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Archive for June, 2015
Which oil and gas companies are leaking the most methane?
Posted by ClimateWire: Gayathri Vaidyanathan on June 29th, 2015
ClimateWire: Over the years, ConocoPhillips -- an energy company so rich that it earns as much in a year as Croatia -- has positioned itself as a good guy among its peers when it comes to greenhouse gas pollution. It is a member of a U.N.-led initiative to reduce emissions of methane, a potent greenhouse gas that is the primary component of natural gas. In the United States, it is a longtime participator in U.S. EPA's voluntary program to curb methane leaks. In January, Ryan Lance, CEO of ConocoPhillips, said...
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Alberta puts pressure on oil sands with plan double carbon fee
Posted by ClimateWire: Benjamin Hulac on June 29th, 2015
ClimateWire: The top environmental official in Alberta -- home to the Canadian oil patch that would be the point of origin for the proposed Keystone XL pipeline -- announced yesterday that the province will raise its carbon price next year. Shannon Phillips, Alberta's minister of environment and parks, said the exiting fee of $15 per metric ton will climb to $20 per metric ton in 2016 and $30 per ton in 2017.
"Our regulations are now obsolete," said Phillips, telling reporters that the current regulations...
How coastland development ‘blue carbon’ contributes to climate change
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on June 29th, 2015
Sydney Morning Herald: Coastal developers should be paying to offset air pollution – not from their bulldozers and or dredging barges, but from the tonnes of ancient carbon released into the atmosphere when wetlands are drained and dug up.
This is the view of Dr Peter Macreadie, award-winning marine ecologist and Australian Research Council Fellow, who has just completed the first major survey of "blue carbon" stocks along 2000 kilometres of Victorian coastline.
Blue carbon is stored many metres deep in the sediment...
British Columbia is looking at a new approach to tackling climate change – adaptation
Posted by Globe and Mail: Justine Hunter on June 29th, 2015
Globe and Mail: Premier Christy Clark just handed out her cabinet ministers' assignments for the coming year, laying out their responsibilities and pet projects.
Balance the budget, keep government lean, secure the generational opportunity of liquefied natural gas - all the usual themes are there. But buried in the bottom of the priorities list is one new task that signals her government has started to grasp the inescapable impact of climate change.
"Working with the Ministry of Environment, undertake an analysis...
California oil spill cleanup continues as state may allow expanded production
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on June 29th, 2015
Guardian: Just over a month after California experienced its worst oil spill in decades, the state is considering allowing a company to triple its oil production off the coast of Santa Barbara and run the oil through the same pipeline that leaked on 19 May.
Both oil producers Venoco and ExxonMobil had to halt operations in the region this week as crews continued repairing the ruptured pipeline and cleaning the beaches surrounding it. But that didn’t stop regulators at the State Lands Commission from holding...
Supreme Court rejects Obama drive to cut power plant emissions
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on June 29th, 2015
Huffington Post: The Supreme Court on Monday ruled against an Environmental Protection Agency regulation limiting mercury and other toxic emissions from power plants, undermining the Obama administration's drive to cut pollution from electricity generators.
The case looked at the EPA's regulation of mercury and other emissions from power plants under the Clean Air Act, which Republicans have attacked as a "war on coal" and an example of presidential overreach.
The EPA interpreted the law "unreasonably" when...
U.S. Supreme Court rejects BP, Anadarko over Deepwater Horizon spill penalties
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on June 29th, 2015
Reuters: The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday rejected bids by BP Plc(BP.L) and Anadarko Petroleum Corp(APC.N) to avoid penalties under federal pollution law in connection with the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill.
The high court left in place a June 2014 ruling by the New Orleans-based 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which said the companies were liable for civil penalties under the federal Clean Water Act.
The April 20, 2010, Deepwater Horizon drilling rig explosion and Macondo oil well rupture killed...
El Nino-spawned dry spell to hit Philippine food production
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on June 29th, 2015
Agence France-Presse: The Philippines is facing an El Nino-spawned dry spell that will cut rainfall by as much as 80 percent and hit food production, a government weather forecaster warned Monday.
"There will be many places that we expect to have below normal rainfall as early as August," warned Anthony Lucero, head of the climate monitoring and weather prediction division of the government weather station.
Most places in the Philippines are expected to have 'below normal' to 'way below normal' rainfall due to El...
Fracking: What is it, why is it so contentious – and how important will it be for the UK?
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on June 29th, 2015
Independent: Plans to start fracking at a site in Lancashire have been rejected by local councillors in a move welcomed with a sigh of relief by opponents. But why is there such concern over what could be a burgeoning industry in the UK? ADVERTISEMENT 1. What is fracking? Hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, is the technique used to release oil and gas from shale by blasting a mixture of sand, chemicals and water into the rock. 2. Why is it so contentious? It has been linked to water and air pollution in the...
Protecting Mauna Kea: We Are Satisfied With The Stones
Posted by Free Press: Will Falk on June 29th, 2015
Free Press: Contributor Will Falk has been working and living with protesters on Mauna Kea who are attempting to block construction of an 18-story astronomical observatory with an Extremely Large Telescope (ELT). Opposition in Hawaii to the building of the telescope is based on concerns about potential disruption to the fragile alpine environment and the fact that Mauna Kea is a sacred site for the Native Hawaiian culture. On June 24th, agents with the Department of Land and Natural Resources abandoned an attempt...