Hoover Dam turbines adapted to cope with historic drought

By James Cartledge The US Bureau of Reclamation has awarded a $3.4 million contract to Andritz Hydro Corporation to upgrade generating facilities at the Hoover Dam. Andritz Hydro, which is based in Charlotte, North Carolina, will design and manufacture a new “wide head” turbine runner for the Number Eight generating unit at the power plant […]

Graph of the Day: Canada Winter Temperature Departures, 1948-2010

The temperature trend graph shows that winter temperatures have remained at or above normal since 1997. The red dashed line indicates winter temperatures have warmed over the last 63 years by 2.5°C. The winter season shows the greatest warming of any season, but all seasons have shown a warming trend since 1948. Climate Trends and […]

One coral reef dies every other day – Ocean dead zones proliferate

  Posted: 12:13 am PDT April 19, 2010Updated: 12:18 am PDT April 19, 2010 OAKLAND, Calif. — Many of us see planet earth as durable and powerful, but human senses fail to recognize what a surge of new science now confirms: Rapid and serious damage from greenhouse gases, including vast dead zones, now appearing off […]

Greenland culture and climate on the edge

By Fiona Harvey Published: October 30 2009 13:33 | Last updated: October 30 2009 13:33 Disko Bay lay glinting with ice on the bright afternoon we sailed in. Bergs as big as buses floated among others the size of houses. But houses from another world – these were castles and fairy grottoes, crazy monumental statues […]

Lush vegetation brings locusts to Eastern Australia

For central Australia, the late summer and early fall of 2010 was eventful, starting with rain, and leading to floods, plants, and finally insects. Between the end of February and early March, unusually heavy rain fell across Australia’s dry interior. Parts of central Australia received more rain in 11 days than they usually do in […]

Britain's wildlife – birds, mammals, and insects under threat

By David Harrison Published: 9:00PM BST 17 Apr 201 It has been called the “Domesday book of British wildlife” – a new publication, compiled by 40 of Britain’s leading scientists, provides a complete picture of the state of the country’s wild animals and plants. The book, called Silent Summer, makes for some grim reading. Farmland […]

20 percent of UK plant species are endangered — UK loses one species of wild plant every two years

Stinging nettles have become the most common plants in the British countryside, while more delicate flowers like harebells and orchids are struggling to survive, according to a survey. By Louise Gray, Environment CorrespondentPublished: 8:00AM BST 17 Apr 2010 The annual survey of wild flowers by the charity Plantlife found plants that can tolerate high levels […]

EU ban and lack of ice end Canada seal slaughter

(AFP) A lack of sea ice in one of the warmest Canadian winters on record and a European boycott have ruined what was to be a banner seal hunt off Canada’s Atlantic coast this month. Canada’s Fisheries Minister Gail Shea last month increased by 50,000 the allowable catch of harp seals this season to 330,000, […]

South Africa turns to desalination during worst drought in 150 years

  Reporting by Wendell Roelf; Editing by Elizabeth Fullerton (Reuters) – South Africa will increasingly use desalinated seawater to meet growing demand for drinking water in coastal towns facing the worst drought in 150 years, the country’s water minister said Thursday. South Africa is a water-scarce country with an average rainfall of 450 millimeters — […]

Graph of the Day: Projected Sea-Level Rise, 1990-2100

Projection of sea-level rise from 1990 to 2100, based on IPCC temperature projections for three different emission scenarios (labeled on right, see Projections of Future Sea Level for explanation of uncertainty ranges). The sea-level range projected in the IPCC AR4 (2) for these scenarios is shown for comparison in the bars on the bottom right. […]

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