Current Environmental News // Current

What Obama can do to abate acoustic pollution?

What the next elected President of the United States can do to undue the human health and environmental damage caused by the... more

stopnoise
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President Chosen by GOD ?

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Jubilation, pride and relief permeated pews and pulpits at predominantly black churches across the... more

Recycle_psycho
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New NASA satellite study reveals melting of Alaskan glaciers

A NASA-led research team has used satellite data to make the most precise measurements to date of changes in the mass of mountain glaciers in the Gulf of Alaska, a region expected to be a significant contributor to global sea level rise over the next 50-100 years.

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Geophysicist Scott Luthcke of NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md., and colleagues knew from well-documented research that changes in the cryosphere glaciers, ice caps, and other parts of the globe covered year-round by ice -- are a key source of most global sea level rise.

Melting ice will also bring changes to freshwater resources and wildlife habitat. Knowing that such ice-covered areas are difficult to observe consistently, the team worked to develop a satellite-based method that could accurately quantify glacial mass changes across seasons and years, and even discern whether individual glacier regions are growing or shrinking.

The study's authors found that the annual ice mass lost from glaciers in the Gulf of Alaska has been 84 gigatons annually, about five times the average annual flow of the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon and equal to the entire amount of water in the Chesapeake Bay.

"The Gulf of Alaska region is 20 times smaller than the ice-covered area of Greenland, yet it contributes nearly half as much freshwater melt as Greenland and accounts for about 15 percent of present-day global sea level rise stemming from melting ice," said Luthcke, lead author of the study which will appear this week in the Journal of Glaciology. "Considering that the Gulf of Alaska makes such a disproportionate contribution, it is vital that we know more about the nature of glacial change there."

Luthcke and colleagues found a way to remotely measure the "mass balance" of a glacier; that is, the net annual difference between ice accumulation and ice loss. Past measurements of glacial mass balance in remote mountain ranges have been sparse or imprecise. Ground-based sensors can provide long-term data, but such data points are scattered due to the inaccessibility of many remote mountain ranges. Altimeters aboard aircraft can measure changes in the height of glaciers, but the sampling is sporadic because flights are relatively infrequent.

Glaciers in the coastal environments on the edge of the Arctic or Antarctic shed and gain mass rapidly, a high mass turnover that is particularly sensitive to climate change. Warming seas can accelerate the motion of tidewater glaciers, and melt water on glacial surfaces can flow to the floors of glaciers and serve as a lubricant as the ice slides toward the sea. The subsequent addition of freshwater to the ocean contributes to one of two sources of global sea level rise; "eustatic" rise resulting from melted ice in the form of freshwater, with the other source set off by "thermal expansion," sea level rise that occurs due to warming ocean temperatures.

The Goddard-led research team developed a new data analysis technique for NASA's Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) mission. GRACE is made up of twin satellites that orbit Earth about 137 miles apart and 300 miles above Earth's surface. The positions of the two satellites change in response to variations in Earth's gravity field, which is stronger or weaker depending on the land or ice mass that they are flying over. Microwave ranging systems measure the distance between the two satellites down to the width of a human hair, so by measuring the change in the distance between the satellites over time, researchers can essentially "weigh" the changes in Gulf of Alaska glaciers.
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More precise methods of determining total ice accumulation and loss in this and other areas are now essential in crafting proper legislation to deal with this crisis.A NASA-led research team has used satellite data to make the most precise measurements to date of changes in the mass of mountain... more

JanforGore
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38 responses

12 days ago

DON'T CALL IT A DUMP!!!

The biggest working sanitary landfill in the United States, located right outside Los Angeles, is so much more than a garbage... more

juhannus
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30 responses

19 days ago

Cloud thickening chemical released by trees can fight global warming

Trees could be more important to the Earth's climate than previously thought, according to a new study that reveals forests help to block out the sun.

Scientists in the UK and Germany have discovered that trees release a chemical that thickens clouds above them, which reflects more sunlight and so cools the Earth. The research suggests that chopping down forests could accelerate global warming more than was thought, and that protecting existing trees could be one of the best ways to tackle the problem.

Dominick Spracklen, of the Institute for Climate and Atmospheric Science at Leeds University, said: "We think this could have quite a significant effect. You can think of forests as climate air conditioners."

The scientists looked at chemicals called terpenes that are released from boreal forests across northern regions such as Canada, Scandinavia and Russia. The chemicals give pine forests their distinctive smell, but their function has puzzled experts for years. Some believe the trees release them to communicate, while others say they could offer protection from air pollution.

The team found the terpenes react in the air to form tiny particles called aerosols. The particles help turn water vapour in the atmosphere into clouds.

Spracklen said the team's computer models showed that the pine particles doubled the thickness of clouds some 1,000m above the forests, and would reflect an extra 5% sunlight back into space.

He said: "It might not sound a lot, but that is quite a strong cooling effect. The climate is such a finely balanced system that we think this effect is large enough to reduce temperatures over quite large areas. It gives us another reason to preserve forests."

The research, which will be published in a special edition of the Royal Society journal Philosophical Transactions A, is the first to quantify the cooling effect of the released chemicals. The scientists say the findings "must be included in climate models in order to make realistic predictions".
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Look to nature for the solutions.
Trees could be more important to the Earth's climate than previously thought, according to a new study that reveals forests... more

JanforGore
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11 responses

18 days ago

China pays high environmental and social price for reliance on coal

China's main source of power is so destructive that its social and environmental impact costs £160bn annually, warns a... more

JanforGore
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23 responses

22 days ago

Science teacher swims to protect world's oceans

Next spring, Marblehead resident Christopher Swain will dive into the Atlantic Ocean in Boston and begin an 800-mile swim to... more

JanforGore
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14 responses

28 days ago

John McCain: The Nuclear Option

Building 45 new nuclear plants in this country is insanity and will doom the waterways of this country and put our national security at risk. For a candidate who also talks about fighting the 'war on terror' as well, how could this thought even be entertained in the world we live in? Nuclear energy is not safe, it is not CO2 free, and I am truly getting tired of John McCain talking about what he really knows nothing about. He was on a nuclear submarine that didn't get blown up so that is how he assessed nuclear power is safe? Does he even understand the process of how the uranium is extracted and the toxic pollution it causes to our waterways and land? Does he understand how the toxic waste causes cancer? Does he understand the radioactivity of the waste? The immense amount of water nuclear uses? (Not good in a country now experiencing droughts, especially in the US Southwest) The cost in dollars and in potential lives?

My one message to him and yes, Obama as well who has now flip flopped to say he too engages nuclear is: STOP LYING TO THE AMERICAN PEOPLE. The strides being made in solar, wind, and geothermal are here and now. We could take the money their congressional subsidies give out for their nuclear pipedreams and repower this country! I will make a pledge that should John McCain be corronated I will call the White House every day regarding this issue and 'clean coal.' And I will do the same if it is Obama.

It is unconscienable to me that they could ever want to foist this antiquated unsafe energy source on us just to appease backers and the lobbyists who get the subisidies from Washington Dc. The nuclear option must be out of the question. It is antiquated. It is unsafe. It is toxic. It wastes water. It is expensive. It puts our national security at risk, and will take too much time in light of the reports coming from peer reviewed scientists regarding the current state of our world. Why don't these candidates ever pick up a report instead of a poll to craft their policies? Building 45 new nuclear plants in this country is insanity and will doom the waterways of this country and put our national... more

JanforGore
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68 responses

1 month ago

Life, Love & the Environment

I'm a strong advocate towards restoration, new growth, and an environmentally friendly way of living. I love the... more

Recycle_psycho
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1 response

1 month ago

Justin Timberlake makes golf greener

In an interview for the PGA Tour website, Justin Timberlake revealed how he saved a struggling golf course last year from... more

saverio
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1 month ago

The world has a water shortage, not a food shortage

Most people may drink only two litres of water a day, but they consume about 3,000 if the water that goes into their food is taken into account. The rich gulp down far more, since they tend to eat more meat, which takes far more water to produce than grains. So as the world's population grows and incomes rise, farmers will if they use today's methods need a great deal more water to keep everyone fed: 2,000 more cubic kilometres a year by 2030, according to the International Water Management Institute (IWMI), a research centre, or over a quarter more than they use today. Yet in many farming regions, water is scarce and likely to get scarcer as global warming worsens. The world is facing not so much a food crisis as a water crisis, argues Colin Chartres, IWMI's director-general.

The solution, Mr Chartres and others contend, is more efficient use of water or, as the sloganeers put it,; more crop per drop;. Some 1.2 billion people, about a fifth of the world's population, live in places that are short of water (see map). Farming accounts for roughly 70% of human water consumption. So when water starts to run out, as is happening in northern China, southern Spain and the western United States, among other places, farming tends to offer the best potential for thrift. But governments, whether to win votes or to protect the poor, rarely charge farmers a market price for water. So they are usually more wasteful than other consumers even though the value they create from the water is often less than households or industry would be willing to pay for it.

The pressing need is to make water go further. Antoine Frarot, the head of the water division of Veolia Environnement, a French firm, promotes recycling, whereby city wastewater is treated until it can be used in industry or agriculture. This costs about a third less than desalination, and cuts pollution. He expects his recycling business to quadruple in the next decade. Yet as Mr Frarot himself concedes, there are many even cheaper ways to save water. As much as 70% of water used by farmers never gets to crops, perhaps lost through leaky irrigation channels or by draining into rivers or groundwater. Investment in drip irrigation, or simply repairing the worst leaks, could bring huge savings.

end of excerpt.

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I believe that irrigation holds the solution to a great part of the global water crisis. In many parts of the world sprinkler irrigation is still the most used method of irrigation because it is the most available and least expensive. This method however is very wasteful, and using it in places where pervasive drought is common is not cost effective. In order for us as a species to mitigate the crisis we will surely face regarding water if present behavior persists we will have to change how we do things. Regarding the irrigation of crops it will be how they are irrigated, when they are irrigated based on changing weather patterns, and also in focusing on areas looking towards less water intensive crops in drier areas.

It is unfortunate that the very places where the most water intensive crops are grown such as cotton, rice, and corn (India, China, Africa, and the Southwest US ) are experiencing the most pervasive droughts and desertification now. As population increases towards 9 billion and resources become scarcer, farmers will most certainly have to devise ways of conserving water to get optimal growth and yield from a limited resource.

Through shifting the emphasis on crop varieties grown in these areas if possible and by changing irrigation methods from sprinkler to drip irrigation, trillions of gallons of water could be saved. Also in places where weather patterns are changing and are seeing more rain, rain catchement systems will be invaluable in helping to catch excess rain and use it for irrigation purposes.

more at the link.Most people may drink only two litres of water a day, but they consume about 3,000 if the water that goes into their food is taken... more

JanforGore
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28 responses

1 month ago

Live Earth in India to help boost solar energy

India will host the next Live Earth concert to raise funds for lighting homes with solar energy in places where people do not have access to electricity, organizers said.

The December event will see rocker Jon Bon Jovi and Bollywood's biggest superstar, Amitabh Bachchan share the stage, and is described by organizers as one of the biggest events held in India.

The concert will be held in India's financial capital Mumbai on December 7, Live Earth founder Kevin Wall said in Mumbai.

"(Former Vice President) Al Gore asked me whether we could do this in India, and I said yes," Wall told Reuters in Mumbai. "This is going to be huge."

"Jon Bon Jovi is just one name and Mr Bachchan is just one name, but there will be a lot of international artists," he said.

Wall, who organized a series of concerts last year with the former vice-president, said the event in India would be telecast live in more than 100 countries.

Gore, who spoke via satellite this week during a news conference held in Mumbai on Thursday said India could provide the leadership required to bring about changes in world policies on climate change.

The proceeds from the concert will go to the "Light A Billion Lives campaign," supported by Nobel Prize-winner Rajendra Pachauri, the chairman of the United Nation's Inter-governmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).
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Photo credit:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/26162736@N07/2469499562/
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We can work around the world to mitigate the climate crisis. We must not be myopic in our view or distressed thinking that only one person sitting in a white house in Washington Dc can or will do it. This goes so far beyond just one president, one American election, one year, or one time. This crisis must make us see our similarities as humans on this Earth which is the only home we will have and act together.

While political will in Washington Dc is indeed a great part of that progress, it is not in my view something to place all hopes on. We can and must take it upon ourselves to do all in our power to bring solar energy and other alternate sources to other developing countries like India so that their economic progress will begin on a more sustainable footing, and hopefully that message will then spread around the globe including our own country. This is the good message Live Earth brings and the message we must take upon ourselves to spread to others. We are the ones with the power, and with that power we can do great things when mobilizing for a good and noble cause. India will host the next Live Earth concert to raise funds for lighting homes with solar energy in places where people do not... more

JanforGore
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2 responses

1 month ago

Sunrise Solar introduces solar building brick

Sunrise Solar has announced the introduction of a Solar Light Brick for the integration of solar technologies into traditional... more

JanforGore
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6 responses

2 months ago

What UK jury verdict means for anti-coal, climate activists

Will this verdict set the precedent for climate activists to stand up more vigorously in protesting climate change and the plans of coal and oil companies? I sure hope so. It is time for governments to be made aware that people are onto them. That when they say they want renewable energy we know they mean "clean coal" and nuclear and not TRUE renewable energy because it doesn't bring them $$$$$$$ in their campaign coffers. We are on to their lies and their smoke and mirror tactics to keep to the status quo... and we aren't going to be silent any longer. If scaling a chimney to write a warning will save one life from the effects of climate change or cancer, I will do it myself. This is also an issue of Democracy as well as environment. These plants being built are without the consent of the governed and part of deals made behind closed doors, and therefore, the governed have every right to protest them for the betterment of the whole, their families, and this planet. For these companies to continue to build coal plants knowing what they do to our health and our environment knowing there are cleaner, safer, better ways is simply willful negligence.

Photo credit:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/8068270@N04/2414246369/

From the article:

The Maidstone verdict has changed all that and could prove a turning point both for the protest movement and industrial policy. It gave the clear political message that 12 people with - one must assume - no great scientific knowledge, had listened to the evidence of one of the best scientists in the world and concluded that climate change is now so serious and so urgent an issue that it is legally justifiable for people to invade a power station and do £30,000 worth of damage.

Out of the blue, the environmentalists say, the legitimacy of the government to pursue an expanding coal policy has been undermined and it may have become impossible for E.ON, the German owners of Kingsnorth, to go ahead with a new plant without fitting a £500m carbon capture and storage plant to collect and dispose of the greenhouse gases.

What is particularly galling for the backers of coal-fired power stations is that, because of the amount of damage alleged to have been done at Kingsnorth, the case went to a jury rather than a magistrate. The crown prosecution service and many corporations know that campaigners who challenge the law by non-violent action are being regularly acquitted by juries. In the past decade, prosecutions of protesters against GM crops, incinerators, new roads and nuclear, chemical and arms trade companies have all collapsed after defendants argued that they had acted according to their consciences and that they were trying to prevent a greater crime. Greenpeace itself has a four-nil record against the crown using the same defence and was widely known to be seeking a jury trial to present complex arguments about coal and climate change.

"They were pretty confident that a jury would listen to them more than the government," said one lawyer yesterday. "It gives them a platform. I doubt that we will see another climate change jury trial for many years."

"We are seeing a pattern emerging. The public is increasingly speaking through the courts," says Martyn Day, a partner with Leigh Day solicitors, which specialises in environmental cases. "These cases are a good guide to public mood and politicians should take close heed of them. It shows that society is greatly concerned about what is happening with the environment and that it is suspicious of government and business when they say they are acting responsibly.

"We're looking at a society which is far more in tune with the environment than in the past. Politicians and companies have not understood that most people now understand the issues. There's a feeling that government and the authorities have not been paying sufficient heed, and that the courts are righting the balance," he said.

Will this verdict set the precedent for climate activists to stand up more vigorously in protesting climate change and the plans... more

JanforGore
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21 responses

2 months ago

What Can You Do in 35 Seconds?

Here in my house, acoustic issues are life threatening events, a trespass and therefore a crime. When the legislative made... more

stopnoise
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12 responses

2 months ago

A water fight in Maine

These metal fingers are the source of a fierce debate that has gripped this small town and others across Maine, forcing residents to choose between Poland Spring - a company with a century-old history in the state - and their newfound environmental and social sensibilities.

For more than a hundred years, the company has drawn waters from Maine springs and marketed it to the world as just possibly "the best tasting water on earth." But now McMahon and others are part of a growing movement raising questions about the homegrown company's corporate parents - Nestlé Waters North America purchased it in 1992 - and the very concept of bottled water, which uses plastic and oil to deliver a product that many can get from their faucet.

As the company seeks to tap new springs, a number of towns have begun to push back against locating water-extraction sites on their land, forcing this quintessentially Maine company to consider the once unthinkable: looking to other states for its water.

"We're a Maine company," said Mark Dubois, Poland Spring's natural resource director. But if the industry continues to grow, he said, the company is going to need more water.

"We might have to force our hand," he said.

Later this month, Shapleigh residents will decide whether to put a moratorium on water pumping, which would freeze Poland Spring's plans to test the town's water. In Ogunquit, selectmen are considering a citizen petition they received in opposition to water extraction. Nearby Wells residents are set to vote in November on a 180-day moratorium, much like the one in Shapleigh, while they prepare an ordinance that would set ground rules for pumping.

But the issue is greater than extraction alone. Poland Spring, the nation's third-leading brand of bottled water, after Coca-Cola Co. and PepsiCo, is facing mounting pressure on other fronts.

Take Back the Tap, a national organization that encourages people to eschew bottled water, recently launched a campaign in Portland.

Activists in Kennebunk are boycotting Poland Spring in protest against Nestlé, after the company tried to purchase water from the local water district for bottling. At a war protest in early August, organizer Jamilla El-Shafei asked participants not to bring Poland Spring water.

"There is definitely a movement afoot," El-Shafei said. "They're trying to corporatize and commodify water. . . . Water should be in the public trust."

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Nestle' like other multinational companies doesn't care one whit for the citizens of these towns. All they care about is profit. They place their pipes in the ground that does not belong to them and suck the lifeblood out of it to make their wallets fatter. It is great to see residents of these towns standing up to them as they think because they are corporations their size entitles them to anything they can buy off. I am sure the vote to take place there will be close, and actually, I am wondering who they may be applying pressure to to allow Nestle' to win this vote. Of course, if they are actually frozen out of Maine there are other states they will target. And people will have to stand up to them anywhere they go in this country. We can no longer afford to give our precious water away to hungry greedy companies considering that water is becoming more precious to us in many areas of this country due to drought and waste and the fact that it is a public trust not a private commodity.These metal fingers are the source of a fierce debate that has gripped this small town and others across Maine, forcing residents... more

JanforGore
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2 months ago

Want to capture carbon? Protect old growth forests

Forest scientists have come to a surprising conclusion regarding old growth forests and their majestic, mature trees: They're not just relaxing in their arboreal old age, but are still actively taking in carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. The new study suggests that protecting old growth forests may be just as important as planting new trees in efforts to reduce carbon dioxide levels and fight global warming.

Previously, researchers believed that only young, fast-growing trees absorbed enough carbon dioxide to be considered significant carbon sinks. Old, crowded forests don't allow for much new growth: The only new growth occurred in the small spaces that opened up when large old trees died and decomposed, releasing their accumulated carbon. The forests at large were therefore considered to be carbon neutral, and accounted as such in climate models [Nature News]. But the new study shows that the slow but continuous growth of old trees means that they continue to suck up more carbon than they release.

For the study, published in the journal Nature, researchers examined over 500 studies of forests around the world. They calculated that primary forests in Canada, Russia and Alaska alone absorb about 1.3 gigatonnes of carbon per year, about ten percent of the net global carbon exchange between the ecosystem and the atmosphere. These forests need to be protected not just because they help to absorb carbon dioxide, but also because destroying them could release huge stores of greenhouse gases. Old-growth forests accumulate carbon for centuries and contain large quantities of it, [lead researcher Sebastiaan] Luyssaert said. If these pools of CO2 are disturbed, much of this CO2 will move back into the atmosphere, he added [AFP].

The new findings suggest that old forests should be included in any policies intended to mitigate global warming. Study co-author Beverly Law says that the findings argue for including credits for preserving old growth forests in the Kyoto Protocol and cap-and-trade schemes for controlling greenhouse gas emissions blamed for global warming [AP].
Forest scientists have come to a surprising conclusion regarding old growth forests and their majestic, mature trees: They're... more

JanforGore
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2 months ago

Iraq seeks World Heritage status for restored marshlands

The United Nations on Friday launched a bid to designate Iraq's famed marshlands, which were ravaged by Saddam Hussein, a World Heritage site after a four-year restoration project.

The swampy southern region is believed by some to be the inspiration for the biblical Garden of Eden. Saddam drained the marshlands after the end of the first Gulf War to punish Iraq's Shiite majority for an uprising.

The UN Environment Programme (UNEP) wrapped up a four-year project funded by Japan and Italy that restored more than half of the marshlands. Iraqi authorities took over plans for further rehabilitation.

Attending a final meeting on the project in Kyoto, Japan, UNEP chief Achim Steiner said the agency would work with UNESCO, the UN's cultural body, to list the marshlands as a World Heritage site.

Narmin Othman, Iraq's environment minister, said her government also planned to make the marshlands a national park, according to a UNEP statement.

"Because of what Saddam Hussein did, the marshlands were in danger of completely disappearing, as was the centuries-old culture of the Marsh Arabs," Othman said, according to the statement.

"It had become an ecological but also a human tragedy," she said.

Italy has agreed to fund the effort to list the marshlands as a World Heritage site, which would entail drafting plans to ensure the area's preservation, UNEP spokesman Nick Nuttall said.

The last available satellite images showed that around 58 percent of the marshlands had been restored.

The marshlands stretched across some 20,000 square kilometres (7,700 square miles) in the 1970s. Most residents are Shiite Muslims, who form the majority in Iraq but were marginalised until the US-led invasion overthrew Saddam in 2003

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Declaring the marshlands of Mesopotamia a World Heritage site will allow them to be preserved for future generations.This is truly remarkable in that only a couple of years ago it did not look good for the marshlands to be restored. However, with Iraq in the throse of a severe drought with Iraq also concerned over dams being built in Turkey that will divert water from the Tigris and Euphatres rivers, we will have to see if the UN can make this happen. For me on the one hand it is wonderful because it will protect a diversified ecosystem and also bring a truly human and environmental tragedy full circle. On the other hand, having people unable to farm due to drought and diversion of water from dams makes it a hard decision to make on a moral level. But perhaps it would be better to designate it as a World Heritage site to keep it as part of the rich history of Iraq and in the hands of Iraq, rather than other interests looking to loot it for its diversity and resources. It will be good to see the Iraqi people have something of beauty and diversity to take pride in amongst the turmoil of these past years.The United Nations on Friday launched a bid to designate Iraq's famed marshlands, which were ravaged by Saddam Hussein, a... more