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Archive for January 30th, 2015
Frequency heatwaves in urban areas on rise
Posted by Blue and Green: Charlotte Malone on January 30th, 2015
Blue and Green: A new study has found that the world’s urban areas are increasingly experiencing heatwaves, potentially leading to huge issues for public health and infrastructure.
The research, which has been published in the journal Environmental Research Letters, found that prolonged periods of extreme hot days have significantly increased in over 200 urban areas across the world in the last 40 years. Researchers from institutions in the US and India conducted the study.
The findings show that there were...
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How these two women guided Keystone bill through a divided Senate
Posted by Christian Science Monitor: Francine Kiefer on January 30th, 2015
Christian Science Monitor: In a rare moment for the US Senate, the two lawmakers who had just spent three weeks steering the Keystone pipeline bill through choppy waters were chatting amiably on the floor during the final vote. One was dressed in a teal-colored jacket and skirt. The other wore a silver pendant with her sky-blue blazer.
Senators can remember only a handful of times when two women have acted as “floor managers” of bills in the Senate – and certainly not in such a high-profile circumstance as this one.
In...
Earthquakes Rattling Glaciers, Boosting Sea Level Rise
Posted by Glacier Hub: None Given on January 30th, 2015
Glacier Hub: Talk of earthquakes likely calls to mind giant fissures opening up along the earth’s crust, the trembling of rock, buildings crumbling to their knees and, depending on your age and cast of mind, the love of Superman for Lois Lane. But it does not likely conjure up images of giant tongues of sliding ice or the splash of calving icebergs. And yet it should.
Most earthquakes are generated by the friction produced by two bodies of rock rapidly sliding past each other on a fault in the Earth’s crust,...
Canada: Beyond petroleum
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on January 30th, 2015
Economist: “THE oil industry isn’t remotely the entire Canadian economy,” declared the prime minister, Stephen Harper, on January 22nd. That is not a startling statement. Production of crude oil represents just 3% of Canada’s GDP. The surprise is that Mr Harper felt he has to state the obvious. In an economy dominated by services, Mr Harper and his Conservative Party have cast themselves as champions of the oil industry, which is centred in Alberta, his adopted home province.
He pulled Canada out of the...
Global warming: atmosphere will adapt to hotter, wetter climate
Posted by Business Times: None Given on January 30th, 2015
Business Times: Strong storms will become stronger while weak storms become weaker, and the cumulative result of all the storms will remain unchanged under global warming, says a study led by atmospheric physicists at the University of Toronto.
The team quantified the way in which increase in water vapour from global warming influences the strength of atmospheric air circulation.
The atmosphere it turns out will adapt to hotter, wetter climate.
"We know that with global warming we'll get more evaporation...
Senate Republicans pass Keystone bill as White House vows veto
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on January 30th, 2015
Bloomberg: The Republican-controlled U.S. Senate passed a bill to approve the Keystone XL pipeline, setting up a conflict with President Barack Obama who has promised a veto.
The Senate voted 62-36 Thursday for the measure that would circumvent the administration review in progress for six years. Nine Democrats joined Republicans who backed the measure. Obama has said he wants to wait until the review is completed before deciding on whether to approve construction of the pipeline.
Differences with a version...
Senate approves Keystone XL pipeline bill despite veto threat
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on January 30th, 2015
LA times: After weeks of unusually robust debate, the Senate on Thursday approved legislation to expedite construction of the massive Keystone XL pipeline, brushing aside President Obama`s threat to veto the measure.
Passage secured not only a top Republican policy victory but also a political success for new Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, who made Keystone his first priority.
The vote was an early test of McConnell`s promise to return the Senate to a place of freewheeling debate....
Senate finally passes Keystone, but Obama’s veto looms
Posted by McClatchy: None Given on January 30th, 2015
McClatchy: The Senate passed a bill approving construction of the controversial Keystone XL pipeline on Thursday, setting up a showdown with President Barack Obama, who has promised to veto the measure.
Thursday's vote culminated six years of intense debate over the proposed 1,179-mile pipeline, designed to ship Canadian oil sands crude to the U.S. Gulf Coast.
The Senate passed the measure 62-36, with nine Democrats joining all Republicans in voting in favor.
An almost identical bill already passed...
One of the World’s Biggest Lakes Is Dying & We’re to Blame
Posted by Mother Jones: Tim McDonnell on January 30th, 2015
Mother Jones: He's sitting behind a wooden table piled with a dozen tilapia and Nile perch at the market in Katoro, a roadside town in northern Tanzania. The fish--a staple of the Tanzanian diet--came in that morning from Lake Victoria, an hour's drive north. Around us, hundreds of shoppers are snatching up pineapples, textiles, and motorcycle parts. But Mohammed explains that basic economics is keeping customers away from his fish.
"There's less fish," he says. "So the price goes up, so customers can't afford...
Storms like U.S. blizzard may get stronger but less frequent: Study
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on January 30th, 2015
Reuters: Large storms like the blizzard that battered New England this week may become more severe but less frequent as the Earth's climate changes, scientists said on Thursday.
The Canadian-led study noted that warmer air can hold more moisture, meaning more fuel for rain, hail or snow, and found knock-on effects on how the atmosphere generates storms.
"In a future climate, the global atmospheric circulation might comprise highly energetic storms," they wrote in the journal Science.
At the same...