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Archive for April 2nd, 2015
Drought-Stricken California Exempts Big Oil and Big Ag from Mandatory Restrictions
Posted by EcoWatch: None Given on April 2nd, 2015
EcoWatch: The April 1 snowpack assessment in California, which set an all-time record for lowest snowpack levels in the state’s history, finally spurred Governor Brown’s office to issue an executive order to residents and non-agricultural businesses to cut water use by 25 percent in the first mandatory statewide reduction in the state’s history.
But some groups have been exempted from the water restrictions, specifically big agriculture, which uses about 80 percent of California’s water, and oil companies....
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Vibrant Simulation Shows Complexity of Ocean Circulation and Heat Transfer
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on April 2nd, 2015
Yale Environment 360: This swirling, vibrant visualization of global water-surface temperatures from Los Alamos National Laboratory depicts the complexity of ocean circulation and heat absorption. Cool temperatures appear as blues and greens while warmer waters are red and yellow. A clear temperature divide exists between waters in the Northern Hemisphere and those in the Southern Hemisphere. Researchers say that oceans south of the equator have absorbed substantially more heat over the past decade. Vortices near the...
California Governor Orders 1st Mandatory Water Limits
Posted by Environment News Service: None Given on April 2nd, 2015
Environment News Service: Following the lowest snowpack ever recorded and with no end to the drought in sight, California Governor Jerry Brown Wednesday announced actions that will save water, increase enforcement to prevent wasteful water use, streamline the state`s drought response and invest in new technologies that will make California more drought resilient.
For the first time in state history, the governor has directed the State Water Resources Control Board to implement mandatory water reductions in cities and towns...
Coal Industry Lost Nearly 50,000 Jobs in Five Years
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on April 2nd, 2015
Washington Post: When it comes to energy, we live in transformative times. From shale oil helping to upend global markets, to explosive growth in rooftop solar, the changes we’re seeing in the energy industry have not only been rapid, but often unexpected.
Not every part of the energy industry has fared well during these tumultuous years. In particular, coal has struggled, amid mounting concerns about its contributions to greenhouse gas pollution and increased regulatory initiatives by the Obama administration....
Western cities had hottest March on record
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on April 2nd, 2015
Associated Press: While much of the nation shivered, many Western cities sweltered through their hottest March on record.
Cities in California, Arizona, Texas, Nevada and even Montana had record high temperatures on individual days last month, according to the National Weather Service. Some also racked up unusual overall temperatures or streaks of balmy weather.
In Los Angeles, the average high in March topped 79 degrees, and the temperature hit 90 or higher on six days.
San Diego had five days of 90 or above....