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Archive for September 5th, 2013
Minnesota climate runs wet, then dry, then wet again
Posted by MPR News: None Given on September 5th, 2013
MPR News: New drought information suggests that Minnesota might be moving toward a "wet-dry" climate like that in parts of Africa, says Paul Huttner, senior meteorologist for MPR News. The U.S. Drought Monitor, released Thursday morning, said that more than half of Minnesota is in drought, some of it severe — "basically between Wilmar, St. Cloud and the Twin Cities, that bull's-eye right in the central part of Minnesota," Huttner said. "That drought was wiped out this spring," Huttner said. "All of the Midwest...
World set to use much more wastewater: U.N.-backed study
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on September 5th, 2013
Reuters: The world is set to use far more treated wastewater to help irrigate crops and feed a rising population as fresh water supplies dry up, a team of U.N.-backed experts said on Thursday.
A study led by Japan's Tottori University and U.N. University's Canadian-based Institute for Water, Environment and Health (UNU-INWEH) forecast "a rapid increase in the use of treated wastewater for farming and other purposes worldwide".
It did not forecast volumes, saying that many nations lack data on sewer...
Posted in Water Conservation 
Comments Off on World set to use much more wastewater: U.N.-backed studyBritish water vole population slumps by more than one-fifth, survey finds
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on September 5th, 2013
Guardian: The crystal-clear water races over the stones, a heron cries and the smell of wild mint rises on the warm air.
But there is one thing missing from this bucolic scene: the telltale swish of the reeds or sudden liquid plop that betrays a water vole.
The creature immortalised as Ratty in The Wind in the Willows is vanishing from the British countryside, with the population slumping by more than one–fifth, according to a new five-year survey.
On the banks of the River Chess in the Chilterns,...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on British water vole population slumps by more than one-fifth, survey findsEnvironmentalists say Alberta government keeping them out of oilsands hearing
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on September 5th, 2013
Canadian Press: Alberta environmentalists argued in court Thursday that the provincial government is keeping them out of hearings on a proposed oilsands development at least partly because of their concerns about the industry.
The accusation emerged in court documents filed in support of the Oilsands Environmental Coalition's bid to have a judge overturn a decision by Alberta Environment's northern region director denying the coalition the chance to present its concerns in hearings on a proposal by Southern Pacific...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Environmentalists say Alberta government keeping them out of oilsands hearingTrain or Pipeline, the Answer is the Same
Posted by Environmental News Network: Addison Del Mastro on September 5th, 2013
Environmental News Network: The catastrophic crash of an oil-carrying train in the province of Quebec last month, which devastated the town of Lac-Mégantic and killed dozens, has brought the Keystone XL pipeline into the headlines again. For many environmentalists, the train crash is just one more reminder of the risks of fossil fuel production — that the train was carrying tar sands oil was, as it were, the icing on the cake. Conversely, for many supporters of the pipeline, the train crash proves that we need Keystone. But...
How Climate Change Warmed Syria Up for War
Posted by Motherboard: None Given on September 5th, 2013
Motherboard: Most Americans' understanding of the root of the Syrian conflict boils down to something like this: Bashar al-Assad is a sociopathic maniac who'd rather mow down his own people than relinquish dictatorship. While that's undoubtedly part of the equation, there's obviously a lot more at play than that. And some of the blame, scholars argue, can be traced all the way to climate change.
As was the case with many of the nations touched by the Arab Spring, a large swath of Syria's citizenry wasn't just...