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Archive for August 4th, 2015
Study Finds Glaciers Melting at Unprecidented Rates Around the Globe
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on August 4th, 2015
Yale Environment 360: Glaciers around the globe are melting at unprecedented rates, according to an analysis of data spanning 120 years by researchers at the University of Zurich. The team compared glacier data collected between 2001 and 2010 with measurements, aerial and satellite photos, written accounts, and historical depictions from the previous century. On average, glaciers are currently losing between 0.5 and 1 meter of ice thickness each year, the researchers found -- two to three times more than glaciers were...
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Scott Walker given fake $900m check from Koch brothers for ‘climate denial’
Posted by Guardian: Sabrina Siddiqui on August 4th, 2015
Guardian: Wisconsin governor Scott Walker encountered what looked like a group of young supporters during a campaign stop on Monday at a local pizza shop, only to be presented with a fake check from the billionaire Koch brothers by a group of climate activists.
Walker, one of the top-tier candidates for the Republican presidential nomination, was in the midst of a meet-and-greet with prospective voters in the early primary state of New Hampshire. The governor held the event ahead of a forum on Monday evening...
Scott Walker wants devolve pollution control to the states. Bad idea.
Posted by Vox: None Given on August 4th, 2015
Vox: These days, it's no surprise to learn that anyone who's anyone in Republican politics opposes efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. And Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker doesn't even like recycling, so of course he opposed both President Obama's Clean Power Plant rule and his larger climate agenda.
But tweeting about Obama's latest moves Monday night, Walker went well beyond opposition to Obama's specific actions and called for an extremely radical remedy -- eliminating the federal role in pollution...
Reid: Republicans ‘have no plan’ on climate change
Posted by Hill: Devin Henry on August 4th, 2015
Hill: Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) defended President Obama’s new climate rule for power plants on Tuesday and hit its Republican opponents for not having a viable climate change agenda.
“It has been disappointing, but not surprising, to see Republicans’ knee-jerk opposition to addressing climate change,” he said in a floor speech Tuesday. “It has been all the more frustrating because they have no plan of their own -- just to let the smoke keep billowing.”
Reid said Republicans were...
Methane in Atmosphere May Greatly Exceed Estimates, Report Says
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on August 4th, 2015
New York Times: A device commonly used to measure the methane that leaks from industrial sources may greatly underestimate those emissions, said an inventor of the technology that the device relies on. The claim, published Tuesday in a peer-reviewed scientific journal, suggests that the amount of escaped methane, a potent greenhouse gas, could be far greater than accepted estimates from scientists, industry and regulators. The new paper focuses on a much-heralded report sponsored by the Environmental Defense Fund...
World’s Glaciers Melting Faster Than Ever
Posted by Environment News Service: None Given on August 4th, 2015
Environment News Service: The current rate of glacier melt around the world is unprecedented in recorded history, new research by the World Glacier Monitoring Service demonstrates.
Based at the University of Zurich, the World Glacier Monitoring Service compiles the results of worldwide glacier observations in annual calls-for-data from its national correspondents in more than 30 countries.
The current database contains more than 5,000 measurements of glacier volume and mass changes since 1850 and more than 42,000 front...
G20 countries pay over $1,000 per citizen in fossil fuel subsidies, say IMF
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on August 4th, 2015
Guardian: Subsidies for fossil fuels amount to $1,000 (£640) a year for every citizen living in the G20 group of the world’s leading economies, despite the group’s pledge in 2009 to phase out support for coal, oil and gas.
New figures from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) show that the US, which hosted the G20 summit in 2009, gives $700bn a year in fossil fuel subsidies, equivalent to $2,180 for every American. President Barack Obama backed the phase out but has since overseen a steep rise in federal...
Majority of Britons worried about global warming, poll finds
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on August 4th, 2015
Press Association: The majority of British people are worried about global warming, a poll has found, with flooding and sea level rise topping the list of fears for what rising temperatures will bring. A survey of more than 2,000 people found more than half (57%) were worried about global warming, with one in seven of those quizzed, or 14%, very worried about the issue. Almost two thirds (64%) thought global warming was already a problem, and seven out of 10 (70%) agreed it was going to be a problem in 20 years’...