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Archive for February 15th, 2010
Climate change threatens fog and redwoods -study
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on February 15th, 2010
Reuters: The coastal fog that gives San Francisco its romantic ambience is thinning out, a boon to drivers but a real threat to the giant redwoods there, researchers reported on Monday. It in unclear if natural climate variations or human activity is to blame, but the result could be the loss of trees, they reported in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. "Fog prevents water loss from redwoods in summer, and is really important for both the tree and the forest," ...
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Loft insulation: Australia’s burning issue
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on February 15th, 2010
Guardian: 'How can we sleep when our beds are burning?" sang Peter Garrett in 1987, when he was vying with Michael Hutchence for the title of Australia's most famous rock star. Now, having joined the government as environment minister, the former singer with Midnight Oil has a very real fire to put out. Garrett is a good man with an impossible task, trying to retain his street cred while doing all the boring but important things that junior environment ministers have to do, such as worrying ...
Decline in fog threatens California’s iconic redwood ecosystems
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on February 15th, 2010
Mongabay: A surprising new study finds that during the past century the frequency of fog along California's coast has declined by approximately three hours a day. Published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences the researchers are concerned that this decrease in fog threatens California's giant redwoods and the unique ecosystem they inhabit. "As fog decreases, the mature redwoods along the coast are not likely to die outright, but there may be less recruitment of new trees; ...
Endangered songbird’s numbers rise 25%
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on February 15th, 2010
Guardian: Wildlife-friendly farming has helped the population of one Britain's most threatened songbirds increase by 25% in the last seven years, it was announced today. The cirl bunting, which was once found across large parts of southern England, is now restricted to a small area of the south Devon and Cornish coast, the RSPB and Natural England said. Populations crashed in the second half of the last century, largely as a result of intensive agriculture. There were 118 known pairs in ...
Cold weather kills off Florida wildlife
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on February 15th, 2010
Guardian: Comatose iguanas have been dropping from the trees and pythons have frozen to death in their tracks in Florida's unusually harsh winter, wildlife officials said today. Parts of the Sunshine State saw their second snowfall of the season this weekend, with the extended cold spells killing off a host of tropical intruders, including iguanas, Burmese and African pythons and invasive fish. State wildlife officials said more than half of the green iguanas, which are native to South ...
BA yet to gain official approval for biojet fuel from food scraps
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on February 15th, 2010
Guardian: The biojet fuel British Airways is planning to produce in its new plant in London has not yet been certified for use by the UK authorities, the airline has admitted to the Guardian. BA said today that it would build what is believed to be Europe's first plant to manufacture "biojet fuel" using food scraps and other waste in an attempt to cut greenhouse gas emissions from aircraft. But the airline admitted that the Ministry of Defence body, DStan, which regulates aviation fuel ...
Fog decline threatens US redwoods
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on February 15th, 2010
BBC: Scientists in California say a drop in coastal fog could threaten the state's famed giant redwood trees. Their study, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, says such fog has decreased markedly over the past 100 years. The weather records analysed come from the US National Climate Data Centre. "Fog prevents water loss from redwoods in summer and is really important for the tree and the forest," said research co-author Professor Todd ...
Weather model shows where California will burn
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on February 15th, 2010
New Scientist: THIS year, southern California will burn - you can count on it. But we may now be able to predict which areas will be worst hit, thanks to this map. It was compiled by Max Moritz's team at the University of California, Berkeley, and is the first to take into account fire-friendly weather. Wild fires cause millions of dollars of damage each year in California and elsewhere. Fire researchers typically identify risk areas by looking for flammable vegetation and features like canyons that ...