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Archive for May 18th, 2013
Fluoridated water? Not all Portlanders will drink to that
Posted by LA Times: Kim Murphy on May 18th, 2013
LA Times: Proponents of fluoridating Portland's water supply had no trouble getting the local Urban League on board. Here in the biggest city in the country that still doesn't treat its water to prevent tooth decay, studies show that low-income children and kids of color have been hit hardest by untreated cavities.
"Do we really want our children to be suffering from something we could prevent? Why would we not want to be involved?" said Jerome Brooks, an Urban League advocacy contractor who has helped...
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Invasive species: ‘away-field advantage’ weaker than ecologists thought
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on May 18th, 2013
ScienceDaily: For decades, ecologists have assumed the worst invasive species -- such as brown tree snakes and kudzu -- have an "away-field advantage." They succeed because they do better in their new territories than they do at home. A new study led by the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center reveals that this fundamental assumption is not nearly as common as people might think.
The away-field advantage hypothesis hinges on this idea: Successful invaders do better in a new place because the environment...
Syria: Without Water, Revolution
Posted by New York Times: Thomas L. Friedman on May 18th, 2013
New York Times: I just spent a day in this northeast Syrian town. It was terrifying — much more so than I anticipated — but not because we were threatened in any way by the Free Syrian Army soldiers who took us around or by the Islamist Jabhet al-Nusra fighters who stayed hidden in the shadows. It was the local school that shook me up. As we were driving back to the Turkish border, I noticed a school and asked the driver to turn around so I could explore it. It was empty — of students. But war refugees had occupied...
Study quantifies sea level rise from melting glaciers
Posted by Summit Voice: None Given on May 18th, 2013
Summit Voice: The world`s major ice sheets -- on Greenland and Antarctica -- haven`t really started a major meltdown yet. But the rest of the world`s glacial regions have been losing ice at a rate of about 260 billion metric tons annually, raising sea level by about 0.03 inches per year -- about a third of the observed sea level rise.
The biggest ice losses are happening in Arctic Canada, Alaska, coastal Greenland, the southern Andes and the Himalaya. Combined, the areas contribute as much to sea level rise...
Experts: Increased rate of weather disasters in Ohio linked to global warming
Posted by Central Oho: Benjamin Lanka on May 18th, 2013
Central Oho: Weather disasters aren’t just a big deal in the South or along the coasts, according to a new report from Environment Ohio. They also occur with some frequency in Ohio.
The report, “In the Path of the Storm,” stated seven of 10 Ohioans suffered from a weather disaster in the past six years. The report compiled by the Federal Emergency Management Agency designated disasters in each of Ohio’s counties, excluding tornadoes, which haven’t been linked to global warming.
Julian Boggs, state policy...
Stephen Harper touts Keystone XL pipeline in New York, downplays oilsands emissions
Posted by Edmonton Journal: William Marsden on May 18th, 2013
Edmonton Journal: The Keystone XL pipeline “absolutely needs to go ahead” because it will create jobs and bring energy security to the United States, Prime Minister Stephen Harper told an audience primarily made up of elderly businessmen Thursday.
He said construction of the 1,800-kilometre pipeline will create 40,000 jobs and bring enough oil to reduce American dependence on offshore oil by 40 per cent.
“This is an enormous benefit to the United States in terms of long-term energy security,” he said.
At...
EU to dial back measures against global warming
Posted by Kyodo: None Given on May 18th, 2013
Kyodo: The European Union, which has spearheaded efforts to curb global warming, is set to adopt a change of focus in response to concerns over costs and the impact on companies in economically depressed Europe. Under the change, the European Uniln will prioritize the supply of energy at affordable prices over cutting greenhouse gas emissions which impose burdens on industries, in a turnaround of the region's energy policy, an EU official said Saturday. EU leaders will decide on the shift in energy policy...
Is tornado intensity increasing?
Posted by Climate Nexus: Marlene Cimons on May 18th, 2013
Climate Nexus: With at least 10 tornadoes ripping through North Texas in one night this week -- leveling neighborhoods, killing six and injuring dozens -- it might be tempting to call the twisters yet another instance of climate-fueled weather. But not so fast.
While most climate scientists agree that global warming is driving record heat waves, widespread drought, heavy rain and floods, intense hurricanes, and even monster snowstorms, tornadoes -- at least for now -- are a different story.
"With tornadoes,...