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Archive for February, 2013
Roses Raise Environment Concerns
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on February 10th, 2013
Scientific American: Millions of roses get handed out on Valentine's Day. But growing roses has an environmental impact worse than many other crops. Start with climate change: most roses in the U.S. and Europe are imported from warmer climes. All that flying and trucking adds thousands of metric tons of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere. Then there's all the water needed to, well, water the flowers. And the runoff fouled by copious quantities of pesticides needed to make the roses look perfect. There's also the wildlife...
Journey beneath the surface of the Earth
Posted by Mercury News: Kelly Servick on February 10th, 2013
Mercury News: A group of six UC Santa Cruz researchers is making its way back from Antarctica after nearly three months of work in the frozen wilderness.
The scientists and engineers were part of a crew of 50 that drilled through a half mile of ice to explore a lake hidden under the West Antarctic Ice Sheet.
The project, called Whillans Ice Stream Subglacial Access Research Drilling -- or WISSARD, includes nine collaborating institutions from across the U.S. The UCSC team focused on how the flow of water...
United States: Exeter developing climate change adaptation plan
Posted by Seacoast: None Given on February 10th, 2013
Seacoast: By the end of 2014, the town is expected to have the most rigorous climate change adaptation plan on the Seacoast.
Through a $683,472 grant from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the University of New Hampshire and Great Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve are working with the town to develop a plan based on Exeter's perspectives using hydraulic and hydrologic modeling and climate change scenarios.
Paul Kirshen, a research professor with UNH's Institute for the Study...
Posted in Water Conservation 
Comments Off on United States: Exeter developing climate change adaptation planWhite-out! Blizzards hit north-east US
Posted by Independent: Nikhil Kumar on February 10th, 2013
Independent: The north-eastern United States and eastern Canada were pummelled yesterday by a severe blizzard which brought furious winds and hours of snowfall, knocking out power for more than 600,000 people across the region, and forcing the cancellation of thousands of flights and other transport links. In places, there was more than 3ft of snow. At least six deaths were blamed on the storm conditions, according to the Associated Press. A man in his seventies was reported to have died when a driver lost control...
Poll: Americans back climate change regulation
Posted by Grand Island Independent: None Given on February 10th, 2013
Grand Island Independent: Now that President Obama put climate change back on the table in his second inaugural address, a new national poll finds growing public support for regulating greenhouse gas emissions and requiring utilities to switch to lower-carbon fuel sources.
The percentage of Americans who think climate change is occurring has rebounded, according to the Duke University national survey, and is at its highest level since 2006. The study also finds that while Americans support regulating greenhouse gas emissions,...
Blizzard hammers Northeast, nine dead, 700,000 lose power
Posted by Reuters: Tim McLaughlin and Edith Honan on February 10th, 2013
Reuters: The U.S. Northeast started digging itself out of a blizzard that dumped up to 40 inches of snow with hurricane force winds, killing at least nine people and leaving about half a million customers without power.
Airports slowly cranked back to life on Sunday, rare travel bans in Connecticut and Massachusetts were lifted, but roads throughout the region remained treacherous, according to state transportation departments.
As the region recovered, another large winter storm building across the...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Blizzard hammers Northeast, nine dead, 700,000 lose powerIndigenous resistance forces Malaysia to scale back twelve dam megaproject
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on February 9th, 2013
Agence France-Presse: A Malaysian state minister Friday said the government would not push ahead with building a dozen new dams on Borneo island, acknowledging they have caused outrage from local tribes and environmentalists.
The proposals sparked fears that the dams would destroy pristine rainforests, endanger wildlife, and displace natives in Sarawak, a Malaysian state crossed by powerful rivers with rich jungle habitats.
"It is not a firm plan to build 12 dams. I don't think we will need that. We will only need...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Indigenous resistance forces Malaysia to scale back twelve dam megaprojectBlizzard Buries New England, Breaks Snowfall Records
Posted by Climate Central: Andrew Freedman on February 9th, 2013
Climate Central: Millions of New Englanders woke up to a staggering amount of snow as well as coastal flooding problems on Saturday after one of the worst winter storms on record slammed the region with whiteout conditions and hurricane-force winds, dumping more than 3 feet of snow in some places.
The storm shut down travel across the region, knocked out power to nearly 700,000 customers, stranded motorists in their vehicles on Long Island, and exceeded benchmarks set during the infamous Blizzard of 1978, which...
What You Need to See to Understand Blizzard ‘Nemo’
Posted by Climate Central: Andrew Freedman on February 9th, 2013
Climate Central: The blizzard of 2013, named "Nemo" by weather.com, is unleashing a paralyzing blitz of heavy snow, strong winds, and coastal flooding in the Northeast. These images and videos help explain the dynamics powering the storm, as well as its potential consequences.
This three-day satellite loop from NASA shows how the blizzard grew out of a moisture-charged storm traversing the southern part of the country, and a northern system riding the polar jet stream down from the Midwest. Once those two systems...
The Scary Truth About Climate Change: Best #Cityreads of the Week
Posted by Atlantic: Amanda Erickson on February 9th, 2013
Atlantic: Our weekly roundup of the most intriguing articles about cities and urbanism we've come across in the past seven days. Share your favorites on Twitter with #cityreads.
"Life at the Top," Adam Higginbotham, New Yorker
When the architect Norman Foster initially presented sketches for the Hearst Tower, the first skyscraper approved for construction in Manhattan after September 11th, one of the questions the building's prospective owners asked was: How are we going to clean those windows?
In...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on The Scary Truth About Climate Change: Best #Cityreads of the Week