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On Tuesday a group of biologists searched through Alameda Creek in an attempt to find two Steelhead Trout that were spotted last week. After several hours of searching for the fish the hunt came up empty handed as they were unable to find the two fish. The group only ended up finding some carp and pike minnow. The reason for the urgent search of the Steelhead is because of their threatened endangerment under the Endangered Species Act. The search was done by blocking the escape routes under the weir and dragging the remaining pond with netting. The effort was helped along by the Alameda County Water District, which used an inflatable dam upstream to block the flow of the creek, which had been raging after a series of storms over the past week. The group is hoping to come back next week after the rest of the storms finish coming through to check again. http://www.sfgate.com/news/article/In-an-East-Bay-creek-a-hopeful-hunt-for-a-6891957.php?cmpid=twitter-desktop
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In a vote by nearly 200 nations they have adopted a new climate change policy. This is a huge landmark deal for climate change across the world. This new global framework lays the foundation for countries to work together to keep the world at a less than 2 degree increase of change over the next 100 years. This This sends a huge shout to private sectors that the world is moving towards green energy and that they need to join as well. Through innovation and ingenuity, we can achieve our climate objectives while creating new jobs, raising standards of living and lifting millions out of poverty. By signing all signee countries agree that climate change could potentially be a catastrophic disaster and irreversible change.
http://abcnews.go.com/International/global-climate-change-pact-approved-cop-21-conference/story?id=35729380 The Modoc Sucker is a little baby fish from Northern California and Souther Oregon. For years the fish has been on the endangered species list. Just the other day it was finally announced the fish are coming off the list. The Modoc Sucker fish have rebounded and are now making a comeback. It has taken 30 years of recovery efforts to get them back to the level needed to survive and flourish. The fish was put on the list originally in 1985 due to the destructions of habitats. The reason for their successful rebound? The ability of conservation teams to work with landowners to reduce overgrazing and fence livestock out of streams. This is the second Oregon fish to be taken off the endangered species list this year.
http://www.kdrv.com/news/regional/Once_Near_Extinction_Oregon_Fish_Rebounds.html Turlock Irrigation District has made changes to a project already begun in Hilmar that will hopefully preserve water conservation efforts They are constructing a small abandoned reservoir to catch excess water from the canal. The reservoir will save up to 9,000 acre-feet of water per year. The project will cost roughly 2.15 million dollars but with the addition of concrete bottom it increases the price by 915,000. The reason for the concrete bottom is the amount of surface water it will collect which will outweigh the cost benefit analysis. This project is supposed to be a huge addition to Hilmar's water conservation plan.
http://www.modbee.com/news/business/agriculture/article49101850.html The House of Representatives just voted to ban micro beads in personal care products in order to protect oceans and fish from destruction. The little beads that are in toothpastes and face washes are not detected by water treatment plants and thus sneak out to the ocean undetected. The effects of these beads? They have turned up in swordfish and tuna which kills them. It is not simply getting a few beads in the ocean. In a tube of face wash there are at least 300,o00 beads. These little beads are costing a huge deal to the ocean environment. Several states have already enacted bans but now it will apply to the whole US, a huge win for oceans.
http://snip.ly/XDu5#http://www.motherjones.com/blue-marble/2015/12/house-just-voted-ban-those-tiny-piecse-plastic-your-toothpaste In Australia the annual crab migration is occurring and because crabs take the most direct route from the forest to the coastline they are often traveling through golf course, roads, ect. In trying to help out the little critters they built a 18 ft bridge in order for the crabs to cross the road safely. According to people that run the bridge it has become a tourist attraction for people to come see these hundreds of crabs cross the street. Not only have they constructed bridges but also 31 underpasses have been constructed for the crab. This year they are expecting 50 million crabs to be engaging in the migration.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-12-09/bridge-helps-migrating-christmas-island-crabs-avoid-traffic/7014406 With the lack of rain water and snow pack over the last four years California has fallen into a catastrophic drought. The drought has got national safety warnings and is the primary concern of the state. Without the snow pack creating run off and flowing into the lakes to provide water for the central valley, farmers have turned to pumping ground water at crazy rates. With farmers pumping large numbers of water every day it is creating another crisis equal to the severity of the drought. Neighbors of farmers who have had wells for years are not able to compete with how deep and how much water they pump. The result; families wells are drying up and creating huge costs for families. Some towns near visalia have been without water for months and thus been left to have water tanks built and trucks bring in their water. This has huge costs and is not beneficial.
http://www.desertsun.com/story/news/environment/2015/12/10/california-overdraft/76372340/ California is not the only state experiencing water losses. According to a study snowpack in other states that usually fill water basins may be seeing a sort of drought in them due to low levels of snowpack. Global warming is having a effect on large snowpacks where the precipitation now is falling as rain rather than snow and washing away immediately or is making it warmer so that the snow melts away quicker. The snowfall in California this past season was recorded at its lowest in the last 500 years. Research done was recently over 400 water basins across the northern hemisphere that come from snowfall showed that only 97 of the water basins directly supply 2 billion people with water. In Turlock we rely on the water from the Sierra Nevada snow pact. That is one of the main reasons we have had little water these last 4 years was due to those low level of snow pacts. In order to help Turlock, this year the rainfall and the snow pact need to be large.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/11/151112055240.htm As of this afternoon Hurricane Joaquin has been announced to be a category four hurricane. The results of this hurricane could be disasteruous.
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December 2015
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