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Archive for December 22nd, 2014
NASA CO2 map reveals impact of forest clearance
Posted by RTCC: Megan Darby on December 22nd, 2014
RTCC: Early data has come in from the first satellite dedicated to monitoring levels of carbon dioxide in the air -- with some surprising results.
The patch of dense carbon dioxide above China was to be expected, as factories churn out emissions.
But the biggest swathes of red -- signifying a high concentration of the greenhouse gas -- appeared over the southern hemisphere.
"Preliminary analysis shows these signals are largely driven by the seasonal burning of savannas and forests," explained...
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Obama expresses scepticism over Keystone pipeline
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on December 22nd, 2014
Guardian: US President Barack Obama has delivered his most sceptical remarks yet on the future of the Keystone oil pipeline, claiming its controversial extension from Canada to Nebraska would do little to reduce American energy prices and generate only a limited number of US jobs, but could add to the infrastructure costs of climate change.
Speaking during an end-of-year press conference just one day after Republicans promised fresh legislation designed to force the project’s approval, the president departed...
Australia: Great Barrier Reef at risk from ‘rushed’ sediment dumping plan at Abbot Point
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on December 22nd, 2014
Guardian: A plan to dump dredged sediment onto a sensitive wetlands area beside the Great Barrier Reef near Abbot Point would lead to much more slurry being pumped into the waters of the reef than officially estimated, a report has warned.
In its submission to the federal government, the environment group WWF cites expert advice that the project’s modelling underestimates by nearly 30% the amount of sediment and water that would be discharged into the ocean through a pipe from the wetlands ponds.
A total...