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Archive for January 27th, 2016
Negligence led to massive Porter Ranch-area gas leak, AQMD says
Posted by LA Times: Matt Hamilton on January 27th, 2016
LA Times: The government agency that regulates Southern California's air quality sued Southern California Gas Co. on Tuesday, accusing the company of negligence in a massive gas well leak that has forced thousands to leave their homes.
The South Coast Air Quality Management District said the utility's negligence extended to the design, construction, operation and inspection of one of the wells at the Aliso Canyon Natural Gas Storage Facility near Porter Ranch, according to the civil complaint filed in Los...
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Comments Off on Negligence led to massive Porter Ranch-area gas leak, AQMD saysTMT: Hawaii Telescope Still In Limbo
Posted by Hawaii Public Radio: Molly Solomon on January 27th, 2016
Hawaii Public Radio: The future of the Thirty Meter Telescope on Hawai‘i Island’s Mauna Kea remains uncertain. Construction has been halted on the project since protests began last April. And in December, Hawaii's Supreme Court ruled the permit invalid, sending the matter back for a new contested case hearing.
Panelists at a Chamber of Commerce Hawaii forum discuss the future of astronomy on Mauna Kea. They included TMT Executive Director Ed Stone, OHA Trustee Peter Apo, SVP of Bank of Hawaii Roberta Chu, and Executive...
U.S. Could Do Much More To Protect The Environment, Report Finds
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on January 27th, 2016
Huffington Post: In a new report that ranks countries by how well they protect the environment, the U.S. comes in at a disappointing 26th place among 180 nations.
The 2016 Environmental Performance Index, compiled by researchers at Columbia and Yale, measures how well countries protect human and ecological health, ranking them biennially from the world's greatest environmental champion to the worst.
In its latest report, the usual suspects topped the list: Finland, Iceland and Sweden, which have warmly embraced...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on U.S. Could Do Much More To Protect The Environment, Report FindsGovernor Ige Remains Committed to TMT
Posted by Big Island Now: Jamilia Epping on January 27th, 2016
Big Island Now: Governor David Ige reconfirmed his stance on the currently stalled Thirty Meter Telescope project during his State of the State address on Monday morning. The Hawai’i governor compared the project to the failure of the SuperFerry, noting the state`s failure to justly following the rules. “Its failure [the SuperFerry] has been attributed to environmental objections and a hostile court. But that is not exactly what happened,” Governor Ige said. “The fact is the state failed to follow the law. When...
Canada to set climate change tests pipeline reviews: Trudeau
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on January 27th, 2016
Reuters: Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau pledged on Tuesday to require that environmental reviews of oil pipelines and LNG export projects consider greenhouse gas effects, and said it was not his role to be a cheerleader for such projects.
The Liberal government said the new rules would be rolled out within days, and that they would take into account not just the greenhouse gas emissions from a proposed pipeline or liquefied natural gas terminal but also its "upstream" effects, meaning the impact...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Canada to set climate change tests pipeline reviews: TrudeauAustralia sinks on ‘most credible’ environmental index in the world
Posted by Age: Peter Hannam on January 27th, 2016
Age: Australia's global ranking has dived on an international survey that Environment Minister Greg Hunt had described as "the most credible, scientifically based" analysis in the world.
The 2016 Environmental Performance Index, released every two years by Yale University in the US, has dropped Australia's ranking by 10 places to 13th out of 180 nations in its latest update.
The country's worst performance, though, came in the climate and energy category, where Australia was ranked 150th for its...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Australia sinks on ‘most credible’ environmental index in the worldOttawa to seek climate change study of energy projects
Posted by Vancouver Sun: Peter O'Neil and Rob Shaw on January 27th, 2016
Vancouver Sun: The Trudeau government will insist on environmental assessments for two major West Coast natural resource projects to take into account their greenhouse gas emissions, a senior source said Tuesday.
But the proposal -- Natural Resources Minister Jim Carr has only said to expect an announcement within days -- will not delay either project, the source said.
“We are keenly aware that significant commercial actors have spent a lot of good money in good faith on a process that they were assured by...
Will snow become a thing of the past as the climate warms?
Posted by BBC: Colin Barras on January 27th, 2016
BBC: Snowmageddon has become something of an annual tradition. Barely a year goes by without someone, somewhere, finding themselves on the receiving end of a severe snowstorm. The latest unlucky people, of course, are the inhabitants of New York.
Given that the world is getting steadily warmer as a result of man-made climate change, this strikes many people as pretty weird. Surely we should not be seeing so many extreme snowstorms if the world is getting warmer?
One response, which arrives almost...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Will snow become a thing of the past as the climate warms?Denmark preps for climate change by building parks transform into ponds
Posted by Grist: None Given on January 27th, 2016
Grist: The Danes may be among the happiest people in the world, but it’s going to take more than a good attitude to prepare for Denmark’s coming deluge. Climate change has big plans for the country, including loads and loads of heavy downpours.
In just the past five years, Denmark`s capital, Copenhagen, has been hit by two alleged "100-year floods" -- in other words, floods so disastrous, they’re only supposed to occur once a century. So what`s the best way to paddle a waterlogged city to safety? Here`s...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Denmark preps for climate change by building parks transform into ponds