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Archive for May, 2015
Look out, Arizona! California isn’t the only state getting hit by drought
Posted by Grist: Eric Holthaus on May 11th, 2015
Grist: Two weeks ago, Lake Mead, which sits on the border of Nevada and Arizona, set a new record low — the first time since the construction of the Hoover Dam in the 1930s that the lake’s surface has dipped below 1,080 feet above sea level. The West’s drought is so bad that official plans for water rationing have now begun — with Arizona’s farmers first on the chopping block. Yes, despite the drought’s epicenter in California, it’s Arizona that will bear the brunt of the West’s epic dry spell. The huge...
Posted in Water Conservation 
Comments Off on Look out, Arizona! California isn’t the only state getting hit by droughtHarmful algal blooms Chesapeake Bay are becoming more frequent
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on May 11th, 2015
ScienceDaily: A recent study of harmful algal blooms in the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries by the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science show a marked increase in these ecosystem-disrupting events in the past 20 years that are being fed by excess nitrogen runoff from the watershed. While algal blooms have long been of concern, this study is the first to document their increased frequency in the Bay and is a warning that more work is needed to reduce nutrient pollution entering the Bay's waters....
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Harmful algal blooms Chesapeake Bay are becoming more frequentResearch aims to restore riparian corridors and an iconic tree
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on May 11th, 2015
ScienceDaily: Research by the U.S. Forest Service at the Finger Lakes National Forest (FLNF) is exploring whether native trees can restore a degraded stream corridor and whether degraded stream corridors can help one of those native trees -- the American elm -- stage a comeback.
"Forest Service research is a vital part of keeping our rural and urban forests healthy, sustainable and more resilient to disturbances now and for future generations," said Michael T. Rains, Director of the Forest Service's Northern...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Research aims to restore riparian corridors and an iconic treeWhy California Farmers Are Conflicted About Using Less Water
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on May 11th, 2015
National Public Radio: The drought across much of the Western U.S. is now in its fourth year. In California - where it's the most intense - farms are not under the same strict orders to conserve as cities are.
And inside the agriculture industry, farmers are quietly debating how best to respond to the drought. Given uncertainty around pending state regulations, some say there may be an incentive to not invest in water-saving technologies right now.
In the world of water conservation, there are a few no-brainer solutions....
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Why California Farmers Are Conflicted About Using Less WaterFear of Ruin as Disease Takes Hold of Italy’s Olive Trees
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on May 11th, 2015
New York Times: Across the stony heel of Italy, a peninsula ringed by the blue-green waters of the Mediterranean, olive trees have existed for centuries, shaping the landscape and producing some of the nation’s finest olive oils. Except now many of the trees are dying.
Sprinkled among the healthy trees are clusters of sick ones, denuded of leaves and standing like skeletons, their desiccated branches bereft of olives. The trees are succumbing to a bacterial outbreak that is sweeping across one of Italy’s most...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Fear of Ruin as Disease Takes Hold of Italy’s Olive TreesGene could help plants resist climate change
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on May 11th, 2015
RedOrbit: Plants are highly sensitive to environmental changes. Temperature affects multiple aspects of plant development, yet we know little about the processes and mechanisms underlying thermo-sensitive growth. Too close to the sun But researchers recently discovered a new gene that enables plants to regulate their growth in different temperatures. This could lead to new methods of optimizing plant growth and may help combat the effects of climate change. The gene was named ICARUS1, after the figure from...
Water fleas genetically adapt to climate change
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on May 11th, 2015
ScienceDaily: The water flea has genetically adapted to climate change. Biologists from KU Leuven, Belgium, compared 'resurrected' water fleas -- hatched from 40-year-old eggs -- with more recent specimens. The project was coordinated by Professor Luc De Meester from the Laboratory of Aquatic Ecology, Evolution and Conservation.
The water flea has genetically adapted to climate change. Biologists from KU Leuven, Belgium, compared 'resurrected' water fleas -- hatched from forty-year-old eggs -- with more recent...
Carbon emissions from peatlands may be less than expected
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on May 11th, 2015
ScienceDaily: Duke University scientists have discovered a previously unknown dual mechanism that slows peat decay and may help reduce carbon dioxide emissions from peatlands during times of drought.
"This discovery could hold the key to helping us find a way to significantly reduce the risk that increased drought and global warming will change Earth's peatlands from carbon sinks into carbon sources, as many scientists have feared," said Curtis J. Richardson, director of the Duke University Wetland Center and...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Carbon emissions from peatlands may be less than expectedFarmers Fight Real Estate Developers for Kenya’s Most Prized Asset: Land
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on May 11th, 2015
Inter Press Service: Vegetables grown in the lush soil of this quiet agricultural community in central Kenya's fertile wetlands not only feed the farmers who tend the crops, but also make their way into the marketplaces of Nairobi, the country's capital, some 150 km south.
Spinach, carrots, kale, cabbages, tomatoes, maize, legumes and tubers are plentiful here in the village of Ngangarithi, a landscape awash in green, intersected by clean, clear streams that local children play in.
"I am not fighting for myself...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Farmers Fight Real Estate Developers for Kenya’s Most Prized Asset: LandEarth’s cloudy demeanour unveiled by NASA’s Aqua satellite
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on May 11th, 2015
New Scientist: Waiting for the sun to come out? It might be unwise to hold your breath. Earth is generally a cloudy place, according to this map.
NASA's Aqua satellite has built up this average view of Earth's surface by monitoring global cloud cover every day since 2002.
Cloud-free areas are dark blue, lighter shades represent more cloud cover, and the most overcast areas are white.
The map reveals three particularly cloudy bands. A white strip runs close to the equator while two wider bands run roughly...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Earth’s cloudy demeanour unveiled by NASA’s Aqua satellite