‘Charismatic megafauna’ arrive in Copenhagen
For the Guardian's climate conference feature Copenhagen in pictures: Day 9, click on the body-builder turned actor and politician with the persistent tan that prompted LA Times columnist Steve Lopez to wonder if the governor of California had been "dipped in a bucket of Tang."
Until today, Copenhagen’s most famous citizen was a girl with a fishy tail sitting on a rock, reports the Guardian’s John Vidal. No more. The day saw the big beasts of the green jungle arrive — what ecologists would term the “charismatic megafauna,” intent on adding their weight and lustre to the struggling climate negotiation.
First up was “Governator” Arnold Schwarzenegger, who arrived at the conference centre with 10 men in black with wires sprouting from their ears, a phalanx of cameramen and a perma-tan. Lesser beasts, like mere ministers, diplomats, UN chiefs and state governors, bowed before him.
“Arnie is a climate activist …
Central Valley groundwater mining detected from space
Approximate location of maximum subsidence in the United States identified by research efforts of Dr. Joseph F. Poland (pictured). Signs on pole show approximate altitude of land surface in 1925, 1955, and 1977. The site is in the San Joaquin Valley southwest of Mendota, California. Source: USGS. Click on the image to be taken to a groundwater subsidence fact sheet.
PASADENA, California — New space observations reveal that since October 2003, the aquifers for California’s primary agricultural region — the Central Valley — and its major mountain water source — the Sierra Nevadas — have lost nearly enough water combined to fill Lake Mead, America’s largest reservoir, reports the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. To keep reading the JPL news release, click here.
Legislation that would have required monitoring of groundwater in the Central Valley was gutted at the last minute from the raft of water bills passed by the …
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