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Archive for November 21st, 2014
Sandra Steingraber: Why I am in Jail
Posted by EcoWatch: None Given on November 21st, 2014
EcoWatch: Breakfast in the Chemung County Jail is served at 5 a.m. This morning—Friday, November 21, 2014—it was Cheerios and milk plus two slaps of universally-despised “breakfast cake.” Along with trays of food—which are passed through the bars—arrive the morning rounds of meds for the inmates who take them. Now comes my favorite time of day in jail—the two quiet hours between breakfast and 7 a.m. before the television clicks on and we are ordered to make our beds and the loud day begins. Between the end...
Keystone “trade” talk is still empty nonsense
Posted by Grist: None Given on November 21st, 2014
Grist: Several people have asked me to comment on the notion, flying all over political media at the moment, that Obama might use Keystone XL as a bargaining chip to trade in exchange for Republican support for ... something else.
This kind of talk has been around for as long as Keystone XL has been on the political agenda. All along, Very Serious People have been sure that Obama doesn`t really care about Keystone and that he`s just waiting for the right opportunity to give it away, which will happen...
Steingraber and Boland Sentenced to 15 Days in Jail for Protesting Methane Gas Storage
Posted by EcoWatch: None Given on November 21st, 2014
EcoWatch: Renowned author, biologist and advocate Sandra Steingraber, PhD, U.S. Air Force veteran Colleen Boland (retired) and avid environmentalist Roland Micklem headed to the Chemung County jail Wednesday evening after pleading guilty and refusing to pay a fine in New York’s Reading Town Court. Judge Raymond Barry issued the maximum jail sentence of 15 days.
Steingraber, Boland and Micklem were arrested for blockading the gates of Texas-based Crestwood Midstream’s gas storage facility on the shore of...
Posted in Water Conservation 
Comments Off on Steingraber and Boland Sentenced to 15 Days in Jail for Protesting Methane Gas StorageWSSC: 60% of large water valves, needed in emergencies, were found ‘unusable.’
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on November 21st, 2014
Washington Post: Suburban Maryland’s water utility found that more than half of the valves needed to shut off large water pipes in emergencies were “unusable,” mostly because of severe corrosion, utility officials said this week.
The Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission (WSSC), which supplies drinking water to Montgomery and Prince George’s counties, found that 60 percent of 350 large valves inspected so far didn’t work, mostly because of years of rust buildup. Broken valves are being repaired as they are discovered,...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on WSSC: 60% of large water valves, needed in emergencies, were found ‘unusable.’Vietnam: Water supplies in need of protection
Posted by VietNamNet Bridge: None Given on November 21st, 2014
VietNamNet Bridge: Water utilities in Viet Nam, particularly in the Mekong Delta, must take pro-active action to safeguard the sustainability of future public water-supply services, as climate change is affecting water production, experts said at an international seminar held recently in Can Tho.
Extracting groundwater for domestic, agricultural and industrial use might exacerbate natural land subsidence, especially in river deltas, they said. -- Photo moitruongnhkb.com
At a three-day seminar that began on Wednesday,...
Can life emerge on a planet without water? New theory says yes
Posted by Mother Nature Network: Bryan Nelson on November 21st, 2014
Mother Nature Network: Researchers searching for life on other planets have always believed that there is at least one necessary requirement for life to exist: There must be water. But a new theory by astrobiologists Nediljko Budisa and Dirk Schulze-Makuch suggests that there are alternatives to water that could make life possible even on desert worlds, reports io9.com. It's an exciting idea. If the theory is correct, then the number of planets believed capable of supporting life would increase dramatically. The reason...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Can life emerge on a planet without water? New theory says yesResidents in western New York call snow worst in memory
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on November 21st, 2014
Reuters: The death toll from the worst snow in memory in western New York has risen to at least 10.
Some areas of New York state along the Great Lakes had around 2 feet (60 cm) of new snow on Thursday on top of accumulations as deep as 5 feet from earlier in the week.
The National Weather Service said parts of the region could expect 3 feet more snow before skies clear on Friday.
At least 10 deaths in the area have been blamed on the storm, Erie County officials said.
"I've been in a lot of snowstorms,...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Residents in western New York call snow worst in memoryIndia must address issue of nanoparticles: French scientist
Posted by Daiji World: None Given on November 21st, 2014
Daiji World: A French scientist Friday cautioned India that it needs to pay attention to the disposal of lab-synthesised nanoparticles -- an important area of research -- as they might pose environmental and health hazards. "There are a lot of centres in India trying to create nanoparticles but the Indian government must address the fate of those particles, particularly in the context of human health," said Marc Benedetti, professor of the department of chemistry at the University Denis-Diderot (IPGP) in France....
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on India must address issue of nanoparticles: French scientistCrop Production Amplifies Carbon Dioxide Cycle
Posted by Business Times: Jenny Michelle Panganiban on November 21st, 2014
Business Times: A research team from Boston University collaborated with other universities and institutions to find out how agricultural production, especially corn, generates up to a quarter of the increase in the carbon cycle. Production statistics of crops mainly produced and consumed worldwide were used in the research. The group found out that yield from corn, wheat, rice and soybean has more than doubled since 1961. Consequently, a billion metric tonnes of carbon is absorbed and released annually.
Corn...
Drilling Brings Rise in Health Complaints
Posted by Texas Tribune: Neena Satija on November 21st, 2014
Texas Tribune: Bradford Gilde, a Houston lawyer, stumbled across some unexpected evidence as he was preparing to sue Aruba Petroleum on behalf of a North Texas couple who believed fumes from the company's natural gas wells were making them sick.
His clients, Bob and Lisa Parr, complained of chronic dizziness and eye and throat irritation. A Texas environmental inspector reported experiencing the same symptoms in 2010 after visiting Aruba's wells in Wise County, Gilde learned.
Responding to complaints from...