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Archive for February 20th, 2016
The oil industry: From bustling to busting
Posted by Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: Denise Marquez on February 20th, 2016
Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: Just a few years ago, the oil and gas industry was booming and seemed to offer an unlimited amount of jobs, but fast forward to 2015 when oil prices hit their lowest levels in more than a decade and countless businesses are cutting costs and laying off workers.
Tens of thousands of oil field workers have already been laid off throughout Texas with more coming in 2016 if oil prices remain low, according to local experts in the oil and gas industry.
Those who are still employed are disheartened...
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Flint water crisis: EPA concerned with ‘inadequate’ state and city response
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on February 20th, 2016
Guardian: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has said it has serious concerns over the “inadequate” response to the Flint toxic water crisis by both the city and Michigan officials, pointing to a lack of expert help on the ground and a failure to provide a proper water treatment plan.
In a letter to the Michigan department of environmental quality (MDEQ), Mark Pollins, director of the EPA’s water enforcement division, said Flint has “not yet demonstrated that it has an adequate number of qualified...
Building industry poised to double green certifications by 2018
Posted by Greenbiz: None Given on February 20th, 2016
Greenbiz: Demand for green certified buildings is continuing to soar with the market doubling every three years.
That is the central conclusion of a major new report backed by the World Green Building Council (WGBC), which found that a sharp increase in interest in green buildings in emerging markets such as China, India and the Middle East will see demand for green certification double as early as 2018.
The report, carried out by Dodge Data & Analytics and United Technologies Corporation with support...
Scientists attack their ‘muzzling’ by government
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on February 20th, 2016
Guardian: Senior scientists have denounced a potential move to “muzzle” colleagues whose findings are disliked by the government. British researchers get green light to genetically modify human embryos Read more The proposal – announced by the Cabinet Office earlier this month – would block researchers who receive government grants from using their results to lobby for changes to laws or regulations. For example, an academic whose government-funded research showed that new regulations were proving particularly...
Porter Ranch leak puts mysterious methane in spotlight
Posted by San Diego Union-Tribune: Lisa Margonelli on February 20th, 2016
San Diego Union-Tribune: Methane is a democratic molecule. You make it, I make it, cows and coal mines emit it. So do termites and multinational oil companies. When NASA looks for life on other planets, they don’t look for little green men, they scan for methane. Methane is the ultimate sign of life — though a massively mysterious, and invisible, one. The mysteries surrounding methane remind us that we barely know our own planet. For as long as we’ve had an oil and gas industry, we’ve had methane leaks from pipelines,...
West Virginia Senate advances two bills to aid gas drillers
Posted by Gazette Mail: David Gutman on February 20th, 2016
Gazette Mail: The West Virginia Senate advanced two bills Thursday to ease restrictions on the oil and gas industry, potentially at the expense of landowners.
One bill, which limits property owners’ ability to file lawsuits when their property has been devalued, has potentially much further reaching effects, although much of the discussion focused on oil and gas drilling.
The bill (SB 508) gives businesses virtual immunity from private “nuisance lawsuits” so long as the business does not violate a law, regulation...
Scalia environmental legacy was decidedly negative
Posted by Grist: None Given on February 20th, 2016
Grist: Justice Antonin Scalia left an indelible mark on American law. His prodigious intellect, distinctive style, and sharp wit will be sorely missed by his family, friends, and colleagues.
His passing also creates a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to shift the balance of power on the Supreme Court toward greater protection for the environment and greater access to the courts by those most affected by pollution and resource degradation.
A look at Scalia’s legacy reveals why his absence in the coming...
Soilless farming suggested as a solution to food shortage in Qatar
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on February 20th, 2016
ScienceDaily: Soilless farming could help developing countries with little arable land and harsh for agriculture climate, such as Qatar, to become self-sufficient in terms of their produce. Relying on advanced hydroponics and multi-story vertical growing, the proposed system uses nutrient-enriched water to produce approximately a hundred times more yield compared to when the crops are grown on a conventional farmland of the same size. The hybrid setup, devised by Nik-Othman Abdullah, biotechnologist at Malaysia...
Climate change will reduce San Pedro recharge, study says
Posted by Arizona Daily Star: None Given on February 20th, 2016
Arizona Daily Star: The San Pedro study comes as the Legislature is considering two bills that would either lift, or make it easier for municipalities in Cochise County to lift, requirements that new developments prove they have an adequate water supply for 100 years to start building.
As the law now stands, any county can require that all new developments prove an adequate supply. Cochise and Yuma counties are the only ones to have adopted such requirements. Pima County falls under a different state requirement...