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Archive for February, 2016
Pulling water from thin air
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on February 25th, 2016
ScienceDaily: Organisms such as cacti and desert beetles can survive in arid environments because they've evolved mechanisms to collect water from thin air. The Namib desert beetle, for example, collects water droplets on the bumps of its shell while V-shaped cactus spines guide droplets to the plant's body. As the planet grows drier, researchers are looking to nature for more effective ways to pull water from air. Now, a team of researchers from the Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences...
US shale giant quits fracking as OPEC policy bites
Posted by Arabian Business: Ed Attwood on February 25th, 2016
Arabian Business: One of America’s largest fracking companies, North Dakota’s Whiting Petroleum Corp, has said it will suspend all fracking in the latest sign that OPEC’s policy not to cut oil production is paying dividends.
Whiting said that it would spend 80 percent less this year, in what is the largest cutback to date by a major US shale company, Reuters reported.
The firm will cease fracking and completing wells as of April 1, while most of its $500 million budget will be spent on mothballing its drilling...
Ecosystem Restoration Takes Precedence Over Renewable Energy Projects
Posted by Energy Trends: None Given on February 24th, 2016
Energy Trends: The front page of last Sunday`s edition of the Seattle Times had an article titled Elwha: Roaring Back to Life. It`s an update on the many positive impacts to the river ecosystem after removal of the Glines Canyon and Elwha hydroelectric dams. Google the term "Seattle Times Elwha" to get the whole history. It`s rare to find such positive news in this age of the sixth extinction event ...just wanted to share.
Rather than rehash what has already been said in the Times article, I`ll use this opportunity...
Posted in Water Conservation 
Comments Off on Ecosystem Restoration Takes Precedence Over Renewable Energy ProjectsBill requiring compensation for fracking bans dies
Posted by Durango Herald: Peter Marcus on February 24th, 2016
Durango Herald: Democrats in the state Legislature on Wednesday killed legislation that would have required local governments to compensate mineral-rights owners in the event of a ban on hydraulic fracturing.
House Bill 1181 was sent to the controlling Democrats’ House bill committee.
The House State, Veterans and Military Affairs Committee killed the measure on a 5-4 party-line vote.
Similar legislation also died last year.
“It’s very disappointing to see an unfounded ideology again defeat responsible...
Warming climate is bad news for western US aquifers
Posted by Environmental News Network: University Of Arizona Via ScienceDaily. on February 24th, 2016
Environmental News Network: By 2050 climate change will increase the groundwater deficit even more for four economically important aquifers in the western U.S., reports a University of Arizona-led team of scientists.
The new report is the first to integrate scientists' knowledge about groundwater in the U.S. West with scientific models that show how climate change will affect the region.
"We wanted to know, 'What are the expectations for increases and decreases in groundwater as we go forward in this century?'" said lead...
Climate test for resource projects would likely scuttle oilsands growth
Posted by Canadian Press: Bruce Cheadle on February 24th, 2016
Canadian Press: If Canada and the United States are serious about the climate commitments they made in Paris, they need to establish a common climate test for major resource projects that takes into account a low-carbon future, environmental groups said Tuesday. And they believe any such test is likely to rule out long-term infrastructure, such as pipelines, that leads to expansion of Canada's oil sands production. "It's incompatible to be talking about being a leader on climate change and adhering to international...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Climate test for resource projects would likely scuttle oilsands growthPenguins presumed dead after disappearing in Antarctica may have just moved on
Posted by Independent: Henry Austin on February 24th, 2016
Independent: News of their deaths prompted outcry worldwide, but the 150,000 Adelie penguins that were thought to have perished after they were landlocked by an enormous iceberg could still be alive, a scientist has claimed.
Their colony shrank drastically after the B09B iceberg – approximately the size of Rome – floated in to their habitat close to Cape Denison, a rocky point at the head of Antarctica’s, Commonweath Bay.
Researchers from Australia’s University of New South Wales suggested they had died...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Penguins presumed dead after disappearing in Antarctica may have just moved onProposition Circulated in Monterey County, Calif., Would Ban Fracking
Posted by San Jose Mercury News: Paul Rogers on February 24th, 2016
San Jose Mercury News: Hoping to expand on similar bans already in place in Santa Cruz, San Benito and Mendocino counties, environmentalists on Tuesday launched a ballot campaign to prohibit fracking in Monterey County, setting the stage for another expensive battle with the oil industry over the controversial drilling technique.
The measure, if approved by voters in November, also would ban all new oil drilling in Monterey County -- California's fourth largest oil-producing county. It would continue to allow the roughly...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Proposition Circulated in Monterey County, Calif., Would Ban FrackingFocus on reviving agriculture needed
Posted by Live Mint: S. Mahendra Dev on February 24th, 2016
Live Mint: The story of agriculture, which is the backbone of the country in terms of livelihoods, has not been good in the past two years. Agriculture GDP (gross domestic product) grew at (-)0.2% in 2014-15 and 1.1% in 2015-16. The distress in agriculture is due to two factors--first, the crash in global commodity prices and, second, deficit rainfall for two years in a row; 10 states have declared drought this year. These two factors have affected farmers' incomes. Low agriculture growth also affects the...
UK fracking traffic would increase local air pollution, finds study
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on February 24th, 2016
Guardian: The traffic generated by fracking in the UK would increase air pollution substantially at a local level at the busiest times, according to a study about the potential impact of lorry traffic.
The research found that the number of tankers taking water to and from drilling sites would increase hourly levels of nitrogen oxide emissions (NOx) by as much as 30%.
The study by a Newcastle University team, published in the journal Environment International on Wednesday, also said fracking traffic would...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on UK fracking traffic would increase local air pollution, finds study