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Archive for August 12th, 2015
Fracking Chemicals Linked to Cancer, According to New Report
Posted by EcoWatch: None Given on August 12th, 2015
EcoWatch: The fluids used for hydraulic fracturing in California oil wells contain dozens of hazardous chemicals linked to cancer, hormone disruption and reproductive system damage, according to a new report by Environmental Working Group (EWG).
In the analysis, “California’s Toxic Fracking Fluids: The Chemical Recipe," EWG deconstructs drilling companies’ use of 200 unique chemicals in nearly 700 wells across the state, with each company deploying around two dozen chemicals. These chemicals have the potential...
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US Environmentalists Urge Obama to Stop Exporting Natural Gas
Posted by Sputnik: None Given on August 12th, 2015
Sputnik: The United States should stop natural gas export because it contributes to global warming, affects local communities and drives US energy prices up, the Center for Biological Diversity senior counsel Bill Snape said in a statement on Wednesday upon issuing a petition urging the ban.
"The time is now to end the environmental and economic disaster of natural gas exports,' Snape said. "Exporting natural gas worsens global warming, harms local communities, raises domestic energy prices and benefits...
How the West’s drought is affecting lung health
Posted by U.S. News: None Given on August 12th, 2015
U.S. News: In explaining how the sustained drought in California and other parts of the West might be affecting people living through it, experts point not only to parched ground but to the hazy skies.
Specifically, the spikes in so-called particulate matter, or particle pollution, that obscures views, resulting from blazes sparked in the prolonged dry heat. "I think the clearest link between drought conditions and respiratory health is mediated by increased frequency and severity of wildland fires," says...
Canadian Govn’t Spends Millions to Covertly Promote Oil Sands
Posted by Guardian: Martin Lukacs on August 12th, 2015
Guardian: Canada’s Conservative government spent several million dollars on a tar sands advocacy fund as its push to export the oil faltered, documents reveal.
In its 2013 budget, the government invested $30 million over two years on public relations advertising and domestic and international “outreach activities” to promote Alberta’s tar sands.
The outreach activities, which cost $4.5 million and were never publicly disclosed, included efforts to “advance energy literacy amongst BC First Nations communities.”...
New evacuations ordered as California wildfires spread
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on August 12th, 2015
LA Times: Wildfires across the state are burning more than 200,000 acres, chewing through dry brush and parched forests while forcing the evacuation of dozens of residents.
In the Six Rivers National Forest, near the northwestern corner of the state, more than 5,000 firefighters are battling a string of blazes totaling nearly 70,000 acres, said U.S. Forest Service spokeswoman Peggi Lawrence.
Lightning storms ignited the fires in late July and they have continued to burn as firefighters navigate steep,...
New Orleans’ Future Depends on Coastal Restoration, But Who Is Footing the Bill?
Posted by Times-Picayune: None Given on August 12th, 2015
Times-Picayune: The finalists among the slogan contest run by the Dirty Coast clothing store to commemorate Hurricane Katrina's anniversary sum up the hopes of many South Louisiana residents: "Keep Land in Our Wetlands," "Save the Boot," "The World Needs More Louisiana," "Let The River Run Through It," "Greaux the Delta, Greaux Our Home."
Those demands are the ones the state Legislature has recognized by supporting the state's Master Plan, a $50 billion, 50-year outline that split its proposed resources between...
Panama declares drought emergency
Posted by Agence France-Presse: Juan José Rodríguez on August 12th, 2015
Agence France-Presse: Panama's government has declared a state of emergency as it faces a drought that has prompted water restrictions, depleted reservoirs and affected shipping through its bustling canal.
The government blamed the El Nino weather phenomenon for the major drought. The state of emergency declared Tuesday also sets up a government board tasked with rushing to deliver a water security plan in under four months.
"El Nino" refers to the abnormal warming of surface waters in the tropical sections of the...
Report details which chemicals used in California fracking fluids
Posted by Fuel Fix: Jennifer A. Dlouhy on August 12th, 2015
Fuel Fix: A vast array of ingredients make up the chemical cocktails that energy companies pump into wells to stimulate oil and gas production, according to a report released Wednesday.
The analysis, conducted by the Environmental Working Group using data from California wells, shines a spotlight on the makeup of the fluids used in the hydraulic fracturing process, also known as fracking. The technique involves sending that “frac fluid”-- often a mixture of sand, water and chemicals-- into wells to open...
Shade may mitigate invasive plant presence and richness
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on August 12th, 2015
PhysOrg: Does more shade limit the presence of invasive plants along streams and rivers? That intriguing possibility was suggested in "Habitat limitations on invasive communities in urban riparian areas," which was posted online by Invasive Plant Science and Management. The authors are Robert J. Warren II, assistant professor of biology; Daniel L. Potts, associate professor of biology, and Kelly Frothingham, chair and professor of geography and planning.
The study included 348 sites along 12 streams in...