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Archive for July, 2014
Rising Levels of Human-Caused Water Vapor in Troposphere will Intensify Climate Change Projections
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on July 28th, 2014
Voice of America: When it comes to greenhouse gases that contribute most to global warming, most people think of substances such as carbon dioxide, methane or even hydrofluorocarbons.
But did you know that, for a while now, scientists have considered the vapor of the most important ingredient in sustaining life on Earth -- water -- as one of the most abundant greenhouse gases in the atmosphere and a key driver of global warming?
A new study led by scientists from the University of Miami Rosenstiel School of...
Posted in Water Conservation 
Comments Off on Rising Levels of Human-Caused Water Vapor in Troposphere will Intensify Climate Change ProjectionsUnited Kingdom: Parks to be protected from fracking
Posted by Wigan Today: None Given on July 27th, 2014
Wigan Today: National Parks in England will be protected from fracking unless there are "exceptional circumstances", ministers announced today. The policy was unveiled as the latest bidding process for shale companies seeking licences to explore for oil and gas was opened. The Government has committed to going ''all out for shale'', claiming development of the gas and oil resource is needed to improve energy security, boost jobs and the economy and bring down energy prices. But opponents say it causes disruption...
Fracking push gets go-ahead across UK as ministers tighten safeguards
Posted by Guardian: Rowena Mason on July 27th, 2014
Guardian: Ministers will give the go-ahead on Monday for a big expansion of fracking across Britain that will allow drilling in national parks and other protected areas in "exceptional circumstances".
The government will invite firms to bid for onshore oil and gas licences for the first time in six years, with about half of the country advertised for exploration. Ministers are also clarifying the rules on when drilling can take place in national parks, areas of outstanding natural beauty (AONBs) and world...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Fracking push gets go-ahead across UK as ministers tighten safeguardsTwo California wildfires threaten homes
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on July 27th, 2014
BBC: Two fast-moving wildfires in California are threatening homes and could result in the evacuation of hundreds of people, US officials say.
In the Sacramento region, a fire has spread to cover an area of about 4,000 acres, while another blaze threatens homes around Yosemite National Park.
The Sacramento fire is only 20% contained, officials told local media.
Months of drought have caused more fires in California this year - some 1,400, twice the usual number.
Homes evacuated
The Sacramento...
In Chesapeake Bay waters warmed by summer sun deadly pathogen lies in wait
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on July 27th, 2014
Washington Post: The last thing Rodney Donald was expecting during his family’s vacation on the Chesapeake Bay was to almost lose a leg to an aggressive bacteria growing in the brackish waters.
“I’ve grown up on the bay my whole life, and I’m 66,” said Donald, propped up in a bed at MedStar Washington Hospital Center, his right leg stretched out, swathed in bandages. “I’d never even heard about it.”
Vibrio vulnificus, of the same family as vibrio cholera, is a rapid-spreading flesh-eating bacteria that naturally...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on In Chesapeake Bay waters warmed by summer sun deadly pathogen lies in waitObama food aid ravages Third World farmers
Posted by Ecologist: James Bovard on July 27th, 2014
Ecologist: The US taxpayers who finance foreign food aid surely believe they are feeding starving people, writes James Bovard. But the truth is the reverse - it is undermining indigenous agriculture in recipient countries - creating famine and chronic malnutrition, while sabotaging self-sufficiency.
Despite uplifting rhetoric, Obama is perpetuating a program that sabotages foreigners' self-sufficiency.
President Obama proclaimed two years ago: "As the wealthiest nation on Earth, I believe the United States...
Hundreds flee as two California wildfires threaten homes
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on July 27th, 2014
Associated Press: Fire crews were battling two fast-moving wildfires in California that threatened many homes and forced hundreds of evacuations, officials said.
A fire in the Sacramento region had mushroomed to about 4,000 acres by late Saturday, while a blaze that began in the afternoon around Yosemite National Park threatened a small community.
The so-called Sand Fire began Friday in the Sierra Nevada foothills and has since raced through more than 6 square miles of drought-stricken grasslands east of Sacramento....
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Hundreds flee as two California wildfires threaten homesWe’re putting a forest on a climate-change fast-track
Posted by New Scientist: Adrian Barnett on July 27th, 2014
New Scientist: One way it will stand out is a novel experiment called FACE - Free-Air Carbon Dioxide Enrichment. It will be the first in the world to take a mature, temperate, broad-leafed woodland ecosystem and, where it stands, expose it to predicted future atmospheric concentrations of carbon dioxide. We will look at the effects of the CO2 on the structure and functioning of the woodland.
With FACE we are responding to a lack of long-term data on the effects of CO2 on woodland. People have been saying we...
Invertebrate species have declined 45% in 40 years, study finds
Posted by Blue and Green: Tom Revell on July 27th, 2014
Blue and Green: opulations of invertebrates such as insects, spiders and worms – many of which are essential to the health of ecosystems – have fallen by 45% on average over the past 40 years, according to a new study. The paper, published in the journal Science, reports that invertebrate numbers have plummeted while the human population has boomed and suggests that humans are to blame. In the UK, for example, the numbers of bees, butterflies and beetles have declined by 30% to 60% since the 1970s. The authors...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Invertebrate species have declined 45% in 40 years, study findsHalf of Britain to be opened up to fracking
Posted by Telegraph: Emily Gosden on July 26th, 2014
Telegraph: Ministers are this week expected to offer up vast swathes of Britain for fracking in an attempt to lure energy companies to explore shale oil and gas reserves.
The Department for Energy and Climate Change is expected to launch the so-called "14th onshore licensing round', which will invite companies to bid for the rights to explore in as-yet untouched parts of the country.
The move is expected to be hugely controversial because it could potentially result in fracking taking place across more...