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Archive for July 6th, 2012
Climate: “Extreme” events will focus minds — NOAA boss
Posted by Seattle Post Intelligencer: None Given on July 6th, 2012
Seattle Post Intelligencer: "Extreme weather" and "extreme climate-related events will finally focus minds on climate change, the head of America`s National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration told a conference Friday in Australia.
"We are no longer at a point where we are questioning whether climate change is happening, although some continue to," Jane Lubchenco, a former Oregon State University oceanographer told the conference.
Lubchenco spoke on a day when mid-American cities were experiencing a record stretch...
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Just step outside: More Americans convinced of climate change after extreme weather
Posted by Yahoo!: Conor Skelding on July 6th, 2012
Yahoo!: Every summer it seems like a different kind of out-of-control weather pattern decides to strike. In the past month alone, we've experienced deadly Colorado wildfires, early-season heat waves and a wind-whipping hurricane, convincing formerly dubious Americans that climate change is actually real, according to the Associated Press.
"Many people around the world are beginning to appreciate that climate change is under way, that it's having consequences that are playing out in real time and, in the...
Ongoing Heat Wave in U.S. Rivals Events of Dust Bowl Era
Posted by Climate Central: Andrew Freedman on July 6th, 2012
Climate Central: Tens of millions of Americans continue to sweat out one of the most intense heat waves on record since the Dust Bowl era of the 1930s, with heat watches and warnings in effect yet again from the Plains to the Mid-Atlantic states. As happened during the Dust Bowl, the heat is helping to dry soils, increasing the extent and severity of drought conditions across the country and threatening this year's corn crop.
During the past 30 days, a stunning 6,439 warm temperature records were set or tied in...
Disorganized control room to blame for Enbridge U.S. pipeline spill: records
Posted by Edmonton Journal: Mike De Souza on July 6th, 2012
Edmonton Journal: A disorganized control room and bullying of inexperienced staff are allegedly to blame for a three-million litre oil spill in a Michigan River from a pipeline operated by Alberta-based Enbridge, says newly released records among hundreds of pages of evidence from a U.S. government investigation.
The evidence includes testimony from a senior Enbridge employee who suggests the energy company, now promoting new projects in Canada such as the multibillion dollar Northern Gateway pipeline from Edmonton...
United Kingdom: Heavy rain causes flooding chaos
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on July 6th, 2012
Press Association: Torrential rain led to flooded homes, road closures and havoc on public transport across parts of the country today.
Dozens of flood warnings and alerts were in place as the latest downpours continued to fall on ground already saturated after three months of record-breaking rainfall across the UK.
Almost 100 properties were flooded, the M50 was among a number of roads closed by the bad weather and flooding and landslips caused delays on major rail routes.
Six people had to be rescued from...
UN talks, water matter most to Cyprus: minister
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on July 6th, 2012
Reuters: Cyprus will focus on shoring up European Union water supplies and on preparation for U.N. climate talks in Doha as the green priorities for its six months at the EU helm, its environment minister said on Friday.
Just before beginning its first stint as holder of the rotating EU presidency on July 1, Cyprus asked for 10 billion euros ($12.4 billion) in emergency funding for its financial sector.
For a nation scarred by a severe drought that forced the import of water from Greece in 2008, its...
Want cheap food? Don’t let the climate change
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on July 6th, 2012
New Scientist: Tuck in now, everyone. The era of cheap food may come to an end within decades, thanks to the depredations of climate change.
US consumers face rising food prices in the next few months, because a drought in the Midwest has pushed up the cost of corn. But that is just a taste of things to come. A new report suggests that by 2050 many UK consumers will be unable to afford current staples like meat, - and the same pressures will apply globally.
Farmers around the world will face two challenges,...
New issues prompt rethinking of Columbia River treaty
Posted by Spokesman-Review: Becky Kramer on July 6th, 2012
Spokesman-Review: Nearly 50 years ago, Canada and the United States shook hands over a groundbreaking accord that altered life in the Northwest.
The Columbia River Treaty turned the 1,200-mile-long river and its tributaries into an electrical powerhouse, producing more kilowatts than any other North American river system.
As a result of the treaty, three large storage dams in British Columbia and Montana’s Libby Dam were built to boost downstream hydropower production, fueling the Northwest’s supply of cheap...
US corn belt bakes, wheat heats up in Europe
Posted by Wall Street Journal: Michael Haddon And Neena Rai on July 6th, 2012
Wall Street Journal: A change in the weather is enough to recreate the world, wrote Marcel Proust.
Global grain markets are being transformed by extreme heat and dryness in a key U.S. growing region. Fields in the Midwest are baking under relentless sunshine, raising concern over crops in the country's corn belt. Led by corn, grain prices have soared.
In July, the bulk of the corn crop will pollinate, a critical phase of growth that leaves the plants highly sensitive to heat. If the weather worsens this month,...
Top 20 cities with billions at risk from climate change
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on July 6th, 2012
Bloomberg: By 2050, more than 6 billion humans are expected to live in cities, according to the United Nations. Ports, which constitute more than half the world's largest cities, will face unique challenges as their populations swell. More than 130 port cities around the world are at increasing risk from severe storm-surge flooding, damage from high storm winds, rising and warming global seas and local land subsidence. Poorly planned development often puts more people in vulnerable areas, too, increasing risk....