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Archive for May, 2015
How El Niño affects everything from flu pandemics to the price of coffee
Posted by Blue and Green: None Given on May 17th, 2015
Blue and Green: Noticed any crazy weather lately? You may be feeling the return of El Niño. Scientists announced yesterday that one of the most potent influences on global weather patterns is back after a 5-year hiatus. This article was written by Michael Reilly and first published on Timeline.com. Get Timeline App. A robust El Niño spells a muted hurricane season for the eastern US, and much-needed rains for the west, which has been parched for years. But other parts of the world are likely to face drought, wildfires...
Posted in Water Conservation 
Comments Off on How El Niño affects everything from flu pandemics to the price of coffeeAustralia: Government bans dumping from new dredging projects into Great Barrier Reef
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on May 17th, 2015
Guardian: The federal government has finalised a ban on the dumping of sediment from new dredging projects into the waters of the Great Barrier Reef, as a decision looms on whether the ecosystem will be listed as “in danger” by the UN.
Greg Hunt, the federal environment minister, said he has approved an amendment to the Great Barrier Reef marine park regulations to ban capital dredge spoil being dumped there.
The ban will apply to all past, present and future applications for dumping of new seabed excavations...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Australia: Government bans dumping from new dredging projects into Great Barrier ReefHundreds activists launch floating protest new Arctic drilling rig
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on May 17th, 2015
Telegraph: Hundreds of activists decked out in neoprene wetsuits and life jackets took to the water off Seattle in kayaks, canoes, paddleboards and other vessels to send the message that Royal Dutch Shell should cancel its plan to drill in the Arctic Ocean.
The "Shell No" protest was held nearby to where Shell's Polar Pioneer drilling rig is docked.
Once out on the water, kayakers gathered in formation and hoisted signs and banners that read: "Climate Justice," "Oil-Free Future" and "We can't burn all...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Hundreds activists launch floating protest new Arctic drilling rigEcuador breaks Guinness reforestation record
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on May 16th, 2015
Agence France-Presse: Ecuador broke a world record for reforestation Saturday, as thousands of people pitched in to plant 647,250 trees of more than 200 species, President Rafael Correa said. "I have just been informed that we have broken the Guinness record for reforestation," the president said in his weekly address. Correa said the seedlings were planted all over Ecuador, which boasts varied geography from its Pacific coast, high Andean peaks and low Amazon basin areas. Environment Minister Lorena Tapia said on...
Link between unseasonal rains, disasters & climate change: Is India playing ostrich?
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on May 16th, 2015
Economic Times: Soon after the 7.9 magnitude earthquake in Nepal in end-April , geologists based in Europe asserted that the tragedy was caused by climate change.
These experts were of the opinion that the pressure that falls upon the underlying tectonic plates on account of excess rainfall and its ebb and flow in the river deltas of India and Bangladesh could have triggered the earthquake in the neighbouring country or at the least hastened its occurrence.
Speaking to Newsweek, University College London's...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Link between unseasonal rains, disasters & climate change: Is India playing ostrich?How Debate Over TMT Prompt Problematic Email
Posted by Hawaii Public Radio: None Given on May 16th, 2015
Hawaii Public Radio: The controversial Thirty Meter Telescope has sparked debate in astronomy departments across the country. Apart from the discussion about the protest itself, questions are being raised about diversity within the astronomy community. HPR’s Molly Solomon takes us to one university.
Last month Professor Alexei Filippenko, of the University of California Berkeley, sent out a link to a petition in support of the TMT. It included a note from Professor Sandra Faber at UC Santa Cruz and it landed in the...
Seattle flotilla protests Shell’s Arctic drilling plans
Posted by Reuters: Bryan Cohen and Victoria Cavaliere on May 16th, 2015
Reuters: Hundreds of activists in kayaks and small boats fanned out on a Seattle bay on Saturday to protest plans by Royal Dutch Shell to resume oil exploration in the Arctic and keep two of its drilling rigs stored in the city's port. Environmental groups have vowed to disrupt the Anglo-Dutch oil company's efforts to use the Seattle as a home base as it outfits the rigs to return to the Chukchi Sea off Alaska, saying drilling in the remote Arctic waters could lead to an ecological catastrophe. Demonstrators...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Seattle flotilla protests Shell’s Arctic drilling plansCanada: New climate change targets don’t address oilsands
Posted by CBC: None Given on May 16th, 2015
CBC: Kathleen Wynne calling for more than Ottawa's 'nebulous notion' of emissions targets Canada sets carbon emissions reduction target of 30% by 2030 How Canada's provinces are tackling greenhouse gas emissions Rachel Notley and Alberta NDP offer few details on environmental plans
Canada announced new greenhouse gas reduction targets on Friday, pledging to cut emissions by 30 per cent over the next 15 years, but the plan says nothing about reining in the pollution from Alberta's oilsands.
"What...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Canada: New climate change targets don’t address oilsandsPope Francis endorses climate action petition to world leaders
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on May 16th, 2015
Ecologist: The Pope has urged Catholics around the world to sign a new faith-inspired petition calling on world leaders to limit global warming to 1.5C, shortly after declaring that there is 'clear, definitive and ineluctable ethical imperative to act' on climate change.
Climate change hits the poorest first and hardest, and will leave an unnecessarily dire legacy for future generations. We Catholics need to step up against climate change and raise a strong voice asking political leaders to take action urgently....
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Pope Francis endorses climate action petition to world leadersWashington state governor declares drought emergency
Posted by Reuters: Victoria Cavaliere on May 16th, 2015
Reuters: Washington state Governor Jay Inslee declared a statewide drought emergency on Friday, saying drought conditions due to a lack of snowpack are some of the worst on record in a region normally known for its drizzly weather.
In an announcement in the state capital of Olympia, Inslee said the drought had "deepened dramatically in the past few weeks," with conditions expected to worsen as the hot summer months approach.
The emergency declaration will free up funds and water rights to help counties...