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Archive for June 30th, 2014
New York state court OKs local fracking bans
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on June 30th, 2014
Associated Press: New York’s top court handed a victory to opponents of hydraulic fracturing for natural gas Monday by affirming the right of municipalities to ban the practice within their borders.
The state Court of Appeals upheld a midlevel appeals court ruling from last year that said the state oil and gas law doesn’t trump the authority of local governments to control land use through zoning.
The “fracking” cases from two central New York towns have been closely watched by drillers hoping to tap into the...
Oil palm plantations degrade local water quality relative to community forests
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on June 30th, 2014
Mongabay: Oil palm plantations are not only encroaching on forests, they are also degrading water quality, finds a new study published in the Journal of Geophysical Research: Biogeosciences.
The research, conducted by scientists in the U.S. and Indonesia, compared the properties of streams draining mature and immature oil palm plantations, agroforestry areas, and logged and old-growth forests. It found that streams flowing through oil palm plantations were hotter, dirtier, and consumed more oxygen compared...
Posted in Water Conservation 
Comments Off on Oil palm plantations degrade local water quality relative to community forestsStudy Digs Deep on Shale Gas Wells, Methane Leaks
Posted by Climate Central: Bobby Magill on June 30th, 2014
Climate Central: Defects in fracked oil and gas wells in Pennsylvania are leading to methane leaks in shale wells throughout the state -- greenhouse gas emissions that could exacerbate climate change, according to a Cornell University study published Monday.
The study, conducted by a team led by Cornell environmental engineering professor Anthony Ingraffea, analyzed more than 75,000 publicly available state environmental compliance records for about 41,000 oil and gas wells that had been drilled between 2000 and...
First wild beavers in England for centuries to be captured
Posted by Guardian: Steven Morris on June 30th, 2014
Guardian: The future looks gloomy for the first wild group of beavers to be spotted in England for around 500 years after the government revealed it intended to trap the dam-building critters.
To the delight of animal lovers, video footage proved the existence of a family of beavers apparently thriving in the River Otter in Devon earlier this year.
But the government announced on Monday that it was planning to capture the animals and find a new home for them in a zoo or wildlife park.
In a written...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on First wild beavers in England for centuries to be capturedAnti-Fracking Protesters Storm Cuomo Fundraiser Following State Ruling
Posted by NY1: None Given on June 30th, 2014
NY1: The state's highest court is weighing in on the controversial process of natural gas drilling known as hydro-fracking, saying that local municipalities can decide to ban it.
But Governor Andrew Cuomo has yet to even make a decision about whether to allow the procedure to move forward in New York State. The governor held a Manhattan fundraiser Monday evening. NY1's Zack Fink filed the following report.
In a five to two ruling, New York's Court of Appeals upheld the rights of individual municipalities...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Anti-Fracking Protesters Storm Cuomo Fundraiser Following State RulingKukamas abandon hunger strike over Peruvian Amazon oil pollution
Posted by Guardian: David Hill on June 30th, 2014
Guardian: Peruvian ministers have met with representatives of hundreds of indigenous people from the country’s Amazon rainforest after they threatened to go on hunger strike in protest at what they say is government failure to aid communities affected by oil contamination.
For almost two weeks, around 500 Kukamas have been camped in a square in Iquitos – the biggest city in Peru’s Amazon – after travelling from their homes along the River Marañón, by boat and on foot.
“The lives of our children are at...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Kukamas abandon hunger strike over Peruvian Amazon oil pollutionCourt Rules That New York Towns Can Ban Fracking
Posted by EcoWatch: None Given on June 30th, 2014
EcoWatch: In a precedent-setting case decided today by the New York Court of Appeals, local communities have triumphed over the fracking industry. The court ruled that the towns of Dryden and Middlefield can use local zoning laws to ban heavy industry, including oil and gas production within municipal borders.
“Today the Court stood with the people of Dryden and the people of New York to protect their right to self determination. It is clear that people, not corporations, have the right to decide how their...
Shale gas reserves in Scotland ‘not worth fracking’
Posted by Blue and Green: Ilaria Bertini on June 30th, 2014
Blue and Green: The British Geological Survey (BGS) has estimated 80 trillion cubic feet (tcf) of shale gas is beneath the Midland Valley of Scotland, a much lower amount than what is said to be elsewhere in the UK, with green groups saying Scotland should not risk missing its carbon goals.
The BGS had previously estimated around 1,300 tcf in the Bowland shale in northern England and 4.5 billion barrels in Sussex Weald. However, it warned that the Midland Valley in Scotland present some uncertainties.
Prof...
Saving water in drying climate: lessons from south-west Australia
Posted by Conversation: None Given on June 30th, 2014
Conversation: Michael Bennett was employed by the University of Western Australia with funding from the National Centre from Groundwater Research and Training.
The research for this project was funded by the National Centre for Groundwater Research and Training, a research initiative of the Australian Government funded through the National Water Commission and the Australian Research Council.
Since 1970, average rainfall in the south-west of Western Australia has decreased by nearly a fifth, and the science...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Saving water in drying climate: lessons from south-west AustraliaDeforestation in Indonesia Is Double the Government’s Official Rate
Posted by ClimateWire: Elizabeth Harball on June 30th, 2014
ClimateWire: Trees in Indonesia are disappearing at twice the rate reported by the nation's government, according to a new analysis of deforestation rates. The data also suggests that the nation's 2011 regulations to halt deforestation were largely ineffective, the study authors say.
Published yesterday in the journal Nature Climate Change, the study reinforces earlier work and also finds that since much of the nation's easy-to-access lowland forests have already been exploited, developers are increasingly...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Deforestation in Indonesia Is Double the Government’s Official Rate