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Archive for August 30th, 2014
Amid oil and gas boom, Colorado continues role as earthquake lab
Posted by Denver Post: Kevin Simpson on August 30th, 2014
Denver Post: University of Colorado researcher Will Yeck checks seismometers where he is monitoring activity around Greeley in the wake of a May 31 earthquake there. Some in the area believe the earthquake, at 3.2 magnitude, may have been caused by wastewater injection wells used in fracking. (RJ Sangosti, The Denver Post)Aug 23:Let's make a deal: How Colorado came to a fracking compromiseAug 7:Colorado commission votes to pull lawsuit over Longmont oil, gas ruleAug 5:Six petitions seeking Colorado ballot measures...
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Corporate farms get blame as key water-pollution culprit
Posted by Blade: Tom Henry on August 30th, 2014
Blade: Perhaps former President Theodore Roosevelt said it best when he addressed a Buffalo audience in 1910, most likely in his trademark fist-pounding, cantankerous style.
"Civilized people,' Mr. Roosevelt said, "should be able to dispose of sewage in a better way than by putting it into drinking water.'
Hailed by historians as a key ally of naturalist John Muir, the founder of the Sierra Club, during the fledgling days of the American conservation movement, Mr. Roosevelt was no doubt using that...
Drought conditions cause record years fSouthern Calif lifeguards
Posted by Press-Telegram: None Given on August 30th, 2014
Press Telegram: The endless summer. That’s what lifeguards are calling the past 12 months.
As the hot and dry weather parches the state, people are fleeing to the beach.
Southern California guards are rescuing swimmers at record levels. Beaches are hitting capacity. Unusually warm water and large swells have amplified the crowds and danger. Guards are manning the towers more, even during typically mellow months, and taxpayers must cover a burgeoning overtime bill.
Los Angeles County beaches in 2014 saw...
California Drought Threatens Nation’s Most Productive Farming Valley
Posted by NBC: None Given on August 30th, 2014
NBC: In the rich farmland of the San Joaquin Valley it's summertime , peak growing season for many crops. But every sunbaked, scorching day brings another test of water reserves in a region running on empty.
The dearth of irrigation water from rivers or reservoirs has forced growers in the valley 80 miles north of Los Angeles to rely almost entirely on water pumped from wells. "I'm worried from a couple of standpoints," said grower Stuart Woolf, as he stood in a field of tomatoes at harvest time....
Will Climate Change Denialism Help the Russian Economy?
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on August 30th, 2014
Inter Press Service: The recent call from Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev for "tightening belts" has convinced even optimists that something is deeply wrong with the Russian economy.
No doubt the planned tax increases (introduction of a sales tax and increases in VAT and income tax) will inflict severe damage on most businesses and their employees, if last year's example of what happened when taxes were raised for individual entrepreneurs is anything to go by - 650,000 of them were forced to close their businesses....
We can’t delay the fight against sea-level rise
Posted by Miami Herald: None Given on August 30th, 2014
Miami Herald: Regardless of its cause, sea-level rise is the inevitable, non-debatable consequence of the warming of the oceans and the melting of the planet's ice sheets. It is a measurable, trackable and relentless reality. Without innovative adaptive capital planning, it will threaten trillions of dollars of the region's built environment, our future water supply, unique natural resources, agricultural soils and basic economy.
Without such a plan, we invite escalating insurance rates, at best, and risk our...
Drought leaves up to 2.81 million hungry in Central America
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on August 30th, 2014
Reuters: A severe drought has ravaged crops in Central America and as many as 2.81 million people are struggling to feed themselves, the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) said on Friday, though the region's coffee crop has been largely unscathed.
The drought, which is also affecting South America, has been particularly hard on the so-called "dry corridor" of Central America, which includes southern Guatemala, northern Honduras and western El Salvador.
"The drought has killed us. We lost all...
Chance ‘megadrought’ in US Southwest now 50%, study concludes
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on August 30th, 2014
LA Times: The chance of a "megadrought" gripping the Southwest for more than 30 years has increased to 50%, scientists say, which means bad news for California's already parched landscape.
The odds of a 10-year drought afflicting the southwestern U.S. have increased to 80%, according to a new study by Cornell University, the University of Arizona and the U.S. Geological Survey.
Whatever happens, California is likely to see prolonged drought and drier conditions, especially in the southern portion of...
Rising sea levels pose salt threat in Vietnam
Posted by Straits Times: Thu Van on August 30th, 2014
Straits Times: Pham Thi Ly buys fresh water every 10 days from a well operator in another commune during the dry season. To ensure her children have clean drinking water, she has to buy the bottled stuff. The dry season typically runs for four months and this buying of water puts a dent into whatever she earns from fishing. But Mrs Ly has no choice - there is no fresh water to be had as the groundwater under the Thua Duc Commune in Vietnam's southern Ben Tre province has become too salty for daily use. Mr Tran...
Colorado fracking ban scorecard: 3 ruled illegal, 2 remain
Posted by Business Jurnal: Cathy Proctor on August 30th, 2014
Business Jurnal: Three out of five Front Range cities' bans on hydraulic fracturing in the last few years have been struck down by district court judges in recent weeks, and two others still stand.
Both Boulder and Broomfield still have fracking bans in place.
The city of Lafayette’s ban, which was approved by voters in November 2013, was struck down Thursday by Boulder District Court Judge D.D. Mallard.
She’s the same judge that in late July who ruled the city of Longmont’s ban on fracking, approved by...