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Archive for October 11th, 2011
‘Climate’ genes in plants studied
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on October 11th, 2011
United Press International: U.S. scientists say knowledge of how plants adapt to local climates is vital to promoting agricultural and conservation successes in the face of climate change.
Researchers at Brown University have undertaken a study to define the genetic bases of plant adaptations to local climate, a release from the National Science foundation, which funded the research, said.
Diverse strains of the mustard plant, Arabidopsis, were grown and studied in various locations within its native range in Finland,...
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Defra helps Europe un-WRAP a resource-efficient economy
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on October 11th, 2011
Business Green: The Defra-backed Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP) has been hailed as a potential model for EU governments seeking to ensure the bloc delivers environmentally sustainable economic growth.
The EU's European Environment Agency (EEA) yesterday published a detailed report outlining steps countries are already taking to manage the use of scarce resources, such as fossil fuels and metals.
Business losing patience with green policy uncertainty, says CBI
The report is intended to "flesh...
Canada: Oilsands expansion jeopardized by absence of climate plan, ambassador told
Posted by Vancouver Sun: Mike De Souza on October 11th, 2011
Vancouver Sun: Opposition to oilsands expansion in "Canada's Texas" and a controversial U.S. pipeline expansion project is growing because of a failure to crack down on pollution that traps heat in the atmosphere and causes climate change, Canada's ambassador to the U.S., Gary Doer, was told by staff in newly released correspondence.
"The anti-oilsands campaign is very real and shows no sign of letting up," wrote Marc LePage, a special adviser on climate change and energy issues at the Canadian Embassy in Washington,...
Laying the blame for extreme weather
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on October 11th, 2011
ScienceDaily: Floods, tornadoes, droughts and wildfires: They are all weather-related, but blaming the latest meteorological disaster on climate change has always been a tricky matter that climate scientists have been shy to do. After all, how can you point to a specific and local event, such as a tornado or dry spell, and say it is caused by something as long-term and huge as global warming?
"That's been the mantra of the community and I think it's wrong," said climate scientist Kevin Trenberth of the National...
Meat consumption jumps 20 percent in last decade with super-sized environmental impacts
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on October 11th, 2011
Mongabay: Herd of cattle in the Brazilian Amazon. Research has shown that most of the deforestation in the Amazon has led to cattle ranching. Photo by: Rhett A. Butler.
Meat consumption and production remains on the rise, according to a new report Worldwatch Institute, with large-scale environmental impacts especially linked to the spread of factory farming. According to the report, global meat production has tripled since 1970, and jumped by 20 percent since 2000 with consumption rising significantly faster...
US must stop promoting biofuels to tackle world hunger, says thinktank
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on October 11th, 2011
Guardian: America must stop promoting the production of biofuels if there is to be any real progress in addressing spiking global food prices and famine, such as seen in the Horn of Africa, an authoritative thinktank has warned.
A new report, the Global Hunger Index, warned that US government support for corn ethanol was a major factor behind this year's food price spikes – and was projected to fuel further volatility in food prices over the next decade.
Although the report noted some improvements over...
Poor in Madagascar see fish plundered for foreign consumption
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on October 11th, 2011
Mongabay: A new study warns that overfishing could exacerbate poverty and political stability in one of the world's poorest nations: Madagascar. According to the recent study published in Marine Policy, fish catches in the African island-nation from 1950 to 2008 are actually double the official numbers, with foreign wealthy nations currently taking half the haul.
"Both increasing pressure by local fishing communities and demand from the international market could accelerate the downward trends we see in...
Rising Gold Prices Drive Rampant Deforestation of Peruvian Amazon
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on October 11th, 2011
Yale Environment 360: The spread of illegal gold mining in southern Peru has driven a growth in deforestation so rampant that government officials may declare an environmental emergency, according to a news report. As the global price of gold has climbed, mining operations in the Amazon have extended into the fringes of Tambopata Nature Reserve, an important region for ecotourism, with miners beginning operations without necessary permits, according Mongabay.com. In some cases, miners have started operations within the...
As Sea Level Rises, Everglades Become More Vital to South Florida’s Survival
Posted by Climate Central: Bruce Dorminey on October 11th, 2011
Climate Central: Climate change threatens every part of the U.S. in one-way or another, but in South Florida, it's not just a threat: it's a looming catastrophe. Much of the area lies just a few feet above sea level, and thanks to warming temperatures and melting polar ice, the sea is on the rise. A few decades from now, significant parts of the region could literally be underwater. Not only that: while hurricanes could be fewer as time goes on, the ones that do sweep in are likely to be more powerful, with higher...
Floods in Pakistan damage 3.7 percent of total crop area: FAO
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on October 11th, 2011
Reuters: Floods in Pakistan have damaged at least 880,000 hectares of standing crops, including rice, maize, cotton, sugar cane, fruit orchards and vegetables, which represent about 3.7 percent of total national crop area, the United Nations' food agency said on Tuesday, citing preliminary official estimates.
"Damage to the current paddy crop is moderate and is estimated by FAO and Pakistan's space agency (SUPARCO), as of 20 September, at about 252,700 tonnes, or 2.5 percent of the normal national production,"...