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Archive for May, 2015
Inordinate growth focus hurts biodiversity
Posted by Vietnam Net: None Given on May 4th, 2015
Vietnam Net: "In the past years, we were too focused on developing the economy, and neglected environmental protection and biodiversity conservation," said Deputy Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Bui Cach Tuyen. "This improper view led to insufficient measures to manage and conserve biodiversity, and increasing impacts of climate change are directly affecting it (the country's biodiversity)." The nation's flora and fauna were facing the pressure of changing habitat and frequent natural disasters,...
Epic Drought Brings Fear Worst Wildfire Season Yet
Posted by EcoWatch: None Given on May 4th, 2015
EcoWatch: The firefighters are primed, hoses at the ready. May and June are often the peak months for forest fires in the southwest of the U.S., and the outlook for this year is grim.
“I wish I could have some hope,” says Dr Wally Covington, director of the Ecological Restoration Institute at North Arizona University. “It’s just a terrible situation in southern California.”
Covington, an internationally recognized expert on forest restoration, says a prolonged drought, higher temperatures and stronger...
The Shale Boom Has Already Gone Bust, at Least for Now
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on May 4th, 2015
Bloomberg: The meteoric rise in U.S. oil production has ended, easing a global glut and driving a rebound in crude prices from below $50 a barrel, according to crude trader and hedge fund manager Andrew J. Hall.
“We have now reached a turning point,” Hall said in a letter Friday to investors in Astenbeck Capital Management LLC, his commodities hedge fund. Growing demand and supply pullbacks “rendered all the doomsday forecasts self-defeating.”
Oil production from Texas to North Dakota peaked at almost...
New Oil Train Rules Are Hit From All Sides
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on May 4th, 2015
New York Times: Ending months of uncertainty and delays, federal regulators on Friday unveiled new rules for transporting crude oil by trains, saying the measures would improve rail safety and reduce the risks of a catastrophic event.
But the rules quickly came under criticism from many sides. Lawmakers and safety advocates said the regulations did not go far enough in protecting the public, while industry representatives said some provisions would be costly and yield few safety benefits.
More than two years...
Carbon plans deeply inadequate: climate study warns
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on May 4th, 2015
Agence France-Presse: Pledges made by countries to slash carbon emissions are deeply inadequate to take them down to safe levels by 2030 and put the brakes on global warming, a new analysis warned Monday.
Based on the stated undertakings of the world's major emitters, global emissions could reach about 57-59 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (GtCO2e) by 2030, said the report co-authored by British academic Nicholas Stern, a former World Bank vice-president considered an authority on the economics of climate...
EPA delays prompt $13.7 billion shortfall in biofuels investment: report
Posted by Reuters: Chris Prentice on May 4th, 2015
Reuters: U.S. government delays in rolling out renewable fuels policy have stymied some $13.7 billion in investments and have prevented advanced biofuels companies from meeting mandated target volumes, according to an industry group analysis. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) slow rulemaking on the Renewable Fuel Standard program over the past two years has "chilled" an influx of capital needed to boost commercial production, according to the Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO). The...
Posted in Water Conservation 
Comments Off on EPA delays prompt $13.7 billion shortfall in biofuels investment: reportCalifornia has a real water market — but it’s not exactly liquid
Posted by Grist: None Given on May 4th, 2015
Grist: When I started reporting on California’s drought I heard a lot of people complaining that farmers were growing crops that would simply be prohibitively expensive if they had to buy and sell their water at a fair market price.
That seemed like a big problem. I wrote:
The best fix would be a comprehensive overhaul of the laws to make the price of water clear and responsive to scarcity. If the price of water moved according to the laws of supply and demand, ecological limits would provoke change....
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on California has a real water market — but it’s not exactly liquidA Landscape Abundance Becomes A Landscape Of Scarcity
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on May 4th, 2015
National Public Radio: Photographer Matt Black grew up in California's Central Valley. He has dedicated his life to documenting the area's small towns and farmers. Last year, he says he realized what had been a mild drought was now severe. It had simply stopped raining. "It was kind of a daily surreal thing to walk outside," Black says. Last month, Governor Jerry Brown announced the first mandatory water restrictions in the state's history, as California endures its fourth year of drought. The Central Valley makes...
UN climate chief says the science is clear: there is no space for new coal
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on May 4th, 2015
Guardian: The UN climate chief, Christiana Figueres, has said there was “no space” for new coal developments and stressed the benefits of ambitious renewable energy targets after a meeting with representatives from seven Australian governments.
At the meeting in Adelaide, organised by the South Australian government, federal, state and territory administrations agreed to work more closely to drive an uptake in renewable energy, coordinate energy-efficiency schemes and help communities adapt to climate change....
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on UN climate chief says the science is clear: there is no space for new coalPolar meltdown sees us on an icy road to disaster
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on May 4th, 2015
Guardian: The Amundsen sea sector in west Antarctica is almost as big as France. Six glaciers drain into it and one of the largest of these is the Pine Island glacier, a 30-kilometre-wide estuary of ice that is more than 500km in length. Stand on it, on a clear day, and swaths of glittering ice stretch off to the horizon in every direction.
This is one of the world’s greatest bodies of fresh water, a vast frozen reservoir weighing more than 300tn tonnes. With that sort of resource, you could solve a great...