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Archive for September, 2013
Appalachian miners decry what call Obama’s ‘war on coal’
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on September 17th, 2013
LA Times: When President Obama laid out ambitious plans in June for combating climate change, coal miners like Roger Horton heard what they considered the latest fusillade in the administration's "war on coal."
Until his retirement two weeks ago, Horton, 59, worked underground for decades in southern West Virginia's Logan County, then operated a 200-ton earth-moving truck to remove debris from blasted mountaintops.
A milestone in Obama's initiative will come this week, when the Environmental Protection...
Posted in Water Conservation 
Comments Off on Appalachian miners decry what call Obama’s ‘war on coal’Gas Leaks in Fracking Less Than Estimated
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on September 17th, 2013
New York Times: Drilling for shale gas through hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, appears to cause smaller leaks of the greenhouse gas methane than the federal government had estimated, and considerably smaller than some critics of shale gas had feared, according to a peer-reviewed study released on Monday.
Workers tended to a well head in a hydraulic fracturing operation at Enana Oil and Gas well near Rifle, Colo., in March.
The study, conducted by the University of Texas and sponsored by the Environmental...
Seven confirmed dead, 1,500 homes destroyed in Colorado floods
Posted by Reuters: Keith Coffman on September 17th, 2013
Reuters: Seven people were confirmed dead and at least 1,500 homes destroyed in Colorado after a week of rare, torrential rains along the eastern slopes of the Rockies, and helicopter search-and-rescue flights resumed on Monday in flood-stricken areas.
Much of the evacuation effort was focused on remote foothill and canyon communities of Larimer and Boulder counties in north-central Colorado, where 1,000 residents remained stranded due to washed-out roads, bridges and communication lines, the county sheriff's...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Seven confirmed dead, 1,500 homes destroyed in Colorado floodsWhich ecosystems are most vulnerable to climate change?
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on September 16th, 2013
Mongabay: New research highlights the world's most (and least) vulnerable ecosystems to climate change. The study, published in Nature Climate Change, is the first to combine anticipated climatic impacts with how degraded the ecosystem is due to human impacts, creating what scientists hope is a more accurate list of vulnerable regions. The most endangered regions include southern and southeast Asia, western and central Europe, eastern South America, and southern Australia. James Watson, lead author of the...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Which ecosystems are most vulnerable to climate change?Fracking Emits Less Methane than Estimated Says Study
Posted by Climate Central: Bobby Magill on September 16th, 2013
Climate Central: Fracked natural gas wells leak much less methane -- a potent climate change-driving greenhouse gas -- at certain points during the production process than previous studies and the Environmental Protection Agency have estimated, according to a University of Texas study released Monday.
Methane is one of the chief components of natural gas locked up in underground shale formations -- the target of a natural gas drilling boom stretching from Pennsylvania to the Rockies and beyond. Energy companies...
Study: Natural Gas May Be Easier On Climate Than Coal
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on September 16th, 2013
National Public Radio: From the standpoint of global warming, burning natural gas can be better than burning coal, a study published this week suggests.
This is a contentious issue among people who are opposed to the natural gas drilling practice known as fracking. That technique involves injecting water, sand and chemicals into wells to release far more gas than conventional drilling can. Opponents of fracking have been concerned not only about local environmental issues, but also about the potential for methane leaks...
Study: Natural gas industry can cut fracking emissions
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on September 16th, 2013
USA Today: The booming U.S. production of natural gas can be less environmentally harmful than estimated if gas companies take certain steps to cut greenhouse gas emissions, says a major study Monday that was done with industry participation.
The study, billed as the first to measure the actual emissions of heat-trapping methane from natural gas wells, finds these emissions are slightly less than the most recent national estimate by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. In some cases, the emissions were...
Flood-Ravaged Boulder, Colo., Sets Annual Rainfall Record
Posted by Climate Central: Andrew Freedman on September 16th, 2013
Climate Central: As the largest U.S. rescue airlift since Hurricane Katrina continued along the northern Front Range of Colorado, more rainfall in the flood-weary city of Boulder pushed it to a new milestone on Monday, with 2013 going into the record books as the city’s wettest year — with three and a half months still remaining. With 30.12 inches of rain and counting, more than half of which fell since Sept. 9, the city has already eclipsed its previous mark of 29.93 inches, set in 1995. Boulder's average yearly...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Flood-Ravaged Boulder, Colo., Sets Annual Rainfall RecordOil and fracking chemicals spill into Colorado’s floodwaters
Posted by Grist: None Given on September 16th, 2013
Grist: Heavy rains returned to Colorado on Sunday and hampered rescue efforts after last week`s flash floods. The confirmed death toll has risen to seven, and hundreds are still unaccounted for. An estimated 1,500 homes are destroyed. Some 1,000 people in Larimer County, north of Boulder, were awaiting airlifts that never came on Sunday - they were called off because of the foul weather.
The floods have also triggered other problems that have gotten a lot less media attention: Fracking infrastructure...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Oil and fracking chemicals spill into Colorado’s floodwatersCanada bans researchers from discussing snowflakes, findings. Scientists protest
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on September 16th, 2013
Guardian: The Canadian government in recent years has banned government scientists from talking about a growing list of research topics including snowflakes, the ozone layer, salmon, and previously published work about a 13,000-year-old flood.
Now it seems the scientists are talking back.
Researchers in 16 Canadian cities have called protests on Monday against science policies introduced under the government of Stephen Harper, which include rules barring government researchers from talking about their...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Canada bans researchers from discussing snowflakes, findings. Scientists protest