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Archive for May, 2015
German support for U.S-EU trade deal drops on food, safety worries: poll
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on May 7th, 2015
Reuters: Support among Germans for a Europe-U.S. free trade deal has fallen sharply over the past year with many in Europe's biggest economy worrying about its impact on food standards, auto safety and the environment, a new opinion poll released on Thursday showed.
The Pew Research Center poll showed only 41 percent of Germans think the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) is a good thing, compared to 50 percent of Americans. While U.S. opinion was little changed over the last year, German...
Posted in Water Conservation 
Comments Off on German support for U.S-EU trade deal drops on food, safety worries: pollCalifornia moving to stage 2 of drought grief: Anger
Posted by Grist: None Given on May 6th, 2015
Grist: Californians are supposed to cut their water use by 25 percent. So far those of us in the Golden State have only cut back 8.6 percent. The utilities that supply water are still in denial, officials say.
But that`s OK! Denial is a necessary step in the journey to recovery. As the Los Angeles Times notes:
Most of the state`s water suppliers issued 20 or fewer notices of water waste in March even though they have received thousands of complaints.
“It`s a collective issue we all need to rise...
Activist deported from Cambodia continues fighting dam from abroad
Posted by Mongabay: Rebecca Kessler on May 6th, 2015
Mongabay: "I am arrested and ready to be deported now – Alex." So read the text sent at 5 pm on February 23 by Alejandro Gonzalez-Davidson, the founder of the Cambodian conservation group Mother Nature, to key supporters and members of the media. He sent it from the Department of Immigration office where he was being held at Phnom Penh International Airport. An hour later, his last message from Cambodian soil captured the mission for which he has become known: "Message to youth and Cambodian nature lovers,...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Activist deported from Cambodia continues fighting dam from abroadFlawed methane monitor underestimates leaks at oil and gas sites
Posted by InsideClimate: Lisa Song on May 6th, 2015
InsideClimate: A popular scientific instrument used to measure methane leaks from oil and gas operations severely underestimates emissions under certain conditions, a preliminary study found. The results could have major implications for federal policies as the Obama administration moves to regulate methane from the natural gas industry.
The research paper raises serious questions about the validity of existing methane data. Measurements taken by the instrument are frequently used by the Environmental Protection...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Flawed methane monitor underestimates leaks at oil and gas sitesEmergency 25 Percent Cut in California Cities’ Water Use Approved
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on May 6th, 2015
National Public Radio: Saying state officials and residents simply haven't done enough to curb water use, California regulators unanimously approved unprecedented water restrictions on Tuesday.
The AP reports:
"The State Water Resources Control Board approved rules that force cities to limit watering on public property, encourage homeowners to let their lawns die and impose mandatory water-savings targets for the hundreds of local agencies and cities that supply water to California customers.
"Gov. Jerry Brown...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Emergency 25 Percent Cut in California Cities’ Water Use ApprovedEnergy Rich U.S. States Move to Quash Local Limits on Drilling
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on May 6th, 2015
Associated Press: Lawmakers in Texas and energy producing states across the nation are rushing to stop local communities from imposing limits on oil and gas drilling despite growing public concern about the health and environmental toll of such activities in urban areas.
The slump in oil prices that has led to job losses in the oil patch has only added to the urgency of squelching local drilling bans and other restrictions the industry views as onerous. The number of jobs nationwide in the sector that includes...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Energy Rich U.S. States Move to Quash Local Limits on DrillingAustralia must reduce reliance on coal
Posted by Australian Broadcasting Corporation: Jake Sturmer on May 6th, 2015
Australian Broadcasting Corporation: Australia must move away from its reliance on coal, says the United Nations' top climate negotiator Christiana Figueres.
The executive secretary of the UN's Framework Convention on Climate Change spoke to delegates at the Australian Emissions Reduction Summit in Melbourne on Wednesday.
She said peak global emissions had to be reached within the next 10 years so the reduction could begin and climate neutrality could begin in the second half of the century.
In her first major interview since...
Intense Wildfire Season Expected in West
Posted by Climate Central: Bobby Magill on May 5th, 2015
Climate Central: Amid one the West's worst droughts in centuries, more than 5,600 wildfires scorched more than 600,000 acres last year in California alone.
It could happen again.
With drought showing signs of worsening across the West and Upper Midwest, the Forest Service anticipates that it may spend up to $1.6 billion fighting wildfires in 2015, in a fire season that is expected to be worse than normal.
"We anticipate another active fire year, underscoring the need to reform our wildfire funding,' U.S....
Pennsylvania: Fracking chemicals detected in drinking water, says report
Posted by Independent: Andrew Buncombe on May 5th, 2015
Independent: Residents in parts of Pennsylvania are confronting the danger that chemicals associated with fracking have seeped into drinking water.
A report published in an academic journal reported that an analysis of drinking water sampled from three homes in the state’s Bradford County, had found traces of chemicals commonly found in Marcellus Shale drilling fluids.
Tests shows the water in one household contained tiny amounts of 2-Butoxyethanol or 2BE, a common drilling chemical. Reports say the chemical...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Pennsylvania: Fracking chemicals detected in drinking water, says reportSarawak leader pledges no more logging, palm oil expansion
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on May 5th, 2015
Mongabay: Forest cover status in Sarawak, Sabah, and Brunei as of 2009, according to Bryan et al 2013.
Sarawak's leader has allegedly pledged to stop granting industrial timber and palm oil concessions in the Malaysian state's increasingly endangered rainforests, asserts the Bruno Manser Fund (BMF).
According to the Switzerland-based forest activist group, Sarawak Chief Minister Tan Sri Adenan Satem told dinner guests at the Malaysian High Commission in London yesterday that he is working to transform...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Sarawak leader pledges no more logging, palm oil expansion