With news that President Obama will fast track the building of the southern leg of the Keystone XL tar sands pipeline, Texans in its path say their health and property rights are endangered by a torrent of corrosive tar sands oil from Canada. From landowners in the northern parts of the state to residents in the polluted refinery towns along the Gulf, the message is clear: the TransCanada pipeline will bring widespread risk of potential economic and environmental disaster to a state that already is burdened by toxic assaults from the massive petrochemical industry.

“All my life we’ve lived in the shadows of refineries and chemical plants”, says community activist Hilton Kelley, a Port Arthur native son who received the prestigious Goldman Environmental Prize and met with President Obama last year. “We grew up with the smell of sulfur and various other chemicals that’s being dumped into our environment. A large number of people are suffering from bronchitis, acute asthma, and there’s a lot of folks in this community with liver disease and cancer due to the emissions I believe that are being dumped into our air and the types of chemicals that we’re breathing….we say no to the Keystone XL pipeline because we don’t need any additional pollution being dumped into our air, and that’s what it’s going to bring.”

Check out this video of Port Arthur residents talking about refinery pollution and concerns about the Keystone XL pipeline.

Irma Lee Smith is a Port Arthur resident who says she’s been sickened by living near some of the largest refineries in the world, refineries that will be on the receiving end of  800,000 barrels of tar sands crude oil to be pushed daily through the Keystone XL pipeline.

Smith lives in a two-story housing project just a few hundred yards from chemical plants that dominate the landscape in this once prosperous oil port town, located near the birthplace of Texas’ booming oil patch. In recent decades Port Arthur has fallen on hard times, although its refineries are expanding and concerns about pollution are still very much alive.

Smith describes occasional explosions and gas eruptions from the mammoth chemical complexes that have her reaching for her “breathing machine” that helps medicate her severe bronchitis, a disease she says is common in her family and community.

“Sometimes there will be a lot of noise when they’re letting it out,” Smith says “Be shakin your windows, and I say old Lord, it’s thunder and lightning and I go to door and that’s the refinery….whatever they letting out it makes me short winded.”

Hilton Kelley says about one in five residents of this predominantly African American community close to the refineries has serious respiratory problems. “Port Arthur West side community is being disproportionally bombarded as it is with toxic waste. We do not need this tar sands coming to our area and increasing the heavy toxins in our environment.”

Tar sands oil is particularly nasty stuff in its natural state, but it will also be injected with chemicals so it can be liquefied and pushed through the proposed 1,700 mile Keystone XL pipeline to the Gulf.  In addition to health and environmental threats, the tar sands pipeline will increase oil prices in the Midwest and undermine our national security by creating an easy way to export tar sands oil overseas through tax-free Foreign Trade Zones like Port Arthur. Here’s how NRDC’s Susan Casey-Lefkowitz describes it in her recent blog:

Splitting the proposed Keystone XL tar sands pipeline doesn’t make it any better – not for our energy independence, not for oil prices and certainly not for our health and our environment. Keystone XL in any form would actually undermine national security and increase oil prices by reducing the amount of oil in the Midwest and sending tar sands oil overseas, as this NRDC report shows.  Similarly, a report just out from Cornell University shows that the potential environmental and economic risks from a tar sands pipeline spill – regardless of whether it happens in the Ogallala Aquifer in Nebraska, the Carrizo-Wilcox aquifer in Texas or in the Red River and its tributaries along the Texas-Oklahoma border.

Irma Lee Smith, Port Arthur TX                           Photo: Rocky Kistner/NRDC

Residents across the Lone Star state are up in arms over the $7 billion Keystone XL project, including landowners who say they are being railroaded by Big Oil interests to sell their land to a foreign company that will reap big profits, while putting their homes at risk. Wood County resident Eleanor Fairchild, whose husband had been a senior executive with Hunt Oil, says many residents are fed up with the way they’ve been treated by TransCanada and by their politicians.

“It’s not regular crude, it’s the dirtiest crude in the world…I decided this thing was much bigger than by property and I did not think we should have this tar sands coming into the United States. Our lawmakers have made laws that have allowed them to push people around…I do not think it’s just for us, I think they’re looking for a port. I think tar sands should be left in the ground.”

Texas landowners talk about their opposition to the Keystone XL pipeline.

Susan Scott owns 60 acres of land in Woods County TX that she says is being threatened by the Keystone XL pipeline. Scott says she signed an eminent domain agreement with TransCanada to build the pipeline through her land after the Canadian oil firm threatened to take her to court. Scott says the stress has caused her heart problems and forced her to pay expensive medical bills, although she vows to fight on. “We’re just simple country people, we don’t have the money they have to fight this pipeline…I will fight it til the day I fall over I guess.”

From the green hill country of East Texas to the flat Gulf shores of Port Arthur, people like Susan Scott, Eleanor Fairchild, Irma Lee Smith and Hilton Kelley all share concerns about a dangerous pipeline plan that will benefit Big Oil and put their lives at greater risk. The bottom line is a tar sands oil pipeline should not be fast-tracked for political expediency, certainly not a pipeline that is directing dirty Canadian oil toward the export market. 

President Obama needs to hear these voices, Americans on the frontlinesfighting for a healthy economy, a sustainable environment and a clean energy future.These are Americans who need to be a bigger part of this political debate, voices we can all be proud of.

President Obama is speaking about energy this week. He has a lot of important things to say about the very real need to move forward with renewable energy and fuel efficiency, and he has committed to ending subsidies to the oil industry. However, he will also be promoting new oil pipeline infrastructure in the US and there is one proposed pipeline that needs to be called out as different from the others. The Canadian company TransCanada has split its reapplication for the Keystone XL tar sands pipeline in two. The proposed southern segment of the Keystone XL tar sands pipeline is one of the possible pipelines to bring oil from the Midwest to the Gulf Coast. But the oil that it will bring is likely to be mostly tar sands oil from Canada, not U.S. oil. This means additional health and safety concerns from pipeline oil spills, as well as concerns for additional pollution in refining communities in the Gulf. Don’t be fooled – tar sands is not your Granddaddy’s oil.

Splitting the proposed Keystone XL tar sands pipeline doesn’t make it any better – not for our energy independence, not for oil prices and certainly not for our health and our environment. Keystone XL in any form would actually undermine national security and increase oil prices by reducing the amount of oil in the Midwest and sending tar sands oil overseas, as this NRDC report shows.  Similarly, a report just out from Cornell University shows that the potential environmental and economic risks from a pipeline spill – regardless of whether it happens in the Ogallala Aquifer in Nebraska, the Carrizo-Wilcox aquifer in Texas or in the Red River and its tributaries along the Texas-Oklahoma border.

As for what will actually be moving on Keystone XL’s southern route: TransCanada has made commitments to transport approximately 600,000 barrels a day (bpd) of crude. Of this, TransCanada has said that 380,000 bpd is for Canadian crude – most if not all of which will likely be tar sands. Even if the southern segment is built before the northern segment is completed, TransCanada’s first Keystone pipeline carrying raw tar sands ends in Cushing, Oklahoma and would be bringing raw tar sands right into the southern segment of Keystone XL.  In fact, TransCanada had already committed to move another 155,000 bpd of Canadian crude from the first Keystone pipeline terminus in Cushing to the Gulf Coast refineries. That means that of 600,000 bpd committed capacity of Keystone XL’s southern segment, 535,000 bpd is meant for Canadian crude. In other words, around 90 percent of what will flow in the southern segment of Keystone XL is likely to be tar sands. For more detail see the final environmental impact statement on the Keystone XL project, pages 2-4.

Don’t think a leak could happen? Think again. The first Keystone tar sands pipeline has leaked repeatedly ever since it was constructed – at least 14 times in its first year of operation just in the United States. Along the Kalamazoo River in Michigan, residents are still cleaning up from a July 2010 break of another tar sands pipeline operated by Enbridge Energy that sent close to a million gallons of tar sands oil into the river. About 40 miles of the river is still closed today as cleanup of the most expensive pipeline disaster in U.S. history is ongoing.

Americans have resoundingly said they don’t want another tar sands pipeline. Not in the northern half of our country; not in the southern half of our country. During a single day in February, for instance, Americans sent more than 800,000 messages to their members of Congress condemning the Keystone XL tar sands pipeline project.

And President Obama said about the decision to conduct additional review of the Keystone XL tar sands pipeline back in November 2011: “Because this permit decision could affect the health and safety of the American people as well as the environment, and because a number of concerns have been raised through a public process, we should take the time to ensure that all questions are properly addressed and all the potential impacts are properly understood.” This statement should hold true equally for the ranchers and landowners along the northern part of the Keystone XL tar sands pipeline, as for those in Oklahoma and Texas.

Could the Death Valley crater explode again in the near future? California’s Ubehebe Crater, which is a mile and a half wide, came to be several thousand years ago, scientists first thought. An eruption sent rocky debris in Death Valley causing the large crater. It was thought that when this happened Death Valley was much wetter than it is today. According to National Geographic, a new study shows that the explosion may have occurred more recently when Death Valley resembles much as it is today. This means that conditions could be favorable for another explosion.

Credit: Gord McKenna

Guinness Stout is one of the world’s great beverages.  It is the darkest of beers, as hearty and full-bodied as they come, with a characteristic cream-colored head on top.  Its color is black with, to my eyes, a hint of dark chocolaty brown.  It’s been brewed in Ireland for the better part of three centuries and may it never change.

Now, perhaps there’s even more reason to love Guinness because, while its visual impression is dark, its metaphorical color is showing signs of green as the company adopts good environmental practices.  “Sustainability and enhancing the environment of the Dublin communities has been a core philosophy of the Guinness Company since it was founded,” said Paul Carty, Managing Director at the Guinness Storehouse, the brewery’s large and historic facility at St. James’s Gate in the Irish capital.  Last year the Storehouse, now a major tourist attraction hosting a million visitors annually, received a three-star accreditation from Sustainable Travel International for its environmental commitment.  (The actual brewing was moved from the old facility in 1988.)

Among the highlights recognized by the award are these:

• Adoption of environmental performance indicators
• Measures to reduce waste, chemical use, and energy consumption
• Use of paper products derived from sustainably managed forests
• Advanced lighting technology
• Local food sourcing
• Locally sourced construction materials
• Sustainability training for staff

In the first video below, a company spokesperson says that, regarding food, the company works with Good Food Ireland, which according to its own website “was founded to endorse and promote . . . places committed to local food and to link the food producer, farmer and fisherman with the hospitality sector.”

Sustainable Travel International summarizes a number of criteria used to judge whether companies qualify for certification.  In addition to performance regarding the environment, applicants are evaluated on social and cultural impacts, economic impacts, and “innovative best practices.”  Companies must have a “written policy incorporating relevant criteria under each principle category below appropriate to the location, nature and scale of [their] operations.”  Environmental factors include the following:

“Performance areas include but are not limited to: Ecosystem Preservation (e.g., transportation, endangered species, group size), Pollution Prevention (e.g., air, noise, vehicle maintenance), Energy Management (e.g., carbon management and offsets, business travel, client excursions), Waste Management (e.g., reduction of materials, recycling, supply chain management) Water Management (e.g., reduced consumption, waste water, non-point source pollution), and Chemical Management (e.g., cleaning supplies, paint, pesticides).”

Notably, ratings carry an expiration date, presumably requiring subsequent evaluations to maintain a good rating.

As a lover of the Guinness product, I have always been struck by the fact that it simply tastes better in Ireland.  I didn’t realize there was an actual difference in the domestic and export versions, though, until I came across an article by Nicola Twilley on the Good website.  It’s apparently a bit complicated, but stout beers such as Guinness require on-site infusion with nitrogen bubbles.  If you’ve bought cans of the brew in the US, you may have noticed the plastic widget inside.  It contains pressurized nitrogen, which is released when the can is opened (so don’t pour it too quickly or the widget won’t have time to work its magic).  Anyway, Twilley reports that researchers at the University of Limerick have figured out a way to get the same result without the plastic widget, which should reduce waste once the new method is production-ready.

So that black beer might soon get greener still.

We Americans tend to think about things Irish and green on and around Saint Patrick’s Day, of course.  Now, I know some people are intimidated by a perceived heaviness to Guinness.  For you, I recommend Smithwick’s, a yummy amber ale that has gotten a bit easier to find in the US lately.  Either way, now’s the time, and I’m stocked up.  How about you?

I’ll leave you with two videos pertinent to the story and the occasion, respectively.  First, here’s a look inside the Guinness Storehouse and their environmental practices:

And second, here are County Galway’s own Saw Doctors, Kaid’s favorite Irish roots-rock band, singing hearty and well about their home turf:

Related articles:

• A sustainable community in County Galway (March 17, 2011)
• Why we do this: a musical tribute to the Irish landscape (March 17, 2010)
• Ireland’s eco-village at Cloughjordan (March 17, 2009)

Move your cursor over the images for credit information.

Kaid Benfield writes (almost) daily about community, development, and the environment.  For more posts, see his blog’s home page.

Photographer: Marli Bryant Miller; Marli’s Web site
Summary Author: Marli Bryant Miller

These two photos show the same sand dune in southern Death Valley, taken 15 years apart. Both photos are towards the north, and both were taken within 15 minutes of sunset. I shot the first image in mid-January, 1996 and the second in late November, 2011; the azimuth for sunset on these dates was nearly identical. Variations in shadow strengths therefore reflect changes in orientation of the dune rather than sun angle.

This dune is a “star dune”, named so because it has multiple ridges that lead towards its summit, an effect of wind that blows in multiple directions. For this reason, the dune is also fairly symmetrical, with its west side (left) only slightly steeper than the east. Without a single prevailing wind direction, star dunes migrate very slowly if at all, and typically grow upwards rather than laterally. Many star dunes reach heights of 200 meters or more; this particular one has a height of about 50 meters.

Even so, this dune has changed its shape over the last 15 years, likely as the result of wind that blew from east-to-west more than in the other directions. Most notably, the narrow swale between the high point on the dune and the small ridge in the middle ground widened considerably, so as to nearly isolate the ridge from the main dune. This widening appears to have occurred at the expense of the brightly lit western face of the main dune, which also looks to be deflected westward, given the decreased strength of its shadow. Additionally, the crest of the small ridge shows much more curvature than it did 15 years ago, in a sense that also suggests west-directed wind.

Photo details: 1996 photo – Canon F1, Kodachrome 25 film – 2011 photo: Canon 5D Mark II with EF100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L lens at 190mm.

• Death Valley, California coordinates: 36.246944, -116.816944
• Related Links
  • Namib Desert Dunes
  • Eolian Processes and Landforms
  • Geology of Death Valley National Park through photos
  • Deserts and Winds
  • Star and Linear Dunes on Mars [pdf]
• Earth Observatory
  • Sand Dunes in Har Nuur (Black Lake), Western Mongolia
  • Brazilian Dune Fields

“Ocean flow is like a busy city with a network of roads,” says engineering professor George Haller, “except that roads in the ocean are invisible, in motion, and transient.” (Credit: Doug Helton, NOAA/NOS/ORR / Flickr)

MCGILL (CAN) — Mathematical methods help predict movement of oil and ash after environmental disasters, and could aid clean-up efforts.

A new report from the Cornell University’s Global Labor Institute shows how the Keystone XL tar sands pipeline is an economic liability with the potential to cause significant job losses from a major tar sands spill.  Because tar sands oil is more corrosive and toxic than conventional oil, it can increase the frequency of pipeline spills.  Moreover, a  tar sands spill causes far more damage than a conventional oil spill. Take, for example, the 1.2 million gallon tar sands spill on the Kalamazoo River in Marshall Michigan in 2010 where the clean up costs have been 10 times higher than a typical conventional oil spill.  While there has been a lot of attention to the possible jobs created from the Keystone XL pipeline – far less than what proponents claim – there has been very little attention to jobs that could be lost from a tar sands spill. Keystone XL is expected experience up to 91 significant spills over a 50-year period.    Which jobs are are at risk?  Hundreds of thousands of workers in the agricultural and tourism sectors contribute ten of billions of dollars to the economy in the Keystone XL pipeline states.  The Cornell report helps illustrate yet one more reason why the Keystone XL tar sands pipeline should be rejected.

Here are some of the key findings from the report:

Tar sands spills more likely

Tar sands oil is more corrosive and toxic than conventional oil and can therefore increase the frequency of pipeline spills.  According to the Cornell report, “Between 2007 and 2010, pipelines transporting tar sands oil in the northern Midwest have spilled three time more per mile than the U.S. national average for conventional crude.”

Keystone XL likely to experience significant spills

An independent analysis conducted by the University of Nebraska concluded that Keystone XL over a 50-year period is expected to experience 91 significant spills (greater than 50 barrels).  In fact, the University of Nebraska study found Keystone XL could spill as much as 6.9 million gallons of raw tar sands crude oil at the Yellowstone River crossing.  In just its first year of operation, the first Keystone pipeline operated by TransCanada has spilled 35 times in the United States and Canada in 2010.  This spill frequency is 100 times higher than forecast by TransCanada.

A spill from Keystone XL threatens jobs and the economy in pipeline states

While tar sands spills can have a tremendous impact on the environment, a tar sands spill on the Keystone XL pipeline through America’s agricultural heartland could cause significant economic damage and job losses.  The farming, ranching, and tourism sectors are major sources of employment along the pipeline’s route employing 571,000 workers with an output of $76 billion.  The pipeline will also cross over 90 miles of recreational lands in the pipeline state including state parks, national historic trails, and wildlife refuges.

[pull quote]  The Nebraska Farmers Union has said, “Despite TransCanada’s assurances, we know there will be leaks and spills…It is not a matter of it, it is a matter of when, how often, and how much leakage there will be…When a leak happens, it will be [the farmers’] drinking water, their livestock water supply, and their irrigation supply that will be contaminated.  Their economic well-being is directly impacted by spills and leaks.”

Tar sands spills more devastating than conventional oil spills

The Cornell report also looked closely at the largest tar sands spill in U.S. history on the Kalamazoo River in Michigan in 2010 where the costs have escalated to $750 million – 10 times as much per litre as conventional crude.  The clean up of the Kalamazoo river spill which has lasted almost two years has been especially difficult because conventional oil response techniques have been ineffective according to the EPA.   Today, 20 months since the tar sands spill, the entire length of the river (35+ miles) remains closed.   While conventional oil floats on the surface, tar sands is thick and heavy and sinks in water making it very difficult to clean up.

[pull quote]   “Enbridge compensated us for the initial shutdown of our business, but we are concerned about the long-term impact that the spill has had on our business…one and a half years later our business is still suffering financially… Debra Miller, Carpet Story Owner

An accurate assessment of the economic risks still needed

Ultimately, the report said that while there has been significant attention to the Keystone XL pipeline’s potential to create jobs, “scant attention has been given to how existing jobs and economic sector would be impacted from Keystone XL leaks and spills.”  The report said a more detailed risk assessment of the Keystone XL pipeline – one that considers job losses and economic harms from one or more tar sands spills – has not been completed.

Until such as assessment is completed and a full accounting of potential job losses from pipeline spills are considered, the Obama administration should not issue any approvals allowing TransCanada to move ahead with construction of the pipeline.

Image extracted from video.

Japan Government confirms radiation leak at Fukushima nuclear plants. Asian countries should take necessary precautions … Radioactive particles, which may cause burns, alopecia or even cancer, may be in the rain.

But it was not true. The BBC denied the attribution. Here in the U.S., in late March and early April 2011, scientists in western states did measure trace amounts of increased radiation from the disaster, but not enough to cause health problems.

Hoax map circulating in March 2011. It was completely false. Later, trace amounts of radiation were measured in U.S. western states, but not in great enough amounts to do harm.

Three of the reactors at Fukushima Dai-ichi overheated, causing meltdowns that eventually led to explosions, which released large amounts of radioactive material into the air. Via Wikimedia

The radiation release in Japan was real and serious. Officials from the Japanese Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency reported to CNN that radiation levels inside the plant itself were at one point up to 1,000 times normal levels. They told the New York Times that radiation levels immediately outside the plant were up to 8 times normal levels.

According to media reports, radioactive iodine was detected in the tap water in Fukushima, Tochigi, Gunma, Tokyo, Chiba, Saitama, and Niigata, and radioactive cesium in the tap water in Fukushima, Tochigi and Gunma. Radioactive cesium, iodine, and strontium were also detected in the soil in some places in Fukushima, and radioactive hotspots were found outside the evacuation zone. Today, one year after the disaster, there is still a 12-mile “no-go” zone around Fukushima, according to Discovery News.

In October 2011, the New York Times reported on an effort that had begun in Japan to track the long-term health effects of the Fukushima nuclear disaster. Japan authorities were surveying children for thyroid abnormalities, a problem associated with exposure to radiation. Presumably the full effects of the Fukushima disaster will take decades to unfold.

But the radiation from the Fukushima disaster did not spread around the globe, as many feared in the days following the earthquake and tsunami. The hoaxes were simply scare-mongering. In March 2011, climatologist Bill Patzert was widely quoted in the media as saying:

If we had multiple Chernobyl-type failures and it did go five to eight miles into the atmosphere and get into the jet stream, it could definitely impact the West Coast of the United States and Canada. But we’re not there yet.

Here in the U.S., in March and April 2011, traces of radiation were measured by teams of scientists in California and other western states. Researchers at the University of California at Berkeley reported that fallout from the damaged reactor extended as far as the San Francisco Bay Area, resulting in elevated levels of radioactive material that were nonetheless very low and posed no health risk to the public.

Scripps Pier in San Diego. Researchers here measured trace amounts of radiation from Fukushima. Image via Scripps Pier Weather

The Berkeley study came about a month after researchers in Southern California announced a similar finding, using an instrument at the end of a pier at the University of California at San Diego’s Scripps Institution of Oceanography.

Read about trace amounts of radiation found in San Francisco.

Read about trace amounts of radiation found in San Diego.

Other western U.S. states, including Nevada and Colorado, also reported some traces of radiation from the disaster.

By the way, is an excellent story in Daily Beast today, outlining some of the differences and lessons learned in the Fukushima nuclear disaster in contrast to the disaster at Chernobyl in Russia in 1986. You’ll find that story here.

Bottom line: After three reactors at Japan’s Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant overheated and caused explosions in March 2011, following the 9.0-magnitude earthquake and tsunami there, scary stories of radiation spread circulated around the globe. But although trace amounts of radiation were measured in the U.S., they were not enough to cause health problems, according to scientists.

Airbus spokesman Schaffrath told the Associated Press that the Chinese government is refusing to approve orders for 35 Airbus A330 airplanes, and 10 A380 superjumbo jetliners, with a combined list price of about $12 billion. “The economic impact is real,” Schaffrath said.

An Airbus A380 flown by China Southern Airlines. Credit: flickr/Kentaro lemoto.

Airbus, which is the leading European aircraft manufacturer and the chief rival of U.S.-based Boeing, has forecasted that, during the next few decades, China will become the second-largest aviation market in the world. The CEO of Airbus’ parent company, EADS NV, has warned that the emissions scheme would cause European companies to lose business.

The EU’s program, which began on Jan. 1,  is meant to reduce the global warming emissions that come from the aviation sector, which is a rapidly growing source of emissions. The U.S., China, India, and other countries are opposed to having their airlines subjected to Europe’s Emissions Trading System, which allows companies that emit carbon dioxide, a gas that contributes to global warming, to buy and sell a limited amount of emissions permits.

Airlines fear the fees will cause them to lose profits and significantly raise ticket prices. Delta Airlines, the second-largest air carrier in the U.S., has already begun charging small fees to tickets purchased for flights to or from Europe.

The House recently passed a bill that would exempt U.S. airlines from the program, but that has not been signed into law.

State officials have determined that at least 12 earthquakes that occurred in Ohio last December were caused by the injection of brine into hydraulic fracturing disposal wells.  As a result of its findings [pdf], the state has established the nation’s “toughest regulations” for the fracking disposal wells.

Brine is a toxic by-product of the fracking process.  According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the safest way to dispose of it is to store it in underground wells.  However, as residents of Youngstown, Ohio discovered, this technique can cause seismic shifts — the largest of the 12 earthquakes registered 4.0 on the Richter scale.

Geologists were skeptical the earthquakes were caused by the drilling of disposal wells and the subsequent injection of brine; but after in-depth research concluded this process did indeed facilitate the quakes:

“After investigating all available geological formation and well activity data, ODNR [Ohio Department of Natural Resources] regulators and geologists found a number of co-occurring circumstances strongly indicating the Youngstown area earthquakes were induced. Specifically, evidence gathered by state officials suggests fluid from the Northstar 1 disposal well intersected an unmapped fault in a near-failure state of stress causing movement along that fault.”

So, the state has decided to adopt strict regulations in regards to brine disposal wells. Today, the Ohio Department of Natural Resources announced a set of regulations which it believes will eliminate any future occurrence of fracking induced earthquakes.

The most notable of these are: the requirement of gas companies to submit extensive geological data to the ODNR before drilling; mandated implementation of state-of-the-art pressure monitoring systems at well sites; and prohibition any new wells from being drilled in the Precambrian basement rock formation.

The new regulations are particularly important for Ohioians, as the state sits on a sizable chunk of the Marcellus Shale — the world’s largest known deposit of shale gas.

As ODNR Director James Zehringer said in a statement, “Ohioans demand smart environmental safeguards that protect our environment and promote public health. These new standards accomplish this goal.”

The EPA states there are 144,000 Class II disposal wells across the country; gas companies are injecting 2 billion gallons of brine into these wells daily.  To date, six of these wells have been linked to earthquakes.

Image credit: Caitlin Childs via Creative Commons

The Wacissa River (Pic by anoldent, via Wikimedia Commons)

By Virginia Chamlee
Wednesday, March 07, 2012 at 5:34 pm | More from The Florida Independent

The costs for Florida to switch to a more stringent set of water pollution standards are expected to exceed U.S. Environmental Protection Agency estimates, according to a National Research Council report released yesterday.

According to the report, the EPA considered only those waters that would be newly listed as “impaired” under the numeric criteria when calculating the cost of switching from the state’s current, narrative standard to the more stringent rules.

The committee that wrote the report concluded that the EPA “was correct in its approach to calculating the cost of the rule change” but says that the agency “underestimated both the number of newly impaired waters and the mitigation costs for the stormwater, agricultural, septic system, and government sectors.”

“Furthermore,” reads the report, “there was significant uncertainty in the estimates for the municipal and industrial wastewater sectors, making it difficult to know whether the EPA underestimated or overestimated those costs.”

The committee also found that the costs of the rule change would be small compared “to the total costs that will ultimately be required to restore Florida’s waters.”

The committee did not produce its own cost estimate for implementing a set of numeric nutrient criteria in the state, and did not assess the numeric criteria themselves. The report issued yesterday was merely a review of the EPA’s cost estimates.

Currently, Florida relies on a narrative water quality standard, the wording of which (.pdf) has been criticized as too vague to be effective. A numeric standard, however, would express specific allowable concentrations of nitrogen and phosphorus (nutrients which often lead to algal blooms and fish kills) in water.

A lawsuit settled in 2009 resulted in a mandate requiring Florida to implement stricter rules. Though the EPA is the federal agency mandating those rules, the agency has said it would allow the Florida Department of Environmental Protection to develop its own rules, and implement them if they are approved.

A portion of those rules is slated to go into effect in early July.

Cost estimates for the Florida-specific criteria have varied widely – the EPA itself has said its criteria could cost the state about $236 million annually. Critics, however, charge that the EPA’s version could cost as much as $50 billion to implement. The state Department of Environmental Protection has estimated the cost of its own criteria to be between $51 and $150 million annually.

According to the National Academy review, “future cost analyses of rule changes would be improved if they explicitly described how a rule would be implemented over time and its impact on costs.”

“If EPA had conducted such an analysis,” says the review, “it would have found that point sources — such as municipal and industrial wastewater treatment facilities — will face increased costs sooner under the numeric nutrient criteria than under the narrative process.”

Because of slash and burn practices, one green tree is left amid the burned out brown of deforested land near Mae Chaem, northern Thailand. Slash and burn practices can render soils incapable of further yields for generations.

The march was organized by the community organization Casa Pueblo [en] based in the town of Adjuntas. Casa Pueblo has led the attempts to put a stop to the so-called “Green Way”. Environmentalists have argued that, if the project goes ahead, it would have a negative impact on the aquifers and rain forests on its path, causing irreparable damage to the island’s ecosystem. Grassroots organizations and people against the construction of the pipeline have called it the “Pipeline of Death.”

Photojournalist Ricardo Alcaraz shares some of the images he shot of the demonstration. All photographs have been published with his permission.

People from all sectors of civil society joined the demonstration.

The protesters marched from the Capitol to the Fortaleza. In the background you can see the west side of Olympic House, the headquarters of the national Olympic committee.

Various sectors have complained that the project would cause serious damage to the flora and fauna of the island. Several endangered species live on the proposed pipeline route.

Congressman Luis Gutiérrez also joined the demonstration.

There were a number of performances along the march.

Wrapped with the Puerto Rican flag.

No Puertorican protest goes ahead without la plena, the favourite rythmic drumbeat on demonstrations.

Written by Ángel Carrión · Translated by Tita Beaven

What is clean technology? This is a broad term that encompasses any technology that has the potential to improve the environment – clean, in the greenest sense of the word. This includes renewable energy, such as wind, solar, or biofuels – and also extends to technologies that support renewable energy, like smart grids (improving how we build our electrical grid) and energy storage (large batteries). It also includes recycling energy, materials and waste, as well as ways to green transportation and agriculture.

We partnered with Cleantech Group to produce a report that looks at cleantech start-up companies who are creating new, sustainable technologies. We looked at how they started, and – most importantly – how they are growing,

Most of the news that we hear around the environment and climate change is largely focused on policy or on various public attitudes towards climate change or energy. Too rarely do we hear about the innovative and entrepreneurial companies that are making tangible and effective change in this very moment. For this reason, it may come as a surprise that Canada is ranked so highly – 7th of 38 countries. It shows that Canadian entrepreneurs are already on a very positive path to success, regardless of the path taken in Canadian politics.

But that doesn’t mean that government policy isn’t key to enabling success on clean technologies. Policies like feed-in tariffs for renewable energy are key to providing these technologies with momentum, and to allow the technologies to be used at scale. For example, the feed-in tariff policy in Ontario has created huge opportunities for renewable energy technologies in the province. Building codes and efficiency standards are other regulatory pieces that are key enablers for clean technology.

Canada’s potential as a clean technology innovator, coupled with our abundance of natural resources of renewable energy,  is a powerful combination in the future world of energy. It is encouraging to see that our entrepreneurs are grabbing that opportunity and taking the lead. May we all follow suit.

Read the Globe and Mail article, Canada places 7th in creating green-tech firms, February 27, 2012

James Inhofe, Republican Senator from Oklahoma, has a new book out. It is entitled The Greatest Hoax: How the Global Warming Conspiracy Threatens Your Future.

I have not read it yet. So I cannot say much about its contents, but I can say this: The title suggests that Inhofe, like Rick Santorum, is endorsing the global warming conspiracy theory. Indeed, where Santorum only muttered the word “hoax” without a great deal of elaboration, it looks like Inhofe is going to put some real meat onto those paranoid bones.

Let me once again reiterate why the global warming conspiracy theory is, well, just plain ridiculous.

To believe that global warming is a “hoax,” or that there is a “conspiracy,” you must believe in coordinated action on the part of scientists, environmental ministers, politicians, and NGOs around the world. It won’t do just to situate the hoax in the United States and its own scientific and NGO community, because the idea of human-caused global warming is endorsed by scientists, and scientific academies, around the globe.

Any one of these could blow the whistle on the so-called “hoax.” That this has not happened either means there is no hoax, or that the degree of conspiracy and collusion—among people who are notoriously individualistic and non-conformist, by the way—is mindboggling. We’re talking about some serious cat-herding going on.

Oh, and by the way: You also have to believe that the colluding hoaxers have nefarious objectives—basically, they want to kill capitalism and strangle economies. This is even less plausible.

In other words, there is no hoax, and to believe in one is to be a conspiracy theorist. Inhofe himself uses the word “conspiracy” in his subtitle, so I do not think it at all unfair to describe him in this way. Either he is actually right in  his claims—not likely—or else he’s conjuring a conspiracy where none exists. It’s that simple.

I point this out, incidentally, because I am continually amazed that our national discourse basically shrugs at conspiracy theories. That’s saddening evidence that we live in an “anything goes” political culture that has become unmoored from reality.

And how did this happen? Here’s a hint: Inhofe will debut his book on Fox’s Sean Hannity program tonight.

Let me end this post with a dose of reality. Inhofe, the climate conspiracy theorist, not only hails from but represents the state of Oklahoma. Here is what has been happening, climatologically, to Oklahoma lately, according to NOAA and other sources:

* The summer of 2011 was the hottest summer on record for the state. According to the Oklahoma Climatological Survey, “Oklahoma experienced the hottest summer of any state since records began in 1895 with a statewide average of 86.9 degrees.”

* July 2011 was the worst. Says the Oklahoma Climatological Survey: “July’s average temperature was 89.3 degrees, becoming the hottest month for any state on record, besting over 67,000 other months.”

* August also fried Oklahoma, and was the hottest August on record.

* This, of course, caused serious damage and monetary losses: “Agricultural damage alone from the drought and related heat has been estimated as high as $2 billion.”

From the perspective of Inhofe’s constituents—say, an Oklahoma farmer—the global warming conspiracy sounds like an intellectual dalliance that the state simply cannot afford.

[By the way, here’s a great graphic from Grist showing eloquently why the global warming conspiracy theory makes no sense. I don't think the fossil fuel conspiracy theory makes sense either, by the way, but that's a tale for another time.]

A densely packed, distressed neighborhood in South Los Angeles has a new, nine-acre park that will include a 4.5-acre wetland, filtering stormwater while bringing much-needed green space into a community historically plagued by nearby industrial facilities.  Even better, the park replaces a former brownfield, a paved bus and rail storage yard long maintained by the Metropolitan Transit agency.  The park will include native trees and plant gardens, walking trails and ponds.  The grand opening was held earlier this month.

The $26 million project was funded in part through a 2004 settlement agreement reached in a lawsuit brought by the US Department of Justice (where yours truly worked back in the day), the state of California, and the Santa Monica Baykeeper against the city of Los Angeles under the federal Clean Water Act to force cleanup of the city’s sewer system.  A number of local citizens and civil rights groups joined the suit in support of the claim.  Under the settlement, the city did not admit legal liability but agreed to a $2 billion program “to reduce Sanitary Sewer Overflows to the maximum extent feasible, and to investigate, resolve, and mitigate sewer odors.”

Funding was also provided under multiple federal and local programs, including a local bond measure passed in 2004 to support water quality improvement projects.  This is how the city’s application described its proposal:

“The Wetland Park is proposed to include stormwater pre-treatment best management practices (BMP) measures, a stormwater treatment wetland of approximately 4.0 to 4.5 acres, renovation of an 81,760 square foot on-site structure, open park space, and a parking lot with a vegetated swale to direct runoff into the wetland. The Wetland Park will provide educational opportunities and wildlife viewing, historical railway elements, a community multi-use center, and historical building reutilization . . .

“The Wetland Park will assist in minimizing the introduction of pollutants including; bacteria, oil & grease and gasoline, suspended sediments, and heavy metals, all of which are components of urban runoff that ultimately are washed into receiving waters . . . Park amenities include trails, boardwalks, observation decks, picnic areas, a natural rock-garden seating area, educational signage, and renovation of an 81,760 square-foot on-site building for mixed public use.”

You can see the building, a former garage, in the images accompanying this post.  It will eventually become an education center and rail museum.

Writing for KCET-TV, Ed Fuentes hailed the green infrastructure benefits of the project, citing statements by city officials and some very important stakeholders:

“Other experts who may have insight on the perceived success of the park were the children who attended the ribbon cutting.  When a group from 49th Street Elementary School were asked if they would miss a soccer field, they all agreed that this park is just as important. ‘Birds need a place to play, too’ said one fourth-grader.”

On the Outside website, Mary Catherine O’Connor observes that, although the new park needs time to mature, another fully functioning artificial wetland – built a mile away in 2006 – suggests that birds, turtles, “and even an egret” may soon be among the new site’s inhabitants.  O’Connor also notes that the new park is part of a larger effort to clean up the Los Angeles River Watershed, itself part of a seven-city federal pilot program that includes watershed restoration projects on the Anacostia River in DC and Maryland, the Bronx and Harlem rivers, Denver’s South Platte River and Lake Pontchartrain in New Orleans.

At full capacity, the South Los Angeles Wetlands Park will be able to process up to 680,000 gallons of stormwater each day.

The Santa Monica Baykeeper is a frequent partner and client in NRDC’s efforts to bring the benefits of a clean watershed to all LA residents.  The environmental justice group The City Project summed up what the new park represents:

“This work in and out of court is a best practice example of community groups, civil rights attorneys, government agencies at the federal, state and local level, and mainstream environmentalists working together to improve quality of life, human health, and environmental quality and justice for all.”

To this writer, it appears to be exactly that.

Move your cursor over the images for credit information.

Kaid Benfield writes (almost) daily about community, development, and the environment.  For more posts, see his blog’s home page.  Please also visit NRDC’s Sustainable Communities Video Channel.

An astronaut aboard the International Space Station photographed frozen Lake Sakakawea while the air temperature near the lake was a frigid -24°C (-11°F).

While much of the United States has been in a snow drought, there is a winter wonderland in other parts of the world. Like these snow-covered trees in the Duckyu mountains in South Korea. Can’t you just hear the silence?

Credit: Jeon Heon-kyun/EPA

As I reported in late January, managers of the Lower Colorado River are likely to take the unprecedented step of denying water for rice growers in Southeast Texas, putting several thousand jobs at risk. Although the decision won’t be made until March 1, it is unlikely that Texas will receive enough rainfall to put reservoirs above the mark set by water managers, who must balance the needs of agricultural producers with the water demands of the city of Austin, power companies, and myriad other users.

Precipitation during the past three months in Texas. The outlined areas show the region where water flows into the Highland Lakes reservoirs. Credit: Victor Murphy/NOAA.

The Houston Chronicle reported this week that the Lower Colorado River Authority “may have no choice but to cut off the farmers. The Highland Lakes, two large reservoirs near Austin, must hold a combined 850,000 acre-feet of water by next week before the growers’ share can be released, under a drought emergency plan now in effect. As of Wednesday, the lakes had 830,000 acre-feet, 41 percent of capacity.”

The fact that the reservoirs are still so low indicates the severity of the long-term precipitation deficit that Texas is still dealing with, despite a three-month period with above average rainfall.

The rains have certainly eased the drought in the short-term, however, as seen in the U.S. Drought Monitor. On Dec. 6, 2011, 90 percent of Texas was experiencing between “severe” to “exceptional” drought conditions. In the latest update to the map, however, 67 percent of the state falls into that range, and a sliver of the state is shown to be free of drought conditions entirely, at least for now.

U.S. Drought Monitor for Texas as of Feb. 21.

U.S. Drought Monitor for Texas as of early January.

The above-average rainfall this winter stands in stark contrast to the bone dry weather pattern of a year ago. For example, during the past five months, several Texas cities have received at least 120 percent of the rainfall they saw in the preceding 12 months. Brownsville, a costal city that sits at the southernmost edge of the state, has seen more than 4 inches of rain this month, which is 500 percent of their normal rainfall in February.

The beneficial rainfall (and in some cases, snowfall) so far this winter has surprised weather forecasters, who had called for drier-than-normal conditions across the entire southern tier of the U.S. However, drought conditions seem to have shifted eastward, with an expanding drought in the Southeast, particularly in Florida.

So why has Texas been so lucky lately, when luck had not been on its side for so long?

According to Victor Murphy, the climate service program manager for the National Weather Service’s southern region, Texans should thank a combination of factors. First, there is natural climate variability, the effects of which are difficult to predict. Second, he said, the weak La Niña event in the tropical Pacific Ocean is playing a role.

Last winter also featured La Niña conditions, which tend to result in drier-than-average winters in Texas, but last year’s La Niña was much stronger than this year’s event. La Niña conditions are characterized by cooler-than-average water temperatures along the equator in the Pacific Ocean, which can influence weather patterns worldwide.

The other key factor, Murphy said, is the jet stream — the high altitude river of air that helps steer storms and air masses across the country. This winter, the jet stream has run across the northern U.S., allowing slow-moving storms to meander across Texas, dropping beneficial rains as they went along.

“The same anomaly in the jet stream that is causing the contiguous U.S. to have its fourth warmest winter on record through the end of January is mainly responsible for the wetness across Texas,” Murphy said via email.

The big question now is whether this wet weather pattern will last long enough to make a lasting dent in the drought. Unfortunately, the spring outlook still calls for below average rainfall. If this happens, look for a swift end to the recent improving trend, and drought conditions could worsen once again during spring and summer.

As cargo ships steam across the ocean, the tiny aerosol particles in their exhaust act as seeds around which moisture in the atmosphere can condense. Occasionally this results in ship tracks becoming visible in cloud imagery, some of which are 1,000 miles long.

Credit: NOAA

Madagascar – February 10th, 2012

At 592,800 square kilometres (228,900 sq mi), Madagascar is the world’s 47th largest country and the fourth largest island. Along the length of the eastern coast runs a narrow and steep escarpment containing much of the island’s remaining tropical rain forest. To the west of this ridge lies a plateau region in the center of the island ranging in altitude from 750 to 1,500 m (2,460 to 4,920 ft) above sea level. These central highlands are the most densely populated part of the island and are characterized by terraced, rice-growing valleys lying between grassy, deforested hills. To the west of the highlands, the increasingly arid terrain gradually slopes down to the Mozambique Channel.

Madagascar’s highest peaks arise from three prominent highland massifs: Maromokotro 9,436 ft (2,876 m) on the Tsaratanana Massif is the island’s highest point, followed by Boby Peak 2,658 m (8,720 ft) on the Andringitra Massif and Tsiafajavona 2,643 m (8,671 ft) on the Ankaratra Massif. To the east, the Canal des Pangalanes is a chain of man-made and natural lakes connected by French-built canals just inland from the east coast, running parallel to it for some 600 km (370 mi). The western and southern sides, which lie in the rain shadow of the central highlands, are home to tropical dry forests, thorn forests, and deserts and xeric shrublands. Presumably due to relatively lower population densities, Madagascar’s dry deciduous rain forest has been better preserved than the eastern rain forests or the original woodlands of the central plateau. The western coast features many protected harbors, but silting is a major problem caused by sediment from the high levels of inland erosion carried by rivers crossing the broad western plains. In the full image, reddish sediments can be seen entering the waters of the Mozambique Channel along the western coast.

Photographer: Chris Kotsiopoulos
Summary Author: Chris Kotsiopoulos

This 70-shot photo sequence shows a lightning display that occurred during a severe thunderstorm last summer on the island of Ikaria, Greece, near the southwestern coast of Turkey. The stormy weather actually developed during my photo session of the total lunar eclipse on June 15, 2011 (see related link below). To make this shot, I set my camera on a tripod taking 20-second exposures continuously. More than 100 lightning bolts were captured in this sequence, the majority of which were potent cloud-to-ground strikes.

Photo details: Canon EOS 550D camera; shutter speed of 20 seconds (70 shots); 7.1 aperture; ISO 400;  Canon EF 50mm, f/1.8 II lens; 50.0 mm focal length. Photo sequence taken on June 16, 2011 between 1:17 a.m. and 2:40 a.m.

• Ikaria island, Greece Coordinates: 37.583333, 26.166667
• Related Links
  • Lightning and Lunar Eclipse
  • Lightning Safety
  • Rafael Schmall’s Lightning Show
  • A Lightning Primer
• Earth Observatory
  • Smoke Over the Aegean Sea

I was inspired by George Kourounis’ panorama’s from the arctic circle. I have never done one of these so I played a bit tonite with photoshop and the stitching feature and put together this panorama of a chase last season in Nebraska.  It was a chase with Notanee Bourassa on May 30th 2011

Let me know what you think.   Click on the image to see it full size.

Journalists and photographers are driven past sea defenses next to the Fukushima nuclear power plant that has again gained media attention. Though the Japanese government announced last December that the plant had reached “cold shutdown” — a safe state achieved when temperatures inside the reactors stay below boiling point and radioactive leaks are kept to a minimum — fears arose this month that fuel in the No. 2 reactor was heating up again.

Credit: Issei Kato/Reuters

Download image: 1920 x 1200 | 1600 x 1200.

In this 2008 file photo, an elderly Tibetan woman walks towards the 1000-year-old Tsam Monastery near the Tibetan city of Shigatse. REUTERS/David Gray

By Teresa Rehman

KATHMANDU, Nepal (AlertNet) – Rising temperatures, reduced rainfall and excessive numbers of grazing animals are worsening desertification and drying up grasslands in western Tibet, says a Chinese geologist who has explored one of the region’s uncharted rivers.

Yang Yong said he had observed desertification in parts of the upper reaches of the Yarlung Zangbo River, and believes this could be caused by climate change as well as human activity.

The Yarlung Zangbo (also called the Yarlung Tsangpo) is Tibet’s largest river, originating in the west of the region. Along its 2,057 km (1,286 mile) length, it passes through India, where it is known as the Dihang and the Brahmaputra, and Bangladesh, where it is called the Jamuna.

The United Nations Environment Programme says that desertification – land degradation in arid, semi-arid and dry sub-humid areas, caused by climatic variations and human activities – affects a quarter of the world’s total land area and one-sixth of its population, and is a major factor in widespread poverty.

Yang, who has explored western Tibet three times since his first visit in 1998, has seen that firsthand in the upper reaches of the Yarlung Zangbo.

“People move due to desertification and their traditional occupation of herding hasn’t changed,” said Yang at a workshop in Kathmandu on climate change effects in the Yarlung Zangbo/Brahmaputra Basin.

The herders that Yang spoke to linked the encroaching deserts to drought brought on by increasing temperatures and reduced precipitation.

“This has deteriorated the quality of the grassland that they used to herd on and increased the possibility of strong winds that turn to sandstorms,” he said.

EXPANDING DUNES

Herders who previously lived by the river have been forced by to move several kilometres away by the growth of sand dunes. They must now graze their herds at altitudes as high as 5,500 metres (18,000 feet), close to the snow line.

Yang said that several villages are now surrounded by dunes up to 40 metres (130 feet) in height and 100 metres (325 feet) wide, although Yang said he had seen some dunes twice this height and width.

Wetlands between the dunes are deteriorating rapidly, and residents are considering relocating farther away from the river. Yang believes the dunes will eventually become connected, causing the wetlands to disappear.

Along the upper reaches of the Yarlung Zangbo, where the river is known as the Maquan, the connected dunes already extend for 100 km (63 miles) and are 10 km (6 miles) at their widest.

Yang noted that evaporation is intensifying due to global warming and that rainfall has become less predictable. He said that the region he visited now experiences extreme rainfall in summer, contributing a significant portion of the annual total, and that there is now rain in some areas that used not to receive it.

Glacial melting is also making the traditional hydro-geological pattern fragile and less predictable, he said.

Yang pointed out that the river is an important water source for all three countries through which it flows, but especially for Bangladesh, where it passes through heavily populated areas. In India, the Brahmaputra does not flow through many cities, and Yang said it was important to maintain its relatively pristine condition there.

The science of desertification along the Yarlung Zangbo needs to be better understood before steps can be taken to combat the process, he said, emphasizing the importance of reducing human impacts in the region.

“Over-herding is significant and needs to draw more attention,” he said, and both commercial logging and harvesting of vegetation in the middle and lower reaches of the river in Tibet have contributed to the deterioration of land, Yang said.

He also recommended restrictions on industrial development and mining in the region, and said that any hydropower development should include detailed evaluations of environmental impacts, especially in terms of geology and biodiversity.

What the region needs, Yang said, is an integrated river basin plan agreed on by all countries affected by the river system – China, India and Bangladesh. Such a plan, among other things, would need to look at how to control hazards associated with the river, at hydropower plans, at water flow and at demand for water in each country.

Teresa Rehman is a journalist based in Northeast India. She can be reached at www.teresarehman.net.