Scientists Turn Carbon Dioxide Emissions to Stone | Climate Central

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GR:  Carbon collects on basalt at the surface in just a few years, so why not underground.  Of course, the drilling and pumping might be as problematic as fracking.  Moreover, we have to be careful that the fossil fuel industry doesn’t see this as an excuse to continue destructive mining and burning.

Chemical engineer Magnus Thor Arnarson, Columbia University hydrologist Martin Stute and CarbFix project manager Edda Sif Aradottir inspect the CarbFix site, where carbon dioxide is injected 2,000 meters underground. Credit: Columbia University

By Bobby Magill–For the first time, carbon dioxide emissions from an electric power plant have been captured, pumped underground and solidified — the first step toward safe carbon capture and storage, according to a paper published Thursday in the journal Science.“This opens another door for getting rid of carbon dioxide or storing carbon dioxide in the subsurface that really wasn’t seen as a serious alternative in the past,” said study co-author Martin Stute, a hydrologist at the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory at Columbia University in New York.

Source: Scientists Turn Carbon Dioxide Emissions to Stone | Climate Central

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Exciting Update in Youth v. U.S. Climate Case

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Our Children’s Trust is pleased to report that U.S. District Court Judge Ann Aiken scheduled oral argument in our youths’ landmark federal climate lawsuit for September 13, at 10 am in Eugene, Oregon. The 21 youth plaintiffs are excited for the opportunity to appear in court again and have their arguments presented to Judge Aiken, who will be reviewing U.S. Magistrate Judge Coffin’s April ruling in their favor.

We will be working hard to prepare for September 13 and we will update you this summer with more hearing details. We encourage you to mark your calendars in the event you are able to join us in Eugene for what will be a truly momentous day!  Source: Exciting Update in Youth v. U.S. Climate Case

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T-shirt Time! | Fight for Rhinos

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We need to raise $1,152 to support Chloe’s canine ranger class at Hoedspruit Endangered Species Centre. With the purchase of a tee, you can help do that and SHOW your support by being a valuable part of our Rhino Security Team!

T-shirts are 100% cotton, available in 4 colors from S to XL, at a cost of just $19.99 usd.

Not purchasing a tee? Please consider a straight donation through our Paypal button on the top left of the page. Your support means a lot.

Source: T-shirt Time! | Fight for Rhinos

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Anti-wildlife, pro-hunting act reaches U.S. Senate; you can help stop it | Examiner.com

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Lisa Blanck–These are some of the animals who will be affected – you can help stop this!Courtesy: Mark Kolbe, John Moore, Bill Pugliano/Getty ImagesEarlier this year the Sportsmen’s Heritage and Recreational Enhancement (SHARE) Act (H.R. 2406) passed the US House of Representatives. The sponsor of this bill is Senator Lisa Murkowski, (R-AK), who first introduced it in September, 2015. The SHARE Act is an outright assault on animal welfare and conservation. Having passed the House, it now has reached the floor of the Senate, and, knowing it is extremely controversial, some of members of Congress are trying to bury it within another seemingly harmless Bill. They have attached this extreme anti-wildlife bill as an amendment to the Energy Policy Modernization Act (S.2012). If this bill is passed, the damage to wildlife and conservation will be dramatic and far-reaching.

The Animal Welfare Institute is fighting the passing of this bill, which would be a clear assault on wildlife worldwide. On May 20 they contacted members and humanitarians to ask for their help. Now you can make your voice heard and help stop it by simply clicking on this link and navigating to the “Contact Your Legislators” box to send an email to your State Senator. By simply typing in your address, the name of your senator will pop up. You can even personalize your letters in a box provided by AWI, who will then forward your email for you.

What will the SHARE Act do, should it be passed into legislation? Here’s a quick list:  Anti-wildlife, pro-hunting act reaches U.S. Senate; you can help stop it | Examiner.com

GR:  Thanks to Jim Robertson, ExposingTheBigGame for first reporting on this story.

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Truth on the Ground:  Destructive Post-Fire “Salvage” Logging–In Pictures

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Source: Environmental Protection Information Center (EPIC) » Westside Truth on the Ground

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How Austrailia’s Great Barrier Reef got polluted – from farms and fossil fuels to filthy propaganda | Graham Readfearn | Environment | The Guardian

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GR:  This is the best discussion of the cause of coral death in Australia’s Great Barrier Reef I’ve seen–it’s people.

Coral bleaching at Loomis Reef, off Lizard Island, Great Barrier Reef, Australia. Photograph: Essential Median

Graham Readfearn:  In late November 2015, as corals across the northern section of the Great Barrier Reef started to bleach white, the game was finally up.

For years, Australians had been told the country’s jewel in the ocean’s crown was on the mend. Only months earlier the Coalition government had won a two-year fight to keep the reef off a United Nations list of world heritage sites in danger.

The stakes were high. International reputations and tourist dollars were at stake. The foreign minister, Julie Bishop, and the trade minister, Andrew Robb, had even attacked Barack Obama, who feared for the reef’s future.

The reef was not in danger, Bishop insisted. The president was misinformed, claimed Robb.

Conservative commentators hanging around News Corp media have said the dangers to the reef were overblown.

The mining industry cast the views of environmentalists as green propaganda, ignoring how for the most part, conservationists were echoing the findings of the government’s own scientists.

Now, about half the corals bleached in the once pristine northern section are dead or dying.  More– How the Great Barrier Reef got polluted – from farms and fossil fuels to filthy propaganda | Graham Readfearn | Environment | The Guardian

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How Will Egypt Rein In Its Explosive Population Growth?

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By Joe Bish, Population Media Center

“No matter how many economic projects we launch, the population growth will consume that development.”

Egypt’s Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAPMAS) recently announced that, according to their calculations, the population growth rate in that northern African country is currently 2.4% per year. If accurate, this measure dwarfs the growth rate associated with the U.N.’s high variant assumption for the years 2015 to 2020 — which is “just” 2.06%. As you know, a 2.4% growth rate means the population doubling time works out to 29 years.

Shockingly, according to CAPMAS, the 2.4% rate has to be considered progress — marking a decrease from 2.55% in 2014.Precision of the numbers aside, what has happened in Egypt is that the national family planning program was driven into a ditch in the wake of 2011’s political instability. As the article below points out, this dereliction has created a systemic, long-lasting challenge: Egypt’s population pyramid now has an enormous bulge at its base. Hania Sholkamy, an associate professor at the American University in Cairo’s Social Research Center, is wise to suggest that the country must heavily invest in this young cohort with good-quality education, health services, and sexual and reproductive health curriculum. In this way, they will be predisposed to “contribute positively to family planning strategies” when they reach reproductive age. The question is, will anybody listen to Ms. Sholkamy’s advice?

Egypt’s Population Pyramid, 2016 How will Egypt rein in its explosive population growth?Egypt’s population is growing at a rate five times higher than that of developed countries, and twice as high as developing countries, according to the state-run Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAPMAS).

Cairo, Egypt

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Every Day is World Oceans Day for Us

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Posted by: , and    Oceans, covering two-thirds of Earth, are so vast and so deep that it’s easy to take their importance for granted. They provide us with oxygen, and they regulate our climate by removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere — important functions for both humans and wildlife.

Unfortunately, the world’s oceans — home to whales, sea otters, ice-dependent seals, dolphins, manatees, seabirds, sea turtles, sharks and other marine life — are in a sea of trouble. The oceans are overworked; they cannot remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere quickly enough to keep up with how much we create, which is causing ocean acidification. The Arctic Sea is warming at twice the rate than past years, which is reducing sea ice — a growing threat to our marine mammals. Just recently, scientists shared that over a third of the Great Barrier Reef is dead, a permanent fate for the species and a damaging one for species that depend on the reef for shelter and food.

The health of the Earth’s oceans are indicators of our planet’s overall health – when they’re in trouble, so are we. So, it’s important to keep our oceans healthy not just for marine life, but also for the future health of the entire planet.  Read more:  Every Day is World Oceans Day for Us

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Bay Area Voters Approve Tax to Fix Marshes As Seas Rise | Climate Central

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GR:  Individuals, not the corporations responsible for the problem are paying this tax.  Hey, Republicans, why not reverse fossil-fuel subsidies and let the fossil-fuel industry’s past profits help pay to clean up polluted air, water, and land?

John Upton:  Voters in the San Francisco Bay Area approved an unprecedented tax Tuesday to help fund an ambitious vision for restoring lost marshlands, handing electoral victory to shorebirds, crabs and advocates of a muddy strategy for adapting to rising seas.

Measure AA is projected to raise an estimated $25 million a year for 20 years. As of Wednesday morning, 69 percent of voters in the nine Bay Area counties supported it, with only a small number of votes left to be counted. The $12 annual tax proposed for each parcel of property owned in the Bay Area needed two thirds of votes to pass.  Read more:  Bay Area Voters Approve Tax to Fix Marshes As Seas Rise | Climate Central

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