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Archive for April 21st, 2011
In praise of … llamas
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on April 21st, 2011
Guardian: The llama and its fluffier, smaller relative the alpaca are among the most successful immigrants to the United Kingdom in modern times. They marked their arrival by going to the very top, grazing for Queen Victoria at Windsor. For years a source of high-quality textiles, following Sir Titus Salt's breakthrough in spinning alpaca weft with a cotton warp in Bradford in the late 1830s, the animals have long been valued for their fleeces. Now they have earned a bigger niche in their own right. At dozens...
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The Texas climate change solution: God
Posted by Salon: Andrew Leonard on April 21st, 2011
Salon: After months of a historically unprecedented drought, devastating wildfires are raging across more than a million acres of the state of Texas. Republican Gov. Rick Perry's response? He's officially declaring the next three days as "Days of Prayer for Rain in the State of Texas." WHEREAS, throughout our history, both as a state and as individuals, Texans have been strengthened, assured and lifted up through prayer; it seems right and fitting that the people of Texas should join together in prayer...
State Regulators List 33 Ways EPA Rules Aren’t Working
Posted by Greenwire: Gabriel Nelson on April 21st, 2011
Greenwire: If the administration is going to strip away some red tape, as President Obama said when he penned an executive order telling federal agencies to get rid of ineffective and outdated regulations, one group of top state officials has 33 good places for U.S. EPA to start.
The executive order, which was signed in January, asked the members of the public to air their grievances. So far, EPA alone has received nearly 1,500 comments on its rules, which have been placed under a microscope on Capitol Hill...
Grand Canyon National Park River Ecosystem Threatened by Kazakhstan Beetle?
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on April 21st, 2011
National Geographic: This story is part of a National Geographic News story on global water issues.
Tamarisk trees are invading, crowding out native trees along rivers in the southwestern United States. But their removal could further imperil the endangered southwestern willow flycatcher, a sparrow-sized songbird.
For decades biologists have tried to remove tamarisk--which grows up to 16 feet tall--manually and with herbicides and other strategies. But they are still losing ground to the sprawling tree. Now, some...
Ozone hole ‘has dried Australia’
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on April 21st, 2011
BBC: The Antarctic ozone hole is changing weather patterns across the Southern Hemisphere, even affecting the tropics, scientists have concluded.
The scientists behind the new study added the ozone hole into standard climate models to investigate how it might have affected winds and rains.
Writing in the journal Science, they say rainfall has moved further south, towards the pole.
They deduce that the effect has been notably strong over Australia.
"The ozone hole results in a southward shift...
BP pledges $1 billion to restore oil-stained Gulf
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on April 21st, 2011
Agence France-Presse: BP has pledged $1 billion to jump-start projects aimed at restoring the US Gulf Coast after last year's massive oil spill, officials said Thursday.
"The agreement in no way affects the ultimate liability of BP or any other entity for natural resource damages or other liabilities, but provides an opportunity to help restoration get started sooner," the US Justice Department said in a statement.
The Justice Department called it a "first step" towards fulfilling BP's obligations to fund the "complete...
Catching rain with rain barrels
Posted by Y! Green: None Given on April 21st, 2011
Y Green: When I was young, we used to high-tail it outside, clanging pots in hand, at the first whisper of a spring or summer storm. It was our firm belief that shampooing with rainwater imbued our hair with magic. Girlhood diversions aside, the truth is that harvesting rainwater may be more important than we realize.
According to the UN, 20 percent of the world`s population in 30 countries faces water shortages. This number is expected to rise dramatically by 2025. Although water is something that many...
Ethiopia says won’t allow Egypt to examine new dam
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on April 21st, 2011
Reuters: Ethiopia will deny Egypt a chance to examine a new mega dam it is building on the Nile unless Cairo inks a new deal relinquishing its veto powers over allocation of the river's waters, an official said on Thursday.
Egypt has been locked for more than a decade in a dispute with other countries through which the river passes, refusing changes to colonial-era treaties contested by Ethiopia and other upstream nations.
Under the pact signed in 1929, Egypt is entitled to 55.5 billion cubic meters...
Fewer Americans see climate change as threat
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on April 21st, 2011
USA Today: Fewer Americans and Europeans view climate change as a threat than did a few years ago, but more Latin Americans and sub-Saharan Africans see themselves at risk, according to Gallup surveys in 111 countries.
The 42% of adults worldwide who see it as a threat to themselves and their families hasn't budged in recent years, but changes in some regions reflect divisions on the issue between the developed and developing world.
In the USA, 53% said climate change is a serious personal threat in Gallup's...
Haiti’s charcoal trade – in pictures
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on April 21st, 2011
Guardian: Haiti's charcoal trade – in pictures
Haiti's chief source of fuel spawns a harsh trade that causes deforestation and courts environmental disaster. New ways of providing fuel are now being explored