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Archive for March 7th, 2014
Australia: Santos fined after coal seam gas project contaminates aquifer ‘with uranium’
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on March 7th, 2014
Guardian: The NSW government should tear up an agreement with Santos to fast-track a coal seam gas project after the energy producer was fined for contaminating an aquifer, reportedly with uranium, the state opposition says.
The Environment Protection Authority issued a $1,500 fine to Santos last month following the “pollution incident” at the company’s Narrabri Gas Field operations in the Pilliga in NSW’s northwest.
Fairfax Media reports that the aquifer was contaminated with uranium at levels 20 times...
Posted in Water Conservation 
Comments Off on Australia: Santos fined after coal seam gas project contaminates aquifer ‘with uranium’Restoring peat bogs to prevent floods
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on March 7th, 2014
BBC: Roger Harrabin looks how the Exmoor peat bogs are being restored to their natural state to help soak up water - preventing it running off into rivers and causing flooding further downstream. He talks to Professor Richard Brazier from Exeter University about the process.
Global warming is a misleading term because it actually sounds quite nice
Posted by Guardian: Fiona Harvey, on March 7th, 2014
Guardian: What does the phrase anthropogenic forcing mean to you? Or a carbon bubble – would you be more likely to find one in your bath or in your pension fund? Is the greenhouse effect a better way to grow tomatoes? And what is the difference between global warming and climate change?
Understanding the language of climate science can feel like sitting an exam in an unfamiliar subject. For most scientific debates, the collision between the abstruse nature of expert discourse and our ordinary lives – a...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Global warming is a misleading term because it actually sounds quite niceClimate change could mean more malaria in Africa, study says
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on March 7th, 2014
Reuters: Future global warming could lead to a significant increase in malaria cases in densely populated regions of Africa and South America unless disease monitoring and control efforts are increased, researchers said on Thursday.
In a study of the mosquito-borne disease that infects around 220 million people a year, researchers from Britain and the United States found what they describe as the first hard evidence that malaria creeps to higher elevations during warmer years and back down to lower altitudes...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Climate change could mean more malaria in Africa, study says‘Full Disclosure’ of Frack Chemicals Urged by Energy Department Advisors
Posted by Bloomberg: Alan Kovski on March 7th, 2014
Bloomberg: An Energy Department advisory board recommended “full disclosure of all known constituents” in fluids used for hydraulic fracturing, according to a draft report released March 6.
The “Task Force Report on FracFocus 2.0” from the Secretary of Energy Advisory Board (SEAB) said state and federal regulators should adopt standards for companies making trade secret claims for fracking fluid ingredients and establish a compliance process and challenge mechanism.
The draft report praised the FracFocus...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on ‘Full Disclosure’ of Frack Chemicals Urged by Energy Department AdvisorsSeeking Energy Independence, Europe Faces Heated Fracking Debate
Posted by National Public Radio: Christopher Werth on March 7th, 2014
National Public Radio: While watching the turmoil in Ukraine unfold, you may feel as though it has little to do with the United States, but the conflict is stirring a contentious debate in Europe over a topic familiar to many Americans: fracking.
Much of the continent depends on Russian natural gas that flows through pipelines in Ukraine. European countries are asking themselves whether to follow the U.S. example and drill for shale gas.
In Lancashire in northern England, local anti-fracking groups had been campaigning...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Seeking Energy Independence, Europe Faces Heated Fracking DebateEnbridge Line 9 Pipeline Reversal Approved by Canadian Energy Board
Posted by CBC: None Given on March 7th, 2014
CBC: The National Energy Board has approved energy giant Enbridge's plan to reverse the flow and increase the capacity of a pipeline that has been running between southern Ontario and Montreal for years.
The green light for the Calgary-based company is subject to certain conditions and requirements.
A statement from the National Energy Board says "the board’s conditions require Enbridge to undertake activities regarding pipeline integrity, emergency response, and continued consultation."
Enbridge...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Enbridge Line 9 Pipeline Reversal Approved by Canadian Energy BoardUnited Kingdom: Peatlands put in peril as demand for grouse shooting takes off
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on March 7th, 2014
Independent: Grouse shooting is ruining the countryside of Northern England and Scotland, as swathes of wildlife-rich upland peatlands are burned to provide the optimum conditions for commercial red grouse, the RSPB has warned.
As much as 77,000 hectares, or 770 square kilometres, of upland peatland has been badly damaged by burning so far, with a marked acceleration in the rate in the past 15 years that looks set to continue as grouse shooting becomes increasingly popular, the RSPB said.
The Pennines,...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on United Kingdom: Peatlands put in peril as demand for grouse shooting takes offUnited Kingdom: The recent winter storms caused the greatest loss of trees in a generation, says The National Trust
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on March 7th, 2014
Independent: The fallout from the extreme winter weather continued yesterday as the National Trust disclosed that the barrage of storms killed the greatest number of trees in a generation as Environment Secretary Owen Paterson announced a further £10.5 million injection into flood protection.
Thousands of oak, ash and beech trees, many of them in ancient woodland, were uprooted, blown over, or snapped during the winter, with Killerton Estate in Devon hit the hardest with the loss of more than 500 trees.
Wales...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on United Kingdom: The recent winter storms caused the greatest loss of trees in a generation, says The National Trust