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Archive for January 15th, 2016
Belo Monte dam operations delayed by Brazil court ruling on indigenous people
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on January 15th, 2016
Guardian: The start of operations at Brazil’s Belo Monte dam could be held up following a court judgment that operators have yet to provide adequate support to indigenous groups affected by the giant construction.
The world’s fourth biggest hydropower plant was due to test its first turbines within weeks on a stretch of the Xingu river in the Amazon that is a centre of ethnic and biological diversity.
But even as the reservoirs begin to fill, the controversy that has dogged the project since its inception...
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Not All Frogs Are Doomed By That Deadly Amphibian Fungus
Posted by Gizmodo: Maddie Stone on January 15th, 2016
Gizmodo: For twenty years, the deadly fungal disease Bd has been wiping out amphibians across the world. But a new study offers hope that some frogs will be spared, thanks in part to an unexpected savior: climate change.
It’s not often that we hear about positive impacts of anthropogenic climate change. And yet, a team of scientists at the Wildlife Conservation Society is now predicting that in Africa’s Albertine Rift--one of the most biodiverse places on the planet--global warming will cause Bd’s range...
Canada: Climate Change Could Slash Natives’ Fish Catches
Posted by KUOW: None Given on January 15th, 2016
KUOW: Northwest coastal tribes have counted on salmon and herring for thousands of years to fill their nets and fuel their cultures. That could change in just a few decades as warmer waters drive fish north, according to a study out this week from the University of British Columbia.
Researchers looked at 98 species that native, or First Nations, communities catch on the B.C. coast.
"What we find is that most of the species will have a decrease in potential catch and abundance by 2050," said UBC professor...
Why Does So Much U.S. Coal Come from Federal Land?
Posted by National Geographic: Christina Nunez on January 15th, 2016
National Geographic: By hitting “pause” on granting new federal coal leases, the Obama administration is facing up to an uncomfortable reality in its drive to meet climate targets: Nearly 41 percent of American coal comes from government-owned land. The price industry pays to mine that coal hasn’t changed in more than 30 years. Now, the Interior Department plans for the first time to factor impacts on the environment and human health into the deal. The shift announced Friday aims to bring a decades-old leasing policy...
Obama Halts Federal Coal Leasing Citing Climate Change
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on January 15th, 2016
Scientific American: The Obama administration on Friday brought a temporary halt to new coal mining leases on federal lands while it conducts a three-year review meant to bring coal leasing in line with U.S. climate policy.
The moratorium comes just days after Obama said in his State of the Union Address that he would push to change the way the government manages its oil and coal resources to reflect the costs they impose on both taxpayers and the planet. The moratorium takes place immediately, but does not halt coal...
Obama Halts Coal Leases on U.S. Public Lands
Posted by Environment News Service: None Given on January 15th, 2016
Environment News Service: No new coal leases will be issued on public lands while the Obama Administration conducts a comprehensive review of the federal coal program to identify and evaluate potential reforms, Interior Secretary Sally Jewell announced today.
Taxpayer-owned federal lands supply roughly 40 percent of all U.S. coal production, and mining under existing leases will continue during the review.
"Even as our nation transitions to cleaner energy sources, building on smart policies and progress already underway,...
Northeast U.S. Waters Warming Far Faster than Previously Thought, NOAA says
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on January 15th, 2016
Yale Environment 360: The ocean waters off the Northeastern United States may get even warmer, and this warming may occur twice as quickly as previously thought, according to a new study by researchers for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The findings, based on four global climate models, suggest that ocean temperatures in that region will rise three times faster than the global average. “Prior climate change projections for the region may be far too conservative,” said Vincent Saba, a NOAA fisheries...
Fracking in Alberta: daily quakes and thirsty residents
Posted by Agence France-Presse: Duc Tué Dang on January 15th, 2016
Agence France-Presse: One earthquake is recorded on average each day in a western Canadian region where companies extract oil by fracking, according to statistics published by the Canadian province's energy regulatory agency.
The Alberta Energy Regulator (AER) said Friday that in the last year alone, there were 363 tremors in and around Fox Creek, a small town of 2,000 inhabitants located 260 kilometers (160 miles) northwest of Edmonton.
Some days, seismic activity is higher, such as on September 11, 2015, when...
‘Another Nail in the Coffin’: Obama Set to Overhaul Coal Leasing on Public Lands
Posted by EcoWatch: None Given on January 15th, 2016
EcoWatch: The Obama administration announced today new rules for how the federal government manages and leases coal reserves on public lands. The move adds significant momentum to the growing campaign by climate activists to stop new fossil fuel extraction on public lands and calls to “keep it in the ground.”
White House set to issue major new rule on coal mining on public lands: https://t.co/K16t8HHD11 pic.twitter.com/DmgzvDeD2h
-- Wilderness Society (@Wilderness) January 15, 2016
“The only safe...
South Africa suffers driest year on record in 2015
Posted by Reuters: Ed Stoddard on January 15th, 2016
Reuters: South Africa suffered its driest year on record in 2015, the national weather service said on Thursday, as a drought that has threatened the vital maize crop and hit economic growth showed no sign of abating.
Average rainfall was 403 mm, about a third less than the 608 mm annual average and the driest since records began in 1904, the service added.
The agricultural sector is being hammered by weeks of heat waves that have scorched grazing land, forcing livestock owners to kill or sell animals....