RSS Feed
Archive for June, 2013
Obama’s pragmatist side wins out in Keystone comments
Posted by National Post: None Given on June 26th, 2013
National Post: Barack Obama downplayed any thoughts that his new climate change action plan is a straight choice between “the health of our children and the health of the economy.”
But it wasn’t just the 33 degree heat that made him wipe his brow continually. This was a defining moment in his presidency -- a speech where he made clear he is a firm believer in man-made climate change and intends to match his lofty rhetoric with regulatory action.
What to make of Mr. Obama’s plan from a Canadian perspective?...
Climate change debate is indeed obsolete
Posted by Bennington Banner: Michelle Karas on June 26th, 2013
Bennington Banner: Whether you call it climate change, global warming or just plain crazy weather, it’s clear the climate in Vermont and in the rest of the country has changed quite a bit over the last 50 years.
Some dismiss global warming as political positioning or an extremist explanation for natural phenomena.
President Barack Obama on Tuesday asserted just the opposite. During a speech at Georgetown University, Obama said the debate over climate change and its causes is obsolete and announced a plan to tackle...
Has Obama turned against Keystone?
Posted by Bloomberg View: Mary Duenwald on June 26th, 2013
Bloomberg View: The first reports about President Obama's climate speech today were all about the one thing not part of his "climate action plan": the Keystone XL pipeline.
As if to ward off criticism for not including the controversial project, Obama said, "Our energy strategy . . . has to be about more than just building one pipeline."
He also said the pipeline, which would carry crude from Canada's oil sands to refineries in the Gulf of Mexico, would be approved "only if it doesn't exacerbate the impact...
Obama and Congress must fight climate change like they do terrorism
Posted by Christian Science Monitor: Andrew Guzman on June 26th, 2013
Christian Science Monitor: For a man with his hands tied, President Obama is offering a decent enough plan to fight climate change. In a speech today, he’s expected to announce federal regulation of greenhouse gases at existing coal-fired power plants, increased energy standards for buildings and appliances, and greater development of renewable energy on federal lands. These are moves that he can try without approval from Congress. And while they are halfway measures, they are better than no measures.
But imagine if his...
Posted in Water Conservation 
Comments Off on Obama and Congress must fight climate change like they do terrorismCanada Confident Keystone XL will be approved
Posted by Associated Press: Rob Gillies on June 26th, 2013
Associated Press: Canada's natural resources minister said Tuesday he's confident the proposed Keystone XL oil pipeline project from Canada to Texas will be approved because it meets President Barack Obama's requirement that it not lead to a significant increase in greenhouse gas emissions.
Joe Oliver responded to Obama's comments earlier Tuesday that the pipeline should be approved only if it does "not significantly exacerbate the problem of carbon pollution."
Oliver pointed to "Obama's very own State Department"...
Obama’s pipeline comments send mixed messages
Posted by Washington Wire: Tennille Tracy on June 26th, 2013
Washington Wire: President Barack Obama's unexpected mention of the Keystone XL pipeline in his climate-change speech Tuesday gave the appearance of pledging a tough line on the project's environmental impact. But his comments were embraced by Keystone supporters, who said the pipeline has already met the president's standards. Standing outside Georgetown University in a blanket of heat that left him wiping sweat off his forehead, Mr. Obama said Keystone will be approved "only if this project does not significantly...
Canada: Jet stream eyed as one culprit in Alberta floods
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on June 26th, 2013
Canadian Press: It`s a long way from the Arctic Ocean to southern Alberta, but scientists are increasingly intrigued by theories that link disappearing sea ice to off-the-hook weather such as last week`s flooding.
Many are coming to believe there`s a common thread between not enough ice on the ocean and too much water in the rivers -- a high-altitude, high-speed torrent of air called the jet stream.
"There`s been a lot interest in the jet stream in the last two or three years," said Dave Phillips, an Environment...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Canada: Jet stream eyed as one culprit in Alberta floodsMaryland urged to plan for 2-foot sea-level rise by 2050
Posted by Baltimore Sun: Timothy B. Wheeler on June 26th, 2013
Baltimore Sun: Saying climate change is already underway, a panel of scientists is urging Maryland officials to plan to accommodate rising seas of up to 2 feet along the state's shoreline in the next 40 years -- and perhaps nearly 6 feet by the end of the century.
In a report to be released Wednesday and commissioned by Gov. Martin O'Malley, the group of 21 scientists from Maryland, Virginia and other mid-Atlantic states said recent, more sophisticated studies suggest that sea level is rising faster than forecast...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Maryland urged to plan for 2-foot sea-level rise by 2050Increased horizontal hydraulic fracturing is causing concerns in Michigan
Posted by Michigan Radio: None Given on June 26th, 2013
Michigan Radio: Right now we have abundant supplies of natural gas because of what the U.S. Energy Information administration calls robust inshore production, there is a glut of natural gas and that means cheaper gas.
This increased supply is mostly due to hydraulic fracturing - more importantly, a newer way to use the drilling method, horizontal hydraulic fracturing. Horizontal fracking has made it easier and cheaper to extract natural gas and oil from shale deposits in the U.S. and around the globe. Horizontal...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Increased horizontal hydraulic fracturing is causing concerns in MichiganObama hints at Keystone approval
Posted by Politico: None Given on June 26th, 2013
Politico: President Barack Obama basked in applause Tuesday as he announced what sounded like a daunting environmental threshold for the controversial Keystone XL oil pipeline -- that the project can't go forward if it would "significantly' increase greenhouse gas emissions. What he didn't mention: His own State Department has already indicated that the pipeline can meet that standard. The State Department still hasn't issued its final environmental study on the pipeline, and the EPA has joined green activists...