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Archive for August 3rd, 2015
Fact or Fiction?: Natural Gas Reduce Global Warming Pollution
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on August 3rd, 2015
Scientific American: A drop in U.S. carbon dioxide pollution in recent years stems from burning natural gas instead of coal. Or does it? Given that the U.S. bid to combat climate change through actions like the Clean Power Plan relies on more burning of gas than coal in power plants, that answer is both politically and scientifically important.
Compared with coal, burning natural gas results in roughly half the amount of CO2 per megawatt-hour of electricity. Yet even half the CO2, when spread over hundreds of power...
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Comments Off on Fact or Fiction?: Natural Gas Reduce Global Warming PollutionMore Californians believe in global warming
Posted by Daily Democrat: None Given on August 3rd, 2015
Daily Democrat: More than 60 percent of Californians — including a majority in every region of the state, from the inland areas to the coast — say global warming is already affecting California, a new poll from the Public Policy Institute of California finds.
But one group of Californians is much less convinced: Republicans. A majority say they don’t believe that climate change is happening and that they don’t think it will be a serious problem in the future. They also support expanding fossil fuel production...
California Has Missed Equivalent Of Full Year of Rain in Ongoing Drought, Study Shows
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on August 3rd, 2015
Yale Environment 360: Over the past three years of severe drought, California has accumulated a rain "debt" equal to a year's worth of precipitation, NASA researchers report in the Journal of Geophysical Research — Atmospheres. The state is roughly 20 inches behind in total precipitation, the scientists calculate, which is the average amount expected to fall in the state in a single year. The deficit has been driven primarily by a lack of extreme precipitation events known as atmospheric rivers — water vapor-rich air...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on California Has Missed Equivalent Of Full Year of Rain in Ongoing Drought, Study ShowsHeat Index in Iran Hits 164 Degrees: Among Hottest Urban Temperatures Ever Endured by Mankind
Posted by EcoWatch: None Given on August 3rd, 2015
EcoWatch: A heat wave passing over the Middle East sent temperature skyrocketing to extreme levels over the weekend.
In the Iranian city of Bandar Mahshahr--a city of more than 100,000 people atop the Persian Gulf--the heat index, reached an astonishing 73C (164F) on Friday afternoon, according to the Weather Channel.
Temperatures were so high, the city almost broke a world record, just a few degrees lower than the highest ever record heat index, which was recorded at 81C (178F) in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Heat Index in Iran Hits 164 Degrees: Among Hottest Urban Temperatures Ever Endured by MankindClimate change imperils an entire UK ecosystem
Posted by Climate News Network: Alex Kirby on August 3rd, 2015
Climate News Network: The UK may still be fairly well sheltered from the impacts of climate change, but British scientists now say the increasingly warm trend is threatening an entire eco-system.
They have found that several rare upland bird species are at risk, together with other ecosystem functions, because of the effects of climate change on the UK’s blanket bogs - the peat bogs found mainly in the wetter western and northern uplands of Britain.
Following their study of uplands from mid-Wales to northern England,...
Northern California fire explodes; 24 homes lost, thousands threatened
Posted by LA Times: Joel Rubin, Kurt Chirbas and Paige St. John on August 3rd, 2015
LA Times: The Rocky fire exploded overnight, burning 47,000 acres as of Sunday morning and threatening 6,000 structures in Lake, Yolo and Colusa counties.
The U.S. Forest Service said "fire activity dramatically progressed" late Saturday, forcing the closure of several state highways in the area. The fire is just 5% contained; about 12,000 people have been ordered to evacuate.
Nearly 2,000 firefighters are battling the blaze and more are coming into the area. The Rocky fire is burning east of Clear Lake,...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Northern California fire explodes; 24 homes lost, thousands threatened‘Godzilla’ El Niño is coming
Posted by Mail and Guardian: Sipho Kings on August 3rd, 2015
Mail and Guardian: Last year was the hottest year in recorded history. It continued a trend of every year in the last decade being warmer than the one before. Nine of the ten hottest years in record happened in that same time period. This is despite all the things that traditionally make the world colder – less solar activity and more aerosols in the atmosphere – being dominant in the climactic system.
The odd year out was 1998. This corresponded with a strong El Niño. The phenomenon has a large-scale effect on...
Obama to unveil clean energy plan
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on August 3rd, 2015
BBC: US President Barack Obama is due to unveil what he called "the biggest, most important step we have ever taken" in tackling climate change. The aim of the revised Clean Power Plan is to cut greenhouse gas emissions from US power stations by nearly a third within 15 years. The measures will place significant emphasis on wind and solar power and other renewable energy sources. However, opponents in the energy industry have vowed to fight the plan. They say Mr Obama has declared "a war on coal",...
Australia’s leaders ‘wilfully blind’ about climate change, says former NAB chief
Posted by Guardian: Oliver Milman on August 3rd, 2015
Guardian: Australia’s political leaders are “wilfully blind” to the challenge of climate change, with the country at risk from an “economically reckless” reliance upon fossil fuels, the former head of the National Australia Bank has warned. Cameron Clyne, who was chief executive of NAB from 2009 until he stood down last year, said he doesn’t “think any of us have grasped quite how revolutionary” the emergence of renewable energy will be, warning that Australia cannot continue to be wedded to carbon-heavy...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Australia’s leaders ‘wilfully blind’ about climate change, says former NAB chiefFrom open sewage to high-tech hydrohub, Singapore leads water revolution
Posted by Reuters: Alisa Tang on August 3rd, 2015
Reuters: Fifty years ago Singapore had to ration water, and its smelly rivers were devoid of fish and choked with waste from shipbuilding, pig farms and toilets that emptied directly into streams. But it's a very different story today. The world's most densely populated country now collects rainwater from two-thirds of its land, recycles wastewater and is even developing technology that mimics human kidneys to desalinate seawater. "In about a lifetime, we have transformed Singapore," said George Madhavan,...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on From open sewage to high-tech hydrohub, Singapore leads water revolution