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Archive for August, 2012
Climate change already challenging farmers, utilities
Posted by Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: None Given on August 31st, 2012
Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: It is unfortunate that global climate change has become one of those articles of faith by which politicians self-identify. On the left, there is little argument the planet is growing warmer; on the right, there is inadequate proof.
In the middle lie industries such as agriculture and utility companies, both nationally and regionally, which must deal with the consequences of a warming planet and its attendant weather disruptions. They are getting precious little help from lawmakers.
The languishing...
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Isaac rain stalls U.S. crop harvest, some damage done
Posted by Reuters: Sam Nelson on August 31st, 2012
Reuters: Rain and wind from the remnants of Hurricane Isaac are expected to move into the central U.S. Midwest on Friday and into the weekend, stalling crop harvests and causing some localized damage, an agricultural meteorologist said.
Isaac continued to cause headaches, bringing heavy rainfall and the threat of flash flooding to the lower Mississippi Valley as Gulf Coast residents prepared to start their cleanup efforts.
Before Isaac slammed into the U.S. Gulf Coast on Wednesday, the U.S. Department...
Study Reveals that Drought Brought Down Ancient Egypt
Posted by Discovery News: Tim Wall on August 31st, 2012
Discovery News: The drought parching the United States is one of the worst in the nation's history, but it hasn't been as destructive as the drought that may have withered ancient Egypt's Old Kingdom. Pollen and charcoal buried in the Nile Delta 4,200 years ago tell the tale of a drought of literally Biblical proportions associated with the fall of the pyramid builders.
"Even the mighty builders of the ancient pyramids more than 4,000 years ago fell victim when they were unable to respond to a changing climate,"...
Isaac Will Lessen Drought, but Only in Some Places
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on August 31st, 2012
Climate Central: The U.S. Drought Monitor released on Thursday was different from most such reports, in that it was essentially out of date before it was published. As always, the monitor was based on dryness readings as of 7 A.M. the previous Tuesday, and it's unusual for conditions to change drastically in such a short time. In fact, the newest drought map showed little change in the percentage of the lower 48 states feeling some level of drought: it was 52.63 percent, compared with 52.89 percent in the report...
Schlumberger’s clever frack takes aim at gas costs
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on August 31st, 2012
Reuters: Production costs of natural gas from unconventional fields could tumble in the United States if a new technique developed by Schlumberger lives up to its billing.
The world's largest oilfield services company by market value and others working in the industry have suffered this year because the runaway success of hydraulic fracturing (fracking) and horizontal drilling techniques to extract so-called unconventional gas has created a glut and caused a price slide.
But using a proprietary system...
Food shortages could force world into vegetarianism, warn scientists
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on August 31st, 2012
Ecologist: Water scarcity's effect on food production means radical steps will be needed to feed a population expected to reach nine billion by 2050, warns Stockholm International Water Institute
Leading water scientists have issued one of the sternest warnings yet about global food supplies, saying that the world's population may have to switch almost completely to a vegetarian diet over the next 40 years to avoid catastrophic shortages.
Humans derive about 20% of their protein from animal-based products...
Coca-Cola seeks to clean up African water supply
Posted by BusinessGreen: Jessica Shankleman on August 31st, 2012
BusinessGreen: Coca-Cola is seeking to invest in a series of water stewardship projects across Africa, and join a collaborative environmental initiative that aims to reduce water stress in supply chains globally.
The Water Futures Partnership, established by brewing giant SAB Miller, German development bank GIZ and campaign group WWF, announced yesterday that it is planning to rebrand itself, in an attempt to broaden its membership and expand its reach.
The newly titled Water Futures Initiative will include...
Kashmir’s Melting Glaciers May Cut Ice With Sceptics
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on August 31st, 2012
Inter Press Service: Jowhar Ahmed, an air-conditioner dealer in Srinagar, is pleased at a spurt in business this summer caused by temperatures soaring over 35 degrees Celsius -- unusual in this alpine valley ringed by snow-capped mountains.
"I sold more than 70 air-conditioners in just one month," Ahmed, who runs the Oriental Sales electrical goods outlet, told IPS. To cope with the demand Ahmed and other dealers have begun stocking air-conditioners in Srinagar rather than book orders for later delivery.
That...
Biofuel crops transform German farming
Posted by BBC: Stephen Evans on August 31st, 2012
BBC: The shepherds of Germany are worried. There are still about 2,000 of them tending sheep on grasslands, plying their ancient trade and defying time and the intrusions of modernity.
But it is a losing battle. The pastures they and the sheep need are diminishing. The shepherds blame biofuels. They complain that meadows where sheep have always grazed are being turned over to the growing of crops for power generation.
Maik Gersonder tends flocks in eastern Germany. It is getting harder to find suitable...
Amazon forest threat is greater outside Brazil
Posted by Washington Post: Juan Forero on August 31st, 2012
Washington Post: On a scorching afternoon in the Amazon, all Agustin Villa and his partner needed was a chain saw and gasoline to take down an 82-foot hardwood in less than two minutes.
Battling thick brush and mosquitoes, the pair downed 25 trees in all that day, from silk-cotton softwoods to figs, clearing the limbs and sawing them into sections for tractors to drag to a nearby dirt road.
Across this corner of eastern Bolivia, peasants torch the forest for subsistence crops, while soy producers clear trees...