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Archive for November 17th, 2014
India says “no” to coal plant after inadequate environmental impact assessment
Posted by Scientific American: Melissa C. Lott on November 17th, 2014
Scientific American: A panel of judges has struck down the environmental clearance for a proposed 3.6 GW coal-fired power plant in Tamil Nadu, India.
The decision by the National Green Tribunal responded to an appeal by local villagers who cited concerns about water and air pollution in this already polluted area. In their review, the judges found that the “casual approach” to the project`s Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) was patently unacceptable. More specifically, the tribunal reported that the EIA was “inadequate...
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10 Arrested as ‘We Are Seneca Lake’ Protests Continue
Posted by EcoWatch: None Given on November 17th, 2014
EcoWatch: Ten people were arrested today for blockading the gates of Texas-based Crestwood Midstream’s gas storage facility on the shore of New York’s Seneca Lake. This protest marks the fourth week of the “We Are Seneca Lake” campaign to stop the major expansion project at the methane gas storage facility where plans are underway to store highly pressurized, explosive gas in abandoned salt caverns on the west side of Seneca Lake.
Thirty-five people have been arrested so far during this campaign, including...
Wildlife crime wanted list released
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on November 17th, 2014
BBC: The public is being asked to provide information on the locations of nine fugitives suspected of serious environmental crimes.
The appeal, from Interpol, is part of an effort to track down individuals involved in illegal fishing, logging and wildlife trafficking.
The trade in wildlife crime is said to be worth around $213bn per annum, according to the UN.
This is the first time that individuals have been targeted.
Investigators from 21 countries gathered at Interpol's headquarters in...
Keystone Senate vote hangs in balance after Obama remarks
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on November 17th, 2014
Reuters: Supporters of the Keystone XL pipeline in the U.S. Senate scrambled on Monday to gather one last vote to pass a bill that authorizes the project that would help send Canadian oil to the U.S. Gulf, a task made harder after President Barack Obama made his toughest comments yet on the topic.
All eyes were on Senator Jay Rockefeller, a West Virginia Democrat who is retiring. He had originally told backers he would vote "no." But unions and the oil industry were pressuring him, an aide to a top Republican...
Meet Republicans in Congress who don’t believe climate change real
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on November 17th, 2014
Guardian: It’s much easier to list Republicans in Congress who think climate change is real than it is to list Republicans who don’t, because there are so few members of the former group. Earlier this year, Politifact went looking for congressional Republicans who had not expressed scepticism about climate change and came up with a list of eight (out of 278).
But with the GOP taking over the Senate next year – and with the Senate set to vote on approving the Keystone XL pipeline on Tuesday – the question...
Reject Keystone XL Pipeline, We Need Radical Change to Prevent Catastrophic Warming
Posted by AlterNet: Naomi Klein on November 17th, 2014
AlterNet: House lawmakers passed legislation Friday to approve the Keystone XL oil pipeline to bring carbon-intensive tar sands oil from Alberta, Canada, to the Texas Gulf Coast. The Senate is expected to vote this week on a similar pro-Keystone bill backed by Louisiana Democratic Sen. Mary Landrieu. Landrieu is facing a tough battle to keep her seat in a runoff next month against Republican Rep. Bill Cassidy, who also happens to be the sponsor of the pro-Keystone bill in the House. Landrieu spoke last week...
S Dakota Sioux tribe calls Keystone XL pipeline approval ‘act of war’
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on November 17th, 2014
Guardian: A Native American tribe in South Dakota has called a congressional vote to approve the Keystone XL pipeline an “act of war” and vowed to close the reservation’s borders if the US government tries to install a pipeline there.
The prospective route for the pipeline, which would connect Canadian tar sands fields to the Gulf coast, runs through the 922,759-acre (1,442 sq mi) Rosebud Sioux reservation in south-central South Dakota. The House of Representatives voted 252-161 on Friday to approve the...
Habitats 140 Australian threatened species not protected, WWF study finds
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on November 17th, 2014
Guardian: The habitats of nearly 140 of Australia’s most threatened animals, including the hairy-nosed wombat and the green sawfish, remain unprotected despite recent growth in the country’s network of nature reserves, a new report has found.
Of the 1,613 species listed nationally as threatened, 138 fall outside the “safety net” of a protected area, the WWF analysis found. Of Australia’s recognised 5,815 land-based ecosystems, 1,655 remain unprotected.
Critically endangered species without protected...
Sacramento’s salmon run in full swing, but drought still a worry
Posted by Sacramento Bee: Matt Weiser on November 17th, 2014
Sacramento Bee: A miraculous thing happens each fall in the Sacramento Valley, and it’s not the end of 100-degree weather: Salmon return to the area’s rivers and creeks.
One hundred miles from the Pacific Ocean, the valley hosts one of the largest annual salmon spawning runs in America. More than 300,000 fall-run Chinook (or king) salmon are expected to return from the ocean to area creeks and rivers, mostly in October and November, to spawn in hatcheries or on their own in river gravels.
The big fish – many...
Earlier spring, later fall could mean 240 days of summer
Posted by CBC: Paul Withers on November 17th, 2014
CBC: Ocean researchers in the United States say spring is coming earlier every year as sea temperatures rise in the northeastern Atlantic.
The latest ecosytem advisory released by the Northeast Fisheries Science Center predicts that by the end of the century, summer will increase to 240 days.
"For the northeast shelf, that summer half of the year will increase on the order of two months," said Kevin Friedland, an oceanographer with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's National Marine...