Endangered-Species Truce Faces Big Test from Little Sand Dunes Lizard

Posted by aboccuti in Animal Protection, Conservation, Ecosystem Services | Leave a comment
14May2012

The dune sagebrush lizard, a small, spiny reptile, is causing contention between those who believe it should be listed on the federal endangered-species list and those who would be negatively impacted by its listing. Specifically, ranchers who clear oak shrubs and gas companies that drill in dunes are concerned that their activities could be placed in jeopardy. Both the oak shrubs and the dunes are integral pieces of the lizard’s habitat. This issue is not limited to the dune sagebrush lizard; a number of animals that share habitat with oil and gas rigs, cattle, and wind turbines are causing a stir and are considered species with huge economic implications.

While U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service cannot use economics as a determining factor when making a listing decision, they can factor in economic impact for conservation draft plans for listed species. In fiscal year 2011, a record 539 species were listed. Despite the large number, the species do not have the economic implications of those currently causing contention. With a decision by the Obama administration looming, Senator James M. Inhofe notes that “it’s the calm before the storm.”

Source: Washington Post

In Vermont, Irene Flooding Dispersed Invasive Japanese Knotweed; Midwest Floods Moved Asian Carp

Posted by wberg in Uncategorized | Leave a comment
11May2012

The spread of invasive species like Asian carp and Japanese knotweed, exacerbated by last year’s hurricanes, tropical storms, and flooding, is posing increasing challenges for conservationists. For example, the overflowing Missouri and Mississippi rivers last year introduced Asian carp for the first time ever to lakes and oxbows from Louisiana to the Iowa Great Lakes, in addition to increasing the population of invasive purple loosestrife along the Missouri River.

In Vermont, floodwaters from Tropical Storm Irene and subsequent repair work like dredging and debris removal helped spread Japanese knotweed by breaking off portions of stems and woody rhizomes. The Asian perennial, which resembles bamboo when mature and can grow 12 feet high, has been a problem in areas in the Northeast, the Pacific Northwest, and the Midwest, spreading quickly on riverbanks, floodplains, and disturbed soils, choking out native plants, weakening stream banks, and degrading habitats of fish, birds, and insects. According to environmental groups, now is the best time to mechanically control the spread of the species without the use of herbicides; but once established, the species becomes more difficult to remove.

Source: Washington Post

 

EPA to Work with Drinking Water Systems to Monitor Unregulated Contaminants

Posted by wberg in Water Issues | Tagged , , | Leave a comment
9May2012

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently released a list of 28 chemicals and two viruses that approximately 1,000 public water systems will monitor from 2013 to 2015 as part of the agency’s unregulated contaminant monitoring program. The program tracks the frequency and levels of each contaminant detected in drinking-water systems across the country and in turn helps determine whether additional protections are needed.

The EPA has standards for 91 contaminants in drinking water. Under the Safe Drinking Water Act, the EPA must identify up to 30 additional unregulated contaminants for monitoring every five years. Among the contaminants to be studied are total chromium and hexavalent chromium (chromium-6). Management of the latter, in particular, has been a priority for EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson.  EPA will contribute $20 million toward supporting the monitoring effort, most of which will go toward assisting small drinking-water systems.

Source: WaterWorld

Warming Ocean Current Might Create Coral Refuges

Posted by aboccuti in Climate Change, Conservation, Ecosystem Services, Water Issues | Leave a comment
7May2012

Although global warming is expected to negatively impact coral reefs, new research suggests that coral refuges may be created around islands in the warming equatorial Pacific. The refuges would be created, according to the study, by increased upwelling of cold, nutrient-rich water in these areas. Specifically, the research suggests that, as a result of effects caused by warming, the equatorial undercurrent of cool, nutrient-rich water will strengthen by 14 percent.

Bleaching, the phenomenon that turns corals white and stresses them so much that they are at risk of death, is caused by warming water. The researchers note that these refuges could become a source of new corals and other species that could recolonize damaged reefs.

Source: Scientific American

NYC Takes the Red Tape Out of Building Green

Posted by wberg in Development, Greenhouse Gas Emissions, Renewable Energy | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment
7May2012

Sustainable development in the Big Apple got a whole lot easier last Monday after the New York City Council’s adoption of a slate of citywide zoning regulations, known as Zone Green, that encourage energy efficiency retrofits and adoption of rooftop solar and wind projects. In addition to helping residents save an estimated $800 million on energy bills each year, the move will help the city achieve its goal of cutting its global warming emissions by 30 percent by 2030. The modifications, designed to cut red tape and permitting costs, were drafted by the Department of City Planning and guided by input from the city’s Green Codes Task Force as part of Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s PlaNYC sustainability agenda.

Among the changes is the decision to allow builders to insulate leaky exteriors by expanding wall thickness without counting the extra inches toward the building’s total floor space. Other revisions include allowing rooftop turbines, and, in the case of manufacturing facilities along the waterfront, freestanding wind turbines; allowing any building owner to install solar panels, regardless of the building’s height; and allowing food-producing greenhouses on all commercial buildings and schools. According to advocates for energy efficiency, the measure could set a national precedent for revamping outdated zoning laws as well as generate competition among other U.S. cities to make similar efforts to improve zoning codes.

Source: Inside Climate News

Alta Wind Gets $650 Million for Next Construction Phase

Posted by wberg in Renewable Energy | Tagged , | Leave a comment
2May2012

The next phase of development for the 1.55 gigawatt Alta Wind Energy Center in Tehachapi, California, took a major step forward recently with Terra-Gen Power, LLC announcing that it closed $650 million in construction financing to complete a new phase that will produce an additional 300 megawatts of wind power at the facility. Said to be the largest wind energy facility in the United States, Alta Wind’s current working capacity is 1.02 gigawatts, but the new development phase will increase that capacity to 1.3 gigawatts.

The financing will go toward completing the 168 megawatt Alta Wind VII and the 132 megawatt Alta Wind IX at the facility. The entire Alta Wind project is under a 1,550 megawatt power purchase agreement with Southern California Edison.

Source: Ecoseed

Prenatal Exposure to Air Pollution Linked to Childhood Obesity

Posted by aboccuti in Air Quality, Development, Transportation | Tagged , | Leave a comment
26April2012

Researchers have found that the children exposed in utero to higher concentrations of a common urban pollutant, PAHs, released from the burning of coal, diesel fuel, oil, gas, and other organic substances are more than twice as likely to be obese by the ages of five and seven, by 1.79 and 2.26 times respectively. The seven-year-olds whose mothers had the highest exposure had, on average, 2.4 pounds more fat mass than children of mothers with less exposure.

Authors of the study noted that, while obesity is a “complex disease with multiple risk factors,” air pollution may “tip the scales” of obesity  susceptibility in children. Since certain fuels release more PAH chemicals than others, Dr. Rundle, the study’s lead author and professor of epidemiology at Columbia’s Mailman School of Public Health, notes that one way to reduce PAH exposure in urban settings is to remove diesel buses and retrofit oil furnaces to burn cleaner fuel.

Source: Columbia University Medical Center

Columbia University Medical Center

Columbia University Medical Center

Columbia University Medical Center

Report: Clean Energy Investment Hits Record

Posted by wberg in Uncategorized | Leave a comment
26April2012

According to a recent report from the Pew Charitable Trust, global investment in clean energy reached a record $263 billion in 2011, a 6.5 percent increase from 2010. The United States retook the lead in private finance and investment in clean energy, drawing $48 billion, a 44 percent increase that edged out China’s $45.5 billion investment. Overall, clean energy investment has grown by 600 percent since 2004, according to Pew’s Clean Energy Program.

Approximately 43 gigawatts of wind power were installed in 2011, along with 30 gigawatts of new solar power, with investment in the latter increasing by 48 percent. Significant price declines help fuel the uptick in solar activity. With solar module prices down by half, solar energy accounted for more than half of all clean energy investment in G-20 countries.

Source: Sacramento Business Journal

Heavy Rains, Hot Summer Lead to D+ Grade for Chesapeake Bay Health

Posted by aboccuti in Water Issues | Tagged | Leave a comment
20April2012

The University of Maryland’s Center for Environmental Science released its annual report card for the Chesapeake Bay’s health, awarding the bay a D+ for 2011. The score is the lowest the bay has received since 2003, the worst year for bay health in the history of assessments. Researchers point to heavy spring and fall rains that washed pollutants and sediments into the bay, as well as lower oxygen levels caused by hot, dry summer that spurred algae blooms for the low grade.

Virginia’s Rappahannock suffered as well, receiving a D+. The Patuxent and Elizabeth rivers received failing grades. While some are hopeful that this coming summer will offer better conditions, others worry about the recent warmer temperatures. William Dennison, vice president for science applications at UMCES, points to “thinking locally” as the key to restoring the bay. Dennison stated, “If we can work at the smaller scale, the local streams and waterways, improve those, then we’ll eventually filter into the tributaries and the bay as a whole.”

Source: The Washington Post

Restore America’s Estuaries Releases Landmark Climate/Coastal Habitat Restoration Report

Posted by wberg in Climate Change, Conservation, Ecosystem Services, Greenhouse Gas Emissions, Water Issues | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment
20April2012

A study released Thursday by Restore America’s Estuaries (RAE) for the first time links coastal habitat restoration with adaptation and mitigation strategies as a method for reducing impacts of global climate change. The report, “Restore-Adapt-Mitigate: Responding to Climate Change through Coastal Habitat,” shows that restoring and protecting salt marshes, mangroves, and wetlands can be a critical element of efforts to curb climate change. Among the report’s recommendations are that policy makers and restoration professionals adopt an ecosystem-based restoration perspective and that coastal residents be made aware of and included in preservation and adaptation efforts, given the important link between healthy coasts and community sustainability.

According to the study, many expected effects of climate change, like global warming, sea rise, coastal erosion, and an increase in the severity and frequency of major storms, may not happen gradually, but rather could see a sudden, steep and drastic rise once a tipping point has been reached. Meanwhile, new science has demonstrated that coastal wetlands, and in particular, tidal-saline wetland systems, are highly efficient carbon sinks for greenhouse gases and could sequester carbon at rates 3 to 5 times greater than do temperate forests. Restore America’s Estuaries has been among those leading the charge to create a national greenhouse gas protocol for coastal tidal wetlands.

Source: Restore America’s Estuaries