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Archive for June, 2013
Warming oceans could kill ‘Hoff,’ the David Hasselhoff crab
Posted by LA Times: Deborah Netburn on June 21st, 2013
LA Times: The hairy-chested Yeti crab, which survives in an environment of no light, little oxygen, extreme temperatures and tremendous pressure, may not be able to survive a warming ocean, scientists say. The alien-like crab -- nicknamed the "Hoff" in honor of David Hasselhoff's similarly hairy torso -- was discovered in 2009, living on the perimeter of hydrothermal vents thousands of feet beneath the Indian and Arctic oceans. The area around the hydrothermal vents is beyond extreme. The vents heat the...
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Comments Off on Warming oceans could kill ‘Hoff,’ the David Hasselhoff crabAustralia: Climate change means tough time for Northern Rivers farmers
Posted by Northern Star: None Given on June 21st, 2013
Northern Star: FARMERS across the Northern Rivers are facing a future of higher temperatures, more pests and less ground water, warns a report released this week by the Australian Climate Commission. And these are only some of the risks facing the agricultural sector detailed in the report Critical Decade 2013. Some main points from the report The nation's highly respected Climate Commissioner Professor Will Steffen described the risks to the farming sector as "substantial". "Farmers are on the frontline of...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Australia: Climate change means tough time for Northern Rivers farmersWhy the city of Miami is doomed to drown
Posted by Rolling Stone: None Given on June 21st, 2013
Rolling Stone: When the water receded after Hurricane Milo of 2030, there was a foot of sand covering the famous bow-tie floor in the lobby of the Fontainebleau hotel in Miami Beach. A dead manatee floated in the pool where Elvis had once swum. Most of the damage occurred not from the hurricane's 175-mph winds, but from the 24-foot storm surge that overwhelmed the low-lying city. In South Beach, the old art-deco buildings were swept off their foundations. Mansions on Star Island were flooded up to their cut-glass...
Megadrought in US Southwest: A bad omen for forests globally
Posted by Yale Environment 360: Caroline Fraser on June 21st, 2013
Yale Environment 360: As brutal fires torch tinder-dry dense forests and neighboring homes in the American West, researchers are examining the relationships between drought, wildfire, and a warming climate, predicting mass forest die-offs and prolonged megadrought for the Southwest. These forces are accelerating, they say, and already transforming the landscape. Unchecked, they may permanently destroy forests in the southwestern U.S. and in some other regions around the world.
Across the West, “megafires” have become...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Megadrought in US Southwest: A bad omen for forests globallyMunich Re to Rio Tinto to bear costs of climate change, UN says
Posted by Bloomberg News: Alex Morales on June 21st, 2013
Bloomberg News: Corporations from Munich Re to Rio Tinto Group will bear rising costs from pressures on the Earth’s environment such as changes in the climate and water shortages, according to a United Nations Environment Program report. Their success will increasingly hinge on the ability to adapt to a “rapidly” changing environment and to develop goods and services that help reduce the effect of climate change and are less reliant on water and harmful chemicals, the agency said today in a report released at Bloomberg’s...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Munich Re to Rio Tinto to bear costs of climate change, UN saysIndia: Rise in sea level to adversely affect Thane creek, says study
Posted by Hindustan Times: Snehal Rebello on June 21st, 2013
Hindustan Times: The Thane creek, designated as an Important Bird Area (IBA), will be impacted with a sea-level rise of 0.5 to 1m, states a study published in the Journal of Threatened Taxa in May. The study conducted by a four-member international team of scientists revealed that an estimated 13,973sqkm of land in coastal areas will be lost across the country because of intrusion of sea water.
Major causes of rising sea levels include thermal expansion of the ocean, mountain glacier melting, and discharge of...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on India: Rise in sea level to adversely affect Thane creek, says studyClimate change promises tough times for Asia and Africa
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on June 21st, 2013
IPS: Extreme heat, flooding and water and food shortages will rock South Asia and Africa by 2030 and render large sections of cities inhabitable, if the world continues to burn huge amounts of coal, oil and gas, the World Bank is warning. "Turn Down the Heat: Climate Extremes, Regional Impacts and the Case for Resilience", a new report commissioned by the World Bank and released Wednesday, analysed the expected effects on South Asia and Africa if global temperatures increase by two and four degrees Celsius....
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Climate change promises tough times for Asia and AfricaRepublicans and Democrats treat fracking like it’s global warming
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on June 21st, 2013
Mother Jones: The more liberals and conservatives know about science, the more they have wildly variant views about the risks of global warming, according to research by Yale's Dan Kahan. You might call it the "smart idiot" effect--knowledge, itself, seems to make people with diametrically opposed views more sure that they're right, and thus worsens the political fight over what is actually scientifically true.
And recent research suggests that the smart idiot effect isn't limited to climate change--it also...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Republicans and Democrats treat fracking like it’s global warmingCalgary neighbourhoods evacuated as floods hit western Canada
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on June 21st, 2013
Associated Press: Water levels from heavy flooding in western Canada were expected to peak around noon on Friday, possibly forcing as many as 100,000 people from their homes, officials said.
On Thursday, torrential rain and widespread flooding throughout southern Alberta forced the closure of the Trans-Canada Highway and isolated the mountain resort towns of Banff and Canmore. The flooding washed out roads and bridges, left at least one person missing and caused cars, couches and refrigerators to float away.
Communities...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Calgary neighbourhoods evacuated as floods hit western CanadaNorth American Birds Declining as Threats Mount
Posted by National Geographic: Mel White on June 21st, 2013
National Geographic: Throughout the year, birders look forward to changing seasons and avian scenes as they explore woods, grasslands, and wetlands: the spectacle of spring migration, the songs of breeding birds, the autumn southward flight of wintering species from northern nesting grounds. Increasingly, though, both casual bird-watchers and ornithologists note a steady decline in numbers—not just of endangered species, but also of common birds not usually considered to be at risk. Study after study, survey after survey...