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Archive for June, 2013
The intensity of land use doubled in the 20th century
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on June 4th, 2013
ScienceDaily: The growth of green plants -- which can be measured in terms of "net primary production," or NPP for short -- provides the energetic foundation for all life on earth. The share of NPP appropriated by humans (HANPP) through agriculture and forestry, bioenergy production, and vegetation fires doubled over the course of the past century. Researchers at the Institute of Social Ecology at the AAU have shown that while land is used more efficiently, simultaneously, the intensity of land use has increased...
Germany sends troops to help flooded cities as death toll rises
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on June 4th, 2013
Associated Press: Germany has dispatched thousands of soldiers to help cities and towns cope with flooding from the rain-soaked Danube and other southern rivers – reinforcements that came a day after the Bavarian city of Passau saw its worst flooding since 1501.
The death toll rose to at least 10, including seven in the neighbouring Czech Republic, where a man was found dead in the water in eastern Bohemia. Another nine people have been reported missing in the floods that have also swept through Austria and Switzerland....
Posted in Water Conservation 
Comments Off on Germany sends troops to help flooded cities as death toll risesA Menu for a Sustainable Food Future
Posted by EcoWatch: Craig Hanson and Tim Searchinger on June 4th, 2013
EcoWatch: How can the world feed more than 9 billion people by 2050 in a manner that advances economic development and reduces pressure on the environment? This is one of the paramount questions the world faces over the next four decades.
Answering it requires a “great balancing act” of three needs--all of which must be met simultaneously.
Balancing Three Needs
The world needs to close the gap between the amount of food available today and the amount required in 2050. According to new WRI analysis,...
Methane leaks ‘could negate climate benefits’
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on June 4th, 2013
Guardian: Methane leaks could undo the climate change benefits of America's natural gas boom, a new report said on Tuesday.
The report, produced by the Centre for Climate and Energy Solutions (C2ES), said America's shift from coal to gas had produced important climate gains.
Carbon dioxide emissions fell last year to their lowest point since 1994, according to the Department of Energy. Energy-related carbon dioxide emissions were 12% below 2005 levels.
But the report said those reductions were not...
Study: Increased carbon dioxide may lead to greener deserts
Posted by Mother Nature Network: John Platt on June 4th, 2013
Mother Nature Network: Increased levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide may have contributed to a gradual greening of some desert regions over the past 30 years, a process that will continue, according to a new study. But the authors warn that this "CO2 fertilization effect" could also have consequences for native plants and the wildlife that depends on them. The study, published May 15 in the journal Geophysical Research Letters, was conducted by researchers from the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Study: Increased carbon dioxide may lead to greener desertsClimate change may increase the risk of severe thunderstorms
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on June 4th, 2013
ScienceDaily: Analysis has suggested that changes in the atmosphere will lead to more frequent conditions favorable for severe thunderstorms. According to recent studies there will be more damaging winds related to thunderstorms. The number of tornadoes and large hail is expected to remain at the same level as today.
Climate model simulations suggest that on average, as the surface temperature and moisture increases the conditions for thunderstorms becomes more frequent. Climate change decreases temperature...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Climate change may increase the risk of severe thunderstormsFrog Long Thought Extinct Is Rediscovered in Israel
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on June 4th, 2013
National Geographic: Israeli park ranger Yoram Malka caught only a fleeting glimpse of the frog as it leapt across the road, but he knew it was something special.
When he first saw the frog in northern Israel's Hula Valley, Malka jerked his utility vehicle to a stop, bounded out of his seat, and jumped atop it, catching the creature in his hands.
The animal had a mottled backside and a black belly with white dots. It belonged to a species that most scientists thought had disappeared from the Earth more than half...
Two Months Later, Arkansas Residents Still Hurting From ExxonMobil Tar Sands Spill
Posted by EcoWatch: None Given on June 4th, 2013
EcoWatch: More than two months after ExxonMobil’s 65-year-old Pegasus pipeline burst and spewed a gusher of thick Canadian tar sands oil through Mayflower, AR, and into a marsh on Lake Conway--the state’s most popular fishing spot--residents are still complaining of health problems and are worried about poisonous impacts on wildlife and in the environment. Many locals and some scientists have little faith in the continuous rosy assurances from Exxon and the Unified Command that testing results show the environment...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Two Months Later, Arkansas Residents Still Hurting From ExxonMobil Tar Sands SpillOil Spill in the Gulf of Mexico, Still Spilling After Nearly a Decade
Posted by EcoWatch: None Given on June 4th, 2013
EcoWatch: The 2013 hurricane season is now upon us, and it`s predicted to be a doozy this year. Which got us to thinking ... Remember that strange, persistent little oil slick about 12 miles offshore that SkyTruth discovered on satellite imagery during the BP oil spill in 2010, that was not related to BP's Deepwater Horizon disaster?
Remember how SouthWings flew photographer J. Henry Fair out there and came across a deepwater drill rig with a miles-long oil slick next to it?
When we published this, an...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Oil Spill in the Gulf of Mexico, Still Spilling After Nearly a DecadeBillionaire Democrat vows fight against Keystone by targeting Obama voters
Posted by Associated Press: Lee-Anne Goodman on June 4th, 2013
Associated Press: A San Francisco billionaire -- a friend to Barack Obama and a major Democratic financier -- is embarking on a mission to block TransCanada's proposed Keystone XL pipeline by targeting voters who cast ballots for the president in last year's election.
In an open letter to Obama, written by Tom Steyer just two months after hosting the president at his home, the climate-change activist says his political action committee, NextGen Action, is launching a campaign to "intensify our efforts in communicating...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Billionaire Democrat vows fight against Keystone by targeting Obama voters