Archive for April 14th, 2010

Measuring global water vapor and formaldehyde

ScienceDaily: Atmospheric water vapour (H2O) is the most important natural greenhouse gas, accounting for about two-thirds of the natural greenhouse effect. Despite this importance, its role in climate and its reaction to climate change are still difficult to assess. Many details of the hydrological cycle are poorly understood, such as the process of cloud formation and the transport and release of latent heat contained in the water vapour. In contrast to other important greenhouse gases like ...

Fears of glacial lake outburst floods allayed

SciDev.Net: The International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) has good news for people living in the Nepal Himalayas -- its latest survey shows three lakes formed by melting glaciers are not about to burst as previously feared. In 2009, ICIMOD studied 1,466 glacial lakes in Nepal, in collaboration with the World Bank and non-government organisations (NGOs). Its teams identified six of them as candidates for glacial lake outburst floods (GLOFS). Extensive field studies ...

Spain warming faster than rest of northern hemisphere: study

Agence France-Presse: Spain has warmed at a faster rate than the rest of the northern hemisphere over the past three decades, according to a study prepared for the environment ministry that was published Tuesday. The country has experienced average temperature increases of 0.5 degrees Celsius per decade since 1975, a rate that is "50 percent superior to the average of nations in the northern hemisphere", the study by the Spanish branch of the Clivar research network found. The study predicts average ...

Sinking Island Highlights Effects of Climate Change

Voice of America: Our planet is warming. Average global temperatures have climbed about one degree Celsius since the last century, and at an accelerated rate in recent decades. And scientists believe the global warming trend is responsible for an increased severity of droughts, floods, and storms across the globe, and slowly rising ocean levels. The serious consequences of earth's changing climate are the subject of three new documentary films, funded in part by the Pulitzer Center on ...

Judge warns EPA of contempt in Everglades case

Associated Press: A federal judge threatened the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency with contempt of court in a ruling Wednesday that accuses the agency of ignoring Clean Water Act requirements in Florida's Everglades. U.S. District Judge Alan S. Gold ruled in 2008 that the EPA had turned a "blind eye" to Florida's Everglades cleanup efforts, while the state continued to violate its own commitment to restore the vast ecosystem. He ordered the EPA to review water pollution standards and timelines set ...

Greens launch NAFTA action on Canada oil sands

Reuters: Environmental groups launched a complaint against Canada under the North American Free Trade Agreement Wednesday, saying the country has failed to enforce anti-pollution rules governing its vast oil sands. In the latest move in a long-running campaign to highlight the impact of oil sands development, the submission by Environmental Defense Canada, Natural Resources Defense Council and three citizens charges that toxic tailings ponds are being allowed to leak and contaminate ground ...

The consequences of ignoring water risks in the US

Business Green: Failure to address water risks and other critical issues posed by aging or inadequate infrastructure could further impede the US economy and America's attempts to regain global competitiveness on a number of fronts, a new study has warned. That is the conclusion of Infrastructure 2010: Investment Imperative, the fourth in an annual series of reports produced by the Urban Land Institute and Ernst & Young that examine infrastructure trends around the globe. Earlier reports ...

Study Finds Benefits in Modified Crops but Warns of Overuse

New York Times: Genetically engineered crops have provided "substantial' environmental and economic benefits to American farmers, but overuse of the technology is threatening to erode the gains, a national science advisory organization said Tuesday in a report. The report is described as the first comprehensive assessment of the impact of genetically modified crops on American farmers, who have rapidly adopted them since their introduction in 1996. The study was issued by the National Research ...