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Pakistan’s new big threat isn’t terrorism — it’s water
Posted by Grist: None Given on July 22nd, 2013
Grist: In a report released last week by the Asian Development Bank [PDF], Pakistan was pinpointed as "one of the most water-stressed countries in the world, not far from being classified, 'water-scarce.`" As water demand exceeds supply in the South Asian country, more and more water is being withdrawn from the nation`s reservoirs, leaving them in a critically precarious position. According to the ADB, Pakistan`s storage capacity, the amount of water it has on reserve in case of an emergency, is limited...
Harry Reid blames climate change for fires ravaging his state
Posted by Grist: None Given on July 19th, 2013
Grist: Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) has no doubt about what`s causing this summer`s disastrous Western fire season: climate change.
During a meeting with reporters this week, Reid linked global warming to a 28,000-acre blaze in Nevada that caused hundreds to be evacuated from their homes. After being mocked by conservative media, he doubled down and made his points again in front of a group of reporters.
"The West is being devastated by wildfires. Millions of acres are burning. Millions...
Posted in Water Conservation 
Comments Off on Harry Reid blames climate change for fires ravaging his stateOhio lawmakers who oppose fracking tax have gotten lots of money from frackers
Posted by Grist: None Given on July 18th, 2013
Grist: Oil and gas companies have been on a fracking spree in Ohio for a couple of years now, but they`re not bringing many jobs to the state, so Republican Gov. John Kasich has been trying to get them to give back in another way: via a fracking tax.
Under Kasich`s proposal, revenue from the fracking tax would be used to reduce income taxes, an idea that proved overwhelmingly popular with voters, including many Republicans. And the tax would be in line with those imposed by most other oil- and gas-producing...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Ohio lawmakers who oppose fracking tax have gotten lots of money from frackersJosh Fox’s “Gasland II” to expose power politics of fracking
Posted by Grist: None Given on July 4th, 2013
Grist: Pictures of flames shooting out of a tap in Josh Fox`s Oscar-nominated first film about the natural gas boom helped make fracking a household word in America.
Gasland Part II, scheduled to air on HBO on July 8, aims to expose the money and political power driving the rush to gas -- although it does also feature pictures of a homeowner in Texas lighting his garden hose on fire.
"This isn`t just about fracking at all anymore. This is about our system of government, and this is about climate change,"...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Josh Fox’s “Gasland II” to expose power politics of frackingCalgary floods trigger an oil spill and a mass evacuation
Posted by Grist: None Given on June 25th, 2013
Grist: Epic floods forced more than 100,000 people to flee their homes last week in Calgary, Alberta, the tar-sands mining capital of Canada. More than seven inches of rain fell on the city over the course of 60 hours.
Now the floodwaters are subsiding throughout the province, leaving in their wake an oil spill, power outages, and questions about how climate change might affect flooding.
Alberta Premier Alison Redford said the crisis was “like nothing that we’ve ever seen before,” the Calgary Herald...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Calgary floods trigger an oil spill and a mass evacuationHow climate change makes wildfires worse
Posted by Grist: None Given on June 15th, 2013
Grist: Last year, Colorado suffered from a record-breaking wildfire season: More than 4,000 fires resulted in six deaths, the destruction of 648 buildings, and a half a billion dollars in property damage. Still reeling, Coloradans are once again fleeing in their thousands from a string of drought-fueled fires.
So what role is climate change playing in the worsening wildfires? Here`s what we`ve learned:
Is climate change making wildfires worse?
Big wildfires like Colorado`s thrive in dry air, low...
How fracking companies exploit Amish farmers
Posted by Grist: None Given on June 7th, 2013
Grist: It`s no secret that fracking companies engage in some shady behavior. But a report in The New Republic reveals just how low they`ll sink in the rush to exploit natural gas: Energy companies in eastern Ohio - home to the world`s largest Amish population and billions of dollars worth of oil and gas reserves - have been convincing Amish farmers to sign away drilling rights to their land for far less than they`re worth, knowing that because their religious tradition frowns on lawsuits, the landowners...
China’s plastic-bag ban turns five years old
Posted by Grist: None Given on June 4th, 2013
Grist: What do you give a plastic-bag ban for its fifth birthday?
In the case of China, which over the weekend celebrated five years of restrictions on plastic shopping bags, officials are showering their ban with accolades and crediting it with keeping tens of billions of bags out of landfills and the environment.
The rules, which took effect on June 1, 2008, ban the manufacture or use of the thinnest types of plastic bags. They also prohibit supermarkets, department stores, and grocery stores from...
Court orders feds to review oil dispersant risks
Posted by Grist: None Given on May 31st, 2013
Grist: A legal victory for environmentalists this week means that sea turtles, whales, and other endangered species may be sheltered from the use of oil dispersants off the California coastline.
Dispersants, which are used to dissolve oil spills, can cause crippling injuries to cleanup workers and wildlife, but regulations governing their use are extremely lax. The EPA successfully fended off a lawsuit recently that tried to force it to regulate where dispersants can be used and in what quantities. ...
Most Americans don’t give a frack about fracking
Posted by Grist: None Given on May 30th, 2013
Grist: You might think fracking is a highly divisive, heatedly contested issue, but most Americans don`t give a damn about it either way.
The latest Climate Change in the American Mind survey found that 39 percent of respondents had never heard of fracking, while another 13 percent didn`t know whether they had heard of it.
So it`s not too much of a surprise, then, to learn that 58 percent of survey respondents held no opinion on whether fracking is a good thing or a bad thing.
Those who did have...