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Archive for June, 2013
Obama: Keystone decision turns on whether project adds pollution
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on June 25th, 2013
Reuters: President Barack Obama said on Tuesday that allowing the controversial Keystone pipeline to be built depends on whether it increases net carbon pollution.
"Our national interest will be served only if this project does not significantly exacerbate the problem of carbon pollution," he said in a speech on energy policy at Georgetown University. "The net effects of the pipeline's impact on our climate will be absolutely critical to determining whether this project is allowed to go forward."
The...
Posted in Water Conservation 
Comments Off on Obama: Keystone decision turns on whether project adds pollutionWhy Panama’s indigenous pulled out of the UN’s REDD program
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on June 25th, 2013
Mongabay: An Interview with Cacique Betanio Chiquidama, National Coordinator of Indigenous Peoples of Panama
This week in Lombok, Indonesia, the Policy Board of the United Nations climate change program known as UNREDD is addressing the first major test of the 2007 UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples of the United Nations (UN DRIP), which recognizes the right of Indigenous People to stop projects in their territories that could endanger their traditions and livelihoods.
The National Coordinating...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Why Panama’s indigenous pulled out of the UN’s REDD programExperts praise Bloomberg’s climate plan but worry about his short remaining term
Posted by ClimateWire: Colin Sullivan on June 25th, 2013
ClimateWire: It didn't take long for critics to pounce on Mayor Michael Bloomberg's 250 ideas for adapting the Big Apple to more intense storms and floods. But a survey of experts produced a surprisingly unified view: For the most part, they approve.
In a campaign-style event last week, the three-term independent with less than 200 days left in office trotted out a 438-page report. It had nearly $20 billion worth of project ideas for defending the city.
Artist's concept of a "multipurpose levee" that the...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Experts praise Bloomberg’s climate plan but worry about his short remaining termIn climate speech, Obama sets carbon limits on Keystone project
Posted by Hill: Justin Sink on June 25th, 2013
Hill: President Obama said Tuesday he will approve the Keystone XL pipeline only if it does not substantially increase greenhouse gas emissions -- a surprise announcement ambiguous enough to leave both sides in the fight thinking they’d heard good news.
“Our national interest will be served only if this project doesn’t significantly exacerbate the problem of carbon pollution,” Obama said in speech laying out his second-term climate agenda, including greenhouse gas emissions for power plants.
“The...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on In climate speech, Obama sets carbon limits on Keystone projectIn Keystone boost, U.S. study sees no added risk from Canada oil
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on June 25th, 2013
Reuters: The Keystone XL pipeline got a boost on Tuesday as a landmark U.S.-mandated report said heavy Canadian oil is no more likely to cause pipeline leaks than other crudes, knocking back one of the biggest objections to the project.
Following a series of high-profile pipeline leaks over the past three years, environmental groups raised the alarm over the prospect that Canada's growing stream of heavy bitumen crude, which is diluted with light fuel to flow through pipelines, could corrode the lines...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on In Keystone boost, U.S. study sees no added risk from Canada oilObama to announce new power plant carbon cuts
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on June 25th, 2013
Associated Press: U.S. President Barack Obama said the State Department should not approve the Keystone XL pipeline unless it is sure the project will not increase greenhouse gas emissions.
Obama made the announcement Tuesday in a speech on his climate change plan at Georgetown University.
"Allowing the Keystone pipeline to be built requires a finding that doing so would be in our nation's interest," Obama said. "And our national interest will be served only if this project does not significantly exacerbate...
RELEASE/VICTORY! Ecological Internet Welcomes Full Protection for Tasmania, Australias World Heritage Old-Growth Forests
Posted by Water Conservation Blog on June 25th, 2013
By Ecological Internet, http://www.ecoearth.info/ and http://forests.org/
Media Contact: Dr. Glen Barry, glenbarry@ecologicalinternet.org, +1 (608) 332-5650
By Earth's Newsdesk, a project of Ecological Internet (EI)
CONTACT: Dr. Glen Barry, glenbarry@ecologicalinternet.org
(Madison, Wisconsin) Ecological Internet a small forest and climate protection NGO with a global reach is thrilled to have contributed to an additional 170,000 hectares (about 420,000 acres) of Tasmania, Australia, old-growth forests [search] being protected. Following decades of local protest, six years of blockades, tree sitting, and extensive international affinity campaigns spearhead by Ecological Internet and others, most of Tasmanias remaining old-growth has been granted World Heritage area protection, which should exclude further logging. The Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage area has been extended to include the iconic Upper Florentine and areas within the Styx, Huon, Picton, and Counsel River Valleys.
Tasmania is home to the tallest hardwood forests on Earth, with eucalyptus trees reaching nearly 100 metres and living for over 400 years, existing within one of Earth's greatest tracts of large, connected, and ecologically intact temperate rainforest. Tasmania contains large tracts of natural old-growth forest, glacial landforms, alpine and sub-alpine environments, wild rivers, indigenous heritage sites, and critical endangered species habitat. There are many species that rely on old growth trees ...
Posted in Uncategorized Comments Off on RELEASE/VICTORY! Ecological Internet Welcomes Full Protection for Tasmania, Australias World Heritage Old-Growth ForestsKeystone Aided as Bitumen Study Finds No Greater Spill Risks
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on June 25th, 2013
Bloomberg: Heavy crude oil to be carried by the proposed Keystone XL pipeline poses no greater risk of a spill than other types of oil, the National Research Council said in a report.
The report disputes arguments made by Keystone opponents that diluted bitumen, a tar-like substance mined in Alberta’s oil sands, is more corrosive than conventional crude oil and is more likely to create ruptures and oil spills in pipelines.
“There have been several studies to look at this over the years, but none that...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Keystone Aided as Bitumen Study Finds No Greater Spill RisksRecord heat wave hits Alaska
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on June 25th, 2013
Associated Press: Baked Alaska is taking on a new meaning this week. Temperatures in Anchorage, the country's northernmost city, reached the 80s and are expected to remain high through the weekend.
Meteorologists say the jet stream, a big river of air high above Earth that dictates much of the weather for the Northern Hemisphere, is causing the unseasonably high temperatures. The jet stream has been unusually erratic the past few years. They blame it for everything from snowstorms in May to the path of Superstorm...
Obama to confirm tough new power plant emissions rules
Posted by BusinessGreen: James Murray on June 25th, 2013
BusinessGreen: The White House has today confirmed President Obama's long-awaited climate strategy will include new restrictions on emissions from coal-fired power plants, a major push to increase investment in clean energy technologies, and the introduction of new efficiency standards for appliances and buildings.
Documents released this morning ahead of the President's landmark speech at Georgetown University this afternoon, outline a new three-pronged strategy based on cutting domestic carbon emissions, increasing...