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Archive for September, 2013
13 Arrested Protesting Keystone XL at TransCanada’s Houston Headquarters
Posted by Rainforest Action Network: None Given on September 18th, 2013
Rainforest Action Network: Thirteen activists were arrested while staging a peaceful sit-in at the Houston TransCanada Headquarters in opposition to the Keystone XL pipeline. Dozens of Texans rallied nearby in support of the activists who risked arrest at Monday`s protest. Activists rallied across the street in Market Square Park with signs before marching to the TransCanada office and staging a sit-in in protest of the foreign oil company`s efforts to build a giant pipeline through American soil so it can export the tar...
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Comments Off on 13 Arrested Protesting Keystone XL at TransCanada’s Houston HeadquartersObama’s energy, EPA chiefs say climate plan won’t kill coal
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on September 18th, 2013
Reuters: New rules limiting emissions from U.S. power plants that are expected to be proposed on Friday will "provide certainty" to the coal industry, environment and energy chiefs told lawmakers anxious about the fuel's future.
"We believe coal will continue to represent a significant portion of the energy supply in the decades to come," Environmental Protection Agency administrator Gina McCarthy told the House of Representatives Committee on Energy and Commerce on Wednesday.
McCarthy's testimony,...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Obama’s energy, EPA chiefs say climate plan won’t kill coalMexico could be hit by more storms, warn weather forecasters
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on September 18th, 2013
Guardian: With much of Mexico still reeling from the death, destruction and chaos caused by the impact of two tropical weather systems two days ago, forecasters are warning of more storms ahead.
Tens of thousands of holidaymakers remain trapped in the resort city of Acapulco, so far the most visible victims of tropical storm Manuel that came in from the west on Monday, their frustration increasingly obvious in the long queues to get on the waiting lists for flights out of the city organised by the army...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Mexico could be hit by more storms, warn weather forecastersFour New Legless Lizard Species Identified in California
Posted by Nature World News: James A. Foley on September 18th, 2013
Nature World News: Four new species of legless lizards have been found in unlikely habitats in California. The snake-like creatures were discovered on the end of an airport runway, at the edge of the Mojave desert, a vacant lot in Bakersfield and on an oil derrick.
The discovery raises the number of legless lizard species known in California from one to five.
"This shows that there is a lot of undocumented biodiversity within California," said Theodore Papenfuss, a herpetologist, with University of California,...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Four New Legless Lizard Species Identified in CaliforniaClimate change could kill off Andean cloud forests
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on September 18th, 2013
Mongabay: One of the richest ecosystems on the planet may not survive a hotter climate without human help, according to a sobering new paper in the open source journal PLoS ONE. Although little-studied compared to lowland rainforests, the cloud forests of the Andes are known to harbor explosions of life, including thousands of species found nowhere else. Many of these species-from airy ferns to beautiful orchids to tiny frogs-thrive in small ranges that are temperature-dependent. But what happens when the...
Looting hits Mexico’s Acapulco as floods squeeze supplies
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on September 18th, 2013
Reuters: Looting broke out in the flooded Mexican beach resort of Acapulco as the government struggled to reach tens of thousands of people cut off by flooding that had claimed at least 70 lives by Wednesday.
Stores were ransacked by looters who carried off everything from televisions to Christmas decorations after floodwaters wreaked havoc in the Pacific port that has borne the brunt of some of the worst storm damage to hit Mexico in years.
Tens of thousands of people have been trapped in the aftermath...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Looting hits Mexico’s Acapulco as floods squeeze suppliesEstimates put Arctic ice melting by 2050
Posted by Financial Times: None Given on September 18th, 2013
Financial Times: The Arctic’s summer sea ice is set to nearly vanish in less than 40 years, according to the final draft of a sweeping UN climate change report that sharply revises past estimates of how fast the icy north is melting. “A nearly ice-free Arctic Ocean in September before mid-century is likely,” says the draft seen by the Financial Times of the first large-scale study in six years by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. The retreating ice is encouraging for Arctic nations such as Russia,...
Climate costs rise like sea levels with delayed action on climate change
Posted by Hill: Sandra Bridges on September 18th, 2013
Hill: Many of the readers have visited Charleston’s Market, just a couple blocks from the harbor, where my business is located. Tourism is our lifeblood as it is for our city. So when our low-lying area of Charleston is flooded from heavy rain and tourists think twice before wading through more than a foot of water to shop, I’m concerned and very worried about even worse flooding problems in the future.
Charleston, like all of South Carolina’s coastal tourism communities, is significantly threatened...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Climate costs rise like sea levels with delayed action on climate changePennsylvania State Senator Announces Fracking Moratorium Legislation
Posted by EcoWatch: Laura Beans on September 18th, 2013
EcoWatch: At a press event today, State Senator Jim Ferlo (D-Pittsburgh) announced the introduction of the Natural Gas Drilling Moratorium Act, Senate Bill 1100, that would place a moratorium on issuing new permits for fracking in Pennsylvania. He was joined by PennEnvironment, Food & Water Watch, other community and environmental advocacy groups, and concerned citizens.
“Since the advent of the shale gas industry in Pennsylvania, I have advocated for a more cautious approach to natural gas extraction from...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Pennsylvania State Senator Announces Fracking Moratorium LegislationAmid drought, a water fight spills into legal territory
Posted by New York Times: Neena Satija on September 18th, 2013
New York Times: As Texas' rivers run dry and lakes fall to record low levels, part of the fight over water supplies is moving underground.
Neighbors who pump water from the same formations beneath their land have long argued over that water. But the stakes are rising as cities and industries see groundwater as a solution to the demands of explosive population growth.
But Texas law governing groundwater is murky, and a recent state appeals court decision signals that only years of expensive legal battles will...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Amid drought, a water fight spills into legal territory