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Archive for April, 2011
The week in wildlife – in pictures
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on April 29th, 2011
Guardian: From urban red-tailed hawks to mysterious humpback whales, via sunbathing turtles, here are the week's finest images from the natural world
African ocean current could boost Gulf Stream: study
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on April 29th, 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...
Soggy fields put US farmers on a tight deadline
Posted by Reuters: Suzanne Cosgrove on April 29th, 2011
Reuters: Incessant rains have turned Indiana farmer Larry Winger's grain fields into ponds, making it impossible for him to seed his corn crop.
"Historically, we would like the work to be done by the first of May, and research shows the optimal planting time is the last week of April," said Winger, who plants half of his 2,500 acres with corn, and the other half with soybeans.
"Prospects are OK until May 10, but after May 10, we start losing bushels," he added.
Similar scenes of waterlogged fields...
Three Alaskans accused of trafficking in walrus tusks
Posted by Reuters: Yereth Rosen on April 29th, 2011
Reuters: Three Alaskans have been indicted on charges of trafficking in hundreds of pounds of walrus tusks taken from a remote Eskimo village in exchange for such items as cash, guns and marijuana, prosecutors said on Thursday.
The case against the three individuals, which also includes accusations of illegal sales of walrus bones and polar bear hides, marks Alaska's biggest case of illegal trafficking in wildlife contraband in years, said Yvonne Lamoureux, an assistant U.S. attorney.
Jesse Leboeuf...
Tornadoes and storms rip South, at least 295 dead
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on April 29th, 2011
Reuters: Tornadoes and violent storms ripped through seven Southern states, killing at least 295 people and causing billions of dollars of damage in some of the deadliest twisters in U.S. history.
President Barack Obama described the loss of life as "heartbreaking" and called the damage to homes and businesses "nothing short of catastrophic." He promised strong federal support for rebuilding.
Over several days this week, the powerful tornadoes -- more than 160 reported in total -- combined with storms...
250 die in one day as twisters rampage from Texas to Virginia
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on April 28th, 2011
Independent: Search-and-rescue teams were last night hunting for survivors beneath fallen masonry and tangled joists, power lines and fallen trees in towns and hamlets across seven states in the south-eastern US which were ravaged by the worst outbreak of tornadoes seen in almost four decades. Almost 250 people are known to have died.
Stunned residents of Tuscaloosa in Alabama awoke yesterday to discover a city partly razed by a single killer twister that cut a swath more than a mile wide and may have got...
Posted in Water Conservation 
Comments Off on 250 die in one day as twisters rampage from Texas to VirginiaCattle groups sue to stop water rule in Florida
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on April 28th, 2011
Reuters: Two cattle groups filed suit in Florida on Thursday to overturn U.S. water pollution rules that also are challenged by Florida state officials and businesses as ruinously expensive.
The Environmental Protection Agency set numerical limits last fall for nutrient levels in Florida lakes and waterways. It estimates 2,000 miles of rivers and streams are affected by excess fertilizer, stormwater and wastewater runoff.
In a suit in U.S. district court, the National Cattlemen's Beef Association and...
Warming behind wild tornado season?
Posted by msnbc.com: None Given on April 28th, 2011
msnbc.com: Some climate models suggest that a warming future could herald more intense storms like those that ripped through the Southeast on Wednesday night.
But that doesn't mean the southern storms and tornadoes were a manifestation of climate change, climate scientists say. That's because teasing out the influence of climate on weather takes time.
"The impacts of climate change on any weather events will likely only be seen in the statistics -- more rainfall that occurs in intense bursts, more overall...
A Cost of Denying Climate Change: Accelerating Climate Disruptions, Death, and .
Posted by Huffington Post: Peter H. Gleick on April 28th, 2011
Huffington Post: Violent tornadoes throughout the southeastern U.S. must be a front-page reminder that no matter how successful climate deniers are in confusing the public or delaying action on climate change in Congress or globally, the science is clear: Our climate is worsening.
More extreme and violent climate is a direct consequence of human-caused climate change (whether or not we can determine if these particular tornado outbreaks were caused or worsened by climate change). There is a reason it isn't called...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on A Cost of Denying Climate Change: Accelerating Climate Disruptions, Death, and .Tornadoes whipped up by wind, not climate: officials
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on April 28th, 2011
AFP: US meteorologists warned Thursday it would be a mistake to blame climate change for a seeming increase in tornadoes in the wake of deadly storms that have ripped through the US south.
"If you look at the past 60 years of data, the number of tornadoes is increasing significantly, but it's agreed upon by the tornado community that it's not a real increase," said Grady Dixon, assistant professor of meteorology and climatology at Mississippi State University.
"It's having to do with better (weather...