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Archive for February, 2016
What’s nature worth? Study helps put a price on groundwater and other natural capital
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on February 9th, 2016
ScienceDaily: Most people understand that investing in the future is important, and that goes for conserving nature and natural resources, too. But in the case of investing in such "natural" assets as groundwater, forests, and fish populations, it can be challenging to measure the return on that investment. A Yale-led research team has adapted traditional asset valuation approaches to measure the value of such natural capital assets, linking economic measurements of ecosystem services with models of natural dynamics...
Posted in Water Conservation 
Comments Off on What’s nature worth? Study helps put a price on groundwater and other natural capitalAustralia May Fire 350 Climate Scientists Because Climate Change is Proven
Posted by Gizmodo: None Given on February 9th, 2016
Gizmodo: There are down sides to success. Australia’s national science industry has announced that, as far as they’re concerned, there is no longer any doubt that climate change exists--so they will no longer be funding research that seeks to prove it. They will, however, employ scientists to lessen its effects.
Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation, or CSIRO, recently put out a news release full of terms that employees dread. It includes terms phrases like “embrace change,” and...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Australia May Fire 350 Climate Scientists Because Climate Change is ProvenFlood victim confronts Cruz on climate change
Posted by Denton Record Chronicle: None Given on February 8th, 2016
Denton Record Chronicle: Renee Boschert wanted an audience with Ted Cruz, and she traveled all the way from Texas to New Hampshire to get it.
The 63-year-old from Wimberley, in Central Texas about 260 miles south of Denton, arrived in the Granite State on Tuesday and returned home Saturday, filling the time in between by attending town hall meetings with the U.S. senator from Texas, as well as those of former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush and U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida, two of Cruz’s rivals for the GOP presidential nomination....
Surrounded by diamonds, villagers go hungry in drought-hit Zimbabwe
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on February 8th, 2016
Reuters: Shylet Mutsago, a 63-year-old who lives near the diamond fields of Marange, cannot hide her anger over how mining in this gem-rich part of eastern Zimbabwe has failed to improve the lives of local people. From a distance she watches as companies turn the ground over in search of the alluvial diamonds, releasing clouds of red dust into the sky. "Our hopes of benefiting from the diamonds are gone," she said. "And with this severe drought we are now placing our lives in the hands of God. We are living...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Surrounded by diamonds, villagers go hungry in drought-hit ZimbabweMark Ruffalo tells Cameron his UK fracking push an ‘enormous mistake’
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on February 8th, 2016
Guardian: David Cameron is making an enormous “legacy mistake” by going all-out for fracking in the UK, the actor and environmental activist Mark Ruffalo has warned.
The actor, who is famous for his role as the Hulk in the Avenger films and who stars in Spotlight about the Boston Globe’s investigation into Catholic child abuse, is a prominent anti-fracking campaigner who lobbied successfully for a ban on the controversial technology in New York.
“Mr Cameron, you’re making an enormous mistake, and it’s...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Mark Ruffalo tells Cameron his UK fracking push an ‘enormous mistake’California Snowpack At Highest Point in Five Years
Posted by Nature World News: None Given on February 7th, 2016
Nature World News: California's Sierra Nevada snowpack has reached its highest point in five years, confirmed state water officials recently.
The officials from the Department of Water Resources also said that major reservoirs' storage has increased significantly since January 1, according to the DWR release.
The snowpack statewide has reached a point that is 114 percent of normal for this period of the year. That number reflects the amount of water contained in the snow, as a report on the public radio station...
Fears for Ebro delta in Spanish water rights fight
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on February 7th, 2016
BBC: Environmentalists say one of Europe's most important wetland areas is under threat as Spain and Catalonia argue about the future of the Ebro river.
Campaigners say Spanish government plans to restrict water flow could destroy the fragile landscape.
They are worried that ultimately these waters could be transferred to other, drier regions of Spain.
Tens of thousands of demonstrators took to the streets of Amposta in Catalonia on Sunday to protest against the plans.
Running for 930km (578...
Mark Ruffalo tells David Cameron to abandon fracking
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on February 7th, 2016
Guardian: Oscar-nominated actor Mark Ruffalo has called on David Cameron to abandon fracking and leave fossil fuels in the ground.
A prominent opponent of fracking in the US, Ruffalo told the prime minister he was making “a legacy mistake” in supporting the controversial process of extracting gas by hydraulic fracturing.
Ruffalo, who has attracted critical acclaim for his role in the film Spotlight, and is nominated for best supporting actor at this year’s Oscars, made the remarks in an interview with...
Climate Change Poses Threat to Key Ingredient in Beer, NOAA Warns
Posted by EcoWatch: None Given on February 7th, 2016
EcoWatch: As any beer lover knows, hops are a key ingredient in beer. But now, climate change poses a threat to hops production, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
The U.S. is the second largest hops-producing country in the world. But almost all of the nation`s commercial hopyards are located in just three states: Washington, Oregon and Idaho. Washington alone produces nearly three-quarters of all the nation`s hops. In 2015, an estimated 71 percent of U.S. hops were...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Climate Change Poses Threat to Key Ingredient in Beer, NOAA WarnsCompany slows work on controversial Utah tar sands project
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on February 7th, 2016
Associated Press: Environmentalists are celebrating after the Canadian company behind a controversial tar sands development in eastern Utah announced it is scaling back work on its project.
Calgary-based U.S. Oil Sands Inc. announced plans Thursday to cut back on construction on its PR Spring project, which is located in the Book Cliffs about 170 miles from Salt Lake City and is 85 percent complete. The company said low oil prices forced two of its major contractors to shutter operations in Utah, and said it didn't...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Company slows work on controversial Utah tar sands project