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Archive for May, 2013
Joe Biden Talks Climate Change And Natural Gas In Rolling Stone Interview
Posted by Huffington Post: Nick Visser on May 11th, 2013
Huffington Post: "We've been dealing with a Congress where a significant portion of the other party thinks there's no such thing as global warming," according to Vice President Joe Biden.
In an interview with historian Douglas Brinkley published this week in Rolling Stone, Biden aimed squarely at congressional Republicans and their lack of enthusiasm for the environment.
The Obama administration has pushed green legislation, including changes to fuel emissions standards and tax programs to spur the clean energy...
Posted in Water Conservation 
Comments Off on Joe Biden Talks Climate Change And Natural Gas In Rolling Stone InterviewOptimistic but Cautious, Grenada Bolsters Its Water Resources
Posted by Inter Press Service: Desmond Brown on May 11th, 2013
Inter Press Service: One daunting scientific forecast states that almost half of the world`s population will live in areas of water scarcity by 2030. Yet Christopher Husbands, the head of Grenada`s National Water and Sewerage Authority (NAWASA), is unfazed.
"Nationally, we have adequate resources, certainly taking us way past 2030," he told IPS, adding that for the coming decades Grenada did not need to be overly concerned about the coming water scarcity.
Yet he allowed that two villages in Grenada do not have...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Optimistic but Cautious, Grenada Bolsters Its Water ResourcesWarmer Climate Threatens Africa’s Vital Cassava Crop
Posted by Climate News Network: Alex Kirby on May 11th, 2013
Climate News Network: A plant which is a staple food crop for millions of people across Africa is at risk from disease as regional temperatures rise, scientists say.
The plant, cassava, is a significant source of food and income, and is an important industrial crop, and there is concern that serious food shortages may result and poverty worsen.
Experts say the spread of the disease could halve cassava production and threaten the diets of 300 million people.
Experts say the spread of the disease could halve cassava...
Do we need a better yardstick to measure severe droughts?
Posted by ClimateWire: Tiffany Stecker on May 11th, 2013
ClimateWire: After more than a decade, the U.S. Drought Monitor might be due for a tuneup.
As Illinois' State Climatologist Jim Angel puts it, it's like the scene in the 1984 parody of hard rock documentaries "This Is Spinal Tap" in which heavy metal guitarist Nigel Tufnel shows off his amplifiers with volume knobs that go up to 11.
Tufnel's amplifiers, he brags to the filmmaker in the spoof, give his guitars that ear-splitting "extra push off the cliff" compared with traditional amps that only reach 10....
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Do we need a better yardstick to measure severe droughts?Prince Harry’s concern over ‘visual impact’ of wind farms
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on May 11th, 2013
Telegraph: His comments came as he attended a reception in Denver on Friday night and his views are apparently shared by his father the Prince of Wales.
The event was hosted by Beverley Simpson, British consul general for Colorado, New Mexico and Wyoming, and among the guests was four-time Olympic gold medal winning swimmer Missy Franklin.
Susan Reilly, chief executive officer of Renewable Energy Systems Americas, said after speaking to the prince that she had to reassure Harry about the benefits of wind...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Prince Harry’s concern over ‘visual impact’ of wind farmsDecision on Keystone XL Pipeline Seen Dragging Past Summer
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on May 11th, 2013
Reuters: The Obama administration is unlikely to make a decision on the Canada-to-Nebraska Keystone XL pipeline until late this year as it painstakingly weighs the project's impact on the environment and on energy security, a U.S. official and analysts said on Friday.
The decision may not be made until November, December or even early 2014, said a U.S. official, as President Barack Obama will not rush the process, which still has a number of stages to work through. One of those stages has not even begun...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Decision on Keystone XL Pipeline Seen Dragging Past SummerChina battery plant protest gives voice to rising anger over pollution
Posted by Reuters: Jane Lee and Gabriel Wildau on May 11th, 2013
Reuters: Hundreds of protesters gathered in the Chinese financial hub of Shanghai on Saturday to oppose plans for a lithium battery factory, highlighting growing social tension over pollution.
Police stood by as residents marched peacefully along a busy street in the Songjiang district of the city, gathering at an intersection near the site of a Carrefour hypermarket, chanting and holding signs saying "No factory here, we love Songjiang."
Many wore matching t-shirts with an image of a smoky factory...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on China battery plant protest gives voice to rising anger over pollutionFrozen Lakes Cut Into Minnesota Fishing Tradition
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on May 11th, 2013
National Public Radio: On the shores of Mille Lacs Lake in central Minnesota, it finally feels like spring. But the lake still looks like winter.
Saturday marks the opening of the walleye fishing season, and it's usually one of the busiest weekends for the state's resort communities. But this year, many of the northern lakes are still frozen, restricting water access and, potentially, local businesses.
Rick Bruesewitz, a fisheries manager for the Department of Natural Resources, says it would be tough to get a boat...
Britain’s migratory birds stay away as climate change moves their wintering areas further north
Posted by Independent: Rod Minchin on May 11th, 2013
Independent: Migratory waterbirds have shifted their wintering areas north-eastwards due to Europe's changing climate, scientists have revealed.
They found a strong link between changes in the numbers of goldeneyes, tufted ducks and goosanders wintering across northern Europe and changes in temperature in early winter.
In Finland and Sweden, the mid-winter numbers of these three species are more than 130,000 higher than three decades ago.
Correspondingly, on the southern edge of the distribution in France,...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Britain’s migratory birds stay away as climate change moves their wintering areas further northWhy Federal Efforts to Ensure Clean Tap Water Fail to Reach Faucets Nationwide
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on May 11th, 2013
New York Times: Laura Garcia was halfway through the breakfast dishes when the spigot went dry. The small white tank beneath the sink that purified her undrinkable water had run out. Still, as annoying as that was, it was an improvement over the days before Ms. Garcia got her water filter, when she had to do her dishes using water from five-gallon containers she bought at a local store. Ms. Garcia’s well water, like that of her neighbors, is laced with excessive nitrates, a pollutant associated with agriculture,...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Why Federal Efforts to Ensure Clean Tap Water Fail to Reach Faucets Nationwide