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Archive for December, 2012
Marcellus natural gas production expanded in 2012
Posted by Associated Press: Kevin Begos on December 25th, 2012
Associated Press: This year was one of new records and new questions for the boom in Marcellus Shale natural gas drilling.
Previous doubts about the size of the vast resource were mostly put to rest, as data showed that the Marcellus became the most productive natural gas field in the nation, even though well drilling slowed substantially.
According to the federal energy reports Marcellus wells in Pennsylvania and West Virginia now produce 7 billion cubic feet of gas per day. That's about 25 percent of all shale...
Local Communities Stake Claim in Protecting Disaster-Prone Asia
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on December 25th, 2012
Inter Press Service: From her half-built house, Ari Haryani takes a few steps to reach a freshly cemented path that snakes through the narrow, dusty walkways of this resettlement village. The path offers the 36-year-old a route to safety in case the nearby Mount Merapi, Indonesia's most active volcano, erupts.
"It has given us some security," says the mother of three, referring to the path, one of the many features taking shape to aid this community of 380 homes. "We know what to do and where to run when there is...
Posted in Water Conservation 
Comments Off on Local Communities Stake Claim in Protecting Disaster-Prone AsiaSinopec to research China shale gas development with ConocoPhillips
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on December 25th, 2012
Reuters: China's Sinopec Group and ConocoPhillips will research potentially vast reserves of shale gas in southwestern China over the next two years, state news agency Xinhua reported on Tuesday.
Houston-based ConocoPhillips' will be a new entrant into a the sector in the world's top energy user, which is believed to hold the world's largest reserves of the gas. Shale gas is trapped in rocks and requires a technology called hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, to unleash.
The Sinopec Exploration Southern...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Sinopec to research China shale gas development with ConocoPhillipsAmazon rainforest failing to recover after droughts
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on December 24th, 2012
Mongabay: The impact of a major drought in the Amazon rainforest in 2005 persisted far longer than previously believed, raising questions about the world's largest tropical forest to cope with the expected impacts of climate change, reports a new study published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
The research is based on analysis of rainfall observations and satellite data that measures characteristics of the forest, including water content in leaves and the overall structure...
Smaller Colorado River flows predicted
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on December 24th, 2012
United Press International: A projected drop in the Colorado River's flow could disrupt longtime water-sharing agreements between farms and cities in the U.S. Southwest, researchers say.
Climate modelers at Columbia University report a predicted 10 percent drop in the river's flow in the next few decades may signal water shortages for some 40 million people who depend on the Colorado River Basin for water.
"It may not sound like a phenomenally large amount except the water and the river is already over-allocated," Richard...
In fracking culture war, celebs, billionaires and banjos
Posted by Reuters: Joshua Schneyer and Edward McAllister on December 24th, 2012
Reuters: Not so long ago, fracking was a technical term little known beyond the energy industry. Now it's coming to Hollywood, as the fierce battle between environmentalists and oil firms is played out in several forthcoming films.
Hydraulic fracturing, the controversial drilling technique also known as fracking, has lifted U.S. energy output dramatically, despite warnings from critics who fear it pollutes water deep underground.
Any shift in public opinion could impact policy - and huge sums in energy...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on In fracking culture war, celebs, billionaires and banjosCargo continues moving on the Mississippi River, but perhaps not for long
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on December 24th, 2012
New York Times: The Mississippi River is still open for business — for now. January is another story. A Midwestern drought has brought the river, one of the world’s largest navigable inland waterways, to water levels so low that they threaten to shut down shipping. The Mississippi, which handles some $7 billion in trade in a typical December and January, is expected to be closed to navigation between St. Louis and Cairo, Ill., when water levels dip toward the nine feet of depth that is necessary for most tugboats...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Cargo continues moving on the Mississippi River, but perhaps not for longBoulder researcher teams on study showing rapid Antarctica warming
Posted by Daily Camera: Charlie Brennan on December 24th, 2012
Daily Camera: The West Antarctic Ice Sheet is showing nearly twice as much warming as previously thought, according to a new study co-authored by a researcher at the National Center for Atmospheric Research.
The discovery, published Sunday in the journal Nature Geoscience, raises additional concerns about the degree to which Antarctica will contribute to sea level rise.
"If this melt continues, if the summer warming continues, we could begin to see increased runoff from the West Antarctic Ice Sheet later...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Boulder researcher teams on study showing rapid Antarctica warmingUS officials rule ‘Frankenfish’ is safe for environment
Posted by Daily Mail: Damien Gayle on December 24th, 2012
Daily Mail: Genetically modified salmon could soon be found on supermarket fish counters after the U.S. food safety watchdog ruled it posed no environmental risks, it emerged today.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said it could find no valid scientific reasons to ban production of Atlantic salmon engineered with extra genes from two other fish species.
If it is now given final approval, the fish will be the first GM animal to hit supermarket shelves anywhere in the world - and in the U.S. they may...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on US officials rule ‘Frankenfish’ is safe for environmentDry spell projected for southwest US
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on December 24th, 2012
Agence France-Presse: Southwestern areas of the United States, reeling from its worst drought in 50 years, may have 10 percent less surface water within a decade due to global warming, a study said Sunday. While rainfall is forecast to increase over northern California in winter and the Colorado River feeding area, warmer temperatures will outstrip these gains by speeding up evaporation, leaving the soil and rivers drier, a research paper said. Texas will likely be dealt a double blow with declining rainfall and an...