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Archive for April, 2011
Brockholes nature reserve visitor centre – review
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on April 30th, 2011
Guardian: Brockholes visitor centre, near Preston in Lancashire, designed by Adam Khan. Photograph: Ioana Marinescu
If you turn off the M6, on the ragged edge of Preston, and follow some brown badger signs through a series of truck-filled roundabouts and ramps, you suddenly see a huddle of roofs above a lake, which look like a bronze-age settlement. The view recalls those meticulous yellow-brown reconstructions you get in old, earnest children's books, and you half expect to see men carrying spears and...
Extreme Weather Events Take Place in the Context of Global Climate Change
Posted by Moderate Voice: KATHY KATTENBURG on April 30th, 2011
Moderate Voice: That is the theme of this guest piece at Think Progress by climate scientist Brad Johnson (emphasis in original):
n an email interview with ThinkProgress, Dr. Kevin Trenberth, one of the world’s top climate scientists, who has been exploring for years how greenhouse pollution influences extreme weather, said he believes that it is “irresponsible not to mention climate change” in the context of these extreme tornadoes. Trenberth, head of the Climate Analysis Section of the National Center for Atmospheric...
Posted in Water Conservation 
Comments Off on Extreme Weather Events Take Place in the Context of Global Climate ChangeEnvironmental group to sue feds over SoCal frog
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on April 30th, 2011
Associated Press: An environmental group says it plans to file a lawsuit against the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service on allegations that the agency failed to develop a recovery plan for the endangered Southern California mountain yellow-legged frog.
The Riverside Press-Enterprise reports the Center for Biological Diversity filed a 60-day notice of intent to sue Thursday.
The group accuses federal officials of not taking adequate steps under the Endangered Species Act to save the frog from extinction.
The mountain...
Spanish nuclear power station in leak scare
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on April 30th, 2011
Associated Press: Media say 14 people were working in the containment area of a nuclear power plant in northeast Spain this week when water used to cool a reactor was unexpectedly released. El Pais newspaper reported Saturday that the workers were in the building, although none are believed to have suffered dangerous contamination. Operator Anav said in a statement dated Thursday that "the opening of a valve caused the release of 25 cubic meters (883 cubic feet) of water from the primary refrigeration system toward...
Scientists probe genetic component of climate-hardy species
Posted by ClimateWire: Laura Petersen on April 30th, 2011
ClimateWire: Douglas firs have more than 38,000 genes, roughly twice the number in the human genome. So any gene that has helped those trees survive extreme drought, heat and disease has been passed down through generations of seedlings.
"I think of them as the ultimate genomic pack rat," said Richard Cronn, a research geneticist at the Forest Service's Pacific Northwest Research Station. "They save everything, and they have been saving things for millions of years. You never know when you are going to have...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Scientists probe genetic component of climate-hardy speciesThe Indonesia mega rice disaster
Posted by LOE: None Given on April 30th, 2011
LOE: Indonesia is a huge carbon polluter. That's largely because of massive destruction of the carbon-rich peatlands underlying its tropical forests. Now some are trying to stop carbon emissions from that damaged land, and give local people a leg up at the same time. Living on Earth's Ingrid Lobet reports.
Transcript
GELLERMAN: It's Living on Earth, I'm Bruce Gellerman. Indonesia is the world's third largest emitter of carbon dioxide. Only the United States and China generate more of the climate-disturbing...
CU-Boulder scientists study air ripples from wind turbines
Posted by Daily Camera: None Given on April 30th, 2011
Daily Camera: A new University of Colorado research project is designed to improve the efficiency of wind turbines. The University of Colorado is looking into ways to make wind turbine technology more efficient and perhaps less costly. A new project spearheaded by Julie Lundquist, an assistant professor in the Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences Department, considers the wakes of invisible ripples that turbines create. Understanding how the wakes move and how they are shaped will allow scientists to better determine...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on CU-Boulder scientists study air ripples from wind turbinesGroup wants rare Sierra Nevada red fox put on protected list
Posted by Redding: None Given on April 30th, 2011
Redding: Threats to the Sierra Nevada red fox include grazing, logging and shrinking mountain habitat brought on by global warming.
Sierra Nevada red fox caught on camera
A rare fox once thought to be found only close to Lassen Peak could be a candidate for federal protection.
The Center for Biological Diversity -- an environmental group known for its Endangered Species Act filings -- submitted a petition this week, asking the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to consider the Sierra Nevada red fox for...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Group wants rare Sierra Nevada red fox put on protected listAfrican ocean current could boost Gulf Stream: Study
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on April 30th, 2011
Reuters: An ocean current that flows down the east coast of Africa could strengthen a circulation pattern that brings warmth to Europe, according to a new study that challenges existing climate science.
In a study in the latest issue of the journal Nature, scientists examining the Agulhas Current found more of the current's warm, salty water was entering the southern Atlantic, whose waters are cooler and fresher.
This in turn could strengthen the Gulf Stream in the Atlantic that brings warm waters and...
Pakistan faces higher numbers of floods, droughts in the future
Posted by Tribune: Azam Khan on April 30th, 2011
Tribune: The average temperature in the country has risen by 0.6 Celsius in the past 100 years.
The average temperatures in Pakistan have gone up by 0.6 Celsius over the past 100 years. The increase in northern Pakistan was slightly higher at 0.8 Celsius versus 0.5 Celsius in the south.
While seemingly less, the rise in temperatures means Pakistan faces rapid recession of glaciers in the coming years that will greatly increase the water inflow into the Indus River system.
This will reduce the natural...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Pakistan faces higher numbers of floods, droughts in the future