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Enormous Fire Threatens Water Supply for San Francisco and Parts of East Bay

Mon, 2013-08-26 17:10 — Kathy Gilbeaux

                                                 (TO ENLARGE - CLICK ON MAP IMAGE BELOW)

       

Hetch Hetchy Aqueduct

eastbayexpress.com - by Robert Gammon - August 23, 2013

The massive Rim Fire is closing in on Hetch Hetchy Reservoir in Yosemite National Park and is threatening the main water supply for the City of San Francisco and numerous other Bay Area communities. As of this morning, the fast-moving blaze was about 2.5 miles from Hetch Hetchy, according to a map created by the US Forest Service. If the enormous fire reaches the tinder-dry forests surrounding the reservoir, it could pollute the freshwater with huge amounts of ash. That’s bad news for San Franciscans and other communities that depend on Hetch Hetchy because the reservoir is not equipped with a water-filtration system.

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NOAA - State of the Climate in 2012

Wed, 2013-08-07 17:53 — Kathy Gilbeaux

noaa.gov - August 2013

CLICK HERE - Highlights

Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society (BAMS)
CLICK HERE - State of the Climate in 2012

CLICK HERE - State of the Climate in 2012
(258 page .PDF report)

2012 was one of the 10 warmest years on record globally

The end of weak La Niña, unprecedented Arctic warmth influenced 2012 climate conditions

August 6, 2013

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H7N9 Bird Flu in China Likely Spread Between People, Researchers Find

Tue, 2013-08-06 09:30 — Kathy Gilbeaux

 

submitted by Luis Kun

bmj.com - nbcnews.com - reuters - by Kate Kelland
August 6, 2013

CLICK HERE - BMJ - Research - Probable person to person transmission of novel avian influenza A (H7N9) virus in Eastern China, 2013: epidemiological investigation

LONDON - The first scientific analysis of probable human-to-human transmission of a deadly new strain of bird flu that emerged in China this year gives the strongest evidence yet that the H7N9 virus can pass between people, scientists said on Wednesday.

Research published in the British Medical Journal (BMJ) analyzing a family cluster of cases of H7N9 infection in eastern China found it was very likely the virus "transmitted directly from the index patient (a 60-year-old man) to his daughter."

Experts commenting on the research said while it did not necessarily mean H7N9 is any closer to becoming the next flu pandemic, "it does provide a timely reminder of the need to remain extremely vigilant."

(NBC - READ COMPLETE ARTICLE)

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Environmental Reporting Guidelines: Including Mandatory Greenhouse Gas Emissions Reporting Guidance

Wed, 2013-07-31 22:09 — Kathy Gilbeaux

submitted by Albert Gomez

gov.uk - June 12, 2013

This document is designed to help companies in complying with the greenhouse gas (GHG) reporting regulation, a requirement from the Climate Change Act 2008; and all organisations with voluntary reporting on a range of environmental matters, including voluntary GHG reporting and through the use of key performance indicators (KPIs).

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/environmental-reporting-guidelines-including-mandatory-greenhouse-gas-emissions-reporting-guidance

Environmental Reporting Guidelines: Including Mandatory Greenhouse Gas Emissions Reporting Guidance

Ref: PB13944
PDF, 598KB, 135 pages

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/206392/pb13944-env-reporting-guidance.pdf

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World Solar Power Topped 100,000 Megawatts in 2012

Wed, 2013-07-31 18:44 — Kathy Gilbeaux

                            

earth-policy.org - by J. Matthew Roney - July 31, 2013

The world installed 31,100 megawatts of solar photovoltaics (PV) in 2012—an all-time annual high that pushed global PV capacity above 100,000 megawatts. There is now enough PV operating to meet the household electricity needs of nearly 70 million people at the European level of use. While PV production has become increasingly concentrated in one country—China—the number of countries installing PV is growing rapidly.

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Due to Global Warming, End Is Virtually Certain for NYC, Boston, Miami, Holland

Tue, 2013-07-23 16:30 — Kathy Gilbeaux

huffingtonpost.com - by Eric Zuesse - July 20, 2013

A new article in the prestigious Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), is headlined "The Multimillennial Sea-Level Commitment of Global Warming," and it reports that because of carbon emissions that are virtually certain, on the basis of the lack of policy-response to global warming thus far, sea levels are now set to rise anywhere from around 8 inches to 7 feet within 100 years, and around 5 yards to 10 yards within 2,000 years. The projections are clearer (within a narrower range) for the longer time-frame than for the shorter one. That's because even if the short-term consequences of heat-rise turn out to be relatively slight, the longer-term consequences are clearer, and will be considerably larger, as delayed impacts kick in.

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PNAS - The multimillennial sea-level commitment of global warming
http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2013/07/10/1219414110

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Geofeedia - Pioneering Location-Based Social Media Monitoring

Sun, 2013-07-14 22:11 — Kathy Gilbeaux

geofeedia.com

Location-based streaming, search, monitoring, and analytics.

Create live, location-based social media streams, or “Geofeeds”. Once you create a Geofeed – by simply entering an address or drawing a boundary around a location on a map – you can search, monitor and analyze all social media activity from that location.

http://corp.geofeedia.com/company/how-it-works/

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Scientists Predicted A Decade Ago Arctic Ice Loss Would Worsen Western Droughts. Is That Happening Already?

Thu, 2013-07-04 22:57 — Kathy Gilbeaux

thinkprogress.org - by Joe Romm - June 30, 2013

(SEE LINKS BELOW FOR 2004 STUDY, 2005 STUDY, AND 2013 CRYOSAT ARTICLE)

Scientists predicted a decade ago that Arctic ice loss would bring on worse western droughts. Arctic ice loss has been much faster than the researchers — and indeed all climate modelers — expected (see “CryoSat-2 Confirms Sea Ice Volume Has Collapsed“).

It just so happens that the western U.S. is in the grip of a brutal, record-breaking drought. Is this just an amazing coincidence — or were the scientists right and what would that mean for the future? I ask the authors.

(READ COMPLETE ARTICLE)

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Norway, Canada, the United States and the Tar Sands

Fri, 2013-06-07 00:32 — Maeryn Obley

It is crunch time on tar sands. (photo: Greenpeace)

Image: It is crunch time on tar sands. (photo: Greenpeace)

readersupportednews.org - May 11th, 2013 - Dr. James Hansen

Today 36 Norwegian organizations sent an open letter to Prime Minister Stoltenberg expressing opposition to development of Canadian tar sands by Statoil (the Norwegian state is majority shareholder of Statoil). Signatories include not only environmental organizations, but a broad public spectrum, including, appropriately, many youth organizations. It is encouraging that Norwegian youth press their government to stop supporting tar sands development, given the fact that Norway saves much of its oil earnings for future generations and given the fact that Norway is not likely among the nations that will suffer most from climate change.

(VIEW COMPLETE ARTICLE)

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A Majority on Earth Will Soon Face Severe, Self-Inflicted Water Shortage: Scientists

Tue, 2013-05-28 16:03 — Kathy Gilbeaux

submitted by Samuel Bendett

(SEE LINKS TO CONFERENCE AND DECLARATION BELOW)

homelandsecuritynewswire.com - May 28, 2013

A conference of 500 leading water scientists from around the world, held last week in Bonn, issued a stark warning that, without major reforms, “in the short span of one or two generations, the majority of the nine billion people on Earth will be living under the handicap of severe pressure on fresh water, an absolutely essential natural resource for which there is no substitute. This handicap will be self-inflicted and is, we believe, entirely avoidable.”

The scientists pointed to chronic underlying problems led by mismanagement, and offered a prescription to policy makers in a 1,000-word declaration issued at the end of a 4-day meeting in Bonn, Germany. The conference, Water in the Anthropocene, was organized by the Global Water System Project (GWSP).

(READ COMPLETE ARTICLE)

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