Controversy Over Climate and Pacific Northwest Snowpack

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2008094636_climate06m.html

The Seattle Times
Wednesday, August 6, 2008 – Page updated at 12:00 AM

UW study examines decline of snowpack
By Warren Cornwall

Seattle Times environment reporter

Maybe the snow in the Cascade Mountains isn’t in
such immediate peril from global warming after
all.

Despite previous studies suggesting a warmer
climate is already taking a bite out of
Washington’s snowpack, there’s no clear evidence
that human-induced climate change has caused a
drop in 20th century snow levels, according to a
new study by University of Washington scientists.

Continue reading

Eco-Restoration Along U.S. Gulf Coast?

Along Gulf Coast, Talk Of Restoring Wetlands
by Andrea Hsu

Andrea Hsu/NPR

Researchers want the Gulf Coast’s wetlands to look more like Louisiana’s Lafitte Cypress Swamp (pictured). It is thought the wetlands will serve as a speed bump

against major storms.

All Things Considered, August 5, 2008 · Researchers working along the Gulf Coast are proposing the restoration of the region’s wetlands, which act as a natural speed

bump for storms. The plan is part of discussions of how best to protect against another hurricane.

Students from the University of Wisconsin-Madison are studying a 430-acre triangle within New Orleans’ Bayou Bienvenue. Their work is part of a proposal aimed at

restoring a cypress swamp.

————————————————————————————

African Parks Withdraws From Ethiopian Indigenous Lands

Landloss threat ends as African Parks withdraws from Ethiopia

African Parks Foundation (now known as African Parks Network) of the
Netherlands has announced it will withdraw from its lease of the Omo and Nech
Sar National Parks, Ethiopia, by October, 2008. Seven tribes live in or use the
land that comprises Omo Park, and an estimated 40,000 people use park
resources. In a statement released by African Parks in December, 2007, they
cited the actions of human rights organizations and possible “legal challenges
from one party or other” in their reasons for withdrawing from the Omo Park.
Native Solutions to Conservation Refugees has advocated for the rights of the
local communities in and around the Omo Park since January, 2006.

To read the full article, go to:
http://globaljusticeecology.org/connections.php?ID=154

Native Solutions is a project of GJEP. To view their website, go to:
http://www.conservationrefugees.org/

————————————————————————————

Study: Logging Exacerbates Global Heating

———————————————————————–
” …  the potential amount of avoided emissions is much larger,
and therefore there’s much more to be gained from protecting
them from logging. It means the risks of logging are bigger
than we thought.”
———————-

Sydney Morning Herald (Australia)
August 5, 2008

Logging bigger risk than realised: study
Ben Cubby, Environment Reporter
http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2008/08/04/1217701950056.html

WILD eucalypt forests across south-eastern Australia store far more
carbon than previously thought, according to research that has
far-ranging implications for climate change policy.

Continue reading