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Archive for July 10th, 2013
Vertebrates Evolve “10,000 Times faster” to Adapt to Climate Change
Posted by Nature World News: None Given on July 10th, 2013
Nature World News: To live on a warmer earth in the future, many vertebrates would have to evolve about 10,000 times faster than they have in the past, according to a new study.
Animals and plants adapt to survive. But, to match - up with the current changes in the environment, they'd have to evolve much faster than they do now. The study was conducted by a team of researchers led by John J. Wiens, an ecologist from University of Arizona.
According to a recent International Union for Conservation of Nature, about...
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Wildfire Emissions Plays Greater Role In Climate Change Than Previous Believed
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on July 10th, 2013
RedOrbit: Emissions produced as a result of wildfires could be playing a greater role in global warming than experts had previously believed, according to new research published Tuesday in the journal Nature Communications.
Climate scientists had long known that wildfires produce a mixture of carbon-containing particles. However, measurements taken by researchers from the Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) and Michigan Technological University during the massive 2011 Las Conchas fire in New Mexico revealed...
Slug poison found in one in eight of England’s drinking water sources
Posted by Guardian: Karl Mathiesen on July 10th, 2013
Guardian: Slug poison was found in one in eight rivers and reservoirs used for drinking water in England and Wales according to the Environment Agency's (EA) most recent survey, prompting environmentalists to call for greater use of natural predators instead of chemicals.
The EA told the Guardian that between 2009 and 2011 concentrations of metaldehyde, used by farmers to protect their crops from slugs, were found in 81 of 647 reservoirs, rivers and groundwater from which drinking water is sourced. The...
Australia: Great Barrier Reef’s condition declined from moderate to poor in 2011
Posted by Guardian: Oliver Laughland on July 10th, 2013
Guardian: An alarming set of reports on the condition of the Great Barrier Reef published on Wednesday say its overall condition in 2011 declined from moderate to poor, and highlights that reef-wide coral cover has declined by 50% since 1985.
The series of reports blame part of the reef's poor health in 2011 on extreme weather conditions including tropical cyclone Yasi, and high rainfall which resulted in "higher than average discharge" from a number of river catchments runoffs.
The Great Barrier Reef...
Droughts could hit food production in England in 2020s, report warns
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on July 10th, 2013
Guardian: Droughts could devastate food production in the England by the 2020s, according to a report from the government's official climate change advisers. Without action, increasingly hot and dry summers may mean farmers will face shortfalls of 50% of the water they currently use to grow crops. The report, from the climate change committee (CCC), also warns that current farming practices may be allowing the country's richest soils to be washed or blown away.
The future risks to England's food supply...