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Archive for October, 2014
Karachi has a lot on its plate, but still food insecure
Posted by Tribune: None Given on October 26th, 2014
Tribune: In the face of rising population and climate change, one of the biggest challenges that nations all over the world are facing is food insecurity.
The World Food Summit defines food security as: “when all people at all times have access to sufficient, safe, nutritious food to maintain a healthy and active life”. At present, in total, around three billion people are malnourished out of a total global population of 7.2 billion people, which implies that around 40 per cent of the world is malnourished.’...
Posted in Water Conservation 
Comments Off on Karachi has a lot on its plate, but still food insecureDam-building boom could be electricity boon, environmental blight
Posted by Al Jazeera: Wilson Dizard on October 26th, 2014
Al Jazeera: A dam-building boom across the developing world will bring electricity to growing, power-hungry cities across Asia, Africa and Latin America. But it can also put the world’s climate and people at risk, according to a new study by researchers aiming to reduce the host of environmental problems that can come with dam construction. Researchers at Tübingen University in Germany have have compiled a database of the 3,700 different dam projects planned or underway worldwide. They predict that global hydropower...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Dam-building boom could be electricity boon, environmental blightDrought, disease wait in Valley for migratory birds
Posted by Fresno Bee: None Given on October 26th, 2014
Fresno Bee: Great horned owls hang out at the San Luis National Wildlife Refuge. Swift, silent and scary, these winged terminators hunt critters at night. And duck is on the menu.
“Imagine if you’re a duck floating next to your pal and suddenly you find yourself alone,” said Jack Sparks, a recreation planner at the refuge. “These owls swoop down and carry off ducks.”
Don’t be fooled by the happy honking geese and dancing sandhill cranes. This may seem like a happy winter pit stop for migrating birds, but...
Two Years After Sandy’s Surge, New York City Shifts Toward a Softer Relationship with the Sea
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on October 26th, 2014
New York Times: Just ahead of the two-year anniversary of the calamitous flooding of New York City by the surge from Hurricane Sandy, Alan Feuer has written a fine piece summarizing how this maritime metropolis, facing decades, if not centuries, of inevitable sea-level rise, is slowly evolving a softer relationship with the sea. Here’s the nut: In the storm’s aftermath, there were calls for a single big fix, like sea gates that would close off New York Harbor to swells of rising water. But the solutions being...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Two Years After Sandy’s Surge, New York City Shifts Toward a Softer Relationship with the SeaU.N. climate change draft sees risks of irreversible damage
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on October 26th, 2014
Reuters: Climate change may have "serious, pervasive and irreversible" impacts on human society and nature, according to a draft U.N. report due for approval this week that says governments still have time to avert the worst.
Delegates from more than 100 governments and top scientists meet in Copenhagen on Oct 27-31 to edit the report, meant as the main guide for nations working on a U.N. deal to fight climate change at a summit in Paris in late 2015.
They will publish the study on Nov. 2.
European...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on U.N. climate change draft sees risks of irreversible damageSydney’s scorcher set continue; global records could tumble
Posted by Guardian: Eryk Bagshaw, Tom Decent and Peter Hannam on October 26th, 2014
Guardian: Sydney's scorching weather is set to continue on Monday, with temperatures forecast to surge beyond 31 degrees and the chance of a thunderstorm developing during the day.
In Sydney's western suburbs, temperatures are expected to hit the mid-30's, eclipsing Sunday's high of 36 degrees, said Jane Golding, a meteorologist at the Bureau of Meteorology.
It is a familiar story across the state.
Over the weekend towns in north-western NSW experienced their first 40-degree day for spring this year,...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Sydney’s scorcher set continue; global records could tumbleIsraeli ecosystems appear too tough for climate change
Posted by Times of Israel: Andrew Tobin on October 25th, 2014
Times of Israel: Climate change may not pose a serious risk to plants in parts of Israel in the coming decades, according to an ecological study based on years of induced drought. The conclusion - the plants are tougher than the changes - runs counter to the current scientific consensus.
Semi-arid and Mediterranean ecosystems are thought to be among the most vulnerable to climate change, but in the study, conducted by an international team of scientists, a nine-year climate change rainfall simulation had almost...
GMOs Expose Dangerous Science Disconnect in Agriculture
Posted by Huffington Post: Donald Carr on October 25th, 2014
Huffington Post: A contentious issue in the upcoming Colorado and Oregon GMO labeling referendums is the perceived safety of consuming genetically modified foods.
Question a representative of the National Corn Growers Association or the American Farm Bureau Federation about the safety of eating GMOs and you'll rightly be scolded about the scientific evidence that consuming those crops is as safe as any other.
These representatives of the American farm lobby wield enormous political clout with conservative and...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on GMOs Expose Dangerous Science Disconnect in AgricultureUnsafe groundwater only adds to California drought misery
Posted by CNBC: Mark Koba on October 25th, 2014
CNBC: With surface water supplies decimated from the ongoing drought, more Californians are forced to use groundwater.
But groundwater is unsafe for nearly 800,000 residents, according to the state's water resources control board.
This problem is the longtime contamination from nitrates and arsenic.
That's meant less drinkable water in California's struggle to survive more than three years of severely dry weather.
"Most areas affected by contamination don't have surface water supplies so they...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Unsafe groundwater only adds to California drought miseryNation’s ‘personality’ influences its environmental stewardship, shows new study
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on October 25th, 2014
ScienceDaily: Countries with higher levels of compassion and openness score better when it comes to environmental sustainability, says research from the University of Toronto.
A new study by Jacob Hirsh, an Assistant Professor of Organizational Behaviour & Human Resource Management at the University of Toronto Mississauga's Institute for Management & Innovation, who is cross-appointed to UofT's Rotman School of Management, demonstrates that a country's personality profile can predict its environmental sustainability...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Nation’s ‘personality’ influences its environmental stewardship, shows new study