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Archive for January 24th, 2013
E.P.A. Directs N.Y. to Act on Muddy Waterway
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on January 24th, 2013
New York Times: After a public comment period, the federal Environmental Protection Agency has decided that the lower portion of the Esopus Creek in New York`s Catskills region must be classified as an “impaired” waterway.
Tony Cenicola/The New York Times Muddy discharges: the channel connecting the Ashokan Reservoir to the Lower Esopus Creek in the Catskills.
The agency notified the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation in a letter that it must take action to reduce the turbidity levels...
Obama must act, not just talk about climate change
Posted by MarketWatch: Darrell Delamaide on January 24th, 2013
MarketWatch: One of the biggest surprises in President Barack Obama’s second inaugural address this week was the prominence given to climate change, marking it as a signature issue for his second term.
The president spoke of the need to preserve the planet for future generations. But he also couched climate change in more immediate economic terms, with leadership on the issue as a necessary component for the U.S. to maintain its economic preeminence.
Reuters Demonstrators call for the cancellation of the...
Why Greenland’s Melting Could Be the Biggest Climate Disaster of All
Posted by Climate Desk: Chris Mooney on January 24th, 2013
Climate Desk: As an expert on Greenland who has traveled 23 times to the massive, mile thick northern ice sheet, Box has shown an uncanny ability to predict major melts and breakoffs of Manhattan-sized ice chunks. A few years back, he foretold the release of a "4x Manhattans" piece of ice from Greenland`s Petermann Glacier, one so big that once afloat it was dubbed an "ice island." In a scientific paper published in February of 2012, Box further predicted "100 % melt area over the ice sheet" within another decade...
Posted in Water Conservation 
Comments Off on Why Greenland’s Melting Could Be the Biggest Climate Disaster of AllHow Climate Change Could Wipe Out the Western Forests
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on January 24th, 2013
Atlantic: The fire that burned through Forest Canyon, a breathtaking stretch of wilderness ringed by snowy peaks in Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado, started in October and burned long past the end of the fire season. Trees still smoldered in late December, and the smoke mixed with dry snow blowing in the air. Known as the Fern Lake Fire, the blaze tore through 3,500 acres of land the federal government set aside a century ago both to provide public enjoyment and protect it from human destruction.
One...
‘Climate change in Pakistan turning extreme’
Posted by Environmental News Network: Suhail Yusuf, Science and Development Network on January 24th, 2013
Environmental News Network: Data presented at a seminar on climate change in Pakistan highlighted trends where this South Asian country, which stretches from high, snow-capped mountains to a deltaic coast, could be in for a sharp rise in average temperatures and extremely erratic weather.
The seminar, held last month (29 December), analysed data in a new report produced by top non-government organisations, LEAD-Pakistan and the World Wide Fund for Nature-Pakistan, with funding from the European Union.
Data gleaned from...
To Tackle Runoff, Cities Turn to Green Initiatives
Posted by Yale Environment 360: Dave Levitan on January 24th, 2013
Yale Environment 360: In Northeast Philadelphia, along busy Kensington Avenue, sits a small park. What used to be flat ground is now sloping terrain that contains a low-lying area intended to gather and funnel storm water. At the park's southern end is a depression lined with well-arranged plants -- a new landscape carefully engineered to change how water flows through the area.
This is Womrath Park, one of a handful of "green infrastructure' projects Philadelphia has begun -- with many more to come -- aimed at tackling...
Common pesticides ‘can kill frogs within an hour’
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on January 24th, 2013
Guardian: Widely used pesticides can kill frogs within an hour, new research has revealed, suggesting the chemicals are playing a significant and previously unknown role in the catastrophic global decline of amphibians.
The scientists behind the study said it was both "astonishing" and "alarming" that common pesticides could be so toxic at the doses approved by regulatory authorities, adding to growing criticism of how pesticides are tested.
"You would not think products registered on the market would...
United Kingdom: Heavy rain and melting snow expected to cause floods
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on January 24th, 2013
Guardian: Heavy rain combined with melting snow is likely to cause flooding in parts of the UK at the weekend, the Met Office has warned.
Up to 40mm of rain is predicted to fall on hills in the west of Britain just as snow that has accumulated over the past week thaws.
The Met Office said a final fall of snow was expected to hit parts of Scotland, Wales and England on Friday. It said snow would reach areas of Scotland during the morning and spread through other parts of Britain, reaching eastern England...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on United Kingdom: Heavy rain and melting snow expected to cause floodsFor Earth, Giving Ecological Internet the Tools it Needs
Posted by Water Conservation Blog on January 24th, 2013
Ecological Internet has an unmatched record of bringing global citizens together to protect Earth's rainforests, climate, and water; highlighting the severity of global ecosystem collapse, while advocating ecological-science based policy to sustain human and natural well-being, as well as the global biosphere. Ecological Internet has done so much over the past 14 years, and the best lies ahead, please support us in this our final appeal for now at http://www.rainforestportal.org/shared/donate/. And make sure to participate in our current alert supporting Ecuador's rainforest tribes willing to die to protect their rainforests at: http://www.rainforestportal.org/shared/alerts/sendsm.aspx?id=ecuador_oil
Dear Earth-loving colleagues,
Ecological Internet is extremely gratified to have raised $27,000 over the past couple months to meet our core budget until mid-year. Yet sadly we note the total number of donors is reduced perhaps understandable given Presidential donor fatigue and a tough year for us personally. Yet we have never been more effective, or had a larger reach, and important priority areas including paying our existing computer programmer and upgrading vital server capacity will not be funded unless we raise a few thousand dollars more with this last appeal of this funding-drive.
Please donate now to the best and most effective grassroots, global biocentric Earth action ...
Fracking and Farmland
Posted by EcoWatch: None Given on January 24th, 2013
EcoWatch: The Ohio Ecological Food and Farm Association (OEFFA) has launched new webpages, Fracking and Farmland: Stories from the Field, that provide the personal stories of farmers concerned about Ohio’s booming fracking industry and illustrations of how oil and gas extraction could impact Ohio’s food producers.
High-volume horizontal hydraulic fracturing, commonly referred to as "fracking," is a method of oil and gas extraction that injects millions of gallons of water laced with toxic chemicals and...