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Archive for November, 2011
Unique Mexican Oasis in Danger of Vanishing
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on November 18th, 2011
Inter Press Service: A rare wetlands ecosystem in the Chihuahuan desert in northern Mexico that may hold key information about the origins of life on earth – and even about possible life on Mars – is in serious danger of disappearing if water continues to be extracted by agribusiness concerns, local scientists warn.
The 200-km-long Valle de Cuatrociénegas – "valley of four marshes" – located 1,000 km north of Mexico City is a complex ancient wetlands system of mineral-rich springs, streams, lakes, marshes and turquoise...
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Weather disasters to increase report warns, climate change signal slow to emerge for some extremes
Posted by Washington Post: Jason Samenow on November 18th, 2011
Washington Post: A report from 220 of the world's leading climate scientists cautions climate change may bring "unprecendented extreme weather and climate events' in the coming decades.
The report by the United Nations Intergovermental Panel on Climate Change makes clear that warm weather extremes and heavy precipitation events have increased, most likely as a result of manmade climate change. And it projects with a high degree of confidence increasing hot weather and heavy downpours in the future.
"For the...
Scientists: NY must prepare for climate change now
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on November 18th, 2011
Associated Press: Devastating floods like those caused in upstate New York by the remnants of Hurricane Irene and Tropical Storm Lee are among the climate change effects predicted in a new report written by 50 scientists and released Wednesday by the state's energy research agency.
The 600-page report called ClimAID, intended as a resource for planners, policymakers, farmers and residents, says New Yorkers should begin preparing for hotter summers, snowier winters, severe floods and a range of other effects on...
Climate change ‘key driver of extreme weather’: UN
Posted by Agence France-Presse: Max Delany on November 18th, 2011
Agence France-Presse: Man-made climate change has already boosted heatwaves and flood-provoking rainfall and is likely to contribute to future natural disasters, according to a report by UN scientists unveiled Friday.
But 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, it warned.
The report, released 10 days before climate talks in Durban, South Africa, is the UN's first comprehensive review of global...
New report: Some weather extremes worsened by climate change
Posted by Houston Chronicleious: None Given on November 18th, 2011
Houston Chronicleious: This morning the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change released a summary of a new report linking extreme weather events to climate change.
The report finds that weather extremes are probably affected by climate change, but generally stops short of saying global warming is the main driver.
Other research, however, shows that many Americans think climate change had a lot to do with this summer`s record heat and contributed to the drought in Texas.
Some of the report`s conclusions:
There...
EPA to propose utility carbon rules next year
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on November 18th, 2011
Reuters: The top U.S. environmental regulator will propose early next year twice-delayed rules on greenhouse gas emissions from power plants, she told the energyNOW television show.
"I can't tell you what the regulations say right now, but what we are planning to do is release them early next calendar year," Lisa Jackson, the Environmental Protection Agency administrator, told the program in a segment seen by Reuters that is to be broadcast over the weekend.
The EPA in June delayed the proposed rules...
Award-Winning Fisheries Design Reduces Bird Mortality by 90 Percent
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on November 18th, 2011
Yale Environment 360: A new system for longline fishing that reduces seabird mortality by nearly 90 percent in tuna fisheries was named the winner of the World Wildlife Fund’s (WWF) Smart Gear contest, an international WWFThe double-weight branch line competition that recognizes innovations to reduce by-catch mortality in the fishing industry. The fishing line, designed by Japanese tuna vessel captain Kazuhiro Yamazaki, uses a double-weight lead configuration to increase the sinking rate of the gear, and thus makes it...
Extreme weather: We’re gambling with lives at ever worsening odds
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on November 18th, 2011
Guardian: Is gambling acceptable? That, I would say, depends on the stakes and the odds. So consider this: the new IPCC report on extreme weather disasters and climate change highlights that 95% of deaths from such disasters occur in the developing world, while most of the economic losses occur in the developed world. We lose stuff, they lose their lives.
Now consider the conclusions of the 220 scientists from 62 countries, whose report has been approved by 194 nations. The carbon dioxide humanity has pumped...
Climate Change May Have Doomed Neanderthals
Posted by Discovery News: Emily Sohn on November 18th, 2011
Discovery News: When climate took a turn toward the cold tens of thousands of years ago, both Neanderthals and early humans started traveling further distances to find food, found a new study.
As a result, the two groups encountered each other often.. And a consequent boom in inter-species liaisons eventually led to the extinction of Neanderthals.
While much of the theory remains controversial, the study adds to growing evidence that Neanderthals developed advanced cultures and that they adapted to changes...
Brazil: New method can aid rainforest, help loggers
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on November 18th, 2011
Physorg: Reduced-impact logging (RIL) in an Amazon rainforest generated profits while emitting a small fraction of carbon compared with total forest clearing, a University at Albany study concludes.
The study, led by Scott Miller, Ph.D., at UAlbany's Atmospheric Sciences Research Center, was published this month in the official journal of the National Academy of Sciences, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Entitled "Reduced-impact logging minimally alters tropical rainforest carbon and energy...