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Archive for November, 2012
Poor hit by climate damage despite adaptation – study
Posted by AlertNet: Megan Rowling on November 27th, 2012
AlertNet: The poorest people in developing countries are suffering negative impacts from extreme weather and rising seas even when they do take measures to adapt to climate change, says a new study from the U.N. University.
Interviews with nearly 1,800 households in parts of Bangladesh, Bhutan, Gambia, Kenya and Micronesia revealed that two thirds or more have experienced loss and damage from climatic stress factors, despite many taking steps to protect themselves and cope with shifting conditions.
"Loss...
Arab youth offers hope for Doha climate talks
Posted by CNN: Wael Hmaidan on November 27th, 2012
CNN: When the biggest United Nations (U.N.) climate change talks of the year, COP18, get underway in Doha, the capital of Qatar, this week, it will be the first time that the meeting has been hosted by a Middle Eastern country.
As such, the talks provide the perfect opportunity for the countries in the region to prove that they have started to take climate change seriously. The best way to start proving that is to first pledge targets to reduce their carbon emissions.
The Middle East has been through...
My Grandma, the Fracking Matriarch
Posted by Climate Desk: None Given on November 27th, 2012
Climate Desk: This summer, James West and I hopped in our mud-caked rental sedan and followed the oil tankers out of Williston, ND. On my notepad was a scribbled address, a spot deep in the North Dakota prairie, just off the shores of serpentine Lake Sakakawea, twenty miles from the nearest town. As we drove oil rigs cropped up in every direction, each indistinguishable from the last. But somewhere out there was the one we were after: The one with my name on it.
In the most recent issue of Mother Jones, we...
Biblical Literalists’ Clash With Science
Posted by New York Times: Nicholas Wade on November 27th, 2012
New York Times: It was the standard political interview, about ambition and the right size for government. Then came the curveball question to Senator Marco Rubio of Florida from Michael Hainey of GQ magazine: “How old do you think the earth is?” Senator Rubio, a possible contender in the 2016 Republican presidential race, gave the following answer: “I’m not a scientist, man. I can tell you what recorded history says, I can tell you what the Bible says, but I think that’s a dispute amongst theologians.” He went...
Studying Cities to Find Global Warming’s Benefits
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on November 27th, 2012
New York Times: Heat, carbon dioxide and air pollution are already having significant effects on trees, plants and crops, and for most plant scientists, the debate over climate change ended long before the arrival of extreme weather like Hurricane Sandy. Now, some of those scientists have moved beyond political questions to explore how rising levels of heat and emissions might provide at least some benefits for the planet. “There is a lot of emphasis on the mitigation of global warming, and we need that,” said...
Could marine cloud machines cool the planet?
Posted by Mongabay: Laura Poppick on November 26th, 2012
Mongabay: In 1990, British cloud physicist John Latham published a paper arguing he could cool global climate by brightening clouds over the ocean. Most colleagues ignored the paper, titled “Control global warming?”--probably because this thing called global warming was not yet a hot topic.
Now, more than two decades later, Latham continues to develop what has become one of the most promising and controversial ideas in climate control. “Marine cloud brightening” might sound benign, but hairs rise when it’s...
Could rebuilding global fisheries save hundreds of billions of dollars?
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on November 26th, 2012
Mongabay: Global fisheries are gutting the world economy by US$13 billion annually, according to an economic analysis published July 13 in the journal PLoS ONE. National subsidies that encourage overfishing cause the most losses, the analysis claims. However, researchers believe that allowing fish stocks to rebuild and making fishing more efficient could reverse these losses, leading to net gains of US$600 to US$1,400 billion within 50 years.
Such savings won’t come cheaply, the analysis suggests. Rebuilding...
Posted in Water Conservation 
Comments Off on Could rebuilding global fisheries save hundreds of billions of dollars?Canada, the surprise ‘pariah’ of the Kyoto protocol
Posted by Guardian: Isabeau Doucet on November 26th, 2012
Guardian: Of all the delegations in the room in Doha, the Canadians adopt the lowest profile. Some question whether they should be there at all: The country's first and only Green party MP, Elizabeth May, said: "Having Canada in the room negotiating to weaken the second Kyoto, when we have already signalled that not only will we not be participating in taking on new targets in the second period but we're legally withdrawn from the protocol, should make us pariahs."
"I can't imagine how anybody would want...
The Toxic Legacy of Depleted Uranium Weapons
Posted by EcoWatch: Paul E McGinniss on November 26th, 2012
EcoWatch: We all should be aware of the dangers posed by the world`s stockpile of nuclear weapons. The eight countries known to possess nuclear weapons have 10,000 plus nuclear warheads. And, especially post-Fukushima, we now understand firsthand the potential danger of nuclear power plants, many which are aging and highly vulnerable to natural disasters. As of August 2012, 30 countries are operating 435 nuclear reactors for electricity generation. Sixty-six new nuclear plants are under construction in 14...
Fracking on College Campuses Increases Nationwide
Posted by EcoWatch: Steve Horn, DeSmogBlog on November 26th, 2012
EcoWatch: The oil and gas industry plans to frack on college campuses in Pennsylvania, just as it currently does in close proximity to K-12 schools nationwide.
But as National Public Radio (NPR) demonstrated in a recent report, that`s just the tip of the iceberg.
"More than a dozen schools in states as varied as Texas, Montana, Ohio and West Virginia are already tapping natural resources on college campuses," the report explains. "The University of Southern Indiana recently started pumping oil."
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