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Archive for April 30th, 2015
California wildfire conditions are a “recipe for disaster”
Posted by Grist: None Given on April 30th, 2015
Grist: On Monday, 200 firefighters evacuated an upscale residential neighborhood in Los Angeles as they responded to a wildfire that had just broken out in the nearby hills. Ninety minutes later, the fire was out, with no damage done. But if that battle was a relatively easy win, it belied a much more difficult war ahead for a state devastated by drought.
California is in the midst of one of its worst droughts on record, so bad that earlier this month Gov. Jerry Brown took the unprecedented step of ordering...
Posted in Water Conservation 
Comments Off on California wildfire conditions are a “recipe for disaster”Climate change could push a sixth of species to extinction: study
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on April 30th, 2015
Reuters: Climate change could drive up to a sixth of animals and plants on Earth to extinction unless governments cut rising greenhouse gas emissions, according to a U.S. study published on Thursday.
Species in South America, Australia and New Zealand are most at risk, since many live in small areas or cannot easily move away to adapt to heatwaves, droughts, floods or rising seas, said the report in the journal Science.
The study averaged out 131 previous studies of climate change, whose projections...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Climate change could push a sixth of species to extinction: studyHow Forest Fragmentation Threatens Biodiversity
Posted by EcoWatch: Michael Sainato on April 30th, 2015
EcoWatch: The U.S. currently has 59 national parks, protecting more than 210,000 square miles of land with several more public lands being preserved on state and local levels. Very few national parks are large enough to contain ecosystems. Problems such as greenhouse gases, climate change, industrial fumes, the extent of land development and their environmental impacts were not envisioned when most of their borders were first enacted. The physical boundaries of these public lands are not enough to protect...
Climate change could eventually claim a sixth of the world’s species
Posted by Science: None Given on April 30th, 2015
Science: Up to one-sixth of the species on Earth could disappear if climate change remains on its current course, according to a new analysis of more than 100 smaller studies.
“All the studies are in pretty good agreement: The more warming we have, the more species we’ll lose,” says Dov Sax, a conservation biologist at Brown University who was not involved in the work. “This is really important to know, from a policy viewpoint.”
Industrial emissions of carbon dioxide and other planet-warming greenhouse...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Climate change could eventually claim a sixth of the world’s speciesCalifornia’s forests have become climate polluters
Posted by Climate Central: John Upton on April 30th, 2015
Climate Central: California introduced a world-leading carbon dioxide cap-and-trade program to drive down pollution rates after lawmakers approved an ambitious climate protection law in 2006. It also changed rules affecting utilities, spurring investments in some of the biggest solar power plants the world has yet seen.
But an emerging body of research shows it's going to take more than a clean energy blitz to help the state comply with the historic California Global Warming Solutions Act.
A Californian task...
California’s Greenhouse Gas Emission Targets Are Getting Tougher
Posted by LA Times: Chris Megerian and Michael Finnegan on April 30th, 2015
LA Times: Gov. Jerry Brown accelerated California's effort to slash greenhouse gas emissions Wednesday, burnishing the state's reputation as a pacesetter in the battle against climate change.
In an executive order, Brown said the state must cut the pollutants to 40% below 1990 levels by the year 2030, more than a decade after he leaves office.
That is an interim target, intended to help California lower emissions to 80% below 1990 levels by the year 2050, a goal set by Brown's predecessor, Gov. Arnold...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on California’s Greenhouse Gas Emission Targets Are Getting TougherDon’t Sell Sweden’s Vattenfall, Keep Coal in the Ground
Posted by Inter Press Service: Hanna Leghammar on April 30th, 2015
Inter Press Service: The Swedish government is in the process of pondering an important decision - whether to sell the vast lignite reserves of the state-owned Vattenfall energy giant or ensure that they stay in the ground. The decision will define Sweden's commitment to tackling climate change.
Just a few days ago, on Apr. 27, Vattenfall stockholders gathered for their Annual General Meeting where the issue of selling the company was high on the agenda, according to Swedish radio station Ekot."States have a responsibility...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Don’t Sell Sweden’s Vattenfall, Keep Coal in the GroundAustralia: Climate change: Diseases, heatwaves, lost jobs to impact human health, experts warn
Posted by Australian Broadcasting Corporation: Jake Sturmer on April 30th, 2015
Australian Broadcasting Corporation: Australia's top doctors and scientists are urging the Government to show leadership on climate change after a new report warned human health would feel the most immediate impacts of global warming.
The report from the Australian Academy of Science was endorsed by the Australian Medical Association and highlighted unemployment, population displacement and social inequality as potential impacts to society.
"Whether it be more heatwaves, tropical diseases moving to new areas or lost jobs in farming,...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Australia: Climate change: Diseases, heatwaves, lost jobs to impact human health, experts warn