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Archive for January, 2015
Pope Amuses and Insults Remark on Parenting
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on January 21st, 2015
New York Times: Since he became pope nearly two years ago, the world has become accustomed to Pope Francis' folksy manner. Indeed, with his homespun anecdotes and off-the-cuff quips, the pope at times comes off more like a plain-spoken uncle than the leader of the world's 1.2 billion Roman Catholics.
But with his latest choice of words - he said this week that Catholics should not feel compelled to breed "like rabbits" - the pope appears to have set a new standard for the papal vernacular, amusing to some and...
Yellowstone river suffers oil spill
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on January 21st, 2015
Guardian: An Exxon Mobil pipeline that runs under the Yellowstone river in Montana ruptured on Saturday, leaking hundreds of barrels of oil and causing a 25-mile (40km) plume that has fouled the riverbank.
The breach in south-central Montana led to the temporary evacuation of hundreds of residents along a 20-mile stretch of the river, a key tourist attraction in the region that runs through the famous national park of the same name. Cleanup crews deployed booms and absorbent material as the plume moved...
Changing California forests may help us prepare for the future
Posted by Mongabay: Mike Gaworecki on January 21st, 2015
Mongabay: A new study published by the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences examines how California’s forests have changed since the 1930s--and, according to its authors, can help us understand how forests will respond to the changing global climate in the future.
Entitled “Twentieth-century shifts in forest structure in California: Denser forests, smaller trees, and increased dominance of oaks,” the study looked at tree abundance and size across the state of California and in several different...
Posted in Water Conservation 
Comments Off on Changing California forests may help us prepare for the futureRare Moment of Consensus for Senate on Keystone Pipeline
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on January 21st, 2015
New York Times: The Senate on Tuesday overwhelmingly approved an amendment to the Keystone XL pipeline bill that is aimed at improving energy efficiency in buildings — a rare moment of bipartisan agreement in a tense debate that is nowhere near being settled. Lawmakers voted, 91 to 5, to add the popular energy-efficiency provision to a contentious bill that would approve construction of the Keystone pipeline. The amendment, offered by a Republican, Rob Portman of Ohio, and a Democrat, Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire,...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Rare Moment of Consensus for Senate on Keystone PipelineTraces of Montana Oil Spill Are Found in Drinking Water
Posted by New York Times: Eric Killelea and Jack Healy on January 21st, 2015
New York Times: Work crews burrowed through thick ice and set up containment booms Tuesday in a struggle to vacuum up 50,000 gallons of oil that spilled into the Yellowstone River from a ruptured pipeline, contaminating drinking water. The 12-inch steel pipeline, which burst Saturday morning near Glendive, Mont., about 400 miles east of here, sent light crude oil flowing downstream as far as the confluence with the Missouri River, 60 miles away in North Dakota. Health officials warned people not to use tap water...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Traces of Montana Oil Spill Are Found in Drinking WaterPope wants you stop popping out babies — don’t think about birth control
Posted by Grist: None Given on January 21st, 2015
Grist: Yesterday, in a huge change of position for Ye Olde Catholic Churche, Pope “Swaggy F.” Francis spoke out against people reproducing “like rabbits.”
From BBC:
He replied with an unexpected turn of phrase: "Some people think that - excuse my expression here - that in order to be good Catholics we have to be like rabbits."
"No. Parenthood is about being responsible. This is clear."
Thanks, Papa! Abandoning the “be fruitful and multiply” and “every sperm is sacred” view of reproduction is...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Pope wants you stop popping out babies — don’t think about birth controlOil Spills Yellowstone River, Polluting Drinking Water
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on January 20th, 2015
National Geographic: The scenic Yellowstone River has suffered its second sizable oil spill in four years, prompting truckloads of drinking water to be shipped into the eastern Montana city of Glendive. The latest spill is not expected to affect Yellowstone National Park, about 350 miles upstream.
Some oil from the weekend spill got into a water supply intake along the river that serves about 6,000 people in Glendive, according to preliminary tests at the city's water treatment plant. The sample showed elevated levels...
Benzene found Montana water supply after Yellowstone oil spill
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on January 20th, 2015
Guardian: A cancer-causing component of oil has been detected in the drinking water supply of an eastern Montana city just downstream from a crude oil spill that entered the Yellowstone river.
Elevated levels of benzene were found in samples taken from a water treatment plant that serves about 6,000 people in the agricultural community of Glendive, near the North Dakota border, officials said.
Truckloads of bottled water were expected to be brought in on Tuesday, and residents were warned not to drink...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Benzene found Montana water supply after Yellowstone oil spillPipeline expected to remain closed after oil spill in Montana
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on January 20th, 2015
Reuters: A small but heavily subscribed pipeline that transports 42,000 barrels a day of crude oil from North Dakota's Bakken region is expected to remain closed on Tuesday after a weekend breach that spilled 1,200 barrels of crude into the Yellowstone River near Glendive, Montana. Bridger Pipeline LLC could not say how much of the light crude flowed into the river or when the pipeline will reopen. It was quickly shut after the leak was detected Saturday. The Environmental Protection Agency said it would...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Pipeline expected to remain closed after oil spill in MontanaWorker dies at Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on January 20th, 2015
Guardian: A worker at the stricken Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant has died after falling into an empty water storage tank, in the latest of a series of accidents at the site of the worst nuclear disaster for a quarter of a century.
The death was the second at Fukushima Daiichi in less than a year, but the plant’s operator, Tokyo Electric Power (Tepco), insisted that it was doing everything possible to prevent accidents.
Almost 7,000 workers are involved in decommissioning Fukushima Daiichi, which...