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Archive for August 15th, 2012
Little relief seen from U.S. drought despite cooler trend
Posted by Reuters: Sam Nelson on August 15th, 2012
Reuters: Midday weather maps indicated a better chance for rains during the last two weeks of August in the drought-stricken U.S. Midwest, but they will come too late to provide much help to corn or soybean prospects, an agricultural meteorologist forecast Wednesday.
Meteorologists and crop experts have said that the domestic corn crop was harmed beyond repair from the worst drought in more than 50 years over the summer, and much of the soybean crop was damaged as well.
"There is a chance for quite...
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‘Crazy’: Dozens of dead birds fall from NJ sky
Posted by MSNBC: None Given on August 15th, 2012
MSNBC: Residents in a Cumberland County, N.J., community were left wondering what caused dozens of birds to drop dead from the sky earlier this week.
Residents along Peach Drive in Millville found at least 80 dead birds -- mostly red-winged blackbirds -- on the ground, having fallen from trees and the sky.
"Crazy -- something out of a movie," said resident Michelle Cavalieri, who saw the birds fall.
The birds caused a bloody mess on roadways in the residential neighborhood.
"They'd get up and...
City Temps May Soar From Urbanization, Global Warming
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on August 15th, 2012
Climate Central: For scientists who worry about climate change, cities are just plain annoying. The acres of asphalt that cover roads and parking lots and roofs absorb enormous amounts of heat. In the summer, whirring air conditioners channel even more heat out of buildings and into the air. Climate scientists have to subtract this so-called urban heat island effect from their calculations if they want to get a true picture of how greenhouse gas emissions are warming the planet.
For people who actually live in...
Exxon unit investigates oil spill near Nigeria facility
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on August 15th, 2012
Reuters: ExxonMobil's Nigeria unit said it was investigating an oil spill near its facility off the country's southeast coast, which local fishermen said had covered the waters where they fish with a toxic film.
Mobil Producing Nigeria, a joint venture between ExxonMobil and the state oil firm, said on Wednesday that relevant government agencies had been notified of the spill.
"Mobil Producing Nigeria ... confirms that oiling from an unknown source has been sighted along the shoreline near Ibeno, Akwa...
Asia’s biggest wildlife traffickers are untouchable
Posted by Associated Press: Denis D. Gray on August 15th, 2012
Associated Press: Squealing tiger cubs stuffed into carry-on bags. Luggage packed with hundreds of squirming tortoises, elephant tusks, even water dragons and American paddlefish. Officials at Thailand's gateway airport proudly tick off the illegally trafficked wildlife they have seized over the past two years.
But Thai and foreign law enforcement officers tell another story: Officials working-hand-in-hand with traffickers ensure that other shipments through Suvarnabhumi International Airport are whisked off before...
Zimbabwe’s forests go up in smoke amid energy crisis
Posted by AlertNet: Madalitso Mwando on August 15th, 2012
AlertNet: Pensioner Thandazani Ndlovu earns his living selling firewood, making him better off than Zimbabwe's millions of jobless.
From the back of his pick-up truck, he has established a thriving business as demand for firewood continues to grow in Bulawayo, a city of 2 million people in the southwest.
Residents are turning to wood for cooking and heating as Zimbabwe's electricity outages get worse, with its energy utility battling to keep the lights on in urban areas.
As winter began, the state-owned...
Methane from fracking triggers climate change
Posted by Post-Standard: Nbc News on August 15th, 2012
Post-Standard: As this record-breaking summer continues to heat up, Gov. Andrew Cuomo is purportedly nearing a decision about fracking. In support of his commitment to base his decision on the facts and science, I strongly urge the governor to heed the warnings from two recent national stories. First, this month the U.S. Department of Agriculture designated more than half of all U.S. counties disaster zones, due to excessive heat and devastating droughts. Second, a new study - from top NASA scientist James Hansen...
Drought sends Mississippi into ‘uncharted territory’
Posted by NBC News: John Yang on August 15th, 2012
NBC News: The drought of 2012 has humbled the mighty Mississippi River.
A year after near-historic flooding, the river's water levels are at near-historic lows from Cairo, Ill., where the Ohio River empties into it, to New Orleans, just north of its endpoint at the Gulf of Mexico.
In July, water levels in Cairo, Memphis, Tenn., and Vicksburg, Miss., dipped below those of the historic drought of 1988. That's affecting everything from commerce on the maritime superhighway to recreation to the drinking...
Greener approach in Asian cities would protect millions from disasters – report
Posted by AlertNet: Thin Lei Win on August 15th, 2012
AlertNet: Asia's cities are growing at an unprecedented rate and must improve their infrastructure and become greener to keep hundreds of millions of residents safe from floods and other disasters, a report from the Asian Development Bank said on Wednesday.
Asia added more than 1 billion people to its cities between 1980 and 2010, leading to more slum dwellers, polluted neighbourhoods and soaring greenhouse gas emissions, said the Manila-based bank. By 2025, 760 million people across the region will be...
China’s coal expansion may spark water crisis, warns Greenpeace
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on August 15th, 2012
Guardian: China's plan to rapidly expand large coal mines and power plants in its arid northern and western provinces threatens to drain precious water supply and could trigger a severe water crisis, a report by environmental activists Greenpeace said on Tuesday.
China intends to boost coal production in provinces including Inner Mongolia, Shanxi, Shaanxi and Ningxia, with output in those areas expected to reach 2.2bn tonnes, or 56% of the country's forecast production of 3.9bn tonnes, by 2015.
As part...