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Archive for December 31st, 2015
LA’s Gas Leak Is a Global Disaster
Posted by Gizmodo: None Given on December 31st, 2015
Gizmodo: ne of the worst environmental disasters of the decade is currently underway in a quiet community 25 miles northwest of Los Angeles. Putrid, methane-rich natural gas has been spewing into the air at an estimated rate of nearly 1,300 metric tons per day for over two months. Experts are calling it the climate version of the BP oil spill, and the leak isn’t going to be contained anytime soon.
Natural gas is often touted as a cleaner energy source than oil or coal, because of the lower greenhouse gas...
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Big Oil braced for global warming while fought regulations
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on December 31st, 2015
LA Times: A few weeks before seminal climate change talks in Kyoto back in 1997, Mobil Oil took out a bluntly worded advertisement in the New York Times and Washington Post. “Let’s face it: The science of climate change is too uncertain to mandate a plan of action that could plunge economies into turmoil,” the ad said. “Scientists cannot predict with certainty if temperatures will increase, by how much and where changes will occur.” One year earlier, though, engineers at Mobil Oil were concerned enough about...
North Pole melting point under freak ‘heatwave’
Posted by Mirror: None Given on December 31st, 2015
Mirror: Temperatures at the North Pole rose above freezing point and came close to the melting point on Wednesday; 20 degrees Celsius above the mid-winter norm, the region was hotter than some of the major cities in Europe and the United States. According to ocean measurements from the North Pole Environmental Observatory, the mercury tipped -1.9°C (28.6°F) on Wednesday as the Arctic bathed in an unseasonably warm spell. Weather authorities blamed Wednesday's temperature spike on the freak depression which...
Land company fires worker for slurs toward protesters
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on December 31st, 2015
Associated Press: A Pennsylvania property maintenance company has fired a worker caught on video using racial slurs toward anti-fracking activists. WPXI-TV (http://bit.ly/1IG1dX6 ) in Pittsburgh says the incident happened outside the offices of Rex Energy, a drilling firm, in Mars. That's about 30 miles north of Pittsburgh. The man worked for MMC Land Management, which maintains commercial properties, and was apparently angered that people were picketing the drilling firm. After harassing the picketers, the MMC...
South Africa’s rhinos ‘could be extinct in 10 years’
Posted by BBC: Nomsa Maseko on December 31st, 2015
BBC: Africa's rhino population could face extinction within 10 years, animal welfare experts have warned.
South Africa has the largest population of the species in the world but their existence is under threat from poaching.
Demand from Asian markets for their horns has led to a dramatic increase in the numbers killed. It is thought more than 1,000 rhinos have been killed in South Africa's game reserves in 2015 alone.