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Archive for October 14th, 2011
Coffee giants warns of damages caused by climate change
Posted by NASDAQ: Henry Brier on October 14th, 2011
NASDAQ: Interoffice memo to coffee enthusiasts: enjoy the bold, dark roast's flavor while you can because the future of the bean is in peril because of threats posed by climate change.
The director of sustainability for global coffee powerhouse Starbucks ( SBUX ) told The Guardian that growers for the coffee purveyor are increasingly noting seeing effects of climate change. Two examples are hurricanes that pack more severity and tougher, more durable bugs that inflict damage on crop production.
"What...
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Comments Off on Coffee giants warns of damages caused by climate changeWhen Politics Meets Science
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on October 14th, 2011
National Public Radio: IRA FLATOW, host: This is SCIENCE FRIDAY, from NPR. I'm Ira Flatow. Up next: science under attack. In his new book, "Fool Me Twice," writer Shawn Otto says science is under assault in America, and especially so in Washington, D.C. While science informs almost every aspect of our lives - think about climate change, energy, agriculture, medical research - Otto says anti-science views are so mainstream and science so marginalized that it's becoming a threat to our democracy.
Science didn't always...
Scientists Seek To Break Aquaculture’s Fish-Eat-Fish Chain
Posted by National Public Radio: Kristofor Husted on October 14th, 2011
National Public Radio: Feeding farmed fish contributes to ocean waste, so scientists are seeking alternative food sources
Feeding farmed fish contributes to ocean waste, so scientists are seeking alternative food sources
Aquaculture, one of the fastest growing sectors of agriculture in the U.S., combats the global dilemma of depleting wild fish populations. But a new report from the group Food & Water Watch says factory fish farms risk the health of other, stable species swimming in the sea. One of the biggest...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Scientists Seek To Break Aquaculture’s Fish-Eat-Fish ChainScientists Seek A Break In Aquaculture’s Fish-Eat-Fish Chain
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on October 14th, 2011
National Public Radio: Feeding farmed fish contributes to ocean waste, so scientists are seeking alternative food sources
Aquaculture, one of the fastest growing sectors of agriculture in the U.S., combats the global dilemma of depleting wild fish populations. But a new report from the group Food & Water Watch says factory fish farms risk the health of other, stable species swimming in the sea. One of the biggest problems? The fish food.
It takes about three pounds of feeder fish to produce one pound of farmed...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Scientists Seek A Break In Aquaculture’s Fish-Eat-Fish ChainAl Gore ties climate crisis to Great Lakes
Posted by Detroit News: Jim Lynch on October 14th, 2011
Detroit News: It's been more than five years since Al Gore's documentary, "An Inconvenient Truth," put global warming at the forefront of the national debate.
And the former vice president's passion for the subject appears intact.
Gore arrived on the Wayne State University campus Thursday afternoon and delivered a rousing address tying the fight to combat climate change to other environmental issues -- particularly, efforts to help the Great Lakes region rebound from decades of industrial pollution.
If...
Kenya: Rankin: It’s time to fix the world’s broken food system
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on October 14th, 2011
Guardian: Earlier this year I travelled to Turkana in Kenya for a photo shoot. I was there to capture images of the "broken food system" for Oxfam and through my experiences I also captured the reality of what it's like to be living without food security.
When hungry locals, some of whom had not eaten for two, three, sometimes even four days were asked what they needed, not one person asked for food or aid. Instead they suggested: "What we need is to be able to have rain." There has been a drought since...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Kenya: Rankin: It’s time to fix the world’s broken food systemBlame the weather for your energy bill
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on October 14th, 2011
Reuters: Greater reliance on solar, wind and hydro power means that utilities can now blame extreme weather for high electricity and gas bills, a meteorologist at global forecaster WSI told Reuters.
Drought, freezing weather and heavy clouds can all hit household budgets as they restrict output from renewable energy plants.
"It gives the utility companies an easy excuse now, they don't have to blame speculators, it's the weather," said Mark Stephens-Row in an interview on the sidelines of WSI's winter...
New Zealand crews unable to resume pumping oil off leaking ship; environmental disaster feared
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on October 14th, 2011
Associated Press: Salvage crews trying to limit the environmental damage from an oil-leaking cargo ship off New Zealand were unable to resume pumping out the remaining fuel Friday, despite calmer weather near the reef where the ship ran aground.
The ship has already spilled hundreds of tons of oil, and workers are in a race against nature to try to drain the fuel before waves break up the vessel, which has begun to crack apart.
A salvage crew on Thursday finally managed to board the cargo ship that has spilled...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on New Zealand crews unable to resume pumping oil off leaking ship; environmental disaster fearedPennsylvania: Gas Company Sues Over Zoning Rules
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on October 14th, 2011
New York Times: Range Resources, a natural gas drilling company, has filed suit against Cecil Township, saying it did not follow proper legal procedure while drawing up zoning rules that would regulate gas drilling, a company spokesman said. The suit, which was filed on Wednesday in Washington County Court, adds to the growing debate over how much municipalities can regulate land use as drilling in the Marcellus Shale ramps up. This summer, Range sued South Fayette, another western Pennsylvania town, over its zoning...
Report helps explain future climate change in Massachusetts
Posted by Taunton Daily Gazette: Gerry Tuoti on October 14th, 2011
Taunton Daily Gazette: Calling climate change "the environmental challenge of this generation," a new state report offers strategies to adapt to it and mitigate its effects. "Indeed, this report makes clear that climate change mitigation and adaptation are two sides of the same coin," Secretary of Energy and Environmental Affairs Richard Sullivan said in a letter included in the study. "While we do our part in reducing and stabilizing greenhouse gas emissions in our state, we must also think seriously about how Massachusetts...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Report helps explain future climate change in Massachusetts