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Archive for June, 2015
Peaceful Protectors of Hawai’i: Kaleikoa Ka’eo
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on June 27th, 2015
CNN: State agents and protectors clashed with Aloha atop one of the tallest mountains in the world yesterday. The mountain Mauna Kea in Hawai?i is "ground piko" for this most recent display of Hawaiian activism. Twelve individuals were arrested as the crowd of over 500 peacefully blocked the road in order to prevent construction vehicles from desecrating the sacred mountain. Construction of the 18 story, $1.4 billion Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT) has drawn great opposition from around the world, including...
Oral Arguments Set for TMT Hawaii Supreme Court Case
Posted by Big Island: None Given on June 27th, 2015
Big Island: The Hawaii Supreme Court has set a date for oral arguments in the case challenging the state-awarded permit to build the Thirty Meter Telescope on Mauna Kea. Arguments will be heard on Thursday, August 27, 2015 , at 8:45 a.m. in the Supreme Court Courtroom in Honolulu. Although TMT was granted the right to proceed with construction by the state, those opposed to the project say all legal challenges should first be seen to their conclusion. Notice was recently posted to the state judiciary website:...
300+ Wildfires Rage Alaska
Posted by EcoWatch: None Given on June 27th, 2015
EcoWatch: Thousands of firefighters are working to put out wildfires in Alaska as they blaze across the state. The Alaska Division of Forestry reported that as of today there are 317 wildfires burning in the Last Frontier. On Wednesday alone, there were 40 new fires and Thursday saw an additional 28 new fires, bringing the total acreage burned to 624,496 acres.
Acreage burned in #Alaska increased by almost 200,000 acres yesterday. Up to 624,496 acres. http://t.co/hNwOR5KU3m pic.twitter.com/AI2tOGKIWe
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How Pakistan and India can prevent future heat wave fatalities
Posted by Mashable: None Given on June 27th, 2015
Mashable: The 1.4 billion people of India and Pakistan are no strangers to long periods of sizzlingly hot and humid weather at this time of year. The average daily high temperature in Delhi in the month of May is 105 degrees Fahrenheit.
But with nearly 3,000 people killed between the two countries in two distinct heat wave events during May and June, it has become clear to local populations that their governments failed to prepare for and respond to the heat waves. It has also become clear that something...
Posted in Water Conservation 
Comments Off on How Pakistan and India can prevent future heat wave fatalitiesFossil fuel divestment alone will not halt climate change: Gates
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on June 26th, 2015
Agence France-Presse: Fossil fuel divestment would be ineffective on its own as a means of halting global warming, software billionaire and philanthropist Bill Gates said Friday. Pulling money out of carbon-heavy industry must be coupled with large spending on alternative technologies to make any difference, said the Microsoft mogul who is under fire for his charitable Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation's reported $1.4-billion (1.3-billion-euro) investment in carbon-spewing companies like BP. The Financial Times reported...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Fossil fuel divestment alone will not halt climate change: GatesFuels from Canadian Oil Sands Have Larger Carbon Footprint, Analysis Finds
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on June 26th, 2015
Yale Environment 360: Gasoline and diesel refined from Canadian oil sands have a significantly larger carbon footprint and climate impact than fuels from conventional crude sources, according to an analysis by the U.S. Department of Energy's Argonne National Laboratory. Oil sands-derived fuels will release on average 20 percent more carbon into the atmosphere over their lifetime — and possibly up to 24 percent more — depending on how they are extracted and refined, the study says. Methane emissions from tailing ponds...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Fuels from Canadian Oil Sands Have Larger Carbon Footprint, Analysis FindsArrested protesters return Hawaii Mountain obstruct construction of TMT
Posted by Perf Science: None Given on June 26th, 2015
Perf Science: On Wednesday, hundreds of protesters who are against the construction of a giant telescope on Mauna Kea prevented workers from reaching the site. The planned $1.4 billion Thirty Meter Telescope (TNT) was under fire by many native Hawaiians. The protesters marched to turn over the project as they consider the mountain sacred. In April, the construction halted for about two months after 31 protesters were arrested. A dozen of protestors arrested Wednesday for obstructing were released after posting...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Arrested protesters return Hawaii Mountain obstruct construction of TMTJon Stewart Slams GOP for Criticizing the Pope’s ‘Call for Environmental Consciousness’
Posted by EcoWatch: Cole Mellino on June 26th, 2015
EcoWatch: Pope Francis released his encyclical last week, urging swift action on climate change ahead of the Paris climate talks in December. And before the ink had even dried, many conservative American politicians were criticizing the Pope for speaking out about environmental issues. The Pope “ought to stay with his job and let us stay with ours” said Sen. James Inhofe at the Heartland Institute’s 10th International Conference on Climate Change. Jeb Bush also thought the Pope needed to butt out, saying...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Jon Stewart Slams GOP for Criticizing the Pope’s ‘Call for Environmental Consciousness’Pope Francis Slams GMOs and Pesticides for Destroying the Earth’s ‘Complex Web of Ecosystems’
Posted by EcoWatch: None Given on June 26th, 2015
EcoWatch: Pope Francis’s encyclical didn’t just cover climate change, he also denounced pesticides and genetically engineered (GE) crops, declaring “the spread of these crops destroys the complex web of ecosystems, decreases diversity in production and affects the present and the future of regional economies.”
Biotech companies claim their products are key to solving hunger, but the Pope knows this isn’t true. No commercial GE crops are engineered for increased yield. Five of every six acres of GE crops...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Pope Francis Slams GMOs and Pesticides for Destroying the Earth’s ‘Complex Web of Ecosystems’Who’s to blame for Pakistan heat wave?
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on June 26th, 2015
Wall Street Journal: The Pakistani Taliban joined the chorus of criticism over response to the devastating heat wave that has left more than 1,000 people dead in the country’s southern Sindh province. But instead of blaming the government – their usual target – the militant group blamed the power company in Karachi, the country’s largest city, for the heat-related deaths. The group, formally known as the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, said on Friday that it holds K-Electric responsible for the “human tragedy.” Most of...