Posts

May 21, 2013

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Freshwater expert Sandra Postel reveals how water is destined to become our most precious resource— and the impact of your personal water footprint.

May 20, 2013

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2:20 PM | When a 'Dry Spell' Goes On Forever, Do As The Romans Do, Why Your State Bird Is All Wrong

By The Editors An evaporating way of life: Man, talk about burying the lede. Here's a bone-chilling line from halfway down a news story about the High Plains Aquifer, which stretches from the Dakotas to the Texas Panhandle -- and whose southern portion is so "tapped out" that much of the farmland above it is basically no longer irrigable: "In the end, most farmers will adapt to farming without water." Well, then! Thanks for that, Mr. Kansas State […]

May 17, 2013

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2:16 PM | Seals with Swine Flu, Cotton to the Rescue, All Our Hairy Relatives in One Place

By The Editors Fracking fracas: The Obama administration proposed new rules for fracking on federal land yesterday that aimed to please both environmentalists and energy producers. Good luck with that. Green-friendly Massachusetts Congressman Edward Markey says the regulations would give drillers permission to “frack first and ask questions later,” while Big Oil buddy and North Dakota senator John Hoeven argues that the rules would “exacerbate […]

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8:00 AM | Ecological significance of seed recalcitrance in Quercus

Several widespread tree species of temperate forests produce desiccation-sensitive seeds, but the ecological significance of this is largely unknown.Rating: 0.0/5 (0 votes cast)The post Ecological significance of seed recalcitrance in Quercus appeared first on AoB Blog.

May 14, 2013

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2:27 PM | Supremes on Soybeans, Get Out Your Insect Cookbook, Kids Today are Taking the Bus (and Loving It)

By The Editors Gone to seed: The U.S. Supreme Court ruled unanimously in favor of agribusiness giant Monsanto yesterday, saying an Indiana farmer infringed on the company’s patent for herbicide-resistant soybean seeds. Vernon Hugh Bowman had argued that because the company’s trademarked Roundup Ready seeds are self-replicating, he should have the right to plant offspring seeds that were also resistant to the pesticide, rather than purchasing new ones […]

May 09, 2013

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11:58 AM | The Sahel Is Getting Wetter, But Will It Last?

New research gives a unifying explanation of the Sahel's past, present and future climate patterns.

May 03, 2013

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6:25 PM | Hear those crispy rice grains calling for help? Snap! Crackle! Pop!

New scientific findings are often fun and interesting, but how some "journalists" write about such things is annoying to the nth degree. Xylem consists of a series of cellulosic tubes and during water stress, the transpirational pull upon the water columns, a force generated by water loss from leaves, can generate air embolisms. In a manner of speaking, xylem gets the bends. A research group has found that formation of these air bubbles makes sounds. Now that's […]

May 02, 2013

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2:23 PM | Big Ag’s Drought Bonus, Soaring Solar, Wildfire Warning

By The Editors Rain, rain, go away?: Late last year, OnEarth explained why federal crop insurance actually helps large agribusiness operations make more money when their crops wither and die -- and encourages them to waste water on worthless irrigation to boot (see “Why Big Ag Loves the Drought”). A new Iowa State University analysis commissioned by the Environmental Working Group confirms that “crop insurance allowed corn and soybean farmers not only […]

May 01, 2013

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2:44 PM | Extreme Weather in a Warming World, and the American Mind

A new survey shows how extreme weather influences public attitudes on global warming.

April 30, 2013

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1:25 AM | 8,000 Years After its Advent, Agriculture is Withering in Southern Iraq

NG Young Explorer Julia Harte examines the effects of upstream dams and prolonged drought on the farmers of Southern Iraq through text and photos, as well as a video shot and edited by team member Anna Ozbek.

April 26, 2013

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12:08 PM | When Trees Attack, Orca Vs. Sperm Whale (in Pictures), the Quiet Car Gets Rowdy ... and No One Says Shush

By The Editors You got your flood in my drought: Man, the Midwest cannot catch a break. First it was too little rain, now it’s too much. Either way, farmers’ fields and commercial traffic on the mighty Mississippi are not having a good time of it these days. New York Times Banned in Britain, A-OK in the USA: That Corexit stuff that BP dumped into the Gulf of Mexico to disperse oil after the Deepwater Horizon disaster? Yeah, pretty much everyone agrees […]

April 24, 2013

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4:46 PM | In Cradle of Civilization, Shrinking Rivers Endanger Unique Marsh Arab Culture

NG Young Explorer Julia Harte documents the culture of the Marsh Arabs of Southern Iraq through text and photos, as well as a video shot and edited by team member Anna Ozbek.

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8:00 AM | Dust on our crust

Spring is a nervous time for skiers and farmers. I’m both of these, and every April I watch the weather even more closely than usual. As a skier, I’m waiting for crust — the year’s most magnificent snow conditions. Spring’s warm temperatures compress the winter’s deep snowpack and when the freeze/thaw cycles line up just [...]

April 23, 2013

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9:02 PM | Enki’s Gift: How Civilization Bubbled from the Waters of Mesopotamia

NG Young Explorer Julia Harte examines the historical importance of water in Mesopotamia's cultures and religions through text and photos, as well as a video shot and edited by team member Anna Ozbek.

April 16, 2013

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4:46 PM | In Cradle of Civilization, Shrinking Rivers Endanger Unique Marsh Arab Culture

NG Young Explorer Julia Harte documents the culture of the Marsh Arabs of Southern Iraq through text and photos, as well as a video shot and edited by team member Anna Ozbek.

April 12, 2013

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12:26 PM | How Will Scotch Lovers Drown Their Sorrows When the Scotch Runs Out?

By The Editors Oh, for the love of peat: There are a lot of precious non-renewable resources out there -- fossil fuels, rare earth minerals -- that we humans are using up awfully quick. Add a new one to your list of concerns: peat. This mush of partially decomposed plant matter is found in the cold, dank bogs of northern Europe, Canada, and Russia. Eventually, after millions of years, peat can become coal, but we humans have found a much more refined use […]

April 11, 2013

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2:06 PM | Understanding Cassava to Feed Africa

Cassava is often seen as a poor cousin in the world's staple crops but is vitally important in sub-Saharan Africa.Rating: 0.0/5 (0 votes cast)

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1:26 PM | Drought and Dams in Biblical Garden of Eden

NG Young Explorer Julia Harte begins her expedition northward along the Tigris River, where she will examine the impacts of Turkey's Ilısu Dam, with initial glimpses at water issues in Southern Iraq and an introduction to the heated controversy surround the dam.

April 05, 2013

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5:12 PM | New Web Tool Helps Avoid Flooding by Finding the Best Spots to Build Wetlands

Specifically placed small wetlands can help capture watershed runoff, helping city planners to guard against flood disasters

April 01, 2013

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2:02 PM | Keystone Crystal Ball, Canadian Achin', Happy Invasive Plant Pest and Disease Awareness Month!

By The Editors Shades of things to come?: On Friday afternoon, a pipeline carrying Canadian crude down the center of the the United States on its way to Texas ruptured, spilling 12,000 barrels of oil in the front yards of tiny Mayflower, Arkansas. The accident, which ExxonMobil officials are still investigating, forced the evacuation of 22 homes. Said one resident: "We could see oil running down the road like a river." Others could see the future. CBS […]

March 30, 2013

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10:28 PM | Spring garden assessment

This wasn't a particularly bad winter except the coldest weather was not accompanied by snow cover, so plants were quite exposed. Now that spring growth is beginning some assessment of winter damage can be made. Two new mountain laurels took a beating; one might survive, the other is toast. A Leptodermis also new last year looks like a loss as well. A big old Annabelle hydrangea looks like a weed whacker went after it, but it was just bunnies. Most of the trees and […]

March 29, 2013

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12:20 PM | Cars Get Cleaner, Texas Gets Drier, Bees Get Deader (and Climate Change is Coming for Our Coffee Now? Oh Noes!)

By The Editors Cleaner cars: President Obama is expected to move ahead today with new clean air rules that would cut the amount of sulfur in gasoline and impose stricter pollution limits on all new cars by 2017. The administration estimates the new standards would add less than a penny to the cost of a gallon of gasoline while delivering an environmental benefit akin to taking 33 million cars off the road -- and reducing annual health care costs by $23 […]

March 28, 2013

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1:41 PM | Oil Train Jumps the Tracks, Fracking Shakes the Earth, Paint Party Runs Dry

By The Editors Off the rails: A mile-long train (just stop and picture that for a moment) carrying Canadian crude derailed yesterday, spilling tens of thousands of gallons of oil across a snowy landscape in frozen Minnesota. Before the oil could even congeal into an extra viscous, sticky mess due to the cold, Keystone XL boosters were using the train accident as an argument for building more pipelines. Because, yeah, things like this never happen with […]

March 27, 2013

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1:32 PM | Climate Change Victims Edition: New Mexico Farmers, Pygmy Possums, the Corncob Pipe Industry?

By The Editors Water wars: New Mexico's drought has been among the nation’s worst: parts of the Pecos River, from which the state draws much of its water, ran dry for 77 days in 2012. Needless to say, there’s not nearly enough of the wet stuff to go around -- which is why some farmers are considering issuing a priority call, a “nuclear option in the world of water,” that may force the state to give them first crack at the river's water, ahead of […]

March 26, 2013

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3:39 PM | As Climate Change Reduces Colorado River Communities Must Prepare

Now that a red flag has been raised by the Colorado River Basin Study – a federal and state cooperative analysis published in late 2012 – that there will be water shortages across much of the U.S. Southwest, the handwringing has started. Our cities, farms, and rivers face a slow-motion disaster; what are we going…

March 22, 2013

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8:11 PM | Low Lake Levels: Don’t Fight Nature, Plan for It

The Great Lakes hold 20 percent of the world’s available surface freshwater–enough to cover the continental United States with 10 feet of water if you turned them upside down. In many places along the lakes, you can stand on one side without seeing the shoreline on the other because they are so huge. It’s difficult…

March 19, 2013

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1:14 AM | Why is Federated Farmers promoting climate denial during a major drought?

You’d think, in the middle of the worst drought in 70 years, with farmers in crisis, that their national political body might be thinking about the big picture of climate change and how best to communicate that to farmers. In Marlborough, where the drought is hitting hard, the local Federated Farmers chapter is sponsoring a [...] [Get the full story at Hot Topic...]

March 16, 2013

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10:33 PM | Prat watch #9: Ring’s wrong again

New Zealand’s favourite astrologer, the self-appointed “long range weather forecaster” Ken Ring — who is wrong about everything — has not been having a good start to the year. He’s having trouble reconciling NZ’s record drought with the forecasts he’s been making. Here’s Ring on February 26th, in an opinion piece headlined Hang on farmers, [...] [Get the full story at Hot Topic...]

March 14, 2013

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1:40 AM | Bill English’s weasel words on weather, climate and drought

Occasionally — but only occasionally — the political pantomime that is parliamentary question time throws up something interesting. Yesterday, NZ’s deputy prime minister Bill English managed to dig himself into a drought-ridden hole, only to emerge looking like a climate denier. Green Party co-leader Russel Norman tried to get English to expand on his earlier [...] [Get the full story at Hot Topic...]

March 11, 2013

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9:09 AM | Till your well runs dry: NZ drought hits record levels

Australia may have had an extraordinary “Angry Summer“, but New Zealand’s been having a bit of a cracker too. Prolonged warm and sunny weather over much of the country has driven North Island soil moisture deficits to levels not seen for at least 70 years (see map at left). Official drought status — which means [...] [Get the full story at Hot Topic...]