Insight and inspiration in turbulent times.
If there is any place on planet Earth where we should dig in our heels against expanded coal mining, it is surely Alaska. It’s not happening yet, but there are plenty of people working to make it so.
At least one aspect of fracking’s risks to drinking water became a little clearer this week.
•Josh Fox [Director Gasland Part II] on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart •Natural gas found in drinking water near fracked wells •Get fracking: MPs back the dash for UK’s shale gas •Polish town says ‘no’ to shale gas •Electricity prices soar in West Texas as shale drilling expands •Methane Scrutiny in Obama Climate Plan May Cost Drillers
The Mackenzie River Basin, which occupies and protects one-fifth of Canada’s fresh water, could be severely destabilized by climate change as well as unbridled resource extraction, including hydraulic fracturing, hydro dams and oil sands mining.
•Water increasingly crucial in energy policies, experts say •Acidification: the latest unknown for stressed Arctic ecosystem •Rivers Carry Away Waste Heat Form Power Plants at a Cost to the Environment •Safe drinking water disappearing fast in Bangladesh •Land O’ Lakes: Melting Glaciers Transform Alpine Landscape •Our Earth Hangout: Clean Water for All
Energy conservation is our best strategy for pre-adapting to an inevitably energy-constrained future. And it may be our only real option for averting economic, social, and ecological ruin.
If the Arkansas spill is upsetting not for its relative scale, it might be for its proximity to…well, where we live.
•Everything You Need to Know About the Exxon Pegasus Tar Sands Spill •Tar-sands oil spills in Arkansas and Minnesota •Oil spills disastrous for public relations •A train derailing, spilling 30,000 gallons of oil is still not a reason to build Keystone XL pipeline
•Britain’s nuclear powered trains •Fukushima: Fallout of fear •On second thought: IAEA re-categorizes the operational status for 47 of Japan’s nuclear reactors •’Nuclear waste? No thanks,’ say Lake District national park tourism chiefs •It’s time to reprocess spent nuclear fuel •Tokyo Electric Sued by U.S. Sailors Exposed to Radiation •Experts okay restart of worrisome Belgian nuclear plants •China blazes trail for ‘clean’ nuclear power from thorium
•Jeremy Irons talks trash for his new environmental documentary – TRASHED •Sweden turns trash into cash as EU seeks to curb dumping •Suffocating The World
