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Archive for September, 2012
United Kingdom: Now climate experts warn that every house in the country is at risk of flooding
Posted by Independent: Jonathan Brown on September 29th, 2012
Independent: The flood waters may finally be receding across parts of Britain lashed this week by the worst autumn storm in 30 years.But as home and business owners begin the long, demoralising task of clearing up the filth left in their wake, it has emerged that increasing numbers of flood victims are completely unaware that they were ever at risk from rising water levels.
Of the 5,000 properties damaged in the extreme weather events of this summer and autumn, more than half were hit not by overflowing rivers...
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Conflicting reports fuel fracking debate tied to Wyoming town
Posted by Reuters: Laura Zuckerman on September 29th, 2012
Reuters: Government testing of a drinking water aquifer near a tiny Wyoming town has shown concentrations of gases like ethane and propane and diesel compounds, but a natural gas company said it did not cause the contamination.
A report by the U.S. Geological Survey showed petroleum-based pollutants in samples from a monitoring well in the aquifer adjacent to Pavillion, Wyoming, which is at the center of a national debate over hydraulic fracturing, or fracking.
A draft study released in December by...
Food Security, Grain Production, and Climate Change
Posted by Worldwatch Institute: Cameron Scherer on September 28th, 2012
Worldwatch Institute: Global grain production is expected to reach a record high of 2.4 billion tons in 2012, an increase of 1 percent from 2011 levels, according to new research conducted by the Worldwatch Institute's Nourishing the Planet project (www.worldwatch.org) for the Institute's Vital Signs Online service. According to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the production of grain for animal feed is growing the fastest--a 2.1 percent increase from 2011. Grain for direct human consumption...
Scientists Debate Climate Change Impacts on Tropical Diseases
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on September 28th, 2012
Inter Press Service: More intense rainfall, rising temperatures and climate-driven migration of human and animal populations due to repeated drought all affect the spread of tropical diseases. These changes, already the focus of study by climatologists, are now also a challenge increasingly taken up by health experts and officials.
The impact of climate change on human health generated debate among the experts attending the 18th International Congress on Tropical Medicine and Malaria, held Sept. 23-27 in Rio de Janeiro....
Desert Climate In Western US Influenced By Ancient Water Cycle
Posted by redOrbit: Alan McStravick on September 28th, 2012
redOrbit: The climate change we are currently experiencing, while disconcerting and increasingly uncomfortable, is not unprecedented when viewed through the historical prism of life on Earth.
A study led by researchers from Texas A&M University`s Department of Oceanography looks back at the water cycle that affected the Western United States in an era dating back some 20,000 years. Focusing on the deserts of Utah and Nevada, the team is seeking to learn more about the large inland lakes that once covered...
Fracking Suspense Cuts Into Second-Home Sales
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on September 28th, 2012
New York Times: As I report in the real estate section of The Times, many would-be buyers are deferring purchases of second homes in upstate New York out of concern that hydraulic fracturing might be allowed nearby. For now, no one knows whether Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo`s administration will allow this controversial natural gas drilling process to go forward.
So far, officials in the Cuomo administration have indicated that the drilling might initially be limited to five New York counties above the Pennsylvania state...
Fires And Invasive Grass Threaten American West
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on September 28th, 2012
National Public Radio: Cheatgrass, an invasive weed, is choking out native sagebrush in the Great Basin—and setting the stage for hotter, more catastrophic fires there. Jen Pierce, an expert on ancient fires, and Mike Pellant, of the Great Basin Restoration Initiative, talk about how fires are reshaping landscapes in the American West.
Swift action needed to save world’s declining fisheries-study
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on September 28th, 2012
Reuters: Swift action is required to save many of the world's fisheries that are declining faster than expected, a study in a leading scientific journal shows.
A recovery of fisheries could increase worldwide landings by up to 40 percent, helping to feed a global human population that is forecast to rise from 7 billion to 9 billion between now and 2050, according to the report in Friday's edition of Science.
Coastal fisheries and sharks are among those hardest hit by overfishing, while flounder, herring...
Water shortages ahead across US as drought lingers
Posted by Reuters: Carey Gillam on September 28th, 2012
Reuters: The worst drought in more than half a century baked more than two thirds of the continental United States this summer and its harsh effects continue to plague the parched cities and towns of the Great Plains.
Ask the 94,000 people of San Angelo, Texas, who are running out of water. Fast.
The city -- once known as "the oasis" of dry west Texas -- now says it only has enough water supplies to last one more year. On Oct. 16, it will enforce its highest level of emergency measures to save its water...
Flooding in north-east England leaves homes needing to be demolished
Posted by Guardian: Helen Carter on September 28th, 2012
Guardian: Residents of a block of flats near Newcastle have been told their homes will have to be demolished after their foundations were washed away by heavy floodwaters earlier this week.
Dramatic pictures of the damage to the flats in Spencer Court, Newburn, showed the building looking perilous after the torrent left it in danger of collapsing. The pilings holding up the four-storey development were exposed by the flood, which was reportedly caused by a collapsed culvert.
Residents moved out after...