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Archive for May 25th, 2015
2007 report warned about risks Mauna Kea telescope
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on May 25th, 2015
Associated Press: A 2007 report warned about the risks involved in developing a giant telescope on Mauna Kea.
The report by a Colorado firm hired to evaluate the risks warned that building the Thirty Meter Telescope would come with stiff resistance from Native Hawaiians, lawsuits and regulatory hurdles.
While the report didn`t predict a new generation of Hawaiians taking the opposition to a new level, it gives some insight into what`s happening now, the Honolulu Star-Advertiser newspaper reported Monday (http://ow.ly/NpEmF...
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Oil company bosses’ bonuses linked $1tn spending extracting fossil fuels
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on May 25th, 2015
Guardian: Bosses at the world’s big five oil companies have been showered with bonus payouts linked to a $1tn (£650bn) crescendo of spending on fossil fuel exploration and extraction over nine years, according to Guardian analysis of company reports.
The unprecedented push to bring untapped reserves into production, and to exploit new and undiscovered fields, involves some of the most complex feats of engineering ever attempted. It also reflects how confident ExxonMobil, Shell, Chevron, Total and BP are...
In Drought-Ridden Taiwan, Residents Adapt To Life With Less Water
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on May 25th, 2015
National Public Radio: In Taiwan, businesses and residents have been learning to adapt to life with less water. The island country is coping with its worst drought in decades.
Flash Flooding Texas, Oklahoma After Record Rainfall
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on May 25th, 2015
National Public Radio: Severe storms are creating massive flooding in Texas, Oklahoma and throughout the Great Plains. Meteorologists say this downpour most likely ended the years long drought for that portion of the West — but it comes at a high cost.
Probing climate change winners, losers among state’s wildlife
Posted by Worcester Telegram: None Given on May 25th, 2015
Worcester Telegram: Will there be a time when the state’s official bird will be driven out of the commonwealth because it will no longer be able to survive in a changing climate?
In a 2008 paper on the possible changes to our environment caused by climate change, John A. O’Leary, assistant director of wildlife for the state Division of Fisheries and Wildlife and the agency’s Wildlife Action Plan Coordinator, posed that question.
“We at Fisheries and Wildlife have a duty to protect wildlife and address...
Florida needs action on climate change
Posted by Tampa Bay Times: Editorial on May 25th, 2015
Tampa Bay Times: An Associated Press review of thousands of documents and emails shows the state has yet to offer a clear plan or coordination on addressing rising sea levels, despite chronic flooding along Florida's coastline from storm surges and higher tides. It has yet to address the increasing problem of saltwater intrusion into drinking water wells, which has cities and counties scrambling to find new sources of fresh drinking water. And the AP review blamed this not merely on indifference but on the mindset...
Texas governor declares states of emergency, more severe weather expected
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on May 25th, 2015
Reuters: The governor of Texas on Monday declared states of disaster in 24 counties, citing the severe weather and flash flooding that have killed at least two people.
The state has been pounded by tornadoes, heavy rainfall, thunderstorms and flooding that forced evacuations and rooftop rescues and left thousands of residents without electrical power.
In declaring the states of disaster in 24 counties, Texas Governor Greg Abbott said: “The State of Texas has taken brisk action in dispatching all available...
Location matters in the lowland Amazon
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on May 25th, 2015
ScienceDaily: You know the old saying: Location, location, location? It turns out that it applies to the Amazon rainforest, too. New work from Carnegie's Greg Asner illustrates a hidden tapestry of chemical variation across the lowland Peruvian Amazon, with plants in different areas producing an array of chemicals that changes across the region's topography. His team's work is published by Nature Geoscience. "Our findings tell us that lowland Amazon forests are far more geographically sorted than we once thought,"...
More than 500 people killed as heat wave bakes parts of India
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on May 25th, 2015
Reuters: Soaring temperatures have gripped parts of southern and northern India in an extreme heat wave which has killed more than 500 people and looks set to continue this week, officials said on Monday. The hottest place in India was Allahabad, a city in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh, which saw mercury rise to 47.7 degrees Celsius (117.8 Fahrenheit) on Sunday, while the capital Delhi recorded a high of 43.5C (110.3F). Most of the 539 recorded deaths have been of construction workers, the elderly...
Officials will evaluate impacts of Colowyo Mine
Posted by Denver Post: Mark Jaffe on May 25th, 2015
Denver Post: Federal mining officials are moving ahead with a new environmental assessment on coal mining operations at the Colowyo Mine near Craig, including the impacts of greenhouse gases on climate change. On May 8, a federal district court ruling found the environmental assessment done in 2006 for the expansion of the mine on federal lands was insufficient. Judge R. Brooke Jackson gave the federal Office of Surface Mining, Reclamation and Enforcement 120 days to address the issues. One of the major deficiencies...