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Archive for October 22nd, 2013
UN climate chief says Australian Direct Action ‘a lot more expensive’ than pricing carbon
Posted by Guardian: Oliver Milman on October 22nd, 2013
Guardian: The Australian Coalition government is set to pay a "high political price" for its Direct Action climate change plan, according to the United Nation's climate chief.
Christiana Figueres, executive secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, said the government's approach could be "a lot more expensive" than pricing carbon and called for rapid cuts in emissions to avoid the kind of "doom and gloom" represented by the New South Wales bushfires.
"What the new government in Australia...
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‘Absolutely’ a link between climate change and wildfires, U.N. climate chief Figueres tells Amanpour
Posted by CNN: Mick Krever on October 22nd, 2013
CNN: There is “absolutely” a link between climate change and wildfires, U.N. Climate Chief Christiana Figueres told CNN’s Christiane Amanpour on Monday.
Wildfires are raging in a ring around Sydney, Australia, as that country experiences its hottest year on record.
“The World Meteorological Organization has not established a direct link between this wildfire and climate change – yet,” Figueres said. “But what is absolutely clear is the science is telling us that there are increasing heat waves in...
UN climate chief Christiana Figueres calls for global action amid NSW bushfires
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on October 22nd, 2013
Australian Broadcasting Corporation: The United Nations says the New South Wales bushfires are an example of "the doom and gloom" the world may be facing without vigorous action on climate change.
The executive secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, Christiana Figueres, says the fires prove the world is "already paying the price of carbon".
"The World Meteorological Organisation has not established the direct link between this wildfire and climate change yet, but what is absolutely clear is that the science...
Canada: Cold Lake Bitumen Leak Has Likely Contaminated Groundwater, Gov’t Report Says
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on October 22nd, 2013
Edmonton Journal: Alberta Environment says bitumen leaking on CNRL’s Cold Lake lease has entered aquifers and the company must take immediate steps to minimize its migration into subsurface water and soil.
Sticky bitumen, which has oozd to the surface for more than six months, “has entered local non-saline groundwater aquifers, likely contaminating the groundwater,” says the 15-page enforcement order issued by Alberta Environment late Monday.
The enforcement order gives the company permission to drill more wells...
Angola ‘in denial’ over impact of severe drought
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on October 22nd, 2013
Guardian: The Angolan government has been accused of being in denial over a drought that has affected 1.8 million people because the crisis threatens to tarnish the country's image as a booming economy.
Children as young as nine are digging wells to fetch water, amid a severe drought in southern regions of Angola that has forced people to use unclean water for consumption and cooking, according to the UN. Neighbouring Namibia, which has also been badly affected, has declared a drought emergency and appealed...
Australia: Bushfires take heavy toll on wildlife, including possums, koalas and gliders
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on October 22nd, 2013
Guardian: There are fears wildlife will suffer "dramatic' losses from the NSW bushfires, with growing numbers of possums, koalas and gliders being found with burns and smoke inhalation.
The NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service said that while it was not clear how many animals had been killed due to the ongoing severity of the fires, thousands were likely to be affected.
"With such large areas being burned, the impact on wildlife will be dramatic, no doubt about that,' Geoff Ross, wildlife officer...
Australia’s bushfires inflame climate change debate
Posted by CNN: Peter Shadbolt on October 22nd, 2013
CNN: Australia's bushfires have such a long and destructive history there's almost no day of the week that hasn't been dubbed "black" or "ash" to mark a major conflagration.
There was Black Thursday in Victoria in 1851, which destroyed five million hectares and claimed 12 lives -- the first large-scale bushfire in the history of white settlement in Australia.
Since then there's been Red Tuesday in 1898 in Victoria, which consumed 2,000 buildings, Black Friday in Victoria in 1938 that killed 71 and...
France’s GDF Suez to boost UK shale exploration
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on October 22nd, 2013
Reuters: France's GDF Suez is the second heavyweight energy firm to dip a toe into British shale gas exploration after taking a 25 percent stake in onshore projects in northern England and Wales. The Paris-based company said on Tuesday it would team up with Dart Energy to develop 13 licenses in the western and eastern parts of the Bowland Basin, which has already attracted investment from Britain's Centrica. This will be another boost to Britain's bid to exploit shale-gas deposits after the government unveiled...
Fires linked to climate change? ‘Absolutely’ says UN – video
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on October 22nd, 2013
Age: Bushfires are becoming more common due to climate change, says the United Nation's climate change chief Christiana Figueres.
Australian firefighters race to contain wildfires
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on October 22nd, 2013
Reuters: Australian firefighters worked desperately on Tuesday to contain massive wildfires burning in mountains west of Sydney, but with forecasts of high winds and dangerously hot weather, authorities fear more houses and lives will be lost.
More than 200 homes have been destroyed in New South Wales (NSW) state since Thursday, when fires tore through scattered communities on Sydney's outskirts, razing entire streets. One man died after suffering a heart attack trying to protect his home.
"The forecast...