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Archive for January, 2013
Australia: Extreme weather to put strain on disaster services
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on January 19th, 2013
Age: THE capacity of fire and emergency services to respond to natural disasters will need to be increased if extreme weather events intensify because of climate change, the council representing Australia's emergency services has warned.
The Australasian Fire and Emergency Service Authorities Council (AFAC), which represents bodies including the Country Fire Authority and the Metropolitan Fire Brigade, says any increases in extreme weather events will have implications for funding of staff and infrastructure....
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Comments Off on Australia: Extreme weather to put strain on disaster servicesRegulations on Fracking Are Revised
Posted by New York Times: John Broder on January 19th, 2013
New York Times: The Interior Department will issue revised rules on the use of hydraulic fracturing to drill for oil and gas on public lands, officials said Friday. The rules will replace a proposal released last May that was opposed by oil companies and state officials, who said they conflict with regulations in use on private lands and will add cost to drilling operations. Details of the revised proposal were not disclosed, but an Interior Department official said it would require disclosure of chemicals used...
Climate Change’s Effects On Temperate Rain Forests Surprisingly Complex
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on January 19th, 2013
ScienceDaily: Longer, warmer growing seasons associated with a changing climate are altering growing conditions in temperate rain forests, but not all plant species will be negatively affected, according to research conducted by the U.S. Forest Service's Pacific Northwest Research Station.
Research featured in the January 2013 issue of Science Findings -- a monthly publication of the station -- reveals a complex range of forest plant responses to a warming climate.
" Although the overall potential for growth...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Climate Change’s Effects On Temperate Rain Forests Surprisingly ComplexAfter a Die-Off, Small Trees Protect Watershed
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on January 18th, 2013
New York Times: It doesn`t take an expert to understand that logging and violent storms cause massive damage to forests. What is less obvious, however, is the devastating effect that the removal of trees and vegetation can have on streams and lakes.
Nitrate concentrations in waterways can soar by as much as 400 percent when the nitrogen cycle is disrupted by logging and the nitrate once tied up in organic matter washes into streams. Algal blooms and fish die-offs almost always follow this sort of nitrogen fertilization...
Fracking debate draws Yoko, Lennon and Sarandon to rural battlegrounds
Posted by Guardian: Adam Gabbatt on January 18th, 2013
Guardian: Yoko Ono might not seem the most likely bus traveller. Northern Pennsylvania, on a cold, snowy January day, might not seem a likely destination.
Yet the threat of hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, and its impact on the farm she and John Lennon bought in New York spurred Ono and her son, Sean Lennon, into action. On Thursday the pair, a group of activists and the actress Susan Sarandon formed an improbable troupe for a road trip through towns which have been affected by fracking.
The expedition...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Fracking debate draws Yoko, Lennon and Sarandon to rural battlegroundsHow Climate Change is Damaging the Great Lakes
Posted by EcoWatch: Matt Kasper, ThinkProgress on January 18th, 2013
EcoWatch: Great Lakes Michigan and Huron set a new record low water level for the month of December, and in the coming weeks they could experience their lowest water levels ever. It’s becoming certain that, like the rest of the country, the Great Lakes are feeling the effects of climate change.
Last year was officially the warmest year on record for the lower-48 states. The hot summer air has been causing the surface water of the Great Lakes to increase in temperature. One might think this causes more precipitation...
West Antarctica Vulnerability
Posted by Environmental News Network: Andy Soos, Enn on January 18th, 2013
Environmental News Network: Radiocarbon dates of tiny fossilized marine animals found in Antarctica’s seabed sediments offer new clues about the recent rapid ice loss from the West Antarctic Ice Sheet and help scientists make better future predictions about sea-level rise. This region of the icy continent is thought to be vulnerable to regional climate warming and changes in ocean circulation. Reporting this month in the journal Geology a team of researchers from British Antarctic Survey (BAS), the Alfred Wegener Institute...
Indonesia: Children at risk as Jakarta floods – aid workers
Posted by AlertNet: Emma Batha on January 18th, 2013
AlertNet: Aid workers responding to floods that have swamped the Indonesian capital Jakarta fear an outbreak of disease, especially among children playing in dirty floodwaters.
At least 12 people have been killed and more than 18,000 forced to flee their homes by the floods, which began on Wednesday following torrential rains.
Overall, some 250,000 people have been affected across the sprawling city, according to Save the Children. But there are warnings the rains could worsen in the coming days.
Water...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Indonesia: Children at risk as Jakarta floods – aid workersClimate Change Hits the Mississippi River
Posted by Daily Beast: David Frum on January 18th, 2013
Daily Beast: Here on the east coast, global climate change means earlier springs. Who can object to that? But elsewhere, the costs are harsher.
For months along the Mississippi River here, the withering drought has caused record-breaking low water levels that have threatened to shut down traffic on the world’s largest navigable inland waterway. …
The fact that the river has remained open for business along the critical “Middle Miss” -- the 200 miles between the Mississippi’s last dam-and-locks structure,...
Do You Live in One of the 32 States that Has Been Fracked?
Posted by EcoWatch: Matthew McFeeley, Natural Resources Defense Council on January 18th, 2013
EcoWatch: Last month, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released a “progress report” on its ongoing study of hydraulic fracturing and the impacts of fracking on drinking water. The progress report contains a lot of interesting information, but one particular map caught my eye. The map shows that fracking has occurred in more states than previously known, including places like Arizona, Nevada and Maryland. All in all, we now know that fracking has occurred in at least 32 states since 2005.
It...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Do You Live in One of the 32 States that Has Been Fracked?