Ohio: Fracking and water: Quantity, not just quality, a concern
The FracTracker Alliance prepared this map to show oil and gas production and industry water use in the Utica shale play area of southeastern Ohio . Courtesy of FracTracker Alliance . Even in a water-rich state like Ohio , growing water use for fracking could strain water reserves, according to new research from the FracTracker Alliance, a non-profit organization that compiles data, maps and analyses about the impacts of the oil and gas industry. FrackTracker compared the oil and gas industry’s water use within southeastern Ohio’s Muskingum Watershed Conservancy District (MWCD) to residential use in that area, which covers roughly 20 percent of Ohio. Residential water use includes families’ home use, but excludes water for agricultural, industrial and other purposes. FracTracker found that the oil and gas industry’s use ranged from 11 to 18 percent of the residential amount. If current trends continue, the industry’s water use could rise to 25 percent of the residential amount within just a year or two, reported Ted Auch, Great Lakes program coordinator for FracTracker. Although much of the area is rural, Auch said the growing water demands are cause for concern, because those demands might ultimately limit the region’s ability to respond to periods of drought, climate change or other events.
Ohio: 3 Reasons Why You Should Watch This Video on Fracking
Ohio is in the heart of the shale gas boom. Our state has seen a recent explosion of fracking activity, and we’re bracing for even more development in the coming years. Current Ohio law falls woefully short of establishing adequate protections from fracking for Ohio communities and families. This was demonstrated time and again in 2014, when we saw several major fracking accidents in our state alone. We’re nearing the one-year anniversary of a massive frack fire in Monroe county that resulted in the evacuation of 25 families, and severely polluted a nearby, once pristine stream, leaving a 5-mile fish kill in its wake. The video below gives a quick breakdown of the current realities of fracking in Ohio and beyond, and the numerous ways it is threatening our environment, health and prosperity. http://ecowatch.com/2015/06/11/what-is-fracking/
Ahead of Possible Oil and Gas Fracking in Kentucky , Seismic Monitoring Begins
As natural gas speculation increases in the Rogersville Shale in eastern Kentucky , scientists are beginning research into the region’s existing seismic activity. Right now, several test wells have been drilled into the Rogersville, which is thought to cover 4 million acres in Kentucky and West Virginia . The results of those test wells are confidential, but if the reserves prove profitable, companies could begin drilling large-scale oil and natural gas wells in the formation. Tapping the Rogersville will also involve hydraulic fracturing, or fracking. Fracking is used to extract oil and gas from deep below the earth; the practice includes injecting water and chemicals miles underground. The dirty water is eventually discarded in deep disposal wells. In some oil and gas drilling areas, numerous earthquakes have been recorded, and scientists are becoming more confident that these quakes are linked to the industry. That’s why Kentucky seismologist Seth Carpenter said it’s important to establish a baseline for Kentucky ’s seismic activity. The Kentucky Geological Survey has begun a project to measure small earthquakes—the kind that are usually undetected by people living nearby.
Fracking companies asking for surface and mineral rights in West Virginia, Eastern Kentucky
Close to 200 people crammed the Westmoreland Women’s Club to discuss offers from energy companies to buy or lease mineral rights on their properties that sit over the Rogersville Shale. Drema Justice got a letter offering her $1,400 for her mineral rights in Putnam County , where one of four test wells is located. “They wanted me to send it back, and they would own it, basically,” says Ms. Justice. The companies want the right to drill and frack. http://www.wowktv.com/story/29327495/fracking-companies-asking-for-surface-and-mineral-rights-in-west-virginia-eastern-kentucky
NC: Rockingham looks to stop fracking
WENTWORTH – A Rockingham County commissioner said Tuesday that he believes residents have one option left to stop hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, locally. File a lawsuit, said Commissioner Mark Richardson, the chairman of the Rockingham County Board of Commissioners.
“You could probably get a 5-0 vote from your commissioners to ban fracking,” Richardson said. “But that doesn’t mean a thing.” State lawmakers legalized fracking in 2012, causing local concern since a portion of Rockingham County sits above shale deposits that contain natural gas.
California Oil Industry’s Wastewater Saga Adds New Twist
A lawsuit, an official’s resignation, and failed legislative proposals marked the beginning of June. Problems with the oil industry’s disposal of billions of gallons of briny wastewater and the state’s botched permitting process continue to ripple through California , from the industry’s hub in Kern County to the state capital and now to the courtroom. A lawsuit filed on June 3 in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California alleges that Governor Jerry Brown conspired in 2011 with oil companies operating in the San Joaquin Valley , in Kern County , to oust the state’s oil regulator and replace her with an official more lenient in approving wastewater disposal permits. California ’s oil industry, the nation’s third largest, produces more water than oil. For every barrel of oil pumped out of the ground, roughly 15 barrels of salty, chemical-laden water travel up the borehole. Most of the water is reinjected underground, some into the oil reserves, to maintain pressure in the field, and a lesser quantity into aquifers that are supposed to be too salty or deep to be useful for drinking water. In the last few years, however, a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency investigation revealed that protected aquifers were being used as waste dumps. The state shut down 23 injection wells last year and is requiring that 452 more wells acquire proper permits in the next 20 months or be closed as well. The lawsuit alleges more than negligence. Called a RICO lawsuit, the case alleges collusion between state officials and two of the largest oil companies, Chevron and Occidental. The lawsuit is brought by a group of Kern County farmers who claim that salty oilfield wastewater poisoned one of the plaintiff’s cherry orchards.
Texas: Arlington officials report on fracking fluid blowout
Two months ago, 100 homes in Arlington had to be evacuated as fracking fluid spilled out of a drilling site onto the city streets.
Now we know officially what happened, why it happened, and why Arlington officials are blaming the drilling company for “unacceptable behavior.” A series of video recordings obtained by News 8 shows the scene behind the walls of a fracking site 600 feet from a cluster of homes in the state’s seventh largest city. In the incident, 42,800 gallons of fracking fluid — boiling up from thousands of feet underground — spewed into the streets and into Arlington storm sewers and streams. Four attempts and 24 hours later, experts were finally able to plug the natural gas well. According to the report, Vantage Energy first contacted 911 nearly two hours after fracking water first started to spill. What’s more, the call to 911 came not from the site, but from corporate headquarters in Pennsylvania . The official cause of the spill at a site adjacent to Lake Arlington Baptist Church is listed as equipment failure. Vantage Energy was issued a citation and has agreed to reimburse the city $84,000. But this was not included in the city’s report: Records uncovered by News 8 of another 1,500-gallon spill at the same site one month earlier.
ND: 4-state pipeline project gets OK for large crude terminal
WATFORD CITY , N.D. — A company proposing a $3.8 billion oil pipeline from western North Dakota to Illinois has received permission for a large crude terminal near Watford City , along with heavy criticism for what some landowners say is arrogance. The McKenzie County Commission on Tuesday approved zoning for the terminal, one of six planned in the North Dakota oil patch for the proposed 1,134-mile Dakota Access Pipeline, The Bismarck Tribune reported. The pipeline would move oil from the Bakken formation through South Dakota and Iowa to a terminal in Patoka , Illinois , for distribution to refineries in eastern states. Dallas-based Energy Transfer Partners wants it operating by the end of 2016. It still needs federal and state permits, along with easements from private landowners along the proposed pipeline route to access their land. Some landowners say the company’s negotiating style is overbearing, with threats of eminent domain and condemnation.
ND: Saltwater spill caused by lightning
The cause of a saltwater spill in McKenzie County has been attributed to a lightning strike, reports the Forum News Service.
Last Friday Enduro Operating reported the incident. According to a Department of Mineral Resources news release, approximately 440 barrels of saltwater, also known as brine, was released and contained roughly 21 miles south of Alexander , North Dakota . The release occurred at Enduro’s Snowcover 43-19 saltwater disposal well after a tank was struck by lightning. A state inspector has reported to the location and will oversee additional remediation efforts. Brine water is a byproduct of the oil and gas drilling process. The Environmental Protection Agency states that this water is usually extremely toxic to the environment and contains radioactive material and heavy metals. The water is many times saltier than sea water and the toxic substances can be extremely damaging to the environment and public health if released onto the surface.
Photos of ruptured oil pipeline provide clues of spill cause
LOS ANGELES — Photos of the pipeline that spilled oil on the Santa Barbara coast show extensive corrosion and provide clues about the cause of the rupture, experts said. Corrosion visible around the crack, coupled with wear documented inside the pipe, led Robert Bea, a civil engineering professor emeritus at the University of California, Berkeley, to believe the pipe burst during a pressure spike when the operator restarted pumps that had failed the morning of the May 19 spill. The pictures released to The Associated Press on Monday under a California Public Records Act request show the 6-inch tear that spewed up to 101,000 gallons of oil, polluting beaches and killing hundreds of birds and marine mammals.
OK: Norman to consider amendments to city ordinance
When municipalities across the nation began debating fracking bans, Oklahoma lawmakers struck back, enacting legislation to protect the state’s billion-dollar oil and gas industry. On May 29, Gov. Mary Fallin signed Senate Bill 809 into law, prohibiting cities and towns from banning fracking or other oil and gas operations within city limits. The new law was a setback to many who oppose drilling and fracking in urban areas. Norman activists and more than a few city leaders wondered if the law was aimed, at least in part, at the university community. While Norman leadership would hardly consider banning drilling, given that the city profits from oil royalties on mineral rights it owns, city council members have been discussing tightening safety and setback requirements within the urban corridor. On Tuesday, the council looked at what could be a final draft of revised ordinance proposals before it comes for formal adoption, with first reading June 23 and final reading and a vote July 13. Some of the suggested revisions are housekeeping measures to clean up the legal language of the existing ordinance, but other proposals are meant to increase safety for Norman residents.
CO: Encana, WPX to go head to head in courtroom
Encana Corp. and WPX Energy will be heading to the courtroom soon over trespassing allegations, according to the Grand Junction Daily Sentinel. The two natural gas producers dominate the Piceance Basin in Colorado , but it would seem that the pair are having difficulty sharing. Encana has sued WPX, claiming that its competitor intentionally horizontally drilled into the company’s mineral estate. Encana and WPX both own and operate on adjoining assets in the Niobrara shale formation. Encana asserts that WPX drilled the so-called trespass well into an Encana-held area, even though the company “had written documentation of Encana’s ownership of the minerals, including title opinions from its own lawyers,” the Daily Sentinel reports. Although WPX has yet to hydraulically fracture the well, the company has supposedly stated that it plans to do so and move forward with production despite Encana’s objections. In addition, Encana argues in its lawsuit against WPX that the defendant removed shale samples from the wellbore and extrapolated geophysical data which should belong exclusively to the mineral owner.
Climate Refugees Are Already Finding Asylum in Seattle
Before his world was thrown into turmoil, Fasil Tekola lived a comfortable life in Ethiopia ‘s capitol city, Addis Ababa . Born into a wealthy family, his father a colonel, he was one of only a few kids who drove their own cars to school. But his family also had a strong connection to the land: They owned farmland along the Awash River , a few hours south of the city. Tekola remembers his parents planting eucalyptus trees around Addis Ababa because the trees had been cut down. http://grist.org/climate-energy/climate-refugees-are-already-finding-asylum-in-seattle/
UK political consensus on fracking for gas disintegrates
Liberal Democrat leadership hopeful latest to call for fracking ban, while Labour favourite and SNP also support moratorium.
The UK’s governing Conservative party looks set to go it alone on fracking after the likely leaders of opposition Labour and Liberal Democrats called for drilling for shale gas to be stopped. Tim Farron, the favourite to win the Liberal leadership contest used a column in the Huffington Post to declare his party had “got it wrong” and should not have backed fracking at the election. Farron cited warnings from doctors over the links between fracking and air pollution, birth defects and lung disease, and also said it would slow UK efforts to cut its greenhouse gas emissions.
http://www.rtcc.org/2015/06/17/uk-political-consensus-on-fracking-for-gas-disintegrates/
Towamensing Township supervisors continued discussion on the PennEast pipeline at the board meeting this month. Western Land Services, a land management company, is working directly with landowners..
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) – Environmental and conservation groups in West Virginia and Virginia are taking a stand against the proposed route of a 550-mile natural gas pipeline. The announcement Thursday by…
Essex, VT – A climate justice organizer has locked herself to machinery at a Vermont Gas pipeline construction site in Essex, VT, calling for an end to fracking and the construction of new fossil fuel…
DEDHAM, Mass. — The chairman of the Board of Selectmen in Dedham was arrested during a protest Thursday morning. Chairman Mike Butler was on Elm Street, just outside the FOX25…
… the pipeline say the region needs more access to cheap shale-field gas produced by fracking, because half of new England’s electricity is now produced by gas-fired plants. Opponents…
ROANOKE, Va. (AP) — A notification mistake has prompted the developer of a proposed natural gas pipeline to suspend surveys in Giles County of properties to which the owners have denied…
Fire officials say two people have been “significantly burned” in a gas-line explosion at a building under construction in Bellevue. Lt. Richard Burke said the victims were being transported to…
SOUTH BEND, Ind. (AP) — A Citizens Energy official told jurors that an Indianapolis home that exploded in 2012 and devastated a neighborhood likely was filled with natural gas the equivalent of three…
Where Scientology is reported to exploit its members to squeeze money and influence, the agrarian Hare Krishnas are allowing the land they own to be squeezed for Oil in West Virginia. How did they get there from famously asking for money at the Los Angeles International Airport in the 1970s, ’80s and ’90s?
Association shortly after the ban was passed. Adam Briggle of the Frack Free Denton movement said fracking opponents are taking the fight statewide by pushing for the repeal of House Bill 40, the…
Yesterday’s News Roundup told you about the puckering sound coming from Fort Worth’s Range Resources, a gas drilling company facing an $8.9 million fine from Pennsylvania’s Department of Environmental…
Fracking or not, be prepared for disaster. Will fracking projects in Elko County increase the risk of a devastating earthquake? Elko Daily Free Press, Nevada. Editorial, 18 June 2015.
Earthquakes are becoming much more common in parts of the United States. Just within the past few years, Oklahoma has been hit worst, going from roughly one moderate earthquake per decade from 1882…Two studies, published today in Science Advances and Science, pin the blame for the rise in earthquakes clearly on saltwater disposal related to oil drilling. The story is clear: wherever high-concentration salt water produced in oil extraction is injected into the ground, earthquakes follow. The increase in this disposal practice is directly linked to the increase in earthquakes in Oklahoma and across the United States.
… executive of the Chemical Industry Association, said of the controversial practice of fracking for shale gas that is was of economic importance to the country, would protect jobs and…
… up at least half of the nearly US$100 billion a year U.S. oil services industry that provides fracking sand and specialized chemicals for fracking have been hit far harder than their large,…
Saudi Arabia purposefully kept oil flowing to retain leverage in the oil space, reduce demand for renewable “green” energy, and to put pressure on the U.S. shale revolution. However, Prince…
Vancouver filmmaker David Lavallee presents the trailer to his new film To the Ends of the Earth, which asks whether it is possible for humanity to move beyond the “resource pyramid” into a…
The Government has been ordered to publish in full a heavily-redacted report on the impacts of fracking. The internal document – titled Shale Gas: Rural Economy Impacts – had several key sections…
Petrol spills into Bulgarian lake after pipeline rupture. Up to 40 tonnes of petrol spilled into a lake near the Bulgarian Black Sea port of Burgas after a product pipeline of LUKOIL’s Neftochim Burgas refinery ruptured late on Wednesday, the environment minister said. Reuters. 18 June 2015.
Chevron hits out at British documentary on oil pollution in Ecuador. The US oil giant Chevron has attacked the British makers of a short art-house documentary film about oil pollution in the Ecuadorean Amazon featuring the actor Julie Christie reading a Pablo Neruda poem for ignoring the environmental record of the country’s own state oil producer. The Guardian. 18 June 2015.
Star State? The All News Pipeline opines: “From severe drought conditions to deadly storms and flooding, all in a little over a month, brings about the question of whether Texas is being…
58 percent in Houston agree with pope that warming’s mainly man-made. According to a recent Rice University poll, nearly six in 10 residents of Houston and other parts of Harris County now see human fingerprints on climate change – a sizable increase in just a few years. Texas Climate News, Texas. 18 June 2015.
THE TEN COMMANDMENTS of Republican Politicians 1. YOU SHOULD WORSHIP NO OTHER GOD Except McCain has a net worth over $10,000,000; Romney over $200,000,000 Except they wanted churches to receive…
WASHINGTON (AP) — The leading global warming skeptic in Congress says he disagrees with Pope Francis on climate change. The pope issued a teaching document Thursday that blames global warming on an…
On Thursday, Pope Francis issued a powerful and timely encyclical on the environment, urging humanity to come to its senses and cease its reckless onslaught against God’s creation. He addressed this…
MIT panel calls for targeted divestment in coal, tar sands. A climate change committee at MIT has voiced support for targeted divestment from coal and tar sand companies and called for the creation of a new “climate institute” to address issues around global warming. Boston Globe, Massachusetts. 18 June 2015.
… burdened by renewable energy for bad reasons. Consider home energy costs. Thanks to the fracking revolution, natural gas is abundant in the United States — so electric bills are…
Australian banks ‘favour fossil fuel projects over renewables by $6 to $1.’ Australia’s “big four” banks have bucked a global trend by heavily favouring investment in fossil fuel projects over renewable energy by $6 to $1 since the global financial crisis, according to a new report. The Guardian. 18 June 2015.
Greens: EPA underestimating harms from power plant water pollution. Regulators are severely underestimating the health harms from the pollution that power plants dump into waterways, an environmental group said Wednesday. The Hill, District of Columbia. 18 June 2015.
The Earth is “turning into an immense pile of filth.” Those were the words of Pope Francis in a manifesto designed to highlight issues with global warming, domestic politics and how people generally…
Pope Francis, in sweeping encyclical, calls for swift action on climate change. Pope Francis on Thursday called for a radical transformation of politics, economics and individual lifestyles to confront environmental degradation and climate change, as his much-awaited papal encyclical blended a biting critique of consumerism and irresponsible development. New York Times. 18 June 2015.
Pope Francis aligns himself with mainstream science on climate. If anything, environmental scientists say, the pope may have bent over backward to offer a cautious interpretation of the scientific facts. New York Times. 18 June 2015.
Pope Francis’s climate encyclical: Next comes the hard part. Keeping the momentum going will fall to church leaders and organizations, who now face the monumental task of translating the papal teaching document into layman’s terms, and engaging the world’s 1.1 billion Catholics to agitate for action on the ground. InsideClimate News. 18 June 2015.
Francis throws the weight of Laudato Si behind calls for a just transition from fossil fuels to Renewable Energy, amidst pressure from giant corporations and capitalist countries to arbitrarily..
NEWS Pope Francis delivers tough message to Big Business about climate change NEW YORK – Business leaders often think they are “exempt” from the rules. Technology is not the answer. And consumers,…
Few could imagine the ultra-conservative Vatican at the epicenter of a rebellion against rampant capitalism and its destruction of the natural world. The release tomorrow (June 17th) of what may well…
Smiling, lovable, Pope Francis says and does the darndest things. Wildly popular, this Argentine pontiff provides the common touch that for millions, and not just Catholics, offers a welcome and very…
The further adventures of Andy Bichlbaum and Mike Bonanno — not that those are necessarily their real names — are chronicled in “The Yes Men Are Revolting.” The prankster activists here turn their…
In 2012, Australia implemented tough anti-tobacco regulations, requiring that all cigarettes be sold in plain, logo-free brown packages dominated by health warnings. Philip Morris Asia filed suit,…
Former Maryland governor Martin O’Malley announces his intention to seek the Democratic presidential nomination during a speech in Baltimore late last month. (Photo by Jim Bourg/Reuters) As some…
When Buffy Sainte-Marie burst onto the scene in 1964 with the stark, stunning folk protest album It’s My Way, the Canadian-American Cree singer-songwriter established herself as one of the most…
Obama admin set to release mandatory carbon cuts for heavy-duty vehicles. In the next few days, the EPA and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration are expected to roll out a proposal to cut carbon emissions, the second phase of their plan to lower emissions from heavy-duty vehicles like tractor-trailers, city buses, delivery vans and cement mixers. ClimateWire. 18 June 2015.
How Scott Walker dismantled Wisconsin’s environmental legacy. As governor of Wisconsin, the likely Republican presidential nomination-seeker consistently dismissed science and sided with polluters. Scientific American. 18 June 2015.
For example, he gets the support of 20 percent of those who have no interest in Renewable Energy but believe that not all illegal immigrants should be deported, 6 points ahead of…
GOP challenges Obama to veto showdown over EPA riders. President Obama has repeatedly threatened to veto legislation that rolls back environmental protections, but Republicans are apparently planning to test his resolve. E&E Daily. 18 June 2015.
… stricter ozone pollution standards and new rules governing the use by oil companies of “fracking” technologies on Bureau of Land Management land. Republicans won control on the Senate in…
GOP doctors question health benefits of EPA ozone rule. The Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) proposed rule to limit surface-level ozone pollution might not have the health benefits the agency claims, according to nearly two-dozen doctors-turned-lawmakers. The Hill, District of Columbia. 18 June 2015.
You know those moments when you notice something that doesn’t make a lot of sense, but you let it go because maybe you’ve got it wrong and no one else seems to notice? Well, we have a problem that…The policy proposals were based on model legislation from the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), a national outfit that brings big corporations and legislators together behind closed doors to develop and promote legislation, despite being registered as a “charity” in Colorado.
Europe’s largest illegal toxic dumping site discovered in southern Italy. The biggest toxic dumping site ever discovered in Europe is being investigated in the area of southern Italy plagued by cancer rates that are up to 80 percent higher than the national average. The Independent, United Kingdom. 18 June 2015.
Fertility in men on the decline due to everyday plastics. Men are suffering a sharp decline in fertility because of the prevalence of every-day plastics, say scientists. International Business Times. 18 June 2015.
First set of Portsmouth, New Hampshire, tests show elevated chemical levels. State health officials have analyzed the first 100 out of about 500 blood samples taken from people exposed to a contaminant found in one of the wells on Pease International Tradeport. New Hampshire Public Radio, New Hampshire. 18 June 2015.
Elevated levels of toxins found in Pease blood samples. A state epidemiologist said tests done on the first 98 people in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, exposed to contaminated city water showed higher levels of PFCS than the national average. Portsmouth Herald, New Hampshire. 18 June 2015.
Freedom, DEP reach $2.5 million deal on West Virginia spill site cleanup. State regulators have reached a deal with bankrupt Freedom Industries that will set aside $2.5 million for the cleanup of the site of the January 2014 chemical spill. Charleston Gazette, West Virginia. 18 June 2015.
Advocates blast Illinois EPA for passing on petcoke oversight. Petroleum coke, or “petcoke,” is still a problem in Chicago despite city regulations, and it could quickly become a problem in other parts of the state if there are no limits or rules on storage of the toxic powdery byproduct of oil refining. Midwest Energy News, United States. 18 June 2015.
Report: Nuclear power a costly failure. Nuclear energy is a costly failure, and Ohio and other states should focus on alternative energy, according to a report released Wednesday by an energy institute. Port Clinton News Herald, Ohio. 18 June 2015.
Advanced composites — such as carbon fiber — are three times as strong and twice as light as the lightest metals. Currently, they’re used for expensive applications like satellites and luxury cars….
Tesla partners with battery researcher to lower costs. Tesla Motors Inc. has locked a leading advanced battery researcher into an exclusive partnership designed to help the Palo Alto, Calif., electric-car maker sharply lower the cost of its batteries. Wall Street Journal. 18 June 2015.
PALO ALTO, CA and BRUSSELS — June 17, 2015: Nomadic Power receives a grant of EUR 2 Million from the European Commission for their “MobileBattery”…
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Clean-energy boosters are upset by a provision in the jobs and energy bill that passed last week that would let utilities charge more to customers who produce their own solar or…
States see renewable future in offshore wind farms. Sandy beaches, water parks and T-shirt shops draw millions of tourists to Myrtle Beach, S.C., each summer, but officials there think they might have something else tourists may be interested seeing — offshore wind turbines. Climate Central. 18 June 2015.
Whitehall plans to end wind-farm subsidy would hit Scotland’s economy hard, says renewables industry. Drastic cuts to the public funding of onshore wind-farms, which, it is feared, could hit Scotland’s economy by as much as £3 billion and jeopardise hundreds of jobs, are expected to be announced as early as today, according to sources within the renewables industry. Glasgow Herald, United Kingdom. 18 June 2015.
Starfish are still disappearing from Washington state. A couple of years ago, divers in Puget Sound began to notice something odd: Starfish were disappearing. The sea creatures would get sores and then melt into piles of mush. Sea star wasting syndrome is a gruesome disease and it spread to starfish all along the West Coast. Scientists still don’t know a lot about it. Puget Sound KUOW Public Radio, Washington. 18 June 2015.
West Coast toxic algae bloom might be largest ever. Scientists onboard a NOAA research vessel are beginning a survey of what could be the largest toxic algae bloom ever recorded off the West Coast. Seattle Times, Washington. 18 June 2015.
Four multinationals shifting their business models for sustainability. The new business models are more financially sound in the long term, according to the authors of a new report, which argues that a sustainable future needs new business models. The Guardian. 18 June 2015.
How fossil fuel emissions could take protein from the diets of the world’s poorest people. New study finds plants grown under higher levels of carbon dioxide are lower in protein. The Guardian. 18 June 2015.
The City says over a 1,500 structures have been damaged and food, blankets and shelter have been distrubuted. Many people were affected by flooding after heavy..
Tropical Storm Bill may have moved north, but because of the moisture in the air, it won’t take more than a little heat to trigger heavy rainfall. A 40 percent chance of rainfall is forecast for the…
THE FALLS AND THAT PARK HAD TO CLOSE 15 DAYS LAST MONTH BECAUSE OF THE INTENSE FLOODING THEY. INTENSE FLOODING IN FALLS CREEK. A VIEWER SENT THIS VIDEO TO US. HERE’S THE UPDATE TONIGHT. THIS IS THE.
… for compelling retweets and news reports, but Dutch researchers have also figured out another use for the tweets: real-time flood maps. Their efforts are currently being piloted in Jakarta, but…
Many—if not most—of the Earth’s aquifers are in trouble. That’s the finding of a group of NASA scientists, who published their study of global groundwater this week in the journal Water Resources…
Two billion people are running out of water. Forget about peak oil – we should be worrying about peak water: Groundwater basins that supply 2 billion people are being rapidly depleted, according to a new study. Worse: No one knows how long those reserves will last. Takepart, TakePart. 18 June 2015.
Back in the 1970s, the last time this state saw as protracted a dry spell as today’s, snickering and cries of “yuck” ensued when some environmentalists proposed reusing water from dishes, baths,…
Drought’s silver lining: Cleaner water at the beach. California’s lingering drought has continued to have at least one silver lining: cleaner water along the coast, according to a new report. Los Angeles Times. 18 June 2015.
How serious is North Korea’s drought warning? North Korea says it is facing its worst drought in a century, with its main rice-growing provinces badly affected. What effect will this have on an already impoverished population? BBC. 18 June 2015.
This drought may be having some very weird side-effects. Just when you thought things couldn’t be any worse—bam!—here’s another crop of drought-related stuff to keep you awake at night. A kitten boom. Succulent swiping. And, er, Bigfoot? Mother Jones. 18 June 2015.
National Parks visits could rise and fall as temps warm. Park visits could go up along with the steady rise of overall temperatures driven by the buildup of heat-trapping greenhouse gases in Earth’s atmosphere, a new study finds. But only to a point. Climate Central. 18 June 2015.
Alaska’s glaciers are now losing 75 billion tons of ice every year. Glaciers of the United States’ largest — and only Arctic — state, Alaska, have lost 75 gigatons (a gigaton is a billion metric tons) of ice per year from 1994 through 2013. Washington Post. 18 June 2015.
Alaska glaciers leading to global sea level rise: Study Alaska’s melting glaciers are adding enough water to the Earth’s oceans to cover the state of Alaska with a 1-foot thick layer of water every…
ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — New York residents can sound off about the sea level. State environmental officials are holding four public meetings next week about projections of future sea levels. Rising sea…
Sea level rise is a significant threat to the world’s coastal areas, but the threat is not the same everywhere on Earth – it depends on many regional factors. “Even though the oceans are rising, they…
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