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Archive for March 20th, 2014
El Niño seen bringing much-needed rain to Chile
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on March 20th, 2014
Reuters: After five years of drought in central Chile, there is a good chance that the El Niño weather pattern could bring much-needed rains during the Southern Hemisphere's winter, the national meteorological service said on Thursday.
In recent years, power producers in the world's top copper producer have been forced to rely on more-expensive fossil fuels as the lack of rain has dented hydroelectric generation.
Over 40 percent of installed capacity in Chile's central power grid, which supplies electricity...
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Koch brothers’ quiet play: Oil sands
Posted by Washington Post: Steven Mufson and Juliet Eilperin on March 20th, 2014
Washington Post: The biggest lease owner in Canada's oil sands isn't one of the well-known international oil giants. It's a subsidiary of Koch Industries, the privately owned cornerstone of the fortune of conservative Koch brothers Charles and David.
The Koch Industries subsidiary holds leases on 1.1 million acres -- an area nearly the size of Delaware -- in the oil sands region of Alberta, Canada, according to an activist group that studied Alberta provincial records. The Washington Post confirmed the group's...
Rising energy demand a threat to strained water supplies – U.N
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on March 20th, 2014
Reuters: Rising demand for energy, from biofuels to shale gas, is a threat to freshwater supplies that are already under strain from climate change, the United Nations said in a report on Friday.
It urged energy companies to do more to limit use of water in everything from cooling coal-fired power plants to irrigation for crops grown to produce biofuels.
"Demand for energy and freshwater will increase significantly in the coming decades," U.N. agencies said in the World Water Development Report. "This...
World facing water-energy crisis – UN
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on March 20th, 2014
Agence France-Presse: Surging populations and economies in the developing world will cause a double crunch in demand for water and energy in the coming decades, the UN said Friday.
In a report published on the eve of World Water Day, it said the cravings for clean water and electricity were intertwined and could badly strain Earth's limited resources.
"Demand for freshwater and energy will continue to increase over the coming decades to meet the needs of growing populations and economies, changing lifestyles and...
Oil or rainforest: new website highlights plight Yasuni National Park
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on March 20th, 2014
Mongabay: A new website by Brazilian environmental news group, ((o))eco, highlights the ongoing debate over Yasuni National Park in Ecuador, arguably the most biodiverse place on the planet. Employing text, video, timelines, maps, and photos, the website provides an immersive experience into the issues facing the park and the work of those trying to preserve it.
"[Yasuni] matters due to [its] unique and rich biodiversity, to the fact that it is home to some of the last isolated native tribes of the Waorani...
Wrinkly radar rainbows reveal a galloping glacier
Posted by New Scientist: Paul Marks on March 20th, 2014
New Scientist: The diaphanous sheen of a butterfly wing? Or the exquisite iridescence of a soap bubble? Surprisingly, it's neither. This is a radar image snapped from low Earth orbit, showing the biggest glacier in the Arctic as its ice field inexorably grinds its way towards the open ocean. Radar images of the Petermann Glacier in Greenland, taken 24 days apart, were combined to create this colourful interferogram that highlights movement as small as a few centimetres. The rainbow interference fringes are widely...
North American Natural Gas Seeks Markets Overseas
Posted by National Geographic: Joe Eaton on March 20th, 2014
National Geographic: North America's natural gas boom is now so big that the industry and its supporters believe it should not be contained to just one continent.
They argue this new bounty should be shared-especially with hungry markets in Asia and Europe willing to pay a high price for the fuel. But long-distance transport of natural gas is one of the world's most expensive engineering feats, and it will require government approvals, community support, and billions of dollars in capital to take North American gas...
Canada: Environmental groups demand BC government uphold its own water laws
Posted by Vancouver Observer: None Given on March 20th, 2014
Vancouver Observer: It’s Water Week in Canada, and events are happening across the country with the purpose of sparking discussion about how to protect this important resource. In BC, environmental justice organizations believe the government is having the wrong conversation.
The provincial government is in the process of making changes to the Water Act--including a proposal to change the name to the Water Sustainability Act--and earlier this week, Sierra Club BC and Western Canada Wilderness Committee took the provincial...
Legislative battles show strong Colorado division over fracking
Posted by Gazette: None Given on March 20th, 2014
Gazette: Rep. Joann Ginal, D-Fort Collins, asked lawmakers Thursday to fund a study on the health impacts of the onslaught of drilling and hydrolic fracturing close to front-range communities.
"Many Colorado families that live near oil and gas sites are concerned, they're very concerned," Ginal said. "They want to be heard and I'm listening."
Ginal said scientific data about potential health effects prompted five communities to vote to either ban or delay further oil and gas exploration in their jurisdictions....
World Bank approves funds to study Congo’s Inga dam
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on March 20th, 2014
Reuters: The World Bank's board on Thursday approved a $73 million grant to help the Democratic Republic of Congo develop an expansion of the Inga hydroelectric dam, potentially the largest hydropower site in the world.
The money, combined with another $33 million from the African Development Bank, will fund technical studies to analyze the dam's environmental and social impact and ensure it is sustainable, the World Bank said in a statement.
The grant will also help establish the independent Inga Development...