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Archive for June 27th, 2013
Scientists underscore Obama’s concerns about climate change and severe weather
Posted by E&E Publishing: Stephanie Paige Ogburn on June 27th, 2013
E&E Publishing: Severe flooding in India and wildfires in Colorado provided a backdrop of recent examples of weather-related disaster yesterday, as scientists and policymakers discussed the science of severe weather events at the American Geophysical Union's annual science policy conference in Washington, D.C.
The panel discussion led off with a straightforward yet disturbing fact: In 2012, the United States had the world's two costliest disasters, totaling more than $100 billion. One was Superstorm Sandy, and...
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Climate: Obama plan pivots on powerful economic forces behind utility industry decisions
Posted by E&E Publishing: Joel Kirkland and Peter Behr on June 27th, 2013
E&E Publishing: President Obama's plan to use a mixture of mandates and flexible regulation to cut greenhouse gas emissions is being viewed by energy industry experts through an age-old axiom: The devil is in the details.
The plan appears to be a shot in the arm for natural gas, as Obama's proposed regulation of carbon dioxide emissions from existing coal-fired power plants would provide a boost to cleaner-burning gas generators.
The White House's second-term climate agenda faces daunting head winds. Opposition...
Wild Alaskan weather intensifies climate debate
Posted by NewScientist: Andy Coghlan on June 27th, 2013
NewScientist: Nothing but blue skies"¦ This rare satellite image of a completely cloudless Alaska triggered media debate this week on whether climate change and melting Arctic sea ice are to blame. The true picture looks more nuanced.
Release of the image (larger version) by NASA coincided with a heatwave that saw the mercury hit 36 °C in Talkeetna -- 160 kilometres north of Anchorage -- on 17 June, and record-breaking temperatures in at least three other towns. Yet just weeks ago, the state saw unseasonably...
Human activity linked to hottest summer on record
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on June 27th, 2013
Sydney Morning Herald: Australia's record-breaking heat last summer was at least five times more likely to have occurred in a world subject to to greenhouse gas emissions fromhumanactivities than one without, a study has found.
University of Melbourne researchers drew the conclusion after examining 90 model simulations and climate observations from summers of the past 100 years.
They used nine climate models - those used by the United Nation's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change - to test how likely the record...
Does Barack Obama really care about climate change?
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on June 27th, 2013
Telegraph: Americans don’t believe in climate change, right?
Wrong. The majority, or 63 per cent, believe there is solid evidence that global warming is real, according to the latest poll from the National Surveys on Energy and Environment.
A book about climate change is currently in the New York Times bestseller list and an article on carbon in Rolling Stone recently got more clicks than Justin Bieber.
Ok, its hardly a vote winner.
But failing to respond to the consequences of climate change certainly...
Oil hunt in Ugandan national park tests Africa’s eco defenses
Posted by Reuters: Elias Biryabarema and Ed Stoddard on June 27th, 2013
Reuters: Uganda's Murchison Falls National Park is bisected by the majestic Nile river and boasts some of Africa's wildlife treasures - elephants, lions and a rare giraffe sub-species.
Beneath it lies another natural prize: oil. Now French energy giant Total has begun surveys to prepare for seismic tests in the national park, one of Uganda's last great wilderness areas, as a prelude to probable crude production.
Total and the Ugandan government insist oil can be extracted from under the national park...
Fracking: some inconvenient truths
Posted by Guardian: Richard Seymour on June 27th, 2013
Guardian: It's mouth-watering. There may well be more natural gas stuck in our shale rock than we ever thought possible – a whole decade's worth. This is excellent news, in a way, because in addition to the money (and don't belittle the money), this gives the UK an energy resource that can ensure it against sudden spikes in import energy prices – like whenever we start a war.
There is just one small problem. Hydrochloric acid. Well, there are actually quite a few chemicals involved, but this one eats through...
African Govts Warned on Impact of Climate Change
Posted by This Day Live: None Given on June 27th, 2013
This Day Live: A new report released by the World Bank has warned that food production in Western Africa will be hit by more frequent and more extreme heat waves and droughts if the climate continues to alter at its current pace. Also the Climate Action Network has called on African governments to implement low-carbon development and climate-resilient strategies in order to contribute to the reduction of the impacts of climate change on their populations. The report, Turn Down the Heat - Climate Extremes, Regional...
‘Far more’ UK shale gas resources
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on June 27th, 2013
BBC: UK shale gas resources may be far greater than previously thought, a report for the government says.
The British Geological Survey was asked to estimate how much gas is trapped in rocks beneath Lancashire and Yorkshire.
It said there could be 1,300 trillion cubic feet at one site alone, but it is unclear how much could be extracted.
Ministers are set to announce financial benefits for communities where fracking - the controversial extraction technique - takes place.
BBC industry correspondent...
UK shale gas survey likely to reveal reserves higher than expected
Posted by Guardian: Fiona Harvey, on June 27th, 2013
Guardian: New estimates of the UK's reserves of shale gas will be published on Thursday, and are expected to be much larger than originally thought – potentially supplying the UK with decades' worth of natural gas, if a high proportion of the gas in the rocks can be extracted at a low cost. However that key question that cannot yet be answered due to the lack of experimental wells drilled so far and the challenges posed by the UK's high density of population.
The survey of shale reserves, carried out by...