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Archive for March 29th, 2011
Calculating Livestock Numbers By Weather And Climate
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on March 29th, 2011
redOrbit: Ranchers in the central Great Plains may be using some of their winter downtime in the future to rehearse the upcoming production season, all from the warmth of their homes, according to U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) soil scientists.
The ranchers would use the GPFARM (Great Plains Framework for Agricultural Resource Management)-Range computer model to see which cattle or sheep stocking rate scenarios are sustainable. Soil scientists Gale Dunn and Laj Ahuja with USDA's Agricultural Research...
Drought In Amazon Could Lead To Accelerated Global Warming
Posted by IBTimes: Gabriel Perna on March 29th, 2011
IBTimes: A new study reveals a drought last year in the Amazon basin caused the forest to lose significant levels of vegetation, which in turn could accelerate the pace of global warming.
The study, conducted by an international team of scientists and funded by NASA, uses specific satellite imaging data provided by the agency to draw its conclusions. The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) and Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) satellites provided more than a decade's worth of...
Posted in Water Conservation 
Comments Off on Drought In Amazon Could Lead To Accelerated Global WarmingAs Algae Bloom Fades, Photosynthesis Hopes Still Shine
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on March 29th, 2011
GreenWire: Bioengineer Jeff Way has seen what happens when the claims of algae biofuel companies get ahead of the science, when their promises of "renewable diesel" slam into the realities of engineering.
He's been to the bankruptcy auction.
Once the standard-bearer for the algae revolution, GreenFuel Technologies failed almost two years ago. Spun out of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the company promised to convert waste carbon dioxide into fuel-producing algae. It opened a celebrated --...
Bills, Baby, Bills
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on March 29th, 2011
New York Times: Frustrated by the Obama administration’s slow pace in restarting offshore drilling in the Gulf of Mexico after the Deepwater Horizon accident last year, Republicans in Congress are proposing a range of bills to force the administration to accelerate the granting of drilling permits and open new offshore areas to oil and gas exploration.
Getty Images Representative Doc Hastings is sponsoring three bills that would rewrite offshore drilling rules.
The new drilling measures are part of a concerted...
The story of the barefoot engineers
Posted by Wired UK: None Given on March 29th, 2011
Wired UK: In a remote village in northwestern India, a rural college aims to lift people out of poverty by passing on traditional knowledge and skills.
The Barefoot College, based in Tilonia, relies on peer-to-peer learning to train locals to become engineers, communicators, accountants and more, using simple technologies such as mobile phones and personal computers (PCs). Now, it is getting ready to open its first branch in Africa.
"It's a model that people understand, it's not complicated. It respects...
More science needed for tackling disasters, says report
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on March 29th, 2011
SciDev.Net: Science and technology will be essential for anticipating and responding to disasters, according to a review of the humanitarian practices of one of the world's leading national aid agencies, the UK Department for International Development (DFID). Natural disasters are killing more people each year, with climate-related disasters alone predicted to affect 375 million a year by 2015. Finding new ways of tackling them is essential, according to the Humanitarian Emergency Response Review, launched...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on More science needed for tackling disasters, says reportClimate change worsens food security for Southeast, East Asia: experts
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on March 29th, 2011
Xinhua: Climate change will compound challenges of food security for Southeast and East Asia, experts issued the warning in Beijing Tuesday.
Man Ho So, deputy regional representative of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), said the region is still home to a quarter of the world's undernourished people and food security remains as a major concern.
"Climate change will compound these challenges further," as the region will be subjected to extreme weather in increasing frequency and intensity...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Climate change worsens food security for Southeast, East Asia: expertsUS gains help European markets look past crises
Posted by Associated Press: Carlo Piovano on March 29th, 2011
Associated Press: Gains on Wall Street helped most European markets close higher Tuesday despite new ratings downgrades of Portugal and Greece and more bad news from Japan, where authorities struggled to contain radiation from a nuclear power plant.
Sentiment in Europe had been fragile earlier after losses across Asia, as leaks of highly toxic plutonium from Japan's Fukushima Dai-ichi power plant suggested the fallout may be worse than previously expected.
The plant was crippled when a towering tsunami -- spawned...
India releases tiger numbers as experts convene
Posted by Science Centric: None Given on March 29th, 2011
Science Centric: The Indian Government today released new tiger population numbers for the first time since 2007, indicating that numbers have increased in the country that has half of the world's remaining wild tigers.
The government estimated current tiger numbers in India at 1,706, up from 1,411 during the last count in 2007. However, the 1,706 figure includes an additional tiger reserve in the count, the Sundarbans, that contained 70 tigers. This area was not counted in 2007.
Therefore, when comparing the...
Study sheds light on how heat is transported to Greenland glaciers
Posted by Science Centric: None Given on March 29th, 2011
Science Centric: Warmer air is only part of the story when it comes to Greenland's rapidly melting ice sheet. New research by scientists at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) highlights the role ocean circulation plays in transporting heat to glaciers.
Greenland's ice sheet has lost mass at an accelerated rate over the last decade, dumping more ice and fresh water into the ocean. Between 2001 and 2005, Helheim Glacier, a large glacier on Greenland's southeast coast, retreated 5 miles (8 kilometres) and...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Study sheds light on how heat is transported to Greenland glaciers