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Archive for June, 2014
Australians rally over future of Tasmania forest
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on June 14th, 2014
Agence France-Presse: Thousands of Australians rallied Saturday against the proposed logging of protected forests in rugged Tasmania ahead of a UNESCO World Heritage meeting where the issue will be discussed.
The conservative government has asked UNESCO to revoke its World Heritage listing for 74,000 hectares (183,000 acres) of forest, claiming it was not pristine, and open it up to the timber industry.
The annual World Heritage Committee meeting starts Sunday in Doha, with up to 5,000 people protesting the move...
Deep underground, water, water everywhere but not a drop to drink
Posted by Reuters: Will Dunham on June 14th, 2014
Reuters: If you want to find Earth's vast reservoirs of water, you may have to look beyond the obvious places like the oceans and polar ice caps.
Scientists on Friday said massive amounts of water appear to exist deep beneath the planet's surface, trapped in a rocky layer of the mantle at depths between 250 miles and 410 miles (410 km to 660 km).
But do not expect to quench your thirst down there. The water is not liquid - or any other familiar form like ice or vapor. It is locked inside the molecular...
Posted in Water Conservation 
Comments Off on Deep underground, water, water everywhere but not a drop to drinkYes, frackers can forcibly drill your land, even if you don’t want them to
Posted by Grist: John Upton on June 13th, 2014
Grist: Forced pooling isn’t some kind of college pool party that jocks compel nerds to attend, resulting in wacky hijinks. It’s a grim legal tool, dating back nearly a century in some states, that allows drillers to tap the fossil fuels beneath a reluctant landowner’s property — if enough of their neighbors sell their drilling rights. The philosophy of such laws is that subterranean pools of oil and natural gas pay no heed to property lines. As hydraulic fracturing takes grip across the nation, frackers...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Yes, frackers can forcibly drill your land, even if you don’t want them toReport shows global warming threats to Mediterranean
Posted by Summit County: None Given on June 13th, 2014
Summit County: There’s no reason to believe that any of the world’s oceans will be spared the effects of global warming and ocean acidification, including the Mediterranean Sea, where rapid changes threaten numerous species and entire ecosystems, according to a new report from a team of European researchers. “We knew next to nothing about the combined effects of warming and acidification in the Mediterranean until this study, now we know that they are a serious double threat to our marine ecosystems,” said project...
Oil drilling causes widespread contamination in the Amazon rainforest
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on June 13th, 2014
Mongabay: Decades of oil extraction in the Western Amazon has caused widespread pollution, raising questions about the impact of a new oil boom in the region, according to a team of Spanish researchers presenting at a conference in California. Led by Antoni Rosell-Mele of the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, the team assembled a database of chemical analyses taken from 18 wastewater dumping sites from 10 different Amazon tributaries from 1983 to 2013. They looked at nine pollutants including lead, mercury...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Oil drilling causes widespread contamination in the Amazon rainforestCanada: Will The Northern Gateway Pipeline Proposal Go Forward?
Posted by Planetsave: None Given on June 13th, 2014
Planetsave: With a decision imminent, a group of prominent Canadian politicians and businessmen are calling on Prime Minister Stephen Harper to approve the Northern Gateway pipeline project. The Premier’s of Alberta and Saskatchewan, as well as three former Conservative cabinet ministers, have joined with the heads of the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers, Canadian Chamber of Commerce and B.C. Chamber of Commerce to say this is “a project that’s right for our time.” Will the Northern Gateway Pipeline...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Canada: Will The Northern Gateway Pipeline Proposal Go Forward?Vast Underwater Ocean Trapped Beneath Earth’s Crust
Posted by Nature World: None Given on June 13th, 2014
Nature World: Scientists have discovered evidence of a vast water reservoir trapped hundreds of miles beneath the surface, capable of filling Earth's oceans three times over.
Located 400 miles (660 km) beneath Earth's crust, this body of water is locked up in a blue mineral called ringwoodite that lies in the transition zone of hot rock between Earth's surface and core. Interestingly, this water is not in a form familiar to us - it's neither liquid, ice nor vapor. Geophysicist Steve Jacobsen from Northwestern...
Canada: Tar Sands Development Is Killing Birds, New Study Finds
Posted by ThinkProgress: None Given on June 13th, 2014
ThinkProgress: Canada`s boreal forest is a key nursery for migratory birds, but tar sands development is destroying habitat and killing the birds that depend on it, according to a new report.
The report, published by the National Wildlife Federation and Natural Resources Council of Maine, outlines the risks Canadian tar sands development poses to migratory birds. More than 292 species of protected birds rely on the boreal forest for breeding habitat, including the endangered whooping crane, and at least 130...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Canada: Tar Sands Development Is Killing Birds, New Study FindsLebanon: Drought and construction reveal extent of Baalbek river pollution
Posted by Daily Star: Rakan al-Fakih on June 13th, 2014
Daily Star: "One of Lebanon's most significant tourist sites is now a source of repulsive odors,' Mohammad sighs. Lost in thought as he looks down at the Ras al-Ain River, which flows through downtown Baalbek in the Bekaa Valley, he forgets to take the order of a customer at the King restaurant where he works. The water has long been polluted, Mohammad says.
"Houses and restaurant owners have been dumping all their waste in the stream. ... This has been happening for years now.'
"The river became a dumpster....
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Lebanon: Drought and construction reveal extent of Baalbek river pollutionCan California Conserve Its Way Through Drought?
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on June 13th, 2014
National Geographic: As California enters the hottest months of the summer in the midst of a devastating drought, the state appears to be falling short of Governor Jerry Brown's calls for sweeping cuts in water use.
In January, Brown declared a state of drought emergency and called on Californians to slash water consumption by 20 percent this year. Three months later, he stressed that "the driest months are still to come in California and extreme drought conditions will get worse."
Some municipalities still have...