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Archive for September 27th, 2014
Floods, forest fires, expanding deserts: the future has arrived
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on September 27th, 2014
Guardian: Climate change is no longer viewed by mainstream scientists as a future threat to our planet and our species. It is a palpable phenomenon that already affects the world, they insist. And a brief look round the globe certainly provides no lack of evidence to support this gloomy assertion.
In Bangladesh, increasingly severe floods – triggered, in part, by increasing temperatures and rising sea levels – are wiping out crops and destroying homes on a regular basis. In Sudan, the heat is causing the...
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Crazy weather traced to Arctic’s impact on jet stream
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on September 27th, 2014
New Scientist: The rapid retreat of Arctic sea ice caused by climate change may be to blame for more frequent prolonged spells of extreme weather in Europe, Asia and North America, such as heat waves, freezing temperatures or storms.
These are relatively short-term periods of bizarre weather, like the cold snap that paralysed North America earlier this year, rather than longer-term rises in temperature.
They are related to "stuck" weather patterns, Jennifer Francis of Rutgers University in New Brunswick,...
The drought you can’t see
Posted by Science: Marcia McNutt on September 27th, 2014
Science: The Western Hemisphere is experiencing a drought of crisis proportions. In Central America, crops are failing, millions are in danger of starvation, and if the drought doesn't break soon, even vessels transiting the Panama Canal will need to lighten their loads, which will increase prices for goods transported globally. In the western United States, the drought-stricken region spans a vast area responsible for much of the nation's fruits, vegetables, and beef. As the drought's grip has tightened,...
South Aral Sea basin is now “completely dried”
Posted by Slate: None Given on September 27th, 2014
Slate: The Aral Sea--a huge part of it at least--is no more. According to NASA, "for the first time in modern history, the eastern basin of the South Aral Sea has completely dried.' Humans have been farming the Aral Sea area in Central Asia for centuries, and the lake has gone through spectacular boom-and-bust cycles in the past. But the lake hasn't been this dry in a long, long time. Speaking with NASA, Philip Micklin, a geographer emeritus from Western Michigan University, said, "it is likely the first...