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Archive for September 7th, 2011
Big Oil: To create jobs, let us drill more widely
Posted by CNN: Steve Hargreaves on September 7th, 2011
CNN: With job creation taking center stage in American politics, the oil industry Wednesday made a pitch for drilling more widely. With looser restrictions, the industry says it could deliver 1.4 million new jobs, boost tax rolls by $800 billion, and increase domestic energy production almost 50%.
To hit those numbers, the industry would need to drill off the East and West Coasts, in waters off Florida's Gulf Coast, in Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, and on most federal public land that's...
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Clouds Don’t Cause Climate Change, Study Shows
Posted by Science Daily: None Given on September 7th, 2011
Science Daily: Clouds only amplify climate change, says a Texas A&M University professor in a study that rebuts recent claims that clouds are actually the root cause of climate change.
Andrew Dessler, a Texas A&M atmospheric sciences professor considered one of the nation's experts on climate variations, says decades of data support the mainstream and long-held view that clouds are primarily acting as a so-called "feedback" that amplifies warming from human activity. His work is published in the American...
Nepali Women Sow a Secure Future
Posted by Inter Press Service: Sudeshna Sarkar on September 7th, 2011
Inter Press Service: Learning a lesson from crop failures attributed to climate change, Nepal’s women farmers are discarding imported hybrid seeds and husbanding hardier local varieties in cooperative seed banks.
"I had a crop failure two years ago," says Shobha Devkota, 32, from Jibjibe village in Rasuwa, a hilly district in central Nepal which is part of the Langtang National Park, a protected area encompassing two more districts, Nuwakot and Sindhupalchowk.
"The maize was attacked by pests, the paddy had no...
Rwanda harnesses volcanic gases from depths of Lake Kivu
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on September 7th, 2011
Guardian: It's dusk on Lake Kivu and the fishermen sing while paddling out in their catamarans, three canoes secured together with long wooden poles. As the twin volcanoes on the far shore disappear into the darkness the men spark kerosene lamps to attract the sambaza sardines into their nets. Across the vast lake their lanterns offer the only tiny sequins of light.
At least that is how it used to be. Now, near the northern shore, the bright fluorescent bulbs illuminating a tall barge can be seen from miles...
Al Gore’s message about climate change grows in urgency
Posted by Tennessean: Anne Paine on September 7th, 2011
Tennessean: Former Vice President Al Gore has settled into new office space in Green Hills with a refurbished strategy on how to spread the word on climate change.
In a building certified for its advanced energy-efficiency features that include a rooftop garden and solar panels, he has set up a small studio to broadcast his message.
And what he has to say is stronger than ever -- blasting oil and coal companies and others who he says dismiss scientific evidence to the harm of future generations.
...
China to increase forest area by 40 mln hectares. It’s a good news?
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on September 7th, 2011
Rainforest News: China aims to increase its total area of forest by 40 million hectares in the next decade, as compared with that in 2005, President Hu Jintao said at the APEC Meeting of Ministers Responsible for Forestry held Tuesday morning in Beijing. Is it a good news? Forest protection, without measures to convert the timber industry, resulted in increasing import from other countries: Indonesia, Gabon, Mozambico, Malaysia, Myanmar, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Island, Surinam and Guyana are now facing a massive...
In the Land of Denial on Climate Change
Posted by New York Times: Editorial on September 7th, 2011
New York Times: The Republican presidential contenders regard global warming as a hoax or, at best, underplay its importance. The most vocal denier is Rick Perry, the Texas governor and longtime friend of the oil industry, who insists that climate change is an unproven theory created by "a substantial number of scientists who have manipulated data so that they will have dollars rolling into their projects." Never mind that nearly all the world's scientists regard global warming as a serious threat to the planet,...
Study: Clouds do not cause climate change
Posted by Summit County Citizens Voice: Bob Berwyn on September 7th, 2011
Summit County Citizens Voice: A new paper published this week in Geophysical Research Letters rebuts recent claims that clouds are the root cause of climate change.
Based on a 10-year study of El Niño and La Niña cycles, Texas A&M atmospheric sciences professor Andrew Dessler says clouds act primarily as a feedback mechanism that amplifies warming from human activity.
"The bottom line is that clouds have not replaced humans as the cause of the recent warming the Earth is experiencing," Dessler said. "I hope my analysis...
World environment programs in budget crosshairs
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on September 7th, 2011
Reuters: What do flood prevention in Nepal, wildlife preservation in Namibia and reef fishing in Indonesia have to do with the U.S. budget?
Global conservation programs like these have all gotten help from the U.S. government, and they are probably prime targets of the budget-cutting congressional "super committee," since they sit at the crossroads of two things Americans don't like spending much money on: foreign aid and the environment.
As the 12 members of the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction...
Wildfires rage out of control across Texas
Posted by Independent: Guy Adams on September 7th, 2011
Independent: More than 1,000 homes have been destroyed in wildfires sweeping across rural Texas -- and the biggest of the blazes is still completely uncontained, state officials have admitted.
Powerful gusts of wind from Tropical Storm Lee continued to fan the flames last night, making it virtually impossible for emergency services to gain an upper hand on the unfolding disaster. About 5,000 people have been evacuated from their homes.
Rick Perry, the Governor of Texas, has taken time out from campaigning...