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Archive for February, 2013
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...
Posted in Water Conservation 
Comments Off on Marco Rubio Not Convinced Climate Change An Actual ProblemHydroelectric 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...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on State gets money to explore role of climate change on healthThe 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...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on The return of grey wolves ‘not enough to restore Yellowstone’s ecosystem’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...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Fracking seen by EPA as No. 2 emitter of greenhouse gasesUnited 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...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on United Kingdom: Has the axe fallen on Manchester’s green spaces?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,...
Bird Conservation Needed To Help Them Weather Climate Change
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on February 6th, 2013
RedOrbit: Many bird species are likely to suffer from future climate change, a new study led by Durham University and BirdLife International reveals. These species will require enhanced protection for important sites, and better management of the wider countryside. In extreme cases, they may need to be physically moved to areas that are climatically suitable to help them survive.
Stronger protection and effective management of the networks of important conservation sites are a priority the researchers say....
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Bird Conservation Needed To Help Them Weather Climate ChangeClimate change means catastrophe in UK, not café culture says professor
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on February 6th, 2013
Telegraph: Professor Kevin Anderson, Director of the Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research, said Government and local authorities are failing to grasp the risks to Britain for global warming.
He accused people of focusing on the chance of warmer evenings, rather than realising heatwaves will cause deaths.
"We may like to think of it as a nice café culture, sitting outside sipping lattes -- but we will be struggling to sleep because our buildings won't cool down at night.
"That's when you see the...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Climate change means catastrophe in UK, not café culture says professorIceland: $9.8M worth of herring found dead in lake
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on February 6th, 2013
Associated Press: Dead herring are seen floating on Tuesday in Kolgrafafjordur, a small fjord in west Iceland, for the second time in two months.
Between 25,000 and 30,000 tons of herring died in December and more now, due to lack of oxygen in the fjord thought to have been caused by the construction of a bridge across the fjord in December 2004. The current export value of the estimated 10,000 tons of herring amounts to ISK 1.25 billion ($ 9.8 million), according to Morgunbladid newspaper.