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Archive for July 22nd, 2010
Russia: Moscow heatwave breaks 29-year record
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on July 22nd, 2010
Reuters: Moscow sweltered through its hottest day in almost 30 years on Thursday, a leading forecaster said, as a heatwave that has destroyed Russian crops over an area the size of Portugal showed no sign of abating. Temperatures in the capital hit 35 degrees Celsius (95 degrees Fahrenheit) for the first time since 1981, said the Fobos weather forecasting centre, which provides weather data for the country's top media outlets. Environmental groups including Greenpeace say Russia's ...
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Floods in China
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on July 22nd, 2010
Guardian: Floods in China have killed more than 700 people this year and inundated countless communities, and the situation looks set to worsen as the country gets deeper into typhoon season.
Gov’t watchdog looking into moratorium claims
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on July 22nd, 2010
Associated Press: Allegations that scientists' views were improperly used to justify a federal moratorium on deep-water drilling are being investigated, the Interior Department's top watchdog says. House Republicans who had sought the investigation released a letter Thursday from Acting Inspector General Mary Kendall confirming the probe. Scientists who consulted with Interior Secretary Ken Salazar for a report on drilling safety this spring said the department falsely implied they had agreed to ...
Scientists sound warning on forest carbon payment scheme
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on July 22nd, 2010
Mongabay: Scientists convening in Bali expressed a range of concerns over a proposed mechanism for mitigating climate change through forest conservation, but some remained hopeful the idea could deliver long-term protection to forests, ease the transition to a low-carbon economy, and generate benefits to forest-dependent people. Presenting at the annual Association for Tropical Biology and Conservation, scientists and policy experts warned that the Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and ...
Warmer Climate Entails Increased Release Of Carbon Dioxide By Inland Lakes
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on July 22nd, 2010
Red Orbit: Much organically bound carbon is deposited on inland lake bottoms. A portion remains in the sediment, sometimes for thousands of years, while the rest is largely broken down to carbon dioxide and methane, which are released into the atmosphere. Swedish researchers have shown that carbon retention by sediment is highly temperature-sensitive and that a warmer climate would result in increased carbon dioxide emissions to the atmosphere. The study is published in the current issue of the journal ...
Residents tell EPA Pa. gas drilling poisons water
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on July 22nd, 2010
Associated Press: People who make a living from a natural gas drilling technique that involves pumping chemical-laced water into the earth and others who believe it has poisoned them or their well water packed into a hotel ballroom in southwestern Pennsylvania on Thursday night to make an impression on federal researchers. Residents of Hickory, about 15 miles southwest of Pittsburgh, called for intensive study of hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, and told a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency panel ...
Not enough hours in the day for endangered apes: Warming climate may change ape behaviour, resulting i
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on July 22nd, 2010
ScienceDaily: A study on the effect of global warming on African ape survival suggests that a warming climate may cause apes to run 'out of time'. The research, published today in Journal of Biogeography, reveals that rising temperatures and changes in rainfall patterns have strong effects on ape behavior, distribution and survival, pushing them even further to the brink of extinction. The researchers, from Roehampton University, Bournemouth University and the University of Oxford used data from 20 ...
Kalahari Bushmen to appeal against court ban on well in game reserve
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on July 22nd, 2010
Guardian: The Kalahari Bushmen are to appeal against a decision by the Botswana high court forbidding them to use a well in the central Kalahari game reserve, one of the driest regions in the world, a spokesman announced today. The Bushmen, Africa's oldest inhabitants, won a ruling in 2006 against eviction from the game park, hailed as a victory for indigenous peoples around the world. Hundreds returned to their home villages but they have been prevented from reopening the well or drilling a ...
Group warns of water shortages by 2050 – UPI.com
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on July 22nd, 2010
United Press International: Global warming will cause a risk of water shortages in two-thirds of U.S. counties by 2050, an environmental group warns. The Natural Resources Defense Council says more than a thousand counties in 14 states will probably see limitations on water availability and use as demand exceeds supply in mid-century, USA Today reported Tuesday. The high-risk areas include parts of Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Florida, Idaho, Kansas, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New ...
United States: Huge Turnout for E.P.A. Fracking Hearing
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on July 22nd, 2010
New York Times: The Environmental Protection Agency will probably be getting an earful at a public meeting in southwestern Pennsylvania, part of its recently opened re-examination of hydraulic fracturing. Many Green readers will already know that gas drillers rely heavily on the practice, often called "fracking," which involves the high-velocity injection of a mixture of water, sand and chemicals designed to create fractures in rock formations deep underground so that gas can be ...