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Archive for March, 2014
Why Did ICF Int’l Withdraw From Tar Sands Pipeline Contract with the State Department?
Posted by InsideClimate: Katherine Bagley on March 26th, 2014
InsideClimate: A State Department contractor for the Keystone XL that has been under attack for alleged conflicts of interest has withdrawn from contract negotiations to review a lesser-known but still controversial tar sands pipeline: Enbridge's Alberta Clipper. The unusual move has led some legal and industry experts to question whether public and political pressure against the company might have played a role in the decision. "There's no doubt it is in the back of our minds," said David McColl, an energy analyst...
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Comments Off on Why Did ICF Int’l Withdraw From Tar Sands Pipeline Contract with the State Department?United Kingdom: Poll: three-quarters voters want more environmental policies
Posted by Blue and Green: None Given on March 26th, 2014
Blue and Green: Almost three-quarters of UK voters feel that the major political parties need to focus more on the environment, renewable energy and efforts to cut carbon emissions, according to a new poll.
The survey, commissioned by WWF-UK, also found that 47% of voters are willing to switch their political allegiance based on which party was offering the best environmental policies.
Eighty-eight per cent of respondents said the government should be doing more to protect the UK against flooding and other...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on United Kingdom: Poll: three-quarters voters want more environmental policiesInvasive species in waterways on rise due to climate change
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on March 26th, 2014
ScienceDaily: One of the most serious threats to global biodiversity and the leisure and tourism industries is set to increase with climate change according to new research by Queen's University Belfast.
Researchers at Queen's have found that certain invasive weeds, which have previously been killed off by low winter temperatures, are set to thrive as global temperatures increase.
The team based at Quercus, Northern Ireland's centre for biodiversity and conservation science research, predicts that invasive...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Invasive species in waterways on rise due to climate changeHow your computer could reveal what’s driving record rain and heat in Australia and NZ
Posted by Conversation: None Given on March 26th, 2014
Conversation: 2013 was a record-breaking year for extreme heat in Australia and New Zealand.
More than 70% of Australia recorded temperatures above 42°C, with temperatures exceeding 48°C at a number of locations. On 7 January 2013, Australia experienced its hottest day on record with a national average maximum temperature of 40.3°C.
Meanwhile, in New Zealand the news at the time was dominated by drought. From January to March 2013, the North Island experienced an average of almost 80 days without rain, far...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on How your computer could reveal what’s driving record rain and heat in Australia and NZAfter Texas Oil Spill, Ships Start Moving—But Cleanup Has Just Begun
Posted by National Public Radio: Dave Fehling on March 26th, 2014
National Public Radio: ROBERT SIEGEL, HOST:
From NPR News, this is ALL THINGS CONSIDERED. I'm Robert Siegel.
AUDIE CORNISH, HOST:
And I'm Audie Cornish.
Vessels are moving once again in the Houston ship channel. The waterway was closed after a barge crash over the weekend spilled thousands of gallons of oil. The Coast Guard now says the channel on the Gulf of Mexico had been cleared enough to allow barge traffic to enter and exit. Still, the cleanup of one of the world's busiest waterways, which is also a sanctuary...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on After Texas Oil Spill, Ships Start Moving—But Cleanup Has Just BegunCanada Softens Tone in Fevered Keystone XL Pipeline Debate
Posted by Globe and Mail: Paul Koring on March 26th, 2014
Globe and Mail: After years of visiting Canadian ministers talking of little else - at least inside the Beltway - Transport Minister Lisa Raitt barely mentioned the controversial and long-delayed Keystone XL pipeline on Tuesday.
Rail or pipeline, it doesn't really matter, Ms. Raitt told a "conversation" hosted by the Canadian American Business Council, which promotes trade and business links between the two countries. What matters most is safety, she said when asked about Keystone.
"The reality is this,"...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Canada Softens Tone in Fevered Keystone XL Pipeline DebateEPA Proposes Greater Protections for Streams, Wetlands under Clean Water Act
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on March 26th, 2014
Washington Post: The Environmental Protection Agency proposed a rule Tuesday that would give the federal government regulatory authority over millions of acres of wetlands and about 2 million miles of streams.
The proposal, which is subject to a 90-day comment period slated to begin in a few weeks, would lead to stricter pollution controls on some of these areas and aims to resolve a long-running legal battle over how to apply the Clean Water Act to the nation's intermittent and ephemeral streams and wetlands....
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on EPA Proposes Greater Protections for Streams, Wetlands under Clean Water ActOil Sands Producers Support More Health Monitoring Canada
Posted by Edmonton Journal: Marty Klinkenberg on March 26th, 2014
Edmonton Journal: Energy companies support environmental monitoring and scientific research to ensure that industrial emissions in the oilsands are not adversely affecting people’s health.
Geraldine Anderson, a spokeswoman for the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers, said Tuesday that oilsands producers understand development must occur in a manner that keeps people safe, and benefits their quality of life.
“The suggestions that oilsands development is affecting people’s health is troubling to us, and...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Oil Sands Producers Support More Health Monitoring CanadaPennsylvania Fracking Activist Wants Back on Driller’s Land
Posted by Associated Press: Michael Rubinkam on March 26th, 2014
Associated Press: A high-profile anti-fracking activist who often gives tours of natural gas drilling sites in northeastern Pennsylvania's Marcellus Shale region asked a judge Monday for relief from an order barring her from stepping foot on more than 300 square miles of land owned or leased by one of the state's leading natural gas drillers.
Vera Scroggins said the injunction, in place since October, has effectively prevented her from traveling to her favorite grocery store, eye doctor, hospital, restaurants,...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Pennsylvania Fracking Activist Wants Back on Driller’s LandSierra Club Poll Finds Support for Coal Ash Rules in North Carolina
Posted by Hill: Timothy Cama on March 26th, 2014
Hill: In the wake of a February incident that caused coal ash from a Duke Energy Corp. plant to flow into the Dan River, the Sierra Club released a poll Tuesday showing the state’s residents want officials to do more to protect the environment the pollutant.
The poll, commissioned by the Sierra Club and completed by Hart Research Associates, showed that a strong majority of North Carolina residents want regulations to prevent coal ash spills. Majorities of North Carolina residents also think the state...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Sierra Club Poll Finds Support for Coal Ash Rules in North Carolina