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Wake-up call: Study finds fracking can pollute underground drinking water
Posted by RT: None Given on April 2nd, 2016
RT: A Stanford University study shows that fracking can pollute underground drinking water. Using publicly available data and reports, researchers found organic compounds used in hydraulic fracturing were migrating into groundwater from unlined pits.
"This is a wake-up call," said lead author Dominic DiGiulio, a visiting scholar at the Stanford School of Earth, Energy & Environmental Sciences in a released statement. "It's perfectly legal to inject stimulation fluids into underground drinking water...
China braces for ‘severe’ flooding on Yangtze River
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on April 2nd, 2016
Reuters: Severe floods are expected on China's Yangtze River this year due to a strong El Nino weather pattern, state media said, raising the risk of deaths and damage to property and crops along the country's longest waterway. The El Nino conditions are the strongest since records collection began in 1951, and resemble a 1998 weather pattern that flooded the river and killed thousands, the official Xinhua news agency said on Friday, citing vice minister of water resources, Liu Ning. "Precipitation in the...
Shrinking Arctic ice is impacting Greenland melting
Posted by Environmental News Network: Rutgers University Via ScienceDaily on April 1st, 2016
Environmental News Network: Vanishing Arctic sea ice. Dogged weather systems over Greenland. Far-flung surface ice melting on the massive island. 'Blocking-high' pressure systems spawn most of the warming that melts Greenland surface ice Rutgers study says.
These dramatic trends and global sea-level rise are linked, according to a study coauthored by Jennifer Francis, a research professor in Rutgers University's Department of Marine and Coastal Sciences.
During Greenland summers, melting Arctic sea ice favors stronger...
Canada: Catherine McKenna: ‘Climate Change Is Not A Partisan File’
Posted by Canadian Press: Bruce Cheadle on April 1st, 2016
Canadian Press: Federal Environment Minister Catherine McKenna says her role is as a "kind of convener" among disparate factions of the progressive push for climate policies.
McKenna appeared Friday at a panel discussion on environmental policy at the Progress Summit hosted by the Broadbent Institute, a left-leaning think tank.
She was joined on the stage by Alberta Environment Minister Shannon Phillips and Vancouver city councillor Andrea Reimer, a lineup that illustrated there's no unanimity of thought on...
Flint considering lawsuit against Michigan: report
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on April 1st, 2016
Reuters: The city of Flint is considering suing the state of Michigan over lead contamination in the city's drinking water, but the mayor said on Friday she still plans to work with the governor to fix the problem.
Flint filed a motion of intent to sue on March 24 in the state Court of Claims, and it was reported by local media on Friday. The filing was made a day before the city's right to sue would have expired without the motion.
"As the elected leader of Flint, I needed to preserve the city's right...
Why the New Sea Level Alarm Can’t Be Ignored
Posted by National Geographic: Robert Kunzig on April 1st, 2016
National Geographic: There are days when even a born optimist starts to waver in his conviction. The release of a new study projecting that sea level could rise between five and six feet by 2100-when many children born today will still be alive and have been forced to move inland-made Thursday one of those days.
There have been lots of other studies, you might say. True: The last sea-level alarm (in what seems an endless series) came just a month ago. That analysis showed that in the 20th century, sea level rose faster...
Stanford Scientists Show Fracking Linked to Groundwater Contamination in Pavillion, Wyoming
Posted by EcoWatch: Andy Rowell on April 1st, 2016
EcoWatch: As the fracking industry tries to expand internationally, being promoted as a so-called clean bridge fuel, it is increasingly clear the industry has not one, but two, Achilles heels.
The first is the release of the potent greenhouse gas, methane. The second is water pollution and the threat the controversial technique poses to drinking water.
Both areas are highly disputed, but nearly every week new research reveals new evidence of harm by fracking.
Two weeks ago, new research was published...
Alaska Lawmakers Looking at Oil, Gas Tax Credit Changes
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on April 1st, 2016
Associated Press: Oil and gas tax credits are poised to be the subject of major debate as the Alaska Legislature enters what are supposed to be its final weeks.
The oil and gas industry is warning against big changes at a time when the industry is being hit by low oil prices.
The state, which has long relied on oil revenues to fund government, is feeling the effects of chronic low prices, too, and lawmakers face some unpopular options, including changes to the dividend that most Alaskans receive each year, as...
Climate change drives UK wine production but not without weather shocks
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on April 1st, 2016
PhysOrg: As UK wine producers prepare for what they hope will be a bumper 2016 season a study published today reveals that year-to-year climate variability and hazardous weather at key points in the growing season leave the industry highly sensitive to the elements.
It also suggests that in vogue varieties such as Chardonnay and Pinot noir are more susceptible to UK climate variability than traditional varieties.
Over the last decade there has been a boom in English wine production. The amount of land...
India and China will suffer severe water stress by 2050, says study
Posted by Monitor: None Given on April 1st, 2016
Monitor: Parts of Asia are likely to suffer severe water stress by the middle of this century, according to a new study by scientists at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).
The study, published Wednesday in the journal PLOS One, considered major developing nations – notably India and China – and modeled their water-use trajectories if no action is taken to restrain either growth or anthropogenic climate change.
Under such circumstances, the researchers found that both countries had a roughly...