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Archive for November 30th, 2015
A Prehistoric Murder Mystery: Earth’s Worst Mass Extinctions
Posted by LiveScience: Paul Wignall on November 30th, 2015
LiveScience: Paul Wignall is the author of "The Worst of Times: How Life on Earth Survived Eighty Million Years of Extinctions" (Princeton University Press). He is professor of paleoenvironments at the University of Leeds. He has been investigating mass extinctions for more than 25 years, a scientific quest that has taken him to dozens of countries around the world. Wignall contributed this article to Live Science's Expert Voices: Op-Ed & Insights.
There have been good times and bad times in world history,...
Posted in Water Conservation 
Comments Off on A Prehistoric Murder Mystery: Earth’s Worst Mass ExtinctionsParis Climate Summit Opens With Dire Warning
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on November 30th, 2015
Inter Press Service: When the climate summit opened in Paris on Monday, the mood was overwhelmingly pessimistic - largely about the current state of the global environment.
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon set the tone when he warned that the impacts of climate change are growing.
"Three out of four humanitarian disasters are now climate-related. Economic losses have increased by more than half over the past decade. And ecosystems, and food and water supplies are under increasing pressure," he said.
The hardest...
Large-scale hydroelectric dam in Yukon would be a major environmental concern
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on November 30th, 2015
ScienceDaily: A new Report from Wildlife Conservation Society Canada (WCS Canada) warns of the potential for major negative impacts on fish and fish habitat caused by large hydroelectric dams, like that currently under evaluation through the Next Generation Hydro initiative. The Report, which focuses on north-western Canada, notes that substantial destruction of fish habitats caused by such a dam, along with additional threats and effects will be either very expensive or impossible to mitigate.
"Potential Impacts...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Large-scale hydroelectric dam in Yukon would be a major environmental concernIn Paris, Managing Humanity’s Relationship with Earth’s Climate Becomes Normal
Posted by New York Times: Andrew C. Revkin on November 30th, 2015
New York Times: The best thing about the Paris climate conference known as COP21, which began today with a round of position-staking and prodding speeches by President Obama and dozens of other world leaders, is that dealing with global warming has become normal, and that’s a good thing. Gone is the “seal the deal” language, aiming for some grand top-down accord, in the months before the failed Copenhagen talks in 2009. I was heartened when President Obama centered his speech on this explanation of what’s being...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on In Paris, Managing Humanity’s Relationship with Earth’s Climate Becomes NormalWill our cultural heritage stand up to freak rains?
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on November 30th, 2015
ScienceDaily: Using an old 19th century apartment block in Oslo as a case study, researchers are looking for conservation measures for heritage buildings. How can we make them watertight, insulated and protected against future climate change? "Up to 80 per cent of our current building stock will still be standing in 2050. This means that many of the buildings of the future have already been constructed, and many that were constructed before 1900 are now defined as heritage buildings. If we are to adapt them to...
Runaway ice loss in Antarctica
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on November 30th, 2015
ScienceDaily: By studying rocks at different elevations beside the East Antarctic Ice Sheet (EAIS), a New Zealand-led team concluded that a period of rapid glacier thinning occurred in the recent geological past, and persisted for several centuries. Satellite observations show that parts of the Antarctic ice sheet are currently thinning in response to a warming ocean. Of particular concern is the potential for 'marine ice sheet instability', where an initial retreat of ice margins into deepening valleys could...
Heated exchanges over link between global warming and terrorism
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on November 30th, 2015
LA Times: As world leaders convene in Paris this week to confront the long-term threat of global warming, the fact that their talks are taking place in a city still recovering from a deadly terrorist attack has amped up a long-running debate about how much climate change contributes to extremist violence.
The question is playing prominently in the U.S. presidential race. The bitter disagreement it has spawned underscores the challenge climate activists face in selling their broader message to the public....
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Heated exchanges over link between global warming and terrorismThe findings of China’s climate change report
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on November 30th, 2015
New York Times: Ahead of climate change negotiations in Paris, the Chinese government has released its latest scientific assessment of how global warming has affected and is likely to affect China. The 900-page “Third National Climate Change Assessment Report” is the work of some 550 scientists and experts, summing up the advancing knowledge of the environmental consequences of rising greenhouse gas levels. Here are the report’s main findings on how China’s environment will feel the effects of global warming: ...
‘Racing Extinction’ sounds alarm Earth’s disappearing species
Posted by Mother Nature: None Given on November 30th, 2015
Mother Nature: Raising awareness and outrage about dolphin slaughter in Japan, “The Cove” succeeded in saving thousands of dolphins. Now filmmaker Louie Psihoyos and producer Fisher Stevens have teamed up on an even more ambitious documentary that aims to do the same for endangered species and their disappearing habitats. “Racing Extinction,” which had a theatrical run in 10 cities this fall, will premiere to a wider audience on Dec. 2 to draw global attention to the biodiversity clock, which is ticking down —...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on ‘Racing Extinction’ sounds alarm Earth’s disappearing speciesWith climate at ‘breaking point’, leaders urge breakthrough in Paris
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on November 30th, 2015
Reuters: World leaders launched an ambitious attempt on Monday to hold back the earth's rising temperatures, with the United States and China urging the climate summit in Paris to mark a decisive turn in the fight against global warming.
In a series of opening addresses to the U.N. talks, heads of state and government exhorted each other to find common cause in two weeks of bargaining to steer the global economy away from its dependence on fossil fuels. French President Francois Hollande said the world...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on With climate at ‘breaking point’, leaders urge breakthrough in Paris