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Archive for May, 2015
More than 500 people killed as heat wave bakes parts of India
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on May 25th, 2015
Reuters: Soaring temperatures have gripped parts of southern and northern India in an extreme heat wave which has killed more than 500 people and looks set to continue this week, officials said on Monday. The hottest place in India was Allahabad, a city in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh, which saw mercury rise to 47.7 degrees Celsius (117.8 Fahrenheit) on Sunday, while the capital Delhi recorded a high of 43.5C (110.3F). Most of the 539 recorded deaths have been of construction workers, the elderly...
Posted in Water Conservation 
Comments Off on More than 500 people killed as heat wave bakes parts of IndiaOfficials will evaluate impacts of Colowyo Mine
Posted by Denver Post: Mark Jaffe on May 25th, 2015
Denver Post: Federal mining officials are moving ahead with a new environmental assessment on coal mining operations at the Colowyo Mine near Craig, including the impacts of greenhouse gases on climate change. On May 8, a federal district court ruling found the environmental assessment done in 2006 for the expansion of the mine on federal lands was insufficient. Judge R. Brooke Jackson gave the federal Office of Surface Mining, Reclamation and Enforcement 120 days to address the issues. One of the major deficiencies...
What impact will climate change have on Scotland?
Posted by Scotsman: None Given on May 25th, 2015
Scotsman: While climate change is no longer news to anyone, it can seem like an arbitrary concept; a term bandied about by politicians and cited by campaigners. But its effects, caused by all of us, will be felt by all of us. Scotland -- its wildlife and landscapes -- is already experiencing the consequences of our changing climate, and we are only likely to see more of these if the changes continue at their current rate. Here are some of the ways Scotland will feel the impact. Coastal habitats could be lost...
United Kingdom: Trust backs beaver reintroduction
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on May 25th, 2015
BBC: Beavers should be resident in Scotland, according to the National Trust for Scotland.
The heritage body said it supported the general licensed reintroduction of the animals.
Scottish Natural Heritage is due to release a report on the Knapdale beaver trial in Argyll ahead of a government decision on the project's future.
More than 150 beavers, which originated from escapes or illegal releases, also live in waterways in Tayside.
The Trust has published a policy statement setting out its...
Deadly heatwaves will be more frequent coming decades, say scientists
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on May 25th, 2015
Guardian: The heatwave that scorched eastern Europe in 2010, killing thousands of people and devastating crops, was the worst since records began and led to the warmest summer on the continent for at least 500 years, a new scientific analysis has revealed.
The research also suggests that "mega-heatwaves", such as the prolonged extreme temperatures that struck western Europe in 2003 will become five to 10 times more likely over the next 40 years, occurring at least once a decade. But the 2010 heatwave was...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Deadly heatwaves will be more frequent coming decades, say scientistsDeadly heatwave in India kills more than 500 people
Posted by Blue and Green: None Given on May 25th, 2015
Blue and Green: Some parts of the country are hitting 45C, leaving many people in the most isolated areas dead by heatstroke and extreme dehydration. Authorities say the heatwave might last for another 48 hours.
Areas hit by the high temperatures include Delhi, Palam, Uttar Pradesh and southern states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana – where temperature hit 48C.
People have been advised to stay indoors and drink plenty of water, but many living in rural areas or in the streets might struggle to do that.
India...
United Kingdom: Climate activists attack Edinburgh University stance fossil fuels
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on May 24th, 2015
Guardian: A group of academics and climate activists from around the world has condemned the University of Edinburgh’s refusal to divest from fossil fuel companies, saying that its arguments for not doing so are cynical and wrong.
More than three-dozen people representing both international groups and those from places including the UK, Australia and Guyanahave signed a letter attacking the university’s stance and which was written in response to a comment piece by Prof Charlie Jeffery, Edinburgh’s senior...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on United Kingdom: Climate activists attack Edinburgh University stance fossil fuelsWhy the University of Edinburgh must divest from all fossil fuels now
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on May 24th, 2015
Guardian: It was wrong for American Energy Alliance and ExxonMobil to claim that the oil and coal industries are helping people living in poverty in the global south, and it is wrong for Professor Charlie Jeffery to do so too (Why the University of Edinburgh will not divest from all fossil fuels, theguardian.com, 12 May). The world’s poorest people are already facing hardship from climate-related effects on food supply and water.
Pitting fossil fuel divestment against the world’s poor is a cynical move...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Why the University of Edinburgh must divest from all fossil fuels nowCalifornia oil spill despoils coastline in tar-blackened reprise of 1960s disaster
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on May 24th, 2015
Guardian: Mark Massara was eight years old in 1969, when a blowout at a Union Oil well off the California coast spilled more than three million gallons of crude along the beaches of Santa Barbara and devastated one of the northern hemisphere’s most prized ecosystems.
He remembers going to the beach with his family and throwing hay on the oil as it washed ashore – a frustratingly inadequate gesture that stayed with him as he later built a career as one of California’s top environmental lawyers.
Last week,...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on California oil spill despoils coastline in tar-blackened reprise of 1960s disasterTree Project Aims to Put the Oak Back in Oakland
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on May 23rd, 2015
New York Times: In the beginning, before stylized images of oak trees started appearing on T-shirts, bumper stickers and even Mayor Libby Schaaf’s election-night earrings in November, there were actually oak woodlands in Oakland. And while this may be the largest city in America named after a tree, these days there are very few of the oaks left. Thus began the fledgling campaign to “re-oak” Oakland, which started on a recent weekend when a team of volunteers planted an inaugural stand of 72 saplings of coast live...