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Archive for February, 2014
Fracking in George Washington National Forest Could Threaten D.C. Area Drinking Water
Posted by Washington Post: Robert McCartney on February 3rd, 2014
Washington Post: The future cleanliness of the Washington region’s drinking water has unexpectedly become a central concern in the national debate over the controversial natural-gas drilling method known as “fracking.” The gas industry is pushing to allow fracking in the George Washington National Forest, despite fears that it could threaten the cleanliness of the Potomac River. It’s the sole source of drinking water for more than 4 million people in our area. t’s no surprise that environmental groups are pushing...
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Comments Off on Fracking in George Washington National Forest Could Threaten D.C. Area Drinking WaterKeystone Ardor Cools Among Producers with More Options
Posted by Bloomberg: Jeremy van Loon and Rebecca Penty on February 3rd, 2014
Bloomberg: Now that the U.S. government has cleared the Keystone XL project of any dire environmental impact, attention is returning to why the pipeline was needed in the first place: to get more Canadian oil to U.S. refineries. TransCanada Corp. (TRP)’s Keystone promises to ease a bottleneck that’s limited how much Canadian crude can flow south. The lack of transportation has created a glut that deflated prices for producers in the country. After five years waiting for U.S. approval, though, the need for...
Why not get tough on water use, California?
Posted by LA Times: Editorial on February 3rd, 2014
LA Times: To hear Gov. Jerry Brown tell it, California is in a "mega drought" -- perhaps the worst dry spell it's ever known. So why does he keep calling for voluntary water conservation?
The governor met with Southern California water officials Thursday morning and, again, they bemoaned the seriousness of the drought. Yet the general manager of the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California -- the wholesaler that delivers most of the region's water supply -- reiterated the governor's call for voluntary...
Britain’s floods: strategy on the level
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on February 2nd, 2014
Guardian: One night last December, three houses disappeared into the sea off the Norfolk coast as a huge storm surge sucked away thousands of tonnes of rock and sand from beneath them. What happened at Hemsby, and also along the coast at Happisburgh, was extreme. But not unprecedented. "O Tide that waits for no man / Spare our coasts!" sing the Suffolk fishing villagers in Britten's 1945 opera Peter Grimes, and, over the next 50 years from now, hundreds more homes could be claimed by rising water, inland as...
Keystone report raises pressure on Obama to approve pipeline
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on February 2nd, 2014
Reuters: Pressure for President Barack Obama to approve the Keystone XL pipeline increased after a State Department report played down the impact it would have on climate change, irking environmentalists and delighting the project's proponents.
But the White House signaled late on Friday that a decision on an application by TransCanada Corp to build the $5.4 billion project would be made "only after careful consideration" of the report, along with comments from the public and other government agencies....
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Keystone report raises pressure on Obama to approve pipelineNature can, selectively, buffer human-caused global warming, say scientists
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on February 2nd, 2014
ScienceDaily: Can naturally occurring processes selectively buffer the full brunt of global warming caused by greenhouse gas emissions resulting from human activities?
Yes, find researchers from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Johns Hopkins University in the US and NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center.
As the globe warms, ocean temperatures rise, leading to increased water vapor escaping into the atmosphere. Water vapor is the most important greenhouse gas, and its impact on climate is amplified in the...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Nature can, selectively, buffer human-caused global warming, say scientistsUnited Kingdom: Difficult choices, as the flood waters rise
Posted by Telegraph: Chris Smith on February 2nd, 2014
Telegraph: The country has faced an extraordinary combination of weather conditions over the past eight weeks. Prolonged periods of heavy rain and gale-force winds have affected almost every part of England.
The early-December tidal surge was the biggest since 1953 and the whole month was the stormiest on record. The south of England has had its wettest January since 1910. Roads have been impassable, train and plane travel disrupted and 250,000 homes have been without power.
Environment Agency staff have...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on United Kingdom: Difficult choices, as the flood waters riseCanadian miner Teck reports spill at Columbia River smelter
Posted by Reuters: Allison Martell on February 2nd, 2014
Reuters: Canadian diversified miner Teck Resources Ltd is investigating another spill at its Trail smelting complex in British Columbia, but said on Sunday it does not expect the incident to have a long-term impact on fish or the environment. Up to 25 cubic meters (883 cubic feet) of a solution containing some sodium hydroxide was released into a sewer line on Tuesday, Teck said in a statement. The sewer leads to a treatment plant that discharges into the Columbia River. Sodium hydroxide is a corrosive...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Canadian miner Teck reports spill at Columbia River smelterWithout Keystone, oil trains may cause 6 deaths per year -US State Dept report
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on February 2nd, 2014
Reuters: Replacing the Keystone XL pipeline with oil-laden freight trains from Canada may result in an average of six additional rail-related deaths per year, according to a U.S. State Department report that is adding to pressure for President Barack Obama to approve the line. The long-awaited study, released on Friday, focused on the environmental impact of TransCanada's $5.4 billion pipeline, but also spent several pages analyzing the potential human impact of various ways to transport oil, using historical...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Without Keystone, oil trains may cause 6 deaths per year -US State Dept reportPhilippines: Baguio, Dagupan, Tacloban most at risk to climate change – study
Posted by Philippine Star: Ding Cervantes on February 2nd, 2014
Philippine Star: Baguio, Dagupan and Tacloban have been ranked as the most vulnerable cities to the effects of climate change, according to a study released recently by the World Wide Fund For Nature (WWF) and Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI) Foundation.
The latest study of the WWF and BPI ranked 12 major cities in the country.
Baguio obtained a score of 7.43 while Dagupan got 6.91 and Tacloban 6.74.
The other cities found vulnerable to climate change were Iloilo, 6.69; Cagayan de Oro, 6.68; Cebu, 6.65;...
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