18 June 2013, SANTIAGO (AFP) – Two thirds of Chile’s territory is facing desertification in which the bone-dry Atacama Desert grows by over a meter (3.3 feet) a day, President Sebastian Pinera warned Monday. The changing topography and consequences for the land “is one of the greatest threats to sustained development, and to sustainable development, […]
[As always, apologies for the ad. – Des] In Magdalena, N.M., the town’s well has run dry. Now they’re rationing water bottles, and using porta-potties while trying to conserve as much as possible. NBC’s Gabe Gutierrez reports. Fighting for water in New Mexico Technorati Tags: North America,drought,crop failure,agriculture,global warming,climate change,freshwater depletion
By Daniel Arkin17 June 2013 (NBC News) – Southern California fire officials warned Monday that the state should take caution during a brutal fire season that projections suggest could be the worst to hit the region in a century. “We’re going to have a very volatile fire season,” Los Angeles County Fire Chief Daryl Osby […]
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colorado, 19 June 2013 (Associated Press) – As the West battles one catastrophic wildfire after another, the federal government is spending less and less on its main program for preventing blazes in the first place. A combination of government austerity and the ballooning cost of battling the ruinous fires has taken a bite […]
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 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 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 […]
By Marlene Cimons14 June 2013 (LiveScience) – Drought has beset the Earth since before farming began. In developing nations, it brings suffering and death. In wealthier countries like the United States, it brings economic devastation when crops wither and die, and forests burn. The United States continues to feel the aftereffects of the 2012 drought […]
First of a two-part package on adapting to climate change. Tomorrow: Snapshots of what cities are doing around the world. By Seth Borenstein, with contributions from Karl A. Ritter in Bonn, Germany, Jennifer Peltz in New York, and Tony Winton in Miami 15 June 2013 WASHINGTON (AP) – Efforts to curb global warming have quietly […]
By Jenny Deam13 June 2013 COLORADO SPRINGS, Colorado (Los Angeles Times) – The Black Forest wildfire, still raging out of control, became deadly with the grim discovery Thursday of two people killed while apparently trying to flee their home. El Paso County Sheriff Terry Maketa said the victims were found about 2 p.m. in their […]
