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Archive for May, 2014
Global warming: It’s a point of no return in West Antarctica. What happens next?
Posted by Observer: Eric Rignot on May 18th, 2014
Observer: ay, we hosted a Nasa conference on the state of the West Antarctic ice sheet, which, it could be said, provoked something of a reaction. "This Is What a Holy Shit Moment for Global Warming Looks Like," ran a headline in Mother Jones magazine.
We announced that we had collected enough observations to conclude that the retreat of ice in the Amundsen sea sector of West Antarctica was unstoppable, with major consequences – it will mean that sea levels will rise one metre worldwide. What's more, its...
Posted in Water Conservation 
Comments Off on Global warming: It’s a point of no return in West Antarctica. What happens next?What’s exceptional about the current drought — and what isn’t
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on May 18th, 2014
Washington Post: Half of the country is currently in some state of drought. In California right now, the entire state is in a state of drought. But despite what you may have read, neither of those particular points of data is cause to panic.
One of the charges leveled against people advocating political action on climate change is that they're "alarmist," prone to exaggerating the effects of extreme weather. In April, Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) used the term to rebut arguments on climate change; in the wake of the...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on What’s exceptional about the current drought — and what isn’tGlobal warming behind loss in area of glaciers in Himalayas
Posted by AMT: None Given on May 18th, 2014
AMT: The second international conference on ‘Cryosphere of the Hindu Kush Himalayas: State of Knowledge’ organised by International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development with the support of the Royal Norwegian Embassy and the Embassy of the United States in Kathmandu has launched a publication titled Status and Decadal Glacier Change from 1980s to 2010 in Nepal based on Satellite Data.
The 100-page research report provides an analysis of four decades of glacier data from Nepal. In addition, ICIMOD...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Global warming behind loss in area of glaciers in HimalayasJerry Brown says ‘virtually no Republican’ believes climate change science
Posted by Politifact: None Given on May 18th, 2014
Politifact: California Gov. Jerry Brown claimed that virtually no Republicans believe in climate change science.
More than 1,500 wildfires have ravaged California so far in 2014, more than twice the state sees in an average year. On ABC's This Week, Gov. Jerry Brown, a Democrat, cited scientific research that links the increased number of fires to the state's changing climate.
Host George Stephanopoulos asked Brown how he'd adapt to the future, given skepticism among Republicans in Washington. Short answer:...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Jerry Brown says ‘virtually no Republican’ believes climate change scienceUnprecedented BC glacier melt seeps into US climate change concerns
Posted by CBC: None Given on May 18th, 2014
CBC: The mountains of British Columbia cradle glaciers that have scored the landscape over millennia, shaping the rugged West Coast since long before it was the West Coast.
But they're in rapid retreat, and an American state-of-the-union report on climate change has singled out the rapid melt in British Columbia and Alaska as a major climate change issue.
"Most glaciers in Alaska and British Columbia are shrinking substantially," said the U.S. National Climate Assessment, released last week to much...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Unprecedented BC glacier melt seeps into US climate change concernsOpponents to South LA oil drilling say AllenCo upgrades won’t be enough
Posted by Intersection: None Given on May 18th, 2014
Intersection: For months South L.A. community members complained of foul odors coming from their neighbor: AllenCo Energy Inc., an urban oil drilling site. After more than 200 complaints and a four-month investigation by the Environmental Protection Agency, the company agreed to spend $700,000 to improve their site. Yet the South L.A. community that has been opposing AllenCo’s operations says those upgrades still won’t mitigate the health consequences. “They really shouldn’t be there at all,” said Ashley Kissinger,...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Opponents to South LA oil drilling say AllenCo upgrades won’t be enoughWildfires worse due global warming, studies say
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on May 18th, 2014
Associated Press: The devastating wildfires scorching Southern California offer a glimpse of a warmer and more fiery future, according to scientists and federal and international reports. In the past three months, at least three different studies and reports have warned that wildfires are getting bigger, that man-made climate change is to blame, and it's only going to get worse with more fires starting earlier in the year. While scientists are reluctant to blame global warming for any specific fire, they have been...
Delta advocates oppose Senator Feinstein’s bailout for agribusiness bill
Posted by IndyBay: None Given on May 18th, 2014
IndyBay: Senator Dianne Feinstein is sponsoring a emergency drought relief bill, S 2918, that will enable more Delta water to be exported to corporate agribusiness interests on the west side of the San Joaquin Valley during the current drought. In a statement in April, Feinstein portrayed the legislation as a necessary measure to alleviate harm to the agricultural economy during a drought. “More than 800,000 acres of California farmland will likely be fallowed," Feinstein claimed. "California’s economy...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Delta advocates oppose Senator Feinstein’s bailout for agribusiness billRussia, EU join aid effort in wake of Balkan floods
Posted by Al Jazeera: None Given on May 18th, 2014
Al Jazeera: Russian cargo planes and rescue teams from around Europe on Sunday joined volunteer efforts to provide aid across large swathes of Serbia and Bosnia and parts of eastern Croatia, where at least 24 people have died in the worst floods in over a century.
“These are the kind of waters not seen in 1,000 years, let alone 100,” Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic told a televised cabinet session Sunday.
Two Russian Ilyushin-26 cargo planes landed in Serbia carrying food, generators and rescue...
Governor Warns Fires Will Get Worse
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on May 18th, 2014
Associated Press: The wildfires that caused more than $20 million in damage in the San Diego area in recent days are just the beginning.
That warning comes today from California Gov. Jerry Brown, who tells ABC's "This Week" that the state is preparing for its worst wildfire season ever.
California, which has been plagued by drought, has 5,000 firefighters and has budgeted $600 million to battling fires.
But Brown says he expects the state will need thousands of more firefighters in the future. He says the...