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Archive for July 17th, 2012
Not so fast on blaming global warming
Posted by Washington Post: Editorial on July 17th, 2012
Washington Post: CAN YOU BLAME the scorching weather on climate change? Not really. Or at least not yet.
In a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) report released last week, researchers attempted to determine how much they could attribute six extreme weather events last year to human-caused global warming. Even now, months on, some experts worry that drawing conclusions is precipitous. Figuring out what caused a flood in Thailand or a drought in Texas is hard. Doing it quickly is harder.
Scientists...
So, How Hot Was It?
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on July 17th, 2012
New York Times: It was so hot last week, a twin-unit nuclear plant in northeastern Illinois had to get special permission to continue operating after the temperature of the water in its cooling pond rose to 102 degrees.
It was the second such request from the plant, Braidwood, which opened 26 years ago. When it was new, the plant had permission to run as long as the temperature of its cooling water pond, a 2,500-acre lake in a former strip mine, remained below 98 degrees; in 2000 it got permission to raise the...
Severe U.S. Drought Is Worst Dry Spell Since 1956
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on July 17th, 2012
Yale Environment 360: The U.S. National Climatic Data Center (NCDC) says that 55 percent of the Lower 48 states suffered from moderate to extreme drought in June, the largest area affected by drought since 1956. With searing heat and drought conditions only intensifying in July, corn and soybean crops in the U.S. Midwest are suffering badly, threatening to increase food and fuel prices and cut food aid and grain exports from the world’s top producer of key crops. “We’re moving from a crisis to a horror story,” said Purdue...
Study Calculates Health Impacts Of the Fukushima Nuclear Disaster
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on July 17th, 2012
Yale Environment 360: Roughly 130 people are likely to die from radiation exposure and another 180 die from cancer as a result of the March 2011 meltdown of the Fukushima-Daichi nuclear power station in Japan, according to a new study by Stanford University researchers. The researchers presented a wide range of possible fatalities from the disaster, estimating that 15 to 1,300 people could die from direct radiation exposure. The scientists also said that an estimated 24 to 2,500 people could contract cancer from exposure...
Posted in Water Conservation 
Comments Off on Study Calculates Health Impacts Of the Fukushima Nuclear DisasterNorthwest tribes examine climate change as threat to Native Americans
Posted by Seattle Times: Theodoric Meyer on July 17th, 2012
Seattle Times: Members of four Washington coastal Indian tribes will host a conference in Washington, D.C., this week on how climate change is threatening coastal Native-American populations from Maine to Guam.
The conference, which will be held at the Smithsonian's National Museum of the American Indian, aims to cover the variety of ways in which climate change is affecting Native Americans, from rising sea levels to melting glaciers, from vanishing permafrost in Alaska to the increasingly acidic Pacific Ocean....
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Northwest tribes examine climate change as threat to Native AmericansNation’s Top Climate Scientists: Omitting Climate Change From Keystone XL Pipeline Review Is ‘Neither Wise Nor Credible’
Posted by ThinkProgress: Stephen Lacey on July 17th, 2012
ThinkProgress: A group of prominent American climate scientists sent a letter to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton today urging her to consider the climate impacts of developing the Keystone XL pipeline.
Last summer, Secretary Clinton said she would "leave no stone unturned" in the State Department`s review of the pipeline. However, in its report on the project last August - released before President Obama denied the permit and encouraged TransCanada to choose another route - the State Department made almost...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Nation’s Top Climate Scientists: Omitting Climate Change From Keystone XL Pipeline Review Is ‘Neither Wise Nor Credible’Green power subsidy decision delayed for the second time
Posted by Reuters: Karolin Schaps on July 17th, 2012
Reuters: The government on Tuesday put off for a second time a crucial announcement on subsidy levels for renewable energy, risking further delays in projects that will help Britain meet its legally binding climate change targets.
The government was due to announce by Tuesday new state support levels for renewable energy projects from April 2013, before Parliament breaks for summer recess.
"We will not be making an announcement today. We will bring forward the proposals in due course as we are discussing...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Green power subsidy decision delayed for the second timeU.S. Drought is Most Severe Since 1950s, Report Says
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on July 17th, 2012
Climate Central: The drought that is delivering a punishing blow to corn growers, farmers, and ranchers across the Midwest and High Plains is among the most intense drought events to occur in the U.S. since the 1950s, according to a federal report released on Monday, placing it among the top 10 droughts in U.S. history.
According to the most recent drought outlook, the drought is likely to persist -- if not further intensify -- during the next few months.
On Monday, the National Climatic Data Center (NCDC)...
Latin America’s climate conundrum
Posted by GlobalPost: Simeon Tegel on July 17th, 2012
GlobalPost: From Tierra del Fuego to Tijuana, Latin America is highly vulnerable to climate change, which is expected to trigger a series of natural disasters that could even reverse local victories in the fight against poverty.
Droughts will grip regions from the southern cone to northern Mexico. Extreme storms are increasingly battering Central America. Rising seas will swallow up vast coastal areas. And many Andean glaciers will disappear forever.
Meanwhile, the greatest threat to the Amazon -- home...
Wild flowers thriving in wet summer
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on July 17th, 2012
BBC: Some species of native wildlife including bees and bats have struggled to survive in the wet summer weather. The Scottish Wildlife Trust say wild flowers have been thriving in the warm summer rain. BBC Scotland's Laura Bicker has been finding out at a wildlife centre in Grangemouth.