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Archive for February 9th, 2012
Humans drove rainforest into savannah in ancient Africa
Posted by Mongabay: None Given on February 9th, 2012
Mongabay: Three thousand years ago (around 1000 BCE) several large sections of the Congo rainforest in central Africa suddenly vanished and became savannah. Scientists have long believed the loss of the forest was due to changes in the climate, however a new study in Science implicates an additional culprit: humans. The study argues that a migration of farmers into the region led to rapid land-use changes from agriculture and iron smelting, eventually causing the collapse of rainforest in places and a rise...
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Glaciers, Ice Caps Losing 150 Billion Tons of Ice Annually
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on February 9th, 2012
Yale Environment 360: A new analysis of global satellite data has found that the world’s glaciers and ice caps — excluding Antarctica and Greenland — lost about 150 billion tons of ice per year between 2003 and 2010, adding about 0.4 millimeters to global sea rise annually. Using data from the twin Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) satellites, researchers at the University of Colorado-Boulder compiled what they say is the most comprehensive data on planetary ice loss. The satellites, which are part of a...
U.S. approves first new nuclear plant in a generation
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on February 9th, 2012
Reuters: U.S. regulators on Thursday approved plans to build the first new nuclear power plant in more than 30 years in spite of objections of the panel's chairman who cited safety concerns stemming from Japan's disastrous 2011 Fukushima disaster.
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission voted 4-1 to allow Atlanta-based Southern Co to build and operate two new nuclear power reactors at its existing Vogtle nuclear power plant in Georgia. The units will cost Southern and partners about $14 billion and enter service...
Damage from tropical cyclones ‘set to soar’
Posted by SciDev.Net: María Elena Hurtado on February 9th, 2012
SciDev.Net: Tropical cyclone damage costs will increase four-fold to US$109 billion a year across the world by 2100, according to a study published in Nature Climate Change last week (1 February).
Predicted increases in population and economic activity by 2100 will increase cyclone damage costs to US$56 billion a year -- more than double the current figure of US$26 billion.
And more frequent and stronger cyclones as a result of climate change are expected to add a further US$53 billion a year to the bill,...
Global sea level rise: NASA mission takes stock of Earth’s melting land ice
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on February 9th, 2012
ScienceDaily: In the first comprehensive satellite study of its kind, a University of Colorado at Boulder-led team used NASA data to calculate how much Earth's melting land ice is adding to global sea level rise.
Using satellite measurements from the NASA/German Aerospace Center Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE), the researchers measured ice loss in all of Earth's land ice between 2003 and 2010, with particular emphasis on glaciers and ice caps outside of Greenland and Antarctica.
The total...
Call for new indicators of sustainable development
Posted by SciDev.Net: T.V. Padma on February 9th, 2012
SciDev.Net: The world must develop different indicators on sustainable development that are not biased against developing countries, a major conference has heard.
Bharrat Jagdeo, former president of Guyana, said current assessments and rankings use indicators such as access to potable water and sanitation, or malaria levels, which automatically rank developed countries higher.
He was speaking at the 12th Delhi Sustainable Development Summit in India last week (2--4 February), organised by The Energy Resources...
On the Road Back to Rio, Green Direction Has Been Lost
Posted by Yale Environment 360: Fred Pearce on February 9th, 2012
Yale Environment 360: It is easy to be cynical. Back in 1992, more than 100 world leaders, including George H.W. Bush, showed up for the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro. It was a two-week mega-event that attracted huge attention, highlighted by the signing of two groundbreaking treaties on climate change and biodiversity and grand declarations about creating a future green and equitable world.
To put it mildly, the subsequent two decades have not lived up to the promises. George W. Bush effectively broke the climate...
United States: Wild Salmon Are Not Holding Up, Study Shows
Posted by New York Times: Rachel Nuwer on February 9th, 2012
New York Times: Since 1964, the Mokelumne River Fish Hatchery in California has supplied the watershed with four to 10 million juvenile Chinook salmon each year. The hatchery began the practice as a way of countering the effects of dams that block migration and making sure that the salmon population remained viable. But recent research shows that the massive influx of hatchery-raised fish is masking the fact that wild fish populations are not holding up.
“Without distinguishing hatchery from wild fish, the perception...
Climate change affecting Antarctica faster than previously thought: study
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on February 9th, 2012
Xinhua: Climate change is affecting the world's last great unspoiled wilderness of the Antarctic faster than previously thought, according to a New Zealand-led international team of researchers.
The scientists, led by Professor Craig Cary, of the University of Waikato, have been studying ecosystems in the continent's Dry Valleys and found that microbial communities in the soil undergo rapid and lasting changes in response to environmental conditions.
"We used to think that changes in microbial change...
Blackstone, partner raises $1 bln to develop shale fields:report
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on February 9th, 2012
Reuters: Blackstone Group LP and an energy company it invested in raised $1 billion from commercial banks to develop shale fields in south Texas, a Wall Street Journal report said, citing people familiar with the matter.
The largest publicly listed alternative asset manager is expected to announce the deal, involving GeoSouthern Energy Corp, on Thursday.
The investment gave Blackstone a position in the oil-rich Eagle Ford Shale in south Texas.
Blackstone Group was not immediately available for comment....