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Archive for January 11th, 2016
El Niño Heat Peaks, But Impacts Still to Come
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on January 11th, 2016
Climate Central: It looks like this El Niño — which will rank among the strongest on record — has passed its peak in terms of tropical ocean temperatures, but it’s not going away anytime soon. In fact, the biggest El Niño impacts on the U.S., like rain and snow for California, are probably still to come. The country has already started to feel the influence of El Niño with a recent spate of storms that dumped much-needed precipitation on California. The cold winter months are when El Niño holds sway over North American...
Aliso Canyon methane leak emissions sky-high, pilot scientist finds
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on January 11th, 2016
ScienceDaily: A UC Davis scientist flying in a pollution-detecting airplane provided the first, and so far only, estimates of methane emissions spewing from the Aliso Canyon Natural Gas Storage Facility in Southern California since the leak began on Oct. 23, 2015. Those estimates were provided to the California Air Resources Board in November. Pilot and UC Davis project scientist Stephen Conley continues to measure emissions from the still uncontrolled leak, which has displaced thousands of residents in the affluent...
Posted in Water Conservation 
Comments Off on Aliso Canyon methane leak emissions sky-high, pilot scientist findsMichigan governor to request federal aid in Flint water crisis
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on January 11th, 2016
Reuters: Michigan Governor Rick Snyder on Monday said the state was beginning to put together a request for federal assistance in dealing with the lead-contaminated drinking water in the city of Flint.
"We also have engaged FEMA in this process," the governor said at a news conference in Flint. A spokesman for the governor said Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) officials were already in Flint providing technical assistance on the issue.
"We actually have liaison officers from FEMA in dialogue...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Michigan governor to request federal aid in Flint water crisisGiant icebergs play key role in removing carbon dioxide from atmosphere
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on January 11th, 2016
ScienceDaily: Pioneering research from the University of Sheffield's Department of Geography discovered melting water from giant icebergs, which contains iron and other nutrients, supports hitherto unexpectedly high levels of phytoplankton growth.
This activity, known as carbon sequestration, contributes to the long-term storage of atmospheric carbon dioxide, therefore helping to slow global warming.
During the study, which is the first of its kind on this scale, a team of scientists led by Professor Grant...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Giant icebergs play key role in removing carbon dioxide from atmosphereFor French Ski Resorts, a Scramble to Offset Snow Deficit
Posted by New York Times: Celestine Bohlen on January 11th, 2016
New York Times: Bright sunshine and mostly brown slopes welcomed skiers to the Chamonix-Mont-Blanc Valley just before New Year's Eve, a sight that hardly came as a shock.
Across France, December 2015 was already on track to be the warmest since 1900, a fact since confirmed by Météo France, the national weather service.
The toll of global warming on Alpine ski resorts has already been well documented. A 2006-7 report by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, which landed in the middle of...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on For French Ski Resorts, a Scramble to Offset Snow DeficitAgroecology in Africa: Mitigation the Old New Way
Posted by Inter Press Service: Frederic Mousseau on January 11th, 2016
Inter Press Service: Millions of African farmers don’t need to adapt to climate change. They have done that already. Like many others across the continent, indigenous communities in Ethiopia’s Gamo Highlands are well prepared against climate variations. The high biodiversity, which forms the basis of their traditional enset-based agricultural systems, allows them to easily adjust their farming practices, including the crops they grow, to climate variations. People in Gamo are also used to managing their environment...
British Columbia to oppose Kinder Morgan’s pipeline expansion
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on January 11th, 2016
Reuters: The British Columbia government said on Monday it will formally oppose the expansion of Kinder Morgan Inc's Trans Mountain pipeline to Canada's west coast, another blow to oil sands producers already reeling from a global crude price crash. Kinder Morgan wants to nearly treble Trans Mountain's capacity to carry 890,000 barrels per day of crude from landlocked Alberta, to Burnaby, British Columbia, where it can be loaded on to tankers and shipped to lucrative Asian refining markets. Alberta's carbon-intensive...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on British Columbia to oppose Kinder Morgan’s pipeline expansionGiant icebergs are slowing climate change, research reveals
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on January 11th, 2016
Guardian: Giant melting icebergs may be a symbol of climate change but new research has revealed that the plumes of nutrient-rich waters they leave in their wake lead to millions of tonnes of carbon being trapped each year. Researchers examined 175 satellite photos of giant icebergs in the Southern Ocean which surrounds Antarctica and discovered green plumes stretching up to 1,000km behind them. The greener colour of the plumes is due to blooms of phytoplankton, which thrive on the iron and other nutrients...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Giant icebergs are slowing climate change, research revealsThe solution for melting polar ice caps may be hiding in rainforest
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on January 11th, 2016
Guardian: There was already dramatic evidence that our planet is undeniably warming before 30 December 2015, when the world heard that the ice at the North Pole was melting. (The temperature on 30 December 2015 was, by some reports, 33ºF [0.7ºC], 50ºF above average).
And yet one immediate, effective way to fight climate change and save polar ice caps is half a world away, in the tropics. Tropical forest conservation and restoration could constitute half of the global warming solution, according to a recent...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on The solution for melting polar ice caps may be hiding in rainforestHigh-stakes claims, hazy precedent steer Keystone XL lawsuit
Posted by EnergyWire: Ellen M. Gilmer on January 11th, 2016
EnergyWire: TransCanada Corp.'s attempt to resuscitate the Keystone XL pipeline promises a drawn out legal battle over President Obama's rejection of the long-embattled oil project.
The pipeline backer Wednesday lodged dual complaints challenging Obama's November rejection of the proposed oil pipeline. While one complaint seeks to recover sunk investments under the North American Free Trade Agreement (EnergyWire, Jan. 7), the other asks a federal court in Texas to declare that Obama was constitutionally out...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on High-stakes claims, hazy precedent steer Keystone XL lawsuit