Year: 2008

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 7, 2008  4:21 PM

CONTACT: Earthjustice
Ted Zukoski, Earthjustice, (303) 996-9622
 
Groups Challenge Federal Decision to Waste Natural Gas, Ignore Global Warming at Colorado Coal Mine
Agencies reject multi-million dollar chance to capture gas, protect climate

DENVER – October 7 – WildEarth Guardians and Earthjustice today called on federal agencies to withdraw a permit for a Western Colorado coal mine expansion that would waste massive amounts of methane and contribute to global warming.

Methane-also known as natural gas-is 21 times more potent than carbon dioxide at trapping heat in the atmosphere, yet is also a valuable energy source.

“Not only is this a waste of valuable resources, it’s worsening global warming,” said Jeremy Nichols, Climate and Energy Program Director for WildEarth Guardians.  “We aim to put an end to this needless waste and safeguard the climate.”

Continue reading

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 7, 2008 12:32 PM

 CONTACT: The Wilderness Society
Nada Culver, 202-650-5818×117, nada_culver@tws.org
Chase Huntley, 202/429-7431, chase_huntley@tws.org
Drew Bush, 202/429-7441, drew_bush@tws.org
 
BLM Ignores Process, 2.5 Million Acres to Be Opened for Oil Shale Development; Public Denied Opportunity for Input

WASHINGTON – October 7 – The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) undermined the Federal Land Policy and Management Act and the National Environmental Policy Act when it decided to amend 12 land management plans for Colorado, Utah and Wyoming without providing an opportunity for the public to protest, The Wilderness Society charged in a letter sent today to the U.S. Department of the Interior. The plans were amended in particular to expedite the commercial development of oil shale in the Green River Basin of the three states.

Continue reading

“Deadly Dozen” Diseases Seen Due to Climate Change

SPAIN: October 9, 2008
 
BARCELONA, Spain – A “deadly dozen” diseases ranging from avian flu to yellow fever are likely to spread more because of climate change, the Wildlife Conservation Society said on Tuesday.
 
The society, based in the Bronx Zoo in the United States and which works in 60 nations, urged better monitoring of wildlife health to help give an early warning of how pathogens might spread with global warming.
It listed the “deadly dozen” as avian flu, tick-borne babesia, cholera, ebola, parasites, plague, lyme disease, red tides of algal blooms, Rift Valley fever, sleeping sickness, tuberculosis and yellow fever.

Continue reading

Expect Severe Winter in US East 
 
US: October 9, 2008

HOUSTON – The winter of 2008-09 will be the coldest and snowiest in years in the eastern United States, threatening homeowners with back-breaking heating bills, private forecaster AccuWeather predicted on Wednesday.

“Given this economic environment, the winter will push some homeowners to the brink,” AccuWeather long-range forecaster Joe Bastardi said, noting the credit crisis and high fuel prices.
Winter elsewhere in the nation should be easier this year than last, with the Midwest getting less snow and the West being mostly warmer but possibly getting more snow, AccuWeather predicted. (Reporting by Bruce Nichols; Editing by John Picinich)

REUTERS NEWS SERVICE 

————————————————————