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Archive for February 18th, 2014
Texas Officials Turn Blind Eye To Fracking Industry’s Toxic Air Emissions
Posted by InsideClimate: David Hasemyer, Ben Wieder and Alan Suderman on February 18th, 2014
InsideClimate: In January 2011, with air quality worsening in Texas' booming oil and gas fields, state environmental regulators adopted rules to reduce emissions. The industry rebelled. So did the state legislature. A few months later, lawmakers passed SB1134, effectively preventing the new regulations from being applied in the Eagle Ford Shale region of South Texas, one of the nation's biggest oil and gas booms. Since then, more than 2,400 air emissions permits have been issued in the Eagle Ford without additional...
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Australia: Climate trends demand better response to drought, says CSIRO
Posted by Guardian: Oliver Milman on February 18th, 2014
Guardian: Australia needs a better response to drought in the face of climate trends that will transform agricultural regions and see many farms disappear, the CSIRO has warned. The government’s science agency said that observed changes in rainfall are occurring at a more rapid rate than was previously predicted. These changes could see a continuing trend of farm closures and shift farming towards wetter coastal areas. Tony Abbott has just completed a “listening tour” of drought-affected areas of Queensland...
Chicago goes to war with Asian carp
Posted by BBC: Pallab Ghosh on February 18th, 2014
BBC: The US city of Chicago is considering drastic measures to prevent giant fish infesting North America's Great Lakes.
Authorities are thinking of blocking the city's canal system to stop Asian carp entering Lake Michigan.
Such a move could cost up to $18bn (£11bn) and cause huge economic disruption to the city.
Cheaper options are also being examined, including making burgers out of the fish and eating them to extinction.
This species of carp, as the name suggests, is native to the Far...