Michele Kearney's Environmental Blog: 4/29/12

Saturday, May 5, 2012

US releases new fracking rules on government lands

by Helen Thompson

The US Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has released a draft of new rules requiring oil and gas development companies to disclose the chemicals they use in hydraulic fracturing or “fracking.”

A Surprising Statistic About The Long-Term Unemployed

by Joe Weisenthal

Pew is out with a new study (.pdf) about the long-term unemployed in America.
The long-tern unemployed are people who have been unemployed at least a year, and as you can see (and as you should know by know), the scale of the problem these days is way bigger than it has been during any other period over the last half a century.

E15: A Fuel Before Its Time

Posted: 04 May 2012 11:30 AM PDT

E15 – gasoline containing 15 percent ethanol that has EPA approval – is one of those ideas that looks good on paper but seems headed for problems in the real world. API’s Bob Greco, director for downstream and industry operations, outlined some of them for reporters during a conference call:

New Keystone XL Tar Sands Pipeline Permit Rejected by Nebraska Residents

Posted: 04 May 2012 11:58 PM PDT

TransCanada’s latest Keystone XL tar sands pipeline plan filed with the U.S. State Department has done nothing to quell local Nebraska opposition to the controversial project to pipe tar sands oil all the way to the Gulf for export. Nebraska residents say the massive pipeline plan still jeopardizes the world’s largest fresh drinking water source, the Ogallala Aquifer, risking the livelihoods of farmers and ranchers across country’s breadbasket.

Friday, May 4, 2012

Bill McKibben on Global Warming

Bill McKibben on Global Warming
"Too Hot Not to Notice?" -- After a year with a record number of multibillion-dollar weather disasters, seven in 10 Americans now believe that global warming is affecting the weather. No less striking, 35 percent of them report that extreme weather had affected them personally in 2011.
http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/too_hot_not_to_notice_20120503/

- Antarctic waters changing due to climate: study

- Antarctic waters changing due to climate: study

Fracking is Flopping Overseas

Fracking Is Flopping Overseas
BusinessWeek
Early enthusiasm faded in Poland after studies pegged drilling costs at three times higher than in the US In 2011, Britain's Cuadrilla Resources stopped fracking after some minor quakes were linked to its drilling in northwest England.

Administration issues new fracking rules

Kansas City Star -

By NEELA BANERJEE WASHINGTON - The Obama administration proposed updated rules for oil and gas development on federal lands - an effort to catch up with the boom in use of the controversial technique of hydraulic fracturing - but struck a compromise ...

Federal government sets new rules for fracking on public land

Dallas Morning News (subscription) - ‎

AP WASHINGTON -- The Obama administration said Friday that it will for the first time require companies drilling for oil and natural gas on public and Indian lands to publicly disclose chemicals used in hydraulic fracturing operations.

New US Proposal on Fracking Gives Ground to Industry

New York Times - ‎

WASHINGTON — The Obama administration on Friday issued a proposed rule governing hydraulic fracturing for oil and gas on public lands that will for the first time require disclosure of the chemicals used in the process. But in a significant concession ...

Interior Sets New Drilling Rules on Public Land

ABC News - ‎

The Obama administration said Friday it will for the first time require companies drilling for oil and natural gas on public and Indian lands to publicly disclose chemicals used in hydraulic fracturing operations. The proposed "fracking" rules also set ...

US proposes new rules for fracking on federal lands

Baltimore Sun - ‎

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Obama administration unveiled long-awaited rules on Friday to bolster oversight on public lands of oil and natural gas drilling using fracking technology that has ushered in a boom in drilling but also triggered environmental ...

Obama proposes fracking companies disclose chemicals

USA TODAY -

By Wendy Koch, USA TODAY As oil and gas drilling explodes nationwide, the Obama administration today proposed rules requiring the disclosure of chemicals used to extract deposits on public and Indian lands. Environmentalists say the rules don't go far ...

New Federal Fracking Rules Look Reasonable; Enviros Not Satisfied

Forbes -

Today the Department of Interior released its proposed rules governing oil and gas fracking on federal lands. If finalized they would be the first new fracking rules for federal lands since 1988. Drilling has changed a lot since then.

US proposes more fracking disclosure

AFP -

WASHINGTON — US regulators proposed Friday that companies using fracking to explore for natural gas must disclose the chemicals they use, but only after they drill -- sparking more ire from environmental activists. Under pressure to tighten regulation ...

SHALE GAS HYDRAULIC FRACKING: Poisoned Water. Inducing Earthquakes

SHALE GAS HYDRAULIC FRACKING: Poisoned Water. Inducing Earthquakes
Center for Research on Globalization
15 Not only possible poisoning of the fresh water underground aquifers, hydraulic fracking is done with such force that it has been also known to cause earthquakes. In the UK, Cuadrilla was doing shale gas drilling in Lancashire.

Our Country Is Being Fracked by the Merger of Government and Big Business

by WashingtonsBlog

The Government Is Using Its Police Powers to Protect Fracking

Thursday, May 3, 2012

Tsinghua-MIT China Energy & Climate Project

Tsinghua-MIT China Energy & Climate Project
The Tsinghua-MIT China Energy and Climate Project (CECP) is a research effort focused on studying energy and climate change governance in the People's ...
globalchange.mit.edu/CECP/

China's looming conflict between energy and water | Peak Oil News ...

China's looming conflict between energy and water | Peak Oil News ...
By admin
China's looming conflict between energy and water. In its quest to find new sources of energy, China is increasingly looking to its western provinces. But the nation's push to develop fossil fuel and alternative sources has so far ignored a basic ...
Peak Oil News and Message Boards

Most read on The Energy Collective

Climate Change's Impact on International Arctic Security

By Jay Gulledge - Is the Arctic region a bellwether for how climate change may reshape global geopolitics in the post-Cold War era? » Continue...

EPA Regulation of the Electricity Sector: The Sky Is Not Falling

EPA Regulation of the Electricity Sector: The Sky Is Not Falling
April 18, 2012 | By Donald Neal
New regulations from the EPA have created alarm in some corners of the electricity sector. A fair review of the state of the industry indicates that most stakeholders are well-positioned to comply without sacrificing reliability. Read More »

Reduction in U.S. Carbon Emissions Attributed to Cheaper Natural Gas

Reduction in U.S. Carbon Emissions Attributed to Cheaper Natural Gas
April 18, 2012 | By Caroline Perry
Lower emissions from U.S. power plants in 2009 were driven by competitive pricing of natural gas versus coal. Read More »

Fracking Industry Braces for a Wave of Regulation

Fracking Industry Braces for a Wave of Regulation
April 18, 2012 | By Mark P. Fitzsimmons and Rachel S. Tennis
The explosion of public attention directed at hydraulic fracturing in 2011 has led to heightened regulatory scrutiny. This year will likely see a range of new regulations rolling out at the federal, state, and local levels. Will this new oversight help clean up the industry—or choke it off? Read More »

Global Warming Melts Away

Wondering where things stand on global warming? Let's go to the science of it.

Wednesday, May 2, 2012

U.S., Alabama protest move to delay their BP claims

The U.S. Justice Department and Alabama Attorney General Luther Strange have filed objections to BP's request to delay trial on the remaining claims until after a hearing this fall to finalize the deal.

Gas development linked to wildlife habitat loss

Intense development of the two largest natural gas fields in the continental U.S. are driving away some wildlife from their traditional wintering grounds, new research shows.

First 'microsubmarines' designed to help clean up oil spills

Scientists are reporting development and successful testing of the first self-propelled "microsubmarines" designed to pick up droplets of oil from contaminated waters and transport them to collection facilities. The report concludes that these tiny machines could play an important role in cleaning up oil spills, like the 2010 Deepwater Horizon incident in the Gulf of Mexico.

Ecosystem effects of biodiversity loss could rival impacts of climate change, pollution

Loss of biodiversity appears to impact ecosystems as much as climate change, pollution and other major forms of environmental stress, according to a new study. There has been growing concern that the very high rates of modern extinctions -- due to habitat loss, overharvesting and other human-caused environmental changes -- could reduce nature's ability to provide goods and services like food, clean water and a stable climate.

Steep decline projected for US Earth-observing satellites

by Jeff Tollefson

The graph pretty much says it all. Still numb from a pair of spectacular failures, earth scientists now find themselves staring into a scientific void as a combination of delays, rising costs, mission changes and budgetary woes threaten to wipe out much of the United States’ Earth-observing satellite capacity over the next decade.

Rapid decline in US Earth observation capabilities

A new report says that budget shortfalls, cost-estimate growth, launch failures, and changes in mission design and scope have left US Earth observation systems in a more precarious position than they were five years ago.

Wind Farms do NOT Contribute to Global Warming

by peixej@oilprice.com (Joao Peixe)

There are many scientific studies into global warming and climate change, but the only knowledge that many of us have of these studies is from reports and articles in the news. Public opinion is therefore influenced mainly by the second hand information, rather than the facts direct from the source. There is no problem with this for the majority of cases, however at times the scientific studies can be misinterpreted, or misrepresented, meaning that the public are basing their decisions and beliefs on false information.This was the case earlier…Read more...

Think Canola Oil Is a Healthy Alternative to Olive Oil? Then Read This Little Known History

by Ari LeVaux, AlterNet

Canola oil is refined with heat, pressure, solvents, and bleach, and comes from the seed of a plant that's younger than the Rolling Stones.

Drinking Water Under Threat: New Study Predicts Frack Fluids Can Migrate to Aquifers Within Years

by Abrahm Lustgarten, ProPublica

But the study concluded that natural faults and fractures in the Marcellus, exacerbated by the effects of fracking itself, could allow chemicals to reach the surface.

Report warns of rapid decline in US Earth observation capabilities

Report warns of rapid decline in US Earth observation capabilities
A new National Research Council report says that budget shortfalls, cost-estimate growth, launch failures, and changes in mission design and scope have left U.S. earth observation systems in a more precarious position than they were five years ago. The report cautions that the nation's earth observing system is beginning a rapid decline in capability, as long-running missions end and key new missions are delayed, lost, or cancelled.

First plant-made drug on the market

by Amy Maxmen

For the first time, the US Federal Drug Administration (FDA) today has approved a drug produced in a genetically engineered plant cell. Among those cheering the news are scientists who have advocated ‘bio-pharming’.

Global warming: New research blames economic growth

It's a message no one wants to hear: to slow down global warming, we'll either have to put the brakes on economic growth or transform the way the world's economies work. That's the implication of an innovative study examining the evolution of atmospheric CO2, the most likely cause of climate change.

Arctic sea-ice loss didn't happen by chance

The ongoing rapid retreat of Arctic sea ice is often interpreted as the canary in the mine for anthropogenic climate change. In a new study, scientists have now systematically examined the validity of this claim. They find that neither natural fluctuations nor self-acceleration can explain the observed Arctic sea-ice retreat. Instead, the recent evolution of Arctic sea ice shows a strong, physically plausible correlation with the increasing greenhouse gas concentration. For Antarctic sea ice, no such link is found – for a good reason.

OTC Panel: Today's 'Space Race' Is in Energy

by Zain Shauk, Fuel Fix

Zain Shauk, Fuel Fix
Global energy demand is expected to jump 40 percent by 2030 and will play a major role in challenging the oil industry to produce and innovate in the years ahead, a panel of executives at the Offshore Technology Conference said today. The world’s thirst for oil and other fossil fuels is expected to remain strong, and panelist said more than 80 percent of energy needs expected to be supported by oil, gas or coal by 2030.

Climate Change and the Body Politic

by Justin Gillis, Green Blog

Justin Gillis, Green Blog
The latest installment in our Temperature Rising series, just published, is about an argument between mainstream climate researchers and contrarians over how clouds will change on a warming planet. As their many other objections to climate science have been undermined by the growing evidence, the contrarians have settled on clouds as a kind of last-resort reason that the scientific majority just has to be wrong.

Climate Change's Impact on International Arctic Security

by JayGulledge

Today we released a new report today titled Climate Change & National Security: The Arctic as a Bellwether. The lead author of the report is Dr. Rob Huebert, Associate Director of the Centre for Military and Strategic Studies at the University of Calgary. Official military doctrine in the United States now holds that “climate change, energy security, and economic stability are inextricably linked.” Nowhere is this linkage more clearly illustrated than in the Arctic, and that’s why we think the region is a bellwether for how climate change may reshape global geopolitics in the post-Cold War era. As the planet has warmed over the past few decades, temperatures in the Arctic have been increasing at about twice the global rate. And the Arctic sea ice cover has been shrinking much faster than scientists anticipated. The five smallest sea ice covers ever recorded have all occurred in the past five summers. As a result, the Northwest Passage through the Canadian Archipelago has opened up every summer since 2007, and the Northeast Passage along Russia’s coastline has opened up every summer since 2008.

Risat-1 satellite raised to its final intended orbit

Chennai, India (IANS) May 01, 2012

India's own Radar Imaging Satellite (Risat-1), launched on Thursday, has been placed in its final intended orbit, said the country's space agency said Saturday. In a statement issued here, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) said the Risat-1 has now been placed its final polar sun-synchronous orbit of 536 km height.

Warm Ocean Currents Cause Majority of Ice Loss from Antarctica

Washington DC (SPX) May 01, 2012

Warm ocean currents attacking the underside of ice shelves are the dominant cause of recent ice loss from Antarctica, a new study using measurements from NASA's Ice, Cloud, and land Elevation Satellite (ICESat) revealed. An international team of scientists used a combination of satellite measurements and models to differentiate between the two known causes of melting ice shelves: warm ocea