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Archive for October 24th, 2013
Australia: Climate Council finds ‘clear link’ between bushfires and climate change
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on October 24th, 2013
Guardian: There is a "clear link' between climate change and bushfires, with the current New South Wales fires influenced by a rising frequency of hot, dry days, according to the climate body that had its funding withdrawn by the Coalition government.
The Climate Council's findings offered a rebuke to Tony Abbott's assertion that there was no correlation between climate change and the New South Wales fires, which the prime minister renewed on Friday when he dismissed claims of a link as "complete hogwash"....
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Environmental & Health Impacts Antibacterial Soap
Posted by EcoWatch: Kaye Spector on October 24th, 2013
EcoWatch: Antibacterial soaps are about the worst choice when it comes to cleaning your hands or your house. They are no more effective than plain old soap and water, but pollute the environment and may be contributing to antibacterial resistance.
The two antibacterial chemicals most commonly used are triclocarban (TCC) and triclosan (TCS). Rolf Halden, co-founder of the Johns Hopkins University Center for Water and Health, and his colleagues conducted a study that showed while wastewater treatment removes...
Climate change will make Colorado’s millennial rainstorm a lot more common
Posted by Quartz: Eric Holthaus on October 24th, 2013
Quartz: The rainfall that caused massive flooding in Colorado last month was a once-in-a-millennium event, according to a recent study (pdf). And climate change is making those kinds of extreme weather events more common.
The impressively named Hydrometeorological Design Studies Center, a division of the National Weather Service, has concluded with greater than 90% certainty that the rainfall was millennial in nature. Here`s the chart for one rain gauge in Boulder, Colorado, that was inundated over seven...
Drought Led to Collapse of Civilizations, Study Says
Posted by National Geographic: Roff Smith on October 24th, 2013
National Geographic: What happened about 3,200 years ago to bring about the collapse of not just one but a number of flourishing civilizations on the eastern shores of the Mediterranean?
A study of fossilized pollen particles taken from sediments at the bottom of the Sea of Galilee may have solved an intriguing historical mystery that has been troubling archaeologists for decades.
"In a short period of time, the entire world of the Bronze Age crumbled," says Israel Finkelstein, an archaeologist at the Institute...
Canada: Air Pollution and Cancer Spikes linked in Alberta
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on October 24th, 2013
Environmental News Network: Alberta is Canada's industry epicenter and home to more than 40 companies that produce industrial emissions. Recent studies conducted by the University of California and the University of Michigan have indicated higher levels of contaminants which can potentially be linked to spikes in the incidences of cancer in the region. The findings by UC Irvine and University of Michigan scientists, published online this week, reveal high levels of the carcinogens 1,3-butadiene and benzene and other airborne...
Australia: NSW bushfires: Cooler conditions aid efforts
Posted by 7 News: None Given on October 24th, 2013
7 News: Firefighters are taking advantage of cooler conditions to gain the upper hand in the battle with bushfires in the Blue Mountains amid warnings it could take weeks for them to be fully extinguished.
The NSW Rural Fire Service are working to strengthen containment lines around three blazes burning uncontained in the Blue Mountains as the bushfire emergency in NSW eases.
As the state's bushfire crisis enters its ninth day, there are 57 bushfires burning across the state, with 23 uncontained, the...
Tesoro Documents Reveal Oil Spill in North Dakota
Posted by EcoWatch: Jesse Coleman on October 24th, 2013
EcoWatch: North Dakota, long known for its cattle ranches and open spaces, has recently become one of the oil and gas industry’s most prized—and profitable—possessions, thanks to the advent of fracking. However, the price of oil and gas industry development is paid in destruction to the environment and strains to the regulatory framework meant to protect the public from a reckless industry, as Tesoro’s massive oil spill attests. Documents from an open records request by Greenpeace have uncovered that Tesoro,...
College Entrepreneurs Develop Shower Meter to Reduce Water Consumption
Posted by EcoWatch: Brandon Baker on October 24th, 2013
EcoWatch: Of the hundreds of people the team at Sprav Water LLC asked, the majority had no clue how much water they used during showers.
"More than you probably want to know," one person responded in a company video.
The average U.S. household uses 300 gallons of water per day, and only laundry washing and toilet flushing consumes more water than showers, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The Cleveland, OH-area college students of Sprav developed a method to decrease water consumption...
Taxing tar sands, chasing Goliath
Posted by Daily Climate: James Hansen on October 24th, 2013
Daily Climate: I could not help thinking of David versus Goliath earlier this week as I was working on a letter to Jose Manuel Barroso, President of the European Commission.
I was writing about the tax that Europe applies to unconventional fossil fuels in its Fuel Quality Directive: Will it account for all the emissions during the mining and processing of such fuels or will they pretend that energy from tar sands and oil shale is the same as conventional oil?
It matters – a lot. Fees tacked to oil from tar...
Wall Street Demands Answers From Fossil Fuel Producers on ‘Unburnable’ Carbon
Posted by InsideClimate: Elizabeth Douglass on October 24th, 2013
InsideClimate: A well-heeled coalition of investors is asking top fossil fuel companies to calculate the risks of plowing billions into new oil, gas and coal projects. They fear that carbon emission limits and slowing demand will turn them into bad investments that leave investors worse off. The requests, contained in letters sent to 45 companies [3] last month, are part of an initiative aimed at persuading oil producers and others to rein in their quest to stockpile more carbon energy. They hope to do so by tapping...