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Archive for April, 2011
Obama proposes broadening EPA’s power over water
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on April 28th, 2011
Associated Press: The Obama administration proposed new guidelines Wednesday that would boost the government's ability to protect streams, wetlands and other sensitive waterways from pollution.
Business and property rights groups said the policy would stifle economic growth by generating more red tape for builders of homes and shopping centers, but environmentalists defended it as essential step to provide clean drinking water and protect waterfowl habitat.
Administration officials said their goal was to clarify...
New map shows size of forests in U.S.
Posted by Y! Green: None Given on April 27th, 2011
Y Green: A new map created by the Woods Hole Research Center shows the height, coverage, and carbon storage levels of forests in the U.S. The map was put together by using NASA satellite images from 2000-2001 as well as ground-level surveys by the USGS and USDA Forest Service.
The dataset for the map includes the forest measurements amount of carbon stored in vegetation as of 2000. The scientists involved in the project will use the map as a baseline to monitor changes in forest cover and the carbon cycle....
Jury Rules for EPA in 21-Year Battle With Cranberry Farmer
Posted by Greenwire: John Mcardle on April 27th, 2011
Greenwire: One of U.S. EPA's longest ongoing enforcement matters is about to be wrapped up after a federal jury ruled this week that the Clean Water Act protects 46 acres of wetlands filled in by a Massachusetts cranberry farmer more than two decades ago.
EPA has argued that the site's connections to navigable waterways gave it jurisdiction, but the property owner has spent more than $2 million trying to prove the government is overstepping its authority and that no wetlands ever existed on his land near...
Posted in Water Conservation 
Comments Off on Jury Rules for EPA in 21-Year Battle With Cranberry FarmerRising food prices threaten to push over 60 million Asians back into poverty
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on April 27th, 2011
Mongabay: The Asian Development Bank has warned that high food prices on the continent could push 64 million people in developing countries into extreme poverty, reports the AFP.
On average food prices are up 10% since the beginning of the year with staple prices significantly higher than last year. For example, rice prices have risen by 36.7% since June 2010 in Vietnam, while Kyrgyzstan has seen wheat prices rise 67% during the same time period.
"Left unchecked, the food crisis will badly undermine...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Rising food prices threaten to push over 60 million Asians back into povertyNuclear watchdog groups slam New Mexico plutonium plan
Posted by Reuters: Zelie Pollon on April 27th, 2011
Reuters: The U.S. government should rethink plans for a multi-billion dollar plutonium complex at Los Alamos after the recent nuclear catastrophe in Japan and the discovery of increased seismic risk in New Mexico, nuclear watchdog groups said.
A hearing began on Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Albuquerque on a lawsuit filed by the Los Alamos Study Group seeking to block any further design, construction or funding of the proposed Chemical and Metallurgy Research Replacement Nuclear Facility until adequate...
Dirty Dozen invasive species named
Posted by Telegraph: Louise Gray, on April 27th, 2011
Telegraph: British Waterways identified 12 speciesknown as the 'Dirty Dozen' that are suffocating plants and fishes in rivers and ponds across the country.
Most of the plants were introduced to the country from the far East as ornaments for people's gardens including floating pennywort, water fern, Japanese knotweed, giant hogweed, Australian swamp stonecrop and Himalayan balsam. But they are now pests that suck the oxygen out of ponds, drown out other plants and can even break up concrete.
Introduced...
‘Extreme drought’ sets Texas ablaze and may sprawl over the South until midsummer
Posted by Climate Wire: Lauren Morello on April 27th, 2011
Climate Wire: Wildfires have burned about 1.5 million acres in Texas since January, egged on by a drought that federal forecasters say is the worst to hit the state in 45 years. Officials with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration say their weather models predict the severe drought that has parched the southern United States will continue to midsummer -- and beyond.
"Predictions over weeks to one to three months suggest the drought will continue, and even intensify, in some areas as we struggle...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on ‘Extreme drought’ sets Texas ablaze and may sprawl over the South until midsummerFighters from 43 states battle far-flung Texas wildfires
Posted by Climate Wire: Dina Fine Maron on April 27th, 2011
Climate Wire: Despite a public call by Texas Gov. Rick Perry (R) to pray for rain over the weekend, major wildfires continue to rage on across the state.
Already an estimated 1.5 million acres of Texas has burned this year, according to the Texas Forest Service. Thunderstorms rolled through the state over the weekend, but lightning strikes accompanied the rain, setting the stage for a challenging wildfire week ahead that will draw upon limited resources.
"Sleepers" -- smoldering embers first ignited by lightning...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Fighters from 43 states battle far-flung Texas wildfiresGovernments, business must unite in joint action to stop forest loss
Posted by WWF: None Given on April 27th, 2011
WWF: Policymakers and business leaders must quickly back a bold target to stop forest loss as part of efforts to conserve biodiversity and fight climate change, according to a new WWF report.
The first chapter of WWF’s Living Forests Report, released today, examines the drivers of deforestation and identifies the opportunities to shift from business as usual to a new model of sustainability, which can benefit government, business and communities.
Based on a new global analysis showing that more...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Governments, business must unite in joint action to stop forest lossTurkey plans ‘project of the century’
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on April 27th, 2011
BBC: Turkey will build a new waterway to bypass the heavily congested Bosphorus Strait, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has announced. He said the 150m-wide (492ft) "Canal Istanbul" would link the Black Sea to the Sea of Marmara that opens to the Aegean Sea via the Dardanelles. Mr Erdogan said the canal would be about 45km-long (31 miles), describing it as "the greatest project of the century". He did not disclose the exact location. Environmental 'threat' map "We are rolling up our sleeves for...