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Archive for May, 2011
How the Floods May Restore Louisiana’s Wetlands
Posted by Time: Steven Gray on May 21st, 2011
Time: The talk of New Orleans has centered on whether the most severe Mississippi River flood in more than a quarter-century will cause catastrophic damage to a city still recovering from Hurricane Katrina. And for good reason: the flood has carved a destructive path from from Cairo, Illinois, to Vicksburg, Mississippi, and prompted Louisiana's Republican governor, Bobby Jindal, to ask the federal government for emergency assistance. But there just might be a silver lining: the flood could actually help...
REDD Rage: Organizing to Stop the Network of Death
Posted by Climate Connections: None Given on May 21st, 2011
Climate Connections: During a workshop on REDD, a woman from Bolivia in traditional dress explained that in Spanish “red” means “network,” and that REDD was the “Network of Death.” “What Indigenous Peoples really need,” she said, “is a network of life--one that is opposed to REDD, but supports peoples’ traditional ways. We must form this network,” she insisted. “We need a global network of Indigenous Peoples opposed to REDD.”
In the midst of the first week of the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (UNPFII) in...
Humane Society sues to halt sea lion killings
Posted by Reuters: Teresa Carson on May 21st, 2011
Reuters: The Humane Society of the United States filed suit on Friday seeking to stop Oregon and Washington state from euthanizing sea lions caught feasting on endangered salmon in the Columbia River at the Bonneville Dam.
Last week, the National Marine Fisheries Service gave the two states permission to resume capturing and killing California sea lions deemed to be the most egregious offenders.
Only one sea lion has been euthanized by Washington state since then, said Guy Norman, a regional director...
Climate-change aid to developing world difficult to track: Report
Posted by Montreal Gazette: Brian Vastag on May 20th, 2011
Montreal Gazette: Volunteers from The Art of Living Foundation clean the ghats of polluted Yamuna river during a cleansing drive in New Delhi on March 18, 2010. Considered one of the holiest rivers in India, the Yamuna River has been dying a slow death from pollution for decades despite the investment of millions of dollars to preserve its ecosystem. In the 2009 Copenhagen climate accord, 21 developed nations and the European Union agreed to provide $30 billion over three years to help poorer nations adapt to climate...
Posted in Water Conservation 
Comments Off on Climate-change aid to developing world difficult to track: ReportIs Extreme Weather the New Normal?
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on May 20th, 2011
Reuters: Heavy rains, deep snowfalls, monster floods and killing droughts are signs of a "new normal" of extreme U.S. weather events fueled by climate change, scientists and government planners said on Wednesday.
"It's a new normal and I really do think that global weirding is the best way to describe what we're seeing," climate scientist Katharine Hayhoe of Texas Tech University told reporters.
"We are used to certain conditions and there's a lot going on these days that is not what we're used to,...
Mississippi river floods – pictures
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on May 20th, 2011
Guardian: Flooding Mississippi river floods – pictures
Thousands of people have lost their homes in the aftermath of floods in Mississippi
Indonesia Signs Deal to Protect Virgin Forests
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on May 20th, 2011
New York Times: Indonesia`s president signs a two-year moratorium on new logging concessions in the island nation`s still-prolific virgin forests, part of a $1 billion climate change deal with Norway intended to reduce carbon dioxide emissions from deforestation. Under the deal, more than 150 million acres of primary forest are expected to be protected. Indonesia "will not return to the past of unsustainable development practices," a top environment adviser says. [The Jakarta Post]
Environmental groups, however,...
Wildfires of the rain forest
Posted by Juneau Empire: Abby Lowell on May 20th, 2011
Juneau Empire: Juneau Empire Juneau Ranger District Senior Firefighter Seth Stransky stands next to the remains of an uncontrolled burn resulting from a campfire in 2009. Damage to the organic material in the soil caused many large trees to become unstable and topple over. Starting Monday, four ranger firefighters will oversee the Juneau District. June and July are the high risk months. Although campfires are allowed, it is criminal to leave fires unattended and to build a fire without a fire guard or barrier....
Dire Pollution at Three Gorges Dam
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on May 20th, 2011
New York Times: The Chinese government has acknowledged that the Three Gorges Dam, the world’s largest hydroelectric project, has urgent pollution problems and that many people displaced by its construction have yet to be resettled, Michael Wines reports.
More and more, the boreal will burn
Posted by Tyee: Andrew Nikiforuk on May 20th, 2011
Tyee: Local officials say they need more staff, money and legal assurances to do the job.
Wildfires ripping through Alberta's boreal forest or what government officials call "freakish" firestorms are really a snapshot of how warming global temperatures and intensified insect infestations will change the nation's boreal forest, say scientists.
In the last week nearly 100 wildfires, battled by 1,000 forest fighters, have shut in billions of dollars worth of oil and gas facilities and forced the evacuation...