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Archive for November 28th, 2012
Fracking Public Lands—Proposed Rules Threaten Drinking Water for Millions
Posted by EcoWatch: Amy Mall, Natural Resources Defense Council on November 28th, 2012
EcoWatch: The George Washington National Forest in Virginia is currently a target for natural gas leasing, yet this area is home to the headwaters of the Potomac and James Rivers. The Department of the Interior`s Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is in the process of developing new rules for fracking on more than 750 million acres of public and private land across the country. A final rule could be released as early as December. The current rules are woefully inadequate and need to be dramatically strengthened...
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United Kingdom: Energy secretary says shale exploration won’t lead to era of cheap gas
Posted by Guardian: Patrick Wintour on November 28th, 2012
Guardian: Ed Davey, the energy and climate change secretary, has warned supporters of shale gas that it may take many years for substantial exploration in the UK, and predicted it would not lead to an era of cheap gas.
Davey was speaking to the Guardian ahead of publication of the energy bill on Thursday and promised that he had weapons he could use if there was a danger his policies were locking too much gas into the energy mix.
It is expected that the chancellor, George Osborne, will publish a strategy...
Sea level rose 60 percent faster than UN projections, study finds
Posted by NBC: Miguel Llanos on November 28th, 2012
NBC: Projections for sea level rise in coming decades could be too conservative, experts warned Wednesday, saying they found that the rise over the last two decades is much more than predicted by the U.N. scientific body tracking climate signals.
In a peer-reviewed study, the experts said satellite data show sea levels rose by 3.2 millimeters (0.1 inch) a year from 1993 to 2011 -- 60 percent faster than the 2 mm annual rise projected by the U.N.'s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change for that...
Arctic permafrost is melting faster than predicted
Posted by New Scientist: Michael Slezak on November 28th, 2012
New Scientist: We may be closer to a major climate tipping point than we knew. Earth's permafrost – frozen soil that covers nearly a quarter of the northern hemisphere and traps vast amounts of carbon – may be melting faster than thought and releasing more potent greenhouse gasses. The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) released a report yesterday reviewing the most up-to-date research on Arctic permafrost. It claims temperature projections due in 2014 from the International Panel on Climate Change are...
Watery world: sea level rising 60 percent faster than predicted
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on November 28th, 2012
Mongabay: Sea levels are rising 60 percent faster than Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has estimated, according to a new study in the open access Environmental Research Letters. In addition to imperiling coastal regions and islands, global sea level rise is worsening the damage inflicted by extreme weather such as Hurricane Sandy, which recently brought catastrophic flooding to the New Jersey coast and New York City.
"This study shows once again that the IPCC is far from alarmist, but in...
Organic farming keeps carbon out of the atmosphere
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on November 28th, 2012
Mongabay: With the worst effects of climate change, we are seeing how pollution hurts both human health and the environment but there is good news: a new study shows that organic farming stores more greenhouse gases in the soil than non-organic farming. By switching to organic methods, many farmers across the globe may be helping to solve the climate crisis at the same time as they improve soil quality and avoid the use of pesticides.
"Organic agriculture is more than just producing good and healthy food....
Australia: Emissions from permafrost not taken into account
Posted by Australian Broadcasting Corporation: Eleanor Hall on November 28th, 2012
Australian Broadcasting Corporation: ELEANOR HALL: Climate change could be happening more rapidly than forecast with new research revealing that the impact of the melting permafrost is not included in the estimates.
The UN Environment Programme study finds that the impact of melting permafrost could significantly amplify the process of global warming.
One Australian expert warns that addressing the problem could be hugely expensive.
Timothy McDonald has our report.
TIMOTHY MCDONALD: Permafrost is made up of two layers. ...
Climate talks must consider impact of melting permafrost, scientists say
Posted by Anchorage Daily News: None Given on November 28th, 2012
Anchorage Daily News: Scientists who study the Arctic say they're worried that nations meeting this week to set targets for reducing greenhouse gas emissions aren't adequately considering how much carbon dioxide and methane could be released from the world's rapidly thawing permafrost.
Researchers have known the permafrost is warming for some time, but they've only recently begun to accurately measure just how much carbon is in the Earth's frozen regions. And they're only beginning to understand the consequences of...
As Great Lakes levels plummet, towns try to save harbors
Posted by Detroit News: John Flesher on November 28th, 2012
Detroit News: For more than a century, easy access to Lake Michigan has made Onekama a popular place for summer visitors and a refuge for boaters fleeing dangerous storms. Now the community itself needs a rescue, from slumping lake levels that threaten its precious link to open water.
The Great Lakes, the world's biggest freshwater system, are shrinking because of drought and rising temperatures, a trend that accelerated with this year's almost snowless winter and scorching summer.
Water levels have fallen...
United Kingdom: After the floods, we must rebuild homes differently
Posted by Guardian: Sue Blackmore on November 28th, 2012
Guardian: As the water passes its height and ebbs away from St Asaph, Ruthin and York, we look on with sympathy. This time round we had only minor puddles in our bedroom from water oozing through the stone walls. Back in July, the whole ground floor of our converted riverside barn was feet deep in black river water and devastated. The worst time, I now appreciate, is not when the water is swirling past your windows and gushing under your doors. While that's going on you have too much to do to panic or feel...