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Archive for July, 2010
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 ...
Posted in Water Conservation 
Comments Off on Scientists Estimate Impact of Temperature Change on EnvironmentScrew 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 ...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Screw cap wine blamed for loss of forest in new campaign to revive traditional corkMarine 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.
Next steps in test of BP Gulf oil cap
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on July 15th, 2010
Associated Press: BP shut all three valves to close a new cap over its busted Gulf of Mexico well Thursday, stopping the flow of oil into the water for the first time since April. What's next? THE TEST: BP plans to keep the cap closed for 48 hours to see if it can withstand the pressure of the oil without blowing a new leak in the well. Every six hours, they'll assess the pressure readings and other data to decide whether to continue. High pressure is good; low pressure indicates a possible leak in the ...
The Prince of Wales accuses sceptics of peddling ‘pseudo science’
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on July 15th, 2010
Telegraph: He likened the failure to combat rising temperatures across the world to playing "Russian Roulette with the future of our children". But instead of acting, the Prince said more and more people are listening to the "siren voices" of climate change sceptics who argue that the theory of man-made global warming is simply a "sinister attempt to undermine the capitalist system". "It has been profoundly depressing to witness the way the so-called climate sceptics are, apparently, ...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on The Prince of Wales accuses sceptics of peddling ‘pseudo science’Bangladesh: Hasina for climate compatible rice
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on July 15th, 2010
Daily Star: Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina yesterday asked scientists to invent new varieties of rice compatible with the climate change and varied seasons. "We have to produce rice that will harmonise with the seasonal changes and adjust the changing climate," she said during a speech at International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) at its 50th anniversary at Bangabandhu International Conference Centre. The premier said the agriculture sector would directly be affected due to the adverse ...
Woolly mammoth hunters helped change climate
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on July 15th, 2010
Reuters: Ancient hunters who stalked the world's last woolly mammoths likely helped warm the Earth's far northern latitudes thousands of years before humans began burning fossil fuels, according to a study of prehistoric climate change. The demise of the leaf-chomping woolly mammoths contributed to a proliferation of dwarf birch trees in and around the Arctic, darkening a largely barren, reflective landscape and accelerating a rise in temperatures across the polar north, researchers at the ...
Happy (wet and windy) St Swithin’s Day
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on July 15th, 2010
Press Association: Folklore says today's rain heralds 40 days of downpours - and forecasters have not dismissed the possibility. Legend has it that showers on July 15 - St Swithin's Day - are an omen for a lengthy spell of wet weather. Forecasters said many parts of the UK would be deluged with showers this morning following heavy rain in the past 12 hours. Met Office forecaster Charles Powell said 25mm to 30mm fell overnight and warned bad weather and unseasonably strong winds will ...