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Archive for September, 2012
United States: Climate change to fuel northern spread of avian malaria
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on September 19th, 2012
PhysOrg: Malaria has been found in birds in parts of Alaska, and global climate change will drive it even farther north, according to a new study published today in the journal PLOS ONE.
The spread could prove devastating to arctic bird species that have never encountered the disease and thus have no resistance to it, said San Francisco State University Associate Professor of Biology Ravinder Sehgal, one of the study's co-authors. It may also help scientists understand the effects of climate change on...
Posted in Water Conservation 
Comments Off on United States: Climate change to fuel northern spread of avian malariaCarbon dioxide from water pollution, as well as air pollution, may adversely impact oceans
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on September 19th, 2012
ScienceDaily: Carbon dioxide (CO2) released into the oceans as a result of water pollution by nutrients -- a major source of this greenhouse gas that gets little public attention -- is enhancing the unwanted changes in ocean acidity due to atmospheric increases in CO2. The changes may already be impacting commercial fish and shellfish populations, according to new data and model predictions published September 19 in ACS's journal, Environmental Science & Technology.
William G. Sunda and Wei-Jun Cai point...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Carbon dioxide from water pollution, as well as air pollution, may adversely impact oceansClimate change could remake Australia
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on September 19th, 2012
United Press International: Climate change will have a major impact on Australia's plants, animals and ecosystems and present challenges to the conservation of biodiversity, a study found. Australia's species and ecosystems to sensitive climate change and the country must find news ways of considering conservation, the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization reported Wednesday. "Climate change is likely to start to transform some of Australia's natural landscapes by 2030," lead researcher Michael Dunlop...
Arctic sea ice melts to lowest level on record
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on September 19th, 2012
Reuters: Arctic sea ice, a key indicator of climate change, melted to its lowest level on record this year before beginning its autumnal freeze, researchers at the U.S. National Snow and Ice Data Center said on Wednesday.
The extent of ice probably hit its low point on Sept. 16, when it covered 1.32 million square miles (3.42 million square km) of the Arctic Ocean, the smallest amount since satellite records began 33 years ago.
Changing weather conditions could further shrink the extent, the center...
Antarctic Ice Facing Changes By Fast-Flowing Glaciers
Posted by redOrbit: Lee Rannals on September 19th, 2012
redOrbit: A new study found that fast-flowing and narrow glaciers could trigger massive changes in the Antarctic ice sheet, inevitably adding sea-level rise and ice-sheet decay.
The team tested high-resolution model simulations against reconstructions of the Antarctic ice sheet from 20,000 years ago.
Writing in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), they said they used a new model during their study, capable of resolving responses to ice-streams and other fine-scale dynamic...
Fiji: First village relocated due to climate change
Posted by AlterNet: Brook Meakins on September 19th, 2012
AlterNet: For the most part, many people still experience climate change on an academic rather than a personal level. But for the villagers of Vunidogoloa on Vanua Levu, Fiji’s second largest island, climate change has become a daily intrusion on every day life. The villagers of Vunidogoloa are currently relocating to drier and higher land because of sea level rise, erosion, and intensifying floods. I had the opportunity to visit the village midway through this process – one of the very first village relocation...
A Closer Look at Arctic Sea Ice Melt and Extreme Weather
Posted by Climate Central: Andrew Freedman on September 19th, 2012
Climate Central: With Arctic sea ice reaching its lowest level in the satellite record after an astonishingly rapid summer melt, the question of whether disappearing sea ice might lead to more extreme winters in Europe and North America needs more scrutiny.
In an article on September 12, I reported on a 2012 paper by Jennifer Francis of Rutgers University and Stephen Vavrus of the University of Wisconsin, which showed that the loss of Arctic summer sea ice cover is adding enough heat to the ocean and atmosphere...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on A Closer Look at Arctic Sea Ice Melt and Extreme WeatherArctic ice shrinks 18% in a year, sounding climate change alarm bells
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on September 19th, 2012
Guardian: Sea ice in the Arctic shrunk a dramatic 18% this year to a record low of 3.41m sq km, according to the official US monitoring organisation the National Snow and Ice Data Centre in Boulder, Colorado.
Scientists and environment groups last night said the fall was unprecedented and the clearest signal yet of climate change.
The data released showed the arctic sea beginning to refreeze again in the last few days after the most dramatic melt observed since satellite observations started in 1979....
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Arctic ice shrinks 18% in a year, sounding climate change alarm bellsProtecting mangroves is cheaper than building coastal protection, expert says
Posted by Christian Science Monitor: Johann Earle on September 19th, 2012
Christian Science Monitor: Keeping coastal mangrove forests intact or replanting them is cheaper than building man-made structures to protect coastlines threatened by climate change, according to the head of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
“Our message is, ‘Don’t assume that man-made or engineered solutions are the only ones to protect our coasts and rivers and to provide drinking water. We are not against engineering in the absence of natural solutions, but look at what nature has to offer,’...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Protecting mangroves is cheaper than building coastal protection, expert saysCALL FOR PAPERS: Announcing Major Kerala, India Ecology Conference
Posted by Water Conservation Blog on September 19th, 2012
Dr. Glen Barry of Ecological Internet to serve as Academic Convener, and present on the global biodiversity, ecosystem and biosphere imperatives for biocentric land planning and strengthened legal protections for Kerala's Asian elephants - and their corridors, particularly the Sigur plateau - as an umbrella species for other ecological values.
Dear forest protection colleagues,
I am pleased to announce a major international conference on conservation of India's forests, wild life, and ecology; and to issue a call for academic papers and attendance. The conference will occur in mid-December, 2012, in Kerala, India, located in the Western Ghats, which is known for its lush ecosystems, tremendous biodiversity - including viable Asian elephant populations - and high levels of human development, as well as human encroachment upon these vital ecosystems. Noted ecologist Dr. Madhav Gadgil, author of the important and controversial Kerala ecological land sensitivity designations, as well as Dr. V. S. Vijayan, Chairman of Salim Ali Foundation and Former Chairman of Kerala Bio-Diversity Board, have indicated they will be participating in the conference.
The Kerala Eco Conference will emphasize global aspects of Kerala's ecological sustainability issues, placing issues of Western Ghats' broad environmental challenges within the larger international perspective of climate change, mass ...
Posted in Uncategorized Comments Off on CALL FOR PAPERS: Announcing Major Kerala, India Ecology Conference