Archive for September 26th, 2015
Scientists: Algae not just Toledo problem
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on September 26th, 2015
Toledo Blade: Climate change and poor land use have caused explosive growth of toxic algae around the world in recent years, putting more water-treatment plant operators on high alert and increasing anxiety of consumers.
Over the past two decades, the scourge has become so widespread, from the Arctic Circle to South America, that scientists were almost unfazed when they learned that trace amounts of the harmful algal toxin microcystin, the same one behind 2014's Toledo water crisis, showed up for the first...
Canada: The brutal math of climate change
Posted by Toronto Star: Yonatan Strauch Thomas Homer-Dixon on September 26th, 2015
Toronto Star: By making the oilsands the engine of economic growth, Canada has bet its economy against the climate. It’s a myth that a thriving oilsands industry and a livable climate can be easily reconciled. The brutal math of climate change confronts that myth, and that’s why in Canada this math is taboo.
NDP candidate Linda McQuaig breached this taboo when she uttered the words “a lot of the oilsands oil may have to stay in the ground.” An uproar ensued. Even though McQuaig’s statement was based in undeniable...
Rising sea levels and stronger storms increase flood danger
Posted by Environmental News Network: ClickGreen Staff on September 26th, 2015
Environmental News Network: New research has found rising sea levels and stronger storms associated with climate change will produce longer-lasting, more intense periods of flooding.
Many studies predict that future sea-level rise along the U.S. Atlantic and Gulf coasts will increase flooding. Others suggest that the human-caused warming driving this rise will also boost the intensity and frequency of big coastal storms.
Up to now, though, these two hazards have been assessed mostly in isolation from each other. Now,...
Italy’s glaciers retreated by 40 percent: WWF
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on September 26th, 2015
Indo-Asian News Service: Alpine glaciers in Italy have lost an estimated 40 per cent of their area over the last three decades, a recent report released by World Wildlife Fund (WWF) has said. "The situation of glaciers on the Italian side of the Alps is very worrying," Xinhua news agency on Friday quoted Gianfranco Bologna, scientific director of WWF-Italy and co-author of the report as saying. The Hot Ice report was unveiled earlier this week, ahead of a crucial United Nations Climate Change Conference due to be held...