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Archive for May, 2013
Climate change will be slower than thought, study shows – or does it?
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on May 24th, 2013
Guardian: For anyone who loves to eat chocolate, drink lots of lovely espresso coffee or quaff plentiful amounts of red wine, there's much comfort to be sought from scientific studies.
You can pick the studies saying you'll live long and prosper from your chosen potions and ignore the caveats or contradictory warnings. You might also forget to check back to see if any follow-up studies were done that might spoil your fun.
Essentially, you fall foul of what's known as "single-study syndrome" – you make...
Posted in Water Conservation 
Comments Off on Climate change will be slower than thought, study shows – or does it?Majority of Earth’s Population Faces Water Shortages by Mid-Century
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on May 24th, 2013
Yale Environment 360: A conference of 500 of the world’s leading water scientists issued a stark declaration at the end of a four-day meeting in Germany, warning that within two generations a majority of the people on the planet will face problems obtaining ample supplies of clean water. At the meeting, “Water in the Anthropocene,” the scientists said that the of over-pumping of underground aquifers, soaring populations, pollution, the over-use of fertilizers, and climate change are seriously threatening supplies of freshwater...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Majority of Earth’s Population Faces Water Shortages by Mid-CenturyFive Arrested at Mountaintop Removal Protest
Posted by on May 24th, 2013
EcoWatch: This morning, three residents of Central Appalachia and two supporters with Mountain Justice chained themselves to an industrial tank of black water in front of Alpha Natural Resources’ headquarters in Bristol, VA, to protest Alpha’s mountaintop removal strip mining and coal slurry operations across the region. All five blockaders have been arrested.
“I’m risking arrest today because mountaintop removal has to end now for the future viability of Appalachia,” said Emily Gillespie of Roanoke, VA,...
Proposed Coal Export Terminals Putting People and Planet at Risk
Posted by EcoWatch: None Given on May 24th, 2013
EcoWatch: On Wednesday, Northwest-based groups filed a formal petition with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers asking it to evaluate the cumulative and related impacts of all proposed coal export terminals in Oregon and Washington.
There are currently two active coal export proposals in Washington--Cherry Point (north of Bellingham) and Longview--and one proposal in Boardman, OR, that would collectively export a total 100 million metric tons of coal per year if built. Formally submitted by Earthjustice, the...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Proposed Coal Export Terminals Putting People and Planet at RiskTo defeat Keystone, environmental movement goes from beltway to grassroots
Posted by InsideClimate: Katherine Bagley on May 24th, 2013
InsideClimate: As decision day nears on the Keystone XL oil pipeline, the environmental movement looks different than it did in 2009—the last time a major climate policy fight took center stage in Washington.
Then, the nation's largest green groups were the main engine behind a movement to pass federal climate change legislation. They spent vast quantities of financial and political capital lobbying congressional negotiators and corporations, before the bill failed in 2010.
This time, the main force of opposition...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on To defeat Keystone, environmental movement goes from beltway to grassrootsOttawa to fund $5M study of effects of climate change on western Canadian rivers
Posted by Calgary Herald: Colette Derworiz on May 24th, 2013
Calgary Herald: From the Rockies to the Prairies and the Arctic to the United States border, a $5 million investment will allow scientists to study Western Canada’s major river systems and how they are affected by climate change.
The Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada has announced seven environmental projects that will receive about $32 million in funding over five years through the Climate Change and Atmospheric Research initiative.
It includes $5 million for the Changing Cold Region...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Ottawa to fund $5M study of effects of climate change on western Canadian riversKeystone XL’s Southern Leg Nears Completion
Posted by Houston Chronicle: Zain Shauk on May 24th, 2013
Houston Chronicle: The southern leg of the Keystone XL pipeline is more than 75 percent complete and construction is proceeding on schedule, a spokesman for pipeline owner TransCanada told FuelFix.
“We have some pump stations to build, but we’ve made great strides on the pipeline itself,” said David Dodson, a spokesman for the Canadian pipeline giant.
TransCanada in April pushed back its estimated completion date for the northern segment of the Keystone XL project, which is planned to eventually connect oil sands...
Canada: Quebec to Hold Own Hearings On Enbridge Pipeline Plan
Posted by Globe and Mail: Shawn Mccarthy AND Kelly Cryderman on May 24th, 2013
Globe and Mail: The Quebec government has announced plans to hold its own hearings on Enbridge Inc.'s proposed pipeline project to bring western oil to Montreal, a move that could raise roadblocks to Alberta's efforts to access new markets for its growing oil production.
Parti Québécois Environment Minister Yves-François Blanchet said Thursday that review would be done simultaneously with the National Energy Board and will allow local citizens and municipalities to make recommendations on how to make the pipeline...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Canada: Quebec to Hold Own Hearings On Enbridge Pipeline PlanState Department Releases Keystone Pipeline Comments
Posted by Bloomberg: Michael Shepard and Jim Snyder on May 24th, 2013
Bloomberg: The U.S. State Department released about 100,000 public comments it has received on TransCanada Corp. (TRP)’s proposed Keystone XL pipeline, the first batch of more than 1.2 million submitted to the agency on the project.
The comments on a draft environmental impact study were posted yesterday on a government website a month after the State Department reversed an earlier decision not to release them. The agency said last night in a statement that it would publish comments in similarly sized batches...
U.S. Groundwater Consumption Accelerating
Posted by Environment News Service: None Given on May 23rd, 2013
Environment News Service: Aquifers across the United States are being drawn down at an increasing pace, finds a new study released today by the U.S. Geological Survey.
The report, "Groundwater Depletion in the United States (1900-2008)," evaluates long-term cumulative depletion volumes in 40 separate aquifers in the United States, bringing together information from previous studies and from new analyses of these distinct underground water storage areas.
"Although groundwater depletion is rarely assessed and poorly documented,...