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Archive for February 18th, 2016
Trilobites: Measuring the Planet’s Health in Vibrant Shades of Green
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on February 18th, 2016
New York Times: They have tried to determine which regions are particularly susceptible to some variations in climate, and which are more resilient. And after studying 14 years' worth of NASA satellite images and tracking changes in the color of vegetation, they have developed what they're calling the Vegetation Sensitivity Index .
A new study, published and reviewed in Nature magazine, shows the changes in shades of green (a proxy for plant health) in response to certain environmental factors - in this case,...
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Market integration could help protect poor from climate-related food insecurity
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on February 18th, 2016
ScienceDaily: Global market integration is key to buffering future commodity prices and food security from the negative effects of climate change on agriculture, says a Purdue University agricultural economist. Rising temperatures and an increase in extreme weather events will likely have adverse impacts on global crop production, leading to higher food prices and food scarcity. But global markets that have the ability to deliver food where it is needed most could help offset these consequences, said Thomas Hertel,...
Chicago residents blame city for water contamination in class-action lawsuit
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on February 18th, 2016
Guardian: Chicago residents have filed a class-action lawsuit against the city over the safety of its drinking water, claiming that “elevated and unsafe” levels of lead have contaminated their water supply for years due to risky construction projects.
The lawsuit, filed on Thursday at the circuit court of Cook County, Illinois, claims that the city of Chicago has known for years that lead has seeped into drinking water due to street work, water meter installations or plumbing repairs, but failed to warn...
Aussie town battles tumbleweed invasion: A climate change signal?
Posted by Christian Science Monitor: Story Hinckley on February 18th, 2016
Christian Science Monitor: Hairy panic, a perennial weed native to inland Australia, has taken over the rural city of Wangaratta in northern Victoria.
“Walked out the front door this morning to find a good six-metre [19-foot] spread of tumbleweed across the front of the house – again,” Wangaratta local Jason Pera tells Australia Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) Thursday. “It makes it difficult to get the car out in the morning – if you can find it.”
Images and videos of panicum effusum, adequately nicknamed hairy panic,...
Climate: Vegetation Sensitivity to Climate Variability Mapped Worldwide
Posted by Nature World: Catherine Arnold on February 18th, 2016
Nature World: Parts of the world's boreal forests, Arctic tundra, tropical rainforest, and alpine areas, along with the rest of our earthly kit-and-caboodle, have now been incorporated into a global map of areas that are most sensitive to climate variability, say researchers with a study recently published in the journal Nature.
"Based on the satellite data gathered, we can identify areas that, over the past 14 years, have shown high sensitivity to climate variability," researcher Alistair Seddon at Norway's...
Mapping Ecosystems’ Sensitivity to Climate Change
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on February 18th, 2016
Yale Environment 360: Forests, tundras, and alpine areas are some of the world’s most at-risk ecosystems to climate change, according to a new map published in the journal Nature. The study, led by scientists at the University of Bergen in Norway, used satellite data collected from 2000 to 2013 to examine how sensitive plants were to changes in air temperature, water availability, and cloud cover, down to a two-square-mile scale. The scientists used the results to create the Vegetation Sensitivity Index—a visual guide...
Salmon Raised In Hatcheries Have Different DNA Than Wild Relatives
Posted by Nature World: Samantha Mathewson on February 18th, 2016
Nature World: Seventy percent of salmon sold at the market are farm-raised and believed to be higher in contaminants and unhealthy fats than those caught in their natural habitat. What's worse is diseases can spread easily from farmed fish to their wild relatives. Experts say this could have a devastating impact on wild salmon populations, which have already suffered significantly from human activities such as overfishing and damming.
Attempts have been made to replenish salmon in Oregon and Washington using...
Global Warming Crushes Records. Again
Posted by Bloomberg: Tom Randall on February 18th, 2016
Bloomberg: Here we go again.
For the surface of planet Earth, 2015 was the hottest year on record by a stunning margin. But already, 2016 is on track to beat it.
Last month was the hottest January in 137 years of record keeping, according to data released Wednesday by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. It's the ninth consecutive month to set a new record.
To be sure, some of the recent extremes are the result of a monster El Niño weather pattern that still lingers in the Pacific Ocean....
To stop the Zika virus from spreading in Brazil, specialists call for an “environmental revolution”
Posted by Mongabay: None Given on February 18th, 2016
Mongabay: For nearly five months now, Liana Azeredo avoids walking the streets of Rio de Janeiro during the day. Even under the intense heat of the city, she also prefers long blouses and pants. Inside her handbag, she’s carrying repellents and colored bracelets with citronella. The change in her life is due to the fear of Aedes aegypti, the mosquito that transmits diseases such as Dengue, Chikungunya and Zika. Although all three are considered serious diseases, Liana’s biggest fear is being contaminated...
Harvard Study: U.S. ‘Likely Culprit’ Global Spike Methane Emissions
Posted by Common Dreams: Andrea Germanos on February 18th, 2016
Common Dreams: New research has linked the U.S. to the massive rise in global methane emissions. Bobby Magill reported on the Harvard University study on Climate Central Tuesday.
Using satellite data, the researchers found that methane emissions in the country rose more than 30 percent over the 2002–2014 period and that increase "could account for 30–60 percent of the global growth of atmospheric methane seen in the past decade," the study`s abstract states.
Though the study does not attribute the increase...