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Archive for August 21st, 2012
UCSD Nobel Laureate Cites Potential Evidence Linking Extreme Weather And Global Warming
Posted by redOrbit: Brett Smith on August 21st, 2012
redOrbit: In the keynote address at the 244th National Meeting & Exposition of the American Chemical Society in Philadelphia, Nobel Laureate Mario J. Molina stressed that the latest scientific evidence has only strengthened the link between human activity and extreme weather events and global warming.
Molina has some experience in working with human-atmospheric interactions on a global scale. The University of California, San Diego professor won the 1995 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his key role in...
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UN calls on nations to adopt urgent drought policies
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on August 21st, 2012
Guardian: The nations of the world urgently need to adopt drought-management policies, as farmers from Africa to India struggle with lack of rainfall and the United States endures the worst drought it has experienced in decades, top officials with the UN weather agency said on Tuesday.
The World Meteorological Organisation says the US drought and its ripple effects on global food markets show the need for policies with more water conservation and less consumption. It is summoning ministers and other high-level...
Dry forests disappearing faster than rainforests in Latin America
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on August 21st, 2012
Mongabay: Countries across Latin America lost 78,000 square kilometers of subtropical and tropical dry broadleaf forests between 2001 and 2010, according to a new satellite-based assessment [PDF] published in the journal Biotropica.
The research - based on analysis of data from the MODIS sensor on NASA satellites - looked at vegetation change in ten biomes across 16,000 municipalities in Latin America and the Caribbean. It found that dry forest cover fell from 2.03 million sq km in 2001 to 1.95 million...
No drought-busting rains seen for crop belt
Posted by Reuters: Sam Nelson on August 21st, 2012
Reuters: Benign weather is expected for the next week or two in the Midwest crop region, with no serious delays of early harvest but also no significant relief to corn and soybeans from the worst drought in half a century, an agricultural meteorologist said on Tuesday.
"The bottom line is there are no earth-shattering weather events in sight, it will be quiet most of the week," said John Dee, meteorologist for Global Weather Monitoring.
High temperatures in the upper 80s (degrees Fahrenheit) to low...
Environmental activism gains a foothold in China
Posted by Guardian: Harold Thibault on August 21st, 2012
Guardian: Li Wei, 18 (not her real name), doesn't seem like a dissident. She is more focused on her accounting studies, her friends on the social networks and chatting with her sister. Nevertheless, she took part in a demonstration last month in front of the Chinese Communist party offices that degenerated into violent clashes with police.
The demonstrators gathered at dawn in Qidong, a small coastal town north of Shanghai. By noon, the local government headquarters were occupied and files were being thrown...
Arctic ice set to hit record low
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on August 21st, 2012
BBC: Arctic sea ice looks set to hit a record low by the end of the month, according to satellite data.
Scientists at the US National Snow and Ice Data Center said data showed that the sea ice extent was tracking below the previous record low, set in 2007.
Latest figures show that on 13 August ice extent was 483,000 sq km (186,000 sq miles) below the previous record low for the same date five years ago.
The ice is expected to continue melting until mid- to late September.
"A new daily record......
India: Beating the Weather With Sustainable Crops
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on August 21st, 2012
Inter Press Service: Narrow, cobblestoned lanes separate the rows of mud houses with cool interiors and mud-smoothened patios, some with goats tethered to the wooden posts. This is Tajpura village, deep in this water-stressed, drought-prone region of northern India.
An area of stark beauty marked by deep ravines in central India, Bundelkhand spans the states of Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh. The ruins of stone fortresses dotting the landscape betray a history of constant warfare just as the remnants of water courses...
Droughts cut Europe’s food output, raise fire risks
Posted by EurActiv: None Given on August 21st, 2012
EurActiv: Droughts in southern and eastern Europe are contributing to the global decline in grain production while also elevating concern about the long-term impact on freshwater supplies.
The European Commission, which has declared 2012 the Year of Water, is preparing a review some of Europe's water legislation partly with climate change and extreme weather events in mind.
Food security and how the EU safeguards its liquid resources are among the topics due to be discussed during World Water Week events...
Tanzanian herders get free cows to cope with drought
Posted by AlertNet: Kizito Makoye on August 21st, 2012
AlertNet: As recurring drought afflicts much of East Africa's drylands, the Tanzanian government is trying to save the livelihoods of traditional herders by giving them free animals.
The Cattle Replenishing Initiative aims to rebuild the stocks of herders who have lost thousands of cattle, goats, sheep and donkeys during the worst drought in the country's history, which began in 2008. Many experts believe increasingly erratic rainfall is linked to climate change.
President Jakaya Kikwete asserts that,...
How A Biofuel Dream Called Jatropha Came Crashing Down
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on August 21st, 2012
National Public Radio: From Congress to The Colbert Report, people are talking about the Midwestern drought and debating whether it makes sense to convert the country's shrinking corn supplies into ethanol to power our cars.
It's the latest installment of the long-running food vs. fuel battle.
But wouldn't it be lovely if somebody came up with a biofuel that didn't take food out of people's mouths?
A few years ago, some people thought they'd found it: A miracle tree called Jatropha. Unfortunately, the miracle...