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Archive for January 8th, 2016
U.S. Coal Production Dropped to 30-Year Low in 2015
Posted by Climate Central: Bobby Magill on January 8th, 2016
Climate Central: Coal production in the U.S. has dropped to its lowest level in 30 years thanks in part to low natural gas prices and climate policies encouraging utilities to switch to natural gas to generate electricity.
It was 1986 when coal production in the U.S. was as low as it is today, according to U.S. Energy Information Administration data released Friday. Coal is the largest single source of greenhouse gas emissions driving climate change. Burning natural gas to generate electricity emits about half...
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Humans adding less nitrogen to oceans than models predict
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on January 8th, 2016
ScienceDaily: A new study finds that human activities are likely contributing far less nitrogen to the open ocean than many atmospheric models suggest. That's generally good news, but it also nullifies a potential side benefit to additional nitrogen, says Meredith Hastings, associate professor of Earth, environmental and planetary sciences at Brown University and one of the study's co-authors. "People may not be polluting the ocean as much as we thought, which is a good thing," said Hastings, who is also a fellow...
Mississippi River seen cresting in Tennessee, Arkansas this weekend
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on January 8th, 2016
Reuters: The Mississippi River, a major artery for U.S. commercial barge traffic, was expected to crest in Tennessee on Friday and Arkansas over the weekend as it pushed south toward the Gulf of Mexico, officials said.
The river is predicted to rise just below 40 feet (12.2 meters) in Memphis, Tennessee, on Friday afternoon, above the 34 feet at which the city considers it a flood event, while it is expected to crest in Helena, Arkansas, on Sunday, according to Jeff Graschel, a hydrologist at the National...
All is not OK: Oklahoma records 70 earthquakes in a week
Posted by Grist: None Given on January 8th, 2016
Grist: The state experienced two of its largest earthquakes on record this week, measuring 4.7 and 4.8 on the Richter scale. And, the New York Times reports, this could be a harbinger of things to come. Big things. From the Times:
The two quakes followed a series of smaller ones last week that peeled brick facades, toppled columns and caused a power failure in Edmond, an upscale Oklahoma City suburb. Some experts said those quakes hinted at the possibility of a larger shock.
“I do think there’s a...
North-east Scotland warned of risk of further flood damage
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on January 8th, 2016
Associated Press: Residents in parts of north-east Scotland have been advised to prepare for “residual impacts” from the recent floods after heavy rain caused record river levels and severe flooding. Dozens of homes were evacuated in Inverurie, Port Elphinstone and Ellon in Aberdeenshire as the swollen river Don sent flood waters racing down the streets on Thursday night and Friday morning. The river Ythan has also breached its banks, prompting the emergency services to mount an operation to rescue residents. The...
Hydroelectric Dams Planned World’s Largest Rivers Threaten Fish
Posted by Nature World: None Given on January 8th, 2016
Nature World: Hydroelectric dam builders, and the need to curb greenhouse emissions, often underestimate the long-term effects these massive structures have on local biodiversity. In a new study, 30 leading aquatic ecologists warn impending dams in the Mekong, Amazon and Congo -- the world's three greatest and most diverse tropical rivers -- could have drastic impacts on the world's food supply.
"These three river basins hold roughly one-third of the world's freshwater fish species," Kirk Winemiller, lead author...
Missouri residents pack up and leave as once-rare floods become the new normal
Posted by Guardian: Oliver Milman on January 8th, 2016
Guardian: About 100 miles downstream of Hannibal, the boyhood home of Mark Twain, the small Missouri town of West Alton has spent the past week without almost its entire population as it has been completely swamped by water.
William Richter is the mayor of a town he cannot reach. West Alton’s 525 people were evacuated due to deadly floods that caused the nearby Mississippi river to surge to 38ft high – a good 17ft above the flood level. Both roads into the town are still cut off.
“You can only really...
Flexible gene expression may regulate social status in male fish
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on January 8th, 2016
ScienceDaily: For a small African fish species, a colorful dominant male does better in life, winning access to food and females. New research by Stanford biologists suggests that this lucky outcome is regulated at a genetic level, by turning genes on and off. People generally think that our genetic code, and thus the expression patterns of our genes, is fixed throughout life. Indeed, this is true in some cases such as eye color, a characteristic that is determined by gene expression early in development. However,...
Brazil cautious on re-starting hydro dams after mining spill
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on January 8th, 2016
Reuters: Four hydroelectric dams along Brazil's Rio Doce remain closed for an indefinite time after a deadly mining spill in November flooded the river with thick mud, according to water agency ANA.
ANA said in an emailed statement that only one of four hydro plants along the 800 km (497 mile) river, which runs through states of Minas Gerais and Espirito Santo, had requested to power up as the others continue to assess potential damage from the spill.
The bursting of a dam at the Samarco iron ore mine...
Overwhelming evidence of human-driven Anthropocene
Posted by Bonham Journal: None Given on January 8th, 2016
Bonham Journal: Additionally, human farming and fishing have brought about "transglobal species invasions...permanently reconfiguring Earth's biological trajectory".
Study's lead researcher Colin Waters from the British Geological Survey said that the paper unveils about the big changes and as massive as the ones happened at the end of the last ice age.
That is why, the Anthropocene Working Group believe that we have moved on into a new era, the Anthropocene Epoch. One of the factors considered is climate...