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Arctic base evacuated as ice dissolves beneath researchers’ feet
Posted by Grist: None Given on May 24th, 2013
Grist: Though it carries major supervillain cred, placing a scientific research station atop an Arctic ice floe in an era of global warming is a dicey proposition - even for the Russians.
North Pole 40, a Russian science station that monitors pollution and conducts meteorological research, began operating in October on an Arctic ice floe. The Russians have been deploying research stations to drifting ice floes for more than 70 years, and North Pole 40 is their 40th such station.
But they don`t make...
Posted in Water Conservation 
Comments Off on Arctic base evacuated as ice dissolves beneath researchers’ feetThe battle for Drake’s Bay
Posted by Grist: None Given on May 13th, 2013
Grist: It`s springtime at the Point Reyes National Seashore, about an hour outside of San Francisco, and the cold wind whips off the sea and through the tall grass along the cliffs. Cows wander and graze along the fingers of land that reach out into the estuary’s tiny bays, an area altogether encompassing just over three square miles.
Beyond the estuary, at the outer edges of the seashore, seals sun themselves on the beaches, packed in tightly and squirming along the shoreline.
From March through...
Joe Biden kinda sorta maybe opposes Keystone XL pipeline
Posted by Grist: None Given on May 8th, 2013
Grist: Vice President Joe Biden told an activist on Friday that he doesn`t support the proposed Keystone XL pipeline, according to a post on the Sierra Club website.
While the veep was working the crowd at an event in South Carolina, Elaine Cooper got a moment with him:
I asked him about the administration’s commitment to making progress on climate and whether the president would reject the pipeline. He looked at the Sierra Club hat on my head, and he said “yes, I do - I share your views - but I am...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Joe Biden kinda sorta maybe opposes Keystone XL pipelineNuclear plant spills radiation into Lake Michigan
Posted by Grist: None Given on May 8th, 2013
Grist: Last summer, a leaky tank led to the shutdown of the Palisades nuclear power plant in Michigan. So plant owner Entergy patched up the leak, fired back up the reactor, and hoped for the best.
Unfortunately, the best did not materialize.
The tank began leaking again. But no worries, thought the Einsteins at Entergy, it was only leaking a gallon a day. That was OK, they figured, because the NRC had allowed it to leak up to 38 gallons a day. As of Friday, they were still doing that whole "hoping...
Conservative newspaper declares love for Obama’s fracker-friendly ways
Posted by Grist: None Given on May 8th, 2013
Grist: Uber-conservative Beltway newspaper The Washington Examiner has revealed its secret crush on Barack Obama and his administration`s fracker-friendly ways.
It`s not often that the newspaper says anything nice about the president. The Examiner is owned by Philip Anschutz, an oil-drilling magnate, and the newspaper sometimes seems to exist only to beam its owner`s conservative views into the brains of D.C. insiders.
In March, for example, the paper`s editorial writers likened the president to "a...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Conservative newspaper declares love for Obama’s fracker-friendly waysIn the Gulf, a long history of oil spills and cover-ups
Posted by Grist: None Given on May 7th, 2013
Grist: When BP`s Deepwater Horizon oil rig exploded in 2010, it hemorrhaged roughly 210 million gallons of crude into the Gulf of Mexico. We know now, thanks to recent court hearings and settlements, that all this happened because oil company managers were cutting corners on safety, and the federal government’s monitoring system for offshore drilling was broken.
We also know that it wasn`t the first time oil companies had spilled in the Gulf. What we don’t know - and probably never will - is how much...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on In the Gulf, a long history of oil spills and cover-upsIn Gasland sequel, fracking saga’s pressure ratchets up
Posted by Grist: None Given on April 26th, 2013
Grist: Josh Fox`s 2010 documentary Gasland alerted legions of people to the dangers of fracking and helped grow the movement against the drilling technique, which has created a natural-gas bonanza in many parts of the U.S. Now Fox is back with a sequel, Gasland Part II, that premiered this week at the Tribeca Film Festival in New York City.
The new film begins much like its predecessor: Shots of politicians alternate with shots of the forest, dripping wet with fresh rain. Fox introduces himself, his...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on In Gasland sequel, fracking saga’s pressure ratchets upNitrogen fertilizer is bad stuff — and not just because it could blow up your town
Posted by Grist: None Given on April 25th, 2013
Grist: Officials in Texas continue to investigate the cause of the explosion last week at West Fertilizer that killed 15 people and injured 200. The explosion, which could be felt up to 50 miles away, obliterated the facility and destroyed houses. It was fueled by a massive stockpile of nitrogen fertilizer - up to 270 tons of ammonium nitrate, a solid fertilizer that comes in the form of a powder or pellets, and over 50,000 gallons of anhydrous ammonia gas.
But while the explosion last week was spectacular...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Nitrogen fertilizer is bad stuff — and not just because it could blow up your townExxonMobil deserves a pat on the back for Arkansas spill response, says representative
Posted by Grist: None Given on April 18th, 2013
Grist: ExxonMobil’s recent oil spill dumped some 200,000 gallons into Mayflower, Ark., killed wildlife, and caused 22 homes to be evacuated. As the Natural Resources committee takes up another bill to approve the Keystone XL pipeline, Rep. Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.) argued at a hearing that the spill is more evidence the Keystone XL pipeline is a safe bet for Americans.
Comparing the safety of a pipeline to other transportation methods, Mullin said there is no reason to make a “big deal” about the spill:...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on ExxonMobil deserves a pat on the back for Arkansas spill response, says representativeArkansas town in lockdown after oil spill nightmare
Posted by Grist: None Given on April 5th, 2013
Grist: There’s one Exxon gas station in Mayflower, Ark.
Before last Friday, that’s likely as close as Mayflower residents got to the multinational oil and gas behemoth ExxonMobil. But after the Pegasus Pipeline burst last Friday, sending thousands of gallons of tar-sands oil into the Northwoods neighborhood, the company became omnipresent in this small town of 2,200 people.
The first thing you notice when driving into Mayflower is the stench. Travelers can smell the fumes from Interstate 40, which...