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Archive for August 13th, 2013
Wildfire threatens two Idaho mountain towns; evacuations ordered
Posted by Reuters: Laura Zuckerman on August 13th, 2013
Reuters: A wildfire nipping at the edges of two Idaho mountain resort towns has destroyed about a dozen homes, prompting authorities to intensify calls to hundreds of residents to heed mandatory orders to evacuate, fire officials said on Tuesday.
It was unclear how many of the 1,000 summer residents of the towns of Pine and Featherville had actually left their homes ahead of the lightning-sparked blaze, which has already charred 99,000 acres and is now the nation's top firefighting priority.
It is the...
Posted in Water Conservation 
Comments Off on Wildfire threatens two Idaho mountain towns; evacuations orderedUnited Kingdom: Fracking ‘threatens God’s glorious creation’
Posted by Telegraph: James Kirkup on August 13th, 2013
Telegraph: The warning has been issued to Anglicans in Lancashire, where significant work to extract gas and oil by fracking has been proposed.
The Diocese of Blackburn has published a leaflet for its flock, telling them that for Christians, fracking presents "a choice between economic gain and a healthy environment.'
The church's decision to highlight potential downsides of fracking comes as Conservative ministers step up efforts to sell the technology to voters as an economic necessity.
Fracking,...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on United Kingdom: Fracking ‘threatens God’s glorious creation’Court Forces Yucca Mtn. Decision on U.S. Nuclear Regulators
Posted by Environment News Service: None Given on August 13th, 2013
Environment News Service: A federal appeals court ruled today that the Nuclear Regulatory Commission can no longer delay a decision on whether or not to grant a permit to the stalled nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain, Nevada.
In a 2-1 decision, a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit ordered the NRC to make up its mind promptly. "The Nuclear Regulatory Commission must promptly continue with the legally mandated licensing process," wrote Judge Brett Kavanaugh for the...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Court Forces Yucca Mtn. Decision on U.S. Nuclear RegulatorsColorado floodwaters sweep away teenage girl; second victim in five days
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on August 13th, 2013
Reuters: A 17-year-old Colorado girl became the second fatality in five days in the Pikes Peak region when she was swept down a swollen creek after apparently taking shelter under a bridge from rain and pounding hail, police said on Tuesday.
Rose Hammes had gone for a walk on Monday afternoon, and called her parents to say she was taking shelter under the bridge, Colorado Springs police said in a statement. When her parents could not reach the girl on her cell phone, they called police.
Search and rescue...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Colorado floodwaters sweep away teenage girl; second victim in five daysIs sustainability losing momentum in the solar industry?
Posted by Guardian: David Ferris on August 13th, 2013
Guardian: The commitment of solar panel manufacturers to good environmental practices may be fading as intense competition causes some companies to pare costs and others to go out of business, according to an industry watchdog.
The Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition has just released its third annual Solar Scorecard, which evaluates US makers of photovoltaic solar panels for their performance in recycling, emissions, worker rights and use of toxic materials. The group's director said it is seeing some danger...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Is sustainability losing momentum in the solar industry?World Bank Funds Hydro Dam for Africa’s Great Lakes Region
Posted by Environment News Service: None Given on August 13th, 2013
Environment News Service: The World Bank has approved US$340 million for the long-planned Regional Rusumo Falls Hydroelectric Project, which will generate power for residents of Burundi, Rwanda and Tanzania. While local officials eagerly anticipate the power scheduled to start flowing in 2017, river advocates say ecosystem impacts of the project have not even been evaluated.
The 80 megawatt hydroelectric power station in Rwanda will dam the Kagera River. It will be located at Rusumo Falls on the border with Tanzania, near...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on World Bank Funds Hydro Dam for Africa’s Great Lakes RegionGreenland Ice Sheet is melting from the top and bottom
Posted by Environmental News Network: EurekAlert on August 13th, 2013
Environmental News Network: New study shows that heat flow from the mantle contributes to the ice melt.
The Greenland ice sheet is melting from below, caused by a high heat flow from the mantle into the lithosphere. This influence is very variable spatially and has its origin in an exceptionally thin lithosphere. Consequently, there is an increased heat flow from the mantle and a complex interplay between this geothermal heating and the Greenland ice sheet. The international research initiative IceGeoHeat led by the GFZ...
Adapting to climate change
Posted by Tico Times: Anna-Claire Bevan on August 13th, 2013
Tico Times: Guatemala is one of the top 10 countries most affected by climate change and one of the most vulnerable to natural disasters, according to the Global Climate Risk Index. The Central American nation’s geographical position, straddling three tectonic plates and two oceans, leaves it prone to tropical storms, droughts, hurricanes and earthquakes, which have been occurring with increasing frequency over the past decade. In 2005, Hurricane Stan swept through Guatemala leaving more than 1,500 people...
Groups demand probe amid CNRL bitumen leak
Posted by Canadian Press: Lauren Krugel on August 13th, 2013
Canadian Press: More than 20 groups are calling for a public inquiry into the safety of oilsands extraction techniques that use steam.
The organizations made their demand to the Alberta Energy Regulator on Tuesday as bitumen continues to ooze out of the ground at a project owned by Canadian Natural Resources Ltd. (TSX:CNQ).
The groups say CNRL`s Primrose East project, 250 kilometres northeast of Edmonton, isn`t the first example of a unexplained failure of an oilsands operation like Primrose.
Story continues...
Greenwashing Fracking’s Devastating Climate Impact
Posted by EcoWatch: None Given on August 13th, 2013
EcoWatch: Several years ago, Utah public health officials realized they had a big problem on their hands--one with national implications as other states were racing to increase oil and gas drilling. Smog levels in the state’s rural Uintah basin were rivaling those found in Los Angeles or Houston on their worst days.
The culprit, an U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) report concluded earlier this year: oil and gas operations. The industry was responsible for roughly 99 percent of the volatile organic...