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Archive for March, 2015
Study raises concerns over big, rapidly thinning Antarctic glacier
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on March 18th, 2015
CNN: Scientists have raised concerns about a large, rapidly thinning glacier in Antarctica, warning it could contribute significantly to rising sea levels.
They say they've discovered two openings that could channel warm seawater to the base of the huge Totten Glacier and bring the threat of potentially disastrous melting.
The glacier is bigger and thinning faster than all the others in East Antarctica.
It contains enough ice to raise the global sea level by at least 11 feet (3.4 meters), according...
Posted in Water Conservation 
Comments Off on Study raises concerns over big, rapidly thinning Antarctic glacierGov. Brown Declares Drought Emergency in Two Oregon Counties
Posted by Statesman Journal: Tracy Loew on March 18th, 2015
Statesman Journal: Gov. Kate Brown today declared a drought emergency in Lake and Malheur counties.
Dry conditions, low snowpack and a lack of rain are posing problems for the entire southeast corner of the state.
Harney, Klamath and Crook counties also are considering drought declarations, said Racquel Rancier, spokeswoman for the Oregon Water Resources Department.
The governor's drought declaration will allow increased flexibility in how water is managed and positions farmers and ranchers in those counties...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Gov. Brown Declares Drought Emergency in Two Oregon CountiesNew Watering Restrictions Imposed Calif Drought
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on March 18th, 2015
LA Times: With California heading into another parched year, state officials Tuesday beefed up emergency drought regulations, directing urban agencies to limit the number of days residents can water their yards.
They also warned they will impose tougher restrictions in coming months if local agencies don't ramp up conservation efforts.
"We are not seeing the level of stepping up and ringing the alarm bells that the situation warrants," said Felicia Marcus, chairwoman of the State Water Resources Control...
Vietnam plans greener rice cultivation
Posted by VietNamNet: None Given on March 18th, 2015
VietnamNet: Vietnam plans to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from rice cultivation alone by 14 percent by 2030.
This was announced at a recent conference in Hanoi by an official from the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment.
Pham Hoang Yen, an expert involved in the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the Kyoto Protocol, said in the last few years, the country has purchased the goal of a 20 percent reduction in GHG in the overall cultivation sector by 2020....
Food concerns mount in Vanuatu after monster cyclone
Posted by Reuters: Stephen Coates on March 17th, 2015
Reuters: International aid agencies ramped up appeals for cyclone-hit Vanuatu on Wednesday, warning that the powerful storm which affected more than two-thirds of the South Pacific island nation had wiped out crops and destroyed fishing fleets, raising the risk of hunger and disease.
Residents of the southern island of Tanna said food and basic supplies were running low while relief workers were still battling to reach many islands pummeled by Cyclone Pam's gusts of more than 300 kph (185 mph) on Friday...
Include Climate Change in Disaster Planning, FEMA Says
Posted by Climate Central: John Upton on March 17th, 2015
Climate Central: Federal funds that help communities brace for emergencies will stop being provided to states if they ignore threats posed by climate change in their disaster planning.
States publish reports every five years or so detailing their vulnerability to natural disasters, such as floods, storms and wildfires, and how they plan to protect themselves and recover after them. Such plans are needed in order to qualify for a share of nearly $1 billion in Hazard Mitigation Assistance grants provided every year...
California, Quebec Teaming Up On Climate Change
Posted by Climate Central: John Upton on March 17th, 2015
Climate Central: California raised $630 million by selling pollution allowances one Wednesday last month, each of them entitling the buyer to harm the climate with a ton of carbon dioxide. Most of the money that was raised during the quarterly allowance auction will be used to reduce customers' electricity bills; the rest will go to environmental projects. That same Wednesday, the Canadian province of Quebec raised $150 million doing the exact same thing.
The timing was no coincidence. The auction was held jointly....
Oregon gov declares drought emergency as snow pack levels drop
Posted by Reuters: Shelby Sebens on March 17th, 2015
Reuters: Oregon Governor Kate Brown declared a drought emergency on Tuesday in two rural Oregon counties, with more expected in the coming weeks, as the state suffers abnormally low snow pack levels.
The declarations in Oregon come as much of the U.S. West grapples with severe drought conditions.
Last week Washington state Governor Jay Inslee declared a drought emergency across three regions of that state. And California is in its fourth year of a drought that has forced sharp cutbacks in irrigation...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Oregon gov declares drought emergency as snow pack levels dropJapanese tsunami debris still washing on U.S. shore
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on March 17th, 2015
Reuters: Debris from Japan's 2011 tsunami will continue to litter the North American coastline over the next three years, with everything from refrigerators to lumber and sports balls still floating offshore in the Pacific, an expert said on Tuesday.
About one million tons of debris was still lingering in the Pacific Ocean four years after a magnitude 9.0 earthquake, the most powerful ever recorded in Japan, set off a series of massive tsunami waves that devastated a wide swathe of Honshu's Pacific coastline...
Humanity at ‘five to midnight’ on climate: EU official
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on March 17th, 2015
Agence France-Presse: Time is running out for the world to achieve a climate change agreement, the president of the European Parliament said Tuesday ahead of a key United Nations meeting in Paris later this year.
"We have to recognise that it is five minutes to midnight, and that the goals we have defined are not European, American or Chinese," Martin Schulz told reporters during a visit to China.
"Whoever is responsible has to understand that the fight against climate change is a fight for the survival of humanity,"...