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Archive for January 7th, 2013
Digital Globes, a New Way to View the World
Posted by New York Times: Mark Vanhoenacker on January 7th, 2013
New York Times: In the main hall of the hands-on science exhibits at the Cape Town Science Center in South Africa, a lifeless, tattered globe stands under naked fluorescent bulbs, all but ignored by children passing through on school tours. Across a sunblasted courtyard and up a dingy staircase, another globe — a digital globe — stands in a darkened room. This globe is a shining sphere of light. Children stand awe-struck; adults of a certain age may be reminded of images like Apollo 8’s Earthrise photograph, while...
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Footage captures Austria landslide
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on January 7th, 2013
BBC: An unusual amount of rainfall has caused a number of landslides in Austria. In Salzburg, saturated soil caused a section of forest to slide down a bank into the road below. Local geologist Gerald Valentin described a "cracking" sound as the trees collapsed. Meanwhile in Styria, four people were evacuated when mud buried one home's terrace.
Oil Sand Industry in Canada Tied to Higher Carcinogen Level
Posted by New York Times: Ian Austen on January 7th, 2013
New York Times: The development of Alberta’s oil sands has increased levels of cancer-causing compounds in surrounding lakes well beyond natural levels, Canadian researchers reported in a study released on Monday. And they said the contamination covered a wider area than had previously been believed. For the study, financed by the Canadian government, the researchers set out to develop a historical record of the contamination, analyzing sediment dating back about 50 years from six small and shallow lakes north...
Climate change may bring another mosquito-borne illness to US
Posted by Courier-Journal: None Given on January 7th, 2013
Courier-Journal: It's possible that a serious mosquito-borne virus — with no known vaccine or treatment — could migrate from Central Africa and Southeast Asia to the United States within a year, new research suggests.
The chances of a U.S. outbreak of the Chikungunya virus (CHIKV) varies by season and geography, with those regions typified by longer stretches of warm weather facing longer periods of high risk, according to the researchers' new computer model.
"The only way for this disease to be transmitted...
Brazil’s hot, dry summer may lead to energy rationing
Posted by Reuters: Anthony Boadle on January 7th, 2013
Reuters: Brazil is facing the possibility of widespread energy rationing for the first time since 2001 due to a hot, dry summer that has deprived hydroelectric dams of the water they need and driven up power consumption in stifling cities.
Electricity experts say that even if the country escapes rationing it may have to make up for the shortfall by resorting to increased use of thermo-electric power - which is more expensive, and could undermine President Dilma Rousseff's plans to lower energy rates this...
Protests Ignite Nationwide Targeting TransCanada’s Keystone XL
Posted by EcoWatch: Tar Sands Blockade on January 7th, 2013
EcoWatch: Eight youth climate activists staged a sit-in today at the TransCanada Corporation’s office in Westborough, MA to protest the Keystone XL pipeline.
More than 100 blockaders stormed the lobby of TransCanada’s Keystone XL office in Houston this morning. Protesters danced, spilled black ‘tar sands’ balloons and hung neon orange hazard tape to highlight the deadly effects of TransCanada’s corporate greed on communities and ecosystems.
After being forced out of the lobby by police, the protesters...
Mississippi River has enough water to stay open: Senator Durbin
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on January 7th, 2013
Reuters: The drought-drained Mississippi River will stay open for commerce as workers make progress clearing rock from a critical stretch of the nation's busiest waterway, U.S. Senator Dick Durbin said on Monday after touring the river on a boat.
The White House has said "any option is on the table" to keep the river open to commerce if water levels drop too low, Durbin said in a phone interview.
Durbin, the No. 2 Democrat in the Senate, and other officials took to the water near Thebes, Illinois, where...
80+ Groups Challenge Gov. Cuomo to Lead on Climate Change and Protect His State from Fracking
Posted by EcoWatch: None Given on January 7th, 2013
EcoWatch: A coalition of national environmental and progressive groups--including 350.org, Center for Biological Diversity, Democracy for America, Environment America, Friends of the Earth, Food & Water Watch, Greenpeace and Sierra Club--joined with other national and New York organizations to send Governor Cuomo a letter challenging him to be a national leader in addressing climate change. The letter applauds his stated commitment to addressing climate change and environmental protection, but highlights...
Analysis: Brazil’s once-envied energy matrix a victim of “hubris”
Posted by Reuters: Jeb Blount on January 7th, 2013
Reuters: Just five years ago, Brazil's mostly "green" energy landscape was the envy of nations dependent on dirtier sources of power and the pride of a government that believed it was leading the country to economic superpower status.
Three-quarters of electricity came from renewable hydro power and the main automobile fuel was home-grown sugarcane ethanol. Plus, Brazil had just found massive oil fields off its coast, putting it on a path to become the world's No. 3 oil producer after Russia and Saudi...
New Experiments Yield Insights into State of Permafrost Carbon
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on January 7th, 2013
Yale Environment 360: A team of U.S. researchers recently deployed a suite of technologies in the Arctic tundra that they say will provide a better understanding of the carbon contained in permafrost soils and how much is likely to be released as the planet warms. At an experimental plot near Barrow, Alaska, scientists are using several techniques, from ground-penetrating radar systems dragged on sleds to airborne instruments that measure micro-topography, to better understand how different layers of permafrost are interrelated...