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Archive for July 4th, 2012
Eldorado must stop cutting trees at its Greek mines
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on July 4th, 2012
Reuters: Greece's top administrative court has ordered Eldorado Gold Corp to stop cutting trees on its mining and exploration properties in Northern Greece, the company said on Wednesday, in news that sent its shares tumbling almost 7 percent.
El Dorado said the order by the Council of State of Greece prevents it from cutting trees in the Halkidiki forest region, where the Vancouver-based company operates the Stratoni silver-lead mine and is developing the Skouries and Olympias gold projects.
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United Kingdom: A month of rain to fall as more floods expected
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on July 4th, 2012
Telegraph: The rain will start today (Thursday) across northern England with a severe weather warning from the south of Scotland down to Norfolk. Potentially there could be up 30mm (1.2 inches) in two hours during the outbursts of rain.
The worst rain will sweep across northern and central England on Friday with downpours in East Anglia as far south as London. The deluge could affect the men's semi-finals at Wimbledon which are scheduled to take place on Friday. There could also be heavy rain in the South...
Potential food crisis with global warming, UK scientists warn
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on July 4th, 2012
ScienceDaily: UK consumers could face dramatically reduced food choices in the future unless much more is done to cut greenhouse gas emissions, a hard-hitting University of Manchester report warns.
The Sustainable Consumption Institute research claims food which families now take for granted, such as meat and fresh vegetables, could become too expensive for many if global temperatures rise in line with the current trends and reach 4°C within the lifetime of many people.
Even if families continue to take...
Global water estimates ‘uncertain’
Posted by SciDev.Net: Catarina Chagas on July 4th, 2012
SciDev.Net: Great uncertainty exists regarding estimates of the global water budget (the amount of water involved in the hydrological cycle every year) because of discrepancies between global atmosphere and ocean models, and direct observations, a study has found. Furthermore, these uncertainties may worsen as the number of water measurement stations around the world decrease -- providing fewer opportunities to verify modelling data on the ground, according to the authors of the study, which was published in...
China’s controversial Three Gorges dam marks completion
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on July 4th, 2012
Reuters: The final turbine of China's massive Three Gorges dam has been connected to the power grid, marking the completion of a controversial hydropower project that cost the country more than £38bn and displaced at least 1.3 million people.
The installation of the project's 32nd 700-megawatt unit on Wednesday brought total capacity up to 22.5 gigawatts (GW), accounting for 11% of the country's total hydroelectric capacity. Britain's largest power station, Drax, produces 4GW.
"The complete operation...
As the climate changes, extreme weather isn’t that extreme any more
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on July 4th, 2012
Guardian: Britain and northern Europe are dripping their way into what is already being called a "lost summer". We have had our wettest April and June and our coldest spring, and there is no end in sight of the abnormal weather. But we can take some comfort in the fact that we are not alone.
In the US, 100 million people in 17 states have now had to be warned about the dangers of one of most intense heatwaves of the last century. Life in many US cities has become unbearable, with temperatures well over...
Climate change is shrinking Australian plant leaves
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on July 4th, 2012
New Scientist: If your plan for escaping climate change is to hide in the shade of a tree, you might be out of luck. It turns out the leaves of some plants are shrinking in response to the warmer weather.
But bad news for shade-lovers may be good news for plant conservation. The changes could indicate that plants are evolving rapidly to changing conditions, suggesting they have a better chance at survival.
"Often we consider that climate change is something that is going to happen in the future," says Andrew...
Africa’s savannahs may change into forests before the turn of the century due to excess CO2
Posted by Daily Mail: Eddie Wrenn on July 4th, 2012
Daily Mail: A study suggests that some of Africa's savannahs - large areas sparse vegetation other than grass - may become forests by the end of the century.
Research from The Biodiversity and Climate Research Centre and the Goethe University Frankfurt suggests that a build-up of carbon dioxide in the soil will force an increase of tree cover throughout Africa.
When CO2 in the air and soil reaches a certain density, it forces trees to increase their size and foliage, meaning the open-sky savannahs may...
UK Food Crisis Looms as Climate Change Threatens Staple Crops
Posted by International Business Times: Nicholas Edmondson: on July 4th, 2012
International Business Times: Climate change could create a serious food crisis for the UK, research by the University of Manchester has warned.
Rising temperatures will have a massive effect on the availability of food as crops die and meat prices soar. Staple food sources such as rice and wheat could be devastated.
The research, carried out by the Sustainable Consumption Institute, warns that the current rate of climate change means foods that are taken for granted could disappear or simply become too expensive.
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