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Archive for January, 2011
Record melt from Greenland icesheet in 2010
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on January 22nd, 2011
Agence France-Presse: Greenland's icesheet, feared as a major driver of rising sea levels, shed a record amount of melted snow and ice in 2010, scientists reported Friday, a day after the UN said last year was the warmest on record.
The 2010 runoff was more than twice the average annual loss in Greenland over the previous three decades, surpassing a record set in 2007, said the study, published in the US-based journal Environmental Research Letters.
Ice melt has now topped this benchmark every year since 1996, according...
Biofuel jatropha falls from wonder-crop pedestal
Posted by Reuters: Juliane Von Reppert-Bismarck on January 22nd, 2011
Reuters: Jatropha, a biofuel-producing plant once touted as a wonder-crop, is turning out to be much less dependable than first thought, both environmentalists and industry players say.
Some biofuel producers found themselves agreeing with many of the criticisms detailed in a report launched by campaign group Friends of the Earth this week -- "Jatropha: money doesn't grow on trees."
Jatropha has been widely heralded as a wonder plant whose cultivation on non-arable land in Africa, Asia and Latin America...
Scientists find industrial pollutants in Eastern Lake Erie carp
Posted by Science Centric: None Given on January 22nd, 2011
Science Centric: Researchers from Upstate New York institutions, including the University at Buffalo, have documented elevated levels of two industrial pollutants in carp in eastern Lake Erie, adding to the body of scientific work demonstrating the lasting environmental effects of human activity and waste disposal on the Great Lakes.
The two contaminants the scientists studied were polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), manmade organic compounds once used in products including motor oils, adhesives, paints, plastics,...
Posted in Water Conservation 
Comments Off on Scientists find industrial pollutants in Eastern Lake Erie carpEurope Begins to Run Short of Water
Posted by Inter Press Service: Pavol Stracansky on January 22nd, 2011
Inter Press Service: Half of the Czech Republic’s population could face water shortages because of climate change, a top climate change expert has warned.
The country has become one of the driest in the EU, according to local media, and climatologists say the land, and crucial underground water supplies, are drying up.
Professor Michal Marek, head of the EU-funded CzechGlobe climate change research project, told IPS: "The Czech Republic is already seeing the effects of climate change in more frequent extreme weather...
Huge majority oppose England forest sell-off, poll finds
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on January 22nd, 2011
Guardian: The vast majority of the public oppose the government's plan to sell off all or part of the publicly owned forests and woodland in England.
A YouGov poll found that 84% of people agreed the woods and forests should be kept in public ownership for future generations, while only 2% disagreed.
The plan has already prompted a mass demonstration in the ancient Forest of Dean, and an online petition organised by the campaign group 38 Degrees has attracted more than 164,000 names so far.
"Most...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Huge majority oppose England forest sell-off, poll finds2.4 billion extra people, no more land: how will we feed the world in 2050?
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on January 22nd, 2011
Independent: The finite resources of the Earth will be be stretched as never before in the coming 40 years because of the unprecedented challenge of feeding the world in 2050, leading scientists have concluded in a report to be published next week.
Food production will have to increase by between 70 and 100 per cent, while the area of land given over to agriculture will remain static, or even decrease as a result of land degradation and climate change. Meanwhile the global population is expected to rise from...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on 2.4 billion extra people, no more land: how will we feed the world in 2050?United States: Moutain species at risk in climate change
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on January 22nd, 2011
United Press International: Changes both man-made and natural have sent populations of birds in Kenya's highlands plummeting, and many conservations say they fear some may not recover.
An increasing number of settlers who have moved to the country's highlands to farm in the last two decades have affected bird habitats and reduced bird populations by cutting down forests and turning grasslands into fields, The New York Times reported.
Climate change in adding to the problem, sending some populations into steep decline,...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on United States: Moutain species at risk in climate changeBLM Charm Offensive Backfires, Critics Fume Over ‘Wild Lands’ Policy
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on January 21st, 2011
Greenwire: Bureau of Land Management Director Bob Abbey's meetings with top elected leaders from Western states has failed to soothe anger over his agency's new "wild lands" policy that could extend the highest level of federal protection to millions of acres of public land. Some who have met with the BLM director in the past week say Abbey has failed to provide key details about how the Dec. 22, 2010, executive order from Interior Secretary Ken Salazar will be enforced and what impact it will have on key...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on BLM Charm Offensive Backfires, Critics Fume Over ‘Wild Lands’ PolicyHouse Democrats Vow to Stay Strong on Environmental Issues
Posted by Greenwire: Sarah Abruzzese on January 21st, 2011
Greenwire: House Democrats will not shy away from environmental issues as they begin to rebuild and look toward the elections of 2012.
On the kick-off day of the House Democrats' annual conference on the Eastern Shore, where they are concentrating on job growth and upcoming election strategies, Democratic leaders told reporters yesterday that they believe they have a very real opportunity to retake the House in 2012.
Rep. James Clyburn of South Carolina, who is the assistant House minority leader, said,...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on House Democrats Vow to Stay Strong on Environmental IssuesCalif. Plants Put A Wrinkle In Climate Change Plans
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on January 21st, 2011
National Public Radio: RENEE MONTAGNE, host: As the earth warms up, many plants and animals are moving uphill to keep their cool. Conservationists are anticipating much more of this, as they make plans to help natural systems adapt to a warming planet. But a new study in Science magazine finds that plants in Northern California are bucking this uphill trend. NPR's Richard Harris explains. RICHARD HARRIS: Coping with climate change is, quite literally, an uphill struggle for ecosystems looking to remain in a temperature...