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Archive for May, 2014
Santa Cruz becomes first California county to ban fracking
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on May 20th, 2014
Reuters: Santa Cruz on Tuesday became the first California county to ban fracking, the latest in a string of moves by local governments in the state to take a stand against the controversial oil and gas producing method.
Fracking, or hydraulic fracturing, relies on injecting water, sand and some chemicals deep beneath the earth’s surface to break up rock and free up oil and gas trapped below.
Environmentalists say the chemicals used in the process can pollute underground water supplies and cause other...
Posted in Water Conservation 
Comments Off on Santa Cruz becomes first California county to ban frackingFloods affect over 1 million in Balkans, destruction ‘terrifying.’
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on May 20th, 2014
Reuters: Bosnia said on Monday that more than a quarter of its 4 million people had been affected by the worst floods to hit the Balkans in living memory, comparing the "terrifying" destruction to that of the country's 1992-95 war.
The extent of the devastation became apparent in Serbia too, as waters receded in some of the worst-hit areas to reveal homes toppled or submerged in mud, trees felled and villages strewn with the rotting corpses of livestock.
The regional death toll reached more than 40,...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Floods affect over 1 million in Balkans, destruction ‘terrifying.’The Big Melt accelerates
Posted by New York Times: Kenneth Chang on May 20th, 2014
New York Times: Centuries from now, a large swath of the West Antarctic ice sheet is likely to be gone, its hundreds of trillions of tons of ice melted, causing a four-foot rise in already swollen seas. Scientists reported last week that the scenario may be inevitable, with new research concluding that some giant glaciers had passed the point of no return, possibly setting off a chain reaction that could doom the rest of the ice sheet. For many, the research signaled that changes in the earth’s climate have already...
The Coming El Niño Could Lead To Warmest Year On Record
Posted by SFist: None Given on May 20th, 2014
SFist: Climate scientists are all pretty well on board with the prediction that this coming winter is going to be a severe El Niño season. And for those who did not live in Northern California during the winter of '97/'98, that means we're in for some serious, non-stop rain, and a period of dreariness that will be the opposite of this shiny, sunny summer we just had. But now at least one scientist is linking El Niño to spikes in overall average temperatures around the globe, and suggesting that 2015 is...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on The Coming El Niño Could Lead To Warmest Year On RecordUS crude oil production soars, but what does it mean for Americans?
Posted by BizPac: Richard Berkow on May 20th, 2014
BizPac: Data just released by the Energy Information Agency reveals that U.S. crude oil production peaked to 8.248 million barrels per day last week, a 28-year high, thanks to the success of horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracking in North Dakota and Texas. Yet prices at the pump remain stubbornly high. What gives?
A number of factors come into play, including persistent high demand, limited refining capacity, geopolitical instability, and speculation on the international market, according to Bloomberg...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on US crude oil production soars, but what does it mean for Americans?Balkan floods threaten power plant
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on May 20th, 2014
Bloomberg: ens of thousands of people were mobilised and equipped with sandbags and barricades to defend Belgrade and a power station in a nearby satellite town, Serbia’s largest, against the rising waters of the Sava river, which have killed 47 people so far. Tens of thousands more were evacuated to emergency shelters. Authorities believe the worst could be yet to come when on Wednesday morning the flood crest of the Sava joins the Danube. Following estimates that a quarter of the population of Bosnia and...
Climate Change Impacts in United States: Summary of the New National Climate Assessment
Posted by Peter Gleick: None Given on May 20th, 2014
Peter Gleick: I previously posted a summary of the water-related conclusions from the new National Climate Assessment, recently released after three years of writing, review, and analysis. The following “findings” are a broader summary of the results from the newly released National Climate Assessment (NCA). They are by no means a full summary: far more detail can be found in the chapters and the regional syntheses, but these are noteworthy conclusions. (Note, thanks to Tim Smith – Sustainable Water Resources...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Climate Change Impacts in United States: Summary of the New National Climate AssessmentHow can we adjust to the increasing risk of wildfires?
Posted by KPCC: None Given on May 20th, 2014
KPCC: A firefighter hoses flames at the Cocos fire on May 15, 2014 in San Marcos, California. Fire agencies throughout the state are scrambling to prepare for what is expected to be a dangerous year of wildfires in this third year of extreme drought in California.
While the fires that broke out last week San Diego County are now almost fully contained, California is bracing for what could be the worst fire season ever.
This week, Governor Jerry Brown drew a direct link between climate change, the...
Steep decline in British public’s fracking support, poll shows
Posted by Blue and Green: None Given on May 20th, 2014
Blue and Green: The percentage of Britons who support fracking for shale gas has sunk to below 50%, according to the latest YouGov poll conducted on behalf of Nottingham University.
Support for shale gas has not recovered since the 58% high it reached in July 2012. This had fallen to 54% by September last year and then 53.3% by January. The latest instalment of the poll saw support fall to 49.7%.
High profile protests at a Sussex test drilling site last summer, where Green party MP Caroline Lucas was arrested,...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Steep decline in British public’s fracking support, poll showsAfrica famine: soaring food prices intensifying crisis, report warns
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on May 20th, 2014
Guardian: A volatile global food supply is deepening the humanitarian catastrophe in the Horn of Africa, the World Bank warns in a new report.
Shortages and near-historic prices for staples such as corn, wheat and sugar have magnified the impact of the drought now ravaging the Horn of Africa, the Food Price Watch report said.
"While the emergency in the Horn of Africa was triggered by prolonged droughts, especially in areas struggling with conflict and internal displacement such as Somalia, food prices...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Africa famine: soaring food prices intensifying crisis, report warns