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Archive for September 4th, 2012
Global Warming Good for Biodiversity? Only at a Big Cost
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on September 4th, 2012
Climate Central: A study just out in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences is both important and confusing -- important for people who know how to read through a scientific paper, and confusing for the rest of us. It's confusing because the bottom line is that biodiversity -- that is, the richness of species -- is likely to improve in a warmer world. Since ecosystems with high biodiversity are the healthiest and most resilient, this is presumably a good thing.
But it doesn't seem to square with what...
Posted in Water Conservation 
Comments Off on Global Warming Good for Biodiversity? Only at a Big CostCanada says it needs foreign capital to develop its oil
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on September 4th, 2012
Reuters: Canada does not have enough money to develop its oil resources and move oil to market, and therefore welcomes foreign capital, Natural Resources Minister Joe Oliver said on Tuesday.
Oliver was answering a reporter's question about a $15.1 billion bid by China's CNOOC Ltd to buy Canadian oil producer Nexen Inc, and the possibility of state-owned Kuwait Petroleum Corp doing a joint venture in Canada's oil sands with Athabasca Oil Corp.
"I don't want to talk about that specific proposal because...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Canada says it needs foreign capital to develop its oilRainforest fungi, plants fuel rainfall
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on September 4th, 2012
Mongabay: Salt compounds released by fungi and plants in the Amazon rainforest have an important role in the formation of rain clouds, reports research published in the journal Science.
Scientists in recent years have shown that organic compounds released by rainforest vegetation contribute to the formation of aerosol particles that drive rainfall above the Amazon. The new study reveals that potassium salt particles are also involved in the formation of raindrops. A statement from the Max Planck Institute...
Wildfire in hills near L.A. proving tough to fight
Posted by NBC: None Given on September 4th, 2012
NBC: A brush fire in the San Gabriel Mountains that prompted the evacuation of campers and picnickers in the hills above Glendora, Calif., continued to rage Tuesday and it could be several days before crews gain the upper hand.
"We have some challenges we face out there," Tony Imbrenda, of the Los Angeles County Fire Department, told NBCLosAngeles.com. "We expect that this is going to take several days to get some containment."
Crews continued the aerial attack on the fire burning east of Los Angeles...
Fire burns for third day in San Gabriel Mountains in Calif
Posted by NBC News: None Given on September 4th, 2012
NBC News: A brush fire in the San Gabriel Mountains that prompted the evacuation of Labor Day weekend campers and picnickers in the hills above Glendora, Calif., continued to rage Monday afternoon and burned more than 4,000 acres and injured four people, including at least two of the 500-plus firefighters who swarmed the hills to control the blaze.
Containment of the so-called Williams Fire remained at 5 percent, unchanged from Sunday night, but no structures had been lost and none were threatened, the...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Fire burns for third day in San Gabriel Mountains in CalifA Summer of Extremes Signifies the New Normal
Posted by Yale Environment 360: Bill Mckibben on September 4th, 2012
Yale Environment 360: Just as the baseball season now stretches nearly into November, and the National Football League keeps adding games, so the summer season is in danger of extending on both ends, a kind of megalomaniac power grab fueled by the carbon pouring into the atmosphere.
In fact, you could argue that the North American summer actually started two days before the official end of winter this year, when the town of Winner, South Dakota turned in a 94-degree temperature reading. It was part of that wild July-in-March...
Isaac’s remnants bring rain to East Coast
Posted by MSNBC: None Given on September 4th, 2012
MSNBC: The remnants of former Hurricane Isaac brought heavy rain and strong winds -- and the risk of localized flash flooding -- to the East Coast of the U.S. overnight Monday and into Tuesday, The Weather Channel reported.
Torrential downpours were forecast for the Northeast and South Atlantic states, while thunderstorms were possible across the Midwest.
It follows a humid, damp and windy end to the Labor Day weekend in many parts, including Delaware, where strong thunderstorms and winds of up to...
A Warming Earth Creates More Biodiversity, But Only In The Long Term
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on September 4th, 2012
redOrbit: Global warming is a scientific reality, whether we want to ascribe it to natural processes or man-made effects. One of the questions raised by this phenomenon is how will it affect biodiversity on the planet.
A new study by the Universities of York, Glasgow and Leeds, reveals answers that conflict with past studies. The new research involved analysis of fossil and geological records going back 540 million years and it suggests that biodiversity on Earth generally increases as the planet warms....
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on A Warming Earth Creates More Biodiversity, But Only In The Long TermWetland technology could ease Pakistan’s water woes
Posted by AlertNet: Saleem Shaikh and Sughra Tunio on September 4th, 2012
AlertNet: For farmer Asadullah Kerio, water shortages are a thing of the past. Since 2010, he has been irrigating his land with treated wastewater from a nearby 'constructed wetland' in Majeed Keerio village in Shaheed Benazirabad district, some 271 km (168 miles) northeast of Karachi. "Use of treated wastewater has invigorated my farmland by increasing its fertility level, and I am saving the money I used to spend on applying costly fertilisers and other inputs for boosting soil fertility,' said the 30-year-old...
Illegal wildlife trading in internet’s deepest, darkest corners
Posted by Guardian: Nic Fleming on September 4th, 2012
Guardian: Bashful and skittish, the Kaiser's spotted newt is intriguing and beautiful. With only around 1,000 adults left in the wild in just four mountain streams in Iran, it is also critically endangered.
But the black, white and orange salamanders are openly on sale for as little as £65 on numerous websites. While these may have been bred in captivity, they are descended from rare individuals taken from the wild, and investigators have identified dealers who say their stocks come from Iran.
Two years...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Illegal wildlife trading in internet’s deepest, darkest corners