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Archive for September, 2014
Torrential rains cause over $1 million worth of damage in Nevada county
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on September 12th, 2014
Reuters: Torrential rains that drenched much of the U.S. Southwest and killed two women earlier this week caused more than $1 million worth of damage to roadways in a Nevada county, officials said on Thursday. Nearly 140 homes in Clark County suffered damage following Monday's rains, and preliminary estimates from the county's public works department put the cost of cleaning and repairing area roadways at around $1.1 million, county spokeswoman Stacey Welling said in a statement. Over half of the dirt roads...
Posted in Water Conservation 
Comments Off on Torrential rains cause over $1 million worth of damage in Nevada countyPesticide Levels in Waterways Have Dropped, Reducing the Risks to Humans
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on September 12th, 2014
New York Times: The development of safer pesticides and legal restrictions on their use have sharply reduced the risk to humans from pesticide-tainted rivers and streams, while the potential risk to aquatic life in urban waters has risen, according to a two-decade survey published on Thursday.
The study, conducted by the United States Geological Survey and published in the journal Environmental Science & Technology, monitored scores of pesticides from 1992 to 2011 at more than 200 sampling points on rivers and...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Pesticide Levels in Waterways Have Dropped, Reducing the Risks to HumansAquifer Is No Quick Fix for Central Texas Thirst
Posted by New York Times: Neena Satija on September 11th, 2014
New York Times: As drought continues to grip Central Texas, those looking to provide water to the region’s fast-growing cities and suburbs see a solution in a relatively untapped aquifer. Water marketers, who bundle groundwater rights and sell the water to cities, say the region’s Carrizo-Wilcox Aquifer holds hundreds of trillions of gallons of water. They say that is enough water to sustain growth for centuries in areas around Austin, whose reservoirs are only 34 percent full, and San Antonio, whose own aquifer...
Drowned Tropical Forests Exacerbate Climate Change
Posted by Daily Climate: Paul Brown on September 11th, 2014
Daily Climate: Big dams built in the tropics to produce hydroelectricity have long been highly controversial - and data gathered in Laos by a French team studying methane emissions confirms that dams can add to global warming, not reduce it.
In many rocky regions low on vegetation and population, such as in Iceland and other northern mountainous regions, the production of electricity from hydropower is clearly a net gain in the battle against climate change.
In Asia, Africa and South America, however, masses...
Grupo Mexico dodges mine closure with $151 million toxic spill fund
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on September 11th, 2014
Reuters: Grupo Mexico and its subsidiaries on Thursday dodged losing a concession to run one of the biggest copper mines in the world as long as they comply with government obligations following a toxic spill that include creating a $151 million clean-up fund. The fund is far bigger than a $23 million reserve that Grupo Mexico had previously set aside for the clean-up at Buenavista copper mine. The government said Grupo Mexico could face fines totaling 44.5 million pesos ($3.37 million). "If they meet obligations...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Grupo Mexico dodges mine closure with $151 million toxic spill fundWashington state enduring record wildfire season, official says
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on September 11th, 2014
Reuters: The wildfire season in Washington state has been one of the most destructive on record, charring 550 square miles of wilderness and destroying hundreds of homes and structures, the state Department of Natural Resources said on Thursday.
The assessment came as Washington Governor Jay Inslee renewed a request for the federal government to offer assistance to more than 300 people who lost their homes during July's record-setting Carlton Complex blaze near the Cascade Mountains.
Washington has...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Washington state enduring record wildfire season, official saysUkraine: Victory for anti-frackers as planning authorities block South Downs application
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on September 11th, 2014
Independent: The anti-fracking movement has received a considerable boost after a proposed development in the South Downs National Park was unanimously blocked by the planning authorities in the face of growing public scrutiny of the controversial practice of hydraulic fracturing.
The planning committee strongly rejected the application to explore for oil or gas at the protected West Sussex village of Fernhurst made by the fracking company Celtique Energie, which raised the prospect of a prolonged battle by...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Ukraine: Victory for anti-frackers as planning authorities block South Downs applicationAs Climate Change Hits Home, Americans Call for Action
Posted by Huffington Post: Frances Beinecke on September 11th, 2014
Huffington Post: The World Meteorological Organization announced this week that climate change pollution has reached record levels. Carbon pollution alone -- one of the most potent greenhouse gases -- had its biggest spike in 30 years. These measurements tell an alarming story about what is happening in our atmosphere. To understand what they mean here on earth, we just have to look outside the window. When fifth-generation Iowa farmer Matt Russell gazes out over his farm, he sees cycles of intense drought and rain...
Converting Forests to Cropland Actually Cooled the Planet
Posted by Nature World: Brian Stallard on September 11th, 2014
Nature World: Researchers have recently discovered that over the last 150 years, the conversion of forests into cropland has actually resulted in a small amount of global cooling. These results underscore the overall complexity of the climate change issue.
According to a study recently published in the journal Nature Climate Change, large-scale forest losses that have occurred over the last 150 years have actually reduced global emissions of biogenic volatile organic compounds (BVOCs) - agents that aid the...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Converting Forests to Cropland Actually Cooled the PlanetRocky Mountain Forests Vanishing as Planet Heats Up
Posted by Environment News Service: None Given on September 10th, 2014
Environment News Service: Climate change could kill up to 90 percent of the forests covering the Rocky Mountains, warned the nonprofit Union of Concerned Scientists today in a new study based in part on projections made by the U.S. Forest Service.
Extreme heat and drought, more and larger wildfires over a longer fire season, and beetle infestations have killed tens of millions of trees in the Rocky Mountains over the past 15 years, according to the study, "Rocky Mountain Forests at Risk."
Large wildfires, such as the...