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Archive for August, 2013
United Kingdom: Balcombe fracking protesters plead not guilty to causing disruption
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on August 14th, 2013
Guardian: Eight people have pleaded not guilty to causing disruption during protests against fracking.
The defendants are charged in connection with more than two weeks of campaigning in Balcombe, West Sussex, against the energy company Cuadrilla, which is testing for shale gas in the area.
Fracking involves the pumping of high pressure liquid deep underground to split shale rock and release gas, which according to opponents could potentially cause water contamination, small-scale earthquakes and environmental...
Posted in Water Conservation 
Comments Off on United Kingdom: Balcombe fracking protesters plead not guilty to causing disruptionCapturing The Complexities Of The Colorado River
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on August 14th, 2013
National Public Radio: As a photographer, how do you visualize something that can't always be seen? Like, how do you show the complex relationships between water, energy and modern society? It's not easy, but that was my task as I worked on a photo essay for a capstone class at Ohio University last fall about life along the upper Colorado River. Before graduate school, I lived in Aspen, Colo., for nearly five years. I was often skiing, rafting and biking — all of which are dependent on the river. Then, in December 2012,...
Sediment Tests Will Show If Mayflower Residents Saved Their Treasured Lake from Oil Spill
Posted by InsideClimate: Elizabeth McGowan on August 14th, 2013
InsideClimate: Anything for his treasured fishing hole. That was the mantra cycling through Jimmy Joe Johnson's head on the afternoon of Friday, March 29 as he rushed to keep a filthy stream of crude oil from spilling out of a cove and into the main body of Lake Conway. Standing at the edge of the lake more than four months later, Johnson had his fingers crossed that his efforts that day weren't for naught. Officials with the Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality (ADEQ) [3] say they feel certain that soon-to-come...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Sediment Tests Will Show If Mayflower Residents Saved Their Treasured Lake from Oil SpillNamibia drought: one in three at risk of malnutrition
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on August 14th, 2013
Guardian: One in three people in Namibia is at risk of malnutrition, the UN has warned, as the driest country in sub-Saharan Africa endures its worst drought for a generation.
The government declared a state of emergency after the failure of crops in May and pledged $20m (£13m) of relief for the worst-hit households. The Kunene region in the north has had no rain for two years, and families have been forced to sell livestock and migrate to cities in search of work.
After a summer lacking rains and a...
United Kingdom: Cuadrilla signals it is ‘unlikely’ to pursue Balcombe oil
Posted by BusinessGreen: None Given on August 14th, 2013
BusinessGreen: Cuadrilla is "unlikely" to convert its controversial oil exploration site in Balcombe into a full production site, according to BBC reports.
The broadcaster today reported the company is unconvinced by the case for developing the site, arguing that while it is "ideal" for exploration other sites in the area that boast better transport links are likely to prove better suited for full production.
Cuadrilla's planning permission for the site, which has been the subject of protests for several...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on United Kingdom: Cuadrilla signals it is ‘unlikely’ to pursue Balcombe oilUnited Kingdom: Fracking splits public opinion down the middle, ICM poll finds
Posted by Guardian: Fiona Harvey, on August 14th, 2013
Guardian: David Cameron is likely to face resistance from voters if he aggressively pursues fracking for shale gas, new polling by the Guardian indicates.
Four in 10 people would welcome hydraulic fracturing - used to extract hard-to-reach natural gas - in their local area but just as many people would oppose it, a national ICM survey commissioned by the Guardian has found. About a fifth of voters are undecided.
Worryingly for Cameron, the research suggests that undecided voters could harden against...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on United Kingdom: Fracking splits public opinion down the middle, ICM poll findsClimate change may be speeding coast redwood, giant sequoia growth
Posted by LA Times: Bettina Boxall on August 14th, 2013
LA Times: Finally, some good news about the effects of climate change. It may have triggered a growth spurt in two of California's iconic tree species: coast redwoods and giant sequoias.
Since the 1970s, some coast redwoods have grown at the fastest rate ever, according to scientists who studied corings from trees more than 1,000 years old.
"That's a wonderful, happy surprise for us," said Emily Burns, science director at the Save the Redwoods League, which is collaborating on a long-term study with...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Climate change may be speeding coast redwood, giant sequoia growthActivists Challenge Law That Limits Public Criticism of Oil Sands Projects
Posted by Globe and Mail: Shawn Mccarthy on August 14th, 2013
Globe and Mail: Environmental activists have launched a suit in the Federal Court of Canada to overturn federal legislation that limits their ability to oppose proposed pipeline projects at regulatory hearings.
In a lawsuit filed Tuesday, ForestEthics Advocacy and an activist named Donna Sinclair have asked the court to strike down provisions of the National Energy Board Act - passed as amendments in last year's omnibus budget bill - that they say unreasonably restrict public comment on project proposals.
The...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Activists Challenge Law That Limits Public Criticism of Oil Sands ProjectsTransCanada Rejects Steyer’s Keystone XL Debate Challenge
Posted by Hill: None Given on August 14th, 2013
Hill: A public debate between Keystone XL pipeline foe Tom Steyer and the CEO of pipeline developer TransCanada Corp. isn't in the cards.
Steyer, a billionaire former hedge fund chief, wrote an open letter Tuesday to CEO Russ Girling that alleges Keystone would cause “irrevocable” environmental harm and requests a debate at an oil sands mining site.
But TransCanada Corp., in a statement, said Steyer has other avenues to express his views and noted TransCanada has “respect” for the State Department...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on TransCanada Rejects Steyer’s Keystone XL Debate ChallengeWildfire 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 ordered