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Archive for March 27th, 2014
Alarming Rates Of Climate Change Caused Alarming Change in Salamanders
Posted by Science Blogs: None Given on March 27th, 2014
Science Blogs: Salamanders can be a proxyindicator for climate change. Changes in salamanders have been linked to climate changes during ancient times, and in a very recent study, salamanders in the US Appalachians seem to have changed in relation to anthropogenic global warming. In fact, the changes observed in these Appalachian salamanders is quite large, very rapid, and thus, alarming. I’m going to describe this study in some detail, and as a bonus for sticking with me on this, I’ll throw in some entertaining...
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Methane Emissions Increase with Global Warming
Posted by Nature World: None Given on March 27th, 2014
Nature World: The amount of methane released from microorganisms dwelling in lakes and freshwater beds will increase severalfold for each degree Celsius the Earth's temperature rises, according to a new study.
While much attention is given to climate change-linked rises in carbon dioxide, methane is roughtly 30 times more potent as a heat-trapping gas, and as temperatures rise, methane output from freshwater sources - the primary methane emissions source - will will outpace carbon dioxide output.
In freshwater...
Fracking the USA: New Map Shows 1 Million Oil, Gas Wells
Posted by Climate Central: Bobby Magill on March 27th, 2014
Climate Central: If you're wondering where oil and gas production and hydraulic fracturing are happening near you, FracTracker has a new mapping tool that will help you find out.
Areas where America's 1.1 million oil and gas wells, both conventional and hydraulically fractured, are found are highlighted in orange. Texas, where many of the wells are concentrated, is excluded because FracTracker was unable to publish data from the state.
Researchers at FracTracker, an independent oil and gas research group that...
Scientists Move Closer to Inventing Artificial Life
Posted by National Geographic: Dan Vergano on March 27th, 2014
National Geographic: In a biological first, an international team has inserted a man-made chromosome into brewer's yeast, producing a life form that thrives and successfully passes the designer genes on to its offspring.
The "synthetic" biology advance-the first synthesis of a working artificial chromosome in an organism more complex than a bacterium-opens the door wider to man-made microbes that may someday be designed to manufacture better fuels, food, and medicines. elated: "Rewiring Life: Learning About Synthetic...
U.S. EPA head defends proposed cuts in biofuel target for 2014
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on March 27th, 2014
Reuters: U.S. energy markets cannot absorb the levels of biofuels required by law to be blended into the fuel supply in 2014, Environmental Protection Agency head Gina McCarthy said on Thursday, defending a controversial proposal to slash the target for this year. The EPA is working on final 2014 biofuel use targets after issuing a proposal in November that slashed federal requirements for ethanol in U.S. fuel supplies. Although it is under pressure from the biofuel industry to reverse the move changes,...
The bill for climate change is coming due
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on March 27th, 2014
Reuters: Americans have just endured one of the coldest winters in memory, so global warming may not be on their radar. But a new U.N. panel report has just refocused the public debate on a problem some scientists call the greatest threat facing the world.
There is trouble ahead for global agriculture, warns the influential Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, if measures are not taken quickly to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The panel, which synthesizes the findings of thousands of peer-reviewed...
U.S. Senators request meeting w BP after Lake Michigan oil spill
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on March 27th, 2014
Reuters: More oil than previously thought may have leaked into Lake Michigan this week from BP Plc's Indiana refinery, the company said on Thursday, after two U.S. Senators requested a meeting with the British oil major. The request from Senators Mark Kirk, a Republican and Dick Durbin, a Democrat, both from Illinois, came before BP issued its estimate that between 15 and 39 barrels of oil had spilled - more than an earlier assessment that nine to 18 barrels leaked on Monday. The Senators asked for details...
Special Report: A Canadian family’s ‘Plan B’ to pump tar sands oil
Posted by Reuters: Richard Valdmanis and Dave Sherwood on March 27th, 2014
Reuters: Keystone XL, a pipeline proposal to pump Canadian oil sands through the heart of America, has alarmed environmentalists and become one of the most contentious issues of the Obama presidency. But there is a "Plan B" to cut the United States out of the picture, and it is championed by one of Canada's wealthiest business dynasties.
Since 2012, the billionaire Irving family has been advocating a proposal called Energy East. The 2,858-mile (4,600-km) pipeline would link trillions of dollars worth of...
Regulations Must Keep Pace with Water-Related Fracking Risks
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on March 27th, 2014
Energy Collective: To mark this year’s World Water Day, UNESCO and UN Water released the 2014 World Water Development report highlighting the key role that water and energy play in economic development. According to the report, some 768 million people do not have access to an improved source of water, while 2.5 billion people do not have access to adequate sanitation. To assume, however, that people living in developed countries are somehow exempt from legitimate concerns about the safety and quality of their water...
State Known for Landslides, Deadly Mix of Loose Sediments and Heavy Rain
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on March 27th, 2014
New York Times: The flow of mud, boulders and trees that overran part of the community of Oso on Saturday was the most lethal slide experienced in Washington in years, but the state is prone to the destructive events. At times, parts of the state have experienced a thousand or more slides over just a few days, according to state officials, although most are small and cause far more limited destruction. Lynn Highland, a geographer with the United States Geological Survey, said Washington ranks with Oregon and California...