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Archive for February 6th, 2013
Scientists Find Life in the Cold and Dark Under Antarctic Ice
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on February 6th, 2013
New York Times: For the first time, scientists report, they have found bacteria living in the cold and dark deep under the Antarctic ice, a discovery that might advance knowledge of how life could survive on other planets or moons and that offers the first glimpse of a vast ecosystem of microscopic life in underground lakes in Antarctica. A network of hundreds of lakes lies sandwiched between the continent’s land and the ice that covers it, and scientists had thought that it could harbor life. The discovery is...
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Sarah Palin’s Climate Change Sub-Cabinet Goes Dormant Under Alaska Governor Sean Parnell
Posted by Huffington Post: Amanda Terkel on February 6th, 2013
Huffington Post: Before she stepped onto the national stage, Sarah Palin was worried about the warming planet and what climate change was doing to her home state of Alaska. So in 2007, as governor, she established a Climate Change Sub-Cabinet to come up with ideas on "how Alaskans can save energy and reduce their greenhouse gas emissions."
But that project has gone dormant under the current governor, Republican Sean Parnell. According to newly released public records obtained by Public Employees for Environmental...
Amazon forest more resilient to climate change than feared – study
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on February 6th, 2013
Reuters: The Amazon rainforest is less vulnerable to die off because of global warming than widely believed because the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide also acts as an airborne fertilizer, a study showed on Wednesday.
The boost to growth from CO2, the main gas from burning fossil fuels blamed for causing climate change, was likely to exceed damaging effects of rising temperatures this century such as drought, it said.
"I am no longer so worried about a catastrophic die-back due to CO2-induced climate...
Marco Rubio Not Convinced Climate Change An Actual Problem
Posted by Huffington Post: Meredith Bennett-Smith on February 6th, 2013
Huffington Post: One of the Grand Old Party's brightest young stars claims he's still not convinced climate change is a real problem.
Florida Sen. Marco Rubio (R), spoke at the inaugural BuzzFeed Brews event in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday night. The conversation eventually turned to environmental reforms.
Speaking with BuzzFeed Editor-in-Chief Ben Smith, Rubio said that climate change was not a proven fact, and that even if it was, it would not be cost-effective for the U.S. to take action.
Rubio's skepticism...
Hydroelectric Project Threatens Chile’s Lake Neltume
Posted by Inter Press Service: Marianela Jarroud on February 6th, 2013
Inter Press Service: "This is paradise and they want to destroy it. This has had an enormous psychological impact on us," says Guido Melinao, leader of the Mapuche indigenous community of Valeriano Cayicul, referring to the Neltume hydroelectric power plant project planned by the Spanish-Italian consortium Endesa-Enel.
The plant, to be built with an investment of 781 million dollars, would have an installed capacity of 490 megawatts and generate an estimated average of 1,885 gigawatt-hours of electricity annually....
State gets money to explore role of climate change on health
Posted by Baltimore Sun: Andrea K. Walker on February 6th, 2013
Baltimore Sun: Maryland has received $250,000 in federal funds to explore the role of climate change on people's health.
The funding was awarded by the Centers for Disease Control, which has a program aimed at preparing local communities to deal with the health affects of the changing environment. The program is attempting to identify vulnerable populations, such as children and senior citizens, and how to treat them.
Related Regional climate compact at a crossroads Picture of Health blog Health Professionals...
The return of grey wolves ‘not enough to restore Yellowstone’s ecosystem’
Posted by Guardian: Roberta Kwok on February 6th, 2013
Guardian: Grey wolves have returned to Yellowstone National Park, raising hopes that the area's ecosystem has bounced back. But the reintroduction of these mighty predators isn't enough to enable a full recovery, scientists say.
In the early 1900s, wolves largely vanished from Yellowstone. In their absence, elk -- which were no longer hunted by wolves -- ate more willows by streams. Without enough food or material to build their dams, beavers also declined. That made the willows' situation even worse, because...
Fracking seen by EPA as No. 2 emitter of greenhouse gases
Posted by Bloomberg: Mark Drajem on February 6th, 2013
Bloomberg: Natural gas and oil production is the second-biggest source of U.S. greenhouse gases, the government said, emboldening environmentalists who say tighter measures are needed to curb the emissions from hydraulic fracturing.
In its second-annual accounting of emissions that cause global warming from stationary sources, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for the first time included oil and natural- gas production. Emissions from drilling, including fracking, and leaks from transmission pipes...
United Kingdom: Has the axe fallen on Manchester’s green spaces?
Posted by Guardian: Arwa Aburawa on February 6th, 2013
Guardian: As local authority cuts dig ever deeper and warden services face the chop, Greater Manchester's campaigners say green spaces are at an increased risk of over-use and vandalism. Every year, Manchester city council spends just under £2m on cutting grass across the city. It's an important service, but green campaigners think that one month's worth of grass cutting would be better spent on saving an important warden service that cares for the region's entire 55,000-hectare Mersey Valley.
"The council...
Debunking Nature’s arguments for Keystone
Posted by Grist: David Roberts on February 6th, 2013
Grist: There was a bit of buzz last week when the august scientific journal Nature endorsed the Keystone XL pipeline (ironically, in the course of pleading with Obama to do something about climate change). Despite the hubbub, it was not the first time the journal had done so. Back in September 2011, it boosted Keystone ... in the context of pleading with Obama do to something about climate change. We have always been at war with Eastasia.
Neither editorial makes a fully fleshed-out case for Keystone,...