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Archive for January, 2016
3 Reasons Big Coal Had a Bad Week
Posted by EcoWatch: None Given on January 16th, 2016
EcoWatch: Here are three reasons Big Coal had a bad week:
1. Sec. of the Interior Sally Jewell announced Friday that the Obama Administration will be putting an immediate suspension on all future and modified coal leases in order to create time and space to fully review the program for its consequences for taxpayers, our environment and the climate. The announcement followed President Obama’s groundbreaking statement in the State of the Union that he would “push to change the way we manage our oil and coal...
U.S. Announces Moratorium On New Coal Leases On Federal Lands
Posted by Bonham Journal: None Given on January 16th, 2016
Bonham Journal: While environmentalists cheered, state government and central Utah county leaders expressed dismay about the Obama administration's decision to halt new coal leases on federal lands. There's enough coal in reserve under existing leases to continue production at its current rate for another 20 years, she said.
"The coal industry is shrinking, and it will continue to shrink for the foreseeable future".
"It is abundantly clear that times are different than they were 30 years ago, and the time...
Posted in Water Conservation 
Comments Off on U.S. Announces Moratorium On New Coal Leases On Federal LandsFlint’s water crisis: what went wrong
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on January 16th, 2016
Guardian: Lee and Ernie Perez knew something was amiss when their three cats started throwing up after drinking water.
In 2014, the longtime residents of Flint, Michigan, were dealing with the same circumstances that had consumed most of the town. The problems began in April that year, after the city switched its water source and started pulling water from a local river as a cost-saving measure. Almost immediately, residents levied complaints about the smelly, discolored and disgusting fluid that was now...
More Bad News For Coal Mine-Reliant States
Posted by National Public Radio: Stephanie Joyce on January 16th, 2016
National Public Radio: On Friday, the Obama administration announced a halt to new coal leases on federal land. In Wyoming, most of the federally-owned coal mines and revenue from coal leases pays for school construction.
SCOTT SIMON, HOST:
In President Obama's State of the Union address, there was a line you might have missed, but it caught the ear of people in the energy industry.
(SOUNDBITE OF SPEECH)
BARACK OBAMA: I'm going to push to change the way we manage our oil and coal resources so that they better...
Coal suspension affects 30-plus mining projects
Posted by Associated Press: Otis Underwood on January 16th, 2016
Associated Press: The Obama administration announced a moratorium on new coal development on public land Friday while it studies the impact of the USA leasing program on climate change, prompting fresh criticism that President Obama is ramping up his "war on coal". The executive order also called for the Department of Interior to initiate an immediate review of coal operations on federal lands with an eye toward determining "how to ensure American taxpayers are earning a fair return for the use of their public resources"....
Michigan Governor in Hot Water Over Flint Water Crisis
Posted by Environment News Service: None Given on January 16th, 2016
Environment News Service: Michigan Governor Rick Snyder, a Republican, Thursday asked President Barack Obama to declare both an emergency and an expedited major disaster for Genesee County as a result of ongoing emergency water response efforts in the city of Flint.
Snyder requested federal aid in the form of individual and public assistance to help residents and state and local government agencies to protect the health, safety and welfare of Flint`s more than 102,400 residents.
Located along the Flint River, 66 miles...
Obama temporarily bans new coal leases on federal land
Posted by LA Times: Matt Pearce on January 16th, 2016
LA Times: Angering coal supporters, the Obama administration announced a temporary ban on new coal leases on federal lands Friday as part of a broad environmental and economic review of the nation's federal coal program.
The decision, which was lauded by environmental advocates, came three days after President Obama said in his State of the Union address that he would "push to change the way we manage our oil and coal resources, so that they better reflect the costs they impose on taxpayers and our planet,"...
Brazilian court suspends operating license Belo Monte dam
Posted by Mongabay: None Given on January 16th, 2016
Mongabay: The gigantic Belo Monte hydroelectric dam, located on the Xingu River in the heart of the Brazilian Amazon, stood just weeks away from beginning operation this week — but the controversial mega-dam, the third largest on earth, has now been blocked from generating electricity by the Brazilian court system until its builders and the government meet previous commitments made to the region’s indigenous people. Federal court judge Maria Carolina Valente do Carmo in the city of Altamira, in the state...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Brazilian court suspends operating license Belo Monte damBelo Monte dam operations delayed by Brazil court ruling on indigenous people
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on January 15th, 2016
Guardian: The start of operations at Brazil’s Belo Monte dam could be held up following a court judgment that operators have yet to provide adequate support to indigenous groups affected by the giant construction.
The world’s fourth biggest hydropower plant was due to test its first turbines within weeks on a stretch of the Xingu river in the Amazon that is a centre of ethnic and biological diversity.
But even as the reservoirs begin to fill, the controversy that has dogged the project since its inception...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Belo Monte dam operations delayed by Brazil court ruling on indigenous peopleNot All Frogs Are Doomed By That Deadly Amphibian Fungus
Posted by Gizmodo: Maddie Stone on January 15th, 2016
Gizmodo: For twenty years, the deadly fungal disease Bd has been wiping out amphibians across the world. But a new study offers hope that some frogs will be spared, thanks in part to an unexpected savior: climate change.
It’s not often that we hear about positive impacts of anthropogenic climate change. And yet, a team of scientists at the Wildlife Conservation Society is now predicting that in Africa’s Albertine Rift--one of the most biodiverse places on the planet--global warming will cause Bd’s range...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Not All Frogs Are Doomed By That Deadly Amphibian Fungus