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Archive for March 20th, 2013
UK promises shale gas tax breaks, public benefits
Posted by Reuters: Karolin Schaps and Sarah Young on March 20th, 2013
Reuters: Britain said on Wednesday it will introduce generous tax breaks for shale gas and tackle the nascent industry's public perception problem by making sure local communities benefit from resources found in their areas.
Finance Minister George Osborne said in his annual budget announcement he will introduce a new gas field tax allowance for shale gas, an industry that he expects can help kick-start Britain's stagnant economy.
"Shale gas is part of the future and we will make it happen," he said...
U.K. Pledges Tax Breaks for Shale Gas, Low Emissions Cars
Posted by Bloomberg: Alex Morales and Sally Bakewell on March 20th, 2013
Bloomberg: U.K. Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne offered tax breaks to low emissions vehicles while promising support for shale gas developers and energy- intensive industries in his annual budget today.
Osborne told lawmakers the U.K. will support the manufacture of “ultra-low emission vehicles” with tax incentives. He also said he’ll bring in a “generous new tax regime” to promote early investment in shale gas, and will exempt ceramics and other industries from the climate change levy, a tax...
Posted in Water Conservation 
Comments Off on U.K. Pledges Tax Breaks for Shale Gas, Low Emissions CarsMali conflict ups pressure on climate-stressed herders
Posted by AlertNet: Soumaila T Diarra on March 20th, 2013
AlertNet: The recent conflict in northern Mali, where the situation remains volatile, has left many livestock herders in fear of losing millions of cattle, sheep and goats at a time when they were already struggling to find enough pasture for their animals due to drought.
Since the spring of 2012, violence between Islamist groups who grabbed much of the north from Tuareg nomads, and the army, supported by foreign troops for the past two months, has disturbed the West African nation's traditional grazing...
Erosion eats away land along 22 percent of Thai coastline
Posted by AlertNet: None Given on March 20th, 2013
AlertNet: Thailand has lost 22 percent of its 2,600-km coastline - more than 12,600 hectares of land - over the past 30 years as a result of climate change and upstream dams, The Nation newspaper reported.
The damage was caused by stronger and bigger waves triggered by climate change, as well as upstream dams that deposit less sediment at river-mouth areas, Thanawat Jarupongsakul, head of the Chulalongkorn University's unit for disaster and land information studies, told the newspaper.
The Chao Phraya...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Erosion eats away land along 22 percent of Thai coastlinePoll: President Obama voters don’t want Keystone
Posted by Politico: Erica Martinson on March 20th, 2013
Politico: Environmentalists armed with new poll numbers have a warning for President Barack Obama: Approving the Keystone XL pipeline would put him at odds with core members of his base. The poll reveals an electorate deeply split on the Canada-to-Texas oil pipeline, which is wildly popular among Republicans and almost equally unpopular among Democrats. A small majority of people overall either support the project or don’t know what to think, according to results provided to POLITICO. But the Center for...
Researchers devise hidden dune filters to treat coastal stormwater runoff
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on March 20th, 2013
ScienceDaily: When it rains, untreated stormwater can sweep pollutants into coastal waters, potentially endangering public health. Now researchers from North Carolina State University have developed low-cost filtration systems that are concealed beneath sand dunes and filter out most of the bacteria that can lead to beach closures.
"It was not economically feasible to use a tract of beachfront property to treat stormwater. Instead, we were able to devise a system that could be installed in an area that was...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Researchers devise hidden dune filters to treat coastal stormwater runoff