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Archive for July 10th, 2013
Some Trees Use Less Water Amid Rising Carbon Dioxide, Paper Says
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on July 10th, 2013
New York Times: The fate of the world’s forests on a warming planet has long been one of the great unanswered questions about climate change. Now, new research is complicating the picture further, suggesting that big shifts are already under way in how forests work. A paper published Wednesday suggests that trees in at least some parts of the world are having to pull less water out of the ground to achieve a given amount of growth. Some scientists say they believe that this may be a direct response to the rising...
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Comments Off on Some Trees Use Less Water Amid Rising Carbon Dioxide, Paper SaysAustralia: Ministers Ignore Industrial Threats to Great Barrier Reef
Posted by Environment News Service: None Given on July 10th, 2013
Environment News Service: The Australian and Queensland governments today pledged to protect the world`s longest coral reef under a new plan endorsed at the Great Barrier Reef Ministerial Forum in Brisbane. But environmental advocates warn the ministers are ignoring alarm bells about industrial development rung by the United Nations. The 2013 Reef Water Quality Protection Plan is designed to guide initiatives to ensure that runoff from agriculture has no detrimental impact on the health and resilience of the Great Barrier...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Australia: Ministers Ignore Industrial Threats to Great Barrier ReefHow to Protest Keystone XL Without Getting Arrested
Posted by EcoWatch: None Given on July 10th, 2013
EcoWatch: Barbara Haws is a Brooklynite, but she was raised in Nebraska. The proposed TransCanada Keystone XL pipeline would pass through her home state, and she’s not happy about it. Her cousins--Nebraska farmers--are so unhappy about it that they chained themselves to the White House fence in protest and were promptly arrested. Haws herself chose a simpler form of protest: she took her protest sign out of her window and now carries it where she goes. She documented her travels and her cause in this video,...
Chesapeake Dead Zones Impacting Local Fish, Ecosystem
Posted by Nature World News: Tamarra Kemsley on July 10th, 2013
Nature World News: Dead zones occurring in the Chesapeake Bay are disrupting the distribution and number of many of the area's fish, according to a 10-year study by researchers at the Virginia Institute of Marine Science (VIMS).
As the first quantitative evidence on a bay-wide scale that these low-oxygen zones are impacting demersal fish (fish that live or feed near the bottom seafloor), the study warns that the affected species represent a key part of the Chesapeake Bay ecosystem and support important commercial...
Torrential rain causes widespread devastation in China – in pictures
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on July 10th, 2013
Guardian: Flooding in western China, the worst in 50 years for some areas, has triggered a landslide that buried about 30 people. Mudslides and flooding are common in China's mountainous areas, killing hundreds of people every year. Deforestation has led to soil erosion and made some parts of the country prone to mudslides after strong rain
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Torrential rain causes widespread devastation in China – in picturesBiofuels: have we lost the plot?
Posted by Guardian: Fiona Johnson on July 10th, 2013
Guardian: I am in the African agriculture sector providing farming machinery and spare parts to my customers in Africa. I have also spent lots of time out there in Nigeria, Zambia and other places on farms.
In Brazil, where there is a big sugar cane industry, biofuel is produced as a by-product which is an excellent idea.
Unfortunately in Africa, there has been a trend towards growing crops for bio fuels. I am very against this idea primarily because crops should be grown for human consumption. I also...
Canada: Toronto flash flood won’t come as a surprise to those who pay attention to climate change
Posted by Straight: Charlie Smith on July 10th, 2013
Straight: I can't recall hearing this mentioned by any of the best-known weather forecasters in the business, such as Claire Martin, Mark Madryga (who shills for Port Metro Vancouver on the side), and Michael Kuss.
As a result, the public is given no indication that a flash flood in Toronto--in which the monthly average rainfall was dumped on the city in two hours--might be linked to carbon-dioxide emissions.
Weathercasters also avoided mentioning global warming when sections of Calgary and High River...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Canada: Toronto flash flood won’t come as a surprise to those who pay attention to climate changeOil-sands expansion conditionally approved despite ‘significant’ effects on wildlife
Posted by Globe and Mail: Jeffrey Jones on July 10th, 2013
Globe and Mail: Federal and Alberta regulators have conditionally approved Royal Dutch Shell's multibillion-dollar Jackpine oil-sands mine expansion despite their findings that it would have a number of adverse environmental impacts.
A joint review panel, appointed by the federal Environment Minister and the provincial energy regulator, ruled that the project's effects on wildlife and vegetation will be significant, but that it is nonetheless in the public interest.
Alberta and Ottawa will now make their own...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Oil-sands expansion conditionally approved despite ‘significant’ effects on wildlifeHydrofracking seen as having heavy impact
Posted by Post Star: Scott Donnelly on July 10th, 2013
Post Star: Even if natural gas wells are never drilled in the Glens Falls region, the process of hydraulic fracturing is going to have an impact on our economy, politics and environment.
The process of extracting natural gas from deep rock formations using high-pressure water containing sand and chemicals is considered a bane to the environment by many.
Many more believe it is the best hope for reducing greenhouse gases and saving the planet from disastrous climate change.
Some politically minded supporters...
Climate change will force UK to be dependent on imported crops as droughts hit farmers
Posted by Express: Charlotte Meredith on July 10th, 2013
Express: The harsh impact of climate change could leave farmers with only half as much water as they require to produce crops in the future, the Government advisers said as they urged that the price of water ought to be increased where it is scarce.
Higher temperatures, drier soils and more demand for food from a growing population will increase demand for irrigation of crops, which are largely produced in drier areas of the UK, the Committee on Climate Change's adaptation team said.
Lower river levels...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Climate change will force UK to be dependent on imported crops as droughts hit farmers