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Archive for January 15th, 2013
2012 was among 10 warmest years in global record: NASA/NOAA
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on January 15th, 2013
Reuters: Last year was among the top 10 warmest in the modern global record, two U.S. climate-watching agencies reported on Tuesday, less than a week after 2012 was declared the hottest ever in the contiguous United States.
The U.S. space agency NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration jointly issued two reports on 2012 world temperatures. NASA ranked last year the ninth-warmest since record-keeping began in 1880, while NOAA found last year was the tenth-warmest.
The difference in...
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A Wild Start for Weather in the New Year
Posted by National Geographic: Peter Miller on January 15th, 2013
National Geographic: Here we go again. The weather's going to extremes: a snowstorm in Jerusalem, wildfires in Australia, a cold snap in China, a heat wave in Brazil. Based on the first two weeks of the new year, 2013's picking up right where 2012 left off.
(What's up with the weather? Read the September 2012 National Geographic story and see a gallery of extreme weather pictures.)
As much as 8 inches (20 centimeters) of snow fell on Jerusalem (map) last Thursday, closing roads across the city. It was the biggest...
US east-coast cities are ‘sitting ducks’ for storms, says top Obama scientist
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on January 15th, 2013
Guardian: Cities on the United States east coast are "sitting ducks" for the next big storm because of the destruction wrought by hurricane Sandy, one of Barack Obama's top scientists warned on Tuesday.
Marcia McNutt, who last week announced her resignation as director of the US Geological Survey, told a conference that Sandy had left coastal communities dangerously exposed to future storms of any size.
"Superstorm Sandy was a threshold for the north-east and we have already crossed it," McNutt told...
Gold mine approved in French Guiana’s only national park
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on January 15th, 2013
Mongabay: Tensions have risen in the small Amazonian community of Saül in French Guiana, after locals discovered that the French government approved a large-scale gold mining operation near their town-and inside French Guiana's only national park-against their wishes. Run by mining company, Rexma, locals and scientists both fear that the mine would lead to deforestation, water pollution, and a loss in biodiversity for a community dependent on the forest and ecotourism.
The gold mine isn't necessarily illegal...
By the Numbers: Analyzing the U.S. National Climate Assessment
Posted by World Resources Institute: Kelly Levin on January 15th, 2013
World Resources Institute: The draft U.S. National Climate Assessment was released last week, confirming that the climate is changing, that it is primarily due to human activities, and that the United States is already being adversely impacted. These top-line messages should come as no surprise, as they reconfirm the major findings of previous National Climate Assessments and of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s recent reports.
But the 1,000-plus pages of the Assessment also carry important findings--many...
Achieving a Sustainable Food System with Organic Farming
Posted by Worldwatch: None Given on January 15th, 2013
Worldwatch: Despite a slight decline between 2009 and 2010, since 1999 the global land area farmed organically has expanded more than threefold to 37 million hectares, according to new research conducted by the Worldwatch Institute for its Vital Signs Online service (www.worldwatch.org). Regions with the largest certified organic agricultural land in 2010 were Oceania, including Australia, New Zealand, and Pacific Island nations (12.1 million hectares); Europe (10 million hectares); and Latin America (8.4 million...
Scientists Call on President to Reject the Keystone XL Pipeline
Posted by EcoWatch: 350.org on January 15th, 2013
EcoWatch: Thousands of concerned citizens will come to Washington, DC on Feb. 17, President`s Day weekend, to oppose the Keystone XL pipeline.
Eighteen of the nation’s top climate scientists released a letter to President Obama today urging him to say no to the Keystone XL tar sands pipeline.
“Eighteen months ago some of us wrote you about the proposed Keystone XL tar sands pipeline, explaining why in our opinion its construction ran counter to both national and planetary interests," wrote the scientists....
Virginia Waters Down Report On Impacts Of Climate Change After Tea Party Complaints
Posted by ThinkProgress: Rebecca Leber on January 15th, 2013
ThinkProgress: Earlier this year, Virginia’s legislature commissioned a study to determine the impacts of climate change on the state’s shores. After Tea Party complaints, lawmakers approved the report on condition it strike the words "climate change" and "sea level rise" from the title.
This week, Virginia released its analysis, under the title "Recurrent Flooding Study for Tidewater Virginia." The report discusses the threat of flooding and rising sea levels to coastal Virginia, but gives less notice to the...
What Climate Change Means For Seattle And The Northwest
Posted by Oregon Public Radio: None Given on January 15th, 2013
Oregon Public Radio: City officials predict that by 2050 parts of Seattle will be under water at high tide as global sea levels rise.
At a press conference held Monday on the edge of Elliott Bay near downtown Seattle the city council announced a new plan to take action on climate change.
Councilor Mike O’Brien stood before the wintery gray waters of Puget Sound and pointed to a large map of the Seattle shoreline.
O’Brien said the effects of climate change will hit Seattle right where it hurts: the industrial...
Dry outlook troublesome for drought-stricken U.S
Posted by Reuters: Sam Nelson on January 15th, 2013
Reuters: Forecasts for a return to dry weather for the balance of January in the already drought-stricken U.S. western Midwest and Plains are renewing worries among agriculture interests following the worst drought in more than 50 years in 2012. "Dry weather will prevail in core drought areas of the western Midwest and Central Plains through the last half of January," said Joel Widenor, agricultural meteorologist for Commodity Weather Group. "This will also prevent any long-term stabilization in river levels...