RSS Feed
Archive for June 13th, 2015
NZ should expect more droughts – climate change issues minister
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on June 13th, 2015
New Zealand Herald: New Zealand can expect more droughts as climate change hits home, a government minister said this morning.
Tim Groser said it wasn't clear if the current North Canterbury drought was directly linked to carbon emissions but unless humanity solved the ongoing emissions crisis, such destructive weather events were likely to intensify in the years or decades to come.
"...The science is very clear on this. The prevalence of these droughts will increase," he told the Q&A programme on TV One.
Mr...
Posted in 
Pope Francis to Explore Climate’s Effect on World’s Poor
Posted by New York Times: Jim Yardley on June 13th, 2015
New York Times: Ban Ki-moon arrived at the Vatican with his own college of cardinals. Mr. Ban, the United Nations secretary general, had brought the leaders of all his major agencies to see Pope Francis, a show of organizational muscle and respect for a meeting between two global institutions that had sometimes shared a bumpy past but now had a mutual interest.
The agenda was poverty, and Francis inveighed against the “economy of exclusion” as he addressed Mr. Ban’s delegation at the Apostolic Palace. But in...
Hubbard Glacier defies climate change, continues advancing
Posted by CBC: Karen McColl on June 13th, 2015
CBC: A Yukon glacier is slowly advancing towards an Alaskan river, setting the stage for an awesome collision of natural forces. If the glacier that originates near Mount Logan in the Yukon continues advancing at its current rate, it could block access to a fiord in Alaska and "strongly impact" the nearby ecosystem. New research from the University of Kansas suggests the Hubbard Glacier could permanently dam the entrance to Russell Fiord, on the Gulf of Alaska, within 25 years. The timeline is the...
Here’s how global warming is affecting crop nutrient quality
Posted by New Kerala: None Given on June 13th, 2015
New Kerala: Researchers at the University of Gothenburg revealed that the concentration of nitrogen in plants' tissue is lower in air with high levels of carbon dioxide, regardless of whether or not the plants' growth is stimulated. The study examines various types of ecosystems, including crops, grasslands and forests, and involves large-scale field experiments conducted in eight countries on four continents. Researcher Johan Uddling said that the findings are unequivocal. The nitrogen content in the crops...
Australia prepares tax penalty attack environmental advocacy groups
Posted by Ecologist: Susan Laurance and Bill Laurance on June 13th, 2015
Ecologist: It's fine for 'green' groups to plant trees, or rescue baby flying foxes, write Susan & Bill Laurance. But when they campaign for the environment, right wing politicians see red, Moves are now afoot to strip advocacy groups of their charitable status, reflecting a broader clamp down on eco-activism across the Asia Pacific region in China, Cambodia, Lao and India.
This war of environmental attrition isn't just confined to Australia. There are alarming changes happening all over - most notably in...
Congress, pay attention to this carbon tax bill
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on June 13th, 2015
Bloomberg: The challenge to prevent climate change is daunting for its scale. How can society change human behavior widely enough to stop the accumulation of atmosphere-warming gases -- without swelling the government or ruining the economy?
That's why a bill introduced Wednesday in Congress is important, even if its odds of becoming law in the current Congress are slim. The legislation, sponsored by Democratic Senators Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island and Brian Schatz of Hawaii, would impose a tax on...
Financial dominoes fall for coal as divestment trends gather steam
Posted by Daily Kos: None Given on June 13th, 2015
Daily Kos: Fossil fuel divestment news filled my newsfeed over the past week, adding to a growing list of impressive divestment stories from the past year. Again and again, we see young people convincing their colleges to divest, activists convincing banks to divest, and shareholders convincing companies to divest.
Financial dominoes just keep falling for the coal industry, which makes divesting from coal not just a smart move for the climate, but a prudent investment decision as well. SNL Energy just reported...
Califor moves restrict water pumping pre-1914 rights holders
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on June 13th, 2015
LA Times: The receding waters of Lake McClure in Mariposa County can be seen. In a drastic action, California water officials on Friday ordered cuts in water diversions for some pre-1914 rights holders.
The receding waters of Lake McClure in Mariposa County can be seen. In a drastic action, California water officials on Friday ordered cuts in water diversions for some pre-1914 rights holders.
For the first time in nearly 40 years, state regulators are telling more than 100 growers and irrigation districts...
Rich nations in stalemate over coal subsidy phase-out
Posted by Reuters: Barbara Lewis on June 13th, 2015
Reuters: Talks on phasing out a form of coal subsidies ended in stalemate as Japan, the biggest user of the aid, led calls for more time in defiance of this week's G7 pledge on fossil fuel subsidies, sources said.
The Paris-based Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development has been trying for a year to get an agreement from its 34 member nations on phasing out export credits for coal, the most polluting of the fossil fuels.
Sources close to talks in Paris on Wednesday and Thursday, speaking...
Environmental activism in the U.S. is popping up in a surprising place
Posted by Vice: Darren Ankrom on June 13th, 2015
Vice: A showdown between oil and gas companies, pro-drilling politicians, and a newly formed grassroots environmental group is brewing in South Carolina.
In late January, the Obama administration proposed to sell oil and gas leases for federally controlled areas in the Atlantic Ocean.
But in South Carolina opposition to offshore drilling quickly emerged. A group called SODA POP, short for Stop Offshore Drilling in the Atlantic -- Prevent Oil Pollution is active in the Grand Strand, a strip of coastal...