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Archive for February, 2016
Enhanced levels of carbon dioxide are likely cause of global dryland greening, study says
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on February 16th, 2016
ScienceDaily: Enhanced levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide are a likely key driver of global dryland greening, according to a paper published in the journal Scientific Reports. The positive trend in vegetation greenness has been observed through satellite images, but the reasons for it had been unclear. After analyzing 45 studies from eight countries, Lixin Wang, assistant professor of earth sciences in the School of Science at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis, and a Ph.D. student in Wang's...
Posted in Water Conservation 
Comments Off on Enhanced levels of carbon dioxide are likely cause of global dryland greening, study saysBeavers bring environmental benefits
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on February 16th, 2016
ScienceDaily: Beavers are beneficial to the Scottish environment, say academics from The University of Stirling. A study into the ecology and habitat engineering of beavers reintroduced to a site on Tayside in 2002 has found the creatures can improve biodiversity, minimise pollutants and reduce downstream flooding. Examining head water streams which drain water from 13 hectares of Scottish countryside, scientists compared areas where beavers had been active with areas in which they were absent. The study formed...
Study Ties U.S. to Spike Global Methane Emissions
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on February 16th, 2016
Climate Central: There was a huge global spike in one of the most potent greenhouse gases driving climate change over the last decade, and the U.S. may be the biggest culprit, according a new Harvard University study. The United States alone could be responsible for between 30 percent and 60 percent of the global growth in human-caused atmospheric methane emissions since 2002 because of a 30 percent spike in methane emissions across the country, the study says. The research shows that emissions increased the most...
Oklahoma calls for more disposal wells to shut after quake
Posted by Reuters: Heide Brandes on February 16th, 2016
Reuters: Oklahoma's oil and gas regulator released a wide-ranging plan on Tuesday to scale back use of wastewater injection wells in western Oklahoma, just days after a 5.1 magnitude quake rocked the state. Seven counties are affected by the plan, which is the largest push yet in western Oklahoma to curb seismic activity linked to wells to dispose of saltwater, a natural byproduct of oil and gas work. Saltwater disposal needs have grown in tandem with the growth in horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing,...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Oklahoma calls for more disposal wells to shut after quakeSecond Review of EPA’s Fracking Study Urges Revisions to Major Statements in Executive Summary
Posted by EcoWatch: Wenonah Hauter on February 16th, 2016
EcoWatch: The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency`s (EPA) independent Scientific Advisory Board Members of the Hydraulic Fracturing Research Advisory Panel released today a second review of the U.S. EPA’s draft assessment saying that that they still have "concerns" regarding the clarity and adequacy of support for several findings presented in the EPA’s draft Assessment Report of the impacts of fracking on drinking water supplies in the U.S.
This second draft report is still very critical of the EPA’s...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Second Review of EPA’s Fracking Study Urges Revisions to Major Statements in Executive SummaryFrench Ecology Minister Calls for Ban on Glyphosate Formulations
Posted by EcoWatch: None Given on February 16th, 2016
EcoWatch: Ségolène Royal, France’s minister of ecology, sustainable development and energy, has called for a ban on glyphosate mixed with certain adjuvants (additives) due to its perceived risks to human health. On Feb. 12, Royal called for ANSES--France`s food, environment and health agency--to withdraw authorizations on herbicides containing glyphosate mixed with the adjuvant tallow amine, according to French newspaper Le Monde (via Google translate). Although it wasn`t explicitly said, one can only conclude...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on French Ecology Minister Calls for Ban on Glyphosate FormulationsThe Beetles: Eighty-Nine Million Acres of Abrupt Climate Change
Posted by Truthout: None Given on February 16th, 2016
Truthout: A 100,000-acre spruce beetle kill drapes this alpine mountain park like a heavy wool blanket. Except for a green strip of young trees along the old logging roads that crisscross forested areas like these, 90 percent or more of the rest of the forest has been killed. Groundhog Park, La Garita Range, Rio Grande National Forest, south central Colorado, elevation 11,000 feet. Background: Mesa Mountain, elevation 12,994 feet. (Photo: Bruce Melton)
We were awash for 19 days in a tumultuous sea of mountains...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on The Beetles: Eighty-Nine Million Acres of Abrupt Climate ChangeInteractive Map Shows Where Monsanto’s Roundup Is Sprayed in NYC
Posted by EcoWatch: None Given on February 16th, 2016
EcoWatch: New York City residents can now find out if Monsanto’s Roundup is sprayed on their corners, parks, playgrounds and picnic areas.
The interactive map below will be presented to Mitchell J. Silver, commissioner of the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation at a meeting Tuesday by the the Black Institute, Reverend Billy and The Stop Shopping Choir, Stop The Spray and other members of the Coalition Against Poison Parks. The groups will demand an end to the use of Roundup and glyphosate,...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Interactive Map Shows Where Monsanto’s Roundup Is Sprayed in NYCGlobal Water Shortages May Be Far Worse than We Thought
Posted by Safe Bee: Marianne Wait on February 16th, 2016
Safe Bee: A new study found that about two-thirds of the world’s population, or some 4 billion people, face severe water shortages during at least one month of every year. Half of the 4 billion are in India and China, but people in other countries, including the United States and Mexico, are also affected.
“Most water is used for food, so water scarcity primarily translates to decreasing or failing crop yields,” wrote study co-author Mesfin Mekonnen in an email to SafeBee. Mekonnena is postdoctoral researcher...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Global Water Shortages May Be Far Worse than We ThoughtFour Billion People Suffer From Severe Water Scarcity World Wide
Posted by Nature World News: None Given on February 16th, 2016
Nature World News: Nearly 66 percent of the world's human population suffers from insufficient access to fresh water for at least one month out of the year. This estimate, which equates to about four billion people, is far greater than scientists thought.
Previously it was believed that that between 1.7 and 3.1 billion people lived with moderate to severe water scarcity for at least one month of year. However, in the latest study, led by Dr. Arjen Hoekstra of the Netherlands' University of Twente, researchers used...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Four Billion People Suffer From Severe Water Scarcity World Wide