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Archive for May 10th, 2013
United Kingdom: Climate shifts birds’ winter homes
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on May 10th, 2013
BBC: Three species of migratory duck have shifted their wintering grounds northward in response to increasing temperatures, say scientists.
The birds - the tufted duck, goosander and goldeneye - are common in Britain and Ireland during northern Europe's winter.
But their numbers in these countries have shrunk in the last 30 years.
According to the findings, published in the journal Global Change Biology, many now stop short on their annual journey.
Gathering and analysing data from the three-decade-long...
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Fracking Infrastructure vs. American Values
Posted by EcoWatch: Pramilla Malick on May 10th, 2013
EcoWatch: Residents of Minisink, NY, go face to face with Federal Energy Regulatory Commission in 2012.
As advances in technology open vast territories of the U.S. to new forms of extreme fossil fuel extraction, more and more American communities find themselves battling not only private oil and gas companies but also their own government to protect their homes, health and way of life.
The oil and gas rush requires a massive infrastructure network to get those fuels to markets, domestic as well as foreign,...
Michigan Groups Rally to Stop Fracking on Public Lands
Posted by EcoWatch: Food and Water Watch on May 10th, 2013
EcoWatch: Yesterday, organizations and citizens from across Michigan came together for a day of action in opposition to the bi-annual auction of publicly-owned mineral rights to oil and natural gas companies for fracking.
Last October, the Michigan Department of Natural Resources (MDNR) leased more than 190,000 acres of mineral rights from counties across the state. The average parcel sold for around $18 an acre. During the rally, a diverse group of students, elected officials, indigenous peoples, mothers...
Fugitive Methane Emissions: The Climate Implications of U.S. Shale Gas Exports
Posted by EcoWatch: James Bradbury on May 10th, 2013
EcoWatch: U.S. natural gas production is booming. According to the Energy Information Administration (EIA), production grew by 23 percent from 2007 to 2012. Now--with production projected to continue growing in the decades ahead--U.S. lawmakers and companies are considering exporting this resource internationally. But what are the climate implications of doing so?
This is a topic I sought to address in my testimony on May 7, before the U.S. House of Representatives Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Energy...
The Plight of the Honeybee
Posted by National Geographic: Jennifer S. Holland on May 10th, 2013
National Geographic: Bees are back in the news this spring, if not back in fields pollinating this summer's crops. The European Union (EU) has announced that it will ban, for two years, the use of neonicotinoids, the much-maligned pesticide group often fingered in honeybee declines. The U.S. hasn't followed suit, though this year a group of beekeepers and environmental and consumer groups sued the EPA for not doing enough to protect bees from the pesticide onslaught.
For the last several years scientists have fretted...
Canada: Province weighs in on criticism of resources minister
Posted by CBC: None Given on May 10th, 2013
CBC: A group of high profile Canadian scientists is taking aim at Canada's Resources Minister for what they call his lack of understanding about climate change — and now the Alberta government is weighing in.
150 Major Democratic Donors Urge Obama to Reject Keystone Pipeline
Posted by InsideClimate: David Sassoon on May 10th, 2013
InsideClimate: In the latest show of force by opponents of the Keystone XL pipeline, a group of 150 major Democratic donors sent a letter Friday to President Obama, urging him to reject the controversial application from TransCanada for permission to send more than 800,000 barrels of tar sands oil a day from Alberta to the Texas Gulf Coast. The signatories comprise business leaders, philanthropists and celebrities—including clean energy entrepreneurs Vinod Khosla, Jigar Shah and Steve Kirsch, long-time Obama bundler...
Keystone XL: Obama urged by Democrat backers to reject pipeline
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on May 10th, 2013
Guardian: The biggest backers of the Democratic causes urged Barack Obama on Friday to take historic action on climate change by rejecting the Keystone XL pipeline.
In a letter seen by the Guardian, 150 high-profile figures, who between them raised millions for Obama's two election campaigns, urged the president to use the next four years to avoid the most catastrophic consequences of climate change. "Yours is the last presidency in which it is possible for America to choose a responsible path forward for...
Global Environment Facility launches new drive to detox planet
Posted by RTCC: None Given on May 10th, 2013
RTCC: Persistent organic pollutants, organic compounds that are resistant to environmental degradation, are commonly released from burning plastic or other industrial processes. 90% of human exposure is through food, mainly meat.
The World Health Organisation warns that low-level exposure can lead to the suppression of the immune system, lung conditions and cancer.
“We’re ingesting these chemicals, they’re making us sick and killing us,” said Bob Dixon, head of climate change and chemicals at the...
Women are ‘key drivers’ in climate change adaptation
Posted by SciDevNet: Bernard Appiah on May 10th, 2013
SciDevNet: Plans to protect ecosystems and help people adapt to climate change ? also known as ecosystem-based adaptation (EBA) ? must involve vulnerable groups, including women and communities greatly hit by global warming if they are to succeed, according to scientists who met in Tanzania last month (21-23 March).
Scientists and policymakers at the UN-ledinternational workshop on EBA in Dar-es-Salaam, also said that more needed to be done to monitor and evaluate the cost-effectiveness of such adaptation,...