All Environment
Wood-rail bird spotted in US. Birders go nuts.Wood-rail bird is causing a stir in the birding world. The rare聽Rufous-necked wood-rail bird has never before been spotted in the US,聽but for the last two weeks one of the birds has been right at home among the cattails at Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge.- Wood-rail bird spotted in US. Birders go nuts.Wood-rail bird is causing a stir in the birding world. The rare聽Rufous-necked wood-rail bird has never before been spotted in the US,聽but for the last two weeks one of the birds has been right at home among the cattails at Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge.
Rig blowout: Gulf of Mexico natural gas well catches fireA rig blowout in the Gulf of Mexico caught fire and continued to burn Wednesday. No injuries have been reported, and officials stress the rig blowout wouldn't be close to as damaging as the 2010 BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.
Middle East unrest continues to roil oil marketsWhile the poles are shifting away from the Middle East in terms of oil production, global economic concerns and conditions remained anchored solidly to the region, Graeber writes.聽
Electricity prices on the rise. Higher bills to come?A rise in natural gas prices pushed wholesale electricity costs higher in the first half of 2013, according to the Energy Information Administration. While that doesn't directly translate to retail energy costs, the upward trend doesn't bode well for ratepayers in the long run.- Rig blowout forces evacuation of Gulf natural gas rigRig blowout in the Gulf of Mexico Tuesday聽forced the evacuation of 47 workers aboard a drilling rig, authorities said. Natural gas flowed from the leaking rig off the Louisiana coast in the wake of the rig blowout.
Corpse flower: Missed it in D.C.? There's another in California.Corpse flower attracted crowds in Washington Sunday night, but if you missed the stinky flower bloom you can see another one within the next week聽at the University of California, Santa Barbara.聽The school says its greenhouse will be open to the public during the one-day blooming of the so-called corpse flower.
Peach State no more? Blueberries lead Georgia's fruit crops.Peach State may actually be the Blueberry State. Georgia is famous聽as a major producer of the peach but the so-called Peach State actually makes more money from another fruit crop: the blueberry.
Greenpeace: Shenhua coal project dumps toxic water in ChinaGreenpeace: Shenhua coal-to-liquid pilot in near Ordos City in Inner Mongolia is draining groundwater and discharging high levels of toxic wastewater, according to a report released Tuesday by the environmental campaign group. The Greenpeace Shenhua report found that the coal project drained聽more than 50 million tonnes of groundwater from the Haolebaoji region since 2006.
Idyllwild fire mostly contained. Now mudslide threatens California homes.With the Idyllwild fire 85 percent contained early Tuesday, some residents now face the potential for flooding and mudslides in burned areas. Storms doused flames from the Idyllwild fire, but forced the evacuation of 20 homes in the path of potential flooding and mudslides.
US Navy eyes recovering bombs from Great Barrier ReefTwo US jets jettisoned four unarmed bombs in Australia's Great Barrier Reef after aborted training mission. Officials of Great Barrier Reef park, world's biggest network of coral structures, say finding options for rapid recovery of bombs is high priority. 聽
Schwarzenegger filming documentary on climate change and wildfiresActor and former California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is at work on a documentary on climate change and how it impacts the fire season. Mr. Schwarzenegger was in western Montana,聽profiling the Snake River Hotshots as they work on the lines of the 9.6-square-mile West Mullan Fire burning north of the town of Superior.
Hydropower: the unsung hero of renewable energyHydropower accounts for more electricity production than solar, wind, and geothermal combined, but gets far less press because it is a mature technology with a much lower annual growth rate than most renewables. Still,聽hydropower will likely continue its leading role as the world鈥檚 most important producer of renewable electricity until well into the next decade.聽
Why oil companies are leaving the Gulf of MexicoNew drilling technologies have contributed to exponential production gains for onshore oil and natural gas in the United States.聽The Gulf of Mexico is still giving up substantial amounts of oil, but some companies seem to be betting the biggest bonanza will be onshore.
Idyllwild fire: Rain aids fight against California wildfireIdyllwild fire continued to burn across southern California Monday morning, but heavy rain helped firefighters make聽substantial gains against a week-old wildfire that burned across 42 square miles.聽With the arrival of an inch and a half of rain Sunday, firefighters began to beat back the Idyllwild fire and had the blaze 68 percent contained.
State department approves pipeline to Canada. No, it's not Keystone XL.A 430-mile-long pipeline from North Dakota to Alberta was approved by the US State Department Wednesday. The so-called Vantage Pipeline, not to be confused with Keystone XL,聽will mark the first time that liquids from North Dakota's reservoirs will flow into existing Albertan infrastructure.
June 2013 was world's fifth-hottest June on record, says NOAAJune 2013 broke monthly records over much of northern Canada, western Russia, southern Japan, the Philippines, part of southwestern China, and central southern Africa.
Idyllwild fire grows to more than 35 square milesIdyllwild fire threatened聽a popular tourist destination Thursday and聽destroyed at least six houses and mobile homes. Tensions heightened late Wednesday after winds shifted, causing the Idyllwild聽fire to change course and head in the direction of Idyllwild, an artist community and hiking destination in the San Jacinto Mountains.
Heat wave spreads across US. When will it end?The largest heat wave of the summer has spiked dangerously high temperatures across large swaths of the country for days. Relief from the heat wave is within sight, but cooler weather can't come soon enough.
Two years after Fukushima, Japan eyes return to nuclear powerNew safety regulations are clearing the way for a return to nuclear power in Japan, two years after an earthquake and tsunami caused a meltdown at the聽Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.聽
