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Archive for June, 2013
Beetles to blame for Colorado’s fires? Blame climate change instead
Posted by NBC: Alan Boyle on June 24th, 2013
NBC: Tiny, winged bark beetles have been the ecological bad guys of the West for more than a decade, and rightfully so. They've killed off millions of acres' worth of trees in Colorado. Now all those dead trees are feeding the flames across tens of thousands of acres in the southern part of the state.
The West Fork Complex fire raging through southwest Colorado has already burned through more than 75,000 acres, including wide stretches of tinder-dry trees hit by beetle damage. With 600 people evacuated...
Posted in Water Conservation 
Comments Off on Beetles to blame for Colorado’s fires? Blame climate change insteadDuke Study Finds Higher Gas Levels in Drinking Water Wells Near Marcellus Fracking Sites
Posted by EcoWatch: None Given on June 24th, 2013
EcoWatch: Some homeowners living near shale gas wells appear to be at higher risk of drinking water contamination from stray gases, according to a new Duke University-led study, Increased Stray Gas Abundance in a Subset of Drinking Water Wells Near Marcellus Shale Gas Extraction.
A Dimock, Pa., resident who did not want to be identified pours a glass of water taken from his well after the start of natural gas drilling in 2009. Photo credit: Reuters.
The scientists analyzed 141 drinking water samples...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Duke Study Finds Higher Gas Levels in Drinking Water Wells Near Marcellus Fracking SitesEPA delays fracking safety study until 2016
Posted by Grist: John Upton on June 24th, 2013
Grist: We told you last week that the EPA is abandoning an investigation that linked fracking chemicals with groundwater contamination in Wyoming. Amid controversy over that move, news about EPA delaying another fracking study got overlooked by most media.
In 2010, Congress ordered the EPA to look into the dangers posed to drinking water sources by hydraulic fracturing. That research was expected to be completed in 2014. But last Tuesday, an EPA official told attendees of a shale-gas conference in Cleveland,...
Fracking, Fracking and More Fracking
Posted by EcoWatch: Stefanie Spear on June 24th, 2013
EcoWatch: It`s virtually impossible these days to read, listen to or watch a news program that doesn`t mention hydraulic fracturing, or fracking. Nearly every day, EcoWatch posts at least one article on fracking and last week was no different.
Big news last week was the announcement by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) that it`s delaying from 2014 to 2016 the release of its study on the impact of fracking. In 2010, at the request of Congress, the U.S. EPA was mandated to conduct a study to...
Kerry implores India to tackle climate change, ticks off Indian enviros
Posted by Grist: John Upton on June 24th, 2013
Grist: U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry arrived in India over the weekend and gave a speech urging the fast-developing country to work closely with the U.S. and other countries on solutions to climate change. Kerry is leading a delegation to Delhi for U.S.-India talks focused on trade and energy; Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz is part of the visiting group. The stop in Delhi is one leg of a trip Kerry is making throughout the region. The Americans` arrival in Delhi coincided with deadly floods in northern...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Kerry implores India to tackle climate change, ticks off Indian envirosPlants do Math Overnight to Efficiently Use Food Stores
Posted by Nature World News: James A. Foley on June 24th, 2013
Nature World News: Plants perform precise arithmetic calculations to prevent starvation overnight, according to new research published in the open access journal eLife.
Scientists working at the John Innes Centre (JIC) in Norfolk, England report that plants will make calculations that allow them to use up their reserves of starch so precisely that they are depleted at dawn, when a new round of photosynthesis begins.
Martin Howard, an expert mathematical modeler at the JIC, said the research is the "first concrete...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Plants do Math Overnight to Efficiently Use Food StoresAs Deadly Floods Hit India, Kerry Calls on New Delhi to Address Climate Change
Posted by Time: Krista Mahr on June 24th, 2013
Time: It was a fitting time to talk about the weather. With some 700 dead in the massive floods that have hit the northeastern state of Uttarakhand, new torrents of rain and landslides put rescue efforts on hold on Monday. At least 10,000 people are reported to still be stranded in some of the worst monsoon flooding in years in the region, an unfolding disaster that provided a dramatic backdrop for U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry‘s two-day visit to India this week in which he called on the nation to...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on As Deadly Floods Hit India, Kerry Calls on New Delhi to Address Climate ChangeWhat to expect from Obama’s big climate speech
Posted by MotherJones: Kate Sheppard on June 24th, 2013
MotherJones: President Obama will deliver an address on climate change at Georgetown University on Tuesday, outlining, according to the White House, his "vision for a comprehensive plan to reduce carbon pollution, prepare our country for the impacts of climate change, and lead global efforts to fight it."
Obama tipped his hand on the new plan in a video announcement on Saturday, noting that climate change "is a serious challenge, but it's one uniquely suited to America's strengths."
He pledged action on...
Construction of Keystone XL Pump Station in Oklahoma Shut Down by Activists
Posted by EcoWatch: None Given on June 24th, 2013
EcoWatch: Early this morning, eight individuals blocked construction of a pump station for TransCanada’s controversial Keystone XL tar sands pipeline on Seminole land-by-treaty in Oklahoma by locking on to equipment in the largest action yet by the Great Plains Tar Sands Resistance. Nine people have been arrested. They managed to shut down the site until a volunteer firefighter reportedly injured one of the lockdowners, who is now in an ambulance. Others participating in the action unlocked out of concerns...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Construction of Keystone XL Pump Station in Oklahoma Shut Down by ActivistsNot Local Food, And Not Afraid To Say It
Posted by National Public Radio: Anna Haensch on June 24th, 2013
National Public Radio: A burrito is a thing of beauty. Swathed in tortilla, clad in foil, simple ingredients come together and something magical happens.
For John Pepper, CEO of Boloco and self-proclaimed "burrito-obsessed guy," capturing this burrito magic has been a journey. Pepper started Boloco, a chain of more than 20 burrito restaurants across six states, as a school project while earning his MBA at Dartmouth. His goal: to make delicious food through socially conscious food sourcing and community-focused business...