Graph of the Day: U.S. children in extreme poverty, 2004-2013

22 July 2015 (Desdemona Despair) – The Kids Count project keeps track of lots of data relating to the health and well-being of children in the United States. Des whipped up this graph in no time using the graphing tool at the Kids Count Data Center. The percentage of children in extreme poverty was level […]

Recession rather than shale gas caused US carbon cuts: study – ‘Substitution of gas for coal has had a relatively minor role’

By Simon Evans21 July 2015 (Carbon Brief) – It is a truth almost universally acknowledged that the shale gas revolution has led to a fall in US emissions. But what if that wasn’t true? New research published in Nature Communications suggests it was the global financial crisis, not fracking, that has done most to reduce […]

Drought-stricken California is burning, flooding at the same time – ‘Really, this is super historic’

By Lindsey Bever 20 July 2015 (Washington Post) – Amid California’s historic drought, an even rarer weekend downpour that calmed wildfires also washed away a 30-foot bridge that carries commuters to Arizona. An elevated area on Interstate 10 collapsed early Sunday evening near Southeastern California’s Desert Center, leaving a pickup truck trapped underneath. Firefighters launched […]

Are water shortages the biggest threat to the Middle East? “Doha has just three days’ supply”

By Karim Elgendy16 July 2015 (City Metric) – Those who visit the Middle East and North Africa from more temperate climates are often struck with how hot and dry the region is, and how scarce its rainfall. Some wonder why cities became established here, and how they continue to exist despite the lack of renewable […]

Wildfires rage across Siberia as hot weather, storms, and carelessness combine

By Antonina Koshcheeva and Derek Lambie23 June 2015 (The Siberian Times) – Hot weather, thunderstorms, and carelessness have brought fresh wildfires to parts of Siberia just months after deadly blazes killed more than 30 people. Sixteen districts of the Republic of Buryatia have been affected, including one military forestry, two national parks and the Baikal […]

Study finds climate change is increasing length of wildfire seasons across globe – ‘Climate change isn’t a future projection, it actually started around 1980’

By David Erickson19 July 2015 MISSOULA (Independent Record) – The length of wildfire seasons across the globe and the burnable areas of Earth’s surface have drastically increased in the past three decades due to climate change, according to a groundbreaking new study supported by years of research from the U.S. Forest Service’s Missoula Fire Sciences […]

Scientist warns of ‘environmental disaster’ in Lake Baikal due to ‘irreversible’ pollution – ‘The coast has never looked like this before’

By Olga Gertcyk14 July 2015 (The Siberian Times) – Humans are having a dire impact on the lake, which Russians have long boasted as one of the cleanest – if not the cleanest – on the planet, says expert  Dr Oleg Timoshkin, researcher from the Limnology Institute of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy […]

California drought leads to neighborhood turf battles – ‘Basically they’re asking me to put in lawn so I could let it die’

BRENTWOOD, 18 July 2015 (CBS SF) – Ed Pereira never thought that trying to save water at his Brentwood home would be so trying. Last month, he decided to take out his front lawn and put in drought-tolerant landscaping. But Ed says his homeowners association isn’t making it easy. The HOA [homeowners’ association] rejected his […]

California drought: Measuring life in gallons – ‘Water, water, water, water. I never thought about it before. Now I don’t think about anything else.’

By Eli Saslow20 July 2015 PORTERVILLE, California (Washington Post) – Their two peach trees had turned brittle in the heat, their neighborhood pond had vanished into cracked dirt and now their stainless-steel faucet was spitting out hot air. “That’s it. We’re dry,” Miguel Gamboa said during the second week of July, and so he went […]

Unrestrained rubber expansion wreaking havoc on forests – ‘I’ve personally seen vast swaths of native forest being converted into rubber plantations in southern China, Malaysia, and Cambodia’

By Shreya Dasgupta20 July 2015 (mongabay.com) – Your car tires may be treading over forests and wildlife in Southeast Asia. As the global demand for tires soars, so does the demand for natural rubber sourced from Hevea brasiliensis, the para-rubber tree. This rising demand is driving a rapid expansion of rubber plantations into biodiversity-rich forests […]

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