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Archive for December 1st, 2010
Dwindling biodiversity raises disease risk in humans, study finds
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on December 1st, 2010
Guardian: Biodiversity Dwindling biodiversity raises disease risk in humans, study finds
First species to go extinct in an ecosystem tend to be those that reduce disease transmission, research suggests
Dwindling biodiversity could cause more humans to contract infectious diseases such as Lyme disease and West Nile virus, according to scientists who have reviewed the results of 24 separate studies.
Biodiversity hotspots must be protected to prevent the transmission of dangerous diseases from increasing,...
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OSU report predicts climate-change toll on Oregon
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on December 1st, 2010
Associated Press: A state climate report released Tuesday predicts that Oregon may face summer water shortages, an increased wildfire risk and more extreme weather events if temperatures keep warming up.
The report examined the potential social, physical and biological responses to an Oregon climate that may increase in average temperature by up to 1 degree Fahrenheit per decade through this century.
A key variable will be global greenhouse gas emissions, the study said, but the supply of fresh water may be...
Northern Europe freezes, Cyprus in drought
Posted by Reuters: Keith Weir on December 1st, 2010
Reuters: Heavy snow and sub-zero temperatures disrupted road, rail and air transport in many parts of northern Europe on Wednesday while the Mediterranean island of Cyprus suffered in the heat after its driest November in more than a century.
Britain labored under its worst early winter weather in almost two decades, with Edinburgh airport and London's Gatwick airport closed. Snow blanketed much of the country, causing delays on major roads and railway lines.
British gas and power prices rose sharply...
Global Study on Warming Lakes
Posted by NYT: Felicity Barringer on December 1st, 2010
NYT: The Great Salt Lake in Utah was one of 104 inland water bodies worldwide whose temperature was tracked in a new study. It is warming at a rate of 1.21 degrees Fahrenheit per decade.
The world`s largest lakes are warming along with the air -- and sometimes at faster rates -- but the intensity of the warming trend differs strikingly around the globe, a new study by two scientists from NASA`s Jet Propulsion Laboratory says.
The study, published in the journal Geophysical Research Letters, shows...
Think things are bad now? Don’t let it run out of water
Posted by Christian Science Monitor: Halima Gellman on December 1st, 2010
Christian Science Monitor: Think things are bad now? Don’t let it run out of water.
WikiLeaks documents that revealed a coverup of US drone strikes in Yemen may complicate security concerns – beyond just the package bombs or Anwar al-Awlaki. But the real challenge is how to head off a water crisis that threatens to bring more instability and violence.
The security situation in Yemen looks increasingly fragile. The Yemen-based Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) claimed responsibility for the two mail bombs destined...
Integrating wind and water power, an increasingly tough balancing act
Posted by ClimateWire: Peter Behr on December 1st, 2010
ClimateWire: The Pacific Northwest Smart Grid Demonstration, the largest of 16 U.S. Department of Energy pilot projects, is under way in five Northwest states. It seeks ways to balance the region's huge base of hydroelectric power with its fast-expanding collection of wind farms.
With a budget of $178 million split evenly between an American Recovery and Reinvestment Act grant and local contributions by 11 utilities and other partners, the smart grid project (pdf) covers a wide array of missions. Charging...
Climate change means more extremes in Oregon
Posted by Register-Guard: Susan Palmer on December 1st, 2010
Register-Guard: Climate change -- also known as global warming -- probably won`t look quite the way we might imagine it, say Oregon scientists trying to predict the impacts on the Oregon landscape of an increase in the greenhouse gases that insulate the planet.
Instead of an inexorably steady rise in temperature 0.5 degrees per decade, say the scientists, think wilder swings in weather: wetter winters, drier summers, more intense storms.
"The variability may increase in the future, very cold winters, very...
Crop bounty spurs construction boom at elevators
Posted by Associated Press: Roxana Hegeman on December 1st, 2010
Associated Press: A construction boom is underway at grain elevators across the Great Plains, where new varieties of corn are allowing farmers to grow more crops off the same acres and demand from ethanol plants is keeping more crops in state. In more recent years, a number of forces have coalesced to ignite a building boom of new storage facilities -- particularly in states such as Kansas and Nebraska that are awash with more grain crops than places to put them. But demand for more storage space is up across much...
United Kingdom: Residents pay for nature reserve in new housing development
Posted by Guardian: Ruth Stokes on December 1st, 2010
Guardian: In a muddy field on the outskirts of Portishead, near Bristol, volunteers brave the cold to cut back trees from the edge of a pond. The idea is to make space for a dipping platform that will allow children to catch newts and frogs from the water so they can learn more about them.
Helen Mason is one of the regular volunteers on the site, which is being transformed into a nature reserve under the management of the Avon Wildlife Trust (AWT). But Mason is no ordinary volunteer – she is one of the...
United Kingdom: Mercury ‘turns birds homosexual’
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on December 1st, 2010
BBC: Mercury affects the behaviour of white ibises by "turning them homosexual", with higher doses resulting in males being more likely to pair with males.
Scientists in Florida and Sri Lanka studied the effect of mercury in the birds' diet. Their aim was to find out why it reduced the ibises' breeding.
Mercury pollution can come from burning coal and waste, and run-off from mines.
The report, in Proceedings of the Royal Society B, shows that wetland birds are particularly badly affected by it....