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Archive for January, 2013
Will Obama administration clear Keystone XL Pipeline?
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on January 25th, 2013
National Public Radio: The future of the controversial Keystone XL oil pipeline is in the hands of the State Department. President Obama rejected a similar pipeline proposal last year, but now that Nebraska Gov. Dave Heineman has approved an alternative route through his state, the approval process is back on track.
Because the Keystone XL would cross an international boundary - between Saskatchewan and Montana - it requires review by the State Department and a special presidential permit.
Environmental groups oppose...
Kerry dodges Keystone pipeline question
Posted by Globe and Mail: Paul Koring on January 25th, 2013
Globe and Mail: Senator John Kerry ducked when he was asked directly at his confirmation hearing whether he would block or back the controversial Keystone XL pipeline, but President Barack Obama's pick for secretary of state delivered a passionate pitch on the virtues of clean energy.
When Wyoming Republican Senator John Barrasso, who supports TransCanada Corp.'s multibillion-dollar pipeline to carry Canadian oil sands crude to U.S. refineries, asked whether he agrees with the 53 senators who favour the project,...
Study finds Greenland’s ice may not be as vulnerable to climate change as scientists feared
Posted by Houston Chronicle: None Given on January 25th, 2013
Houston Chronicle: New research suggests that Greenland`s vast ice sheet isn`t as fragile as some climate scientists feared.
The work, published in Nature this week (see abstract), indicates the majority of ice on Greenland could remain intact for hundreds of years even if the planet warms considerably.
The study used ice cores to study conditions during a period of natural global warming that occurred between 115,000 and 130,000 years ago, when temperatures were about 14.5 Fahrenheit degrees higher than they...
Posted in Water Conservation 
Comments Off on Study finds Greenland’s ice may not be as vulnerable to climate change as scientists fearedApple admits litany of violations to green supply chain code of conduct
Posted by BusinessGreen: James Murray on January 25th, 2013
BusinessGreen: Almost 150 of Apple's suppliers failed to properly store or handle potentially hazardous chemicals, including one that was found to have been intentionally dumping waste cutting oil in a "rest room receptacle".
That is just one of the stark revelations from the electronics giant's Supplier Responsibility Progress Report, which has won plaudits for the company's commitment to transparency, at the same time as raising serious questions about environmental and labour practices across its supply chain....
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Apple admits litany of violations to green supply chain code of conductUnited Kingdom: Newt so fast: natural environmental rules and regulations
Posted by Guardian: Nicky Richmond on January 25th, 2013
Guardian: Why did the newt cross the road? Because it needed to use the £1 million superhighway, built for it by the developer.
You may not have seen this story over the summer, tucked away on BBC News Cambridgeshire, but it is yet one more example of the existence of a protected species having a major impact on the proposed development.
The latest one case is the delay to the Monks Cross shopping centre development in York. A John Lewis, Marks & Spencer and Next, due to open at the centre around...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on United Kingdom: Newt so fast: natural environmental rules and regulationsHalliburton Deploys First Frack-Fluid Cleaning Unit in Australia
Posted by Bloomberg: David Wethe on January 25th, 2013
Bloomberg: Halliburton Co. (HAL), the biggest hydraulic-fracturing services provider, deployed its first bacteria-fighting truck in Australia to clean fracking waters and reduce the environmental impact of drilling for natural-gas.
The world’s second-largest oilfield services provider helps companies drill and complete wells using the pressure-pumping technique known as fracking, which blasts water mixed with sand and chemicals underground to free trapped hydrocarbons from shale formations.
Halliburton’s...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Halliburton Deploys First Frack-Fluid Cleaning Unit in AustraliaCan ‘nexus thinking’ alleviate global water, food and energy pressures?
Posted by Guardian: Tim Smedley on January 25th, 2013
Guardian: With the world population growing at a rate of around 80 million people a year, it is estimated that by 2030 the world will need 30% more water, 40% more energy and 50% more food. That's not just to feed, water and power the new arrivals, but also those currently living "off grid" in developing countries as they rise out of poverty.
In the past, water, food and energy have too often been dealt with as separate issues. Biofuels are a classic example. Once the great hope for sustainable energy,...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Can ‘nexus thinking’ alleviate global water, food and energy pressures?Halliburton Profit Falls on U.S. Fracking Equipment Glut
Posted by Bloomberg: David Wethe on January 25th, 2013
Bloomberg: Halliburton Co. (HAL), the world’s second- largest oilfield-services provider, reported fourth-quarter earnings that beat analysts’ estimates as customers around the world boosted spending at the end of the year. Shares rose the most in more than a year.
Excluding discontinued operations, the Houston-based company earned 63 cents a share, 2 cents higher than the average of 33 analysts’ estimates compiled by Bloomberg. Sales climbed 3.2 percent to $7.3 billion, which was more than the average of...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Halliburton Profit Falls on U.S. Fracking Equipment GlutEnbridge Says Eastern U.S. Gulf Coast Next Big Market for Canadian Oil
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on January 25th, 2013
Reuters: Enbridge Inc (ENB.TO) has started to sketch out plans for moving Canadian crude oil to a U.S. refining market it has so far had little access to--the eastern Gulf Coast region of Louisiana and Mississippi, its chief executive said on Thursday.
Enbridge, the largest shipper of Canada's oil, has been a main player in adding pipeline capacity to the western Gulf Coast, most recently with the expansion of the Seaway pipeline between the hub at Cushing, Oklahoma, and the Houston area.
That project...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Enbridge Says Eastern U.S. Gulf Coast Next Big Market for Canadian OilShould colleges divest from coal, oil?
Posted by Christian Science Monitor: David J. Unger on January 25th, 2013
Christian Science Monitor: The divestment campaign aims to slow the development of coal, oil, and gas resources – forms of energy that emit large quantities of heat-trapping greenhouse gasses and contribute to climate change – by reducing the investment dollars flowing into energy companies. But energy companies have provided colleges and universities with relatively healthy returns in the past several years.
"We're not debating that fossil fuels are profitable right now. We all understand that. This goes beyond profitability,"...