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Archive for May 2nd, 2013
US crop insurance shields farmers from drought
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on May 2nd, 2013
Bloomberg: When dry weather destroyed Leonard McKissick's soybeans last year, US government-backed insurance paid him $US40,000, the bulk of his loss.
Across the Arkansas Delta this spring, farmers such as McKissick are sowing fields that suffered the worst drought in more than half a century. Even though crops may fail again, landowners are shielded by taxpayers from the full burden of their bad bets.
Drought helped drive the cost of crop insurance to a record $US17.2 billion, the US Department of Agriculture...
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White House warned on imminent Arctic ice death spiral
Posted by Guardian: Nafeez Ahmed on May 2nd, 2013
Guardian: Senior US government officials are to be briefed at the White House this week on the danger of an ice-free Arctic in the summer within two years.
The meeting is bringing together Nasa's acting chief scientist, Gale Allen, the director of the US National Science Foundation, Cora Marett, as well as representatives from the US Department of Homeland Security and the Pentagon.
This is the latest indication that US officials are increasingly concerned about the international and domestic security...
Impact of deforestation on wildlife in the greater Mekong
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on May 2nd, 2013
Guardian: Five Asian countries have lost nearly one-third of their forests in the last 35 years, a new report from WWF shows. Cambodia, Laos, Burma, Thailand and Vietnam could be left with little more than 10-20% of their original cover by 2030, with devastating effects on wildlife and humans
Arkansas Oil Spill Shatters American Dream of Families Still Displaced From New Homes
Posted by InsideClimate: None Given on May 2nd, 2013
InsideClimate: It has been more than a month now, and Amber Bartlett has had enough of hotels and apartments and trailer homes. Of crowded rooms whose thin walls amplify the bickering of her four children. Of piles of toys and clothes overflowing from drawers and suitcases. Of not knowing, day to day, where her life is headed. She wants to be back in her five-bedroom, three-bathroom home at16 Starlite Road North in Mayflower, Ark. Ryan Senia, the Bartletts' next-door neighbor, is plenty ready to go home, too....
Hydraulic Fracturing Faces Growing Competition for Water Supplies in Water-Stressed Regions
Posted by EcoWatch: None Given on May 2nd, 2013
EcoWatch: A new Ceres research paper on water use in hydraulic fracturing operations shows that a significant portion of this activity is happening in water stressed regions of the U.S., most prominently Texas and Colorado, which are both in the midst of prolonged drought conditions. It concludes that industry efforts underway, such as expanded use of recycled water and non-freshwater resources, need to be scaled up along with better water management planning if shale energy production is to grow as projected....
Greater Mekong countries ‘lost one-third of forest cover in 40 years’
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on May 2nd, 2013
Guardian: Five Asian countries have lost nearly one-third of their forests in the last 35 years and could be left with little more than 10-20% of their original cover by 2030 – with devastating effects on wildlife and humans, a new report suggests.
Cambodia, Laos, Burma, Thailand and Vietnam have lost nearly 40m hectares (ha) of forest cover since 1980 but have retained about 98m ha of natural forest, just over half of the region's land area.
Using satellite data, the WWF researchers calculated that...
How climate scientists are being framed
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on May 2nd, 2013
Guardian: Have you seen the spirited new game being played by a few right-wing columnists in high profile media outlets of late? The game is called "You've been framed" and it's available at a toyshop or conservative-leaning news outlet in an alternative reality near you. Another name for this game might be "What's the most offensive and ridiculous thing we can get away with saying about climate scientists?" To play, you need to first pretend thousands of studies, inquiries and reports into climate change...
Bonn climate change talks going ‘surprisingly well’, say delegates
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on May 2nd, 2013
Irish Times: “The most surprising thing is that there’s an awful lot of common sense being spoken on a whole range of issues, and it’s getting better as the week goes on,” said Matthew Kennedy, of the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland.
There is a relaxed atmosphere at the talks, which are being held in the former West German Bundestag (parliament) on the right bank of the Rhine – built in the late 1980s just prior to German reunification and the move back to Berlin.
“It’s been a reasonably good start,”...
Exxon’s Pegasus Pipeline Leaks 40 Gallons into Missouri Yard
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on May 2nd, 2013
Reuters: Exxon Mobil Corp's near 70-year-old Pegasus oil pipeline leaked a small amount of crude into a residential yard in Ripley County, Missouri on Tuesday, a month after the same pipe spewed thousands of barrels of crude in Arkansas.
A resident notified the company of the spill after spotting a patch of oil and dead vegetation seven miles (11 km) south of Doniphan in the southeast of the state, Exxon and state officials said on Wednesday.
About one barrel of crude leaked and the cleanup is "close...