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Archive for June 22nd, 2015
Climate change to shrink size of bread
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on June 22nd, 2015
Times Live: Long-term global warming could cause loaves of bread to shrink in size due to a reduction in the amount of protein in grains, Australian scientists have found. Loaves based on 2050 atmospheric carbon dioxide levels predicted by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change were baked by researchers at the Victorian government and Melbourne University. They emerged smaller and crumpled compared to their present-day counterparts. The scientists discovered that rises in carbon dioxide will increase...
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U.S. Plains flooding refills soil moisture, farmers’ wallets
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on June 22nd, 2015
Reuters: Farmers are reaping higher yields and ranchers' feed costs have fallen sharply since flooding swept across the southern U.S. Plains in May, with the record rains providing tangible benefits to agriculture despite causing damage that will likely cost billions of dollars to repair.
The storms inundated fields across Texas and Oklahoma but they broke a years-long drought that wreaked havoc on the profitability of growers and cattlemen.
Even though floods tend to grab more headlines, drought is...
California wildflowers losing diversity face warmer, drier winters
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on June 22nd, 2015
ScienceDaily: Native wildflowers in California are losing species diversity after multiple years of drier winters, according to a study from the University of California, Davis, which provides the first direct evidence of climate change impacts in the state's grassland communities.
The study, published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, is based on 15 years of monitoring about 80 sampling plots at McLaughlin Reserve, part of UC Davis' Natural Reserve System.
"Our study shows...
White House outlines long-term costs of inaction on climate change
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on June 22nd, 2015
Associated Press: Failure to act on climate change could cause an estimated 57,000 deaths in the United States from poor air quality by 2100, the Obama administration argued in a new report Monday that warns of dire effects of global warming.
The report underscores the costs of inaction on climate change as well as the benefits from taking action now. The administration estimates that 12,000 people in 49 U.S. cities could die from extreme temperatures in 2100.
The report comes as Republicans in Congress seek...
Study: world in period of ‘mass extinction’
Posted by Blue and Green: Charlotte Malone on June 22nd, 2015
Blue and Green: The world is currently in a period of mass extinction, according to a new study. Human activities have been linked to the falling populations of many species but the research also warns that extinction on a large scale could threaten human existence.
The study, which has been published in Science Advances, calls for fast actions to protect threatened species, populations and habitat. It estimates that species are disappearing up to about 100 fasters than the normal rate between mass extinctions,...
Cancer-Causing Chemicals Found in Drinking Water Texas Fracking Sites
Posted by EcoWatch: Anastasia Pantsios on June 22nd, 2015
EcoWatch: On June 4, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released a report on how fracking for oil and gas can impact access to safe drinking water. Although the report claims not to have found any “widespread, systemic impacts on drinking water resources in the United States,” a new study in Texas provides more evidence that contamination of drinking water from fracking might be occurring. A research team at the University of Texas at Arlington has published a peer-reviewed study, A Comprehensive...
Study sees ‘new normal’ how climate change affect weather extremes
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on June 22nd, 2015
Washington Post: Every time the world witnesses a weather related disaster -- most recently, extreme flooding in Texas and Oklahoma and a deadly heatwave in India -- the attribution battle begins. Some scientists and commentators seek to explain how the event could have been worsened by climate change, even as others scoff and dismiss the connection.
Meanwhile, researchers turn to climate modeling studies and other approaches to formally examine whether the odds of a given event had shifted in a warmer climate...
New study links global warming to Hurricane Sandy and other extreme weather events
Posted by Guardian: John Abraham on June 22nd, 2015
Guardian: One of the hottest areas of climate research these days is on the potential connections between human emissions, global warming, and extreme weather. Will global warming make extreme weather more common or less common? More severe or less severe?
New research, just published today in Nature Climate Change helps to answer that question by approaching the problem in a novel way. In short yes, human emissions of greenhouse gases have made certain particular weather events more severe. Let’s investigate...
Turkish government bears down on rural resistance to mining and hydro projects
Posted by Mongabay: Rebecca Kessler on June 22nd, 2015
Mongabay: Villagers in the country's lush Black Sea region face police force, legal hurdles, and more subtle means of suppression in their fight to protect the environment.
The Fol Creek Valley outside of Trabzon, Turkey. Residents are fighting plans to build a cement factory, several rock quarries, a gold mine, and three hydropower plants in the area. Photo: Jennifer Hattam.
The Fol Creek Valley rises steeply from Turkey's Black Sea shoreline, the grey concrete of the coastal cities quickly giving way...
Fracking: campaigners urge Lancashire council to approve Cuadrilla plans
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on June 22nd, 2015
Press Association: Rejecting plans for test fracking in Lancashire would send a message that the county was not open for business and investment, a coalition of local businesses, academics, farmers and students has warned. Members of the North West Energy Task Force said it would be a missed opportunity to create jobs and significantly boost the local economy. The campaign group spoke out on the eve of the beginning of the decision-making process on proposals by shale company Cuadrilla for two sites between Preston...