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Archive for the ‘Water Conservation’ Category
Wildlife heaven or nuclear hell: Chernobyl future up for grabs
Posted by New Scientist: Fred Pearce on March 11th, 2016
New Scientist: A white-tailed eagle soars in the clear winter air. It is hunting for fish in one of the most radioactive bodies of open water on the planet: the 12-kilometre-long cooling pond whose waters doused the burning Chernobyl nuclear power station after it exploded 30 years ago.
The pond is radioactive – as are the fish. But they are also abundant. Wildlife is booming in the exclusion zone that stretches for some 30 kilometres from the corroding plant.
Grey wolves, lynx, wild boar, rabbits, moose...
Posted in Water Conservation 
Comments Off on Wildlife heaven or nuclear hell: Chernobyl future up for grabsSea level rise is accelerating; how much it costs is up to us
Posted by Guardian: John Abraham on March 11th, 2016
Guardian: As humans emit heat-trapping gases into the atmosphere, it’s causing the Earth to warm. It’s also causing the ocean waters to rise. In fact, water rise is one of the clearest signatures of a warming world. The questions we want to answer are, how much will sea levels rise, and how fast?
The answers to this have large implications on what societies should do. It isn’t just coastal communities that will be affected. While there are approximately 150 million people worldwide that live within 3 feet...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Sea level rise is accelerating; how much it costs is up to usPlanting more trees can reduce UK’s flood risk, research shows
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on March 11th, 2016
Guardian: Natural defences, including planting more trees, could be a solution to the country’s flooding problems, according to new research.
In a study led by the Universities of Birmingham and Southampton, scientists found that planting trees could reduce the height of flooding in towns by up to 20%.
They found strategic planting on flood plains could help towns downstream reduce the “peak height” of floods.
But the scientists warned that natural flood defences would need to be combined with conventional...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Planting more trees can reduce UK’s flood risk, research showsU.S., Canada Pledge To Lower Methane Emissions In Oil And Gas sectors
Posted by National Public Radio: John Burnett on March 11th, 2016
National Public Radio: Methane leaks are bad news. We'll fly over a South Texas oilfield with a leak detection crew and witness - with the aid of an infrared camera - how much methane gushes into the atmosphere.
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on U.S., Canada Pledge To Lower Methane Emissions In Oil And Gas sectorsUnited Kingdom: Planting trees ‘could cut flood risk’
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on March 11th, 2016
Telegraph: Natural defences, including planting more trees, could be a solution to the country's flooding problems, according to new research.
In a study led by the Universities of Birmingham and Southampton, scientists found that planting trees could reduce the height of flooding in towns by up to 20 per cent.
They found strategic planting on flood plains could help towns downstream reduce the "peak height" of floods.
But the scientists warned that natural flood defences would need to be combined...
The flight from Fukushima – and the grim return
Posted by Ecologist: Linda Pentz Gunter on March 11th, 2016
Ecologist: Five years after the Fukushima nuclear disaster began to unfold, the searing psychological effects are still being felt among the 160,000 refugees who fled the fallout, writes Linda Pentz Gunter. But now there's growing pressure to return to contaminated areas declared 'safe' in efforts to whitewash the disaster's impacts. Why the rush? To clear the way for the 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympics, complete with events in Fukushima City.
Patriotic duty will be center stage in the lead-up to the 2020 Summer...
US, Canada partner to cut methane, vow more collaboration on carbon markets
Posted by Carbon Pulse: Mike Szabo on March 11th, 2016
Carbon Pulse: The US and Canada on Thursday announced a joint effort to curb methane emissions from their oil and gas sectors, and said they would expand their collaboration on carbon markets by working together to ensure the environmental integrity of new emissions units. US President Barack Obama and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said their countries would aim to cut methane from oil and gas by 40-45% below 2012 levels by 2025, with Canada effectively signing up to targets previously announced by the...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on US, Canada partner to cut methane, vow more collaboration on carbon marketsPA: Fracking Company Ordered to Pay for Well Water Contamination
Posted by Democracy Now: None Given on March 11th, 2016
Democracy Now: In Pennsylvania, a court has ordered fracking company Cabot Oil & Gas to pay more than $4 million to families whose well water was contaminated by fracking. The landmark legal ruling comes after an eight-year battle between residents and Cabot. Filmmaker Josh Fox, who featured some of the families in his film "Gasland 2," said the case sets a legal precedent for holding fracking companies responsible for water contamination.
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on PA: Fracking Company Ordered to Pay for Well Water ContaminationJackson, Mississippi residents asked to boil water, limit water use
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on March 11th, 2016
Reuters: Residents in Jackson, Mississippi, the largest city in the state, were asked to boil their water and limit water use early on Friday after heavy rains and a mechanical issue caused a system outage, the city said. The city's public works department was working to restore water to households after a weather-related issue at one treatment facility and a broken valve at another facility temporarily caused an outage, the city said on a Facebook post late Thursday night. "All repairs have been made and...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Jackson, Mississippi residents asked to boil water, limit water use10:01 Climate change in Mongolia destroying pastures
Posted by Aki Press: None Given on March 11th, 2016
Aki Press: 7360 Mongolian pastureland is dwindling rapidly as the country is beset by a cycle of drought and harsh winter that is killing off livestock in droves, reports The Guardian. “The summer ends early now and the fall is short and dry. Then there’s the long winter,” said Daashka, a 19-year-old herder who uses just one name and lives in the central Ulziit region. The family’s herd, mostly sheep and goats, has shrunk from about 1,000 animals to 600, Daashka said, leaning against the motorbike on an exposed...