(January 30, 2012)
Despite projections that global warming could improve conditions for trees growing in the north, some forests in western Canada are dying sooner, and emitting more carbon than they are absorbing: “Research shows northern forests in the three prairie provinces are drying up and shrinking from drought caused by climate change, while the eastern boreal forest is holding its own.”
(January 30, 2011)
NRDC Staff Blog, with link to poll results
A Colorado College survey that polled voters across the political spectrum in 5 western states found broad support for environmental protection. A large majority (88%) are willing to pay more per month for renewable energy, and “2/3 believe the current laws protecting land, air and water should be strengthened, or at least better enforced.”
(January 26, 2012)
The new released forest planning rules for the Forest Service’s 193 million acres of land reflect over 300,000 comments since the draft was released last year. According to Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, the new forest planning rule will “encourage forest restoration and watershed protection while creating opportunities for the timber industry and those who use the forest for recreation.” The new rule allows land management plans for individual forests to be completed in 3-4 years instead of 7, and gives forest managers more flexibility to address forest conditions on the ground. The new rule revises the planning rule that dates from 1982, after which several attempts to revise it were struck down, at least 3 of which were since 2000. For more information, visit the Forest Service’s planning rule revision website.
(January 25, 2012)
For the first time since 1990 the US Department of Agriculture has updated the Plant Hardiness Zone Map, and much has changed. Zone changes reflect warming temperatures across the country, and nearly entire states are in warmer zones than they previously were. According to the USDA Press Release, most areas of the US are generally one 5-degree half-zone warmer than previously shown, due to more sophisticated methods of mapping and a longer range of temperature data. The new map can be viewed (and downloaded online) here: USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map.
(January 24, 2012)
New York Times
Several months after the conclusion of the Durban Climate Talks that concluded in a universal agreement to establish a new mandate for a binding agreement of some sort by 2015, this article looks at the road ahead, the promise that the agreement can have, and the gaps of what else is needed to create meaningful change in emissions and warming trends.
an international agreement among all
(January 19, 2012)
“The global average surface temperature in 2011 was the ninth warmest since 1880, according to NASA scientists. The finding continues a trend in which nine of the 10 warmest years in the modern meteorological record have occurred since the year 2000.” The posting includes a 26-second movie showing the differences from average temperature from 1884-2011.