Photo Courtesy Cariboo Regional District Tailings dam breach at Imperial Metals' Mount Polley mine in British Columbia in August spilled nearly 10 million cu yd of gold and copper mine tailings into the Fraser River system. Related Links: Mount Polley Dam Failure Raises Bar for Pebble Mine Backers Mount Polley tailings spill effects could last for decades Aerial Video of Spill Site The massive western Canada mine spill is even bigger than initial estimates, generating government-mandated inspections of almost 100 other mine tailings ponds and calls for hiring more engineers to inspect mines.Mount Polley Mine, near Likely, British Columbia, and
Photo by AP Wideworld In Streets of New York City, Thousands Call Upon World Leaders To Take Action on Global Warming Two days before world leaders convened a United Nations summit, participants in the People's Climate March coursed through Manhattan on Sept. 21. More than 300,000 marched along the 2.1-mile midtown route. The next day, a smaller group without a permit blocked traffic in lower Manhattan in a "Flood Wall Street" protest. They targeted companies that, they claim, harm the Earth with poor environmental practices. About 100 were arrested. Meanwhile, New York and New Jersey received new federal funds for
Photo by AP/Wideworld The Pinedale Anticline in Wyoming is one of the highest-producing gas fields in the U.S. Related Links: National Academy of Sciences Report Food and Water Watch Report A definitive study published by the National Academy of Sciences has concluded that horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing to extract shale gas and oil do not, in themselves, cause contamination of drinking-water sources. However, faulty cementation and construction techniques, such as improperly cementing well casings and linings, can potentially trigger migration of methane into groundwater wells and aquifers, according to the report, published in the Sept. 12 issue of the
Image Courtesy University of California Berkeley Seismological Laboratory UC Berkeley's early-warning system detects more benign fast-moving shock waves (yellow) in advance of slower vibrations, which cause more damage (red). Related Links: Northern California Earthquake Causes an Estimated $1 Billion in Damage Earthquake Warning System Makes Every Second Count An earthquake-detection system under development by the University of California's Berkeley Seismological Laboratory proved its mettle on Aug. 24 by issuing a warning 10 seconds before a magnitude-6 temblor struck south of Napa, Calif. The alert could have gone out 2.5 seconds sooner if the ShakeAlert system, based on Japan's primary-wave detection
Related Links: Mount Polley Dam Failure Raises Bar for Pebble Mine Backers Satellite photo of breach impact Hungarian Tailings Dam Leak Kills 7, Contaminates Rivers The Los Frailies Tailings Dam Failure (ppt) It’s too soon to determine the extent of damage and cost of repairs caused by the Aug. 4 Mount Polley Mine tailings pond failure, officials say. The blowout dumped about 2.6 million gallons of water and 5.9 million cu yd of sand and silt into two lakes and a creek in western Canada.But a clue to the costs came as mine owner Imperial Metals Corp., Vancouver, British Columbia,
Related Links: The Nature Conserevancy U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Institute for Water Resources and TNC partnership U.S. map of selected projects in which The Nature Conservancy is partnering Interactive U.S. map of selected projects in which The Nature Conservancy is partnering Interactive Latin American map of selected projects in which The Nature Conservancy is partnering The world's largest conservation non-governmental organization is a 63-year-old environmental activist group that has drawn 119 million acres of sensitive lands under its protective wings. It has amassed assets of $6 billion and now annually collects $500 million in donations from its one million
Rendering Courtesy of NRG Energy Petra Nova Holdings The technology will be built alongside the existing W.A. Parish station, near Houston, and could be a model for other plants. + Image Rendering Courtesy of NRG Energy Petra Nova Holdings Related Links: Clean Coal: Is Carbon Capture and Storage Fossil Fuels' Best Hope? A top official at the U.S. Dept. of Energy says a planned $1-billion carbon-capture project on a large coal unit near Houston represents "a major milestone" in the DOE's effort to maintain coal-fired generation as a viable way to meet energy needs and carbon-emission regulations.Christopher Smith, principal deputy
Photos Courtesy of South Florida Water Management District Restoring Kissimmee River to its natural meander corrects a 1960s Corps project. + Image Click image to enlarge. Related Links: NRC Fifth Everglades Quality Report Expected Court OK Will Launch $880-Million Everglades Work In its latest report, the National Research Council tempered its mild praise for "fairly modest progress" in the $13.5-billion Everglades restoration plan with its concerns over climate change, rising sea levels and the invasion of non-native plant and animal species.The fifth congressionally mandated biennial report on the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan (CERP), released on June 26 by a 14-member
Photo Courtesy of Bill Wolfe/PEER A public advocacy group says streams connected to the Fenimore landfill were impaired prior to the reopening of the site. The state has scrapped solar-power plans and is looking for a new contractor. Related Links: After Prison, Former Contractor Disputes Case KIYC: Landfill owner Richard Bernardi served 3 years for bribery Allegations are flying as public acrimony mounts over a botched attempt to place a solar farm atop an abandoned landfill in New Jersey.At the center of the controversy is a New Jersey Dept. of Environmental Protection report that has not yet been made public.
Related Links: London Starts Plan To Fix Its Plumbing Link to U.K. National Audit Office report on Tideway Tunnel financing risks Europe's Largest Rail Project Ramps Up London's water utility invited international investors on June 10 to help finance, through a newly created special-purpose company, the estimated $7-billion tunnel program that will prevent polluted storm overflows from tainting the River Thames.Work on the 25-kilometer-long tunnel is due to start in 2016, subject to final government approvals that are expected this fall.Privately owned utility Thames Water already has short-listed construction bidders for three construction packages covering the whole project. It aims