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Archive for March 2nd, 2014
Keystone XL protesters arrested after strapping selves to White House fence
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on March 2nd, 2014
Associated Press: Police on Sunday arrested around 200 people who strapped themselves to the White House fence to protest the proposed Keystone XL oil pipeline. The protesters were mostly college students who participated in a peaceful march that began at Georgetown University and ended outside the White House. The marchers chanted “climate justice now” and carried signs such as “don’t tarnish the Earth” in their efforts to convince President Barack Obama to reject the pipeline. They say it will contribute to global...
Posted in Water Conservation 
Comments Off on Keystone XL protesters arrested after strapping selves to White House fenceEven In A Desert, Drought Spells Trouble For Ranchers
Posted by National Public Radio: Kirk Siegler on March 2nd, 2014
National Public Radio: In northern Nevada, a place famous for its wide, open spaces and expansive cattle operations, ranchers are in a bind due to the historic drought.
Much of the state is desert, so when people talk about drought, they're really talking about the snowpack in the Sierra Nevada. It's at barely 20 percent of average.
This is a huge concern for farmers and ranchers like Julie Wolf, because the mountains store the snow that melts and feeds rivers and reservoirs. These bodies of water then allow the...
Oil From the Exxon Valdez Spill Lingers on Alaska Beaches
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on March 2nd, 2014
National Geographic: The Exxon Valdez oil spill is not just an awful memory. Oil from one of the most devastating environmental disasters in U.S. history still clings to boulder-strewn beaches in the Gulf of Alaska-and could stick around for decades. Researchers presented evidence of a lingering, foamy, mousse-like emulsion this week at the Ocean Sciences meeting in Honolulu, Hawaii.
Chemical analyses find that this 25-year-old oil is from the Exxon Valdez spill, when the tanker ran aground on Bligh Reef in Prince...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Oil From the Exxon Valdez Spill Lingers on Alaska BeachesDouble flood trouble for Europe in the next 40 years
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on March 2nd, 2014
New Scientist: Europe's politicians should bulk-buy waterproof boots. By 2050 extreme floods will swamp Europe twice as often as they do now, and the annual costs of flood damage could increase fivefold.
A new analysis of peak river flows provides some of the best evidence yet that climate change will make floods worse. However, other factors such as building in flood zones have a bigger effect on costs, because more buildings are in harm's way.
Unlike earlier studies, this study incorporates patterns of...
Frequency of severe flooding across Europe ‘to double by 2050’
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on March 2nd, 2014
Independent: The frequency of severe flooding across Europe is set to double by 2050 and over the same period there could be a nearly fivefold increase in the annual economic losses resulting from floods, a study has found.
Climate change and an increase in rainfall will account for about a third of the losses by mid-century, with the rest of the increase being due to more properties and infrastructure falling within flood risk areas, scientists said.
An analysis of how rainfall patterns are likely to change...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Frequency of severe flooding across Europe ‘to double by 2050’Flood damage cost to rise fivefold across Europe, study says
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on March 2nd, 2014
Guardian: The huge cost of flood damage is set to soar fivefold across Europe in coming decades, according to the first comprehensive analysis of risk across the continent.
The cost of homes, belongings, businesses and infrastructure wrecked by the wettest winter in England for 250 years has been at least £1bn and over the last decade the average annual loss across the European Union has been EUR4.5bn. But increasingly intense downpours driven by climate change, as well as population growth and urbanisation,...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Flood damage cost to rise fivefold across Europe, study saysHundreds of Keystone protesters arrested at White House
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on March 2nd, 2014
Reuters: Police arrested hundreds of young people protesting the Keystone XL project on Sunday, as demonstrators fastened themselves with plastic ties to the White House fences and called for U.S. President Barack Obama to reject the controversial oil pipeline.
Participants, who mostly appeared to be college-aged, held signs reading: "There is no planet B" and "Columbia says no to fossil fuels," referring to the university in New York City.
Another group, several of whom were clad in white jumpsuits...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Hundreds of Keystone protesters arrested at White HouseKeystone pipeline foes create ‘human oil spill’ at rally; hundreds arrested
Posted by CNN: Mary Grace Lucas on March 2nd, 2014
CNN: Hundreds of students and youth organizers were arrested outside the White House Sunday as they protested against the Keystone XL pipeline under review by the Obama administration.
Some demonstrators zip-tied their hands to the White House fence, and others acted out a "human oil spill," lying on black tarps in front of the White House.
Nearly a thousand students began their march at Georgetown University and proceeded to the outside of Secretary of State John Kerry's Washington home, where...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Keystone pipeline foes create ‘human oil spill’ at rally; hundreds arrestedHundreds Keystone XL pipeline opponents arrested at White House
Posted by Washington Post: DeNeen L. Brown on March 2nd, 2014
Washington Post: More than 500 protesters chanting, “Hey, Obama! We don’t want no pipeline drama,” marched to the White House Sunday, demanding that President Obama stop construction of the Keystone XL pipeline extension that would daily carry 830,000 barrels of crude oil from Canada to the Gulf Coast.
About 200 protesters, who marched from Georgetown University, through the streets of D.C., stopping in front of the house of Secretary of State John Kerry to drop "a fake oil spill," were arrested after they used...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Hundreds Keystone XL pipeline opponents arrested at White HouseDrought fuels rising tide of Texas water conservation
Posted by Climate Central: Bobby Magill on March 2nd, 2014
Climate Central: Texans learned three years ago what exceptional drought possibly aggravated by climate change looks like: 4 million charred acres of land, thousands of burned homes and water supply reservoirs dry or draining fast.
As the drought wears on, a culture of water conservation has risen with it, especially in San Antonio and Austin.
The drought forced Austin officials to rethink how water is used. In San Antonio, a desire to save water for endangered species had jump-started its conservation movement,...