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Archive for April, 2015
Oil drilling may slow drought recovery in Great Plains
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on April 29th, 2015
Climate Central: As the main driver of climate change, the connection between burning fossil fuels and global warming is clear. But evidence shows they may be connected in another way -- the physical footprint of oil and gas development on the landscape may not only contribute to global warming, it may also affect an ecosystem's ability to withstand it.
New research shows that an area larger than the land area of Maryland -- more than 11,500 square miles -- was completely stripped of trees, grasses and shrubs...
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Gov. Jerry Brown seeks fines of up to $10,000 a day for water wasters
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on April 29th, 2015
LA Times: Gov. Jerry Brown wants to fine big water wasters up to $10,000 per day, one of two new efforts he announced Tuesday to battle California`s drought.
The higher penalties would be a sharp increase from the current $500 maximum that local water districts can now impose on residents and businesses.
The governor`s proposal, which must be negotiated with lawmakers, would also empower cities and counties to issue fines. Local governments would be able to enlist staff members to dish out warnings and...
Warming Climate May Release Massive Carbon Storehouse Arctic Soils
Posted by Nature World: None Given on April 28th, 2015
Nature World: It's no secret that our warming climate is causing ice everywhere to melt, but now new research shows that this thaw may release a massive storehouse of carbon in long-frozen Arctic soils. This could potentially have a catastrophic effect on climate change, which is already wreaking havoc on the environment and wildlife around the world.
While climatologists have been closely monitoring carbon dioxide (CO2) levels in the atmosphere, it seems they should be focusing just as much on what's under...
Cyberattack Takes Down Controversial Mauna Kea Telescope Website
Posted by Pop Science: None Given on April 28th, 2015
Pop Science: It appears the stars have not yet aligned for the Thirty Meter Telescope project, which saw its main website targeted by an alleged cyberattack this weekend. The site was unavailable for several hours, a project spokesperson confirmed, and a group known as Operation Green Rights--associated with the popular Anonymous movement--has claimed responsibility.
A post added yesterday on Operation Green Rights' website read: "Nothing will ever justify the destruction of ecosystems; filthy money can never...
Three in every four extremely hot days linked to climate change
Posted by New Scientist: Aviva Rutkin on April 28th, 2015
New Scientist: If climate change was a game, we'd have racked up quite a score. A fresh study suggests that humans are responsible for a hefty number of today's extreme hot days and rainstorms. Weather extremes, such as a Russian heatwave in 2010 and a drought in Texas in 2011, have been blamed on climate change before – but the attribution of individual events to it is still hotly debated. So Erich Fischer and Reto Knutti at the Institute for Atmospheric and Climate Science in Zurich, Switzerland, took a bird's-eye...
Star Wars, Hawaiian Style
Posted by Earth Island: None Given on April 28th, 2015
Earth Island: The Big Island of Hawaii is often in the news because of the active Kilauea volcano. However, an eruption of another sort at the dormant 13,796 foot-high Mauna Kea is thrusting Hawaii back into the headlines. This explosion of activism has been triggered not by TNT, but by “TMT,” the proposed Thirty Meter Telescope, the Northern Hemisphere’s largest, most advanced optical telescope, which is slated to be built on the summit of the Aloha State’s highest peak. This 184 foot-tall, 18 story-high, eight...
Does the 30 Meter Telescope Pose Environmental Risks?
Posted by Civil Beat: None Given on April 27th, 2015
Civil Beat: As protests against the Thirty Meter Telescope continue, many critics say they’re worried that the $1.4 billion project will damage Mauna Kea’s environment.
Thirteen observatories have already been built on the top of the state’s tallest mountain, but the TMT will be by far the largest. Once completed, the observatory and its support building will span 1.4 acres.
The project will take up another 5 acres extending the road leading up to the mountain and adding a parking lot. It may also involve...
Cyberattack Hits TMT and State Government Websites
Posted by Civil Beat: None Given on April 27th, 2015
Civil Beat: Hawaii state government’s official website went down Sunday, along with the main site for the organization building the Thirty Meter Telescope atop Mauna Kea.
TMT spokeswoman Caroline Witherspoon confirmed that the organization’s website had received a denial of service attack but said that it was back up as of 3 p.m. She didn’t know how long the attack lasted.
Update The state’s website, hawaii.gov, was back up and running by 5 p.m.
Gov. David Ige’s communications director, Cindy McMillan,...
Mauna Kea and the awakening of the lahui
Posted by Hawaiin Indpendent: None Given on April 27th, 2015
Hawaiin Indpendent: Multiple generations of campaigners are rallying around Mauna Kea as a symbol for the larger issues of self-determination and Aloha ?Aina in what is becoming one of, if not the, largest mobilizations of Hawaiian activism in decades.
“We have vowed to protect the remnants of our culture, no matter what cost; and the culture cannot exist without the land.” -- George Jarrett Helm
“We are in a time of enlightenment for our people! We have risen; we have awakened; we have remembered; and we`re going...
Warming climate may release vast amounts of carbon from long-frozen Arctic soils
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on April 27th, 2015
ScienceDaily: While climatologists are carefully watching carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere, another group of scientists is exploring a massive storehouse of carbon that has the potential to significantly affect the climate change picture.
University of Georgia Skidaway Institute of Oceanography researcher Aron Stubbins is part of a team investigating how ancient carbon, locked away in Arctic permafrost for thousands of years, is now being transformed into carbon dioxide and released into the atmosphere....