ScienceDaily (July 14, 2011) — Ocean acidification, a consequence of climate change, could weaken the shells of California mussels and diminish their body mass, with serious implications for coastal ecosystems, UC Davis researchers will report July 15 in the Journal of Experimental Biology. California mussels (Mytilus californianus) live in beds along the western coast of […]
July 11 (NYT) – […] The pain has spread across 14 states, from Florida, where severe water restrictions are in place, to Arizona, where ranchers could be forced to sell off entire herds of cattle because they simply can’t feed them. In Texas, where the drought is the worst, virtually no part of the state […]
By Verna Gates; Editing by Colleen Jenkins and Ellen Wulfhorst10 July 2011 BIRMINGHAM, Ala (Reuters) – Thousands of baby pelicans grunt and hiss at their parents in tightly packed nests on Gaillard Island, a feathered paradise situated off the coast of Alabama. The 1,300-acre, man-made island is hosting more than 50,000 birds this summer as […]
By Jennifer A. Dlouhy 11 July 2011 The hydraulic system that powered the blowout preventer at BP’s failed Macondo well may never have had the capacity to stop last year’s Gulf of Mexico spill or any other such emergency, investigators say. But that possible deficiency — and other findings about the equipment used as a […]
By KIM SEVERSON and KIRK JOHNSON 11 July 2011 COLQUITT, Ga. — The heat and the drought are so bad in this southwest corner of Georgia that hogs can barely eat. Corn, a lucrative crop with a notorious thirst, is burning up in fields. Cotton plants are too weak to punch through soil so dry […]
New Study Details Changes in Soil Chemistry and Devastation of Trees and Plants Contact: Kirsten Stade (202) 265-73376 July 2011 Washington, DC — A new study has found that wastewater from natural gas hydrofracturing in a West Virginia national forest quickly wiped out all ground plants, killed more than half of the trees and caused […]
[It would be very wrong of Desdemona to connect this with the largest wildfires in Arizona’s recorded history.] By MARY HUDETZ, Associated Press6 July 2011 PHOENIX – The air around the Phoenix area was a hazy shade of brown and a layer of dirt coated cars and buildings Wednesday following a massive dust storm the […]
By Stephen Ceasar, Los Angeles Times2 July 2011 Several Native American tribes are lamenting the damage to sacred land and archeological sites caused by the largest fire in New Mexico state history. The Las Conchas fire has charred about 13,000 acres within the Santa Clara Canyon, an area of great significance to those who live […]
By Danielle Flores, KOB.com3 July 2011 Los Alamos County reports that as of 8 a.m. Sunday, residents are allowed to return to their homes. State Road 4 remains closed west of Drive South and all access points to the Jemez Mountains and from Los Alamos County remain closed. The massive 121,000 acre Las Conchas fire […]
By Stephen Lacey1 July 2011 Irony can be so ironic. A day after cancelling his keynote address at the Heartland climate denial conference because he felt “under the weather,” Republican Senator Jim Inhofe today insisted his sickness was due to a toxic algae bloom on the Grand Lake in Oklahoma where he has a home […]