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Archive for July 2nd, 2015
Telescope protesters gather at Kamehameha statue in Honolulu
Posted by Associated Press: Jennifer Sinco Kelleher on July 2nd, 2015
Associated Press: Many of the protesters opposed to plans for a giant telescope atop Mauna Kea came down from the mountain for a large gathering Wednesday around the King Kamehameha statue in Honolulu. As protesters who have been camping on the Big Island mountain traveled to Oahu, three or so remained behind in case workers attempt to resume construction of the Thirty Meter Telescope, said Kahookahi Kanuha, one of the leaders against the $1.4 billion project. Kanuha led a news conference Wednesday at the base of...
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Water Usage Fracking Has Increased Dramatically, Study Shows
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on July 2nd, 2015
Yale Environment 360: Oil and natural gas fracking requires 28 times more water now than it did 15 years ago, according to a study by the U.S. Geological Survey. The increased water demand is attributed to the development of new, water-intensive technologies that target fossil fuels in complicated geological formations, the researchers say. The amount of water used varies greatly with location, the study found. A fracking operation in southern Illinois, for example, can use as little as 2,600 gallons of water each time...
Fracking could impact house prices and environment, admits government report
Posted by Blue and Green: None Given on July 2nd, 2015
Blue and Green: A newly released government report has admitted that houses close to fracking operations in the UK could see their value fall by up to 7% and the process could cause environmental damage.
The report was published in full for the first time this week after a decision by data watchdog the Information Commissioner’s Office forced the government to publish the unredacted report. The government has stated the paper is “not analytically robust” and includes “early, often vague, assumptions which are...
Germany to Shutter Large Coal Plants
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on July 2nd, 2015
Guardian: Germany agreed on Thursday to mothball about five of the country’s largest brown coal power plants to meet its climate goals by 2020, after months of wrangling between the parties in chancellor Angela Merkel’s coalition. But Merkel and the leaders of her two junior coalition partners also, in effect, agreed to set up a “capacity reserve” system where utilities could switch on the brown coal plants if there were power shortages in the country. An economy ministry spokesman said the decision on brown...
Alaska wildfires char nearly 2 million acres, send smoke to South Carolina
Posted by Mashable: None Given on July 2nd, 2015
Mashable: Alaska is on track to have one of its worst wildfire seasons on record, propelled by a combination of warming average temperatures, a historically mild, relatively snowless winter and extremely mild spring. So far this year, 1.88 million acres have gone up in smoke, from 617 individual fires. June 2015 beat June of 2004 in terms of both number of fires and amount of acres burned, which means this year is now outpacing the state's worst wildfire season ever recorded. With hundreds of fires still...
Fracking could hurt house prices, health and environment, official report says
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on July 2nd, 2015
Guardian: Fracking operations to extract shale gas in Britain could cause nearby house prices to fall by up to 7% and create a risk of environmental damage, according to a government report that has been published in full for the first time.
Entitled Shale Gas Rural Economy Impacts, the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra) document was released on Wednesday after a freedom of information battle.
An official assessment of the impact of fracking, it warned that leakage of waste fluids...
Californians Dramatically Cut Water Use in May
Posted by LA Times: Monte Morin and Matt Stevens on July 2nd, 2015
LA Times: Drought-weary California received encouraging news Wednesday when officials announced that residential water use had dropped 29% during the month of May -- the first real indication that the state might meet unprecedented conservation reductions imposed by Gov. Jerry Brown. The cut in water usage suggests the aggressive campaign to get residents to change their lifestyle -- by taking shorter showers, replacing grass with drought-tolerant landscaping and buying water-efficient appliances -- is taking...