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Archive for June, 2013
Renewable energy to eclipse gas by 2016
Posted by New Scientist: Peter Aldhous on June 27th, 2013
New Scientist: The dash for gas is being outrun by the race for renewables. According to the latest projections from the International Energy Agency, by 2016 global electricity generation from wind, solar, hydro and other forms of renewable power will exceed that from natural gas - and should be double that provided by nuclear plants.
This surge is being driven in large part by emerging economies. China is leading the way, accounting for 40 per cent of the projected global growth in renewables between 2012 and...
Global Warming Worsened Australia’s Record Hot Summer
Posted by LiveScience: Megan Gannon on June 27th, 2013
LiveScience: Human-caused global warming played a role in making this past summer Australia's hottest on record, a new study suggests.
The summer of 2012-2013 probably won't retain its title for long; researchers say record-breaking scorching summers are five times more likely to occur now in Australia due to climate change.
"Our research has shown that, due to greenhouse gas emissions, these types of extreme summers will become even more frequent and more severe in the future," study author Sophie Lewis...
Halliburton and ALEC Push Industry-Friendly Fracking Legislation in North Carolina
Posted by Mint Press: Trisha Marczak on June 27th, 2013
Mint Press: North Carolina senators are taking an American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) style approach in their efforts to push through legislation that allows oil companies a loophole in regulations requiring disclosure of the chemicals used in hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, operations.
This week, a state Senate committee approved a version of what is normally an annual environmental “housecleaning bill,” according to the Associated Press. While the House version of the bill was a mere four pages,...
Posted in Water Conservation 
Comments Off on Halliburton and ALEC Push Industry-Friendly Fracking Legislation in North CarolinaHow “Re-greening” Boosts Food Security; Curbs Climate Change
Posted by World Resources Institute: Chris Reij on June 27th, 2013
World Resources Institute: President Obama is in Africa this week to discuss development, investment, health, and, notably, food security. The trip comes on the heels of the president’s groundbreaking announcement of a U.S. Climate Action Plan. So it’s a fitting time for Obama and other global leaders to take notice of a strategy that addresses both climate change and food security in Africa--re-greening.
Re-greening--a process where African farmers manage and protect trees that grow on their farms, rather than cutting...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on How “Re-greening” Boosts Food Security; Curbs Climate ChangeMap of the rivers of the United States of America
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on June 27th, 2013
Guardian: Nelson Minar's detailed representation of all rivers in the US seems to have been etched out and soaked in a rich blue dye. It's a work of exceptional artistic cartography, based on the simple foundations of a vector map, created by using open source data. It has scope to be enriched further by filling in more details of each river, making it a truly beautiful and still evolving map
Britain’s deposits ‘could supply country for 25 years’
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on June 27th, 2013
Guardian: Britain is sitting on shale gas deposits that could supply the UK for 25 years, suggests an independent report that ramps up previous estimates for the controversial energy source.
New figures published on Thursday by the British Geological Survey indicated that the amount of shale resources, mainly sitting under the north of England, will trigger a new dash for gas. BGS published a long-awaited report that suggested an area stretching from Lancashire to Yorkshire and down to Lincolnshire could...
UK shale gas survey confirms huge reserves
Posted by BusinessGreen: Will Nichols and Jessica Shankleman on June 27th, 2013
BusinessGreen: The UK's fledgling shale gas industry received a major boost today as new research suggested the country has significantly higher reserves than had been first thought and the government underlined its commitment to developing the sector.
But campaigners again warned that accessible reserves would prove significantly lower than theoretical reserves and argued that an overreliance on shale gas development would lock the UK into high-carbon infrastructure that would make it impossible to comply with...
How Obama’s climate change speech supported fracking
Posted by Fuel Fix: David R. Baker on June 27th, 2013
Fuel Fix: Pres. Obama covered a lot of ground Tuesday in his long-awaited speech on climate change.
His proposals for fighting global warming without congressional help didn’t go as far as many of his supporters might have liked. Frankly, they didn’t go as far as programs California already has in place. But at this point, environmentalists will take whatever federal climate change action they can get. They certainly liked his comments on the Keystone XL pipeline.
But the speech was also notable for...
Obama ahead of US public on climate change
Posted by CNN: Bruce Stokes on June 27th, 2013
CNN: The Obama administration is stepping up its game in dealing with climate change. In his June 19 speech at the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin, President Barack Obama said that “the effort to slow climate change requires bold action.” On Tuesday, in a speech at Georgetown University, Obama called for the United States to “lead the world in a coordinated assault on a changing climate.” And the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency will issue regulations limiting carbon dioxide emissions from existing power...
China pledges pollution cut
Posted by Asia Times: Michael Lelyveld on June 27th, 2013
Asia Times: China has promised major steps to improve air quality as smog and greenhouse gas emissions continue to grow. On June 14, the State Council released a package of 10 anti-pollution measures to ease the emissions crisis, state media said. Topping the list is a pledge to cut pollution from six smog-producing industries by at least 30% per unit of output by 2017, the official Xinhua news agency reported.
The government has already targeted producers of thermal power, iron and steel, petrochemicals,...