Hydropower dams worldwide cause continued species extinction

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GR:  The decline of species on the islands is consistent with the theory of island biogeography.  No ecologist would be surprised by the decline.

Archipelago of forest islands within the Balbina hydroelectric reservoir, Brazil. Image: Eduardo M. Venticinque via C. Peres

Archipelago of forest islands within the Balbina hydroelectric reservoir, Brazil. Image: Eduardo M. Venticinque via C. Peres

University of Stirling:  New research led by the University of Stirling has found a global pattern of sustained species extinctions on islands within hydroelectric reservoirs.

Scientists have discovered that reservoir islands created by large dams across the world do not maintain the same levels of animal and plant life found prior to flooding.

Despite being hailed as conservation sanctuaries that protect species from hunting and deforestation, islands undergo sustained loss of species year on year after dam construction, a pattern otherwise known as ‘extinction debt’. These findings represent a significant environmental impact that is currently missing from assessment procedures for proposed new dams.

Source: Hydropower dams worldwide cause continued species extinction

Forest-destroying palm oil powers cars in EU. Surprised?

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GR:  The human efforts to destroy the Earth are like the moves of a chess grand master–always catching us by surprise.

Marlowe Hood:  “Palm oil produced on tropical plantations that drive deforestation has become a major biofuel for vehicles in the European Union, industry figures released Tuesday by an environmental group revealed.

“In 2014, nearly half of the palm oil used in Europe wound up in the gas tanks of cars and trucks, according to data compiled by the EU vegetable oil industry association Fediol, and obtained by Brussels-based NGO Transport & Environment.

“Second only to rapeseed as a biofuel, overall palm oil use in EU countries jumped six-fold from 2010 to 2015, accounting for a 34 percent increase in biodiesel consumption during that period, the figures showed.

“Palm oil is also found in food, animal feed and cosmetics, but use in these sectors has dropped in Europe, in part due to pressure from environmental groups on major corporations.

“Up to now, how palm oil was distributed across products in the EU was not known.

“We now know why the industry is withholding these numbers,” said Jos Dings, executive director of Transport & Environment.”They show the ugly truth of Europe’s biofuel policy, which drives tropical deforestation, increases transport emissions, and does nothing to help European farmers,” he said in a statement.

Source: Forest-destroying palm oil powers cars in EU: report

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NASA looks at ‘snow-killing’ atmospheric river storms | Summit County Citizens Voice

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The famed Pineapple Express touted by skiers in the Western U.S. may not be all it’s cracked up to be. Instead of bringing fresh powder, the the atmospheric river storms, as they’re technically known, more often bring snow-destroying rain to many areas.

A new study by NASA and several other research institutions took a close look at data from satellites and ground observations from 1998 through 2014 to show the connection between atmospheric river storms and rain-on-snow events. According to the study, the atmospheric rivers are two-and-a-half times more likely than other types of winter storms to result in destructive “rain-on-snow” events, which increase flood risks in winter and reduce water availability the following summer.

Atmospheric rivers are narrow streams of very humid air that flow thousands of miles from the warm subtropical Pacific Ocean to the West Coast of North America. When the warm, moist air flows up and over the Sierra Nevada and other mountain ranges it condenses to form precipitation.

Source: NASA looks at ‘snow-killing’ atmospheric river storms | Summit County Citizens Voice

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Extreme weather increasing level of toxins in food, scientists warn | The Financial Express

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GR:  With increasing levels of pesticides and natural toxins, the Earth factory farm won’t be producing healthy food.  Shortened life spans in the human future?

“As they struggle to deal with more extreme weather, a range of food crops are generating more of chemical compounds that can cause health problems for people and livestock who eat them, scientists have warned.

“A new report by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) says that crops such as wheat and maize are generating more potential toxins as a reaction to protect themselves from extreme weather.But these chemical compounds are harmful to people and animals if consumed for a prolonged period of time, according to a report released during a United Nations Environment Assembly meeting in Nairobi.

“Crops are responding to drought conditions and increases in temperature just like humans do when faced with a stressful situation,” explained Jacqueline McGlade, chief scientist and director of the Division of Early Warning and Assessment at UNEP.

“Under normal conditions, for instance, plants convert nitrates they absorb into nutritious amino acids and proteins. But prolonged drought slows or prevents this conversion, leading to more potentially problematic nitrate accumulating in the plant, the report said.”  Source: Extreme weather increasing level of toxins in food, scientists warn | The Financial Express

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New Extreme Climate to Hurl More Rain Bombs at Texas, Light off Another Record West Coast Heatwave | robertscribbler

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More Severe Storms

They call them rain bombs. A new breed of severe storm fueled by a record hot atmosphere. One capable of dumping 2-4 inches of rainfall an hour and generating voracious flash floods that can devour homes and cars in just minutes. And in southeast Texas, the rain bombs have been going off like gangbusters.

In this week’s most recent iteration of flaring, climate change induced, storms, a region north of Houston and South of Dallas saw flood after flood after flood. Now, hundreds of people have been forced to abandon inundated homes, thousands of cars have been submerged, and seven people are dead. Rainfall totals for the region over the past seven days have averaged between 7 and 10 inches. But local amounts in the most intense bombification zones have come in at 16, 19, and even as high as 30 inches in Washington County. All time record rainfall totals that might be associated with a powerful hurricane. Floods that would typically happen only once every 500 years. But in the new moisture-laden atmosphere of a record warm world, a garden variety thunderstorm now has enough atmospheric oomph to frequently set off what were once multi-century floods.

Source: New Extreme Climate to Hurl More Rain Bombs at Texas, Light off Another Record West Coast Heatwave | robertscribbler

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Sierra Club Releases 2016 Report Card for Arizona Legislature and Governor | Sierra Club

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Phoenix, AZ – The 52nd Legislature’s focus was on limiting safeguards for much of what makes Arizona special. Legislators sought to further weaken water laws, promoted unaccountable special taxing districts to accommodate unsustainable developments, clouded the future of rooftop solar, and passed bills to hinder protection of public lands via national monuments and via the use of impacts fees for regional parks and open space.

Bahr, Sandy“The Arizona Legislature is determined to allow harm to what makes Arizona special – unique and threatened rivers such as the San Pedro, endangered Mexican gray wolves, public lands around Grand Canyon,” said Sandy Bahr, Chapter Director for Sierra Club’s Grand Canyon (Arizona) Chapter. “Rather than taking advantage of our 300-plus days of sunshine and growing solar industry and the jobs its provides, legislators passed a bill to hinder installations and even considered proposed constitutional amendments that would have likely destroyed the rooftop solar industry in Arizona.”

Source: Sierra Club Releases 2016 Report Card for Arizona Legislature and Governor | Sierra Club

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Fishermen battling for Brexit | Environment | The Guardian

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GR:  As the human population grows and fish populations shrink, it is critical that we drastically cut our fishing activities.  These people are only concerned with immediate self-interest.  They ignorantly continue the human devastation of the Earth and scream for more.  Do they realize that their continued over-harvest will end their industry?

The EU referendum has united an often fractious industry, with skippers in ports from northern Scotland to Cornwall desperate to dump imposed quotasby Severin Carrell in Fraserburgh, Steven Morris in Newlyn and Henry McDonald in Lough Neagh. Main picture: Murdo MacLeodWilliam Whyte has a new flag flying from the rigging of his vast blue-hulled trawler, its fabric snapping in the brisk breeze coming in off the North Sea. It features the cartoon of a militant-looking fish wearing armour, a union jack shield at its waist and the legend “Fishing for Leave”.

Source: Salt in their veins and fire in their bellies: fishermen battling for Brexit | Environment | The Guardian

Record Rain Events a Global Pattern | Climate Denial Crock of the Week

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GR:  As predicted by scientists more than 30 years ago, the storms are growing stronger.  As the Earth’s atmosphere and oceans warm, the storms will continue to grow.

Climate denial:  “This weekend’s record flooding in Germany was a reminder of one of the most basic, first-order-physics predictions of climate science – warmer air holds more moisture. The pattern of increase in record breaking precipitation events is well documented and global, as my friend Stephan Rahmstorf reminded me this morning with a graph from a recent study of similar events.”

Potsdam University: Heavy rainfall events setting ever new records have been increasing strikingly in the past thirty years. While before 1980, multi-decadal fluctuations in extreme rainfall events are explained by natural variability, a team of scientists of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research detected a clear upward trend in the past few decades towards more unprecedented daily rainfall events. They find the worldwide increase to be consistent with rising global temperatures which are caused by greenhouse-gas emissions from burning fossil fuels. Short-term torrential rains can lead to high-impact floodings.

More at: Record Rain Events a Global Pattern | Climate Denial Crock of the Week

Dishonest Donald Denies The Ongoing California Drought as Lake Mead Hits New All-Time Record Low | robertscribbler

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We now find that under the current amount of warming, the probability of a severe drought year has approximately doubled. — Park Williams, assistant research professor at Columbia University’…

Source: Dishonest Donald Denies The Ongoing California Drought as Lake Mead Hits New All-Time Record Low | robertscribbler