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Archive for the ‘Water Conservation’ Category
Understanding climate change’s role in the UK’s recent floods
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on January 6th, 2016
New Scientist: IT`S an environmental whodunit. Last month, in streets that would normally be bustling with sales shoppers, the only sounds were the thrum of helicopters and the lapping of water against walls.
First Desmond, then Eva and Frank: three major storms slammed into the UK and Ireland during December, making it the wettest month ever recorded in the UK and causing flooding misery in northern England and Scotland. Now those affected want to know where to lay the blame.
"We`re living in a climate...
Posted in Water Conservation 
Comments Off on Understanding climate change’s role in the UK’s recent floodsCalifornians warned to keep conserving water despite heavy rains
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on January 6th, 2016
Guardian: Forced by drought to conserve water, Californians were warned against reverting to old habits on Tuesday as the first of several storms spawned by a record-tying El Niño began drenching the state.
A series of storms lining up over the Pacific Ocean was welcome news in parched California, despite their potential for causing flash floods and mudslides. But authorities cautioned that even the wettest of winters can’t replenish depleted reservoirs and aquifers unless everyone keeps pitching in. ...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Californians warned to keep conserving water despite heavy rainsEPA Urged to Ban Widely-Used Pesticide Chlorpyrifos
Posted by Environment News Service: None Given on January 6th, 2016
Environment News Service: Under the threat of a court order, the Environmental Protection Agency last October proposed a ban on all agricultural uses of the Dow AgroSciences insecticide chlorpyrifos.
Now, more than 80,000 people have submitted comments to the EPA urging the agency to ban chlorpyrifos from use on all crops immediately.
First developed by Dow AgroSciences in the 1960s, chlorpyrifos is no longer patent protected and is now the active ingredient in dozens of pesticide products made by companies such as...
UK carbon footprint from imported food revealed for first time
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on January 6th, 2016
New Scientist: Not much is growing in the UK - except its carbon footprint. The global impact of feeding the country has been estimated for the first time, revealing that 64 per cent of associated greenhouse gases are emitted abroad.
The UK now imports more than half its food and feed. Between 1986 and 2009, the amount of land used to grow the country`s food increased by 23 per cent, with 70 per cent of it located overseas.
Soya beans used for animal feed, cocoa and wheat take up the most foreign land, and...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on UK carbon footprint from imported food revealed for first timeMore than half of UK’s food sourced from abroad, study finds
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on January 6th, 2016
Guardian: More than half of the UK’s food and feed now comes from overseas, which is burdening poorer countries with the related environmental impact, a new study says.
More than two-thirds of the land needed to produce the UK’s food and feed is based abroad, researchers said, meaning 64% of the related greenhouse gases are emitted on foreign soil.
Since 1986, the size of this land has grown by 23% to match increasing demand, with associated CO2 emissions rising by 15%, the research published in theJournal...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on More than half of UK’s food sourced from abroad, study findsEl Niño-strengthened storm brings rain, floods to California
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on January 5th, 2016
Reuters: An El Niño-strengthened storm brought widespread rain to drought-stricken California on Tuesday, triggering flooding that clogged roadways, and authorities warned residents about possible mud slides.
The National Weather Service (NWS) has issued flash flood watches for much of the coast from San Diego to San Francisco and said storms would linger through Friday. The service forecast widespread rain and mountain snow.
Emily Thornton, a NWS meteorologist in Los Angeles, said Tuesday's storm was...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on El Niño-strengthened storm brings rain, floods to CaliforniaState of emergency declared over polluted drinking water in Michigan city
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on January 5th, 2016
Guardian: Michigan governor Rick Snyder has declared a state of emergency in Flint over problems with lead in the city’s drinking water as federal officials confirm they are investigating the matter. 'We were paying to poison our kids': lead in Michigan city's water hits children Read more
Snyder announced the action on Tuesday. It makes available state resources in cooperation with local response and recovery operations.
Federal prosecutors also said on Tuesday they are working with the US Environmental...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on State of emergency declared over polluted drinking water in Michigan cityFederal officials probe lead-tainted water in Flint, Michigan
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on January 5th, 2016
Reuters: Federal officials are investigating the lead contamination of drinking water in Flint, Michigan, after the financially beleaguered city switched sources to save money, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Attorney in Detroit said on Tuesday.
Michigan Governor Rick Snyder apologized in late December for the state's mishandling of lead contamination of Flint's water supply and accepted the resignation of the state official whose department is responsible for overseeing water quality.
The U.S. Attorney's...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Federal officials probe lead-tainted water in Flint, MichiganGreenland might be contributing more to sea level rise than we thought
Posted by Grist: None Given on January 5th, 2016
Grist: The Greenland ice sheet is starting to look a lot like the ice luge that ruined your New Year`s Eve. Except, instead of drunk faces at the end of it, there`s an ocean. And instead of cheap vodka flowing down its surface, there`s meltwater.
It shouldn`t surprise you that Greenland is slowly melting away and will ultimately contribute to what could be catastrophic sea level rise (and if it does surprise you, then welcome to 2016 - you`re going to want to sit down for this). But until recently, the...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Greenland might be contributing more to sea level rise than we thoughtWhat you should know about California’s massive methane leak
Posted by Grist: Julia Lurie on January 5th, 2016
Grist: For more than two months, California has experienced a slow-moving environmental disaster: Methane leaking from a faulty natural gas well near the Los Angeles neighborhood Porter Ranch has displaced thousands of families and is releasing the greenhouse gas equivalent of driving 7 million cars each day. Here`s what`s going on:
When did all this start? On Oct. 23, methane began leaking from a faulty well in Aliso Canyon, the site of a natural gas storage facility owned by Southern California Gas...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on What you should know about California’s massive methane leak