measures put in place to control urban...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on United Kingdom: Ray Mears calls for green belt protectionEnvironment secretary may be blind to rising flood risks, says Labour
Posted by Guardian: Rowena Mason on January 5th, 2014
Guardian: Owen Paterson, the Conservative environment secretary, may be blind to the increased risk of flooding across Britain because he is sceptical about climate change science, Labour has said.
Amid warnings of further floods to hit Britain within the next 48 hours, Maria Eagle, the shadow environment secretary, said Paterson had "real questions to answer" about why he was allowing cuts that could affect Britain's ability to deal with severe weather incidents.
She spoke out after Paterson was forced...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Environment secretary may be blind to rising flood risks, says Labour