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Archive for December 4th, 2015
India: Chennai floods echo at Paris climate meet
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on December 4th, 2015
Economic Times: The incessant rains in Chennai have become part of the discussions thousands of miles away in the Paris suburb of Le Bourget, where diplomats and officials from over 190 countries are working on finalising a new global regime to tackle climate change. French foreign minister Laurent Fabius, the chair of the global negotiations, expressed his solidarity with those affected by the tragedy inflicted by the torrential rainfall. "Flooding in Chennai has taken a tragic toll. I want to express solidarity...
Our Future May Hold Less Food, Thanks To Climate Change
Posted by ThinkProgress: None Given on December 4th, 2015
ThinkProgress: September was the warmest on record for the Imperial Valley, with temperatures climbing over 90 degrees. That meant trouble for farmer Alex Jack.
“It got so hot that we had a lot of problems with seeds not germinating,” said Jack, who grows lettuce, cauliflower, broccoli, and other crops in a California desert region known for producing more than two-thirds of the vegetables consumed in the United States during the winter.
To make matters worse, after dealing with unusual heat and a 60 percent...
Posted in Water Conservation 
Comments Off on Our Future May Hold Less Food, Thanks To Climate ChangeHawaii court revokes permit telescope on Mauna Kea volcano
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on December 4th, 2015
Sydney Morning Herald: The Hawaii Supreme Court has revoked a permit that would have allowed the controversial construction of one of the world's largest telescopes on a dormant volcano considered an ideal location on Earth to view the stars.
Issuing the permit to construct a 54-metre high, $US1.4 billion ($1.9 billion) astronomical observatory on the million-year-old Mauna Kea volcano on Hawaii's Big Island did not comply with case law, statutes or the state constitution, court documents showed. It also violated the...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Hawaii court revokes permit telescope on Mauna Kea volcanoHawaii court nulls Thirty Mile Telescope permit: Victory for Native Hawaiians?
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on December 4th, 2015
Associated Press: Hawaii’s Supreme Court invalidated a construction permit for the Thirty Meter Telescope Wednesday, a $1.4 billion observatory planned for the peak of Mauna Kea: the state’s tallest mountain and a cultural icon for Hawaiian natives.
The path to the Court’s decision Wednesday has been fraught with conflict. Native Hawaiians who consider the mountain sacred staged a number of local protests, several of which ended in arrests and property damage. The state Department of Land and Natural Resources...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Hawaii court nulls Thirty Mile Telescope permit: Victory for Native Hawaiians?Hawaii Supreme Court Voids Telescope Construction Permit
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on December 4th, 2015
Associated Press: A long-awaited Hawaii Supreme Court ruling Wednesday invalidating a construction permit for what would be one of the world's largest telescopes represents a major setback for the $1.4 billion project on a mountain astronomers tout for having perfect star-gazing conditions.
The ruling is a victory for protesters who say they are fighting the project to curb development, preserve Native Hawaiian culture and protect the Big Island's Mauna Kea, a mountain many consider sacred.
The court ruled that...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Hawaii Supreme Court Voids Telescope Construction PermitEffort Build World’s Biggest Telescope Hits Big Snag
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on December 4th, 2015
National Public Radio: An international consortium that wants to build the world's biggest telescope on the Big Island of Hawaii says it's deciding what to do next, after the state's Supreme Court invalidated the project's building permit.
The consortium "will follow the process set forth by the state, as we always have. We are assessing our next steps on the way forward," said Henry Yang, chairman of the Thirty Meter Telescope International Observatory Board of Directors.
In its written opinion, the court said the...
Hawaii court revokes permit for telescope project on volcano
Posted by Reuters: Suzannah Gonzales on December 4th, 2015
Reuters: The Hawaii Supreme Court on Wednesday revoked a permit that would have allowed the controversial construction of one of the world's largest telescopes on a dormant volcano considered an ideal location on Earth to view the stars.
Issuing the permit to construct a 180-foot high, $1.4 billion astronomical observatory on the Mauna Kea volcano on Hawaii's Big Island did not comply with case law, statutes or the state constitution, court documents showed. It also violated the protections of native Hawaiian...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Hawaii court revokes permit for telescope project on volcanoGlobal human freshwater footprint surges
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on December 4th, 2015
ScienceDaily: The new study shows that dams and irrigation considerably raise the global human consumption of freshwater by increasing evapotranspiration. This effect increases the loss of freshwater to the atmosphere and thereby reduces the water available for humans, societies and ecosystems on land.
"Small things that we do on the surface of the Earth can have large global effects. Previously, the global effects of local human activities such as dams had been underestimated. This study shows that, so far,...
Even El Niño delivers rain & snow, drought may never release grip
Posted by Fresno Bee: None Given on December 4th, 2015
Fresno Bee: Will the drought ever really end?
California hopes for a sodden winter of El Niño-spawned storms. If they come, our near-empty reservoirs may fill to the brim. But will the rain and snow be enough to replenish underground basins sinking from years of desperate pumping? Will that be enough to coax wary farmers to plant acres of tomatoes and melons again on fallow land? Will farmworkers find jobs close to home and rural residents see water tables rise to reach their wells?
Will the synthetic...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Even El Niño delivers rain & snow, drought may never release gripUS oil groups face rising biofuels costs, see higher pump prices
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on December 4th, 2015
Reuters: U.S. oil companies will likely pay close to $1 billion this year to put more ethanol and renewables in gasoline and diesel and face even higher compliance costs in 2016 after the U.S. government set targets for alternative fuel use above industry expectations.
Higher costs could be passed on to consumers, pushing fuel prices higher and prompting further calls from the oil industry for reductions in the quotas.
Companies such as Marathon Petroleum Co and Valero Energy Corp are scrambling to...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on US oil groups face rising biofuels costs, see higher pump prices