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Archive for May 24th, 2014
Political rhetoric bogs down Keystone XL pipeline
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on May 24th, 2014
National Public Radio: RENEE MONTAGNE, HOST:
It's MORNING EDITION from NPR News. I'm Renee Montagne.
STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:
And I'm Steve Inskeep. Good morning. Last month the Obama administration put off a decision on whether to approve the Keystone XL pipeline. The project has been enormously controversial. It would carry crude oil from Canada to the Gulf of Mexico. This morning we examine what's at stake for the oil industry and for energy production. Here's NPR's Jim Zarroli.
JIM ZARROLI, BYLINE: A lot of...
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Climate angst rises in Australia with record temperatures
Posted by Sydney Morning Herald: Peter Hannam on May 24th, 2014
Sydney Morning Herald: It`s official
Just after midday on Saturday, the mercury reached 23 degrees - 25 is forecast - as Sydney posted its longest warm spell in records going back to 1910, says Sarah Perkins, a leading heatwave expert at the University of NSW.
Sydney's 25.1 degrees on Friday matched the previous longest heatwave - defined as at least three consecutive days in the warmest 10 per cent for each date - of seven days set in August 1995. Including Saturday, that burst could stretch to at least 14 days....
Koch brothers’ company files to develop oil sands project
Posted by Globe and Mail: Jeffrey Jones on May 24th, 2014
Globe and Mail: The Canadian oil arm of the conglomerate owned by the U.S. billionaire Koch brothers has begun initial regulatory work on a multibillion-dollar oil sands project after an asset-sales effort two years ago left it holding a number of leases.
Koch Oil Sands Operating LLC, the Calgary-based unit of Koch Industries Inc., has made an initial filing with Alberta regulators and has been in consultation with the nearby Fort McKay First Nation regarding the proposed development.
"We intend to develop...
Nepal glaciers shrink by quarter
Posted by News: None Given on May 24th, 2014
News: A new study by the Kathmandu-based International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) shows that the area covered by glaciers has decreased by 24 per cent between 1977 and 2010.
Samjwal Ratna Bajracharya, lead author of the report, told AFP, "the shrinking of glaciers in Nepal is definitely connected to climate change, glacial melt is a huge indicator of rising temperatures."
The Norway-funded research project led by ICIMOD took three years to complete, as scientists mapped...
Cameroon new law to strengthen forest governance
Posted by Reuters: Elias Ntungwe Ngalame on May 24th, 2014
Reuters: Cameroon's government is due to introduce legal reforms by the end of the year to redress weaknesses in its two-decade-old forestry legislation. The new forest code will better protect rainforests and the rights of indigenous communities that rely on them, officials say.
They believe the 1994 forest laws are no longer fit to ensure the preservation of forests and respect for their inhabitants' rights, as exploitation of forest resources expands.
"Since 2010, the ministry of forestry and wildlife...
As mountain snow fails and glaciers melt, Pakistan faces water threats
Posted by Reuters: Saleem Shaikh and Sughra Tunio on May 24th, 2014
Reuters: Farmers in the valleys of northern Pakistan fear for the survival of their summer crops after a short winter of low snowfall altered the flow patterns of mountain streams, potentially robbing the farmers of water they rely on to irrigate their fields. Experts at the Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) and senior weather observers posted at stations in Pakistan's Upper Indus Basin (UIB) say last winter's snowfall in most of the valleys of the Gilgit-Balistan province was as much as 70 percent...
Does the solution to global warming lie in Australia?
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on May 24th, 2014
Daily Mail: Dryland ecosystems such as deserts play a more important role in the global carbon cycle than previously thought, research has revealed.
And one of the biggest contributors, responsible for a huge spike in the amount of CO2 absorbed in 2011, is located in Australia.
The findings suggest that the Australian Outback, when exposed to increased rainfall and in turn grows more vegetation, could become a giant 'carbon sink' and might even be a major driver for global carbon absorption.
Research...
When it rains, it pours: Climate change brings droughts and floods alike
Posted by Grist: None Given on May 24th, 2014
Grist: “This is really a call for America to find out, ‘What does climate change mean for where you live?’” says Paul Fleming, a convening lead author of the National Climate Assessment’s Water Resources chapter.
Fleming talks about how climate change will challenge the reliability of water supplies in the United States in multiple ways. Alterations in precipitation patterns and reduced snowpack are some of the climate-related changes that will affect the quality and quantity of water available to Americans....