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Archive for November 1st, 2012
The risk of extreme weather on upswing
Posted by Times-Union: Brian Nearing on November 1st, 2012
Times-Union: In the realm of man-made global warming and climate science, any link to an extreme hurricane, like Sandy, is often described by scientists with a baseball metaphor. A slugger on steroids hits more home runs, but attributing any single home run solely to steroids is not a simple matter.
And asking whether steroids caused a specific home run -- or whether climate change is responsible for the massive hurricane that smashed into the Northeast -- may be the wrong question to ask. A better question...
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Corrupt officials aid destruction of Kenya’s Mau Forest
Posted by AlertNet: Gitonga Njeru on November 1st, 2012
AlertNet: A syndicate involved in illegal logging of indigenous trees from Kenya's largest forest has been bribing police and civil servants in order to continue its activities, Kenyan forestry officials charge.
"Corruption involving the police and civil servants in illegal logging activities in the Mau Forest is a serious problem,' said David Mutoro, acting director of the Kenya Forest Service. "The destruction (has been) happening (since) the government launched reforestation efforts in mid-2009. It is...
United Kingdom: Serious water pollution incidents doubled in 2011, report shows
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on November 1st, 2012
Press Association: The number of serious incidents of pollution in the water sector almost doubled last year, a report by the Environment Agency showed on Thursday.
Overall, serious industrial pollution incidents across all sectors including industry, water, waste and farming fell slightly to 620 in 2011.
Last year's figure was a 4% drop on 2010 and down more than half (52%) on the figures for 2000, the latest sustainable business report revealed.
But in the water industry the number of pollution incidents...
It’s Global Warming, Stupid
Posted by Bloomberg: Paul M. Barrett on November 1st, 2012
Bloomberg: Yes, yes, it’s unsophisticated to blame any given storm on climate change. Men and women in white lab coats tell us—and they’re right—that many factors contribute to each severe weather episode. Climate deniers exploit scientific complexity to avoid any discussion at all. Clarity, however, is not beyond reach. Hurricane Sandy demands it: At least 40 U.S. deaths. Economic losses expected to climb as high as $50 billion. Eight million homes without power. Hundreds of thousands of people evacuated....
Hurricane Sandy death toll reaches 74 in U.S.
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on November 1st, 2012
Associated Press: The massive storm that started out as Hurricane Sandy slammed into the East Coast and morphed into a huge and problematic system, killing at least 74 people in the United States. Power outages now stand at more than 5.6 million homes and businesses, down from a peak of 8.5 million. Here's a snapshot of what is happening, state by state.
CONNECTICUT
Widespread damage to homes on Long Island Sound. Deaths: 3. Power outages: 378,000, down from a peak of more than 620,000.
DELAWARE
Some southern...
Will Climate Get Some Respect Now?
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on November 1st, 2012
New York Times: President Obama and Mitt Romney seemed determined not to discuss climate change in this campaign. So thanks to Hurricane Sandy for forcing the issue: Isn’t it time to talk not only about weather, but also about climate? It’s true, of course, that no single storm or drought can be attributed to climate change. Atlantic hurricanes in the Northeast go way back, as the catastrophic “snow hurricane” of 1804 attests. But many scientists believe that rising carbon emissions could make extreme weather —...
Are Humans to Blame? Science Is Out
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on November 1st, 2012
New York Times: From the darkened living rooms of Lower Manhattan to the wave-battered shores of Lake Michigan, the question is occurring to millions of people at once: Did the enormous scale and damage from Hurricane Sandy have anything to do with climate change? Hesitantly, climate scientists offered an answer this week that is likely to satisfy no one, themselves included. They simply do not know for sure if the storm was caused or made worse by human-induced global warming. They do know, however, that the...
Canada: Alberta’s climate-change fund hands out $6.5M to 13 projects
Posted by Edmonton Journal: Dave Cooper on November 1st, 2012
Edmonton Journal: The world’s largest landfill carbon reduction project in Fort McMurray and several other novel technologies from small firms were awarded $6.5 million on Wednesday by Alberta’s climate change corporation.
“Great ideas come from anywhere, and small and medium enterprises are incredible sources of creative ideas that will reduce greenhouse gas emissions and demonstrate that clean technology is an increasingly important element of our economy,” said Eric Newell, chair of the Climate Change and Emissions...
Fuel spills into waterway between New Jersey and Staten Island
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on November 1st, 2012
Reuters: An unknown amount of fuel spilled from a northern New Jersey oil facility that had been closed due to Sandy, the storm that battered the U.S. Northeast, the site's operator said on Wednesday.
Motiva, a joint venture of Shell Oil and Saudi Refining, said the spill occurred at its Sewaren, New Jersey, facility, along the Arthur Kill, the tidal waterway separating New Jersey from Staten Island, New York.
"No injuries have occurred and there has been no further product released since the initial...
Illegal waste sites identified
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on November 1st, 2012
BBC: The Environment Agency says a new taskforce has led to a sharp increase in identifying illegal waste sites.
The taskforce tracked 400 new sites in just three months, bringing the total to 1,195 in England and Wales.
The government agency says the dumps pose risks to people and the environment, and that shutting them down is a top priority.
The waste sites tend to cluster around towns and cities as well as key motorway links.
The worst of them pollute homes and schools with smoke from...