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Archive for November, 2013
Poor countries clamoring for aid slam into ‘hard reality’ in Warsaw
Posted by Greenwire: Jean Chemnick and Lisa Friedman on November 20th, 2013
Greenwire: The top U.S. negotiator on climate change has effectively ruled out any new American pledge this year to a U.N. fund for helping poor countries cope with global warming, but vulnerable nations and human rights groups gathered for the climate summit here refuse to accept that.
U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon also called climate finance "critical" in his first press briefing of the summit today.
Pointing to Typhoon Haiyan, which he said puts "an anguished human face" on climate change, he...
Posted in Water Conservation 
Comments Off on Poor countries clamoring for aid slam into ‘hard reality’ in WarsawWhat 11 Billion People Mean for Food Security
Posted by LiveScience: Rachael Rettner on November 20th, 2013
LiveScience: Editor's note: By the end of this century, Earth may be home to 11 billion people, the United Nations has estimated, earlier than previously expected. As part of a week-long series, LiveScience is exploring what reaching this population milestone might mean for our planet, from our ability to feed that many people to our impact on the other species that call Earth home to our efforts to land on other planets. Check back here each day for the next installment.
Beetles, scorpions and other insects...
Factory Farming: Bad for People, Planet and Economy
Posted by EcoWatch: Kaye Spector on November 19th, 2013
EcoWatch: Factory farms, where large numbers of livestock are raised indoors in conditions intended to maximize production at minimal cost, affect all of us. Huge meat companies have steadily driven down the prices farmers receive for the livestock they raise, forcing farmers to get big or get out. Small farms have been replaced by factory farms that pollute nearby air and water, undermine rural economies and reduce the quality of life for neighbors.
Colorado to crack down on methane emissions from fracking
Posted by Grist: Kiley Kroh on November 19th, 2013
Grist: Colorado health officials announced new rules on Monday that would work to cut the air pollution produced by oil and gas operations in the state. The rules would force companies to capture 95 percent of all toxic pollutants and volatile organic compounds they emit. In addition, the rules include a requirement that companies control emissions of the potent greenhouse gas methane, marking the first time a state has drafted rules to directly address the methane emitted by oil and gas operations, according...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Colorado to crack down on methane emissions from frackingIn Oklahoma, water, fracking & a swarm of quakes
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on November 19th, 2013
Reuters: Seismologist Austin Holland wants to start an earthquake.
From his office a few feet below the earth's surface - a basement at the University of Oklahoma in Norman - Holland, who tracks quakes for the Oklahoma Geological Survey, is digging into a complex riddle: Is a dramatic rise in the size and number of quakes in his state related to oil and gas production activity? And, if so, what can be done to stop it?
As part of his wide-ranging research, Holland is proposing to inject pressurized water...
Europe ‘stigmatising’ Canada labelling tar sands oil highly polluting
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on November 19th, 2013
Guardian: Canada's oil from tar sands would be "stigmatised" by EU regulations labelling it as highly polluting, the country's natural resources minister said on Tuesday. Joe Oliver also said a new study ranking Canada last among industrialised countries for climate change action was "name calling" and that the country had an environmental record it was "proud of".
Oliver spoke at a Canada-Europe energy summit in London, UK, which aimed to promote the "significant commercial opportunities presented by Canada's...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Europe ‘stigmatising’ Canada labelling tar sands oil highly pollutingEU’s Targeting of Oil Sands Could Have Spillover Effect on Keystone XL
Posted by Globe and Mail: Paul Waldie on November 19th, 2013
Globe and Mail: Natural Resources Minister Joe Oliver said a move by the European Union to target the oil sands could have an indirect impact on the fate of the Keystone XL pipeline project because it will stigmatize Canadian oil.
Canada has spent months fighting the European Union's proposed fuel quality directive which is designed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Under the proposal, oil from the oil sands would be labelled particularly dirty, creating a disincentive for European refiners to import Canadian...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on EU’s Targeting of Oil Sands Could Have Spillover Effect on Keystone XLPhilippines typhoon crop damages worth $110 mln-FAO
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on November 19th, 2013
Reuters: The typhoon that hit the Philippines has caused crop losses worth $110 million and inflicted damage to the agriculture sector of more than twice that figure, preliminary estimates from the United Nation's food agency showed on Tuesday. Some 153,495 hectares (ha) of rice paddy, maize and other high value crops such as coconut, banana, cassava, mango and vegetables have been hit by Typhoon Haiyan, which killed at least 3,900 people when it struck on November 8. "High winds, heavy rains and localized...
A crippled nation battles a tide of desperation
Posted by ClimateWire: Coleen Jose on November 19th, 2013
ClimateWire: More than a week after what may be the most powerful recorded storm ever to hit land, the Philippines is a nation on the move, with an enormous dislocation of people fleeing crushed homes; severely wounded cities; a lack of food, electricity, phones and clean water; and spreading disease. Meanwhile, other vehicles fight the huge tide of people, trying to bring help to the worst-hit places.
"It was the most surreal homecoming," recalled Daryl Daño as she bumped along a wreckage-strewn road on the...
Filipinos start over in city wiped out by typhoon
Posted by LA Times: Alexandra Zavis on November 19th, 2013
LA Times: Rising from a sea of debris, the small, rickety shell of a new house already was beginning to take shape.
Rolito Solayao worked swiftly Monday, using pieces of wood and nails scavenged from the wreckage of this coastal city. His wife swept dirt from the concrete floor, the only part of their home that survived when Typhoon Haiyan tore through the central Philippines on Nov. 8.
Asked her name, she let out a weary laugh: Yolanda, the name Filipinos gave to the storm.
More than a week after...