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Archive for April 26th, 2011
Fish on brink of extinction sparks calls to eat responsibly
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on April 26th, 2011
Independent: A conservation group is urging people to consume responsibly after releasing a report that found that more than 40 species of fish found in the Mediterranean - including bluefin tuna and sea bass - could disappear in the next few years.
According to a study released this week for the International Union for Conservation of Nature, almost half of the species of sharks and rays and 12 species of bony fish in the Mediterranean Sea are threatened with extinction due to overfishing, marine habitat...
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Climate change to hit American West water supply
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on April 26th, 2011
Reuters: Climate change could cut water flow in some of the American West's biggest river basins -- including the Rio Grande and the Colorado -- by up to 20 percent this century, the Interior Department reported on Monday.
This steep drop in stream flow is projected for parts of the West that have seen marked increases in population and droughts over recent decades, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said in a telephone briefing.
"These changes will directly affect the West's water supplies, which are already...
US judge says EPA, not Fla., must lead Glades fix
Posted by Associated Press: Curt Anderson on April 26th, 2011
Associated Press: The state of Florida has failed to protect the threatened Everglades and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency must step in to enforce anti-pollution rules, a federal judge ruled Tuesday.
U.S. District Judge Alan Gold's decision gives the EPA greater authority over water permits affecting discharges from sugar growers, farms and businesses, which are largely responsible for phosphorous-laden fertilizer runoff that is choking the vast wetlands. The EPA last year proposed a new cleanup plan largely...
Fracking regulations could ease public concerns: White House
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on April 26th, 2011
Reuters: The natural gas industry should support "common sense" regulation to ease public worries about potential water contamination from hydraulic fracturing, a drilling practice vital to the U.S. shale gas boom, White House economic adviser Gene Sperling said on Tuesday.
Advances in the technique, known as fracking, have allowed drillers to tap abundant U.S. shale gas reserves. Sperling said natural gas drillers and their supporters should back rules to address concern about the impact of fracking on...
‘Push–pull’ pest control to reach more African farmers
Posted by SciDev.Net: Mercy Adhiambo on April 26th, 2011
SciDev.Net: Napier grass produces a gummy substance that traps freshly hatched stem borers A farming technology that uses intercropping to repel insect pests from food crops has been given a new lease of life by a programme to expand its uptake.
The 'push--pull' strategy intercrops cereals with a repellent plant bordered by an attractive trap plant. For example, maize can be intercropped with desmodium, which repels ('pushes') pests such as the maize stem borer away from the crop, and bordered by Napier...
Could crop ancestors feed the world?
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on April 26th, 2011
SciDev.Net: Wheat is just one of many crops that originated in Syria
The race is on to develop and test improved crop varieties to feed the world's growing population -- and help may lie in Syria's wild plants.
Many of the first crops emerged in Syria, where humans are thought to have first discovered agriculture some 11,000 years ago. Emmer wheat, barley, chickpea, pea and lentil crops all originated here.
Researchers from around the world are flocking to the Arabian desert to create crops for an increasingly...
‘Extreme Drought’ Sets Texas Ablaze and May Sprawl Over the South Until Midsummer
Posted by Climate Wire: Lauren Morello on April 26th, 2011
Climate Wire: Wildfires have burned about 1.5 million acres in Texas since January, egged on by a drought that federal forecasters say is the worst to hit the state in 45 years. Officials with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration say their weather models predict the severe drought that has parched the southern United States will continue to midsummer -- and beyond.
"Predictions over weeks to one to three months suggest the drought will continue, and even intensify, in some areas as we struggle...
Fighters From 43 States Battle Far-Flung Texas Wildfires
Posted by Climate Wire: Dina Fine Maron on April 26th, 2011
Climate Wire: Despite a public call by Texas Gov. Rick Perry (R) to pray for rain over the weekend, major wildfires continue to rage on across the state.
Already an estimated 1.5 million acres of Texas has burned this year, according to the Texas Forest Service. Thunderstorms rolled through the state over the weekend, but lightning strikes accompanied the rain, setting the stage for a challenging wildfire week ahead that will draw upon limited resources.
"Sleepers" -- smoldering embers first ignited by lightning...
Colorado rivers running with evidence of global warming
Posted by Aurora Sentinel: None Given on April 26th, 2011
Aurora Sentinel: Colorado rivers running with evidence of global warming
Talk about old news. The Interior Department this week determined that global warming will reduce stream flows in wester river basins, reducing the water available to an already thirsty U.S. Southwest.
For years scientists have been issuing warnings like these, and for that same amount of time, the past administration and past congresses have not only ignored those warnings but enthusiastically worked to discredit them.
As the EPA...
‘Green’ energy not always so clean
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on April 26th, 2011
Associated Press: Unlikely polluters
Flambeau River Papers LLC in Park Falls, Wisc., uses pellets made with wood waste and a small amount of plastic binder as fuel to replace coal. 'Green' energy not always so clean
Just 12 miles apart in the belly of California, a pair of 12.5 megawatt power plants fouled the air with a toxic brew of pollutants -- nitrogen dioxide, sulfur dioxide, carbon monoxide, ammonia and particulate matter. They released thick plumes and visible dust. They failed to install proper monitoring...