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Archive for June, 2012
No Average Year, No Average Book: ‘Global Weirdness’
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on June 29th, 2012
Climate Central: When Climate Central put the finishing touches on our new book a year or so ago, there was always the chance that we'd wind up with egg on our faces. The book, entitled Global Weirdness: Severe Storms, Deadly Heat Waves, Relentless Drought, Rising Seas and the Weather of the Future (which officially hits the stores on July 24), is an effort to tell the story of climate science and climate change in a straightforward, low-key way, without apocalyptic proclamations. Just the facts, as the best scientists...
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Greenland Ice Sheet Melt Nearing Critical ‘Tipping Point’
Posted by Climate Central: Andrew Freedman on June 29th, 2012
Climate Central: The Greenland ice sheet is poised for another record melt this year, and is approaching a "tipping point" into a new and more dangerous melt regime in which the summer melt area covers the entire land mass, according to new findings from polar researchers.
The ice sheet is the focus of scientific research because its fate has huge implications for global sea levels, which are already rising as ice sheets melt and the ocean warms, exposing coastal locations to greater damage from storm surge-related...
Western fires: Payback time?
Posted by Daily Climate: Tom Yulsman on June 29th, 2012
Daily Climate: As the West has warmed and dried over the past 30 years, headlines describing fire season have grown ever more apocalyptic: "epic" dryness, "monster" fires, new records for damage and devastation.
This divergence between climate and fire activity is unsustainable. Eventually, nature will catch up.
This year is no exception. The Waldo Canyon Fire has incinerated hundreds of homes in Colorado Springs, and every indication points to another big, early start to the wildfire season.
Recent research,...
Antibiotic pollution can disrupt aquatic food chains
Posted by SciDev.Net: Athar Parvaiz on June 29th, 2012
SciDev.Net: Indian scientists have found that diatoms, primary food-producers in aquatic food chains, undergo significant variation after being treated with commonly used antibiotics.
The new findings on diatoms follow a 2011 study by Swedish scientists from the University of Gothenburg, Chalmers University of Technology, and Umeå University, who reported antibiotic contamination in river sediment samples collected near an Indian waste water treatment plant processing effluent from more than 90 bulk drug...
Fracking should go ahead in Britain, report says
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on June 29th, 2012
Telegraph: Scientists from the Royal Academy of Engineering and the Royal Society said the controversial method of extracting natural gas from shale should be given the go-ahead, subject to tight regulations and continuous monitoring of drilling sites.
The panel said that despite evidence fracking can trigger small earthquakes, the tremors felt at ground level would be about the same size as those caused by a lorry driving past a house.
Chances of any contaminated water or gas escaping into groundwater...
Cambodian villagers demonstrate against Mekong River dam project
Posted by Reuters: Prak Chan Thul on June 29th, 2012
Reuters: Cambodian villagers demonstrated on Friday against a controversial Lao hydropower dam that activists say is being built in defiance of an agreement to assess its potentially damaging impact on millions of people first.
About 200 villagers whose livelihoods depend on the Mekong River urged a halt to the Thai-led construction of the $3.5 billion Xayaburi dam, which has angered Cambodia's government and triggered a rare rebuke by Laos's biggest ally, Vietnam.
"This dam won't just affect the people...
Scorching June heat wave puts 50 million in U.S. on alert
Posted by Climate Central: Andrew Freedman on June 29th, 2012
Climate Central: A scorching heat wave that began in the High Plains is baking the Central Plains, and on Friday prompted warnings for the big cities of the Mid-Atlantic and Southeast. The combination of triple-digit heat and high humidity has prompted the National Weather Service (NWS) to issue heat warnings and advisories for at least 18 states from Kansas to New Jersey, south to Mississippi, putting at least 50 million people under some form of a heat alert.
Heat watches and warnings are in effect for major...
Coal: Swelling exports shine spotlight on port pollution
Posted by Greenwire: Manuel Quinones on June 29th, 2012
Greenwire: Bulldozers and water sprayers are constantly shaping and wetting the 150,000-ton mountains of coal here at CONSOL Energy Inc.'s shipping facility. A street sweeper cleans the roads at least three times a week, and a truck sprays water on roads, all in an effort to keep coal dust pollution at bay.
"It's almost a battle plan," Christopher Marsh, vice president for CONSOL's CNX Marine Terminal, said during a recent interview. "Imagine talcum powder and try to keep it from moving."
A sharp rise...
Melting permafrost threatens Swiss villages
Posted by Inter Press Service: Ray Smith on June 29th, 2012
Inter Press Service: Melting glaciers are the most visible effect of global warming in the Swiss Alps. Meanwhile, permafrost is invisible and melting too, often causing rockfall and massive debris flows, ultimately threatening mountain villages.
Guttannen, home to 310 residents, is a tiny village in the Bernese Alps, the last one that travellers drive through on the way up to Grimsel Pass. It`s spring and the snow is retreating from the steep slopes of the valley. As the pass is still closed, calm reigns in the picturesque...
Heat, drought taking a toll on Wisconsin crops
Posted by Journal Sentinel: Rick Barrett on June 29th, 2012
Journal Sentinel: With each day of scorching heat and little rain, the odds of reaping a bountiful vegetable harvest dwindle for Wisconsin farmers such as Chuck Frase and Terry Vlossak.
As the owners of Full Harvest Farm in Hartford, they have used miles of "drip tape" - plastic tubing that drips water onto plants - to irrigate organic vegetables.
But even that hasn't kept up with the hot, dry weather. Certain plants that aren't watered as much have turned brown on their edges and are at risk of dying.
The...