Tag Archives: water

Frackers are flushing radioactive waste into rivers

by u60uurf Posted on October 4, 2013

Frackers are flushing radioactive waste into rivers

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Kordite

Blacklick Creek in Pennsylvania.

Frackers often treat their wastewater a little bit like sewage, passing it through water treatment plants and then flushing it into streams and rivers. It may be an improvement on pumping the stuff back into the ground, which can trigger earthquakes, but new research reveals that this can be a dangerously shitty approach to managing frack water.

Fracking, or hydraulic fracturing, entails injecting water and chemicals into the ground to break up underground rocks and release oil and gas. When that water burbles back to the surface, however, it comes back laced with traces of metals, isotopes, and other pollutants that normally sit harmlessly deep beneath the soil.

Fracking FAQ: The science and technology behind the natural gas boom

Duke University researchers studied a fracker’s wastewater treatment plant in Pennsylvania and found it removed more than 90 percent of the radioactive radium from the wastewater. But that’s not nearly enough: The researchers

report in the journal Environmental Science and Technology

that the radioisotopes that are slipping through the cracks in the treatment system are accumulating in alarming levels in Blacklick Creek, where the wastewater is dumped.

Radium levels in the sediments at the dumping point in the creek, which eventually flows into the Allegheny River, were found to be 200 times greater than background levels. They were “above radioactive waste disposal threshold regulations, posing potential environmental risks of radium bioaccumulation,” the scientists wrote. From Bloomberg’s coverage:

“The absolute levels that we found are much higher than what you allow in the U.S. for any place to dump radioactive material,” Avner Vengosh, a professor at the Nicholas School of the Environment at Duke University and co-author of the study, said in an interview. “The radium will be bio-accumulating. You eventually could get it in the fish.”

Hydraulic fracturing or fracking has been blamed for contaminating streams and private water wells after spills from wastewater holding ponds or leaks from faulty gas wells. Today’s report exposes the risks of disposing of the surging volumes of waste from gas fracking. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is developing new standards for disposing of gas drilling waste.

Blacklick Creek is already something of an aquatic wasteland, turned orange and acidic by runoff from hundreds of abandoned mines — a misfortune that residents and government agencies have been trying to mend. The latest finding is bleak news not only for the fate of those restoration efforts, but for the safety of creeks and rivers throughout the nation that are becoming dumping grounds as oil and gas companies cash in.


Source
Impacts of Shale Gas Wastewater Disposal on Water Quality in Western Pennsylvania, Environmental Science and Technology
Radiation in Pennsylvania Creek Seen as Legacy of Fracking, Bloomberg

John Upton is a science fan and green news boffin who tweets, posts articles to Facebook, and blogs about ecology. He welcomes reader questions, tips, and incoherent rants: johnupton@gmail.com.

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Frackers are flushing radioactive waste into rivers

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Transforming the game one bag ban at a time

by Myrna Posted on October 2, 2013

Original article – Transforming the game one bag ban at a time Related Articles Connecting more deeply with our supporters Connecting more deeply with our members Treating the beach like an ashtray

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Transforming the game one bag ban at a time

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What the Scopes Trial Teaches Us About Climate-Change Denial

by Myrna Posted on October 2, 2013

The Tennessee courtroom battle showed what can happen when big business joins forces with religious faith. William Jennings Bryant, 1915. BuyEnlarge/ZUMA America has largely forgotten Ray Ginger, the mid-20th century historian whose tenure as a professor at Harvard University ended badly during the McCarthy era when the college, to its eternal discredit, demanded that he and his wife swear loyalty oaths. Afterward, Ginger wrote two excellent books, including Six Days or Forever, which remains one of the most colorful and definitive accounts of the 1925 Scopes “Monkey Trial” and the iconic courtroom clash between Clarence Darrow and William Jennings Bryan.* Ironically, Six Days now reads like the Book of Revelations (which Darrow grandly mocked before, during, and after the trial). Indeed, it is revelatory to see how the forces that animated the run-up to the Scopes trial 90 years ago are still present today. We see their work mostly in the dogged renewal of the fight to teach creationism to our children and in the rancor over the truth about the human causes of global warming. To call these forces anti-science is accurate but not the entire story. It’s something broader than that. To keep reading, click here. View post: What the Scopes Trial Teaches Us About Climate-Change Denial Related Articles What Happens When The Government Shuts Down 94 Percent of the EPA Live from Stockholm: Global Science Panel Releases Landmark Climate Report World Scientists Put Finishing Touches on Major Climate Report

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What the Scopes Trial Teaches Us About Climate-Change Denial

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World’s biggest solar thermal power plant fired up in California

by bt88jtv Posted on September 25, 2013

World’s biggest solar thermal power plant fired up in California

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Business WireIvanpah on Tuesday.

The 3,500-acre Ivanpah Solar Electric Generating System is a startling sight in the Mojave Desert. Three sprawling units each contain a circular array of mirrors reflecting rays from the sun toward a 459-foot central tower. Water in the tower is heated by the rays to produce steam, which spins turbines and — voila — electricity is produced.

It all seems a bit magical, but as of Tuesday, the world’s largest solar thermal power plant began feeding energy into a power grid for the first time.

How much energy? Once fully operational, the project is expected to produce 377 megawatts of power that will be sold to two Californian utilities, helping the state’s electricity sector meet ambitious, state-mandated renewable energy goals. During some days it could provide enough power for more than 200,000 homes.

Partners in the project include NRG Energy, BrightSource Energy, Google, Bechtel and, of course, you and me. The federal government leased public land to the effort and backed it up with one of those loan guarantees that you heard so much about in 2011 and 2012.

It’s not just the loan guarantee that made this a controversial project. Some environmentalists have been angered by its impacts on the desert ecosystem, focusing on displaced desert tortoises. Others have questioned why a solar plant that uses water would be built in the desert — instead of one that uses photovoltaic panels.

But with the historic “first sync” of one of the power plant’s three units on Tuesday, it might be a good idea to put those questions aside for now and just celebrate the achievement of a massive solar milestone in California.

John Upton is a science fan and green news boffin who tweets, posts articles to Facebook, and blogs about ecology. He welcomes reader questions, tips, and incoherent rants: johnupton@gmail.com.Find this article interesting? Donate now to support our work.Read more: Business & Technology

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World’s biggest solar thermal power plant fired up in California

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Court to EPA on Gulf dead-zone rules: Make up your freakin’ mind

by BerndHugg Posted on September 24, 2013

Court to EPA on Gulf dead-zone rules: Make up your freakin’ mind

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Is it time for the federal government to drop the hammer on the farmers whose fertilizer gushes into the Mississippi River, fueling sweeping dead zones in the Gulf of Mexico? The Environmental Protection Agency now has six months to decide.

The deadline comes via a federal judge in New Orleans in response to a lawsuit from the Natural Resources Defense Council and other environmental groups. The enviros argue that states aren’t doing enough to tackle the problem, and have petitioned the feds to use the Clean Water Act to take charge. But the EPA has been wishy-washy, neither agreeing nor disagreeing that regulating the nutrient runoff should be its responsibility.

Travis S.

The Mississippi River is loaded with nutrients that fertilize algae outbreaks.

From the New Orleans Times-Picayune:

[The environmentalists’] petition asked EPA to establish numerical water quality standards for nitrogen and phosphorus pollution in the Mississippi River and the northern Gulf of Mexico. They also asked EPA to establish “total daily maximum loads,” specific numerical amounts of the two pollutants that would be allowed in individual segments of the river and its tributaries.

The daily loads would impact any existing and future permits for pollution sources along those stretches, likely polluters to reduce the release of nitrogen and phosphorus when permit renewals or new permits were requested.

Thanks to the new ruling, the EPA’s indecisiveness should evaporate before next summer’s oxygen-starved dead zone takes root. On Friday, U.S. District Judge Jay Zainey announced that the EPA must rule within 180 days on whether federal regulations are necessary.

Here’s one of NRDC’s Midwestern attorneys, Ann Alexander, doing a touchdown dance in a blog post:

EPA has repeatedly gone on record saying that states have not done enough to solve the problem, and that federal action is hence necessary to set numeric limits on nitrogen and phosphorus to aid the process of setting discharge limits in permits. Yet when NRDC and some of our partners in the Mississippi River Collaborative filed a petition in 2008 asking that EPA render a formal decision that federal action is necessary, the agency balked…

But EPA’s days of waffling are now over. The court has ordered it to tell us, point blank, whether federal intervention is or is not necessary to address the problem.

Here’s hoping the EPA steps up and does what the states have been unwilling or unable to do: Protect the Gulf from farms that overload their land with fertilizer, laying waste to some of the nation’s most productive fishing grounds.

John Upton is a science fan and green news boffin who tweets, posts articles to Facebook, and blogs about ecology. He welcomes reader questions, tips, and incoherent rants: johnupton@gmail.com.Find this article interesting? Donate now to support our work.Read more: Food

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Court to EPA on Gulf dead-zone rules: Make up your freakin’ mind

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Pebble Mine project in Alaska is on the ropes

by Arthur Crown Posted on September 17, 2013

Pebble Mine project in Alaska is on the ropes

By

Friends of Bristol Bay

A waterway that leads to Bristol Bay.

The future of the controversial Pebble Mine, which could excavate 186 square miles [PDF] of pristine Alaskan terrain, is now very much up in the air.

The proposed mine near Bristol Bay would dig up an estimated $300 billion worth of gold, copper, and molybdenum. But it would threaten another treasure: one of the world’s biggest salmon runs, which provides half the world’s supply of sockeye.

One of two global mining giants involved in the project announced Monday that it was walking away from what it regards as a high-risk venture. U.K.-based Anglo American had spent $541 million getting the 50/50 joint-venture project nearly to the point where it could begin applying for state and federal permits. By quitting now, it avoids spending nearly $1 billion more it had agreed to sink into development of the mine. Anglo told shareholders it would write $300 million of intangible assets off of its ledger at the end of the year — the price of walking away from a deal that it once thought would lead to bountiful riches.

It’s too early to say what this will mean for the fate of the project, but environmentalists rejoiced in the news while investors choked on it.

“Anglo American’s decision to pull out of the potentially disastrous Pebble Mine highlights the incredible risks the project brings to Bristol Bay’s local communities and fisheries,” World Wildlife Fund Arctic campaigner Dave Aplin said. “When a company is willing to accept a $300 million charge to walk away from a project, it gives you a sense of just how bad of an idea the proposed Pebble Mine really is.”

Opponents of the mine worry that it would wreck an ecologically rich and remarkable landscape. Local fishermen are particularly concerned, fearing the project could destroy their livelihoods — and the livelihoods of the processors and traders that rely on them [PDF].

The timing of the announcement was interesting: It came just weeks after EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy visited the site, which environmentalists and fishermen are lobbying her to protect using provisions of the Clean Water Act. Results of a recent poll indicated that more than 60 percent of Alaskans would vote in a favor of a proposed 2014 ballot initiative to block the mine.

The announcement also coincides with falling worldwide commodity prices.

In Monday’s announcement, Anglo American said it wants to reduce financial risks and reduce spending on “such projects during the pre-approval phases.”

Northern Dynasty Minerals, a publicly traded subsidiary of Canadian mining company Hunter Dickinson, is now left all alone in trying to push through with the mine. Its chief executive put an optimistic spin on the news during a call Monday with reporters. “We will now be back in possession of 100 percent of the Pebble Project and the beneficiary of something north of $540 million worth of expenditures by Anglo over the past five years,” Ron Thiessen said. He insisted the project would move forward, but acknowledged that he really doesn’t know what lies ahead. The company’s board of directors has not yet met to discuss next steps.

Northern Dynasty might be trying to sound upbeat, but investors were having none of it. The company doesn’t have enough money to develop the mine alone. Shares in the company were being traded at $1.50 on Monday — an all-time low, well below the $5 at which its shares were trading a year ago.

If the project is called off, what’s bad news for the mining company’s investors would prove to be wonderful news for the environment.

John Upton is a science fan and green news boffin who tweets, posts articles to Facebook, and blogs about ecology. He welcomes reader questions, tips, and incoherent rants: johnupton@gmail.com.Find this article interesting? Donate now to support our work.Read more: Business & Technology

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Pebble Mine project in Alaska is on the ropes

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The global land rush

by Hedrick Lepsch Posted on September 17, 2013

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Cesar’s Way – Cesar Millan & Melissa Jo Peltier

“I rehabilitate dogs. I train people.” —Cesar Millan There are at least 68 million dogs in America, and their owners lavish billions of dollars on them every year. So why do so many pampered pets have problems? In this definitive and accessible guide, Cesar Millan—star of National Geographic Channel’s hit show Dog Whisperer with Cesar Millan —reveals what do […]

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Codex: Space Marines (Enhanced Edition) – Games Workshop

The Space Marines are the chosen warriors of the Emperor, and the greatest fighting force of the Imperium. Each Space Marine is a genetically enhanced super soldier, easily a match for a dozen lesser men, armed with some of the deadliest weapons in the galaxy and encased in formidable power armour. This codex explores the formations and Chapters of the Space […]

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Amy Butler’s Style Stitches – Amy Butler

Now in ebook for the first time ever! Celebrated designer Amy Butler’s most coveted products are her handbag sewing patterns. In Style Stitches , Butler presents an array of new bag designs for her fans across the globe. The ebook offers 12 basic patterns with enough variations to achieve 26 unique looks. Ranging from chic clutches and delicate wristlet […]

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Marley & Me – John Grogan

The heartwarming and unforgettable story of a family and the wondrously neurotic dog who taught them what really matters in life. Now with photos and new material

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Cat Sense – John Bradshaw

Cats have been popular household pets for thousands of years, and their numbers only continue to rise. Today there are three cats for every dog on the planet, and yet cats remain more mysterious, even to their most adoring owners. In Cat Sense , renowned anthrozoologist John Bradshaw takes us further into the mind of the domestic cat than ever before, using […]

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How to Raise the Perfect Dog – Cesar Millan & Melissa Jo Peltier

From the bestselling author and star of National Geographic Channel’s Dog Whisperer , the only resource you’ll need for raising a happy, healthy dog. For the millions of people every year who consider bringing a puppy into their lives–as well as those who have already brought a dog home–Cesar Millan, the preeminent dog behavior expert, says, “Yes, […]

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The Art of Raising a Puppy (Revised Edition) – Monks of New Skete

For more than thirty years the Monks of New Skete have been among America’s most trusted authorities on dog training, canine behavior, and the animal/human bond. In their two now-classic bestsellers, How to be Your Dog’s Best Friend and The Art of Raising a Puppy, the Monks draw on their experience as long-time breeders of German shepherds and as t […]

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Warhammer 40,000: The Rules – Games Workshop

There is no time for peace. No respite. No forgiveness. There is only WAR. In the nightmare future of the 41st Millennium, Mankind teeters upon the brink of destruction. The galaxy-spanning Imperium of Man is beset on all sides by ravening aliens and threatened from within by Warp-spawned entities and heretical plots. Only the strength of the immortal […]

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Index Astartes: Apothecaries – Games Workshop

Apothecaries are the battle-medics of the Space Marine Chapters, tending to fallen battle-brothers in the chaos of combat using their skills to get them back into the fight. The Apothecaries are also the guardian’s of a Chapter’s genetic history, ensuring that its gene-seed is keep pure and safe for the creation of future Space Marines. About this Series: Th […]

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A Big Little Life – Dean Koontz

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER In a profound, funny, and beautifully rendered portrait of a beloved companion, bestselling novelist Dean Koontz remembers the golden retriever who changed his life. A retired service dog, Trixie was three when Dean and his wife, Gerda, welcomed her into their home. She was superbly trained, but her greatest gifts couldn’t be taught […]

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The global land rush

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There’s arsenic in your rice, but don’t worry about it, says FDA

by d2wk58 Posted on September 10, 2013

There’s arsenic in your rice, but don’t worry about it, says FDA

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Shutterstock

Rice grows in water, which is often contaminated with arsenic.

Whenever you eat rice, a prevalent but poisonous element is all over your meal like, well, white on rice.

The U.S. Food & Drug Administration tested 1,300 samples of rice and rice-based products and found that they all contained very low levels of arsenic [PDF].

Grains of rice tested had average levels of inorganic arsenic ranging from 2.6 to 7.2 micrograms per serve. Tragically, instant rice contained the least amount of arsenic and brown rice had the most. Products containing rice ingredients also contained arsenic.

That isn’t much arsenic — a microgram is one-millionth of a gram, and there are 28 grams in an ounce. But is it dangerous?

In the short term, the FDA says no. “These amounts of detectable arsenic are not high enough to cause any immediate or short-term adverse health effects,” the agency wrote on its website. In the long run? Nobody’s really sure. “The FDA intends to conduct a risk assessment considering how much arsenic is consumed from rice and rice products, and whether there are variations in health effects for certain segments of the population.”

Can you get your rice without arsenic? Apparently not. From The Christian Science Monitor:

FDA toxicologist Suzanne C. Fitzpatrick said that because arsenic is naturally occurring it is going to be in food, and because rice is grown in water it will always have higher levels.

“It’s not something that we can just pull off the market,” she said.

The rice industry said Friday that it is working with the FDA and is encouraged by the results of the study. The industry has been conducting several of its own studies to try to figure out how to reduce arsenic levels, including investigating different ways to manage the water in which rice is grown and looking at processing and rinsing methods to see if there are ways to reduce arsenic levels.

Meanwhile, the FDA suggests that you balance a mix of grains and other foods in your diet to help water down any risks.

Read more about arsenic in rice — and how it got there. 

John Upton is a science fan and green news boffin who tweets, posts articles to Facebook, and blogs about ecology. He welcomes reader questions, tips, and incoherent rants: johnupton@gmail.com.Find this article interesting? Donate now to support our work.Read more: Food

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There’s arsenic in your rice, but don’t worry about it, says FDA

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New Orleans has a radical new plan for managing floods

by Olesiacei Posted on September 10, 2013

New Orleans has a radical new plan for managing floods

By

Derek Bridges

New Orleans won’t let a little rain kill its buzz.

The Big Easy has a multibillion-dollar new philosophy for dealing with flooding: Let it happen. (At least in some spots.)

New Orleans is a low-lying city built on swampland, and its leaders are finally coming to terms with that hydrological reality. No longer will officials try to drain and pump out every drop of water that falls or flows their way.

Instead, under the Greater New Orleans Urban Water Plan, floodwaters would be corralled into areas that serve as parks during drier times. Rain gardens and bioswales would help the earth suck up more of the rain that falls on it. And water would be funneled into year-round canals and ponds that support wildlife, improve soil quality, and generally pretty up the place.

The plan, which was developed in consultation with Dutch engineers, wouldn’t shelter the city from catastrophic floods if its levees fail — as happened after Hurricane Katrina in 2005. But it would help turn the region’s heavy rainfall from a hazard into an asset. That’s becoming especially important, with Louisiana enduring America’s fastest rates of sea-level rise and experiencing increasingly intense downpours as the globe warms up.

“We know how to do this. We just forgot,” Deputy Mayor Cedric Grant said at a ceremony as the plan was unveiled on Friday. “We had to be reminded by our friends from the Netherlands.”

The $6.2 billion plan aims to solve two pressing problems. It would help reduce flood damage in a naturally soggy city during a period of climate upheaval. And it would help recharge desiccated soils with moisture, preventing the ground from sinking ever further beneath sea level. From the vision outlined in the plan:

Greater New Orleans has always contended with flooding from rainfall, and now faces new challenges, including changing climate, rising seas, and human-induced sinking of the land.

Last century’s infrastructure enabled widespread urbanization in a wet delta environment, but the principles underlying that infrastructure are no longer adequate to sustain the region.

A new approach to water — the region’s most abundant asset — is the foundation for building a safe, prosperous and beautiful future on the Mississippi River Delta.

Of course, overhauling century-old city infrastructure won’t be easy, and it’s not clear how the needed billions of dollars would be raised. From the New Orleans Times-Picayune:

The sheer ambition of the plan lays bare the difficulty of any swift implementation. For that reason, its chief architect, architect and planner David Waggonner, said it looks long-term, to 2050, for a completion date.

While the numbers are hard to prove, … supporters said they believed the new plan could provide an $11.3 billion economic benefit to the region in terms of rising property values and reduced risk of flooding.

Regardless of how long this takes, it’s sure nice to see N’awlins becoming friends again with the bountiful water that once defined it.

John Upton is a science fan and green news boffin who tweets, posts articles to Facebook, and blogs about ecology. He welcomes reader questions, tips, and incoherent rants: johnupton@gmail.com.Find this article interesting? Donate now to support our work.Read more: Cities

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New Orleans has a radical new plan for managing floods

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Radiation Near Japanese Plant’s Tanks Suggests New Leaks

by Myrna Posted on August 31, 2013

The crisis over tons of contaminated water at the plant, crippled two years ago by an earthquake and tsunami, has worsened. This article:  Radiation Near Japanese Plant’s Tanks Suggests New Leaks ; ;Related ArticlesThe Texas Tribune: Fighting Pest, Farmers Find Strange Ally: A DroughtDot Earth Blog: ‘Hurricane Marco Rubio’ – A Winning Climate Campaign?Canvassing Central Park and Finding New Tenants ;

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Radiation Near Japanese Plant’s Tanks Suggests New Leaks

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