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Archive for June, 2013
Nutrient Pollution Could Cause Record-Setting ‘Dead Zone’ In Gulf Of Mexico
Posted by redOrbit: April Flowers on June 19th, 2013
RedOrbit: cientists are expecting a very large “dead zone” in the Gulf of Mexico, according to several NOAA-supported forecast models. Those same models predict a smaller than average hypoxic level in the Chesapeake Bay.
A research team comprised of scientists from the University of Michigan, Louisiana State University, and the Louisiana Universities Marine Consortium used the NOAA-supported models to forecast that this year’s Gulf of Mexico hypoxic “dead zone" will be between 7,286 and 8,561 square miles,...
Posted in Water Conservation 
Comments Off on Nutrient Pollution Could Cause Record-Setting ‘Dead Zone’ In Gulf Of MexicoBaked Alaska: Unusual heat wave hits 49th state
Posted by Associated Press: Rachel D'oro on June 19th, 2013
Associated Press: A heat wave hitting Alaska may not rival the blazing heat of Phoenix or Las Vegas, but to residents of the 49th state, the days of hot weather feel like a stifling oven — or a tropical paradise.
With temperatures topping 80 degrees in Anchorage, and higher in other parts of the state, people have been sweltering in a place where few homes have air conditioning.
They’re sunbathing and swimming at local lakes, hosing down their dogs and cleaning out supplies of fans in at least one local hardware...
US Army Corps declines environmental reviews for coal export terminals
Posted by Greenwire: Manuel Quinones on June 19th, 2013
Greenwire: The Army Corps of Engineers today said it would not conduct an areawide or cumulative review of various coal export terminal proposals in Oregon and Washington state.
In a hearing of the House Energy and Commerce Committee's Energy and Power Subcommittee, corps acting regulatory chief Jennifer Moyer also said her agency would not weigh the climate change impacts of burning more American coal overseas.
"The corps has determined that neither a programmatic nor an areawide regional [environmental...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on US Army Corps declines environmental reviews for coal export terminalsSmall global warming rise would have ‘alarming’ impact
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on June 19th, 2013
Reuters: Much of Bangkok could flood within the next two decades if global warming stays on its current trajectory, as sea levels rise and cyclones intensify, the World Bank said in a new report on Wednesday.
The flooding of 40 percent of the Thai capital was just one of dozens of negative effects the Washington-based World Bank warned would happen if the world grew warmer by just 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 Fahrenheit), which it said is likely to occur in the next 20 to 30 years under a "business-as-usual"...
Satellites show shrinking US aquifers in drought-stricken areas
Posted by ClimateWire: Stephanie Paige Ogburn on June 19th, 2013
ClimateWire: Albuquerque District's Rio Grande coordinator, measures the water level in the Rio Grande with a calibrated survey rod. Image: Flickr/U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
In New Mexico, the Rio Grande is trickling through Albuquerque at only a quarter of its normal flow. The parched range and pastureland in the southwest part of the state are all rated in poor condition by the Department of Agriculture.
According to the U.S. Drought Monitor published Thursday, 45 percent of the state is suffering from...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Satellites show shrinking US aquifers in drought-stricken areasClimate change threatens trouble in the near future, World Bank says
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on June 19th, 2013
Washington Post: The World Bank is beginning to commit billions of dollars to flood prevention, water management and other projects to help major Asian cities avoid the expected impact of climate change, a dramatic example of how short the horizon has become to alleviate the effects of global warming. Places such as Bangkok, Jakarta and Ho Chi Minh City are now considered "hot spots' that will bear the brunt of the impact as sea levels rise, tropical storms become more violent, and rainfall becomes both more sporadic...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Climate change threatens trouble in the near future, World Bank saysClimate change a factor in UK’s unusual weather – Met Office
Posted by RTCC: John Parnell on June 19th, 2013
RTCC: Climate change is just one of the factors behind recent unusual weather patterns in the UK.
That was the conclusion from a Met Office summit of climate scientists convened on Tuesday to investigate the underlying causes of a series of washout summers and colder than average winters.
Weather patterns in northern Europe, the UK and the North East of the US are affected by the position of the jet stream.
When the jet stream moves further south, it draws more rainfall in and around the UK making...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Climate change a factor in UK’s unusual weather – Met OfficeGreenland’s Great Melt Is Pinned On Climate Change
Posted by Climate News Network: Tim Radford on June 19th, 2013
Climate News Network: First: the story so far. For a few days in July 2012, almost 97% of the surface of Greenland began suddenly to thaw. This was a melt on an unprecedented scale. Greenland carries a burden of three million cubic kilometres of ice and even in the summer, most of it stays frozen, partly because of the island’s high latitude and partly because ice reflects sunlight, and tends normally to serve as its own insulator. The event was so unusual, and so unexpected, and on such a scale that nobody seriously...
World’s poorest will feel brunt of climate change, warns World Bank
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on June 19th, 2013
Guardian: Millions of people around the world are likely to be pushed back into poverty because climate change is undermining economic development in poor countries, the World Bank has warned.
Droughts, floods, heatwaves, sea-level rises and fiercer storms are likely to accompany increasing global warming and will cause severe hardship in areas that are already poor or were emerging from poverty, the bank said in a report.
Food shortages will be among the first consequences within just two decades, along...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on World’s poorest will feel brunt of climate change, warns World BankNew diseases threaten Britain’s livestock and crops because of global warming
Posted by Independent: Tom Bawden on June 19th, 2013
Independent: Britain faces a wave of deadly new animal and plant diseases that threaten to wipe out crops and livestock as a direct result of global warming, the World Bank's top agricultural expert has warned.
The country can expect to import more diseases, such as the deadly Schmallenberg virus that arrived from overseas about 18 months ago and is sweeping through new-born cattle and sheep spread by midge bites, the expert said.
Rachel Kyle, the World Bank's vice president for sustainable development,...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on New diseases threaten Britain’s livestock and crops because of global warming