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Archive for August 20th, 2015
California is sinking. Blame the drought
Posted by Grist: Katie Herzog on August 20th, 2015
Grist: California is sinking.
New data released by NASA reveals that parts of the the Central Valley are sinking faster than previously expected - over two inches a month in some places. Corcoran, home of the California State Prison (and Charles Manson), sank 13 inches in just eight months. The cause, according to officials, is the rapid pumping of groundwater in response to the drought plaguing the state.
From the Associated Press:
"We are pumping at historic levels," said Mark Cowin, head of...
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Global Warming Has Worsened California Drought By Roughly 25 Percent, Study Says
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on August 20th, 2015
Yale Environment 360: Rising temperatures driven by climate change have measurably worsened the California drought by increasing evaporation rates and exacerbating the state's lack of rainfall by up to 27 percent, according to a study from Columbia University's Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory. While natural weather variations are largely thought to have caused the state's precipitation deficit, rising temperatures appear to be intensifying the situation by driving moisture from plants and soil into the air. The new study...
Your organic fruits and veggies might have been irrigated with fracking wastewater
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on August 20th, 2015
Mother Jones: The U.S. Department of Agriculture`s organics standards, written 15 years ago, strictly ban petroleum-derived fertilizers commonly used in conventional agriculture. But the same rules do not prohibit farmers from irrigating their crops with petroleum-laced wastewater obtained from oil and gas wells - a practice that is increasingly common in drought-stricken Southern California. As I reported last month, oil companies last year supplied half the water that went to the 45,000 acres of farmland in...
One of World’s Fastest Melting Glaciers May Have Lost Largest Chunk of Ice Recorded History
Posted by EcoWatch: Lorraine Chow on August 20th, 2015
EcoWatch: With the world`s glaciers melting at record rates, the Jakobshavn--Greenland's fastest-moving glacier and one of the fastest melting in the world--may have lost its largest chunk of ice in recorded history.
Massive calving event on Greenland`s fastest melting #glacier http://t.co/aRvxQcDOvf Images: http://t.co/fmoHfapp4o pic.twitter.com/VC4arPdVw0
-- The Ice Age (@Jamie_Woodward_) August 20, 2015
The Washington Post reported that members of the Arctic Sea Ice Forum examined satellite images...
Climate change forcing boreal forest to a tipping point
Posted by Budapest Report: None Given on August 20th, 2015
Budapest Report: "Boreal forests have the potential to hit a tipping point this century," said IIASA Ecosystems Services and Management Program researcher Anatoly Shvidenko. "It is urgent that we place more focus on climate mitigation and adaptation with respect to these forests, and also take a more integrated and balanced view of forests around the world."
Boral forests are believed to be among the ecosystems that are most sensitive to climate change. These forests thrive in regions such as Canada, Russia and...
EPA methane crackdown wins endorsement from oil icon Texas foundation
Posted by Fuel Fix: Jennifer A. Dlouhy on August 20th, 2015
Fuel Fix: The Obama administration just won an unlikely ally in its push to slash methane emissions from oil wells and gas processing facilities.
The philanthropic organization that is a legacy of George Mitchell, the “father of fracking,” endorsed the proposal as a “prudent regulatory strategy.”
The Cynthia and George Mitchell Foundation’s move breaks with oil and gas industry leaders who say the rules would hike costs and throttle domestic energy development.
The Environmental Protection Agency...
Longmont fracking ban appeal Supreme Court crossroad
Posted by Daily Times-Call: Karen Antonacci on August 20th, 2015
Daily Times-Call: When it comes to whether the city of Longmont can ban hydraulic fracturing, the ball is in the state`s highest court.
On Monday the Colorado Court of Appeals said the matter of whether Longmont`s voter-approved ban on hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, interfered with the state`s interest in the oil and gas industry was better left up to the Colorado Supreme Court.
Now, the state Supreme Court must decide if they want to take on Longmont`s case and a similar case of a 5-year fracking moratorium...
To ease climate change, US should end drilling federal land: study
Posted by Reuters: Chris Arsenault on August 20th, 2015
Reuters: Up to 450 billion tonnes of greenhouse gases would be kept out of the atmosphere if the U.S. government stopped leasing federal lands to fossil fuel companies, according to a study released on Wednesday.
The government currently allows energy companies to lease federal lands for drilling, and environmental groups say if the practice is not halted, the United States will be unable to meet its obligations to combat climate change.
The oil, coal and gas under lands owned by the federal government...