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Archive for February 10th, 2013
A Presidential Decision That Could Change the World
Posted by EcoWatch: Michael T. Klare on February 10th, 2013
EcoWatch: Presidential decisions often turn out to be far less significant than imagined, but every now and then what a president decides actually determines how the world turns. Such is the case with the Keystone XL pipeline, which, if built, is slated to bring some of the “dirtiest,” carbon-rich oil on the planet from Alberta, Canada, to refineries on the U.S. Gulf Coast. In the near future, President Obama is expected to give its construction a definitive thumbs up or thumbs down, and the decision he makes...
Can USDA’s climate reality message take root with denialist farmers?
Posted by Grist: Tom Laskawy on February 10th, 2013
Grist: As Grist reported earlier this week, the USDA released a massive report on climate change and U.S. agriculture. The report may represent the agency’s most decisive move to force farmers to face reality. The short version: Climate change is real, it’s here to stay, and farmers need to start adapting before the biggest effects hit.
And while this may not come as news to Grist readers, it’s worth highlighting the significance of this report. Big farm lobbying groups have been some of the most vocal...
Posted in Water Conservation 
Comments Off on Can USDA’s climate reality message take root with denialist farmers?Roses Raise Environment Concerns
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on February 10th, 2013
Scientific American: Millions of roses get handed out on Valentine's Day. But growing roses has an environmental impact worse than many other crops. Start with climate change: most roses in the U.S. and Europe are imported from warmer climes. All that flying and trucking adds thousands of metric tons of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere. Then there's all the water needed to, well, water the flowers. And the runoff fouled by copious quantities of pesticides needed to make the roses look perfect. There's also the wildlife...
Journey beneath the surface of the Earth
Posted by Mercury News: Kelly Servick on February 10th, 2013
Mercury News: A group of six UC Santa Cruz researchers is making its way back from Antarctica after nearly three months of work in the frozen wilderness.
The scientists and engineers were part of a crew of 50 that drilled through a half mile of ice to explore a lake hidden under the West Antarctic Ice Sheet.
The project, called Whillans Ice Stream Subglacial Access Research Drilling -- or WISSARD, includes nine collaborating institutions from across the U.S. The UCSC team focused on how the flow of water...
United States: Exeter developing climate change adaptation plan
Posted by Seacoast: None Given on February 10th, 2013
Seacoast: By the end of 2014, the town is expected to have the most rigorous climate change adaptation plan on the Seacoast.
Through a $683,472 grant from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the University of New Hampshire and Great Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve are working with the town to develop a plan based on Exeter's perspectives using hydraulic and hydrologic modeling and climate change scenarios.
Paul Kirshen, a research professor with UNH's Institute for the Study...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on United States: Exeter developing climate change adaptation planWhite-out! Blizzards hit north-east US
Posted by Independent: Nikhil Kumar on February 10th, 2013
Independent: The north-eastern United States and eastern Canada were pummelled yesterday by a severe blizzard which brought furious winds and hours of snowfall, knocking out power for more than 600,000 people across the region, and forcing the cancellation of thousands of flights and other transport links. In places, there was more than 3ft of snow. At least six deaths were blamed on the storm conditions, according to the Associated Press. A man in his seventies was reported to have died when a driver lost control...
Poll: Americans back climate change regulation
Posted by Grand Island Independent: None Given on February 10th, 2013
Grand Island Independent: Now that President Obama put climate change back on the table in his second inaugural address, a new national poll finds growing public support for regulating greenhouse gas emissions and requiring utilities to switch to lower-carbon fuel sources.
The percentage of Americans who think climate change is occurring has rebounded, according to the Duke University national survey, and is at its highest level since 2006. The study also finds that while Americans support regulating greenhouse gas emissions,...
Blizzard hammers Northeast, nine dead, 700,000 lose power
Posted by Reuters: Tim McLaughlin and Edith Honan on February 10th, 2013
Reuters: The U.S. Northeast started digging itself out of a blizzard that dumped up to 40 inches of snow with hurricane force winds, killing at least nine people and leaving about half a million customers without power.
Airports slowly cranked back to life on Sunday, rare travel bans in Connecticut and Massachusetts were lifted, but roads throughout the region remained treacherous, according to state transportation departments.
As the region recovered, another large winter storm building across the...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Blizzard hammers Northeast, nine dead, 700,000 lose power