RSS Feed
Archive for June 22nd, 2013
63,700 ha of Borneo rainforest gains protection in Sabah
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on June 22nd, 2013
Mongabay: The Sabah Forestry Department has reclassified 63,700 hectares of rainforest zoned for logging as protected areas.
The reclassification applies to four commercial forest reserves: Malua (33,969 hectares), Mt. Magdalena (6,665 ha), Tambulanan (3,265 ha) and Sungai Tiagau (19,870 ha). It will increase contiguity between the Maliau Basin, Imbak Canyon and Danum Valley conservation areas within the Yayasan Sabah concession area, a million hectare estate that is managed by the Sabah Forestry Department....
Posted in 
Canada: Calgary evacuated ahead of flood
Posted by Independent: Zander Swinburne on June 22nd, 2013
Independent: Around 75,000 people have been evacuated from the centre of the city of Calgary as floodwaters devastated much of Canada's southern province of Alberta, killing three people. Some 1,300 troops have been deployed in the flood zone. Alberta's premier, Alison Redford, warned that communities downstream of Calgary had not yet felt the full force of the floods, as rivers washed out roads and bridges, soaked homes and turned streets into dirt-brown waterways. On Friday, the Prime Minister, Stephen Harper,...
Indonesia drops water bombs on fires, may resort to cloud-seeding
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on June 22nd, 2013
Mongabay: In an effort to control peat fires casting a pall of haze over neighboring Singapore and Malaysia, Indonesia is using airplanes to drop water across hotspots in Riau Province on the island of Sumatra, reports AFP. Officials say they may try cloud-seeding - dumping silver iodide at high altitude - if current fire-fighting efforts fall short.
The fires are a growing source of tension between Indonesia and its neighbors. The Indonesian minister in charge of handling the fires, fanned the diplomatic...
Alberta is a centre of climate-change denial, but not all Albertans deny reality of global warming
Posted by Straight: Charlie Smith on June 22nd, 2013
Straight: I merely pointed out that climate-change deniers, such as former Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney and former Australian prime minister John Howard, each lost elections for taking this position.
And I suggested that the same fate could easily befall Prime Minister Stephen Harper, who has modelled his career on Howard's.
That prompted Alberta progressives--and a few trolls--to attack me for characterizing Alberta as "Canada's centre of climate-change denial".
Some comments were...
Iowa View: It’s time for Iowa to lead on climate change
Posted by Des Moines Register: None Given on June 22nd, 2013
Des Moines Register: Iowa seems to have become a state of extremes.
Last year, record early warmth prompted fruit blossoming in March and corn planting in early April, only to be severely challenged by late freezes and widespread drought. This year, a cold start to the planting season, followed by the wettest spring on record, has delayed planting and produced widespread soil erosion from extreme rainfall.
Last year along the Mississippi River, low water brought barge traffic to a standstill. This year, barges...
Weather systems clash led to India floods
Posted by BBC: Navin Singh Khadka on June 22nd, 2013
BBC: An unusually intensive fusion of two weather systems from opposite directions triggered this week's devastating floods in northern India and western Nepal, authorities have said.
They say the monsoon advancing towards the west of South Asia combined with westerly winds for an unusually long time and with an extraordinary intensity, which resulted in days of torrential rains.
Weather authorities in India and Pakistan have warned there is still a threat that the dangerous combination will cause...
One dead, thousands without power after storms hit U.S. Midwest
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on June 22nd, 2013
Reuters: One woman is dead and more than 200,000 homes and businesses are without power in the upper Midwest on Saturday after severe thunderstorms struck parts of the Dakotas, Minnesota, and Wisconsin with damaging winds, lightning and baseball-sized hail. The storms developed in the Dakotas on Friday and powered through Minnesota into Wisconsin, producing wind gusts up to 85 mph and large hailstones, some in excess of 4 inches in diameter, as well as short-lived tornadoes, said Brynn Kerr, a meteorologist...
Indian floods sweep away villages near holy site, leaving at least 575 dead
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on June 22nd, 2013
Guardian: Flash floods and landslides unleashed by early monsoon rains have killed at least 575 people in northern India, with tens of thousands of people still missing and entire villages destroyed. More heavy rain is forecast.
Rescue efforts involving 12,000 soldiers are continuing, and more than 50 air force helicopters have been dropping food, water and medical supplies to people trapped by the water in the foothills of the Himalayas. Others are airlifting survivors where they can be reached.
Tourists...
India floods death toll rises – in pictures
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on June 22nd, 2013
Guardian: Vehicles are parked near buildings damaged by floods and landslides in Govindghat, India. Soldiers were working to evacuate tens of thousands of people still stranded in northern India where nearly 600 people have been killed in monsoon flooding and landslides
At least three dead as Canada floods force large-scale Calgary evacuation
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on June 22nd, 2013
Guardian: At least three people have been killed by floodwaters that devastated much of southern Alberta, leading authorities to evacuate the city of Calgary's entire downtown.
The Canadian prime minister, Stephen Harper, called the level of flooding "stunning" and said officials don't know yet if it will get worse. Harper also said the water had peaked and stabilized and noted that the weather has improved.
Overflowing rivers washed out roads and bridges, soaked homes and turned streets into dirt-brown...