Category Archives: environment

Unseasonal Flooding in Iowa : Image of the Day

A series of heavy rainstorms has brought unseasonal flooding to parts of the U.S. Midwest. According to the National Weather Service, many areas in northern Iowa, southern Minnesota, and western Wisconsin received anywhere from 4 to 8 inches (10 to 20 centimeters) of rain.At 11:47 a.m. U.S. Central Daylight Time (16:47 Universal Time) on September 26, 2016, the Operational Land Imager (OLI) on Landsat 8 satellite acquired these images of Iowa’s swollen Cedar and Wapsipinicon rivers. These false-color images use shortwave infrared light to highlight the flooding. The artificially light blue water makes it easier to see; during floods, disturbed sediment often colors rivers brown, which can make flood waters difficult to distinguish from land. Vegetation and farmland appear various shades of green.

Source: Unseasonal Flooding in Iowa : Image of the Day

Florida sinkhole causes vast leak of wastewater into drinking water source | World news | The Guardian – Oops! Not to worry, we are taking care of you – “not!”

The sinkhole, discovered by a worker on 27 August, is believed to reach down to the Floridan aquifer, the company said in a news release. Aquifers are vast, underground systems of porous rocks that hold water and allow water to move through the holes within the rock.The Floridan aquifer is a major source of drinking water in the state. One of the highest-producing aquifers in the world, it underlies all of Florida and extends into southern Alabama, Georgia, and South Carolina.According to the University of Florida, it’s the principal source of groundwater for much of the state, and the cities of Tallahassee, Jacksonville, Gainesville, Orlando, Daytona Beach, Tampa, and St Petersburg all rely on it. The aquifer also supplies water to thousands of domestic, industrial and irrigation wells throughout the state.Mosaic began diverting the pond water into an alternative holding area to reduce the amount of drainage when the problem was first detected. The company said it had been “recovering the water by pumping through onsite production wells”.“We have an extensive monitoring system,” Jellerson said. “It’s already indicating that it’s recovering the material, but it will take some time for that process to complete.”

Source: Florida sinkhole causes vast leak of wastewater into drinking water source | World news | The Guardian

The man who ​thinks trees talk to each other | Environment | The Guardian

“Trees may recognise with their roots who are their friends, who are their families, where their kids are. Then they may also recognise trees that are not so welcome. There are some stumps in these old beech reservations that are alive, and there are some that are rotten, which obviously have had no contact with the roots of supporting neighbours. So perhaps they are like hermits.” It sounds like living in a small village – as he does, in Hümmel, near the Belgian border. He writes about the unforgiving woodland etiquette – no one likes a showoff who crowds everyone out and hogs the resources. When trees break the rules, you end up with a “drunken forest”. He describes “upright members of ancient forests … This is what a mature, well-behaved deciduous tree looks like. It has a ramrod-straight trunk with a regular, orderly arrangement of wood fibres.” In Wohlleben’s analysis, it’s almost as if trees have feelings and character. “We think about plants being robotic, following a genetic code. Plants and trees always have a choice about what to do. Trees are able to decide, have memories and even different characters. There are perhaps nicer guys and bad guys.”

Source: The man who thinks trees talk to each other | Environment | The Guardian

Japan and South Africa Try to Block Proposed Ban on Domestic Ivory Trade | Inter Press Service – “About money and greed”

The Great Elephant Census, an aerial survey that took almost three years and tracked 350,000 square miles, showed that savanna elephant populations in 15 countries had declined by 30 percent – equal to some 144,000 elephants – between 2007 and 2014. The rate of decline is accelerating and is currently running at an annual 8 percent primarily due to poaching, meaning that some 27,000 elephants a year in those countries are being slaughtered for their ivory. Comparative data did not exist for three countries. The sharpest declines were seen in Tanzania and northern Mozambique.

Source: Japan and South Africa Try to Block Proposed Ban on Domestic Ivory Trade | Inter Press Service

“Of course, we can trust profit motive to protect us against crooks and genetic engineers?” Three Spaniards on Mexico flight arrested with 260 reptiles in luggage | In English | EL PAÍS

The Netherlands NVWA Food Safety Authority said the animals were worth an estimated €88,000. Among the reptiles were 14 Chuckwalla lizards from Mexico’s San Esteban island, which are similar in appearance to chameleons and are protected by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).

Source: Three Spaniards on Mexico flight arrested with 260 reptiles in luggage | In English | EL PAÍS

North Dakota pipeline protest turns violent after cultural sites destroyed | US news | The Guardian

Tribe spokesman Steve Sitting Bear said protesters reported that six people had been bitten by security dogs, including a young child. At least 30 people were pepper-sprayed, he said. Preskey said law enforcement authorities had no reports of protesters being injured.There were no law enforcement personnel at the site when the incident occurred, Preskey said. The crowd dispersed when officers arrived and no one was arrested, she said.The incident occurred within half a mile of an encampment where hundreds of people have gathered to join the Standing Rock Sioux tribe’s protest of the oil pipeline that is slated to cross the Missouri River nearby.The tribe is challenging the army corps of engineers’ decision to grant permits for Dallas-based Energy Transfer Partners’ Dakota Access pipeline, which crosses the Dakotas and Iowa to Illinois, including near the reservation in southern North Dakota. A federal judge will rule before 9 September whether construction can be halted on the Dakota Access pipeline.Energy Transfer Partners did not return phone calls and emails seeking comment.The tribe fears the project will disturb sacred sites and impact drinking water for thousands of tribal members on the Standing Rock Sioux reservation and millions farther downstream.

Source: North Dakota pipeline protest turns violent after cultural sites destroyed | US news | The Guardian

Zika virus: Singapore reports new strain originating in Asia; Malaysia detects first local case – ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)

Singapore has reported 215 cases of Zika infections, as scientists in the city-state said the virus strain came from within Asia and was not imported from Brazil.Key points:Scientists say the virus evolved from South-East Asia strain and was not importedMalaysia says it expects the number of local transmissions to growIt is urging residents to adopt preventative measuresThe Ministry of Health and National Environment Agency said in a joint statement on Saturday evening that of the 26 new cases reported on Saturday, 24 were linked to a cluster in the Aljunied district where the country’s first locally-transmitted cases were reported.The statement did not say where the other two cases were from.A week after Singapore reported its first case of locally transmitted Zika infection, local scientists say they have completed genetic sequencing of the virus.”The analysis found that the virus belongs to the Asian lineage and likely evolved from the strain that was already circulating in South-East Asia. The virus from these two patients was not imported from South America,” the statement said.

Source: Zika virus: Singapore reports new strain originating in Asia; Malaysia detects first local case – ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)

Flooding of Coast, Caused by Global Warming, Has Already Begun – The New York Times

For decades, as the global warming created by human emissions caused land ice to melt and ocean water to expand, scientists warned that the accelerating rise of the sea would eventually imperil the United States’ coastline.Now, those warnings are no longer theoretical: The inundation of the coast has begun. The sea has crept up to the point that a high tide and a brisk wind are all it takes to send water pouring into streets and homes.Federal scientists have documented a sharp jump in this nuisance flooding — often called “sunny-day flooding” — along both the East Coast and the Gulf Coast in recent years. The sea is now so near the brim in many places that they believe the problem is likely to worsen quickly. Shifts in the Pacific Ocean mean that the West Coast, partly spared over the past two decades, may be hit hard, too.These tidal floods are often just a foot or two deep, but they can stop traffic, swamp basements, damage cars, kill lawns and forests, and poison wells with salt. Moreover, the high seas interfere with the drainage of storm water.

Source: Flooding of Coast, Caused by Global Warming, Has Already Begun – The New York Times

Zika Virus | Ministry of Health Singapore

The Ministry of Health (MOH), Singapore has been closely monitoring the Zika virus situation, and will be introducing several measures to enhance the surveillance of the disease and the protection of Singaporeans. We also urge all Singaporeans to take the appropriate precautions to prevent mosquito breeding as vector control is critical in preventing transmission and reducing the risk of the virus from taking root in Singapore.

Source: Zika Virus | Ministry of Health

Lebanese MP Hadi Hobeish Destroys A Forest In Akkar To Build His Villa | A Separate State of Mind | A Blog by Elie Fares

The Ministry of Agriculture allowed the MP to cut down: 295 pine trees, 578 Oak trees and 55 Pistacia trees. All of the trees that he was allowed to cut down were thousands of years old. The fact of the matter is, however, that he didn’t only cut down those but he destroyed thousands more in order to build his mansion and make the road as efficient as possible.The end result is a Lebanese MP getting what he wants, destroying an entire forest in doing so, and the Lebanese government not only letting him do that but almost rolling down the red carpet for such an atrocity to take place.Hadi Hobeish pretends to want what’s best for his hometown, which is why he throws around annual summer festivals bringing in Lebanese singers who wouldn’t visit that area otherwise. When the attention cools down, however, he proceeds to do what everyone else does and bend the laws at his will, destroy whatever he can destroy in order for him to have his way.Not only did MP Hobeish destroy the forest, but he did it using governmental money because the decree stipulated that the road needed to be done for “public reasons.”The road only leads to his house.Welcome to the jungle.

Source: Lebanese MP Hadi Hobeish Destroys A Forest In Akkar To Build His Villa | A Separate State of Mind | A Blog by Elie Fares