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Archive for August, 2015
Puerto Rico extends water restrictions as drought worsens
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on August 6th, 2015
Associated Press: A deepening drought in Puerto Rico that has affected 2.5 million people forced the government on Wednesday to extend severe water rationing measures to more communities that are already struggling with an economic crisis.
Another 180,000 customers will now receive water only every third day, raising the total facing 48-hour cuts in service to 400,000, as the U.S. territory's main reservoirs continue to shrink, according to the island's water and sewer company.
"We have to keep the water that's...
Posted in Water Conservation 
Comments Off on Puerto Rico extends water restrictions as drought worsensGeoengineering will not save ocean life from acidification, research says
Posted by InsideClimate: Phil McKenna on August 6th, 2015
InsideClimate: Waiting to tackle ocean acidification caused by climate change through yet-to-be developed geoengineering schemes will be too little too late to prevent mass extinction of ocean life, a new study concludes.
Cutting carbon emissions is the only way for oceans to recover from the devastating effects of climate change, according to the new research published in Nature Climate Change. While using deliberate, large-scale manipulation of earth processes to combat global warming has its proponents, intervening...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Geoengineering will not save ocean life from acidification, research saysUndamming Rivers: A Chance For New Clean Energy Source
Posted by Yale Environment 360: John Waldman and Karin Limburg on August 6th, 2015
Yale Environment 360: Hydroelectric power is often touted as clean energy, but this claim is true only in the narrow sense of not causing air pollution. In many places, such as the U.S. East Coast, hydroelectric dams have damaged the ecological integrity of nearly every major river and have decimated runs of migratory fish.
This need not continue. Our rivers can be liberated from their concrete shackles, while also continuing to produce electricity at the site of former hydropower dams. How might that occur? A confluence...
Recent Climate Pleas Fall Flat in Texas
Posted by Texas Tribune: None Given on August 6th, 2015
Texas Tribune: Weeks after Pope Francis sparked an uproar by calling for decisive action to combat human-driven climate change, an official with the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston urged a roomful of mostly white, affluent environmentalists here to forge partnerships with the people who live in communities directly affected by the warming trend -- an indirect reference to the underprivileged.
"It's time consuming, but it's about building relationships and those are folks who have the stories to tell about the...
In Kansas, Less Drilling Is Triggering Fewer Earthquakes
Posted by Wichita Eagle: Dan Voorhis on August 6th, 2015
Wichita Eagle: As oil drilling in Kansas has slowed since winter, so have the number and power of earthquakes emanating from Harper and Sumner counties.
It’s no coincidence, say state geologists.
There were 67 earthquakes with a magnitude of at least 3.0 in the last year, including a 4.9 in November, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. Since April 1, there have been just 15 – and none in July.
But the geologists remain cautious. They don’t know, yet, how much of the decline in earthquakes is caused...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on In Kansas, Less Drilling Is Triggering Fewer EarthquakesWorld’s Glaciers Melting at Record Rate
Posted by Climate News Network: Alex Kirby on August 5th, 2015
Climate News Network: The world’s glaciers are melting fast—probably faster than at any time in recorded history, according to new research. Measurements show several hundred glaciers are losing between half and one meter of thickness every year—at least twice the average loss for the 20th century—and remote monitoring shows this rate of melting is far more widespread. The World Glacier Monitoring Service (WGMS), based at the University of Zurich, Switzerland, has compiled worldwide data on glacier changes for more...
Landmark paper underestimated methane leaks from gas production, study says
Posted by InsideClimate: Lisa Song on August 5th, 2015
InsideClimate: A dispute between two environmental scientists is creating a controversy over how much methane is leaking from natural gas production and is contributing to global warming. In a new report, Touché Howard, a methane gas expert and air quality consultant, says the flaws he found in a commonly used methane detector caused an acclaimed 2013 study to underestimate the amount of methane emitted by natural gas production. Howard's paper was published today in the peer-reviewed journal Energy Science &...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Landmark paper underestimated methane leaks from gas production, study saysClimate change threatens food production in Nigeria
Posted by Business Day: None Given on August 5th, 2015
Business Day: Changing rainfall patterns and higher temperatures resulting from climate change will threaten food production across the country as more than 50 percent of farmers are yet to commence planting due to inadequate rainfall.
As a result, Nigeria farmers especially those in the north have expressed fears that the change in weather being experienced this year might affect food production in the country.
African farmer Mogaji, chief executive officer, X-Ray Farms in an interview with BusinessDay...
How the West was burned: Thousands of wildfires ablaze in California alone
Posted by Mashable: None Given on August 5th, 2015
Mashable: Drought and lightning are making for a combustible combination in California. The state is suffering through its fourth straight summer of drought, and this may be known as the summer of smoke.
A staggering 10,000 national, state and local firefighters are battling fires that are popping up by the hundreds each week, the majority of which are sparked by lightning strikes from daily thunderstorms erupting over mountainous terrain, which drop little rain and cause a lot of trouble. To put the number...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on How the West was burned: Thousands of wildfires ablaze in California aloneOklahoma Gov. Fallin Cites ‘Direct Correlation’ between Disposal Wells, Earthquakes
Posted by Oklahoman: Adam Wilmoth on August 5th, 2015
Oklahoman: Gov. Mary Fallin on Tuesday acknowledged a link between Oklahoma's earthquake swarm and wastewater disposal wells used by the energy industry.
"We all know now there is a direct correlation between the increase in earthquakes we've seen in Oklahoma and the disposal wells, based upon many different factors, whether it is volume or location or whether it is on a fault line, how deep that disposal well goes into the earth itself," Fallin said Tuesday.
"Oklahoma recognizes there is an earthquake...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Oklahoma Gov. Fallin Cites ‘Direct Correlation’ between Disposal Wells, Earthquakes