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Archive for February 22nd, 2013
Boston Grapples With The Threat Of Storms And Rising Water
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on February 22nd, 2013
National Public Radio: Since the drubbing that Superstorm Sandy gave the Northeast in November, there's a new sense of urgency in U.S. coastal cities. Even though scientists can't predict the next big hurricane, they're confident that a warmer climate is likely to make Atlantic storms bigger and cause more flooding.
Cities like Boston are in the bull's-eye.
From atmospheric scientist Kerry Emanuel's 6th-floor office at MIT, you can look out at Boston and the snow-covered Charles River as it snakes through the city...
Posted in Water Conservation 
Comments Off on Boston Grapples With The Threat Of Storms And Rising WaterCanada: With Keystone In Limbo, Alberta Launches Carbon Contest
Posted by Climate Central: Andrew Freedman on February 22nd, 2013
Climate Central: The Canadian province of Alberta is home to the country's booming oil and gas industry, and is a key power base for Canada's Conservative Prime Minister, Stephen Harper. The rapid development of unconventional oil and gas resources, also known as "oil sands,' in Alberta has turned that province into an engine of economic growth in Canada, and has led to controversy in the U.S.
Domestically, Alberta is perhaps best known as the origin of the controversial Keystone-XL Pipeline, which would transport...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Canada: With Keystone In Limbo, Alberta Launches Carbon ContestAs billion-dollar BP court case nears, scientists count cost to Gulf of Mexico
Posted by Guardian: Dominic Rushe on February 22nd, 2013
Guardian: Dolphin calving season has just begun in the Gulf of Mexico and marine biologists are reporting an alarming trend. Between 2000 and 2009, an average of 25 to 30 dolphins were found dead on the beaches of the Gulf each year. This year, 13 dead dolphins were found between 13 January and 14 February alone; 11 were aborted or newborns. Biologists have been following this trend for three years, since the Deepwater Horizon oil rig disaster claimed 11 lives and triggered the worst oil spill in US history....
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on As billion-dollar BP court case nears, scientists count cost to Gulf of MexicoDespite Lingering Drought, USDA Predicts A Flood Of Grain
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on February 22nd, 2013
National Public Radio: Economists at the U.S. Department of Agriculture, gazing into their crystal ball, see American farmers planting and harvesting huge amounts of corn, soybeans, and wheat this year. They're predicting a record harvest of corn: 14 billion bushels, up nearly 40 percent over last year's drought-crippled level. With supply up, prices will fall. The USDA thinks that the price of the average bushel of corn could fall by a third. And soybean production and price are expected to follow a similar track. Of...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Despite Lingering Drought, USDA Predicts A Flood Of GrainIn Drought-Stricken Heartland, Snow is No Savior
Posted by New York Times: Jack Healy on February 22nd, 2013
New York Times: After enduring last summer’s destructive drought, farmers, ranchers and officials across the parched Western states had hoped that plentiful winter snows would replenish the ground and refill their rivers, breaking the grip of one of the worst dry spells in American history. No such luck. Lakes are half full and mountain snows are thin, omens of another summer of drought and wildfire. Complicating matters, many of the worst-hit states have even less water on hand than a year ago, raising the specter...
A 1.5 C Temperature Rise Could Release Greenhouse Gases in Permafrost
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on February 22nd, 2013
Yale Environment 360: A global temperature increase of 1.5 degrees Celsius could unleash more than 1,000 gigatons of carbon and methane currently trapped beneath Siberian permafrost and accelerate global climate change, a new study says. In a study conducted in a frozen cave in Siberia, researchers analyzed stalactites and stalagmites which, since they form only when rainwater and snowmelt drip into the caves, provide a glimpse into 500,000 years of changing permafrost conditions. According to their findings, records...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on A 1.5 C Temperature Rise Could Release Greenhouse Gases in PermafrostNetwork to push scientific case for organic farming
Posted by SciDevNet: Jan Piotrowski on February 22nd, 2013
SciDevNet: An international platform to strengthen and coordinate research on organic farming, and help benefits trickle down to organic farmers, the majority of whom are in developing countries, was launched in Germany last week (15 February).
The idea for the network emerged on the sidelines of the UN negotiations at the Rio+20 summit last June. It is coordinated by the International Federation of Organic Agricultural Movements (IFOAM).
The network, dubbed the Technology and Innovation Platform of IFOAM...
Tennessee Riverkeeper Files Intent to Sue Over Company’s Failure to Comply with Clean Water Act
Posted by EcoWatch: None Given on February 22nd, 2013
EcoWatch: Tennessee Riverkeeper has announced its intention to file a federal lawsuit to abate pollution from the old Florence Landfill site in Florence, Alabama. The notice of intent to sue, mailed by Tennessee Riverkeeper to Hensley-Graves Holdings, LLC, is a statutory requirement 60 days prior to the filing of a lawsuit under both the federal Clean Water Act (CWA) and Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA).
“Although the old Florence Landfill off West Irvine Avenue has been closed since 1987,...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Tennessee Riverkeeper Files Intent to Sue Over Company’s Failure to Comply with Clean Water ActLouisiana coast facing grim reality
Posted by Advocate: Bob Marshall on February 22nd, 2013
Advocate: Stunning new data not yet publicly released shows Louisiana losing its battle with rising seas much more quickly than even the most pessimistic studies have predicted to date.
While state officials continue to argue over restoration projects to save the state’s sinking, crumbling coast, top researchers at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration have concluded that Louisiana is in line for the highest rate of sea-level rise “on the planet.”
Indeed, the water is rising so fast that...
Siberian stalactites point to permafrost thaw
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on February 22nd, 2013
Australian Broadcasting Corporation: Climate change Large regions of the planet's permafrost could be vulnerable to thawing if the average global temperature rises just 1.5 degrees more, a new analysis of stalactites and stalagmites in Siberian caves suggests.
With climate projections currently suggesting the global climate could warm by more than 2°C over the next century, the new results highlight concerns about the potential for permafrost thawing to amplify climate change by releasing carbon dioxide and methane into the atmosphere....