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Archive for July, 2014
More people, less water mean rising food imports for Egypt
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on July 3rd, 2014
Reuters: In the northwest corner of the Nile Delta, Ibrahim Sharaf Al-Dein fires up his diesel-powered pump next to a murky canal only to watch it spew out a yellowish froth. For the past 15 years, antiquated irrigation systems and a government conservation drive have kept many farmers from nutrient-rich Nile waters, forcing them to tap sewage-filled canals despite their proximity to the world's longest river. "This water ruins our pumps, it breaks our machines, it's bad for our production," Sharaf Al-Dein,...
Posted in Water Conservation 
Comments Off on More people, less water mean rising food imports for EgyptAncient ice sheet may have melted later than previously thought
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on July 3rd, 2014
PhysOrg: After one of the snowiest winters in recent history, William Philipps will forego the beach to spend the summer studying glaciers at the world's northernmost university.
The University at Buffalo geology graduate student and self-proclaimed "nerd who likes rocks" will travel to the University Centre on Svalbard (UNIS) in Norway to collect data that proves the Svalbard-Barents Sea Ice-Sheet's (SBSIS) time of deglaciation - the point when the ice began to melt - is older than its suggested age of...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Ancient ice sheet may have melted later than previously thoughtProblems Inspire Ingenious Solutions in Peruvian Amazon Town
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on July 2nd, 2014
Inter Press Service: He may look like a rapper, but 33-year-old José Antonio Bardález is the mayor of Jepelacio, in the Peruvian Amazon. His ingenious innovations in the municipality include transforming waste management into a source of income and making spring water a source of drinking water.
"I'm a civil engineer, but people think I'm an environmental engineer," the mayor told IPS, driving his pickup truck and stopping frequently to greet and joke with local people in the district, located in the department of...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Problems Inspire Ingenious Solutions in Peruvian Amazon TownWith driest year notched, Santa Cruz County on pace for hottest
Posted by Santa Cruz Sentinel: Jason Hoppin on July 2nd, 2014
Santa Cruz Sentinel: Not only has Santa Cruz County finished off its driest rain year on record, but there are early signs that 2014 could turn out to be the warmest in recorded history as well.
With the rain year concluding June 30, just 13.55 inches of water fell from the sky, beating the previous record of 13.88, in 1976. Normal is 31.35 inches.
A cooling trend is expected over the weekend, but that's an exception. The dense fogs that normally swamp the coast in summer months seem to have disappeared, leaving...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on With driest year notched, Santa Cruz County on pace for hottestWater supply key to outcome of conflicts in Iraq & Syria, experts warn
Posted by Gurdian: John Vidal on July 2nd, 2014
Gurdian: The outcome of the Iraq and Syrian conflicts may rest on who controls the region’s dwindling water supplies, say security analysts in London and Baghdad.
Rivers, canals, dams, sewage and desalination plants are now all military targets in the semi-arid region that regularly experiences extreme water shortages, says Michael Stephen, deputy director of the Royal United Services Institute thinktank in Qatar, speaking from Baghdad.
“Control of water supplies gives strategic control over both cities...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Water supply key to outcome of conflicts in Iraq & Syria, experts warnFish Have Long-Term Memory, Can Remember Food Source After 12 Days
Posted by Nature World: None Given on July 2nd, 2014
Nature World: African Cichlids, a popular aquarium fish species, has a long memory. Researchers have found that the fish can remember the location of a food source after a 12-day gap.
The study was conducted by researchers at the MacEwan University in Canada. According to the team, the fish's ability to store long-term memories could be an evolutionary advantage.
"Fish that remember where food is located have an evolutionary advantage over those that do not" said lead scientist Dr Trevor Hamilton. "If they...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Fish Have Long-Term Memory, Can Remember Food Source After 12 DaysHit by slime, Caribbean corals could vanish in two decades: report
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on July 2nd, 2014
Reuters: Most coral reefs in the Caribbean could vanish in the next two decades, hit by the loss of fish and sea urchins that eat a slime of coral-smothering algae, a U.N.-backed study said on Wednesday. The review, the most comprehensive to date of Caribbean reefs that are vital tourist attractions for many island nations, said climate change had played only a minor role in the reefs' demise, despite past speculation it was a main cause. "With only about one-sixth of the original coral cover left, most...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Hit by slime, Caribbean corals could vanish in two decades: reportMcAuliffe reconstitutes climate change commission
Posted by Virginian-Pilot: Aaron Applegate on July 1st, 2014
Virginian-Pilot: Gov. Terry McAuliffe on Tuesday reconstituted a state commission to advise him on how Virginia can reduce the impacts of climate change while preparing for its effects, including flooding and sea level rise.
"Climate change is too big an issue for anybody to ignore," McAuliffe said, announcing his executive order at First Landing State Park.
The commission was created by Gov. Tim Kaine. Members completed a climate action plan in 2008 that went dormant during Gov. Bob McDonnell's administration....
US Supreme Court refuses challenge to California climate rule
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on July 1st, 2014
Reuters: The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to hear a challenge to California's landmark low-carbon fuel standard, in a blow to out-of-state ethanol and gasoline producers that say the rule unfairly discriminates against their products. A coalition of fuel makers, led by the Rocky Mountain Farmers Union, a grower of corn and soybeans for ethanol in western states, brought a lawsuit to overturn a 2009 rule mandating cuts in carbon emissions. The California regulation calculates emissions throughout...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on US Supreme Court refuses challenge to California climate ruleFracking study finds new gas wells leak more
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on July 1st, 2014
Associated Press: In Pennsylvania's gas drilling boom, newer and unconventional wells leak far more often than older and traditional ones, according to a study of state inspection reports for 41,000 wells. The results suggest that leaks of methane could be a problem for drilling across the nation, said study lead author Cornell University engineering professor Anthony Ingraffea, who heads an environmental activist group that helped pay for the study. The research was criticized by the energy industry. Marcellus...