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Archive for October 27th, 2010
Brazil’s Amazon region suffers severe drought
Posted by Planet Ark: Stuart Grudging on October 27th, 2010
Planet Ark: A severe drought has pushed river levels in Brazil's Amazon region to record lows, leaving isolated communities dependent on emergency aid and thousands of boats stranded on parched riverbeds.
The drought fits a pattern of more extreme weather in the world's largest rain forest in recent years and is, scientists say, an expected result of global warming. Last year, the region was hit by widespread flooding and in 2005 it endured a devastating drought.
The level of the dark Rio Negro, a tributary...
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Sri Lankans’ deadly clash with elephants
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on October 27th, 2010
BBC: In a sweep of grassland studded with watering holes, a herd of elephants, young and old, moves grazing along a grove of trees.
With spectacular rocky mountains as a backdrop, it could almost be a scene from the East African savannah.
But these elephants are somewhat smaller than their African cousins, and without tusks. This is Sri Lanka.
The twilight scene in the national park is tranquil. But a few miles away, in the villages, elephants and human beings are regularly in conflict - as they...
Variable summer rainfall in U.S. southeast linked to climate change
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on October 27th, 2010
ScienceDaily: A doubling of abnormally wet or dry summer weather in the southeastern United States in recent decades has come from an intensification of the summertime North Atlantic Subtropical High (NASH), or "Bermuda High."
And that intensification appears to be coming from global warming, according to a new analysis by a Duke University-led team of climate scientists.
The NASH is an area of high pressure that forms each summer near Bermuda, where its powerful surface center helps steer Atlantic hurricanes...
Reality check for ‘miracle’ biofuel crop
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on October 27th, 2010
SciDev.Net: The hardy jatropha tree as a biofuel source may not be the panacea for smallholders that some have claimed, say Miyuki Iiyama and James Onchieku.
It sounds too good to be true: a biofuel crop that grows on semi-arid lands and degraded soils, replaces fossil fuels in developing countries and brings huge injections of cash to poor smallholders.
That is what some are claiming for Jatropha curcas, the 'miracle' biofuel crop. But studies on the ground suggest a lot more research and development...
Pennsylvania Governor Bans Fracking in State Forests
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on October 27th, 2010
NYT: Gov. Edward G. Rendell of Pennsylvania signed an executive order on Tuesday effectively banning further natural gas development on state forest lands. Mr. Rendel, a Democrat, said the moratorium was needed in part to prevent the unchecked industrialization of public lands in a state that has seen a boom in natural gas development unparalleled there. Much of Pennsylvania, along with large swaths of New York and West Virginia, sits atop the Marcellus Shale, a potentially vast natural gas resource...
State Dept: Keystone decision months away
Posted by Reuters: Andrew Quinn on October 27th, 2010
Reuters: The United States is months away from any final decision on a proposed $7 billion pipeline to carry crude from Canada's oil sands to U.S. refineries and approval is not a foregone conclusion, a senior State Department official said on Wednesday.
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton raised eyebrows this month when she said her department was "inclined" to approve the Keystone XL pipeline, which Calgary-based TransCanada Corp (TRP.TO: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) had hoped to start building...