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Archive for September 10th, 2015
This drought is so bad that even Seattle is running out of water
Posted by Grist: None Given on September 10th, 2015
Grist: Hey, Seattle. Remember last winter? How pleasantly warm and dry it was, almost like you live somewhere reasonable and not in a pool of tepid water near Canada? Well, you’re paying for it now. In a new article on Investigate West, reporter Robert McClure looks at the future of the city’s dwindling supply, and the results are Not Good. Representatives from Seattle Public Utilities showed McClure models based on simulations of future climate patterns, and the forecast is quite bleak. McClure writes:...
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Enbridge’s Aging Tar Sands Pipelines Beneath Great Lakes Are ‘Ticking Time Bomb’
Posted by EcoWatch: None Given on September 10th, 2015
EcoWatch: The Straits of Mackinac is a narrow waterway that separates Michigan`s lower peninsula from its upper peninsula. The straights connect two of the Great Lakes: Lake Huron and Lake Michigan. But underneath this iconic part of the Great Lakes are two 62-year old pipelines.
The pipelines have never been replaced, despite the well-documented risk of a rupture. "If just one of the pipelines ruptured, it would result in a spill of 1.5 million gallons of oil--and that’s if Enbridge, the company that owns...
One of the World’s Largest Universities Divests From Coal & Oil Sands
Posted by EcoWatch: None Given on September 10th, 2015
EcoWatch: Yielding to pressure from campaigners across the state who spent years pushing the University of California (UC) to divest its holdings from fossil fuels, the university system’s chief investment officer announced yesterday that the $91 billion fund would begin by pulling all direct investments out of coal and tar sands mining companies. Those investments, totaling $200 million, have already been removed.
Incredible news -- University of California dumps coal & oil sands investments: http://t.co/IIQQJ5e4ax...
4 western states could see warmest year on record
Posted by Climate Central: Andrea Thompson on September 10th, 2015
Climate Central: August is synonymous with sweltering summer heat, and that was certainly the name of the game for much of the country this year, temperature data released Wednesday shows. Those sultry temperatures helped two western states see their warmest summers on record, and could help push those and others to their warmest year on record.
August also helped bolster the average temperature for the contiguous states, which saw their 12th warmest summer and ninth warmest year-to-date in the last 121 years,...
Leaked Letters Show U.K. Supports Bid by Fossil Fuel Firms to Scrap E.U. Fracking Rules
Posted by Guardian: Arthur Neslen on September 10th, 2015
Guardian: The UK government has added its weight to a behind-the-scenes lobbying drive by oil and gas firms including BP, Chevron, Shell and ExxonMobil to persuade EU leaders to scrap a series of environmental safety measures for fracking, according to leaked letters seen by the Guardian.
The deregulatory push against safety measures, which could include the monitoring of on-site methane leaks and capture of gases and volatile compounds that might otherwise be vented, appears to go against assurances from...