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Archive for July, 2012
Report shows US drought rapidly intensifying
Posted by Associated Press: Jim Suhr on July 27th, 2012
Associated Press: The widest drought to grip the United States in decades is getting worse with no signs of abating, a new report warned Thursday, as state officials urged conservation and more ranchers considered selling cattle.
The drought covering two-thirds of the continental U.S. had been considered relatively shallow, the product of months without rain, rather than years. But Thursday's report showed its intensity is rapidly increasing, with 20 percent of the nation now in the two worst stages of drought...
Summers feeling hotter? The temps back you up
Posted by Detroit News: Kim Kozlowski on July 27th, 2012
Detroit News: If it seems like summers are getting hotter in Detroit, history -- and science -- confirm it: Over the last five decades, extreme heat has become more intense and more common, a report released Thursday says.
Since 1959, the number of heat waves has doubled, from an average of two per summer to four.
In addition, there are twice as many hot, humid days in summer compared to 52 years ago, jumping from an average of three to more than six. Nighttime temperatures also have warmed an average of...
Storms may speed ozone loss above the United States
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on July 27th, 2012
Nature: Summer thunderstorms across the United States inject water vapour far higher into the atmosphere than was previously believed, promoting a cascade of chemical reactions that could pose an increased threat to Earth’s protective ozone layer as the climate warms.
James Anderson, an atmospheric chemist at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and his colleagues made the discovery while investigating the origins of high-altitude cirrus clouds -- thin and wispy formations that blanket the...
An epic downpour wipes away a capital’s sheen
Posted by New York Times: Jacob Fromer and Edward Wong on July 27th, 2012
New York Times: In the heart of the Chinese capital is the showcase neighborhood of Sanlitun, where expatriates and Chinese glitterati go to dine, drink and dance. It has gleaming curved skyscrapers, a boutique hotel where rooms list for $400 to $4,000 a night, and restaurants with cuisines like French, Persian and Mexican. What it does not have is a modern drainage system. As an epic rainstorm pounded Beijing on Saturday, murky water rose knee-deep in the streets. Buses plowed through, creating waves that rocked...
Derecho a call to act on climate change
Posted by Daily Progress: Peggy Gilges on July 27th, 2012
Daily Progress: Albemarle County struggled through the aftermath of the June 29 derecho. Slowly we gained back our telephone service, our running water and our electricity. As the heat wave continued, we were happy to have our many creature comforts restored.
Much of the discussion about the bizarre storm has centered on the inconviences it caused us, but there were lasting and significant effects, too: lives lost, property damaged and thousands of trees destroyed.
I hope we have not missed the wake-up call...
Scant rain to give scorched Southwest crops little relief
Posted by Reuters: Sam Nelson on July 27th, 2012
Reuters: Crops in the northern and eastern U.S. Midwest will benefit from showers and cooler temperatures over the next week but heat and drought will continue to punish crops in the southwest, an agricultural meteorologist said on Friday.
"Crops will continue to deteriorate. The corn crop is already gone and in the north and east, beans will improve some but not in the southwest," said Don Keeney, meteorologist for MDA EarthSat Weather.
"There will be additional rain in the eastern Midwest today and...
Posted in Water Conservation 
Comments Off on Scant rain to give scorched Southwest crops little reliefHope on Climate Change: Young Evangelicals for Climate Action
Posted by Huffington Post: Rev. Jim Ball on July 27th, 2012
Huffington Post: Extreme drought. Extreme heat. Freakish storms with names I've never heard of -- a "derecho" -- that knock out power for millions, leaving us sweltering.
If you want to know what living with climate change looks like, look outside or keep abreast of current events. And as temperatures continue to rise, things will get worse.
Global emissions need to peak during the next presidential term, yet neither candidate is talking about what they will do to address the greatest moral challenge of our...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Hope on Climate Change: Young Evangelicals for Climate ActionHidden Rift Deep Beneath the Ice May be Accelerating Melting in West Antarctica
Posted by Environmental News Network: David A Gabel on July 27th, 2012
Environmental News Network: Scientists with the British Antarctic Survey have discovered a rift valley that is one mile deep. The valley is hidden deep below the Ferrigno Ice Stream in West Antarctica, an extremely remote region seen only once previously by human eyes in 1961. They found that this rift basin is connected to the ocean, allowing the ocean to penetrate into the continent. The Southern Sea impacting the ice has a warming effect, despite its cold temperatures. This has tremendous implications, as the West Antarctic...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Hidden Rift Deep Beneath the Ice May be Accelerating Melting in West AntarcticaGreenland’s ice sheet melt: a sensational picture of a blunt fact
Posted by Guardian: Jonathan Jones on July 27th, 2012
Guardian: This is the most frightening picture you will ever see. The information expressed visually here can be summed up in three words: change or die. So let's take a closer look.
These two juxtaposed images of Greenland are based on observations by satellites monitored by Nasa. The view on the left synthesises their collective view of this inhospitable landmass in the Arctic Circle on 8 July 2012. That on the right shows what Greenland looked like to the same satellites on 12 July, just four days later....
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Greenland’s ice sheet melt: a sensational picture of a blunt factGrand Canyon-sized rift discovered under Antarctic ice
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on July 27th, 2012
Agence France-Presse: Scientists have discovered a rift the size of the Grand Canyon hidden under the Antarctic ice sheet, which they say is contributing to ice melt and a consequent rise in the sea level.
The rift, some 1.5 kilometres (one mile) deep, 10 kilometres wide and 100 kilometres long, was found by researchers using radar to measure the subglacial topography, glaciologist Robert Bingham told AFP.
"If you imagine the Grand Canyon but filled with ice and then even that whole feature is then also uniformly...