Photo gallery: Mutated plants from farms near Fukushima

Mutated tomato (left) from Mata-Hyun, compared with normal tomato (right). 15 July 2013 (MSN) – It might be wise to steer clear of vegetables from Japan’s Fukushima area for, oh, say a few hundred years. A Korean website assembled this image collection of produce from towns and villages surrounding the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. […]

Toxic groundwater reaching sea – Watchdog says pit may not be only source of radioactive spike

10 July 2013 (Japan Times) – The Nuclear Regulation Authority said Wednesday it strongly suspects highly radioactive water at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant is seeping into the ground and contaminating the Pacific Ocean. “We must find the cause of the contamination … and put the highest priority on implementing countermeasures,” NRA Chairman […]

Japanese nuclear plant may have been leaking for two years – ‘We’ve seen for a fact that levels of radioactivity in the seawater remain high, and contamination continues’

By HIROKO TABUCHI10 July 2013 TOKYO (The New York Times) – The stricken nuclear power plant at Fukushima has probably been leaking contaminated water into the ocean for two years, ever since an earthquake and tsunami badly damaged the plant, Japan’s chief nuclear regulator said on Wednesday.  In unusually candid comments, Shunichi Tanaka, the head […]

Renowned whale expert studying effect of Deepwater Horizon oil spill on Gulf of Mexico sperm whales – ‘Every step of the food chain you get about a 10 times increase in the concentration of a contaminant’

By Dennis Pillion12 July 2013 PENSACOLA, Florida (al.com) – To get a better understanding of the full impact of the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill, renowned marine scientist Roger Payne is thinking big. That is to say, he’s looking at sperm whales, one of the largest inhabitants of the Gulf and the largest of the […]

Mexico’s cities not ready for climate change – ‘The municipalities are waiting for the federal government to act, because they are completely overwhelmed’

By Emilio Godoy12 July 2013 PROGRESO, Mexico (IPS) – Towns on Mexico’s Caribbean coast are behind schedule on the design and implementation of plans to face the challenges of climate change, in spite of the urgency of measures to reduce vulnerability. The country’s 2012 General Law on Climate Change requires state and municipal governments to […]

Extreme heat reveals extreme infrastructure challenges

By Claire Thompson9 Jul 2013 (Grist) – Having trouble beating the heat this summer? Imagine how your infrastructure feels. Last summer, we told you about extreme heat leading to buckling roads, melting runways, and kinky railroad tracks. Now we’re also hearing about droopy power lines and grounded airplanes. NPR’s Science Friday hosted a discussion last […]

Image of the Day: Satellite view of Quebec oil train fire

By Andrew Freedman9 July 2013 (ClimateCentral) – The explosion and fires that followed a runaway oil train slamming into the town of Lac-Mégantic, Quebec were so powerful that they were visible from space. At least 13 people died and about three dozen are still reported missing after the accident on July 6. The train was […]

Waterways warmed by climate change will increase electricity prices in southern Europe

By Jonathan Tirone; Editing by James Hertling8 July 2013 VIENNA (Bloomberg) – Waterways warmed by climate change will increase electricity prices by as much as a third in southern Europe as producers struggle to cool power stations, a study showed. Countries from Romania to Bulgaria and Slovenia face the biggest price increases, according to research […]

Women, children at risk of trafficking after Uttarakhand floods – ‘People have lost everything. Their homes and livelihoods have been ruined.’

By Nita Bhalla5 July 2013 NEW DELHI (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – Women and children who have survived deadly floods in India could now be at risk of being sold as brides or into domestic and sex work by traffickers preying on vulnerable families, aid agencies say. The floods and landslides, triggered by heavier than normal […]

India floods called man-made disaster – 3,000 people still missing

DEHRADUN, June 30 (AFP) – Some 3,000 people remain missing in India’s flood-ravaged north two weeks after the tragedy, but it is unclear how many of those have been killed, a top state official said on Sunday. About 1,000 people, many of them pilgrims and tourists, are confirmed dead after flash floods and landslides caused […]

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