The Stream, January 26: The Shale Boom and the Economy

The International Energy Agency will make shale gas recommendations in its upcoming global energy report this fall, Financial Post reported.

U.S. Shale Boom
U.S. President Barack Obama pushed support for shale gas drilling and clean energy technology in his State of the Union address. Bloomberg gives the highlights.

Meanwhile, North Dakota’s shale oil boom has sent the state’s economy rocketing, but it’s also pushing rural housing, electric, water, police and emergency services to the breaking point, Bloomberg reported.

Climate and Weather
A NASA video shows 131 years of global temperature change in 26 seconds.

Thousands of residents of New South Wales, Australia were evacuated on Wednesday following monsoon rains and flash flooding due to the La Niña weather phenomenon, the Guardian reported.

South America
The relentless drought in Argentina’s corn fields is pushing global food prices up, according to the Dow Jones Newswires, but will boost U.S. corn and wheat exports. The tighter supplies of corn couldn’t come at a worse time for the world’s poor.

Al Jazeera visits the construction site of the controversial Belo Monte dam in the Brazilian Amazon. Why is the world’s third biggest dam stirring up so much backlash?

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