2 Articles: Sahara Dried Slowly-Not Abruptly, May Be Green Again

Sahara dried out slowly, not abruptly: study
Thu May 8, 2008 5:46pm EDT

By Alister Doyle, Environment Correspondent

OSLO (Reuters) – The once-green Sahara turned to desert over thousands of years rather than in an abrupt shift as previously believed, according to a study on Thursday that may help understanding of future climate changes.

And there are now signs of a tiny shift back towards greener conditions in parts of the Sahara, apparently because of global warming, said the lead author of the report about the desert’s history published in the journal Science.

The study of ancient pollen, spores and aquatic organisms in sediments in Lake Yoa in northern Chad showed the region gradually shifted from savannah 6,000 years ago towards the arid conditions that took over about 2,700 years ago.

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First-Ever Comprehensive Global Map of Freshwater Systems Released

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 8, 2008
12:02 PM

CONTACT: World Wildlife Fund / The Nature Conservancy
Virginia Cramer 804-225-9113 x 102

World Wildlife Fund and The Nature Conservancy Release First-Ever Comprehensive Global Map of Freshwater Systems

WASHINGTON, DC – May 8 – Over a decade of work and contributions by more than 200 leading conservation scientists have produced a first-ever comprehensive map and database of the diversity of life in the world’s freshwater ecosystems. The map and associated fish data – a collaborative project between World Wildlife Fund and The Nature Conservancy — are featured in the May issue of the journal BioScience.

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Airline Emissions ‘Far Higher Than Previous Estimates’

Independent.co.uk
Airline emissions ‘far higher than previous estimates’

By Cahal Milmo
Tuesday, 6 May 2008
http://www.independent.co.uk/environment/climate-change/airline-emissions-far-higher-than-previous-estimates-821598.html

The aviation industry’s failure to curb its soaring carbon emissions
could lead to the “worst case scenario” for climate change, as
envisaged by the United Nations.

An unpublished study by the world’s leading experts has revealed that
airlines are pumping 20 per cent more carbon dioxide into the
atmosphere than estimates suggest, with total emissions set to reach
between 1.2 billion and 1.5 billion tonnes annually by 2025.

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Public Overwhelms Interior Dept. With Opposition to Latest Proposed Oil & Gas Project in Utah’s Famed Nine Mile Canyon

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 7, 2008
12:29 PM

CONTACT: Environmental Groups
Stephen Bloch, Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance, (801) 486-3161 x.3981
Pam Miller, Nine Mile Canyon Coalition, (435) 650-2900
Johanna Wald, Natural Resources Defense Council, (415) 875-6100
Suzanne Jones, The Wilderness Society, (303) 650-5818 x.102
Thomas Kleinschnitz, Utah Guides and Outfitters, (800) 423-4668

Public Overwhelms Interior Dept. With Opposition
to Latest Proposed Oil & Gas Project in Utah’s Famed Nine Mile Canyon

SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH – May 7 – Last week tens of thousands of Americans from across the nation called on the U.S. Department of the Interior and the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to reject a Denver-based gas company’s plans to drill more than 800 new natural gas wells in eastern Utah’s Nine Mile Canyon region, an area world-renowned for its fragile rock art sites. Local and regional businesses and conservation groups also have asked the Interior Department to go back to the drawing board and not approve the West Tavaputs full-field development project offered by Bill Barrett Corporation and supported by the BLM.

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