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Archive for July 26th, 2013
United Kingdom: Villagers’ fracking revolt leads to arrests
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on July 26th, 2013
Telegraph: The protest against plans by the fracking company Cuadrilla to explore for oil and gas at a site just outside the sleepy village of Balcombe, East Sussex, began on Thursday.
Local people, including mothers and children, set up gazebos and bunting by the roadside. Tea and cakes were handed out and there was even a singalong.
Activists included Natalie Hynde, the daughter of Chrissie Hynde and Ray Davies of The Kinks. But the mood turned at midday yesterday as a hard core of activists refused...
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Comments Off on United Kingdom: Villagers’ fracking revolt leads to arrestsHalliburton plea may help BP in spill liability battle
Posted by Reuters: Braden Reddall and Mica Rosenberg on July 26th, 2013
Reuters: BP Plc appeared to gain an edge in the battle over liability for the 2010 Gulf of Mexico spill on Friday, after Halliburton abandoned one of its arguments that tried to paint the British oil company as unconcerned about well safety.
Halliburton, which did the cementing work for BP's well, on Thursday pleaded guilty to destroying evidence of internal tests it conducted showing there was no difference between the effectiveness of putting six or 21 casing centralizers on the well.
Centralizers...
HS2, fracking & planning have given rise to mutiny in Middle England
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on July 26th, 2013
Telegraph: I guess it's the Shire effect. Tolkein tells us that the inhabitants of that green and pleasant corner of Middle Earth are "slow to quarrel' but "doughty at bay'. Much the same could be said of the people of our own shires: it takes a lot to anger them, but once roused they form a formidable, almost unstoppable, force.
And as Tory and Lib Dem MPs are discovering -- on returning to their constituencies for the summer recess -- the patience of rural Britain is now wearing thin. More and more local...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on HS2, fracking & planning have given rise to mutiny in Middle EnglandGovernment bee scientist behind controversial study joins pesticide firm
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on July 26th, 2013
Guardian: A key government scientist whose research was used by ministers to argue against a ban on pesticides thought to harm bees is to join Syngenta, the chemical giant which manufactures one of the insecticides.
Dr Helen Thompson will leave the government's Food and Environment Research Agency (Fera) to join Syngenta on 1 September. Thompson led a field trial of the effect of neonicotinoids – the world's most widely used insecticides – on bees, which was fast-tracked and frequently cited by ministers...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Government bee scientist behind controversial study joins pesticide firmPrince Charles mineral water shipped 6,000 miles to Middle East
Posted by Guardian: Robert Booth and Johnny McDevitt on July 26th, 2013
Guardian: Prince Charles is funding his charities with profits from shipping royal-branded mineral water 6,000 miles to the Middle East in an arrangement that has been described by Friends of the Earth as "completely insane".
The prince campaigns vociferously for reductions in greenhouse gas emissions and recently attacked the global food industry over the problems caused "when we ship vast quantities of commodities halfway round the world". But he has used the proceeds from the export of bottles of Duchy...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Prince Charles mineral water shipped 6,000 miles to Middle EastParched New Mexico Reservoir Reveals Effects of Prolonged Drought
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on July 26th, 2013
Yale Environment 360: U.S. officials estimated this week that the Elephant Butte reservoir in southern New Mexico is holding about 65,057 acre-feet of water, which is only about 3 percent of its capacity of 2.2 million acre-feet, largely as a result of prolonged drought conditions and unusually low spring snowmelt from nearby mountains. From the mid-1980s until 2000 the reservoir was nearly filled to capacity, as illustrated in a 1994 satellite image (top) released by NASA.
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Parched New Mexico Reservoir Reveals Effects of Prolonged DroughtYear 2050: is the Royal Baby destined to be a radical eco-warrior?
Posted by Guardian: Nafeez Ahmed on July 26th, 2013
Guardian: Wherever you stand on the legitimacy of the Royals, the bright new addition to their family - receiving microscopic media coverage of ludicrous proportions - has brought well wishes from all quarters of the political spectrum. A few commentators have even pointed to Prince Charles' longstanding passion for environmental issues and climate change - manifest in his earnest letters to the government - as evidence of how he intends to fulfill his caring role as grandfather to the little tot.
Indeed,...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Year 2050: is the Royal Baby destined to be a radical eco-warrior?McKenzie River snowpack to drop by 56 percent due to global warming
Posted by The Oregonian: Soumya Karlamangla on July 26th, 2013
The Oregonian: A new study adds to a growing chorus of data that show that in a warmer world, Oregon could see more floods in winter and more droughts in summer.
Oregon State University researchers simulated the effect of 2 degree Celsius increase on snow in the Cascade Range. Their findings -- published this month in the journal Hydrology and Earth System Sciences -- reveals that as more precipitation falls as rain instead of snow, peak snowpack in the McKenzie River watershed will drop an average of 56 percent....
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on McKenzie River snowpack to drop by 56 percent due to global warmingBlown out well seals off gas leak by itself; operators ‘lucky’, experts say
Posted by Fuel Fix: Emily Pickrell and Zain Shauk on July 26th, 2013
Fuel Fix: Natural gas stopped flowing from a runaway well in the Gulf of Mexico after sediment in the well blocked the uncontrolled flow, federal authorities reported Thursday.
The Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement said the well "bridged over," meaning small pieces of sediment and sand flowed into the well path, restricting the flow and countering the pressure. A fire that had engulfed a portion of the Hercules 265 jack-up rig was put out early Thursday morning, according to a Coast Guard report...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Blown out well seals off gas leak by itself; operators ‘lucky’, experts sayHalliburton also contacted in antitrust probe of fracturing
Posted by FuelFix: None Given on July 26th, 2013
FuelFix: Federal officials have contacted Halliburton Co. and Baker Hughes Inc. as part of an antitrust investigation into an oil and gas drilling process used in hydraulic fracturing, or fracking.
Halliburton spokeswoman Beverly Blohm Stafford said Thursday that the company received what`s called a civil investigative demand from the Justice Department`s antitrust division during the April-to-June quarter regarding pressure pumping services and is responding to the request.
"We understand there have...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Halliburton also contacted in antitrust probe of fracturing