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Archive for August, 2015
New evacuations ordered as California wildfires spread
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on August 12th, 2015
LA Times: Wildfires across the state are burning more than 200,000 acres, chewing through dry brush and parched forests while forcing the evacuation of dozens of residents.
In the Six Rivers National Forest, near the northwestern corner of the state, more than 5,000 firefighters are battling a string of blazes totaling nearly 70,000 acres, said U.S. Forest Service spokeswoman Peggi Lawrence.
Lightning storms ignited the fires in late July and they have continued to burn as firefighters navigate steep,...
New Orleans’ Future Depends on Coastal Restoration, But Who Is Footing the Bill?
Posted by Times-Picayune: None Given on August 12th, 2015
Times-Picayune: The finalists among the slogan contest run by the Dirty Coast clothing store to commemorate Hurricane Katrina's anniversary sum up the hopes of many South Louisiana residents: "Keep Land in Our Wetlands," "Save the Boot," "The World Needs More Louisiana," "Let The River Run Through It," "Greaux the Delta, Greaux Our Home."
Those demands are the ones the state Legislature has recognized by supporting the state's Master Plan, a $50 billion, 50-year outline that split its proposed resources between...
Posted in Water Conservation 
Comments Off on New Orleans’ Future Depends on Coastal Restoration, But Who Is Footing the Bill?Panama declares drought emergency
Posted by Agence France-Presse: Juan José Rodríguez on August 12th, 2015
Agence France-Presse: Panama's government has declared a state of emergency as it faces a drought that has prompted water restrictions, depleted reservoirs and affected shipping through its bustling canal.
The government blamed the El Nino weather phenomenon for the major drought. The state of emergency declared Tuesday also sets up a government board tasked with rushing to deliver a water security plan in under four months.
"El Nino" refers to the abnormal warming of surface waters in the tropical sections of the...
Report details which chemicals used in California fracking fluids
Posted by Fuel Fix: Jennifer A. Dlouhy on August 12th, 2015
Fuel Fix: A vast array of ingredients make up the chemical cocktails that energy companies pump into wells to stimulate oil and gas production, according to a report released Wednesday.
The analysis, conducted by the Environmental Working Group using data from California wells, shines a spotlight on the makeup of the fluids used in the hydraulic fracturing process, also known as fracking. The technique involves sending that “frac fluid”-- often a mixture of sand, water and chemicals-- into wells to open...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Report details which chemicals used in California fracking fluidsShade may mitigate invasive plant presence and richness
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on August 12th, 2015
PhysOrg: Does more shade limit the presence of invasive plants along streams and rivers? That intriguing possibility was suggested in "Habitat limitations on invasive communities in urban riparian areas," which was posted online by Invasive Plant Science and Management. The authors are Robert J. Warren II, assistant professor of biology; Daniel L. Potts, associate professor of biology, and Kelly Frothingham, chair and professor of geography and planning.
The study included 348 sites along 12 streams in...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Shade may mitigate invasive plant presence and richnessHealth of Australians suffering as government again fails to address climate change
Posted by Australian Broadcasting Corporation: Sallie Forrest on August 11th, 2015
Australian Broadcasting Corporation: DOCTORS ARE DISMAYED by the inadequacy of the Abbott government's just-announced carbon emission targets of at least 26 per cent below 2005 levels by 2030, which it aims to take to the United Nations climate change meeting in Paris in December.
We see a government who is again failing to acknowledge the enormity of the increasing health impacts of climate change, and failing to treat the problem with the urgency and seriousness it deserves.
Instead the government shows a reckless support for...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Health of Australians suffering as government again fails to address climate changePlunging prices, climate concerns hit Canadian oil sands producers hard
Posted by InsideClimate: Elizabeth Douglass on August 11th, 2015
InsideClimate: Canadian oil sands producers, facing a double whammy of low oil prices and higher taxes in Alberta, are slashing spending, suspending production, cutting jobs and halting shareholder dividends. They are fighting the same market forces that are putting pressure on the entire oil industry, but face even more hurdles than the oil majors.
Oil sands projects are among the industry’s most expensive endeavors, so they need sustained, higher oil prices. When prices are low--or even very volatile--companies...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Plunging prices, climate concerns hit Canadian oil sands producers hard4 Arrested Blockading the U.S. First Tarsands Mine in Utah
Posted by EcoWatch: Andy Rowell on August 11th, 2015
EcoWatch: Dozens of environmental activists have signaled that the expansion of the tar sands in Utah will not happen without a fight.
Yesterday, about 40 protestors disrupted the work on the Utah tar sands strip mine, the first to be built in the U.S., located in the Book Cliffs wilderness area.
The activists blocked a road using two tripods trying to stop traffic on the road which the tar sands firm, U.S. Oil Sands, is constructing south east of Salt Lake City.
The company is starting an $80 million...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on 4 Arrested Blockading the U.S. First Tarsands Mine in UtahTransCanada quietly plots response as Keystone XL rejection seems imminent
Posted by CBC: Alexander Panetta on August 11th, 2015
CBC: The Canadian company involved in the controversy-plagued Keystone XL project has begun planning its response as indications mount the proposed oil pipeline will be rejected by U.S. President Barack Obama.
In its public statements, TransCanada Corp. is expressing hope Obama might still approve the pipeline, which over the course of its years-long delay has become an irritant between the U.S. and Canadian governments.
The rumour is that the decision to deny has been made, and they're just waiting...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on TransCanada quietly plots response as Keystone XL rejection seems imminentThirsty Butterflies Disappearing from the UK
Posted by LiveScience: Elizabeth Goldbaum on August 11th, 2015
LiveScience: Green-veined white butterflies with pale-yellow wings, among other butterfly species, could disappear from southern Britain in the next 35 years if climate change and habitat loss continue, according to new research.
"The results are worrying," Tom Oliver, lead author of the study and an ecological modeler at the Centre for Ecology & Hydrology in Oxfordshire, United Kingdom, said in a statement. "For drought-sensitive butterflies, and potentially other taxa [group of organisms], widespread population...