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Archive for January 9th, 2015
Record rainfall results in flooded roads and farms
Posted by Western Front: None Given on January 9th, 2015
Western Front: Heavy rainfall on Jan. 4 and 5 triggered increases in local water levels leading to a flood in some areas around Bellingham, according to The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) National Weather Service.
A combined 2.44 inches of rainfall fell in a 24-hour period, causing a spike of nearly 9 feet of additional water in the Skagit Valley River near Mount Vernon, according to the Weather Service.
Water levels are considered a flood at 25 feet, and the Skagit Valley River...
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Keystone clears hurdles, stage set for Washington showdown
Posted by Reuters: Patrick Rucker and Timothy Gardner on January 9th, 2015
Reuters: The Keystone XL oil pipeline cleared two hurdles on Friday, setting up a showdown between Congress and President Barack Obama who has raised new questions about the project after more than six years of review.
Following months of deliberation, the Nebraska Supreme Court allowed a route for the pipeline to cross the state, shifting the debate over TransCanada Corp's project fully to Washington, where Republicans now in control of Congress are seeking to force its final approval.
Hours later,...
U.S. House passes Keystone XL bill, Senate to debate next week
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on January 9th, 2015
Reuters: The U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill on Friday to approve the Keystone XL oil pipeline, despite a threat by the White House to veto legislation on the project. The bill passed, 266-153, with 28 of the House Democrats voting for the pipeline, down three from a similar vote in November. The Senate will debate a similar bill early next week. President Barack Obama has said the State Department should finish its assessment of the project before he decides whether to approve it. TransCanada...
El Nino likely to head to an end over spring: Japan weather bureau
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on January 9th, 2015
Reuters: Japan's weather bureau said on Friday the El Nino weather pattern, often linked to both heavy rainfall and drought, is continuing but added that the phenomena could end over spring.
The Japan Meteorological Agency forecast said the El Nino, which emerged during last summer for the first time in five years, was already starting to ease.
The El Nino weather pattern - a warming of sea-surface temperatures in the Pacific - can trigger drought in Southeast Asia and Australia, and floods in South...
Nebraska Keystone pipeline lawsuit thrown out
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on January 9th, 2015
Associated Press: Nebraska's highest court threw out a challenge Friday to a proposed route for the Keystone XL oil pipeline, even though a majority of judges agreed the landowners who sued should have won their case. The decision removes a major roadblock for the $7 billion cross-continental project Republicans have vowed to make a key part of their 2015 agenda in Congress.
Four judges on the seven-member Nebraska Supreme Court said the landowners should have won their challenge to the 2012 state law that allowed...
Executives plead not guilty over West Virginia chemical spill: media
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on January 9th, 2015
Reuters: Thursday to charges stemming from a chemical spill that fouled drinking water for about 300,000 West Virginians, media reported.
Prosecutors in December accused Freedom Industries Inc, its former president Gary Southern and other officers of negligence and fraud after the discharge of a chemical pollutant into the Elk River near Charleston a year ago.
The leak of a chemical foam used to wash coal breached a containment area one mile (1.6 km) upstream of a water treatment and distribution plant...
Up to 70,000 homes without power as storms hit Britain
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on January 9th, 2015
Reuters: Up to 70,000 homes have been left without power in Scotland and trains canceled after high winds battered the northern parts of Britain on Friday. Britain's Met Office issued severe weather warnings for the areas after two Atlantic storms hit the country resulting in gusts of around 100 miles per hour. Scotland's train operator ScotRail, run by FirstGroup, canceled all services until further notice citing safety concerns, while the Forth Road Bridge near Edinburgh was closed temporarily. The storms...
Climate change may halve giant panda’s habitat by 2070
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on January 9th, 2015
New Scientist: GIANT pandas, prepare to move out. Shifting these creatures to distant reserves may be essential if they are to survive the likely impacts of climate change.
Pandas are well known for their pernickety bamboo diet and lacklustre sex lives. Wild populations have been reduced to a tiny gene pool and are under new pressure from the explosive growth in road-building in China. Taking these factors into account, Ming Xu of Rutgers University in New Brunswick, New Jersey, and colleagues have modelled...
Seismic series prompts Dallas suburb to examine emergency plans
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on January 9th, 2015
Reuters: Seismologists installed more earthquake-monitoring devices in the Dallas suburb of Irving on Thursday as officials examined contingency plans after a series of temblors raised concerns for the area near the former Dallas Cowboys football stadium.
The quakes this week did not cause any major damage or injuries, but were unusual in the area that is relatively free from significant seismic events.
Clay Jenkins, the top political official in Dallas County who is also responsible for emergency management,...