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Archive for March, 2014
Researchers evaluate unprecedented environmental flow to Colorado Delta
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on March 25th, 2014
PhysOrg: University of Arizona scientists Karl Flessa and Ed Glenn and a binational team of scientists will monitor the effects of an engineered spring flood to bring water to the parched Colorado River delta.
The pulse flow of water into the dry lower reaches of the Colorado River began Sunday.
"This allocation of environmental water to the Colorado River Delta in Mexico is unprecedented," said Flessa, UA professor of geosciences and co-chief scientist of the monitoring effort. "We need to learn how...
Posted in Water Conservation 
Comments Off on Researchers evaluate unprecedented environmental flow to Colorado DeltaUnited Kingdom: Oil well safety warning for fracking
Posted by BBC: James Morgan on March 25th, 2014
BBC: Plans to expand shale gas "fracking" in the UK must learn from leaks and poor monitoring at existing onshore oil and gas sites, scientists say.
A review of 2,152 wells drilled from 1902-2013 found up to 100 "orphaned" wells for which no firm is responsible.
Only two cases of well "failure" were recorded, but legacy sites are not monitored for leaks, the authors note.
The study led by ReFINE (Researching Fracking in Europe) is published in the journal Marine and Petroleum Geology.
It is...
Dissent over key climate report
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on March 25th, 2014
BBC: Senior scientists and government officials are meeting in Japan to agree a critical report on the impacts of global warming.
Members of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) will publish their first update on the scale of the threat in seven years.
Leaked documents speak of significant impacts on economies, food supplies and security.
But some attendees say the summary, due out next Monday, is far too alarmist.
This will be the second of a trilogy of reports on the causes,...
New fracking fear: Well barrier failure likely to contaminate certain sites’ surroundings
Posted by Independent: Tom Bawden on March 25th, 2014
Independent: A small percentage of the shale gas sites drilled in the event of a UK fracking boom would probably contaminate the surrounding environment because of problems with wells, a new report has warned, adding that in some cases the damage could be exacerbated because the companies that drilled them will have gone out of business.
A Durham University study into the impact of shale gas production concludes that “it is likely that well barrier failure will occur in a small number of wells and this could...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on New fracking fear: Well barrier failure likely to contaminate certain sites’ surroundingsClimate change could devastate Africa crop yields – Responding to Climate Change
Posted by RTCC: Ed King on March 25th, 2014
RTCC: Africa could face an onslaught of crop failures, diseases and extreme weather events as a result of global warming, a UN panel of scientists is likely to warn later this week.
The findings will be discussed at a meeting of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) in Yokohoma, Japan, before their final approval and publication on March 31.
Millions could be affected as a result of coastal and urban flooding, while fresh water resources in the west and south are expected to become...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Climate change could devastate Africa crop yields – Responding to Climate ChangeDeath toll Washington state mudslide rises to 14
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on March 25th, 2014
Reuters: The confirmed death toll from a devastating weekend mudslide in Washington state climbed to 14 people on Monday as six more bodies were found, while scores of others remained listed as missing two days after the tragedy, authorities said.
The Snohomish County Sheriff's Office reported the higher casualty count hours after emergency management officials expressed doubt anyone else would be plucked alive from the muck that engulfed dozens of homes when a rain-soaked hillside near Oso, Washington,...
Global Warming Not Slowing Down, 2013 was Sixth Hottest on Record
Posted by Nature World: None Given on March 24th, 2014
Nature World: Global temperatures in 2013 were the sixth warmest on record, the World Meteorological Organization reported Monday in its annual climate statement. The year was marked by a multitude of climate events and instances of extreme weather, including Typhoon Haiyan (Yolanda) in the Philippines, one of the strongest storms ever to make landfall, extreme heatwaves in the Southern Hemisphere, drought in Africa and southern China and record high sea levels.
The temperature record for last year ties 2007...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Global Warming Not Slowing Down, 2013 was Sixth Hottest on RecordGlobal warming not stopped, will go on for centuries – WMO
Posted by Reuters: Robert Evans on March 24th, 2014
Reuters: There has been no reverse in the trend of global warming and there is still consistent evidence for man-made climate change, the head of the U.N. World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) said on Monday.
A slow-down in the average pace of warming at the planet's surface this century has been cited by "climate sceptics" as evidence that climate change is not happening at the potentially catastrophic rate predicted by a U.N. panel of scientists.
But U.N. weather agency chief Michel Jarraud said...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Global warming not stopped, will go on for centuries – WMOClimate Change May Make Terrible Mudslides More Common
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on March 24th, 2014
Atlantic: The death toll from this weekend's mudslide through Oso, Washington, is still climbing, with more than 100 still listed as missing.
The stories emerging are the definition of heart-rending. Here's one, from the Seattle Times:
One volunteer firefighter who had stopped working around 11:30 p.m. Saturday night said many tragic stories have yet to be told. He watched one rescuer find his own front door, but nothing else--not his home, his wife or his child.
They're in the "missing" category...
Wetter winters may pollute UK rivers, scientists warn
Posted by Blue and Green: Ilaria Bertini on March 24th, 2014
Blue and Green: Intense winter rainfalls might cause more agricultural chemicals to be washed away into waterways, polluting rivers and encouraging the growth of algae, according to UK academics.
Researchers from English and Welsh universities have suggested that if British winters continue to be mild and wet, much like the winter that has just ended, fertilisers and other soil chemicals from agricultural land will end up in waterways, with serious consequences.
Professor Phil Haygarth, the coordinator of...