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Archive for February 17th, 2016
Earth as sponge? It has absorbed enough water to slow sea level rise
Posted by Christian Science Monitor: Lonnie Shekhtman on February 17th, 2016
Christian Science Monitor: Several regions of Earth that have been battered by rain and floods in the last decade have absorbed enough water to slow global sea level rise by about 20 percent over that time period, scientists say.
And, at least for now, this phenomenon has offset the impact of melting ice sheets, glaciers, and pumping of too much groundwater for irrigation, which also contributes to sea level rise when the water is sprayed on plants, then evaporates into the atmosphere and precipitates back into the ocean...
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El Niño leaves 100 million people short of food and water worldwide
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on February 17th, 2016
Guardian: Severe droughts and floods triggered by one of the strongest El Niño weather events ever recorded have left nearly 100 million people in southern Africa, Asia and Latin America facing food and water shortages and vulnerable to diseases including Zika, UN bodies, international aid agencies and governments have said.
New figures from the UN’s World Food Programme say 40 million people in rural areas and 9 million in urban centres who live in the drought-affected parts of Zimbabwe, Mozambique, South...
Invasive species blamed as second biggest cause of extinctions
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on February 17th, 2016
New Scientist: Alien invaders are the second biggest cause of species extinctions, according to a new study, but not everyone is convinced.
The role invaders play in wiping out native species has long been a bone of contention for conservationists.
The new study looks at the Red List, a catalogue of extinct and threatened species drawn up by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). For species that are completely extinct or extinct in the wild, those who draw up the list identify one or...
Climate activists and pipeline protesters turn to civil disobedience in the Northeast
Posted by Grist: Ben Adler on February 17th, 2016
Grist: Nine climate activists are facing charges in New York state for an act of civil disobedience. One day in November, they blocked the entrance to a parking lot in Montrose, N.Y., where work is being done on a major natural gas pipeline expansion, the Algonquin Incremental Market (AIM) Project. Now they plan to defend themselves in court on the grounds that their actions were necessary to protect humanity from climate disruption. Consider it a form of self-defense.
The Montrose 9, as they’re calling...