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Archive for March, 2013
12 Arrested Blockading Controversial Fracking Infrastructure
Posted by EcoWatch: Green Umbrella on March 18th, 2013
EcoWatch: Sandra Steingraber PhD., biologist, author and Trumansburg, NY resident, was arrested alongside residents of Seneca Lake and local college students to oppose Kansas City, MO based Inergy, natural gas and liquid petroleum gas storage facility, which would lock in natural gas development in the Marcellus Shale region. Protesters have linked arms and deployed a banner reading “Our Future is Unfractured, We Are Greater Than Dirty Inergy” across the entrance to the facility on NY State Route 14.
The...
Posted in Water Conservation 
Comments Off on 12 Arrested Blockading Controversial Fracking InfrastructureScientists clone extinct frog that births young from its mouth
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on March 18th, 2013
Mongabay: Australian scientists have produced cloned embryos of an extinct species of frog known for its strange reproductive behavior, reports the University of New South Wales.
The amphibian, the gastric-brooding frog (Rheobatrachus silus), one of only two species that swallowed its eggs, brooded the young in its stomach, and gave birth through its mouth. But it went extinct in 1983. The closely-related R. vitellinus died out in the wild in in 1985.
However a team of researchers were able to recover...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Scientists clone extinct frog that births young from its mouthGlobal warming effect on Antarctica, ice cover disappears from King George Island
Posted by Times of India: Neel Kamal on March 18th, 2013
Times of India: Could anyone imagine the islands on the South Pole (Antarctica) without its proverbial ice? It seems unthinkable as the man's flirtation with nature, though for scientific research purposes, is paving way to global warming and seems to have cast its shadow on the icy lands as well.
Antarctica has gone through major geographical changes of late and one of its islands' (King George) ice cover has totally disappeared. Even the penguins are facing the threat of extinction.
This came to light after...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Global warming effect on Antarctica, ice cover disappears from King George IslandThe Role of Science for Conservation – book review
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on March 18th, 2013
Mongabay: The Role of Science for Conservation, edited by Matthias Wolff and Mark Gardner, celebrates Charles Darwin’s Bicentennial and 50 years of research by the Charles Darwin Foundation in The Galápagos, Ecuador. Using The Galápagos as a case study, The Role of Science for Conservation communicates to a wide audience about themes from a broad range of scientific disciplines. The book is divided into four parts: evolutionary context, biodiversity assessment and monitoring, modeling and restoration, and...
Ten reasons why fracking for dirty oil in California is a stupid idea
Posted by Grist: David Roberts on March 18th, 2013
Grist: The latest target of the unconventional oil craze is California, specifically the Monterey Shale in southern California (see map). Will California become the next North Dakota? Let us ponder.
Oil in California is nothing new - it`s the third highest oil-producing state in the U.S. (after Texas and North Dakota, which recently displaced Alaska for the No. 2 spot). The Monterey area has been drilled for years, profitably, though production has been steadily declining since its peak in the mid `80s....
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Ten reasons why fracking for dirty oil in California is a stupid ideaUK should use shale gas to cut emissions, report says
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on March 18th, 2013
Guardian: The UK should use natural gas, including from "fracking", to help cut carbon by replacing coal for power supplies over the next few years, a report has suggested.
But it would be risky to assume gas prices will be low in the coming years or that the UK has extensive supplies of shale gas which is extracted through the controversial process of fracking, the study said.
And gas-fired power stations can only play a significant role in generating electricity beyond 2030 if they are fitted with...
Cambodia loses half its seasonal wetlands in 10 years
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on March 18th, 2013
Mongabay: Cambodia lost more than half of its seasonally flooded grasslands in ten years due to industrial agricultural conversion, abandonment of traditional farming, and illegal drainage, putting several endangered bird species at risk and undermining traditional livelihoods in the region, reports a new study published in the journal Conservation Biology.
The research is based on aerial photographs, land cover maps, and ground surveys. It found that the grassland area around the Tonle Sap, Southeast Asia’s...
Dash for gas a “risky” investment for UK, scientists warn
Posted by BusinessGreen: Will Nichols on March 18th, 2013
BusinessGreen: Large-scale investments in natural gas are "a risky option" given the uncertainty over future price fluctuations and the size of shale reserves, scientists will say today.
In a new report released two days ahead of a Budget that is expected to include further evidence of the Chancellor's desire to accelerate gas investment, researchers say a more sensible course of action would be a "dash for smart gas", where natural gas is only used in the areas where it can deliver the greatest economic and...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Dash for gas a “risky” investment for UK, scientists warnNY fracking foes: will become lobby if necessary
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on March 18th, 2013
Associated Press: Artists Against Fracking said Monday neither the group nor Yoko Ono or Sean Lennon have been told to register as lobbyists in their campaign against gas drilling in New York, but will if necessary to continue their work. A good-government advocate and two lobbying experts said the state should review whether Artists Against Fracking and its supporter-celebrities should be registered as lobbyists. The group and nearly 200 entertainers connected with it aren't currently registered lobbyists, a search...
Saudi Arabia to Drill Seven Shale Gas Test Wells, Al-Naimi Says
Posted by Bloomberg: Aibing Guo and Wael Mahdi on March 17th, 2013
Bloomberg: Saudi Arabia, the world’s biggest oil exporter, will drill about seven test wells for shale gas this year, according to Oil Minister Ali Al-Naimi.
“We know where the areas are,” Al-Naimi said at the Credit Suisse Asian Investment conference in Hong Kong today. “We have rough estimates of over 600 trillion cubic feet of unconventional and shale gas, so the potential is very huge and we plan to exploit it.”
Saudi Arabia is seeking to develop its natural gas resources to meet rising domestic energy...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Saudi Arabia to Drill Seven Shale Gas Test Wells, Al-Naimi Says