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Archive for June, 2013
Singapore threatens legal action against local firms blamed for smog from Sumatra
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on June 23rd, 2013
Agence France-Presse: Singapore said yesterday that it would pursue local firms found to be involved in starting forest fires in Sumatra, Indonesia, as Greenpeace said the blazes were on palm oil plantations owned by Indonesian, Malaysian and Singaporean companies.
Smog has engulfed the city state, with air pollution reaching a record high on Friday, although the level had dropped to "moderate" by yesterday afternoon.
Foreign Minister K. Shanmugam said Singapore would investigate possible legal action against domestic...
Posted in Water Conservation 
Comments Off on Singapore threatens legal action against local firms blamed for smog from SumatraCanada: Mackenzie River, ‘Amazon of North,’ under threat
Posted by Toronto Star: None Given on June 23rd, 2013
Toronto Star: Alexander Mackenzie kept a careful record of his troubles 224 summers ago, scribbling about torments like cold, driving rain and clouds of ravenous mosquitoes as he paddled a bark canoe north to the Arctic. For days on end in early June 1789, he journeyed along the shores of Great Slave Lake, blocked at each turn by ice, searching with native guides for a route to the river that would eventually take his name. Some 600 kilometres south of the Arctic Circle, lake ice was a constantly shifting barricade,...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Canada: Mackenzie River, ‘Amazon of North,’ under threatWhat to Expect from the President’s Big Climate Change Speech
Posted by Atlantic Wire: Connor Simpson on June 23rd, 2013
Atlantic Wire: On Tuesday, President Obama will use a speech at the University of Georgetown to announce new, sweeping executive orders addressing climate change that will be designed to appease critics who have attacked the President for talking the green talk and not walking the green walk. Obviously, the White House is also hoping tackling climate change will get them some decent press in the wake of that pesky surveillance scandal.
After signalling he was ready to act during a speech in Berlin last week,...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on What to Expect from the President’s Big Climate Change SpeechCalgary, Canada’s Oil Capital, to Be Shut for Days After Flooding
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on June 23rd, 2013
Reuters: Southern Alberta braced for more disruption on Saturday from floods that killed at least three people, forced about 100,000 from their homes and blacked out the center of Canada's oil capital, Calgary.
Communities to the south and east of Calgary were on high alert as flood waters moved across the region. But with rainfall easing, a few residents began returning to damaged homes and authorities were hopeful that the worst might be over.
"It's morning in Calgary! Sunny, water levels are down,...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Calgary, Canada’s Oil Capital, to Be Shut for Days After FloodingFlooding to close core of Canada’s oil capital for days
Posted by Reuters: Nia Williams on June 23rd, 2013
Reuters: Some residents began returning to damaged homes on Saturday after record-breaking floods in southern Alberta that killed at least three people, displaced more than 100,000 and will leave the core of Canada's oil capital, Calgary, without power for days.
Communities to the south and east of Calgary were on high alert as flood waters washed across the region. And even as Calgary lifted some evacuation orders, officials warned people not to become complacent.
"We have a situation across southern...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Flooding to close core of Canada’s oil capital for days63,700 ha of Borneo rainforest gains protection in Sabah
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on June 22nd, 2013
Mongabay: The Sabah Forestry Department has reclassified 63,700 hectares of rainforest zoned for logging as protected areas.
The reclassification applies to four commercial forest reserves: Malua (33,969 hectares), Mt. Magdalena (6,665 ha), Tambulanan (3,265 ha) and Sungai Tiagau (19,870 ha). It will increase contiguity between the Maliau Basin, Imbak Canyon and Danum Valley conservation areas within the Yayasan Sabah concession area, a million hectare estate that is managed by the Sabah Forestry Department....
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on 63,700 ha of Borneo rainforest gains protection in SabahCanada: Calgary evacuated ahead of flood
Posted by Independent: Zander Swinburne on June 22nd, 2013
Independent: Around 75,000 people have been evacuated from the centre of the city of Calgary as floodwaters devastated much of Canada's southern province of Alberta, killing three people. Some 1,300 troops have been deployed in the flood zone. Alberta's premier, Alison Redford, warned that communities downstream of Calgary had not yet felt the full force of the floods, as rivers washed out roads and bridges, soaked homes and turned streets into dirt-brown waterways. On Friday, the Prime Minister, Stephen Harper,...
Indonesia drops water bombs on fires, may resort to cloud-seeding
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on June 22nd, 2013
Mongabay: In an effort to control peat fires casting a pall of haze over neighboring Singapore and Malaysia, Indonesia is using airplanes to drop water across hotspots in Riau Province on the island of Sumatra, reports AFP. Officials say they may try cloud-seeding - dumping silver iodide at high altitude - if current fire-fighting efforts fall short.
The fires are a growing source of tension between Indonesia and its neighbors. The Indonesian minister in charge of handling the fires, fanned the diplomatic...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Indonesia drops water bombs on fires, may resort to cloud-seedingAlberta is a centre of climate-change denial, but not all Albertans deny reality of global warming
Posted by Straight: Charlie Smith on June 22nd, 2013
Straight: I merely pointed out that climate-change deniers, such as former Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney and former Australian prime minister John Howard, each lost elections for taking this position.
And I suggested that the same fate could easily befall Prime Minister Stephen Harper, who has modelled his career on Howard's.
That prompted Alberta progressives--and a few trolls--to attack me for characterizing Alberta as "Canada's centre of climate-change denial".
Some comments were...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Alberta is a centre of climate-change denial, but not all Albertans deny reality of global warmingIowa View: It’s time for Iowa to lead on climate change
Posted by Des Moines Register: None Given on June 22nd, 2013
Des Moines Register: Iowa seems to have become a state of extremes.
Last year, record early warmth prompted fruit blossoming in March and corn planting in early April, only to be severely challenged by late freezes and widespread drought. This year, a cold start to the planting season, followed by the wettest spring on record, has delayed planting and produced widespread soil erosion from extreme rainfall.
Last year along the Mississippi River, low water brought barge traffic to a standstill. This year, barges...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Iowa View: It’s time for Iowa to lead on climate change