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Archive for March, 2011
Brick-Making Industry Confronts Its Climate Impacts
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on March 18th, 2011
Inter Press Service: Wearing rolled up trousers and a spattered shirt, Carlos Frías mixes mud, water and manure to prepare a row of red bricks.
When the mixture is ready, the Mexican brickmaker, or "tabiquero," kneads it and pours it into a mould. His hands quickly adjust the mixture in place, and then he sprays it down with water to give it the right consistency.
The rows of moulds sit in the sun undisturbed for four days until they are dry, then the pieces are placed in an oven, which has a base with an opening...
Intervention offers ‘best chance’ to save species endangered by climate change
Posted by Science Centric: None Given on March 18th, 2011
Science Centric: A University of York scientist is proposing a radical programme of 'assisted colonisation' to save species endangered by climate change.
Chris Thomas, Professor of Conservation Biology, says the strategy is applicable across the world, and he suggests Britain as a potential haven for species such as the Iberian lynx, the Spanish Imperial Eagle, the Pyrenean Desman and the Provence Chalkhill Blue butterfly.
In an opinion paper in Trends in Ecology and Evolution, Professor Thomas, of the University's...
Posted in Water Conservation 
Comments Off on Intervention offers ‘best chance’ to save species endangered by climate changeThe Perfect Eco-Technical Storm in Japan
Posted by Huffington Post: Jim Garrison: on March 18th, 2011
Huffington Post: Japan has experienced the perfect eco-technical storm -- the worst earthquake and tsunami in its history and now the most nightmarish of nuclear meltdowns of not just one but three nuclear reactors plus the explosion in the fuel pond where the spent fuel rods from the reactors are kept. Ecology has assaulted technology. In the face of overwhelming natural forces, the arrogance of nuclear technology is being laid bare for the entire world to see.
If there is any country in the world that should...
Australia: Climate change impact report leaked
Posted by Coffs Coast Advocate: Matt Deans on March 18th, 2011
Coffs Coast Advocate: THE much-anticipated report into the impact of climate change on the Coffs Coast has been leaked.
Before residents in the areas identified as likely inundation zones had been contacted, the 204-page report has been posted on a website published by the Northern Beaches Alliance.
"This is very disappointing,' said Coffs Harbour City Council mayor Keith Rhoades.
"The final stage of the report was to make contact with homeowners whose properties were identified as potentially impacted by coastal...
Veolia accelerates green start-up support programme
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on March 18th, 2011
Business Green: Veolia Environnement, the world's largest environmental services company, this week for the first time revealed five of the 200 start-up companies selected for its accelerator programme at the Clean Tech Forum in San Francisco.
The Veolia Innovation Accelerator (VIA) programme, which was debuted at the same event this time last year, selected clean tech start-ups that align with Veolia's businesses in water, waste, environmental, energy and transport sectors.
No hold up for Stagecoach's eco-driving...
Japan raises nuclear alert level
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on March 18th, 2011
BBC: Japan has raised the alert level at a stricken nuclear plant from four to five on a seven-point international scale for atomic incidents.
The crisis at the Fukushima Daiichi site is now two levels below Ukraine's 1986 Chernobyl disaster.
The head of the UN's nuclear watchdog warned in Tokyo the battle to stabilise the plant was a race against time.
The crisis was prompted by last week's huge quake and tsunami, which has left at least 16,000 people dead or missing.
The Japanese nuclear...
Drink water straight from ‘the faucets of the stars’ for World Water Week
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on March 18th, 2011
Independent: Ahead of World Water Week (March 20-26), UNICEF has begun its 'Celebrity Tap' campaign, helping raise money for water aid and giving people the chance to win water straight from the tap of a celebrity.
The Celebrity Tap campaign features Selena Gomez, Rihanna, Taylor Swift and Adrian Grenier and takes a very tongue-in-cheek approach to the cult of 'famous bottled water.'
The campaign plays on the celebrity of the participants who are "more famous than you" and continues to address the idea...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Drink water straight from ‘the faucets of the stars’ for World Water WeekIAEA urges Japan to give more information on nuclear crisis
Posted by Guardian: Tania Branigan on March 18th, 2011
Guardian: The head of the United Nations' nuclear watchdog has urged Japan to provide more information on its "extremely serious" crisis as the battle to regain control of a failing power plant enters a second week.
Yukiya Amano, the International Atomic Energy Agency chief, told the prime minister, Naoto Kan, that although it had been briefed, "there is the opinion in the international community that more detailed information is needed".
Earlier, as he arrived in Tokyo, Amano told reporters: "This is...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on IAEA urges Japan to give more information on nuclear crisisStaying above water
Posted by Financial Times: None Given on March 18th, 2011
Financial Times: As pictures of devastation in Japan continue to dominate the media, Prince William begins his tour of Australia to meet victims of last December’s river floods. These grim reminders are something many of us need to heed. Just as nuclear power is being re-evaluated in the light of Japan’s disaster, flood defences need to be re-examined.
A forecast by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) that sea levels may rise 59cm by 2100 appears conservative, because it does not factor Nasa-funded...
Northern Peatlands A Misunderstood Player In Climate Change
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on March 18th, 2011
Agence France-Presse: University of Alberta researchers have determined that the influence of northern peatlands on the prehistorical record of climate change has been over estimated, but the vast northern wetlands must still be watched closely as the planet grapples with its current global warming trend.
Northern peatlands, which are a boggy mixture of dead organic material and water, cover more than four million square kilometers. The largest northern peatlands occur in the subarctic regions of Canada and Russia....
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Northern Peatlands A Misunderstood Player In Climate Change