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Archive for November 24th, 2014
Australia: Action needed to combat future biosecurity threats: CSIRO
Posted by SBS: None Given on November 24th, 2014
SBS: A bioterrorist attack or swine flu-like pandemic. Incursion of a new wheat disease or fruit fly crippling crops. An outbreak of foot and mouth or bluetongue disease, devastating farmers. Some scenarios sound like a plot from a Hollywood disaster movie, but these "megashocks" could pose a real threat to Australian biosecurity, the CSIRO says. In its report, Australia's Biosecurity Future, released on Tuesday, the scientific body outlines 12 potential megashocks it thinks could hit Australia in...
Posted in Water Conservation 
Comments Off on Australia: Action needed to combat future biosecurity threats: CSIROQ&A: INTERPOL Asks Public Help Nab Environmental Crime Fugitives
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on November 24th, 2014
National Geographic: On November 17, for the first time in its history, INTERPOL asked the public to assist in the capture of environmental crime fugitives. The landmark public appeal falls under INTERPOL's Operation Infra Terra, launched in October and targeting 139 criminals from 36 nations.
INTERPOL-the International Criminal Police Organization-is the world's largest international police organization, with 190 member countries.
The nine fugitives are accused of a range of crimes:
-Italian Adriano Giacobone...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Q&A: INTERPOL Asks Public Help Nab Environmental Crime FugitivesChameleon crisis: extinction threatens 36% of world’s chameleons
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on November 24th, 2014
Mongabay: Chameleons are an unmistakable family of wonderfully bizarre reptiles. They sport long, shooting tongues; oddly-shaped horns or crests; and a prehensile tail like a monkey's. But, of course, chameleons are most known for their astonishing ability to change the color of their skin. Over millions of years, these Old World reptiles have used this evolutionary trait for an astonishing variety of reasons, including camouflage, complex communication, and to keep warm in the cold or vice versa. But a new...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Chameleon crisis: extinction threatens 36% of world’s chameleons‘Monster’ Fracking Wells Guzzle Water Drought-Stricken Regions
Posted by EcoWatch: None Given on November 24th, 2014
EcoWatch: The fracking industry likes to minimize the sector’s bottomless thirst for often-scarce water resources, saying it takes about 2-4 million gallons of water to frack the average well, an amount the American Petroleum Institute describes as “the equivalent of three to six Olympic swimming pools.” That’s close to the figure cited by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) as well.
But a new report released by Environmental Working Group (EWG) located 261 “monster” wells that consumed between...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on ‘Monster’ Fracking Wells Guzzle Water Drought-Stricken RegionsWorld Bank releases damning report climate change
Posted by New Times: Kenneth Agutamba on November 24th, 2014
New Times: The extent of climate change resulting from human activities has gone beyond a point of 'no return' and the abnormalities, according to a new World Bank report released today. Experts will find these findings damning but it's exactly what scientists have been warning of for a long time and the poorest countries, majority of them from Africa, are set to suffer most from this new reality. "Today's report confirms what scientists have been saying - past emissions have set an unavoidable course to...
Report: Global warming could undercut efforts eradicate poverty
Posted by Al Jazeera: None Given on November 24th, 2014
Al Jazeera: Climate change could undermine efforts to defeat extreme poverty around the globe, the World Bank warned Sunday.
In a new report on the impact of global warming, the bank said sharp temperature rises would cut deeply into crop yields and water supplies in many areas and possibly set back efforts to bring populations out of poverty.
"Climate change poses a substantial and escalating risk to development progress that could undermine global efforts to eliminate extreme poverty and promote shared...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Report: Global warming could undercut efforts eradicate povertyEthanol use in Michigan cuts greenhouse gas, study finds
Posted by Great Lakes Echo: Ian K. Kullgren on November 24th, 2014
Great Lakes Echo: New research suggests increased ethanol fuel use could be dramatically reducing greenhouse gas emissions in Michigan.
A study by scientists at Michigan State University shows ethanol use in the state is reducing carbon dioxide emissions by nearly 1.4 million metric tons each year, the equivalent of emissions from 294,000 cars.
Ethanol fuel production, meanwhile, has nearly doubled in the past seven years, from 276 million gallons in 2007 to 452 million in 2012.
The findings suggest ethanol...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Ethanol use in Michigan cuts greenhouse gas, study finds‘Some climate change impacts unavoidable’
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on November 24th, 2014
Reuters: Some future impacts of climate change, such as more extremes of heat and sea level rise, are unavoidable even if governments act fast to cut greenhouse gas emissions, the World Bank said on Sunday.
Past and predicted emissions from power plants, factories and cars have locked the globe on a path towards an average temperature rise of almost 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 Fahrenheit) above pre-industrial times by 2050, it said.
"This means that climate change impacts such as extreme heat events may...
Flooding could follow heavy snow western New York
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on November 24th, 2014
Reuters: Emergency workers filled thousands of sandbags on Sunday as the area around Buffalo, New York braced for potential flooding as warming temperatures began to melt up to seven feet (2 meters) of snow.
Creeks appeared to be flowing smoothly and no flooding had been reported as the sun began to go down, county officials said.
More than 775 members of the New York National Guard were in Erie County and Buffalo to help with flood prevention after days of work to clear roads and dig homes and cars...