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Archive for April 29th, 2013
World’s longest-running plant monitoring program now digitized
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on April 29th, 2013
ScienceDaily: Researchers at the University of Arizona's Tumamoc Hill have digitized 106 years of growth data on individual plants, making the information available for study by people all over the world.
Knowing how plants respond to changing conditions over many decades provides new insights into how ecosystems behave.
The permanent research plots on Tumamoc Hill represent the world's longest-running study that monitors individual plants, said co-author Larry Venable, director of research at Tumamoc Hill....
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Humans’ indelible stamp on Earth clear 5000 years ago
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on April 29th, 2013
New Scientist: When did humans stamp our footprint on the planet? The idea that we have entered a geological epoch defined by our very presence – the Anthropocene – is gaining traction, but exactly when did this epoch begin? After the first atom bomb went off? At the start of the industrial revolution in the mid-18th century? Or was it a lot earlier? A new study argues that the Anthropocene began with the rise of farming or even in Neolithic times, when we took to widespread burning of the bush to hunt animals....
Rising seas clearly evident along SC coast
Posted by Associated Press: Bruce Smith on April 29th, 2013
Associated Press: Living in a coastal town or city with seawalls and docks on the waterfront, it can be difficult to notice the sea level rise by increments each year. But effects of higher sea level are very clear down a winding dirt road in Georgetown County where acres of what was once a forested wetland have morphed into a salt marsh of dead trees jutting toward the sky. "When you go into the field, you really see a lot of trees dying. That's the first thing that catches your eye," said Alex Chow, who teaches...
Canada’s Keystone XL Pitch Goes Into Overdrive
Posted by Hill Times: None Given on April 29th, 2013
Hill Times: Federal officials are stepping up efforts to make the case for the Keystone XL pipeline in Washington D.C., but some experts warn that the frequent public visits could be doing more harm than good.
Between federal Cabinet ministers and Western Canadian premiers, Canadian representatives have been averaging a trip to Washington every two weeks in 2013, with a focus on making the case for the Keystone XL pipeline and addressing concerns over Canada's environmental record.
Natural Resources Minister...
Some Oil Pipelines Exempted From Federal Reviews
Posted by Vancouver Sun: Mike De Souza on April 29th, 2013
Vancouver Sun: Building a diamond mine, expanding an oil-sands mine, offshore exploration or an interprovincial bridge could soon require a federal environmental review under proposed additions and subtractions to the Harper government's new environmental rules.
But provincially regulated pipelines, facilities used to process heavy oil from the oilsands, pulp and paper mills as well as some chemical plants are among those being deleted from a list of projects requiring federal environmental investigations before...
Experts: BP Oil Spill Gone From Deep Ocean, but Remains in Marshes
Posted by Knox News: Megan Boehnke on April 29th, 2013
Knox News: Scientists cannot find traces of oil in the deep water of the Gulf of Mexico three years after the nation’s worst offshore spill, but residual toxins are still in the sediment along the coastal marshes, according to scientists at the University of Tennessee who have studied the effects of the spill. Bacteria in the Gulf was already adapted to consuming oil that naturally leaks from the ground into the water there, said Terry Hazen, a Governor’s Chair for Environmental Biotechnology at UT and Oak...
In the Northwest, Rising Coal Exports to Asia Stir Huge Fight
Posted by Seattle Times: Hal Bernton on April 29th, 2013
Seattle Times: At Spring Creek Mine, a broad black seam of coal, reaching depths of 80 feet, runs like a subterranean river through arid, sagebrush-covered hills.
This is a world-class seam formed from the remnants of ferns, grasses and other plants that flourished here more than 50 million years ago, when this part of Montana was a humid marsh.
Cloud Peak Energy, operators of this mine, and other companies have proposals that could eventually double the state's coal production -- part of the push...
Residents concerned about health effects of hydrofracking
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on April 29th, 2013
ScienceDaily: Those living in areas near natural gas operations, also known as hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, are concerned their illnesses may be a result of nearby drilling operations. Twenty-two percent of the participants in a small pilot study surmise that hydrofracking may be the cause of such health concerns as sinus problems, sleeping difficulties, and gastrointestinal problems.
The findings will be presented at the American Occupational Health Conference on April 28 in Orlando, Florida.
Scientists...