RSS Feed
Archive for January 28th, 2013
Cities alter weather for thousands of miles downwind, study finds
Posted by Daily Climate: Brett Israel on January 28th, 2013
Daily Climate: Had a slushy ski trip to the mountains this winter? The nearest big city might be to blame.
A region's weather can be swayed by the nearest big city, even if it's 1,000 miles away, according to new research. Scientists found that the heat streaming from major metropolitan areas can widen the jet stream and tweak other workings of the atmosphere, according to the study, published Sunday in the journal Nature Climate Change.
Many of the northern hemisphere's cities lie directly under major atmospheric...
Posted in 
Drought seen worsening in U.S. Plains and west Midwest
Posted by Reuters: Sam Nelson on January 28th, 2013
Reuters: Dry weather continues to plague the drought-stricken U.S. Plains and western Midwest with only light showers and snowfall expected this week, an agricultural meteorologist said on Monday.
"The Plains and the northwest Midwest will still struggle with drought, there's not a whole lot of relief seen," said John Dee, meteorologist for Global Weather Monitoring.
Dee said there would be some light rain in the eastern portions of Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas late Monday and Tuesday, with heavier rainfall...
Heavy rain and strong winds prompt UK flood warnings
Posted by Guardian: Steven Morris on January 28th, 2013
Guardian: Two spells of very heavy rain and winds of up to 80mph are expected to cause flooding and travel problems in some parts of the UK over the next few days. Up to 7.5cm (3in) of rain is due to drench areas of south-west England, where many rivers and streams are already full because of melting snow and the weeks of soggy weather before the cold snap. Staff at the Environment Agency are particularly concerned that by Tuesday there could be quite serious flooding in Devon, Somerset and parts of south-east...
Pakistan, UN seek to cut risk of glacial lake floods
Posted by AlertNet: Rina Saeed Khan on January 28th, 2013
AlertNet: Abdul Jabbar was in his house in the Bindu Gol valley of Pakistan's northern Chitral district when a glacial lake burst through the ridge holding it back high above.
"We felt the ground shaking and heard the roar of the water, and we ran out of our homes,' he said. The 2010 flood destroyed a few dwellings in his village of Drongagh, as well as many orchards, cultivated fields and water channels. "One person died in Shogram village when she chased after her livestock and was swept away by the water,'...
Big Cities Could Alter Weather Of Areas Over 1,000 Miles Away
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on January 28th, 2013
RedOrbit: Large metropolitan areas could be drastically impacting the weather where you live, even if they’re hundreds of miles away, researchers from the Scripps Institution of Oceanography (SIO); the University of California, San Diego (UCSD); Florida State University (FSU); and the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) claim in a new study.
The researchers, who report their findings in the journal Nature Climate Change, discovered that the heat generated by day-to-day human activities in large...
Better than Organic
Posted by Inter Press Service: Gunter Pauli on January 28th, 2013
Inter Press Service: While in the early nineties I still had to search half the world to find certified organic children's wear, today even mainstream shops carry organic clothing, especially for children.
I still have to pay a premium price like twenty years ago, but the products are easily available since an increasing number of brands pride themselves on offering natural products.
Whereas we have debated the use of biofuels that increase the cost of food, especially when subsidies divert corn from tortillas...
Climate change endangers elephants, study says
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on January 28th, 2013
PhysOrg: By making new use of historical records, scientists have shown that climate change could have a greater impact on Myanmar's elephants' dwindling numbers than previously thought.
Hannah Mumby from the University of Sheffield, who led the study, found that the already endangered species faces further struggle as even the slightest temperature change can lower their chances of survival dramatically.
Climate change leaves the animals at risk of drought, disease and death as the heat causes freshwater...
Cargill Cattle Plant Closes, Global Warming contributing factor?
Posted by Triple Pundit: RP Siegel on January 28th, 2013
Triple Pundit: It sounds a bit like justice served, doesn't it? When Cargill announced the closing of its Plainview, Texas, cattle operation, they cited a record low cattle supply as the result of the region's severe drought. Though scientific models don't yet have the precision to directly tie a particular weather event, be it a storm or a drought, to global warming trends, there is plenty of evidence indicating that drought is clearly increasing as the result of the changing climate. More clear is the linkage...
Drill reaches deep Antarctic lake
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on January 28th, 2013
BBC: An American attempt to bore down into Lake Whillans, a body of water buried almost 1km under the Antarctic ice, has achieved its aim.
Scientists reported on Sunday that sensors on their drill system had noted a change in pressure, indicating contact had been made with the lake.
A camera was then sent down to verify the breakthrough.
The Whillans project is one of a number of such ventures trying to investigate Antarctica's buried lakes.
In December, a British team abandoned its efforts...
United Kingdom: Deadly fish removed from lakes
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on January 28th, 2013
BBC: Work to remove a deadly fish species from three lakes at the Millennium Coastal Park in Llanelli is entering the second phase.
Topmouth gudgeon arrived in the UK from Asia by accident a few years ago and carries a disease which can kill native salmon and trout.
Environment Agency Wales will use a chemical for the operation.
It says it is confident its eradication programme can rid Wales of the fish.
Two other lakes at the park were treated late last year and from next week, the agency...