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Archive for September, 2013
Mexico landslide leaves dozens missing as hurricane threat grows
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on September 19th, 2013
Associated Press: The toll from devastating twin storms climbed to 80 on Wednesday as isolated areas of Mexico reported deaths and damage to the outside world. Mexican officials said another 58 people were missing in a massive landslide in the mountains north of Acapulco.
The storm that devastated the Pacific resort over the weekend regained strength on Wednesday and became hurricane Manuel, taking a route that could see it make landfall on Mexico's north-western coast. It would be a third blow to a country still...
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Comments Off on Mexico landslide leaves dozens missing as hurricane threat growsColorado floods: Costly and often uninsured
Posted by CNN: Chris Isidore on September 19th, 2013
CNN: The recent severe floods in Colorado could end up costing homeowners, businesses and local governments nearly $2 billion, according to Eqecat, a firm that conducts loss estimates for the insurance industry.
But unlike many other natural disasters, the firm and an insurance trade group agree that a high percentage of the losses will not be covered by insurance.
Eqecat estimates that the storm cost homeowners about $900 million in both damage and expenses associated with evacuations. Businesses...
After the storms, a different opinion on climate change
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on September 19th, 2013
EurekAlert: Extreme weather may lead people to think more seriously about climate change, according to new research. In the wake of Hurricanes Irene and Sandy, New Jersey residents were more likely to show support for a politician running on a "green" platform, and expressed a greater belief that climate change is caused by human activity.
This research, published in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science, suggests that traumatic weather events may have the power to...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on After the storms, a different opinion on climate changeGuideline or Law? Confusion over Frac Sand Mining Standards
Posted by Minnesota Public Radio: Stephanie Hemphill on September 19th, 2013
Minnesota Public Radio: Minnesota officials are set to approve a new set of standards that local governments can use to regulate frac sand mining.
Wednesday the state Environmental Quality Board, a broad oversight agency, will consider draft standards outlined by the agency's staff. They recommend setbacks from homes, water quality protections, rules on noise, blasting, and dust control.
Over the next few months, state officials will ask for public input to refine the voluntary guidelines, which can be adapted by...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Guideline or Law? Confusion over Frac Sand Mining StandardsLac Megantic: Environmental Report Details Extent of Contamination
Posted by Toronto Star: None Given on September 19th, 2013
Toronto Star: There was never doubt that the deadly train derailment in Lac-Mégantic caused an environmental disaster, but a report made public this week by Quebec’s ministry of the environment details the extent of the devastation to the soil, river and lake near the disaster zone.
An estimated 5.6 million litres of crude oil spilled out of the 72-car train that barrelled into the Quebec town July 6. A significant percentage burned off in the explosion and blaze, but several hundred thousand litres of oil...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Lac Megantic: Environmental Report Details Extent of ContaminationProperty losses from Colorado flood will be about $2 billion
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on September 19th, 2013
Reuters: Property losses from deadly flooding in Colorado will total nearly $2 billion, about half from housing and half from the commercial and government sectors, catastrophe modeling firm Eqecat said on Wednesday in the first comprehensive estimate of the disaster's economic toll.
State and county emergency management officials have hardly begun to prepare actual damage assessments from flooding that has ravaged thousands of homes and killed at least eight people in a disaster zone in and around Colorado's...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Property losses from Colorado flood will be about $2 billionBritish anti-fracking occupation will continue
Posted by Grist: John Upton on September 18th, 2013
Grist: British opponents of fracking will continue to occupy the side of a road in a village 35 miles south of London - and they won`t have to fear being arrested for trespassing. A court ruled that a local council`s eviction notice was flawed.
The encampment of anti-fracking protesters in the village of Balcombe has become a symbolic occupation that at times has swollen to thousands of people. More than 100 have been arrested during protests since July. It`s the highest-profile battle in a war being...
In flood-struck Colorado, concerns about fracking spills
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on September 18th, 2013
Reuters: Contaminated water spilling from flooded oil and gas drilling sites in Colorado is refocusing attention on the environmental risks surrounding America's fracking boom.
Floods that have devastated north-central Colorado, killing eight people and displacing thousands, have also dislodged storage tanks that hold drilling wastewater left over from the production process known as hydraulic fracturing, or fracking.
While the impact of leaks is yet to be assessed, environmental groups, which oppose...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on In flood-struck Colorado, concerns about fracking spillsTribunal finds Ecuador released Chevron from pollution liability
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on September 18th, 2013
Reuters: In a dispute stemming from a lengthy legal battle over Amazon rain forest pollution, arbitrators ruled that Chevron had already settled claims for damages in agreements with Ecuador despite a $19 billion award against the oil company.
The international tribunal, acting under The Hague's Permanent Court of Arbitration, said in a ruling on Tuesday that Ecuador opted not to pursue damages beyond the country's 1995 and 1998 release agreements with Texaco - a company bought by Chevron in 2001.
Those...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Tribunal finds Ecuador released Chevron from pollution liabilityJapan balked steps to control Fukushima water in 2011: memo
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on September 18th, 2013
Reuters: Japanese authorities, now struggling to contain leaks of radioactive groundwater from the wrecked Fukushima nuclear plant, were urged two years ago by U.S. experts to take immediate steps to prevent groundwater contamination but decided not to act on the advice.
The advice to the embattled operator was outlined in a memo to government officials just two months after the accident, but then shelved, according to two officials who participated in the discussions and documents prepared by both governments...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Japan balked steps to control Fukushima water in 2011: memo