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Archive for March 26th, 2014
Climate change makes salamanders shrink, scientists say
Posted by Christian Science Monitor: Sudeshna Chowdhury on March 26th, 2014
Christian Science Monitor: Apparently now you can measure climate change in terms of salamander size. A warmer and drier climate is causing wild Appalachian salamanders to shrink, according to a new paper titled "Widespread rapid reductions in body size of adult salamanders in response to climate change" published March 25 in the journal Global Change Biology. It all started in 1980s, when University of Maryland herpetologist Richard Highton noticed a decrease in the population of salamanders within the Appalachian Mountains....
Posted in Water Conservation 
Comments Off on Climate change makes salamanders shrink, scientists saySalamanders Are Shrinking, Thanks To Climate Change
Posted by Mother Nature Network: Jaymi Heimbuch on March 26th, 2014
Mother Nature Network: Some of the best habitats in North America for salamanders are showing strain from climate change, becoming warmer and drier as global temperatures and weather patterns shift. This means the salamanders living there, which rely on cool, moist forests, are also experiencing changes. Forced to burn more energy to deal with the changing clime, the salamanders are getting smaller in average size.
Research from the University of Maryland, published yesterday in the journal Global Change Biology, shows...
Invasive Weeds Threaten Ireland’s Waterways as Warming Temperatures Set Stage for More Growth
Posted by Nature World: None Given on March 26th, 2014
Nature World: Rising global temperatures threaten to cause a resurgence of invasive water weeds that will threaten biodiversity and hamper tourism in Europe, according to a new study.
Queen's University Belfast researchers report that a number of invasive weeds which have previously been killed off due to lower winter temperatures will thrive as global temperature increases.
Writing in the journal Diversity and Distributions, the researchers predict that over the next 70 years these invasive water weeds...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Invasive Weeds Threaten Ireland’s Waterways as Warming Temperatures Set Stage for More GrowthWashington State’s ‘Slide Hill’ Has A History Of Landslides
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on March 26th, 2014
National Public Radio: Robert Siegel speaks with Seattle Times reporter Ken Armstrong about the instability of the land in Snohomish County in Washington that was affected by the massive mudslide.
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Washington State’s ‘Slide Hill’ Has A History Of LandslidesCalifornia Drought Forces Fisheries to Truck Salmon Smolts to Sea
Posted by EcoWatch: None Given on March 26th, 2014
EcoWatch: Every year between late March and early June, roughly 30 million Chinook salmon make their way from five Central Valley hatcheries to the Pacific Ocean. This year, however, these young salmon—called smolts—face a perilous journey due to California’s enduring drought. In order to ensure that the Chinook make it all the way to the sea, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) and the U.S.Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) have adopted a drought contingency plan to transport salmon smolts...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on California Drought Forces Fisheries to Truck Salmon Smolts to SeaCoal Ash Spill Leaves Most North Carolina Voters Craving Stronger Environmental Leadership
Posted by EcoWatch: Brandon Baker on March 26th, 2014
EcoWatch: After polling North Carolina voters for three days, the Sierra Club and Hart Research Associates concluded that residents lack confidence in their state leaders after Duke Energy’s coal ash spill in February.
Nearly three-quarters of voters say the incident makes them want stronger regulations and enforcement from future candidates, and the results show no difference along partisan lines.
As Hart began conducting the survey on March 10, the Waterkeeper Alliance flew over the Duke Energy Cape...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Coal Ash Spill Leaves Most North Carolina Voters Craving Stronger Environmental LeadershipPhilippines: UN: ‘Yolanda’ tops extreme events 2013
Posted by Inquirer: None Given on March 26th, 2014
Inquirer: Rather than an act of nature, the devastation of Super Typhoon Yolanda (international name: Haiyan) in central Philippines last year is consistent with “human-induced climate change,” according to the Annual Statement on the Status of the Climate of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO). The WMO, the United Nations’ authoritative voice on the state and behavior of the Earth’s atmosphere, oceans and climate, placed Yolanda at the top of its list of key climate events in 2013. The WMO report...
Change the Course to restore one billion gallons of water to Colorado River Delta
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on March 26th, 2014
PhysOrg: Change the Course, a freshwater restoration movement, will restore 1 billion gallons of water to the Colorado River Delta to support the revitalization of wetland habitats in what was once one of the planet's great desert aquatic ecosystems. Change the Course is spearheaded by the National Geographic Society, Bonneville Environmental Foundation (BEF) and Participant Media.
Labeled as "a milk-and-honey wilderness" by the great conservationist Aldo Leopold after his trip there in 1922, the Colorado...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Change the Course to restore one billion gallons of water to Colorado River DeltaTexas Oil Spill Expected to ‘Get Much Worse’ for Wildlife
Posted by EcoWatch: None Given on March 26th, 2014
EcoWatch: The oil spill off the coast of Galveston, TX, has the potential to get a lot worse than previously expected. The 168,000 gallons of thick, sludgy fuel oil that escaped a barge—whose hull was breached after a collision with another ship—is proving extremely difficult to contain. As of yesterday morning, oil was reported as far as 12 miles from the site of the collision.
From the start, wildlife experts have said this spill could not have been in a more sensitive spot in Galveston Bay. The area,...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Texas Oil Spill Expected to ‘Get Much Worse’ for WildlifeWhy Did ICF Int’l Withdraw From Tar Sands Pipeline Contract with the State Department?
Posted by InsideClimate: Katherine Bagley on March 26th, 2014
InsideClimate: A State Department contractor for the Keystone XL that has been under attack for alleged conflicts of interest has withdrawn from contract negotiations to review a lesser-known but still controversial tar sands pipeline: Enbridge's Alberta Clipper. The unusual move has led some legal and industry experts to question whether public and political pressure against the company might have played a role in the decision. "There's no doubt it is in the back of our minds," said David McColl, an energy analyst...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Why Did ICF Int’l Withdraw From Tar Sands Pipeline Contract with the State Department?