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Archive for August 27th, 2011
Study on global plant die-off faces questions
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on August 27th, 2011
Agence France-Presse: A study on plant productivity that said drought and global warming were killing off plants worldwide is now being questioned by scientists, according to research published Thursday.
In the study published in the journal Science last year, researchers Maosheng Zhao and Steven Running of the University of Montana used NASA satellite data to show that productivity declined slightly from 2000-2009.
Those findings contradicted previous studies from the 1980s and 1990s that showed warmer temperatures...
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As Climate Warms, Some Scientists See Irene as a Harbinger
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on August 27th, 2011
New York Times: The scale of Hurricane Irene, which could cause more extensive damage along the Eastern Seaboard than any storm in decades, is reviving an old question: are hurricanes getting worse because of human-induced climate change?
The short answer from scientists is that they are still trying to figure it out. But many of them do believe that hurricanes will get more intense as the planet warms, and they see large hurricanes like Irene as a harbinger.
While the number of the most intense storms has...
Sri Lanka: Kanneliya rain forest threatened by mystery disease
Posted by Sunday Observer: Manjula Fernando on August 27th, 2011
Sunday Observer: Kanneliya Rain Forest in the Galle district, a rich biodiversity hotspot known world over, is threatened with a mystery disease.
The disease that resembles the 'Rust' that completely destroyed coffee cultivations 150 years ago, covers the leaves of the affected plants with a brick red coating, blocking its food production process that may lead the plants to wither.
"It is spreading at an alarming rate in and around the forest reserve," the forest officers and the residents lamented adding that...
Meteorologists pitch in to alleviate drought in Kenya
Posted by Voice of America: Gabe Joselow on August 27th, 2011
Voice of America: An extreme cycle of drought in the Horn of Africa has pushed millions into hunger. Now, Kenyan meteorologists are exploring ways to enhance rainfall in areas of the country dried out by climate change.
The latest report from the Famine Early Warning Systems, known as FEWS-NET, shows areas of northern Kenya locked in a severe drought.
FEWS-NET warns cattle are dying from a scarcity of water and more than one million people are in a food emergency.
And the rainy season is not expected for...
State Department signs off on controversial oil sands pipeline
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on August 27th, 2011
McClatchy Newspapers: A pipeline that would greatly expand imports of oil sands crude from Canada won't significantly threaten water in the Great Plains or have much impact on climate change, the State Department argued in a final environmental impact statement it made public Friday.
While not the final go-ahead, the environmental assessment offered a preview of the Obama administration's pro-pipeline arguments in the face of efforts by environmental groups to get the United States to take action to reduce carbon emissions....
Quarter million New Yorkers reside below potential storm surge level
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on August 27th, 2011
Climate Central: Hurricanes inflict some of their greatest damage by pushing walls of water onto land, in what are called storm surges. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) estimates that Hurricane Irene may generate peak surges of up to 10 feet high in places along the Mid-Atlantic coast. Tall wave action will compound the threat in exposed areas. And over the last century, mostly due to global warming, sea level has risen about a foot along much of the coast, placing even more people and homes...
State Dept. report favors US-Canada oil pipeline
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on August 27th, 2011
Associated Press: The Obama administration on Friday removed a major roadblock to a planned $7 billion oil pipeline from western Canada to the Texas coast, saying in a report that the project is unlikely to cause significant environmental problems during construction or operation.
The thousand-page report by the State Department says the proposed 1,700-mile (2,735-kilometer) Keystone XL pipeline would have no significant environmental impacts on most natural resources in its six-U.S.-state path.
Calgary-based...
Canada: Ice retreat worries climate-change scientists
Posted by Montreal Gazette: Randy Boswell on August 27th, 2011
Montreal Gazette: Prime Minister Stephen Harper wrapped up his annual tour of the North on Friday amid fresh signs that the region has experienced another major meltdown this summer, including the renewed opening of the southern route of the Northwest Passage and a severe overall ice retreat still threatening to smash 2007's record-setting thaw.
The Canadian Ice Service confirmed Friday that a southerly shipping route through Canada's Arctic islands can now be safely navigated, though shifting winds could quickly...
Irene poised to strike a nation seemingly content to worry less about climate change
Posted by ClimateWire: Evan Lehmann on August 27th, 2011
ClimateWire: The last time a hurricane landed on the shores of the United States, Americans' belief in climate change was at its peak and House Democrats would soon begin their march toward passage of climate legislation.
Five days before Hurricane Ike collided with Texas, presidential candidate Barack Obama said "the time to act is now" on a national catastrophe plan.
That was in 2008.
When Irene boils onto the East Coast this weekend, she will find a nation with degraded belief in global warming, a...
Hurricane Irene makes landfall in N.C,
Posted by USA Today: Carolyn Pesce and Greg Toppo on August 27th, 2011
USA Today: Hurricane Irene slammed into North Carolina Saturday morning near Cape Lookout with winds clocking 90 mph after battering the Carolina coast. Thousands have already lost power as the storm begins its way up the East Coast.
Federal officials warned Saturday that even though Irene is weakening to a category 1 hurricane, the storm is still dangerous and residents need to heed warnings.
"I would not advise people to focus on category 1, 2 or three," said Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano...