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Archive for February 26th, 2012
Genetically Engineered Bacteria Could Help Fight Climate Change
Posted by Science Now: None Given on February 26th, 2012
Science Now: As humans warm the planet by releasing carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, some researchers believe that capturing CO2 and trapping it in buried rocks could lower the risk of catastrophic climate change. Now a team of researchers has shown that bacteria can help the process along. They can even be genetically modified to trap CO2 faster, keeping it underground for millions of years.
When CO2 is pumped into underground porous rocks, it combines with metal ions in the salty water that fills the...
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Canada: Radical environmentalists discredit their cause with extreme claims on oilsands
Posted by Toronto Star: None Given on February 26th, 2012
Toronto Star: Developing Alberta's oilsands poses big environmental problems for the province, and the whole country. But it does not involve, quite literally, the end of the world as we know it.
A common sense conclusion, if ever there was one. But when an eminent climate researcher published a study this week making these seemingly balanced and even banal statements, it made a splash -- precisely because climate science is such an intensely politicized field where balance is the hardest thing to find. And...
Clouds dropping closer to Earth
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on February 26th, 2012
Australian Broadcasting Corporation: New research has found clouds are dropping closer to the Earth, with scientists measuring their height for the first time on a global basis.
Experts from the University of Auckland suggest the change in cloud altitude could be the Earth's way of dealing with global warming.
In 1999, NASA launched its Terra satellite into space. On board was a Multi-angle Imaging Spectroradiometer (MISR).
It uses nine cameras at different angles to produce a stereo image of clouds around the world, allowing...
When Idaho’s unpredictable weather becomes normal
Posted by Magic Valley: Kimberlee Kruesi on February 26th, 2012
Magic Valley: Come rain, wind or clear skies, Clark Kauffman records it in a small notebook he keeps close at all times.
“I keep a log of what’s going on so I can go back year after year and see what to expect,” said the Filer wheat farmer.
When he reads over his notes, there aren’t that many drastic changes, rather small, slow variances here and there. The tricky part is keeping the long-term trend in mind when the weather changes daily.
“I have a friend that says he doesn’t have 40 years of experience,...
Ranchers’ land becomes ground zero in energy fight
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on February 26th, 2012
National Public Radio: Part one of a two-part series on the Keystone XL pipeline
Gas prices are spiking once again; the cost of a gallon of regular unleaded is about 12 percent higher than it was a year ago. But winter typically isn't the time for a rise in gas prices. Demand for gasoline is at a 14-year low and domestic oil production is at an eight-year high.
Some analysts link the increase in gas prices to the tensions in Iran and speculators on Wall Street. Others point to policy decisions limiting drilling in...
United Kingdom: Warm weather, lack of snow turning state’s ski season into a bust
Posted by LA Times: Hugo Martin on February 26th, 2012
LA Times: It's February and the weather outside is frightful -- for ski resorts.
With unseasonably toasty temperatures in parts of the Southland, skiers and snowboarders who would normally head for the slopes at this time of year are instead visiting the beach.
"It's hard to think about skiing when it's like 80 degrees in town," said Wendy Brennan, an avid skier who helps organize two ski clubs based in Redondo Beach and Manhattan Beach. "It's particularly hard to get people away from the beach and up...
What happens if the Keystone XL pipeline isn’t built?
Posted by National Public Radio: Guy Raz and Brent Baughman on February 26th, 2012
National Public Radio: Part two of a two-part series on the Keystone XL pipeline
Gas isn't like a rare bottle of wine that fetches a high price just because it's rare. But at the same time, no one can agree what drives gas prices. Demand for gasoline in the U.S. is at its lowest point in more than a decade; domestic oil production is at an eight-year high.
There's no simple explanation for why most people are spending $3.60 for a gallon of regular, unleaded gas. But many critics of President Obama's energy policy...
2nd New York state judge upholds fracking ban in towns
Posted by Reuters: Dan Wiessner on February 26th, 2012
Reuters: A New York state judge on Friday upheld an upstate community's ban on gas drilling, marking the second victory this week for opponents of the drilling method known as fracking.
The authority vested in towns and cities in New York to regulate use of their land extends to prohibitions on drilling, acting state Supreme Court Justice Donald Cerio ruled on Friday, dismissing arguments by a landowner who had already sold leases on almost 400 acres.
"Municipalities are not preempted ... from enacting...
Drought will push up price of food, farmers warn
Posted by Guardian: Fiona Harvey, on February 26th, 2012
Guardian: Farmers in drought-stricken areas of the country are facing crucial decisions in the next few days and weeks over what to grow this year – and their plans could mean rising food prices for hard-pressed consumers this summer.
Most of the south-east of England was officially declared to be in drought last week, and large swaths of the Midlands and south of England were confirmed as "at risk", with hosepipe bans and other restrictions likely to be introduced soon.
Farmers are particularly at risk...