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Archive for June 11th, 2013
Oil Spilled Into Ecuador’s Rivers Reaches Peru
Posted by Environment News Service: None Given on June 11th, 2013
Environment News Service: Oil spilled from Petroecuador`s Trans-Ecuador pipeline after a May31 landslide in the Andean foothills has reached the Peruvian Amazon.
The landslide that destroyed a 330-foot section of the pipeline is blamed on heavy rain in the province of Sucumbios near the El Reventador Volcano, one of Ecuador`s most active volcanoes.
Oil spill caused when a landslide damaged the Trans-Ecuador pipeline near the El Reventador volcano, June 4, 2013. (Photo courtesy Petroecuador)
The broken pipeline spilled...
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What’s Behind the New Warning on Global Carbon Emissions?
Posted by National Geographic: Thomas K. Grose on June 11th, 2013
National Geographic: If the world waits until 2020 to take action on global climate change, it will undoubtedly be too late, the International Energy Agency (IEA) warns in a new report. However, the Paris-based agency, which is tasked with maintaining global energy security, identified four proven policies, each relying on current technology, that could be implemented immediately. (See quiz: "What You Don't Know About World Energy.") These efforts could keep the world on track while nations work toward a more comprehensive...
Wood not so green a biofuel? Logging may have greater impact on carbon emissions than previous
Posted by Science Daily: None Given on June 11th, 2013
Science Daily: Using wood for energy is considered cleaner than fossil fuels, but a Dartmouth College-led study finds that logging may release large amounts of carbon stored in deep forest soils.
Global atmospheric studies often don't consider carbon in deep (or mineral) soil because it is thought to be stable and unaffected by timber harvesting. But the Dartmouth findings show deep soil can play an important role in carbon emissions in clear-cutting and other intensive forest management practices. The findings...
German flood damage insurance claims may reach €3bn
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on June 11th, 2013
Associated Press: Damage from the past week's flooding in Germany is expected to lead to insurance claims of up to EUR3bn (£2.5bn), a credit rating agency has said, as flood levels on the Elbe river in the country's north appeared to stabilise.
Further south, the peak of the flood on the Danube, Europe's second-longest river, moved away from the Hungarian capital, Budapest, toward Serbia.
The Elbe, the Danube and other rivers have overflowed their banks following weeks of heavy rain, causing extensive damage...
NYC lays out $20 billion plan to combat climate change –
Posted by Reuters: Hilary Russ on June 11th, 2013
Reuters: New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg on Tuesday announced a $20 billion plan to prepare for rising sea levels and hotter summers expected as a result of climate change in the coming decades.
The plan, which follows widespread destruction wreaked by Superstorm Sandy last year, included about 250 recommendations ranging from new floodwalls and storm barriers to upgrades of power and telecommunications infrastructures.
It coincided with a report updating projections of the impact of climate change,...
Water levels fall in Great Lakes, taking a toll on shipping
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on June 11th, 2013
New York Times: Aboard the Dorothy Ann, in Lake Erie near Fairport Harbor, Ohio — As Capt. Jeremy R. Mock steered this 711-foot combination of tug and barge toward a harbor berth, a screen of red numbers indicated the decreasing depth of water under the vessel: 6 feet, 3.6 feet, 2 feet. Suddenly the numbers gave way to a line of red dashes: — — — — . It was a signal that there was not enough water to measure. Drought and other factors have created historically low water marks for the Great Lakes, putting the...
New York City Faces Increasing Risk From Climate Change, New Data Show
Posted by New York Times: Jenny Anderson on June 11th, 2013
New York Times: The Bloomberg administration on Monday issued new warnings about New York City’s vulnerability to climate change, offering updated data to encourage businesses, residents and perhaps even future mayors to better prepare against hotter weather, fiercer storms and increased rainfall. Administration officials estimated that more than 800,000 city residents will live in the 100-year flood plain by the 2050s. That figure is more than double the 398,000 currently estimated to be at risk, based on new...
Amount of dust blown across the Western U.S. is increasing
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on June 11th, 2013
ScienceDaily: The amount of dust being blown across the landscape has increased over the last 17 years in large swaths of the West, according to a new study led by the University of Colorado Boulder.
The escalation in dust emissions -- which may be due to the interplay of several factors, including increased windstorm frequency, drought cycles and changing land-use patterns -- has implications both for the areas where the dust is first picked up by the winds and for the places where the dust is put back down....