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Archive for October 1st, 2012
Glacier and Climate Mysteries in Shangri La
Posted by New York Times: Aaron Putnam on October 1st, 2012
New York Times: Today we set out on what is to be a collaborative, interdisciplinary scientific effort to examine the links among climate, glaciers and society in the high passes of the Bhutan Himalaya.
Nearly 3.2 billion people in South Asia depend on the water that originates from melting glaciers and snowpack of the high Himalaya, yet a gulf of uncertainty hinders our ability to assess the fate of this ice and snow in a warming world. Thus, the goals of this expedition are to collect data that will shed light...
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Jatropha can revive degraded land, says study
Posted by SciDevNet: Megha Prakash on October 1st, 2012
SciDevNet: Large-scale cultivation of Jatropha -- known as a potential source of biofuel -- can improve the soil quality of degraded lands and address climate change, says a new study. Jatropha curcas seeds yield oil that can be processed into biodiesel, but scientists at the International Crop Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT), Hyderabad, have found that Jatropha plantations can also sequester carbon in abundant quantities. The findings, reported in October in Agriculture, Ecosystems...
‘Our best way forward is for communities to build local resilience’
Posted by Guardian: Rob Hopkins on October 1st, 2012
Guardian: The question here is "what should we do differently?" The answer is: pretty much just about everything. Nationally and internationally, while the scale and pace of climate change are accelerating, meaningful responses are dwindling. Part of our collective paralysis comes from the fact that we struggle to imagine a world with less energy, less consumerism, less annual GDP growth. What will it look like, sound like, feel like? Does it inevitably mean that you should start seeking out your cave on Dartmoor...
Think climate change isn’t your problem? It will be when you can’t eat
Posted by Daily Maverick: Jay Naidoo on October 1st, 2012
Daily Maverick: Climate change is ravaging the world's nutritional supplies, and in the very near future we'll be looking at astronomical prices for staple foods. Which will lead to starvation, conflict, and hugely increased competition for resources. Can we really afford to let that happen?
I recently attended a briefing session of the High Level Panel on the post-2015 discussion in New York. If I had to measure the urgency of these discussions against the crisis the world faces, I would be tempted to jump off...
With New Delays, a Growing Sense That Gov. Andrew Cuomo Will Not Approve Gas Drilling
Posted by New York Times: Danny Hakim on October 1st, 2012
New York Times: A few months after Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo was poised to approve hydraulic fracturing in several struggling New York counties, his administration is reversing course and starting the regulatory process over, garnering praise from environmental groups and stirring anger among industry executives and upstate landowners. Ten days ago, after nearly four years of review by state regulators, the governor bowed to entreaties from environmentalists to conduct another study, this one an examination of potential...
A multi-model boost for climate change research in India
Posted by Economic Times: Hari Pulakkat on October 1st, 2012
Economic Times: J Srinivasan, professor at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) in Bangalore, goes through his work days secretly hoping for a global major climate crisis. As a leading climate change scientist in India, he knows that the country and the world are inching towards disaster. A serious crisis now would shake up people and make them act, he thinks. "I remember the ozone hole crisis while I was a student," says Srinivasan. "Scientists were talking about it for a long time, but they took action only...