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Archive for July 1st, 2013
Obama Orders U.S. Agencies to Fight Global Wildlife Trafficking
Posted by Environment News Service: None Given on July 1st, 2013
Environment News Service: During a state visit to Tanzania today, President Barack Obama said his administration will put new energy and funds into fighting wildlife trafficking, which he called "an international crisis that continues to escalate."
In a news conference with Tanzanian President Jakaya Kikwete, President Obama said, "Poaching and trafficking is threatening Africa's wildlife, so today I issued a new executive order to better organize U.S. government efforts in this fight so that we can cooperate further with...
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Who Are The Hotshots? A Wildland Firefighting Primer
Posted by National Geographic: Melody Kramer on July 1st, 2013
National Geographic: The 19 firefighters who lost their lives battling a raging wildfire in central Arizona on Sunday were members of the Granite Mountain Hotshots, an elite crew of U.S. wildfire firefighters based in Prescott, Arizona.
Hotshot crews-there are roughly 107 in the U.S.-consist of 20 firefighters who have been specifically trained to respond to fires in remote regions with little or no logistical support.
"In the world of wildland firefighting today, the hotshot crews are similar to the Special Forces...
The Climate Context Behind the Deadly Arizona Wildfire
Posted by Climate Central: Andrew Freedman on July 1st, 2013
Climate Central: The deadly Yarnell Hill Fire continued to rage out of control on Monday, a day after the flames fanned by erratic winds and temperatures topping 100°F overwhelmed a team of elite firefighters, killing 19 of the 20-member crew. The fire has burned about 200 homes and has burned through at least 8,400 acres -- more than quadrupling in size since it began on June 28, according to news reports.
The deaths of the Prescott, Ariz.-based "Granite Mountain Hotshots' was the worst wildland firefighting...
The End of Cheap Water
Posted by EcoWatch: Sharlene Leurig on July 1st, 2013
EcoWatch: The costs of rebuilding our nation’s water infrastructure are jaw dropping: estimates range from $300 billion to $1 trillion needed over the next 30 years. Add in the cost to develop new water supplies, treatment plants and transmission systems to accommodate growth--$20 billion for new reservoirs and pipelines in North Texas, $7 billion for a pipeline in Las Vegas--and the numbers really start to make the mind reel.
Investing in our nation’s infrastructure and water security is a necessity. But...
What’s Behind the Heat Wave: Climate Change or Weather?
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on July 1st, 2013
National Geographic: The American Southwest is broiling in triple-digit temperatures for the fourth consecutive day as a result of a record-breaking heat wave that is smothering the region.
In Death Valley, California, the temperature reached 128° Fahrenheit (53° Celsius) on Sunday—just a few degrees shy of the July 10, 1913, record of 134° Fahrenheit (57° Celsius).
The heat wave has also been partly blamed for a wildfire that killed 19 firefighters on Sunday in Yarnell Hill, Arizona.
So what's behind the heat...
Longer-term El Nino warnings to help farmers adapt
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on July 1st, 2013
Reuters: Scientists have found a way to forecast El Nino weather events in the Pacific a year in advance, long enough to let farmers plant crops less vulnerable to global shifts in rainfall, a study showed on Monday.
While far from flawless, the technique doubles current six-month predictions of El Nino, a warming of the eastern Pacific linked in the past to floods in Peru and Ecuador, droughts in Australia and Indonesia and maybe severe winters in Europe.
"Better forecasting will mean farmers can adapt,"...
Climate Change Driving More Active El Niño Cycles, Study Says
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on July 1st, 2013
Yale Environment 360: A new analysis of tree-ring data indicates that the climate cycle known as the El Niño – Southern Oscillation (ENSO) has been more active during the latter part of the 20th century than at any other time during the past seven centuries, suggesting that global warming is affecting this climate phenomenon. Using data from 2,222 tree-ring chronologies from the tropics and mid-latitudes in both the northern and southern Hemispheres, a team of scientists determined that ENSO-related behavior in the late...
Brazil’s hydro dams could make its greenhouse gas emissions soar
Posted by GlobalPost: Simeon Tegel on July 1st, 2013
GlobalPost: Officials here frequently claim that the huge hydroelectric dams that increasingly dot the Brazilian Amazon are a source of "clean energy.' The dams often flood vast areas of rain forest, leading to a major loss of biodiversity and the devastating displacement of indigenous communities from their ancestral lands. That is justified, President Dilma Rousseff claims, because they help fight climate change. "[Hydroelectric power] does not emit greenhouse gases, and that means we have a renewable energy...
Fast-moving Arizona wildfire leaves 19 firefighters dead, destroys more than 200 homes
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on July 1st, 2013
Washington Post: Gusty, hot winds blew an Arizona blaze out of control Sunday in a forest northwest of Phoenix, overtaking and killing 19 members of an elite fire crew in the deadliest wildfire involving firefighters in the U.S. for at least 30 years.
The "hotshot' firefighters were forced to deploy their emergency fire shelters -- tent-like structures meant to shield firefighters from flames and heat -- when they were caught near the central Arizona town of Yarnell, state forestry spokesman Art Morrison told...
Blasting heat forecast for U.S. Western states
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on July 1st, 2013
Reuters: Residents of western U.S. states awoke on Monday to more scorching heat that was expected to break record highs and grip the region through the early part of the holiday week, meteorologists said.
Temperatures were likely to hit well over 100 degrees Fahrenheit (38 degrees Centigrade) in Fresno, California, Phoenix and to the north in Boise, Idaho, and Spokane, Washington, according to Accuweather.com.
Temperatures in western states are 10 to 20 degrees above average, according to the National...