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Archive for August 15th, 2012
Tars Sands Blockade working to physically stop Keystone XL pipeline construction
Posted by Waging Nonviolence: Will Wooten on August 15th, 2012
Waging Nonviolence: One year after more than 1,200 people were arrested in front of the White House during two weeks of sit-ins against the Keystone XL tar sands oil pipeline, a coalition of Texas landowners and activists will attempt to physically halt its construction. Led by veteran climate justice organizers, participants ranging from environmentalists to Tea Partiers are preparing to lock arms for a sustained nonviolent civil disobedience campaign, beginning perhaps as early as this week.
The impetus for such...
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Climate change effects, potential mitigation in Northeast forests subject of Forest Service Report
Posted by Phys.Org: None Given on August 15th, 2012
Phys.org: A new report by U.S. and Canadian scientists analyzes decades of research and concludes that the climate of the Northeast has changed and is likely to change more. The report outlines the effects of climate change on multiple aspects of forests in the northeastern corner of the United States and eastern Canada and concludes with recommendations on adaptive and mitigating strategies for dealing with future effects.
The report, "Changing Climate, Changing Forests: The impacts of climate change on...
2012 Drought Inches Up In U.S. Historical Rankings
Posted by Climate Central: Andrew Freedman on August 15th, 2012
Climate Central: The costly and ongoing drought that stretches across a majority of the lower 48 states worsened during the past month, and by one measure it now ranks fifth on the top 10 list of the largest droughts ever recorded in the U.S., according to a new report released Wednesday from the National Climatic Data Center (NCDC). The drought is affecting the broadest swath of land and has the greatest intensity of any drought since 1956, and is comparable to the Dust Bowl era droughts of the 1930s as well, NCDC...
Court suspends Amazon dam construction
Posted by Al Jazeera: None Given on August 15th, 2012
Al Jazeera: A federal judge in Brazil has suspended construction work on a massive dam in the heart of the Amazon rainforest.
In a statement released on Tuesday, Judge Souza Prudente said that work could only resume on the $11bn, 11,000MW Belo Monte Dam after the indigenous communities living in the area were consulted.
The dam has been condemned by environmentalists and rights activists, who say that it would devastate wildlife and the livelihoods of 40,000 people who live in the area that would be flooded....
Belo Monte mega-dam halted again by high Brazilian court, appeal likely but difficult
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on August 15th, 2012
Mongabay: A high federal court in Brazil has ruled that work on the Belo Monte dam in the Brazilian Amazon be immediately suspended. Finding that the government failed to properly consult indigenous people on the dam, the ruling is the latest in innumerable twists and turns regarding the massive dam, which was first conceived in the 1970s, and has been widely criticized for its impact on tribal groups in the region and the Amazon environment. In addition the Regional Federal Tribunal (TRF1) found that Brazil's...
Greenland Melt Sets Record Weeks Before Summer Ends
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on August 15th, 2012
Climate Central: Even as the sea ice on the Arctic Ocean looks to be headed for a possible record meltback this year, scientists reported Wednesday that the land-based ice sitting atop Greenland has already melted more than any time in the past 30 years -- and that's with another four weeks left in the melting season. The new study, based on satellite observations, expands on a report in July that showed a record 97 percent of Greenland's icy surface had undergone at least some melting during the summer season. ...
Forced to sell cattle during drought, dairy farmers ‘just keep praying’ for rain
Posted by NBC News: None Given on August 15th, 2012
NBC News: The crumbling earth and burned out fields in this small town of 10,000 are sad evidence of what has been a dry, hot and, at times, desperate summer. See our full drought coverage here. And on Wednesday, Aug. 15, watch NBC News, CNBC, MSNBC, The Weather Channel and Telemundo for daylong, network-wide coverage of the drought. "The drought has been excessive in this region for several weeks, and it's not just that we've had the 100 degree-plus temperatures -- but they started so early,' said Darin...
After drought blights crops, U.S. farmers face toxin threat
Posted by Reuters: Michael Hirtzer and Meredith Davis on August 15th, 2012
Reuters: The worst U.S. drought in five decades has parched the land and decimated crops. It now threatens to deal a second blow to farmers, who may have to throw out metric tons of toxic feed.
Growers are rushing to check the nitrate levels of that silage, the stalks and leaves that corn farmers often harvest to feed to locally raised cattle or hogs.
Agriculture groups are warning farmers that drought-hit plants may have failed to process nitrogen fertilizer due to stunted growth, making them poisonous...
Brazilian Judge Halts Belo Monte Dam Project Over Lack of Consultation
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on August 15th, 2012
Yale Environment 360: A Brazilian judge has ordered a suspension of the controversial Belo Monte dam project, saying that local indigenous people who will be affected by the massive hydroelectric project were not sufficiently consulted during the environmental assessment process. In a ruling issued Tuesday, Judge Souza Prudente of the Federal Tribunal of Brazil’s Amazon region found that no consultations were held with local communities before Congress approved what would be the world’s third-largest dam project. The...
Drought expected to take toll at checkout
Posted by NBC News: None Given on August 15th, 2012
NBC News: At a grocery store in Fort Worth, shoppers walk the aisles with coupons in their hands and off-brand products in their carts. A still-recovering economy has many looking to save a few dollars on their food bill, a job that is expected to become more difficult before year's end.
See our full drought coverage here. And on Wednesday, Aug. 15, watch NBC News, CNBC, MSNBC, The Weather Channel and Telemundo for daylong, network-wide coverage of the drought.
The lingering and pervasive drought that's...