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Archive for February, 2014
NASA Image of Alaska Depicts Spring-like Temperatures and Thaw
Posted by Environment 360: None Given on February 4th, 2014
Environment 360: NASA Earth Observatory Alaska’s warm January As the continental U.S. faced frigid weather and major winter storms in January, Alaska experienced record high temperatures. A map based on NASA satellite data shows that the last half of January was one of the warmest winter periods in Alaska’s history, with temperatures as much as 40 degrees F (22 C) above normal on some days in the central and western portions of the state. A high pressure system off the state's western coast sent warm air and rain...
Posted in Water Conservation 
Comments Off on NASA Image of Alaska Depicts Spring-like Temperatures and ThawFeds: Oil From Dakota Fields Improperly Classified
Posted by Associated Press: Joan Lowy on February 4th, 2014
Associated Press: Government investigators have found crude oil being transported from North Dakota's Bakken region was misclassified in samples taken from 11 out of 18 truck shipments en route to rail loading stations, federal transportation officials said Tuesday. Hazardous materials shipments are supposed to be classified into one of nine categories depending on the risk involved. If the materials are misclassified, they could wind up being shipped in less protective rail tank cars and emergency personnel might...
United Kingdom: Polls Show Support for Fracking is Waning
Posted by EcoWatch: Robin Webster on February 4th, 2014
EcoWatch: Public opposition to shale gas could be rising, despite the government`s attempts to promote the fuel, according to recent UK polls. The closer the industry gets to reality--and to people`s homes--the more worried the public gets.
Politicians are waxing enthusiastic about the prospect of a new UK shale gas industry. But protesters are worried about the environmental impacts of fracking for shale gas, and what it will mean for the health of local communities.
Media outlets and industry lobby...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on United Kingdom: Polls Show Support for Fracking is WaningSlideshow: Thousands Attend Vigils Last Night Protesting Keystone XL
Posted by EcoWatch: None Given on February 4th, 2014
EcoWatch: Last night, thousands of people attended more than 270 vigils around the country with this unified message: Keystone XL fails President Obama’s climate test. The vigils were in response to the State Department’s release on Friday of the Final Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement for the proposed Keystone XL pipeline. Check out this slideshow representing a small sampling of the vigils: This video was tweeted last night by someone attending a local vigil. In addition to being an excellent...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Slideshow: Thousands Attend Vigils Last Night Protesting Keystone XLCanada: Pollution from oilsands greater than first believed, new research suggests
Posted by Edmonton Journal: Marty Klinkenberg on February 4th, 2014
Edmonton Journal: A new study released Monday suggests environmental assessments of oilsands projects have underestimated the impact of pollution, raising questions about the accuracy of data used as part of the approval process.
Despite taking into account emissions from industry-related activities, researchers from the University of Toronto found estimates in environmental impact statements submitted to regulators were insufficient to explain existing contamination levels in northern Alberta.
“Our study shows...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Canada: Pollution from oilsands greater than first believed, new research suggestsKeystone XL clears major hurdle, but opponents see silver lining
Posted by ClimateWire: Christa Marshall and Evan Lehmann on February 4th, 2014
ClimateWire: The State Department's long-awaited environmental review of Keystone XL on Friday sparked cautious optimism on both sides of the contentious pipeline debate, underscoring the public pressure facing the Obama administration before midterm elections.
Supporters of the $5.4 billion TransCanada project cheered the document's ultimate conclusion that the pipeline is unlikely to "significantly impact the rate of extraction in the oil sands," and therefore unlikely to exacerbate global greenhouse gas...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Keystone XL clears major hurdle, but opponents see silver liningCanada: Oil sands pollution two to three times higher than thought
Posted by Agence France-Presse: Kerry Sheridan on February 4th, 2014
Agence France-Presse: The amount of harmful pollutants released in the process of recovering oil from tar sands in western Canada is likely far higher than corporate interests say, university researchers said Monday.
Actual levels of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) emissions into the air may be two to three times higher than estimated, said the findings in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, a peer-reviewed US journal.
The study raises new questions about the accuracy of environmental impact...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Canada: Oil sands pollution two to three times higher than thought‘Fossilized rivers’ reveal clues about disappearing glaciers
Posted by LiveScience: Becky Oskin on February 4th, 2014
LiveScience: An amazing landscape left behind by melting ice sheets offers clues to the future of Greenland's shrinking glaciers, a new study suggests.
The incredible terrain is in northern Canada, which is ridged with thousands of eskers -- the sinuous, gravelly remains of streams and rivers that flowed beneath the ice. Canada was once buried beneath miles of ice, similar to the way Greenland is today. Called the Laurentide Ice Sheet, this massive ice cap covered all of Canada and parts of the northern United...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on ‘Fossilized rivers’ reveal clues about disappearing glaciersUN appeals for Sahel aid as conflict, climate change take their toll
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on February 4th, 2014
Reuters: The United Nations appealed on Monday for more than $US2 billion ($2.28 billion) to feed and care for a record 20 million people across Africa's Sahel belt, but aid workers said they feared donor fatigue and a weak global recovery may prevent them from reaching the target. Conflicts in Mali, Nigeria, Sudan and Central African Republic have disrupted markets and caused food shortages across the savannah region, the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) has warned. The problems...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on UN appeals for Sahel aid as conflict, climate change take their tollAustralia: Farmers feel the heat as drought advances
Posted by Sydney Morning Herald: Peter Hannam on February 4th, 2014
Sydney Morning Herald: "The burning heat has just scorched everything off right back to the ground and then these hot winds have just blown it all away": Rod Barnes. Photo: Paul Mathews Sydney has recorded its lowest summer rainfall to date in more than 70 years, as the state swelters through its driest January in more than a decade. Since December, the city has had just 48.4 millimetres of rain, a little more than a quarter of the usual amount, and the lowest since 1941-42, said Acacia Pepler, a climatologist at the...