RSS Feed
Archive for November 4th, 2015
Obama will decide Keystone pipeline before leaves office
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on November 4th, 2015
Washington Post: White House officials said Tuesday that President Obama intends to decide the fate of the Keystone XL oil pipeline during his tenure, rather than suspend the federal review process at the request of the project’s sponsor.
Speaking to reporters, White House press secretary Josh Earnest said the president “would like to have this determination be completed before he leaves office” and was not inclined to extend the seven-year review process even longer just because one section of the route is still...
Posted in 
Climate implications seen call for Keystone XL ‘pause’
Posted by Climate Central: Bobby Magill on November 4th, 2015
Climate Central: Amid low oil prices and growing political opposition in the U.S., TransCanada Corp. has asked the State Department to suspend its review of the company’s permit application for its controversial Keystone XL Pipeline. The request could wind up delaying the construction of Keystone XL, which has been at the forefront of the debate over climate change in the U.S. The company’s action comes as oil prices hover around $50 per barrel, Canadian tar sands development is slowing and Democratic presidential...
Cyclone Chapala dumps years’ worth of rain in Yemen, causing extensive damage
Posted by Mashable: Andrew Freedman on November 4th, 2015
Mashable: The first hurricane ever to hit Yemen in recorded history arrived early Tuesday morning when Tropical Cyclone Chapala hit the city of Mukallah, bringing with it unprecedented flooding in an area already suffering from a war-related humanitarian crisis.
The storm may have already dumped a decades' worth of rainfall in some parts of this arid nation.
As the rare and intense storm moved closer to the mainland the day before, it killed one person and injured nine on the remote Yemeni island of...
No, NASA has not reversed itself on dangerous melting of Antarctica
Posted by Mashable: None Given on November 4th, 2015
Mashable: Many of the scientific studies published in the past two years on the stability of the Antarctic ice sheet can best be characterized as anxiety-inducing, if not outright panic-causing.
Studies have shown that huge chunks of the continent may be far more unstable than previously thought, and more susceptible to melting from manmade climate change and other factors. This is especially the case with the West Antarctic Ice Sheet and the glaciers along the Antarctic Peninsula.
See also: Paris Climate...
In major move, TransCanada asks to halt federal permitting
Posted by ClimateWire: Manuel Quiñones on November 4th, 2015
ClimateWire: In a major new twist, TransCanada Corp. yesterday asked the Obama administration to pause its roughly 7-year-old and highly contentious permitting process for the Keystone XL oil pipeline.
The development, which could delay the final decision on the controversial pipeline and put it into the hands of the next president, sent supporters and opponents of the project into a new phase of advocacy, with both sides in high warble over the company's announcement.
The company, which wants permission...
Zimbabwe’s mega dam project could flounder in the face of climate change
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on November 4th, 2015
Inter Press Service: Zimbabwe`s planned Batoka Gorge power project on the Zambezi River is expected to generate 2,400 megawatts (MW) of electricity, upward from an initial 1,600 MW, but the worsening power cuts that are being blamed on low water levels have renewed concerns about the effects of climate change on mega dams.
In the past two months, the country's energy utility has increased power rationing, with rolling power blackouts being experienced for up to 20 hours across the country per day.
Zimbabwe has...
‘The Blob’ warm pool in Pacific may prolong life monster El Niño
Posted by Morning Herald: Peter Hannam on November 4th, 2015
Morning Herald: The powerful "Great Godzilla" El Nino in the Pacific may last as much as two months longer than expected because of another unusual climate phenomenon scientists have nick-named "The Blob". First observed in 2013, the huge "blob" of abnormally warm water extends from the Californian coast far into the Pacific. (See chart below from US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.) One effect is that the winds that blow westward during an El Nino are much further north than they would normally...
Australia urged to bring forward emissions cuts
Posted by Age: Tom Arup on November 4th, 2015
Age: Australia should accelerate its emissions cuts by bringing its target forward by five years, Marshall Islands foreign minister Tony de Brum says, while warning that his tiny Pacific nation was already feeling the effects of climate change.
Mr de Brum's comments came during Opposition Leader Bill Shorten's visit to the Marshall Islands - a vulnerable collection of isolated, small coral atolls in the Pacific Ocean.
Mr Shorten said Labor would embrace more ambitious climate targets for Australia...
Climate change blamed for putting Belgium beer business at risk
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on November 4th, 2015
Guardian: A leading Belgian artisan brewer said Tuesday he had been forced to temporarily halt production because of an unusually warm autumn, blaming climate change for his business losing its fizz.
The Cantillon craft brewery in Brussels traditionally allows its spontaneously fermenting sour lambic beers to cool in the open from the end of October, but this year after a brief start they have had to stop again.
“We had to pour away three brews for today, Thursday and next Monday because the nighttime...
Obama won’t yield to company’s bid to delay Keystone pipeline decision
Posted by New York Times: Julie Hirschfeld Davis on November 4th, 2015
New York Times: The White House on Tuesday said President Obama had no intention of bowing to a request from the company behind the Keystone XL oil pipeline to delay a decision on the project, saying he wanted to take action before his tenure ends. The State Department is reviewing a request made on Monday by the company, TransCanada, to pause its yearslong evaluation of the proposed 1,179-mile pipeline, which has become part of a broader debate over Mr. Obama’s environmental agenda. Josh Earnest, the White House...