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Archive for February, 2015
IOC defends Rio legacy amid green protests
Posted by Agence-France Presse: Chris Wright on February 28th, 2015
Agence-France Presse: Ecological protests on Saturday dogged the final day of an International Olympic Committee executive board meeting in Rio as green campaigners slated the choice of a nature reserve to hold the golf event next year.
"IOC go home!" protesters yelled at IOC president Thomas Bach as he exited the plush hotel hosting the meeting just off the iconic Copacabana beach.
"Do you want to talk?" responded Bach, who earlier insisted the Games would provide a lasting legacy.
Protesters greeted the former...
Gogebic Taconite says Wisconsin mine isn’t feasible; cites wetlands, EPA
Posted by WSJ: None Given on February 28th, 2015
WSJ: The company that promised a huge mine in northern Wisconsin announced Friday that it was dropping the controversial project because it is not feasible. “We don’t want to throw out false hope,” Gogebic Taconite president Bill Williams told the State Journal. “Our parent company felt there wasn’t enough certainty to it.” State Republicans crusaded for the mine starting in 2011, saying it would create thousands of jobs in an economically distressed area, but scientists warned of possible environmental...
Posted in Water Conservation 
Comments Off on Gogebic Taconite says Wisconsin mine isn’t feasible; cites wetlands, EPAWisc: Gogebic dropping plans massive iron mine
Posted by Journal Sentinel: Lee Bergquist on February 28th, 2015
Journal Sentinel: Gogebic Taconite said Friday afternoon that it was closing its office in Hurley after concluding that the expanse of wetlands at the site made the prospects of constructing a massive iron ore mine unfeasible.
The company said it would continue to investigate prospects for an iron ore mine in Ashland and Iron counties, but officials said work would be sharply curtailed.
With the exception of one, all personnel were being furloughed. The chief engineer will continue to work on the project as...
Fracking ban forcing some New York towns consider redrawing state line
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on February 28th, 2015
Guardian: Plenty of people leave New York state but in a job-hungry stretch of upstate, folks talk about staying put – and seceding to Pennsylvania.
Local officials stung by a recent decision to ban natural gas fracking have raised the idea of redrawing the Keystone State’s border. Even though they don’t expect it to happen, members of the Upstate New York Towns Association hope the spectre of secession will result in something – anything – good for a struggling part of the state peering enviously over...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Fracking ban forcing some New York towns consider redrawing state lineGrowing Risks to India Water Supply Mapped New Online Tool
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on February 27th, 2015
Yale Environment 360: A new online tool could help water users in India understand the risks to their water supply, which is dwindling and increasingly polluted, recent analyses show. The tool, created by 13 organizations including the World Resources Institute, allows users to see where the competition for surface water is most intense, where groundwater levels are dropping significantly, and where pollution levels exceed safety standards. Northwest India, for example, faces extremely high surface water stress as well...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Growing Risks to India Water Supply Mapped New Online ToolShutting off Tap Water: Revenge of the Rainforest
Posted by Dissident Voice: Robert Hunziker on February 27th, 2015
Dissident Voice: Imagine this scenario: The following is a Public Service Announcement by the New York Department of Environmental Conservation, Division of Water, July 4, 2015: Because of low water levels in state reservoirs, the Division of Water proclaims a statewide water-rationing program. Starting next month, on August 1st, 2015, water service will turn off at 1:00 P.M. on a daily basis for an indeterminate period of time. Service will return the following morning.
Now, imagine a city the size of the State...
Plastic Smog: Microplastics Invade Our Oceans
Posted by EcoWatch: None Given on February 27th, 2015
EcoWatch: The idea that there are “patches” of trash in the oceans is a myth created 15 years ago that should be abandoned in favor of “plastic smog,” like massive clouds of microplastics that emanate out of the five subtropical gyres. My recent publication in the journal Plos One, estimates 269,000 tons of plastic from 5.25 trillion particles, but more alarming than that is it’s mostly microplastic (>92 percent in our study) and most of the plastic in the ocean is likely not on the sea surface.
Recent...
In Louisiana, Measure to Kill Wetlands Damage Lawsuit Appeal Likely to Fail
Posted by Times-Picayune: Y Mark Schleifstein on February 27th, 2015
Times-Picayune: Members of the east bank levee authority opposed to the controversial wetlands damage lawsuit against oil, gas and pipeline companies have called for a special meeting of the authority on Monday to force commissioners to vote up or down on whether to appeal a federal judge's decision throwing out the suit.
But a plan by the opponents, led by attorney Joe Hassinger of New Orleans, to tailor a motion in such a way that even a tie vote during the special meeting of the Southeast Louisiana Flood Protection...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on In Louisiana, Measure to Kill Wetlands Damage Lawsuit Appeal Likely to FailWho’s to Blame for the Exploding Oil Trains?
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on February 27th, 2015
Bloomberg: A week after a CSX train hauling crude oil derailed and exploded 30 miles southeast of Charleston, W.Va., on Feb. 16, its mangled, charred tank cars were still being hauled from the crash site. Of the 27 cars that derailed, 19 had been engulfed in flames. The wreckage burned for almost three days. “It’s amazing no one was killed,” says John Whitt, whose home is one of a handful clustered near the crash site, along the banks of the Kanawha River. Some were within 30 yards of the site. One home was...
Mining company closing office in northern Wisconsin
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on February 27th, 2015
Associated Press: The company looking to open an iron ore mine in northern Wisconsin announced Friday it was closing its office in Hurley, saying future investment was "unfeasible at this time," a move that marks the end for now of the project near Lake Superior that sparked fierce debate and opposition from environmentalists and tribal members near the site. Bill Williams, president of mining company Gogebic Taconite, released a statement announcing the decision. It comes after field explorations were put on hold...