Archive for the ‘Water Conservation’ Category

Study Ties U.S. to Spike Global Methane Emissions

Climate Central: There was a huge global spike in one of the most potent greenhouse gases driving climate change over the last decade, and the U.S. may be the biggest culprit, according a new Harvard University study. The United States alone could be responsible for between 30 percent and 60 percent of the global growth in human-caused atmospheric methane emissions since 2002 because of a 30 percent spike in methane emissions across the country, the study says. The research shows that emissions increased the most...

Oklahoma calls for more disposal wells to shut after quake

Reuters: Oklahoma's oil and gas regulator released a wide-ranging plan on Tuesday to scale back use of wastewater injection wells in western Oklahoma, just days after a 5.1 magnitude quake rocked the state. Seven counties are affected by the plan, which is the largest push yet in western Oklahoma to curb seismic activity linked to wells to dispose of saltwater, a natural byproduct of oil and gas work. Saltwater disposal needs have grown in tandem with the growth in horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing,...

Second Review of EPA’s Fracking Study Urges Revisions to Major Statements in Executive Summary

EcoWatch: The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency`s (EPA) independent Scientific Advisory Board Members of the Hydraulic Fracturing Research Advisory Panel released today a second review of the U.S. EPA’s draft assessment saying that that they still have "concerns" regarding the clarity and adequacy of support for several findings presented in the EPA’s draft Assessment Report of the impacts of fracking on drinking water supplies in the U.S. This second draft report is still very critical of the EPA’s...

French Ecology Minister Calls for Ban on Glyphosate Formulations

EcoWatch: Ségolène Royal, France’s minister of ecology, sustainable development and energy, has called for a ban on glyphosate mixed with certain adjuvants (additives) due to its perceived risks to human health. On Feb. 12, Royal called for ANSES--France`s food, environment and health agency--to withdraw authorizations on herbicides containing glyphosate mixed with the adjuvant tallow amine, according to French newspaper Le Monde (via Google translate). Although it wasn`t explicitly said, one can only conclude...

The Beetles: Eighty-Nine Million Acres of Abrupt Climate Change

Truthout: A 100,000-acre spruce beetle kill drapes this alpine mountain park like a heavy wool blanket. Except for a green strip of young trees along the old logging roads that crisscross forested areas like these, 90 percent or more of the rest of the forest has been killed. Groundhog Park, La Garita Range, Rio Grande National Forest, south central Colorado, elevation 11,000 feet. Background: Mesa Mountain, elevation 12,994 feet. (Photo: Bruce Melton) We were awash for 19 days in a tumultuous sea of mountains...

Interactive Map Shows Where Monsanto’s Roundup Is Sprayed in NYC

EcoWatch: New York City residents can now find out if Monsanto’s Roundup is sprayed on their corners, parks, playgrounds and picnic areas. The interactive map below will be presented to Mitchell J. Silver, commissioner of the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation at a meeting Tuesday by the the Black Institute, Reverend Billy and The Stop Shopping Choir, Stop The Spray and other members of the Coalition Against Poison Parks. The groups will demand an end to the use of Roundup and glyphosate,...

Global Water Shortages May Be Far Worse than We Thought

Safe Bee: A new study found that about two-thirds of the world’s population, or some 4 billion people, face severe water shortages during at least one month of every year. Half of the 4 billion are in India and China, but people in other countries, including the United States and Mexico, are also affected. “Most water is used for food, so water scarcity primarily translates to decreasing or failing crop yields,” wrote study co-author Mesfin Mekonnen in an email to SafeBee. Mekonnena is postdoctoral researcher...

Four Billion People Suffer From Severe Water Scarcity World Wide

Nature World News: Nearly 66 percent of the world's human population suffers from insufficient access to fresh water for at least one month out of the year. This estimate, which equates to about four billion people, is far greater than scientists thought. Previously it was believed that that between 1.7 and 3.1 billion people lived with moderate to severe water scarcity for at least one month of year. However, in the latest study, led by Dr. Arjen Hoekstra of the Netherlands' University of Twente, researchers used...

January Smashed Another Global Temperature Record

Climate Central: The calendar may have turned to 2016, but temperatures are picking up where 2015 left off. January was record warm, according to data released this week by NASA. You may recall that last year was the hottest on record for the globe. And by NASA's accounting, it ended with a bang. This past December was the warmest December on record and the most abnormally warm month on record, too. That is until now. This January was the warmest January on record by a large margin while also claiming the...

Europe places bets on natural gas to secure energy future

Guardian: The future of Europe’s energy supply is to rely heavily on natural gas for the coming two decades and beyond, according to a new strategy set out on Tuesday by the European commission. The plans were immediately attacked by green campaigners, who contrasted the continued role of fossil fuels with commitments to cut carbon dioxide made by the EU at the Paris climate summit two months ago. Gas will have to be imported, from sources including Russia, Norway, Qatar and other Gulf states, under...