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Archive for March, 2015
Senate fails to override Obama’s Keystone pipeline veto
Posted by New York Times: Coral Davenport on March 5th, 2015
New York Times: The Senate on Wednesday failed to override President Obama’s veto of a bill that would have approved construction of the controversial Keystone XL oil pipeline.
A bipartisan majority of senators were unable to reach the two-thirds vote required to undo a presidential veto. The vote was 62 to 37.
The measure’s defeat was widely expected, and was the latest twist in the clash over the proposed 1,179-mile pipeline, which would move about 800,000 barrels of carbon-heavy petroleum per day from the...
Posted in Water Conservation 
Comments Off on Senate fails to override Obama’s Keystone pipeline vetoLack of snow leaves California’s ‘water tower’ running low
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on March 5th, 2015
National Geographic: Snowpack-which essentially serves as a water tower for the western United States-produces vital meltwater that flows off the mountains each spring. Like a time-release capsule, snowpack refills streams and reservoirs and waters crops and cities through the dry summer in this largely semiarid region.
But the snowpack is becoming more like a snow gap, as temperatures in the Cascades and Sierra Nevada become too warm for the snow that replenishes the ecosystem each winter. Temperatures in the West...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Lack of snow leaves California’s ‘water tower’ running lowClimate change poses serious threats to food distribution
Posted by FERN: Elizabeth Grossman on March 5th, 2015
FERN: By now there has been a steady stream of news about climate change’s impacts on food production. Heat waves, drought, and wildfire are damaging harvests in California, Australia and Brazil. Warming and acidifying oceans threaten seafood stocks. Rising temperatures are causing declines in crops as different as wheat and cherries, while extreme precipitation and floods have destroyed crops across the US and Europe. Increasing temperatures and CO2 levels are reducing the nutritional value of grasses...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Climate change poses serious threats to food distributionIndia, Bangladesh, China most at risk from river floods: study
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on March 5th, 2015
Reuters: India, Bangladesh and China are most at risk from river floods, with an increasing number of people threatened because of climate change and economic growth in low-lying regions, a study said on Thursday. The U.S.-based World Resources Institute think-tank and four Dutch research groups estimated that some 21 million people worldwide were affected by river flooding in a typical year. "That number could increase to 54 million in 2030 due to climate change and socio-economic development," their report...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on India, Bangladesh, China most at risk from river floods: studyCanadian Oil Imports to U.S. Gulf Rise on Pipeline Startups
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on March 5th, 2015
Reuters: The December startup of two major pipelines that move Canadian heavy crude to the United States helped increase U.S. Gulf Coast imports more than 12 percent from November, U.S. government data showed just days after President Barack Obama vetoed the Keystone XL pipeline.
The relatively swift uptick in Canadian oil arriving at the Gulf Coast, home to nearly half of U.S. refining capacity, follows the opening of two connecting lines that link Canada to U.S. tropical waters: Enbridge Inc's 600,000...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Canadian Oil Imports to U.S. Gulf Rise on Pipeline StartupsUSGS: More Data Needed to Assess Fracking-Water Link
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on March 5th, 2015
Associated Press: More data are needed to be able to fully assess whether any widespread correlation might exist between recent oil and gas development in the U.S. and degraded quality of nearby surface water, a new study by the U.S. Geological Survey suggests. The study published in the American Geophysical Union journal Water Resources Research examined water quality data from 1970-2010 in areas with recent oil and gas drilling. The authors wrote they could document no trends involving surface water pollution in...
Global flood toll to triple by 2030
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on March 5th, 2015
BBC: The number of people affected by river flooding worldwide could nearly triple in the next 15 years, analysis shows.
Climate change and population growth are driving the increase, according to the World Resources Institute (WRI).
In the UK, about 76,000 people a year could be at risk of being affected by flooding if defences aren't improved, it says.
The yearly cost of damage to urban areas could reach more than £1bn.
The centre says this is the first public analysis of all world data...
More data needed fracking, water
Posted by Durango Herald: Peter Marcus on March 4th, 2015
Durango Herald: La Plata County Commissioner Gwen Lachelt worries that studies about the impact hydraulic fracturing has on water do not delve deep enough into the issue.
A study released Tuesday by the U.S. Geological Survey found a lack of data available relative to impacts to water quality in areas where fracking is prevalent.
It pointed out that there is not a national water-quality monitoring program in place that focuses on gas and oil development, so more data and research is necessary to better understand...
Keystone XL Veto Override Fails in Senate
Posted by EcoWatch: None Given on March 4th, 2015
EcoWatch: The U.S. Senate today attempted to override President Obama’s veto of legislation that would force approval of the controversial Keystone XL pipeline, but fell short with a vote of 62-37. To override the President’s veto it would have required 67 votes in the Senate. Next step is for the National Interest Determination process to complete its assessment and then the State Department will make its final recommendations to President Obama, most likely in the coming months.
“The definition of insanity...
Vast Saharan dust plumes shown heading across Atlantic to the Amazon in images
Posted by Telegraph: Philip Sherwell on March 4th, 2015
Telegraph: Huge dust clouds swirling across the Atlantic from northern Africa to South America are pictured in stunning new images released by the US space agency Nasa that illustrate how Earth’s largest tropical rainforest relies on its biggest, hottest desert to flourish.
Scientists have now for the first time calculated how much dust makes this transatlantic journey from the Sahara to the Amazon basin where it fertilises depleted soils with life-sustaining nutrients.
Some 27.7 million tons of Saharan...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Vast Saharan dust plumes shown heading across Atlantic to the Amazon in images