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El Nino intensifying, could rival strongest in recorded history

The present El Nino event, on the cusp of attaining “strong” intensity, has a chance to become the most powerful on record. The event — defined by the expanding, deepening pool of warmer-than-normal ocean water in the tropical Pacific — has steadily grown stronger since the spring. The presence of a strong El Nino almost ensures that 2015 will become the warmest on record for Earth and will have ripple effects on weather patterns all over the world. A strong El Nino event would likely lead to enhanced rainfall in California this fall and winter, a quieter than normal Atlantic hurricane season , a warmer than normal winter over large parts of the U.S., and a very active hurricane and typhoon season in the Pacific. [ A strong El Niño could flourish by fall: Five ways it could affect our weather ] Some of these El Nino-related effects have […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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For G.O.P., Pope Francis’s Visit to Congress Comes With Tensions

Photo Speaker John A. Boehner at a news conference this month. The pope’s visit will fulfill a long-held dream of Mr. Boehner, who has extended offers to popes for the last 20 years. Credit Zach Gibson/The New York Times WASHINGTON — In the Reading, Ohio, neighborhood where Speaker John A. Boehner grew up, nearly every house had two things on the wall: a crucifix and a photo of the pope. “You never ever expected to meet the pope,” said Jerry Vanden Eynden, a lifelong friend of Mr. Boehner’s. “In all of our minds, the pope was the closest thing to meeting God in person here on earth.” When Pope Francis comes to Capitol Hill in September, he will be the first pontiff to address a joint meeting of Congress, where more than 30 percent of the members are Catholic. The visit will fulfill a long-held dream of Mr. Boehner, […]

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Canada Provinces Agree To Strategy On Pipelines, Climate Change

OTTAWA, July 17 (Reuters) – Canada’s provinces reached a long-sought deal on Friday over an energy plan for the country, agreeing broadly to curb greenhouse gas emissions while also promoting the use of pipelines. The oil-producing province of Alberta originally conceived the strategy as a way to ensure that it could move its fuel to market. The plan was changed at the insistence of some of the provinces to reflect their desire to fight climate change. Alberta and Saskatchewan have limited markets for their land-locked oil, with environmentalists opposing pipelines that have to go through other provinces to reach the Pacific or Atlantic oceans. These include the Energy East pipeline proposed by TransCanada Corp, which is also trying to build the controversial Keystone XL pipeline through the United States. Canada’s provinces agreed to ensure that regional, Canadian and international infrastructure exists for sending energy products to domestic and international […]

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Muslim scholars say climate change poses dire threat

The sacred mosque at Mecca in Saudi Arabia, one of the oil-rich countries urged to refocus on the environment. Photo by XXXshatha via Wikimedia Commons LONDON, 15 July, 2015 − Human beings could cause the ending of life on the planet, says a group of Islamic scholars − and countries round the world, particularly the rich ones, must face up to their responsibilities. Climate change, they say, is induced by human beings: “As we are woven into the fabric of the natural world, its gifts are for us to savour – but we have abused these gifts to the extent that climate change is upon us.” The views of the scholars – some of the strongest yet expressed on climate from within the Muslim community – are contained in a draft declaration on climate change to be launched officially at a major Islamic symposium in Istanbul in mid-August. Allah, […]

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To Clean Up Oil Sands’ Dirty Image, Alberta May Try Emission Tax

Alberta’s new government is engaged in a balancing act. It’s trying to cut carbon emissions while protecting an oil-sands industry that supports hundreds of thousands of jobs. Tar sands are found almost exclusively in the western Canadian province. They produce a product that generates about 17 percent more carbon dioxide on average than conventional oil, and emissions in Alberta have risen by more than 53 percent since 1990. At the same time, they’re the nation’s single most valuable export, making up nearly a fifth of total foreign sales. The challenge for the government is to work with an industry, already struggling with price cuts, on ways to hold off environmental criticism of the tar sands. Opponents have so far blocked the Keystone XL pipeline that would carry the oil to the U.S., and limited the world’s third-largest reserve from reaching new buyers. “If Alberta wants better access to world […]

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The West is so dry even a rainforest is on fire

In a normal year, Washington state’s Olympic National Park is arguably the wettest place in the continental U.S. An annual 150 inches of rain inundate the park’s western slopes, soaking the soil and slicking the branches of the lush temperate rain forest that grows there. Mosses, lichens and ferns festoon the trunks of centuries-old trees, whose thick canopy casts the forest floor into damp, dark shadow. The landscape has a primordial feel to it — cloaked in mist and swathed in green, it looks as though a dinosaur could come stomping out of the underbrush at any minute. But this is not a normal year. This year, ancient tree trunks smolder at their base as they burn from within. The downed wood and debris that carpet the forest floor have dried up into kindling. The abundant lichens that are characteristic of this type of rain forest are now facilitating […]

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California grid expected to maintain reliability despite drought

graph of coal production at mines with mountaintop removal permits, as explained in the article text According to the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) , the bulk power system in California is not expected to lose grid reliability this summer, despite a drought that has lowered hydroelectric generation . Overall, NERC expects more than 72 gigawatts (GW) of electric generating capacity to be available this summer in the part of the electric grid covering much of California. Summer electricity demand is expected to peak at nearly 53 GW, resulting in a reserve margin of 38% for the region. California’s hydroelectric generation varies seasonally. From January 2014 to April 2015, hydroelectricity accounted for 6% to 14% of the state’s monthly generation , averaging near 9%. graph of 2014 coal production at mines with mountaintop removal permits, as explained in the article text Since early 2014, much of California has […]

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European heat wave gives Germany record temperature

AP Photo/Lionel Cironneau BERLIN (AP) — Europe’s heat wave has pushed the mercury to its highest level in Germany since measurements began in 1881. The country’s national weather service says an automated measurement station recorded a temperature of 40.3 degrees Celsius (104.54 Fahrenheit) in Kitzingen, northern Bavaria, on Sunday afternoon. Weather service spokesman Uwe Kirsche said Monday that the record won’t be official until technicians have manually checked the station. But he says "we assume that our equipment worked properly." The previous record of 40.2 Celsius was measured in the southwestern city of Karlsruhe in 2003. Storms across parts of Germany on Sunday night brought temperatures back down.

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EU Leaders Urge China to Adopt Tough Climate-Change Goals

BRUSSELS—European Union leaders Monday urged China to adopt tough climate-change goals as they and other nations head toward a critical climate conference in Paris at year’s end. “Our intention is to cut emission by 40% compared with 1990, and I would strongly welcome China to take on its shoulders commitments to have the same ambition” or something similar, European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said at an EU-China summit. He spoke as Chinese Premier Li Keqiang stood beside him at a rare joint news conference. “Climate change is an important matter for the entire humankind, and both China and Europe have to bear particular responsibility in that respect,” Mr. Juncker said. Donald Tusk, president of the European Council, said the world’s goal should be to keep the Earth’s average temperature from rising more than 2 degrees Celsius compared with preindustrial levels, an aspiration reaffirmed earlier this month by the Group […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple