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Archive for May 28th, 2015
Dozens of Canada’s tar sands projects on hold as prices fall, analysis shows
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on May 28th, 2015
Guardian: Oil companies have frozen dozens of projects in Canada’s tar sands, amid falling prices and a rising tide of protest against one of the world’s most polluting fossil fuels.
Some 39 projects containing 13bn barrels of oil are currently delayed or on hold, according to analysis by the campaign group Oil Change International published on Friday. The projects – a combination of open-cast mines and drilling – would pump 7.8bn tonnes of CO2 into the atmosphere if they went ahead, the equivalent emissions...
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Comments Off on Dozens of Canada’s tar sands projects on hold as prices fall, analysis showsGreat Barrier Reef: Unesco to release draft ruling ‘in danger’ listing
Posted by Guardian: Joshua Robertson on May 28th, 2015
Guardian: Unesco will release a draft ruling on whether to list the Great Barrier Reef as in danger early on Saturday morning in a critical moment for Australia’s stewardship of the world’s largest coral reef.
The recommendations will inform a final decision by the UN’s world heritage committee next month, which, if in favour of declaring the reef in danger, would herald a new era of outside scrutiny of its care.
Federal and state ministers are reportedly confident that the scale of their investments...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Great Barrier Reef: Unesco to release draft ruling ‘in danger’ listingObama tweets it up on climate change and Arctic drilling
Posted by Grist: Nathanael Johnson on May 28th, 2015
Grist: President Obama recently joined Twitter (presumably so that racists can speak to him directly from the comfort of anonymity. Now that’s serving the constituents!) His first significant act as @POTUS was to hold a chat on climate change. This looks like considerably more preparation and manpower than the rest of us devote to tweeting, but it`s nice to see that, in the end, he hunches over the laptop like the rest of us.
Ready to answer your questions on climate change. Let's do this! #AskPOTUS...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Obama tweets it up on climate change and Arctic drillingTexas floods reveal climate change irony
Posted by Town Talk: Michael Shank on May 28th, 2015
Town Talk: From devastating droughts to flash floods, it seems that Texas can't get a break from extreme weather associated with climate change. Emerging recently from a multiyear record-breaking drought, with reservoirs at near record lows, now the state is suffering from flooding and record precipitation. We are entering a new normal. Texas is definitely being messed with. Texas is witnessing an increase in extreme high temperatures. That means more hot days and heat waves, which make illness, death and...
Rules aim to protect imperiled bird’s habitat in 10 states
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on May 28th, 2015
Associated Press: Interior Secretary Sally Jewell revealed plans Thursday to preserve habitat in 10 Western states for an imperiled ground-dwelling bird, the federal government's biggest land-planning effort to date for conservation of a single species.
The proposal would affect energy development. The regulations would require oil and gas wells to be clustered in groups of a half-dozen or more to avoid scattering them across habitat of the greater sage grouse. Drilling near breeding areas would be prohibited during...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Rules aim to protect imperiled bird’s habitat in 10 statesPrehistoric climate changes still detectable deep underground
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on May 28th, 2015
Environmental News Network: It turns out that the steady dripping of water deep underground can reveal a surprising amount of information about the constantly changing cycles of heat and cold, precipitation and drought in the turbulent atmosphere above.
As water seeps down through the ground it picks up minerals, most commonly calcium carbonate. When this mineral-rich water drips into caves, it leaves mineral deposits behind that form layers which grow during wet periods and form dusty skins when the water dries up.
Today,...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Prehistoric climate changes still detectable deep undergroundHow the U.S. West Can Live with Fire
Posted by Climate Central: John Upton on May 28th, 2015
Climate Central: Homes and stables were evacuated during a rattling evening southeast of Los Angeles last month, as tall flames licked property lines while they chewed through pine needles, dead leaves and other fuels that had built up in scrub and forest during a decades-long absence of fire.
Firefighters eventually prevailed against the Highway Fire--so-named because it began near a highway--by corralling it and watching as it burned out. But the 1,000-acre conflagration was an anxiety-inducing prelude to what's...
Norway fund could trigger wave large fossil fuel divestments, say experts
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on May 28th, 2015
Guardian: Norway’s decision to dump all coal-focused investments from its $900bn sovereign wealth fund could unleash a wave of divestment from other large funds, according to investment experts. The fund, the largest in the world, is one of the top 10 investors in the global coal industry.
The move, agreed late on Wednesday, is one of the most significant victories to date for a fast-growing and UN-backed fossil-fuel divestment campaign. It will affect $9bn-$10bn (£5.8-£6.5bn) of coal-related investments,...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Norway fund could trigger wave large fossil fuel divestments, say expertsBill Nye Under Attack for Linking Texas Floods to Climate Change
Posted by EcoWatch: None Given on May 28th, 2015
EcoWatch: Bill Nye took to Twitter to call out meteorologists for failing to link the floods earlier this week in Texas with a warming climate, and the backlash in the Twitterverse was intense.
Billion$$ in damage in Texas & Oklahoma. Still no weather-caster may utter the phrase Climate Change. pic.twitter.com/9J10deVQ7S
-- Bill Nye (@BillNye) May 26, 2015
Houston received more than 10 inches of rain in a 24-hour period, "bringing America’s fourth-largest city to a standstill," reports Scientific...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Bill Nye Under Attack for Linking Texas Floods to Climate ChangeOil lobby group recruited Canadian minister secret strategy meeting
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on May 28th, 2015
Guardian: An oil industry lobby group successfully recruited a Canadian cabinet minister to deliver a pep talk and dispense strategic planning advice at a closed door meeting in a luxury Rocky Mountains resort, the Guardian has learned.
In the 21 October 2014 session, Greg Rickford, the natural resources minister, urged the 40 to 50 assembled executives to work harder to spread the oil industry’s message.
“You are fighting an uphill battle for public confidence,” he said. “Our messages are not resonating.”...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Oil lobby group recruited Canadian minister secret strategy meeting