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Archive for June 8th, 2015
Rainy May Sets Record for Soggy U.S
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on June 8th, 2015
Climate Central: The numbers are in, and the month of May broke a number of records across the U.S. Alaska had its warmest May by a wide margin. California continued to see its warmest year-to-date. And thanks to staggering rains that swamped the Southern Plains, May was the wettest month on record for the contiguous U.S.
Total precipitation for the Lower 48 in May was nearly 1.5 inches above normal, according to figures released Monday by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, boosting the month...
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Lindsey Graham Calls Out Fellow Republican Candidates Over Climate Change Views
Posted by ThinkProgress: None Given on June 8th, 2015
ThinkProgress: In an interview Sunday with CNN`s "State of the Union," Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) continued to distance himself from the growing field of GOP presidential candidates when it comes to climate change and environmental policy.
"If I’m president of the United States, we’re going to address climate change, CO2 emissions in a business-friendly way," Graham said during the interview, noting that he does "believe that climate change is real."
The interview was taped Saturday in Boone, Iowa, where...
Hawaii Supreme Court to Hear Challenge to Telescope Permit
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on June 8th, 2015
Associated Press: Hawaii's highest court is taking up a legal challenge against a permit for a giant telescope planned for Hawaii's Big Island.
The state Supreme Court granted an application to transfer the case there from circuit court on Friday.
People are protesting the $1.4 billion telescope to protect land held sacred by Native Hawaiians, among other reasons. The telescope is planned for the summit of Mauna Kea on Hawaii's Big Island, and would be one of the largest telescopes in the world.
The court...
Scientists targeted for cuts working on politically charged issues
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on June 8th, 2015
Associated Press: The group of state Department of Natural Resources scientists that Republican lawmakers targeted for cuts has been working on a number of politically charged issues in recent years, including climate change, pollution and mining. Republicans say the cuts are designed to refocus the DNR on more practical research projects that help hunters and anglers. But Democrats say the GOP wants to slap the researchers down as political payback. “It has to be political,” Rep. Chris Taylor, D-Madison, a member...
Climate change costs Pakistan $24bn annually
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on June 8th, 2015
Daily Times: Planning Commission Water Resources Chief Naseer Ahmed Gilani said on Sunday Pakistan is facing an annual loss of $24 billion due to the adverse impacts of climate change and environmental degradation.
He was addressing to a seminar titled combating climate change impacts arranged by the Capital Development Authority (CDA) in connection with the World Environment Day.
Speaking on the occasion he stressed for serious efforts towards environmental conservation with special focus on energy conservation...
California drought: No rain, but ‘the sky is not falling.’
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on June 8th, 2015
LA Times: The Santa Ana River is a robust and beautiful sight these days. Five miles west of the Prado Dam in Yorba Linda, the water has cut a narrow channel in a sandy bed and courses briskly over submerged rocks and tree limbs.
The water is a complicated cocktail that comes from many sources. As it flows 96 miles from its headwaters to the ocean, it provides a glimpse of the future: a picture of water management set into place nearly 50 years ago that can be seen as a model for California's long effort...
Can Calif create enduring drought relief?
Posted by LA Times: Cathleen Decker on June 8th, 2015
LA Times: Gov. Jerry Brown responds to a question after a meeting to discuss the drought's effect on business. A recent poll shows widespread support for Brown's order to cut water consumption.
Gov. Jerry Brown responds to a question after a meeting to discuss the drought's effect on business. A recent poll shows widespread support for Brown's order to cut water consumption.
On the perennially vexing subjects of water and the drought, Gov. Jerry Brown has been on something of a roll.
In November,...
Drought hastens decline of the Joshua tree, California’s desert symbol
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on June 8th, 2015
LA Times: Under canopies of dead angular branches and drooping fronds, UC Riverside ecologist Cameron Barrows made his way across a forest of skeletal Joshua trees that have not reproduced in decades.
As Barrows explained, it's a tough time to be a Joshua tree. Climate change is taking an enormous toll, and the current drought has hastened the decline of a species that is regarded as the symbol of California deserts.
"For Joshua trees, hotter, drier conditions are a problem - but a bigger problem is...
Global citizens ‘very concerned’ about climate
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on June 8th, 2015
Agence France-Presse: The widest global effort yet to gauge citizens' views on climate change showed 79 percent to be "very concerned" about its effects, but less than half support a carbon tax to curb ...more emissions, organisers said less
The widest global effort yet to gauge citizens' views on climate change showed 79 percent to be "very concerned" about its effects, but less than half support a carbon tax to curb emissions, organisers said Sunday.
Results of the day-long consultation held in 75 countries on...
Oil Drilling in Montana Taps Out
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on June 8th, 2015
Billings Gazette: Oil drilling in Montana has all but tapped out, according to state records showing that the state has been without a major drilling rig since April.
Observers said the inactivity is due to low oil prices, which have also slowed drilling activity in North Dakota’s much more active Bakken formation, though crews are still drilling there.
Montana drilling has been very limited during the Bakken oil boom, but it’s been decades since the state was without a single drilling rig. State Board of Oil...