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Archive for November 7th, 2015
California drought shrinks winter digs for migratory birds
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on November 7th, 2015
Reuters: With their red heads, 7-foot (2.13 m) wingspan and a trilling call, migrating Sandhill Cranes provide a dramatic sunset spectacle as they land by the thousands in wetlands near Sacramento each night during the fall and winter. But the state's ongoing drought has left the cranes, along with millions of other waterfowl that migrate from Canada and other northern climes to spend the winter in California, with fewer places to land, threatening their health as they crowd in on one another to seek shelter...
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Oil-Town Dependents React To To The Keystone XL Rejection
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on November 7th, 2015
National Public Radio: The Keystone XL pipeline would have transported a large portion of Canada's oil to U.S. refineries. Residents of Alberta, many whom depend on the oil boom, are trying to figure out what's next.
Up to 10 people missing from village near Brazil dam burst: mayor
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on November 7th, 2015
Reuters: The death toll from two collapsed dams at a Brazilian mine will surely rise in coming days, a local mayor said on Saturday, as up to 10 residents of the nearest village remain missing in addition to 13 miners.
So far one worker has been confirmed dead in what the governor of mineral-rich Minas Gerais described as the state's worst environmental disaster.
"The death toll will rise for sure ... The number of missing will rise because we're talking to the residents of Bento (Rodrigues) and some...
US won’t fight judge who wants new look at Montana coal mine
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on November 7th, 2015
Associated Press: The U.S. Interior Department says it won’t fight a judge’s recommendation for the agency to take a new look at the environmental effects of burning fuel from Montana’s largest coal mine. But government attorneys said the work will take longer than the six months proposed by U.S. Magistrate Judge Carolyn Ostby. They want eight months to do the work, in a case where environmentalists sued citing climate change and other impacts from coal mining. Spring Creek owner Cloud Peak Energy filed objections...
Size of Keystone XL pipeline fight overshadows impact
Posted by Columbus Dispatch: None Given on November 7th, 2015
Columbus Dispatch: The fight over the Keystone XL pipeline had all the elements of a classic Washington scrap: protests, political ads and lobbyists on retainer. What was sometimes missing in the seven-year struggle, energy analysts say, was an accurate accounting of the project’s impact on the environment or the economy, the twin issues that drove the debate. Environmentalists said Keystone XL, which TransCanada Corp. first applied to build in 2008, raised the risks of climate change. But a U.S. environmental review...
Canadians ‘disappointed’ Keystone XL pipeline decision but not surprised
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on November 7th, 2015
Guardian: The Obama administration’s decision to kill the Keystone XL pipeline met with disappointment and derision – though little surprise – in Calgary, the boomtown-turned-bust capital of Canada’s oil industry. It also induced some provincial angst as Alberta attempts to open new markets for a product that floats rough 50% of its economy.
“A lot of people feel that the industry is down and keeps getting kicked,” said Jonathan Denis, a former Alberta attorney general and assistant energy minister. “The...
How Stephen Harper’s old schoolmate helped kill the Keystone XL pipeline
Posted by Canadian Press: Alexander Panetta on November 7th, 2015
Canadian Press: One of the great ironies of the interminable saga of Keystone XL is that two of its principal antagonists were unaware that they went to grade school together. In the midst of one of the biggest environmental fights in American politics, the best-known activist on one side learned of his distant connection to the most powerful politician on the other: Stephen Harper. So these old grade-school alumni duked it out from a distance as the pipeline escalated from a regional land dispute to international...
Two Dead in Brazilian Iron Mine Tailings Dam Collapse
Posted by Environment News Service: None Given on November 7th, 2015
Environment News Service: Two people are dead and at least 13 others are missing after two tailings dams collapsed Thursday at an iron mine near the rural village of Bento Rodrigues in the state of Minas Gerais.
The Fundão and Santarém dams belonging to the mining company burst November 5 at around 4:30 in the afternoon, flooding the area with mud, solid waste and water residue from mining operations.
The village of Bento Rodrigues is covered in mud from the collapse of two tailings dams. Nov. 6, 2015 (Photo courtesy...
French envoy says Trudeau will push others on climate at Paris talks
Posted by Toronto Star: Mike Blanchfield on November 7th, 2015
Toronto Star: The Trudeau government’s pro-environment stance will inspire other reluctant countries to sign on to an ambitious agreement at the upcoming Paris climate change conference, France’s ambassador said Friday.
Nicolas Chapuis said that even though it’s still early days, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has indicated he will play an influential role.
“He’s going to come with something. We expect it will rally those who are still not totally comfortable with the agreement,” Chapuis told The Canadian...
Obama Kills Keystone XL Tar Sands Pipeline
Posted by Environment News Service: None Given on November 7th, 2015
Environment News Service: TransCanada`s Keystone XL tar sands pipeline is dead, at least for the remainder of President Barack Obama`s term in office. Today, after six years of research and protest demonstrations, Obama denied the project the Presidential Permit it needed to cross the Canada-U.S. border.
Speaking from the White House, the President said, "Several years ago, the State Department began a review process for the proposed construction of a pipeline that would carry Canadian crude oil through our heartland to...