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Archive for September 12th, 2013
Channels of Meltwater Detected in Antarctic Glacier
Posted by Climate Central: Andrew Freedman on September 12th, 2013
Climate Central: An ambitious new study of Antarctica's ice shelves using an array of instruments, including sensors lowered more than 1,000 feet below the ice, has revealed clues about the mechanisms that are causing the Pine Island Glacier Ice Shelf, which holds back a portion of the massive West Antarctic Ice Sheet (WAIS), to melt. The study, along with other ongoing research, could result in more accurate estimates of future sea level rise.
The new study, published on Thursday in the journal Science, provides...
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Wasted food is world’s third-biggest carbon emitter after China and US: UN
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on September 12th, 2013
Australian Broadcasting Corporation: The food the world wastes accounts for more greenhouse gas emissions than any country except for China and the United States, according to a United Nations report.
It says every year about a third of all food for human consumption, around 1.3 billion tonnes, is wasted, along with all the energy, water and chemicals needed to produce it and dispose of it.
Almost 30 per cent of the world's farmland, and a volume of water equivalent to the annual discharge of Europe's River Volga, are in effect...
Five-fold rise seen in UK landslides
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on September 12th, 2013
BBC: Over the last 14 months there has been a five-fold increase in reported landslides in the UK, scientists say.
The British Geological Survey (BGS) has over 16,000 records of landscapes, used to compare variations over time.
In one month alone - December 2012 - there were 75 UK landslides, compared with a typical annual average of 60.
The link between heavy rainfall in 2012 and landslides in the same period was reported at the British Science Festival in Newcastle.
"We saw significant increases,...
French Fukushima cartoon offends Japan
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on September 12th, 2013
Guardian: Japan is to lodge an official complaint about a cartoon in a French newspaper that links the Fukushima nuclear disaster with Tokyo's successful bid to host the 2020 Olympics.
The cartoon, which appeared on Wednesday in the satirical weekly Le Canard Enchaine, shows two sumo wrestlers – each with an extra arm or leg – with the wrecked Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in the background.
At the edge of the panel, a TV announcer dressed in a hazardous materials suit says: "Marvellous! Thanks...
Warming climate changes Greenland’s landscape as we watch
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on September 12th, 2013
Minnesota Public Radio: A warming climate is reshaping Greenland as scientists watch, says Paul Huttner, chief meteorologist for MPR News.
Runoff from melting glaciers threatens to raise the world's sea level. But the retreating ice is also revealing places never seen before, sparking interest among mining and oil and gas companies.
"This is one of the interesting opportunities evolving as the climate changes, whether we like it or not," Huttner said. "Mineral companies, oil and gas companies, they are racing to explore...
Australia: Why defence force must plan for climate change
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on September 12th, 2013
Australian Broadcasting Corporation: We expect our military to be ready to deal with all sorts of humanitarian and disaster relief emergencies. That should include the impact of climate change, argues Chris Barrie.
In March last year I attended a conference held by the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office on climate change and security. I am sure that my invitation resulted from my membership of the Expert Advisory Panel for the Australian National University's Climate Change Institute.
At that conference, I was astonished to find...
Obama approves federal disaster aid for flooding in Boulder County, Colorado
Posted by Daily Camera: Brittany Anas on September 12th, 2013
Daily Camera: President Barack Obama signed an emergency order Thursday night, approving federal disaster aid for Boulder County after torrential rainfall prompted 100-year flooding that has, so far, resulted in two confirmed deaths, at least nine more missing and National Guard rescue efforts.
Continued flooding caused dozens more evacuations throughout the county, power outages and the closure of U.S. 36 on Thursday. Parts of most major roads in Boulder were also closed.
Walls of water coming down canyons...
China should pursue ‘high-quality’ urbanization: top economic planning body
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on September 12th, 2013
Reuters: China must plan scientifically for "high-quality" urbanization that is human-oriented and energy-saving, a senior official at the country's top economic planning agency said in remarks published on Thursday.
China's leaders have an ambitious plan to boost the urban population by 400 million over the next decade, a key plank in a reform effort to restructure the economy away from credit and export growth to one where consumers provide the main impetus.
Zhang Xiaoqiang, vice head of the National...
Global warming may ‘flatten’ rainforests
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on September 12th, 2013
Mongabay: Climate change may push canopy-dwelling plants and animals out of the tree-tops due to rising temperatures and drier conditions, argues a new study published in Proceedings of the Royal Society B. The development may be akin to "flattening" the tiered vegetation structure that characterizes the rainforest ecosystem.
The conclusion is based on surveys of frogs and other canopy-dwelling animals in Singapore and the mountains of the Philippines. Brett Scheffers of James Cook University and colleagues...