2 reports on Athabasca oil sands paint a dire picture

By JOHN M. BRODER17 January 2013 (The New York Times) – Opponents of the Keystone XL pipeline and the heavy Canadian crude oil that it would carry released two reports on Thursday asserting that the environmental impacts of the project are worse than previously estimated, and urged the Obama administration to veto it. One report, […]

China: One-child policy is here to stay

By Le Li and Alastair Jamieson16 January 2013 BEIJING (NBC News) – China has quelled speculation its controversial “one-child” policy is to be scrapped, instead announcing Wednesday that family planning laws to curb the birth rate will remain. “The policy should be a long-term one and its primary goal is to keep a low birthrate,” […]

Center for American Progress: Why we now oppose drilling in the Arctic

By Carol Browner and John Podesta 17 January 2013 The Arctic Ocean is subject to some of the most volatile weather patterns on the planet. Geologists believe it also contains vast undersea oil and gas reserves. Last year, the Arctic’s ice cover shrank to the lowest levels in recorded history and, not coincidentally, Royal Dutch […]

Wild weather: Extreme is the new normal

18 January 2013 (New Scientist) – All eyes have been on Australia in recent weeks as a blistering heatwave triggered huge wildfires. The result has been a slew of amazing stories, including a family escaping by jumping into the sea and meteorologists adding new colours to heat maps. But Australia’s fires are just the most […]

Sydney endures hottest day ever recorded – Emergency services council warns government of worse to come

By Ilya Gridneff, Tom Arup, and Jacob Saulwick19 January 2013 SYDNEY, Australia (SMH) – Sydney endured its hottest ever day on Friday, with records smashed across the city and thousands of people suffering from the heat. The mercury topped 45.8 at Sydney’s Observatory Hill at 2.55pm, breaking the previous record set in 1939 by half […]

No relief in sight for drought-stricken Plains – U.S. declares Wheat Belt a natural disaster area

By Sam Nelson, with additional reporting by Carey Gillam in Kansas City; Editing by Dale Hudson18 January 2013 CHICAGO (Reuters) – Dry weather should continue through at least the end of January in the drought-stricken U.S. Plains and a blast of Arctic cold air in the Midwest early next week poses a threat to unprotected […]

Dietary shifts driving up phosphorus use – World phosphorus footprint increased 38 percent since 1960s

Contact: Chris Chipello  Organization: Media Relations OfficeOffice Phone: 514-398-4201   Mobile Phone: 514-717-4201  17 January 2013 (mcgill.ca) – Dietary changes since the early 1960s have fueled a sharp increase in the amount of mined phosphorus used to produce the food consumed by the average person over the course of a year, according to a new study […]

Gillard visits charred ‘moonscape’ of Coonabarabran – ‘Flames at the height of the observatory tower – it was an amazing firestorm’

By Tim Barlass17 January 2013 Prime Minister Julia Gillard flew into Coonabarabran on Thursday to witness first-hand the devastating effects of the bushfire that claimed at least 49 homes. At a press conference, the Prime Minister announced financial support for those who had lost homes or been evacuated. Ms Gillard drove through the Timor Road […]

Wit’s End: The withering of all woods is drawing near

And it may well be that that time is drawing near at last.  For if Sauron of old destroyed the gardens, the Enemy today seems likely to wither all the woods. ~ Treebeard, Chapter 4, The Twin Towers January 2012, Maidstone, England By Gail Zawacki13 January 2013 I don’t think of myself as lacking imagination, […]

Fewer than 10 environment reporters left at top 5 U.S. newspapers

By Katherine Bagley17 January 2013 (InsideClimate News) – The news last week that the New York Times is dismantling its environment desk and reassigning the reporters throughout the newsroom provoked an outpouring of reaction, much of it suggesting that now isn’t the time to take risks that could diminish the coverage of climate change. In […]

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