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Archive for May 30th, 2015
Meet the Co-Founder of an Apocalypse Think Tank
Posted by Scientific American: Erin Biba on May 30th, 2015
Scientific American: This year the Doomsday Clock moved forward for the first time since 2012. The theoretical countdown to catastrophe was devised 67 years ago by the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, a watchdog group created in 1945 by scientists who worked on the Manhattan Project. Its contemporary caretakers have inched the clock three minutes closer to midnight based on the threats of climate change and a slowdown in disarmament.
But global warming and nuclear malaise are not the only threats facing humanity....
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India’s killer heatwave deadly warning world we face without climate action
Posted by Ecologist: Liz Hanna on May 30th, 2015
Ecologist: As delegates prepare for the Bonn climate talks, India is being struck by extreme heat with a long-delayed monsoon season and a death toll of thousands, writes Liz Hanna. If this is an indicator of the warming world to come, it's giving us all the reasons we could possibly want to act decisively before it's too late.
The combination of rapidly expanding population, and increasing extreme heat events reducing food yields suggests a perfect storm is brewing.
India is currently in the throes of...
Indian government to review hydroelectric dams in two river basins
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on May 30th, 2015
Guardian: The supreme court stopped the construction of dams on the river Ganga soon after the devastating floods that swept the state of Uttarakhand in June 2013. Many blamed them for exacerbating destruction. An 11-member expert committee recommended that 23 dams on the Alaknanda and Bhagirathi rivers, the two main tributaries of the Ganga, be scrapped. Builders of six dams in the upper Ganga basin asked the court to allow their projects to proceed. The six were among the 23 vetoed dams. Instead of accepting...
UNESCO says Great Barrier Reef not in danger
Posted by Deutsche Welle: None Given on May 30th, 2015
Deutsche-Welle: UNESCO has stopped short of listing the Great Barrier Reef as endangered but expressed concerns over its health, as environmental groups say the Australian government must up efforts to protect the unique ecosystem.
"This decision has been described by some as a reprieve for the reef. It is not a reprieve - it is a big, red flag from UNESCO," said Shani Tager, Greenpeace Australia Reef campaigner said in a statement.
UNESCO said it welcomed the Australian government's efforts to protect the...
What can Londoners expect from new Thames tunnel? Lethal pollution
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on May 30th, 2015
Guardian: What could possibly be wrong with a big new car tunnel under the Thames linking deprived east and south London? It would relieve congestion, allow people to cross London more easily, reduce journey times, encourage development, jobs, prosperity, flexibility, and even provide an alternative route between the Isle of Dogs with Greenwich, wouldn't it?
That's the premise of the mayor, Boris Johnson, and Transport for London (TfL) who, backed by construction and property companies, want to build a...
Presidential disaster declaration signed Texas storms kill 21
Posted by Reuters: Lisa Maria Garza and Jim Forsyth on May 30th, 2015
Reuters: U.S. President Barack Obama signed a disaster declaration late on Friday for areas in Texas hammered by severe weather that killed at least 21 people, caused massive flooding and prompted evacuations this week.
Storms that battered North Texas on Thursday and Friday added more runoff to swollen rivers and prompted hundreds of calls for help in Dallas, where some areas saw up to seven inches (17.8 cm) of rain.
"Communities across the State of Texas have experienced devastating destruction, injury...
Is all the crazy weather lately due to climate change?
Posted by Daily Dot: None Given on May 30th, 2015
Daily Dot: Texas is flooding and streets in India are literally melting because of its record-breaking heat wave. Several people have died in both events--including a staggering 1,800 in India. And while Texas is no stranger to floods and India certainly has heat waves this time of year, these events seem especially extreme.
“The heat wave in India is consistent with a pattern of record-breaking heat we’ve seen in recent years that can only be explained by the added heating due to human-caused greenhouse...