RSS Feed
Archive for March 23rd, 2013
United Kingdom: Worst March snow for 30 years brings chaos
Posted by Telegraph: David Barret on March 23rd, 2013
Telegraph: A severe weather alert was issued for large parts of the country hit by icy conditions, heavy snow and winds of up to 60mph. North-west England, south-west Scotland and Northern Ireland were worst-affected.
At one point, the whole of Belfast was blacked out after a storm shut down the city's high-voltage transmission network. Other areas saw almost a foot of snow.
In Cumbria, more than 70 motorists were left stranded by drifts up to 15ft deep, while in Lancashire, the body of a 27-year-old...
Posted in Water Conservation 
Comments Off on United Kingdom: Worst March snow for 30 years brings chaosSenate Votes in Favor of Dirty Tar Sands Pipeline
Posted by EcoWatch: None Given on March 23rd, 2013
EcoWatch: Full production of the oil from tar sands in Canada would add 240 billion tons of carbon dioxide into our atmosphere, severely hampering any efforts to tackle global warming.
The U.S. Senate voted in support of the proposed Keystone XL tar sands pipeline on Friday, which would deepen our dependence on tar sands oil from Canada. The measure, introduced by Sen. John Hoeven (R-ND), signifies yet another attempt by Republicans to pressure President Obama to approve the TransCanada permit for the construction...
Can a tropical water flea invade European lakes?
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on March 23rd, 2013
ScienceDaily: Daphnia is a genus of small, planktonic crustaceans, commonly called 'water fleas' because of their jumpy swimming style and their size (between 0.2 and 5 mm). They live in various aquatic environments, ranging from acidic swamps to freshwater lakes, ponds, streams and rivers. Species of the genus Daphnia play a key role in freshwater food webs: they consume algae and are themselves an important food item for small fish.
Daphnia lumholtzi is a small subtropical and tropical representative, known...
Peru surprises with two new amazing species of woodlizards
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on March 23rd, 2013
ScienceDaily: Two new woodlizard species have been uncovered from poorly explored areas of the Peruvian jungles. The males have beautiful body colouration with a distinctive green pattern before a dark brown and black background. It is assumed that the two species share the same territory, with only a slight difference in altitude ranges, which makes their biological divergence intriguing from an evolutionary point of view.
The study was published in the open access journal Zookeys.
Being traditionally regarded...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Peru surprises with two new amazing species of woodlizardsLong-term water quality trends in near-pristine streams
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on March 23rd, 2013
ScienceDaily: For the first time, a study has compared water quality trends in forested streams across the country that are largely undisturbed by land use or land cover changes.
The study, which draws on decades' worth of data from reference streams in six U.S. states and Puerto Rico, underscores the value of long-term data in understanding the patterns and causes of water quality changes in streams and rivers. It is published in the current issue of the journal Environmental Research Letters.
" Much of...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Long-term water quality trends in near-pristine streamsNew Fracking Standards Not Supported by Environmental Organizations
Posted by EcoWatch: None Given on March 23rd, 2013
EcoWatch: Environmental organizations are objecting to a misleading announcement coming from the oil and gas industry that says they have “made peace” with environmentalists by agreeing to voluntary fracking standards.
According to the announcement made, the oil and gas industry believes the new standards “could ease or avert some of the ferocious battles over fracking that have been waged in statehouses and city halls.” They’re wrong. In fact, the anti-fracking movement is large and getting larger as evidence...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on New Fracking Standards Not Supported by Environmental OrganizationsAnother look at natural gas
Posted by New York Times: Eduardo Porter on March 23rd, 2013
New York Times: After my column on Wednesday about how the nation’s natural gas boom is helping reduce emissions of heat-trapping carbon, I received a bunch of e-mail arguing that gas obtained by hydraulic fracturing could, on the contrary, worsen climate change.
The main reason is that fracking wells -- where water, chemicals and sand are pumped at high pressure into horizontal shafts to fracture shale rock deep underground -- leak.
Cheap natural gas is helping to cut carbon emissions because power companies...
Missouri mining could benefit from Illinois fracking
Posted by Southeast Missourian: Shay Alderman on March 23rd, 2013
Southeast Missourian: This image from the Illinois State Geological survey shows the area believed to hold concentrations of oil and natural gas in Southern Illinois. The area believed to contain the best deposits for extraction is highlighted in red. A bill currently being negotiated in the Illinois House of Representatives would regulate large-scale hydraulic fracturing -- or fracking -- in the state, and the Missouri mining industry stands to gain from an increased need for silica sand, which is used in the process....
Why geoengineering has immediate appeal to China
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on March 23rd, 2013
Guardian: The political dilemma over geoengineering – deliberate, large-scale intervention in the climate system designed to counter global warming or offset some of its effects – will perhaps be most acute in China.
In December, the country listed geoengineering among its Earth science research priorities, in a marked shift in the international climate change landscape noticed by China specialists Kingsley Edney and Jonathan Symons.
On the one hand, China's rapid economic growth has seen a huge escalation...
Invasive species: Understanding the threat before it’s too late
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on March 23rd, 2013
ScienceDaily: Catching rides on cargo ships and fishing boats, many invasive species are now covering our shorelines and compromising the existence of our native marine life.
In a study published in Ecology Letters, Northeastern University Prof. David Kimbro and his team examine what factors allow some invasive species to survive in their new environments and others to fail.
Why we should care
Once invasive species arrive in their new location, they begin multiplying, and in some cases, overpowering the...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Invasive species: Understanding the threat before it’s too late