Climate censorship gains steam in Republican-controlled states – ‘This is a situation that George Orwell would have recognized’

By Katherine Bagley16 April 2015 (Tribune News Service) – While plenty of people found humor in the recent news that officials in Florida and Wisconsin are censoring state workers’ ability to talk about, much less work on, climate change, other states are not necessarily laughing. In fact, several political and environmental experts told InsideClimate News […]

Siberia wildfires arrive early after warmest winter in recorded history – 137 forest fires burn across 152,000 hectares – Putin pledges $100 million in aid

[“The winter of 2014-2015 was the warmest on record in Russia, may have been warmest winter ever recorded in Northern Hemisphere” –Des] 16 April 2015 (The Moscow Times) – President Vladimir Putin said Thursday that the federal government would send at least 5 billion rubles ($100 million) to the southern Siberian republic of Khakasia, ravaged […]

Why this new study on Arctic permafrost is so scary – ‘You can’t re-freeze the permafrost’

[Is this what’s causing the explosive craters we’ve seen recently in Siberia? –Des] By Emily Atkin 8 April 2015 (Climate Progress) – Scientists might have to change their projected timelines for when Greenland’s permafrost will completely melt due to man-made climate change, now that new research from Denmark has shown it could be thawing faster […]

A guide to California’s water crisis – and why it’s so hard to fix

By Brad Plumer 10 April 2015 (Vox) – California saw this drought coming. Even if people in the state didn’t know it would be this bad — now the worst in recorded history — they’ve known that dry years are inevitable and had all sorts of ideas for how to deal with them. But for […]

Pacific sardine industry shutdown as species collapses – ‘The population isn’t replacing itself’

By Kelly House10 April 2015 (The Oregonian) – Updated at 6:55 p.m. on 13 April 2015: The council has canceled the upcoming season. Pacific coast sardines are facing a population collapse so severe that Oregon’s multimillion-dollar sardine industry almost certainly will be shut down this summer. Anticipating fishermen will pursue anchovies instead, ocean conservationists are […]

Graph of the Day: Major threats to bees in Europe

19 March 2015 (IUCN) – With the majority (56.7%) of European bee species being listed as Data Deficient, any overview of the threats to the continental apifauna will necessarily be incomplete. However, for conservation and management of bee diversity to be undertaken effectively, it is critical to have a clear understanding of taxonomy and ecology […]

California regulators urge 35 percent reduction in water use for some areas – ‘The gentle nudge is no longer sufficient’

By Matt Stevens, Taylor Goldenstein, and Chris Megerian8 April 2015 SACRAMENTO, California (Los Angeles Times) – In an aggressive push to reduce water usage statewide, California regulators are proposing that the biggest urban water users cut consumption by as much as 35 percent over the next year. The State Water Resources Control Board’s plan, unveiled […]

Ivory and saving elephants: how corruption is undermining every aspect of conservation

By Bob Smith9 April 2015 (The Conversation) – African elephants are in serious danger. The magnificent creatures are found in 37 countries – and most of these populations are threatened by poaching. The problem is that protecting elephants isn’t cheap and conservationists struggle to fund their work. In Africa, budgets are tight and governments have […]

For some Wisconsin state workers, ‘climate change’ isn’t something you can talk about

  By Eric Roston8 April 2015 (Bloomberg) – Discussing climate change is out of bounds for workers at a state agency in Wisconsin. So is any work related to climate change—even responding to e-mails about the topic. A vote on Tuesday by Wisconsin’s Board of Commissioners of Public Lands, a three-member panel overseeing an agency […]

Radiation measured at deadly 9.7 sieverts in Fukushima reactor, enough to kill a human within an hour

13 April 2015 (Japan Times) – Tokyo Electric Power Co. said Monday that radiation in the primary containment vessel of the No. 1 reactor of the Fukushima No. 1 power station gets as high as 9.7 sieverts per hour — enough to kill a human within an hour. The radiation levels at six locations in […]

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