Archive for January 4th, 2014

Extensive salvage logging proposed for Rim fire area

LA Times: The U.S. Forest Service is proposing an extensive salvage operation to log dead trees on about 46 square miles of timberland charred in last year's massive Rim fire in the Sierra Nevada. The project would be one of the largest federal salvage efforts in California in years. If approved, it could yield more lumber than the combined annual output of all the national forests in the state. But it is already triggering a fight by some environmentalists who argue that the post-fire logging would...

Central Valley sinks parched farms wring water from aquifers

Greenwire: A large swath of Central Valley is sinking as farms pump groundwater in the face of searing drought, sparking a scramble for solutions as forecasts show no end to dry conditions. So says the U.S. Geological Survey, whose research shows land near the San Joaquin River sank by nearly a foot per year from 2008 to 2010, one of the most dramatic rates ever measured in the San Joaquin Valley. Using satellite imagery, scientists identified a sinking bowl that sprawls more than 1,200 square miles and includes...

United Kingdom: Weather blows a warning for our future

Scotsman: Storms lash Britain again, bringing flooding, power cuts, and general misery to thousands. Across the Atlantic, the eastern United States and Canada are weighed down by huge snowfalls and temperatures more akin to the Arctic. In the southern hemisphere, Australia has just experienced the hottest year on record, sparking ferocious forest fires. Some may see this coincidence of extreme events as just that, an unlucky happenstance. They, however, are increasingly in the minority. The evidence now argues...

United Kingdom: High tides likely to bring more floods, Environment Agency warns

Guardian: The Environment Agency has warned that Saturday afternoon high tides will bring a further risk of flooding despite an improvement in conditions. The agency said there were four severe flood warnings in place, three on the river Severn and one on the Lower Stour at Iford in Kent. There were a further 97 flood warnings and 244 flood alerts in place. The agency has removed 175 warnings or alerts in the past 24 hours. The Met Office has issued yellow warnings of rain in the south of England and...