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Archive for September 12th, 2014
Environmental Costs and Benefits of Fracking Assessed in New Study
Posted by Med India: Kathy Jones on September 12th, 2014
Med India: Research has shown that advances in hydraulic fracturing put trillions of dollars' worth of previously unreachable oil and natural gas within grasp. Environmental Costs and Benefits of Fracking Assessed in New Study
The environmental costs - and benefits - from "fracking," which requires blasting huge amounts of water, sand and chemicals deep into underground rock formations, are the subject of new research that synthesizes 165 academic studies and government databases. The survey covers not...
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Restore estuaries to help coastal communities prepare for climate change
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on September 12th, 2014
Washington Post: The World Meteorological Organization’s recent report noted a diminishing ability of the world’s oceans and plant life to soak up the excess carbon put into the atmosphere but failed to look at the growing body of science supporting “coastal blue carbon,” the ability for coastal wetlands to sequester and store carbon emissions [“CO2 rising at much faster rate, report finds,” front page, Sept. 9]. In the United States, these wetlands include salt marshes in the San Francisco and Chesapeake bays,...
Mexican ‘Water Monster’ Battles Extinction
Posted by Nature World: None Given on September 12th, 2014
Nature World: Mexico's famous "water monster" is battling extinction, and scientists hoping to learn from its organ-regenerating abilities are worried for the bizarre-looking creature.
The axolotl salamander, dubbed the "water monster" by the Aztecs, has been reduced to living in what's left of Mexico City's ancient Xochimilco lake, which has gradually been drained over the centuries, the Agence France-Presse (AFP) reported.
But despite adapting to such a confined habitat, this water monster cannot adapt...
Wildfires char more than 100,000 acres in Northern California
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on September 12th, 2014
Reuters: A Northern California wildfire started by a lightning strike a month ago has burned more than 108,000 acres in the drought-stricken state, officials said on Friday. The fire in the Klamath National Forest started when lightning struck the Happy Camp area on Aug. 11. It was 45 percent contained on Friday. The blaze formed a large ring and grew by 882 acres on Thursday night, said Klamath National Forest spokeswoman Andrea Capps, and it is expected to continue to grow along the ring's southern perimeter...
Anti-fracking group to discuss pipelines
Posted by Times Leader: None Given on September 12th, 2014
Times Leader: The Gas Drilling Awareness Coalition will host a panel discussion on pipelines at 7 p.m. Wednesday in the Dallas American Legion, 730 Memorial Highway. The public is welcome. Residents and municipalities in Luzerne County have been receiving letters from natural gas companies on several pipeline projects. This event will allow residents, neighbors and municipal leaders to ask questions about property values, insurance issues and legal matters, as well as environmental impacts. The issue of eminent...
Urban wastelands worth millions for what they give us
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on September 12th, 2014
New Scientist: Waste space in cities isn't a waste of space. Most people see vacant and abandoned land as an eyesore, or being ripe for development, but it has a substantial ecological value in its own right. The abandoned land in a single city can be worth hundreds of millions of dollars.
All ecosystems provide us with free "ecosystem services": useful things that we would otherwise have to do ourselves. Forests clean the rivers that pass through them, providing safe drinking water, and growing plants remove...
It’s time make climate change work for Texas
Posted by Express News: None Given on September 12th, 2014
Express News: Each generation faces environmental challenges -- over the past century we've cleaned up polluted lakes, recovered from the Dust Bowl, turned exceptional places into state and national parks, and taught people about recycling. Today we face an unprecedented environmental challenge of global proportions. Climate change affects every aspect of our lives -- human health, the health of our economy, the health of the terrestrial and marine ecosystems essential for human existence. To help meet the challenge...
The Good and Bad Climate News from Permafrost Melt
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on September 12th, 2014
Climate Central: Earth's subterranean carbon blisters are starting to pop.
Carbon inside now-melting permafrost is oozing out, leaving scientists scrambling to figure out just how much of it is ending up in the atmosphere. Whether recent findings from research that attempted to help answer this question are good or bad climate news might depend on whether you see an Arctic river basin as half full of mud -- or half empty.
Frozen soils known as permafrosts can be found across the planet, and they're concentrated...
Alabama town on front lines in partisan fight over global warming
Posted by Greenwire: William Rabb on September 12th, 2014
Greenwire: Early explorers named this area Perdido, the Spanish word for "lost," because it was apparently so hard to find -- tucked away on a bay that stretches for miles. The eponym may be more appropriate today than ever, with the beachfront here disappearing at the rate of 2 feet per year in a number of spots.
"I was gone in the Army for 10 years, and when I came back home, I couldn't believe how much had eroded," said Chris Engelman, who was enjoying what was left of one beach area with his family last...
After floods, India investigates climate change links
Posted by RTCC: Ed King on September 12th, 2014
RTCC: India’s government plans to assess its vulnerability to extreme weather events linked to climate change, according to reports.
The news comes after parts of India and Pakistan were hit by extreme flooding, leaving 460 dead and thousands more homeless.
“We want to understand the reasons behind such events and are also exploring international cooperation, as extreme weather events are inter-related with changes in climactic conditions in North Pole impacting the Indian monsoon,” the New Indian...