Archive for February, 2015

As climate changes, cities grapple w/ big rains

Minnesota Public Radio: In Duluth, city workers have replaced 8-foot culverts wiped out in a 2012 storm with two sections 10 feet wide, more than doubling their capacity. In Minnetonka, the city is creating computer models to see where increased rainfall is putting the most pressure on its stormwater system. In north Minneapolis, a street has been torn out to make room for huge tanks that can store stormwater and prevent it from overwhelming the city's system that drains into the Mississippi River. In all three...

It’s time for California to end risky fracking

Sacramento Bee: At the end of last year, Gov. Andrew Cuomo banned hydraulic fracturing in New York, citing the threat it poses to public health. His state’s acting health commissioner put it this way: “The potential risks are too great. In fact, they are not even fully known.” Here in California, however, fracking is already happening and is poised to spread more widely. A report released last month from the California Council on Science and Technology showed that as many as 175 new fracking wells are drilled...

Keystone would ‘significantly’ boost oil-sands emissions: Report

Globe and Mail: The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has handed new ammunition to President Barack Obama in his battle against Congress over the proposed Keystone XL pipeline from Canada. In a letter released Tuesday, the EPA disputed a key contention made by pipeline supporters – including the Harper government – that approving the project would have no impact on greenhouse gas emissions. Mr. Obama has said he would not approve the long-delayed pipeline if it would result in significant new amounts of carbon...

Facing the Truth About Climate Change

New Republic: In June 1975, a Yale economist named William Nordhaus published a paper for the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis, an Austrian think tank. In the paper, he put forward a theory about a potentially globe-altering climate-change Red Line--a threshold that, if crossed, could result in a fusillade of en­viron­men­tal dangers. Research suggested that a rise in car­bon-dioxide emissions from burning fossil fuels might melt the Arctic Sea ice, prompting a “dramatic” increase in rain and...

UN ranks 2014 as hottest year on record

Blue and Green: The UN’s World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) has ranked 2014 as the hottest year on record and noted that 14 of the 15 warmest years have now occurred in this century, demonstrating the continuing warming trend. Average global air temperatures over land and sea surface were 0.57C above the long-term average of 14C. However, the organisation noted that the difference in temperature between the three warmest years, 2014, 2010 and 2005, is only a few hundredths of a degree, less than the margin...

China carbon offset prices diverge on regional bans

Reuters: The lack of a unified regulatory system for China's fledgling carbon offset market has led to wild variations in prices in different regions, causing uncertainty among both buyers and project developers, traders said. China's national carbon offset registry was launched earlier last month, allowing offsets - known as Chinese Certified Emissions Reductions (CCERs) - to be transferred between buyers and sellers on the country's seven pilot emissions trading schemes. The move was considered an...

Secretary of State Kerry Offers No Timeline for Keystone Decision

Hill: http://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/231447-kerry-offers-no-timeline-for-keystone-decision

Bill to Monitor Marcellus Shale Health Effects Reintroduced in Pennsylvania Senate

National Public Radio: A bill aimed at creating an advisory panel to monitor potential public health effects of Marcellus Shale drilling has been reintroduced in the state Senate. Senate President Pro Tem Joe Scarnati (R- Jefferson) first proposed the measure in 2013. He reintroduced it on Friday. SB 375 would create a nine-member advisory panel that would meet at least twice a year to consult with experts to analyze the health effects of natural gas extraction. “There has been much discussion regarding the potential...

BP CEO: Oil collapse could repeat 1980s with years of low prices

Fuel Fix: The CEO of BP says crude prices will likely settle in at low levels because the surging U.S. oil production that sent markets into a tailspin isn`t going to ease up overnight, leaving the company with no choice but to work quickly to adjust to $48 oil. And oil prices might stay that low for a while, he said. “We see (U.S. production) continuing to increase at least through the summer, even though rigs are falling very fast,” BP CEO Bob Dudley said during a conference call with investors and...

Lower Oil Prices Strike at Heart of Canada’s Oil Sands Production

New York Time: For as long as 400-ton dump trucks have been rumbling around the open pit mines of Canada’s oil sands, crews from Kal Tire have been on hand to replace and repair their $70,000, 13-foot diameter tires. But the relationship, going back over a decade, didn’t spare the company when oil prices began plummeting. Dan Allan, the senior vice president of Kal’s mining tire unit, said that customers immediately began looking for price concessions. Others asked Kal to withdraw personnel from some sites or...