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Archive for June, 2011
Global warming not to blame for 2011 droughts
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on June 15th, 2011
New Scientist: ADD one more to the list: after the driest spring in more than 20 years, parts of eastern England are officially in a state of drought, according to the UK's Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. This comes hard on the heels of some of the worst droughts on record across the globe, from Texas to China. While global warming is an obvious suspect, there's no evidence that it is to blame. Though climate change models predict extended droughts and periods of intense rainfall for the end...
Peasant activist shot dead in Brazil’s Amazon region
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on June 15th, 2011
Associated Press: Confiscated illegally logged timber floats down the Guam river delta in Pará, Brazil. A landless peasant activist has been killed by a gunshot to his head outside his home in Brazil, the fifth murder in a month amid a conflict over land and logging in Brazil's Amazon region.
The body of Obede Loyla Souza was found over the weekend in the dense forest surrounding his home in Esperança, a settlement in the state of Pará, said Hilario Lopes Costa, co-ordinator for the watchdog Catholic Land Pastoral...
Development of dry forests central to combating desertification: Ban
Posted by Irna: None Given on June 15th, 2011
Irna: UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in his message on World Day to Combat Desertification, June 17, 2011, emphasized that the management, conservation and sustainable development of dry forests are central to combating desertification. According to a press release issued by the UN Information Center (UNIC) here on Wednesday, the full text of his message reads:
“The people who live in the arid lands, which occupy more than 40 per cent of our planet, are among the world’s poorest and most vulnerable...
Posted in Water Conservation 
Comments Off on Development of dry forests central to combating desertification: BanAre Australia’s Koalas, Battling Climate Change and Chlamydia, On the Path to
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on June 14th, 2011
Time: Although they appear in just about every Australian postcard, koala bears are actually quite hard to spot in the wild, where their numbers are gradually declining. Scientists are now sounding the alarm -- and urging Australia's senate to declare the iconic, sleepy-eyed marsupials an endangered species.
Scientists estimate Australia's koala bear population at somewhere between 50,000 and 100,000. "We cannot be totally sure because we don't receive enough public subsidies to thoroughly study the...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Are Australia’s Koalas, Battling Climate Change and Chlamydia, On the Path toFish farming is answer to increasing global meat demands, says report
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on June 14th, 2011
Guardian: Carp in a fish farm at Zabieniec, Poland.
The world needs to farm more fish and algae to meet the world's growing demand for animal products, according to a report released on Tuesday by international NGO Conservation International.
The worldwide assessment concluded the environmental impact of aquaculture is lower than raising cattle, pigs or poultry so it should be expanded to alleviate the growing global food crisis.
"Aquaculture is most likely to meet the growing demand for animal products...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Fish farming is answer to increasing global meat demands, says reportChina’s Drought Threatens Farm Income, Drinking Water, Wildlife and Hydropower
Posted by Climate Wire: Coco Liu on June 14th, 2011
Climate Wire: It is an annual tradition for Chinese to race dragon boats at the end of each spring, but this year, the tradition has run aground. Many streams and lakes along the Yangtze River have almost dried up.
The world's third-largest river -- stretching from the Himalayas thousands of miles to the east meeting the sea -- has been experiencing its worst drought in decades. The drought is withering farmers' wallets, threatening a Chinese species even rarer than the panda and raising questions about a clean...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on China’s Drought Threatens Farm Income, Drinking Water, Wildlife and HydropowerMelbourne’s heat will be a killer, climate change report says
Posted by Herald Sun: None Given on June 14th, 2011
Herald Sun: MELBOURNE'S water supply could be reduced by 35 per cent and the number of extreme hot days could triple, according to the latest Government report on the danger of climate change.
Victorians also are being warned that global warming could slash the ski season by up to 96 per cent, under an extreme scenario of rising carbon emissions with increased warming and decreased rainfall.
The number of heat-related deaths could reach 1318 a year; beef, dairy, sheep and wheat production would decline...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Melbourne’s heat will be a killer, climate change report saysWind power and water power collide in the Northwest
Posted by LA Times: Kim Murphy on June 14th, 2011
LA Times: Wind power and water power collide in the Northwest
Wind farms are furious at the Bonneville Power Administration for making them cut electricity generation because high flows on the Columbia River have led to extra hydropower.
Reporting from Rufus, Ore.–; The wide, green gorge where the majestic Columbia River begins its final push to the sea generates so many stiff breezes that windsurfers from around the world make their way to Hood River, not far from here, to ply their colorful sails atop...
Weather changes may predict cholera outbreaks
Posted by U.S. News and World Report: Joel N. Shurkin on June 14th, 2011
U.S. News and World Report: Scientists working with data from the cholera-plagued Tanzanian archipelago of Zanzibar have found that even a slight variation in temperature or rainfall could herald an epidemic.
That's both good news and bad news.
The good news is that by monitoring the weather and changes in the climate, epidemiologists may be able to predict the arrival of a disease epidemic up to four months in advance, early enough to make maximum use of vaccines.
The bad news is that with global warming, it is likely...
European natural gas pipelines plagued by uncertainties
Posted by New York Times: James Kanter on June 14th, 2011
New York Times: Could the plan to build the world’s most expensive natural gas pipeline turn out to be an elaborate bluff?
South Stream, backed by Gazprom, the monopoly exporter of Russia’s natural gas, would run underneath the Black Sea and deliver large amounts of fuel to the European Union, sometime in the second half of this decade.
Despite years of promotion, the cost and even the exact route for South Stream are still unclear. Nevertheless, the plan already has served a valuable purpose for Russia by...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on European natural gas pipelines plagued by uncertainties