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Archive for October 30th, 2013
Dust storms common in arid climate, desert terrain
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on October 30th, 2013
Associated Press: Powerful dust storms that carry whirling dirt and debris are common occurrences across parts of Arizona and the arid Southwest during the spring and summer months. A day after a massive dust storm swept across an Arizona highway, killing three people in a 19-vehicle pileup, experts say the state isn't alone, across the country or the world, in its susceptibility to such a weather phenomenon.
Africa's Sahara desert and parts of the Middle East are often hit with powerful dust storms, also called...
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Groups Call on Inspector General to Confirm Corruption in Keystone XL Pipeline Investigation
Posted by EcoWatch: None Given on October 30th, 2013
EcoWatch: Today, 22 environmental and public interest groups wrote a letter to Inspector General Steve Linick demanding that his investigation examine not only whether the consultant, Environmental Resources Management (ERM), lied when it said it had not worked with TransCanada and major oil companies, but whether the State Department made any effort to confirm ERM`s claims or instead accepted them at face value.
"The evidence clearly shows that ERM lied on its conflict of interest forms," said Ross Hammond,...
Arctic Ice Melt May Shift Jet Stream South, Cause Rainy UK Summer
Posted by Nature World: None Given on October 30th, 2013
Nature World: A new study published in the journal Environmental Research Letters suggests that a loss of Arctic sea ice caused the jet stream to shift further south, thus contributing to an extraordinary run of wet summers experienced by Britain and northwest Europe between 2007 and 2012.
University of Exeter scientist James Screen uses a computer model to investigate the wet weather and whether it was linked to the melting of sea ice in the Arctic.
Screen's study "compared weather patterns during low sea...
Large North Dakota Oil Spill Spotlights Obama Delay on Pipeline Rules
Posted by Bloomberg: Mark Drajem and Jim Efstathiou Jr. on October 30th, 2013
Bloomberg: Three years after an oil pipeline rupture in Michigan spilled 843,000 gallons of sludge, government regulators still haven’t produced promised rules to compel operators to detect leaks.
An oil spill in North Dakota last month and the continued debate over construction of TransCanada Corp. (TRP)’s Keystone XL Pipeline have led to renewed criticism to the government’s inaction on safety measures.
“It’s outrageous,” Rick Kessler, Pipeline Safety Trust’s president and a Washington lobbyist, said...
Major coastal cities face billions in flood losses
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on October 30th, 2013
Aljazeera: Flood protections are easily misunderstood: A 100-year flood is not one that occurs once every 100 years, but instead one that has a 1 percent chance of occurring in a single year. Most U.S. cities have protections for 100-year flood events but some, like Houston, are only prepared for a 50-year flood. But as seas rise and more intense weather events become more frequent, floods are expected to become more destructive. According to a recent study published in the scientific journal Nature Climate...
A key mangrove forest faces major threat from a coal plant
Posted by Yale Environment 360: jeremy hance on October 30th, 2013
Yale Environment 360: On October 22, Bangladeshi and Indian officials were supposed to hold a ceremony laying the foundation stone for the Rampal power plant, a massive new coal-fired project that will sit on the edge of the Sundarbans, the world's largest mangrove forest. Instead, the governments canceled the ceremony and announced that the project had already been inaugurated in early October by the two countries’ heads of state via a Skype call. While the governments say the change was made because of busy schedules,...
Europe hit by powerful storm: More extreme weather is likely in future
Posted by Time: Kharunya Paramaguru on October 30th, 2013
Time: Europe began this week bracing itself against one of the most powerful storms in years. Gusts of 99 m.p.h. trailed across parts of southern Britain before heading toward mainland northwestern Europe, causing havoc in France, Germany, the Netherlands and Denmark. At least 13 people have been reported dead and hundreds of thousands have been left without power or stranded on planes, trains and ferries.
The bad news for Europe as it begins the cleanup operation and assesses the financial cost of...
State Department Considers Oil by Rail in Keystone XL Decision
Posted by EcoWatch: Carol Linnitt on October 30th, 2013
EcoWatch: A decision on the proposed northern half of the Keystone XL pipeline--under review since 2008--hinges on a final environmental review by the U.S. State Department now taking into consideration the importance oil-by-rail transport might have on growth of Alberta`s tar sands.
Could oil by rail realistically provide an alternative to the Keystone XL, aiding in the expansion of Canada`s highly-polluting tar sands? Photo credit: Russ Allison Loar/ Creative Commons
U.S. officials are evaluating the...
Canada: Oil Sands Prevail Even if Most Carbon Becomes ‘Unburnable’: Suncor
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on October 30th, 2013
Bloomberg: The phrase “unburnable carbon” has gained currency among climate-minded investors, popularized by a U.K.-based nonprofit called the Carbon Tracker Initiative. It refers to the vast fossil-fuel reserves that, if burned, would probably push the global climate into the danger zone.
Some investors are concerned that stock-market valuations would plummet if oil companies continue to spend hundreds of billions of dollars on exploration while the world lunges away from oil. Last week, a coalition of...
New city zoning plans tied to changes in climate
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on October 30th, 2013
Boston Globe: City officials proposed new zoning rules Tuesday that would require developers of large new buildings in Boston to submit plans to deal with flooding, heat waves, and other potential complications of climate change as sea levels and temperatures are projected to rise.
The rules, which will be presented to the Boston Redevelopment Authority board next month, are among a number of steps city officials said they have taken since Hurricane Sandy last year demonstrated the dangers posed by a changing...