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Archive for March 3rd, 2014
European flood losses could increase four-fold by 2050
Posted by Blue and Green: Charlotte Malone on March 3rd, 2014
Blue and Green: Losses from extreme floods in Europe could soar over the next 36 years, as climate change and socioeconomic development have an impact. In addition, extreme events will also become more frequent.
The research, published in the journal Nature Climate Change, uses a new model to assess the cost of flooding across Europe. Researchers from the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA) estimated that in the European Union, flood costs averaged EUR4.9 billion (£4 billion) a year from...
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Intensive farming won’t solve meat problem
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on March 3rd, 2014
Guardian: The scale of growth in China’s meat production over the past three decades is staggering.
Today, one-third of the world’s meat is produced in the country and half of all pigs live there. While per capita annual consumption may still be below the US and Europe – for now at least – China still managed to jump from 4kg to 61kg per person between 1961 and 2010.
Unlike the US though, it must produce this meat with a comparative scarcity of resources. Its water availability per capita is around 2,000...
Europe-wide flood losses to ‘increase four fold’ by 2050
Posted by BBC: Matt McGrath on March 3rd, 2014
BBC: According to the most accurate model yet developed, flood damage losses across Europe are expected to increase four fold by 2050.
The scientists believe that the continent's annual flood costs may be 23.5bn euros by the middle of the century.
Two-thirds of the projected increase in flood damage will be caused by human development, not climate change.
The study has been published in the journal Nature Climate Change.
One of the big problems for European flood disaster research has been...
Court Upholds Imposing Fracking Ban in Colorado City
Posted by Bloomberg: Tripp Baltz on March 3rd, 2014
Bloomberg: A Colorado judge has approved the results of a November 2013 vote approving a five-year ban on hydraulic fracturing in Broomfield, Colo.
The Feb. 27 ruling by Colorado District Court Judge Chris Melonakis of the 17th Judicial District means Broomfield's five-year ban on fracking remains in effect, the city said in a statement.
Following a recount in which the initiative was deemed to have passed by 20 votes, opponents of the ban challenged the election results. An earlier court ruling had enjoined...
Hundreds Arrested Protesting Keystone XL at The White House
Posted by Environment News Service: None Given on March 3rd, 2014
Environment News Service: Police arrested more than 370 young people who tied themselves to the White House fence on Sunday to protest the proposed Keystone XL tar sands oil pipeline.
Called XL Dissent, the protest was organized by college and university students to urge President Barack Obama to reject the northern leg of TransCanada`s proposed Keystone XL pipeline, which needs presidential approval because it would cross an international border on its way from the Alberta tar sands to refineries in Texas.
Organizers...
Over 1,200 Youth March to the White House to Protest Keystone XL
Posted by Softpedia: Laura Sinpetru on March 3rd, 2014
Softpedia: Hundreds gather at the White House to protest Keystone XL This past Sunday, over 1,200 youth marched to the White House and staged a protest against the proposed Keystone XL pipeline.
The protest was organized just as President Barack Obama is getting ready to announce his final decision concerning this controversial project.
Media reports say that the young people who took part in the march and then gathered in front of the White House were representatives of over 50 colleges and universities...