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Archive for July, 2014
Record-Setting Drought Intensifies Parched California
Posted by Climate Central: Andrea Thompson on July 31st, 2014
Climate Central: The relentless heat that has plagued the western half of the country this summer has ratcheted up California's terrible drought once again, bringing it to record levels. More than half of the state is in "exceptional' drought, the highest category recognized by the U.S. Drought Monitor, which released its latest update on Thursday.
The progression of the drought in California through the spring and summer of 2014, as the two highest categories, extreme and exceptional drought, grew.
"The heat...
Indian media: Deforestation behind deadly Pune landslide
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on July 31st, 2014
BBC: Environmentalists feel that deforestation may have triggered Wednesday's landslide in western India that killed at least 30 people and left up to 200 trapped, papers report. Teams of emergency workers have so far rescued eight people in Malin village, near the city of Pune in Maharashtra state, where the disaster happened. Environmentalist Satish Thigale tells The Times of India that "a large-scale deforestation had made the place vulnerable". Mr Thigale, who is the former head of the geology...
Posted in Water Conservation 
Comments Off on Indian media: Deforestation behind deadly Pune landslideWant stop worst effects global warming? Give up beef rather than car
Posted by Daily Kos: VL Baker on July 30th, 2014
Daily Kos: Droughts, floods, ocean acidification, rising seas, loss of species etcetera; we are hearing about the severe effects of global warming on a daily basis. What we are not hearing as much about is what we can do about it. There are solutions which don't require risky geo-engineering. Our lives are going to change. Our food, travel and our homes are in for a major energy transition. The faster this is done the less damage is done to our planet and the more chance we have of moving our species forward...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Want stop worst effects global warming? Give up beef rather than carNOAA: Climate change is increasing nuisance flooding in Md
Posted by WBAL: None Given on July 30th, 2014
WBAL: Climate change and rising sea levels are affecting Maryland, and they're causing an increase in so-called nuisance flooding.
According to a new report by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Baltimore and Annapolis top the list of U.S. cities where this is happening, and researchers said the problem is only going to get worse.
"Nuisance flooding is just that. It's a pain in the you-know-where. It's just enough flooding to cause a problem," said Insta-Weather PLUS meteorologist...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on NOAA: Climate change is increasing nuisance flooding in MdIn Detroit’s water wars, a pause that refreshes
Posted by Grist: Heather Smith on July 30th, 2014
Grist: Tuesday, as I drove around Detroit interviewing people about the city`s water crisis, my email kept filling with congratulatory messages.
"I`m excited to let you know about a big win that happened today in Detroit," read one, from the organizers of Netroots Nation, the conference that helped call attention to the biggest and most celebrity-bedazzled protest the crisis has seen so far. "Control of the Detroit Water and Sewage Department (DWSD) has been returned back to the hands of the people....
Green groups too white and too male compared to other sectors report
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on July 30th, 2014
Guardian: Environmental groups do a worse job than the business and sports sectors in welcoming and promoting minorities and women, a new report has found.
The report by University of Michigan professor, Dorceta Taylor, was the most exhaustive survey to date on the state of diversity among the nearly 300 independent groups and government agencies making up America’s environmental movement.
The report found:
More than 70% of the presidents and board chairs of environmental groups were male. At the...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Green groups too white and too male compared to other sectors reportDelta tunnel plan blasted by key environmental group
Posted by San Francisco Chronicle: Carolyn Jones on July 30th, 2014
San Francisco Chronicle: The state's plan to build a pair of 35-mile tunnels under the Delta would cause the extinction of winter-run Chinook salmon, steep declines in dozens of other species and devastate water quality in San Francisco Bay, an environmental group said Wednesday.
"This project would be a major step in the wrong direction," said Gary Bobker, policy analyst for the Bay Institute, which submitted its 250-page findings this week to the state's Department of Water Resources as it updates its Bay Delta Conservation...
Record low July temperatures in southern U.S., Alabama at 49 degrees
Posted by Reuters: David Beasley on July 30th, 2014
Reuters: Record-breaking low temperatures across the southern United States on Wednesday made July feel more like October, with the mercury dipping to 49 degrees Fahrenheit in Alabama.
In Atlanta, the low was 59 degrees, breaking the previous record of 61 degrees set in 1936, according to the National Weather Service. The normal low for Atlanta is about 71 degrees, the National Weather Service said.
“It was a pretty chilly morning, very pleasant out,” said Jessica Fieux, an Atlanta-based National Weather...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Record low July temperatures in southern U.S., Alabama at 49 degreesHundreds evacuated as Romanian floods wreak havoc
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on July 30th, 2014
Reuters: One person died and three others were missing after heavy rain caused floods in southwest Romania over the past three days, forcing hundreds of villagers to flee their homes, the interior ministry said on Wednesday. Heavy rainfall broke river banks in the affected counties of Gorj, Valcea, Arges and Teleorman, about 200 kilometers west of the capital Bucharest. Interior Minister Gabriel Oprea said 400 people were rescued from 1,100 homes in the area and given temporary shelter in nearby schools...
Environmental groups lag nation in diversity
Posted by New American Media: Ngoc Nguyen on July 30th, 2014
New American Media: Mainstream environmental groups are not mirroring the increasing racial diversity in the United States, according to a new report.
While minorities make up 36 percent of the population, they account for no more than 16 percent of the staff of environmental organizations -- a figure that hasn't budged much in several decades.
The report's author Dorceta E. Taylor, Ph.D., a professor at the University of Michigan's School of Natural Resources and Environment, says more diverse hiring reflects...