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Archive for October 13th, 2010
Pakistani Timber Mafia & Climate Change Caused Much of Summer’s Flooding
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on October 13th, 2010
Tree Hugger: Back when 20% of Pakistan was underwater, I wrote about the influence of deforestation on the flooding--deforestation caused in no small part by illegal logging at the hands of the so-called timber mafia, a group with direct ties to the Taliban. Now, the New York Times has some follow up on that issue which is really worth reading. It asserts that terrorism remains Pakistan's number one problem, but environmental degradation is a close second. Check out this telling stat: When ...
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Report: Many Birds Still Face Threats From Gulf Oil
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on October 13th, 2010
National Public Radio: Six months after the start of the BP oil spill, the Audubon Society reports that many species of migratory birds and shorebirds face continuing threats from oil and tar balls. NPR's Melissa Block talks to Audubon's chief scientist Tom Bancroft about the new study.
Humanity consuming the Earth: by 2030 we’ll need two planets
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on October 13th, 2010
Mongabay: Too many people consuming too much is depleting the world's natural resources faster than they are replenished, imperiling not only the world's species but risking the well-being of human societies, according to a new massive study by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), entitled the Living Planet Report. The report finds that humanity is currently consuming the equivalent of 1.5 planet Earths every year for its activities. This overconsumption has caused biodiversity--in this case, representative ...
The Yin and Yang of Climate Extremes
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on October 13th, 2010
Inter Press Service: The floods that affected 20 million people in Pakistan and the devastating six- week heat wave in Russia in recent months are tragic climate events -- and they're closely linked. "The Pakistan floods and Russia heat wave were directly connected, the atmospheric science makes that clear," Kevin Trenberth, senior scientist at the U.S. National Centre for Atmospheric Research, told Tierramérica. A long-lasting high pressure system called a "blocking high" essentially gave western ...
Tropical species decline by 60 per cent
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on October 13th, 2010
Telegraph: The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) found wildlife in the tropics has declined by 60 per cent since 1970. Iconic species like tigers, turtles, gorillas and hundreds of birds such as the white-rumped vulture are in danger of going extinct, as well as thousands of lesser-known animals. Freshwater species in the tropics are down a disastrous 70 per cent, with animals like the Amazon river pink dolphin already dying out. The report blamed the rate of human consumption, that has ...
Satellites show fragmented rainforests significantly drier than intact forest
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on October 13th, 2010
Mongabay: A new study in Biological Conservation has shown that edge forests and forest patches are more vulnerable to burning because they are drier than intact forests. Using eight years of satellite imagery over East Amazonia, the researchers found that desiccation (extreme dryness) penetrated anywhere from 1 to 3 kilometers into forests depending on the level of fragmentation. "Fire is one of the biggest threats to the world's tropical forests, but in general, rainforests will not burn ...