RSS Feed
Archive for December, 2013
Last Keystone Pipeline Holdouts Are in Nebraska, 27% Haven’t Signed Easements
Posted by Omaha World-Herald: Joe Duggan on December 18th, 2013
Omaha World-Herald: Nebraska now stands alone when it comes to landowners who have yet to sign easements for the proposed Keystone XL oil pipeline. TransCanada Inc., the company that wants to build the 1,700-mile crude oil pipeline, announced recently that it has reached agreement with 100 percent of landowners in five of the six states on the project route. The remaining holdouts are in Nebraska. The company says it has agreed to easement terms with 73 percent of the private landowners in Nebraska. That equates to...
Posted in Water Conservation 
Comments Off on Last Keystone Pipeline Holdouts Are in Nebraska, 27% Haven’t Signed EasementsGet ready for another Keystone XL showdown on Capitol Hill
Posted by Grist: Ben Adler on December 18th, 2013
Grist: Congressional Republicans are feeling heat from their base for compromising with the president and Senate Democrats on the budget - or, as we used to call it, “governing.” And so, with yet another debt-ceiling limit increase on the horizon in February or March, House Budget Chair Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) and Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) have said we will default on the national debt unless they extract some concessions. Can you guess what such a concession might be?
Here’s Ryan on...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Get ready for another Keystone XL showdown on Capitol HillCanadian Regulator to Release Northern Gateway Decision on Thursday
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on December 18th, 2013
Reuters: Canada's National Energy Board will release its decision on whether to approve Enbridge Inc's $6.5 billion Northern Gateway crude oil pipeline on Thursday, the regulator said on Tuesday. The proposed 1,177 km (730 mile) pipeline, intended to carry oil sands crude from near Edmonton, Alberta, to Kitimat on the British Columbia coast, has run into fierce environmental opposition and seen costs mount. The NEB decision on Thursday will be a preliminary recommendation. Final approval rests with the...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Canadian Regulator to Release Northern Gateway Decision on ThursdayColorado State Regulators Approve New Oil Spill Rules
Posted by Coloradoan: Ryan Maye Handy on December 18th, 2013
Coloradoan: The Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission approved Tuesday new spill cleanup regulations for oil and gas drilling in Colorado. The regulations are part of “ongoing efforts to maintain a strong regulatory approach” to oil and gas development in the state and were not directly borne of the spills during the September floods, spokesman Todd Hartman said in an email. The new rules require: • That any spill of five barrels or more must be reported within 24 hours. • That any spill of one barrel...
Steep terrain slows fight against California coastal fire
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on December 18th, 2013
Reuters: Hundreds of firefighters battled to gain control of a raging wildfire along central California's scenic Big Sur coastline on Tuesday, hampered by steep and brushy terrain and narrow roads, officials said.
By nightfall, the Pfeiffer fire had blackened 769 acres and was 20-percent contained, U.S. Forest Service spokeswoman Lynn Olson said. Crews expect to extend containment lines around the perimeter of the fire by Friday, she said.
So far, the fire has destroyed at least 15 dwellings and forced...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Steep terrain slows fight against California coastal fireAvoid Antibacterial Soaps, Say Consumer Advocates
Posted by National Geographic: Brian Clark Howard on December 18th, 2013
National Geographic: Federal officials' questions about antibacterial soaps have raised a lather among environmental and consumer advocates concerned about the safety of controversial ingredients in these cleansers.
Reviving a long-running controversy over antibacterial soaps and body wash, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced on Monday that the makers of such products will have to prove that they are more effective than plain soap and water in preventing illness and curtailing infection.
According...
Freshwater Loss Could Double Agricultural Losses Tied to Climate Change
Posted by Nature World: None Given on December 17th, 2013
Nature World: Freshwater shortages could double the effects of climate change on agriculture yields, a new study combining climate, agricultural and hydrological models found.
Published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the study estimates that climate change alone could result in a loss of between 400-2,600 petacalories of food supply, or 8 to 43 percent of present day levels. Add projected declines of freshwater into the mix and this could jump an additional 600-2,900 petacalories, the...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Freshwater Loss Could Double Agricultural Losses Tied to Climate ChangeAfrica to build world’s largest dam, but who will benefit?
Posted by Mongabay: Liz Kimbrough on December 17th, 2013
Mongabay: The Congo River traverses the continent of Africa, ending its journey in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) where it spills 1.5 million cubic feet per second into the Atlantic Ocean. Now, plans are underway to harness this tremendous force of water in what promises to be the world's largest hydropower scheme, The Grand Inga.
The Grand Inga Hydropower Project could produce up to 40,000 megawatts (MW) of electricity, more than twice the power generated by the current most powerful dam in the...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Africa to build world’s largest dam, but who will benefit?Climate change puts 40% more people at risk of absolute water scarcity, study says
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on December 17th, 2013
ScienceDaily: Water scarcity impacts people's lives in many countries already today. Future population growth will increase the demand for freshwater even further. Yet in addition to this, on the supply side, water resources will be affected by projected changes in rainfall and evaporation. Climate change due to unabated greenhouse-gas emissions within our century is likely to put 40 percent more people at risk of absolute water scarcity than would be without climate change, a new study shows by using an unprecedented...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Climate change puts 40% more people at risk of absolute water scarcity, study saysLet it Snow, Let it Snow: U.S. Sets Benchmark
Posted by Climate Central: Andrew Freedman on December 17th, 2013
Climate Central: Bitter cold and snow and ice storms have been the mantra for December across much of the U.S. And in fact, the country has seen a larger snowpack this month than at any point in the past decade.
According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 53 percent of the lower 48 states had some snow cover on Dec. 15. That topped all readings on that date since such records began in 2003.
The expansive snow cover stands in stark contrast to some of the milder early winters of...