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Archive for December 18th, 2012
Race Is On to Find Life Under Antarctic Ice
Posted by National Geographic: Marc Kaufman on December 18th, 2012
National Geographic: A hundred years ago, two teams of explorers set out to be the first people ever to reach the South Pole. The race between Roald Amundsen of Norway and Robert Falcon Scott of Britain became the stuff of triumph, tragedy, and legend. (See rare pictures of Scott's expedition.)
Today, another Antarctic drama is underway that has a similar daring and intensity-but very different stakes.
Three unprecedented, major expeditions are underway to drill deep through the ice covering the continent and,...
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A Year After Flooding, Commerce on Mississippi Imperiled
Posted by Climate Central: Andrew Freedman on December 18th, 2012
Climate Central: The drought that continues to affect a majority of the lower 48 states is jeopardizing the flow of commerce along parts of the Mississippi River, a vital waterway for transporting $7 billion worth of commodities such as coal, grain, cement, chemicals and other materials.
It was only a year ago that there was record flooding along the Mississippi River and many of its tributaries. Heavy rainfall combined with spring snowmelt to cause the mighty Mississippi to overflow its banks, damaging towns...
5 Fatal Flaws in California’s New Fracking Regulations
Posted by EcoWatch: Center For Biological Diversity on December 18th, 2012
EcoWatch: Proposed regulations meant to govern fracking in California would do little to protect the state`s environment, wildlife, climate and public health, according to an analysis by the Center for Biological Diversity. Fracking--currently unmonitored in California--uses huge volumes of water mixed with dangerous chemicals to blast open rock formations and extract oil and gas. Hundreds of wells have been fracked in California in recent years. Today`s draft proposal by California`s Division of Oil, Gas,...
Climate Change Is Killing Economy: Here’s How to Stop It
Posted by CNBC: Bernice Napach on December 18th, 2012
CNBC: Congress this week is considering a $60 billion bill to pay for damages inflicted by Superstorm Sandy across three Northeastern states in late October. Though some Republican congressional members are balking at the sum, which the White House is requesting, New York, New Jersey and Connecticut say the damage is even greater, closer to $82 billion.
In either case, these sums are nothing compared to the long-term price the U.S. will pay as a result of extreme weather caused by climate change, says...
Pictures: 126 new species discovered in Greater Mekong region last year
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on December 18th, 2012
Mongabay: Some 126 new species were described in Asia'a Mekong region last year, notes a new report published by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF).
Extra Terrestrial - a follow up to last year's Wild Mekong report that described 208 newly described species - aims to raise public awareness of the region's high levels of biodiversity as well as threats to its native ecosystems. The Greater Mekong region covers five Southeast Asia nations - Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, Thailand, and Myanmar - as well as China's Yunnan...
India: Beans mean high profits for guar farmers of Rajasthan
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on December 18th, 2012
Guardian: There's no fracking in Rajasthan, but hydraulic fracturing (to give it is proper name) has drastically changed the landscape of one of the poorest places on earth.
India's biggest state is the world's number one producer of guar beans, a little known seed which is used to make ice cream and gives tomato ketchup its gloopiness, but which turns out to be integral to successful fracking.
Since fracking took off at the end of 2010 the price of guar, a bean of the Galactomannan family that can be...
Women Fight Climate Battles
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on December 18th, 2012
Inter Press Service: From Zimbabwe to El Salvador, women in poor countries suffer the brunt of climate change, but also learn to recover from disasters, to adapt and even to find opportunities in the new weather conditions.
Groups Call on Cuomo to Open Up Fracking Health Review to Public
Posted by EcoWatch: Riverkeeper on December 18th, 2012
EcoWatch: A coalition of New York State’s leading environmental and good-government groups today called on state officials to publicly release the details of a health review of proposed fracking that is currently underway. In a letter to state Health Commissioner Dr. Nirav R. Shah and Environmental Conservation Commissioner Joseph Martens, representatives of a dozen prominent organizations urged the state to release the details and forthcoming results of the review, which is currently being evaluated by a...
Drought’s winter toll: Mississippi barges face losses while US blasts river
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on December 18th, 2012
Christian Science Monitor: Even in winter, the severe drought that plagued a great swath of the nation’s agricultural and ranching states this summer is taking a punishing toll on the nation’s economy, with the Mississippi River barging industry the latest sector to fall victim.
With water levels in the river already dangerously low and continuing to fall, the US Army Corps of Engineers and the US Coast Guard embarked Tuesday on a month-long program to increase water flow and ease navigation, during which barge traffic...
Supercomputers Used To Help Predict Future Extreme Climate Changes In The US
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on December 18th, 2012
RedOrbit: With the recent history of extreme droughts and super storms, many are wondering what the future holds for the climate of the eastern United States. New research from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, has taken the guesswork out of it.
The results of this study, published in a recent issue of Environmental Research Letters, show that the region will be hotter and wetter in the future.
The research team consisting of Joshua Fu, a civil and environmental engineering professor, and Yang...