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Archive for April, 2015
Pacific Winds Tied to Warming Slowdown, Dry West
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on April 13th, 2015
Climate Central: To understand why the West has been so dry since the turn of the century, cast your eye further west -- to the natural waxing and waning of Pacific Ocean winds.
Strong trade winds have been forcing heat into ocean depths, contributing to a temporary slowdown in land surface warming over the past 15 to 20 years that some have called a warming hiatus, pause or false pause. New research published in the Journal of Climate has gone further -- implicating those winds in stubborn droughts afflicting...
Construction stops, but protests continues atop Mauna Kea
Posted by KITV: None Given on April 13th, 2015
KITV: Construction may be delayed, but the movement to stop the 30 meter telescope atop Mauna Kea continues this weekend, with thousands rallying on the Big Island.
Posted in Water Conservation 
Comments Off on Construction stops, but protests continues atop Mauna KeaFor Wyoming, Climate Change Is Now
Posted by Slate: Phil Plait on April 13th, 2015
Slate: In 2014, I wrote about the Wyoming state Legislature actively moving to suppress real science education when it came to global warming. As I said,
Science itself has many laws, but it doesn't give a damn about ours. Advertisement
Those words still echo loudly when it comes to Wyoming. A new research paper has come out showing that snow melt in the northwest region of that state is occurring earlier all the time, exactly as you'd expect with warmer winters and spring.
The scientists used...
Mauna Kea defenders protest against 18-storey telescope
Posted by BBC: Olivia Crellin on April 13th, 2015
BBC: A controversial telescope project on the top of the Mauna Kea mountain in Hawaii has sparked peaceful protests on and off social media across the United States.
Opponents of the telescope, including celebrities, say the structure desecrates sacred land.
They also say the land in question is designated as a conservation area.
Supporters of the project point out that there are already 13 telescopes built within that conservation zone.
But none are as large as the latest planned structure,...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Mauna Kea defenders protest against 18-storey telescopeDrought or not, water has long reigned in the Imperial Valley
Posted by LA Times: Tony Perry on April 13th, 2015
LA Times: The newspaper's motto says boldly: "Water Is King, Here Is Its Kingdom." The lead story details the latest of what proved to be many advances in bringing water from the Colorado River to make the desert bloom.
Modern irrigation - aided by the Hoover Dam and the All-American Canal - transformed the Imperial Valley from a hostile desert into an agricultural marvel: a testament to generations of farmers and their use of cheap and plentiful water. Crops bring an annual harvest of more than $2 billion....
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Drought or not, water has long reigned in the Imperial ValleySan Diego County farmers warn water reduction rules ‘devastating’
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on April 13th, 2015
LA Times: A water district serving farmers in northern San Diego County has asked state water officials who are devising cutback regulations for the same exemption given to farmers in the Central Valley.
"Not All California Agriculture Is Found Between Bakersfield and Redding," Gary Arant, general manager of the Valley Center Municipal Water District, wrote to the chairwoman of the State Water Resources Control Board, using capital letters and bold print for emphasis.
Arant was protesting the proposed...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on San Diego County farmers warn water reduction rules ‘devastating’Fracking is about to change, and almost no one is happy about it
Posted by PRI: None Given on April 13th, 2015
PRI: The Obama administration recently announced new rules to regulate fracking. But no one, it seems, is entirely happy with them.
Fracking, or hydraulic fracturing, is the process of drilling and injecting fluids into the ground at high pressure to break up shale rock formations and release natural gas that's trapped inside. The practice has helped make the United States the world’s top producer of oil and gas, and has spurred an economic boom in places like North Dakota. But it’s also become a prime...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Fracking is about to change, and almost no one is happy about itDry, warm winter leaves Western US snowpack at record low levels
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on April 13th, 2015
Reuters: Meager precipitation and a premature spring thaw caused by unusually mild temperatures last month have left the U.S. Western mountain snowpack, a key source of fresh surface water for the region, at record low levels, the government reported on Friday.
Melting of winter snows began much earlier than usual this year, from the Sierra Nevada range in California to the lower elevations of Colorado's Rockies, leaving much of the Western snowpack greatly diminished or gone by early April, when it is...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Dry, warm winter leaves Western US snowpack at record low levelsMiddle East can beat water challenge by harnessing the power of solar
Posted by National: Ahmed S Nada on April 13th, 2015
National: The late Richard Smalley, a Nobel laureate in chemistry, compiled a list in 2003 of the top 10 problems that will plague humanity for half a century. On top of the list were energy and water. His rationale for putting energy above all was that most problems could be resolved or alleviated by the availability of affordable clean energy. He was right. Energy and water pose two of the most pressing challenges for the Middle East. Studies suggest that the average citizen in the region has access to...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Middle East can beat water challenge by harnessing the power of solarMighty Rio Grande now a trickle under siege
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on April 13th, 2015
New York Times: On maps, the mighty Rio Grande meanders 1,900 miles, from southern Colorado’s San Juan Mountains to the Gulf of Mexico. But on the ground, farms and cities drink all but a trickle before it reaches the canal that irrigates Bobby Skov’s farm outside El Paso, hundreds of miles from the gulf.
Now, shriveled by the historic drought that has consumed California and most of the Southwest, that trickle has become a moist breath.
“It’s been progressively worse” since the early 2000s, Mr. Skov said...