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Archive for March, 2012
Enbridge shuts U.S. oil pipeline after fire, spill
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on March 4th, 2012
Reuters: Enbridge Inc shut down a key segment of the main Canada-to-United States oil pipeline for an undetermined period on Saturday after a deadly vehicle accident caused a fire at an Illinois pumping station.
The Canadian company said it was forced to shut down the 318,000 barrel-a-day "14/64" line between Superior, Wisconsin, and Griffith, Indiana, after the early-morning collision, which caused a blaze and a spill of crude near New Lenox, Illinois. That's equivalent to about 3 percent of total U.S....
United Kingdom: Water levels in 250 stretches of river are dangerously low
Posted by Independent: Brian Brady on March 4th, 2012
Independent: Nearly 250 stretches of Britain's most important rivers are at risk of drought because too much water is being taken out of them. The Environment Agency has revealed that parts of inland waterways in England and Wales are on the danger list with spring barely begun because of "abstraction pressures".
The list, which includes the Thames, Severn, Humber and Wear, emerged only days after Caroline Spelman, the Environment Secretary, declared that the South-east was officially in drought. Millions...
Posted in Water Conservation 
Comments Off on United Kingdom: Water levels in 250 stretches of river are dangerously lowFlood insurance: Residents left high and dry as last low-cost insurer gets out
Posted by Guardian: Lisa Bachelor on March 3rd, 2012
Guardian: Householders in flood-hit properties have been dealt a further blow in their battle to get insurance as one of the last remaining insurers willing to offer them cover has changed its stance.
Sainsbury's Finance offered low-cost insurance to homeowners and tenants whose properties had previously been flooded, whereas dozens of other major insurance companies turned them away. According to the National Flood Forum, a charity offering advice and support to communities and individuals at risk of flooding,...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Flood insurance: Residents left high and dry as last low-cost insurer gets outCosts of Climate Change Touching Down All Around: Insurers
Posted by Common Dreams: None Given on March 3rd, 2012
Common Dreams: As southern Indiana, Kentucky and other midwestern states woke Saturday to devastated communities and a rising death toll, the world again was treated to pictures and video of mother nature's ferocious power and the merciless power of her most precise and terrifying storm, the tornado. Most striking to some is the early arrival of this year's tornado season, which usually begins later in the spring and runs into summer. For climate scientists, who have long predicted longer or more powerful storms...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Costs of Climate Change Touching Down All Around: InsurersTar sand companies aim to reduce greenhouse gas emissions
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on March 3rd, 2012
ClimateWire: The world's largest oil sands producers signed an agreement yesterday to waive their intellectual property and patent rights in order to reduce the industry's impact on greenhouse gases, agriculture and waterways. Twelve companies -- including Royal Dutch Shell PLC, Cenovus Energy Inc. and ConocoPhillips Co. -- formed Canada's Oil Sands Innovation Alliance (COSIA) to eliminate redundancy in their research operations. The intent is for the participating companies -- which represent more than 80 percent...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Tar sand companies aim to reduce greenhouse gas emissionsTexas rice farmers lose their water
Posted by Wall Street Journal: Nathan Koppel on March 3rd, 2012
Wall Street Journal: The state's persistent drought has claimed its latest victims: rice farmers.
Because of low water levels in several lakes that serve as reservoirs here, officials said Friday that they wouldn't release irrigation water to farmers in three counties downstream that produce much of the rice in the state.
Ronald Gertson stands beside one of his John Deere tractors last month at his rice farm in Lissie, Texas.
The rice industry contributes about $394 million annually to the economy of the state,...
Portugal prays for rain as drought adds to crisis
Posted by Reuters: Andrei Khalip on March 3rd, 2012
Reuters: After Portugal's driest February in 80 years, farmers are praying for a miracle as drought ravages pastures and sparks forest fires, exacerbating the country's economic crisis.
Worse still, official forecasters expect the freak weather pattern to prevail at least through the end of March, which would worsen a drought now classified as severe and extreme throughout mainland Portugal.
Aside from the yet-unassessed impact on trade and GDP, the situation is likely to further strain limited financial...
Deadly Tornadoes Pound the South and the Midwest
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on March 3rd, 2012
New York Times: A frantic day and night of fast-moving tornadoes and severe thunderstorms churned across the South and the Midwest on Friday, leaving behind at least 27 deaths, hundreds of injuries and countless damaged buildings in several states. The storm systems stretched from the Gulf Coast to the Great Lakes and were so wide that an estimated 34 million people were at risk for severe weather, said Mike Hudson of the National Weather Service regional office in Kansas City, Mo. At one point, the storms were...
BP settles Gulf of Mexico oil spill lawsuit
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on March 3rd, 2012
Guardian: BP will pay out $7.8bn (£5bn) to settle a lawsuit with thousands of individuals from the Gulf of Mexico oil disaster, under an agreement reached late on Friday night.
The settlement, announced by Judge Carl Barbier, was reached just ahead of Monday's trial in a New Orleans court.
The trial, already delayed by a week to allow extra time for negotiations, has been postponed again.
With one major settlement achieved, BP will probably redouble its efforts to reach a deal with the federal government...
Barrick names human rights, ecology advisory panel
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on March 2nd, 2012
Reuters: Barrick Gold named a corporate social responsibility board on Friday, which will advise the world's top gold producer on community relations, sustainable development and human rights, as miners around the globe face tougher public and investor scrutiny of their activities.
Toronto-based Barrick was hit by a torrent of criticism last year after at least five people were killed and many more were hurt, when hundreds of people raided a gold mine in Tanzania owned by its subsidiary African Barrick...