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Archive for February 28th, 2013
In California, What Price Water?
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on February 28th, 2013
New York Times: On a calm day, a steady rain just about masks the sound of Pacific Ocean water being drawn into the intake valve from Agua Hedionda Lagoon. Listen hard, and a faint sucking sound emerges from the concrete openings, like a distant straw pulling liquid from a cup. At the moment, the seawater is being diverted from the ocean to cool an aging natural-gas power plant. But in three years, if all goes as planned, the saltwater pulled in at that entryway will emerge as part of the regional water supply...
Dusty Springs in Asia, Africa Can Increase Snow in Calif
Posted by Climate Central: Lauren Morello on February 28th, 2013
Climate Central: A dusty spring in Asia and Africa can increase snowfall thousands of miles away in California's Sierra Nevada mountains, according to a new study.
The process begins when winds stir up tiny particles of dust, pollution, bacteria and heavy metals from the Taklimakan and Gobi deserts in Asia and the Sahara in northern Africa.
In a matter of days, those particles -- known to scientists as aerosols -- travel halfway around the world, carried high above the Earth by the Jet Stream. When they run...
Posted in Water Conservation 
Comments Off on Dusty Springs in Asia, Africa Can Increase Snow in CalifCall to lift ban on rhino horn trade
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on February 28th, 2013
BBC: A group of environmental researchers says that legalising the trade in rhinoceros horn is necessary to save the animals.
Writing in Science journal, they argue that a global ban has failed to stem an "insatiable international demand".
The authors say the market could be met by humanely shaving the horns of live rhinos.
At present in South Africa, poachers are on average killing around two rhinos every day.
According to the lead author of the research Dr Duan Biggs from the University...
Two new species of mini-salamander discovered in Colombia
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on February 28th, 2013
Mongabay: Biologists have discovered two new species of salamander in Tamá National Natural Park in Colombia. While the discovery should be cause for celebration, the news was dampened by the fact that both species are already infected with the deadly fungal disease, known as Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd), which has wiped out amphibian populations worldwide. Both of the new salamanders belong to the genus Bolitoglossa, which are web-footed salamanders found in the tropical Americas.
"Discovering a...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Two new species of mini-salamander discovered in ColombiaKeystone halt would send strong signal: EU climate chief
Posted by Reuters: Valerie Volcovici on February 28th, 2013
Reuters: The European Union's top climate change official said on Thursday that if the Obama administration rejects the proposed Keystone XL pipeline, it would send a strong message that the United States is serious about combating climate change.
"That would be an extremely strong signal for the Obama administration," Connie Hedegaard, the EU Commissioner for Climate Action, told reporters in a briefing in Washington.
Hedegaard has been visiting lawmakers, administration and World Bank officials as...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Keystone halt would send strong signal: EU climate chiefLatest Move on Fracking Shows Democracy is Alive and Well in NY
Posted by EcoWatch: Paul Gallay on February 28th, 2013
EcoWatch: Governor Andrew M. Cuomo’s recent decision to hit the reset button on fracking proves that participatory democracy is alive and well in New York.
Last week, Cuomo’s State Health Commissioner, Dr. Nirav Shah, announced that he needs more time to review fracking’s health impacts, meaning that the state’s current proposed fracking regulations will expire on Feb. 28. Any future plans for fracking now depend on how the health issue comes out, which may take as much as a year or more to determine, according...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Latest Move on Fracking Shows Democracy is Alive and Well in NYFracking Pennsylvania: Flirting With Disaster
Posted by EcoWatch: The Rev. Leah Schade on February 28th, 2013
EcoWatch: Book review: Fracking Pennsylvania: Fracking With Disaster by Walter M. Brasch, Greeley and Stone Publishers, LLC, Carmichael, CA; 2013; 274 pages, $14.95
As an anti-fracking activist, one of the most important things I`ve learned in this work is how necessary it is for us to be connected and know about each other`s work, experiences and information. Walter Brasch has made a valuable contribution to that effort. If I were teaching a course on environmental ethics, Brasch’s books would be on the...
TransCanada Confident Keystone XL Will Be Approved by Summer -Executive
Posted by Dow Jones: Ben Lefebvre on February 28th, 2013
Dow Jones: TransCanada Corp. (TRP) still fully expects to receive approval for its controversial cross-border Keystone XL pipeline expansion within the next several months, a company executive said Thursday.
TransCanada, which has been waiting for White House approval for the 830,000 barrel-a-day pipeline expansion for years, expects to receive the necessary permit "by the first half of 2013," Paul Miller, TransCanada's senior vice president in charge of oil pipelines, said on the sidelines of the Platts...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on TransCanada Confident Keystone XL Will Be Approved by Summer -ExecutiveClimate change threatens corn crops
Posted by PhysOrg: Tom Marshall on February 28th, 2013
PhysOrg: A warming world is putting crops at risk, according to scientists who studied how the weather affects French maize yields.
If climate-change projections are right, we'll need to improve yields per acre by as much as 12 per cent between 2016 and 2035 just to maintain today's total production.
The results reveal a real threat to our food supply in the coming decades. It turns out that maize yields drop significantly for every day when temperatures climb over around 32°C, and that heat stress...
China: Sandstorm pushes Beijing pollution off the charts
Posted by NBC: Ed Flanagan on February 28th, 2013
NBC: Beijing and other parts of northern China were stung by hazardous air pollution levels Thursday as strong winds blew a sandstorm through the region.
Air in the capital turned a yellowish hue as sand from China's arid northwest blew in, turning the sky into a noxious soup of smog and dust.
At 6 a.m. local time, the U.S. Embassy's air quality index showed a reading of 516 for particles less than 2.5 micrometers in diameter. Known as PM2.5, such particles are considered particularly dangerous...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on China: Sandstorm pushes Beijing pollution off the charts