Archive for November 23rd, 2013

Winter storm deluges western US with floods and snow, killing four

Associated Press: The western US has been drenched by a powerful storm system that blasted several states and has led to four deaths. The weather has prompted flooding and water rescues in California, stranded dozens of drivers in Nevada, caused hundreds of crashes among desert dwellers in Arizona and brought snow to northern New Mexico. The system was expected to head east and reach the Atlantic coast by the middle of next week, but not before hitting the south-west again with rain, snow and wind, forecasters...

Colorado’s crackdown on methane leaks

Denver Post: With a bold indifference to both timing and facts, U.S. Rep. Jared Polis took to the House floor this week to denounce Colorado's oil and gas regulations as toothless just one day after the Hickenlooper administration unveiled air-quality proposals for the industry that will be stricter than any in the nation -- especially in targeting methane. Colorado has also led the nation in mandating "green completions" in drilling, baseline water sampling and disclosure of chemicals used in hydraulic fracturing,...

Expert claims climate change making tornadoes weaker

News.com.au: CLIMATE change may be ­altering our weather but it may not necessarily be for the worse, with one leading ­climate scientist claiming tornadoes may actually be getting weaker. While we may have experienced a week of wild weather - with everything from Sydney's own travelling tornado to ­record-setting twisters in the US and a massive volcanic eruption in Indonesia, all ­following hard on the heels of the devastating Philippines ­typhoon - US weather expert Professor Richard A. Muller says there...

Avert water wars – build desalination plants

Chonicle: Get ready for the water wars. Most of the world's population takes water for granted, just like air - two life-sustaining substances. After all, the human body is nearly two-thirds water. But a Hindustan Times blogger said that in India right now, as in so many other places around the globe, drinkable water has become such a precious commodity that it's dragging the world into "water wars to follow the ones for the control of fuel oil." Climate change is drying up lakes and rivers almost...

World’s Forests Show Decrease Photosynthetic Activity

Softpedia: An international collaboration of scientists argues in a new study that the world's forests have been undergoing a browning process for more than 20 years, and say that this process leads to a significant decrease in overall photosynthetic activity. Photosynthesis is one of the most important natural processes occurring anywhere on Earth. Through it, plants convert carbon dioxide from the atmosphere into oxygen, in the presence of light, water and nutrients from the ground. Without it, we would...