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Archive for February, 2016
Geospatial data for the people, by the people
Posted by Mongabay: Sue Palminteri on February 6th, 2016
Mongabay: How do you motivate people to learn and care about their environments? Researchers in various scientific fields have begun involving interested people in collecting data on the ground, verifying data online, and contacting authorities and each other to act on existing data. Connecting those data to human health impacts may engage the public even more. The goal of SkyTruth is to motivate people to use satellite imagery, geospatial data, and digital mapping tools to personally investigate what’s happening—good...
High Arctic temperatures drive sea ice to record low
Posted by Discover: None Given on February 6th, 2016
Discover: The plot above shows how Arctic region air temperatures at about 3,000 feet above the surface varied from average in January 2016. The North Pole is at the center of map. The air temperature for the region at this height was about 13 degrees F above the 1981-2010 mean -- a record. At the surface, January saw an average temperature that was 11 degrees above normal, also a record. (National Snow and Ice Data Center, courtesy NOAA Earth System Research Laboratory Physical Sciences Division)
In my...
Fracking bad for Florida
Posted by Tampa Bay Times: Editorial on February 6th, 2016
Tampa Bay Times: Florida lawmakers are pushing to expand fracking, an aggressive form of oil drilling that could threaten the drinking water supply, damage private property and threaten Florida`s tourist economy.
Florida lawmakers wanted to send a positive message last month by passing a huge water bill during the first week of the legislative session, committing tens of millions of dollars to clean up the natural springs and generate new supplies of drinking water for the state's most crowded areas. But now they...
Fall in number of oil rigs drilling in US speeds up
Posted by Financial Times: None Given on February 6th, 2016
Financial Times: The decline in the number of rigs drilling for oil in the US accelerated sharply this week, as companies adjusted to the latest slump in the price of crude.
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Baker...
T-shirt weather in the Arctic
Posted by New York Times: Mark Urban and Linda Deegan on February 6th, 2016
New York Times: WE crested the northern rim of Alaska's Brooks Range, and from the windows of our truck looked out across the undulating foothills toward the Arctic Ocean. Instead of seeing snow as we had in years past, we were greeted by a landscape already green with spring.
We flew by helicopter to our remote camp and shed our heavy parkas. The fish we had come to study had already disappeared downstream to spawn.
We now realize that what we saw last May was historic - the hottest May for Alaska's North...
How melting Arctic ice may have set off era vicious East Coast snow storms
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on February 6th, 2016
Washington Post: Does shrinking ice in the Arctic lead to more crushing snow storms along the East Coast? Through a complex chain of events, it’s very possible says leading Arctic researcher and seasonal forecaster Judah Cohen.
Since 1990, as sea ice has rapidly melted away in the Arctic, crippling snow storms have increasingly buried the Northeast’s big cities.
[Is global warming behind D.C.’s new era of great snow storms?]
In Washington, Baltimore, Philadelphia, New York City, and Boston, at least five...
Posted in Water Conservation 
Comments Off on How melting Arctic ice may have set off era vicious East Coast snow stormsBeyond Flint: In The South, Another Water Crisis Has Been Unfolding For Years
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on February 6th, 2016
National Public Radio: It's not simply Flint that has bad water. The Michigan city, which has grabbed headlines recently for its rampant water contamination, is joined in that dubious distinction by another town, much farther south: St. Joseph, La.
"It's just a given fact that at some point during the week, you're going to have brown or yellow water," says resident Garrett Boyte.
@maddow Flint isn't alone! Current water crisis in St. Joseph, LA. https://t.co/JcjiuGXy4H #justicelikewater pic.twitter.com/sl1GosrgL3...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Beyond Flint: In The South, Another Water Crisis Has Been Unfolding For YearsZimbawe President declares ‘state of disaster’ amidst drought
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on February 5th, 2016
Asian News International: Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe, has declared a state of disaster in rural areas hit by a severe drought, as more than a quarter of the population faces food shortages. The Guardian reported that the El Nino weather phenomenon has engulfed the region resulting into drought and leaving tens of thousands of cattle dead, reservoirs depleted and crops destroyed. Formerly known as the breadbasket of Africa, Zimbabwe has suffered perennial shortages in recent years and has relied on importing grain...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Zimbawe President declares ‘state of disaster’ amidst droughtLead Test Results Confirm Worst Fears for Flint Family
Posted by NBC: None Given on February 5th, 2016
NBC: Deep down, the Brown family knew the water that had flowed through the pipes in their home in Flint, Michigan -- the water that 3-year-old Dana had been drinking for months before anyone was warned -- probably contained toxic lead.
This week, they got test results that confirmed their fears.
Water Defense, the anti-fracking and safe-water activist group headed by actor Mark Ruffalo, collected samples from Oscar and Elizabeth Brown's home last weekend and brought them to an independent lab in...
Record Missouri flooding was humanmade calamity, scientist says
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on February 5th, 2016
ScienceDaily: At the end of December 2015, a huge storm named "Goliath" dumped 9-10 inches of rain in a belt across the central United States, centered just southwest of St. Louis, most of it in a three-day downpour. The rain blanketed the Meramec Basin, an area of 4,000 square miles drained by the Meramec River, which enters the Mississippi River south of St. Louis. The Meramec's response was dramatic. Gauging stations recorded a pulse of water that grew as it traveled down the main stem of the Meramec River,...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Record Missouri flooding was humanmade calamity, scientist says