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Archive for July 28th, 2010
Research says climate change undeniable
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on July 28th, 2010
Financial Times: International scientists have injected fresh evidence into the debate over global warming, saying that climate change is "undeniable" and shows clear signs of "human fingerprints" in the first major piece of research since the "Climategate" controversy. The research, headed by the US National Oceans and Atmospheric Administration, is based on new data not available for the UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report of 2007, the target of attacks by sceptics in recent ...
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US scientist says much surface Gulf oil ‘dispersed’
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on July 28th, 2010
BBC: Oil from BP's damaged Gulf of Mexico well is clearing from the sea surface faster than expected, scientists say, 100 days after the disaster began. Jane Lubchenco, head of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, said much oil had been "biodegraded by naturally occurring bacteria". But concerns remain about the spill's unseen effects. The comments came after BP replaced its embattled CEO Tony Hayward with an American, Robert Dudley. Mr Dudley described ...
Country diary: Achvaneran
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on July 28th, 2010
Guardian: My study is away from the house, which enables me to look out from the largest window to the pond below. The pond is large with two small islands and we had it dug out 22 years ago. Last week I watched a female wild mallard trying to control her ducklings as they darted here and there looking for seeds or insects. She had nested on the side of the burn at the back of the pond and had raised eight ducklings. Gradually the hooded crows have taken their toll and yesterday she was left with only ...
Judge orders tougher look at fire retardant drops
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on July 28th, 2010
Associated Press: A federal judge Wednesday ordered the U.S. Forest Service to take a tougher look at the possibility that routinely dropping toxic fire retardant on wildfires from airplanes will kill endangered fish and plants. U.S. District Judge Donald W. Molloy in Missoula, Mont., ruled that the current environmental assessment is inadequate in light of federal biologists' findings that fire retardant that lands in creeks and on rare plants jeopardize the survival of endangered species and their ...
Watching grass grow in the Gulf, and cheering!
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on July 28th, 2010
Reuters: Marsh grasses are the tough guys of the plant world. Left alone, they dominate coastal marshes from Texas to Newfoundland. Burn their stems and leaves, and they come back bushier than ever. They help slow down hurricanes and filter pollution. As impenetrable to humans as a green wall, they shelter birds, fish and endangered mammals, and act as nurseries for commercial species like shrimp and crabs. But let oil get into their roots and underground reproductive systems, and they ...
Gulf spill raises long-term beach safety questions
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on July 28th, 2010
Reuters: It could be years before some Gulf of Mexico beaches recover fully from BP Plc's massive oil spill and are declared free of toxic pollutants, including heavy metals, that can make people sick, a leading environmental advocacy group said on Wednesday. "This is an unprecedented tragedy and environmental disaster in the Gulf that is raising unprecedented questions about how to manage beaches and other parts of the environment," said David Beckman, Water Program director with the ...
China’s Three Gorges dam close to limit as heavy rains persist
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on July 28th, 2010
Associated Press: Record high water levels are putting the capacity of China's massive Three Gorges dam to the test after heavy rains across the country, compounding flooding problems that have left more than 1,200 people dead or missing. The dam's water flow reached 56,000 cubic metres per second (1.96 million cubic feet), the biggest peak flow this year, with the water height reaching 158 metres (518 feet), the official Xinhua news agency reported. This is about 10% less than the dam's maximum ...
Climate Extremes Fuel Hunger in Guatemala
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on July 28th, 2010
Inter Press Service: "Three-quarters of the fields are still under water. Maize, plantains, okra and pasture are all lost," José Asencio told IPS at the village of Santa Ana Mixtán in southern Guatemala, the area worst affected by tropical storm Agatha. The villagers have been working for food in order to survive. "We've been shoring up the banks of the Coyolate and Mascalate rivers, and the mayor has been giving us food rations, although we haven't received any for the past two weeks because supplies ...
Already illegal, one man tests poisoning rhino horn too
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on July 28th, 2010
Mongabay: Given the epidemic of rhino poaching across Africa and Asia, which has placed four out of five species in jeopardy of extinction, one fed-up game manager wants to take the fight beyond the poachers to the consumer. Ed Hern, owner of the Lion and Rhino Park near Johannesburg, told South Africa's The Times that he has begun working with a veterinarian on injecting poison into a rhino's horn to consumers. He told The Times that people who consumed poisoned rhino horn "would get very sick or ...
Crews Scramble To Contain Michigan Oil Spill
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on July 28th, 2010
National Public Radio: A company operating a pipeline that dumped more than 800,000 gallons of oil into a southern Michigan river said Wednesday that it is doubling its workforce on the containment and cleanup effort. Officials with Calgary, Alberta-based Enbridge Inc. made the announcement during an update on the spill, which coated birds and fish as it poured into a creek and flowed into the Kalamazoo River, one of the state's major waterways. "We've made significant progress," company CEO Patrick ...