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Archive for September 7th, 2012
Thousands of fish wash up on Lake Erie beaches
Posted by MSNBC: None Given on September 7th, 2012
MSNBC: Tens of thousands of dead fish that washed up on Lake Erie beaches in Ontario, Canada -- and had locals wondering if something or someone had poisoned the water -- were likely killed by a lack of oxygen caused when lake sediment was stirred up, the province reported Friday.
Water samples "do not show evidence of a manure spill or anything unusual in terms of contaminants," Ministry of Environment spokeswoman Kate Jordan told NBC News.
Jordan said it wasn't known if the die-off was unprecedented,...
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United Kingdom: David Cameron’s chill wind of change blows apart the green agenda
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on September 7th, 2012
Telegraph: Eric Pickles makes an unlikely eco-warrior. So it speaks volumes about this week's Cabinet reshuffle that his survival is the only thing that pleased environmentalists. Both they and climate sceptics agree that it has radically changed policy, finally strangling those huskies and ditching the green agenda which David Cameron embraced to help make his party (nearly) electable.
To be honest, I have yet to be entirely convinced. But even the perception of such a massive U-turn is likely to cause...
Mangrove deforestation 3x worse for climate than rainforest loss
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on September 7th, 2012
Mongabay: Degradation and destruction of the world's seagrasses, tidal marshes, and mangroves may generate up to a billion tons in carbon dioxide emissions annually, reports a new study published in the journal PLOS ONE.
The research looked at the world's 49 million hectares of coastal ecosystems and attempted to estimate emissions from conversion. Due to high levels of uncertainty about the extent of these ecosystems and the rate of conversion as well as the variance in carbon stocks, the study came up...
Deforestation affects rainfall, another reason to protect the rainforests
Posted by Environmental News Network: Allison Winter on September 7th, 2012
Environmental News Network: From regulating climate systems to offering food and medicines, to being home to many plants, animals, and indigenous people, rainforests are not only a local ecosystem but their benefits extend globally.
Adding to its effects is new research that shows rainforests have a huge impact on rainfall. A team from the University of Leeds and the NERC Centre for Ecology & Hydrology found that air passing over tropical forests produces at least twice as much rain as air passing over little vegetation...
Obama rebuts Romney, says climate change is no ‘hoax’
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on September 7th, 2012
USA Today: President Obama embraced his environmental record Thursday and fought back at his GOP rival's recent mockery by telling the Democratic National Convention that "climate change is not a hoax."
In accepting the Democratic presidential nomination, Obama cited his efforts to boost cars' fuel efficiency, cut energy waste in buildings and expand solar and wind power. "My plan will continue to reduce the carbon pollution that is heating our planet, because climate change is not a hoax," he told the delegates...
Diversity helps ecosystems cope with stress
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on September 7th, 2012
Mongabay: Ecosystems with higher levels of biodiversity tend to better cope with more stress than those with less biodiversity, finds a new study published in Ecology Letters.
The results are based on analysis of 64 species of single-celled microalgae. The scientists, led by Bastian Steudel of the University of Zurich, looked at how different assemblages of algae responded to different stressors like higher temperatures or salt concentrations. The researchers used biomass production as an indicator for...
Politicians Who Deny Climate Change Cannot Be Pro-Business – Bloomberg
Posted by Bloomberg: Andrew Winston on September 7th, 2012
Bloomberg: It finally seems to be dawning on many Americans that there's something to this climate change thing. The historic drought has been hard to ignore. While belief in a long-term trend because it's hot out right now is a bit ridiculous, it's a start. You can see a shift in how the media covers weather. The statement "because of climate change..." is often stated clearly without caveats such as, "what some scientists think may be a warming planet." You see it in the UN calling for action to help the...
Key Asian Species Need Urgent Recovery Plans, Group Says
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on September 7th, 2012
Yale Environment 360: The New York-based Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) has called on Asian nations to work together to save a handful of critically endangered species, including tigers, Asian rhinos, orangutans, Asian vultures, Batagur turtles, and the Mekong giant catfish. Speaking at the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s World Conservation Congress in South Korea, WCS President Christian Samper called on delegates to intensify recovery plans or face the possible extinction of some of these iconic...
Climate change a mixed blessing for wheat, say experts
Posted by SciDev.Net: Li Jiao on September 7th, 2012
SciDev.Net: Climate change may have a profound effect on the world's ability to produce wheat -- one of its staple crops -- and adaptation efforts must take into account both the positive and negative effects of climate shifts, say wheat experts.
Production in some regions, such as India and Mexico, is predicted to be negatively affected by climate change, according to Thomas Lumpkin, director general of the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT).
But, in other regions, such as northern...
United Kingdom: Biomass generators to face sustainability criteria
Posted by BusinessGreen: Will Nichols on September 7th, 2012
BusinessGreen: Biomass power stations will have to meet strict sustainability criteria to receive government subsidies, according to new proposals published today.
A consultation outlining the measures and recommending a cap on the support provided to new dedicated biomass power under the Renewables Obligation (RO) as well as drops in subsidy levels was published today alongside proposed cuts to payments for large-scale solar systems.
According to the government's bioenergy strategy published in April, burning...