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Archive for January, 2014
‘Blame changing landscapes for flood risk, not global warming.’
Posted by NGR Guardian: None Given on January 26th, 2014
NGR Guardian: MAJOR flood events occur around the world every year, but with international loss databases documenting increased incidents of flooding, more material loss and greater fatality rates are these events on the increase, and are they getting worse? A new study published in Hydrological Sciences Journal examines the key reasons for increasing frequency and severity of floods; considering whether this is due to improved reporting by the media, an increasing and expanding global population, or whether...
Posted in Water Conservation 
Comments Off on ‘Blame changing landscapes for flood risk, not global warming.’Combatting sea level rise requires complex policy planning
Posted by South Coast Today: Ariel Wittenberg on January 26th, 2014
South Coast Today: Pressure for governments to find new ways to combat climate change is rising with the tide.
That's the subject of a book by UMass Dartmouth Professor Chad McGuire about law and policy considerations governments must take when facing sea level rise.
While many may think that simply renourishing beaches or building more sea walls could solve the problem, McGuire says the challenge is far more complex.
"The problem with sea level rise is that it presents us with a new reality, a new set of...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Combatting sea level rise requires complex policy planningUK weather: flood warnings as further heavy rain expected lash Britain
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on January 26th, 2014
Telegraph: Forecasters are warning of more heavy rain in south west England and further flooding on the Somerset Levels.
The Met Office has issued an amber warning of severe weather for the south west and the Environment Agency has issued more than 100 flood alerts and 10 more serious flood warnings in the region, which mean flooding is expected and immediate action is required.
Somerset County Council has declared a "major incident" for all areas affected by flooding in the county.
Deputy chief executive...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on UK weather: flood warnings as further heavy rain expected lash BritainPakistan worst affected by climate change’
Posted by Daily Times: Amar Guriro on January 26th, 2014
Daily Times: Agriculture is extremely vulnerable to climate change globally and in Pakistan, which is the one of the worst hit countries of climate change, agriculture is badly affected, said climate change experts and nature conservationists on Saturday.
Addressing a conference on climate change organised by the Habib University, experts said water availability, food security and human healthcare were most likely to be negatively affected by climate change, ie, erratic weather patterns, changing rainfall...
California’s drought, times three
Posted by LA Times: Editorial on January 26th, 2014
LA Times: Southern Californians are facing not one drought but three, interconnected yet distinct, each bringing its own hazards and each requiring its own emergency and long-term responses.
The first drought is regional, caused by the lack of rain in our own mountains and our own backyards. In normal winters -- or rather those we have come to accept as normal -- storms blow south from the Gulf of Alaska, churning in a counterclockwise direction and keeping much of their stored water in the air until they...
Chemical tanks ordered removed in West Virginia after spill
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on January 26th, 2014
Reuters: The company whose storage tank spilled a chemical that tainted the water supply of 300,000 people in West Virginia must begin removing its above-ground storage tanks by March 15, Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin ordered on Saturday.
Freedom Industries must dismantle and remove 17 tanks and related equipment at its coal processing plant in Charleston, West Virginia, under Tomblin's directive, part of a consent order signed by the company's president and the state's Department of Environmental Protection....
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Chemical tanks ordered removed in West Virginia after spillCalifornia drought: Past dry periods have lasted more than 200 years, scientists say
Posted by Mercury: Paul Rogers on January 25th, 2014
Mercury: California's current drought is being billed as the driest period in the state's recorded rainfall history. But scientists who study the West's long-term climate patterns say the state has been parched for much longer stretches before that 163-year historical period began.
And they worry that the "megadroughts" typical of California's earlier history could come again.
Through studies of tree rings, sediment and other natural evidence, researchers have documented multiple droughts in California...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on California drought: Past dry periods have lasted more than 200 years, scientists sayNASA picture reveals shocking impact of California’s drought
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on January 25th, 2014
Mongabay: A pair of satellite images released this week by NASA reveal the shocking impact of California's drought, which is now entering its third year.
The images, captured January 18, 2013 and January 18, 2014 with the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Terra satellite, show a steep decline in snow cover across the Sierra Nevada, Coast Range, and Cascade Mountains. Both the Sacramento and San Joaquin valleys appeared parched, with a noticeable drop in greenness.
"The most...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on NASA picture reveals shocking impact of California’s droughtAntarctic Discovery: A Massive Valley Under The Ice
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on January 25th, 2014
National Public Radio: Not long ago, researchers found something amazing under the ice of West Antarctica: A valley deeper than the Grand Canyon, measuring about two miles deep, 15 miles across, and nearly 200 miles long. Neil Ross, lead author of the , wasn't looking for the valley — he found it by accident. Ross spends most of his time in Antarctica measuring the thickness of the ice sheet and surveying features below the surface using radar technology. The expeditions last for weeks or even months. "It's a mix of...
Climate change: Food security should be top priority for Pakistan
Posted by Dawn: None Given on January 25th, 2014
Dawn: Experts from various disciplines gathered at the Climate Change Conference in Karachi stressed a dire need for research on the issue in Pakistan as it ranked amongst countries highly vulnerable to the phenomena.
The conference, organised by Habib University, highlighted the urgent need to incorporate climate change adaptation into the national climate policy. The keynote speaker, Dr Bruce McCarl, a disitinguised professor of Agricultural Economic at Texas A&M University, sounded the alarm and...
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