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Archive for December 14th, 2010
Help Nunavut adapt to climate change, Shewchuk says
Posted by Nunatsiaq Online: Chris Windeyer on December 14th, 2010
Nunatsiaq Online: A typical scene in Iqaluit, Nov. 20, 2010: Until the first week of December, soaring temperatures brought many weeks of rain, fog and drizzle to Nunavut's capital and the ice on Frobisher Bay didn't start to form until about Dec. 8. (FILE PHOTO)
Ottawa has pledged $400 million to help developing countries reduce carbon emissions and adapt to the effects of climate change.
Nunavut`s environment minister says Ottawa should extend the same generosity to the territories.
"I think that Canada...
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Australia: From fires to floods – is this the future?
Posted by Epoch Times: Shar Adams on December 14th, 2010
Epoch Times: Australian farmers have always been forced to adapt to variable weather patterns, but developing climate change trends indicate a rise in extreme events, say climate and agricultural scientists.
Wayne Meyer, professor of Natural Resource Science at Adelaide University, says it is a "continuation' of adjustment over 200 years, but with the recent fluctuations in extremes, it is becoming more challenging for farmers.
"We have done it before, but now we have to adapt more quickly,' Prof Meyer...
Africa’s Future Lies in a Green Energy Grid
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on December 14th, 2010
Inter Press Service: Development in Africa could falter as climate change grips the continent, increasing the length and severity of droughts and floods by altering precipitation patterns, among other impacts.
The region needs a major shift in its economic development policies and thinking towards decentralised, green economic development, experts now say.
"The world's big economies are largely living off financial transactions which are unconnected to development," warns Supachai Panitchpakdi, secretary-general...
Freshwater Sustainability Challenges Shared By Southwest And Southeast
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on December 14th, 2010
redOrbit: Water scarcity in the western U.S. has long been an issue of concern. Now, a team of researchers studying freshwater sustainability in the U.S. have found that the Southeast, with the exception of Florida, does not have enough water capacity to meet its own needs.
Twenty-five years ago, environmentalist Marc Reisner published Cadillac Desert: The American West and Its Disappearing Water, which predicted that water resources in the West would be unable to support the growing demand of cities, agriculture...
Cancun forest deal lacks details on financing
Posted by Kaieteur News: None Given on December 14th, 2010
Kaieteur News: The UN Climate Summit in Cancun, which ended last weekend, has agreed on a deal that would get rich countries to pay poor countries like Guyana to protect forests, but explicit details on where the money would come from, who will get paid and how the scheme would be monitored were left out.
A decision on the forest protection scheme called REDD (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation) was highly anticipated in Cancun, and when the meeting ended there was a decision, but not a clear...
Drought Hits Middle East Farmers, Again
Posted by Inter Press Service: Rebecca Murray on December 14th, 2010
Inter Press Service: Anxious farmers gather in their field on a warm, clear day in Syria’s arid northern region of Al-Raqqa, near the banks of the Euphrates River. The ground in this corner of the ‘fertile crescent’ is barren, save for a small herd of sheep on the ten-hectare farm.
Traditionally the winter rains start in late October. If the dry spell stretches through December, the staple wheat and lentil crops and their livelihood are a write-off for another consecutive year.
Swathes of Syria, Turkey, Iraq, Jordan,...
The ethics of biofuels
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on December 14th, 2010
ScienceDaily: In the world-wide race to develop energy sources that are seen as "green" because they are renewable and less greenhouse gas-intensive, sometimes the most basic questions remain unanswered.
In a paper released December 14 by the School of Public Policy at the University of Calgary, authors Michal Moore, Senior Fellow, and Sarah M. Jordaan at Harvard University in the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, look at the basic question of whether these energy sources are ethical.
In addition...
Scientists see the Southwest as first major U.S. climate change victim
Posted by New York Times: Lauren Morello on December 14th, 2010
New York Times: A 60-year drought that scorched the Southwest during the 12th century may be a harbinger of things to come as greenhouse gases warm the Earth, according to research published yesterday in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
The study's authors used tree rings to reconstruct a portrait of droughts that struck the Southwest over a 1,200-year period stretching back to 900 A.D. They believe that understanding the droughts of the past could help water managers plan for future dry periods...
Indian activists risk death to expose illegal logging, pollution and mining
Posted by Ecologist: Ambika Hiranandani and Tom Levitt on December 14th, 2010
Ecologist: The recent death of Indian environmentalist Amit Jethva was the latest in a growing number of disturbing incidents of brutality and violence against activists , report Ambika Hiranandani and Tom Levitt On 20 July 2010, forest campaigner Amit Jethva was shot dead at point blank range by two assailants on motorbikes as he was leaving Gujrat High Court following a meeting with his lawyer. In a country facing an acute environmental crisis as it rapidly industrialises, his assassination was no stray...
Continued death of forests predicted in southwestern US due to climate change
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on December 14th, 2010
ScienceDaily: If current climate projections hold true, the forests of the Southwestern United States face a bleak future, with more severe -- and more frequent -- forest fires, higher tree death rates, more insect infestation, and weaker trees. The findings by university and government scientists are published in this week's issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).
"Our study shows that regardless of rainfall going up or down, forests in the Southwest U.S. are very sensitive to...