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Archive for March, 2012
Farmers Tackle Water Problems Fuelled by Climate Change
Posted by Inter Press Service: Ignatius Banda on March 2nd, 2012
Inter Press Service: Beauty Moyo’s desire for access to water has finally been met. The rains that fell in the past week after a long dry patch have awakened this small-holder farmer deep in rural Plumtree, Zimbabwe on the border with Botswana to the reality of sparse rainfall, climate change and how she and her fellow villagers can respond.
Plumtree, like most parts of southwestern Zimbabwe, is notorious for low rainfall. But millions of farmers in the country rely on rain-fed agriculture and food they grow themselves,...
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Asian cities head global list of flood vulnerability
Posted by SciDev.Net: Mike Ives on March 2nd, 2012
SciDev.Net: The rapid growth of cities across the developing world has resulted in urban areas overtaking rural communities as being the most vulnerable to widescale flooding, according to a report from the World Bank.
The slums of Asian cities are especially vulnerable, says the report, pointing out that about 90 per cent of people exposed to floods live in Asia, and that the problems they face could worsen as a result of factors such as climate change.
The report says that in 2010 alone, 178 million...
Polish report says shale gas extraction is not harmful
Posted by Independent: Monika Scislowska on March 2nd, 2012
Independent: A scientific study in Poland has found that shale gas extraction at one site produced some toxic refuse but that the waste was reused and didn't harm the environment.
The report was presented today by the Polish Geological Institute, which carried out its study last year when a company, Canadian Lane Energy, began test drilling near Lebien, in northern Poland.
Poland has some deposits of shale gas and is hoping to exploit them to cut its dependence on Russian natural gas. It hopes to repeat...
Rising Temps in Northwest May Impact Hydro, California
Posted by Climate Central: Alyson Kenward on March 2nd, 2012
Climate Central: Spring is just around the corner, but here on the West Coast it's hard to believe winter was ever here. In Washington, Oregon, and particularly California, far less snow and rain has fallen this winter than usual and it has many people worried about water supplies further into spring and summer.
Currently, river levels are forecast to be well below average throughout Northern California this spring and summer. Among other things, that doesn't bode well for hydropower. On the other hand, rivers...
Climate change could impact on polar ecosystems
Posted by Physorg: Jennifer Phillips on March 2nd, 2012
Physorg: Researchers studied cyanobacteria - the blue-green algae found in almost every body of water - in samples taken from the Arctic and Antarctic.
Blooms of these tiny microbes - known as cyanobacteria mats – can form in waters where there is an abundance of nutrients. These can often be seen on the surface of lakes, ponds, streams and other stretches of water.
Cyanobacteria are hugely important because of their role in 'carbon-fixing' - absorbing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and helping...
Is Antarctica getting warmer and gaining ice?
Posted by Guardian: Duncan Clark on March 2nd, 2012
Guardian: Almost 70% of the globe's fresh water is stored as ice in Antarctica, mostly in the huge ice sheet covering the continent. As well as this land-based ice, the sea ice that encircles the continent grows to a wide expanse in winter and almost entirely melts away during the summer.
While global temperatures have increased, overall Antarctic air temperatures have fallen slightly, although they have increased over the Antarctic Peninsula and West Antarctica. At the same time, the overall extent of...
Polish fracking well probe shows no harm to environment
Posted by Reuters: Maciej Onoszko on March 2nd, 2012
Reuters: Drilling at Poland's first shale gas exploration well using the controversial technique known as fracking has not harmed the environment, according to a government study published on Friday.
Hydraulic cracking, or fracking, performed at a site in northern Poland operated by 3Legs Resources did not pollute groundwater or the atmosphere, said the study by the Polish Geological Institute.
Fracking involves injecting water mixed with sand and chemicals into shale formations at high pressures to...
Are frogs rapidly facing extinction?
Posted by U.S. News and World Report: Jason Koebler on March 2nd, 2012
U.S. News and World Report: If you happen to see a frog hopping around in your back yard, take a good look-- it might not be around for much longer. Ecologists are increasingly warning that due to habitat destruction, widespread infectious disease and climate change, amphibians are facing "extinction in real time."
As many as 40 percent of amphibious species, which include frogs, salamanders and newts, could be facing "imminent extinction," according to David Wake, a researcher at the University of California Berkeley. ...
Dwindling Resources Trigger Global Land Rush
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on March 1st, 2012
Inter Press Service: A global scramble for land and mineral resources fuelled by billions of investment dollars is threatening the last remaining wilderness and critical ecosystems, destroying communities and contaminating huge volumes of fresh water, warned environmental groups in London Wednesday.
No national park, delicate ecosystem or community is off limits in the voracious hunt for valuable metals, minerals and fossil fuels, said the Gaia Foundation’s report, "Opening Pandora's Box". The intensity of the hunt...
Schmallenberg virus could spread to sheep across the UK
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on March 1st, 2012
Guardian: More cases of an exotic virus that has caused deformed and stillborn lambs across England are "inevitable", with the disease potentially spreading across the entire UK, scientists said on Thursday. They blamed climate change for bringing the virus to the country and said other new viruses could follow.
Since the Schmallenberg virus was first detected in England in January it has been confirmed on 83 farms from Norfolk to Cornwall, and has left thousands of lambs dead. Across Europe, 1,129 sheep,...