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Archive for October 5th, 2011
Africa Analysis: Disaster warning not just about science
Posted by SciDev.Net: Linda Nordling on October 5th, 2011
SciDev.Net: The East Africa famine calls into question the wisdom of investing in early warning systems without improving take-up, writes Linda Nordling.
When the UN declared a state of famine in the Horn of Africa in July, one group of scientists was not surprised. In August 2010, the USAID-funded Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FEWS NET) had issued a prediction of poor March--May rains this year.
The tens of thousands of people that have died since then in East Africa, and the millions that remain...
Posted in Water Conservation 
Comments Off on Africa Analysis: Disaster warning not just about scienceAs the Climate Warms, Magnolias Move North
Posted by Climate Central: Bruce Dorminey on October 5th, 2011
Climate Central: Warmer temperatures and longer growing seasons, brought on by climate change, are causing the iconic Southern Magnolia to migrate north. Credit: Gottfried/flickr.
Scarlett O'Hara herself would likely be scandalized by what researchers found when scouring a plot of central North Carolina forest outside Chapel Hill. Jennifer Gruhn was looking for Southern magnolias, one of the most enduring symbols of the American South (besides Scarlett herself, of course), and the state flower of both Mississippi...
Air Force Returns to Attack Texas Wildfires
Posted by Yahoo!: Charles Simmins on October 5th, 2011
Yahoo!: Air Force and Air National Guard aircraft continue to assist local, state and federal firefighters in Texas. The 302nd Air Expeditionary Group is operating out of Austin-Bergstrom International Airport in Austin, Texas. Flying C-130 aircraft equipped with MAFFS 2 fire retardant dispersal systems, the airmen are filling gaps caused by the lack of civilian assets. The U.S. Forest Service canceled a contract in late July that provided six airtankers for firefighting, leaving only 13 large civilian aircraft...
European Commission Could Ban Oil From Tar Sands and Other ‘Dirty’ Sources
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on October 5th, 2011
Yale Environment 360: The European Union says crude oil extracted from Alberta’s tar sands should be ranked as a dirtier fuel source than oil tapped from conventional oil wells, a move that could effectively ban the import of the controversial oil. The European Commission endorsed a measure that would essentially rate fossil fuels based on the CO2 emited during extraction, refining, and combustion. The EU has proposed that tar sands oil be ascribed a greenhouse gas value of 107 grams per megajoule of fuel, compared with...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on European Commission Could Ban Oil From Tar Sands and Other ‘Dirty’ SourcesGreen groups sue U.S. to stop work on Keystone XL oil pipe
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on October 5th, 2011
Reuters: Environmental groups sued the U.S. government on Wednesday to stop "illegal construction" on a controversial pipeline that would weave through the center of the United States to bring Canadian oil sands crude direct to Texas refineries.
The Center for Biological Diversity, the Western Nebraska Resources Council and Friends of the Earth sued the State Department and the Fish and Wildlife Service to stop the company from clearing grasslands as part of its Keystone XL pipeline project.
Backers...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Green groups sue U.S. to stop work on Keystone XL oil pipeCanada’s environmental record takes hits
Posted by Canadian Press: Heather Scoffield on October 5th, 2011
Canadian Press: Canada’s environmental record was dealt a double blow on Tuesday, with a scathing federal audit and a European Commission decision to blacklist oilsands products.
Environment Commissioner Scott Vaughan tabled a report saying the federal government’s knowledge about greenhouse-gas emissions and oilsands pollution is so spotty that key decisions are made without fully understanding the environmental consequences.
Reports said the European Commission has decided to treat exports from Alberta’s...
Obama administration to step up construction of new power lines in 12 states
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on October 5th, 2011
Associated Press: The Obama administration wants to speed up permitting and construction of seven proposed electric transmission lines in 12 states, as it moves to create jobs and modernize the nation's power grid.
The projects are intended to serve as pilot demonstrations of streamlined federal permitting and improved cooperation among federal, state and tribal governments. The lines will provide electricity in Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, New Mexico, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, Wyoming, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Minnesota...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Obama administration to step up construction of new power lines in 12 statesLawsuit filed over Yellowstone River oil spill
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on October 5th, 2011
Associated Press: Several landowners whose property was damaged when an ExxonMobil pipeline spilled oil into the Yellowstone River in July have filed a lawsuit against the oil giant. The Billings Gazette reports ( http://bit.ly/rk3DxI) attorney Cliff Edwards filed a class-action lawsuit Tuesday in District Court in Billings on behalf of eight landowners seeking unspecified damages for long-term harm to their land and businesses. Dale Getz, a community relations adviser for ExxonMobil in Billings, says the company...
Malawi farmers lay down their hoes to combat climate change
Posted by AlertNet: Karen Sanje on October 5th, 2011
AlertNet: Confronted by worsening dry spells that have damaged his crops, farmer Anthony Kapesa has had an unlikely reaction: he's stopped tilling his land.
Kapesa, from Zombwe village in northern Malawi, has long hoed his fields each planting season, making ridges of earth in which to plant his maize seeds.
But as Kapesa has learned, soil loosened by tilling is more easily dried out by the sun. In the past, whenever there was a dry spell, Kapesa's crops wilted, drastically decreasing his yield.
Lack...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Malawi farmers lay down their hoes to combat climate changeStop this ridiculous food waste
Posted by Guardian: Bruce Bateson on October 5th, 2011
Guardian: Tuesday is the day of the week I nickname "juggling day". I get my money for the week and decide which bills I can pay and which will have to wait. As the main carer for my wife, who suffers from a neurological condition which leaves her in constant pain, and my daughter, who has dyspraxia and attends a special school, I am not able to take on paid employment. So money is scarce and I have to budget carefully.
On Tuesday I also organise the food shopping for the week. I get basics for main meals...