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3 Reasons Flint’s Water Is Poisoned
Posted by EcoWatch: None Given on February 16th, 2016
EcoWatch: The catastrophic lead poisoning of the water supply in Flint, Michigan is, obviously, an appalling condemnation of the vigilance exercised by the state appointed Emergency Financial Manager, the State of Michigan Department of Environmental Quality and the regional officials of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. But it is also a shocking reminder of how shoddy American infrastructure has become in the last 20 years and how fragile the gap between shoddy and lethal has become.
Let`s begin...
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Climate Change Poses Threat to Key Ingredient in Beer, NOAA Warns
Posted by EcoWatch: None Given on February 7th, 2016
EcoWatch: As any beer lover knows, hops are a key ingredient in beer. But now, climate change poses a threat to hops production, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
The U.S. is the second largest hops-producing country in the world. But almost all of the nation`s commercial hopyards are located in just three states: Washington, Oregon and Idaho. Washington alone produces nearly three-quarters of all the nation`s hops. In 2015, an estimated 71 percent of U.S. hops were...
Copenhagen Set to Divest Funds Out of Coal, Oil and Gas Holdings
Posted by EcoWatch: None Given on January 29th, 2016
EcoWatch: The city of Copenhagen is set to become the latest recruit to the unstoppable divestment movement, with its plan to sell off the coal, oil and gas assets of its 6.9 billion Krone (EUR1.29 bn) investment fund.
The Danish capital will join a movement worth more than $3.4 trillion worldwide, following Norway’s capital Oslo and non-European cities such as Newcastle, Australia, as well as more than 500 institutions, universities, banks, companies and thousands of people, who have already pulled their...
U.S. Shale Gas Production Could Sharply Decline in 2016, World Bank Says
Posted by EcoWatch: None Given on January 28th, 2016
EcoWatch: In the wake of tumbling oil prices, an onslaught on coal and a year of geopolitical tumult, the World Bank has released its 2016 report on the outlook for the world’s commodity markets.
Carbon Brief looks at the five key takeaways for climate change and energy.
1. There’s All-Round Bad News for Coal
The report makes grim reading for coal industry executives. Coal prices are expected to continue their tumble downwards in 2016. Having fallen by more than 60 percent since 2011, prices are expected...
3 Reasons Big Coal Had a Bad Week
Posted by EcoWatch: None Given on January 16th, 2016
EcoWatch: Here are three reasons Big Coal had a bad week:
1. Sec. of the Interior Sally Jewell announced Friday that the Obama Administration will be putting an immediate suspension on all future and modified coal leases in order to create time and space to fully review the program for its consequences for taxpayers, our environment and the climate. The announcement followed President Obama’s groundbreaking statement in the State of the Union that he would “push to change the way we manage our oil and coal...
‘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...
New Yorkers Celebrate One-Year Anniversary of Fracking Ban
Posted by EcoWatch: None Given on December 18th, 2015
EcoWatch: Thursday marked the one-year anniversary of the announcement by Gov. Cuomo, the Department of Health and the Department of Environmental Conservation that New York would ban high-volume fracking given its serious public health and environmental risks.
New Yorkers and the many organizations that worked to ban fracking are reflecting on the ban that occurred one year ago and the anti-fracking movement overall, noting its importance nationally and internationally.
“I will always remember this...
Soper Farms Triples Net Income Switching From GMO Crops to Organic
Posted by EcoWatch: None Given on November 21st, 2015
EcoWatch: Making the transition from conventional to organic farming can be a big leap, but Harn Soper will tell you--based on experience--that it is worth it in terms of better crops, soil and financial returns. Soper, a member of a four-generation Iowa farming family, is so convinced of organic farming’s value that he has launched a fund, Sustainable Farm Partners, to increase organic farming in Iowa.
Based in Emmetsburg, Iowa, Soper Farms is a century farm, having been in the family for more than 100...
Cuomo Administration Denies Critical Certification at Indian Point Nuclear Power Plant
Posted by EcoWatch: None Given on November 12th, 2015
EcoWatch: Citing numerous environmental and public safety concerns, the New York Department of State (DOS) has filed an objection to Entergy’s request for a Coastal Consistency Determination for the Indian Point nuclear plant. This objection has the potential to block Entergy’s request for a 20-year extension of its operating license for the plant’s Unit 2 and Unit 3 reactors and require the closure of Indian Point as soon as next year.
In its objection, Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s administration has highlighted...
What’s Going on in Antartica? Is the Ice Melting or Growing?
Posted by EcoWatch: None Given on November 10th, 2015
EcoWatch: Last week a study was published in the Journal of Glaciology by a group of NASA researchers reporting that satellite data shows that, as a whole, Antarctica has been gaining--rather than losing--ice mass during the past two or more decades.
So was NASA and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) wrong about Antarctica’s ice loss? Is the Antarctic ice growing?
The short answer is best summarized by the title of Andrew Freedman’s article on Mashable (which everyone should read):...