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Archive for January 18th, 2013
No relief in sight for drought-stricken Plains
Posted by Reuters: Sam Nelson on January 18th, 2013
Reuters: Dry weather should continue through at least the end of January in the drought-stricken U.S. Plains and a blast of Arctic cold air in the Midwest early next week poses a threat to unprotected livestock and possibly some wheat, an agricultural meteorologist said on Friday.
"The hard red winter wheat belt in the Plains looks quiet, dry and cooler next week, but there shouldn't be a cold air threat in the Plains," said John Dee, meteorologist for Global Weather Monitoring.
Dee said temperatures...
Posted in 
Australia: Sydney experiences its hottest day on record
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on January 18th, 2013
Agence France-Presse: Temperatures in Sydney on Friday hit their highest levels since records began 150 years ago, after an Australian government agency warned of more frequent and intense heatwaves in the future.
While a vicious cold snap has recently hit Russia and eastern Europe and the Middle East has suffered its worst winter storm in a decade, Australian firefighters were battling scores of wildfires in stifling summer heat.
In Sydney, Australia's biggest city, the temperature smashed the previous hottest...
As drought persists, many scramble to save every drop of water
Posted by Reuters: Carey Gillam on January 18th, 2013
Reuters: The drought that crippled many communities across the nation last year shows little sign of retreating, and the threat of persistent water scarcity is spurring efforts to preserve every drop.
As the drought of 2012 creeps into 2013, experts say the slow-spreading catastrophe presents near-term problems for a key U.S. agricultural region and potential long-term challenges for millions of Americans.
"Everyone is wondering whether this dry weather is the new norm ... or an anomaly that will soon...
Superstorm destruction was good news for jolly prophet of doom
Posted by Greenwire: Annie Snider on January 18th, 2013
Greenwire: For more than 40 years, the renowned coastal geologist has preached a message of gloom: The beaches are moving. People need to get out of the way.
His message was unwelcome to many powerful people. Real estate developers slammed Pilkey in the press; wealthy alumni of his academic home, Duke University, heckled him during speeches; revelers in seaside bars challenged him to fistfights; and the town of Folly Beach, S.C., officially declared him persona non grata. Yet Pilkey has persisted and scored...
Mercury emissions threaten ocean, lake food webs
Posted by Environmental Health News: Brian Bienkowski on January 18th, 2013
Environmental Health News: As United Nations delegates end their mercury treaty talks today, scientists warn that ongoing emissions are more of a threat to food webs than the mercury already in the environment. At the same time, climate change is likely to alter food webs and patterns of mercury transport in places such as the Arctic, which will further complicate efforts to keep the contaminant out of people and their food. The discovery that new mercury seems to be more of a threat than old mercury could add impetus for...
Markell plans to address sea-level rise, teacher pay
Posted by Cape Gazette: None Given on January 18th, 2013
Cape Gazette: Officials are working to address sea-level rise, school safety and job creation for Delaware. Gov. Jack Markell delivered his state of the state address, surrounded by legislators and other elected officials, Jan. 17, at Legislative Hall in Dover.
In the speech, “This is the world we now live in,” Markell asked the General Assembly to help him pass legislation to fund infrastructure projects to address flooding, enact legislation to ban certain firearms and raise the pay for teachers.
The governor...
Thailand courts back locals in green fight
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on January 18th, 2013
Bangkok Post: Residents fighting for their rights to live in a clean environment and to participate in natural resource management have won two historic court cases in the past eight days.
On Jan 10, the Supreme Administrative Court ordered the Pollution Control Department (PCD) to pay nearly 4 million baht in compensation to 22 Karen villagers affected by lead contamination at Klity Creek, caused by a mining company in Kanchanaburi's Thong Pha Phum district.
The verdict awards each plaintiff 177,999.55...
Drought shrinks slightly: NOAA issues gloomy outlook
Posted by Climate Change: Andrew Freedman and Dan Yawitz on January 18th, 2013
Climate Change: The national drought footprint shrank slightly this week, as heavy rains fell across the South, Southeast, Midwest and parts of the Mid-Atlantic states, and major snowfall blanketed parts of the Rocky Mountains and Northern Cascades, bringing relief to those regions. However, the hardest-hit drought region -- the Great Plains -- continued to experience drier-than-average conditions, with the drought continuing to hold on.
A new federal drought outlook issued on Thursday projects that the drought...
Wild weather: Extreme is the new normal
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on January 18th, 2013
New Scientist: ALL eyes have been on Australia in recent weeks as a blistering heatwave triggered huge wildfires. The result has been a slew of amazing stories, including a family escaping by jumping into the sea and meteorologists adding new colours to heat maps.
But Australia's fires are just the most dramatic of a cluster of ongoing extreme weather events, including droughts in the US and Brazil and a lethal cold snap in Asia (see "Drought, fire, ice: world is gripped by extreme weather").
Lumping extreme...
Australian inferno previews fire-prone future
Posted by New Scientist: Michael Slezak on January 18th, 2013
New Scientist: CLIMATE change is ramping up fire risk around the world. In Australia, home to some of the most fire-prone regions on Earth, the bush fires raging now could be a taster of what's to come.
Parts of the world where the fire risk is rising can learn from Australia's experience, says John Handmer, director of the Centre for Risk and Community at RMIT University in Melbourne. A good place to start would be "uninhabitable zones" - places where the fire risk is so high no homes should be built.
Such...