RSS Feed
Archive for December, 2013
Hormone-Disrupting Chemicals Found At Fracking Sites Linked To Cancer, Infertility: Study
Posted by Huffington Post: Dominique Mosbergen on December 20th, 2013
Huffington Post: Hormone-disrupting chemicals linked to cancer, infertility and a slew of other health problems have been found in water samples collected at and near hydraulic fracturing, or "fracking," sites in Colorado, according to a new study published in the journal Endocrinology this week.
Researchers say they found elevated levels of these chemicals -- known as endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) -- in surface water and groundwater samples collected in the state's Garfield County, a fracking hotspot...
Posted in Water Conservation 
Comments Off on Hormone-Disrupting Chemicals Found At Fracking Sites Linked To Cancer, Infertility: StudyReplacing Coal w/ Natural Gas Saves Water, Investigation Reveals
Posted by Softpedia: None Given on December 20th, 2013
Softpedia: A report published in this week's issue of the journal Environmental Research Letters says that switching from using coal to using natural gas in order to produce electricity can help save noteworthy amounts of water.
What's more, it can help lower some region's vulnerability to drought.
In the paper, researchers working with the University of Texas at Austin explain that, as part of this investigation into the benefits of relying on natural gas rather than on coal to meet energy demands, they...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Replacing Coal w/ Natural Gas Saves Water, Investigation RevealsGlobal climate game abandons biodiversity
Posted by Conversation: Penny van Oosterzee on December 20th, 2013
Conversation: The latest climate talks in Warsaw may have achieved little in the way of action on climate change, but they were even worse for biodiversity. In fact, since early climate talks in the 1990s, biodiversity has vanished from international and Australian climate policy. So, why has biodiversity become decoupled from climate change?
Biodiversity, carbon’s forgotten partner
Biodiversity is the global blind spot in climate change. Food, shelter, clean water and a climate that nurtures life are underpinned...
Natural gas production surges in Pennsylvania
Posted by Christian Science Monitor: Charles Kennedy on December 20th, 2013
Christian Science Monitor: By then end of this year, Pennsylvania may be the second-biggest gas-producing US state, behind Texas, as production at the Marcellus Shale soars, according to a new report from the Energy Information Administration (EIA).
For now, Pennsylvania ranks third for gas production in the US, but data for this year is still coming in and the state is clearly the fastest-growing, while Texas remains the all-out leader.
According to the EIA, natural gas production in Pennsylvania grew by 72% from 2011...
Canadian Review Panel Approves Plans Oil Pipeline
Posted by New York Times: Ian Austen on December 20th, 2013
New York Times: An environmental and economic review panel approved plans for a pipeline and port project that, if built, will move oil from Alberta’s oil sands to tankers on Canada’s Pacific Coast. After approval stalled in Washington for the Keystone XL pipeline, which would link the oil sands to the United States Gulf Coast, the Enbridge Northern Gateway pipeline, which would cost about 7.9 billion Canadian dollars, or about $7.4 billion, became Canada’s backup plan for increasing oil sands production. The...
Company Will Not Face Fines for Unpermitted Gas Pipeline in North Dakota
Posted by Forum: Mike Nowatzki on December 20th, 2013
Forum: An Oklahoma-based company won’t face fines for installing and operating a natural gas pipeline in North Dakota without the proper state permits, but a state regulator said Wednesday that she may pursue a change in state law to make it easier to impose penalties in such cases. Public Service Commissioner Julie Fedorchak said that while Hiland Operating LLC testified that it didn’t know it needed PSC approval to site a 6.5-mile-long pipeline installed in 2009 in Burke and Divide counties, “not being...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Company Will Not Face Fines for Unpermitted Gas Pipeline in North DakotaEnbridge Suspends Dredging Operations at River Oaks Park in Michigan until Spring
Posted by MLive: Alex Mitchell on December 20th, 2013
MLive: Enbridge, Inc. has suspended its dredging operations at Morrow Lake until spring, a company spokesman said Thursday.
An excavator digs into the bottom of Morrow Lake during cleanup following the 2010 Kalamazoo River oil spillMLive file photo
Jason Manshum, senior advisor of community relations for Enbridge, said Enbridge ceased all of its dredging operations along the Kalamazoo River on Dec. 10. due to concerns over worker safety after the water started freezing.
"It all comes down to worker...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Enbridge Suspends Dredging Operations at River Oaks Park in Michigan until SpringCanadian regulator OKs oil pipeline to Pacific
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on December 20th, 2013
Associated Press: Canada`s regulator recommended Thursday that the government approve a proposed pipeline to the Pacific coast that will allow Canada`s oil to be shipped to Asia despite environmental concerns.
A three-person review panel said opening Pacific markets to Canadian oil is important to the economy and thus supported Enbridge`s controversial pipeline. There are 209 conditions, but no major potential stumbling blocks such as a route change.
Natural Resource Minister Joe Oliver said the government will...
Fracking May Make Texas Power Supply Drought Resistant
Posted by Climate Central: Bobby Magill on December 20th, 2013
Climate Central: A new University of Texas-Austin study shows that producing electricity from natural gas saves much more water than producing power from coal, even accounting for water lost in fracking for shale gas.
In other words, fracking for natural gas used to produce electricity may make Texas more drought-resistant as the state shifts from coal power generation to natural gas power generation.
The study, funded by the state of Texas, looks at how Texas' devastating 2011 drought affected electricity...
Natural sponges: forests help moderate floods, droughts
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on December 20th, 2013
Mongabay: A new study adds further evidence for the "sponge effect" of forests.
Research published in the journal Water Resources Research by scientists at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute (STRI) and other institutions finds that forests in Panama help moderate extreme weather events by reducing peak runoff during storms and releasing stored water during droughts. The findings are based on measurements taken during nearly 450 tropical storms in forests and pastures.
“We measured large differences...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Natural sponges: forests help moderate floods, droughts