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Archive for May 11th, 2011
Can clouds help mitigate global warming? Missing links found in biology of cloud formation over oceans
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on May 11th, 2011
ScienceDaily: Can Clouds Help Mitigate Global Warming? Missing Links Found in Biology of Cloud Formation Over Oceans
Scientists have known for two decades that sulfur compounds that are produced by bacterioplankton as they consume decaying algae in the ocean cycle through two paths. In one, a sulfur compound dimethylsulfide, or DMS, goes into the atmosphere, where it leads to water droplet formation -- the basis of clouds that cool Earth. In the other, a sulfur compound goes into the ocean's food web, where...
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High Waters: A Climate Connection to the Mississippi River Floods?
Posted by OnEarth Magazine: Andrew Freedman on May 11th, 2011
OnEarth Magazine: From swarms of deadly tornadoes to record flooding and tinderbox drought conditions, it seems that Mother Nature threw everything in her arsenal against the Lower-48 States during April, with impacts continuing into May. The combination of a weather pattern associated with La Niña, a natural climate cycle involving ocean currents in the tropical Pacific Ocean, as well as other factors helped fuel what was, by any measure, an extremely unusual month.
In a series of explainers, Climate Central is...
ConocoPhillips withdraws from oil exploitation in uncontacted indigenous territory
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on May 11th, 2011
Mongabay: ConocoPhillips withdraws from oil exploitation in uncontacted indigenous territory A portion of Block 67 which runs up against the border of Ecuador as viewed by Google Earth.
ConocoPhillips has announced it is withdrawing from its 45% share of oil drilling in Block 39 of Peru's Amazon rainforest. The withdrawal comes after pressure from indigenous-rights and environmental groups to leave two Peruvian oil blocks--39 and 67--alone, due to the presence of indigenous people who have chosen to remain...
In Search of Energy, A Booming Chile Chooses to Dam Its Rivers
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on May 11th, 2011
Time: Under an azure Patagonia sky, a few dozen conservation-minded citizens and their children took part in a puppet show recently in the town square of Cochrane, a tiny hamlet in southern Chile nestled between ancient forests and winding rivers. In the story, a purple otter sought guidance from the mystical forest spirit about the malevolent plans of a gravelly-voiced developer who wants to dam the river, a scheme that would disfigure the landscape and, with it, the otter's home.
The program, hosted...
French ban on shale gas drilling passes lower house
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on May 11th, 2011
Reuters: France's lower house of parliament approved a bill on Wednesday that would ban shale gas drilling due to environmental concerns, as a freeze on the controversial practice remains in effect.
The bill will be considered by France's Senate in June.
The technique of hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, involves injecting water, sand and chemicals into shale rock formations at high pressure to force out oil and natural gas.
Opposition has centered over potential pollution from the large amounts...
Belief and butchery: how lies and organized crime are pushing rhinos to extinction
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on May 11th, 2011
Mongabay: Few animals face as violent, as well organized, and as determined an enemy as the world's rhinos. Across the globe rhinos are being slaughtered in record numbers; on average more than one rhino is killed by poachers everyday. After being shot or drugged, criminals take what they came for: they saw off the animal's horn. Used in Traditional Chinese Medicine, which claims that it has curative properties, rhino horn is worth more than gold and cocaine on the black market. However, science proves all...
Arctic Summit To Tackle Melting Glaciers
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on May 11th, 2011
National Public Radio: Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Interior Secretary Ken Salazar will attend the Arctic Council summit in Greenland Thursday, on the heels of a report that predicts glaciers are melting more quickly than expected. The talks could affect the price of gas and international efforts to stop climate change.
Canada: Manitoba to break dike on flooded river Thursday
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on May 11th, 2011
Reuters: Manitoba plans to open a dike along the swollen Assiniboine River on Thursday, in a desperate move that would flood a vast swath of farmland and at least 150 homes in the Canadian Prairie province but prevent an even worse disaster.
The Assiniboine flows from Saskatchewan eastward into Manitoba and has risen quickly due to rain and melting snow, resulting in a record-high level that would be expected only once in 300 years. The Canadian Army was called in earlier this week to help fortify dikes....
Arctic countries seek cooperation as ice melts
Posted by Agence France-Presse: Lachlan Carmichael on May 11th, 2011
Agence France-Presse: Top diplomats from eight Arctic countries will meet Thursday to set down rules for opening the vast region to fishing, tourism, oil and mineral exploration as global warming melts the ice.
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and her colleagues from Canada, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Russia and Sweden will gather in Greenland's tiny capital of Nuuk to discuss how to manage the area's development while protecting its fragile ecosystem.
With its capital of 16,000 people, Greenland will...
Arctic nations eye future of world’s last frontier
Posted by Reuters: Andrew Quinn on May 11th, 2011
Reuters: Leaders of Arctic nations gather in Greenland this week to chart future cooperation as global warming sets off a race for oil, mineral, fishing and shipping opportunities in the world's fragile final frontier.
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will join foreign ministers from seven other Arctic states in Greenland's tiny capital of Nuuk -- population 15,000 -- on Thursday for an Arctic Council meeting on the next steps for a region where warming temperatures are creating huge new challenges and...