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Archive for January 7th, 2016
Africa takes fresh look at GMO crops as drought blights continent
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on January 7th, 2016
Reuters: A scorching drought in Southern Africa that led to widespread crop failure could nudge African nations to finally embrace genetically modified (GM) crops to improve harvests and reduce grain imports.
The drought, which extends to South Africa, the continent's biggest maize producer, has been exacerbated by an El Nino weather pattern and follows dry spells last year that affected countries from Zimbabwe to Malawi.
Aid agency Oxfam has said 10 million people, mostly in Africa, face hunger because...
Posted in Water Conservation 
Comments Off on Africa takes fresh look at GMO crops as drought blights continentDroughts from climate change will hit developed countries harder
Posted by CBC: None Given on January 7th, 2016
CBC: New research suggests farms in developed countries may be more vulnerable to longer, deeper droughts predicted to occur as a result of climate change. "(Those farms) are really good in terms of producing high yields in stable climates, but maybe they're more vulnerable to weather shocks," said Navin Ramankutty of the University of British Columbia, co-author of a paper published Wednesday in the journal Nature. Ramankutty and his colleagues examined United Nations crop data from 177 countries between...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Droughts from climate change will hit developed countries harderWarming Fuels Rise in Methane Threat
Posted by Climate News Network: Alex Kirby on January 7th, 2016
Climate News Network: There is fresh concern among scientists over the rises they are detecting in one of the chief greenhouse gases, methane.
A team of researchers from universities in Sweden and the US says methane is increasing in the atmosphere fast enough for emissions of the gas possibly to rise by between 20% and 50% before the end of the century.
Over a century, methane is 25 times more powerful as a greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide, the main gas contributing to global warming. But over a 20-year period,...
storms give glimpse of future sea-level rise
Posted by KPBS: None Given on January 7th, 2016
KPBS: Sensors buried in the beach can tell researchers how the sand and ocean behave in El Niño storms and give them insight into what might happen to coastal communities when sea levels rise.
A San Diego scientist from the Scripps Institution of Oceanography is taking advantage of this week’s storms and high tides to test his models of sand movement on San Diego beaches.
Researcher Bob Guza was out Wednesday in Cardiff with his team from Scripps burying sensors in the sand.
“These sensors are...
Oregon utilities agree to phase out coal-fired power
Posted by OPB: None Given on January 7th, 2016
OPB: Oregon utilities have agreed to support a bill that would phase out coal-fired power in Oregon by 2030.
The agreement follows negotiations with the backers of a proposed ballot measure that set the same target for eliminating coal from the state`s electrical supply.
The proposed legislation would only affect Pacific Power and Portland General Electric, which together serve about 70 percent of Oregon`s electricity. It also calls for doubling the amount of renewable energy the utilities generate...
State regulators again approve Keystone XL oil pipeline
Posted by Associated Press: James Nord on January 7th, 2016
Associated Press: State regulators approved again on Tuesday the portion of the Keystone XL oil pipeline that would go through South Dakota, despite the project’s stalled status at the federal level. The South Dakota Public Utilities Commission’s decision also hinges on a requirement that TransCanada Corp. get a presidential permit for the project. President Barack Obama blocked the pipeline in November, but it could be revived under the next administration. South Dakota’s decision “further strengthens” the company’s...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on State regulators again approve Keystone XL oil pipelineGovernor declares emergency over Los Angeles gas leak
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on January 7th, 2016
New York Times: Natural gas has been spewing into the air in the Porter Ranch neighborhood here since late October, sickening residents, prompting thousands to evacuate their homes and pouring greenhouse gas into the atmosphere.
Gov. Jerry Brown, faced with mounting public anger and no end in sight to the leak, declared a state of emergency on Wednesday for the neighborhood of about 30,000 at the edge of the San Fernando Valley. And residents - who have been demanding to know why the Southern California Gas Company...
Record hot end 2015 for Australia as giant El Niño dominates
Posted by Morning Herald: Peter Hannam on January 7th, 2016
Morning Herald: Australia has posted its hottest end to any year as the impact of one of the biggest El Ninos on record began to be felt across the continent.
Mean temperatures were 0.36 degrees above the previous record for the October to December period, capping what was Australia's fifth-hottest year since the Bureau of Meteorology began keeping national figures in 1910.
2015 was another hot year for Australia - and the hottest on record for the world.
"For temperatures, it was a year of two halves -...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Record hot end 2015 for Australia as giant El Niño dominatesUnited Kingdom: Water companies withholding sewage data nearly 2,000 outfalls
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on January 7th, 2016
Guardian: Details of nearly 2,000 sewage outfalls are being withheld by water companies, according to anglers’ legal organisation Fish Legal. A freedom of information (FOI) request by Fish Legal revealed that the frequency and contents of 1,968 sewage outfalls remain unknown to the Environment Agency (EA). As a result the discharges cannot be properly regulated. During the privatisation of the water industry in 1989, several thousand outfalls were given temporary deemed consent (TDC) because no legal permits...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on United Kingdom: Water companies withholding sewage data nearly 2,000 outfalls