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Isaac could be blessing and curse in drought areas
Posted by MSNBC: None Given on August 30th, 2012
MSNBC: Thousands of farmers in drought-hit states will be seeing rain from Isaac, but the question many are wondering is whether it will be a blessing, curse or both.
After deluging Louisiana and Mississippi, Isaac on Thursday reached into Arkansas, one of the driest farm states where too much rain could ruin some crops now being harvested.
Farmers ran combines overnight Wednesday, the farm extension service at the University of Arkansas reported -- after earlier tweeting this advice: "Harvest in...
Posted in 
‘Crazy’: Dozens of dead birds fall from NJ sky
Posted by MSNBC: None Given on August 15th, 2012
MSNBC: Residents in a Cumberland County, N.J., community were left wondering what caused dozens of birds to drop dead from the sky earlier this week.
Residents along Peach Drive in Millville found at least 80 dead birds -- mostly red-winged blackbirds -- on the ground, having fallen from trees and the sky.
"Crazy -- something out of a movie," said resident Michelle Cavalieri, who saw the birds fall.
The birds caused a bloody mess on roadways in the residential neighborhood.
"They'd get up and...
Logging firm to pay record $122.5M over wildfire
Posted by MSNBC: None Given on July 18th, 2012
MSNBC: Logging company Sierra Pacific Industries agreed to pay the United States $122.5 million in damages to settle a lawsuit over a 2007 wildfire that was among the most devastating in California history, the Department of Justice said on Tuesday.
The settlement is the largest ever received by the United States for damages caused by a wildfire, the so-called Moonlight Fire that charred 65,000 acres in September 2007.
The blaze was sparked by employees of the logging company and a contractor who...
Madagascar: Most endangered mammal? Probably lemurs
Posted by MSNBC: None Given on July 13th, 2012
MSNBC: Of all the world's animals living on the verge of extinction, Madagascar's lemurs are teetering closest to the brink. A new assessment of these primates reveals they are probably the most endangered group of vertebrates on Earth, beating out all other mammals, reptiles, amphibians, birds and bony fish for the dismal distinction.
Ninety-one percent of the 103 known lemur species are threatened, conservationists concluded this week at a workshop of the International Union for Conservation of Nature...
Scientists warn world: Prepare for extreme weather
Posted by MSNBC: None Given on November 18th, 2011
MSNBC: Top international climate scientists and disaster experts meeting in Africa have a sharp message for the world's political leaders: Get ready for more dangerous and unpredictable weather caused by global warming.
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They're calling for preparations that they say will save lives and money.
The experts fear that without preparedness, crazy weather extremes may overwhelm some locations, making them uninhabitable.
The...
Winters are getting snowier, stats show
Posted by MSNBC: None Given on November 3rd, 2011
MSNBC: Climate scientists are wrong again: Snow cover around the world is not decreasing.
Back in 1995, the International Panel on Climate Change predicted that snowy winters would become a thing of the past because of man-made climate change.
Here's the quote from the IPCC Draft 1995:
"A “striking” retreat of mountain glaciers around the world, accompanied in the Northern Hemisphere by a shrinking snow cover in winter."
This was quoted in the New York Times back then as well.
Since these...
Thailand flood misery continues as scientists say climate change is causing more weather extremes
Posted by MSNBC: None Given on November 1st, 2011
MSNBC: The AP reports: The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change says that extreme weather disasters like the recent record floods in Thailand are striking more often, according to a draft summary of a report obtained by The Associated Press. It says there is at least a 2-in-3 probability that climate extremes have already worsened because of man-made greenhouse gases.
Warmer Climate Could Spark More Severe Yellowstone Fires
Posted by MSNBC: None Given on July 25th, 2011
MSNBC: Large fires in Yellowstone National Park could dramatically increase by mid-century due to climate change, which could create a very different park than the one people know today, a new study suggests.
An increase in the number of severe fires in and around Yellowstone National Park would not destroy the popular park, the study authors say, but it could reduce the park's conifer-dominated mature forests (pines and firs) to younger stands and more open vegetation.
"Large, severe fires are normal...
Alaskan Wildfires Could Trigger ‘Runaway Climate Change’
Posted by MSNBC: None Given on December 6th, 2010
MSNBC: Severe Alaskan wildfires have released much more carbon than was stored by the region's forests over the past 10 years, researchers report today. They warned that the pattern could lead to a "runaway climate change scenario" where larger, more intense fires release more greenhouse gases that, in turn, lead to more warming.
The northern wildfires burn peatlands that consist of decaying plant litter, moss and organic matter in the soil, said Merritt Turetsky, an ecologist at the University of Guelph...
BLM responds to climate change online
Posted by MSNBC: None Given on November 29th, 2010
MSNBC: The Bureau of Land Management announced that it has posted web pages to describe its response to climate change and related environmental challenges.
The BLM's Climate Change pages are located here: http://www.blm.gov/wo/st/en/prog/more/climatechange.html
"Public lands managed by the BLM are facing widespread environmental challenges that transcend traditional management boundaries," said BLM Director Bob Abbey in a prepared statement. "These challenges include managing wildfire, controlling...