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Archive for June 24th, 2013
As Deadly Floods Hit India, Kerry Calls on New Delhi to Address Climate Change
Posted by Time: Krista Mahr on June 24th, 2013
Time: It was a fitting time to talk about the weather. With some 700 dead in the massive floods that have hit the northeastern state of Uttarakhand, new torrents of rain and landslides put rescue efforts on hold on Monday. At least 10,000 people are reported to still be stranded in some of the worst monsoon flooding in years in the region, an unfolding disaster that provided a dramatic backdrop for U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry‘s two-day visit to India this week in which he called on the nation to...
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What to expect from Obama’s big climate speech
Posted by MotherJones: Kate Sheppard on June 24th, 2013
MotherJones: President Obama will deliver an address on climate change at Georgetown University on Tuesday, outlining, according to the White House, his "vision for a comprehensive plan to reduce carbon pollution, prepare our country for the impacts of climate change, and lead global efforts to fight it."
Obama tipped his hand on the new plan in a video announcement on Saturday, noting that climate change "is a serious challenge, but it's one uniquely suited to America's strengths."
He pledged action on...
Construction of Keystone XL Pump Station in Oklahoma Shut Down by Activists
Posted by EcoWatch: None Given on June 24th, 2013
EcoWatch: Early this morning, eight individuals blocked construction of a pump station for TransCanada’s controversial Keystone XL tar sands pipeline on Seminole land-by-treaty in Oklahoma by locking on to equipment in the largest action yet by the Great Plains Tar Sands Resistance. Nine people have been arrested. They managed to shut down the site until a volunteer firefighter reportedly injured one of the lockdowners, who is now in an ambulance. Others participating in the action unlocked out of concerns...
Not Local Food, And Not Afraid To Say It
Posted by National Public Radio: Anna Haensch on June 24th, 2013
National Public Radio: A burrito is a thing of beauty. Swathed in tortilla, clad in foil, simple ingredients come together and something magical happens.
For John Pepper, CEO of Boloco and self-proclaimed "burrito-obsessed guy," capturing this burrito magic has been a journey. Pepper started Boloco, a chain of more than 20 burrito restaurants across six states, as a school project while earning his MBA at Dartmouth. His goal: to make delicious food through socially conscious food sourcing and community-focused business...
GM crops won’t help African farmers
Posted by Guardian: Million Belay and Ruth Nyambura on June 24th, 2013
Guardian: Last week we heard that Owen Paterson, the UK's environment minister, is claiming that GM crops are necessary to help address hunger in developing countries, and that it would be immoral for Britain not to help developing countries to take up GM. Millions of small-scale farmers in Africa would disagree. African farmers and civil society have repeatedly rejected GM crops, and asked their governments to ban them.
Paterson does not appear to understand the complex realities and challenges of farming...
Our Overcrowded Planet: Failure of Family Planning
Posted by Yale Environment 360: Robert Engelman on June 24th, 2013
Yale Environment 360: Until just a couple weeks ago, the great global food challenge was how to feed 9 billion people in 2050. But no longer -- the number of mid-century mouths just jumped. Now it’s projected to be 9.6 billion, closing in on double-digit billions. And forget about expectations that world population will stabilize this century: By 2100, according to the latest projections, the number of people on the planet will hit 10.9 billion -- and will still be growing by 10 million a year. These hundreds of millions...
8 Images to Understand the Drought in the Southwest
Posted by Climate Central: Daniel Yawitz on June 24th, 2013
Climate Central: In states like Missouri, last summer's drought was downright scary. Farmers saw their corn shrivel in the fields, ranchers ran out of feed for their cattle, and commerce on the Mississippi River slowed to a crawl, as barges struggled to avoid newly exposed rocks on the low-flowing river. But this spring brought relief. And now, after one of the wettest springs on record, life will return to a different sort of normal for many Midwestern farmers, as they deal with the problem of having too much water....
Biggest Dead Zone Ever Forecast in Gulf of Mexico
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on June 24th, 2013
National Geographic: A possibly record-breaking, New Jersey-size dead zone may put a chokehold on the Gulf of Mexico (map) this summer, according to a forecast released this week.
Unusually robust spring floods in the U.S. Midwest are flushing agricultural runoff—namely, nitrogen and phosphorus—into the Gulf and spurring giant algal blooms, which lead to dead zones, or areas devoid of oxygen that occur in the summer.
The forecast, developed by the University of Michigan and Louisiana State University with support...
Better air quality linked to worse hurricanes
Posted by Climate News Network: Tim Radford on June 24th, 2013
Climate News Network: Scientists from Britain's Meteorological Office have fingered a new suspect in their attempt to solve the mystery of tropical storms. It is, unexpectedly, air quality.
If North Atlantic hurricanes are more destructive or more frequent, it may be linked to lower levels of atmospheric pollution. Conversely, sulphate aerosols and other particles from factory chimneys, vehicle exhausts, domestic fires, power stations and other human economic advances may have played a role in keeping tropical storms...
Were India’s floods caused by reckless greed?
Posted by Guardian: Kavitha Rao on June 24th, 2013
Guardian: Natural disasters often follow a predictable path in India. A flood or an earthquake happens every few years, the government blames the vagaries of nature, the right sympathetic noises are made, and all is forgotten until the next one comes along. But last week's cataclysmic floods in the northern Indian state of Uttarakhand, surrounded by the Himalayas, have provoked a debate on whether this particular disaster was caused - or at least worsened - by reckless human greed.
At last count, 5000 people...