RSS Feed
Archive for December 19th, 2014
Permafrost thaw threatens Arctic infrastructure
Posted by Deutsche Welle: None Given on December 19th, 2014
Deutsche-Welle: Global warming is changing the Arctic - while some herald the opportunities that come with easier access, the thaw could literally yank the ground out from under communities. DW talked to an expert about the risks.
DW: Why should we be concerned about warming and thawing in the Arctic?
Hugues Lantuit: Permafrost is frozen ground in the Arctic, and it's currently warming at a fast pace. What we've done in a European Union project is to build for the first time an integrated database on permafrost...
Posted in 
Most of the coastal US will see over 30 days of flooding due to sea level rise
Posted by Huffington Post: Kate Sheppard on December 19th, 2014
Huffington Post: Most coastal regions of the United States will see 30 or more days of flooding by 2050 thanks to sea level rise, according to new research the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration released Thursday.
NOAA's researchers looked at the anticipated frequency of what the National Weather Service considers nuisance flooding, which are floods that are 1 to 2 feet over the regular local high tide and are enough to cause problems but not pose active threats to human life. Some areas of the U.S....
Tropical deforestation leads rise in temperature, erratic rainfall affecting crops far away
Posted by Business Times: None Given on December 19th, 2014
Business Times: Clearing of trees in tropical rainforests not only increases carbon dioxide in the air but also affects rainfall patterns and raises temperatures across the globe, says a study showing that forests have many impacts on climate. This in turn could adversely affect agricultural productivity. A complete tropical deforestation could lead to a rise in global temperature of 0.7 degrees Celsius (on top of the impact from greenhouse gases). The study from the University of Virginia in collaboration with...
How Congress snuck changes to US environmental policy into new budget bill
Posted by Scientific American: Joshua A. Krisch and Josh Fischman on December 19th, 2014
Scientific American: It took 1,603 pages of legalese to keep the U.S. government running for another year. That is the length of the 2015 Fiscal Year Omnibus Appropriations Bill, which was approved by the Senate on Saturday to appropriate $1.01 trillion dollars for most federal agencies and departments through September 2015. The bill is on Pres. Obama's desk waiting for his signature. It is not all about dollars. Congress also loaded the bill with special instructions, called policy riders, which dictate how government...
Tipping Point Nears for ‘Emerging Flooding Crisis’
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on December 19th, 2014
Climate Central: Soggy times are coming for cities along both U.S. coasts and they'll be here much quicker than previously thought. By mid-century, sea level rise is set to make floods a monthly occurrence in more than two dozen major cities, and in some of those cities, it could become a daily occurrence by the 2070s.
The watery findings come from a new study published Thursday and presented at the American Geophysical Union meeting. It builds on findings earlier this year from National Oceanic and Atmospheric...
State Senators Launch Effort to Block Pilgrim Oil Pipeline Through 7 New Jersey Counties
Posted by NJ: None Given on December 19th, 2014
NJ: State Senate Republican leader Tom Kean Jr. and state Sen. Richard Codey today announced they have introduced a resolution opposing the planned Pilgrim Pipeline, which would carry volatile oil through seven New Jersey counties over 178 miles from Linden to Albany, N.Y.
The move was expected, as NJ Advance Media previously reported earlier this week. The Senate resolution follows a similar measure introduced in the Assembly last week. Gov. Chris Christie has declined to comment on what he thinks...
California Drought Weakens, Forecasters ‘Cautious Optimism’ for Future
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on December 19th, 2014
LA Times: About 32% of California, however -- most of it in the Central Valley -- remains under the exceptional drought category. Last week the total was at more than 55%.
"The wet weather finally allowed ample runoff (while producing stream and river flooding) that raised major reservoir levels...in most of northern and central California," the report said.
"`Cautious optimism, but still a long way to go` would be the very short summary for this week`s California drought picture," the report said. ...
Report Suggests Forest-Cutting Can Have an Immediate Effect on Climate
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on December 19th, 2014
Washington Post: The critical role that vast tropical forests such as Brazil’s Amazon play in suppressing climate change is well known: They store huge quantities of carbon, acting as “carbon sinks.”
But as a report out this week argues, scientists are making the case that cutting down these forests does more than simply release carbon into the atmosphere -- it has a direct and more immediate effect on the climate, from changes in rainfall patterns to increases in temperatures. The amount of water that forests...