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Archive for July, 2013
U.S., Alaska need to tackle climate change challenge
Posted by Anchorage Daily News: Kate Troll on July 13th, 2013
Anchorage Daily News: "We don't have time for a meeting of the flat-earth society."
With this line and a solid Climate Action Plan, President Obama has, at long last, brought the climate debate out of the closet and back to center stage. The president's plan has three pillars: cutting carbon pollution, preparing for the impact of climate change and leading international efforts to address global climate change. Upon these pillars, the climate plan weaves 15 concrete steps that federal agencies will take to effect a...
Our region’s extreme weather is the new normal, for a while
Posted by Hartford Courant: Marwa Eltagouri on July 13th, 2013
Hartford Courant: In a year that brought Connecticut the unlikely chaos of storm Sandy, severe flooding, a blizzard and - most recently - three tornadoes in one day and a fourth a week later, it turns out the weather's unpredictability is now predictable.
Extreme weather has become the new normal: the vicious storms Irene and Sandy, which caused flooding and devastation; the weekend blizzard in February that barricaded people in their homes and left more than 3 feet of snow in some towns; and the fourth tornado...
Posted in Water Conservation 
Comments Off on Our region’s extreme weather is the new normal, for a whileVancouver ramps up extreme weather preparations following Alberta floods
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on July 13th, 2013
Globe and Mail: When Sadhu Johnston recently saw images of water flooding through downtown Calgary - and a few weeks later, through Toronto - his mind turned to details: How much rain had fallen, what areas were worst hit, where the water was going?
And as the cleanup in Alberta got under way, Mr. Johnston, Vancouver's deputy city manager, kept a close eye on the aftermath, touching base regularly with city staff who had been sent to Calgary to lend a hand.
"We had over 55 of our staff on the ground in Calgary...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Vancouver ramps up extreme weather preparations following Alberta floodsMexico’s cities not ready for climate change
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on July 13th, 2013
Inter Press Service: Towns on Mexico's Caribbean coast are behind schedule on the design and implementation of plans to face the challenges of climate change, in spite of the urgency of measures to reduce vulnerability.
The country's 2012 General Law on Climate Change requires state and municipal governments to implement programmes addressing issues like greenhouse gas inventories and adaptation and mitigation policies.
IPS visited 37 coastal municipalities in the southeastern states of Tabasco, Campeche, Yucatán...
Living in an extreme world
Posted by Hindu: T. R. Ramachandran, T.r. Shankar Raman on July 13th, 2013
Hindu: T.R. Shankar Raman
Government budget cuts threaten Pakistan’s climate change efforts
Posted by Reuters: Saleem Shaikh and Sughra Tunio on July 13th, 2013
Reuters: A sharp cut in government funds for Pakistan's main climate change agency may mean little to thousands of people in homes perched along a flood-prone river in the city of Rawalpindi. But it could tip them into crisis during the monsoon season that has just begun.
The natural river - known as Leh Nullah - doubles as a drain, and is now contaminated with rubbish and sewage. It has burst its banks several times in the past, severely damaging houses. The last time this happened was in July 2001, when...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Government budget cuts threaten Pakistan’s climate change effortsUA study: Species can’t evolve fast enough to adjust to climate change
Posted by Tucson Sentinel: Scott Coleman on July 13th, 2013
Tucson Sentinel: As temperatures around the world rise, a recent study has shown hundreds of species would need to evolve about 10,000 times faster than they have in the past to adapt to the rapid climate change expected in the next 100 years.
The study, which was led by University of Arizona ecologist John J. Wiens, analyzed the way species adapted to climate change in the past, using data from 540 living species from all major groups of terrestrial vertebrates, including amphibians, reptiles, birds and mammals,...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on UA study: Species can’t evolve fast enough to adjust to climate changeA scientific storm is brewing over the hurricane-climate connection
Posted by Grist: Chris Mooney on July 13th, 2013
Grist: It`s the month of July, right before the Atlantic hurricane season really gets chugging. And there are already signs that a busy year might be on the way, chief among them the unusual early appearance of a "Cape Verde-type" storm. These storms are typically sparked by atmospheric waves traveling all the way from the coast of Africa, and generally don`t appear until later in the hurricane season.
And suddenly, an MIT scientist - who`s arguably the world`s top expert on hurricanes - publishes a...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on A scientific storm is brewing over the hurricane-climate connectionEnbridge to increase oil flow under Straits, rally planned
Posted by LA Times: Morgan Sherburne on July 12th, 2013
LA Times: Across the Straits of Mackinac, two pipelines, called Line 5, lie.
Line 5 begins as a 30-inch pipe in Superior, Wis. It cuts across the Upper Peninsula, splitting into two 20-inch pipes to cross the Straits. After the Straits, it runs roughly down I-75 before it cuts east at Bay City, creasing the thumb before crossing the international border again at Port Huron and Sarnia, Ontario.
It also slips between Burt and Mullet lakes, cutting beneath the Indian River.
The oil it transports is a...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Enbridge to increase oil flow under Straits, rally plannedWorldwide Direct Action Campaigns Target Fossil Fuel Industry
Posted by EcoWatch: Lauren Berlekamp on July 12th, 2013
EcoWatch: As the summer heats up, awareness is quickly escalating across the world as different direct action campaigns target a common denominator: the fossil fuel industry.
Earlier this year, organizers including 350.org launched the Summer Heat and Fearless Summer campaigns, calling for a global uprising to "peacefully but firmly" stand up to the industry that is wrecking our future.
As people are joining together to embrace non-violent direct action on behalf of the climate, 350.org published the...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Worldwide Direct Action Campaigns Target Fossil Fuel Industry