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Archive for March, 2013
Europe to be battered by Sandy-style superstorms
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on March 29th, 2013
New Scientist: BATTEN down the hatches, western Europe. Come the end of the century, superstorm Sandys could be battering your beaches. Hurricanes usually form in the western tropical Atlantic and head north-west to the US. Occasionally they make it to Europe by piggybacking on the jet stream. To simulate future hurricanes, Reindert Haarsma of the Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute in De Bilt and colleagues ran a detailed climate model for 2094 to 2098, assuming modest future greenhouse gas emissions....
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Oil Giant Sets Sights on Getting Tar Sands Crude to Gulf Coast
Posted by Globe and Mail: Shawn Mccarthy on March 29th, 2013
Globe and Mail: France's Total SA says current market conditions favour processing oil sands crude on the U.S. Gulf Coast rather than building an $11.6-billion upgrader in Alberta, as the company took a $1.65-billion (U.S.) loss on its 49-per-cent stake in the cancelled Voyageur project.
Total announced the writedown a day after its partner, Suncor Energy Inc., announced the cancellation of the Voyageur project. Suncor - Canada's largest oil-sands producers - said market conditions have changed dramatically in...
China to spend $16 billion to tackle Beijing pollution crisis
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on March 29th, 2013
Reuters: China will spend 100 billion yuan ($16 billion) over three years to deal with Beijing's pollution, an official newspaper reported on Friday, as the government tries to defuse mounting public anger over environmental degradation.
Beijing's government has pledged to improve sewage disposal, garbage treatment and air quality, as well as crack down on illegal construction, the China Daily newspaper said, citing a three-year plan released on Thursday.
Air quality in Beijing, a city of around 20...
United Kingdom: Met Office advice was ‘not helpful’
Posted by BBC: Roger Harrabin on March 29th, 2013
BBC: The Met Office has admitted issuing advice to government that was "not helpful" during last year's remarkable switch in weather patterns.
Between March and April 2012, the UK experienced an extraordinary shift from high pressure and drought to low pressure and downpours.
But the Met Office said the forecast for average rainfall "slightly" favoured drier than average conditions.
The three-month forecast is said to be experimental.
It is sent to contingency planners but has been withheld...
Wastewater Injection Linked to Oklahoma’s Largest Earthquake
Posted by Environment News Service: None Given on March 28th, 2013
Environment News Service: The rising number of earthquakes in normally calm parts of Arkansas, Texas, Ohio and Colorado are linked to the underground injection of wastewater, finds a new study in the journal "Geology."
As an example, the study authors point to the magnitude 5.7 earthquake near Prague, Oklahoma on November 6, 2011. The largest quake ever recorded in Oklahoma, this quake is also the largest ever linked to wastewater injection. The quake destroyed 14 homes in the Shawnee-Sparks area, buckled a federal highway...
US forced to cut mineral revenue payments to states, prompting backlash
Posted by EnergyWire: Scott Streater on March 28th, 2013
EnergyWire: The Interior Department has informed dozens of states that it will withhold millions of dollars in federal mineral revenue payments due to budget cuts necessitated by sequestration, a move that stunned the state of Wyoming, which receives nearly $1 billion in annual payments.
Interior's Office of Natural Resources Revenue (ONRR) has informed the treasurers in 36 states that sequestration will force withholding millions of dollars in monthly mineral lease payments for oil and natural gas development...
New Yorkers Prefer Water Improvements to Subways: Survey
Posted by Bloomberg: Justin Doom on March 28th, 2013
Bloomberg: Water and wastewater upgrades top the wish list for infrastructure improvements by more than four in five New Yorkers, surpassing subway lines in importance, according to survey results released today by Xylem Inc. (XYL)
The water company whose pumps helped clean tunnels and homes flooded by Hurricane Sandy said the survey showed that 82 percent of residents want New York to spend more on water systems. Almost two-thirds said they’re willing to pay higher rates to help complete such projects,...
Three suspected rhino poachers shot dead in South Africa’s Kruger Park
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on March 28th, 2013
Reuters: Three suspected rhinoceros poachers were killed in a shoot-out with rangers in South Africa's Kruger National Park, a park official said on Thursday.
The killing of rhinos for their horns, worth more than their weight in gold, is rampant in the park. So far this year, 188 rhinos have been poached in South Africa, 135 in Kruger alone, according to government figures released this week.
"Our rangers were on patrol and they came across these suspected poachers. Shooting ensued and the three were...
Africa: Climate Change Could Be Double-Edged Sword for Farmers
Posted by SciDevNet: None Given on March 28th, 2013
SciDevNet: On a global level, climate change could slash crop yields and increase reliance on irrigation in the 2030s, but in some regions, including Southern Africa, agricultural output could increase and farming become less dependent on water, according to a study published last month (27 February). The researchers, based in Canada, China and Switzerland, set out to predict the combined impact of climate change on food production and water levels globally, regionally and locally. "Such a study not only...
With Drought Season Off to a Bad Start, Scientists Forecast Another Bleak Year
Posted by InsideClimate: Katherine Bagley on March 28th, 2013
InsideClimate: Drought conditions in more than half of the United States have slipped into a pattern that climatologists say is uncomfortably similar to the most severe droughts in recent U.S. history, including the 1930s Dust Bowl and the widespread 1950s drought.
The 2013 drought season is already off to a worse start than in 2012 or 2011—a trend that scientists at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) say is a good indicator, based on historical records, that the entire year will be drier...