June 2013

Fracking Creates Water Scarcity Issues in Michigan

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EcoWatch, By: Friends of the Au Gres-Rifle Watershed, 06/06/2013

 

Westerman gas/oil well, Kalkaska County, MI. Photo courtesy of Respect My Planet.

 

Concerns about the impact to local groundwater by massive water use—on a scale never before seen in Michigan fracking operations—are coming to a head, as the plan for Encana Oil & Gas (USA) Inc. to use 8.4 million gallons of water to fracture a single well has been stymied by a lack of water on site.

 

Instead, the company is trucking water—nearly 1 million gallons of it in just one week—from the City of Kalkaska’s water system to meet its needs. This one fracking operation today is using more water than Kalkaska is using for all its needs over the same time period. The Westerman 1-29 HD1 gas/oil well, located on Wood Road in Rapid River Township, Kalkaska County, originally permitted to Chevron Michigan, LLC, is now being operated by Encana.

 

West Texas Oilfield Town Has Run Out of Water

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The Texas Tribune, By: Kate Galbraith, 06/07/2013

 

photo by Jennifer Whitney

 

Barnhart, a small community in West Texas, has run out of water. John Nanny, an Irion County commissioner and an official with Barnhart’s water supply corporation, said on Thursday that the situation was serious. When reached by telephone, he was working on pumping operations and hoped to have a backup well in service Friday morning. A load of bottled water was on its way to the community center, he said.

 

The town has one main well that serves 112 customers, according to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality. But the well stopped pumping quickly enough Tuesday evening, and while there is still some water in it, Nanny said, “We don’t want to get down to the mud.”

 

For more on this story www.earthfirstnews.wordpress.com

Debbie Stabenow Pledges To Oppose Monsanto Protection Act Extension Without Full Debate

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The Huffington Post, By: Ryan Grim, 06/06/2013

 

 

WASHINGTON -- Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.), the chairwoman of the Agriculture Committee, pledged to oppose the extension of the so-called the Monsanto Protection Act, a victory for advocates who have been pressing for its repeal.

 

Stabenow made her pledge in a conversation with Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), who has been pushing the Senate to vote on an amendment to the farm bill that would repeal the provision. That vote was blocked by Republicans and on Thursday morning the Senate voted to end debate and move to final passage.

 

For more on this story www.huffingtonpost.com

Massive Database of GMO Evidence gives Worldwide Picture of Harm

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Sustainable Agriculture, by Admin, 06/07/2013

 

Mother-Baby

 

GMO Evidence has released a new resource showing the harm that GMOs and Roundup have caused in countries worldwide.

 

Evidence of the harm caused by GMOs (+ Roundup) has until now been hidden deep in thousands of pages of information and the new GMO Evidence site has ploughed through them to create an easy-to-use database that was set up by the owners of Sustainable Pulse.

 

For more on this story visit www.sustainablepulse.com

Vermont Marijuana Decriminalization Signed Into Law, Reduces Penalties For Possession Up To An Ounce

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The Huffington Post, By: Nick Wing, 06/06/2013

 

Vermont Marijuana Decriminalization

 

Vermont Gov. Peter Shumlin (D) signed a bill on Thursday decriminalizing the possession of small amounts of marijuana. The new law, which goes into effect on July 1, will remove criminal penalties on possession of up to an ounce of cannabis and replace them with civil fines. “I applaud the Legislature’s action to decriminalize the possession of small amounts of marijuana," Shumlin said last month, announcing his support for the bill. "Vermonters support sensible drug policies. This legislation allows our courts and law enforcement to focus their limited resources more effectively to fight highly addictive opiates such as heroin and prescription drugs that are tearing apart families and communities."

 

According to the new measure, first-time offenders will not get more than a $200 fine for possession. The fine will increase for repeat offenders. Under the law, marijuana possession will no longer result in the creation of a criminal record.

 

Monsanto Surrenders: Ends All GMO Lobbying In Europe

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Care2.com, By: Beth Buczynski, 06/03/2013

 

Monsanto Surrenders: Ends All GMO Lobbying In Europe

 

It’s almost surreal, but it’s true. Monsanto has officially give up its fight to spread genetically modified seeds and plants throughout Europe. In a time when the power and political influence of Monsanto Co. seems nearly insurmountable, this is a huge victory for opponents of genetic engineering. For those in the U.S. and other countries where Monsanto’s stranglehold is palpable, it serves as a rally cry to keep up the good fight.

 

“We’ve come to the conclusion that this has no broad acceptance at the moment,” Monsanto Germany spokeswoman, Ursula Lüttmer-Ouazane, told Taz, a Geman newspaper. According to Reuters, European officials for Monsanto also told Taz “that they were no longer doing any lobby work for cultivation in Europe and not seeking any new approvals for genetically modified plants.” Just as in the United States, millions of European citizens have spoken out against Monsanto’s unchecked control of agriculture through the use of patented, genetically-modified seeds and plants.

 

Phivolcs: At least 164 aftershocks recorded from North Cotabato quake

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Gmanetwork.com, 06/04/2013

 

 

At least 164 aftershocks have been recorded in North Cotabato since a magnitude-5.7 quake jolted the area last June 1, the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology said Tuesday. But Phivolcs also advised residents in North Cotabato to expect more aftershocks in the coming days, radio dzBB's Allan Gatus reported.

 

Of the 164 aftershocks, at least 22 were felt, including a second magnitude-5.7 quake on Monday. The quakes had prompted authorities to declare a state of calamity in Carmen town in North Cotabato, which suffered much damage. For its part, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council said at least 141 families had been affected by the quakes.

 

For more on this story visit www.gmanetwork.com/news

New Explanation for Slow Earthquakes On San Andreas

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Sciencedaily.com, 06/05/2013

 

 

New Zealand's geologic hazards agency reported this week an ongoing, "silent" earthquake that began in January is still going strong. Though it is releasing the energy equivalent of a 7.0 earthquake, New Zealanders can't feel it because its energy is being released over a long period of time, therefore slow, rather than a few short seconds.

 

These so-called "slow slip events" are common at subduction zone faults -- where an oceanic plate meets a continental plate and dives beneath it. They also occur on continents along strike-slip faults like California's San Andreas, where two plates move horizontally in opposite directions.

 

6.1 magnitude earthquake strikes near Solomon Islands

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Theextinctionprotocol, 06/05/2013

 

Solomon Islands June 5

 

SOLOMON ISLANDS - A 6.1-magnitude earthquake has struck off the Solomon Islands, the US Geological Survey says, but no immediate tsunami warning has been issued. The tremor, at a depth of 64 kilometers, hit in the Santa Cruz Islands, some 89 kilometers south of the remote town of Lata, where a tsunami left at least 10 people dead in February.

 

Geoscience Australia gave a higher preliminary measurement of 6.6-magnitude, but said it was unlikely to have caused a local tsunami in the quake-prone region. “That magnitude may change over time as we get more data,” duty seismologist Spiro Spiliopoulos told AFP, adding that they measured the depth at about 60 kilometers.

 

Moderate 5.3 magnitude earthquake shakes Hawaii Island

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Theextinctionprotocol, 06/05/2013

 

 

HAWAII – A moderate earthquake struck in the deep ocean off Hawaii Island this afternoon but did not generate a tsunami, officials said. The quake, with a magnitude of 5.3, struck at about 2:12 p.m. and was centered 34 miles southeast of Pahala and 31 miles south of Kalapana, at a depth of about 25 miles, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. The quake initially was listed as a magnitude 5.2, briefly upgraded to 5.6 before USGS scientists reassessed and downgraded it to a magnitude 5.3.

 

No tsunami was generated but “some areas may have experienced strong shaking,” according to the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center in Ewa Beach. “It was a pretty significant jolt,” said Darryl Oliveira, director of the Hawaii County Civil Defense, who was on his way to the county building for a hearing when the earthquake occurred.

 

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