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Archive for February, 2013
Wildflowers at risk from ‘safe’ levels of pollution
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on February 11th, 2013
Ecologist: Over the last 100 years the global population has increased four-fold to seven billion people and may reach nine billion by 2075. How to produce enough food to feed all these people is one of the biggest global challenges.
Throughout the twentieth and early twenty-first century, food production has been dramatically increased by improving agricultural yields, particularly by applying nitrogen fertilisers. In 1908, the German chemist Fritz Haber invented a method for producing ammonia fertilizer...
U.S. Natural Gas Exports Stirs Debate
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on February 11th, 2013
National Public Radio: There are several dimensions to the booming energy market. Steve Inskeep talks to Sarah Ladislaw, of the Center for Strategic and International Studies, about energy market trends.
Aust helps Kiribati on climate change
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on February 11th, 2013
AAP: Australia will give $15 million to the Pacific island nation of Kiribati towards the cost of rebuilding a main road damaged by rising sea levels.
Foreign Minister Bob Carr who is visiting Kiribati says fixing the road will ensure people can get to schools health clinics and markets.
"Kiribati is at the front line of climate change," Senator Carr said in a statement on Monday, adding its highest point is now just three metres above sea level.
Without help in the fight against climate change,...
Arctic soils produce significant amounts of CO2
Posted by Science Now: Carolyn Gramling on February 11th, 2013
Science Now: Each spring in the Arctic, the freshet-flooding triggered by melting snow-washes vast amounts of carbon-rich soil from the land into the water-both fresh water and the ocean. That's of particular interest to scientists studying global warming, because in those waters much of the carbon that's being released from melting permafrost is oxidized by bacteria into carbon dioxide, says Rose Cory, an environmental scientist at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. Carbon from surface waters amounts...
German Environment Minister: No Fracking for Shale Gas in Germany Any Time Soon
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on February 11th, 2013
Associated Press: Germany's environment minister says he doesn't expect the extraction of natural gas by "fracking" will start any time soon in Europe's biggest economy.
Shale gas is located underground across Europe, but environmental concerns over extracting it are widespread. Hydraulic fracturing, or "fracking," frees natural gas from shale by injecting a well with chemically treated water and sand. Supporters say it can be an economic boon, but critics say it can pollute groundwater.
Environment Minister...
Posted in Water Conservation 
Comments Off on German Environment Minister: No Fracking for Shale Gas in Germany Any Time SoonKerry Cool to Keystone XL Project, Pushes Clean Energy
Posted by StarPhoenix: William Marsden on February 11th, 2013
StarPhoenix: America's new Secretary of State John Kerry gave Canada's Keystone XL pipeline project a lukewarm reception Friday following a bilateral meeting with Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird.
In comments immediately after the meeting, Kerry emphasized a clean energy future and did not mention Keystone. As Canada and the United States "move forward to meet the needs of a secure, clean energy future of this shared continent, we are going to continue to build on our foundation of cooperation," he said....
Keystone Pipeline Critics: Neb. Gov. Heineman Lacks Authority
Posted by Lincoln Journal Star: Art Hovey on February 11th, 2013
Lincoln Journal Star: Opponents of the Keystone XL pipeline argued in Lancaster County District Court on Thursday that Gov. Dave Heineman lacked the authority to approve the proposed route of the project through Nebraska in a Jan. 22 letter to President Barack Obama.
They want Heineman’s action voided by Lancaster County District Judge Stephanie Stacy.
Stacy listened to about 20 minutes of arguments from Omaha attorney David Domina and Assistant Attorney General Katie Spohn before adjourning to her chambers to meet...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Keystone Pipeline Critics: Neb. Gov. Heineman Lacks AuthorityTorrential rain, lack of preparedness batter Tanzania
Posted by AlertNet: None Given on February 11th, 2013
AlertNet: When the heavy rainfall came last month, floodwaters poured into Magdalena Lweno's house and washed away her hard-won belongings: her mattresses, couches, television set, clothing and her daughter's school books.
Worst of all, it took the cooking utensils the mother of three uses to run her business as a food vendor, leaving her without an income.
"I can't work right now because my working tools have been swept away,' the 39-year-old resident of low-lying Jangwani suburb complained, from the...
A Presidential Decision That Could Change the World
Posted by EcoWatch: Michael T. Klare on February 10th, 2013
EcoWatch: Presidential decisions often turn out to be far less significant than imagined, but every now and then what a president decides actually determines how the world turns. Such is the case with the Keystone XL pipeline, which, if built, is slated to bring some of the “dirtiest,” carbon-rich oil on the planet from Alberta, Canada, to refineries on the U.S. Gulf Coast. In the near future, President Obama is expected to give its construction a definitive thumbs up or thumbs down, and the decision he makes...
Can USDA’s climate reality message take root with denialist farmers?
Posted by Grist: Tom Laskawy on February 10th, 2013
Grist: As Grist reported earlier this week, the USDA released a massive report on climate change and U.S. agriculture. The report may represent the agency’s most decisive move to force farmers to face reality. The short version: Climate change is real, it’s here to stay, and farmers need to start adapting before the biggest effects hit.
And while this may not come as news to Grist readers, it’s worth highlighting the significance of this report. Big farm lobbying groups have been some of the most vocal...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Can USDA’s climate reality message take root with denialist farmers?