RSS Feed
Archive for June 21st, 2013
Megadrought in US Southwest: A bad omen for forests globally
Posted by Yale Environment 360: Caroline Fraser on June 21st, 2013
Yale Environment 360: As brutal fires torch tinder-dry dense forests and neighboring homes in the American West, researchers are examining the relationships between drought, wildfire, and a warming climate, predicting mass forest die-offs and prolonged megadrought for the Southwest. These forces are accelerating, they say, and already transforming the landscape. Unchecked, they may permanently destroy forests in the southwestern U.S. and in some other regions around the world.
Across the West, “megafires” have become...
Posted in 
Munich Re to Rio Tinto to bear costs of climate change, UN says
Posted by Bloomberg News: Alex Morales on June 21st, 2013
Bloomberg News: Corporations from Munich Re to Rio Tinto Group will bear rising costs from pressures on the Earth’s environment such as changes in the climate and water shortages, according to a United Nations Environment Program report. Their success will increasingly hinge on the ability to adapt to a “rapidly” changing environment and to develop goods and services that help reduce the effect of climate change and are less reliant on water and harmful chemicals, the agency said today in a report released at Bloomberg’s...
India: Rise in sea level to adversely affect Thane creek, says study
Posted by Hindustan Times: Snehal Rebello on June 21st, 2013
Hindustan Times: The Thane creek, designated as an Important Bird Area (IBA), will be impacted with a sea-level rise of 0.5 to 1m, states a study published in the Journal of Threatened Taxa in May. The study conducted by a four-member international team of scientists revealed that an estimated 13,973sqkm of land in coastal areas will be lost across the country because of intrusion of sea water.
Major causes of rising sea levels include thermal expansion of the ocean, mountain glacier melting, and discharge of...
Climate change promises tough times for Asia and Africa
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on June 21st, 2013
IPS: Extreme heat, flooding and water and food shortages will rock South Asia and Africa by 2030 and render large sections of cities inhabitable, if the world continues to burn huge amounts of coal, oil and gas, the World Bank is warning. "Turn Down the Heat: Climate Extremes, Regional Impacts and the Case for Resilience", a new report commissioned by the World Bank and released Wednesday, analysed the expected effects on South Asia and Africa if global temperatures increase by two and four degrees Celsius....
Republicans and Democrats treat fracking like it’s global warming
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on June 21st, 2013
Mother Jones: The more liberals and conservatives know about science, the more they have wildly variant views about the risks of global warming, according to research by Yale's Dan Kahan. You might call it the "smart idiot" effect--knowledge, itself, seems to make people with diametrically opposed views more sure that they're right, and thus worsens the political fight over what is actually scientifically true.
And recent research suggests that the smart idiot effect isn't limited to climate change--it also...
Calgary neighbourhoods evacuated as floods hit western Canada
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on June 21st, 2013
Associated Press: Water levels from heavy flooding in western Canada were expected to peak around noon on Friday, possibly forcing as many as 100,000 people from their homes, officials said.
On Thursday, torrential rain and widespread flooding throughout southern Alberta forced the closure of the Trans-Canada Highway and isolated the mountain resort towns of Banff and Canmore. The flooding washed out roads and bridges, left at least one person missing and caused cars, couches and refrigerators to float away.
Communities...
North American Birds Declining as Threats Mount
Posted by National Geographic: Mel White on June 21st, 2013
National Geographic: Throughout the year, birders look forward to changing seasons and avian scenes as they explore woods, grasslands, and wetlands: the spectacle of spring migration, the songs of breeding birds, the autumn southward flight of wintering species from northern nesting grounds. Increasingly, though, both casual bird-watchers and ornithologists note a steady decline in numbers—not just of endangered species, but also of common birds not usually considered to be at risk. Study after study, survey after survey...
The GM slow motion train wreck
Posted by Guardian: Paul Nightingale on June 21st, 2013
Guardian: Yesterday the UK launched an utterly predictable slow motion train wreck of an attempt to rehabilitate genetically modified organisms in the European market. Owen Paterson gave a speech at the Rothamsted Research site arguing for a new debate about the potential of genetically modified crops. His position was clear. He thinks that we have a moral responsibility to invest in GMOs in order to feed the world in the near future. He thinks that there will be benefits for the UK economy, because we can...
Indian floods: thousands stranded in northern Himalayas
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on June 21st, 2013
Associated Press: The Indian air force has dropped food and medicine to assist tens of thousands of people trapped in up to 100 towns and villages cut off by monsoon rains and landslides in the northern Himalayas.
Soldiers and other workers reopened dozens of roads by building makeshift bridges, accelerating the evacuation of nearly 62,000 people, said a Uttarakhand state spokesman, Amit Chandola.
More than 2,000 vehicles carrying stranded Hindu pilgrims have travelled from the area since Thursday, he said....
Global Carbon Emissions & Sinks Since 1750
Posted by CleanTechnica: Lindsay Wilson on June 21st, 2013
CleanTechnica: The world reached a grim milestone recently, with atmospheric concentrations at the historic Mauna Loa observatory hitting the 400 parts per million mark due to ever increasing global carbon emissions. While this event rightly got the media coverage it deserved, rarely do we stop to appreciate the incredible job land and ocean sinks have played in ensuring this figure isn’t significantly higher. Using data for all sources and sinks of human carbon emissions over the last 262 years this post highlights...