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Archive for July, 2014
United Kingdom: Maps show fracking risk to drinking water
Posted by BusinessGreen: Will Nichols on July 3rd, 2014
BusinessGreen: A major study into the potential for fracking operations to contaminate ground water with methane has revealed key aquifers coincide with the location of potential shale gas and oil reserves.
The British Geological Survey (BGS) and The Environment Agency (EA) have this week published a series of maps showing the depth to each shale gas and oil source rock below principal groundwater aquifers in England and Wales.
Ground water from aquifers provides 30 per cent of drinking water in the UK and...
Posted in Water Conservation 
Comments Off on United Kingdom: Maps show fracking risk to drinking waterStudy: Surge In Okla. Quakes Can Be Traced To Drilling Operations
Posted by National Public Radio: Joe Wertz on July 3rd, 2014
National Public Radio: 2014 has been a shaky year so far for Oklahomans. The state has had more earthquakes than California. A growing body of research points to oil and gas production as fueling the increase in seismic activity. A paper published today in the journal Science suggests a small number of wastewater wells used in drilling operations could be responsible for many of the small quakes. StateImpact's Joe Wertz reports.
JOE WERTZ: Public officials held a town hall north of Oklahoma City last week to answer...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Study: Surge In Okla. Quakes Can Be Traced To Drilling OperationsStudy finds that quakes tied to drilling
Posted by News-Capital: None Given on July 3rd, 2014
News-Capital: A new study explains how just four wells forcing massive amounts of drilling wastewater into the ground probably are shaking up Oklahoma.
Those wells seem to have triggered more than 100 small to medium earthquakes in the past five years, according to a study published Thursday by the journal Science. Many of the quakes were much farther away from the wells than expected.
Combined, those wells daily pour more than 5 million gallons of water a mile or two underground into rock formations, the...
Low lakes equal high costs; $19B by 2050 says Great Lakes study
Posted by Windsor Star: None Given on July 3rd, 2014
Windsor Star: Prolonged low water levels in Lake Erie could cost more than $674 million by 2030 in lost tourism and recreation, lower property values and increased dredging for harbours and marinas, says a new study.
The study released last week by the Mowat Centre think-tank at the University of Toronto for the Council of the Great Lakes Region said Lake Erie would be the hardest hit with maintenance and dredging costs at harbours - an estimated $294 million in the next 16 years at U.S. and Ontario harbours....
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Low lakes equal high costs; $19B by 2050 says Great Lakes studyHuman Settlements Have Boosted Plant Growth Globally, NASA Data Show
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on July 3rd, 2014
Yale Environment 360: NASA Agriculture has increased global vegetative cover. On a global scale, the presence of people corresponds to more plant growth, according to an analysis of three decades of global vegetation greenness data from satellites. More than 20 percent of global vegetation change can be attributed to human activities, such as agriculture, nitrogen fertilization, and irrigation, rather than climate change, researchers report in the journal Remote Sensing. The findings suggest that global climate change...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Human Settlements Have Boosted Plant Growth Globally, NASA Data ShowStudy Finds “Extreme” Climate Change in National Parks
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on July 3rd, 2014
National Geographic: Many national parks in the United States have already experienced "extreme" climate change over the past few decades, and the trend is likely to accelerate unless bold steps are taken, government scientists warn in a new study.
Those changes are likely to disrupt visitor experiences and damage natural and cultural resources.
"This report shows that climate change continues to be the most far-reaching and consequential challenge ever faced by our national parks," National Park Service Director...
Water becoming ‘a tool of conflict’ in Syria and Iraq
Posted by Blue and Green: Tom Revell on July 3rd, 2014
Blue and Green: The fate of the conflicts in Iraq and Syria could be decided by one of the world’s most important resources – water – security experts have said.
The two countries, like much of the Middle East, frequently suffer from water shortages. Scientists fear that climate change will cause ever more severe droughts, which could exacerbate tensions and conflict in the region.
Speaking to the Guardian, Michael Stephen, deputy director of the Royal United Services Institute thinktank in Qatar, explained...
Climate change to ‘substantially’ impact on coffee production this decade
Posted by Blue and Green: Charlotte Malone on July 3rd, 2014
Blue and Green: Coffee cultivation could be significantly affected by the effects of climate change as soon as 2020, according to a new report. The warning comes amid estimates that coffee bean production must rise by almost 15% in the next five years to keep up with demand.
The Coffee Barometer 2014 has been published to coincide with the Sustainable Coffee Conference on July 3 in Amsterdam. It was compiled by five NGOs – Hivos, IUCN NL, Oxfam-Novib, Solidaridad and WWF – and argues that coffee cultivation is...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Climate change to ‘substantially’ impact on coffee production this decadeTar Sands Expansion Cools Down Without Keystone XL
Posted by Energy Collection: None Given on July 3rd, 2014
Energy Collection: A series of recent industry announcements is pouring cold water on the argument that tar sands development will happen at the same pace and scale with or without major infrastructure projects like Keystone XL. In recent months, two major tar sands mines have been canceled, the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers (CAPP) have substantially reduced their forecasted rates of tar sands expansion, and rising costs have caused an investor exodus for a number of proposed projects. Even as increasing...
Study tracks global warming in national parks
Posted by Summit Voice: None Given on July 3rd, 2014
Summit Voice: National Parks across the country are facing an era of change because of global warming, scientists concluded in a new study showing that many parks are already experiencing temperatures that are near the extreme high end of the scale, based on measurements going back to 1910. The report by National Park Service scientists concludes “that climate change is happening in America’s national parks, and in some cases in rapid and concerning ways,” and that “measurable plant and animal responses to recent...