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Archive for January 14th, 2011
Flood victims?
Posted by BBC: Richard Black on January 14th, 2011
BBC: The giant potato cod is among thousands of species sitting in the path of the Queensland floodwater Continue reading the main story
Queensland Floods
Nick Bryant: Australians' extraordinary grit How flood recovery begins In pictures: Flood clean-up Brisbane floods map
As floodwaters in the Queensland capital Brisbane begin to recede, scientists are casting their eyes out to sea and wondering whether the region's greatest natural feature, the Great Barrier Reef, will be scarred by the experience....
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Climate change could happen much faster than previously thought
Posted by Telegraph: Louise Gray, on January 14th, 2011
Telegraph: The US study predicted that if society continues burning fossil fuels at the current rate, atmospheric levels of carbon dioxide could rise from the current level of 390 parts per million (ppm) to 1,000 by the end of this century.
The last time the world had such high levels of carbon dioxide temperatures were on average 29F(16C) above pre-industrial levels. Evidence has been found of crocodiles and palm trees at the Poles and only small mammals were able to survive.
Jeffrey Kiehl, of the National...
More than 500 die in Brazil flood
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on January 14th, 2011
BBC: More than 500 people are now known to have died in floods in south-eastern Brazil, the country's worst natural disaster for several decades.
Heavy rain has led to massive mudslides hitting several towns, resulting in thousands being made homeless.
Police say the number of dead is likely to rise further.
The death toll has now surpassed the devastating 1967 mudslides in Caraguatatuba, Sao Paulo state, in which up to 430 people perished. 'Thousands trapped'
Rescue workers will resume searching...
Virus, genetic link eyed in Canadian salmon deaths
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on January 14th, 2011
Reuters: Sockeye salmon in one of Canada's key but troubled fisheries on the Pacific Coast may have a genetic flaw that makes them more susceptible to disease, according to a study released on Thursday.
Researchers have found a genetic profile in some of sockeye in British Columbia's Fraser River that indicates some are more likely to die before they are able spawn, according to the study published in the journal Science.
It is still unknown what is killing the salmon, but a genetic flaw may make them...
Agency Revokes Permit for Major Coal Mining Project
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on January 14th, 2011
New York Times: The Environmental Protection Agency revoked the permit for one of the nation's largest mountaintop-removal coal mining projects on Thursday, saying the mine would have done unacceptable damage to rivers, wildlife and communities in West Virginia.
Arch Coal's proposed Spruce No. 1 Mine in Logan County has been the subject of controversy since the Bush administration approved its construction in 2007, issuing a permit required under the Clean Water Act. Environmentalists and local residents strongly...
Earth’s hot past could be prologue to future climate
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on January 14th, 2011
ScienceDaily: The magnitude of climate change during Earth's deep past suggests that future temperatures may eventually rise far more than projected if society continues its pace of emitting greenhouse gases, a new analysis concludes.
The study, by National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) scientist Jeffrey Kiehl, will appear as a "Perspectives" piece in this week's issue of the journal Science.
Building on recent research, the study examines the relationship between global temperatures and high levels...
Australia flood clean-up starts; risk of more floods
Posted by Reuters: Ed Davies on January 14th, 2011
Reuters: Australia's third-largest city started cleaning up stinking mud and debris on Friday after some of the country's worst floods on record, but in a sign of the task ahead, it could take six months to pump flood waters out of Queensland's coal mines. Many suburbs in the state's capital Brisbane, a city of two million people, remained submerged after floodwaters inundated the riverside city on Thursday. The Queensland floods, which started in December, have killed 20 people, left 53 missing and affected...