Retreat of Andean glaciers foretells global water woes

Bolivia accounts for a tiny fraction of global greenhouse gas emissions. But it will soon be paying a disproportionately high price for a major consequence of global warming: the rapid loss of glaciers and a subsequent decline in vital water supplies. By Carolyn Kormann Earlier this year, the World Bank released yet another in a […]

Plastic found in 1/3 of endangered leatherback turtles

  “Leatherback turtles are ancient creatures with a modern problem: Plastic.” A new study has looked at “necropsy reports of more than 400 leatherback” turtles and found that about 1/3 of them had plastic in their digestive system. They’re not saying it was the immediate cause of death, but as Mike James, a marine biologist […]

Dubai beaches plagued by red tide, dead fish

Surely this has nothing to do with the raw sewage that Dubai is pumping into the Gulf. Beaches in the Gulf tourism hub of Dubai have been plagued by a bloom of algae known as the "red tide" that has killed fish and is potentially harmful to humans, a municipality official said on Tuesday. "This […]

Endangered salmon killed by water diversion to crops

By GLENDA ANDERSON Coho salmon migrating toward the ocean this week were killed by a sudden water-level drop in a Russian River tributary near Healdsburg, the result of efforts to protect crops from frost, officials said. The deaths of the endangered salmon add urgency to a multi-agency task force meeting, scheduled Tuesday in Sacramento, aimed […]

Dolphins near Miami have high toxin loads

The Miami dolphins need your help. No, not Bill Parcels and the boys, but the real Miami dolphins. Miami’s iconic wild dolphins, especially those who live near downtown Miami, are chock full of toxins, according to a new government study. Scientists say they are so full of chemicals that they worry about their long-term survival, […]

US unemployment claims at record 5.84 million

From Calculated Risk: The DOL reports on weekly unemployment insurance claims: In the week ending April 4, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 654,000, a decrease of 20,000 from the previous week’s revised figure of 674,000. The 4-week moving average was 657,250, a decrease of 750 from the previous week’s revised average […]

Record low salmon return to Sacramento River, fishing season called off

By JASON DEAREN, Associated Press Writer (04-08) 17:35 PDT Millbrae, Calif. (AP) — California’s commercial chinook salmon fishing season will be called off again after a record low number of the fish returned to the Sacramento River to spawn last year, federal fisheries managers announced Wednesday. The decision by the Pacific Fishery Management Council will […]

Goodbye maple syrup: climate change pushing sugar maple out of Northeast U.S.

Having lived in the northeastern U.S. for some time before moving to Quebec, certainly some of the best things in these parts include colourful fall foliage and tons of locally-harvested maple syrup. Sadly, thanks to increasingly ‘weird’ and warming weather, the long-standing tradition and $65 million business of “maple sugaring” in the northeastern U.S. is […]

Graph of the Day II: Bay Area Shadow Inventory

Carolyn Said, Chronicle Staff Writer A vast “shadow inventory” of foreclosed homes that banks are holding off the market could wreak havoc with the already battered real estate sector, industry observers say. Lenders nationwide are sitting on hundreds of thousands of foreclosed homes that they have not resold or listed for sale, according to numerous […]

Graph of the Day: UK Recession Comparison

The UK economy could decline for another year and take a further two years to recover, according to a respected think tank. A National Institute of Economic and Social Research study says the current economic decline is “very similar” to the slowdown at the start of the 1980s. … Their forecast is consistent with what […]

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