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Archive for December 31st, 2010
Northern Ireland water crisis chief fights off calls for resignations
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on December 31st, 2010
Guardian: Senior executives at Northern Ireland Water today sought to downplay calls for their resignation and said they were concentrating on getting supplies running again following the chaos over the Christmas holidays.
At a press conference outside the headquarters of the state-owned water company this afternoon its acting chairman, Padraic White, dodged questions about the future of board members at the utility. Responding to demands for resignations, he said: "Our focus is to deliver the water. It...
Posted in Water Conservation 
Comments Off on Northern Ireland water crisis chief fights off calls for resignationsSuccessive calamities in AP leave trail of despair
Posted by Deccan Chronicle: None Given on December 31st, 2010
Deccan Chronicle: For the first time the state was hit by four major calamities in a single year. In 2010, two successive cyclones, Laila and Jal, a depression and subsequent heavy rainfall left a trail of death and destruction of property and crops.
A total of 171 persons died -- 22 during Cyclone Laila, 65 during the Southwest monsoon, 63 during Cyclone Jal and 21 due to the depression, heavy rainfall and floods from May to December this year. After the rains, an unprecedented cold wave swept across the state,...
Climate is warming despite ‘ups and downs.’
Posted by Merimbula News: None Given on December 31st, 2010
Merimbula News: Periodic short-term cooling in global temperatures should not be misinterpreted as signalling an end to global warming, according to an Honorary Research Fellow with CSIRO Marine and Atmospheric Research, Barrie Hunt.
“Despite 2010 being a very warm year globally, the severity of the 2009-2010 northern winter and a wetter and cooler Australia in 2010 relative to the past few years have been misinterpreted by some to imply that climate change is not occurring,” Mr Hunt said.
“Recent wet conditions...
2010 set world records for weather extremes
Posted by Herald-Tribune: Kate Spinner on December 31st, 2010
Herald-Tribune: From freezes in South Florida to deadly heat waves in Russia, 2010 broke records worldwide for flooding, heat, cold and snow, fueling concerns that a warming planet is starting to cause significant weather disruptions.
The year's extreme weather should serve as a warning, scientists say, a glimpse of a future in which a shifting climate is likely to spawn many more dramatic changes in the daily weather.
"Heat waves and extreme flooding events are increasing in the U.S. and that's consistent...
Thousands of Australians evacuated in Queensland floods
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on December 31st, 2010
Guardian: Australia Thousands of Australians evacuated in Queensland floods
The worst flooding for 50 years forces 200,000 people from their homes across an area the size of France and Germany combined in north-east Australia
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Thousands of Australians evacuated in Queensland floodsFor New Year’s Resolution: Climate Change Perspective
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on December 31st, 2010
Discovery News: As inhabitants across large areas of Europe and North America dig themselves out from snowdrifts and take refuge from the cold, there have predictably been a few commentaries that have suggested the inclement winter is another nail in the global warming coffin. Yes, well. As climatologists painstakingly try to point out, there is a difference between weather and climate; this cold winter no more disproves global warming than the fact that 2010 has otherwise exhibited record warmth proves it. What...
Indian tea tastes different due to climate change
Posted by Associated Press: Wasbir Hussain on December 31st, 2010
Associated Press: Tea growers in northeastern India say climate change has hurt the country's tea crop, leading not just to a drop in production but also subtly altering the flavor of their brew.
Tropical Assam state, with its high humidity and lush greenery, is India's main tea growing region, producing nearly 55 percent of the country's enormous tea crop. Overall, India accounts for 31 percent of global tea production.
But a gradual rise in Assam's temperatures, changes in rainfall patterns and a dip in tea...
Australian floodwaters rise as bushfire threat looms
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on December 31st, 2010
Guardian: Floodwaters have risen across a vast area of north-east Australia, affecting 22 towns, forcing 200,000 residents out of their homes and closing an important sugar export port.
Flooding has already shut coal mines and the biggest coal export port in Queensland, forcing companies such as Anglo American and Rio Tinto to slow or halt operations.
The worst flooding in about 50 years has been caused by a "La Niña" weather pattern, which cools water in the eastern Pacific and has produced torrential...
Italy bans shops from handing out plastic bags
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on December 31st, 2010
Telegraph: The country is believed to be the first in the EU to outlaw the use of polythene bags in a move that Italian environmental organisation Legambiente estimates will save 180,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions.
Italians are among the top consumers of plastic bags in Europe, using more than 300 per person a year.
This is around a quarter of the 100 billion plastic bags imported from China, Thailand and Malaysia that are used annually across Europe.
The ban will come into force on New Year's Day, when...
Floods cover vast area of Australia’s northeast
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on December 31st, 2010
Reuters: Floodwater rose across a vast area in Australia's northeast on Friday, inundating 22 towns, forcing 200,000 residents out of their homes, and closing a major sugar export port.
Flooding has already shut coal mines in Queensland state and its biggest coal export port, forcing miners such as Anglo American and Rio Tinto to slow or halt operations.
The worst flooding in about 50 years has been caused by a "La Nina" weather pattern, which cools waters in the eastern Pacific and has produced torrential...