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Archive for February, 2016
January Smashed Another Global Temperature Record
Posted by Climate Central: Brian Kahn on February 16th, 2016
Climate Central: The calendar may have turned to 2016, but temperatures are picking up where 2015 left off. January was record warm, according to data released this week by NASA.
You may recall that last year was the hottest on record for the globe. And by NASA's accounting, it ended with a bang. This past December was the warmest December on record and the most abnormally warm month on record, too.
That is until now.
This January was the warmest January on record by a large margin while also claiming the...
Europe places bets on natural gas to secure energy future
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on February 16th, 2016
Guardian: The future of Europe’s energy supply is to rely heavily on natural gas for the coming two decades and beyond, according to a new strategy set out on Tuesday by the European commission.
The plans were immediately attacked by green campaigners, who contrasted the continued role of fossil fuels with commitments to cut carbon dioxide made by the EU at the Paris climate summit two months ago.
Gas will have to be imported, from sources including Russia, Norway, Qatar and other Gulf states, under...
Posted in Water Conservation 
Comments Off on Europe places bets on natural gas to secure energy futureCambodia Preparing for the Impacts of Climate Change, Says Official
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on February 16th, 2016
Voice of America: Cambodia is beginning to coordinate efforts to respond to climate change, a government official said ahead of high-level talks in California at which the environment is set to be on the agenda.
Recent years have already seen hotter weather and more irregular rainfall in Cambodia, which is predicted to be badly hit when global temperatures change further.
Prime Minister Hun Sen and leaders from the other nine Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) are currently at the Sunnylands estate...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Cambodia Preparing for the Impacts of Climate Change, Says OfficialGreen anger as EU prepares to subsidise dash for gas
Posted by Climate Home: Megan Darby on February 16th, 2016
Climate Home: The EU emphasised gas supply in its “energy union” strategy unveiled on Tuesday, raising doubts about its commitment to climate goals.
Diversifying gas supply routes is Brussels’ main answer to concerns parts of Europe are overly reliant on imports from an aggressive Russia.
In the European Commission’s first big energy initiative since agreeing a UN climate pact in Paris, it proposed subsidies for new pipelines and LNG terminals.
“EU funds can help to make up for the weak commercial viability...
Ice sheet modeling of Greenland, Antarctica helps predict sea-level rise
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on February 16th, 2016
ScienceDaily: The Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets will make a dominant contribution to 21st century sea-level rise if current climate trends continue. However, predicting the expected loss of ice sheet mass is difficult due to the complexity of modeling ice sheet behavior. To better understand this loss, a team of Sandia National Laboratories researchers has been improving the reliability and efficiency of computational models that describe ice sheet behavior and dynamics. The team includes researchers Irina...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Ice sheet modeling of Greenland, Antarctica helps predict sea-level rise3 Reasons Flint’s Water Is Poisoned
Posted by EcoWatch: None Given on February 16th, 2016
EcoWatch: The catastrophic lead poisoning of the water supply in Flint, Michigan is, obviously, an appalling condemnation of the vigilance exercised by the state appointed Emergency Financial Manager, the State of Michigan Department of Environmental Quality and the regional officials of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. But it is also a shocking reminder of how shoddy American infrastructure has become in the last 20 years and how fragile the gap between shoddy and lethal has become.
Let`s begin...
Guatemala’s La Pasión River is still poisoned, nine months after an ecological disaster
Posted by Mongabay: None Given on February 16th, 2016
Mongabay: Nine months ago, the water of La Pasión River showed up smelling foul and covered with dead and poisoned fish. Soon after, hundreds of fishermen of Sayaxché —the largest nearby river community– learned two new terms coined by environmentalists and by the Guatemalan government: “ecocide” and “closed season.” Many of those fishermen are now deep in debt and embroiled in conflict. There isn’t even a general consensus over what to do about the cause of the ecological disaster: REPSA (Reforestadora de...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Guatemala’s La Pasión River is still poisoned, nine months after an ecological disasterHigh risk of bankruptcy for one-third of oil firms: Deloitte
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on February 16th, 2016
Reuters: Roughly a third of oil producers are at high risk of slipping into bankruptcy this year as low commodity prices crimp their access to cash and ability to cut debt, according to a study by Deloitte, the auditing and consulting firm.
The report, based on a review of more than 500 publicly traded oil and natural gas exploration and production companies across the globe, highlights the deep unease permeating the energy sector as crude prices sit near their lowest levels in more than a decade, eroding...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on High risk of bankruptcy for one-third of oil firms: DeloitteImpact climate change on parasite infections depends on host immunity
Posted by PhysOrg: Sam Sholtis on February 16th, 2016
PhysOrg: New research demonstrates how climate change and the immune reaction of the infected individual can affect the long-term and seasonal dynamics of parasite infections. The study, led by Penn State scientists, assessed the infection dynamics of two species of soil-transmitted parasites in a population of rabbits in Scotland every month for 23 years. The study's results could lead to new strategies for the treatment and prevention of infections from similar parasites in humans, livestock, and wildlife....
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Impact climate change on parasite infections depends on host immunityJanuary sets record for world’s most unusually warm month
Posted by Mashable: None Given on February 16th, 2016
Mashable: Global warming went into overdrive in January, leading to astounding temperature records.
January was the globe's most unusually warm month ever recorded, and the past three months have been the most unusually warm three-month period on record as well, according to new findings from NASA.
January was also the warmest such month on record, NASA found, in preliminary data released this weekend by the Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS) in New York.
The data, which is subject to adjustment...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on January sets record for world’s most unusually warm month