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Archive for October 3rd, 2011
Dying Forests: How Bad Is It, Really?
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on October 3rd, 2011
New York Times: A section of Montana forest largely destroyed by mountain pine beetles.
A year ago, I was sitting in a room overlooking the Pacific Ocean with a man named Ralph Keeling. The son of Charles David Keeling, who had discovered the trend of rising carbon dioxide in the atmosphere in the 1950s, Ralph Keeling had become a famous climate scientist in his own right.
We had spent two days on the campus of the Scripps Institution of Oceanography talking about his father’s legacy and his own work, and...
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Burma: letting the waters flow
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on October 3rd, 2011
Guardian: There are many good reasons why construction on a huge Chinese-funded dam on the Irrawaddy river in Burma should never be completed. It was going to cause an environmental disaster, sucking the life out of Burma's most important river and devastating the downstream rice paddy communities; it would have flooded an area the size of Singapore, displacing 10,000 people; 90% of the electricity generated from its turbines would have gone north to China, which is only one-10th as energy-efficient as Japan;...
Human Crises Linked to Climate Change, Study Suggests
Posted by LiveScience: Jennifer Welsh on October 3rd, 2011
LiveScience: Historically, changes in climate have not only been tied to increased food prices, but also economic crises, social upset and wars, new research suggests.
"Climate is the ultimate cause, and economy is the direct cause, of large-scale human crises," study researcher David Zhang, of the University of Hong Kong, told LiveScience in an email. "The issue of environmental change is one that involves our daily life, such as food, health and savings."
Zhang has studied the effect of climate change...
Philippine flood waters start to recede
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on October 3rd, 2011
Reuters: Rescue helicopters and boats distributed food, water and medicine to thousands of Filipinos marooned in flooded towns north of the capital on Monday and authorities said water levels were starting to recede.
Wide areas of rice-producing Bulacan and Pampanga provinces have been submerged since late last week after the Philippines was hit by two typhoons. A third storm may develop this week.
Typhoons Nesat and Nalgae killed nearly 60 people, with 36 still missing, and damaged about 9 billion...
Tuvalu declares water emergency
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on October 3rd, 2011
BBC: The tiny Pacific island nation of Tuvalu has declared a state of emergency because of a severe shortage of fresh water.
It has affected the capital, Funafuti, and a number of outer islands.
Low-lying Tuvalu is one of the smallest countries in the world, with a population of about 11,000 - nearly half live on Funafuti.
A New Zealand Air Force plane has flown to Tuvalu, carrying water supplies and two desalination units.
New Zealand Foreign Minister Murray McCully said ministry officials...
Philippines is the Vatican of disasters: Yumul
Posted by ABS CBN: David Dizo on October 3rd, 2011
ABS CBN: The Philippines must brace for more devastating typhoons and hotter dry seasons due to the effects of the climate change, Science and Technology Undersecretary Graciano Yumul said Monday. Speaking on ANC's "Headstart," Yumul said a PAGASA-Department of Science and Technology (DOST) 20- to 30-year climate model showed that by the year 2020, the wet season in the Philippines will be wetter and the dry season will be drier. "In 2050, mas malala. Yung tuyo mas magiging tuyo at basa mas magiging basa....
Tiny nation Tuvalu declares fresh water emergency
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on October 3rd, 2011
Associated Press: The tiny Pacific island nation of Tuvalu has declared a state of emergency due to a severe shortage of fresh water.
New Zealand's Foreign Minister Murray McCully said in a statement that water is scarce in the capital, Funafuti, as well as in a number of outlying islands.
McCully said New Zealand's defense services were flying Monday to Tuvalu armed with supplies including two desalination units. The New Zealand Red Cross is also contributing supplies and people to help.
Tuvalu officials...
Act now to diversify crops at risk, say scientists
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on October 3rd, 2011
Agence France-Presse: Farm chiefs have a narrowing chance to diversify vital crops at rising threat from drought, flood and pests brought by climate change, food researchers warned on Monday.
The world`s nearly seven billion people are massively dependent on a dozen or so crops that, thanks to modern agriculture, are intensively cultivated in a tiny number of strains, they said.
When climate change gets into higher gear, many of these strains could be crippled by hotter and drier - or conversely wetter - weather...
Nebraskans – and the rest of us – can’t afford Keystone XL
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on October 3rd, 2011
LA Times: What happens to a red state when it faces a choice between black (gold) and green? Why, it turns ... blue! Times staff writer Kim Murphy's article Monday on the proposed Keystone XL pipeline detailed the clash between jobs and the environment that's taking place in the Midwest -- in this case, Nebraska. Reporting from Atkinson, Murphy described the scene at a recent public gathering: The proposed Keystone XL pipeline -- the subject of public hearings convened by the State Department last...