Toxic algae bloom may be largest ever off U.S. West Coast – ‘We’ve never had to close essentially half our coast’

By Sandi Doughton15 June 2015 (Seattle Times) – A team of federal biologists set out from Oregon Monday to survey what could be the largest toxic algae bloom ever recorded off the West Coast. The effects stretch from Central California to British Columbia, and possibly as far north as Alaska. Dangerous levels of the natural […]

Decade of drought: A global tour of seven recent water crises

By Charles Iceland12 June 2015 (The Guardian) – Every inhabited continent, to varying degrees, has areas where there is extremely high water stress. These are areas where more than 80% of the local water supply is withdrawn by businesses, farmers, residents and other consumers every year. These so-called stressed areas are also the ones most […]

Rare Guadalupe fur seals stranding in record numbers – ‘These stranded animals are just the tip of the iceberg in terms of animals affected by the unusually warm water temperatures we’ve been seeing off the coast’

10 June 2015 (The Marine Mammal Center) – California sea lions aren’t the only pinnipeds in crisis this year. Guadalupe fur seals, a threatened species, seem to be struggling with the same food availability issues and have stranded along our coast at five times the record yearly rate. With their diminutive snouts, extra-long front flippers […]

Drought, heat, and insects responsible for killing more than 12 million trees in California

By Julie Cohen9 June 2015 (UCSB) – A combination of drought, heat and insects is responsible for the death of more than 12 million trees in California, according to a new study from UC Santa Barbara’s National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis (NCEAS). Members of the NCEAS working group studying environmental factors contributing to […]

The Weather Channel confronts Republicans on global warming

By Eric Holthaus12 June 2015 (Slate) – On Wednesday, the Weather Channel launched a dramatic campaign it says is intended to help shift the climate change conversation from science to solutions. The series of short videos, called Climate 25, is surprisingly political for a venue like the Weather Channel, and most are aimed at making […]

Texas Congressman Lamar Smith declares war on NASA and EPA climate science research

By Kyla Mandel 11 June 2015 (Desmog UK) – Lamar Smith, a Republican member of the US House of Representatives, has declared war on the Obama administration, NASA and the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to undermine attempts to prevent dangerous climate change, report Kyla Mandel and Brendan Montague from Washington DC, USA. Speaking at […]

To end elephant slaughter, the U.S. should eliminate its own ivory market

By Maria Sanchez Diez12 June 2015 (Quartz) – As China, long notorious for its appetite for elephant ivory, moves toward halting the domestic processing and sale of the ornamental material, some international wildlife organizations are pointing the finger at another country that shares responsibility for the slaughter of tens of thousands of elephants a year […]

Rich Californians balk at limits: ‘We’re not all equal when it comes to water’

By Rob Kuznia13 June 2015 RANCHO SANTA FE, CALIFORNIA (The Washington Post) – Drought or no drought, Steve Yuhas resents the idea that it is somehow shameful to be a water hog. If you can pay for it, he argues, you should get your water. People “should not be forced to live on property with […]

Document shows Canadian government has been fully aware of tar sands dangers

By Jennifer Skene10 June 2015 (NRDC) – A document recently released under Canada’s access-to-information law reveals that Canadian government officials have been aware of the proliferation of contaminants associated with tar sands mining even as they continues to promote industry expansion with minimal regulation. The January 2015 briefing note, prepared for Natural Resources Minister Greg […]

As Bonn climate talks conclude, another failure for Planet Earth, humanity – ‘Even if we have 100 percent renewable energy by 2050, the impacts will continue for another 100 years’

By Jon Queally11 June 2015 (Common Dreams) – As ten days of UN-sponsored climate talks came to end in Bonn, Germany on Thursday morning, global campaigners demanding far-reaching solutions to the crisis of a warming planet expressed dissatisfaction on multiple levels, charging that the continued foot-dragging of governments is sentencing future generations to unparalleled catastrophe […]

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