News: Archive for May, 2011
‘(Reuters) – The Huadian Corp will go ahead with controversial plans to dam the Nu River in southwest China as it strives to raise its total hydro capacity by 10 gigawatts before the end of 2015, the official China Daily reported on Tuesday.’
via China’s Huadian to build Nu River hydro plant by 2015: report | Reuters.
‘The Arctic ice study by the International Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Program, titled Snow, Water, Ice and Permafrost in the Arctic (SWIPA), says that the feedback loops scientists have been warning about already are accelerating glacial melting in the Arctic, which accounted for 40% of sea-level rise chronicled annually from 2003 through 2008.’
‘Shifts in the climate over the past three decades have been linked to a 5.5% decline in global wheat production, a study has suggested.’
‘Scientists have long predicted that — eventually — temperatures and altered rainfall caused by global climate change will take a toll on four of the most important crops in the world: rice, wheat soy and corn.’
‘Now, as world grain prices hover near record highs, a new study finds that the effects are already starting to be felt.’
via World’s Farmers Feel The Effects Of A Hotter Planet : NPR.
‘For the first time since the magnitude 9 earthquake and the tsunami struck Japan nearly two months ago, workers on Thursday entered a damaged reactor at the stricken Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, Tokyo Electric Power Co. said.’
via Japan nuclear crisis: Japan nuclear workers enter damaged Fukushima reactor – latimes.com.
‘Global warming is already cutting substantially into potential crop yields in some countries — to such an extent that it may be a factor in the food price increases that have caused worldwide stress in recent years, researchers suggest in a new study.’
via Global Warming Hinders Crop Yields, Study Finds – NYTimes.com.
‘(Reuters) – China’s energy efficiency company Nobao Renewable Energy Holdings Ltd revived its plan for a U.S. listing on Friday, filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for an initial public offering of up to $300 million.’
via China’s Nobao Renewable Energy revives IPO plan | Reuters.
‘(Reuters) – After a series of high-profile natural gas drilling spills, the Energy Department named a panel to recommend ways to improve the safety of hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, a technique that has expanded the country’s potential to extract the fuel.’
‘But here’s something that really is frightening. A new study presented by the International Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Program has found that feedback loops are already accelerating warming in the far North, which will rapidly increase the rate of ice melt. As a result, the panel now estimates that sea levels could rise by as much as 5.2 ft. by the end of the century.’
‘(Reuters) – The United Nations said its Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) is growing steadily, having registered 3,000 carbon cutting energy projects to date.’
via U.N. clean energy scheme grows, 3,000 projects so far | Reuters.