[GWSG] Western drought; blackouts; speediest glacier; oceans heating; XL protests; Amazonian corridors

[Tilley, Al]

1.  At an online conference researchers warned that the current drought in the US West is climate driven.  Previous droughts were due to temporary loss of precipitation; this one is due to chronically higher temperatures and permanent alteration of precipitation patterns, and may be expected to worsen until climate is addressed.  http://summitcountyvoice.com/2014/01/30/california-drought-linked-with-global-warming/   The NY Times provides further detail on California’s drought (and none on climate and only some images on the general regional problem).  http://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/02/us/severe-drought-has-us-west-fearing-worst.html?hp&_r=0
The drought is intensifying.  http://ecowatch.com/2014/02/03/drought-intensifies-western-u-s/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=drought-intensifies-western-u-s

2.  With growing demand and a shift to renewable energy, blackouts will become more frequent.  We should abandon our expectation of uninterrupted power.  http://www.climatecentral.org/news/report-warns-of-more-frequent-blackouts-in-the-future-17025?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+climatecentral%2FdjOO+Climate+Central+-+Full+Feed

3.  Greenland’s Jakobshavn Glacier is moving toward the sea at a record 10.5 miles per year, a record speed for Greenland or Antarctic glaciers.  http://e360.yale.edu/digest/greenlands_jakobshavn_glacier_is_moving_at_record_speeds_study_finds/4064/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+YaleEnvironment360+%28Yale+Environment+360%29

4.  The heat gain in the upper 700 meters of the oceans tripled in 2013 to the equivalent of over 12 Hiroshima bombs per second.  http://grist.org/news/ocean-temperatures-spiked-in-2013/?utm_source=syndication&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=feed

5.  Hundreds of vigils were planned across the country Feb. 3 to protest construction of the Keystone XL pipe line.  http://ecowatch.com/2014/02/03/vigils-protest-keystone-xl/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=vigils-protest-keystone-xl
Jeffrey Sachs and others comment on the rationale for the pipeline project.  http://climatecrocks.com/2014/02/04/keystone-and-the-national-interest/

6.  A Nature study presents over 16,000 prioritized habitat corridors among protected areas of the Brazilian Amazon.  The pathways would provide ways for animals and plants to seek new habitats as climate degrades their traditional homes.  http://newswatch.nationalgeographic.com/2014/02/03/corridors-to-survival-charting-a-path-to-combat-climate-change-in-the-tropics/
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