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Archive for August 27th, 2012
Kenyan University Offers Degree Programs on Climate Change
Posted by Voice of America: Reuben Kyama on August 27th, 2012
Voice of America: Changing climate conditions are making it harder for people in East Africa, most of whom grow food or raise livestock, to survive. Rainy seasons are changing, destructive floods and temperatures have risen, and the soils have become drier than in recent years. Among the hardest hit are arid and semi-arid regions, small islands and the coastal strips. Environmental experts say it's important for the people of the region to learn to adapt. In an effort to help farmers, the University of Nairobi...
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Navy Continues to Test Biofuel Flights Despite Money Concerns
Posted by Yahoo!: Susan Graybeal on August 27th, 2012
Yahoo!: The Navy reported over the weekend that it completed another test flight using biofuel in its aircraft on Friday, Aug. 24, and deemed the mission a success. This comes after a summer of questions as to the cost that is being spent on the Navy's plan for a Great Green Fleet. Here are the details.
* The "Salty Dogs" of Air Test and Evaluation Squadron 23 flew a high performance T-45 "Goshawk" training aircraft on a successful biofuel flight at the Naval Air Station Patuxent River in Maryland. The...
Study: Climate change could transform Colorado grasslands, alpine tundra
Posted by Coloradoan: None Given on August 27th, 2012
Coloradoan: Clues to climate change in Northern Colorado aren’t limited to dying stands of limber pine trees, bark beetle outbreaks and a trend of rising temperatures throughout the region.
Scientists at the U.S. Forest Service’s Fort Collins-based Rocky Mountain Station say there has been precious little research conducted on how climate change is impacting the Great Plains and the Grasslands of Northern Colorado, but the evidence so far is dramatic.
“Birds are migrating further north, some plant and...
Perry Renews Call for EPA Waiver in Midst of Drought
Posted by Yahoo!: Susan Graybeal on August 27th, 2012
Yahoo!: Citing severe drought that has damaged more than 55 percent of the country's pastureland, Texas Gov. Rick Perry on Friday once again requested a waiver or partial waiver of the EPA's renewable fuel standard mandate for 2012 and 2013. His letter to the EPA was both echoed and supported by the Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association . Here are the details.
* According to the EPA , the Renewable Fuel Standard program was created in 2005 as part of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 and expanded...
Hurricane Warnings Issued as Isaac Heads for Gulf Coast
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on August 27th, 2012
Climate Central: It's too early to say for sure, but as of Monday morning, Tropical Storm Isaac was forecast to turn into a Category 1 or Category 2 hurricane and was expected to hit a stretch of the Gulf Coast between the Florida panhandle and New Orleans sometime late Tuesday or early Wednesday -- the latter putting it an eerie seven years to the day after Hurricane Katrina devastated The Big Easy.
New Orleans itself hasn't been ordered to evacuate; the levees that were breached by Katrina have been rebuilt,...
Arctic sea ice shrinks to lowest extent ever recorded
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on August 27th, 2012
Guardian: The Arctic sea ice has hit its lowest extent ever recorded, according to the US-based National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC), the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency, and Norwegian, Danish and other government monitoring organisations.
With possibly two weeks' further melt likely before the ice reaches its minimum extent and starts to refreeze ahead of the winter, satellites showed it had shrunk to 4.1m sq km (1.6m sq miles) on Sunday. The previous record of 4.3m sq km was set in 2007. The...
Arctic ice melts to record low: US researchers
Posted by Agence France-Presse: Shaun Tandon on August 27th, 2012
Agence France-Presse: The sea ice in the Arctic Ocean has melted to its smallest point ever in a milestone that may show that worst-case forecasts on climate change are coming true, US scientists said.
The extent of ice observed on Sunday broke a record set in 2007 and will likely melt further with several weeks of summer still to come, according to data from the National Snow and Ice Data Center and the NASA space agency.
The government-backed ice center, based at the University of Colorado at Boulder, said in...
The Los Angeles river lives again
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on August 27th, 2012
Guardian: A scorching morning in the San Fernando valley and I am driving up and down Balboa Boulevard, parks and fields either side of the motorway, lost. The talking GPS on my dashboard has lapsed into silence, defeated by an arcane destination with no zip code. I spy a park attendant emptying a bin and pull over to ask directions. He eyes me, baffled. I wonder if he is deaf and repeat the question. He still looks confused. "Did you say river?" Yes, I reply. Where is the river? He shakes his head. "What...
Nanotech’s Ill Effects on Small Sea Creatures Stir Concern
Posted by LiveScience: Francie Diep on August 27th, 2012
LiveScience: A high-tech material called carbon nanotubes is harmful to the growth and lifespan of small animals important to ocean life, a new study has found. However, cleaning the nanotubes of impurities may go a long way toward reducing their toxic effects on sea life, the study added. The research is in the first wave of simple experiments on the effects of nanotechnology on the environment.
Right now, carbon nanotubes are not a commonly used -- or dumped -- material. They do appear in high-end sports...
Isaac poses risks due to storm surges, heavy rainfall
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on August 27th, 2012
Reuters: Tropical Storm Isaac poses risks to life and could cause extensive damage to states along the U.S. Gulf Coast with a storm surge of up to six to 12 feet, U.S. federal emergency officials said on Monday. "There are some aspects of this storm that are very concerning, particularly storm surge as well as now potentially heavy rainfall across the area of impact," Federal Emergency Management Agency Administrator Craig Fugate said in a conference call with reporters.