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Archive for March, 2011
New study to look at economics, groundwater use of bioenergy feedstocks
Posted by Science Centric: None Given on March 4th, 2011
Science Centric: Biofuel feedstock production in the Texas High Plains could significantly change the crop mix, which could affect regional income and groundwater consumption, according to Texas AgriLife Research and Texas AgriLife Extension Service economists.
Dr Steve Amosson, AgriLife Extension economist in Amarillo, and Dr Seong Park, AgriLife Research economist in Vernon, are joining other economists to model the socio-economic effects of climate change on the Ogallala Aquifer.
The project, Economics and...
Posted in Water Conservation 
Comments Off on New study to look at economics, groundwater use of bioenergy feedstocksAntarctic ice sheet built from the bottom up and not just by snow falling on top, claim climate change scientists
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on March 4th, 2011
Daily Mail: Some of the Antarctic ice sheet is formed by water re-freezing from below not just by snow falling on top as was traditionally thought, a study claims.
Scientists, who unveiled their findings yesterday, believe their research will help them project the effects of climate change.
Experts are seeking to understand the frozen continent since even a small thaw could swamp low-lying coastal areas and cities.
Antarctica contains enough ice to raise world sea levels by about 57metres if it ever...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Antarctic ice sheet built from the bottom up and not just by snow falling on top, claim climate change scientistsActivist found guilty of making false bids on energy leases
Posted by Guardian: Bibi van Der Zee on March 4th, 2011
Guardian: An environmental activist was on Thursday found guilty on two felony charges after he disrupted a government auction of land for oil and gas exploration. Tim DeChristopher's sentence will be decided on 23 June but is unlikely to face the full potential 10-year sentence, the prosecutor said. Outside the courthouse, DeChristopher told press and supporters: "We know now that I will have to go to prison. If we are to achieve our vision, many more will have to join me." Asked by one reporter whether...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Activist found guilty of making false bids on energy leasesSuper rice is flood/drought-proof
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on March 4th, 2011
BBC: Rice is the staple food for about half of the world's population Continue reading the main story
A gene that increases a rice plant's resistance to floods also boosts its ability to recover from droughts, a study has shown.
Researchers found that the gene, Sub1A, allowed to plants to survive by growing fresh shoots after a period of drought.
Rice is the primary food for three billion people, and more than 25% the world's harvest is grown in areas that experience extreme weather conditions....
GE Trees: ArborGen goes down
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on March 4th, 2011
Rainforest News: ArborGen had requested permission from the USDA to plant GE eucalyptus trees in commercial plantations across the southern U.S., involving as many as 260,000 trees planted at 29 sites during the next few years. Much smaller lots of the genetically altered trees have been growing in some of the states for years and we recently learned that the USDA turned them down. 17,500 people signed a petition or sent in comments to the USDA opposing GE eucalyptus trees. While this is not a permanent victory,...
World’s sixth mass extinction may be underway
Posted by Agence France-Presse: Richard Ingham and Laurent Bangue on March 4th, 2011
Agence France-Presse: Mankind may have unleashed the sixth known mass extinction in Earth's history, according to a paper released by the science journal Nature.
Over the past 540 million years, five mega-wipeouts of species have occurred through naturally-induced events.
But the new threat is man-made, inflicted by habitation loss, over-hunting, over-fishing, the spread of germs and viruses and introduced species, and by climate change caused by fossil-fuel greenhouse gases, says the study.
Evidence from fossils...
Brazilian beef: Greater impact on the environment than we realize
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on March 4th, 2011
ScienceDaily: Increased export of Brazilian beef indirectly leads to deforestation in the Amazon. New research from Chalmers and SIK in Sweden that was recently published in Environmental Science & Technology shows that impact on the climate is much greater than current estimates indicate. The researchers are now demanding that indirect effect on land be included when determining a product's carbon footprint.
"If this aspect is not taken into consideration, there is a risk of the wrong signals being sent...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Brazilian beef: Greater impact on the environment than we realize“Profound” plant water cycle changes add new wildcard to climate change .
Posted by Science a Gogo: Kate Melville on March 4th, 2011
Science a Gogo: Botanists from Indiana University (IU) and Utrecht University (Netherlands) have discovered that rising carbon dioxide levels over the last 150 years have reduced the density of the pores (known as stomata) that plants use to breathe by 34 percent, dramatically lowering the amount of water vapor the plants release to the atmosphere. Writing about their findings in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science, the researchers hypothesize that continually increasing CO2 levels could reduce plant...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on “Profound” plant water cycle changes add new wildcard to climate change .Lawyers: No plan yet to go after Chevron money
Posted by Associated Press: Larry Neumeister on March 4th, 2011
Associated Press: Lawyers say Chevron can finish appeals in Ecuador before they try to collect over $9 billion
Lawyers for Ecuadoreans who won a $9.5 billion judgment against Chevron Corp. for decades-old damage to the country's rain forest said Tuesday that they won't try to collect the award until the oil giant completes the appeals process.
The Monday ruling by Ecuadorean Judge Nicolas Zambrano against the U.S. oil company was expected and Chevron has vowed to appeal in Ecuador. The ruling says the award...
Protecting forests can cut water filtration costs
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on March 4th, 2011
Mongabay: Protecting forests can cut water filtration costs
Clean water doesn't come cheap. Communities and businesses often rely on expensive water filtration infrastructure to ensure their clean water supplies. But communities around the world have been protecting upstream forests instead of building new, costly water treatment infrastructure. Can this strategy work in the US south?
Water treatment is expensive business, and cities around the world -- from Denver in North America to Zapalinamé in Latin...