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Archive for October 1st, 2015
Judge blocks Obama administration rules on fracking
Posted by New York Times: Coral Davenport on October 1st, 2015
New York Times: A federal judge on Wednesday blocked the Obama administration’s first major regulations on hydraulic fracturing, a technique for oil and gas drilling that has led to a boom in American energy production but has also raised concerns about health and safety risks. The United States District Court for Wyoming issued a preliminary injunction preventing the Interior Department from carrying out the rules, which were issued in March by the department’s Bureau of Land Management. The ruling, however, stops...
Tar Sands Mining Moves to Utah
Posted by Climate Central: Bobby Magill on October 1st, 2015
Climate Central: The Canadian tar sands, or oil sands, are much more carbon-laden than most other fossil fuels produced in North America, and their possible outsized impact on the climate is one of the primary reasons the proposed Keystone XLPipeline, which would carry tar sands oil to Texas refineries, is so controversial.
Despite long odds as oil prices continue their dip below $50 per barrel, commercial tar sands mining is coming for the first time to the U.S., where an Alberta company called U.S. Oil Sands...
Wyoming Judge Halts Federal Fracking Rules
Posted by Hill: Devin Henry on October 1st, 2015
Hill: A federal judge has issued an injunction against new Department of Interior regulations for hydraulic fracturing on federal land.
Judge Scott Skavdahl of the U.S. District Court of Wyoming ruled Wednesday that the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) cannot institute its new fracking rule until lawsuits against it are settled.
In a 53-page opinion, Skavdahl cast doubt on the federal government’s ability to issue the rule. He issued the injunction because he decided the states and industry groups...
Toxic Algae Outbreak Overwhelms a Polluted Ohio River
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on October 1st, 2015
New York Times: The Ohio River, transformed by mining and industrial waste and sewage overflows into the nation’s most polluted major waterway, has a new and unexpected tormentor this fall: carpets of poisonous algae. Pads of toxic blue-green algae have speckled nearly two-thirds of the 981-mile river in the last five weeks, experts say, in an outbreak that has curbed boating, put water utilities on alert and driven the river’s few hardy swimmers back to shore. The only other recorded toxic algae bloom, in 2008,...
Climate Change Calif Passes a Tipping Point
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on October 1st, 2015
Huffington Post: With Californians crossing their fingers in hopes of a super El Niño to help end the state's historic drought, California's water agency just delivered some startling news: for the first time in 120 years of record keeping, the winter average minimum temperature in the Sierra Nevada was above freezing. And across the state, the last 12 months were the warmest on record. This explains why the Sierra Nevada snow pack that provides nearly 30% of the state's water stood at its lowest level in at least...
National climate pledges are flooding in – now for the hard part
Posted by Climate Home: None Given on October 1st, 2015
Climate Home: It’s national climate pledge deadline day. Contributions are flooding in towards a global pact to be struck in Paris this December.
They follow hot on the heels of New York Climate Week, another US-China agreement and world leaders agreeing on key elements of a deal.
After a frenetic couple of weeks, where does international cooperation on global warming stand?
Strong participation
Of the 195 countries that need to reach agreement in Paris, more than two thirds had put forward their pledges...
Posted in Water Conservation 
Comments Off on National climate pledges are flooding in – now for the hard partCalifornia conserves water for third month, officials say
Posted by KPCC: None Given on October 1st, 2015
KPCC: State official say Californians have surpassed a mandate to save water for a third consecutive month, using nearly 27 percent less in August than the same month in 2013.
The State Water Resources Control Board on Thursday released the statewide conservation figures.
Max Gomberg, a senior climate scientist for the board, said the results meet the 25 percent savings goal set by Gov. Jerry Brown.
Gomberg also warned that Californians can't allow themselves to be distracted by the hype of a...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on California conserves water for third month, officials say