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Archive for December 4th, 2013
Native American groups increasingly at center of fights over oil and gas
Posted by Grist: None Given on December 4th, 2013
Grist: In the 17th, 18th, and early 19th centuries, European settlers stole a lot of land from Native Americans. They killed them, they cheated them, and they robbed them of most of the continent. But they made one mistake. Back then good land was fertile land for growing crops. The Great Plains and interior West - dry, dusty, freezing cold in winter and broiling hot in summer - had little to offer.
Now, however, the Europeans and their descendants lust for oil and gas to provide electricity, heat, and...
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Australia’s spring was the warmest on record, climate records show
Posted by Guardian: Blair Trewin on December 4th, 2013
Guardian: The spring of 2013 has been Australia's warmest on record. Mean temperatures for the season were 1.57C above the 1961-1990 average, surpassing the previous record of 1.43C (set in 2006) by 0.14C. Daytime maximum temperatures were also the highest on record, coming in 2.07C above average and 0.24C above the previous record (also set in 2006), while overnight minimum temperatures were the fourth-warmest on record.
The warmth was most dramatic in September, which saw a mean temperature anomaly of...
Panel Says Global Warming Risks Sudden, Deep Changes
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on December 4th, 2013
New York Times: Continued global warming poses a risk of rapid, drastic changes in some human and natural systems, a scientific panel warned Tuesday, citing the possible collapse of polar sea ice, the potential for a mass extinction of plant and animal life and the threat of immense dead zones in the ocean.
At the same time, some worst-case fears about climate change that have entered the popular imagination can be ruled out as unlikely, at least over the next century, the panel found. These include a sudden...
WTO Urged Not to Treat Water Like Widgets
Posted by Inter Press Service: Carey L. Biron on December 4th, 2013
Inter Press Service: As government representatives gather Tuesday in Indonesia for what could be final negotiations towards a global trade agreement under the World Trade Organisation (WTO), environmentalists and social justice campaigners are urging them to specify that water resources cannot be treated as commodities.
Critics of the privatisation and "financialisation" of natural resources are pointing to mounting interest by multinational investors in viewing common water resources as tradable, a change that development...
Scientists want global monitoring to warn of climate change impacts
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on December 4th, 2013
Denver Post: Government-backed U.S. scientists on Tuesday urged for the creation of a warning system to help people anticipate the impact of climate change on food, water and cities. Early warnings would give more time to adapt, but they will require much closer monitoring of warming oceans, increasing greenhouse gas emissions, and extinctions of plants and animals, according to the scientists and a report unveiled by a National Research Council committee. There are too many blind spots to be able to anticipate...