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Archive for February 23rd, 2013
British farmers face hardship as floods wipe out crops in ‘worst ever year’
Posted by Guardian: Jamie Doward on February 23rd, 2013
Guardian: Stephen Watkins farms in Elgar country. He has 400 hectares, or nearly 1,000 acres, in the Worcestershire countryside that boast sprawling views of the Malverns, the brooding hills that inspired the composer to capture the essence of rural England in music.
With a picture-perfect Victorian farmhouse replete with Aga and two black Labradors, Watkins seems to be living the good life. He farms sheep, winter wheat, spring barley, mint, coriander, parsley, spinach, hand-picked peas, onions, lettuce...
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Siberia Could Experience Widespread Permafrost Thaw Due To Global Warming
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on February 23rd, 2013
RedOrbit: More evidence is pointing to the nightmare scenario that global warming is taking a toll on our planet.
Oxford University scientists say that a global temperature rise of 2.7 degrees Fahrenheit could thaw the ground over a large area of Siberia, threatening the release of carbon from soil.
If the thawing of Siberia`s permafrost occurs, it could see that over 1,000 gigatons of the greenhouse gases carbon dioxide and methane are dished out into the atmosphere, adding an even larger global warming...
Low lake levels have Michigan harbors scrambling to keep waterways navigable
Posted by Detroit News: Jim Lynch on February 23rd, 2013
Detroit News: So much of Pentwater's well-being hinges on the channel -- the 2,500-foot-long entryway from Lake Michigan to the harbor.
The channel brings in boats. The boats bring in visitors. The visitors bring in money. And the money sustains the village's shops, restaurants and vacation rental business. The channel is the main factor in the annual boom that sees the local population grow from its normal 600 to 700 to roughly 5,000 in the summer.
Local officials in the village south of Ludington are struggling...
Corn ethanol challenged
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on February 23rd, 2013
Living on Earth: Corn based ethanol makes up 10% of the fuel mix in the US and EPA has approved a 15% mix. But last year 20 ethanol producers closed up shop. Wallace Tyner, an energy economist at Purdue University explains to host Steve Curwood why small ethanol producers simply can't turn a profit.
Transcript
CURWOOD: The current gasoline we put in our cars - E10 - contains 10 percent ethanol. Corn-based ethanol helps provide income for American farmers, and a federal mandate for ethanol aims to reduce global...
India’s rice revolution: Chinese scientist questions claim of massive harvests
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on February 23rd, 2013
Guardian: China's leading rice scientist has questioned India's claims of a world record harvest, following a report in last week's Observer of astonishing yields achieved by farmers growing the crop in the state of Bihar.
Professor Yuan Longping, known as the "father of rice", said he doubted whether the Indian government had properly verified young Indian farmer Sumant Kumar's claim that he had produced 22.4 tonnes of rice from one hectare of land in Bihar in 2011.
Yuan, director-general of China's...
Radioactive waste leaking from tanks at Washington state nuclear site
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on February 23rd, 2013
Reuters: Six underground storage tanks at a nuclear facility in Washington state are leaking radioactive waste, but there is no immediate risk to human health, officials say.
The newly discovered leaks, at the Hanford Nuclear Reservation, come one week after the US energy department revealed that radioactive waste was found to be escaping from one tank at Hanford.
The seeping waste adds to decades of soil contamination caused by past storage tank leaks at Hanford and threatens to further taint groundwater...
Satellite Tracking of Middle East Aquifers Points to the End of ‘Data Denial’
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on February 23rd, 2013
New York Times: Jay Famiglietti, one of the authors of an important new study on the rapid depletion of aquifers under the Tigris and Euphrates river basins, has posted an excellent overview of the work and its context for policy, and noted that he and other authors are preparing for a two-week "water diplomacy" tour to discuss their findings in the affected region.
The project shows how improving systems for observing and analyzing environmental trends are brightening prospects for better management of resources...
United Kingdom: Fears fracking could be “fast tracked”
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on February 23rd, 2013
Telegraph: The Growth and Infrastructure Bill, currently going through the House of Lords, could allow exploration for shale gas to be considered as of "national significance', meaning the Government can override local authorities to grant planning permission.
The National Trust, Campaign to Protect Rural England, Friends of the Earth, the Town & Country Planning Association, Wildlife Trusts and Greenpeace have joined up to fight the change in the law.
Baroness Young of Old Scone, an independent peer,...
India: ‘Climate change to hit crop yield’
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on February 23rd, 2013
Indian Express: There is going to be a major shift in crop pattern across the state and the yields of different agriculture and horticulture crops will be reduced owing to climate change over the years, according to agriculture scientists. Scientists in the field of climate change met at the University of Agricultural Sciences, Bangalore, (UAS-B) on Thursday to discuss adaptive strategies to meet challenges of climate change. According to Prof M B Rajegowda, Agro-meteorologist at UAS-B, temperatures are likely...