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Archive for January, 2015
Brazil’s most populous region facing worst drought 80 yrs
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on January 24th, 2015
BBC: Brazilian Environment Minister Izabella Teixeira has said the country's three most populous states are experiencing their worst drought since 1930.
The states of Sao Paulo, Rio de Janeiro and Minas Gerais must save water, she said after an emergency meeting in the capital Brasilia.
Ms Teixeira described the water crisis as "delicate" and "worrying".
Industry and agriculture are expected to be affected, further damaging Brazil's troubled economy.
The drought is also having an impact on...
Posted in Water Conservation 
Comments Off on Brazil’s most populous region facing worst drought 80 yrsDecline South Florida wading birds could mean Everglades worse off
Posted by Miami Herald: None Given on January 24th, 2015
Miami Herald: A decline in small herons and egrets that nest and forage among the Everglades wetlands and tree islands could mean work to restore the troubled ecosystem is not moving fast enough.
An annual survey by the South Florida Water Management District released Thursday found that in 2014, five years after a record rebound, the overall number of nests in and around refuges, wildlife sanctuaries and water conservation areas was down by 60 percent -- 28 percent lower than in 2013. The drop in Everglades...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Decline South Florida wading birds could mean Everglades worse offAn Arctic ice cap’s shockingly rapid slide into sea
Posted by Washington Post: Joby Warrick on January 24th, 2015
Washington Post: For years, scientists have documented the rapid retreat of Arctic ice, from melting glaciers in Greenland to shrinking snow cover in far northern Eurasia. Now researchers have discovered one Arctic ice cap that appears to be literally sliding into the sea.
Ice is disappearing at a truly astonishing rate in Austfonna, an expanse of frozen rock far north of the Arctic Circle in Norway’s Svalbard island chain. Just since 2012, a portion of the ice cap covering the island has thinned by a whopping...
Midwest’s climate future: Missouri becomes like Arizona, Chicago becomes like Texas
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on January 24th, 2015
Washington Post: The bipartisan trio of climate risk prognosticators for the business community -- Michael Bloomberg, former Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson, and billionaire investor Tom Steyer -- are back. And this time, their Risky Business Project has produced a report focusing in particular on how a world of rising temperatures could threaten the Midwestern region of the U.S.: the Heartland.
Perhaps the most striking finding? A higher prevalence of extremely hot temperatures could severely impact corn and...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Midwest’s climate future: Missouri becomes like Arizona, Chicago becomes like TexasSouth Africa Relocates Rhinos After Record Number Were Poached in 2014
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on January 23rd, 2015
Yale Environment 360: Unable to curb poaching of rhinos within its borders, the South African government has relocated 100 rhinos to neighboring countries in an effort to stem the illegal slaughter of the animals, Reuters reports. For security reasons, officials did not reveal to which countries the rhinos had been relocated. An additional 56 rhinos were moved from poaching hotspots within South Africa's Kruger National Park — where two-thirds of the killings happen — to an "intensive protection zone" within Kruger, officials...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on South Africa Relocates Rhinos After Record Number Were Poached in 201415 Health Problems Linked to Monsanto’s Roundup
Posted by EcoWatch: None Given on January 23rd, 2015
EcoWatch: Monsanto invented the herbicide glyphosate and brought it to market under the trade name Roundup in 1974, after DDT was banned. But it wasn’t until the late 1990s that the use of Roundup surged, thanks to Monsanto’s ingenious marketing strategy. The strategy? Genetically engineer seeds to grow food crops that could tolerate high doses of Roundup. With the introduction of these new GE seeds, farmers could now easily control weeds on their corn, soy, cotton, canola, sugar beets and alfalfa crops—crops...
Why Is It Legal to Cause Fracking Earthquakes In Colorado?
Posted by EcoWatch: None Given on January 23rd, 2015
EcoWatch: You people are crazy. Idiots and morons who have no responsibility for anything they do to our Earth. They some how get a free pass to destroy our planet. The wildlife is dying quickly. The Ocean is so sick. HUMANS have done this. America get out of the greed Machine. It won`t help your children when there is no food or water. Please everyone wake up and get out of your bubble. Try to find real information not stupid science. Rigged science. You will destroy us all. The few are destroying what we...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Why Is It Legal to Cause Fracking Earthquakes In Colorado?Worst Fracking Wastewater Spill North Dakota Leaks 3 Million Gallons Into River
Posted by EcoWatch: None Given on January 23rd, 2015
EcoWatch: Three million gallons of brine, a salty, toxic byproduct of oil and natural gas production—also known as fracking wastewater—spilled from a leaking pipe in western North Dakota. State officials say it’s the worst spill of its kind since the fracking boom began in the state. The spill was reported 17 days ago when Operator Summit Midstream Partners found a toxic leak of salty drilling waste from a pipeline in the heart of the Bakken oil boom. Officials say there’s no immediate threat to human health...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Worst Fracking Wastewater Spill North Dakota Leaks 3 Million Gallons Into RiverAnti-Drilling Group Settles Surveillance Litigation with Pennsyvania
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on January 23rd, 2015
National Public Radio: "We believe that collecting and disseminating information about groups engaged in lawful activities can and does have a chilling effect upon freedom of speech," says Gas Drilling Awareness Coalition vice president Diane Dreier.
An anti-gas drilling group from northeastern Pennsylvania has reached a settlement agreement with state law enforcement officials, after it accused them of conducting unconstitutional surveillance on its members.
The litigation stems from 2011 when the Pennsylvania Emergency...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Anti-Drilling Group Settles Surveillance Litigation with PennsyvaniaBarriers Set Up, Water Being Testing at North Dakota Site of 3M Gallon Saltwater Spill
Posted by Associated Press: Regina Garcia Cano and James Macpherson on January 23rd, 2015
Associated Press: Earthen barriers have been set up across a creek and water was being tested Thursday around the site of a nearly 3 million-gallon leak of saltwater generated by oil drilling, the largest spill of its kind during North Dakota's current oil rush.
The berms were built at Blacktail Creek to prevent potentially contaminated water from flowing out of the creek and into a bigger body of water that eventually leads into the Missouri River.
"So when the ice starts to melt if there's any oil or contaminated...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Barriers Set Up, Water Being Testing at North Dakota Site of 3M Gallon Saltwater Spill