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Archive for January 22nd, 2016
Millions prepare potentially ‘paralyzing’ east coast winter storm
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on January 22nd, 2016
Guardian: Millions of people across a dozen states are bracing for a weekend of travel disruption, possible power outages and white-out conditions as a potentially “paralyzing winter storm” begins to bear down on the eastern US on Friday.
Washington DC is at the center of the blizzard’s aim. Forecasters have warned residents of the nation’s capital to brace for more than 30in of snow and wind gusts up to 50mph in some places. If predictions are accurate, snow totals in the District could shatter records...
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Lake Poopo: Bolivia’s second largest lake dries up due to climate change
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on January 22nd, 2016
Independent: Bolivia’s second largest lake has disappeared, displacing hundreds if not thousands of people who depend on it for their livelihoods.
Lake Poopo was officially declared “evaporated” last month in what scientists have said serves as a warning about climate change.
The lake - which is situated more than 12,000 feet above sea level on the country’s Andean plains - has all but dried up before due to El Nino, but had rebounded to twice the size of Los Angeles.
But scientists say this time recovery...
Zona Politics: How Will Climate Change Affect Us in the Years To Come?
Posted by Tucson Weekly: Jim Nintzel on January 22nd, 2016
Tucson Weekly: On this week's episode of Zona Politics: UA College of Science Dean Joaquin Ruiz talks about climate change and previews the UA's Spring Lecture Series, Earth Transformed, Then Kacey Ernst, a UA associate professor of public health, joins me to talk about how climate change will impact human health, particularly when it comes to us here in the Southwestern United States. The Spring Lecture Series kicks off Monday, Sept. 25, at 7 p.m. at UA Centennial Hall, with UA geosciences professor talking about...
Melting Greenland ice sheet may affect global ocean circulation, future climate
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on January 22nd, 2016
ScienceDaily: Scientists from the University of South Florida, along with colleagues in Canada and the Netherlands, have determined that the influx of fresh water from the Greenland ice sheet is "freshening" the North Atlantic Ocean and could disrupt the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC), an important component of global ocean circulation that could have a global effect. Researchers say it could impact the future climate in places such as portions of Europe and North America. Their study on the...
The Future of ‘Epic Blizzards’ in a Warming World
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on January 22nd, 2016
Climate Central: In case you haven't heard, Washington, D.C., and other parts of the Mid-Atlantic region, are about to get walloped by a major storm that could bury the city in a record-breaking amount of snow.
The storm is expected to bring snows that could top 2 feet in the D.C. area and has already resulted in thousands of cancelled flights. While snows may not be quite as impressive further north, the storm's fierce winds could whip up significant coastal flooding.
Part of the reason this Snowzilla storm...
Map shows how Michigan’s lead problem extends far beyond the Flint water crisis
Posted by Grist: None Given on January 22nd, 2016
Grist: Flint is Michigan’s poster child for environmental disaster - a crisis that could have been avoided. As my colleague Raven Rakia has pointed out, lead exposure, which causes an array of health problems and is especially bad for children, is completely preventable. But that doesn’t mean that those responsible for public health do their jobs. In Flint, a city that’s nearly 60 percent black and where more than 42 percent of residents live below the poverty line, officials switched to a cheaper water...
Sorry! Winter Storm Jonas doesn’t make climate change a liberal hoax
Posted by Grist: None Given on January 22nd, 2016
Grist: Good news, folks! It turns out that climate change is a big ol` liberal hoax after all. Need proof? Just look out your window: If you`re anywhere east of Tupelo, you`re probably seeing a bunch of white stuff falling from the sky, compliments of Winter Storm Jonas. We call that "snow," and it proves once and for all that "global warming" is a conspiracy dreamed up by known communist Al Gore to bring down the world economy. Guess we can just pack up our desks and go home.
At least, that`s what America`s...
Why Big Blizzards In Winter Don’t Disprove Global Warming
Posted by ThinkProgress: None Given on January 22nd, 2016
ThinkProgress: Another epic blizzard threatens 50 million people on the East Coast, with a bulls-eye on Washington DC. And leading climatologists again explain how human-induced climate change, especially warming-fueled ocean temperatures, are super-charging the amount of moisture in the atmosphere the storm will dump on us.
First, though, I think the name, Winter Storm Jonas, doesn`t do justice to this blizzard, especially since the Jonas brothers are a pretty harmless pop rock band. I`m suggesting the name,...
Court refuses to block Obama climate-change initiative
Posted by Ars Technica: None Given on January 22nd, 2016
Ars Technica: A federal appeals court is refusing to block the Obama administration's climate change initiative. Two dozen states and other energy companies sued (PDF) the Environmental Protection Agency in October on the day the carbon-emissions cutting plan became law.
The US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit said that the plan, which impacts hundreds of power plants across the nation and is one of the president's centerpiece accomplishments, can proceed even as the legal challenge is...
Capping the Porter Ranch gas leak isn’t enough
Posted by LA Times: Editorial on January 22nd, 2016
LA Times: While the Southern California Gas Co. continues its work on a relief well that will, hopefully, stop the three-month-long gas leak near Porter Ranch, lawmakers are beginning on the next essential step: developing regulations to reduce the risk of another massive leak from an underground natural gas storage facility that will once again sicken people and wreak havoc on the environment.
The human and financial impact from the current leak has been tremendous. Some 2,600 families have temporarily...