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Archive for January 17th, 2013
A Gentle Giant of a Catfish Fades From Sight
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on January 17th, 2013
New York Times: The captain leaned heavily into his pole, nudging the boat’s nose off the sandy bank. As the boat swung into the swift current of the Mekong, he scrambled back behind the wheel, the engine roared, and we resumed our downstream journey toward Luang Prabang, Laos.
After a few minutes, we motored through a section of river where the channel was flanked on both sides by knifelike boulders and outcrops.
“That looks like a dragon’s back,” I said, pointing to an arching curve of rocky plates.
Our...
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Israel: Desertification solution? Olive Trees
Posted by Environmental News Network: Billie Frenkel, Ynet News on January 17th, 2013
Environmental News Network: The planting of ten of thousands of olive trees in arid areas in Israel have proved highly beneficial, according to a study which said the trees provide shade for animals, purge the air and even produce excellent olive oil. The study was conducted by the Faculty of Agriculture at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, with the help of the Agricultural Research Organization. Dr. Zohar Kerem, head of the olive oil research lab in the faculty's biochemistry institute, who participated in the study, explained...
Climate Concerns are Key in Keystone XL Pipeline Debate
Posted by EcoWatch: Nathan Lemphers on January 17th, 2013
EcoWatch: [Editor's note: Today, scientists and advocates speaking at the National Press Club in Washington unveiled new research showing that the Keystone XL tar sands pipeline would damage the climate much more than previously thought, by dramatically expanding tar sands production and because it will lead to increased combustion of a particularly dirty form of oil. Two reports were presented today, including Petroleum Coke: The Coal Hiding in the Tar Sands revealing that current analyses of the impacts...
Why Canadian Tar Sands are the Most Environmentally Destructive Project on Earth
Posted by EcoWatch: Lorne Stockman, Oil Change International on January 17th, 2013
EcoWatch: [Editor's note: Today, scientists and advocates speaking at the National Press Club in Washington unveiled new research showing that the Keystone XL tar sands pipeline would damage the climate much more than previously thought, by dramatically expanding tar sands production and because it will lead to increased combustion of a particularly dirty form of oil. Two reports were presented today, including Petroleum Coke: The Coal Hiding in the Tar Sands revealing that current analyses of the impacts...
Horn of Africa ‘should grow more climate-hardy cassava’
Posted by SciDevNet: Mekonnen Teshome on January 17th, 2013
SciDevNet: Farmers in the Horn of Africa should focus on growing more improved cassava varieties, which are high-yielding and resilient to drought, according to researchers.
The improved varieties developed by the Nigeria-based International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) and tested in Ethiopia, may help tackle famine in the Horn of Africa, an area that was severely hit by drought and hunger in 2011.
SPEED READ
Improved cassava varieties show impressive increases in yield Wider cultivation...
Saskatchewan leader urges Obama to approve Keystone XL pipeline
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on January 17th, 2013
Reuters: The premier of Saskatchewan led 10 U.S. state governors on Thursday in urging President Barack Obama to approve TransCanada Corp's contentious and long-delayed Keystone XL oil pipeline, citing energy-security benefits in both countries.
Saskatchewan does not have the massive oil sands resources that neighboring Alberta does and which would move in large volumes to the southern United States in the proposed $5.3 billion conduit. But it does have some of the Bakken light oil reserves that would...
Global Warming and the Rare Haleakala Silverswords
Posted by Environmental News Network: Roger Greenway on January 17th, 2013
Environmental News Network: One of the most spectacular sights in the Hawaiian Islands is the Haleakala Volcano. This amazing volcano rises more than 10,000 feet from near sea level at its base. The ecosystems change dramatically as you drive up the twisting road that takes you to the summit. Near the top, you start to see the Silverswords. They are not numerous, but stand out sharply from the dark red rocky soil they grow on. In the early 20th century, the Silverswords suffered, but they have made a strong recovery from early...
Climate Change Threatens Spectacular Hawaiian Plant
Posted by LiveScience: Becky Oskin on January 17th, 2013
LiveScience: One of Hawaii's iconic plants is again at risk.
The striking and rare Haleakal? silversword, found only on the high volcanic slopes of Maui, is on the decline, scientists report today (Jan. 15) in the journal Global Change Biology.
First, the plant was nearly killed off by cows and collectors starting in the 1880s, then conservationists made it a success story after the 1930s. Now climate change is bringing about a new collapse.
The culprit is shifting weather patterns, which have made the...
Red Sea-Dead Sea link feasible, World Bank says
Posted by Reuters: Ari Rabinovitch on January 17th, 2013
Reuters: It is possible to use the Red Sea to replenish the shrinking Dead Sea, the World Bank has determined after years of studying whether such a connecting lifeline could work.
The idea of linking the two bodies of water has been around for more than a century, but the project took on a new urgency when the shore of the Dead Sea was found to be receding at a rate of more than one meter (3.3 feet) every year.
A World Bank feasibility report published this month said an underground pipeline would...
Illegal oil refineries in the Niger Delta – in pictures
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on January 17th, 2013
Guardian: The Nigerian-born Reuters photographer Akintunde Akinleye won a World Press Photo award in 2007. He documents the dangerous practice of illegal oil refining in the Niger Delta, which damages the environment and the health of local people