WaterTank Update
Brent Crude: Should It Still Be Our Global Oil Benchmark?
Wall Street Journal - Brent crude oil—a blend of crudes from different fields in the North Sea—is the primary benchmark for international oil prices today, serving as the price reference for roughly two-thirds of the world’s traded oil volume. Yet there are growing doubts about its suitability for that role. Is Brent crude oil sufficiently representative of the dynamics of the world’s oil markets to be the basis for global pricing decisions? Driving these questions are a number of factors, the most critical of which is the faster-than-expected decline in oil production in the North Sea.
Oil Companies Tap New Technologies to Lower Production Costs
Wall Street Journal - The depressed price of oil has spurred a new wave of innovation in energy exploration. When a barrel of oil fetched $100 or more, energy companies were focused on drilling wells and pumping crude just as fast as they could. But now that prices have settled around $50 a barrel, companies are focused on efficiency—getting the most petroleum for the least amount of money. And many are turning to advanced technology for help. Big oil-field-services companies like Halliburton Co. and Schlumberger Ltd. say their customers are hungrier than ever for technology that saves them cash.
Scientists say California hasn’t been this dry in 500 years
Washington Post - Researchers knew California’s drought was already a record breaker when they set out to find its exact place in history, but they were surprised by what they discovered: It has been 500 years since what is now the Golden State has been this dry. California is in the fourth year of a severe drought with temperatures so high and precipitation so low that rain and snow evaporate almost as soon as they hit the ground. A research paper released Monday said an analysis of blue oak tree rings in the state’s Central Valley showed that the amount of mountain snow California relies on for moisture hasn’t been so low since the 1500s. That was around the time when European explorers landed in what became San Diego, when Columbus set off on a final voyage to the Caribbean, when King Henry VIII was alive.
Why scientists are so worried about drylands — which make up 40 percent of the Earth’s land
Washington Post - Virtually every ecosystem of the world — from forests to the oceans — raises concern about the toll that a warming climate will take. There’s one type of landscape, though, that doesn’t get talked about very much in this context — so-called “drylands,” a grouping that includes arid and semi-arid regions ranging from many deserts to grasslands. Drylands are one of the more important ecosystems in the world, comprising fully 40 percent of the Earth’s land surface. And now, an alarming new study in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences says the impact of a warming climate on these ecosystems could be much worse than expected — comparable to humans trampling the landscapes underfoot or driving off-road vehicles across them.
Why activists are pushing a ‘supply side’ strategy for fighting climate change
Washington Post - Even as President Obama further amplifies his rhetoric about addressing climate change, a coalition of environmental organizations released a letter Monday seeking to push his administration much further still. Not content with recently announced curbs on emissions from fossil fuel fired power plants, the groups want the president to use his authority to stop new leases for the development of fossil fuels in public lands and waters — a dramatic change in policy that would not only affect major companies but could also decrease future federal revenue collected from these leases. “Here at home, the longstanding U.S. policy of leasing federal public lands and oceans to corporations for coal, oil and gas extraction must end,” the statement reads. “As the world focuses on climate change in advance of negotiations in Paris this winter, we urge you to demonstrate strong climate leadership by stopping new leasing of our publicly owned fossil fuels.”
The world's biggest manmade wave
BBC - At the Deltares Research Institute, just outside the city of Delft in the Netherlands, engineers are carrying out the final tests on their new machine. In a huge concrete tank, colossal wave after colossal wave crashes down with an ear-splitting roar. This is the Delta Flume, and it can create the largest artificial waves in the world. "Yesterday, we had a wave of over 5m, but we're hoping to get some larger ones," Dr Bas Hofland, a coastal engineer explains.
Long-awaited dredging begins in Savannah River's outer channel
Savannah Now - The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers survey vessel Georgia left the docks at Tybee Island Marina at first light Monday. She made it to her offshore destination before sunrise, as muted colors of pink and orange streaked the nearly cloudless sky. But Corps officers and staffers, Georgia Ports officials and other members of Savannah’s maritime community had come to see the towering sight of the 220-foot dredge Alaska working away to deepen the port’s outer channel some five miles out into the Atlantic.
Port of Charleston leadership calls for ‘aggressive’ growth goals
Post and Courier - With the final regulatory hurdle cleared to deepen Charleston Harbor and more than $1 billion in other projects on the table, the State Ports Authority is embarking on a critical five-year journey to sharpen its competitive edge and expand its business. The dredging project, which will allow larger, heavier ships to visit the Port of Charleston at any time regardless of the tide, received final approval Monday from the Army Corps of Engineers’ top official. Lt. Col. Matthew Luzzatto, the permitting agency’s district engineer, announced that “the ‘chief’s report’ has been signed” to applause from state and local officials at the S.C International Trade Conference on the Isle of Palms.
New York Governor Cuomo Announces $388 Million in Funding for Critical Coastal Resiliency and Sewer Expansion Project in Suffolk County
Press Release, Governor Andrew Cuomo - Governor Andrew M. Cuomo today announced $388 million in State and federal funding to expand sanitary sewer service to 8,075 parcels of land in Suffolk County which currently utilize on-site septic systems. This project, which has been approved the Federal Emergency Management Agency's Hazard Mitigation Grant Program, represents the first step in instituting extensive measures to mitigate flooding and septic system failure in Suffolk County caused by Superstorm Sandy. “Long Islanders have seen first-hand and up-close the damage that Mother Nature can inflict on a community and its ability to provide vital service for its residents," Governor Cuomo said.
Endangered species return to restored salt pond in southern San Francisco Bay
Mercury News - Two endangered species have returned to a nearly lifeless former salt pond in the southern San Francisco Bay, the first proof that the ambitious 30-year South Bay Salt Pond Restoration Project is helping nature heal. Clapper Rails and Salt Marsh Harvest Mice have been discovered in a rehabilitated pond on the edge of Fremont, buoying hopes that the creatures are returning a century after they vanished due to salt harvesting by agricultural giant Cargill.
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