Fracking-Earthquake Link Known For Decade By Scientists, Military and Frackers

By Andrew Nikiforuk, The Tyee. Hydraulic fracturing was identified by the U.S. as an earthquake trigger as early as 1990, and scientists have long known that injection of fluid where the Earth’s crust lies closest to faults and fractures can cause earthquakes.

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Lessons from the Indigenous on Promoting Plant Biodiversity

By Jan Salick, Missouri Botanical Garden | Staff, e! Science News. Mountains are considered sacred by both the Yanesha of the upper Peruvian Amazon and Tibetans of the Himalayas. They excel in promoting plant biodiversity. For example, the Yanesha grow over 200 varieties of cassava.

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Common Caribbean Strategies Needed Against Climate Change | Besoin de stratégies communes des Caraïbes contre le changement climatique

Interview of Cuban climate expert Ramón Pichs by Patricia Grogg. Pichs warns that the environmental vulnerability of Caribbean countries is aggravated by the fragility of their economies. ALBA initiatives are underway to improve the response to climate change phenomena and take measures to protect areas such as agriculture and coastlines. These and national efforts will be complemented by inputs from organizations like Caricom and CELAC. (English | French)

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Jane Goodall: Primatologist, Activist

Interview of Jane Goodall with Bret Love, Green Global Travel | Trailer for “Jane’s Journey,” YouTube. Jane Goodall retired from her studies as a primatologist 20 years ago and has since worked as a full-time activist. Her Institute’s TACARE microlending program promotes environmentally sustainable projects. Her Roots and Shoots program motivates children.

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The Giving Moringa Tree | Árvore milagrosa como um supermercado ao ar livre

By Kristin Palitza, IPS | Informações de Envolverde | Holistic Health | Haiti Chery. Moringa oleifera is a fast-growing, drought-resistant tree that produces leaves full of nutrients and medicines, and pods full of protein. The seeds can purify water and furnish cooking oil, and the flowers are decorative and medicinal. Moringa already grows in most of the South where it is often called Malunggai. In Haiti, it is called Benzolivier.

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Shale-Shocked: Fracking Gets Its Own Occupy Movement

By Ellen Cantarow, Tom Dispatch. “This is what my kids are made of. They are made of water. They are made of the food that is grown in the county that I live in. And they are made of air…. And when you poison these things, you poison us.” – Sandra Steingraber

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Energy Return on Investment (EROI) Nears Limit for Oil and Gas Discovery, Production

By Jay Kimball, 8020 Vision. Producing a barrel of oil consumes more and more energy. As we approach an EROI of 1:1 (in other words, consuming 1 barrel of oil to produce 1 barrel of oil) it’s game over.

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Bigger Greenhouse Gas Footprint from Fracking

By Lynn Herrmann, Digital Journal. According to a study by scientists at Cornell University, compared to conventional oil, gas, or coal, the shale gas from hydraulic fracturing (fracking) has a greater impact on climate change because of a bigger greenhouse effect due to release of high levels of methane.

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Fracking for Shale Gas Pollutes Water, Leads to Earthquakes

Staff, British Columbia Women’s Institute Josh Fox, You Tube. Hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, is looking increasingly like a technology that will have to be left alone, not only because it pollutes the atmosphere and water, but also because the high-pressure injection of waste water from this process is thought to allow ancient faults to slip, leading to earthquakes.

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No Time Left to Adapt to Melting Glaciers | Noroeste de Perú sin tiempo para adaptarse al deshielo glaciar

By Stephen Leahy, IPS | Tierramerica. Glacier water from the Cordillera Blanca, vital to northwest Peru, is decreasing 20 years sooner than expected. “The decline is permanent. There is no going back.” – Glaciologist Michel Baraer. (English | Spanish)

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Floods Cause Colombia Landslides, Deadly Pipeline Explosion

By Tim Hinchliffe | Adriaan Alsema, Colombia Reports. Heavy rains have made many roads in Colombia impassable due to landslides, flooding, and embankment collapses. Landslides have also ruptured an oil pipeline causing an explosion that left 13 dead, 17 critically wounded, and 80 injured.

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Climate Change Blamed for Storms, Flooding, Drought

By Cathy Yamsuan and Kristine L. Alave, Philippine Daily Inquirer | Commentary by Dady Chery, Haiti Chery. Two months before the recent huge loss of lives, Filipinos were warned to guard against climate change by protecting forests and improving drainage, as if a forest could indefinitely hold back the rising sea levels and more violent storms caused by the climatic changes brought on by the carbon emissions from developed countries.

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Cranes Overstay Their Welcome as Weather Grows Warmer | Las grullas ya no pasan

By Julio Godoy, IPS | Tierramérica. Common cranes normally migrated in September from their spring and summer habitat in Europe to spend the autumn and winter in northern Africa. But climate change is altering their natural migratory patterns, sparking conflicts between farmers and environmentalists. (English | Spanish)

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