RSS Feed
Archive for April 3rd, 2015
California snowpack is at a record low
Posted by Grist: None Given on April 3rd, 2015
Grist: The previous record for low snowpack was the 25 percent of normal recorded this time last year, as well as in another period of record drought, from 1976-1977. California has been in the throes of a drought that is now in its fourth year, and that has been linked to climate change.
“So we’re not only setting a new low, we’re completely obliterating the previous record,” David Rizzardo, the chief of snow surveys for California’s Department of Water Resources, said during a teleconference held by...
Posted in 
Thawing permafrost could be the worst climate threat you haven’t heard of
Posted by Grist: Suzanne Jacobs on April 3rd, 2015
Grist: Some things get better when you take them out of the freezer. Ice cream, for example, is unarguably more delicious when it gets a little melt-y. (Unarguably, I say! Come at me, trolls.) But other things get remarkably worse. Take bananas - the next time you whip up a smoothie, leave the frozen banana to defrost on your counter and watch in horror as it turns into a yellowish brown pile of watery mucus.
And then there’s permafrost: You don’t even want to know what happens to that shit when it thaws...
Drought, Climate Change and California’s Multibillion-Dollar Problem
Posted by Forbes: None Given on April 3rd, 2015
Forbes: Two weeks before California Governor Jerry Brown’s announcement on Wednesday that residents and businesses in the Golden State -- which is withering amid one of its worst droughts in modern history -- would be subjected to unprecedented restrictions on water usage, he issued a blistering attack on those who continue to question fundamental climate science.
Such thinking, Brown said during an appearance on NBC’s Meet the Press late last month, “borders on the immoral,” and the Democratic governor...
Deforestation in the Amazon Aggravates Brazil’s Energy Crisis
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on April 3rd, 2015
Inter Press Service: In Brazil water and electricity go together, and two years of scant rainfall have left tens of millions of people on the verge of water and power rationing, boosting arguments for the need to fight deforestation in the Amazon rainforest.
Two-thirds of Brazil's electricity comes from dammed rivers, whose water levels have dropped alarmingly. The crisis has triggered renewed concern over climate change and the need to reforest river banks, and has given rise to new debate about the country's energy...
Study: Rising Ocean, Extreme Heat, Other Climate Change Effects Could Cost CA Billions
Posted by NBC: None Given on April 3rd, 2015
NBC: While a parched California copes with a long-term drought, water threatens to cost the state billions in a much different way if climate change continues unchecked, according to a new study. By 2050, rising sea levels could engulf between $8 and $10 billion in coastal property, with up to $10 billion more susceptible to tidal flooding, according to the study by climate change research group Risky Business. Gov. Brown Orders Unprecedented Water Reductions Climate change will likely deepen the drought,...
Satellite Images Show Scope of Calif Record Low Snow
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on April 3rd, 2015
Climate Central: When news broke of California's record low snow earlier this week, it wasn't a surprise this year was a recordbreaker. The real shock was just how low the snowpack had dwindled.
Weak snowfall and downright balmy temperatures drove the snowpack down to just 6 percent of normal on April 1, a mark that "obliterates' the previous record, one official remarked. The previous record low came in the winter of 1976-77 when snowpack was 25 percent of normal, and was matched at the end of last winter.
Satellite...
Epic California drought preview future global warming mega-droughts
Posted by Mashable: None Given on April 3rd, 2015
Mashable: Typically, the snowpack provides up to 30% of the state's annual freshwater resources and is at a seasonal peak depth in early April. But in the face of mild Pacific storms that brought rain instead of snow, as well as drier-than-average conditions and a record-warm winter, the snow cover stood at just 5% of average on April 1, by far the lowest level ever recorded.
Conditions are so dire that California Governor Jerry Brown announced on Wednesday the first-ever statewide mandated water restrictions,...
California facing extreme heat waves and rising seas
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on April 3rd, 2015
Bloomberg: A day after California imposed mandatory water restrictions to battle a four-year drought, a new study on global warming suggests the worst is yet to come.
The average number of days with temperatures higher than 95 degrees Fahrenheit (35 degrees Celsius) may double or even triple by the end of the century, threatening one of the world’s richest agricultural regions. At the same time, $19 billion in coastal property will likely disappear as sea levels rise, the study found.
The report is the...
Deforestation Drives Changes in Climate, Food Production
Posted by Nature World: None Given on April 3rd, 2015
Nature World: Deforestation is driving changes in the climate that threaten to impact global food production, according to a new study. "Understanding the precise mechanisms of forest-generated warming or cooling could help regional management agencies anticipate changes in crop yields. Together with a knowledge of other ecological factors, this information can help decision makers and stakeholders design policies that help to sustain local agricultural practices," co-author Safa Motesharrei said in a statement....