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Archive for June, 2014
California drought forces evacuation of trout hatcheries
Posted by Reuters: Sharon Bernstein on June 17th, 2014
Reuters: Millions of young rainbow and steelhead trout are being evacuated from California's most productive hatchery complex as summer heat and the state's ongoing drought combine to make the water too warm for them to survive, officials said Tuesday.
Workers clad in overalls used nets to scoop up thousands of foot-long steelhead and load them onto trucks on Tuesday, part of a weeks-long effort to move the fish to cooler lakes and streams where they will have a better chance of surviving, said Andrew...
Posted in Water Conservation 
Comments Off on California drought forces evacuation of trout hatcheriesUnited Kingdom: Drought could be on the way as experts predict ‘very little rain’
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on June 17th, 2014
Telegraph: Southern Britain could be heading towards a drought in the next fortnight, just months after experiencing the wettest winter on record.
Certain areas may have no rainfall at all in the next week to 10 days, the Met Office said, and there is a "strong signal' the dry spell will continue after that.
The Environment Agency said people should "use water wisely' to ease demand on supplies of the "precious resource".
In the UK, an absolute drought is defined as a period of at least 15 consecutive...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on United Kingdom: Drought could be on the way as experts predict ‘very little rain’California drought dries up honey supply
Posted by KQED: Alice Daniel on June 17th, 2014
KQED: These are hard times for honeybees; colonies are collapsing for reasons ranging from pesticides to parasites. And with this year`s pitiful rainfall in California, bees are facing another plight: There’s a lot less natural forage to make honey.
Second-generation beekeeper David Bradshaw pulls his truck up alongside wooden boxes of beehives on a farm outside the Central Valley town of Visalia. Soon, a loud mechanical sound – some would say a beekeeper’s buzz kill – drowns out the lively drone of...
‘Under water’: Bay Area Latinos, minorities most vulnerable to sea rise
Posted by New America Media: None Given on June 17th, 2014
New America Media: Intro: Did you know that as a result of global warming in the last century sea level has risen over 20 centimeters(7 inches)? That process is now accelerating and threatens to cause severe flooding that could affect neighborhoods with high Latino populations here in the Bay Area, as Pilar Nino reports in her special series "Under Water.'
This is the first of a two-part series. To read Part 2, click here.
Pilar Nino:There's no doubt that our proximity to the ocean is one of the major attractions...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on ‘Under water’: Bay Area Latinos, minorities most vulnerable to sea riseClimate change takes toll on Mount Kilimanjaro ice cap
Posted by Daily News: None Given on June 17th, 2014
Daily News: DEPUTY Minister in the Vice-President’s Office (Environment), Ms Ummy Mwalimu, has said that Mount Kilimanjaro has from 1912 to date lost almost 30 per cent of its ice.
Ms Mwalimu told the National Assembly that ice melting at the cap of the mountain was attributed to global warming, according to a research conducted by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).
She was answering a question from Rajab Mbarouk Mohamed (Ole-CUF) who wanted to know about efforts taken by the government...
Delaware gets millions to help beaches, wetlands
Posted by Deleware Online: Molly Murray on June 17th, 2014
Deleware Online: Three wetlands, Bombay Hook, Mispillion Harbor and the marshes near Little Creek, will be part of a $102.7 million federal initiative to build storm and sea-level-rise resilience by using green infrastructure - such as beaches and wetlands - to minimize the impact of flooding, coastal destruction and storm surge.
Each of the grants, announced Monday, includes matching dollars to bring the total spending in Delaware to $11.4 million.
The Delaware projects include:
"¢ $4.5 million to restore...
How much America spends putting out wildfires
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on June 17th, 2014
Mother Jones: The central California wildfire that yesterday destroyed three homes and forced hundreds of evacuations is just the latest blaze to strain the nation's overburdened federal firefighting system. According to the latest official update, by Monday evening the Shirley Fire had consumed 2,600 acres near Sequoia National Forest and cost over $4 million, as more than 1,000 firefighters scrambled to contain it.
This year, in the midst of severe drought across the West, top wildfire managers in Washington...
N.J. gets $25M in grants for shore restoration
Posted by Record: James M. O'neill on June 17th, 2014
Record: New Jersey was awarded more than $25 million in federal grants Monday for 13 projects designed to reduce the vulnerability of coastal communities to storms, rising sea levels, flooding and erosion. The projects were among 54 along the Atlantic Coast that received $100 million in grants for states that had been hit hard by Superstorm Sandy in 2012. The largest grant in New Jersey was $4.7 million awarded to the American Littoral Society to restore 50 acres of Delaware Bay wetlands and 6 miles of...
Australia sees chance of El Niño at 70 percent, some signs ease
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on June 17th, 2014
Reuters: Australia's weather bureau said on Tuesday the chance of an El Nino forming over the next few months remains at 70 percent, though the agency said some key indicators associated with the weather pattern had eased in recent weeks.
"We still believe an El Nino is likely," Andrew Watkins, Supervisor Climate Prediction at the Australian Bureau of Meteorology, said.
"The recent observations may suggest a later El Nino and it has perhaps reduced the chance of very strong El Nino like we saw in 1997/1998."...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Australia sees chance of El Niño at 70 percent, some signs easeUnited Kingdom: MPs condemn exemption of small retailers from plastic bag charge
Posted by Guardian: Fiona Harvey, on June 17th, 2014
Guardian: Government plans for a 5p charge on single-use plastic bags, aimed at discouraging their use, have been sharply criticised by MPs for not going far enough.
The influential environmental audit select committee published its report on the plans on Tuesday, accusing the government of ignoring calls to force all retailers to apply the charge. Ministers have decided to exempt small retailers, arguing it would be unfair and costly to small businesses such as corner shops.
But the MPs said that excluding...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on United Kingdom: MPs condemn exemption of small retailers from plastic bag charge