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Archive for October 17th, 2015
It’s far worse than it sounds: Climate change making our winters shorter
Posted by Salon: Maureen Nandini Mitra on October 17th, 2015
Salon: If winter comes… spring’s going to be closer-than-usual behind. New research shows that as a result of rising temperatures caused by global climate change, the first leaves and buds of spring will begin arriving at least three weeks ahead of time in the United States.
Researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison examined the variations and trends in the onset of spring across the Northern Hemisphere’s temperate regions and calculated that the onset of spring plant growth will shift by a...
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Wildfire in central Texas 40 percent contained
Posted by Reuters: Brendan O'Brien on October 17th, 2015
Reuters: Firefighters have contained the so-called Hidden Pines wildfire inside a well-defined footprint after it burned on 4,582 acres and forced the evacuation of more than 400 homes, local officials in Bastrop County said during a news conference on Saturday.
"We have been playing defense on this fire for the last four days and today we are in containment mode, which means that we are not going to let that fire score anything else," Bastrop County Judge Paul Pape during a news conference.
The wildfire...
Some Texas residents return to homes fire-ravaged area
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on October 17th, 2015
Associated Press: Firefighters in Central Texas are halfway to controlling a wildfire that's destroyed dozens of homes, and authorities said Saturday that enough progress has been made to allow some residents to return to their neighborhoods.
The Hidden Pines Fire has consumed about 4,600 acres and razed nearly 50 homes and seven businesses, most of them just north of Buescher State Park.
Bastrop County Judge Paul Pape said during a news conference Saturday evening that about 50 percent of the fire is contained,...
Kerry urges ‘ambitious’ climate deal, warns on food security
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on October 17th, 2015
Reuters: U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry urged global leaders on Saturday to agree an "ambitious" deal at a climate conference in Paris in December, saying global warming was the biggest threat to global food security.
"We need every country on the same page, pushing an ambitious, durable and inclusive agreement that will finally put us on the path toward a global clean-energy future," Kerry told an audience at the Milan Expo, where the focus is on "Feeding the planet" and new approaches to sustainable...
Kerry: Climate change aggravated the Syrian conflict
Posted by Washington Examiner: None Given on October 17th, 2015
Washington Examiner: Secretary of State John Kerry acknowledged Saturday that climate change didn't cause the Syrian conflict, but he said it did play a large role in making the situation worse.
In a speech at the Milan Expo in Italy, Kerry said that climate change and the resulting food shortages play a large role in national security and urged the international community to come together to find a solution.
"Make no mistake: The implications here extend well beyond hunger," Kerry said, according to an Associated...
Obama Cancels Arctic Drilling Leases
Posted by EcoWatch: Niel Lawrence on October 17th, 2015
EcoWatch: It just keeps getting better and better for the Arctic. First, Shell Oil pulled the plug on its horrific current drilling effort there two weeks ago.
Now the Obama administration has taken its first concrete steps to reduce future threats. Yesterday, it cancelled new lease sales scheduled for next year and 2017 in our Polar Bear Seas--the Chukchi and Beaufort--off the north Alaskan coast. And just said "No" to extension requests from Shell and others holding existing leases in the region.
This...
Climate realities sink in
Posted by Baltimore Sun: None Given on October 17th, 2015
Baltimore Sun: As if the failings of a do-nothing Congress and the continued strife in the Middle East weren't depressing enough, it's been a rough week for those gauging the impact of climate change on Maryland, too. First comes a report that forecasts a big chunk of the state will be underwater by 2100, and then researchers revealed that those rising waters are getting a whole lot warmer a whole lot faster than expected. Even that brief description doesn't do justice to the scale of the environmental impact...
Canada’s frozen north feels financial burn of global warming
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on October 17th, 2015
Reuters: Climate change is taking a heavy economic toll on Canada's far north, with buildings collapsing as melting permafrost destroys foundations, rivers running low and wildfires all a drain on the region's limited finances, senior government officials said.
A sprawling area spanning the Arctic Circle with a population of less than 50,000, Canada's Northwest Territories has spent more than $140 million in the last two years responding to problems linked to global warming, the territory's finance minister...
California’s historic drought and wildfires could make for a rough winter
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on October 17th, 2015
Mother Jones: Mudslides stranded hundreds of motorists on southern California`s main north-south highway Thursday evening after severe thunderstorms rocked the area. Cleanup crews worked through the night to plow and scoop up the mud, but meteorologists say that thanks to California`s historic drought, widespread wildfires, and a potentially historic El Niño, this disaster could be just a taste of what`s to come this winter.
Incredible #I5Mudslide videos, photos of cars, trucks stuck in mud: usat.ly/1RMmWMT...