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Archive for April, 2013
Burned rainforest vulnerable to grass invasion
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on April 24th, 2013
Mongabay: Rainforests that have been affected by even low-intensity fires are far more vulnerable to invasion by grasses, finds a new study published in special issue of the journal Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B. The findings are significant because they suggest that burned forests may be more susceptible to subsequent fires which may burn more intensely due to increased fuel loads.
The research is based on an eight-year study involving experimental burning of three 50-hectare plots...
Study of climate change amended, moves ahead
Posted by World-Herald: None Given on April 24th, 2013
World-Herald: A debate in the Legislature over global warming Tuesday didn't raise the temperature as high as expected. Lawmakers voted 35-0 to advance a bill that would spend up to $40,000 to create a report on the long-term impact of climate change on Nebraska's water and agricultural resources. “Climate change needs to be studied so that Nebraska's ag industry is not brought to its knees,” said State Sen. Ken Haar of Lincoln, who sponsored Legislative Bill 583. But the vote to advance the bill didn't come...
New Zealand: Call for caution on grape land claims
Posted by Stuff: Gerald Piddock on April 24th, 2013
Stuff: Suggestions in a new study that climate change could cause a substantial increase in land available for viticulture in some parts of New Zealand has been treated with caution by a wine industry specialist.
The onset of climate change meant more extreme weather events could be possible, said Glen Creasy, Lincoln University senior lecturer in viticulture.
Cool easterly winds, late season frosts and possible hail storms could also damage grapes.
Landowners thinking of going into viticulture...
Keystone XL: EPA finds State Dept.’s latest review ‘insufficient.’
Posted by ClimateWire: Nick Juliano on April 24th, 2013
ClimateWire: U.S. EPA says the State Department's latest review of the controversial Keystone XL pipeline contains "insufficient information" on several fronts, including greenhouse gas emissions, alternative routes and the consequences of a potential spill of diluted bitumen, which the pipeline would carry.
EPA's assessment was made public yesterday, the deadline for public comment on the State Department's ongoing review of the project.
Environmental groups questioned many of the key assertions in the...
Posted in Water Conservation 
Comments Off on Keystone XL: EPA finds State Dept.’s latest review ‘insufficient.’Fort Collins Again Postpones Decision on Fracking
Posted by EcoWatch: None Given on April 24th, 2013
EcoWatch: Last night the Fort Collins City Council voted unanimously to postpone their decision until their May 21 meeting about whether to terminate the moratorium on fracking. The city council passed a ban in March, but that ban allowed one drilling operation to continue fracking in North Fort Collins. However, three weeks later, the council passed an "agreement" allowing the drilling company to open up two new square miles of land for drilling and fracking.
The council`s postponement comes after it received...
GM salmon’s global HQ – 1,500m high in the Panamanian rainforest
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on April 24th, 2013
Guardian: It is hard to think of a more unlikely setting for genetic experimentation or for raising salmon: a rundown shed at a secretive location in the Panamanian rainforest miles inland and 1,500m above sea level.
But the facility, which is owned by an American company AquaBounty Technologies, stands on the verge of delivering the first genetically modified food animal – a fast-growing salmon – to supermarkets and dinner tables.
The US government this week enters the final stages of its deliberations...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on GM salmon’s global HQ – 1,500m high in the Panamanian rainforestU.S. EPA Weighs In: Keystone XL Climate Impact Not Adequately Addressed
Posted by EcoWatch: Emily Saari on April 24th, 2013
EcoWatch: The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has challenged the State Department on its draft environmental impact statement on the Keystone XL pipeline, objecting to its conclusion that the Keystone XL presents no significant climate change impact or environment risk. This criticism raises an important hurdle in the overall executive review process for its approval, and gives the pipeline’s opponents additional support in their fight against the project.
The U.S. EPA’s challenge comes alongside...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on U.S. EPA Weighs In: Keystone XL Climate Impact Not Adequately AddressedClimate change will have impact on Pennsylvania vineyards
Posted by Patriot-News: None Given on April 24th, 2013
Patriot-News: Visitors at Allegro Winery and Vineyards in Brogue, York County always ask owner Carl Helrich what he thinks about the crazy shifts in weather.
"I will say the forecasts have not been as reliable as they used to be, and I live by forecasts," he said.
For example, he said that in 2002 the earliest the buds on the grape vines broke -- an indicator of the grape growing season -- on April 17. Last year, it occurred March 30. As Helrich points out, that is about an18-day difference in a matter of...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Climate change will have impact on Pennsylvania vineyardsMining and logging companies ‘leaving all of Chile without water’
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on April 24th, 2013
Inter Press Service: More than 100 environmental, social and indigenous organisations protested in the Chilean capital, Santiago, this week to demand that the state regain control of the management of water, which was privatised by the then dictatorship in 1981.
More than 6,000 people took part in the peaceful "great carnival march for the recovery and defence of water" on Monday, according to the organisers, one of whom was former student leader Camila Vallejo, who plans to run for parliament as a Communist party...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Mining and logging companies ‘leaving all of Chile without water’Spilled tar sands oil could be creeping toward the Arkansas River
Posted by Grist: Suzi Parker on April 24th, 2013
Grist: Rocker Neil Young wanted to see for himself the damage from ExxonMobil`s ruptured Pegasus oil pipeline, which recently spewed reeking, black goo into small-town Mayflower, Ark. So Young, a stalwart environmentalist, drove his revamped, super fuel-efficient hybrid 1959 Lincoln Continental into Mayflower on Monday, unannounced.
A few people snapped pictures with Young (local blogger Shelli Russell bumped into a telephone pole while chasing him down). But regardless of how cool his car is, it’s unlikely...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Spilled tar sands oil could be creeping toward the Arkansas River