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Archive for January 12th, 2013
From Corn Belt To Main Street: The Drought’s Far-Reaching Grasp
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on January 12th, 2013
National Public Radio: The U.S. had its hottest year on record last year. That heat, combined with the relatively dry winter that came before, has brought a historic drought.
From forest fires and low crop yields, to infrastructure and recreation, the drought has been costly, with early estimates putting the cost at between $50 billion and $80 billion.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture has declared a disaster area in more than 1,000 counties, and now the drought is hitting America's most important waterway - the...
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US scientists in fresh alert over effects of global warming
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on January 12th, 2013
Guardian: Global warming is already having a major impact on life in America, a report by US government scientists has warned. The draft version of the US National Climate Assessment reveals that increasing storm surges, floods, melting glaciers and permafrost, and intensifying droughts are having a profound effect on the lives of Americans.
"Corn producers in Iowa, oyster growers in Washington state and maple syrup producers have observed changes in their local climate that are outside of their experience,"...
Will the Mercury Treaty Negotiations Reduce Mercury Poisoning Around the World?
Posted by EcoWatch: Waterkeeper Alliance on January 12th, 2013
EcoWatch: Delegates arrived at the Geneva International Conference Center this morning for regional meetings before tomorrow’s start of the mercury treaty negotiations. Most of these regional meetings were closed. Of those that were open, the news is that European Union, Central Eastern Europe and Asia Pacific support the name of "Minamata Treaty." But will they ensure that the treaty will be sufficient to prevent mercury poisoning from occurring around the world? At a lunchtime panel, world-renowned Professor...
Impact of climate change hitting US, congressional report finds
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on January 12th, 2013
Reuters: The consequences of climate change are now hitting the United States on several fronts, including health, infrastructure, water supply, agriculture and especially more frequent severe weather, a congressionally mandated study has concluded.
A draft of the U.S. National Climate Assessment, released on Friday, said observable change to the climate in the past half-century "is due primarily to human activities, predominantly the burning of fossil fuel," and that no areas of the United States were...
Texas Drought Pushes Lawmakers to Focus on Water in New Session
Posted by New York Times: Manny Fernandez on January 12th, 2013
New York Times: There is usually no shortage of controversial and politically divisive issues for lawmakers to address in the opening days of a state legislative session, from abortion to immigration to gun rights. But throughout the opening of the 83rd Texas Legislature last week, one of the most frequently discussed topics had bipartisan support: improving the state’s water infrastructure as the population booms and a devastating two-year drought drags on. Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst and other Republicans proposed...
Climate change having impact across U.S
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on January 12th, 2013
United Press International: A congressional study found climate change is affecting the United States on several fronts, including health and agriculture, at a faster rate than expected.
The Third National Climate Assessment found that climate change, driven by human activity, is increasingly impacting infrastructure, water supplies, crops and shorelines, the Los Angeles Times reported Friday.
"Climate change, once considered an issue for a distant future, has moved firmly into the present," the report stated. "Americans...
Federal Scientists Detail Stronger Evidence of Global Warming in National Climate Assessment
Posted by EcoWatch: None Given on January 12th, 2013
EcoWatch: A map depicts temperature changes over the past 20 years, compared to the average between 1901 and 1960. "The period from 2001 to 2011 was warmer than any previous decade in every region," according to the National Climate Assessment.
The U.S. Global Change Research Program (USGCRP) released its draft National Climate Assessment on Jan. 11, just a week after the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration confirmed the U.S. experienced its warmest year on record.
According to the Letter...
Severe Weather in the Middle East – Another Result of a Changing Climate?
Posted by Environmental News Network: Laurie Balbo, Green Prophet on January 12th, 2013
Environmental News Network: Severe weather is pummeling the Middle East. Latest reports puts the death toll at dozens. I’m fresh back from a trip to my family's two homesteads: the USA, where we toured New Jersey's hurricane-battered shoreline, and the UK, where new lakes of rainwater cover Cotswolds' fields and the British Meteorological Office declared the highest annual precipitation since they began keeping records. An exceptional spate of extreme weather events? Or is this climate change? (I'll duck under my keyboard so...
Cuomo greets findings of Hurricane Sandy commission
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on January 12th, 2013
Associated Press: A commission formed to examine ways to guard against storms like Hurricane Sandy, which caused extensive damage on the east coast of the United States in October, has called for flood walls in subways, water pumps at airports and sea barriers along the coast.
The commission's findings were officially released Friday by the office of governor Andrew Cuomo of New York State, who formed the commission. The report recommends short- and long-term protections in transportation and with building codes....
Introducing … Frontline Online A weekly round up of action from the grassroots
Posted by Ecologist: Lorna Howarth on January 12th, 2013
Ecologist: There's little good environmental news coming from Canada these days, but two recent stories buck this trend. The 'Idle No More' movement consisting of Canada's First Nations people has organized the biggest Indigenous mass mobilization in recent history to highlight what they consider to be an all out assault on Indigenous rights, in particular, recent alterations to Bill C-45 which removes environmental protection and erodes long-standing treaties with First Nations people under the Indian Act....