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Archive for September 11th, 2015
Climate Change’s Worst-Case Scenario: 200 Feet of Sea Level Rise
Posted by InsideClimate: Katherine Bagley on September 11th, 2015
InsideClimate: Sheldon Glacier with Mount Barre in the background, Antarctica. A new study estimates that if nations were to burn all their fossil fuel reserves, the Antarctic ice sheet would almost entirely disappear, raising sea levels as much as 200 feet worldwide. Credit: British Antarctic Survey
If you ever wondered what the worst-case scenario for climate change would look like, a set of researchers shared your curiosity. Their answer, which they published Friday, is scary: sea levels nearly 200 feet higher...
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Flooding Fields in Winter May Help California Water Woes, Study Suggests
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on September 11th, 2015
Yale Environment 360: Deliberately flooding California farmland in winter could replenish aquifers without harming crops or affecting drinking water, according to early results from a study by University of California, Davis, researchers. Winter months, when crops are dormant, typically see more precipitation than summer months, when crops are actively growing and farmers rely on groundwater reserves for irrigation. Several water districts have attempted to sequester excess surface water during storms and floods by diverting...
Climate Shock: The Economic Consequences of a Hotter Planet
Posted by EcoWatch: Michael Mann on September 11th, 2015
EcoWatch: One of the most under-appreciated aspects of the climate change problem is the so-called "fat tail" of risk. In short, the likelihood of very large impacts is greater than we would expect under typical statistical assumptions.
We are used to thinking about likelihoods and probabilities in terms of the familiar "normal" distribution--otherwise known as the "bell curve." It looks like this:
Roughly 68 percent of the area falls within the region bounded by 1 standard deviation below (-1 sigma)...
Court refuses to block Obama climate rule
Posted by Hill: Timothy Cama on September 11th, 2015
Hill: A federal appeals court declined requests Wednesday to block the Obama administration’s landmark climate rule for power plants.
In a short, two-paragraph order filed just after 5 p.m., the Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit ruled that West Virginia, more than a dozen other states and a coal-mining company do not qualify for a judicial stay that would stop the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) from implementing the regulation until the litigation is complete.
The three-judge...
With a master plan and the money, can a state unite to restore its protective wetlands?
Posted by ClimateWire: Emily Holden on September 11th, 2015
ClimateWire: For decades, Louisiana schoolchildren have learned about the football field of land that washes away from their coast each hour.
But tight state budgets and conflicts between powerful interests meant the problem usually seemed too monumental to solve.
Now, for the first time in history, Louisiana may have a significant pot of money for coastal restoration. The state has established a unified agency that could balance clashing priorities among environmentalists, residents, fishermen and energy...