Great Lakes Legacy Contaminants Fall, Newer Ones Rise
Legacy contaminants are decreasing more quickly than previously reported in three of the Great Lakes, but have stayed virtually the same in two other lakes, according to new research. “These are very positive results. The lakes are improving and slowly cleaning themselves up,” said Thomas Holsen, co-director of Clarkson University’s Center for the … Read More
Keystone XL Will Not Use Advanced Leak Detection
Even after causing more than a dozen spills in 2011 from its newest tar sands pipeline — including a six story “geyser” of crude — Canadian energy developer TransCanada claimed its planned Keystone XL pipeline would “exceed” safety standards.… Read More
Drought to Last Into 2013; Impacts Expected to Intensify
After another week of low rainfall and high temperatures in the Midwest and Great Plains, it is all but guaranteed that this year will end with more than half of the area in the lower 48 states still under drought conditions. Now, as the drought is poised to enter 2013, climatologists expect its impacts to worsen as it lasts through the winter. … Read More
A Year After Flooding, Commerce on Mississippi Imperiled
It was only a year ago that there was record flooding along the Mississippi River and many of its tributaries. Heavy rainfall combined with spring snowmelt to cause the mighty Mississippi to overflow its banks, damaging towns and farmland that line the waterway.… Read More
Mississippi Faces Shipping Closure as Water Levels Drop
The Mississippi as seen from Ed Drager's tug boat is a river in retreat: a giant beached barge is stranded where the water dropped, with sand bars springing into view. The floating barge office where the tug boat captain reports for duty is tilted like a funhouse. One side now rests on the exposed shore. "I've never seen the river this low," Drager… Read More
Resilient Drought Holds on Through Dry Autumn
Another week of below-average precipitation across the lower 48 states has brought little relief to drought-stricken areas, making it increasingly unlikely that long-suffering areas will see the dry spell subside by the end of the year. As of December 11, 61.87 percent of the land area in the continental U.S. was still under some degree of drought… Read More
Changing Colombian Andes Pose Risk for Millions
Páramos resemble a sort of alpine archipelago, each a link in the chain of distinct island ecosystems that have evolved in isolation to produce plants found nowhere else on the planet. They play a crucial role in maintaining a reliable water supply for millions of people in major cities like Bogotá and Medellín. And along with the forests below, th… Read More
Arctic Wildfires Speed Melting of Greenland Ice: Study
Wildfire smoke contains dark-colored soot and other particles which, when deposited onto the Greenland ice sheet, cause the ice and snow surfaces to darken and absorb more incoming solar radiation, and therefore melt more readily. Box said that wildfire smoke may be responsible for a dramatic expansion in the portion of Greenland that experiences m… Read More
