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Not Enough Elk Hunters Left To Kill Montana Wolves, As Desired By State Game Managers

5:04 pm in Business & Politics, montana, usa, wolves by TreeHugger

ruger varmint rifle photo Ruger no. 1 Varmint rifle in .223 Remington Image credit:Wikipedia I did not stretch this headline, nor am I wagging a finger at Montana elk hunters (I'ld love to bag a Montana elk). However, a Montana State employee, speaking for The Missoulian couldn't be more clear about the State's intention: "Our goal is to bring the situation there back in balance in that area [The Bitterroot Valley] ," said Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks regio...Read the full story on TreeHugger

CANARY Risk Management Software Warns Of Water Contamination Threats, Enables Fast Reaction

2:03 pm in Business & Politics, government policy, usa, water crisis by TreeHugger

canary software screen interface photo CANARY Event Detection Software screen projection. Canary is open source software developed by Sandia in partnership with the Environmental Protection Agency to enhance the detection of terrorist attacks or natural contaminants to public drinking water systems.. Image & caption credits:Sandia Labs Turning the internet from an avenue for hackers to do harm into a tool to help municipal authorities better protect public health would be a lovely idea wouldn't it? Well now then, thanks to your USA taxpayer dollars and not-think-tank scientists at work, remote sensors in public water system reservoirs...Read the full story on TreeHugger

DNA Trail Maps Cougar’s Dead-End Journey Across South Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin & Connecticut

7:05 pm in animals rights, Business & Politics, connecticut, minnesota, usa, wisconsin by TreeHugger

Hyundai Tucson photo Crash-Tested 2010 Hyundai Tucson GLS IIHS Image credit:Wikipedia DNA testing of cougar crap left along a 1,055-mile trail has established that a young male Puma walked all the way from South Dakota to New England in search of a mate. The poor cat's epic journey (9 lives for 9 states?) ended when he was run over by a car in Milford Connecticut. The impetus for his journey, it is reported, most likely was his mom driving him out of her territory in the Black Hills of Sout...Read the full story on TreeHugger

Drought Brings Texas Homes Falling Well Levels & Sinking Foundations

12:44 pm in climate change effects, government policy, News, texas, usa by TreeHugger

foundation crack photo Foundation crack. Image credit:flickr, Micheal Derr (ewige) How dry is it it Texas? So dry well levels are dropping. Groundwater levels are sinking appreciably enough that, according to the Fort-Worth Star Telegram, "The dip in groundwater levels is forcing many rural homeowners who depend on residential wells to spend $500 to $1,000 to have their pumps lowered or, worse, $7,500 or more to have deeper wells drilled." And that's a relatively cheap proble...Read the full story on TreeHugger

Drought Brings Texans Falling Water Well Levels & Sinking Foundations

12:44 pm in climate change effects, government policy, News, texas, usa by TreeHugger

foundation crack photo Foundation crack. Image credit:flickr, Micheal Derr (ewige) How dry is it it Texas? It is so dry that water-well levels are noticeably dropping. In fact, groundwater levels are sinking enough that, according to the Fort-Worth Star Telegram, "The dip in groundwater levels is forcing many rural homeowners who depend on residential wells to spend $500 to $1,000 to have their pumps lowered or, worse, $7,500 or more to have deeper wells drilled." And that's ...Read the full story on TreeHugger

From Hot Nights To Dusty Days – Broken Weather Records Are The New Normal

11:41 pm in climate change effects, News, usa by TreeHugger

U.S. Daily Highest Min Temperature Records July 21 2011 Above: red indicates weather stations where U.S. Daily Highest Min Temperature Records were set on July 21, 2011 Image credit:NOAA In Matt's recent post on hot weather he reported that June Record High Temperatures Beat Record Lows 11-to-1 in US. Yesterday, the 21st of July, it was hotter than hell across much of the Eastern US. N...Read the full story on TreeHugger

Live In A Small US City? Get Ready To Train, Plane, Bus, Boat, Walk & Do It All Over Again

8:01 pm in air travel. fuel efficiency, Business & Politics, Cars & Transportation, iron mountain, trains, usa, wisconsin by TreeHugger

paul bunyan budget cutter photoCutting the budget with a Paul Bunyan-style axe. Image credit:Wikipedia, Akeley MN Paul Bunyan sculpture. DELTA Airlines has announced it will stop serving twenty four (24) small US cities. With fuel costs so high, these small, rural airports with passenger "load factors" between 12% and 63% will be waving goodbye to Delta. Some of the small airports Delta will stop serving currently receive hundreds of thousands per year in "Essential Air Service" subsidies from the Federal government. It's ...Read the full story on TreeHugger

Two Reasons Why "Clean Coal" Has Moved Off Stage

1:30 pm in Business & Politics, clean energy, coal power, usa by TreeHugger

stage of dreams photo "The Stage Of Dreams" Image credit:Flickr, spiritz There are two main reasons clean coal has moved offstage and they have little to do with engineering feasibility or environmental impact potential. The promise of 'clean coal' for power production has faded from public discourse mainly because, to prove it works at commercial scale, the technology requires government support (citing high costs, privately sponsored tests have been scaled down or halted). Mustering more billions of government support now would contradict one of the ascendant US political narrative...Read the full story on TreeHugger

Does Chicago Want A Return To The Gaslight Era?

8:33 am in Business & Politics, chicago, coal. global warming, illinois, usa by TreeHugger

gaslight photo "Electrified gaslight chandelier, ormolu, bronze, and glass, c. 1858, by Cornelius and Baker, Executive Chamber, the Vermont State House, Montpelier, Vermont" Image credit:Wikipedia Before there was "natural gas" a more toxic, man-made version was openly burned to light homes in European and North American cities. Called coal- or town-gas, it was a common source of illumination up until the 1940's. I once rented a flat in Chicago's Lincoln Park which contained converted antique coal gas chandeliers every bit as lo...Read the full story on TreeHugger

News From Above The Cloud: With Questions

3:20 pm in News, newspapars, usa by TreeHugger

from above clouds photo "Above the Clouds, Looking down on Pennsylvania." Image credit:Flickr, katrha The Charlotte News-Observer reports that "Duke Energy has spent $5 million over the past two years to fix corrosion in pollution-catching devices at its power plants, which are among dozens nationwide plagued by the problem." The sulfur dioxide from coal burning, captured by wet "scrubbers," forms sulfuric acid. This acid corrodes pollution control equipment from the inside. For a price, t...Read the full story on TreeHugger