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Archive for June 2nd, 2015
3 Arrested in Denton As Oklahoma Joins Texas in Banning Fracking Bans
Posted by EcoWatch: Anastasia Pantsios on June 2nd, 2015
EcoWatch: The movement by states to block local citizen input into fracking operations in their backyards has spread from Texas to Oklahoma. With concerns rising after a dramatic increase in earthquakes tied to fracking injection wells, Gov. Mary Fallin signed into law Monday a bill that would block cities and counties from enacting any restrictions on drilling, fracking, pipeline construction or the disposal of the wastewater byproduct of drilling--the injection wells that have been linked to the Oklahoma...
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Panel mull opportunities addressing Western water shortage
Posted by ClimateWire: Annie Snider on June 2nd, 2015
ClimateWire: With California gripped by a record drought and broad swaths of the rest of the West dry and getting drier, the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee will this week take a deep dive into the issue.
Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) has been locked in negotiations with her upper and lower chamber colleagues, as well as the state government and federal agencies, for more than a year in search of ways to legislatively deliver more water to the desperate central and southern portions of her...
Australia given more $4 billion foreign subsidies for coal projects: Report
Posted by Morning Herald: None Given on June 2nd, 2015
Morning Herald: Australia has received more than $4 billion in money from foreign governments to fund coal projects since 2007, according to a new report highlighting the extent to which wealthy countries are still financing fossil fuels.
And Australian taxpayers have subsidised coal mines and power plants around the world to the tune of $1.4 billion through the Export Finance and Insurance Corporation, a government bank that helps finance Australian projects in other countries.
Government-owned finance institutions...
As California drought worsens, experts urge water reforms
Posted by LA Times: Monte Morin on June 2nd, 2015
LA Times: As mandatory water restrictions took effect Monday across California, a panel of experts called upon the drought-plagued state to upgrade its water infrastructure and reform its antiquated water rights system.
"The reservoirs we built in California over the 20th century were designed for a climate with extensive snowpack, and frequent wet periods," said Juliet Christian-Smith, a climate scientist with the California office of the Union of Concerned Scientists.
"We know that this drought is...
Subtle — but very real — link between global warming & extreme weather events
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on June 2nd, 2015
Washington Post: Last week, some people got really mad at Bill Nye the Science Guy. How come? Because he had the gall to say this on Twitter:
Billion$$ in damage in Texas & Oklahoma. Still no weather-caster may utter the phrase Climate Change.
Nye’s comments, and the reaction to them, raise a perennial issue: How do we accurately parse the relationship between climate change and extreme weather events, as they occur in real time?
It’s a particularly pressing question of late, following not only catastrophic...
What’s Next for Mauna Kea?
Posted by Civil Beat: None Given on June 2nd, 2015
Civil Beat: The landscape of the Thirty Meter Telescope debate shifted a bit last week as first Gov. David Ige and then University of Hawaii President David Lassner announced promised changes to the management of Mauna Kea. Telescope opponents remain unhappy with the developments and are vowing to do everything they can to stop the project.
Opinion Editor Todd Simmons and reporter Anita Hofschneider joined Pod Squad host Chad Blair for a discussion of what it all means moving ahead.
UH outlines stewardship plan for Mauna Kea
Posted by KHON: None Given on June 2nd, 2015
KHON: University of Hawaii officials apologized Monday for not meeting the community`s expectations on Mauna Kea.
In a press conference, UH President David Lassner and UH-Hilo Chancellor Donald Straney responded to the governor`s comments the previous week. That`s when the governor asked for a better stewardship plan.
UH said it is committed to making the Thirty Meter Telescope the last new observatory site developed on Mauna Kea. A plan to remove 25 percent - or three of the observatories - and...
University Hawaii to remove some telescopes from Mauna Kea
Posted by Radio Australia: None Given on June 2nd, 2015
Radio Australia: The University of Hawaii is being urged to decommission at least three of the 13 telescopes already on Mauna Kea by the time the Thirty Meter Telescope begins operations.
University of Hawaii to remove some telescopes from Mauna Kea (Credit: ABC)
The changes to stewardship arrangements on the mountain, which is held sacred by some native Hawaiians, were suggested by Governor David Ige in a speech last week.
However University of Hawaii spokesman, Daniel Meisenzahl, says many of these suggestions...
UH Ready to Move Quickly on Ige Mauna Kea Proposals
Posted by Civil Beat: Jessica Terrell and Todd Simmons on June 2nd, 2015
Civil Beat: The University of Hawaii appeared ready on Monday to move quickly in implementing virtually all of the changes called for last week by Gov. David Ige in management of its activities on Mauna Kea, where Native Hawaiian protestors have sought for weeks to block further work on the Thirty Meter Telescope project. University leaders apologized in a statement released Monday morning for not fully meeting their obligations to the mountain or the expectations of the community. At an afternoon press briefing,...
UH Announces Mauna Kea Stewardship Plan
Posted by Big Island Now: Jamilia Epping on June 2nd, 2015
Big Island Now: A joint statement from University of Hawai’i President David Lassner and UH-Hilo Chancellor Donald Straney was released Monday addressing Governor David Ige’s May 26 announcement of a plan to enhance the stewardship of Mauna Kea.
“Governor David Ige’s statement on May 26 is consistent with what we have heard from the community. We accept that the university has not yet met all of our obligations to the mountain or the expectation of the community,” Lassner and Straney said in a written statement....