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Archive for December 9th, 2013
Rivers and streams release more greenhouse gas than all lakes
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on December 9th, 2013
ScienceDaily: Rivers and streams release carbon dioxide at a rate five times greater than the world's lakes and reservoirs combined, contrary to common belief.
Research from the University of Waterloo was a key component of the international study, the findings of which appear in a recent issue of the journal Nature.
"Identifying the sources and amounts of carbon dioxide released from continental water sources has been a gap in understanding the carbon cycle. Our findings show just how much carbon dioxide...
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Intensifying Storms Are Contributing To Ongoing U.S. Wetlands Loss
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on December 9th, 2013
Yale Environment 360: The U.S. is losing wetlands at a rate of 80,000 acres per year, in part because of intensifying coastal storms and sea level rise, according to a new government study. From 2004 to 2009, the country lost more than 360,000 acres of freshwater and saltwater wetlands, a decline driven both by traditional factors, such as coastal development, as well as worsening storms and slowly rising seas, the study says. The rate of loss is a signal that government efforts to protect and restore wetlands are failing...
Africa: ‘Climate-Smart’ Agriculture Needed to Steer Food Security Through Changing Weather
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on December 9th, 2013
AllAfrica: Agroforestry, diversification of crops with legumes and other practical measures must be scaled up to end hunger while meeting the challenge of climate change, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon told a global conference on the issue today. "Agriculture is a major contributor to global greenhouse gas emissions. At the same time, famers worldwide are increasingly feeling the effects of a warming climate," Mr. Ban said in a message to the Third Global Conference on Agriculture, Food and Nutrition...
Environmentalists, unions seek to fix gas leaks
Posted by Associated Press: Kevin Begos on December 9th, 2013
Associated Press: Unions and environmentalists have found one point of agreement in the bitter debate over the natural gas drilling boom: fixing leaky old pipelines that threaten public health and the environment. It's a huge national effort that could cost $82 billion.
The leaks are a problem because methane, the primary component of natural gas, is explosive in high concentrations and is also a potent greenhouse gas that contributes to global warming.
The Department of Transportation estimates that more than...
US can’t keep up with loss of wetlands: Study
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on December 9th, 2013
Washington Post: Over a four-year span, the United States lost more than 360,000 acres of freshwater and saltwater wetlands to fierce storms, sea-level rise and booming development along the coasts, according to a newly released federal study.
The disappearance of so much grass and forest marsh on the edge of waterways is a disturbing sign that government projects to restore wetlands are failing to keep pace, environmentalists said, as storms intensify, the sea level creeps up and development paves the way for...
Climate Council warns Australia brace for more raging bushfires, longer heatwaves
Posted by International Business Times: None Given on December 9th, 2013
International Business Times: The Climate Council has warned Australia to prepare for more frequent and intense bushfires. The council, which was formerly funded by the Australian government before Prime Minister Tony Abbott scrapped the body, will release its report concerning the risks of bushfires.
The Climate Council's chief Tim Flannery said that although bushfires in Australia are nothing new, there was a growing possibility that more will happen in the future. Mr Flannery said climate change will increase the risk of...
As clock ticks on Keystone XL, Canada OKs oil-sands expansion
Posted by Hill: Laura Barron-Lopez on December 9th, 2013
Hill: Reuters reports time is running out for Canada to offer a climate change concession that could help it seal a deal on the proposed Keystone XL oil pipeline with the U.S.
The Canadian government has failed to produce an agreement with its energy sector after two years of negotiating on ways to curb carbon pollution.
But if Canada were able to make a significant effort to curb greenhouse gas pollution, President Obama -- who has made climate change a top second-term agenda -- would be more willing...
Fracking and the environment: cooling tensions out West
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on December 9th, 2013
Boston Globe: The emergence of hydraulic fracturing, or “fracking,” as a major source of domestic oil and gas has often put energy companies and environmentalists at bitter odds. But two developments out West show that doesn’t always have to be the case. The boom in fracking, which involves drilling into shale formations and using high-pressure water and chemicals to force out fuel, has raised the hope of greater energy security for the United States. But it has also prompted fears that the process releases too...
New study says Arctic ice melt and extreme weather conditions linked
Posted by International Business Times: None Given on December 9th, 2013
International Business Times: The new study published in the journal “Nature Climate Change,” warned of increasingly extreme weather across "much of North America and Eurasia where billions of people will be affected,” Reuters reported. The new findings have further roiled a debate on the impact of global warming on climate change, as international scientists and studies differ significantly on whether human-caused global warming is responsible for climate change or not.
"The study contributes to a growing body of evidence...
Africa Urged to Use Multilateral Approach to Achieve Sustainable Development
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on December 9th, 2013
Inter Press Service: Africa can achieve sustainable development by scaling up "green economy" initiatives. What is needed is increased allocations from within national budgets supplemented by donor funding, claim experts. The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) defines a green economy initiative as one that results in "improved human well-being and social equity, while significantly reducing environmental risks and ecological scarcities." In its simplest expression, a green economy is low-carbon, resource...