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Archive for November 3rd, 2011
Climate change causing massive movement of tree species across the West
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on November 3rd, 2011
ScienceDaily: A huge "migration" of trees has begun across much of the West due to global warming, insect attack, diseases and fire, and many tree species are projected to decline or die out in regions where they have been present for centuries, while others move in and replace them.
In an enormous display of survival of the fittest, the forests of the future are taking a new shape.
In a new report, scientists outline the impact that a changing climate will have on which tree species can survive, and where....
Posted in Water Conservation 
Comments Off on Climate change causing massive movement of tree species across the WestWinters are getting snowier, stats show
Posted by MSNBC: None Given on November 3rd, 2011
MSNBC: Climate scientists are wrong again: Snow cover around the world is not decreasing.
Back in 1995, the International Panel on Climate Change predicted that snowy winters would become a thing of the past because of man-made climate change.
Here's the quote from the IPCC Draft 1995:
"A “striking” retreat of mountain glaciers around the world, accompanied in the Northern Hemisphere by a shrinking snow cover in winter."
This was quoted in the New York Times back then as well.
Since these...
‘Bangkok Ignored Warnings’
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on November 3rd, 2011
Inter Press Service: This sinking mega-city’s eight million people are paying the price of ignoring warnings over many years concerning its climate vulnerability and the incapacity of its soggy foundations to handle flooding.
For over a week now large swathes of the Thai capital, built on a flat marshy delta with some sections below sea level, have been submerged by floodwaters. Streets have turned into rivers, with boats and bamboo rafts ferrying desperate families.
Only the upper floors of houses, factories and...
United Kingdom: No One-Size-Fits-All for Climate Change
Posted by New York Times: Rachel Nuwer on November 3rd, 2011
New York Times: As we noted here in a recent post, a substantial body of research indicates that species tend to become smaller as a result of global warming and other climate change patterns.
So researchers in California were surprised to find that West Coast birds, on the contrary, have been growing larger in recent decades.
“We went into this expecting to find that birds are getting smaller, because that’s what’s been seen before,” said Rae Goodman, a biologist and the lead author of a new paper detailing...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on United Kingdom: No One-Size-Fits-All for Climate ChangeInterpol works to save Asian tigers
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on November 3rd, 2011
Associated Press: Interpol has launched a campaign to help save the world's last wild tigers in the 13 Asian countries where they still exist, winning praise from conservationists on Thursday.
The project aims to link international wildlife officials with customs and law enforcement officers in the 13 countries to help stem poaching and smuggling of tiger parts for use in expensive traditional medicines believed to cure illnesses.
"Having a force like Interpol working on this will give the effort a great boost,"...
Germany: E.ON to sue government on nuclear exit: report
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on November 3rd, 2011
Reuters: E.ON, Germany's largest utility by sales, will file a complaint with Germany's highest court claiming compensation for the country's nuclear exit, German paper Financial Times Deutschland reported.
The company plans to file the complaint with the German constitutional court before the end of the year, the daily said, citing unidentified people in the industry.
E.ON declined to comment.
E.ON had said in the past it would seek compensation for profits it forewent through a government order...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Germany: E.ON to sue government on nuclear exit: reportUnited States: Can we really manage all the risks if we allow fracking in the hope of a gas bonanza
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on November 3rd, 2011
Independent: New energy bonanza or new energy nightmare? That's the swing in extreme opinions about shale gas, the "unconventional" fuel which has boomed in the United States and now could be taking off in Britain.
Although mainly methane, and chemically similar to natural gas, it is termed unconventional from the way it is extracted: the gas is contained not in underground reservoirs but in shale rock formations.
As the shale has low permeability, it has to be blown apart to release the gas by hydrological...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on United States: Can we really manage all the risks if we allow fracking in the hope of a gas bonanzaBritain should welcome climate refugee species
Posted by New Scientist: Chris Thomas on November 3rd, 2011
New Scientist: VISIT an estuary or wetland in the lowlands of Britain and chances are you will see a slender white bird called the little egret. Although widespread, the species is a recent arrival from more southerly latitudes: the first breeding population established itself in 1996.
The little egret isn't the only one. As the climate warms, species all over the world are relocating to higher latitudes at an average rate of 17 kilometres per decade.
However, some species are unable to relocate - those restricted...
Pipeline Decision Pits Jobs Against Environment
Posted by National Public Radio: Ri Shapiro on November 3rd, 2011
National Public Radio: In the coming months, the Obama administration will decide whether to approve the Keystone pipeline, which would carry tar sands oil from Canada through the U.S. down to the Gulf of Mexico.
Environmental advocates will try to encircle the White House on Sunday in a show of solidarity against the project. Steady protests have made this one of the most high-profile environmental decisions of the Obama presidency.
White House spokesman Jay Carney often tries to distance the president from the...