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Archive for October 27th, 2013
Caribbean Looks to the Sky for Water Security
Posted by Inter Press Service: Jewel Fraser on October 27th, 2013
Inter Press Service: A centuries-old system for ensuring water security is making a comeback in the Caribbean.
It`s known as rainwater harvesting, and it is now becoming a formal part of the region`s strategic planning in the face of not only more and stronger storms, but droughts as well. By 2100, there could be a 20 to 30 percent decrease in precipitation, research shows, making every drop count."The first thing to go in hurricanes is the water." -- Lovaan Superville of NIHERST
"Rainwater harvesting is, in fact,...
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Heat Wave Prediction Pattern Identified
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on October 27th, 2013
National Geographic: Summertime heat waves in the United States tend to be preceded two weeks before by a distinctive atmospheric circulation pattern, climate models suggest.
The finding, detailed in this week's issue of the journal Nature Geoscience, could lead to improved probability forecasts of U.S. heat waves beyond the 1-week weather forecast range.
"We think once this pattern forms, it favors the formation of heat waves over the U.S.," explained Haiyan Teng, a climate scientist at National Center for Atmospheric...
The Mangroves’ Date With History
Posted by New York Times: Tahmima Anam on October 27th, 2013
New York Times: In his 1981 novel “Midnight’s Children,” Salman Rushdie describes the Sundarbans, the mangrove forest that traces the southwestern edge of Bangladesh, as “so thick that history has hardly ever found the way in.” For his characters, the forest is a site of magic and danger, a mythic place from which it is impossible to escape. Today, you can visit this eerie jungle, taking a boat from the town of Khulna and making your way slowly through the narrow islets of the Meghna River, finishing your journey...
Will Obama Ever Stand Up to the Oil Industry or Just Keep Bending?
Posted by AlterNet: Bill McKibben on October 27th, 2013
AlterNet: As the battle over the Keystone XL pipeline has worn on -- and it’s now well over two years old -- it’s illuminated the Obama presidency like no other issue. It offers the president not just a choice of policies, but a choice of friends, worldviews, styles. It’s become an X-ray for a flagging presidency. The stakes are sky-high, and not just for Obama. I’m writing these words from Pittsburgh, amid 7,000 enthusiastic and committed young people gathering to fight global warming, and my guess is that...
Thousands march in Romania against shale gas, gold mine
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on October 27th, 2013
Agence France-Presse: Thousands of Romanians rallied on Sunday against a controversial Canadian gold mine project and against shale gas exploration, in weekly demos that have turned into one of the country's longest-running protests in years.
In Bucharest, some 2,500 people marched on the government's offices, chanting "Resign!, an AFP reporter saw.
The protest marked the ninth consecutive Sunday that Romanians have taken to the streets to voice their anger over the mine planned by Canada's Gabriel Resources, a...
Preparing for extreme weather
Posted by Aljazeera: Donna Bryson on October 27th, 2013
Aljazeera: Hurricane Katrina wreaks havoc on the Gulf Coast in 2005. Superstorm Sandy brings destruction to the East Coast in 2012. Heavy rains in the middle of the country lead to flooding in the rugged Rocky Mountains in 2013. Each crisis brings greater urgency to preparations for the next storm. Scientists disagree on whether climate change is causing these cataclysms, but agree that humans, whose carbon emissions have altered the environment, need to change their thinking and habits to reflect the new,...
Climate change sets back forest preservation efforts in India
Posted by Hindu: Aditi Bishnoi on October 27th, 2013
Hindu: In Uttarakhand, women take the lead role in reviving and maintaining civil forests under Van Panchayats even in the face of several obstacles
Munni Adhikari, a resident of Dhaura Gram Sabha in Lamgara block of Uttarakhand`s Almora district, lives in an idyllic setting: green slopes covered with tall pine and oak trees, wild flowers in full bloom, neat little terrace farms... While this natural splendour can instantly captivate any visitor, there is a hard-hitting reality that comes with the territory....
Sandy exposed flood insurance failure
Posted by Aljazeera: Rachel Cleetus on October 27th, 2013
Aljazeera: It has been one year since Superstorm Sandy pounded ashore near Atlantic City, N.J., bringing death, destruction and massive flooding from heavy rainfall and coastal storm surge. Recovery continues, but often slowly and painfully. What is clear is that climate change and existing patterns of coastal development are raising risks of harm from major storms along our coasts. In order to face these dangers in a more resilient way, we must rethink how and where we rebuild. Reforming our current flood...
Philippines: ‘Mindanao needs more climate-adaptation investments’
Posted by Business Mirror: Alladin S. Diega on October 27th, 2013
Business Mirror: Funding is urgently needed to finance climate-change adaptation initiatives in Mindanao given the increasing vulnerability of the region to extreme weather disturbances.
“The impact of extreme weather events are particularly severe, especially on the people of Mindanao, a region that is reeling at the same time from conflict and extreme poverty,” Justin Morgan, country director of Oxfam in the Philippines, said during a forum held on Friday.
He said Mindanao has recently been experiencing strong...
Australia: Abbott’s new climate policy rejected by economists
Posted by Canberra Times: Matt Wade, Gareth Hutchens on October 27th, 2013
Canberra Times: Leading economists have overwhelmingly rejected Tony Abbott's direct action climate change policy and backed carbon pricing.
A Fairfax Media survey of 35 prominent university and business economists found only two believed direct action was the better way to limit Australia's greenhouse gas emissions. Thirty - or 86 per cent - favoured the existing carbon price scheme. Three rejected both schemes.
Internationally renowned Australian economist Justin Wolfers, of the Washingtonbased Brookings...