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Archive for May, 2015
Latest US proposal for ethanol could have political fallout
Posted by Associated Press: Mary Clare Jalonick on May 29th, 2015
Associated Press: The Obama administration's latest plan on ethanol, the corn-based renewable fuel, probably will not have a major effect on pump prices, but could have political reverberations in Iowa and other farm states in the 2016 presidential campaign. Under the proposed rule announced Friday, the amount of ethanol in the gasoline supply would increase in coming years, just not as much as set out under federal law. That approach drew criticism from ethanol and farm groups that have pushed to keep high volumes...
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California Largest Lake Drying Up Amid Epic Drought
Posted by EcoWatch: None Given on May 29th, 2015
EcoWatch: The Salton Sea, a huge, shallow manmade lake located in the Sonoran Desert in California`s Imperial and Coachella valleys, has had problems for years. Its increasing saltiness has killed off most of its once-abundant fish species. Its shrinking water level has caused a reduction in water available for agricultural use, along with many dramatic photos of exposed lakebed and abandoned towns that were once seaside resorts. While the sea is no longer a resort destination for Hollywood celebrities as...
Why We Need to End Mountaintop Removal Now
Posted by EcoWatch: None Given on May 29th, 2015
EcoWatch: A short video released this week has stunningly detailed drone footage providing a rare view of mountaintop removal coal mining and the increasing proximity of this destructive form of mining to people living in Appalachia. The video includes interviews with local citizens who want to end mountaintop removal mining and transition their communities in a more just and sustainable way.
Trip Jennings, an award-winning videographer who has worked with National Geographic, produced the video in partnership...
Keystone Pipeline Wins Two Legal Battles in South Dakota
Posted by Rapid City Journal: Bob Mercer on May 29th, 2015
Rapid City Journal: he developers of the Keystone XL pipeline on Tuesday won two legal battles before the South Dakota Public Utilities Commission. As a result, a tribal environmental group has lost its bid to present testimony on climate change at a pipeline-permit hearing this summer, and TransCanada, the pipeline developer, will not face severe penalties requested by pipeline opponents. The Intertribal COUP organization planned to offer three scientists to testify about tar-sands development and climate change....
Great Barrier Reef evades danger list
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on May 29th, 2015
BBC: The Great Barrier Reef should not go on a World Heritage danger list, according to a United Nations draft report.
However, it says Australia must carry out commitments to protect the reef, including restoring water quality and restricting new port developments.
The final decision on its status will be made at the World Heritage Committee meeting in Germany next month.
Conservationists have warned that the outlook for the reef is "poor".
A report published in 2014 concluded that the condition...
Climate change blamed as thousands die in Indian heat
Posted by Financial Times: None Given on May 29th, 2015
Financial Times: High quality global journalism requires investment. Please share this article with others using the link below, do not cut & paste the article. See our Ts&Cs and Copyright Policy for more detail. Email ftsales.support@ft.com to buy additional rights. http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/d66381fc-05dd-11e5-b676-00144feabdc0.html#ixzz3bheclh6l For the wealthy of India, the annual heatwave before the monsoon is inconvenient, especially when water stored in black tanks on the roof becomes too hot to use for a...
Paris chefs hit the roofs with wave of gastro gardens
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on May 29th, 2015
Agence France-Presse: In the shadow of the Eiffel Tower, a chef in a tall white toque bobs between great bushes of herbs as busy as the bees buzzing through beds of strawberries and tomatoes.
Even slap bang in the middle of Paris, chefs are taking the slogan "eat local" to heart, planting kitchen gardens on the roofs of their restaurants.
Ogier Pottiez, 30, of the Frame restaurant at the Pullman Paris Tour Eiffel, fills his basket with strawberries and mixed salad leaves as he hunts down purple chive flowers with...
Hawaii’s Thirty Meter Telescope protesters vow to stay, despite construction resuming
Posted by Radio Australia: None Given on May 29th, 2015
Radio Australia: Construction of the Thirty Meter Telescope on Hawaii's Mauna Kea is set to continue despite a wave of protest, after Governor David Ige announced his reluctant support for the project. But the Governor is insisting on major changes to stewardship of the mountain which is held sacred by indigenous Hawaiians. The leaseholder, The University of Hawaii, will have to decommission at least three or four of the 13 telescopes already on Mauna Kea, by the time TMT is ready to go into operation. The university...
India’s extreme heat wave, in pictures
Posted by Telegraph: Telegraph Staff on May 29th, 2015
Telegraph: Soaring temperatures have gripped parts of India in an extreme heat wave. Lying in the shade and splashing into rivers, Indians are doing whatever they can to stay cool during a brutal heat wave that has killed more than 1,400 in the past month.
Australia confident Great Barrier Reef not ‘in danger’
Posted by Agence France-Press: None Given on May 29th, 2015
Agence France-Press: Australia said Friday it was confident it had done enough to prevent the United Nations from listing the Great Barrier Reef, the world's biggest coral reef ecosystem, as being 'in danger'.
Amid concerns about planned coastal developments, including ports, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) is set to announce overnight a draft decision on the site, which teems with marine life.
"They can see we are doing real work to improve the reef," Environment Minister...