RSS Feed
Archive for September 4th, 2013
Experts: Climate change threats Minnesota’s fisheries, from trout streams to big walleye lakes
Posted by Associated Press: Steve Karnowski on September 4th, 2013
Associated Press: Climate change threatens Minnesota's prized fisheries from North Shore trout streams to popular walleye lakes such as Mille Lacs, experts said Wednesday as the National Wildlife Federation released a national study on the risks to freshwater fish in a warming world.
"It is clear that climate change is creating new stresses on fish, whether brook trout in Appalachia, walleye in the Midwest, Apache trout in the arid Southwest, or salmon in the Pacific Northwest," the report said.
And it's not...
Posted in Water Conservation 
Comments Off on Experts: Climate change threats Minnesota’s fisheries, from trout streams to big walleye lakesNative Americans Camp Out To Protest Wis. Mining Project
Posted by National Public Radio: Chuck Qurimbach on September 4th, 2013
National Public Radio: A dispute over a proposed iron ore mine in Wisconsin has spilled into the nearby woods. Native Americans have set up a camp to protect land near the mine site and say federal treaty rights allow the campers to stay.
Copyright (c) 2013 NPR. For personal, noncommercial use only. See Terms of Use. For other uses, prior permission required.
MELISSA BLOCK, HOST:
You're listening to ALL THINGS CONSIDERED from NPR News.
In the far north of Wisconsin, near Lake Superior, some Native Americans...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Native Americans Camp Out To Protest Wis. Mining ProjectGreat Lakes shrinking: what’s the business cost?
Posted by Guardian: Russ Blinch on September 4th, 2013
Guardian: Sea levels may be rising, but North America's Great Lakes are suffering from just the opposite problem: their water levels have been falling for the last decade and a half. Borne of glacial melt – but now at the mercy of the skies for most of their nourishment – the Great Lakes have been hit hard by shorter winters and warmer summers. Water temperatures and evaporation rates have increased, while water levels have remained below average for more than 14 years.
"We have not seen anything like this...
Domestic Oil and Natural Gas Seen to Raise American Household Incomes by $1,200
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on September 4th, 2013
USA Today: Newly found sources of domestic oil and natural gas are having an even bigger impact on the economy than first projected, adding more than $1,200 last year to the discretionary income of the average U.S. family, a new study says.
The explosion in domestic energy production now supports 1.2 million jobs, directly or indirectly, says consulting firm IHS, in a study released Wednesday. That number will grow to 3.3 million by 2020, and new energy's contribution to U.S. families' disposable incomes...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Domestic Oil and Natural Gas Seen to Raise American Household Incomes by $1,200Wildfires and Climate Change
Posted by New York Times: KATE GALBRAITH on September 4th, 2013
New York Times: The huge wildfire scorching one of America’s most beloved national parks, Yosemite, has rained ash on San Francisco’s water supply and jolted the nation. Experts say this is just a foretaste of major fires to come, in the United States and much of the world. Increasing incursions by humans into forests, coupled with altered forest ecology and climate change, will make fires bigger and more destructive, with implications for air quality as well as homes and infrastructure. “We face the increased...
China finds 100,000kg of poisoned dead fish in river
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on September 4th, 2013
Associated Press: Chinese authorities have scooped up about 100,000kg (220,000lb) of dead fish they say were poisoned by ammonia from a chemical plant, environmental officials and state media said in a reminder of the pollution plaguing the country.
The Hubei province environmental protection department, which was notified of the discovery in the Fuhe river on Monday, pointed the finger at local company Hubei Shuanghuan Science and Technology Stock Co.
Officials said sampling of its drain outlet showed that...
United Kingdom: Greenpeace protesters ‘frack’ Lancashire council hall
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on September 4th, 2013
Guardian: Around 10 protesters from Greenpeace have erected a mock drilling rig outside Lancashire council hall, in protest at plans by energy company Cuadrilla to resume fracking in the county this autumn.
The action follows a similar stunt by the green group in March, when it set up a rig in the Cheshire constituency of the chancellor, George Osborne, who has been one of the most vocal backers of fracking for shale gas.
Liz Stanton, a Preston resident and Greenpeace supporter, told the Guardian that...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on United Kingdom: Greenpeace protesters ‘frack’ Lancashire council hallRadiation spike near Fukushima tanks
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on September 4th, 2013
BBC: Radiation levels around tanks storing contaminated water at Japan's crippled Fukushima nuclear plant have risen by a fifth to a new high, officials say.
Ground readings near one set of tanks stood at 2,200 millisieverts (mSv) on Tuesday, the plant operator and Japan's nuclear authority said.
Saturday's reading was 1,800 mSv.
Last month, plant operator Tokyo Electric Power Company (Tepco) said it had found highly contaminated water leaking from a storage tank.
Other leaks have also been...
Australia: Tourism council makes pre-election plea for Great Barrier Reef
Posted by Guardian: Oliver Milman on September 4th, 2013
Guardian: The peak body for Queensland's tourism industry has urged the Coalition, if it wins the election, not to be swayed by mining lobbyists looking to industrialise the Great Barrier Reef.
Daniel Gschwind, the chief executive of the Queensland Tourism Industry Council, told Guardian Australia there was concern for the reef over the growth of coal ports and increased chemical run-off. He said the council was also worried about the prospects of job losses in tourism.
"The health of the reef is of...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Australia: Tourism council makes pre-election plea for Great Barrier ReefWell-managed mangroves ‘can survive rising sea levels’
Posted by SciDevNet: None Given on September 4th, 2013
SciDevNet: The prevailing idea that sea-level rise will inevitably wipe out mangrove forests -- fragile ecosystems that protect nearby communities from natural hazards such as floods and storms -- is challenged by a recent report. Mangroves in some areas will be able to survive climate change-induced sea-level rise as they can slowly increase the level of soil in which they thrive, but only if they are managed and protected, according to 'The response of mangrove soil surface elevation to sea level rise' report....