RSS Feed
Archive for September 18th, 2013
Estimates put Arctic ice melting by 2050
Posted by Financial Times: None Given on September 18th, 2013
Financial Times: The Arctic’s summer sea ice is set to nearly vanish in less than 40 years, according to the final draft of a sweeping UN climate change report that sharply revises past estimates of how fast the icy north is melting. “A nearly ice-free Arctic Ocean in September before mid-century is likely,” says the draft seen by the Financial Times of the first large-scale study in six years by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. The retreating ice is encouraging for Arctic nations such as Russia,...
Climate costs rise like sea levels with delayed action on climate change
Posted by Hill: Sandra Bridges on September 18th, 2013
Hill: Many of the readers have visited Charleston’s Market, just a couple blocks from the harbor, where my business is located. Tourism is our lifeblood as it is for our city. So when our low-lying area of Charleston is flooded from heavy rain and tourists think twice before wading through more than a foot of water to shop, I’m concerned and very worried about even worse flooding problems in the future.
Charleston, like all of South Carolina’s coastal tourism communities, is significantly threatened...
Posted in Water Conservation 
Comments Off on Climate costs rise like sea levels with delayed action on climate changePennsylvania State Senator Announces Fracking Moratorium Legislation
Posted by EcoWatch: Laura Beans on September 18th, 2013
EcoWatch: At a press event today, State Senator Jim Ferlo (D-Pittsburgh) announced the introduction of the Natural Gas Drilling Moratorium Act, Senate Bill 1100, that would place a moratorium on issuing new permits for fracking in Pennsylvania. He was joined by PennEnvironment, Food & Water Watch, other community and environmental advocacy groups, and concerned citizens.
“Since the advent of the shale gas industry in Pennsylvania, I have advocated for a more cautious approach to natural gas extraction from...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Pennsylvania State Senator Announces Fracking Moratorium LegislationAmid drought, a water fight spills into legal territory
Posted by New York Times: Neena Satija on September 18th, 2013
New York Times: As Texas' rivers run dry and lakes fall to record low levels, part of the fight over water supplies is moving underground.
Neighbors who pump water from the same formations beneath their land have long argued over that water. But the stakes are rising as cities and industries see groundwater as a solution to the demands of explosive population growth.
But Texas law governing groundwater is murky, and a recent state appeals court decision signals that only years of expensive legal battles will...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Amid drought, a water fight spills into legal territoryLocal control is an issue as Utica Shale drilling ramps up in Ohio
Posted by EnergyWire: Peter Behr on September 18th, 2013
EnergyWire: A new "anti-fracking" initiative has been put on this city's municipal ballot for a November vote, as environmental activists attempt to block development of the Utica Shale play before production accelerates next year in eastern Ohio.
Backers of the proposed "Community Bill of Rights" charter amendment here hope to capitalize on public reaction to the ongoing prosecution of a firm accused of dumping thousands of gallons of fracking wastewater into the city's storm sewer last winter. State inspectors...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Local control is an issue as Utica Shale drilling ramps up in OhioIn Australia, an uphill battle to rein in the power of coal
Posted by Yale Environment 360: Samiha Shafy on September 18th, 2013
Yale Environment 360: The lucky country, as Australians call their homeland, sits on enormous deposits of natural resources: uranium, zinc, iron ore, lead, bauxite, copper, gold, manganese, and nickel. But among its greatest assets are the world‘s fourth-largest coal reserves -- an estimated 76.4 billion tons, or 9 percent of global reserves.
Coal mining has powered the Australian economy for decades. In recent years, thanks to the seemingly insatiable energy appetite of China and other Asian countries, Australia’s...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on In Australia, an uphill battle to rein in the power of coalMelt from below helping shrink Antarctic glaciers
Posted by LiveScience: Charles Q. Choi on September 18th, 2013
LiveScience: The ice that Antarctica is losing as chunks break off the continent's many glaciers may be only the tip of the iceberg. Scientists now find much of the ice Antarctica loses is due to melting from the undersides of ice shelves. During the last decade, the Antarctic ice sheet has been melting an increasing amount each year, mostly in the western portion of the continent. Most of the ice Antarctica loses is replaced by snowfall, but any ice that is not replaced adds to a rise in global sea level. ...
Heatwave & wildfires worsened Colorado flooding
Posted by New Scientist: Alyssa A. Botelho on September 18th, 2013
New Scientist: A truly ferocious and exceptional event. That is how Kevin Trenberth of the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, Colorado, describes the storm that pummelled his state last week.
"This was a once-in-1000-year rainfall," he says, meaning that the storm was of such an intensity and duration that it had a 1-in-1000 chance of occurring in any given year in Colorado.
The rains and subsequent floods have so far killed eight people, displaced 11,750 and destroyed close to 18,000 homes....
Chaos as floods submerge Mexico’s Acapulco, death toll rises
Posted by Reuters: Alberto Fajardo and Luis Enrique Martinez on September 18th, 2013
Reuters: Mexico's famous beach resort of Acapulco was in chaos on Tuesday as hotels rationed food for thousands of stranded tourists and floodwaters swallowed homes and cars after some of the most damaging storms in decades killed at least 55 people across the country.
Television footage showed Acapulco's international airport terminal waist deep in water and workers wading out to escape floods that have prevented some 40,000 visitors from leaving and blocked one of the main access routes to the city with...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Chaos as floods submerge Mexico’s Acapulco, death toll risesCanada: Flood will cost City of Toronto more than $60 million
Posted by Toronto Star: Kim Nursall on September 18th, 2013
Toronto Star: The severe summer storm that flooded Toronto’s subway system, spewing water from manholes and causing widespread erosion to ravines, parks and roadways will have cost the city more than $60 million when all is said and done, says a recent report by the city manager.
Joseph Pennachetti says the July 8 storm highlighted major deficiencies in Toronto’s storm water infrastructure, and calls on the provincial and federal governments to help cover the costs of improvements.
Pennachetti’s report estimates...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Canada: Flood will cost City of Toronto more than $60 million