RSS Feed
Archive for August 30th, 2013
BP accuses Louisiana leaders ‘political grandstanding’ over oil spill
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on August 30th, 2013
Guardian: BP has become embroiled in an acrimonious slanging match with one of the US Gulf states most affected by pollution from the Deepwater Horizon blowout in 2010 with the two sides trading blows over the oil company's cleanup record.
A senior BP executive has accused the leaders of Louisiana of "political grandstanding" and making "patently false assertions" about the environmental record of the group since the spill.
The row reflects BP's growing frustration after it failed again to persuade a...
Posted in 
Climate Change Worsens Wildfires: Blazes Increase by 2050
Posted by Science World Report: Catherine Griffin on August 30th, 2013
Science World Report: Wildfires have become a major issue as they blaze across acres of land, consuming trees, dry grass, houses and anything else in their path. We may have to get used to more of these fires in the future, though. It turns out that climate change may be worsening wildfires and that by 2050, the wildfire season will be about three weeks longer, twice as smoky and will burn a wider area in western states.
As our climate continues to change, global conditions are shifting. Some areas are becoming drier...
Green groups: Keystone XL to increase tar sands production by 36 per cent
Posted by BusinessGreen: James Murray on August 30th, 2013
BusinessGreen: The Keystone XL pipeline would boost oil production from Canadian tar sands by at least 36 per cent leading to an inevitable increase in greenhouse gas emissions, according to a major new report from a coalition of US green NGOs.
The group of more than a dozen organisations, including the Sierra Club, 350.org, and Oil Change International, released the report yesterday in response to President Obama's recent pledge that he would only approve the project if it "does not significantly exacerbate...
Climate change mitigation essential for even the most common species
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on August 30th, 2013
Ecologist: It is well known that climate change will impact a great many species and ecosystems. The ranges of many species will change, ecosystem services will be disrupted, and biodiversity will be lost. But a new study has asked previously overlooked questions: What will happen if we try to stop climate change? What benefits would this bring in terms of avoiding biodiversity loss? And what will happen if we do nothing?
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change estimates that, should temperatures reach...
Marshall Islands sounds warning on climate change
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on August 30th, 2013
Agence France-Presse: The Marshall Islands has warned that the clock is ticking on climate change and the world needs to act urgently to stop low-lying Pacific nations disappearing beneath the waves.
Marshalls Foreign Minister Phillip H. Muller issued a plea for action as he prepares for next week`s Pacific Islands Forum (PIF), which includes some of the countries most affected by the rising seas blamed on global warming.
"We want to work as hard as we can to see if there is a possibility of having our islands continue...
Florida Successfully Combating Invasive Giant African Snail Infestation
Posted by Nature World: None Given on August 30th, 2013
Nature World: The Giant African Snail (Achatina achatina), in the genus Achatina, also known as the Agate Snail or Ghana Tiger Snail, which grows to be the largest land snail on Earth.
The Giant East African Snail (Achatina fulica), in the genus Achatina, a serious agricultural pest in some countries
Florida is finally winning the battle to combat the Giant African Land Snail infestation, according to Adam H. Putnam Commissioner of Agriculture, Florida. The new eradication program, which included specially...
East Antarctic ice sheet ‘vulnerable’ to temperature changes
Posted by BBC: Matt McGrath on August 30th, 2013
BBC: The world's thickest ice sheet may be at greater risk from variations in the climate than previously believed.
Scientists found that glaciers on the East Antarctic Ice Sheet (EAIS) advance and retreat in synch with changes in temperature.
Since it contains enough water to raise global sea levels by over 50m, there is an urgent need to study the threat the researchers said.
The research has been published in the journal Nature.
Scientists have long been worried about the threat to sea...
United Kingdom: Fracking debate brings climate change closer to home
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on August 30th, 2013
Guardian: Many of those who deny that climate change is taking place reached that position as a result of their opposition to windfarms. This, for example, was the route taken by David Bellamy, who stumbled disastrously into the debate a decade ago. During one of our discussions, he set me the following challenge: "Why are the so-called greens backing a cartel of multinational companies which are hell bent on covering some of the best of our countryside with so-called windfarms, which can neither provide...
United Kingdom: Green groups signal willingness to defy campaigning crackdown
Posted by BusinessGreen: James Murray on August 30th, 2013
BusinessGreen: Some of the UK's green NGOs could be willing to break the law if the government passes its controversial Lobbying Bill in its current form. Fears are mounting across the NGO and think tank sector that the new legislation, which receives its second parliamentary reading next week, will place draconian restrictions on their activities in the year before an election. The proposed regulations were originally designed to require corporate lobbyists to sign up to a public register, but they were subsequently...
Heat waves tied to flare-ups of digestive illness
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on August 30th, 2013
Reuters: Flare-ups of inflammatory bowel disease and "stomach bugs" may be more common during and immediately after heat waves, a new study suggests.
Swiss researchers looked at five years of records from one hospital and found more admissions related to inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) during long stretches of hot days.
Hospitalizations for so-called infectious gastroenteritis, marked by vomiting and watery diarrhea, also increased, lagging behind IBD admissions by about a week.
The study "shows...