RSS Feed
Archive for January, 2015
Native Voices Say No to Keystone XL Pipeline at DC Rally
Posted by EcoWatch: None Given on January 5th, 2015
EcoWatch: On Jan. 3, more than 150 people from as far away as Canada, New Mexico, Virginia and New York gathered in front of the White House in Washington, DC to urge Congress and President Obama to say no to the Keystone XL pipeline. Organizers of the rally felt it was essential to make their voice heard prior to the Keystone XL debate taking center stage as Congress reconvenes this week.
On Wednesday, Jan. 7, the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee will hold a hearing on legislation to try and...
Posted in Water Conservation 
Comments Off on Native Voices Say No to Keystone XL Pipeline at DC RallyLivestock keepers ready for climate change
Posted by Daily News: None Given on January 5th, 2015
Daily News: THE vagaries of climate change which seem not to recognize geographical boundaries have not spared the livestock keeping communities, the Maasai, in Monduli, Longido and Ngorongoro districts in Arusha region. Apart from the migratory or nomadic nature of the herders, effects of climate such as increase of temperatures and the subsequent prolonged drought, complicated water collection efforts as well as increased aridity of the grazing land. Ancient philosophers said that knowing the problem facing...
Australia battles to stabilize fires as catastrophe declared
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on January 5th, 2015
Bloomberg: Crews in South Australia are battling to stabilize wildfires and protect homes as hot weather forecast in coming days threatens to fan the flames.
Firefighters used planes from neighboring Victoria in an effort to gain control of the blaze that has destroyed or damaged 26 homes. The Country Fire Service warned temperatures would reach 38 degrees Celsius (100 Fahrenheit) on Jan. 7 before cooling, while the Insurance Council of Australia declared a catastrophe.
“We’ve got some dangerous weather...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Australia battles to stabilize fires as catastrophe declaredMP urges Australia become more proactive dealing with bushfires
Posted by Global Post: None Given on January 5th, 2015
Global Post: The Australian federal government has conceded more time and money needs to be invested in alleviating the cause of bushfires in the anticipation of more damage expected throughout South Australia and Victoria.
At least 12 homes have been destroyed in fires that raged throughout South Australia over the weekend, but more could be lost as conditions worsen throughout the coming week.
Families of those affected by bushfires will begin receiving disaster relief payments of up to 565 U.S. dollars...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on MP urges Australia become more proactive dealing with bushfiresUK had hottest and fourth wettest year in 2014
Posted by RTCC: Megan Darby on January 5th, 2015
RTCC: The UK experienced its hottest ever year in 2014, provisional data shows.
The average temperature across the last twelve months was 9.9C, beating the 2006 record of 9.7C, the Met Office has revealed. Eight of the UK’s top ten warmest years have occurred since 2002.
Having kicked off with wintry storms and widespread flooding in January and February, 2014 was also the fourth wettest year on record.
“This is clear evidence of the impact of man-made climate change on the UK,” said Bob Ward,...
French President Francois Hollande shifts position on Tobin tax, money for environment
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on January 5th, 2015
Agence France-Presse: French President Francois Hollande shifted position Monday on implementing a long-sought financial transactions tax in Europe and said the money should go towards projects aimed at mitigating climate change. In an interview on France Inter radio Hollande said such a tax should be put in place next year in willing European countries on "all financial products at a low rate". That is a shift of position for France, whose insistence that financial derivatives products important for French banks be...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on French President Francois Hollande shifts position on Tobin tax, money for environmentAlaska Toasty Temperatures in 2014 Worry Observers
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on January 5th, 2015
LA Times: The biggest state in America, home to more ocean coastline than all others combined, has just set another record. This one, however, is nothing to cheer.
For the first time in recorded history, temperatures in Anchorage did not drop below zero once in an entire calendar year. In comparison, Alaska's largest city had 14 days below zero in the 2013 calendar year and 32 days in 2012. The average is 29 days.
At midnight Wednesday, Anchorage closed the book on its warmest year since 1926, according...
Bushfire Response: Disaster Spending in Australia Faces Overhaul Amid Calls Climate Action
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on January 5th, 2015
Guardian: The federal government has signalled it wants to reduce spending on natural disaster recovery and shift its focus to reducing the risks before an event strikes.
The Greens renewed their calls for the government to take strong action against climate change while fire crews worked to contain blazes in South Australia and Victoria on Sunday.
The justice minister, Michael Keenan, did not directly respond to the climate change criticism, but said the government would speak to state and territory...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Bushfire Response: Disaster Spending in Australia Faces Overhaul Amid Calls Climate ActionAustralian firefighters battle worst bushfire decades
Posted by Al Jazeera: None Given on January 4th, 2015
Al Jazeera: Dozens of homes were feared lost as an intense bushfire affecting thousands of acres raged out of control in South Australia Saturday, forcing residents to flee their homes and leaving 2,000 firefighters struggling to contain the worst blaze the region has seen in decades.
The fires at Sampson Flat, located northeast of the state capital Adelaide in the country's south, was spreading rapidly in all directions, sweeping from a 380-acre area on Friday afternoon to nearly 12,000 acres on Saturday....
Heavyweight Response to Local Fracking Bans
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on January 3rd, 2015
New York Times: This northern Colorado city vaulted onto the front lines of the battle over oil and gas drilling two years ago, when residents voted to ban hydraulic fracturing from their grassy open spaces and a snow-fed reservoir where anglers catch smallmouth bass.
But these days, Longmont has become a cautionary tale of what can happen when cities decide to confront the oil and gas industry. In an aggressive response to a wave of citizen-led drilling bans, state officials, energy companies and industry groups...