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Archive for July, 2014
D.C. will feel like South Texas in summer by 2100 thanks to climate change, says report
Posted by Washington Post: Angela Fritz on July 10th, 2014
Washington Post: Washington D.C.`s summers are going to get a little warmer, according to a study by Climate Central.
Climate change will transport our already hot summer weather to an even hotter destination late this century, according to a new report from Climate Central on Wednesday.
The report examines projected summer temperatures in 2100 in 1,001 U.S. cities and matches them to locations in today`s climate they will most closely resemble.
Washington D.C. is in for quite a change, according to the...
Posted in Water Conservation 
Comments Off on D.C. will feel like South Texas in summer by 2100 thanks to climate change, says reportTransgender Algae Shows how Males and Females Evolved Separately
Posted by Nature World: Jenna Iacurci on July 10th, 2014
Nature World: Using a certain type of "transgender" green algae, scientists have discovered the genetic origin of male and female sexes, showing how they evolved from a more primitive mating system into a single-celled relative.
Led by James Umen of the Enterprise Institute for Renewable Fuels at the Danforth Plant Science Center, the research team identified the master regulatory gene for sex determination in the multicellular alga Volvox carteri.
They discovered that it has acquired new functions compared...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Transgender Algae Shows how Males and Females Evolved SeparatelyMountaintop Removal Coal Mining Decimates Fish Populations in Appalachia
Posted by EcoWatch: Matt Wasson on July 10th, 2014
EcoWatch: A study from researchers at the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) published this month provides strong new evidence that mountaintop removal coal mining in Appalachia is devastating downstream fish populations.
That’s hardly news for long-time followers of the controversy surrounding mountaintop removal, a coal mining practice that involves blowing off the tops of mountains to access thin seams of coal and dumping the waste into valleys below. In 2010, a group of 13 prestigious biologists published...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Mountaintop Removal Coal Mining Decimates Fish Populations in AppalachiaBaseline for ‘normal’ weather needs to be updated due to climate change, says UN agency
Posted by Blue and Green: Jemma Collins on July 10th, 2014
Blue and Green: The World Meteorological Organisation`s (WMO) Commission for Climatology has said the current baselines for weather are out of date and must be updated more frequently due to the impacts of global warming.
Currently, the official existing baseline is based on climate averages of 1961-1990 and is only updated once every 30 years.
During this time weather variables such as temperature rises and rainfall are measured and ‘climate normals’ are created from the averages. These averages can be calculated...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Baseline for ‘normal’ weather needs to be updated due to climate change, says UN agencyWill a warmer climate mean more kidney stones?
Posted by Medical Press: None Given on July 10th, 2014
Medical Press: Add another possible woe to the growing list of consequences of climate change: Kidney stones.
A new study of American cities suggests that rising temperatures may increase the number of people who develop the painful urinary obstructions.
"These findings point to potential public health effects associated with global climate change," study leader Dr. Gregory Tasian, a pediatric urologist and epidemiologist at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, said in a hospital news release.
His...
Illinois Has Hired Less Then 10% of the Workers It Says It Needs to Oversee Fracturing
Posted by Associated Press: Tammy Webber on July 10th, 2014
Associated Press: More than a year after a much-lauded compromise paved the way for high-volume oil and gas extraction in Illinois, the agency in charge of overseeing the practice has hired just four of 53 new employees it says it needs as it continues working to complete rules that drillers must follow.
The Department of Natural Resources has come under criticism from industry groups, lawmakers and other supporters of hydraulic fracturing who had hoped drilling could begin this summer. That scenario now appears...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Illinois Has Hired Less Then 10% of the Workers It Says It Needs to Oversee FracturingCalifornia Water Board Proposes Outdoor Watering Restrictions
Posted by LA Times: Bettina Boxall on July 10th, 2014
LA Times: Urban water agencies across California would have to impose mandatory restrictions on outdoor watering under a proposed state rule.
Though a number of cities, including Los Angeles, already have such regulations in place, most don`t. So the State Water Resources Control Board is giving them a push.
"Many urban Californians don`t realize how bad a drought the state is in," said board chair Felicia Marcus. "It is a mistake to think that they are not at risk."
Op-Ed
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on California Water Board Proposes Outdoor Watering RestrictionsLeaked Doc Shows E.U. Really Wants a Piece of America’s Fracking Boom
Posted by Washington Post: Lydia DePillis on July 10th, 2014
Washington Post: The European Union is pressing the United States to lift its longstanding ban on crude oil exports through a sweeping trade and investment deal, according to a secret document from the negotiations obtained by The Washington Post.
It's not entirely surprising. The EU has made its desire for the right to import U.S. oil known since the U.S. started producing large amounts of it in the mid-2000s. It signaled again at the outset of trade negotiations, and its intentions have become even more clear...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Leaked Doc Shows E.U. Really Wants a Piece of America’s Fracking BoomDispersal ‘key to reptile survival’
Posted by BBC: Zoe Gough on July 10th, 2014
BBC: Reptiles whose gender depends on temperature must become more widespread to survive the effects of climate change, according to new research.
Temperature of egg incubation decides gender in some reptile species, such as alligators and some turtles.
Australian researchers found that in populations where more females are produced, male dispersal is vital.
Species unable to disperse could become extinct from some areas, suggested the research reported in BMC Ecology.
Alligators, some turtles,...
Texas city using treated wastewater for drinking
Posted by Associated Press: Emily Schmall on July 9th, 2014
Associated Press: As much of Texas grapples with lingering drought, a second city in the Lone Star State has begun reusing treated wastewater in a state-approved recycling process to bolster drinking supplies. Wichita Falls, near the Oklahoma border, on Wednesday began reusing millions of gallons of water at the River Road Waste Treatment plant that's been purified to meet government drinking standards. The water is then sent by a 12-mile pipeline to the Cypress Water Treatment Plant for additional purification....