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Archive for September 2nd, 2013
Japan to spend 40 billion yen to treat radioactive water at Fukushima: Nikkei
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on September 2nd, 2013
Reuters: The Japan government plans to spend at least 40 billion yen ($402.60 million) to contain the leaking of radioactive water at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, the Nikkei newspaper said, citing government sources.
The government is expected to announce on Tuesday a package of measures to deal with the crisis at the Tokyo Electric Power Co plant wrecked by an earthquake in 2011.
The government intends to cover all the costs for freezing the soil around the reactors to prevent groundwater...
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The Lake District is a wildlife desert. Blame Wordsworth
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on September 2nd, 2013
Guardian: It's the most celebrated landscape in Britain. It's the spiritual home of the Romantic movement. It's the birthplace of western conservation. So who could possibly be boorish enough to oppose a campaign to turn the Lake District into a world heritage site? Next month, a coalition of powerful bodies, including the National Trust, Natural England and English Heritage, will begin its fourth attempt to have the region recognised (alongside the Great Barrier Reef, the Galapagos islands, the pyramids,...
Sandy’s ‘freaky’ path may be less likely in future
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on September 2nd, 2013
Associated Press: Man-made global warming may further lessen the likelihood of the freak atmospheric steering currents that last year shoved Superstorm Sandy due west into New Jersey, a new study says. But don't celebrate a rare beneficial climate change prediction just yet. The study's authors said the once-in-700-years path was only one factor in the massive $50 billion killer storm. They said other variables such as sea level rise and stronger storms will worsen with global warming and outweigh changes in steering...
Greenhouse Gases and Aerosols Have Similar Effects on Rainfall, Study Shows
Posted by Nature World: None Given on September 2nd, 2013
Nature World: Despite their many differences, greenhouse gases and aerosols play a similar role on spatial patterns of rainfall change, according to a new study published in the journal Nature Geoscience.
The discovery is based on experiments carried out using three different state-of-the-art climate models and was led by researchers from the University of Hawaii at Manoa's International Pacific Research Center (IPRC) and Scripps Institution of Oceanography.
According to the study's authors, each model revealed...
Fukushima: Japan struggles to stop contamination spreading
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on September 2nd, 2013
Guardian: Tepco is struggling to contain water used to cool fuel in the damaged reactors, and the plant is seeping up to 300 tonnes of contaminated water into the Pacific Ocean every day
Rim fire now the fourth-largest blaze in California history
Posted by LA Times: Samantha Schaefer on September 2nd, 2013
LA Times: The Rim fire burning in and around Yosemite National Park became the fourth-largest blaze in California history as it grew to 348 square miles Sunday, officials said.
More than 5,000 firefighters are battling the blaze, which began Aug. 17 and is 40% contained, according to the U.S. Forest Service. A September 1932 fire in Ventura County that burned 343 square miles previously held the fourth-place spot, Cal Fire said.
San Diego's 427-square-mile Cedar fire, which destroyed more than 2,800...
A vicious cycle on Western wildfires
Posted by Denver Post: Editorial on September 2nd, 2013
Denver Post: The announcement from U.S. Forest Service Chief Thomas Tidwell was an ominous one.
With firefighting money running out, last month he ordered managers to divert money from other programs to fund firefighting.
On the one hand, it makes sense. At the height of firefighting season, you cannot risk having no cash to pay for fire suppression. It has happened so often it has a nickname: Fire borrowing.
The trouble with that scenario is it siphons money from the programs designed to lessen the...
Urban areas in Africa must plan for climate change
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on September 2nd, 2013
Herald: THE fast growing cities of sub-Saharan Africa are increasingly becoming vulnerable to the impact of climate change and variability. In Zimbabwe, the risk is still low but the threat of economic and social disruptions arising from climate disasters remains real. The most vulnerable sectors would be urban infrastructure and services, especially water supply, sewerage, solid waste management and electricity, which are already existing nightmares for cities like Harare.
Housing and urban planning...
Kerry: Pacific Islands need urgent climate support
Posted by RTCC: None Given on September 2nd, 2013
RTCC: US Secretary of State John Kerry has pledged to ensure a ‘secure future’ for Pacific Island states in the face of growing pressures from climate change.
In a video message played to delegates at this week’s Pacific Island’s Forum Kerry said it was now vital to help vulnerable nations prepare for the impacts of global warming, including rising sea levels and extreme weather events.
“I stand with you in the fight against climate change, and I look forward to continuing to work together to ensure...
Where oil meets water: The final stop for Energy East pipeline
Posted by Globe and Mail: Shawn Mccarthy on September 2nd, 2013
Globe and Mail: On a point of land jutting into the open waters of the fabled Bay of Fundy, Canada’s long-sought ambition to become a global oil exporter is coming into focus.
Here at Mispec Point, Irving Oil Ltd. and TransCanada Corp. plan to build a $300-million, deep-water marine terminal that would give Western Canadian crude producers their highly coveted direct access to world markets.
Currently, the industrialized tip of the wooded point serves as a hub for Canada’s energy imports.
It is home to...