RSS Feed
Archive for July 15th, 2015
Mercury scrubbers at power plant lower other pollution too
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on July 15th, 2015
ScienceDaily: Air pollution controls installed at an Oregon coal-fired power plant to curb mercury emissions are unexpectedly reducing another class of harmful emissions as well, an Oregon State University study has found. Portland General Electric added emission control systems at its generating plant in Boardman, Oregon, in 2011 to capture and remove mercury from the exhaust. Before-and-after measurements by a team of OSU scientists found that concentrations of two major groups of air pollutants went down...
Posted in 
Hydraulic fracturing linked to increases in hospitalization rates in the Marcellus Shale
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on July 15th, 2015
ScienceDaily: Hospitalizations for heart conditions, neurological illness, and other conditions were higher among people who live near unconventional gas and oil drilling (hydraulic fracturing), according to new research from the University of Pennsylvania and Columbia University published this week in PLOS ONE. Over the past ten years in the United States, hydraulic fracturing has experienced a meteoric increase. Due to substantial increases in well drilling, potential for air and water pollution posing a health...
Heavier Rains Mean More Toxic Blooms for Lake Erie
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on July 15th, 2015
Climate Central: Come September, Lake Erie might face a toxic algae bloom that could rival the record-setting spread of scum that happened in 2011. And such blooms could become more common as the warming climate fuels more downpours that wash bloom-fueling fertilizers into the lake.
Green filaments of a toxic algae bloom stretch across the western portion of Lake Erie in this satellite image captured in October 2011. That year's bloom was the largest on record for the lake.
The forecasts for a severe bloom...
Wildfire Worries Rage In Typically ‘Wet’ Washington State
Posted by National Public Radio: Kirk Siegler on July 15th, 2015
National Public Radio: The iconic forests of the Pacific Northwest — with their towering, moss-covered fir and pine trees — have never been this dry. The grass underneath the ferns has already turned gold. Of the five large wildfires burning in Washington alone right now, one has scorched more than 1,500 acres of a rainforest on the typically misty Olympic Peninsula. The wildfire threat in the drought-stricken Pacific Northwest right now is extraordinary, and there are concerns that the region may not be prepared for...
Temperature swings caused by climate change increase death rate
Posted by Ars Technica: Cathleen O'Grady on July 15th, 2015
Ars Technica: We know that climate change promises to increase average temperatures, but we don’t yet understand exactly what kinds of variability this may introduce on a local level. We also know that extreme temperatures are dangerous for people, but our overall understanding of the relationship between fluctuating seasonal temperatures and health is pretty poor.
It’s important to figure out how different temperatures affect people’s health so that health systems can be adapted to prepare for the effects...
Sanders Calls Out Clinton’s Silence on Keystone XL
Posted by EcoWatch: Anastasia Pantsios on July 15th, 2015
EcoWatch: Presidential candidate Hillary Clinton met behind closed doors with House and Senate Democrats Tuesday to talk about her positions on key issues. According to the members of Congress who attended the lunch, she told them that climate change can be a winning issue for Democrats, especially among younger voters, if they can develop a message to persuade voters that action is essential. “She was incredible,” said Maryland Sen. Ben Cardin. “She really relates [climate change] to the current political...
Suncor oil sands project aims replace steam with radio waves
Posted by Reuters: Nia Williams on July 15th, 2015
Reuters: Suncor Energy Inc has launched a pilot project to replace the high-pressure steam used to extract bitumen from oil sands with radio frequency technology developed by U.S. defence contractor Harris Corporation. Canada's largest oil and gas company, which produces 440,000 barrels per day from Alberta's oil sands, said on Tuesday that the technology could significantly reduce costs, greenhouse gas emissions and water usage. Alberta's oil sands are the world's third-largest crude reserves after Saudi...
Texas’ climate stubbornness takes an increasingly big toll
Posted by InsideClimate: Katherine Bagley on July 15th, 2015
InsideClimate: The Texas flooding in May that pulled houses off foundations and swamped city streets provided a glimpse of what scientists have long warned could be its new norm because of global warming. But it did nothing to sway the state's politicians, who have done next to nothing to adjust to a climate that is already bringing more damaging extreme weather. Scientist have warned for years that Texas will suffer from longer and hotter periods of drought punctuated by heavier, more damaging rainfall as the...
Sanders challenges Clinton on Keystone
Posted by Hill: Timothy Cama on July 15th, 2015
Hill: Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders challenged his rival Hillary Clinton Tuesday to take a stand against the Keystone XL oil pipeline.
Speaking with reporters in the Capitol, Sanders he took a leadership role in Democrats’ fight against the proposed Canada-to-Texas pipeline, while Clinton has been silent on the project.
“I have helped lead the opposition against the Keystone pipeline,” the Vermont senator said. “I think Secretary Clinton has not been clear on her views on...
Enbridge slammed for information gaps in Straits oil pipeline report
Posted by MLive: Garret Ellison on July 15th, 2015
MLive: Assurances from Enbridge Energy that the company's twin oil pipelines under the Straits of Mackinac are in "excellent" condition and pose "minimal" risks of a spill are not enough to resolve existing public concerns about the line's potential threat to the Great Lakes and Michigan's economy. That's one of several key concerns outlined in a state pipeline safety task force report released July 14, recommending, among other actions, an immediate third-party analysis and risk assessment of the aging...