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Archive for March, 2014
Beyond the hype, Keystone would yield few permanent jobs
Posted by Reuters: Alistair Bell on March 13th, 2014
Reuters: In the heated debate over whether to build the Keystone XL pipeline, the energy industry and lawmakers have predicted that the project could unleash an economic bonanza in the Midwest, and provide jobs for up to a half-million people.
Kansas pipeline worker Jeremy Rippe knows better.
"Short term, there will be jobs for everyone around here. Then, not many at all," said Rippe, who helps maintain a gas pipeline on the Nebraska-Kansas border.
Rippe saw TransCanada Corp - the company that hopes...
Posted in Water Conservation 
Comments Off on Beyond the hype, Keystone would yield few permanent jobsN Carolina environment agency worked with Duke Energy on coal ash spills
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on March 13th, 2014
Associated Press: Internal emails between staff at North Carolina’s environmental agency show state regulators were coordinating with Duke Energy before intervening in efforts by citizens groups trying to sue the company over pollution leeching from its coal ash dumps.
The emails were provided on Thursday to the Associated Press by the Southern Environmental Law Center, which had filed notice in January 2012 of its intent to sue Duke under the Clean Water Act.
Within days, the emails show a Duke lobbyist contacted...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on N Carolina environment agency worked with Duke Energy on coal ash spillsOil Industry Gets An Earful As It Eyes Florida’s Everglades
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on March 13th, 2014
National Public Radio: As oil production goes, Florida isn't much of a player. The state produced less than 2 million barrels last year, which is how much oil Texas pumps from its wells each day.
That's about to change as the revolution in oil drilling technology comes to Florida.
One of the areas targeted for oil drilling is at Jaime Duran's doorstep in the southwestern part of the state. A retired engineer, Duran lives in a cottage with his wife, Pamela, and the chickens they raise on a 5-acre plot. Last year,...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Oil Industry Gets An Earful As It Eyes Florida’s EvergladesPakistan drought: government accused over child deaths Sindh province
Posted by Guardian: Zofeen Ebrahim on March 12th, 2014
Guardian: NGOs in Pakistan say the death of at least 132 children in a drought in Sindh province might have been avoided had the government responded sooner. As government aid begins to arrive in the area, local activists have linked the crisis to long-term failures to provide proper health care and infrastructure in the region.
The deaths occurred in the Thar desert, part of Tharparkar district, some 350km (200 miles) from Karachi, which runs up to the border with India.
Local organisations working...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Pakistan drought: government accused over child deaths Sindh provinceGhengis Khan’s Rule Was Aided By A Warm, Wet Climate: Study
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on March 12th, 2014
RedOrbit: The 13th century Mongolian conqueror Genghis Khan relied on hordes of Mongol warriors to expand his empire. Now, according to a new study in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, it has been determined that Genghis was also aided by the favorable effects of climate change.
In the report, a team of American and Mongolian scientists described how they used an analysis of tree rings to show that from 1211 to 1225 Mongolia experienced a period of relatively warmer and wetter weather...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Ghengis Khan’s Rule Was Aided By A Warm, Wet Climate: StudyRise of Genghis Khan Linked to Unusual Rains in Mongolia
Posted by ClimateWire: Nathanael Massey on March 12th, 2014
ClimateWire: A conventional historical narrative holds that the rise and expansion of the Mongol Empire -- first under Genghis Khan and, later, his progeny and successors -- were propelled by a deteriorating climate in the Mongolian steppe. Fleeing drought, the narrative runs, Ghengis Khan's Golden Horde pushed west, south and east in a bid for expansion that would someday form the world's largest contiguous empire.
Indeed, climate records indicate that the arid, landlocked steppe was seized by decades of...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Rise of Genghis Khan Linked to Unusual Rains in MongoliaEU parliament exclude shale gas from tougher environmental code
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on March 12th, 2014
Reuters: EU politicians on Wednesday voted for tougher rules on exposing the environmental impact of oil and conventional gas exploration, while excluding shale gas.
Member states such as Britain and Poland are pushing hard for the development of shale gas, seen as one way to lessen dependence on Russian gas, as well as to lower energy costs as it has in the United States.
The plenary vote of the European Parliament in Strasbourg, France follows a compromise deal on the draft law in December, which...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on EU parliament exclude shale gas from tougher environmental codeIn Louisiana, an environmental lawsuit brings hope for a new chapter
Posted by Al Jazeera: Peter Moskowitz on March 12th, 2014
Al Jazeera: Louisiana is being slowly devoured by water. Hardly anyone disputes that. But beyond a shared sense of creeping panic, there’s little common ground in the state.
As over 2,000 miles of coast have been eaten away over the last 80 or so years, the state and federal government, oil and gas companies, activists and residents battled and bickered over funding the future of the state’s coast. So far, little has been accomplished.
John Barry, an author cum activist, hopes to change that.
Last July,...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on In Louisiana, an environmental lawsuit brings hope for a new chapterBoth sides of river dredging debate project’s impact
Posted by Florida Times-Union: Meredith Rutland on March 12th, 2014
Florida Times-Union: Following criticism that discussions on whether to deepen JaxPort underestimated environmental problems, engineers suggested deepening the St. Johns River would help the environment in the long run.
Deepening the St. Johns River from the Dames Point Bridge to Mayport would allow larger ships to come into the port, and larger ships means fewer trips to carry the same amount of cargo. That would cut down on the amount of carbon emissions coming from the ships, said Col. Alan Dodd, district engineer...
Staying mum on Keystone may hurt Clinton with greens
Posted by Hill: Laura Barron-Lopez on March 12th, 2014
Hill: Hillary Clinton may find herself in time out with affluent Democratic environmentalists after staying mum on the Keystone XL oil pipeline.
Clinton wouldn't say whether she supported or opposed the controversial $5.4 billion project when asked a direct question about it earlier this month at an event in Vancouver.
"She’s kind of a closed book on the environment,” said Guy Saperstein, an Oakland-based venture capitalist and former president of the San Francisco-based Sierra Club Foundation told...