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Archive for October 19th, 2012
In climate puzzle for crops, ancient tree offers clues
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on October 19th, 2012
Reuters: On a windswept Swedish mountain, a 10,000-year-old spruce with a claim to be the world's oldest tree is getting a new lease of life thanks to global warming, even as many plants are struggling.
Scientists are finding that the drift of growing areas for many plants out toward the poles is moving not in a smooth progression but in fits and starts, causing problems for farmers aiming to adapt and invest in cash crops that are more sensitive to climate than is this ancient conifer known as "Old Tjikko"....
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‘Virtual Water’ – A New Way to Look at Climate Impacts
Posted by Climate Central: Tara Thean on October 19th, 2012
Climate Central: While international trade results in carbon emissions thanks to the fossil fuels burned by planes, trucks and ships, a Princeton University research team has found that world trade could also mean more efficient water use as a side benefit. And since water is a key resource in the production of climate-friendly energy sources, including hydroelectric and nuclear power, that could at least partially offset trade's negative impact.
Focusing on agriculture, which accounts for 80 percent of freshwater...
KMPG: Businesses failing to tackle water risks
Posted by BusinessGreen: None Given on October 19th, 2012
BusinessGreen: None of the world's largest 250 companies report on the water footprint of their entire supply chain, despite the fact that the majority of them have started to look at how water risks could impact their operations.
Those the stark findings of a new report from consultancy KPMG, which aims to understand how businesses are preparing to tackle the growing risks presented by water scarcity.
Published yesterday, the report assesses the corporate responsibility (CR) reports of the largest companies...
Drilling Payments Cause a Dispute in Pennsylvania
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on October 19th, 2012
New York Times: Four Pennsylvania townships are challenging a state regulator’s decision to withhold their share of proceeds from a statewide levy on drilling by the booming natural gas industry there. The townships, in a heavily drilled area of southwestern Pennsylvania, were excluded from a list of 35 counties and 1,485 municipalities that will receive a total of $108.7 million from a new “impact fee” charged to energy companies to help compensate for the effects of gas drilling on local communities. The payout,...
Winter Wheat Crop Now Feeling Impact of U.S. Drought
Posted by Climate Central: Andrew Freedman on October 19th, 2012
Climate Central: During the past week, drought conditions have improved slightly across the U.S., but the majority of the lower 48 states continue to suffer from what is proving to be a widespread and pernicious drought event, according to the latest U.S. Drought Monitor statistics, released on Thursday. The drought put a major dent in the U.S. corn and soybean crop, and now it is delaying the emergence of winter wheat, which is grown in some of the hardest-hit drought states, such as Nebraska.
Two storm systems...
Why the chill on climate change?
Posted by Washington Post: Eugene Robinson on October 19th, 2012
Washington Post: Not a word has been said in the presidential debates about what may be the most urgent and consequential issue in the world: climate change.
President Obama understands and accepts the scientific consensus that the burning of fossil fuels is trapping heat in the atmosphere, with potentially catastrophic long-term effects. Mitt Romney's view, as on many issues, is pure quicksilver -- impossible to pin down -- but when he was governor of Massachusetts, climate-change activists considered him enlightened...