Archive for April 8th, 2010

Canada: ‘Make or break’ year for Edmonton’s parched trees

Edmonston Journal: A decade-long drought has parched trees and fields across northern Alberta and may be radically reshaping Edmonton's ecology, say forest and climate experts. Environment Canada says each of the past 10 years has been drier than the long-term average in the city. The past two years have been the driest back to back since record-keeping began in the 1880s. Like withdrawals from a chequing account, the city's trees have drained the soil's deep water and depleted their own stores ...

Glaciers gone from Glacier National Park

Associated Press: Glacier National Park has lost two more of its glaciers to climate change and many of the rest may be gone by the end of the decade, a US government researcher says. Warmer temperatures have reduced the number of named glaciers in the northwestern Montana park to 25, said Dan Fagre said, an ecologist with the US Geological Survey. "When we're measuring glacier margins, by the time we go home the glacier is already smaller than what we've measured," Fagre said on ...

EPA tightens rules on pesticide linked to deaths

Associated Press: Thu Apr 8, 6:23 pm ET SALT LAKE CITY -- Federal officials have moved quickly to clamp down on the use of potent rodent-killing pesticides after one was linked to the deaths of two Utah girls earlier this year. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said aluminum and magnesium fumigants can no longer be used near homes. The agency added other regulations about where they can be used outside and what kinds of warnings must be posted when the fumigants are applied. EPA ...

Ice missions to measure climate change takes off

Telegraph: The 'ice mission', led by British scientists, will show how melting ice could affect weather patterns in the future in the so called "Day After Tomorrow" scenario. The European Space Agency satellite, that cost £122 million to build, took off on a Russian launcher rocket from Kazakhstan and has already sent signals back to Earth. Duncan Wingham, a climate physicist at University College London, was relieved to see the launch after a previous attempt landed in the sea five years ...

Climate Change Could Destroy Glacier National Park

redOrbit: Glacier National Park could lose its namesake ice formations by the end of the decade, an ecologist with the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) told reporters on Wednesday. In an interview with Matthew Brown of the Associated Press (AP), Dan Fagre noted that the Montana portion has lost two glaciers thanks to global climate change. This brings the number of named glaciers at the park to 25, and due to the increased temperatures in the area, he says, "When we're measuring glacier margins, ...

Clear Water – Mercosur’s Underground Treasure

Inter Press Service: Invisible beneath a vast area of Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay, the Guaraní Aquifer is one of the world's largest reserves of freshwater. Despite supplying water to millions of people, it is neither contaminated nor overexploited. "The general health of the aquifer is good, but it is essential to take care of the areas where it is recharged" in order to prevent contaminants from agrochemicals or waste from human settlements from filtering in, Jorge Santa Cruz, an Argentine ...

Vermont, Quebec groups to study Hydro-Quebec impacts

Associated Press: Environmental groups on both sides of the U.S.-Canadian border are teaming up to study the impacts of the big hydropower developments of the provincial utility Hydro-Quebec. The move comes as Hydro-Quebec has been renewing its courtship of the northeastern United States as a market for its abundance of hydroelectric power, which it describes as a clean alternative to electricity from generators that use fossil fuels like coal. Quebec Premier Jean Charest has been pushing for ...

Kenyan GM maize shipment blocked

BBC: A shipment of genetically modified (GM) maize has been blocked at the Kenyan port of Mombasa after protests by environmentalists. The cargo came from South Africa - whose maize exports mainly go to Kenya - and contained maize varieties developed by US multinational Monsanto. Protestors claimed that safety checks had not been carried out on the maize and that it could contaminate the soil. GM imports have been banned in several African countries. The 40,000-tonne ...

Canada: BC Hydro gets environmental OK for Mica Dam upgrade

Reuters: British Columbia gave environmental approval on Thursday to BC Hydro's plan to add 1,000 megawatts of generating capacity to its Mica Dam on the Columbia River. The provincially owned utility plans to add two turbines to the dam north of Revelstoke, increasing its total production capacity to 2,805 megawatts. The project still requires approval from the British Columbia Utilities Commission, but if approved the BC Hydro plans to have the new turbines in operation by 2016.