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Archive for January, 2013
Australia: High price of Melbourne’s hot weather
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on January 26th, 2013
Sydney Morning Herald: The costs will be borne through transport delays, increased energy demand, health impacts and increased mortality, anti-social behaviour, and impacts on plants and animals. Photo: Andy Zakeli
HOT weather in Melbourne is set to cost the city on average $46.5 million a year to the middle of the century, unreleased economic research has found.
The study commissioned by Melbourne City Council, undertaken by consultancy AECOM, found projected total costs for 2011-2051 for the Melbourne municipality...
Preserved lands defend against climate change
Posted by Daily Journal: Michele S. Byers on January 26th, 2013
Daily Journal: When President Obama referred to “our national treasure” during his inauguration speech, he wasn’t talking about the gold in Fort Knox.
He was referring to something far more precious, something “green” rather than gold — “our forests and waterways, our croplands and snowcapped peaks.”
In addition to providing clean water and air and fresh food, these open lands play a crucial role in mitigating the impacts of global climate change.
Following years of scant public discussion on climate change,...
Portland, Maine Tar Sands Protest Sees Hundreds Rally Against Proposed Pipeline From Montreal
Posted by Huffington Post: Clarke Canfield on January 26th, 2013
Huffington Post: Hundreds of people rallied in Portland on Saturday in what was billed as the largest protest yet against the possibility of so-called tar sands oil being piped in from Montreal.
Protesters gathered downtown, then marched to the city's waterfront for a rally that included speeches from Democratic U.S. Rep. Chellie Pingree of Maine, Portland Mayor Michael Brennan and others who said allowing heavy oil from western Canada to cross northern New England poses serious environmental risks.
Environmental...
Posted in Water Conservation 
Comments Off on Portland, Maine Tar Sands Protest Sees Hundreds Rally Against Proposed Pipeline From MontrealMalaysian is named head of UN biodiversity panel
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on January 26th, 2013
Agence France-Presse: A prominent Malaysian biologist on Saturday was named first chief of a UN scientific panel which aims to turn the world's spotlight on species loss, as a Nobel-winning counterpart has done for climate change.
In their first plenary meeting, members of the Intergovernmental Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services, or IPBES, chose Zakri Abdul Hamid as chairman, a spokeswoman for IPBES told AFP.
Zakri, 64, will serve for three years under the decision, reached in tough overnight discussions...
Canada’s Finance Minister Flaherty Less Optimistic on Keystone XL Prospects
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on January 26th, 2013
Reuters: U.S. President Barack Obama's emphasis in his inaugural address on fighting climate change may not bode well for the contentious project to build the Keystone XL oil pipeline, Canada's finance minister said on Friday.
The Canadian government has been an enthusiastic supporter of TransCanada Corp's (TRP.TO) plan to build the $5.3 billion pipeline, which would open up a huge new market on the U.S. Gulf Coast for crude derived from oil sands in Alberta.
Washington faces a decision in the next...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Canada’s Finance Minister Flaherty Less Optimistic on Keystone XL ProspectsSenators propose revival of U.S. farm disaster-relief programs
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on January 25th, 2013
Reuters: Congress would revive disaster-relief programs for farmers and ranchers hurt by drought and other natural catastrophes under a stop-gap bill introduced on Friday by two key Senate committee leaders.
Producers could get up to $100,000 each for losses in 2012 and this year. In particular, ranchers would benefit because they do not have access to federally subsidized insurance, as farmers do for their crops.
The bundle of disaster programs, covering livestock, tree and fruit and vegetable producers,...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Senators propose revival of U.S. farm disaster-relief programsAfter Nebraska setback, greens regroup on Keystone XL
Posted by Grist: Tim McDonnell on January 25th, 2013
Grist: Environmentalists waging an ongoing fight against the Keystone XL pipeline were dealt a major setback this week when Nebraska Gov. Dave Heineman signed off on the pipe’s route through his state. Now all that stands between TransCanada, the company behind the pipeline, and broken ground is a signature from the State Department, the final decision about which is expected this spring.
Between now and then, the sprawling unofficial coalition of green individuals and groups that have bonded in the...
Low Snowfall Raises Concerns About Drought Recovery
Posted by Climate Central: Daniel Yawitz on January 25th, 2013
Climate Central: The total extent of the persistent national drought receded slightly during the past week, but in many places, conditions look no better now than they did when winter began. In particular, thin snow cover in some Western states is raising concerns that the drought's impacts in some of the hardest-hit regions will only worsen when temperatures increase and evaporation rates rise in the spring.
Between January 15-22, the amount of land in the lower 48 states experiencing drought conditions shrank...
Court says EPA overestimates biofuels production
Posted by Associated Press: Mary Clare Jalonick on January 25th, 2013
Associated Press: A federal appeals court has ruled that the Environmental Protection Agency is overestimating the amount of fuel that can be produced from grasses, wood and other nonfood plants in an effort to promote a fledgling biofuels industry.
At issue is a 2007 renewable fuels law that requires a certain amount of those types of fuels, called cellulosic biofuels, to be mixed in with gasoline each year. Despite annual EPA projections that the industry would produce small amounts of the biofuels, none of that...
Shoring Up The Nation’s Crumbling Coastlines
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on January 25th, 2013
National Public Radio: Hurricane Sandy pummeled the beaches of the Northeast, stripping away sand and dunes, and ploughing through seawalls. Can beaches be rebuilt to face fiercer storms and rising seas? And is there even enough sand to do it? Ira Flatow and guests discuss engineering the nation's coasts for "the new normal."