2 months ago
HONG KONG, Sept 14 (Reuters) - The Himalayas are approaching a tipping point as glaciers melt faster than a decade ago, threatening water security as the region approaches "peak water" by mid-century, according to a study released this month.
The findings come after the collapse of a Himalayan glacier in late August along the Nepal-Tibet border, which caused cascading landslides and flash floods in the valleys below. At least 1,300 people have been confirmed dead and more than 5,300 are missing across Nepal and China's Tibet region.
As glaciers retreat, they are leaving behind unstable glacial lakes held back by little more than loose rock and ice, above valleys where millions of people live, the study found.
The study was produced by Systemiq, a sustainability advisory firm, together with the Integrated Mountain Initiative, the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development, and India's G.B. Pant National Institute of Himalayan Environment.
Himalayan glacier mass loss had accelerated in recent decades, while only 21 glaciers were currently monitored on the ground out of an estimated 40,000 glaciers across the Hindu Kush-Himalaya region, a vast mountain system spanning eight countries from Afghanistan to Myanmar, the study found.
#mountain #region #nepal
The findings come after the collapse of a Himalayan glacier in late August along the Nepal-Tibet border, which caused cascading landslides and flash floods in the valleys below. At least 1,300 people have been confirmed dead and more than 5,300 are missing across Nepal and China's Tibet region.
As glaciers retreat, they are leaving behind unstable glacial lakes held back by little more than loose rock and ice, above valleys where millions of people live, the study found.
The study was produced by Systemiq, a sustainability advisory firm, together with the Integrated Mountain Initiative, the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development, and India's G.B. Pant National Institute of Himalayan Environment.
Himalayan glacier mass loss had accelerated in recent decades, while only 21 glaciers were currently monitored on the ground out of an estimated 40,000 glaciers across the Hindu Kush-Himalaya region, a vast mountain system spanning eight countries from Afghanistan to Myanmar, the study found.
#mountain #region #nepal
3 months ago
WASHINGTON — Mike Lindell, a close ally of President Donald Trump known as the "My Pillow Guy," said he's not ready to concede in the Republican primary for Minnesota governor, and blamed potential voting irregularities despite losing by 11 percentage points to Minnesota House Speaker Lisa Demuth.
Even as it became clear he would fall short, the Trump-endorsed Lindell told reporters late Tuesday night that he believed 265,000 votes cast on Election Day hadn't been counted and could push him to the lead.
Asked on Aug. 11 whether he would concede if the ****** ociated Press calls the race for his opponent, Lindell said he would not.
"The AP? Why would I listen to the AP?" Lindell said. "There's 265,000 votes left to count. I'm down by 18,000 now. We just gained 5,000. I'm not going to give up this race until the votes are counted. That's nonsense."
Lindell never pulled ahead, and the ****** ociated Press called the election at 11:26 p.m.
#lindell #minnesota #election
Even as it became clear he would fall short, the Trump-endorsed Lindell told reporters late Tuesday night that he believed 265,000 votes cast on Election Day hadn't been counted and could push him to the lead.
Asked on Aug. 11 whether he would concede if the ****** ociated Press calls the race for his opponent, Lindell said he would not.
"The AP? Why would I listen to the AP?" Lindell said. "There's 265,000 votes left to count. I'm down by 18,000 now. We just gained 5,000. I'm not going to give up this race until the votes are counted. That's nonsense."
Lindell never pulled ahead, and the ****** ociated Press called the election at 11:26 p.m.
#lindell #minnesota #election
4 months ago
By Dan Rosenzweig-Ziff
WASHINGTON, July 14 (Reuters) - Todd Blanche will walk into his confirmation hearing on Wednesday carrying baggage that might have sunk past attorney general nominees.
That includes a client list featuring the president who nominated him, a since-shelved $1.8 billion "anti-weaponization fund" that many Republicans called reckless and a stack of demands from Democrats, former prosecutors and Jeffrey Epstein survivors urging senators to vote no after they say he botched the release of the Epstein files.
And yet, Republican insiders expect him to easily win confirmation. The outcome will determine who leads the Justice Department at a time when it is pursuing prosecutions of President Donald Trump's perceived adversaries and facing questions about its independence from the White House.
"He's on a glide path to confirmation," said Mike Davis, a former chief counsel for nominations to Senate Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley who remains an influential outside voice in the Trump orbit.
WASHINGTON, July 14 (Reuters) - Todd Blanche will walk into his confirmation hearing on Wednesday carrying baggage that might have sunk past attorney general nominees.
That includes a client list featuring the president who nominated him, a since-shelved $1.8 billion "anti-weaponization fund" that many Republicans called reckless and a stack of demands from Democrats, former prosecutors and Jeffrey Epstein survivors urging senators to vote no after they say he botched the release of the Epstein files.
And yet, Republican insiders expect him to easily win confirmation. The outcome will determine who leads the Justice Department at a time when it is pursuing prosecutions of President Donald Trump's perceived adversaries and facing questions about its independence from the White House.
"He's on a glide path to confirmation," said Mike Davis, a former chief counsel for nominations to Senate Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley who remains an influential outside voice in the Trump orbit.
