And in the Vermont capital Montpelier, community members shut down an eminent domain proceeding Tuesday that would have helped pave the way for a gas pipeline—by breaking into song.
Protesters, singing: “Officer, my dear, all the people here are telling you to leave these folks alone. There’s no need to take their land and home. Officer, my dear, all the people here.”
The protesters kept singing, and the hearing was adjourned, stalling efforts by Vermont Gas to seize land from Claire Broughton, a 77-year-old resident of Monkton, Vermont. Protesters say the pipeline would fuel global warming by carrying gas extracted through hydraulic fracturing, or fracking.
Michigan Governor Rick Snyder will not testify before today’s congressional hearing on children poisoned by lead in Flint’s water supply. Snyder said he could not testify before the House committee hearing because he had to give a budget presentation to the state Legislature. The water contamination in Flint began when an unelected emergency managed appointed by Governor Snyder switched the city’s water supply to the corrosive Flint River. On Tuesday, Todd Flood, a special counsel investigating the crisis for the attorney general, said it could potentially lead to criminal charges, including involuntary manslaughter. Flood has donated $3,000 to Governor Snyder’s past campaigns. Flint Mayor Karen Weaver has laid out a $55 million plan to replace the city’s lead water service pipes within a year. Governor Snyder is expected to seek $195 million to address the Flint water crisis in his budget request today.
In a blow to the Obama administration’s efforts to combat climate change, the Supreme Court has temporarily blocked regulations to limit emissions from coal-fired power plants. The stay comes as an appeals court considers a challenge to the rules brought by corporations and 29 states. The Supreme Court’s decision to halt the rules is reportedly unprecedented—the court has never before agreed to block a regulation before it’s been reviewed by a federal appeals court. The move indicates the Supreme Court is likely to overturn the regulations in the future. The decision could imperil the Paris climate accords, since the coal plant rules formed a key part of the U.S. commitment to cut emissions.
A new study into the economic repercussions of the Trans-Pacific Partnership has concluded that, as predicted, the deal will have a huge negative impact on the U.S. economy. America’s Lawyer, Mike Papantonio, and Farron Cousins discuss this on Ring of Fire on Free Speech TV.
LIBYA is one of the driest countries in the world, with only the narrow coastal region (less than 5% of the country) getting more than 100mm of rain a year. In 1953 the search for oil in the deserts of southern Libya led to the discovery not only of significant oil reserves, but also vast quantities of freshwater trapped in aquifers under the Libyan desert. The Nubian Sandstone Aquifer System, the world’s largest, is located under the eastern part of the Sahara desert and spans the political boundaries of Libya, Chad, Sudan and Egypt. It covers an area of just over 2m square km and contains an estimated 150,000 cubic km of groundwater.
Much of Libya’s water supply used to come from expensive desalination plants on the coast, which left little water to irrigate land—vital in this largely desert country. Moreover the coastal aquifer historically used in Tripoli was becoming contaminated and its salinity was increasing. So in 1983 a massive engineering project, known as the Great Man-Made River Project, was created to supply water from desert aquifers to the coastal region for the majority of the Libya’s 6.3m people and to expand agriculture through irrigation.
The project, of which three phases out of five have been completed, is intended to supply 6.5m cubic metres of water a day through 4,000km of pipelines from 1,100 wells via five reservoirs at an estimated cost of $25 billion. The cost of this non-renewable water is approximately one tenth of the cost of desalinated water.
This edition of COSMIC JOURNEYS explores the still unfolding story of Earth’s past and the light it sheds on the science of climate change today. While that story can tell us about the mechanisms that can shape our climate. it’s still the unique conditions of our time that will determine sea levels, ice coverage, and temperatures. Ice, in its varied forms, covers as much as 16% of Earth’s surface, including 33% of land areas at the height of the northern winter. Glaciers, sea ice, permafrost,
Egypt: Impact of climate change on the River Nile.
Original Source of Clips:
The Geopolitical Impact of the Nile by STRATFORvideo
9. The Nile Delta • Egypt by 100PlacesToRemember
Nile Delta Sea Level Rise by AnimeGirl1202
Welcome to Transition Studies. To prosper for very much longer on the changing Earth humankind will need to move beyond its current fossil-fueled civilization toward one that is sustained on recycled materials and renewable energy. This is not a trivial shift. It will require a major transition in all aspects of our lives.
This weblog explores the transition to a sustainable future on our finite planet. It provides links to current news, key documents from government sources and non-governmental organizations, as well as video documentaries about climate change, environmental ethics and environmental justice concerns.
The links are listed here to be used in whatever manner they may be helpful in public information campaigns, course preparation, teaching, letter-writing, lectures, class presentations, policy discussions, article writing, civic or Congressional hearings and citizen action campaigns, etc. For further information on this blog see: About this weblog. and How to use this weblog.
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