News: Archive for July, 2013
‘Gina McCarthy won U.S. Senate confirmation as head of the Environmental Protection Agency and carry out President Barack Obama’s agenda to adopt measures aimed at reducing air pollution and fighting climate change.’
via McCarthy Confirmation to Lead EPA Clears Way for Rules – Bloomberg.
‘…about 55 million years ago (to geologists, the recent past), Earth experienced an explosive rise in temperature. Through the investigative science of paleontology, we can reconstruct a world where tropical flora flourish at the poles and the world is rocked by mass die-offs – that is, the world that the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change predicts as the “worst-case scenario” by 2100.’
‘U.S. energy supplies will likely face more severe disruptions because of climate change and extreme weather, which have already caused blackouts and lowered production at power plants, a government report warned Thursday.’
‘Certainly, countless species have adapted to past climate fluctuations. However, their rate of change turns out to be painfully slow, according to a study by Professor John Wiens of the University of Arizona. Using data from 540 living species, including amphibians, reptiles, birds and mammals, Wiens and colleagues compared their rates of evolution with the rates of climate change projected for the end of this century. The results, published online in the journal Ecology Letters, show that most land animals will not be able to evolve quickly enough to adapt to the dramatically warmer climate expected by 2100. Many species face extinction, as a result.’
via Climate change is happening too quickly for species to adapt | Environment | The Observer.
“A satellite that measures gravity fluctuations on Earth due to changes in the massive ice sheets of Greenland and Antarctica has detected a rapid acceleration in the melting of glacier ice over the past decade, which could have a dramatic impact on sea levels around the world.”
‘…researchers have discovered a fast-growing community of marine sponges off the eastern coast of the Antarctic Peninsula. Their findings, published Thursday in the journal Current Biology, challenge the hypothesis that Antarctic life responds slowly to climate change’
via Glass sponge invasion follows Antarctic ice shelf retreat – latimes.com.
‘The geothermal power plants at Southern California’s Salton Sea don’t just produce electricity, they also trigger thousands of temblors not far from one of the West Coast’s most dangerous earthquake faults, a new study says.’
via Geothermal plants trigger small quakes near San Andreas fault – latimes.com.
‘BRUSSELS, July 11 (Reuters) – EU politicians on Thursday backed a new limit on crop-based biofuels, to fix the bloc’s policy on transport fuels once thought to protect the climate but now suspected of doing more harm than conventional oil.’
via EU lawmakers back limit on some biofuels, more votes to follow | Reuters.
‘WASHINGTON — The nation’s entire energy system is vulnerable to increasingly severe and costly weather events driven by climate change, according to a report from the Department of Energy to be published on Thursday.’
via Climate Change Will Cause More Energy Breakdowns, U.S. Warns – NYTimes.com.
‘WASHINGTON — Facing flak for proposing to eliminate some popular tourist amenities in Yosemite National Park, the National Park Service said it needed five more months to finish a plan to “protect and enhance” the Merced River, which runs for 81 miles inside the park.’
via Protests prompt delay of Yosemite overhaul plan – latimes.com.