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Archive for March 25th, 2014
United Kingdom: Oil well safety warning for fracking
Posted by BBC: James Morgan on March 25th, 2014
BBC: Plans to expand shale gas "fracking" in the UK must learn from leaks and poor monitoring at existing onshore oil and gas sites, scientists say.
A review of 2,152 wells drilled from 1902-2013 found up to 100 "orphaned" wells for which no firm is responsible.
Only two cases of well "failure" were recorded, but legacy sites are not monitored for leaks, the authors note.
The study led by ReFINE (Researching Fracking in Europe) is published in the journal Marine and Petroleum Geology.
It is...
Dissent over key climate report
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on March 25th, 2014
BBC: Senior scientists and government officials are meeting in Japan to agree a critical report on the impacts of global warming.
Members of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) will publish their first update on the scale of the threat in seven years.
Leaked documents speak of significant impacts on economies, food supplies and security.
But some attendees say the summary, due out next Monday, is far too alarmist.
This will be the second of a trilogy of reports on the causes,...
New fracking fear: Well barrier failure likely to contaminate certain sites’ surroundings
Posted by Independent: Tom Bawden on March 25th, 2014
Independent: A small percentage of the shale gas sites drilled in the event of a UK fracking boom would probably contaminate the surrounding environment because of problems with wells, a new report has warned, adding that in some cases the damage could be exacerbated because the companies that drilled them will have gone out of business.
A Durham University study into the impact of shale gas production concludes that “it is likely that well barrier failure will occur in a small number of wells and this could...
Posted in Water Conservation 
Comments Off on New fracking fear: Well barrier failure likely to contaminate certain sites’ surroundingsClimate change could devastate Africa crop yields – Responding to Climate Change
Posted by RTCC: Ed King on March 25th, 2014
RTCC: Africa could face an onslaught of crop failures, diseases and extreme weather events as a result of global warming, a UN panel of scientists is likely to warn later this week.
The findings will be discussed at a meeting of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) in Yokohoma, Japan, before their final approval and publication on March 31.
Millions could be affected as a result of coastal and urban flooding, while fresh water resources in the west and south are expected to become...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Climate change could devastate Africa crop yields – Responding to Climate ChangeDeath toll Washington state mudslide rises to 14
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on March 25th, 2014
Reuters: The confirmed death toll from a devastating weekend mudslide in Washington state climbed to 14 people on Monday as six more bodies were found, while scores of others remained listed as missing two days after the tragedy, authorities said.
The Snohomish County Sheriff's Office reported the higher casualty count hours after emergency management officials expressed doubt anyone else would be plucked alive from the muck that engulfed dozens of homes when a rain-soaked hillside near Oso, Washington,...