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Archive for June, 2014
Epic drought in California unlikely to ease
Posted by ClimateWire: Gayathri Vaidyanathan on June 21st, 2014
ClimateWire: California will remain in the stranglehold of drought at least until September, even as a climate system in the tropical Pacific Ocean that would have brought rainfall to the parched state appears to be weakening, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's monthly climate update released yesterday.
Weather watchers had been hoping that an El Niño, which occurs when an area of the tropical Pacific Ocean warms by at least 0.5 degrees Celsius above normal, would bring moisture...
Australia: It’s the season for reason in climate of discontent
Posted by Sydney Morning Herald: Suzy Freeman-Greene on June 21st, 2014
Sydney Morning Herald: What`s happened to the seasons? It`s June but my backyard plum tree sprouts blossom while wearing a mantle of yet-to-fall leaves. Basil -- a summer herb -- is only just dying off in the tardy cold. Spring bulbs started coming up in a neighbour`s garden in May.
Bushfires in October. Sunburn in late autumn. The weather's changing and we monitor it furiously on phones and websites. Does this checking of hourly temperatures and rain forecasts offer a semblance of control when so much seems out of...
Posted in Water Conservation 
Comments Off on Australia: It’s the season for reason in climate of discontentSiberia Global Warming Meets Lukewarm Reaction in Russia
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on June 21st, 2014
Inter Press Service: People in Siberia must prepare to face frequent repeats of recent devastating floods as well as other natural disasters, scientists and ecologists are warning, amid growing evidence of the effects of global warming on one of the world’s most ecologically diverse regions. More than 50,000 people were affected by floods in the Altai region and Khakassia and Altai republics in southern Siberia at the end of May and early June. These came just over half a year since the worst floods in Siberia in living...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Siberia Global Warming Meets Lukewarm Reaction in RussiaIraq Crisis Should Make Us Thankful For America’s Oil Boom
Posted by Slate: None Given on June 21st, 2014
Slate: But the quiet response is also a sign of something bigger. It's a subtle demonstration of how North America's fracking-fueled oil boom is paying dividends by making the world market more resilient.
Energy traders always add a fear premium onto oil. When instability (a raging civil war, for instance) hits a major petro-producer, prices race up, as buyers start to fret about potential nightmare scenarios that would cut off their supply. In the case of Iraq, that might mean attacks on pipelines or...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Iraq Crisis Should Make Us Thankful For America’s Oil BoomHelp Stop Massive Clearcut Project Adjacent Yosemite National Park
Posted by EcoWatch: None Given on June 20th, 2014
EcoWatch: Add your name to the growing list of people urging President Obama to protect the greater Yosemite ecosystem from post-fire salvage logging. In a warming world, we must act to foster a healthy regeneration of fire-affected forests and unroaded areas, protect endangered species susceptible to climate change and logging, and maintain the scenic resources of the region around Yosemite National Park for future generations.
Signing this petition sends an email to President Obama, Chief of the U.S....
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Help Stop Massive Clearcut Project Adjacent Yosemite National ParkPennsylvania ordered its health workers to never discuss fracking
Posted by Grist: John Upton on June 20th, 2014
Grist: In the heavily fracked Keystone State, the economic interests of frackers trump the health concerns of residents.
That much is abundantly clear in the wake of an extraordinary story by StateImpact Pennsylvania, which interviewed two retired state health department workers. The former workers say they were ordered to not return the phone calls of residents who complained that nearby fracking was harming their health. Instead, they were told to pass messages on to their superiors, who apparently...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Pennsylvania ordered its health workers to never discuss frackingPennsylvania Sues Dozens of Big Oil Companies for Gasoline Leak Cleanups
Posted by Trib Live: Mark Thompson on June 20th, 2014
Trib Live: Pennsylvania on Thursday sued dozens of oil companies to recoup hundreds of millions of dollars spent cleaning gasoline spills that contaminated groundwater across the state.
One of two lawsuits follows the lead of other states, some of which have won multimillion-dollar judgments on complaints that the companies used the fuel additive MTBE, which they knew was dangerous and would leak from underground storage tanks. The other lawsuit claims companies improperly took money from a state recovery...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Pennsylvania Sues Dozens of Big Oil Companies for Gasoline Leak CleanupsPutin’s revenge—anti-fracking protests in Europe
Posted by Quartz: Steve LeVine on June 20th, 2014
Quartz: For years, Russian president Vladimir Putin has bitterly alleged a foreign conspiracy to undermine his rule. Western-funded private organizations, he has said, were fomenting protests and supporting his opponents. Now it turns out that Putin himself may be funding protest groups in Europe.
In a London appearance on June 19, Anders Rasmussen, the secretary-general of NATO, accused Russia of secretly funding European non-governmental organizations (NGOs) that oppose hydraulic fracturing (or "fracking"),...
Ancient Chinese anti-flooding efforts blamed for deadly Yellow river flooding
Posted by Blue and Green: Tom Revell on June 20th, 2014
Blue and Green: A combination of human-caused environmental degradation and efforts to control the great Yellow river in China, made almost 3,000 years ago, may be responsible for flooding that killed millions and led to the fall of an empire, according to new research.
In what could be considered a grim lesson from history of the importance of responsible land use, archeologists in China have found evidence that societies changed their environments much earlier than previously believed.
"Human intervention...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Ancient Chinese anti-flooding efforts blamed for deadly Yellow river floodingIs Russia trying to stop Europe fracking?
Posted by CNN: Mark Thompson on June 20th, 2014
CNN: Just how far will Moscow go to keep Europe hooked on its natural gas?
NATO says Russia is working with activists who are trying to stop shale gas projects that are part of the region's plans to diversify its energy supply.
"I have met allies who can report that Russia, as part of their sophisticated information and disinformation operations, engages actively with so called non-governmental organizations, environmental organizations working against shale gas -- obviously to maintain European...