Michele Kearney's Environmental Blog: 1/15/12

Saturday, January 21, 2012

Fracking Would Emit Large Quantities of Greenhouse Gases

"Fugitive methane" released during shale gas drilling could accelerate climate change

Friday, January 20, 2012

Oil tankers explode off South Korea, Albania

Keystone XL pipeline decision provokes strong reactions from both sides

Keystone XL pipeline decision provokes strong reactions from both sides
The reaction to President Barack Obama's decision to deny approval for the Keystone XL oil pipeline split starkly along party lines.
Full Article

Canceled Oil Pipeline Won't Mean Less Emissions by Kevin Bullis

Canceled Oil Pipeline Won't Mean Less Emissions by Kevin Bullis

Obama has denied permission to build a pipeline that would have stretched from Canada to Texas.

Fracking Quakes Shake the Shale Gas Industry

Fracking Quakes Shake the Shale Gas Industry
by Peter Fairley
Well shutdowns prompted by fracking-induced seismicity may inspire technology tweaks.
Read More »

Thursday, January 19, 2012

Arizona: Climate Impact Ground Zero?

http://theenergycollective.com/node/74559?utm_source=tec_daily&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=newsletter

By David Lewis, January 19, 2012
"A Great Aridness: Climate Change and the Future of the American Southwest", the recent book written by William deBuys, is getting some attention. The NYTimes summed up the book by quoting the author: "The story of the West is essentially a story about water". The reporter paused then quoted deBuys again: "and its lack". DeBuys can write and he obviously loves the... » Continue...

New Research to Show Natural Gas From Shale is Wrong Choice as "Bridge Fuel" to Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emission

The Green Space: Jury is still out about the risks of fracking gas

Ohio Earthquakes Underscore Fracking Dangers – OpEd

Wednesday, January 18, 2012

Arctic Report Card 2011 Update - NOAA

from PEN-e from Pace Law School Library by Pace Law School Library

This report by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration finds that Persistent warming has caused dramatic changes in the Arctic Ocean and the ecosystem it supports.

Ocean changes include reduced sea ice and freshening of the upper ocean, and impacts such as increased biological productivity at the base of the food chain and loss of habit for walrus and polar bears.

Secure Water Act Report to Congress -- DOI

from PEN-e from Pace Law School Library by Pace Law School Library

This report Reclamation Climate Change and Water 2011 from the Bireau of Reclamation assesses climate change risks and how these risks could impact water operations, hydropower, flood control, and fish and wildlife in the western United States.

The report to Congress represents the first consistent and coordinated assessment of risks to future water supplies across eight major Reclamation river basins, including the Colorado, Rio Grande and Missouri river basins. The report, which responds to requirements under the SECURE Water Act of 2009, shows several increased risks to western United States water resources during the 21st century.

The report notes that projected changes in temperature and precipitation are likely to impact the timing and quantity of stream flows in all western basins, which could impact water available to farms and cities, hydropower generation, fish and wildlife, and other uses such as recreation.

Tuesday, January 17, 2012

Large-scale seismic activity rising along planet’s southern pole

Posted on January 15, 2012 by The Extinction Protocol

January 15, 2012 – ANTARTICA - A strong and shallow series of earthquakes have erupted near the remote South Shetland Islands region of Antarctica on Sunday, experts from the U.S. Geological Survey said. The earthquakes in the intense tectonically-activated series measured a 6.6 magnitude, followed by a 6.2 magnitude earthquake and 5.1 and 5.6 aftershocks. The epicenter of the earthquakes was at various depths of from one kilometer (0.62 miles) to 14 km (9.2 miles) below the earth’s surface and some 464 kilometers west of Coronation Island in distance. No destructive tsunami was created, according to the U.S. NOAA warning center. The earthquake series is worrisome because it’s further evidence of what I have been warning about for over the past 6 months, that the Southern hemisphere, particularly around the periphery of Antarctic, is shows increasing signs of seismic destabilization. On January 12, there was a swarm of five moderate earthquakes which erupted south of Africa- the strongest of which was a 5.3 and a 5.5. On January 13, the South Sandwich Islands, north of Antarctica, was hit with a 5.1, and 5.2. On January 14 the region was struck again with a 5.0 earthquake and another 4.9 on January 15^th. Not only are earthquakes increasing along the southern polar region but in November of 2011, the Tasmania’s Antarctic Climate and Ecosystem centre found that the South Ocean was storing more heat than any other ocean on the planet. The shape of the earth, a mal-formed spheroid, whose center of gravity is becoming increasing displaced by the turbulent shifting of the planet’s mass due to a wave of strong earthquakes that have rattled the planet over the last 7 years. These large mega-thrust earthquakes are exacting a terrible toll of stress on the planet’s angular momentum. In 2004, the planet suffered a devastating 9.1 mega-thrust earthquake in the Indian Ocean near the Sunda Strait. In February of 2010, Chile was rocked by a 8.8 magnitude earthquake and in March of 2011, Japan was similarly hit with a 9.0 magnitude earthquake and tsunami. In April of 2011, the European satellite Gravity field and steady-state Ocean Circulation Explorer, or GOCE released a detailed map of Earth’s gravity field. (See quakes and mounting stress increasing around South Pole)

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