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Archive for August 11th, 2014
Western U.S. states brace for more lightning-sparked wildfires
Posted by Reuters: Courtney Sherwood on August 11th, 2014
Reuters: Dozens of new wildfires could break out across U.S. west coast states on Monday and into Tuesday, officials warned, just as crews begin to get a handle on conflagrations that have burned more than 500,000 acres in California, Washington and Oregon.
Several dozen major fires still threaten more than 1,000 homes in the three states, and heavy smoke poses a threat to people with breathing difficulties in several communities, fire officials said.
The National Weather Service said on Monday that...
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To Resolve Feud Over Fracking, Colo. Democrats Turn To Plan C
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on August 11th, 2014
National Public Radio: Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper has announced a last-minute compromise to avert a costly political battle over oil and gas drilling. As Dan Boyce of Inside Energy reports, the deal is meant to find a solution to disputes related to fracking — but it also serves the political interests of Colorado Democrats.
Cumulative Climate Impacts of Tar Sands Pipelines
Posted by EcoWatch: None Given on August 11th, 2014
EcoWatch: Last summer, President Obama delivered a major climate speech in which he laid out his plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 17 percent by 2020. He also committed to deciding the fate of the Keystone XL pipeline based on its climate impacts, stating unequivocally: "The net effects of the pipeline’s impact on our climate will be absolutely critical to determining whether this project is allowed to go forward."
While the evidence shows that Keystone XL would result in significant greenhouse...
Climate Effects of Keystone XL Pipeline Significantly Underestimated, Study Finds
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on August 11th, 2014
Yale Environment 360: The U.S. State Department's final environmental review of the Keystone XL Pipeline may have underestimated carbon dioxide emissions associated with the pipeline by as much as four times, according to a new study published in Nature Climate Change. The addition of Keystone XL crude oil to the market will drive global oil prices down, the authors say, which in turn will increase demand for oil worldwide — by as much as 0.6 barrels for every barrel of Keystone XL oil added to the market. The extra oil...
Keystone XL could be even worse than you thought
Posted by Grist: Lisa Hymas on August 11th, 2014
Grist: If the Keystone XL pipeline is built, it could lead to up to four times as much CO2 pollution as the State Department has estimated, according to a new study. And the study wasn’t written by activists. It was conducted by scientists at the Stockholm Environment Institute and published in the journal Nature Climate Change. Why are these new figures so much higher than previous ones? The Associated Press explains: “The U.S. [State Department's] estimates didn’t take into account that the added oil...
Keystone climate impact could be four times US State Dept. estimate, study says
Posted by CTV: None Given on August 11th, 2014
CTV: An economic analysis of the proposed Keystone XL pipeline's possible climate impacts has concluded they could be up to four times higher than previously estimated.
In the study published in the journal Nature Climate Change, researchers at the Stockholm Environment Institute write that widely quoted U.S. State Department findings that the oilsands pipeline wouldn't make a significant difference missed a major source of greenhouse gas emissions.
"It didn't appear that they looked at the market...
Study: Keystone carbon pollution more than figured
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on August 11th, 2014
Associated Press: The much-debated Keystone XL pipeline could produce four times more global warming pollution than the State Department calculated earlier this year, a new study concludes.
The U.S. estimates didn`t take into account that the added oil from the pipeline would drop prices by about $3 a barrel, spurring consumption that would create more pollution, the researchers said.
Outside experts not connected to the study gave it mixed reviews. The American Petroleum Institute found the study to be irrelevant...
Enviros Blamed for Bursting Frack Bubble
Posted by EcoWatch: Richard Heinberg on August 11th, 2014
EcoWatch: Here’s The Script, in four despicable acts:
Act 1. Fracking boom goes bust as production from shale gas and tight oil wells stalls out and lurches into decline.
Act 2. Oil and gas industry loudly blames anti-fracking environmentalists and restrictive regulations.
Act 3. Congress rolls back environmental laws.
Act 4. Loosened regulations do little to boost actual oil and gas production, which continues to tank, but the industry wins the right to exploit marginal resources a little more...
Toxic Toledo Algae Bloom Seen from Space
Posted by LiveScience: Stephanie Pappas on August 11th, 2014
LiveScience: An algae bloom in Lake Erie that left hundreds of thousands of people in Toledo, Ohio, and its surroundings without water for two days is visible in new satellite imagery.
The bloom appears as a cloudy green mass in the blue of Lake Erie. Toledo is in the lower left of the image, along the lake's shore.
The mayor of the city lifted a ban on drinking Toledo's water on Monday (Aug. 4), after two days in which residents were warned that water from the Collins Park water treatment plant was contaminated...
Storms and rain to continue as hurricane Bertha sweeps the UK
Posted by Guardian: Josh Halliday on August 11th, 2014
Guardian: Scotland and northern England were battered by driving rain and winds of up to 50mph on Monday as the tail end of hurricane Bertha swept northern Britain.
Stormy conditions are forecast across Scotland, Wales and northern England for the next few days, with amber flood warnings covering large parts of the UK.
The small port town of Lossiemouth in Moray, Scotland, was deluged by more than a month's rainfall in 12 hours by early Monday morning, while Aberdeenshire recorded gusts of 50mph.
Wales...