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Archive for October, 2014
Deadly fungus killing British newts after spread from east Asia
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on October 30th, 2014
Independent: The international trade in pet newts and salamanders has spread a deadly skin fungus from east Asia to Europe, posing a further threat to the endangered great-crested newt of Britain, scientists said.
A previously unknown fungus called Batrachochytrium salamandrivorans was first discovered last year and a survey of more than 5,000 amphibians across the world has revealed its global spread from its native Asia.
Scientists believe the pet trade has helped the fungus to spread from Thailand, Vietnam,...
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Miles of Gulf Seafloor Slick with Oil from BP Spill
Posted by Nature World: None Given on October 30th, 2014
Nature World: Back in 2010, the infamous Deepwater Horizon oil spill gushed millions of barrels of oil into the Gulf of Mexico, but where a lot of that oil ended up remained a mystery. Now however, a large amount of that elusive oil has been found, coating miles of the Gulf seafloor, according to new research.
Between two and 16 percent of the total oil spilled sits just within 25 miles (40 kilometers) of the BP-operated Macondo well responsible for the environmental disaster.
"This analysis provides us...
High Levels Dangerous Chemicals Found Air Near Oil & Gas Sites
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on October 30th, 2014
National Geographic: Dirk DeTurck had a years-old rash that wouldn't go away, his wife's hair came out in chunks, and anytime they lingered outside their house for more than an hour, splitting headaches set in.
They were certain the cause was simply breathing the air in Greenbrier, Arkansas, the rural community to which they'd retired a decade ago. They blamed the gas wells around them. But state officials didn't investigate.
So DeTurck leapt at the chance to help with research that posed a pressing question: What's...
Low oxygen ‘delayed life on Earth’
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on October 30th, 2014
BBC: There's been much debate about why animals took so long to evolve and thrive on Earth.
Now scientists say it was due to incredibly low levels of oxygen on Earth more than a billion years ago.
A team determined the chemical composition of ancient rocks to find there was about 0.1% of the oxygen levels present compared with today.
The researchers present their work in Science journal.
Why complex life took so long to appear on the scene has puzzled scientists for many years. It was only...
Methane emissions may swell from behind dams
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on October 30th, 2014
Climate Central: Imagine nearly 6,000 dairy cows doing what cows do, belching and being flatulent for a full year. That's how much methane was emitted from one Ohio reservoir in 2012.
Reservoirs and hydropower are often thought of as climate friendly because they don't burn fossil fuels to produce electricity. But what if reservoirs that store water and produce electricity were among some of the world's largest contributors of greenhouse gas emissions?
Harsha Lake, a large reservoir near Cincinnati, Ohio, emitted...
Fracking may release cancer-causing air pollution – study
Posted by RTCC: Megan Darby on October 30th, 2014
RTCC: Fracking wells may release cancer-causing chemicals into the air, a community science study has found.
Residents trained to take air quality samples recorded high levels of benzene, hydrogen sulphide and formaldehyde near shale gas extraction sites in the US.
While based on a small number of samples, the study published in Environmental Health adds a new set of potential health threats to fracking’s rap sheet.
Lead researcher David Carpenter, from the University at Albany, New York, said...
Toxic chemicals, carcinogens skyrocket near fracking sites
Posted by US News World Report: None Given on October 30th, 2014
US News World Report: Oil and gas wells across the country are spewing “dangerous" cancer-causing chemicals into the air, according to a new study that further corroborates reports of health problems around hydraulic fracturing sites.
“This is a significant public health risk,” says Dr. David Carpenter, director of the Institute for Health and the Environment at the University at Albany-State University of New York and lead author of the study, which was published Thursday in the journal Environmental Health. “Cancer...
Global groundwater crisis may get worse as the world warms
Posted by Mashable: None Given on October 30th, 2014
Mashable: From India to Texas, people are rapidly depleting their valuable stores of groundwater -- leading to the possibility that aquifers may be emptied within decades, a NASA researcher has warned.
In a commentary published Wednesday in the journal Nature Climate Change, Jay Famiglietti, who has helped lead the use of a NASA satellite system to detect groundwater changes around the world, warned of dramatic consequences to come if changes are not made to the way that societies manage water supplies....
Climate change a ‘threat multiplier’ for farming-dependent nations: Report
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on October 30th, 2014
Reuters: Climate change and food insecurity are "threat multipliers", and 32 countries dependent on farming face an "extreme risk" of conflict or civil unrest in the next 30 years, a global analytics firm said on Wednesday. Food shortages and rising prices have the potential to worsen political, ethnic, class and religious tensions, the risk advisory firm Maplecroft reported in its annual "Climate Change and Environmental Risk Atlas (CCERA)". Analysts noted that several nations' military leaders are ahead...
Hot enough? Things are going to get hotter in Australia
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on October 30th, 2014
Sydney Morning Herald: Australia's unusually hot and dry weather is set to extend well into summer with the Bureau of Meteorology predicting increased risks of bushfires and heatwaves.
The bureau's latest three-month outlooks for temperature and rainfall covering the November-January period indicate the likelihood of drier-than-normal conditions across most of eastern Australia, particularly the north-east.
For Sydney, the immediate forecast is for mostly dry weather, with a maximum 31 degrees reached on Thursday...