Thursday, May 29, 2008

Coal is Dirty Say hello to Coal is Dirty. They're trying to counter the messages from the coal industry. "cc" 6:24:10 PM     Climate Change: The earth is a beautifully complex system The USDA has released their final report on The effects of climate change on agriculture, land resources, water resources, and biodiversity. Here's a report from The Denver Post: Some of the most dramatic - and negative - effects from climate change will take place in the American West, according to a new federal study. While the East will become wetter and Midwest grain crops may benefit from longer growing seasons, the West will be drier and rangeland livestock production could decline because of stress from hotter summers. The study by the U.S. Department of Agriculture [~] a survey and synthesis of existing research - paints a picture of sweeping changes in the next 30 to 50 years. The analysis is based on an assumed rise in the concentration of atmospheric carbon dioxide - the main greenhouse gas [~] from the current 380 parts per million to 440 ppm and a 2.16 degree Fahrenheit increase in average temperature. According to the report, Western states will face substantial challenges because of growing demand for water and big projected drops in supplies. From 2040 to 2060, anticipated water flows from rainfall in much of the West are likely to approach a 20 percent decrease in the average from 1901 to 1970, and are likely to be much lower in places like the fast-growing Southwest. In contrast, runoff in much of the Midwest and East is expected to increase that much or more. "Some of the really marked impacts are happening in the West," said Peter Backlund, a lead author and researcher at the Boulder-based National Center for Atmospheric Research. "It is really daunting."[...] There has been a downward trend in snowpack water over the past 80 years because of changes in temperature and precipitation. Snow is melting an average 10 to 20 days earlier in Colorado, and by 2050 runoff could be reduced by 20 percent, according to one projection. More coverage from The Rocky Mountain News. From the article: It is likely that the Earth will experience a faster rate of climate change in the 21st century than seen in the last 10,000 years, said the report, "The Effects of Climate Change on Agriculture, Land Resources, Water Resources and Biodiversity." Overseen by the United States Climate Change Science Program, the USDA and a dozen other federal agencies, the report's principal authors include Peter Backlund of the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder. Backlund said that like a lot of people, he would go back and forth on climate change, fluctuating between being being quite worried and not being too worried at all. But when he and the other scientists started compiling the models and tallying the effects on agriculture, forests and the like, "It was really kind of daunting." The impacts of climate change "seem to be occurring faster than we projected just five or 10 years ago. We're seeing things happening now that we didn't think would happen before 2030 or 2040," Backlund said. "I'm not saying we can't manage it - but it's going to be a race between efficiency, population growth and climate change." In other climate change news the Environmental News Service reports, " Environment ministers from the Group of Eight industrialized nations concluded a three-day meeting in Kobe Monday with an agreement on the long-term goal of cutting greenhouse gas emissions in half by 2050. But the ministers failed to support specific emissions reduction targets for 2020, as recommended last year by an international body of climate scientists, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, IPCC. Still, the G8 environment ministers said there is "strong political will" to reduce the greenhouse gases responsible for climate change during the G8 leaders annual summit set for July 7 to 9 on the Japanese island of Hokkaido." "cc" 5:48:53 PM     Energy policy: Nuclear Fremont County Commissioners tabled the decision about granting permits to for uranium mining in the Tallahassee Creek area, according to The Cañon City Daily Record. From the article: Almost seven hours of testimony Tuesday overwhelmed the Fremont County Commissioners with so much information on proposed uranium exploration in the Tallahassee area that they tabled a permit decision until next month. "This is not unexpected," Mike Haynes, managing director of Black Range Minerals, said following the board's unanimous vote. "There was a vast amount of information that was discussed today, and this is perfectly reasonable." Black Range Minerals is seeking a Conditional Use Permit to drill about 800 test holes on 3,900 acres, primarily on the Taylor and Boyer ranches. The Australian company hopes to discover whether the "world class uranium district" holds the promise of a commercially-viable mining project. Controversy swirled and accusations filled the air as 70 people strode to the microphone, one after another. Speakers were evenly divided with half siding with ranch owners' rights to develop their property and the other half vehemently opposed to the project as proposed... Susan Wyman, a water hydrologist and civil engineer from La Veta, described an aggressive groundwater protection plan to prevent aquifer cross communication, while Steve Brown of Centennial, health physicist and specialist in radiologic science, unraveled myths about radiation. "There is more radioactivity in smoke alarms than in a typical uranium ore hole," Brown said. "Uranium ore is not a hazardous material." Brown cited numerous professional references and said people who smoke an average of 1.5 packs a day receive 1,300 times more radiation than a uranium worker throughout a one-year span. He said naturally-occurring radiation is so prevalent, exploration drilling is like throwing a glass of water into a lake. Gary Tuttle, landscape architect, reassured the crowd the project will not generate traffic congestion in the area. He also said, based on other uranium activity throughout the state, housing values will not fall but instead could dramatically rise... Both sides brought out the big guns. The Colorado Mining Association, a 132-year-old trade association, stood up for Black Range while the Western Mining Action Network, a legal group based in Durango, opposed the project... Many spoke about the current energy crisis, the relief uranium can offer and the need to lead the way into the future. "Fremont County may be able to make a contribution to energy dependence," said Tom Pool, mining engineer and landowner who supported Black Range. "Let's find out." In the end, the input proved to be too cumbersome for the commissioners to handle in a single day. With regular session and additional discussion, the marathon session lasted almost nine hours. "I thought earlier this morning I'd be ready to make a decision," said District 3 Commissioner Ed Norden. "Given the volume of the reports we've been given today, I'm not ready to make a decision other than to table it to a later date." More Coyote Gulch coverage here. "2008 pres" 6:23:48 AM

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