Shades of 'Gray Literature': How Much IPCC Reform is Needed?
New York, August 30 2010 —
A better way to compile and review climate science starts with making sure the organization charged with it has an adequate and accountable full-time staff. > www.scientificamerican.com: How Much IPCC Reform is Needed?
Copenhagen, Augustus 30, 2010 -
The fear that global temperature can change very quickly and cause dramatic climate changes that may have a disastrous impact on many countries and populations is great around the world. But what causes climate change and is it possible to predict future climate change? New research from the Niels Bohr Institute at the University of Copenhagen shows that it may be due to an accumulation of different chaotic influences and as a result would be difficult to predict. The results have just been published in Geophysical Research Letters. > www.eurekalert.com: Dramatic climate change is unpredictable
Friends of the Earth urges end to 'land grab' for biofuels
Hot Air Rises at Talks and in Towns
Paris, Augustus 28, 2010 -
The European Union (EU) is failing to fulfil its environmental commitments in practically all areas, from protecting biodiversity to improving air quality in the cities, according to official studies released this month. > www.ipsnews.net: Hot Air Rises at Talks and in Towns
This Is the Hottest Year Ever, and the Climate Catastrophe Has Begun
London August 27 2010 - (by Johannn Hari) -
Thank god man-made global warming was proven to be a hoax. Just imagine what the world might have looked like now if those conspiring scientists had been telling the truth.
No doubt NASA would be telling us that this year is now, so far, the hottest since humans began keeping records. The weather satellites would show that even when heat from the sun significantly dipped earlier this year, the world still got hotter.
Russia's vast forests would be burning to the ground in the fiercest drought they have ever seen, turning the air black in Moscow, killing 15,000 people, and forcing foreign embassies to evacuate. Because warm air holds more water vapor, the world's storms would be hugely increasing in intensity and violence -- drowning one fifth of Pakistan, and causing giant mudslides in China. Thank god, this all is proven to be a hoax! > www.huffingtonpost.com: This Is the Hottest Year Ever, and the Climate Catastrophe Has Begun
The Smearing of an Innocent man
London / Exeter, August 27 2010 - (by Georges Monbiot) -
Has anyone been as badly maligned as Rajendra Pachauri, chairman of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)?
In December, the Sunday Telegraph carried a long and prominent feature written by Christopher Booker and Richard North, titled: Questions over business deals of UN climate change guru Dr Rajendra Pachauri.
The subtitle alleged that Pachauri has been “making a fortune from his links with ‘carbon trading’ companies”. The article maintained that the money made by Pachauri while working for other organisations “must run into millions of dollars”.
It described his outside interests as “highly lucrative commercial jobs”. It proposed that these payments caused a “conflict of interest” with his IPCC role. It also complained that we don’t know “how much we all pay him” as chairman of the IPCC.
The story (which has subsequently been removed from the Sunday Telegraph’s website) immediately travelled around the world. It was reproduced on hundreds of blogs. The allegations it contained were widely aired in the media and generally believed. For a while, no discussion of climate change or the IPCC appeared complete without reference to Pachauri’s “dodgy” business dealings and alleged conflicts of interest.
There was just one problem: the story was untrue. > www.monbiot.com: The Smearing of an Innocent man
Rajendra Pachauri cleared of financial misdealings
London, August 26 2010 -
Nobel laureate Rajendra Kumar Pachauri, the chairman of the United Nation's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), did not abuse his position to enrich himself, according to an independent review of his finances by the accountants KPMG that was published publicly for the first time today.
Rajendra Pachauri, had come under pressure to resign following two mistakes in a 2007 IPCC report and false allegations that he had made millions of dollars from advisory roles. > www.guardian.co.uk: Rajendra Pachauri cleared of financial misdealings > www.guardian.co.uk: Read the full report by KPMG
Experts urge faster, more relevant UN climate reports
New Delhi, August 21 2010 -
Leading British newspaper Daily Telegraph on Saturday apologised for publishing an article about UN climate body chairman RK Pachauri accusing him of making a fortune from his links with "carbon trading" firms. The international publication had been running a campaign since last year against the chief of Nobel Prize-winning Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) who has strongly rubbished the allegations and even issued several legal notices threatening to sue it.
Pachauri's stand was vindicated on Saturday as the UK-based paper in an apology posted on its website said, "On December 20 last year we published an article about Dr Pachauri and his business interests.
"It was not intended to suggest that Dr Pachauri was corrupt or abusing his position as head of the IPCC and we accept KPMG found he had not made 'millions of dollars' in recent years," it said.
The newspaper further said, "We apologise to Dr Pachauri for any embarrassment caused." > www.hindustantimes.com: Daily Telegraph apologises to Pachauri > www.telegraph.co.uk: Dr Pachauri - Apology
UN to get report on climate panel August 30
Amsterdam, August 20 2010 -
A UN-requested review of the world's top panel of climate scientists, accused of flaws in a key assessment on global warming, will be unveiled on August 30, the investigating committee said on Friday.
The InterAcademy Council (IAC) committee that conducted the independent review of the processes and procedures of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) will deliver its report to U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and IPCC Chair Rajendra K. Pachauri in New York City.
The report, CLIMATE CHANGE ASSESSMENTS: REVIEW OF THE PROCESSES AND PROCEDURES OF THE IPCC, will be publicly released at a press conference in the U.N.’s Dag Hammarskjold Library Auditorium beginning at 10 a.m. EDT. The event will be webcast live and archived for later viewing at http://www.un.org/webcast. Upon release, the IAC report will be available online at http://reviewipcc.interacademycouncil.net/. > www.physorg.com: UN to get report on climate panel August 30 > www.un.org/webcast/ > interacademycouncil.net: Review of the IPCC
Planet burning: Russia fires threaten climate
Moscow, 19 Aug, 2010 -
Besides causing 700 extra deaths a day in Moscow alone - due to the smoke from forest fires, according to its top health official - the smoke has quickened the melting of Arctic ice. > scitizen.com: Planet burning: Russia fires threaten climate
Drought drives decade-long decline in plant growth
SEA researchers find widespread floating plastic debris in the western North Atlantic Ocean
August 19, 2010
Despite growing awareness of the problem of plastic pollution in the world's oceans, little solid scientific information existed to illustrate the nature and scope of the issue. This week, a team of researchers from Sea Education Association (SEA), Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI), and the University of Hawaii (UH) published a study of plastic marine debris based on data collected over 22 years by undergraduate students in the latest issue of the journal Science. > www.physorg.com: SEA researchers find widespread floating plastic debris in the western North Atlantic Ocean
Global Temperature Anomalies July 2010
In early August 2010, the NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS) released its analysis of global temperatures for the previous month. In July 2010, GISS found, the global average temperature was 0.55 degrees Celsius (almost 1 degree Fahrenheit) warmer than climatology—defined as average temperatures for the same month from 1951 to 1980. July 2010 was practically in a three-way tie for the warmest July on record, tied with July 1998 and July 2005. > earthobservatory.nasa.gov: Global Temperature Anomalies July 2010
Confessions of a recovering environmentalist
August, 16 2010 -
"Environmentalism, which in its raw, early form had no time for the encrusted, seized-up politics of left and right, has been sucked into the yawning, bottomless chasm of the 'progressive' left." A personal, twenty-year journey through the world’s wild places and the movements to protect them is also, for Paul Kingsnorth, an education in the limits of a project that has forgotten nature and lost its soul. > www.opendemocracy.net: Confessions of a recovering environmentalist
Wageningen, August 13 2010 -
Microalgae are considered one of the most promising feedstocks for biofuels. The productivity of these photosynthetic microorganisms in converting carbon dioxide into carbon-rich lipids, only a step or two away from biodiesel, greatly exceeds that of agricultural oleaginous crops, without competing for arable land.
Worldwide, research and demonstration programs are being carried out to develop the technology needed to expand algal lipid production from a craft to a major industrial process. Although microalgae are not yet produced at large scale for bulk applications, recent advances—particularly in the methods of systems biology, genetic engineering, and biorefining—present opportunities to develop this process in a sustainable and economical way within the next 10 to 15 years. > www.sciencemag.org: An Outlook on Microalgal Biofuels
Despite efforts, France fails to curb CO2
Paris, August 13, 2010 —
France's carbon dioxide emissions have remained constant over the last two decades despite efforts to curb the potent greenhouse gas, a government agency reported Thursday.
Between 1990 and 2007 -- the most recent year for which figures are available -- total CO2 emissions increased slightly from 438 million to 439 million tonnes, according to the ministry for sustainable development. > www.afp.com: Despite efforts, France fails to curb CO2
'Environmentalism' can never address climate change
Moscow, 11 August 2010 -
The thick smog in Moscow is for 80 to 90 percent caused by fires in drained peatlands near Moscow. Despite the relatively small areas where the peat fires occur, these are the fires that cause the massive air pollution in Moscow involving major risks for the health of residents of the region, as well as enormous CO2 emissions. Peat fires are difficult to extinguish and may continue to burn underground for months, even after rainfall like last night. > www.wetlands.org: Moscow smog mainly caused by burning peatlands > Russia’s fires: worsened by peatland drainage (Aug 04)
Pakistan floods: Climate change experts say global warming could be the cause
Moscow deaths double in Russia's 'worst ever' heat
Moscow, August 9 2010 -
The daily mortality rate in Moscow has doubled and morgues are overflowing amid an acrid smog caused by the worst heatwave in Russia's thousand-year history, officials said Monday. > www.terradaily.com: Moscow deaths double in Russia's 'worst ever' heat
Turning Estates into Villages
London, August 9 2010 -
It took me a while to recognise what I was seeing. It was an ordinary campsite in Pembrokeshire: a square field with tents around the perimeter. But it had a curious effect on the children staying there. Young people who had seldom experienced daylight slowly emerged from their tents and were drawn towards the centre of the field. Bats and balls left on the grass mysteriously appeared in their hands. Children with no prior interest in sport started playing football, cricket and rounders. Little kids ran around with older ones. As children of all classes played together, their parents started talking to each other. It hit me with some force: we had reinvented the village green. > www.monbiot.com: Turning Estates into Villages
The worst impact of climate change may be how humanity reacts to it
August 6 2010 -
The way that humanity reacts to climate change may do more damage to many areas of the planet than climate change itself unless we plan properly, an important new study published in Conservation Letters by Conservation International's Will Turner and a group of other leading scientists has concluded.
The paper Climate change: helping nature survive the human response, looks at efforts to both reduce emissions of greenhouse gases and potential action that could be taken by people to adapt to a changed climate and assesses the potential impact that these could have on global ecosystems.
In particular it notes that one fifth of the world's remaining tropical forests lie within 50km of human populations that could be inundated if sea levels rise by 1m. These forests would make attractive sources of fuel-wood, building materials, food and other key resources and would be likely to attract a population forced to migrate by rising sea levels. About half of all Alliance for Zero Extinction sites – which contain the last surviving members of certain species – are also in these zones. > www.eurekalert.org: The worst impact of climate change may be how humanity reacts to it > www.conservation.org / Climate change: helping nature survive the human response
Global Tropical Forests Threatened by 2100
Palo Alto (Ca), August 5 2010 -
By 2100 only 18% to 45% of the plants and animals making up ecosystems in global, humid tropical forests may remain as we know them today, according to a new study led by Greg Asner at the Carnegie Institution’s Department of Global Ecology. The research combined new deforestation and selective logging data with climate-change projections. It is the first study to consider these combined effects for all humid tropical forest ecosystems and can help conservationists pinpoint where their efforts will be most effective. The study is published in the August 5, 2010, issue of Conservation Letters. > carnegiescience.edu: Global Tropical Forests Threatened by 2100
Travelling by car increases temperatures more than by plane
Oslo, August 4 2010 -
Driving alone in a car increases global temperatures in the long run more than making the same long-distance journey by air according to a new study. However, in the short run travelling by air has a larger adverse climate impact because airplanes strongly affect short-lived warming processes at high altitudes. > www.cicero.uio.no: Travelling by car increases temperatures more than by plane
New carbon dioxide emissions model
August 4 2010, (EurekaAlert) -
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) calculated projected temperature changes for various scenarios in 2007 and researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Meteorology in Hamburg have now gone one step further: they have developed a new model that specifies the maximum volumes of carbon dioxide that humans may emit to remain below the critical threshold for climate warming of two degrees Celsius. To do this, the scientists incorporated into their calculations data relating to the carbon cycle, namely the volume of carbon dioxide absorbed and released by the oceans and forests. The aim of the international ENSEMBLES project is to simulate future changes in the global climate and carbon dioxide emissions and thereby to obtain more reliable threshold values on this basis. (Climatic Change, July 21, 2010) > www.eurekalert.org: New carbon dioxide emissions model
Russian Patriarch Prays For Rain As Wildfires Rage
Moscow, August 4 2010 -
Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill asked Russians to pray for rain on Sunday as wildfires raged across the European parts of the vast country, sweltering since June in an unprecedented heat wave.
The hottest weather since records began 130 years ago has withered crops and pushed thousands of farmers to the verge of bankruptcy.
The Emergencies Ministry said that as of Sunday morning, 774 fires, including 369 that started since Saturday, were raging in an area totaling about 130,000 hectares (500 sq miles), about the size of the administrative area of the city of Los Angeles.
At least 28 people have died in wildfires in European Russia in the past few days, the ministry said and more than 5,200 people have been evacuated. > planetark.org: Russian Patriarch Prays For Rain As Wildfires Rage
Is it possible to limit global warming to no more than 1.5°C?
London, August 3 2010 -
A new report has been published on ‘Mitigating climate change through reductions in greenhouse gas emissions: is it possible to limit global warming to no more than 1.5°C?’, by the Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment, the Centre for Climate Change Economics and Policy, and the Met Office Hadley Centre.
The report can be downloaded at: www2.lse.ac.uk (pdf 20 pgs).
International Ice Core Team Hits Bedrock in Greenland
Seatlle, July 27 / August 3 2010 -
Next to Antarctica, Greenland is home to the largest ice sheet on Earth. Scientists in the frigid north of this enormous island have achieved quite an accomplishment by drilling all the way to the bedrock under the ice. On Tuesday, July 27, 2010 at the North Greenland Eemian Ice Drilling site (NEEM), the team completed their drilling to a depth of 2537.36 meters. > www.enn.com: International Ice Core Team Hits Bedrock in Greenland > neem.nbi.ku.dk: North Greenland Eemian Ice Drilling
Can Science feed the World?
London, July 28 2010 -
More than one billion people go hungry today, and the vast majority of them are in low-income countries. Increasing yield sustainably — using less water, fertilizers and pesticides — is going to be a crucial part of the solution. Nature asks what role science has to play in securing food for the future. > www.nature.com: Can Science feed the World? www.nature.com: How to feed a hungry world
NOAA Has 10 Answers to Allegations That 'Climategate' Disproves Warming
The Prince of Wales accuses sceptics of peddling 'pseudo science'
London, July 15 2010 -
The Prince of Wales has accused climate change sceptics of using 'pseudo science' and 'intimidation' to stop the world from addressing catastrophic global warming.
He likened the failure to combat rising temperatures across the world to playing "Russian Roulette with the future of our children".
But instead of acting, the Prince said more and more people are listening to the "siren voices" of climate change sceptics who argue that the theory of man-made global warming is simply a "sinister attempt to undermine the capitalist system".
> www.telegraph.co.uk: The Prince of Wales accuses sceptics of peddling 'pseudo science'
London, July 8, 2010 -
Two new reports say the science of climate change is fine, but that some scientists and the institutions they work in need to change their attitudes. > www.economist.com: Science behind closed doors
Climategate: No whitewash, but CRU scientists are far from squeaky clean
High Above the Earth, Satellites Track Melting Ice
Yale, July 06, 2010 -
The surest sign of a warming Earth is the steady melting of its ice zones, from disappearing sea ice in the Arctic to shrinking glaciers worldwide. Now, scientists are using increasingly sophisticated satellite technology to measure the extent, thickness, and height of ice, assembling an essential picture of a planet in transition.
news.bbc.co.uk: CRU climate scientists 'did not withold data' > e360.yale.edu: High Above the Earth, Satellites Track Melting Ice
Studies cast further doubt on sustainability of bioenergy
Brussels, June 29, 2010 -
Two new independent scientific studies launched today cast further doubt on the EU’s policy of promoting biomass as fuel for heat and power generation, and biofuels for transport, [1] according to BirdLife International, the European Environmental Bureau and Transport & Environment. > www.transportenvironment.org: Studies cast further doubt on sustainability of bioenergy
Medvedev Sees Risk to Euro and BP
St. Petersburg, 17 June 2010 -
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev expressed doubts about the future of Europe's common currency and said the Gulf of Mexico oil spill could threaten the survival of BP PLC.
Asked whether Europe's debt turmoil could threaten the euro, Mr. Medvedev said, "I don't exaggerate the threat, but it can't be underestimated."
On the eve of his first state visit to the U.S. next week, Mr. Medvedev also questioned whether the Gulf oil spill might lead to the "annihilation" or breakup of BP, as the company faces billions of dollars in losses from the disaster. > online.wsj.com: Medvedev Sees Risk to Euro and BP
Restating the IPCC's reason for being
Montreal / Amsterdam, June 15 May 14 2010 -
As the latest meeting of the InterAcademy Council's review into the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change convenes in Montreal, IPCC chairman R K Pachauri says the past year has been "momentous" for the organisation, and not always for the right reasons. In this week's Green Room, he sets out how and why the panel was established, and argues that it plays a vital role in the global climate policy debate. > news.bbc.co.uk / Rajendra Pachauri: Restating the IPCC's reason for being > news.bbc.co.uk / Rajendra Pachauri: IPCC must 'listen and learn' (May 14)
NOAA: May Global Temperature is Warmest on Record
New York, 15 June 2010 -
The combined global land and ocean surface temperature was the warmest on record for May, March-May (Northern Hemisphere spring-Southern Hemisphere autumn), and the period January-May according to NOAA. Worldwide average land surface temperature for May and March-May was the warmest on record while the global ocean surface temperatures for both May and March-May were second warmest on record, behind 1998.
The monthly analysis from NOAA’s National Climatic Data Center, which is based on records going back to 1880, is part of the suite of climate services NOAA provides government, business and community leaders so they can make informed decisions. > NOAA: May Global Temperature is Warmest on Record
EU promotes ‘green jobs’ as way out of crisis
Brussels, 11 June 2010 -
Plans to create a generation of 'green' jobs will involve low-skilled as well as high-skilled workers, and could therefore play a key social function in addressing Europe's unemployment crisis, EU officials and MEPs told a Brussels conference yesterday (10 June). > www.euractiv.com: EU promotes ‘green jobs’ as way out of crisis
More cold and snowy winters
Oslo, June 11 2010 -
“Cold and snowy winters will be the rule, rather than the exception,” according to a study presented by the American climate researcher Dr. James Overland at the International Polar Year Oslo Science Conference on Friday. > www.barentsobserver.com: More cold and snowy winters
Government's chief scientific adviser hits out at climate sceptics
London, May 28 2010 -
UK Royal Society revives confusion as US concludes climate change certainty. Professor John Beddington dismisses 'unreasonable' comments from groups including Nigel Lawson's thinktank, as Royal Society responds to critics with new climate science guide. > www.guardian.co.uk: Government's chief scientific adviser hits out at climate sceptics
Gulf states face food crisis
Manama, Bahrain May 27, 2010 -
The scramble by Saudi Arabia and the Persian Gulf states to secure strategic food supplies by buying up vast tracts of farmland in Africa and Asia won't be enough to stave off a surge of food imports over the next decade, a Saudi bank report says.
"The era of cheap food is over," NCB Capital, the investment arm of Saudi Arabia's National Commercial Bank, declared in the report issued several weeks ago. > www.seeddaily.com: Gulf states face food crisis
USF’s R/V Weatherbird II Detects Invisible Hydrocarbons in Gulf Waters
Washington, May 26, 2010 -
The Obama administration today will suspend planned exploratory oil drilling in the Arctic Ocean off Alaska until at least 2011, a casualty of the Gulf of Mexico oil spill.
The suspension will be part of a report that Interior Secretary Ken Salazar will give to President Barack Obama, who's likely to address the suspension as well as other proposals stemming from Salazar's report, at a White House news conference today. > www.adn.com: Obama to suspend oil > www.newyorker.com / Elisabeth Colbert: Oil shocks (31-05)
Polar bears face 'tipping point' due to climate change
Washington, May 24, 2010 -
BACK in 1993, a boy playing football near Nanjing, China, suddenly fell through the ground. He had inadvertently found a new cave, later named Hulu, which has turned out to be a scientific treasure chest. Besides two Homo erectus skeletons, it contains stalagmites that have helped solve one of the greatest mysteries in climate science: why the ice ages came and went when they did. > www.newscientist.com: Meltdown: Why ice ages don't last forever > www.newscientist.com: The history of ice on Earth
A Himalayan Village Builds Artificial Glaciers to Survive Global Warming
Leh, May 24, 2010 -
As glaciers disappear in the rain shadow of the Himalayas, one man is helping farmers irrigate their fields by storing water in an innovative way.
In the high-altitude desert of the Indian trans-Himalayas, he is buying time for villagers suffering from global warming by creating artificial glaciers. > www.scientificamerican.com: A Himalayan Village Builds Artificial Glaciers to Survive Global Warming
Amsterdam, May 22 2010 -
The United Nations proclaimed May 22 The International Day for Biological Diversity (IDB) to increase understanding and awareness of biodiversity issues.
What is biological diversity? Why is it important? Why do we keep losing species, genes and ecosystems at unprecedented speed? What will be the consequences? What are the costs? And how can we reverse this trend? These and similar questions will be widely discussed throughout 2010. The goal is to help people understand how important biodiversity is for healthy and sustainable development on earth.
22 May is a special day in this regard: every year the world celebrates International Biodiversity Day on that date. This is a great opportunity to draw public attention to the issues at stake. > www.cbd.int: International Day for Biological Diversity > www.biodiversity-day.info: A Global Action Day and Media Event
Climate sceptics rally to expose 'myth'
Chicago, May 21 2010 -
In the Grand Ballroom Of Chicago's Magnificent Mile Hotel, dinner was over.
Beef, of course. A great pink hunk of it from the American Mid-West. At the world's biggest gathering of climate change sceptics, organised by the right-wing Heartland Institute, vegetarians were an endangered species.
Wine flowed and blood coursed during a rousing address from Heartland's libertarian president Joseph Bast. Climate change is being used by governments to oppress the people, he believes. > bbc.co.uk: Climate sceptics rally to expose 'myth'
Ocean Stored Significant Warming Over Last 16 Years: Research
London, May 21 2010 -
The upper layer of the world’s ocean has warmed since 1993, indicating a strong climate change signal, according to a new study.
“We are seeing the global ocean store more heat than it gives off,” said John Lyman, an oceanographer at NOAA’s Joint Institute for Marine and Atmospheric Research, who led an international team of scientists that analyzed nine different estimates of heat content in the upper ocean from 1993 to 2008. > www.physorg.com: Ocean Stored Significant Warming Over Last 16 Years > www.nature.com: Robust warming of the global upper ocean
Strong Evidence on Climate Change Underscores Need for Action
Washington, May 19, 2010 -
As part of its most comprehensive study of climate change to date, the National Research Council today issued three reports emphasizing why the U.S. should act now to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and develop a national strategy to adapt to the inevitable impacts of climate change. The reports are part of a congressionally requested suite of five studies known as America's Climate Choices. > www8.nationalacademies.org: Strong Evidence on Climate Change Underscores Need for Action > americasclimatechoices.org
The Anthropocene Debate: Marking Humanity’s Impact
Yale, May 17 2010 -
Is human activity altering the planet on a scale comparable to major geological events of the past? Scientists are now considering whether to officially designate a new geological epoch to reflect the changes that homo sapiens have wrought: the Anthropocene. > e360.yale.edu / The Anthropocene Debate: Marking Humanity’s Impact
Disaster unfolds 'slowly' in the Gulf of Mexico
New Orleans / Houston, May 14 2010 -
Recent footage released by BP shows the undersea oil 'vulcano' in the Gulf of Mexico following the disaster with the Deepwater Horizon Oil rig.
IPCC's Pachauri says climate body must 'listen and learn'
Amsterdam, May 14 2010 -
The head of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has said the organisation needs to learn from recent criticisms and modernise its workings.
But despite making an error over Himalayan glacier melt in its landmark 2007 report, the panel's basic conclusions remain sound, he said.
Rajendra Pachauri was speaking at the opening session of a UN-commissioned review into the IPCC's workings. > news.bbc.co.uk: IPCC's Pachauri says climate body must 'listen and learn' > reviewipcc.interacademycouncil.net: Presentations
What the coalition means for environmental policies
Brussels, May 12 2010 -
The world needs a binding, fair, and ambitious climate deal, something that was not accomplished in Copenhagen at the end of last year. The stakes are even higher this year, but the U.S.'s intransigence is making the prospects for a global deal very dim. Don't take my work for it. The European Union's climate chief, Connie Hedegaard, said as much today at a speech at the London-based International Institute for Environment and Development. > www.treehugger.com / EU Climate Chief: No US, No Global Climate Deal
Hulme: "After the crash - a new direction for climate policy"
London, May 6 2010 -
In a letter published in the journal Science, more than 250 members of the US National Academy of Sciences, including 11 Nobel Prize laureates, condemned the increase in "political assaults" on scientists who argue greenhouse gas emissions are warming the planet.
"We are deeply disturbed by the recent escalation of political assaults on scientists in general and on climate scientists in particular. All citizens should understand some basic scientific facts. There is always some uncertainty associated with scientific conclusions; science never absolutely proves anything. When someone says that society should wait until scientists are absolutely certain before taking any action, it is the same as saying society should never take action. For a problem as potentially catastrophic as climate change, taking no action poses a dangerous risk for our planet." > www.telegraph.co.uk: Climate change deniers accused of McCarthyism > www.sciencemag.org: Climate Change and the Integrity of Science
As oil spill nears Gulf Coast, experts issue dire warnings
An adaptability limit to climate change due to heat stress
Sydney / PNAS, May 3, 2010 -
Despite the uncertainty in future climate-change impacts, it is often assumed that humans would be able to adapt to any possible warming. Here we argue that heat stress imposes a robust upper limit to such adaptation. Peak heat stress, quantified by the wet-bulb temperature TW, is surprisingly similar across diverse climates today.
TW never exceeds 31 °C. Any exceedence of 35 °C for extended periods should induce hyperthermia in humans and other mammals, as dissipation of metabolic heat becomes impossible. While this never happens now, it would begin to occur with global-mean warming of about 7 °C, calling the habitability of some regions into question. With 11–12 °C warming, such regions would spread to encompass the majority of the human population as currently distributed.
Eventual warmings of 12 °C are possible from fossil fuel burning. One implication is that recent estimates of the costs of unmitigated climate change are too low unless the range of possible warming can somehow be narrowed. Heat stress also may help explain trends in the mammalian fossil record. > www.pnas.org: An adaptability limit to climate change due to heat stress (abstract) > www.google.com: Earth may be too hot for humans by 2300: study
UCSD researchers outline strategy to limit global warming
May 3, 2010 -
Major greenhouse gas-emitting countries agreed in December climate talks held in Copenhagen that substantial action is required to limit the increase of global average temperature to less than 2 degrees C (3.6 degrees F).
In a paper appearing May 3 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), Veerabhadran Ramanathan and Yangyang Xu, climate researchers at Scripps Institution of Oceanography, UC San Diego, have identified three avenues by which those countries can avoid reaching the warming threshold, a point beyond which many scientists believe climate change will present unmanageable negative consequences for society. > www.physorg.com: UCSD researchers outline strategy to limit global warming
CO2 effects on plants increases global warming
May 3, 2010 -
Trees and other plants help keep the planet cool, but rising levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere are turning down this global air conditioner. According to a new study by researchers at the Carnegie Institution for Science, in some regions more than a quarter of the warming from increased carbon dioxide is due to its direct impact on vegetation. This warming is in addition to carbon dioxide's better-known effect as a heat-trapping greenhouse gas. For scientists trying to predict global climate change in the coming century, the study underscores the importance of including plants in their climate models. > www.physorg.com: CO2 effects on plants increases global warming
Ignoring legitimate global-warming facts is dangerous
Bakersfield (CAL/USA) May 1 2010 -
Until the 1990s, most climatologists were unconcerned or unaware that our atmosphere is warming. All that changed in 1995 with the release of the first Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report, which concluded there was significant empirical evidence that human activity is affecting global climate. > www.bakersfield.com: Ignoring legitimate global-warming facts is dangerous
Report: Governments Have Failed to Protect Biodiversity
April 29 2010 -
In 2002, 191 nations pledged to significantly reduce the rate of biodiversity loss around the world by 2010. Despite the promises, enshrined in the Convention on Biological Diversity, the plight of threatened species has gotten worse, not better, researchers report online today in Science.
“All the evidence indicates that governments have failed to deliver on their commitments, and we have failed to meet the 2010 target,” says Matthew Walpole, a co-author of the report from the United Nations Environment Programme’s World Conservation Monitoring Centre in Cambridge, United Kingdom. > news.sciencemag.org: Governments Have Failed to Protect Biodiversity > news.bbc.co.uk: World's 2010 nature target 'will not be met' > www.telegraph.co.uk: World fails to stop extinction
Climate Policy Post-Copenhagen: Action at three levels offers prospect of success
Bonn, 29 April 2010 -
The German Advisory Council on Global Change (WBGU) will today submit a Policy Paper to the German Government, represented by Federal Environment Minister Dr Norbert Röttgen. The Policy Paper shows how the current deadlock in international climate policy can be broken. > www.wbgu.de: Climate Policy Post-Copenhagen: Action at three levels offers prospect of success
EPA Confirms Climate IS Changing
Washington, 28 April 2010 -
In another display of the sea change that has occurred at the US Environmental Protection Agency under the current administration, a new report was issued yesterday regarding indicators of climate change. The report, entitled "Climate Change Indicators in the United States," measures 24 separate indicators showing how climate change affects the health and environment of US citizens. > www.enn.com: EPA Confirms Climate IS Changing
Reviving the spirit of Rio
London, 27 April 2010 -
Following the near collapse of the UN climate negotiations in December and the seeming paralysis of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) in March, the whole idea of solving the world's environmental problems through multilateral negotiations seems to be in crisis. But, argue Maurice Strong and Felix Dodds, another recent development holds out the promise of reversing the trend. > news.bbc.co.uk: Reviving the spirit of Rio
Soil Production of C02 May Decline As World Warms
Washington, 27 April 2010 -
Contradicting earlier studies showing that soil microbes will emit more carbon dioxide as global warming intensifies, new research suggests that these microbes become less efficient over time in a warmer environment and would actually emit less CO2. The research, published in the journal Nature Geoscience, could have important implications for calculating how much heat-trapping CO2 will accumulate in the atmosphere as temperatures rise. > www.enn.com: Soil Production of C02 May Decline As World Warms
Strong flow of Antarctic Bottom Water
Berlin, April 27, 2010 -
Deep western boundary currents east of the Antarctic Peninsula and the Kerguelen plateau are important pathways for transporting deep Antarctic water masses to the global ocean. An array of moored current meters, used to quantify the water transport in this system, reveals a flow that is stronger than any measured in a deep western boundary current at similar depths so far. > www.nature.com: Strong export of Antarctic Bottom Water east of the Kerguelen plateau
Climate change not slowing: German weather service
Berlin, April 27, 2010 -
Climate change is showing no signs of slowing despite a severe winter in Germany that helped reduce public concerns about the threat of global warming, Germany's leading meteorologist said on Tuesday.
Wolfgang Kusch, president of the German Meteorological Service (DWD), said it was a mistake to interpret the harsh winter of 2009/10 as a sign climate change is abating. A German opinion poll recently found fears of climate change falling sharply.
"Despite fluctuations, temperatures are still moving in one direction -- higher," he said. "Climate researchers have to look at least 30-year periods when talking about trends...At the same time the last decade was the warmest in Germany in 130 years." > www.dw-world.de: German temperature gains outpace expectations > www.dwd.de: Geschichte des Klimawandels ist nicht neu zu schreiben (27-04) > www.scientificamerican.com: Climate change not slowing: German weather service
Merkel Abandons Aim of Binding Climate Agreement
Berlin, April 26, 2010 -
Frustrated by the climate change conference in December, German Chancellor Angela Merkel is quietly moving away from her goal of a binding agreement on limiting climate change to 2 degrees Celsius. She has also sent out signals at the EU level that she no longer supports the idea of Europe going it alone. > www.spiegel.de: Merkel Abandons Aim of Binding Climate Agreement
The Age Of Aquarius? Nope, It Is The Anthropocene Epoch
Washington DC (SPX) April 26, 2010 -
In just two centuries, humans have wrought such vast and unprecedented changes to our world that we actually might be ushering in a new geological time period that could alter the planet for millions of years, according to a group of prominent scientists that includes a Nobel Laureate. They say the dawning of this new epoch could lead to the sixth largest mass extinction in the Earth's history. Their commentary appears in ACS' bi-weekly journal Environmental Science and Technology. > www.terradaily.com: The Age Of Aquarius? Nope, It Is The Anthropocene Epoch > pubs.acs.org: The New World of the Anthropocene
Copenhagen Accord - missing the mark
London, April 23 2010 -
Current pledges to reduce emissions are no where near good enough to keep the planet's warming to below 2°C, argue Joeri Rogelj, Malte Meinshausen and colleagues in an opinion piece in Nature this week.
They analyzed the pledges made in conjunction with the Copenhagen Accord, taking into account a few major loopholes that will likely make emissions worse. First, they say, most nations will only meet the higher ends of their emissions reductions targets if there is a better international agreement in place, so the lower ends of their targets are more realistic.
Secondly, many nations have banked surplus emissions allowances from 2008-2012 that they are likely to use after 2012. Thirdly, some nations will probably be permitted extra allowances thanks to land use change, such as planting forests, that go beyond actual emissions savings. All of this paints a poor picture of future emissions. > blogs.nature.com: Copenhagen Accord - missing the mark > www.nature.com: Copenhagen Accord pledges are paltry > www.physorg.com: Copenhagen pledges set Earth for +3 C warming
Earth, but not as we know it
April 22 2010 -
In his new book, environmentalist Bill McKibben says we must abandon the notion that economic growth and environmental sustainability are compatible — only then can we prevent a climate catastrophe. Interview by Christine Woodside. > www.nature.com / Bill McKibben: Earth, but not as we know it
Climate Science Will Prevail
Yale (US), April 20 2010 -
The chairman of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change acknowledges it has been a rough few months for his organization. But, he argues, no amount of obfuscation and attacks by conspiracy theorists will alter the basic facts — global warming is real and intensifying.> e360.yale.edu: Climate Science Will Prevail
New York, 16 April 2010 -
The rise in greenhouse gases in the atmosphere means far more energy is coming into Earth's climate system than is going out, but half of that energy is missing and could eventually reappear as another sign of climate change, scientists said on Thursday.
In stable climate times, the amount of heat coming into Earth's system is equal to the amount leaving it, but these are not stable times, said John Fasullo of the U.S. National Center for Atmospheric Research, a co-author of the report in the journal Science.
The gap between what's entering the climate system and what's leaving is about 37 times the heat energy produced by all human activities, from driving cars and running power plants to burning wood. > e360.yale.edu: The Earth’s ‘Missing Heat’ > planetark.org: Earth's Missing Heat Could Haunt Us Later: Report > planetark.org: Tracking Earth's Energy > www.eurekalert.org: 'Missing' heat may affect future climate change
Response by the University of East Anglia to the Report by Lord Oxburgh’s Science Assessment Panel
The Natural World Vanishes:
How Species Cease To Matter
(Yale) April 8 2010 -
Once, on both sides of the Atlantic, fish such as salmon, eels, and, shad were abundant and played an important role in society, feeding millions and providing a livelihood for tens of thousands. But as these fish have steadily dwindled, humans have lost sight of their significance, with each generation accepting a diminished environment as the new norm. > e360.yale.edu: The Natural World Vanishes: How Species Cease To Matter
Performers line up for Earth Day’s 40th anniversary
Berlin, April 4 2010 -
Plagued by reports of sloppy work, falsifications and exaggerations, climate research is facing a crisis of confidence. How reliable are the predictions about global warming and its consequences? And would it really be the end of the world if temperatures rose by more than the much-quoted limit of two degrees Celsius? > www.spiegel.de: A Superstorm for Global Warming Research
Britain brandishes olive branch to restart global climate change talks
London, March 31 2010 -
Britain brandished a diplomatic olive branch today as it tried to restart global climate change negotiations with an initiative to heal the rift between rich and poor countries following the failure of the Copenhagen summit.
Climate secretary Ed Miliband conceded considerable ground, offering to sign a new Kyoto treaty as developing countries' demand, but while also requiring that those nations enshrine their commitments to tackling global warming in international law. > www.guardian.co.uk: Britain brandishes olive branch to restart global climate change talks
"Below" 2C Opens New Rift In U.N. Climate Battle
Oslo, March 31 2010 -
A goal to limit global warming to "below" 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 Fahrenheit) is opening a new rift for 2010 talks on a U.N. climate treaty as developing nations say it means the rich must deepen cuts in greenhouse gas emissions.
An alliance of 101 developing nations and island states says the temperature target, endorsed by major emitters since the Copenhagen summit in December, is tougher than a previous goal by industrialized nations of 2 degrees as a maximum rise.
"2.0 degrees is unacceptable," said Dessima Williams, Grenada's ambassador to the United Nations who represents the Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS) which wants to limit temperatures to below 1.5 Celsius above pre-industrial times. > planetark.org: "Below" 2C Opens New Rift In U.N. Climate Battle
UK 'Climategate' inquiry largely clears scientists
London, March 27 2010 -
The Earth has entered a new age of geological time – the epoch of new man, scientists claim.
Humans have wrought such vast and unprecedented changes on the planet that we may be ushering in a new period of geological history.
Through pollution, population growth, urbanisation, travel, mining and use of fossil fuels we have altered the planet in ways which will be felt for millions of years, experts believe.
It is feared that the damage mankind has inflicted will lead to the sixth largest mass extinction in Earth’s history with thousands of plants and animals being wiped out.
The new epoch, called the Anthropocene – meaning new man – would be the first period of geological time shaped by the action of a single species. > www.telegraph.co.uk: Earth 'entering new age of geological time' > www.eurekalert.org: The dawn of a new epoch? > pubs.acs.org: The New World of the Anthropocene
'I'm not quitting' says under-fire UN climate boss
The trillion-dollar question is: who will now lead the climate battle?
London, March 27 2010 -
Political and business leaders gather this week in an attempt to revive the world's faltering challenge to global warming. But they face a battle to lift the cloud of scepticism that has descended over climate science and chart a new way forward. > www.guardian.co.uk: The trillion-dollar question is: who will now lead the climate battle?
China steams ahead on clean energy
Shanghai, March 26 2010 -
China overtook the US during 2009 to become the leading investor in renewable energy technologies, according to a new analysis.
Researchers with the Pew Charitable Trusts calculate that China invested $34.6bn (£23.2bn) in clean energy over the year, almost double the US figure.
The UK emerges in third place among G20 nations, followed by Spain and Brazil.
The most spectacular growth has come in South Korea, which saw installed capacity rise by 250% in five years.
Globally, investment has more than doubled in the last five years, Pew finds, with the recent economic turmoil generating only a slight dip. > news.bbc.co.uk: China steams ahead on clean energy > www.guardian.co.uk / Pew report: China overtakes US as top clean tech investor
More needed in climate change fight, MPs say
London, March 25 2010 -
Far more needs to be done by the government to help the UK adapt to climate change, MPs have said.
The Environmental Audit Committee says a programme to "retrofit" homes to make them more energy and water efficient and resilient to flooding is required.
Its report says adapting to climate change needs to become as much of a priority as cutting emissions. > news.bbc.co.uk: More needed in climate change fight, MPs say
Marine biodiversity: life in seas under threat
Copenhagen, March 17, 2010 -
Climate change, pollution, acidification, over-exploitation of fish stocks, invasive alien species all threaten life in our seas and consequently the services we obtain from them. The European Environment Agency’s (EEA) new short assessment of marine biodiversity takes a closer look at the ‘less known half’ of EU territory. > www.eea.europa.eu / Marine biodiversity: life in seas under threat
CO2 At New Highs Despite Economic Slowdown
Oslo, March 16, 2010 -
Levels of the main greenhouse gas in the atmosphere have risen to new highs in 2010 despite an economic slowdown in many nations that braked industrial output, data showed on Monday.
Carbon dioxide, measured at Norway's Zeppelin station on the Arctic Svalbard archipelago, rose to a median 393.71 parts per million of the atmosphere in the first two weeks of March.
"Looking back at the data we have from Zeppelin since the end of the 1980s it seems like the increase is accelerating" Johan Stroem, of the Norwegian Polar Institute, said of the data compiled with Stockholm University. > www.planetark.org: CO2 At New Highs Despite Economic Slowdown
4 Keys To A Successful Sustainability Strategy
March 16, 2010 - (planetark/Greener World Media)
Consider these morsels from last week's Wall Street Journal: "By 2050, there could be two billion cars on the road -- twice as many as there are today." "Energy demand is expected to be 35 percent higher in 2030 than in 2005." "Pollution of drinking water is Americans' No. 1 environmental concern."
If you're of the mind that the global economy is an Energizer battery that will simply go, go, go -- without needing outside attention -- think again. > www.planetark.org: 4 Keys To A Successful Sustainability Strategy
EU Ministers Develop Conclusions Regarding Copenhagen Follow-up
Brussels, 15 March 2010 -
During a meeting on 15 March 2010, in Brussels, Belgium, the Council of the Environment Ministers of the EU adopted conclusions on climate change regarding the “Follow-up to the Copenhagen Conference.” > climate-l.org: EU Ministers Develop Conclusions Regarding Copenhagen Follow-up
China's Wen Says Not To Blame For Copenhagen Problems
Beijng, March 15 2010 -
China's Premier Wen Jiabao hit back on Sunday at critics who blamed China for the feeble outcome of the Copenhagen climate conference, saying he was not even invited to a key meeting he was accused of skipping.
Wen's defensive comments on climate change focused on last year's contentious summit, but his prickly tone suggested China will remain a demanding negotiator in resumed negotiations aiming to reach a global climate change pact in Mexico at the end of this year. > www.planetark.org: China's Wen Says Not To Blame For Copenhagen Problems
Farming is mainly to blame for the loss of our native plants and wildlife
London, March 14 2010 -
England was given an uncomfortable reminder last week of the impact of its swelling number of inhabitants. Over the past two millennia, hundreds of its native plants and animals have been rendered extinct because the human population has risen from about one million to more than 51 million. Farming is mainly to blame for the loss of our native plants and wildlife
Sun Won't Stop Global Warming If Dims As In 1600s
Oslo, March 11, 2010 -
A dimming of the sun to match conditions in the "Little Ice Age" of the 17th century would only slightly slow global warming, a study indicated on Wednesday.
A weakening of solar activity in recent years, linked to fewer sunspots, would cut at most 0.3 degree Celsius (0.5 F) from a projected rise in temperatures by 2100 if it becomes a long-lasting "Grand Minimum" of brightness, they said.
"The notion that we are heading for a new Little Ice Age if the sun actually entered a Grand Minimum is wrong," Georg Feulner, lead author of the study at the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, said in a statement. > planetark.org: Sun Won't Stop Global Warming If Dims As In 1600s
InterAcademy Council Asked to Review Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
New Report Offers Little Hope for International Climate Agreement
March 9, 2010 - (ENN) -
It's the big pink elephant in the room that few others wish to acknowledge, but a central theme in a new report by former climate negotiator Nigel Purvis: An international climate change treaty isn't likely to be signed anytime soon. > climate-l.org: New Report Offers Little Hope for International Climate Agreement
Humans must be to blame for climate change, say scientists
March 5, 2010 - (Independent) -
Climate scientists have delivered a powerful riposte to their sceptical critics with a study that strengthens the case for saying global warming is largely the result of man-made emissions of greenhouse gases.
The researchers found that no other possible natural phenomenon, such as volcanic eruptions or variations in the activity of the Sun, could explain the significant warming of the planet over the past half century as recorded on every continent including Antarctica.
It is only when the warming effect of emitting millions of tonnes of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere from human activity is considered that it is possible to explain why global average temperatures have risen so significantly since the middle of the 20th century. > www.independent.co.uk: Humans must be to blame for climate change, say scientists
NGO's alarm EU to not support forest conversion for biofuels
Amsterdam, 4 March 2010 -
The EU Parliament has formulated sustainability criteria to prevent forest loss for biofuel production. Now, a leaked draft document shows how the Commission intends to allow and support conversion of for instance rainforest areas into palm oil plantations to produce biodiesel.
Wetlands International together with a long list of NGOs urges the European Commission to alter their broad definition of ‘forests’ as it conflicts with the green intentions of the Renewable Energy Directive, violates UN-definitions and is scientifically incorrect. > www.wetlands.org: NGO's alarm EU to not support forest conversion for biofuels
India Announces Coal Tax To Fund Renewable Energy Projects
New Delhi, March 4 2010 -
In a landmark announcement the Indian Finance Minister, in his annual Budget speech, put forward the proposal of setting of National Clean Energy Fund which would be constituted through tax lieved on coal usage in the country. > www.scientificamerican.com: India Announces Coal Tax To Fund Renewable Energy Projects
World leaders, top academics selected for Ban’s climate change advisory group
New York, March 4 2010 -
Philanthropist George Soros and prominent British academic Nicholas Stern are among the 19 members of the high-level advisory group set up by Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon seeking to mobilize financing to help developing countries combat climate change, it was announced today.
Last month, Mr. Ban launched the Advisory Group on Climate Change Financing, which will be headed up by the Prime Ministers of the United Kingdom and Ethiopia, Gordon Brown and Meles Zenawi.
It was also revealed in February that President Bharrat Jagdeo of Guyana and Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg of Norway will participate. > www.timesonline.co.uk: World leaders, top academics selected for Ban’s climate change advisory group
Al Gore: We Can’t Wish Away Climate Change
New York, 27 February 2010 -
It would be an enormous relief if the recent attacks on the science of global warming actually indicated that we do not face an unimaginable calamity requiring large-scale, preventive measures to protect human civilization as we know it. > www.nytimes.com: We Can’t Wish Away Climate Change
Climate change report sets out an apocalyptic vision of Britain
London, February 26 2010 -
Mass migration northwards to new towns in Scotland, Wales and northeast England may be needed to cope with climate change and water shortages in the South East, according to an apocalyptic vision set out by the Government Office for Science.
Heathrow would be converted into a giant reservoir by 2035, there could be severe restrictions on flying and driving and farmers would be forced to sell their land to giant agricultural businesses. Greenhouse gas emissions would be controlled by carbon rationing for individuals, which would lead to “significant shifts in lifestyle as everyone tries to stay within budget”. > www.timesonline.co.uk: Climate change report sets out an apocalyptic vision of Britain > Apocalyptic Warnings: "The Medea hypothesis": Life is out to get you
IPCC chief Rajendra Pachauri to face independent inquiry
Climate wars damage the scientists but we all stand to lose in the battle
London, February 23 2010 -
So the case is closed. The release of private emails between climate scientists at the University of East Anglia that show malpractice and conspiracy have had their effect. Public acceptance of the reality of global warming has dipped, politicians are retreating and changes to how science is done and scientists behave are required.
I do not accept this. I believe this seductively simple narrative is based on ignorance, scientific illiteracy and hypocrisy. Worse, it is dangerous and will erode the very public confidence it seeks to restore. > www.guardian.co.uk: Climate wars damage the scientists but we all stand to lose in the battle
Whaling body proposes compromise
Bali (Indonesia), 23 February 2010 –
The working group set up by the International Whaling Commission (IWC) has proposed allowing a limited return to commercial whale hunts, in exchange for a reduction in the number of whales killed annually.
The proposal would allow Japan to continue its hunt of the mammals on a quota basis, while suspending its hunts for the purposes of "research".
The proposal, developed but not endorsed by a 12-nation IWC working group, calls for the suspension of "scientific whaling" - a loophole which Japan uses to circumvent the 1986 moratorium on commercial whaling. > english.aljazeera.net: Whaling body proposes compromise
More Ambition Needed if Greenhouse Gases are to Peak in Time, Says New UNEP Report
CU-Boulder prof speaks on mass media role in climate change skepticism
February 22, 2010 -
Mass media have been a key vehicle by which climate change contrarianism has traveled, according to Maxwell Boykoff, a University of Colorado at Boulder professor and fellow of the Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences, or CIRES.
Boykoff, an assistant professor of environmental studies, presented his research today at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in San Diego. He spoke during a panel discussion titled "Understanding Climate Change Skepticism: Its Sources and Strategies." > www.physorg.com: CU-Boulder prof speaks on mass media role in climate change skepticism
Cars Emerge as Key Atmospheric Warming Force: Study
Hampton (VA/US), February 19, 2010 -
For decades, climatologists have studied the gases and particles that have potential to alter Earth's climate. They have discovered and described certain airborne chemicals that can trap incoming sunlight and warm the climate, while others cool the planet by blocking the Sun's rays. > www.physorg.com: Cars Emerge as Key Atmospheric Warming Force: Study
Yvo de Boer's resignation compounds sense of gathering climate crisis
Setting the climate record straight
London, February 17 2010 -
Climate researcher Martin Parry at Imperial College London co-chaired the second working group of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) — the group charged with assessing the effects climate change is likely to have and how these might be mitigated — for the IPCC's fourth assessment. During the past month, the IPCC has corrected an error about the amount of melting anticipated for the Himalayan glaciers and defended its estimates of the financial costs of damage caused by natural disasters. Nature talks to Parry, who has been busy juggling writing up his own research with investigating queries about the 2007 report. > www.nature.com: Setting the climate record straight
On the brink of extinction – 25 of our closest relatives
Climate skeptics exploiting 'scandal': US envoy
Washington, February 16 2010 -
The US pointman on climate change on Tuesday accused vested interests of exploiting recent scientific scandals, saying there was an overwhelming case for the world to take action.
Todd Stern, the US special envoy on climate issues, downplayed recent revelations about a landmark 2007 study by the UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) that warned of dire consequences from global warming. > www.yahoo/afp.ocm: Climate skeptics exploiting 'scandal': US envoy
Whatevergate
London, February 16 2010 -
It won’t have escaped many of our readers’ notice that there has been what can only be described as a media frenzy (mostly in the UK) with regards to climate change in recent weeks. The coverage has contained more bad reporting, misrepresentation and confusion on the subject than we have seen in such a short time anywhere. While the UK newspaper scene is uniquely competitive (especially compared to the US with over half a dozen national dailies selling in the same market), and historically there have been equally frenzied bouts of mis-reporting in the past on topics as diverse as pit bulls, vaccines and child abductions, there is something new in this mess that is worth discussing. And that has been a huge shift in the Overton window for climate change. > www.realclimate.org: Whatevergate
New enzymes turn waste into fuel
Bagsvaerd (DK), February 16 2010 -
Novozymes launches the first commercially viable enzymes for production of biofuel from agricultural waste. Breakthroughs in enzyme technology enable cellulosic biofuel as a competitive alternative to gasoline.
Novozymes’ new Cellic® CTec2 enzymes enable the biofuel industry to produce cellulosic ethanol at a price below USD 2.00 per gallon for the initial commercial-scale plants that are scheduled to be in operation in 2011. This cost is on par with gasoline and conventional ethanol at the current US market prices. > www.novozymes.com: IPCC errors: facts and spin
IPCC errors: facts and spin
London, February 14 2010 -
Currently, a few errors –and supposed errors– in the last IPCC report (“AR4?) are making the media rounds – together with a lot of distortion and professional spin by parties interested in discrediting climate science. Time for us to sort the wheat from the chaff: which of these putative errors are real, and which not? And what does it all mean, for the IPCC in particular, and for climate science more broadly? > www.realclimate.org: IPCC errors: facts and spin
The Two Faces of Agriculture
Berlin, February 14, 2010 -
The challenge of the 21st century is to transform agriculture into a good administrator of biodiversity and reverse its destructive capacity, without restricting its mission to feed a growing world population, said Achim Steiner, executive director of the United Nations Environment Programme.
Like the Roman god Janus, whose two faces look in opposite directions, agriculture can either protect the planet's biodiversity, or decimate it with the irrational use of chemical inputs and the reduction of soil fertility.
According to the U.N., some 150 species disappear every day, victims of human activities - including rural production - that cause climate change and transform ecosystems.
Tierramérica spoke with the head of UNEP in Berlin, on the occasion of the launch of the International Year of Biodiversity, which is calling attention to the urgent need to protect and conserve the great variety of flora and fauna on Earth. > www.tierramerica.info: The Two Faces of Agriculture
Report: El Nino fueled record global warmth in January
Global temperature anomalies for the lower troposphere, in January 2010. Below-normal areas (in blue) were restricted to parts of Russia and China, most of Europe, and the southeastern USA. Most of Canada and Greenland were well above normal (red and orange). Lower tropospheric temperature anomalies for one month over a small region don't necessarily match surface temperature anomalies.
Alabama (US) February 12 2010 -
Due to a strong El Nino climate pattern, the Earth's temperature in January 2010 was the warmest it's been in January in 32 years, according to climate scientists from the University of Alabama-Huntsville. El Nino is a periodic natural warming of the tropical Pacific Ocean, which also heats the atmosphere to above-average levels, and can affect weather worldwide. > Report: El Nino fueled record global warmth in January
38 percent of world's surface in danger of desertification
Sevilla, February 9 2010 -
A team of Spanish researchers has measured the degradation of the planet's soil using the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), a scientific methodology that analyses the environmental impact of human activities, and which now for the first time includes indicators on desertification. The results show that 38 percent of the world is made up of arid regions at risk of desertification. > www.physorg.com: 38 percent of world's surface in danger of desertification
Soil contributes to climate warming more than expected
(Physorg), February 9, 2010 -
The climatic warming will increase the carbon dioxide emissions from soil more than previously estimated. This is a mechanism that will significantly accelerate the climate change. Already now the carbon dioxide emissions from soil are ten times higher than the emissions of fossil carbon. A Finnish research group has proved that the present standard measurements underestimate the effect of climate warming on emissions from the soil. > www.physorg.com: Soil contributes to climate warming more than expected
NOAA Launches "Climate Services" With Website
(Science), February 9, 2010 -
Officials at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, as long as 4 years ago, hoped that NOAA would be the home of what they were calling Climate Services. Today, with the launch of a new Web site called climate.gov, NOAA's Climate Services has debuted, albeit modestly. > NOAA Launches "Climate Services" With Website > www.climate.gov
Think-tanks take oil money and use it to fund climate deniers
London, February 8 2010 -
An orchestrated campaign is being waged against climate change science to undermine public acceptance of man-made global warming, environment experts claimed last night.
The attack against scientists supportive of the idea of man-made climate change has grown in ferocity since the leak of thousands of documents on the subject from the University of East Anglia (UEA) on the eve of the Copenhagen climate summit last December.
Free-market, anti-climate change think-tanks such as the Atlas Economic Research Foundation in the US and the International Policy Network in the UK have received grants totalling hundreds of thousands of pounds from the multinational energy company ExxonMobil. Both organisations have funded international seminars pulling together climate change deniers from across the globe. > www.independent.co.uk: Think-tanks take oil money and use it to fund climate deniers
Sceptics have their uses
London, 7 February 2010
The climate change sceptics have done us all a favour. This may seem a curious view for a newspaper so committed to the cause of environmental sustainability. But, by challenging the consensus view of global warming, the sceptics have tested the flabbier assumptions of that consensus and forced the proponents of the majority view to sharpen their arguments. > www.independent.co.uk: Sceptics have their uses
US 'climategate' scientist all but cleared of misconduct
Michigan, February 3 2010 -
A prominent US climate scientist at the centre of the "climategate" leaked email controversy has been virtually cleared of professional misconduct by an internal university enquiry.
Michael Mann, of Penn State University, featured regularly in the more than 1000 emails that were hacked from the University of East Anglia in the UK last November. His emails and comments have since then featured in countless blogs and news articles. Some have claimed the emails reveal that mainstream climate scientists have massaged data in order to demonstrate that climate change is caused by human activities. > www.newscientist.com: US 'climategate' scientist all but cleared of misconduct
London, February 2 2010 -
Just over two years after winning the Nobel Peace Prize, the United Nations panel on climate change is undergoing a period of soul-searching.
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has always been a target for climate-change sceptics. In recent weeks, however, criticism has mounted and the panel admitted to a glaring error in its last comprehensive report, released in 2007, which says that Himalayan glaciers are likely to melt completely by 2035 (see Nature 463, 276–277; 2010). On top of that, its chairman, Rajendra Pachauri, is under pressure to resign because the institute he directs, the Energy and Resources Institute in New Delhi, has ties with companies that could benefit from climate policies. > www.nature.com: IPCC flooded by criticism
Ed Miliband declares war on climate change sceptics
London, February 1 2010 -
The climate secretary, Ed Miliband, last night warned of the danger of a public backlash against the science of global warming in the face of continuing claims that experts have manipulated data.
In an exclusive interview with the Observer, Miliband spoke out for the first time about last month's revelations that climate scientists had withheld and covered up information and the apology made by the influential UN climate body, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), which admitted it had exaggerated claims about the melting of Himalayan glaciers.
The perceived failure of global talks on combating climate change in Copenhagen last month has also been blamed for undermining public support. But in the government's first high-level recognition of the growing pressure on public opinion, Miliband declared a "battle" against the "siren voices" who denied global warming was real or caused by humans, or that there was a need to cut carbon emissions to tackle it. > www.guardian.co.uk: Ed Miliband declares war on climate change sceptics > www.independent.co.uk: Miliband warns against climate change cynicism > www.telegraph.co.uk: Faulty science risks obscuring 'larger truth' of climate change
How the 'climategate' scandal is bogus and based on climate sceptics' lies
London, February 1 2010 -
Claims based on email soundbites are demonstrably false – there is manifestly no evidence of clandestine data manipulation.
Almost all the media and political discussion about the hacked climate emails has been based on brief soundbites publicised by professional sceptics and their blogs. In many cases, these have been taken out of context and twisted to mean something they were never intended to.
Elizabeth May, veteran head of the Canadian Green party claims to have read all the emails and declared: "How dare the world's media fall into the trap set by contrarian propagandists without reading the whole set?" > www.guardian.co.uk: How the 'climategate' scandal is bogus and based on climate sceptics' lies
UN-HABITAT Grants Cities Lecture Award to IPCC Chair
New York, February 1 2010 -
The UN Human Settlements Programme (UN-HABITAT), through the Global Research Network on Human Settlements, its advisory board for the global report on human settlements, has awarded Rajendra Pachauri the 2010 UN-HABITAT Cities Lecture Award for his contribution and leadership on climate change and cities. > www.unhabitat.org: UN-HABITAT Grants Cities Lecture Award to IPCC Chair
'Climate emails hacked by spies'
London, February 1 2010 -
A highly sophisticated hacking operation that led to the leaking of hundreds of emails from the Climatic Research Unit in East Anglia was probably carried out by a foreign intelligence agency, according to the Government's former chief scientist. Sir David King, who was Tony Blair's chief scientific adviser for seven years until 2007, said that the hacking and selective leaking of the unit's emails, going back 13 years, bore all the hallmarks of a co-ordinated intelligence operation – especially given their release just before the Copenhagen climate conference in December. > www.independent.co.uk: Climate emails hacked by spies' > www.independent.co.uk: We should know who leaked the emails on climate change
As the World Burns
Washington , February 1 2010 -
This was supposed to be the transformative moment on global warming, the tipping point when America proved to the world that capitalism has a conscience, that we take the fate of the planet seriously. According to the script, Congress would pass a landmark bill committing the U.S. to deep cuts in carbon emissions. President Obama would then arrive in Copenhagen for the international climate summit, armed with the moral and political capital he needed to challenge the rest of the world to do the same. After all, wasn't this the kind of bold move the Norwegians were anticipating when they awarded Obama the Nobel Peace Prize? > www.rollingstone.com: As the world burns
Global deal on climate change in 2010 'all but impossible'
London, 1 February 2010 -
A global deal to tackle climate change is all but impossible in 2010, leaving the scale and pace of action to slow global warming in coming decades uncertain, according to senior figures across the world involved in the negotiations.
"The forces trying to tackle climate change are in disarray, wandering in small groups around the battlefield like a beaten army," said a senior British diplomat. > www.guardian.co.uk: Global deal on climate change in 2010 'all but impossible'
Bin Laden blasts US for climate change
Cairo, January 30 2010 -
Osama bin Laden sought to draw a wider public into his fight against the United States in a new message Friday, dropping his usual talk of religion and holy war and focusing instead on an unexpected topic: global warming.
The al-Qaida leader blamed the United States and other industrialized nations for climate change and said the only way to prevent disaster was to break the American economy, calling on the world to boycott U.S. goods and stop using the dollar. > ap.com: Bin Laden blasts US for climate change
EU agrees to make lowest climate offer to UN
Brussel, 28 January 2010 -
The European Union has decided to stick to its lowest offer for cutting carbon emissions under a UN climate accord, but will maintain a conditional pledge to do more if others follow suit, EU diplomats said on Wednesday (27 January). > www.euractiv.com: EU agrees to make lowest climate offer to UN
Simulated volcanoes and man-made 'sun blocks' can rescue the planet
London, 28 January 2010 -
It would be 100 times cheaper to shield the Earth from sunlight with a man-made "sun block" than to cut emissions of greenhouse gases. This is one of the reasons why the world needs an international project to investigate ways of safely manipulating the global climate in addition to cutting greenhouse gases, scientists have said. > www.independent.co.uk: Simulated volcanoes and man-made 'sun blocks' can rescue the planet
A Journalist Reflects on the Rising Heat in Climate Debate
New Haven, January 26 2010 -
Although he writes one of the most popular blogs on the environment, Dot Earth author Andrew Revkin recognizes both the drawbacks and potential of the Web for exploring complex issues. In an interview with Yale Environment 360, Revkin explains why the rhetoric surrounding climate change has gotten so hot. > www.e360.yale.edu: A Journalist Reflects on the Rising Heat in Climate Debate
Icy hunt for old air
Wais Divide Camp, Antarctica, January 25 2010 -
"We're checking out history books made of ice," says Kendrick Taylor. A palaeoclimatologist at the Desert Research Institute in Reno, Nevada, Taylor is the chief scientist of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet (WAIS) Divide drilling project, which is now three-quarters of the way towards pulling up the most temporally precise record of carbon dioxide for the past 100,000 years. The highly anticipated ice core promises to improve climatologists' understanding of the dynamic global climate system, and has already begun to illuminate how humans can affect it. > www.nature.com: Icy hunt for old air
The real holes in climate science
London, January 20 2010 -
Like any other field, research on climate change has some fundamental gaps, although not the ones typically claimed by sceptics. Nature takes a hard look at some of the biggest problem areas.
The e-mails leaked from the University of East Anglia's Climatic Research Unit (CRU) in November presented an early Christmas present to climate-change denialists. Amid the more than 1,000 messages were several controversial comments that — taken out of context — seemingly indicate that climate scientists have been hiding a mound of dirty laundry from the public.
A fuller reading of the e-mails from CRU in Norwich, UK, does show a sobering amount of rude behaviour and verbal faux pas, but nothing that challenges the scientific consensus of climate change. Still, the incident provides a good opportunity to point out that — as in any active field of inquiry — there are some major gaps in the understanding of climate science. In its most recent report in 2007, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) highlighted 54 'key uncertainties' that complicate climate science. > www.nature.com: The real holes in climate science > www.nature.com: Enduring climate myths
If It’s That Warm, How Come It’s So Damned Cold?
Figure 1. (a) GISS analysis of global surface temperature change. Green vertical bar is estimated 95 percent confidence range (two standard deviations) for annual temperature change. (b) Hemispheric temperature change in GISS analysis. (Base period is 1951-1980.)
Hedegaard eyes tougher emission cuts from transport
Brussels, January 18 2010 -
Connie Hedegaard, the EU's incoming climate policy chief, pledged to tackle transport emissions during a confirmation hearing in the European Parliament on Friday (15 January), saying she would table an integrated legislative package on climate and transport during her mandate. > www.euractiv.com: Hedegaard eyes tougher emission cuts from transport
Climate Conditions in 2050 Crucial to Avoid Harmful Impacts in 2100
ScienceDaily, January 14, 2010 — While governments around the world continue to explore strategies for reducing greenhouse gas emissions, a new study suggests policymakers should focus on what needs to be achieved in the next 40 years in order to keep long-term options viable for avoiding dangerous levels of warming. > www.sciencedaily.com: Climate Conditions in 2050 Crucial to Avoid Harmful Impacts in 2100
Paleontologist Peter Ward's "Medea hypothesis": Life is out to get you
Scientific American, January 14, 2010 —
At a lecture at the American Museum of Natural History in New York City, paleontologist Peter D. Ward laid out the argument that life as we know it serves to make Earth less habitable — a downward spiral that might spell the eventual end of life on the planet. Ward, a professor at the University of Washington, calls this the Medea hypothesis, named for the murderous mother of Greek mythology.
It is a direct challenge to scientist and futurist James Lovelock's Gaia hypothesis, which asserts that life constantly tweaks the dials on Earth's control systems to keep the planet in a nice, habitable homeostasis. > www.scientificamerican.com: The Medea Hypothesis
See also: > 'The Revenge of Gaia' Books & Debate (2006) > Lovelock: "Enjoy life while you can" (March 1 2008)
Climate change scepticism will increase hardship for world's poor: IPCC chief
London / Delhi, January 4 2010 -
Climate change scepticism is likely to surge in 2010 and could exacerbate "hardship" for the planet's poorest people, one of the world's leading authorities on climate change has told the Guardian. > www.guardian.co.uk: Climate change scepticism will increase hardship for world's poor: IPCC chief
UN opens Biodiversity Year with plea to save world's life-supporting ecosystems
London, Januari 01 2010 -
The politicians failed in Copenhagen. Now we must take up the fight. But what has the campaign has achieved to date? 10:10 - The time for action
Top Ten Green Building Trends for 2010
(ENN) Januari 1, 2010 -
Green building is one of the keys to economic recovery. Not only is it a better way to do business, it drives innovation, improves efficiency standards, makes for happier and healthier people and creates new "green collar" jobs.
The trend topics on this list will be no surprise to others who are experts in this area; they are products, systems and concepts that have been quietly percolating. The purpose of this list is to identify those "big picture" trends that we see becoming more mainstream in 2010. > www.enn.com: Top Ten Green Building Trends for 2010
