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Archive for November 15th, 2015
Why Climate Change and Terrorism Are Connected
Posted by Time: Justin Worland on November 15th, 2015
Time: Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders used the terrorist attacks in Paris to call for action to address climate change at a primary debate Saturday. But, while the plea attracted ridicule across the political spectrum, many academics and national security experts agree that climate change contributes to an uncertain world where terrorism can thrive.
U.S. military officials refer to climate change as a "threat multiplier" that takes issues like terrorism that would pose a threat to national...
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New research shows La Niña is not helping Hawai’i’s rainfall, groundwater
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on November 15th, 2015
ScienceDaily: Historically when El Niño events occur, Hawai'i has experienced nearly six months of drought, from November to April. Conversely, during La Niña events rainfall has been greater than normal -- building up Hawai'i's groundwater supply. New research published this month in the Journal of Climate by scientists at the University of Hawai'i -- Manoa, Nanjing University of Information Science and Technology, and NOAA's Honolulu National Weather Service (NWS) Office, determined that the relationship between...
Loss of diversity near melting coastal glaciers
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on November 15th, 2015
ScienceDaily: Melting glaciers are causing a loss of species diversity among benthos in the coastal waters off the Antarctic Peninsula, impacting an entire seafloor ecosystem. This has been verified in the course of repeated research dives, the results of which were recently published by experts from Argentina, Germany and Great Britain and the Alfred Wegener Institute, Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research (AWI) in a study in the journal Science Advances. The scientists believe increased levels of suspended...
Invasive freshwater species in Europe’s lakes and rivers: How do they come in?
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on November 15th, 2015
ScienceDaily: A JRC-led article has identified escape from aquaculture facilities, releases in the wild due to pet/aquarium trade and stocking activities as the main pathways of alien species introduction in European lakes and rivers. Germany, the UK and Italy are the main entry gateways. The authors recommend tightened controls, and improved prevention and management measures in order to halt the increasing trend of freshwater alien species introductions in Europe. The study analysed the spatial and temporal...
Canada to Ban Tankers on North Pacific Coast in Blow Enbridge
Posted by Bloomberg: Jeremy van Loon on November 15th, 2015
Bloomberg: Canada plans to formally ban oil tanker traffic on the northern coast of British Columbia, adding another hurdle to Enbridge Inc.’s Northern Gateway pipeline proposal.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has instructed Marc Garneau, the minister of transport responsible for the Coast Guard, to implement the ban which has informally been in place for years and was part of the leader’s campaign platform, according to the prime minister’s office.
The ban will add to hurdles Enbridge has faced since...
Greenland’s Rapidly Melting Glaciers ‘Will Result in Rising Sea Levels for Decades to Come’
Posted by Climate News Network: Tim Radford on November 15th, 2015
Climate News Network: A massive Greenland glacier that holds enough water to raise sea levels by half a meter [nearly 20 inches] is melting at speed, according to a new study.
The Zachariae Isstrom in northeast Greenland has entered a phase of accelerated retreat, and is losing mass at the rate of 5 billion metric tons a year, according to U.S. scientists.
They report in the journal Science that a succession of aerial surveys combined with multiple satellite observations has established that the base of the glacier...
Keystone XL’s demise won’t necessarily lead to boom in shipping crude by rail
Posted by Canadian Press: Lauren Krugel on November 15th, 2015
Canadian Press: Now that the Keystone XL pipeline has been rejected, it's not a foregone conclusion that much of the 830,000 barrels a day that would have flowed through it will move on trains instead, industry watchers say.
"I think that rail certainly will play a part, but a lot has to do what happens to the price of crude and happens to oilsands projects," said Dirk Lever, an analyst at AltaCorp. Capital.
Proponents of Keystone XL and similar proposals frequently trumpeted the benefits of moving crude by...
Sanders warns climate change will lead to radicalization
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on November 15th, 2015
Reuters: U.S. Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders warns climate change will lead to drought, unemployment and other instability, which could then lead to Islamic radicalization among discontented people.
Brazil mining flood could devastate environment for years
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on November 15th, 2015
Reuters: The collapse of two dams at a Brazilian mine has cut off drinking water for quarter of a million people and saturated waterways downstream with dense orange sediment that could wreck the ecosystem for years to come.
Nine people were killed, 19 are still listed as missing and 500 people were displaced from their homes when the dams burst at an iron ore mine in southeastern Brazil on Nov. 5.
The sheer volume of water disgorged by the dams and laden with mineral waste across nearly 500 km is staggering:...
United Kingdom: Severe weather puts hundreds Cumbrian homes at risk of flooding
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on November 15th, 2015
Guardian: Police have warned motorists in Cumbria to drive “only if absolutely necessary” after torrential rain left roads flooded and put more than 1,000 homes at risk.
The Environment Agency has issued six severe flood warnings – its highest level of alert – and emergency reception centres were set up in Kendal and Egremont. But Dave Hughes, the chairman of Kendal Mountain Rescue, said not everyone had been willing to leave their homes.
“Some people decided to stay at home. You can understand that...