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Archive for August, 2011
Hurricane Irene and the staggering costs of climate change
Posted by Nelson Daily: Richard Matthews on August 31st, 2011
Nelson Daily: Extreme weather events like Hurricane Irene illustrate the costs of man’s impact on the earth.
The planet has been getting warmer since the dawn of the industrial age and for every one degree rise in temperature, moisture rises by seven per cent.
Scientists predict that warmer temperatures will increase the frequency and severity of extreme weather events. Or to put it another way, global warming amplifies the risk factors for extreme weather events.
Guided by its research, the insurance...
Posted in Water Conservation 
Comments Off on Hurricane Irene and the staggering costs of climate changeOfficial: Texas wildfire had destroyed 39 homes
Posted by Associated Press: Angela K. Brown on August 31st, 2011
Associated Press: A Texas Forest Service official says a fast-moving wildfire in a popular North Texas vacation area has destroyed 39 homes. Forest Service spokesman John Nichols says the fire that started Tuesday afternoon in the Possum Kingdom Lake area had scorched about 6,200 acres by Wednesday afternoon. He says nine recreational vehicles have also burned. The wildfire is one of several blazes burning in Texas and Oklahoma. It has turned the normally lush landscape into a blackened mess. Several communities...
U.S. researchers find Roundup chemical in water, air
Posted by Reuters: Carey Gillam on August 31st, 2011
Reuters: Significant levels of the world's most-used herbicide have been detected in air and water samples from two U.S. farm states, government scientists said on Wednesday, in groundbreaking research on the active ingredient in Monsanto Co's Roundup.
"It is out there in significant levels. It is out there consistently," said Paul Capel, environmental chemist and head of the agricultural chemicals team at the U.S. Geological Survey Office, part of the U.S. Department of Interior.
Capel said more tests...
States urge pressure to block Great Lakes invading species
Posted by Reuters: Andrew Stern on August 31st, 2011
Reuters: Six Great Lakes states that unsuccessfully sought a court order to seal off the lakes from invading Asian carp on Wednesday asked other states to apply pressure on Congress to act.
The plea was sent to 27 states that could suffer or have suffered from the impact of foreign species invading the Great Lakes and the Mississippi River basin such as Zebra mussels and Asian carp.
Michigan, Minnesota, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin other states to sign off on a letter by September 13 that...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on States urge pressure to block Great Lakes invading speciesCanadian Oil Pipeline Plan Meets Resistance
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on August 31st, 2011
National Public Radio: The Canadian oil company TransCanada plans to expand a pipeline to transport crude oil from Alberta to Texas through the central U.S. The proposal has sparked debate on both sides of the border about energy security, the environment and safety.
Hundreds of European farmers expected to flout battery hen ban
Posted by Guardian: Lizzy Davies on August 31st, 2011
Guardian: Hundreds of poultry farmers across Europe with millions of egg-laying hens are expected to flout a ban on conventional battery cages next year.
The new regulations are designed to eradicate the practice and dramatically enhance animal welfare.
According to European commission figures, 10 countries – including the UK – are set to be fully compliant with the new legislation by the time it comes into effect on 1 January 2012. Thus consumers can be sure that eggs from those member states have been...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Hundreds of European farmers expected to flout battery hen ban10 Celebrities Fighting To Save The Rainforestsm
Posted by EcoRazzi: Michael dEstries on August 31st, 2011
EcoRazzi: The great rainforests once covered some 14% of the planet. Today, that number has shrunk to less than 6%.
We`ve all seen the good work celebrities can do in using their fame to draw attention to worthy causes. Below are ten passionately involved in raising awareness for organizations and initiatives on the ground striving to save the "lungs of the earth".
1. Ian Somerhalder
“Vampire Diaries” star Ian Somerholder is all about saving the Rainforest. In fact, he has his very own foundation...
Gulf fishing in crisis, but is BP oil spill to blame?
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on August 31st, 2011
Christian Science Monitor: John Barrios sighs wearily after a full morning of shrimping in his 16-foot aluminum boat. His reddish-brown skin bears witness to a lifetime under a beating sun: He started drawing catch from these waters off a skiff in the 1930s.
He's tired, there are too few shrimp, and prices are so low that going out each day seems almost futile. "My time is up," he says.
Like many in southwestern Louisiana whose lives revolve around harvest seasons in the Gulf of Mexico, Mr. Barrios turned to oil giant...
Climate change poses an unprecedented situation before India
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on August 31st, 2011
Press Trust of India: Warning that climate change and global warming pose an "unprecedented situation" before a developing country like India, a Parliamentary panel has asked the government to step up R&D efforts in agriculture.
"The increased economic and industrial activities have led to a paradigm shift in the climate and environment of the world. Apart from diseases and pestilence, new threats are emerging to agriculture sector due to global warming and climate change," the panel has said.
The Committee...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Climate change poses an unprecedented situation before IndiaFacing up to the global water crisis
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on August 31st, 2011
Guardian: With rising population growth and changes in the earth's climate putting stress on the consumable 1% of the planet's water, the global water crisis risks becoming a source of cross-border conflict.
Sub-Saharan Africa is especially vulnerable given its dry climate, which is exacerbated by underdevelopment and mismanagement of water resources. In 2000, countries in Africa and in other regions set targets to halve by 2015 the number of people without access to these basic services. Some of them may...