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Archive for November 19th, 2015
El Nino indicator hits record high, adds to weather risks: NOAA
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on November 19th, 2015
Reuters: A key indicator for the strength of El Niño has reached a record high, the U.S. weather agency said, adding to signs that a weather pattern known for causing extreme droughts, storms and floods could become one of the strongest ever.
El Niño, the "little boy," is driven by warm surface water in the eastern Pacific Ocean and its strength is measured by how much higher temperatures are over three-month averages.
In the week ending Nov. 16, temperatures in the Nino 3.4 region, the central band...
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Hawaii Supreme Court Temporarily Blocks Construction Giant Telescope
Posted by Associated Press: Chris D'Angelo on November 19th, 2015
Associated Press: For more than a year, Native Hawaiians and environmentalists have succeeded in stalling the building of TMT -- one of the world's largest telescopes -- via a series of coordinated protests.
Protesters and law enforcement were preparing for yet another standoff this week. Responding to an emergency motion filed Monday, which argued that construction would cause irreparable harm to the area, the court suspended the TMT International Observatory team's construction permit through Dec. 2 or "until...
Some Wisconsin Water Is Comparable to a Third World Country (Thanks, Scott Walker)
Posted by Esquire: Charles P. Pierce on November 19th, 2015
Esquire: If there's anything more basic to the idea of a commonwealth, it's water. (Even though presidential dead-ender Senator Aqua Buddha has told us that we do not have a right to aqua, although how we can exercise our right to life without it he does not pause to explain. Perhaps we can obtain it with all the money we save on pants.) Nowhere more than in Wisconsin under Scott Walker, the goggle-eyed homunculus hired by Koch Industries to manage their Midwest subsidiary, has the very idea of the commons...
Showdown between TMT opponents and law enforcement avoided for now
Posted by Hawaii News Now: Mileka Lincoln on November 19th, 2015
Hawaii News Now: Earlier in the week, Thirty Meter Telescope opponents were preparing to face off Wednesday against hundreds of law enforcement officers.
But hours before the anticipated showdown, state Department of Land and Natural Resources agents who were scheduled to be on Mauna Kea to ensure TMT crews safe, unobstructed access to the construction site were told to stand down after the state Supreme Court temporarily prevented construction on the mountain until December 2.
TMT officials say they wanted...
Hawaii Supreme Court Issues Order To Temporarily Stop Construction Of TMT
Posted by Tech Times: Ted Ranosa on November 19th, 2015
Tech Times: The Supreme Court of Hawaii has issued a temporary suspension on all construction work on the Thirty Meter Telescope in response to a motion filed by opponents of the project on Monday. The court order will remain in effect until Dec. 2.
The Supreme Court of Hawaii announced on Tuesday that it has temporarily suspended the permit that allows the construction of the Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT) on land considered to be sacred by native Hawaiians.
The suspension was issued in response to a motion...
Keystone XL developer withdraws Nebraska route application
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on November 19th, 2015
Associated Press: The developer of the Keystone XL pipeline has withdrawn its application for route approval through Nebraska, but a spokesman says the Canadian company reserves the right to reapply.
TransCanada made the announcement Wednesday, a day before it was scheduled to appear before the Nebraska Public Service Commission for a planning conference.
Before President Barack Obama rejected a federal permit for the project, Nebraska had been a major roadblock because of lawsuits filed by landowners and environmental...
Polar bear numbers to fall as Arctic ice shrinks: Study
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on November 19th, 2015
Reuters: Polar bear populations are likely to fall by more than 30 percent by around mid-century as global warming thaws Arctic sea ice, experts said on Thursday in the most detailed review of the predators to date.
The report, by the IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature), estimated there are between 22,000 and 31,000 polar bears in the Arctic and said they will be increasingly vulnerable as their habitat shrinks.
"Climate change will continue to seriously threaten polar bear survival...
Are Australia’s bushfire seasons getting longer?
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on November 19th, 2015
Guardian: Increasingly long fire seasons will require more firefighters and could place greater demands on firefighting equipment shared between countries, according to a report from the Climate Council.
The report is a review of recent research into climate change and weather associated with bushfires. One key study cited is a 2015 paper which found that the length of fire seasons has increased by 18.7% globally from 1979 to 2013.
The same study found a general increase in fire season length for all...
Another Glacier in Greenland is rapidly melting
Posted by Environmental News Network: Jpl Nasa on November 19th, 2015
Environmental News Network: It's big. It's cold. And it's melting into the world's ocean. It's Zachariae Isstrom, the latest in a string of Greenland glaciers to undergo rapid change in our warming world. A new NASA-funded study published today in the journal Science finds that Zachariae Isstrom broke loose from a glaciologically stable position in 2012 and entered a phase of accelerated retreat. The consequences will be felt for decades to come. The reason? Zachariae Isstrom is big. It drains ice from an area of 35,440 square...
Tamil Nadu deluge climate change trailer, matches global warming signs
Posted by Hindustan Times: Zia Haq on November 19th, 2015
Hindustan Times: Heavy rains and deadly flooding in south India, a region that saw a killer heat wave this summer, are weather patterns that appear to fit the scenarios of climate change in India, IMD chief Laxman Singh Rathore has said.
"They (emerging weather patterns) fit the larger picture of climate change predicted by Indian scientists as well as global reports,' Rathore told HT. Episodes of excessive rainfall are increasing while the number of rainy days is decreasing, Rathore, director-general of the India...