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Archive for May 20th, 2011
Climate-change aid to developing world difficult to track: Report
Posted by Montreal Gazette: Brian Vastag on May 20th, 2011
Montreal Gazette: Volunteers from The Art of Living Foundation clean the ghats of polluted Yamuna river during a cleansing drive in New Delhi on March 18, 2010. Considered one of the holiest rivers in India, the Yamuna River has been dying a slow death from pollution for decades despite the investment of millions of dollars to preserve its ecosystem. In the 2009 Copenhagen climate accord, 21 developed nations and the European Union agreed to provide $30 billion over three years to help poorer nations adapt to climate...
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Is Extreme Weather the New Normal?
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on May 20th, 2011
Reuters: Heavy rains, deep snowfalls, monster floods and killing droughts are signs of a "new normal" of extreme U.S. weather events fueled by climate change, scientists and government planners said on Wednesday.
"It's a new normal and I really do think that global weirding is the best way to describe what we're seeing," climate scientist Katharine Hayhoe of Texas Tech University told reporters.
"We are used to certain conditions and there's a lot going on these days that is not what we're used to,...
Mississippi river floods – pictures
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on May 20th, 2011
Guardian: Flooding Mississippi river floods – pictures
Thousands of people have lost their homes in the aftermath of floods in Mississippi
Indonesia Signs Deal to Protect Virgin Forests
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on May 20th, 2011
New York Times: Indonesia`s president signs a two-year moratorium on new logging concessions in the island nation`s still-prolific virgin forests, part of a $1 billion climate change deal with Norway intended to reduce carbon dioxide emissions from deforestation. Under the deal, more than 150 million acres of primary forest are expected to be protected. Indonesia "will not return to the past of unsustainable development practices," a top environment adviser says. [The Jakarta Post]
Environmental groups, however,...
Wildfires of the rain forest
Posted by Juneau Empire: Abby Lowell on May 20th, 2011
Juneau Empire: Juneau Empire Juneau Ranger District Senior Firefighter Seth Stransky stands next to the remains of an uncontrolled burn resulting from a campfire in 2009. Damage to the organic material in the soil caused many large trees to become unstable and topple over. Starting Monday, four ranger firefighters will oversee the Juneau District. June and July are the high risk months. Although campfires are allowed, it is criminal to leave fires unattended and to build a fire without a fire guard or barrier....
Dire Pollution at Three Gorges Dam
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on May 20th, 2011
New York Times: The Chinese government has acknowledged that the Three Gorges Dam, the world’s largest hydroelectric project, has urgent pollution problems and that many people displaced by its construction have yet to be resettled, Michael Wines reports.
More and more, the boreal will burn
Posted by Tyee: Andrew Nikiforuk on May 20th, 2011
Tyee: Local officials say they need more staff, money and legal assurances to do the job.
Wildfires ripping through Alberta's boreal forest or what government officials call "freakish" firestorms are really a snapshot of how warming global temperatures and intensified insect infestations will change the nation's boreal forest, say scientists.
In the last week nearly 100 wildfires, battled by 1,000 forest fighters, have shut in billions of dollars worth of oil and gas facilities and forced the evacuation...
China cracks down on lead emissions
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on May 20th, 2011
Associated Press: China is cracking down on emissions of lead and other heavy metals following a spate of poisoning cases and reports that much of the country`s soil is contaminated with toxic materials.
Rules viewed yesterday on the website of the Ministry of Environmental Protection order criminal penalties for businesses and local officials who violate restrictions on use of the toxins. They were announced after dozens of children living near a battery plant in southern China`s Guangdong Province were reportedly...
South Korea: South Korea unveils completely eco-friendly building
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on May 20th, 2011
Reuters: South Korea has opened what it says is the ultimate eco-friendly business center, a construction that emits zero carbon and uses only renewable energy, in a project to underline the government's commitment to reduce greenhouse gases.
The 2,500 square-meter building, which houses a climate change research center at Incheon near the capital Seoul, was opened last month by the environment ministry at a cost of around $8 million.
The ministry's National Institute of Environmental Research (NIER)...
Climate Change Blamed for Record Mississippi Floods
Posted by Environment News Service: None Given on May 20th, 2011
Environment News Service: Climate Change Blamed for Record Mississippi Floods Environment News Service (ENS)
Climate Change Blamed for Record Mississippi Floods
WASHINGTON, DC, May 20, 2011 (ENS) - Human-induced climate change is contributing to the recent heavy rain and ongoing record flooding along the Mississippi River, and we can expect more extreme weather events in the future, according to scientists and adaptation experts on a teleconference held by the Union of Concerned Scientists.
"Climate change is...