By Dimitra DeFotis4 September 2015 (Barron’s) – Moody’s Investors Service said in a note this week that the credit rating of Sao Paulo, Brazil’s drought-starved water utility Companhia de Saneamento Basico do Estado de São Paulo or Sabesp (SBS) is at risk. As the Brazilian real stumbles lower against the dollar, shares of Sabesp, the […]
3 September 2015 (The Siberian Times) – At least eight black bears have been killed in terrorised Luchegorsk, as starving wild animals roam streets and go on the attack. The bear blockade in this settlement of 20,000 has been underway since early August with many locals scared to go outside. Up to 36 bears are […]
30 July 2015 (University of Utah) – In the virtual worlds of climate modeling, forests and other vegetation are assumed to bounce back quickly from extreme drought. But that assumption is far off the mark, according to a new study of drought impacts at forest sites worldwide. Living trees took an average of two to […]
By Scott Smith6 September 2015 TULARE, California (AP) – Looking for water to flush his toilet, Tino Lozano pointed a garden hose at some buckets in the bare dirt of his yard. It’s his daily ritual now in a community built by refugees from Oklahoma’s Dust Bowl. But only a trickle came out; then a […]
By Stanislaw Waszak 4 September 2015 Warsaw (AFP) – Archaeologists are having a field day in Poland’s longest river, the Vistula, which because of a drought has hit a record low water level allowing them to uncover a treasure trove of historic artifacts. “There are pieces of marble and stoneware and fragments of fountains, window […]
By Cally Carswell5 September 2015 (The Guardian) – Last September, US Geological Survey ecologist Nate Stephenson hiked into Sequoia National Park’s Giant Forest to look for dying seedlings. California was suffering through its third year of severe drought, and trees were dying in the park in greater numbers than usual. The roadside leading up to […]
By Olga Gertcyk2 September 2015 (The Siberian Times) – The WWF has expressed concern at the wildfires now raging across Siberia, and called for a radical rethink from the authorities to prevent future carnage. But the director of monitoring and prevention at the Ministry of Emergencies pointed to irresponsible officials who, he alleged, chose to […]
[cf. 2015 is on track to be the worst U.S. wildfire season on record] 5 September 2015 (NIFC) – Favorable weather conditions in the Northwestern states have helped firefighters make progress on many large fires. Despite the changes in the weather, there is still a lot of work to be done, and firefighters will continue […]
26 August 2015 (Desdemona Despair) – Here’s an update to last week’s post on wildfire data from the Western United States. Data from the Northwest Interagency Coordination Center (Fuels and Fire Danger [pdf]) show that Northwest wildfires continue to rage, with 200,000 acres (80,937 hectares) burned again this week – the Okanagan complex “remains the […]
By Dave Werntz25 August 2015 (Conservation NW) – Along with my wife and daughter, I evacuated last week from our home near Twisp. Our place is safe and sound for now, thanks in large part to heroic efforts from firefighters. While veritable armies have converged here to help from across the state and nation, most […]
