Elizabeth Shogren

College Divestment Campaigns Creating Passionate Environmentalists

Elizabeth Shogren — Fri, 10 May 2013 07:16:00 +0000

At about 300 colleges across the country, young activists worried about climate change are borrowing a strategy that students successfully used in decades past. In the 1980s, students enraged about South Africa's racist Apartheid regime got their schools to drop stocks in companies that did business with that government. In the 1990s, students pressured their schools to divest Big Tobacco.

This time, the student activists are targeting a mainstay of the economy: large oil and coal companies.

So far only a few small colleges have opted to drop investments in fossil fuel companies.

Lionfish Attack The Gulf Of Mexico Like A Living Oil Spill

Elizabeth Shogren — Wed, 17 Apr 2013 06:56:00 +0000

A gluttonous predator is power-eating its way through reefs from New York to Venezuela. It's the lionfish.

And although researchers are coming up with new ways to protect some reefs from the flamboyant maroon-striped fish, they have no hope of stopping its unparalleled invasion.

Lad Akins has scuba dived in the vibrant reefs of the Bahamas for many years.

Arkansas Oil Spill Sheds Light On Aging Pipeline System

Elizabeth Shogren — Thu, 04 Apr 2013 07:21:00 +0000

Amber Bartlett was waiting last Friday for her kids to come home from school. One of them called from the entrance to the upscale subdivision near Little Rock, Ark., to tell her the community was being evacuated because of an oil spill. Bartlett was amazed by what she saw out her front door.

"I mean, just rolling oil. I mean, it was like a river," she says.

After Keystone Review, Environmentalists Vow To Continue Fight

Elizabeth Shogren — Mon, 04 Mar 2013 05:52:00 +0000

Environmentalists have a hope.

If they can block the Keystone XL pipeline, they can keep Canada from developing more of its dirty tar sands oil.

Protesters Call On Obama To Reject Keystone XL Pipeline

Elizabeth Shogren — Mon, 18 Feb 2013 10:37:00 +0000

Tens of thousands of protesters turned out on the National Mall Sunday to encourage President Obama to make good on his commitment to act on climate change.

In his Inaugural address from outside the U.S. Capitol, the president said: "We will respond to the threat of climate change knowing that the failure to do so would betray our children and future generations."

Just a few weeks later, next to the Washington Monument, Paul Birkeland was one of a couple dozen people holding a long white tube above their heads.

"It's a backbone. It's a spine.

In Second Inaugural, Obama Makes Climate A Priority

Elizabeth Shogren — Tue, 22 Jan 2013 22:28:00 +0000

President Obama pulled out a surprise in his inaugural address on Monday. After barely mentioning climate change in his campaign, he put it on his short list of priorities for his second term.

"We will respond to the threat of climate change, knowing that the failure to do so would betray our children and future generations," he said.

Understanding Climate Change, With Help From Thoreau

Elizabeth Shogren — Thu, 17 Jan 2013 22:43:00 +0000

Modern scientists trying to understand climate change are engaged in an unlikely collaboration — with two beloved but long-dead nature writers: Henry David Thoreau and Aldo Leopold.

The authors of Walden and A Sand County Almanac and last spring's bizarrely warm weather have helped today's scientists understand that the first flowers of spring can continue to bloom earlier, as temperatures rise to unprecedented levels.

"If you take the old historical records of Thoreau and Aldo Leopold and use those to sort of predict when plants will be flowering in an astonishingly warm

Coal Loses Crown As King Of Power Generation

Elizabeth Shogren — Fri, 11 Jan 2013 23:21:00 +0000

Just a few years ago, Georgia Power generated nearly three-fourths of its electricity with coal. Last year, for the first time, natural gas edged out coal, and just this week the company announced plans to close 10 coal-fired power generators within the next few years.

"We do recognize this is a historic event for our company. We've never announced this many closings at one time," says Mark Williams, a company spokesperson.

If all goes as planned, within a few years only a third of the company's power plants will run on coal. The company has already built three new natural gas plants.

Deep In Canadian Lakes, Signs Of Tar Sands Pollution

Elizabeth Shogren — Tue, 08 Jan 2013 23:34:00 +0000

Canadian researchers have used the mud at the bottom of lakes like a time machine to show that tar sands oil production in Alberta, Canada, is polluting remote regional lakes as far as 50 miles from the operations.

An increasingly large share of U.S. oil comes from Canada's tar sands.

Texas Man Takes Last Stand Against Keystone XL Pipeline

Elizabeth Shogren — Tue, 25 Dec 2012 19:25:00 +0000

An east Texas landowner was so determined to block the Keystone XL pipeline from coming through his forest that he took to his trees and built an elaborate network of treehouses eight stories above the ground.

"It popped into my head a long time ago, actually," says 45-year-old David Daniel. "If I had to climb my butt on top of a tree and sit there, I would.

Loophole Lets Toxic Oil Water Flow Over Indian Land

Elizabeth Shogren — Thu, 15 Nov 2012 20:31:00 +0000

The air reeks so strongly of rotten eggs that tribal leader Wes Martel hesitates to get out of the car at an oil field on the Wind River Reservation in Wyoming. He already has a headache from the fumes he smelled at another oil field.

Martel is giving me a tour of one of a dozen oil and gas fields on the reservation. These operations have the federal government's permission to dump wastewater on the land — so much that it creates streams that flow into natural creeks and rivers.

Millions Without Power As Sandy Makes Landfall

Elizabeth Shogren — Mon, 29 Oct 2012 23:55:00 +0000

Sandy hit the East Coast on Monday and knocked out power for millions of people. Utility companies face major challenges to get power back online after the massive storm.

On The Campaign Trail, Regulations Dominate The Environmental Debate

Elizabeth Shogren — Sun, 14 Oct 2012 20:09:00 +0000

In previous elections, candidates from both parties have campaigned on pledges to be environmental presidents.

Chimney Rock Becomes Newest National Monument

Elizabeth Shogren — Fri, 21 Sep 2012 22:36:00 +0000

President Obama named a new national monument on Friday: Chimney Rock in southwestern Colorado. With two sandstone spires soaring from a mesa, not only is Chimney Rock a spectacular place; it also provides a fascinating glimpse into the ancient people who lived in that region more than 1,000 years ago.

The moon usually rises south of the stone towers at Chimney Rock, but every 18 or 19 years, the moon rises directly between the two huge pillars. This feature seems to have been especially important to a society known as the ancestral Pueblo people.

Extreme Weather Means Extreme Food Prices Worldwide, Aid Agency Warns

Elizabeth Shogren — Thu, 06 Sep 2012 13:50:00 +0000

Reducing greenhouse gases and saving the polar bears tend to dominate discussions on climate change. But to the booming world population, one climate change issue may be even more pressing – hunger.

A new report by a leading international relief agency warns that climate change will increase the risk of large spikes in global food prices in the future, and lead to more hungry people in the world.

Wood Energy Not 'Green' Enough, Says Mass.

Elizabeth Shogren — Mon, 20 Aug 2012 20:20:00 +0000

Wind and solar get lots of attention, but another kind of renewable power actually creates more energy in our country --wood. The state of Massachusetts on Friday decided that these plants aren't green enough to get some special breaks.

When This Oil Spills, It's 'A Whole New Monster'

Elizabeth Shogren — Thu, 16 Aug 2012 19:21:00 +0000

Sometime in the next few months, David Daniel probably will have to stand by and watch as bulldozers knock down his thick forest and dig up the streams he loves.

His East Texas property is one of more than 1,000 in the path of a new pipeline, the southern stretch of what is known as the Keystone XL system.

For years, Daniel has tried to avoid this fate — or at least figure out what risks will come with it.

Changing Climate May Have Led To Earliest Mummies

Elizabeth Shogren — Wed, 15 Aug 2012 06:51:00 +0000

A couple of thousand years before the Egyptians preserved some of their dead, a much simpler society made the first known mummies.

The Chinchorros, the first mummy makers, lived about 7,000 years ago in South America, on the coast near the border between modern-day Peru and Chile. The desert area where they lived was so dry, dead people turned into mummies naturally.

"Once you die, you stay around," says Chilean ecologist Pablo Marquet, who studies the Chinchorros and the area where they lived.

Thank The Simple Wasp For That Complex Glass Of Wine

Elizabeth Shogren — Tue, 31 Jul 2012 13:40:00 +0000

The next time you take a sip of your favorite wine, you might want to make your first toast to hornets. Or, more precisely, European hornets and paper wasps.

That's because those big scary flying insects whose stings can be especially painful may be the secret to the wonderful complex aroma and flavor of wine.

NASA Fishes For Tools To Tackle Asteroid

Elizabeth Shogren — Sun, 10 Jun 2012 10:02:00 +0000

NASA may have retired its shuttles, but it has its sights on sending astronauts deeper into space than ever before.

These voyages are years away, but on Monday, astronauts are heading underwater to take part in a simulation that will help them figure out how they might explore one possible new destination: a near-Earth asteroid.

It'll be the space agency's 16th NEEMO expedition — NASA Extreme Environment Mission Operations — commanded by astronaut Dottie Metcalf-Lindenburger.

Fracking's Methane Trail: A Detective Story

Elizabeth Shogren — Thu, 17 May 2012 07:24:00 +0000

Gaby Petron didn't set out to challenge industry and government assumptions about how much pollution comes from natural gas drilling.

She was just doing what she always does as an air pollution data sleuth for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

"I look for a story in the data," says Petron. "You give me a data set, I will study it back and forth and left and right for weeks, and I will find something to tell about it."

Petron saw high levels of methane in readings from a NOAA observation tower north of Denver.

'Close Encounters' With Gas Well Pollution

Elizabeth Shogren — Tue, 15 May 2012 19:33:00 +0000

Living in the middle of a natural gas boom can be pretty unsettling. The area around the town of Silt, Colo., used to be the kind of sleepy rural place where the tweet of birds was the most you would hear. Now it's hard to make out the birds because of the rumbling of natural gas drilling rigs.

The land here is steep cliffs and valleys. But bare splotches of earth called well pads are all over the place.

"That's the one I'm worried about because it just went in," says Tim Ray.

We're on his front porch just after sunset.

How A 'Western Problem' Led To New Drilling Rules

Elizabeth Shogren — Thu, 19 Apr 2012 07:34:00 +0000

The Environmental Protection Agency's new air pollution rules for the oil and gas industry may seem like odd timing, as President Obama has been trying to deflect Republican criticism that he overregulates energy industries.

New Rules To Curb Pollution From Oil, Gas Drilling

Elizabeth Shogren — Wed, 18 Apr 2012 21:04:00 +0000

The Environmental Protection Agency announced new rules Wednesday to control the problem of air pollution coming from wells being drilled by the booming oil and natural gas drilling industry.

Currently, waste products from the drilling operations, which include a mix of chemicals, sand and water, can be pumped into open enclosures or pits, where toxic substances can make their way into the air.

Return Of Gray Wolves Renews Debate Over Hunting

Elizabeth Shogren — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 21:53:00 +0000

Gray wolves were taken off the endangered species list in Idaho and Montana last year and put under state control. But they're still on the list in neighboring Wyoming. That's because Wyoming has been the most aggressive about wanting to kill wolves.

Wyoming has finally struck a deal with the federal government regarding how wolves will be treated once the state takes over. But environmentalists believe the agreement denies wolves an important refuge.

There weren't any wolves in Wyoming until the federal government reintroduced them in the 1990s. Now there are at least 329 in the state.

Obama Discusses Details From His Energy Agenda

Elizabeth Shogren — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 20:00:00 +0000

The Obama administration released more details Thursday about the energy plan he previewed at the State of the Union this week. He announced an oil-and-gas-lease sale on nearly 38 million acres in the Gulf of Mexico — and proposals for new incentives to increase the use of natural gas in heavy trucks and buses.

Foreign Oil Imports Drop As U.S. Drilling Ramps Up

Elizabeth Shogren — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 21:15:00 +0000

Since President Obama took office, the U.S. has made considerable progress in overcoming a problem that has bedeviled presidents since Richard Nixon — dependence on foreign oil.

When U.S. oil dependence peaked at 60 percent in 2005, then-President George W.

EPA To Unveil New Rules For Power Plants

Elizabeth Shogren — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 05:01:00 +0000

More than 20 years ago, Congress ordered the Environmental Protection Agency to regulate toxic air pollution.

Big Solar Project Moves Forward Without Uncle Sam

Elizabeth Shogren — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 22:17:00 +0000

We've heard a lot about Solyndra, a solar panel maker that went bankrupt despite lots of federal subsidies. But on Wednesday, a solar installation company and one of the country's biggest banks are announcing a billion-dollar project to put solar systems on the roofs of military housing.

Air Force And Navy Turn To Bio-Fuels

Elizabeth Shogren — Thu, 22 Sep 2011 14:01:00 +0000

The Pentagon's hunt for an alternative to petroleum has turned a lowly weed and animal fat into something indistinguishable from jet fuel and now the military is trying to kick-start a new bio-fuel industry.

"To flip the line from 'Field of Dreams', if the Navy comes, they will build it," Navy Secretary Ray Mabus said in a recent speech.

The Air Force and the Navy have been busy testing their aircraft— everything from fighter jets to unmanned spy planes — on jet bio-fuel.