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Archive for August, 2014
As risk of drought rises, Australian farmers struggle to invest
Posted by Reuters: Colin Packham on August 18th, 2014
Reuters: When a scorching drought struck eastern Australia in 2006, cattle farmers Robyn and Paul Kendal had to slaughter nearly all their livestock and spend around a year of their normal turnover on feed to keep the remainder alive. With a recurrence of El Nino, the weather pattern behind the drought, looming and dry conditions already affecting an area larger than South Africa, another major drought could be one struggle too many for farmers such as the Kendals. "In 2006, we saw the lowest amount of...
Posted in Water Conservation 
Comments Off on As risk of drought rises, Australian farmers struggle to investUnited Kingdom: Anti-fracking group stages day of action
Posted by Guardian: Helen Pidd on August 18th, 2014
Guardian: Anti-fracking protesters caused peaceful disruption at several locations on Monday, gluing themselves to the doors of a government department, occupying a building used by an energy firm and blockading access to a test drilling site.
Activists dressed in toxic hazard suits staged a protest outside the London offices of Political Planning Services (PPS), a PR firm that represents the oil and gas exploration company Cuadrilla.
The stunts were part of a day of direct action declared by Reclaim...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on United Kingdom: Anti-fracking group stages day of actionChange in critical grasslands diminishing cattle production
Posted by ASU: Sandy Leander on August 18th, 2014
ASU: Half of the Earth’s land mass is made up of rangelands, which include grasslands and savannas, yet they are being transformed at an alarming rate. Woody plants, such as trees and shrubs are taking over, leading to a loss of critical habitat and causing a drastic change in the ability of ecosystems to produce food – specifically meat.
Half of the Earth's land mass is made up of rangelands, which include grasslands and savannas, yet they are being transformed at an alarming rate. Woody plants, such...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Change in critical grasslands diminishing cattle productionFracking’s Impact on Animals Still Largely Unknown
Posted by Nature World: None Given on August 18th, 2014
Nature World: Fracking's impact on animals is still largely unknown, which scientists see as a real problem given that business is booming.
Hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, shows no signs of stopping. Between 2005 and 2013, some 82,000 fracking wells were drilled into the shale deposits beneath 17 states, according to the environmental advocacy group Environment America.
But scientists are concerned about this method of accessing oil and gas beneath the soil - which involves injecting chemicals into the...
Recent Glacier Losses Are Mostly Driven by Human Activity, Study Says
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on August 18th, 2014
Yale Environment 360: Roughly one-quarter of the global glacier mass loss between the years 1851 and 2010 can be attributed to human activities, and that fraction increased to more than two-thirds between 1991 and 2010, according to research published in the journal Science. The study is the first to document the extent of human contribution to glacier mass loss, which is driven by both naturally caused climate factors, such as fluctuations in solar radiation, and anthropogenic influences. “In the 19th and first half...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Recent Glacier Losses Are Mostly Driven by Human Activity, Study SaysHalf of world could face extreme water scarcity by 2095
Posted by Blue and Green: Charlotte Malone on August 18th, 2014
Blue and Green: Without climate change mitigation policies, half of the world could face extreme water scarcity before the end of the century, a study has found. However, researchers from the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) also warned that poorly planned policies could exacerbate the crisis.
The study, which was carried out with the help of the Joint Global Change Research Institute, is comprehensive and used unique modelling technology. The model linked economic, energy, land-use and climate systems...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Half of world could face extreme water scarcity by 2095United Kingdom: Activists launch national protests against fracking
Posted by Blue and Green: Tom Revell on August 18th, 2014
Blue and Green: Activists have superglued themselves to the doors at the entrance of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) building in London, in a protest against fracking.
The action was timed to coincide with a number of protests across the country, including the occupation of fracking firm Cuadrilla’s northern headquarters near Blackpool.
Campaigners have hung a banner from a bridge at Salford Media City, while others have staged a "die-in" protest at the Blackpool branch of HSBC,...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on United Kingdom: Activists launch national protests against frackingFracking the Arctic
Posted by Yale Environment 360: Ed Struzik on August 18th, 2014
Yale Environment 360: Among the dozens of rivers that flow unfettered through the Canadian North, the Natla and the Keele may be the most picturesque and culturally important. They are especially significant to the Dene people of the Sahtu region, which straddles the Arctic Circle in the Northwest Territories. Both of the rivers flow crystal clear out of the Mackenzie Mountains along the Yukon/Northwest Territories border before coming together in their final course to the Mackenzie River.
For hundreds--if not thousands--of...
Floods submerge cane fields in North India
Posted by Reuters: Ratnajyoti Dutta on August 17th, 2014
Reuters: Heavy monsoon rains in India have caused flooding in the country's main sugar producing state Uttar Pradesh, but the full extent of any damage to the crop will not be known until floodwaters recede.
There were apprehensions that a slow start to India's monsoon season would trim cane output in the world's second biggest sugar producing nation, but a late revival in rains resulted in higher acreage being planted. However, fresh floods in North India have now raised fears of damage to the cane crop....
Europe’s Forests Suffer Effects of Climate Change
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on August 16th, 2014
Climate Central: Climate change is here, it's happening now, and for the last few decades it has been demonstrably bad news for many of Europe's forests.
A report published in the journal Nature Climate Change shows that damage from wind, bark beetles, and wildfires has increased significantly in Europe's forests in recent years.
An international team of researchers say in a report from the European Forest Institute that climate change is altering the environment, and it is long-lived ecosystems like forests...