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Archive for May 17th, 2011
Once-Rare Mississippi River Flooding Now ‘More Frequent and More Severe’
Posted by Green Wire: None Given on May 17th, 2011
Green Wire: When the Mississippi River spilled over its banks late last month in Mark Twain's boyhood home of Hannibal, Mo., it was the sort of flood the Army Corps of Engineers expects to occur once every 10 or 25 years.
If Hannibal could only be so lucky.
The town saw similar floods in 1995, 1996, 1998 and 2001. Worse still was the 200-year flood in 2008. But none of those compared to the devastation in 1993, when river gauges at Hannibal measured floodwaters at levels expected only once in five centuries....
Posted in Water Conservation 
Comments Off on Once-Rare Mississippi River Flooding Now ‘More Frequent and More Severe’Environmental groups question Obama’s forest plan
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on May 17th, 2011
Reuters: An Obama administration plan to protect wildlife and water in U.S. national forests drew fire on Monday from environmental advocates who contend the new rule needs stronger scientific standards.
As it stands now, the proposed Forest Planning Rule gives too much discretion to individual managers of the 155 forests and grasslands that cover 193 million acres (78 million hectares) of public territory, a former U.S. wildlife official said in a telephone briefing.
"Our forests are in real trouble,"...
France in crisis as drought deepens: minister
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on May 17th, 2011
Reuters: France has imposed limits on water consumption in 28 of its 96 administrative departments, the environment ministry said Monday, amid signs that a prolonged dry spell that has hit grain crops would continue.
"We are already in a situation of crisis. The situation is like what we would expect in July for groundwater levels, river flows and snow melting," Environment Minister Nathalie Kosciusko-Morizet told a press conference.
The government had previously put 27 departments under water consumption...
Chesapeake natgas drilling contaminates water: Pennsylvania
Posted by Reuters: Edward McAllister on May 17th, 2011
Reuters: Pennsylvania regulators levied a record fine for contaminating drinking water against major natural gas producer Chesapeake Energy, a move that threatens to intensify a fierce debate over drilling for natural gas in the state.
The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection fined Chesapeake $900,000 for contaminating water supplies in Bradford County, a busy drilling area in the prolific Marcellus shale gas formation, the agency said on Tuesday. It was fined another $188,000 for a fire...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Chesapeake natgas drilling contaminates water: PennsylvaniaDown to 50 individuals, conservationists fight to save Javan Rhino from extinction
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on May 17th, 2011
Mongabay: Down to 50, conservationists fight to save Javan Rhino from extinction
Earlier this year, the International Rhino Foundation launched "Operation Javan Rhino" to prevent the extinction of the critically endangered Javan Rhinoceros (Rhinoceros sondaicus), formerly found in rain forests across Southeast Asia.
Operation Javan Rhino is a multi-layered project which links field conservation, habitat restoration, and management efforts with the interests of local governments and communities.
The...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Down to 50 individuals, conservationists fight to save Javan Rhino from extinctionPoverty-hit families at mercy of climate change
Posted by News Letter: None Given on May 17th, 2011
News Letter: Farming communities in Nicaragua are facing a battle to protect their property against natural disasters sparked by global warming, BEN LOWRY found during a visit with the charity Christian Aid
AFTER years of gradual erosion, Juana Zapata’s house is in danger of being washed away, and climate change seems to be the reason why.
The 45-year-old mother-of-six owns a simple shack that is typical of the electricity-less homes found across rural Nicaragua.
Her house sits on sun-baked land that...
Solar power lights up Bangladesh rural areas
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on May 17th, 2011
Reuters: Solar power is in place in nearly a million homes in rural Bangladesh, which is drastically short of electricity, the World Bank said on Monday.
"More than 870,000 homes and shops in remote rural areas have installed solar home systems with support from the World Bank and other development partners," the global lender said in a statement.
The World Bank had provided additional financing of $130 million in 2009 to support the government's efforts to reach more households in rural areas with...
UN Climate Experts in Australia to Finalize Landmark Report
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on May 17th, 2011
Voice of America: Local residents clear away the mud from their flooded home in Brisbane, Australia. Parts of Brisbane reopened as deadly floodwaters that had swamped entire neighborhoods recede, revealing streets and thousands of homes covered in a thick layer of putrid sludge, January 14, 2011
More than 100 scientists from the United Nation's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change are meeting on Australia's Gold Coast to complete a special report on "extreme weather events." The UN's main science body is warning...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on UN Climate Experts in Australia to Finalize Landmark ReportLittle rain for Europe’s farmers before June
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on May 17th, 2011
Reuters: Drought in much of Europe looks set to continue with little relief for parched farmland until June at the earliest, forecasters say.
Parts of central Europe saw less than 40 percent of their long-term average rainfall from February to April, with even the wettest seeing less than 80 percent of the mean for 1951-2000, according to the Global Precipitation Climatology Center.
At the start of May, some weather watchers saw some rainfall relief by the end of the month from the long, dry spell that...
DoNation: ‘If 50 people give up bottled water, I will run a marathon’
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on May 17th, 2011
Independent: To Hermione Taylor, it was a logical solution to a short-term problem. Due to embark on a sponsored cycle ride from London to Morocco, she found herself unwilling to nag friends for money. "It was the start of the credit crunch and a lot of people were students," she explains. "It felt like too much to ask." So she asked for something else: a promise. A promise to do a bit of good for the planet."We knew we wanted to do something for the environment -- and, ultimately, that does not need money, it...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on DoNation: ‘If 50 people give up bottled water, I will run a marathon’