Archive for November, 2011

All the EcoInternet at Half the Price – 2011 Year-End Fundraiser

EcoInternet must raise $40,000 in the next month to keep our ecology advocacy alive and innovating. Coming off a year of accomplishment, EcoInternet has cut its budget and fund-raiser duration, and we remain lean, efficient, and highly effective. Funding through public broadcasting type appeals means our work is indebted to nobody but the people and Gaia’s needs. Please donate now! Dear EcoInternet colleagues, It is that time of year – 12 years running now – where Ecological Internet passes its hat for most of the funding to maintain our unique brand of biocentric advocacy and eco-informatic tools. EcoInternet and predecessor efforts have been bearing witness to Earth and humanity’s threatened demise, building Internet tools and devising sufficient policies to sustain global ecology, for the past 20 years. Few small, social entrepreneurial activities are having as much positive impact for Earth as EcoInternet does.

ALERT: Uganda’s Protected Mabira Rainforest Threatened Again by Sugar Production

By Ecological Internet's Rainforest Portal TAKE ACTION HERE NOW! Plans by Uganda's President to partially destroy the Mabira rainforest - one of the nation's most important rainforest preserves - have surfaced again after being defeated in 2007. Let the Ugandan government know rainforests and their ecological services including water, climate and biodiversity are far more important than sugar which can be grown elsewhere. Together with local opposition Ecological Internet has defeated this project twice before, let's do it again.

Climate change and Philippine deforestation

Manila Times: THE greatest hope we have for saving our planet from catastrophe is the dedication of those environmentalists and scientists who love creation and work tirelessly to protect it from the irresponsible tycoons of industry and corrupt politicians who cause global warming. Many choose to deny the scientific evidence that climate change is underway and damaging our world. They only have to ask the people of Bangkok why they are experiencing the worst floods in living memory. Millions of people around...

Great Plains river basins threatened by pumping of aquifers

Science Centric: Suitable habitat for native fishes in many Great Plains streams has been significantly reduced by the pumping of groundwater from the High Plains aquifer - and scientists analysing the water loss say ecological futures for these fishes are 'bleak.' Results of their study have been published in the journal Ecohydrology. Unlike alluvial aquifers, which can be replenished seasonally with rain and snow, these regional aquifers were filled by melting glaciers during the last Ice Age, the researchers...

Climate Change Has Already Boosted Heat Waves And Rainfall

redOrbit: According to a report by U.N. scientists, man-made climate change has already boosted heat waves and flood-provoking rainfall and is likely to contribute to future natural disasters. It said that the toll from these extreme weather events will depend as much on the measures taken to protect populations and property as the violence of nature`s outbursts. The report is the U.N.`s first comprehensive review of global warming`s impact on weather extremes and how best to manage them. "We can...

Extreme weather on the rise, but Ottawa cuts imperil research

Canadian Press: A United Nations-led assessment of the environment is warning that extreme weather is on the rise around the world, and critics warn federal government cuts are eroding Canada's ability to cope. Scientists with the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change say flooding, droughts, storms and devastating heat waves are becoming more and more frequent, hitting the health and the pocketbooks of Canadians. "We see a vulnerability in ways most of us never think about," said Gordon McBean of the Institute...

Coal jobs at 14-year high in Appalachia

Gazette-Mail: Despite complaints about the Obama administration's "war on coal," employment in the Appalachian mining industry is at a 14-year high, according to new government data and congressional testimony. Congressional allies of the coal industry this week intensified their attack on the administration, with three hearings to collect testimony critical of water protection rules and a proposed effort to streamline the federal Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement. Nationwide, though,...

Report sounds stark new climate warning

Montreal Gazette: Record-breaking temperatures, stronger winds and heavy precipitation in the form of rain and snow are becoming more frequent events in the 21st century due to climate change that evidence indicates is being caused by human activity, says a new assessment released Friday by governments from around the world. Canadian scientists who contributed to the review, a special report on managing the risks of extreme weather events and disasters to advance climate change adaptation, also say Canada is facing...

Panel says more climate extremes on the way

Calgary Herald: Record-breaking temperatures, stronger winds and heavy precipitation in the form of rain and snow are becoming more frequent events in the 21st century due to climate change that evidence indicates is being caused by human activity, says a new assessment released Friday by governments from around the world. Canadian scientists who contributed to the review, a special report on managing the risks of extreme weather events and disasters to advance climate change adaptation, also say Canada is facing...

UN predicts more rainfall and heatwaves

Independent: Heatwaves will be longer, hotter and occur more often, and rainfall will be heavier during the 21st century because of global warming, a new UN report on climatic "extreme events" said yesterday. Tidal surges are also likely to be made worse by rising sea levels, said the study by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), and there may be an increase in danger in high mountains from phenomena such as landslides and the bursts of glacial lakes. However, the long-awaited report was much...