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Archive for April, 2015
California Works Out Details Mandatory Water Restrictions
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on April 9th, 2015
National Public Radio: State regulators will begin enforcing the new restrictions on a sliding scale. That means that some cities that have been slacking in water conservation will have to do a lot more than others.
RENEE MONTAGNE, HOST:
More now on the severe drought that is affecting much of the West Coast. It's hit hardest here in California. And in a moment, we'll look at the impact on this state's massive agriculture industry.
STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:
We're also getting a better sense of what water restrictions...
Posted in Water Conservation 
Comments Off on California Works Out Details Mandatory Water RestrictionsChina’s environment ministry blocks hydro project
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on April 9th, 2015
Reuters: China's environment ministry has refused approval for a hydropower dam on an ecologically vulnerable river already damaged by construction, a rare setback for the country's extensive dam-building program.
While the 1,000-megawatt Xiaonanhai project appears scrapped, experts said China's overall plan for dams was on course given pressure to cut smog from coal-fired power plants.
Hydropower capacity is due to rise another 60 gigawatts (GW) in five years as new projects get approved.
The Ministry...
Universities should keep leading Australia’s push to divest from fossil fuels
Posted by Guardian: Bill McKibben on April 9th, 2015
Guardian: In the UK, Archbishop Desmond Tutu has demanded that his alma mater – King’s College London – sell off its fossil fuel shares and Oxford’s former finance director threw his weight behind calls for divestment by helping to take over a university administration building.
In the US, Harvard alumni – including Star Wars actress Natalie Portman – have backed student calls for civil disobedience later this month. At historic Swarthmore College near Philadelphia, 44 students have been occupying the president’s...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Universities should keep leading Australia’s push to divest from fossil fuelsIf We Dig Out All Our Fossil Fuels, Here’s How Hot We Can Expect It to Get
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on April 9th, 2015
New York Times: World leaders are once again racing to avert disastrous levels of global warming through limits on greenhouse gas emissions. An agreement may be in reach, but because of the vast supplies of inexpensive fossil fuels, protecting the world from climate change requires the even more difficult task of disrupting today’s energy markets. The White House last month released a blueprint to reduce United States emissions by as much as 28 percent by 2025. The plan lays the groundwork for the formal international...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on If We Dig Out All Our Fossil Fuels, Here’s How Hot We Can Expect It to GetIndia expects normal monsoon rains this year
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on April 9th, 2015
Reuters: India's summer monsoon rains are expected to be normal this year, the chief economic adviser at the finance ministry said on Thursday. Monsoon rains are vital for India's farm sector, which accounts for 14 percent of the $2 trillion economy, as half of the country's farmland lacks irrigation. Weak monsoon rains have cut farm output in the past, stoking inflation. Arvind Subramanian also said inflation is not expected to run up in the medium term due to the recent unseasonal rains, which have damaged...
Garden centres urged drop bug killer to protect bees
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on April 9th, 2015
Guardian: Garden centres are being urged to withdraw products which contain a type of pesticide linked to bee declines.
In its latest product guide, Ethical Consumer magazine said that nine of the UK’s leading garden centres including B&Q and Homebase were selling Provado Ultimate Bug Killer which contains a neonicotinoid chemical known as thiacloprid.
Environmental campaigners say that while thiacloprid is less toxic to bees than three other neonicotinoid pesticides which have been banned for use on...
Drought-hit California tightens low-flow toilet, faucet rules
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on April 8th, 2015
Reuters: California on Wednesday moved to tighten already stringent regulations on how much water can flow through toilets and faucets, part of the state's effort to respond to prolonged drought.
The regulations passed by the California Energy Commission come on the heels of action on Tuesday to propose a framework for California's first-ever mandatory cutbacks in water use as the drought enters its fourth year.
“In the face of California’s current drought, we must use water as efficiently as possible,"...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Drought-hit California tightens low-flow toilet, faucet rulesHow Meat Consumption Is Linked to Climate Change and Drought
Posted by EcoWatch: None Given on April 8th, 2015
EcoWatch: As news keeps pouring in about California’s epic drought, Democracy Now! looks at the link between water shortages, climate change and meat consumption. Last week, Gov. Brown ordered residents and businesses to cut water use by 25 percent. The order, which was the first mandatory water restriction, was issued when the April 1 snowpack assessment revealed that snowpack levels are at 6 percent of normal for the state. The mandate, however, exempts some of the biggest water users in the state—Big Agriculture...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on How Meat Consumption Is Linked to Climate Change and DroughtCanada needs to get ready for climate-change refugees, and soon
Posted by Metro News: None Given on April 8th, 2015
Metro News: What happens when the most crowded places in the world are displaced by climate change?
Canada could become a refuge for those fleeing their homes in search of greener pastures. What can we do? Be ready for an influx of climate refugees.
The world’s first official climate refugee is now making his case against deportation from New Zealand to his former home on the Central Pacific atolls of Kiribati, where climate change is wreaking havoc, threatening to put the country underwater. There will...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Canada needs to get ready for climate-change refugees, and soonFor Wisconsin state workers, ‘climate change’ isn’t something you can talk about
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on April 8th, 2015
Bloomberg: Discussing climate change is out of bounds for workers at a state agency in Wisconsin. So is any work related to climate change--even responding to e-mails about the topic.
A vote on Tuesday by Wisconsin’s Board of Commissioners of Public Lands, a three-member panel overseeing an agency that benefits schools and communities in the state, enacted the staff ban on climate change. “It’s not a part of our sole mission, which is to make money for our beneficiaries,” said State Treasurer Matt Adamczyk,...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on For Wisconsin state workers, ‘climate change’ isn’t something you can talk about