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Archive for June 14th, 2013
In frogs’ croaks, volunteer hears nature’s pulse
Posted by Associated Press: Dan Olson on June 14th, 2013
Associated Press: Half an hour past sunset in rural western Hennepin County, Madeleine Linck strains her ears. She's listening, believe it or not, for the sounds of courtship.
Frog courtship, that is.
Linck is helping with a survey gauging the presence of the state's 14 frog and toad species. She's listening for the male mating call.
"The females do no calling," Linck said.
She offers no judgment on the family values of frogs.
"The females, once they lay their eggs, usually disperse pretty quickly and...
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In Colorado, Nature Takes a Fiery Toll Despite a Community’s Efforts to Prepare
Posted by New York Times: Jack Healy on June 14th, 2013
New York Times: For years, families in Black Forest, Colo., did what they could to keep the flames at bay. They scooped up pine needles and trimmed low-hanging branches around their homes. They chopped down saplings and hauled dead trees to the community mulcher. But when the fire came this week, hundreds of their homes still burned. As fire crews fought Friday to contain the most destructive wildfire in Colorado’s history — a blaze that has now burned 400 homes, killed two people and spread across 15,000 acres...
Storm-battered Philippines moves to reduce risks and emissions
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on June 14th, 2013
ClimateWire: The Philippines, Asia's fastest-growing country and among its most vulnerable to climate change, has launched several new strategies to both prepare for the impacts of global warming and develop its renewable energy capacity.
Meeting in Washington, D.C., recently, a high-level government delegation outlined its plans for low-carbon growth and this week is meeting with counterparts in California to discuss ways to implement policies on the ground.
From a new "People's Survival Fund" aimed at...
Weird weather might just wake feeble politicians up to climate change
Posted by Guardian: Zoe Williams on June 14th, 2013
Guardian: On Monday, Amory Lovins, physicist, environmentalist, and unassuming colossus of the green movement, appeared in London to talk about energy use. I mention this in the context of the Guardian's story that meteorologists are due to meet next week to discuss whether our bizarre weather is climate change-related (moreover, anthropogenic climate change-related) or just represents natural variation.
I have got into the habit of mentally and often literally shutting my eyes when I see a story like that;...
Australia: Keep our coal in the ground
Posted by Guardian: Simon Copland on June 14th, 2013
Guardian: I'm instantly stuck by the contrast. On one side, the landscape is beautiful. A river winds its way towards the ocean, until it hits a few islands sitting on the coast. Mangroves cling to the water edge. Beyond the initial line of trees, the landscape is bare -- dark brown and red soils radiating in the sun.
The other side is very different. Amongst the beauty, humans have wreaked havoc. We can see factories, gas plants and piles of coal getting ready to be shipped out. On the ocean I can count...