13 June 2013 (Daily Telegraph) – Snapshots of history documenting abandoned America and the decline of a superpower. Abandoned America Technorati Tags: North America,financial collapse,poverty,religion
By Michael Marshall 13 June 2013 (New Scientist) – Between a quarter and a half of all birds, along with around a third of amphibians and a quarter of corals, are highly vulnerable to climate change. These findings have emerged from the most comprehensive assessment to date of the impact of global warming on life. […]
By FERNANDA SANTOS16 June 2013 PHOENIX (The New York Times) – The hiss of sprinklers serenades improbably green neighborhoods early in the morning and late at night, the moisture guarding against the oppressive heat. This is the time of year when temperatures soar, water consumption spikes and water bills skyrocket in this city, particularly for […]
By Oliver Milman 16 June 2013 (The Guardian) – Floods, bushfires, and this year’s scorching summer heatwave have raised awareness of the dangers of climate change, but an “infantile” debate over the validity of the science has cost Australia precious time, according to a key Climate Commission expert. The commission, an independent body that advises […]
By Bryan Walsh17 June 2013 (TIME) – While the national government remains slow to deal with climate change, many cities have been moving ahead. Why the difference? Well, cities tend to be more homogenous politically, which makes any kind of decisive action easier to push through. But the real reason is that city managers know […]
By Chris Isidore14 June 2013 (CNNMoney) – Detroit will immediately stop payments on about $2 billion in debt, the city’s emergency manager announced Friday, an effort to conserve cash. The manager, Kevyn Orr, also said Detroit will need to cut pay and pension and health benefits for city workers. Debt holders are likely to get […]
By Zoltan Dujisin15 June 2013 BUDAPEST (IPS) – Record floods in Central and Eastern Europe have highlighted some of the challenges of climate change for the continent, as well as the floods’ potential to spur populist politics. An extraordinarily long winter followed by weeks of intense rains has saturated soils and caused large rivers, such […]
By GARANCE BURKE 16 June 2013 SAN FRANCISCO (Associated Press) – The latest domestic energy boom is sweeping through some of the nation’s driest pockets, drawing millions of gallons of water to unlock oil and gas reserves from beneath the Earth’s surface. Hydraulic fracturing, or the drilling technique commonly known as fracking, has been used […]
Cumulative groundwater depletion in the United States and major aquifer systems or categories, 1900 through 2008. Graphic: USGS / Konikow, 2011 In addition to widely recognized adverse environmental effects of groundwater depletion, the depletion also impacts communities dependent on groundwater resources in that the continuation of depletion at observed rates makes the water supply unsustainable […]
By Tom Dinham13 June 2013 (Reuters) – Residents of the German city of Passau survey the damage caused by the worst flooding seen in central Europe since 2002. Their sodden belongings lining the streets, many local business owners complained they had been unable to get insurance due to previous floods. “We asked the landlord back […]