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Archive for January 30th, 2016
Like losing the thylacine: Fire burns Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area
Posted by Whyalla News: Adam Morton on January 30th, 2016
Whyalla News: Ancient alpine ecosystems unique to Tasmania's remote world heritage wilderness, including trees that lived for more than a millennium, have been killed by fires that scientists say are linked to climate change.
The first images of the damage on the state's central plateau have triggered calls for governments to do more to protect internationally recognised landscapes as part of their fire response.
Taken on Saturday near Lake Mackenzie at an altitude of about 1200 metres, the photographs show...
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Madagascar scientists unsure best guard frogs from fungus
Posted by Mongabay: Elizabeth Devitt on January 30th, 2016
Mongabay: Madagascar is rich in amphibian species. It boasts 500 species of frog, almost all endemic, with more likely undiscovered. That diversity could be in immediate jeopardy due to the chytrid fungus — then again, maybe not. Two new, but possibly conflicting, studies, one saying that the fungus is in country and spreading, the other saying it has not yet taken a firm hold, are leaving policymakers with more questions than answers about how to use limited funds to most effectively combat the problem....
How Climate Change Could Spread Diseases Like Zika
Posted by Time: Justin Worland on January 30th, 2016
Time: For thousands of years, humans have taken every precaution to avoid mosquitoes and the diseases they carry, from Malaria to Zika. But while techniques for fighting the insects have improved dramatically over time, scientists say long-term climate change could soon make protecting humans from mosquitoes much more difficult.
The link between climate change and mosquito-borne illness centers around how rising temperatures may expand the area in which mosquitoes can thrive. Most such illnesses can...
DiCaprio: ‘It’s a sin to destroy our planet’
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on January 30th, 2016
USA Today: Leonardo DiCaprio's meeting with Pope Francis this week might have been even bigger news than winning the coveted best actor award for The Revenant at the SAG Awards.
Backstage at the SAG Awards Saturday night, DiCaprio talked about his private audience with Pope Francis at the Vatican to discuss climate change, calling it an "honor."
"(Pope Francis) has been inspiring and revolutionary to come out and be outspoken on the issue of climate change and endorse the scientific community," said DiCaprio....
Cloud Blanket Warms Up Melting Icecap
Posted by Climate News Network: Tim Radford on January 30th, 2016
Climate News Network: Researchers have identified another piece in the climate machinery that is accelerating the melting of the Greenland ice cap. The icy hills are responding to the influence of a higher command system: the clouds.
An international research team led by scientists from the Catholic University of Leuven in Belgium report in Nature Communications journal that cloud cover above the northern hemisphere’s largest single volume of permanent ice is raising temperatures by between 2 degrees and 3 degrees...
Oilsands’ share of GHG emissions to double by 2030
Posted by Ottawa Citizen: None Given on January 30th, 2016
Ottawa Citizen: Environment Minister Catherine McKenna says “more needs to be done” to curb greenhouse gas emissions, as new data show Canada is drifting further away from its climate targets while the oilsands’ share of national greenhouse emissions is projected to double by 2030.
Briefing materials prepared for McKenna, and obtained by the Citizen, show that oilsands emissions are expected to account for more than half the increase in total Canadian GHGs between 2010 and 2030.
Greenhouse gas emissions from...
South Florida mayors have reason goad candidates on climate
Posted by Palm Beach Post: None Given on January 30th, 2016
Palm Beach Post: Climate change in South Florida isn’t theoretical. It isn’t some problem for some undefinable future that our kids will have to deal with. It’s a pain in the neck right now.
Ask the people of Miami Beach, where they’re elevating streets to cope with the unstoppable rise of sea water. The people of Hallandale Beach, where most drinking wells are closed because the water is too salty.
Yet the two candidates for president from South Florida cannot bring themselves to acknowledge what’s happening....
Don’t block local limits fracking
Posted by Orlando Sentinel: None Given on January 30th, 2016
Orlando Sentinel: Earlier this month House Speaker Steve Crisafulli made an appeal on our opinion page for one of his legislative priorities, a bill to rewrite water policy in Florida.
"Florida's most valuable natural resource is our water," Crisafulli, a Merritt Island Republican, wrote in a guest column. "From it flows life for our people, our food supply, our environmental resources and our economic prosperity. Policy choices we make today will greatly impact the future of our state."
Legislators in both...
Oklahoma aims to find ways to reduce induced earthquakes
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on January 30th, 2016
United Press International: Mary Fallin, governor of emerging shale state Oklahoma, said she set aside more than $1 million in emergency funds to support earthquake research.
Fallin approved $1.38 million in one-time costs to support earthquake research to be directed by the Oklahoma Corporation Commission and the Oklahoma Geological Survey.
"I'm committed to funding seismic research, bringing on line advanced technology and more staff to fully support our regulators at they take meaningful action on earthquakes," she...