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Archive for July, 2013
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 farmersVertebrates Evolve “10,000 Times faster” to Adapt to Climate Change
Posted by Nature World News: None Given on July 10th, 2013
Nature World News: To live on a warmer earth in the future, many vertebrates would have to evolve about 10,000 times faster than they have in the past, according to a new study.
Animals and plants adapt to survive. But, to match - up with the current changes in the environment, they'd have to evolve much faster than they do now. The study was conducted by a team of researchers led by John J. Wiens, an ecologist from University of Arizona.
According to a recent International Union for Conservation of Nature, about...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Vertebrates Evolve “10,000 Times faster” to Adapt to Climate ChangeWildfire Emissions Plays Greater Role In Climate Change Than Previous Believed
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on July 10th, 2013
RedOrbit: Emissions produced as a result of wildfires could be playing a greater role in global warming than experts had previously believed, according to new research published Tuesday in the journal Nature Communications.
Climate scientists had long known that wildfires produce a mixture of carbon-containing particles. However, measurements taken by researchers from the Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) and Michigan Technological University during the massive 2011 Las Conchas fire in New Mexico revealed...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Wildfire Emissions Plays Greater Role In Climate Change Than Previous BelievedSlug poison found in one in eight of England’s drinking water sources
Posted by Guardian: Karl Mathiesen on July 10th, 2013
Guardian: Slug poison was found in one in eight rivers and reservoirs used for drinking water in England and Wales according to the Environment Agency's (EA) most recent survey, prompting environmentalists to call for greater use of natural predators instead of chemicals.
The EA told the Guardian that between 2009 and 2011 concentrations of metaldehyde, used by farmers to protect their crops from slugs, were found in 81 of 647 reservoirs, rivers and groundwater from which drinking water is sourced. The...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Slug poison found in one in eight of England’s drinking water sourcesAustralia: Great Barrier Reef’s condition declined from moderate to poor in 2011
Posted by Guardian: Oliver Laughland on July 10th, 2013
Guardian: An alarming set of reports on the condition of the Great Barrier Reef published on Wednesday say its overall condition in 2011 declined from moderate to poor, and highlights that reef-wide coral cover has declined by 50% since 1985.
The series of reports blame part of the reef's poor health in 2011 on extreme weather conditions including tropical cyclone Yasi, and high rainfall which resulted in "higher than average discharge" from a number of river catchments runoffs.
The Great Barrier Reef...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Australia: Great Barrier Reef’s condition declined from moderate to poor in 2011Droughts could hit food production in England in 2020s, report warns
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on July 10th, 2013
Guardian: Droughts could devastate food production in the England by the 2020s, according to a report from the government's official climate change advisers. Without action, increasingly hot and dry summers may mean farmers will face shortfalls of 50% of the water they currently use to grow crops. The report, from the climate change committee (CCC), also warns that current farming practices may be allowing the country's richest soils to be washed or blown away.
The future risks to England's food supply...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Droughts could hit food production in England in 2020s, report warnsExplosion at West Virginia fracking site seriously injures four
Posted by Grist: John Upton on July 9th, 2013
Grist: Federal investigators are trying to figure out what caused an explosion at a West Virginia fracking site over the weekend. The blast injured at least seven people, including four workers who were sent to a hospital with life-threatening burns.
Residents and activists have long complained about safety practices by frackers operating in the state, where they draw natural gas from the Marcellus shale formation. Traffic accidents involving trucks traveling to and from frack sites in the state are...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Explosion at West Virginia fracking site seriously injures four