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Archive for July 16th, 2010
Taking a punt on the polers of Botswana’s Okavango delta
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on July 16th, 2010
Guardian: The sound of a mokoro canoe passing through reeds is somewhere between a hiss and a swish, with long rasping notes as the hull hones itself against a sharp leaf-blade. Mix in the whirr of duck wings, the chirrup of a bee-eater, the grunt-grunt-whoop of a distant hippo, and you have the soundtrack to the Okavango delta, one of the most wonderful wetlands in the world. My point of embarkation into this aqueous paradise is Seronga in northern Botswana. As backwaters go it is both ...
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Even with leak stopped, Gulf’s pain may last years
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on July 16th, 2010
Associated Press: The slicks on the surface will disappear quickly if the cap on BP's blown oil well holds. But the oil will remain in the water, on beaches and in marshes, and in the lives of Gulf Coast residents like Jason Blanchard for years. Up to 184.3 million gallons of crude has already spilled. Months from now, it could show up as far west as Corpus Christi, Texas, or as far east as North Carolina's Outer Banks. Judging by a comparably sized 1979 spill off Mexico's coast, tar balls and patties ...
Scientists Estimate Impact of Temperature Change on Environment
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on July 16th, 2010
Wall Street Journal: If global temperatures rise, fueled by carbon-dioxide emissions, there will be long-term consequences in rainfall, crop production and wildfires, according to a new report issued Friday by the National Research Council, a nonprofit group that provides science-policy advice to the government. Friday's report, put out by a panel of scientists from government agencies and academic institutions, attempts to quantify the potential impact of temperature change on the environment. Carbon ...
Screw cap wine blamed for loss of forest in new campaign to revive traditional cork
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on July 16th, 2010
Telegraph: It used to be unthinkable to start a dinner party without a satisfying 'pop' of the cork. But the popularity of 'New World' wines from Australia or America and the convenience of opening a picnic bottle without a corkscrew led to a rise in the popularity of screw caps. Now cork suppliers and environmentalists are fighting back claiming the move is threatening the two million hectares of forest across Portugal, Spain, North Africa and Italy which are sustained through industry ...
Marine Microbes Exert Influence On Global Climate
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on July 16th, 2010
REDORBIT: Microorganisms display a behavior characteristic of larger animals New research indicates that the interactions of microscopic organisms around a particular organic material may alter the chemical properties of the ocean and ultimately influence global climate by affecting cloud formation in the atmosphere. Justin Seymour, a research fellow at the University of Technology Sydney, is the lead author of a paper published in the July 16 issue of Science that describes how a ...
Hope And Disbelief As Gulf Gusher Cap Holds Steady
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on July 16th, 2010
Associated Press: The oil has stopped. For now. After 85 days and up to 184 million gallons, BP finally gained control over one of America's biggest environmental catastrophes Thursday by placing a carefully fitted cap over a geyser that has been gushing crude into the Gulf of Mexico since early spring. Though a temporary fix, the accomplishment was greeted with hope, high expectations – and, in many cases along the beleaguered coastline, disbelief. From one Gulf Coast resident came this: ...
Gulf Coast Residents Relieved Leak Has Stopped
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on July 16th, 2010
National Public Radio: In New Orleans, people have been watching closely for any hopeful signs that the well in the Gulf would stop gushing oil. At one oyster house, news that the leak has stopped, at least temporarily, was tempered after nearly three months of waiting. Many people in the city have lost their jobs because of the BP spill.