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Archive for November 25th, 2012
America Will be Ravaged by Climate Change, Says New Report
Posted by Politix: None Given on November 25th, 2012
Politix: A new World Bank report provides some alarming new data on where the climate will be in 2100, and it predicts that the United States will be hit disproportionately hard. Here's what the report says is in store for America's future: 1. Lethally hot summers. The world will see a 4 degree celsius temperature rise, but the pain will not be spread evenly. Summer temperature rises of at least 6 degrees will afflict the sub-tropical Mediterranean, north Africa, the Middle East – and the United States....
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Canada: Pine beetles contributing to climate change, study says
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on November 25th, 2012
Canadian Press: Newly published research suggests mountain pine beetles have become so widespread that they're not just benefiting from global warming, they're starting to contribute to it.
"The effects of climate change cascade," said Holly Maness, whose paper was published Sunday in the journal Nature Geoscience.
"Previous studies have shown that climate change allowed the beetle to flourish. But our work shows that beetle infestations in turn feed back into climate."
Scientists have concluded that the...
More flood alerts issued as heavy rain continues to cause havoc in Britain
Posted by Guardian: Steven Morris, Leo Hickman and Matthew Weaver on November 25th, 2012
Guardian: More than 800 homes and business premises were contending with flooding on Sunday night after more rain caused havoc across a swath of Britain, forcing the government to defend the work it has done to protect at-risk areas.
David Cameron promised to help communities in the south-west of England and the Midlands that have been devastated after more than a month's worth of rain fell within four days.
On Saturday night a 21-year-old woman, who is believed to have been homeless, died after the...
India: Climate change hits bird migration
Posted by Hindustan Times: Darpan Singh on November 25th, 2012
Hindustan Times: The pattern of migratory birds at the Okhla Bird Sanctuary is rapidly changing. The number of the winged visitors is also coming down. And all this can be attributed to climatic changes and local disturbances. Only 15 species of winter migratory water birds have so far arrived at the sanctuary. Birdwatchers say arrival of many species -- such as Greater Flamingo, Wollynecked Stork, Ferruginous Pochard, Blacktailed Godwit and Tufted Duck -- has been delayed.
The sanctuary -- spread over an area...
NY Times Warns On Climate Change: ‘Fear Death By Water’, Rising Seas Likely To Swallow Up City If We Don’t Act Soon
Posted by ThinkProgress: Joe Romm on November 25th, 2012
ThinkProgress: The NY Times (finally) goes apocalyptic on climate change. Here`s the cover image of their big Sunday Review piece, "Is This The End?"
The sub-hed of the print story is "Whether in 50 world 100 or 200 years, there is a good chance New York City will sink beneath the sea." The story begins:
WE’D seen it before: the Piazza San Marco in Venice submerged by the acqua alta; New Orleans underwater in the aftermath of Katrina; the wreckage-strewn beaches of Indonesia left behind by the tsunami of...
Northern hardwood forests taking a hit from climate change
Posted by Summit Voice: Bob Berwyn on November 25th, 2012
Summit Voice: Global warming plays out on a stage that`s much more complex than just a rising graph line in a climate model.
In the northern hardwood forests of New England, for example, the models don`t account for factors critical to understanding forest response, such as hydrology, soil conditions, and plant-animal interactions, according to Dr. Peter Groffman, a microbial ecologist at the Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies.
Those and other factors combined mean that climate change is poised to reduce...
The war on New Mexico’s water
Posted by High Country News: None Given on November 25th, 2012
High Country News: As residents of the West, each of us keeps, either consciously or not, a checklist of those things that make our lives here worthwhile. Some of those things add to our quality of life, like cultural diversity and breathtaking landscapes. Others, like clean water, fall more into the necessities of life category. Without clean water, we don't drink, we don't eat, and everything collapses.
That's why it's so puzzling that New Mexico's Governor, Susana Martinez, has launched a blitzkrieg on all New...
Food production, not fracking
Posted by Messenger Post: Sander Diamond on November 25th, 2012
Messenger Post: The debate among those who believe that hydrofracking is not only safe but will also give a much needed boost to the economy of the Southern Tier and those who believe that the damage it will cause in no way justifies placing both the environment and so many people at risk has been bitter, rising to a level of acrimony not seen in decades.
The objections raised by those opposed to fracking are focused on the massive amounts of water needed in the process, as well as the disposal of the toxic mix...
After Sandy, a building debate at Shore
Posted by Inquirer: James Osborne on November 25th, 2012
Inquirer: Underneath its summer rental homes and saltwater taffy stands, the Jersey Shore is, geologically speaking, a chain of barrier islands - strips of sand built up over centuries that protect the mainland from the full impact of Atlantic storms.
As the islands were developed into resorts, particularly in the last 50 years, houses and roads were built atop the former dunes. Man-made seawalls were constructed to protect development.
In the weeks since Sandy wreaked nearly $30 billion in damage in...
Florida’s vanishing springs
Posted by Tampa Bay Times: Craig Pittman on November 25th, 2012
Tampa Bay Times: North of Gainesville, a church camp once attracted thousands of visitors because it was built around the gushing waters of Hornsby Springs. Then the spring stopped flowing and the camp had to spend more than $1 million to build a water park to replace it. The old spring site is now so stagnant that it's frequently declared unfit for humans to swim in. In Silver Springs, where the water was once so clear it was as if the fish swam through air, there are now goopy mats of algae so thick that alligators...