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Archive for June 26th, 2013
Canada: Jet stream eyed as one culprit in Alberta floods
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on June 26th, 2013
Canadian Press: It`s a long way from the Arctic Ocean to southern Alberta, but scientists are increasingly intrigued by theories that link disappearing sea ice to off-the-hook weather such as last week`s flooding.
Many are coming to believe there`s a common thread between not enough ice on the ocean and too much water in the rivers -- a high-altitude, high-speed torrent of air called the jet stream.
"There`s been a lot interest in the jet stream in the last two or three years," said Dave Phillips, an Environment...
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Maryland urged to plan for 2-foot sea-level rise by 2050
Posted by Baltimore Sun: Timothy B. Wheeler on June 26th, 2013
Baltimore Sun: Saying climate change is already underway, a panel of scientists is urging Maryland officials to plan to accommodate rising seas of up to 2 feet along the state's shoreline in the next 40 years -- and perhaps nearly 6 feet by the end of the century.
In a report to be released Wednesday and commissioned by Gov. Martin O'Malley, the group of 21 scientists from Maryland, Virginia and other mid-Atlantic states said recent, more sophisticated studies suggest that sea level is rising faster than forecast...
Increased horizontal hydraulic fracturing is causing concerns in Michigan
Posted by Michigan Radio: None Given on June 26th, 2013
Michigan Radio: Right now we have abundant supplies of natural gas because of what the U.S. Energy Information administration calls robust inshore production, there is a glut of natural gas and that means cheaper gas.
This increased supply is mostly due to hydraulic fracturing - more importantly, a newer way to use the drilling method, horizontal hydraulic fracturing. Horizontal fracking has made it easier and cheaper to extract natural gas and oil from shale deposits in the U.S. and around the globe. Horizontal...
Obama hints at Keystone approval
Posted by Politico: None Given on June 26th, 2013
Politico: President Barack Obama basked in applause Tuesday as he announced what sounded like a daunting environmental threshold for the controversial Keystone XL oil pipeline -- that the project can't go forward if it would "significantly' increase greenhouse gas emissions. What he didn't mention: His own State Department has already indicated that the pipeline can meet that standard. The State Department still hasn't issued its final environmental study on the pipeline, and the EPA has joined green activists...
Diluted oil sands crude no more likely to leak from pipeline than other oil, study finds
Posted by Washington Post: Lenny Bernstein on June 26th, 2013
Washington Post: The diluted form of heavy crude from Canadian oil sands fields is no more likely to leak from a pipeline than other forms of oil, an arm of the National Academy of Sciences reported Tuesday.
The finding, after an extensive study by the National Research Council, refutes a claim by opponents of the controversial Keystone XL pipeline extension, who contend that the "diluted bitumen' it would carry is more corrosive than other forms of crude and thus more likely to leak.
The TransCanada pipeline...
UK fossil fuel imports at record high
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on June 26th, 2013
Press Association: Fossil fuel imports rose by a tenth in 2011 to their highest level recorded by official statistics, it has been revealed. Imports of oil, gas and coal increased almost 10% from 2010 to 2011, to 162.5m tonnes, while domestic extraction of fossil fuels fell to the lowest levels since records began in 1990, according to Office for National Statistics data. Exports of fossil fuels also declined in 2011, the most recent year for which figures are available. Energy from waste and renewables – including...
Barack Obama unveils strict new US climate change measures to Congress
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on June 26th, 2013
Independent: Facing down a recalcitrant US Congress as well as a sceptical American public, President Barack Obama has unveiled a swathe of measures designed finally to put his administration’s back into tackling global warming, notably imposing strict new curbs on carbon dioxide emissions from electricity-generating plants. The measures, which can be implemented without recourse to any votes by Congress, had been widely expected and were harshly criticised by the president’s Republican critics even before he...
Big EU farm subsidies under scrutiny
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on June 26th, 2013
BBC: EU officials are holding key talks aimed at reforming the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) - the biggest spending item in the EU budget.
Ministers reached a joint negotiating position on Tuesday, and now they are discussing the reforms with Euro MPs and the European Commission.
There are calls to cut the subsidies for big intensive farms so that smaller farmers can get more.
There are also fears that incentives for protecting wildlife may be diluted.
The CAP and payments for rural development...
Is Arctic permafrost the ‘sleeping giant’ of climate change?
Posted by Inquirer: None Given on June 26th, 2013
Inquirer: Flying low and slow above the pristine terrain of Alaska's North Slope research scientist Charles Miller of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory surveys the white expanse of tundra and permafrost below. On the horizon, a long, dark line appears. His plane draws nearer, and the mysterious object reveals itself to be a massive herd of migrating caribou, stretching for miles.
It's a sight Miller won't soon forget.
"Seeing those caribou marching single-file across the tundra puts what we're doing here...
Small chance of El Nino/La Nina in summer-autumn 2013: WMO
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on June 26th, 2013
Reuters: The U.N. meteorological agency WMO said on Wednesday there was only a small chance of an El Nino or La Nina system, which can cause extreme weather around the world, developing in the Pacific Ocean in the coming months.
The two phenomena cause an abnormal warming or cooling of the surface of parts of the Pacific Ocean and lead to heavy rainfall and flooding in some parts of the globe or drought in others.
The WMO said "neutral conditions" were persisting in tropical areas of the Pacific and...