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Archive for November, 2010
Cornwall flooding: villagers’ stories
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on November 17th, 2010
Guardian: Cornwall flooding: villagers' stories
A lone silk shoe lies abandoned in the inch-deep brown slick carpeting the floor at Fantasia Bridal on Queen Street.
The sign above the rack of muddied wedding dresses still speaks to the excited, expectant customers that were due for their fittings: "Please remove your Jimmy Choos!" Behind it Sue Read, the shop's owner, sits on a chair, too distraught to talk.
Yesterday the talk at the shop was of royal weddings. Today the only talking point is the...
New Report Predicts Severe Climate Impacts on Lake Tahoe Area
Posted by ClimateWire: Colin Sullivan on November 17th, 2010
ClimateWire: Iconic Lake Tahoe could see its regional snowpack decline by as much as 60 percent over the next century, with increased floods more likely around 2050 and prolonged droughts closer to 2100, according to a new report from scientists who have studied the lake for decades.
The study, written for the U.S. Forest Service's Pacific Southwest Research Station, said the lake and its surrounding region could be headed for something of a winter tourism and water supply disaster over the next century as...
Posted in Water Conservation 
Comments Off on New Report Predicts Severe Climate Impacts on Lake Tahoe AreaBorrowdale rainfall was Britain’s heaviest over 24 hours
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on November 17th, 2010
Guardian: Borrowdale rainfall was Britain's heaviest over 24 hours
Downpour in November last year saw 316.4mm of rain fall – a once in 1,800 years event, scientists have said
The 316.4mm (12.45in) of rain that fell at Seathwaite Farm in Borrowdale, Cumbria, on 19 November last year was by some way Britain's heaviest recorded rainfall over 24 hours and statistically a once in 1,800 years downpour, government scientists said today.
"It was very rare indeed – an extreme event of international significance,"...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Borrowdale rainfall was Britain’s heaviest over 24 hoursTahoe snowfall going on downhill run, study says
Posted by Sacramento Bee: Matt Weiser on November 17th, 2010
Sacramento Bee: Children learning to ski at Lake Tahoe this winter will find less opportunity to enjoy the sport at middle age. In their 40s, they may also see a lake that has switched from crystal blue to murky green.
These are among the findings of the most comprehensive study to date of climate change at Lake Tahoe. It was released Monday by researchers from the University of California, Davis, and the U.S. Geological Survey.
Prior studies have suggested that climate change would cause these effects at...
Industry Opposition Scuttles Bipartisan Senate Bid for BPA Curbs
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on November 17th, 2010
Greenwire: A bipartisan Senate deal to limit the use of controversial chemical bisphenol A (BPA) was scuttled hours ago amid opposition from the industry's main trade group, Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) said today.
Feinstein told reporters that she and Sen. Michael Enzi (R-Wyo.) had reached agreement last night on adding language to the Senate's pending food safety bill, which cleared a key procedural hurdle today on a 74-25 vote, to set a six-month window for banning BPA from baby bottles and children's...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Industry Opposition Scuttles Bipartisan Senate Bid for BPA CurbsThames voted ‘worst river’
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on November 17th, 2010
BBC: The Thames is the worst river in England and Wales according to a poll, despite major efforts to clean it up in recent years.
The Wye, which starts in mid Wales, winds over England's border and back and runs into the Severn Estuary was voted the public's favourite.
The survey was conducted by the Our Rivers campaign, which aims to celebrate the nations' rivers and highlight threats to wildlife.
BBC Breakfast's Tim Muffet has been finding out more.
Malaria, downpours and drought: Report predicts major climate changes in India
Posted by Canadian Press: Katy Daigle on November 17th, 2010
Canadian Press: A new report says India could be 2 degrees Celsius (3.8 F) warmer than 1970s levels within 20 years -- a change that would disrupt rain cycles and wreak havoc on the country's agriculture and freshwater supplies, experts said Wednesday.
More flooding, more drought and a spreading of malaria would occur, as the disease migrates northward into Kashmir and the Himalayas, according to the report by 220 Indian scientists and 120 research institutions.
The temperature rise, which could be even more...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Malaria, downpours and drought: Report predicts major climate changes in IndiaUnited Kingdom: Residents rescued from homes as floods hit Cornwall
Posted by Guardian: Steven Morris and Leo Hickman on November 17th, 2010
Guardian: Residents and motorists were rescued from flooded homes and stranded vehicles as heavy rain and strong winds caused chaos in Cornwall today.
Police declared the flooding, which also led to road and school closures, a "major incident" and people were advised not to travel.
An empty car was washed into the harbour in Portloe, south Cornwall, while a landslip at Lostwithiel, near Bodmin, blocked the main rail line in and out of the county.
Derek Baynton, a Lostwithiel resident, said he feared...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on United Kingdom: Residents rescued from homes as floods hit CornwallFish make cocoons to sleep safely
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on November 17th, 2010
BBC: "The bullethead parrotfish (Chlorurus sordidus) takes about 45 to 60 minutes to produce its cocoon," explained Dr Gutter.
The mucus-producing glands behind their gills are about the size of a 10 pence piece; large organs for a fish that grows to a maximum length of 40cm.
To find out if the sleeping cocoons had a protective role, the researchers conducted an overnight experiment.
They exposed coral reef parrotfish with and without cocoons to skin parasites called gnathiids.
Fish without...
Pennsylvania: Pittsburgh Forbids Gas Drilling
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on November 17th, 2010
Associated Press: Pittsburgh became the first city in gas-rich Pennsylvania to ban natural gas drilling after City Council members unanimously approved the measure Tuesday. The council, which cited health and environmental concerns, received a standing ovation after voting 9 to 0 to approve the ban within city limits. Pittsburgh sits atop the Marcellus Shale, a large rock formation that spreads across parts of New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virginia. Drilling companies have been flocking to those states to...