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Archive for July 26th, 2012
United Kingdom: Could extreme weather be causing climate change?
Posted by Daily Mail: Rob Waugh on July 26th, 2012
Daily Mail: The causes of climate change are still the subject of heated debate - but a new study aims to find out if the weather itself may be making the problem worse.
Peat soils which are farmed - and thus exposed to the atmosphere - release greenhouse gases.
Extreme weather can change the amount of greenhouse gases being released from peat soils - and understanding this could lead to a way to control the effect.
Monitoring the effects of weather on peatlands could provide an effective way to fight...
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Climate Change and Poverty, a Deadly Cocktail for Dominicans
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on July 26th, 2012
Inter Press Service: "Nobody mourns the poor, you know." That is the grim conclusion of a resident of La Ciénaga, one of the many poverty-stricken settlements clustered along the banks of the Ozama River in the Dominican capital, and which are at the mercy of the weather.
The man has nothing more to say, refusing to have his picture taken or give his name.
"I wish they`d take us out of here, find us a safer place," his wife adds, looking out onto the Ozama River, which is almost at the threshold of the makeshift...
As cities grow, technology could help the world’s thirst
Posted by AlertNet: Laurie Goering on July 26th, 2012
AlertNet: As competition for water increases, the world's fast-growing cities will demand an ever larger share -- and should be able to afford to pay for it, says Colin Chartres, director general of the International Water Management Institute, based in Sri Lanka.
But that bigger urban share will come at the expense of agricultural water, leaving farmers --today the largest users of freshwater worldwide -- trying to grow much more food to meet rising population growth and expanding appetites, all with less...
How Extreme Weather Contributes to Greenhouse Gas Emissions
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on July 26th, 2012
ScienceDaily: While experts debate whether extreme weather conditions such as this summer's record rainfall can be explained by climate change, University of Leicester geographers are investigating whether the opposite is true -- does extreme weather impact on climate change?
To answer the question, a team of researchers from the Department of Geography and Centre for Landscape and Climate Research at the University of Leicester set up a new monitoring station in June to measure greenhouse gas emissions from...
Drought to Drive Up Food Prices Next Year, U.S. Says
Posted by New York Times: Ron Nixon on July 26th, 2012
New York Times: The worst drought in the United States in nearly a half-century is expected to drive up the price of milk, beef and pork next year, the government said Wednesday, as consumers bear some of the brunt of the sweltering heat that is driving up the cost of feed corn. Poultry prices are expected to rise more immediately, the government said in a report. It estimated that consumer price indexes for chicken and turkey would rise 3.5 percent to 4.5 percent later this year. “The poultry category is the...
The big thaw: Greenland ice cover vanishes in just four days
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on July 26th, 2012
Independent: The vast ice sheet of Greenland, which holds enough water to raise global sea levels by 7.2 metres, underwent a remarkable transformation for a few days this month when scientists observed an unprecedented melting of its frozen surface.
For the first time since satellites began recording changes to Greenland from space more than 30 years ago, scientists observed surface melting across almost the entire ice sheet – the second-largest body of ice after Antarctica.
The phenomenon in Greenland...
Rise in Weather Extremes Threatens Infrastructure
Posted by New York Times: Matthew L. Wald and John Schwartz on July 26th, 2012
New York Times: From highways in Texas to nuclear power plants in Illinois, the concrete, steel and sophisticated engineering that undergird the nation’s infrastructure are being taxed to worrisome degrees by heat, drought and vicious storms. On a single day this month here, a US Airways regional jet became stuck in asphalt that had softened in 100-degree temperatures, and a subway train derailed after the heat stretched the track so far that it kinked — inserting a sharp angle into a stretch that was supposed...
United States: Expert predicts hotter, drier climate for Maui
Posted by Maui Weekly: Tom Blackburn-Rodriguez on July 26th, 2012
Maui Weekly: "For the past three decades, Hawai'i's temperature has been growing at a rate similar to the overall global warming rate, especially at high elevations, with an increase over plus 1.4 F in the last 30 years."
"Previously, the Hawai'i temperature index had been half of the global warming rate trend."
This, according to Tom Giambelluca, a University of Hawai'i-Manoa geography professor, who has been looking at what happens when weather or vegetation patterns change on a tropical island for more...
Study: Many U.S. cities unprepared for future heat waves
Posted by Washington Post: Brad Plumer on July 26th, 2012
Washington Post: What`s the deadliest natural disaster? In the United States, it`s heat. Between 1979 and 2003, heat waves killed at least 8,015 Americans, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. That`s more than hurricanes, lightning, tornadoes, floods and earthquakes combined. And it`s largely an urban problem--the bulk of those deaths occur in cities.
Why are cities so susceptible to heat waves? Well, in part because that`s where most people live (obviously). But there`s another factor,...
A New Plan to Fix California Water System
Posted by New York Times: Felicity Barringer and Jennifer Medina on July 26th, 2012
New York Times: Flanked by the interior secretary and a federal environmental watchdog, Gov. Jerry Brown unveiled his plan to reconfigure the state’s oversubscribed water distribution system in hopes of satisfying the conflicting demands of Southern California cities, agribusinesses and environmentalists, which have competing claims on the flow of the Sacramento River, the state’s largest source of fresh water. The officials said their plan would ensure both that the ecosystem of the Sacramento River’s delta would...