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Archive for January 17th, 2013
Fish unable to pass through dams in U.S. presents ‘cautionary tale’ for developing world
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on January 17th, 2013
Mongabay: Dams create a largely impenetrable barrier for fish even when the dams were installed with specially-built passages, according to a new study in Conservation Letters. The scientists found that migrating fish largely failed to use the passages in the U.S., resulting in far fewer moving through the state-of-the-art hydroelectric dams than had been promised. The researchers say that their findings are a "cautionary tale" for developing nations.
"It may be time to admit failure of fish passage and...
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2 Reports on Oil Sands Paint a Dire Picture
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on January 17th, 2013
New York Times: Opponents of the Keystone XL pipeline and the heavy Canadian crude oil that it would carry released two reports on Thursday asserting that the environmental impacts of the project are worse than previously estimated, and urged the Obama administration to veto it.
One report, from the anti-petroleum group Oil Change International, finds that existing studies of emissions from mining, transporting and refining the oil from oil sands formations in Alberta fails to account for the impact of petroleum...
Global approach to monitoring biodiversity loss?
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on January 17th, 2013
ScienceDaily: In contrast to climate change, there is no coordinated global system in place for measuring and reporting on biodiversity change or loss. An international team of biologists is now addressing this gap.
In Science today, 30 researchers led by Henrique Miguel Pereira, from the Centre for Environmental Biology of the University of Lisbon, proposed a global biodiversity monitoring system based on a set of essential variables.
By determining the most essential measurements to accurately and usefully...
U.S. drought eases in some areas, but Plains still suffer
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on January 17th, 2013
Reuters: A series of rain showers helped ease drought conditions in parts of the United States over the last week, but drought expanded slightly in parts of the U.S. Plains, according to a report issued Thursday.
Officials in north-central Oklahoma declared a state of emergency due to record low reservoir conditions and public and private interests throughout the central United States hardest hit by drought were examining measures to try to cope with ongoing drought.
Roughly 58.87 percent of the contiguous...
Report: Climate Change Causes Plants to Flower Historically Early
Posted by U.S. News and World Report: Jason Koebler on January 17th, 2013
U.S. News and World Report: Dozens of flowering plants have gradually begun blooming earlier as average temperatures rise.
Spring has, well, sprung, earlier than ever in the past few years. A new study suggests global warming is causing dozens of flower species to bloom more than a month earlier than they did in the past.
According to the study, published in the journal PLOS ONE Wednesday, dozens of flowering plants in Massachusetts and Wisconsin have gradually begun blooming earlier as average temperatures creep up....
Keystone XL pipeline, climate change among second-term energy challenges for Obama
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on January 17th, 2013
Associated Press: President Barack Obama's second-term energy agenda is taking shape and, despite the departure of key Cabinet officials, it looks a lot like the first: more reliance on renewable energy sources, such as wind and solar, and expanded production of oil and natural gas. Obama also is promising to address climate change, an issue he has acknowledged was sometimes overlooked during his first term.
"The president has been clear that tackling climate change and enhancing energy security will be among his...
Obama to confront oil pipeline, climate change
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on January 17th, 2013
Associated Press: President Barack Obama's second-term energy agenda is taking shape and, despite the departure of key Cabinet officials, it looks a lot like the first: more reliance on renewable energy sources, such as wind and solar, and expanded production of oil and natural gas. Obama also is promising to address climate change, an issue he has acknowledged was sometimes overlooked during his first term.
''The president has been clear that tackling climate change and enhancing energy security will be among...
Climate change expected to hit Minn. with rising temps, moving forests
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on January 17th, 2013
Minnesota Public Radio: Every Thursday, MPR meteorologist Paul Huttner joins The Daily Circuit to talk about the latest research on our changing climate and the consequences that we're seeing here in Minnesota and worldwide. This week on Climate Cast, we talked about 2012 being the 10th hottest year on record globally and a new forecast that predicts Minnesota's average temperature warming 5 degrees by 2050 with current greenhouse gas emissions. Here is an edited transcript of the conversation: Kerri Miller: I know you...
Sustainable development after Rio+20 is ‘in limbo’
Posted by SciDevNet: None Given on January 17th, 2013
SciDevNet: The weak wording of the Rio+20 summit agreement and delays in setting up the UN working groups on sustainable development have left progress on some of the post Rio+20 agenda in limbo, according to a science officer at the International Council for Science (ICSU), which represented the scientific community at the summit. The scientific community is unsure how to proceed towards setting up the new sustainable development goals (SDGs), agreed at the summit and expected to be finalised in 2015, and...
Sri Lanka: Rural Water Projects Depend on Women
Posted by Inter Press Service: Amantha Perera on January 17th, 2013
Inter Press Service: During the dry season, when dirt roads are cracked from the relentless heat, the sight of women walking miles, balancing pots of water on their heads, is common in rural Sri Lanka.
While the men tend to paddy fields, the women are left with the arduous task of collecting water for household use. They account for every drop of water consumed, utilised or wasted -- making them crucial players in rural water projects.
Talpothta is a typical agricultural village in Sri Lanka's dry zone, whose life...