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Archive for January 24th, 2013
Most unknown species can be named
Posted by BBC: Melissa Hogenboom on January 24th, 2013
BBC: Most of the world's plant and animal species could be named before they go extinct, claim researchers.
Writing in the journal Science, the researchers said it could be achieved this century.
This is largely due to an increase in taxonomists - the people who describe species new to science.
Although there is an extinction crisis, the rates are lower than previously expected, the scientists report.
Discovering and naming the world's species is critical for their conservation and can be...
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Animal kingdom is smaller than we thought (but that’s good news)
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on January 24th, 2013
Independent: How many species are there?
It was a question that fascinated Charles Darwin, and generations of biologists who followed him, with recent estimates ranging from a few million to as many as 100 million – now scientists believe the true number of animals and plants is nearer to 5 million.
The incredible diversity of life on Earth and the sheer scale of the taxonomic problem have mesmerised biologists trying to figure out the total number of living species. But a group of biologists believes the...
A Rallying Cry for Naming All Species on Earth
Posted by New York Times: Rachel Nuwer on January 24th, 2013
New York Times: Most species will go extinct before they are ever discovered -- or so some researchers believe. It is something that conservationists agonize over at professional meetings and in scientific papers. But the situation may not be so hopeless after all, one team argues. Naming all of earth’s species is an endeavor well within science’s grasp, they say, if only researchers will focus their efforts.
In a paper published in Science, the team delivers good news in three-fold. Taxonomy, or the branch of...
United Kingdom: Centrica talks down shale gas but may still invest
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on January 24th, 2013
Guardian: Sam Laidlaw did his bit to rain on the Davos parade when he dissed the prospects for shale gas as the game-changer that will shake countries out of their economic torpor. Yes, said the Centrica boss, shale had produced astonishing changes in the price of natural gas in America, but it was unrealistic to imagine this could be replicated – at least in Britain.
That is not what those on the Alpine jaunt want to hear. Global political and business leaders are desperate to find the equivalent of a...
Forests in Kenya worth much more intact says government report
Posted by Mongabay: Liz Kimbrough on January 24th, 2013
Mongabay: Kenya's forests provide greater services and wealth to the nation when they are left standing. A landmark report by The Kenyan Government and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) addresses the importance of forests to the well-being of the nation, putting Kenya among a pioneering group of countries that aim to center development plans around nature-based assets.
"The study by UNEP on valuing Kenya's montane forests is an enormous breath of fresh air that is welcomed by conservationists...
Eyes Turn to Antarctica as Study Shows Greenland’s Ice Has Endured Warmer Climates
Posted by New York Times: Andrew C. Revkin on January 24th, 2013
New York Times: An important discussion is developing among climate and polar researchers around the central point of a landmark Nature paper on Greenland conditions during Earth`s last (very warm) interval between ice ages. The paper, in which a critically important Greenland ice core is analyzed by 133 authors from a host of research centers, concludes that the vast ice sheet largely endured over a period of 6,000 years that was warmer than what is forecast for coming decades.
The graph above, with the Eemian...
Obama faces Keystone dilemma after Senate urges pipeline approval
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on January 24th, 2013
Guardian: Barack Obama faced intense pressure to break with his inauguration day promise on climate change on Thursday, after a bipartisan majority in the Senate urged approval of the Keystone XL pipeline. The letter from 53 senators said there was no reason for Obama to deny the pipeline – as campaigners are demanding – because the project had now undergone exhaustive environmental review. The letter, signed by Democrats as well as Republicans, underlined the high political cost to Obama of living up to...
India: Climate Change Adaptation in Rural India: A Green Infrastructure Approach
Posted by World Resources Institute: Erin Gray on January 24th, 2013
World Resources Institute: Water is a scarce resource in India, especially in the state of Maharashtra, where most rainfall is limited to the monsoon season from June through September. The Government of India has long promoted a Participatory Watershed Development (PWD) approach to deal with this scarcity, focusing on technical and social interventions to restore barren landscapes, boost agricultural production, and improve livelihoods.
The PWD approach is now facing a major challenge: climate change. Over the past dozen...
Kerry says global climate change is threat to US
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on January 24th, 2013
Washington Post: Sen. John Kerry pointed to climate change as among the top international threats facing the United States at his nomination hearing Thursday, cheering environmentalists and dismaying oil industry officials, who have been watching how his confirmation could affect the fate of the Keystone XL pipeline.
In his opening statement before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, the Massachusetts Democrat said that American foreign policy "is defined by life-threatening issues like climate change,' along...
U.S. drought expands in top wheat-growing state of Kansas
Posted by Reuters: Carey Gillam on January 24th, 2013
Reuters: Crop-killing drought deepened in Kansas over the last week, further jeopardizing this season's production of winter wheat, a key U.S. crop.
Kansas is generally the top U.S. wheat-growing state, but the new crop planted last fall has been struggling with a lack of soil moisture. Without rain and/or heavy snow before spring, millions of acres of wheat could be ruined.
But a new climatology report issued Thursday showed no signs of improvement for Kansas, or neighboring farm states. Instead, drought...