RSS Feed
Archive for September 14th, 2012
EPA adds 12 waste sites to Superfund list
Posted by Associated Press: Josh Lederman on September 14th, 2012
Associated Press: The Environmental Protection Agency added 12 hazardous waste sites to the list of the most-contaminated places in the United States on Friday, clearing the way for major cleanups to rid the sites of dangerous toxins.
Arsenic, lead and mercury were among a long list of toxins found at the sites -- mostly former factories, chemical plants and contaminated water plumes. Investigators also found elements like benzene, copper and chromium, plus harmful chemicals associated with pesticides and industrial...
‘Red List’ of Endangered Ecosystems Proposed
Posted by Yahoo!: Becky Oskin on September 14th, 2012
Yahoo!: The International Union for the Conservation of Nature moved closer to approving its new Red List of Ecosystems, which measures an ecosystem's risk of collapse, this week at the World Conservation Congress in South Korea.
The IUCN is known for its authoritative Red List of Threatened Species, which created globally accepted criteria for assessing extinction risk. The new conservation tool takes a similar approach to entire ecosystems, determining the danger to an individual ecosystem, comparable...
Floods threaten Niger’s main rice crop: minister
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on September 14th, 2012
Reuters: Floods could wipe out most of Niger's main rice harvest this year as rain-swollen rivers rose to 50-year highs across West Africa, spreading devastation, a regional official said.
At least 81 people have been killed in Niger since annual rains caused flooding along the banks of the Niger River, raising its waters to their highest levels since the 1920s.
The country and surrounding region are still struggling to overcome food shortages caused by poor rains last year.
"In Niger ... most of...
Rethinking the New Zone Hardiness Map
Posted by New York Times: Joanna M. Foster on September 14th, 2012
New York Times: For gardeners sad to see the summer drawing to a close, there`s some comfort to be drawn from the fall planting season for perennials, trees and shrubs, which is just around the corner. What`s more, there`s the novelty of this year`s updated Plant Hardiness Zone Map, released early this year.
The previous version of the map was issued in 2003, but the agency fielded so much criticism over the ways in which it incorporated climate change into the equation - too little and too much - that the map...
Insight: U.S. and Brazil – At last, friends on ethanol
Posted by Reuters: Brian Winter on September 14th, 2012
Reuters: After years at each other's throats, Brazil and the United States are working together to promote the use of ethanol in a collaboration that could revolutionize global markets and the makeup of the biofuel itself.
The breakthrough came in January when Washington allowed a three-decade-old subsidy for U.S. ethanol producers to expire and ended a steep tariff on foreign biofuels. The tariff, in particular, had poisoned diplomatic relations between the world's top two ethanol-producing countries...
Airlines grapple with food vs. biofuel debate
Posted by Reuters: Maria Sheahan and Victoria Bryan on September 14th, 2012
Reuters: Airlines battling to cut costs and pollution may not find a quick fix in biofuels, as concerns grow that using feedstocks to create an alternative to kerosene will push food prices higher.
The European Union plans to impose a limit on the use of crop-based biofuels, in a major shift in the region's much-criticized biofuel policy, according to draft legislation seen by Reuters.
The policy U-turn comes after studies cast doubt on the carbon dioxide emissions savings from using crop-based fuels,...
Romania: From Ancient Deforestation, a Delta Is Born
Posted by New York Times: Rachel Nuwer on September 14th, 2012
New York Times: Humans were tampering with nature long before the Industrial Revolution’s steam and internal combustion engines arrived on the scene. The invention of agriculture around 8,000 years ago, some argue, significantly changed ecosystems as it spread around the globe.
Although scientists are only just beginning to understand how these ancient alterations shaped our world today, a new study in Scientific Reports suggests that millennium-old development along the Danube River in Eastern Europe significantly...
UK government, climate advisors at odds over gas role
Posted by Reuters: Susanna Twidale and Henning Gloystein on September 14th, 2012
Reuters: The UK government is on a collision course with its climate advisors over the role gas should play in cutting CO2 output in Europe (Chicago Options: ^REURUSD - news) 's second largest emitter, statements published Thursday show.
Britain is considering new policies aimed at decarbonising its electricity sector by 2030 that include the construction of a large number of new gas-powered plants.
"We have always said this (decarbonisation) will include gas fired plant, which is quick to build and...
Gas glut threatens climate battle-IEA
Posted by Reuters: Emma Farge on September 14th, 2012
Reuters: A new "golden age of gas" could derail global efforts to fight climate change as indebted governments mull a switch to the cheaper fuel, the International Energy Agency's chief economist said on Thursday.
Government subsidies designed to promote renewable energy currently amount to around $70 billion globally, he said.
But governments may be tempted to drop them as new shale gas and export facilities of liquefied natural gas (LNG) in east Africa and Australia pressure prices lower.
"Governments...
United Kingdom: Planning minister’s think-tank calls for millions of homes on Green Belt
Posted by Independent: Charlie Cooper on September 14th, 2012
Independent: The Government should build on Green Belt land to address Britain's housing shortage, according to a think-tank founded by the new Planning minister, Nick Boles. In a report that roundly condemns the planning system, Policy Exchange claims that releasing 2 per cent of land in England would allow the construction of eight million family homes. The Government recently indicated it would look at relaxing planning regulations to boost house-building. Mr Boles, who founded Policy Exchange in 2002, was...
Posted in Water Conservation 
Comments Off on United Kingdom: Planning minister’s think-tank calls for millions of homes on Green Belt