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Archive for June, 2013
The GM slow motion train wreck
Posted by Guardian: Paul Nightingale on June 21st, 2013
Guardian: Yesterday the UK launched an utterly predictable slow motion train wreck of an attempt to rehabilitate genetically modified organisms in the European market. Owen Paterson gave a speech at the Rothamsted Research site arguing for a new debate about the potential of genetically modified crops. His position was clear. He thinks that we have a moral responsibility to invest in GMOs in order to feed the world in the near future. He thinks that there will be benefits for the UK economy, because we can...
Indian floods: thousands stranded in northern Himalayas
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on June 21st, 2013
Associated Press: The Indian air force has dropped food and medicine to assist tens of thousands of people trapped in up to 100 towns and villages cut off by monsoon rains and landslides in the northern Himalayas.
Soldiers and other workers reopened dozens of roads by building makeshift bridges, accelerating the evacuation of nearly 62,000 people, said a Uttarakhand state spokesman, Amit Chandola.
More than 2,000 vehicles carrying stranded Hindu pilgrims have travelled from the area since Thursday, he said....
Posted in Water Conservation 
Comments Off on Indian floods: thousands stranded in northern HimalayasGlobal Carbon Emissions & Sinks Since 1750
Posted by CleanTechnica: Lindsay Wilson on June 21st, 2013
CleanTechnica: The world reached a grim milestone recently, with atmospheric concentrations at the historic Mauna Loa observatory hitting the 400 parts per million mark due to ever increasing global carbon emissions. While this event rightly got the media coverage it deserved, rarely do we stop to appreciate the incredible job land and ocean sinks have played in ensuring this figure isn’t significantly higher. Using data for all sources and sinks of human carbon emissions over the last 262 years this post highlights...
China steps up search for gas
Posted by China Daily: Du Juan on June 21st, 2013
China Daily: To meet soaring demand, global natural gas production is developing faster than exploration and China is working on gaining more of this clean energy source to ensure domestic supply.
BP PLC, the United Kingdom-based energy giant, has cut its global natural gas reserves estimate for the first time in decades, even though experts said the situation is temporary.
"Caused by rapidly growing natural gas consumption, the exploration for this resource is relatively slower than its production speed,...
Canada: Albertans in Awe at Power of ‘Insane’ Flooding
Posted by CBC: None Given on June 21st, 2013
CBC: Torrential rains and widespread flooding in southern Alberta have left people throughout the province in awe at the power and scope of the devastation and concerned about the uncertain hours ahead.
The floodwaters have washed out roads and bridges, left at least one person missing and caused cars, couches and refrigerators to float away. Several communities are under states of emergency, and as many as 100,000 people could be forced from their homes in Calgary alone.
'I watched a refrigerator...
Raging wildfires force evacuation of two Colorado towns
Posted by Reuters: Keith Coffman on June 21st, 2013
Reuters: Three wildfires sparked by lightning raged out of control in rugged Colorado mountain terrain on Friday, prompting the evacuation of two towns and menacing a third.
The West Fork Fire Complex - consisting of two separate fires in Rio Grande County in southern Colorado - forced 600 residents of South Fork to flee as high winds helped the blazes grow from 12,000 acres to 30,000 acres overnight.
"The fire behavior we saw yesterday was so extreme, it was ... unprecedented," said Eric Norton, a...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Raging wildfires force evacuation of two Colorado townsSingapore smog from Indonesia fire ‘could last weeks’
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on June 21st, 2013
BBC: Singapore's prime minister has warned that the haze engulfing the city-state could last for weeks, as air pollution soared to record levels. The pollution standards index peaked at 371 on Thursday, breaking previous records and well above hazardous levels, before falling to about 300. The haze is the result of forest fires started by farmers clearing land on the Indonesian island of Sumatra. The issue has sparked accusations between the two neighbours. Dr Vivian Balakrishnan, Singapore's Environment...
Raging Colorado, Arizona wildfires prompt evacuations
Posted by Reuters: Keith Coffman on June 21st, 2013
Reuters: Several wildfires raged unchecked across drought-parched Colorado on Thursday, one threatening oil and gas wells close to the Utah border and another about 300 miles to the southeast chased a group of Boy Scouts from their camp near New Mexico.
A separate wind-whipped fire roaring through chaparral and pine forests in central Arizona forced the evacuation of about 460 homes near the town of Prescott, about 100 miles north of Phoenix.
Scorching temperatures, low humidity and gusting winds have...
‘Jaguar people’s’ urgent appeal to oil company’s shareholders
Posted by Survival: None Given on June 21st, 2013
Survival: An Amazonian tribe has sent an urgent appeal to shareholders of Canadian-Colombian oil giant Pacific Rubiales to protect the lives of uncontacted Indians in Peru, whose survival is threatened by the company`s work on their land. In an urgent video message Salomon Dunu, a member of the Matsés tribe, said, 'Our uncontacted brothers live in the forest, we have heard them many times so we know they exist… Tell the world that the Matsés are firm in our position against the oil company. We do not want...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on ‘Jaguar people’s’ urgent appeal to oil company’s shareholdersS’pore Spars With Jakarta Over Fires, Hazardous Smog
Posted by Bloomberg: Kyunghee Park and Jasmine Ng on June 20th, 2013
Bloomberg: Singapore remained blanketed in thick, smoky haze as Indonesia’s Air Force prepared to water-bomb forest fires raging on the island of Sumatra.
Singapore’s Pollutant Standards Index stood at 135 as of 7 p.m., a level deemed unhealthy, the National Environment Agency, or NEA, said on its website. Earlier in the day it reached a hazardous reading of 401, a record. The NEA said it expected the 24-hour PSI to remain in the unhealthy 200-300 range.
Haze is common in many parts of Asia, with air...