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Archive for June, 2011
Senate blocks bill that included ethanol repeal
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on June 21st, 2011
Associated Press: Republicans blocked a Senate jobs bill on Tuesday that included a repeal of the ethanol tax credit. Yet ending that tax break remains a live option for budget cutters looking for ways to reduce massive federal deficits.
The Senate voted 51-49 against allowing a final vote on the overall bill, which would have renewed the Economic Development Administration for five more years. All 47 Republicans were joined by four Democrats in derailing the bill. Democrats fell 11 votes short of the 60 they needed...
N.Y. Missed Deadline on Indian Point Decision, Operator Says
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on June 21st, 2011
New York Times: The Indian Point nuclear power plant in Buchanan, N.Y.
New York State missed a deadline for ruling on an application for a water quality certificate for the Indian Point nuclear plant, the plant’s owner, Entergy, said on Tuesday in a notification to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. The filing raised the possibility that state officials may have lost a tool for blocking a license renewal for the plant`s nuclear reactors.
The commission must decide whether to grant a 20-year extension to the...
Posted in Water Conservation 
Comments Off on N.Y. Missed Deadline on Indian Point Decision, Operator SaysHimalayan glaciers show mixed response to climate change
Posted by Deutsche Welle: None Given on June 21st, 2011
Deutsche Welle: Glacier melt is threatening water supplies Melting glaciers usually serve as one of the most vivid reminders of global warming. Yet in some places - such as in parts of the Himalayan mountain range - climate change has actually made them advance.
For centuries, the communities living at the foothills of the Himalayas have depended on the water that flows down from the mountains.
The region's many rivers are fed by melting snow and monsoon rains, eventually joining the powerful currents of the...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Himalayan glaciers show mixed response to climate changeALERT! Stop UN Climate Science Panel Moves to Fund, Research & Implement Geoengineering “Climate Solution”
Posted by Water Conservation Blog on June 21st, 2011
By Ecological Internet's Climate Ark Climate Change Portal
TAKE ACTION HERE NOW!
Geoengineering is the proposed large scale manipulation of Earths oceans, soils, sunlight and atmosphere with the intent of combating climate change. With no mandate, the UN's International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) [search] has begun talks on funding geoengineering research [search]. Past adoption of virtually all major new technologies regardless of risk shows us if developed, geoengineering will surely be implemented. Modifying Earth at a planetary scale is so complex, and ecological and other side effects potentially so severe, that dire unintended consequences are certain. Simply, a biosphere cannot be engineered. The only way to address climate and ecology change is to end ecosystem loss and fossil fuel use; while equitably reducing emissions, consumption and population. Tell the United Nations to get out of the business of geoengineering, and lead by example in embracing social change and personal transformation adequate to achieve global climate and ecological sustainability.
Posted in Uncategorized Comments Off on ALERT! Stop UN Climate Science Panel Moves to Fund, Research & Implement Geoengineering “Climate Solution”Replacing crops with trees barely slows warming
Posted by CBC: None Given on June 21st, 2011
CBC: A key climate change reduction strategy recommended by the United Nations won't have much effect on global temperatures, according to a couple of Canadian scientists.
Afforestation involves planting trees over croplands that aren't very productive in order to absorb more carbon dioxide from the air. High emissions of carbon dioxide have been linked to climate change, especially rising average global temperatures.
But even if 100 per cent of the area planted with crops now was gradually replaced...
Floods threaten Nebraska nuclear plants
Posted by Washington Times: None Given on June 21st, 2011
Washington Times: Two nuclear-power plants in Nebraska remain threatened by Missouri River flooding, including one plant where a fire briefly shut down a cooling system for spent fuel rods earlier this month. Federal and state officials said there is no danger of a radiation leak and insisted the facilities would not see a repeat of Japan`s Fukushima nuclear-power plant disaster. Jeff Hanson, spokesman for the Omaha Public Power District that operates the Fort Calhoun Station, dismissed Internet reports by bloggers...
Environmental impact research urged for fish farming
Posted by SciDev.Net: Joanna Carpenter on June 20th, 2011
SciDev.Net: More research and sharing of best practice could minimise the environmental impacts of aquaculture, and maximise its potential to alleviate food insecurity, according to a report by the WorldFish Center and the non-profit organisation Conservation International.
Almost half of all seafood consumed originates from aquaculture -- the farming of aquatic animals and plants in coastal and inland areas -- according to the report 'Blue Frontiers: Managing the environmental costs of aquaculture', launched...
Trees ‘help stem desertification’
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on June 20th, 2011
BBC: A UN-led pilot scheme hopes to highlight how trees can help people in arid zone, considered to one of the most hostile habitats on the planet.
The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Acacia project's goal is to show how trees provide, food, fuel, shelter and income during times of hardship.
So far, six nations - including Senegal and Sudan - have hosted tree planting schemes for at-risk communities.
Drylands cover 30% of the Earth's land area, and are found in 100 nations.
"People...
Salt-tolerant plants may help Pakistan reclaim ruined farms
Posted by AlertNet: None Given on June 20th, 2011
AlertNet: Fatima Bibi, 36, looks back at the time when she was an affluent farmer.
"I along with my husband and two daughters used to grow rice, sunflower and vegetables. ... We would earn a hefty amount at the time of harvest,' she says.
But those days are gone. Bibi now earns her living selling biscuits from a stall at a bus stop in Badin, a town 200 km (125 miles) east of Karachi.
Her lifestyle was turned upside down when her 6 hectares (14 acres) of fertile land became saline, leading to a sharp...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Salt-tolerant plants may help Pakistan reclaim ruined farmsGreat lakes restoration
Posted by Epoch Time: Paul Darin on June 20th, 2011
Epoch Time: Workers with the Asian Carp Regional Coordinating Committee dump a chemical into the Little Calumet River to kill all of the fish in an approximately two-mile stretch of the river on May 20, 2010, in Chicago, Ill.
The Great Lakes are among the world's largest supplies of fresh water. An insidious environmental villain, climate change, threatens them.
The National Wildlife Federation, EcoAdapt, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) are working on "climate smart' strategies...