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Archive for May, 2015
Santa Barbara oil spill: Pipeline operator has long record of problems
Posted by LA Times: Julie Cart, Jack Dolan and Doug Smith on May 21st, 2015
LA Times: Plains Pipeline, the large Texas-based company responsible for the pipe that ruptured in Santa Barbara County, has accumulated 175 safety and maintenance infractions since 2006, according to federal records.
A Times analysis of data from the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration shows Plains' rate of incidents per mile of pipe is more than three times the national average. Among more than 1,700 pipeline operators listed in a database maintained by the federal agency, only four...
Posted in Water Conservation 
Comments Off on Santa Barbara oil spill: Pipeline operator has long record of problemsTransCanada Keystone Pipeline Network Under Investigation Federal Regulators
Posted by Desmog Blog: Julie Dermansky on May 21st, 2015
Desmog Blog: A month after revealing that TransCanada is under a compliance review for the Keystone 1 Pipeline, the Pipeline Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) disclosed it is also investigating the operations of Keystone XL's southern route, renamed the Gulf Coast Pipeline when the project was split in half.
The results of these investigations could play a part in President Obama's final decision on the Keystone XL permit that TransCanada needs to complete its Keystone pipeline network. According...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on TransCanada Keystone Pipeline Network Under Investigation Federal RegulatorsReliance on trade makes food systems vulnerable
Posted by SciDevNet: None Given on May 21st, 2015
SciDevNet: Boosting international trade may not be the best way to improve food security, as it makes many countries vulnerable to food shortages caused by market fluctuations, according to new research.
A study published on 11 May in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences found that countries heavily reliant on importing their food -- including many in the Arab world and Latin America -- are more exposed to environmental and market shocks than those where at least half of all food is home-grown....
Pipeline Operator In Calif. Spill Reportedly History Of Infractions
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on May 21st, 2015
National Public Radio: The Texas-based company responsible for the undersea pipeline that has leaked tens of thousands of gallons of oil into the sea near the coast at Goleta, Calif., has a history of federal safety violations, The Los Angeles Times reports.
The newspaper reports that Plains All American Pipeline has accumulated 175 safety and maintenance infractions since 2006: "A Times analysis of data from the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration shows Plains' rate of incidents per mile of pipe...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Pipeline Operator In Calif. Spill Reportedly History Of InfractionsState of emergency declared over California oil spill
Posted by Blue and Green: Ilaria Bertini on May 21st, 2015
Blue and Green: Thousands of gallons of oil have flown into the ocean and on the beach near Santa Barbara on Tuesday, after a pipeline rupture. Environmentalists and citizens fear the impact of the spill on the ecosystem and tourism.
Up to 105,000 gallons of crude were lost during the spill, of which about 21,000 gallons went into the ocean, according to the US coast guard.
While emergency teams and volunteers have joined forces to clean up the beach, California Governor Jerry Brown declared the state of emergency...
Greenpeace staff to work for free after India blocks funds
Posted by Reuters: Rupam Jain Nair on May 21st, 2015
Reuters: Greenpeace is determined to keep operating in India even after the federal government froze its bank accounts, leaving it with no funds to pay wages to hundreds of staff, its country head said on Thursday.
The home ministry blocked foreign funding to the local branch of the environmentalist group in April as part of a wider crackdown against international and domestic non-governmental organizations (NGOs) found to have misreported foreign aid.
Greenpeace took legal action against Prime Minister...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Greenpeace staff to work for free after India blocks fundsCalif. Gov. Brown Declares State Of Emergency To Aid In Oil Spill Clean Up
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on May 21st, 2015
National Public Radio: An estimated 105,000 gallons of crude oil spilled from a pipeline along the California coast near Santa Barbara. Crews are working to contain a 9 mile wide sheen in the Pacific Ocean.
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Calif. Gov. Brown Declares State Of Emergency To Aid In Oil Spill Clean UpCalifornia water cuts move those with century-old rights
Posted by Associated Press: Fenit Nirappil and Scott Smith on May 21st, 2015
Associated Press: California farmers who hold rights to water that date as far back as the Gold Rush are bracing for their first state-ordered conservation in decades, as a record drought prompts some of the deepest cuts yet in the country's most productive agricultural state.
After telling cities and towns to slash use by 25 percent and curtailing water deliveries to some farmers and others, state officials said Wednesday they would start mandatory cuts this week to the state's oldest rights holders, historically...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on California water cuts move those with century-old rightsSpending To Fight Wildfires At The Expense Of Preventing Them
Posted by National Public Radio: Rowan Moore Gerety on May 21st, 2015
National Public Radio: The weed-whacker is a frequent companion to the sounds of chirping birds and rustling pines at Ross Frank's ranch in Chumstick, Wash. With forested land on all sides, he's clearing dense brush beneath a stand of by his house. "So we're turning that around manually and mimicking what fire would have done naturally," he says. Eighty percent of the county where Frank's ranch is located is owned by the government. Frank says the government needs to do the same thing he's doing now — clearing out the...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Spending To Fight Wildfires At The Expense Of Preventing Them$50 Million Federal Dollars Ease Historic Drought
Posted by Environment News Service: None Given on May 21st, 2015
Environment News Service: The Obama Administration will invest nearly $50 million to improve water efficiency and conservation in California and 11 other western states squeezed by years of crippling drought, Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell announced today.
Funded projects will replace thirsty grass with drought-tolerant plants, upgrade irrigation controls, line canals to prevent seepage, capture stormwater runoff, increase groundwater recharge and improve salmon habitat.
"In a time of exceptional drought, it...