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Archive for May, 2013
Minn. lawmakers compromise on sand mining rules
Posted by Bloomberg: Steve Karnowski on May 22nd, 2013
Bloomberg: Critics of silica sand mining had hoped the Minnesota Legislature would adopt aggressive statewide rules to protect people and the environment. What finally emerged from the just-completed session, however, was a compromise that still leaves key decisions up to local governments.
The sand in the bluffs and hills of southeastern Minnesota and western Wisconsin has been in high demand for hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, the new technology unlocking vast new deposits of oil and natural gas in...
Concerned Citizens of Illinois Protest Fracking Regulation Bill
Posted by EcoWatch: None Given on May 22nd, 2013
EcoWatch: Twenty concerned citizens occupied Illinois Gov. Pat. Quinn’s office Tuesday to protest his support of a state bill to regulate hydraulic fracturing.
After being refused a request for a meeting to discuss the matter with the Governor, three people locked arms and sat down in the middle of the entrance to the Governor’s office demanding that the Governor meet with affected communities to discuss the need for a moratorium on fracking, and to rethink his support of State Bill 1715, a bill to regulate...
Posted in Water Conservation 
Comments Off on Concerned Citizens of Illinois Protest Fracking Regulation BillCanada’s government is spending millions to get you to like the Keystone pipeline
Posted by Grist: Claire Thompson on May 22nd, 2013
Grist: Canada obviously has a huge stake in the fate of the Keystone XL pipeline. If President Obama fails to approve it - a decision he recently put off yet again -- the Canadian oil industry will have a tough time getting its abundant tar-sands crude to seaside ports. Prime Minister Stephen Harper recently came to the U.S. to make the case for the pipeline in person, as did Canada`s ministers of foreign affairs and natural resources and the premiers of Alberta and Saskatchewan.
And now our neighbor...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Canada’s government is spending millions to get you to like the Keystone pipelineClimate change threatens habitats
Posted by Durango Herald: Dan Vergano on May 22nd, 2013
Durango Herald: Global warming will destroy more than half of the habitats of most plants and a third of animals by 2080, biologists conclude, unless steps are taken to limit greenhouse gases. During the last century, average global surface temperatures have increased about 1.4 degrees Fahrenheit, according to the National Academy of Sciences. This global warming is largely because of burning fossil fuels, such as coal, oil and natural gas, which retain heat and warm the atmosphere. Temperatures worldwide are expected...
UK shale gas projections “wildly optimistic”, campaigners say
Posted by BusinessGreen: Will Nichols on May 21st, 2013
BusinessGreen: Campaigners have decried as "wildly optimistic" a report claiming shale gas is poised to make a big contribution to the growth of the UK economy.
A new paper by the Institute of Directors, sponsored by shale gas firm Cuadrilla Resources, says pressing ahead with exploiting shale gas could create a £3.7bn industry supporting 74,000 jobs and generating significant revenues for the Treasury.
The IOD also claims domestic shale could reduce the country's emissions if it is used to replace coal power,...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on UK shale gas projections “wildly optimistic”, campaigners sayMost UK species in decline, wildlife stocktake shows
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on May 21st, 2013
Guardian: An unprecedented stocktake of UK wildlife has revealed that most species are struggling and that one in three have halved in number in the past half century. The unique report, based on scientific analysis of tens of millions of observations from volunteers, shows that from woodland to farmland and from freshwater streams to the sea, many animals, birds, insects, fish and plants are in trouble.
The causes include the intensification of farming, with the consequent loss of meadows, hedgerows and...
Stressed Ecosystems Leaving Humanity High and Dry
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on May 21st, 2013
Inter Press Service: Everyone knows water is life. Far too few understand the role of trees, plants and other living things in ensuring we have clean, fresh water.
This dangerous ignorance results in destruction of wetlands that once cleaned water and prevented destructive and costly flooding, scientists and activists warn."We have accelerated major processes like erosion, applied massive quantities of nitrogen that leaks from soil to ground and surface waters and, sometimes, literally siphoned all water from rivers."...
Indigenous Brazilians Learn to Fight for the Right to Food
Posted by Inter Press Service: Clarinha Glock on May 21st, 2013
Inter Press Service: - Indigenous communities in remote areas of Brazil have begun to recognise that they have the right to not be hungry, and are learning that food security means much more than simply having food on the table.
Rosiléia Cruz, 19, dreams of studying journalism. She chooses her words carefully during her interview with Tierramérica* by mobile phone from Tabatinga, in northwest Brazil, which can only be reached by plane or river travel.
Cruz is a member of the Ticuna indigenous ethnic group, one...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Indigenous Brazilians Learn to Fight for the Right to FoodIllinois House panel approves fracking regulations
Posted by Associated Press: Regina Garcia Cano on May 21st, 2013
Associated Press: A groundbreaking deal to regulate high-volume oil and gas drilling in Illinois cleared a top House committee Tuesday, setting up a floor vote on a measure that supporters say would bring tens of thousands of jobs to struggling areas in the southern part of the state.
The House Executive Committee unanimously voted to send the full House a legislative proposal meant to regulate hydraulic fracturing, or "fracking." A vote is expected this week, although it's not yet clear when the Senate would take...
Drop in US underground water levels has accelerated: USGS
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on May 21st, 2013
Reuters: Water levels in U.S. aquifers, the vast underground storage areas tapped for agriculture, energy and human consumption, between 2000 and 2008 dropped at a rate that was almost three times as great as any time during the 20th century, U.S. officials said on Monday.
The accelerated decline in the subterranean reservoirs is due to a combination of factors, most of them linked to rising population in the United States, according to Leonard Konikow, a research hydrologist at the U.S. Geological Survey....
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Drop in US underground water levels has accelerated: USGS