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Archive for April, 2011
In Texas, Questions of Drought and Climate Change
Posted by New York Times: KATE GALBRAITH on April 22nd, 2011
New York Times: Kate Galbraith Grass at the City Hall in Midland, Tex., may not fare as well under outdoor watering restrictions issued because of a severe drought.
The severe drought across Texas has hit the oil and gas city of Midland especially hard, as I reported in Friday`s New York Times and Texas Tribune. Since Oct. 1, Midland has received only 0.13 inches of rainfall -- making it "most likely the driest six-and-a-half-month period in recorded history," said David Hennig, a Midland-based meteorologist...
Earth Day Pictures: 20 Stunning Shots of Earth From Space
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on April 22nd, 2011
National Geographic: Sapphire waters tinged with pink sediment seem to get tangled amid emerald vegetation in a satellite picture of Bombetoka Bay, on the northwestern coast of Madagascar.
To celebrate Earth Day—which today received the ultimate Internet accolade, a Google Doodle—National Geographic photo editors selected 20 of the most stunning pictures of Earth, as seen from space, including this jewel-toned shot of the island country off the African coast.
Captured in 2000 by a NASA satellite, the scene shows...
Posted in Water Conservation 
Comments Off on Earth Day Pictures: 20 Stunning Shots of Earth From SpaceExperts on peat
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on April 22nd, 2011
Telegraph: Peat is destroying the environment and is no longer necessary in the modern garden says Alys Fowler, presenter on BBC Gardeners World and The Edible Garden: "I think there needs to be more education about the benefits of non-peat compost -- it can be just as effective as peat. As well as reducing carbon emissions and protecting peat bog habitats, peat-free compost is also a great way of recycling our waste. Just as we do not have endless peatbogs, we also do not have bottomless landfill sites. I...
Forty percent of planet threatened with loss of biodiversity: Minister
Posted by Angop: None Given on April 22nd, 2011
Angop: About 40 percent of the planet earth is threatened with the loss of its biodiversity, as a result of human action, Angop learned Thursday in Luanda.
The information was released by Angolan minister of Environment, Fatima Jardim, on the occasion of the Earth Day, April 22.
The minister said that should there not be a change in human attitude towards the environment, 60 percent of the corals might disappear on the coasts around the world, in addition to maritime ecosystems and mangroves.
Fátima...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Forty percent of planet threatened with loss of biodiversity: MinisterFormer REDD+ negotiator for Indonesia sentenced to 3 years for corruption
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on April 22nd, 2011
Mongabay: Former REDD+ negotiator for Indonesia sentenced to 3 years for corruption
Wandojo Siswanto, one of the negotiators for Indonesia's delegation at 2009 climate talks in Copenhagen and a key architect of its Reduced Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation (REDD) partnership with Norway, has been sentenced to three years in prison for accepting bribes.
Following an investigation by the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK), Wandojo was found guilty of receiving a bribe of about $10,000 from...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Former REDD+ negotiator for Indonesia sentenced to 3 years for corruptionTexas governor calls for prayers for rain amid fires
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on April 22nd, 2011
Reuters: Texas Governor Rick Perry called on Texans to pray for rain as cooler temperatures on Thursday helped firefighters contain wildfires that have charred more than 1.5 million acres across the state.
Perry, a Republican, sought increased federal help in combating the blazes last weekend and urged Texans to ask the same from a higher power over the Easter holiday weekend.
"Throughout our history, both as a state and as individuals, Texans have been strengthened, assured and lifted up through prayer,"...
Chesapeake stems flow from leaking natgas well
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on April 22nd, 2011
Reuters: Chesapeake Energy has stemmed the flow of leaking fluids from a natural gas well which suffered a blow-out late on Tuesday in Pennsylvania, the company said in a statement.
Chesapeake said it would conduct an investigation into the cause of the accident which sent thousands of gallons of drilling fluid into the environment.
Europe scorns “supersalmon” as GM battle widens
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on April 22nd, 2011
Reuters: European salmon farmers and breeders who dominate global sales have a wary eye on transgenic American superfish that grow fast and might gulp part of the $107 billion-a-year aquaculture business.
"We don't have any monster pigs in Europe, or monster cows, and there's no need for such a salmon," said Geir Isaksen, the chief executive at big Norwegian fish farmer Cermaq.
Genetically modified (GM) Atlantic salmon patented by U.S. biotech firm AquaBounty are widely billed as growing at double speed...
Pictures: International Year of Forests on Earth Day
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on April 22nd, 2011
Mongabay: Pictures: International Year of Forests on Earth Day
In my nearly 12 years of running mongabay.com, I have had the good fortune to visit spectacular forests around the world. So this Earth Day, instead of writing something pithy (Jeremy has done a fine job in his Earth Day post recognizing the value of what nature gives us), I'm just posting some of my favorite forest pictures I've taken in my travels.
If you are a long-time mongabay reader, you've probably noticed my tradition of not writing...
Extinction rates being altered by contemporary climate change
Posted by Newstrack India: None Given on April 22nd, 2011
Newstrack India: A study has found that contemporary climate change is affecting extinction rates.
Local extinction rates of American pikas have increased nearly five-fold in the last 10 years, and the rate at which the climate-sensitive species is moving up mountain slopes has increased 11-fold, since the 20th century.
The research strongly suggests that the American pika's distribution throughout the Great Basin is changing at an increasingly rapid rate.
The pika (Ochotona princeps), a small, hamster-looking...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Extinction rates being altered by contemporary climate change