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Archive for June, 2010
Asian rivers face mixed futures
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on June 11th, 2010
BBC: Melting glaciers in the Himalayas will have varying impacts on the region's five major river basins, a study says. Changes to the flow of meltwater as a result of global warming is likely to have a "severe" impact on food security in some areas, say scientists. Yet people living elsewhere are likely to see food productivity increase, they added in a paper published in Science. Overall, the food security of 4.5% of 1.4bn people in the region is threatened, the researchers ...
New Oil Estimates Show Spill Rate Much Higher
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on June 11th, 2010
National Public Radio: The federal government has come up with a new estimate of the size of the Gulf oil spill. The figures indicate the blown-out well may have spewed as much as 2.1 million gallons of oil per day. The estimate indicates the leak already has put 4 to 8 times more oil into the water than the Exxon Valdez spill.
Global warming spells doom for Asia’s rivers
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on June 11th, 2010
Agence France-Presse: The livelihood of thousands of Tibetans living on China's highest plateau is under threat as global warming and environmental degradation dry up water sources for three mighty Asian rivers, experts say. Dwindling glaciers and melting permafrost in the mountains surrounding the fragile Qinghai-Tibet plateau are leading to erosion of grasslands and wetlands, threatening the watershed of the Yangtze, Yellow and Mekong rivers. One prominent US environmental campaigner has even ...
UN’s ‘IPCC for nature’ to fight back against destruction of natural world
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on June 11th, 2010
Guardian: World governments voted last night to set up a major new international body to spearhead the battle against the destruction of the natural world. With growing concern about the human impacts of destruction of habitats and species from around the world, from riots over food shortages and high prices, to worsening floods, and global climate change, more than 80 governments voted to take action in the final hours of a week-long conference in Busan, South Korea. The ...
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Comments Off on UN’s ‘IPCC for nature’ to fight back against destruction of natural worldBP increases amount of leaked Gulf oil it captures
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on June 10th, 2010
Reuters: BP Plc said on Thursday its containment cap system at the Gulf of Mexico oil leak collected 15,800 barrels (660,000 gallons/2,500,000 liters) of oil on Wednesday, showing a small increase in the capture rate. The cap system collected 15,010 barrels in the previous 24-hour period, BP said. The cumulative total since the system was installed last week reached 73,324 barrels (3,080,000 gallons/11,660,000 liters), according to BP figures. "Operations were stable," BP said on ...
Managing limited water supplies
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on June 10th, 2010
SciDev.Net: Balancing water supply and demand in the coming decades will be a "painful" process, but one that cannot be ignored. "The proportion of people living in countries chronically short of water ... is set to rise to 45 per cent (four billion) by 2050." In many areas, the problem will only get worse. The challenge in meeting people's demand for water is partly down to the resource's finite nature. Underground reserves of water -- known as groundwater -- have proven ...
British beach water’s mark of quality
Posted by Water Conserve: Water Conservation RSS Newsfeed on June 10th, 2010
Independent (UK): More than 97 per cent of Britain's beaches met EU mandatory standards for water quality last year, a report published yesterday reveals. The figure for England and Wales was 98.6 per cent, the annual bathing water report by the European Commission and the European Environment Agency showed. Both figures were an improvement on 2008; and the UK as a whole, as well as England and Wales separately, has climbed up the league table of European countries for the cleanliness of its ...
United States: Rainwater Collective
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on June 9th, 2010
East Bay Express: In recent years, rain barrels have gone the way of the low-flow toilet: mainstream. Thanks to California's three-year drought and a critical mass of interest in resource conservation, homeowners can drop $100 for a designer version at just about any local gardening store. They can take their pick from among countless styles at home improvement superstores. Or they can order one of a number of mass-produced kits and simply make their own. But there's a problem: When restricted to exterior ...
A Gulf Spill Puzzle: How Best To Clean Beaches
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on June 9th, 2010
National Public Radio: MELISSA BLOCK, host: Yesterday on the program, we heard about the problems with cleaning up Gulf Coast marshes. Fragile grasslands already threatened by oil can be further damaged by the boots and boats of cleanup crews. Cleaning crude off of beaches has a number of problems, too. And to talk about the pros and cons, we're joined by Lisa Speer. She's director of the International Oceans Program at the Natural Resources Defense Council. Welcome to the program. Ms. ...
Drought threatens Thailand’s rice crop
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on June 9th, 2010
Associated Press: The world's largest rice exporter, Thailand, is facing major losses to its next crop of rice and a water crisis because of the worst drought in nearly two decades. Chanchai Rakthananon, president of the Thai Rice Mills Association, said Tuesday that rice output for the next crop cycle, ending in August, could fall to as little as 2 million tons from a previously forecast 5 million tons. "It didn't rain when it needed to rain," said Angsumal Sunalai, director general of the Thai ...