RSS Feed
Archive for March 12th, 2014
Pakistan drought: government accused over child deaths Sindh province
Posted by Guardian: Zofeen Ebrahim on March 12th, 2014
Guardian: NGOs in Pakistan say the death of at least 132 children in a drought in Sindh province might have been avoided had the government responded sooner. As government aid begins to arrive in the area, local activists have linked the crisis to long-term failures to provide proper health care and infrastructure in the region.
The deaths occurred in the Thar desert, part of Tharparkar district, some 350km (200 miles) from Karachi, which runs up to the border with India.
Local organisations working...
Posted in 
Ghengis Khan’s Rule Was Aided By A Warm, Wet Climate: Study
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on March 12th, 2014
RedOrbit: The 13th century Mongolian conqueror Genghis Khan relied on hordes of Mongol warriors to expand his empire. Now, according to a new study in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, it has been determined that Genghis was also aided by the favorable effects of climate change.
In the report, a team of American and Mongolian scientists described how they used an analysis of tree rings to show that from 1211 to 1225 Mongolia experienced a period of relatively warmer and wetter weather...
Rise of Genghis Khan Linked to Unusual Rains in Mongolia
Posted by ClimateWire: Nathanael Massey on March 12th, 2014
ClimateWire: A conventional historical narrative holds that the rise and expansion of the Mongol Empire -- first under Genghis Khan and, later, his progeny and successors -- were propelled by a deteriorating climate in the Mongolian steppe. Fleeing drought, the narrative runs, Ghengis Khan's Golden Horde pushed west, south and east in a bid for expansion that would someday form the world's largest contiguous empire.
Indeed, climate records indicate that the arid, landlocked steppe was seized by decades of...
EU parliament exclude shale gas from tougher environmental code
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on March 12th, 2014
Reuters: EU politicians on Wednesday voted for tougher rules on exposing the environmental impact of oil and conventional gas exploration, while excluding shale gas.
Member states such as Britain and Poland are pushing hard for the development of shale gas, seen as one way to lessen dependence on Russian gas, as well as to lower energy costs as it has in the United States.
The plenary vote of the European Parliament in Strasbourg, France follows a compromise deal on the draft law in December, which...
In Louisiana, an environmental lawsuit brings hope for a new chapter
Posted by Al Jazeera: Peter Moskowitz on March 12th, 2014
Al Jazeera: Louisiana is being slowly devoured by water. Hardly anyone disputes that. But beyond a shared sense of creeping panic, there’s little common ground in the state.
As over 2,000 miles of coast have been eaten away over the last 80 or so years, the state and federal government, oil and gas companies, activists and residents battled and bickered over funding the future of the state’s coast. So far, little has been accomplished.
John Barry, an author cum activist, hopes to change that.
Last July,...
Both sides of river dredging debate project’s impact
Posted by Florida Times-Union: Meredith Rutland on March 12th, 2014
Florida Times-Union: Following criticism that discussions on whether to deepen JaxPort underestimated environmental problems, engineers suggested deepening the St. Johns River would help the environment in the long run.
Deepening the St. Johns River from the Dames Point Bridge to Mayport would allow larger ships to come into the port, and larger ships means fewer trips to carry the same amount of cargo. That would cut down on the amount of carbon emissions coming from the ships, said Col. Alan Dodd, district engineer...
Staying mum on Keystone may hurt Clinton with greens
Posted by Hill: Laura Barron-Lopez on March 12th, 2014
Hill: Hillary Clinton may find herself in time out with affluent Democratic environmentalists after staying mum on the Keystone XL oil pipeline.
Clinton wouldn't say whether she supported or opposed the controversial $5.4 billion project when asked a direct question about it earlier this month at an event in Vancouver.
"She’s kind of a closed book on the environment,” said Guy Saperstein, an Oakland-based venture capitalist and former president of the San Francisco-based Sierra Club Foundation told...
Australia: How severe is the drought in Queensland and New South Wales?
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on March 12th, 2014
Australian Broadcasting Corporation: Prime Minister Tony Abbott has announced a $320 million assistance package to support drought-hit farmers in New South Wales and Queensland.
Justifying the package, Mr Abbott said: "Drought of this severity is not the normal course of business. This is not just a once-in-a-decade drought. It's a once-in-a-quarter-century drought in many places. In some places, it's a once-in-a-century drought".
ABC Fact Check investigates whether the current drought really is a "once-in-a-quarter-century" drought...
Clinton Keystone dodge prompts donors to rethink support
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on March 12th, 2014
Bloomberg: Wealthy Democratic environmentalists are considering withholding support for a 2016 Hillary Clinton presidential bid unless she reassures them about their top priority: Killing the Keystone XL pipeline.
“She’s kind of a closed book on the environment,” said Guy Saperstein, an Oakland-based venture capitalist and former president of the San Francisco-based Sierra Club Foundation. “I, for one, would not support her until she gives us more information.”
So far, Clinton has demurred on Keystone...
India’s diesel fumes impacting glacier melt in Himalayas
Posted by Climate News Network: Kieran Cooke on March 12th, 2014
Climate News Network: Being a traffic policeman in Kolkata is a life-threatening business. Not only are you at risk of being run over on the traffic-clogged roads and streets of this chaotic city of 14 million -- you're also more than likely to suffer from serious health problems due to some of the worst air pollution not just in India, but in the world.
According to a 2012 report by the New Delhi-based Center for Science and Environment on air quality in Kolkata, seven out of every 10 people in the city suffer from...