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Archive for May 26th, 2014
A Conversation With Darrel R. Frost: An Amphibian’s Best Friend
Posted by New York Times: Glenn Collins on May 26th, 2014
New York Times: Darrel R. Frost, the chief herpetology curator at the American Museum of Natural History, has done fieldwork in Ethiopia, Guatemala, Mexico, Namibia, Peru, South Africa and Vietnam. He is also a sort of gatekeeper for amphibians.
Dr. Frost, 62, oversees the museum's catalog of the class Amphibia - more than 7,200 species, comprising frogs, salamanders and limbless, soil-dwelling caecilians. Its web page attracts more than a million views a year.
An avuncular conversationalist who enjoys a laugh...
Posted in Water Conservation 
Comments Off on A Conversation With Darrel R. Frost: An Amphibian’s Best FriendShakeout Threatens Shale Patch as Frackers Go for Broke
Posted by Bloomberg: Asjylyn Loder on May 26th, 2014
Bloomberg: The U.S. shale patch is facing a shakeout as drillers struggle to keep pace with the relentless spending needed to get oil and gas out of the ground.
Shale debt has almost doubled over the last four years while revenue has gained just 5.6 percent, according to a Bloomberg News analysis of 61 shale drillers. A dozen of those wildcatters are spending at least 10 percent of their sales on interest compared with Exxon Mobil Corp.’s 0.1 percent.
“The list of companies that are financially stressed...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Shakeout Threatens Shale Patch as Frackers Go for BrokeEl Nino Blows Hot and Cold
Posted by Truthdig: None Given on May 26th, 2014
Truthdig: El Niño, the mysterious meteorological phenomenon that periodically upsets global weather patterns, bringing catastrophic flooding to the arid lands of North and South America, and forest fires to South-east Asia, turns out to be more complicated than anyone had thought.
Sandra Banholzer and Simon Donner, environmental scientists at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada, report in Geophysical Research Letters that some El Niño events don’t turn up the planetary thermostat, and...
United Kingdom: Grudgingly, UKIP has a point on saving our shale gas wealth
Posted by Energy Live: None Given on May 26th, 2014
Energy Live: It’s probably the only UKIP policy I can ever agree with.
And it was presented in an otherwise mud-slinging speech by MEP Roger Helmer -- the party’s energy lead who re-elected in last week`s EU elections -- at UKIP’s annual conference last year.
It goes something like this: if Britain plunges on with a shale gas bonanza, why don’t we put the proceeds into a Norwegian-style savings pot for future generations?
Actually UKIP’s showstopper idea could have been borrowed from the Lib Dems – they...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on United Kingdom: Grudgingly, UKIP has a point on saving our shale gas wealthAsia readies food security defences against El Nino threat
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on May 26th, 2014
Reuters: Asia's governments are scrambling to head off the potential impact of a weather phenomenon that in the past has driven food prices to levels that sparked social unrest.
With lessons learned, Indonesia's government is handing out calendars to farmers setting out early planting dates. Malaysia and the Philippines are working to manage water supplies and India has bolstered its food stockpiles.
They are aiming to reduce the impact of the so-called El Nino, a weather pattern that can bring drought...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Asia readies food security defences against El Nino threatUS Oil Sands gears up to build Utah project
Posted by Calgary Herald: Dan Healing on May 26th, 2014
Calgary Herald: The first equipment, a used horizontal rotary slurry mixer formerly employed in a California cement plant, has been purchased as US Oil Sands Inc. moves ahead with its plan to mine for bitumen in Utah.
The Calgary-based company announced its final investment decision for the PR Spring Project in the arid state earlier this month, approving a 2,000-barrel-a-day mine and processing centre that is expected to cost $60 million -- about $10 million more than previously estimated.
Chief executive...
Rules for hydraulic fracturing approved by House committee
Posted by WAND: None Given on May 26th, 2014
WAND: A plan sponsored by Representative John Bradley that would speed up hydraulic fracturing for oil and gas in Illinois has been approved by a House committee. Despite protests from environmentalists, the Executive Committee voted 7-4 Monday to advance the plan. Under Bradley's legislation, the Illinois Department of Natural Resources would lose the power to adopt rules for the extraction method known as "fracking." Bradley is frustrated because lawmakers approved fracking a year ago, but the department...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Rules for hydraulic fracturing approved by House committeeRecords melt across country as capitals experience weeks of unseasonably warm weather
Posted by News.com.au: None Given on May 26th, 2014
News.com.au: COSY blankets and jumpers have remained in the wardrobe for much of May - and southeast Australia should prepare for a warmer-than-average winter.
Records have melted across our capital cities as much of the nation enjoys an unseasonably warm month.
The sun continues to shine on New South Wales, where Sydneysiders have experienced a run of 16 days above 22C, which is unheard of for May.
The May mean maximum temperature is 23.3C - 3.9C above what Sydney usually experiences at this time of...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Records melt across country as capitals experience weeks of unseasonably warm weatherHomeowners consider moving if fracking begins in NC
Posted by WNCN: None Given on May 26th, 2014
WNCN: The push for fracking in North Carolina is moving forward. Last week the state Senate signed off on legislation that would officially end North Carolina's moratorium on fracking next summer. The Senate voted 35-12 Thursday for the measure that seeks to move the regulatory process for hydraulic fracturing toward its conclusion. The legislation says permits could be issued starting as early as July 1, 2015. Fracking, or hydraulic fracturing, is used by the energy industry to extract oil and gas...
The Mother of All Anti-Fracking Tools
Posted by Outside: Jacob Baynham on May 26th, 2014
Outside: In Mora County, New Mexico, a patchwork of prairie, foothills, and high peaks on the east flank of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains, unemployment stands at 16 percent, county workers operate out of leaky temporary buildings, and the population density is so low--just two people per square mile--that the tiny community and its largest town, 300-person Wagon Mound, are still classified as frontier by state health officials.
In short, Mora isn't the kind of place that comes to mind for a national showdown...