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Archive for July, 2013
Welcome to Portage County, the Fracking Waste Disposal Capital of Ohio
Posted by Mother Jones: Thomas Stackpole on July 22nd, 2013
Mother Jones: Welcome to Portage County, Ohio, the biggest dumping ground for fracking waste in a state that is fast becoming the go-to destination for the byproducts of America's latest energy boom. As fracking—pumping a briny solution of water, lubricants, anti-bacterial agents, and a cocktail of other chemicals into underground shale formations at high pressure to fracture the rock and extract trapped natural gas—has expanded in the Midwest, so has the need for disposing of used fracking fluid. That fracking...
Posted in Water Conservation 
Comments Off on Welcome to Portage County, the Fracking Waste Disposal Capital of OhioAs WTI and Brent Reunite, Gulf of Mexico Faces Squeeze, Not Glut
Posted by Reuters: Matthew Robinson on July 22nd, 2013
Reuters: Even after a surprisingly vigorous surge in U.S. crude oil prices finally eliminated a three-year discount versus global benchmark Brent, some cash markets are sending a curious signal: refiners are ready to pay even more.
U.S. oil futures reached parity to European Brent on Friday for the first time in nearly three years, a sign new pipeline capacity is finally moving a glut of crude out of the U.S. Midwest. The gap, which before 2010 rarely widened to more than a few dollars, was $10 in early...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on As WTI and Brent Reunite, Gulf of Mexico Faces Squeeze, Not GlutCanada needs to up conservation game, preserving half of boreal forests: paper
Posted by Windsor Star: None Given on July 22nd, 2013
Windsor Star: A group of top international scientists says Canada needs to dramatically up its conservation game to ensure its vast northern forests remain healthy in the face of increasing industrial pressure.
In a paper to be presented today at the International Congress of Conservation Biology in Baltimore, Md., its authors argue that Canada needs to preserve about half of its boreal forest. That's significantly more than the 10 per cent level researchers previously thought was necessary to conserve natural...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Canada needs to up conservation game, preserving half of boreal forests: paperRain slows massive Southern California wildfire
Posted by Reuters: Sharon Bernstein on July 22nd, 2013
Reuters: Heavy rains overnight helped slow a massive Southern California wildfire that had threatened the town of Idyllwild, a community about a mile above sea level known for its hiking trails, rock climbing and arts and music scene.
Evacuation orders for Idyllwild and nearby Fern Valley were lifted late Sunday morning, and a spokeswoman for the U.S. Forest Service said tourism businesses were expected to re-open by evening.
"Today the residents and business owners were able to go back home and tonight...
Consumers to pay ‘dirty’ coal power subsidies for years
Posted by Independent: Oliver Wright on July 21st, 2013
Independent: Britain’s dirtiest coal power stations are to be allowed to bid for hundreds of millions of pounds’ worth of subsidies that could allow them to stay open well into the 2020s. Senior ministers are so worried about the possibility that the UK could suffer electricity blackouts over the next few years they have agreed to let Britain’s coal stations bid for “capacity payment” handouts – paid for through people’s energy bills – which could allow them to upgrade their facilities. If successful, the money...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Consumers to pay ‘dirty’ coal power subsidies for yearsEARTH MEANDERS: Ecocide Is Not Development; Love and Ecology Are the Answer
Posted by Water Conservation Blog on July 21st, 2013
Earth's ecosystems are collapsing, human and all species' habitats are being lost, and our one shared biosphere is failing and dying. Love of other peoples and species and of nature, truth, justice, and equity are the only lasting basis for global ecological sustainability.
It is no measure of health to be well adjusted to a profoundly sick society. Krishnamurti
Truth matters. Freedom matters. Justice matters. Ecology matters. Peace matters. Compassion matters. Knowledge matters. Love matters. We should all try to matter by serving such ideals. Dr. Glen Barry
By Dr. Glen Barry, Ecological Internet
Earth Meanders come from Earth's Newsdesk
Earth is alive just like the biological patterns found in cells, species, individual organisms, and ecosystems; only at a different scale and thus can die if boundary conditions for health are exceeded. The biosphere [search] Earth's thin mantle of life is collapsing and dying, as ecosystems and climate are being murdered by human industrial growth. Such ecocidal madness, called "development," is hailed as the goal for society when in fact it is ecocide, and can only end in utter social, economic, and ecological collapse. Industrial human development destroys natural ecosystems necessary to maintain a habitable Earth.
Burning fossil fuels ...
Posted in Uncategorized Comments Off on EARTH MEANDERS: Ecocide Is Not Development; Love and Ecology Are the AnswerFracking films reflect twists in drilling debate
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on July 21st, 2013
Associated Press: The boom in natural gas drilling has cast two opposing documentary filmmakers in unlikely roles.
Josh Fox, a liberal environmental activist, finds himself at odds with President Barack Obama. Phelim McAleer, a free-market conservative, is echoing the Democratic president's support for natural gas.
The two don't see eye-to-eye on much of anything, especially each other.
"He's a very skillful filmmaker," McAleer said of Fox. "He's one of the most trusted scientists in America at the moment,...
Scientists say jet stream causing weather whiplash as it wobbles
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on July 21st, 2013
Associated Press: The jet stream - the river of air high above Earth that generally dictates the weather - usually rushes rapidly from west to east in a mostly straight direction.
But lately it seems to be wobbling and weaving like a drunken driver, wreaking havoc as it goes.
The more the jet stream undulates north and south, the more changeable and extreme the weather.
The most recent example occurred in mid-June when some towns in Alaska hit record highs. McGrath, Alaska, recorded an all-time high of 94...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Scientists say jet stream causing weather whiplash as it wobblesInvestigation into cause of contamination continues
Posted by Poughkeepsie Journal: Craig Wolf on July 21st, 2013
Poughkeepsie Journal: Though the crisis is over, the water contamination investigation in the City of Poughkeepsie continues — with the cause remaining a mystery for now.
Both technical and political officials are trying to get to the bottom of it.
Two meetings are set for this week, said Common Council Chairman Robert Mallory. One is a private “leadership meeting” with the Dutchess County Department of Health, including acting Commissioner Dr. Kari Reiber, on Tuesday.
The other is a public meeting of the council...
The war on coal Obama isn’t fighting
Posted by Nation: Zoë Carpenter on July 21st, 2013
Nation: As the pending decision on the Keystone XL pipeline dominates the climate focus in the United States, an even bigger carbon bomb is ticking quietly in a remote region of the American West.
Big Coal and Republican lawmakers are pushing to expand mining operations on federal lands in the Powder River Basin, which straddles eastern Montana and Wyoming and holds the bulk of the country's coal stocks.
If they're successful, railways in the Pacific Northwest will soon transport an annual cargo bound...