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Archive for March 31st, 2014
California Snowpack Measure Could Reveal Future of Drought
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on March 31st, 2014
National Geographic: Surveyors will ski into the Sierra Nevada mountains Tuesday to perform what has become an anxiously watched rite of spring in drought-stricken California: measuring snow to determine how much water will flow to the state this year.
A critical measure of a precious resource, April's survey will influence whether the state's water officials declare that the drought is easing or that it persists. At stake is the fate of summer water deliveries to farms and cities. elated: "Could California's Drought...
Posted in Water Conservation 
Comments Off on California Snowpack Measure Could Reveal Future of DroughtBrief lives linked to Amazon biodiversity
Posted by Mongabay: Morgan Erickson-Davis on March 31st, 2014
Mongabay: The South American Amazon rainforest is renowned for being one of the most biodiverse ecosystems on the planet, boasting an estimated 16,000 different tree species. However, the distribution of these diverse tree species is curiously uneven throughout the expansive forest. Some areas of trees, commonly called clades, can contain hundreds of different species while others contain only a few. What is the reason behind this irregular diversity? According to a new study headed by Tim Baker and published...
U.S. allows partial restart of Exxon pipeline a year after spill
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on March 31st, 2014
Reuters: A U.S. regulator on Monday allowed Exxon Mobil Corp to restart operations on the Texas leg of its Pegasus pipeline, which spilled thousands of barrels of oil into a residential area in Arkansas last year. The Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) approved Exxon's restart plan for a 210-mile (338-km) stretch of the pipeline from Corsicana to Nederland at 80 percent of the operating pressure in place before the March 29, 2013 incident in the small town of Mayflower, Arkansas....
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on U.S. allows partial restart of Exxon pipeline a year after spillEffect of important air pollutants may be absent from key precipitation observations
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on March 31st, 2014
ScienceDaily: Pioneering new research from the University of Exeter could have a major impact on climate and environmental science by drastically transforming the perceived reliability of key observations of precipitation, which includes rain, sleet and snow.
The ground breaking study examines the effect that increased aerosol concentrations in the atmosphere, emitted as a result of burning fossil fuels, had on regional temperature and precipitation levels.
Scientists from Exeter's Mathematics department...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Effect of important air pollutants may be absent from key precipitation observationsUN scientists tell us, ready or not, here comes climate change
Posted by PRI: None Given on March 31st, 2014
PRI: That's one way to summarize the latest message from the world's largest group of climate change scientists.
A new report from the UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change is out and makes it clearer than ever that global warming is already changing the world and affecting our lives, and that the impacts are only going to get worse. The report contains a litany of sobering impacts, from too much water some places, to too little water elsewhere, shifting disease risks, failing infrastructure...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on UN scientists tell us, ready or not, here comes climate changeAs oil shipments rise on rails, California cities fight to be heard
Posted by McClatchy: Curtis Tate and Tony Bizjak on March 31st, 2014
McClatchy: As rail shipments of crude oil have risen in Northern California, so has opposition in many communities along rail lines and near the refineries they supply.
Concerned about the potential safety and environmental hazards of 100-car trains of oil rolling through population centers, leaders from Sacramento to San Jose say they're banding together to present a unified voice for "up-line" cities: communities that could bear some of the highest risks as California turns toward rail shipments to quench...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on As oil shipments rise on rails, California cities fight to be heardWhat the U.N.’s new climate report says about North America
Posted by Grist: John Upton on March 31st, 2014
Grist: Global warming is a global crisis, but the effects of climate change are being felt differently in different corners of the globe. The latest report from the U.N. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change warns of a world wracked by hunger, violence, and extinctions. But the IPCC also dedicates chapters to impacts that are underway and anticipated in individual regions and continents.
For North America, the report states there is “high confidence” of links between climate change and rising temperatures,...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on What the U.N.’s new climate report says about North AmericaIPCC Issues Stark Report On Present and Future Climate Impacts
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on March 31st, 2014
Yale Environment 360: Rapidly rising levels of greenhouse gases are already having a major impact on the earth’s natural systems and the problem is likely to grow significantly worse unless these emissions are brought under control, according to a new report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). The report, released in Yokohama, Japan, said that steadily rising temperatures are melting polar ice caps, sharply diminishing Arctic sea ice, intensifying heat waves and heavy rains, causing the death of coral...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on IPCC Issues Stark Report On Present and Future Climate ImpactsReport Reveals High Risk, No Reward Enbridge Tar Sands Pipeline Expansion
Posted by EcoWatch: None Given on March 31st, 2014
EcoWatch: A new report released today by the Sierra Club and a coalition of 13 other organizations, including the Indigenous Environmental Network, examines the proposed expansion of the Alberta Clipper tar sands pipeline and concludes that there are significant threats to water, health and climate. The report, All Risk, No Reward: The Alberta Clipper Tar Sands Pipeline Expansion, comes in advance of a rally to stop the Alberta Clipper expansion that will take place before the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Report Reveals High Risk, No Reward Enbridge Tar Sands Pipeline ExpansionClimate catastrophes other countries will hit UK food security, experts say
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on March 31st, 2014
Guardian: Britain can expect more droughts, heatwaves, storms surges and floods from climate change but may be most impacted by climate shocks in other countries, according to leading business analysts responding to UN climate science report released on Monday.
With nearly 40% of all UK food imported to feed a population of about 63m and overseas assets worth trillions of dollars, the UK is particularly exposed to climate change, says Celine Herweijer, a member of the climate change team at PWC.
"The...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Climate catastrophes other countries will hit UK food security, experts say