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Archive for July 17th, 2015
Climate Change Is Setting the World on Fire
Posted by Gizmodo: Maddie Stone on July 17th, 2015
Gizmodo: What happens when you mix record-smashing heat and exceptional drought? Fire! Lots of fire! But climate change isn’t just bringing more fires to our doorstep, although it’s accomplishing that quite handily. It’s making fire seasons longer.
That’s according to a study published this week in Nature Communications, which shows that fire weather seasons have, on average, grown 18.7 percent longer across the Earth’s surface since 1979. What’s more, the global burnable area affected by fire seasons...
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For Tony Abbott, it’s full steam ahead on coal, ‘the foundation of prosperity’
Posted by Inside Climate News: Oliver Milman and Greg Jericho on July 17th, 2015
Inside Climate News: If, as the environment movement contends, fossil fuels are the new tobacco, then Australia has cast itself as a sort of swaggering Marlboro man, puffing away contentedly as the rest of the world looks on quizzically.
As other countries look to transition to low-carbon alternatives with one eye on crunch climate talks in Paris later this year, Australia is pushing ahead with an expansion in coal extraction that its conservative prime minister Tony Abbott insists is “good for humanity”.
A series...
New U.S. Stream Protection Rule Infuriates Big Coal
Posted by Environment News Service: None Given on July 17th, 2015
Environment News Service: New national regulations to prevent or minimize the impacts of coal mining on surface water, groundwater, fish and wildlife were proposed today by the Obama Administration. The Stream Protection Rule would safeguard about 6,500 miles of streams nationwide over a 20 year period. The proposed Stream Protection Rule would affect the ability of mountaintop removal coal mining companies to destroy or bury waterways near surface mining operations. Mountaintop removal mining has already buried more than...
Australia tops world for climate change denial: study
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on July 17th, 2015
Sydney Morning Herald: Nearly one in five Australians do not believe in climate change, making the country the worst in the world for climate sceptics, a study of almost 20,000 people has found.
The research by the University of Tasmania found 17 per cent of Australians thought climate change was not real, compared with 15 per cent of people in Norway, 13 per cent of New Zealanders and 12 per cent of Americans.
The study, published in the journal Global Environmental Change, was based on data collected as part of...
Toxic Algae Expected at Lake Erie, Potentially Worst Ever
Posted by Nature World: Brian Stallard on July 17th, 2015
Nature World: Summer is upon us, and that means one frightening truth for those living around the Great Lakes; soon, their water will start turning disturbing greens, browns, and reds. Soon, signs will start appearing at your favorite watering holes that advise against swimming. And for Lake Erie, the worst harmful algae bloom (HAB) ever measured might be right around the corner.
So what exactly is a HAB? Every summer freshwater cyanobacteria (aka: blue-green algae), and related saltwater "Red Tides" approach...
Climate Change Meets Drought In California
Posted by Capital Public Radio News: None Given on July 17th, 2015
Capital Public Radio News: Federal climate scientists say it was a record warm June for California and four other western states. The NOAA State of the Climate report was released July 16.
NOAA forecasters said 2014 year was the warmest on record for the state. And climate change research says California will be dryer, with snow coming earlier in the winter and melting sooner in the Sierra Nevada, along with an increase in severe wildfires throughout the western U.S.
Jay Famiglietti is a Senior Water Scientist with NASA's...