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Archive for February 7th, 2016
California Snowpack At Highest Point in Five Years
Posted by Nature World News: None Given on February 7th, 2016
Nature World News: California's Sierra Nevada snowpack has reached its highest point in five years, confirmed state water officials recently.
The officials from the Department of Water Resources also said that major reservoirs' storage has increased significantly since January 1, according to the DWR release.
The snowpack statewide has reached a point that is 114 percent of normal for this period of the year. That number reflects the amount of water contained in the snow, as a report on the public radio station...
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Fears for Ebro delta in Spanish water rights fight
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on February 7th, 2016
BBC: Environmentalists say one of Europe's most important wetland areas is under threat as Spain and Catalonia argue about the future of the Ebro river.
Campaigners say Spanish government plans to restrict water flow could destroy the fragile landscape.
They are worried that ultimately these waters could be transferred to other, drier regions of Spain.
Tens of thousands of demonstrators took to the streets of Amposta in Catalonia on Sunday to protest against the plans.
Running for 930km (578...
Mark Ruffalo tells David Cameron to abandon fracking
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on February 7th, 2016
Guardian: Oscar-nominated actor Mark Ruffalo has called on David Cameron to abandon fracking and leave fossil fuels in the ground.
A prominent opponent of fracking in the US, Ruffalo told the prime minister he was making “a legacy mistake” in supporting the controversial process of extracting gas by hydraulic fracturing.
Ruffalo, who has attracted critical acclaim for his role in the film Spotlight, and is nominated for best supporting actor at this year’s Oscars, made the remarks in an interview with...
Climate Change Poses Threat to Key Ingredient in Beer, NOAA Warns
Posted by EcoWatch: None Given on February 7th, 2016
EcoWatch: As any beer lover knows, hops are a key ingredient in beer. But now, climate change poses a threat to hops production, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
The U.S. is the second largest hops-producing country in the world. But almost all of the nation`s commercial hopyards are located in just three states: Washington, Oregon and Idaho. Washington alone produces nearly three-quarters of all the nation`s hops. In 2015, an estimated 71 percent of U.S. hops were...
Company slows work on controversial Utah tar sands project
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on February 7th, 2016
Associated Press: Environmentalists are celebrating after the Canadian company behind a controversial tar sands development in eastern Utah announced it is scaling back work on its project.
Calgary-based U.S. Oil Sands Inc. announced plans Thursday to cut back on construction on its PR Spring project, which is located in the Book Cliffs about 170 miles from Salt Lake City and is 85 percent complete. The company said low oil prices forced two of its major contractors to shutter operations in Utah, and said it didn't...
Unusually warm Arctic winter stuns scientists with record low ice extent for January
Posted by Mashable: None Given on February 7th, 2016
Mashable: Right about now, Arctic sea ice should be building up toward its annual maximum, making most of the region impenetrable to all but the most hardened icebreakers. Instead, January and indeed much of the winter so far has been unusually mild throughout large parts of the Arctic.
A freak storm brought temperatures to near the freezing point, or 32 degrees Fahrenheit, near the North Pole for a short time in late December and early January, and other storms have repeatedly acted like space heaters...
Attorney sought oversee possible telescope hearing
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on February 7th, 2016
Associated Press: Hawaii officials are looking for a hearings officer to oversee proceedings for a permit to build the Thirty Meter Telescope.
Telescope officials haven't indicated whether they will pursue a new contested case hearing after the state Supreme Court in December voided the project's permit to build on conservation land on Mauna Kea.
Anticipating a possible new hearing, the state Department of Land and Natural Resources is starting to look for a hearings officer who can commit to spending substantial...
Proposed bill would create science ‘subzones’
Posted by West Hawaii Today: Tom Callis on February 7th, 2016
West Hawaii Today: Several Big Island lawmakers are backing legislation that would establish seven “science and technology research subzones,” including one covering Mauna Kea’s astronomy precinct.
The 21-page bill would give the Board of Land and Natural Resources authority over subzone activities in Conservation Districts, such as those covering the mountain, and would appear to simplify rules for building within those areas.
Barry Taniguchi, a Big Island businessman who circulated the bill among lawmakers,...
South Africa won’t declare national disaster over drought
Posted by Reuters: Maha El Dahan on February 7th, 2016
Reuters: South Africa will not declare a national disaster in response to its worst drought in a century as it hopes ample late rains will continue to improve the situation, deputy minister of agriculture Bheki Cele said on Sunday.
"For some reason God has been kind and late rains did come, and we think the 6 million tonnes (of maize) we were looking to import - we have downgraded that to four," he told Reuters in an interview on the sidelines of a conference in Dubai.
The country's largest grain producer...
Calif Drought: Global Warming Is Making Longer Droughts A Normality
Posted by Inquisitr: Nichole Tucker on February 7th, 2016
Inquisitr: California and the rest of the Southwest have been experiencing droughts since the nation`s existence. The main difference today is that these droughts occur more frequently, last longer and wet days are scarce. The new dry weather pattern is thought by scientists to be directly related to global warming, and it is only expected to get worse.
Researchers at the National Center for Atmospheric Research have conducted a study which assessed weather patterns in the Southwest from the 1970s to today....