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Keystone Pipeline Facts

Fri, 10 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0800

readersupportednews.org - By Robert Redford - Feb. 10 (News Analysis) - 'Joe Nocera's op-ed in the New York Times yesterday deserves a response and a reiteration of the facts surrounding the Keystone XL tar sands pipeline. ...Let's put the rhetoric aside, and simply focus on the facts. Nocera wants us to believe that approving this pipeline is a matter of national security. ... The Keystone XL tar sands pipeline would not make the United States of America safer. Why? It would not make us safer, because the majority of the processed oil was already scheduled for export to foreign countries. That's right, this Keystone XL pipeline's Canadian tar sands oil would have

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League of Conservation Voters: George Allen Named to Dirty Dozen

Fri, 10 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0800

action.lcv.org - Feb. 10 (Press Release) - Former Virginia Senator George Allen earned an abysmal 1% LCV lifetime score during his time in the Senate. Additionally, Allen has received nearly $500,000 from oil and gas interests. This is Allen's 3rd time on the Dirty Dozen, having been named to the list in 2000 and 2006.

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Meltdown: Earth Rapidly Losing Ice Cover - Olga Belogolova - NationalJournal.com

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0800

National Journal - By Olga Belogolova - Feb. 09 (News Report) - Glaciers and ice caps outside of Greenland and Antarctica are losing nearly 150 billion tons of ice each year, contributing to an annual 0.4 millimeter rise in sea levels globally, according to a study done by the University of Colorado at Boulder.

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What NASA's Blue Marble Photo Reveals About Climate Change

Wed, 08 Feb 2012 11:39:00 -0800

Mother Jones - By Bill McKibben - Feb. 08 - In fact, it's likely that the week that photo was taken will prove "the driest first week in recorded US history." Indeed, it followed on 2011, which showed the greatest weather extremes in our history—56 percent of the country was either in drought or f

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Asia's highest mountains have lost no ice in past 10 years, study shows

Wed, 08 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0800

The Guardian - By Damian Carrington - Feb. 08 (News Report) - The world's greatest snow-capped peaks, which run in a chain from the Himalayas to Tian Shan on the border of China and Kyrgyzstan, have lost no ice over the last decade, new research shows. The discovery has stunned scientists, who had believed that aro

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New beach water rules: Enough to make you sick - latimes.com

Tue, 07 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0800

Los Angeles Times - By Mark Gold - Feb. 07 (Opinion) - ..it's highly unlikely that much will improve.

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"Global Warming Has Stopped"? How to Fool People Using "Cherry-Picked" Climate Data

Mon, 06 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0800

Forbes - By Peter Gleick - Feb. 06 - The current favorite argument of those who argue that climate changes isn?t happening, or a problem, or worth dealing with, is that global warming has stopped. Therefore (they conclude) scientists must be wrong when they say that climate change is caused by humans, worsening, and ultimately a serious environmental problem

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Antarctica’s about to lose a New York City-sized chunk

Fri, 03 Feb 2012 17:20:00 -0800

Grist - By Jess Zimmerman - Feb. 03 - A NASA photograph of the crack across Pine Island Glacier Normally when icebergs split off from glaciers, it’s called “calving,” but I think it would be fair to say that Antarctica’s Pine Island Glacier is about to have a cow. Pine Island Glacier, which

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"Gasland" Director Josh Fox Fires Back at Republicans After His Unfair Arrest

Thu, 02 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0800

AlterNet - By Ed Schultz - Feb. 02 (Interview) - Gasland director Josh Fox, ... was arrested this week, in violation of his first amendment rights, while covering a Congressional hearing on fracking. In the interview, Fox fires back at the Republicans who have been targeting him

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'Stirling' power should propel spacecraft, experts say

Thu, 02 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0800

New Scientist - Feb. 02 - 'Stirling' power should propel spacecraft, experts say

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Acta goes too far, says MEP

Wed, 01 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0800

The Guardian - By Charles Arthur - Feb. 01 - Kader Arif, the lead Acta negotiator in the European Parliament, says Acta potentially cuts access to lifesaving generic drugs and restricts online freedom The French MEP who resigned his position in charge of negotiating the international Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (Acta) has said it "goes too far" by potentially cutting access to lifesaving generic drugs and restricting internet freedom. In an exclusive interview with the Guardian, Kader Arif – a member of the European Parliament's international trade group, who was the lead negotiator over Acta – said that despite talks over the agreement having begun in 2007, "the European Parliament, which represents the rights of the people, had no access to this mandate, neither had it information of the position defended by the commission or the demands of the other parties to the agreement". Arif resigned in protest on 26 January as the EU signed the treaty, saying that he wished to "denounce in the strongest manner the process that led ...

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EXCLUSIVE: Virginia Officials Confirm Criminal Election Fraud Investigation of Gingrich Campaign

Tue, 31 Jan 2012 00:00:00 -0800

Brad Blog - Jan. 31 (News) - Had the same thing been carried out by a worker for the now-defunct ACORN, Republicans -- and even Newt Gingrich -- would have called it massive "voter fraud". But the 1,500 acts of fraud, by Gingrich's own admission, were carried out by a worker hired by his campaign, so ...

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Water leaks found at stricken Japan nuclear plant

Mon, 30 Jan 2012 00:00:00 -0800

MSN.com - Jan. 30 (News Report) - "The cooling water is from a filtrate tank for fire extinction and doesn't contain radioactive materials," Tepco said of the incident at reactor No. 4. It added that some water from the other leakage had flowed into a drain and "we are examining whether this water has flowed into the ocean or not."

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Gains in DNA Are Speeding Research Into Human Origins

Mon, 30 Jan 2012 00:00:00 -0800

New York Times - By Alanna Mitchell - Jan. 30 (Special Report) - Remains from a Siberian cave and faster, cheaper technology are helping scientists draw a complex new picture of human origins.

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Reagan’s Road to Climate Perdition

Mon, 30 Jan 2012 00:00:00 -0800

Consortium News - By Consortiumnews.com - Jan. 30 - Reagan’s Road to Climate Perdition

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Samsung Galaxy Note will be available at AT&T stores Feb. 19

Mon, 30 Jan 2012 23:02:00 -0800

Los Angeles Times - Jan. 30 - Samsung's much-anticipated Galaxy Note will be available at AT&T on Feb. 19 for $300 with a two-year contract. The 4G LTE smartphone can be pre-ordered online or in stores beginning Sunday for delivery by Feb. 17, the company said. Samsung has been hypin

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Forget global warming - it's Cycle 25 we need to worry about (and if NASA scientists are right the Thames will be freezing over again)

Sun, 29 Jan 2012 00:00:00 -0800

Daily Mail - By David Rose - Jan. 29 (News Analysis) - Figures suggest that we could even be heading for a mini ice age to rival the 70-year temperature drop that saw frost fairs held on the Thames in the 17th Century.

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Apple: Poor working conditions inside the Chinese factories making iPads

Sun, 29 Jan 2012 00:00:00 -0800

Daily Mail - Jan. 29 (News) - Staff and safety experts have spoken out about the conditions in Chinese factories, with banners in one giving a warning of: 'Work hard on the job today or work hard to find a job tomorrow'.

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Panel: Start now to replace Nevada nuke site

Sat, 28 Jan 2012 00:00:00 -0800

tri-cityherald.com - By Matthew Daly - Jan. 28 (News Report) - The Union of Concerned Scientists said construction of an interim storage facility for nuclear waste poses a stiff political challenge and could distract from the more important goal of finding a permanent repository site.

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“Winter Jam Canceled Due to Lack of Winter”

Fri, 27 Jan 2012 17:38:00 -0800

Grist - By Jess Zimmerman - Jan. 27 - Apparently this year isn’t among New York’s ten warmest winters on record, but it’s too warm for the scheduled activities, some of which require snow. The parks department was prepared to make the snow, rather than relying on nature to provide, but the f

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STUDY: The Press And The Pipeline

Thu, 26 Jan 2012 00:00:00 -0800

Media Matters - By Jfk, Jnf - Jan. 26 (Special Report) - A Media Matters analysis shows that as a whole, news coverage of the Keystone XL pipeline between August 1 and December 31 favored pipeline proponents. Although the project would create few long-term employment opportunities, the pipeline was primarily portrayed as a jobs issue.

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The State of Obama’s Facts

Wed, 25 Jan 2012 00:00:00 -0800

FactCheck - By Brooks Jackson, D’Angelo Gore, Eugene Kiely, Robert Farley, Ben Finley, Lori Robertson - Jan. 25 (Fact Check) - The president’s State of the Union address got the facts right — mostly. Obama said “the Taliban’s momentum has been broken” in Afghanistan. But targeted assassinations continue, and at least one independent foreign policy expert says the enemy may just be waiting until the U.S. leaves. The president said a get-tough tariff on tire imports from China has saved more than 1,000 U.S. jobs. But tire industry officials say Chinese imports have simply been replaced by imports from other countries. He took credit for putting “more boots on the border than ever before.” That’s true, but the big increase was under George W. Bush. And a decrease in illegal border crossings is due mainly to the lack of jobs in the U.S., experts say. Often the president’s facts and figures were accurate — but not the whole story. It’s true (barely) that Bush issued more new regulations than Obama at the same point in their presidencies — but Obama didn’t mention that his cost more. The president pointed proudly to increased oil drilling, increased U.S. oil production, and declining dependence on imports. But understandably he passed over any mention of chronically high gasoline prices, which hit a record of sorts last year. And he boasted of recent increases in jobs — which still number nearly 1.7 million fewer than when he took office.

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Boehner invites pipeline pals to State o’ Union

Wed, 25 Jan 2012 01:52:00 -0800

Grist - By Scott Rosenberg - Jan. 25 - As the camera pans around the Capitol chamber for President Obama’s State of the Union address, see if you can spot the representatives from the state of Oil: four avid supporters of the Keystone XL Pipeline who will attend the speech as the guests of Ho

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Reef Fish at Risk as Carbon Dioxide Levels Build

Sat, 21 Jan 2012 00:00:00 -0800

readersupportednews.org - Jan. 21 (Special Report) - Rising carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions threaten the survival of some fish species by sending their central nervous systems haywire.' Australian Associated Press

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New, modular nuclear plant ready for U.S. introduction

Fri, 20 Jan 2012 16:17:57 -0800

Public Radio International - By Living on Earth - Jan. 20 - The Nuclear Regulatory Commission gave the nuclear energy industry a Christmas present late last year. In December, the governmental body approved Westinghouse's AP 1000 reactor for use in the United States. No commercial reactors have been built in the United States in more than 30 years but Westinghouse, a subsidiary of Toshiba hopes this new technology, which is already being used extensively in China, will jump start the industry. Leslie Kass, a Senior Director at the Nuclear Energy Institute, said the new design, known as advanced passive, has no features to make it safer than ever before. "The AP 1000 reactor doesn’t require power or operator action to maintain safe shutdown for up to 72 hours," she explained. "And in the case of a Fukushima-like accident, you wouldn’t have a fuel melt because you don’t require any of the off-site power that they so desperately needed." Approval didn't come without controversy. NRC Safety Engineer John Ma told the commission he was worried the building around the reactor could "crack like a glass cup." Kass said Ma's concerns were reviewed extensively both by the commission and industry to make sure the design would stand up. After a four year review, the reactor gained approval. The big step forward with this technology is that instead of each reactor being built from the ground up on site, reactors will now start their lives in a factory, where conditions can be more closely monitored while moving faster than with an on-site build. The plan is "to have a standardized fleet of reactors worldwide, which is good for regulators," Kass said. "It’s less systems to learn and comprehend, it’s good economics because it’s repeat build, and it’s easier maintenance because you have similar components and designs." Some are utilities in five southern states looking to build 14 of these new advanced passive reactors. The NRC has streamlined the process to build a new reactor so, in theory, it's easier to get a permit and build a plant. Now a construction and operating permit is issued at the same time. It also reduces the likelihood of a successful lawsuit to halt operations of a plant — once it's been built. "There’s a very high bar to show prima facie evidence that the licensee has not conducted the construction in accordance with their license, that there were true defects," Kass said. "So frivolous lawsuits are kept out." The new plants aren't cheap. A utility in Georgia is expecting to spent about $14 billion for two reactors. In South Carolina a consortium is looking at two reactors for $12 billion. The costs are fully load, for transmission and land acquisition and permitting. Each pair of reactors would generate eneough power for 1.6 million homes. The Obama administration wants to provide about $50 billion in loan guarantees to utilities who build new nuclear plants. "We’re getting off to a slow start here in the United States," Kass said. "And I think, do a few carefully and then move forward. So once we prove the technology and the licensing process, it should certainly get easier to obtain financing." Kass said the loan guarantees are worth it, and necessary, because nuclear power is so expensive and electric utilities are actually quite small. One of the largest electric utilities in the country has a total value of just $50 billion, so these companies are risking insolvency if the power plants can't be built. Plus, she said, these plants provide thousands of construction jobs as well as hundreds of well-paying jobs for operators. But the question remains of where the nuclear waste will go, once these new plants are operational. "Politically, it’s a big problem. Technically, it’s not a big problem. We have the fuel securely stored at our sites," Kass said. "it’s not that large a problem — if you took all the used fuel from the 50 years of commercial operation of reactors here in the U.S., you’d have one football field about ten yards high." Kass said this approval, along with approval to develop smaller reactors, anywhere from 25 to 300 megawatts, could lead to the long-discussed nuclear renaissance. "There are 63 nuclear reactors under construction worldwide, and you see countries like China and India and Russia and several different countries in Europe moving forward with new reactors," Kass said. "Here in the U.S., again, we’re going to start slowly, but I think you’ll see as demand increases and as folks look to diversify their energy portfolio, nuclear certainly is an attractive option."

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