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Archive for July 1st, 2014
McAuliffe reconstitutes climate change commission
Posted by Virginian-Pilot: Aaron Applegate on July 1st, 2014
Virginian-Pilot: Gov. Terry McAuliffe on Tuesday reconstituted a state commission to advise him on how Virginia can reduce the impacts of climate change while preparing for its effects, including flooding and sea level rise.
"Climate change is too big an issue for anybody to ignore," McAuliffe said, announcing his executive order at First Landing State Park.
The commission was created by Gov. Tim Kaine. Members completed a climate action plan in 2008 that went dormant during Gov. Bob McDonnell's administration....
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US Supreme Court refuses challenge to California climate rule
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on July 1st, 2014
Reuters: The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to hear a challenge to California's landmark low-carbon fuel standard, in a blow to out-of-state ethanol and gasoline producers that say the rule unfairly discriminates against their products. A coalition of fuel makers, led by the Rocky Mountain Farmers Union, a grower of corn and soybeans for ethanol in western states, brought a lawsuit to overturn a 2009 rule mandating cuts in carbon emissions. The California regulation calculates emissions throughout...
Fracking study finds new gas wells leak more
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on July 1st, 2014
Associated Press: In Pennsylvania's gas drilling boom, newer and unconventional wells leak far more often than older and traditional ones, according to a study of state inspection reports for 41,000 wells. The results suggest that leaks of methane could be a problem for drilling across the nation, said study lead author Cornell University engineering professor Anthony Ingraffea, who heads an environmental activist group that helped pay for the study. The research was criticized by the energy industry. Marcellus...
Fire At Ohio Fracking Well Forced Evacuations And Likely Contributed Fish Kill
Posted by ThinkProgress: None Given on July 1st, 2014
ThinkProgress: An explosive fire at an Ohio fracking well was likely the cause of a chemical leak into a stream that contributed to the death of fish as far as five miles away from the the fire`s site, Ohio officials said Monday.
Over the weekend, a mechanical malfunction sparked a fire on the well pad of a fracking operation in Monroe County, Ohio, a blaze that caused explosions and forced evacuations of people who lived within a mile of the well. The people were evacuated as a precaution "because of the chemicals...
Governments urged to clean up estuaries management
Posted by BusinessGreen: James Murray on July 1st, 2014
BusinessGreen: Policymakers around the world have been urged to work together to improve the governance of vulnerable estuary habitats or risk some of the planet's most valuable economic and biodiversity hubs being undermined by escalating climate change risks and worsening levels of pollution.
That was the stark warning on the first day of the Global Estuaries Forum in Deauville, France where experts from across the fields of politics, business and academia detailed how the management of estuary environments...
UK food security at risk climate change and unsustainable diets
Posted by Blue and Green: Ilaria Bertini on July 1st, 2014
Blue and Green: The UK needs to produce more food with fewer resources and reassure the public on the safety of genetically modified (GM) foods if it wants to become more self-sufficient in the long term, a group of MPs has said.
A new report by the environment, food and rural affairs committee has called for “sustainable intensification” of the UK’s food system in order to increase crop yields and resilience in the light of threats posed by climate change.
Anne McIntosh MP, chair of the committee, said, “Complacency...
Meat-based diets linked to significant carbon footprints
Posted by Blue and Green: Jemma Collins on July 1st, 2014
Blue and Green: Meat-eaters’ diets have a much larger carbon footprint than vegan, vegetarian and pescatarian diets, a new study published in the journal Climatic Change has found.
The study said that high meat diets have more than double the amount of the greenhouse gas emissions than the average vegan diet. It also mentioned the majority of Britons are high meat consumers and argued that “reducing the amount of animal-based products in the diet represents an achievable way for an individual to reduce their...
Australia: Barrier Reef dredge spoil could travel further, conservationists say
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on July 1st, 2014
AAP: Dumped dredge spoil in the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park could travel further than previously thought, affecting coral.
Three million cubic metres of dredge spoil will be dumped in waters 20km from the reef following a Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority (GBRMPA) decision on the expansion of the Abbot Point port in north Queensland.
The bid to create one of the world's biggest coal terminals near Bowen was last month criticised by Unesco's world heritage committee meeting in Doha.
Now,...
El Nino likely in next few months: Australian Bureau of Meteorology
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on July 1st, 2014
Reuters: Pacific Ocean surface temperatures are at levels associated with a weak El Nino but the threshold for the weather event has not yet been breached, the Australian Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) said on Tuesday. While temperatures remain elevated and trade winds have re-emerged, typical with an El Nino, waters below the surface have cooled, the BOM said. Despite the mixed picture, the Bureau continues to indicate that El Nino is likely to develop by spring 2014.
UK future food security threatened complacency, MPs warn
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on July 1st, 2014
Guardian: The UK’s ability to feed itself is threatened by “complacency” over the extreme weather driven by climate change and increasing competition for food as the world’s population grows, MPs warned on Tuesday.
The environment, food and rural affairs (Efra) select committee said ministers must put plans in place to secure supplies of fruit and vegetables and the soya needed to feed the nation’s dairy herds, noting that the UK’s self-sufficiency for food that can be grown domestically has fallen from...