Toxic cloud of progress can be seen from space
China chokes on a coal-fired boom
December 31 2006 - A GREAT coal rush is under way across China on a scale not seen anywhere since the 19th century.
Its consequences have been detected half a world away in toxic clouds so big that they can seen from space, drifting across the Pacific to California laden with microscopic particles of chemicals that cause cancer and diseases of the heart and lung.
Nonetheless, the Chinese plan to build no fewer than 500 new coal-fired power stations, adding to some 2,000, most of them unmodernised, that spew smoke, carbon dioxide and sulphur dioxide into the atmosphere.
www.timesonline.co.uk: China chokes on a coal-fired boom

Huge ice shelf breaks free in Canada's far north

www.commondreams.org: This handout photo provided by NASA shows a Modis (Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer) Image showing the Ayles Ice Shelf collapse, center, in the early afternoon of Aug. 13, 2005. Within days of breaking free, the Ayles Ice Shelf drifted about 30 miles offshore before freezing into the sea ice. Click on the picture for enlargement.

Calgary, December 29 2006 - A chunk of ice bigger than the area of Manhattan broke from an ice shelf in Canada's far north and could wreak havoc if it starts to float westward toward oil-drilling regions and shipping lanes next summer.
today.reuters.com: Huge ice shelf breaks free in Canada's far north
news.nationalgeographic.com: Giant Ice Shelf Breaks Off in Canadian Arctic
news.independent.co.uk: Vast ice shelf collapses in the Arctic
news.bbc.co.uk: Huge Arctic ice break discovered
environment.guardian.co.uk: Giant ice island breaks off Arctic shelf
edition.cnn.com: Ancient ice shelf breaks free from Canadian Arctic
earthobservatory.nasa.gov: Images Ayles Ice Shelf, Ellesmere Island

The end of the West as we know it?
Washington, December 28 2006 - Every political, social and economic system ever created has sooner or later encountered a challenge that its very nature has made it incapable of meeting. The Confucian ruling system of imperial China, which lasted for more than 2,000 years, has some claim still to be the most successful in history, but because it was founded on values of stability and continuity, rather than dynamism and inventiveness, it eventually proved unable to survive in the face of Western imperial capitalism.
www.iht.com: The end of the West as we know it?

Polar bears may get protection
Washigton, December 27 2006 - Polar bears may be listed as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act because of a loss of habitat that jeopardizes their survival, the Interior secretary said Wednesday.
www.nature.com: United States focuses on polar bears' plight
www.climateark.org: Arctic Death Knell Foretells Abrupt Climate Change
www.cnn.com: 'Polar bears may get protection'
www.bbc.uk: US accepts threat to polar bears
www.independent.uk: Bush embraces the endangered polar bear - and accepts the dangers of global warming

Robot heading for Antarctic dive

www.bbc.com: Robot heading for Antarctic dive

London, December 27 2006 - The mysteries of the Antarctic deep will be probed by a new vessel capable of plunging 6.5km (four miles) down.
www.bbc.com: Robot heading for Antarctic dive

'Dire warnings from China's first climate change report'
Beijing, December 27 2006 - Temperatures in China will rise significantly in coming decades and water shortages will worsen, state media has reported, citing the government's first national assessment of global climate change.
www.physorg.com: 'Dire warnings from China's first climate change report'

Disappearing world: Global warming claims tropical island
London / New Delhi, December 24 2006 - Rising seas, caused by global warming, have for the first time washed an inhabited island off the face of the Earth. The obliteration of Lohachara island, in India's part of the Sundarbans where the Ganges and the Brahmaputra rivers empty into the Bay of Bengal, marks the moment when one of the most apocalyptic predictions of environmentalists and climate scientists has started coming true.
news.independent.co.uk: Disappearing world: Global warming claims tropical island

Climate change and Russian gas
Berlin, December 23 2006 - As much as half of Russia`s natural gas reserves are in danger because of climate change, experts say.
www.investmentu.net: Climate change and Russian gas

Climate Change vs Mother Nature: Scientists reveal that bears have stopped hibernating
London, December 21, 2006 - Bears have stopped hibernating in the mountains of northern Spain, scientists revealed yesterday, in what may be one of the strongest signals yet of how much climate change is affecting the natural world.
news.independent.co.uk: Bears have stopped hibernating

Asia's new nuclear race
Adelaide, December 21, 2006 - With energy security appearing as a major concern on policy agendas of many Asian nations, both large and small, the option to go nuclear is gaining increasing support in many capitals.
www.atimes.com: Asia's new nuclear race

NASA Provides New Perspectives On The Earth's Changing Ice Sheets
Maryland, December 21, 2006 (Science Daily) - It's widely documented that climate change is causing the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets to shrink. Air temperatures in many parts of the polar regions have increased and waters that surround parts of the ice sheets have warmed up. What most do not know is that until just six years ago, we had no real way of measuring whether the ice sheets were shrinking or growing, or at what rate.
www.sciencedaily.com: NASA Provides New Perspectives On The Earth's Changing Ice Sheets
www.nasa.gov: NASA Provides New Perspectives On The Earth's Changing Ice Sheets

BAS: Tidal motion influences Antarctic ice sheet
London, December 21, 2006 - New research into the way the Antarctic ice sheet adds ice to the ocean reveals that tidal motion influences the flow of the one of the biggest ice streams draining the West Antarctic Ice Sheet.
www.physorg.com: Tidal motion influences Antarctic ice sheet
www.sciam.com: Tides affect speed of Antarctic ice slide
www.antarctica.ac.uk: The Impact of a Changing Southern Hemisphere Annular Mode on Antarctic Peninsula Summer Temperatures

Balmy winter puts chill on bird migration
Oslo, December 20, 2006 - Some European birds have failed to fly south for the winter, apparently lured to stay by weeks of mild weather that experts widely link to global warming.
edition.cnn.com: Balmy winter puts chill on bird migration

Commission proposes bringing air transport into EU Emissions Trading Scheme
Bruxelles, December 20, 2006 - The European Commission today underscored its firm commitment to combating climate change by proposing legislation to bring greenhouse gas emissions from civil aviation into the EU Emissions Trading Scheme (EU ETS).
europa.eu: Commission proposes bringing air transport into EU Emissions Trading Scheme

Climate change: The year the world woke up
London, December 20, 2006 - In 2006, the public, politicians and industry have all shown significant signs that tackling global warming is on the agenda after scientific studies showed the pace of change gathering speed.
guardian.co.uk: The year the world woke up

No dramatic U-turn seen on U.S. climate change policy
London, December 19, 2006 (Reuters) - Washington is likely to stay out of the U.N. Kyoto Protocol for curbing greenhouse gases beyond 2012 even with a shift in power to Democrats from Republicans, a former top U.S. trade and economics official said.
today.reuters.com: No dramatic U-turn seen on U.S. climate change policy

Getting Really Radical About Climate Change
Jeddah, December 19, 2006 (Arab News) - Here's the plan. Everybody in the country will get the same allowance for how much carbon dioxide they can emit each year, and every time they buy some product that involves carbon dioxide emissions — filling their car, paying their utility bills, buying an airline ticket — carbon points are deducted from their credit or debit cards. Like Air Miles, only in reverse.
www.arabnews.com: Getting Really Radical About Climate Change

Australian fires kill thousands of native animals
Sydney, December 18, 2006 (Reuters) - Hundreds of thousands of native Australian animals such as koalas and kangaroos have been killed in bushfires that have burned across southeast Australia in the past two weeks, wildlife officials said on Monday.
www.topix.net: Australian fires kill thousands of native animals
earthobservatory.nasa.gov: Fires in Alpine National Park, Victoria
earthobservatory.nasa.gov: Fires in Victoria, Australia
www.thewest.com.au: Climate change to 'fan future bushfires'
www.spiegel.de: Dichter Rauch über Australien
www.ft.com: Australia warming faster than world

52 new species discovered on Borneo Island
Geneva, December 18, 2006 - Scientists have discovered at least 52 new species of animals and plants on the southeast Asian island of Borneo since 2005, including a catfish with protruding teeth and suction cups on its belly to help it stick to rocks, World Wildlife Fund for Nature International said Tuesday.
www.newsweek.com: 52 new species discovered on Borneo Island
www.panda.org: Scientists find dozens of new species in Borneo rainforests

Equator's glaciers slipping away

Mount Kilimanjaro lost 80% of its icecover.

December 18, 2006 - Rivers of ice at the Equator - foretold in the 2nd century, found in the 19th - are now melting away in this new century, returning to the realm of lore and fading photographs.
edition.cnn.com: Equator's glaciers slipping away
www.spiegel.de: Bedrohliche Gletscherseen / 'Killer' vom Dach der Welt

10 years to live: Orang-utan faces extinction in the wild
December 17 2006 - At least 1,000 orang-utans have been killed in fierce forest fires in Indonesia, hastening the species' headlong rush to extinction within the next decade.
news.independent.co.uk: Orang-utan faces extinction in the wild

Oceans may rise over 4 1/2 feet by 2100
OSLO, December 15 (Reuters) - The world's oceans may rise up to 140 cms (4 ft 7 in) by 2100 due to global warming, a faster than expected increase that could threaten low-lying coasts from Florida to Bangladesh, a researcher said on Thursday.
"The possibility of a faster sea level rise needs to be considered when planning adaptation measures such as coastal defenses," Stefan Rahmstorf of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research wrote in the journal Science.
His study, based on air temperatures and past sea level changes rather than computer models, suggested seas could rise by 50-140 cms by 2100, well above the 9-88 cms projected by the scientific panel that advises the United Nations.
www.sciencemag.org: A Semi-Empirical Approach to Projecting Future Sea-Level Rise (Abstract)
www.pik-potsdam.de: Faster Sea Level Rise?
www.pik-potsdam.de: Changes in Ocean Circulation Could Lead To Rapid Regional Sea Level Change
today.reuters.com: Oceans may rise over 4 1/2 feet by 2100
news.bbc.co.uk: Sea level rise 'under-estimated'

Plant a tree and save the Earth?
California, December 11/15 2006 — Can planting a tree stop the sea level from rising, the ice caps from melting and hurricanes from intensifying? A new study says that it depends on where the trees are planted. It cautions that new forests in mid- to high-latitude locations could actually create a net warming. It also confirms the notion that planting more trees in tropical rainforests could help slow global warming worldwide.
www.llnl.gov: Plant a tree and save the Earth?
environment.guardian.co.uk: Planting trees to save planet is pointless, say ecologists

US scientists reject interference
San Francisco, December 14 2006 - Some 10,000 US researchers have signed a statement protesting about political interference in the scientific process.
The statement, which includes the backing of 52 Nobel Laureates, demands a restoration of scientific integrity in government policy.
news.bbc.co.uk: US scientists reject interference

Gore urges scientists to warn public about global warming
San Francisco, December 14 2006 - Scientists need to come forward and help communicate to the public about the dangers of climate change, former U.S. Vice President Al Gore told an audience of scientists Thursday at the AGU annual meeting.
news.com.com: Gore urges scientists to warn public about global warming

2006 sets British heat records

London, December 14 2006 - Several records for temperatures in Britain have been broken during 2006. Scientists from the Met Office and the University of East Anglia (UEA) say the year was probably the hottest in central England since records began.
news.bbc.co.uk: 2006 sets British heat records
www.metoffice.gov.uk: 2006 - a year for the record books
www.ncdc.noaa.gov: Climate of 2006 - in Historical Perspective (Preliminary Annual Report)

Wall Street eyes heart of darkness: global warming
Chicago, December 13, 2006 (Reuters) - The topic of the conference was climate change and the rhetoric was sobering, haunted by scientific projections of a roasted world for our children and a looming environmental disaster of Biblical proportions.
But this was no talk shop of environmental activists. It was a meeting of Wall Street investors, insurance executives, state treasurers and pension fund managers, who between them manage about $3.7 trillion in assets.
today.reuters.com: Wall Street eyes heart of darkness: global warming

Europe's ski business faces meltdown
December 13, 2006 - Global warming could devastate the ski resorts of Europe within decades, especially in lower-lying areas, the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) said on Wednesday.
edition.cnn.com: Europe's ski business faces meltdown

Why a hydrogen economy doesn't make sense
December 11, 2006 - In a recent study, fuel cell expert Ulf Bossel explains that a hydrogen economy is a wasteful economy. The large amount of energy required to isolate hydrogen from natural compounds (water, natural gas, biomass), package the light gas by compression or liquefaction, transfer the energy carrier to the user, plus the energy lost when it is converted to useful electricity with fuel cells, leaves around 25% for practical use — an unacceptable value to run an economy in a sustainable future. Only niche applications like submarines and spacecraft might use hydrogen.
www.physorg.com: Why a hydrogen economy doesn't make sense

Arctic sea ice 'faces rapid melt' - could disappear completely by 2040

A new model forecasts largely ice-free summers by 2040. (Click on picture for source)

San Francisco, December 11, 2006 - The Arctic may be close to a tipping point that sees all-year-round ice disappear very rapidly in the next few decades, US scientists have warned.
news.bbc.co.uk: Arctic sea ice 'faces rapid melt'
news.independent.co.uk: Arctic's summer sea ice 'could disappear completely by 2040'
www.aftenposten.no: Arctic ice melting away
AGU Arctic Press Briefing 2006 (pdf/37 k
www.ncar.org: Abrupt Ice Retreat Could Produce Ice-Free Arctic Summers by 2040

Welcome to the age of less
December 11, 2006 - After years of growing prosperity, we now face having to curb our consumption. It is sad to think that the era of cheap air travel, having been with us so briefly, is already drawing to a close.
www.ftd.de: Welcome to the age of less

Cow 'emissions' more damaging to planet than CO2 from cars
December 10, 2006 - Meet the world's top destroyer of the environment. It is not the car, or the plane, or even George Bush: it is the cow.
news.independent.co.uk: Cow 'emissions' more damaging to planet than CO2 from cars

Winds fan Australian bush fires
December 10, 2006 - Flames fanned by strong winds and high temperatures are hampering thousands of firefighters tackling bush fires in south-eastern Australia.
news.bbc.co.uk: Winds fan Australian bush fires

Your carbon footprint revealed: Climate change report finds we each produce 11 tons of carbon a year
December 9, 2006 - The first piece of research to calculate a carbon footprint for the average British citizen has detailed the precise environmental damage each of us causes.
news.independent.co.uk: our carbon footprint revealed

Birth rate 'harms poverty goals'
December 8, 2006 - Rapid population growth is principally an African phenomenon The UN's Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) are "difficult or impossible to meet" without curbing population growth, a UK parliamentary group says.
news.bbc.co.uk: Birth rate 'harms poverty goals'

US: Inhofe’s last stand
December 8, 2006 - Part of me felt a little nostalgic yesterday watching the last Senate hearing on climate change that will be chaired by Sen. James Inhofe. It all felt very familiar and comforting in some strange way. There was the well-spoken 'expert' flown in from Australia (no-one available a little closer to home?), the media 'expert' from the think tank (plenty of those about) and a rather out-of-place geologist. There were the same talking points (CO2 leads the warming during the ice ages! the Medieval Warm Period was warm! it's all a hoax!*) that are always brought up. These easy certainties and predictable responses are so well worn that they feel like a pair of old slippers.
www.realclimate.org: Inhofe’s last stand

Bush faces legal action over global warming
November 29, 2006 - The Bush administration could be forced to take action on global warming using a 30-year-old piece of legislation to control the nation's vast emissions of greenhouse gases.
news.independent.co.uk: Bush faces legal action over global warming

Warmer oceans storing climate change dangers
November 29, 2006 - Global warming is creating a climate time bomb by storing enormous amounts of heat in the waters of the north Atlantic, UK scientists have discovered.
environment.guardian.co.uk: Warmer oceans storing climate change dangers

Britain: future global hot spot?
November 28, 2006 - Climate change will turn Britain into a Noah's ark for the world by the end of the century, an article in the Times suggests today.
blogs.guardian.co.uk: Britain: future global hot spot?
www.timesonline.co.uk: Scientist predicts Britain will triumph over global warming
www.independent.co.uk: James Lovelock: The Earth is about to catch a morbid fever that may last as long as 100,000 years

Gaia scientist Lovelock predicts planetary wipeout

London, November 28, 2006 - The earth has a fever that could boost temperatures by 8 degrees Celsius making large parts of the surface uninhabitable and threatening billions of peoples' lives, a controversial climate scientist said on Tuesday.
James Lovelock, who angered climate scientists with his Gaia theory of a living planet and then alienated environmentalists by backing nuclear power, said a traumatized earth might only be able to support less than a tenth of it's 6 billion people.
bbc: Lovelock & 'The Revenge of Gaia' Debate

Wildlife warning as autumn temperatures hit new high
November 27, 2006 - Environment campaigners today issued new warnings about the impact of climate change on Britain's wildlife as figures showed this autumn is almost certain to be the warmest on record.
environment.guardian.co.uk: Wildlife warning as autumn temperatures hit new high

Group warns of climate change in China
November 23, 2006 - China's Pearl River Delta, a giant manufacturing hub which helped earn the country the nickname "the workshop of the world," will be hard hit by climate change in the coming years, and leaders need to do more to plan for it, a Hong Kong think tank said on Thursday."
edition.cnn.com: Group warns of climate change in China
news.bbc.co.uk: Hong Kong 'climate change threat'

Brown 'to target 4x4s and flights'
November 23, 2006 - "Chelsea tractor" drivers and air travellers face a substantial increase in taxes as part of Gordon Brown's pre-budget report next month.
environment.guardian.co.uk: Brown 'to target 4x4s and flights'

Unilateral action on climate change could ruin economy, says CBI chief
November 23, 2006 - The government will put jobs and investment at risk if it adopts a go-it-alone approach to tackling climate change, says the new director general of the Confederation of British Industry.
environment.guardian.co.uk: Unilateral action on climate change could ruin economy

World Has Under Decade to Act on Climate Crisis
November 22, 2006 - The world has less than a decade to take decisive action in the battle to beat global warming or risk irreversible change that will tip the planet towards catastrophe, a leading US climate scientist James Hansen said on Tuesday.
www.planetark.com: World Has Under Decade to Act on Climate Crisis
environment.guardian.co.uk: WWF award for Nasa scientist who sounded climate alarm

Global warming already killing species, analysis says
Washington, November 22, 2006 - Animal and plant species have begun dying off or changing sooner than predicted because of global warming, a review of hundreds of research studies contends.
edition.cnn.com: Global warming already killing species

Rural communities: We will survive
November 17, 2006 - Rural shops and pubs are dying out everywhere. But these villagers were determined to put up a fight.
news.independent.co.uk: Rural communities: We will survive

Scientists: Pollution could combat global warming
Nairobi, November 16, 2006 - Prominent scientists, among them Nobel laureate Paul Crutzen from the Netherlands, said a layer of pollution deliberately spewed into the atmosphere could act as a "shade" from the sun's rays and help cool the planet.
edition.cnn.com: Scientists: Pollution could combat global warming

Climate wrangles go to the wire
Nairobi, November 16, 2006 - Ministers are holding last-minute discussions on several issues as UN climate talks enter their final day.
After nearly two weeks of talks, at least three outstanding areas of disagreement remain - among them plans for a review of the Kyoto Protocol.
news.bbc.co.uk: Climate wrangles go to the wire
today.reuters.com: Rich, poor nations wrangle on global warming

Annan: Leaders need courage to fight warming
Nairobi, November 15, 2006 - Secretary-General Kofi Annan told the U.N. conference on climate change Wednesday that those who would deny global warming or delay taking action against it are "out of step" and "out of time."
edition.cnn.com / Annan: Leaders need courage to fight warming
www.un.org 09292006: Global warming is more than just a green issue, says Secretary-General
today.reuters.com: U.S. rejects Annan plea to cut greenhouse gases
today.reuters.com: Democrats to Bush: greenhouse gas limits needed
today.reuters.com: Mayors don't wait for Washington on warming
news.independent.co.uk: The Queen's Speech: What was said, and what was left out
Environment, Climate change and politics (page in Dutch language)

Forests are poised to make a comeback, study shows
November 14, 2006 - A wave of reforestation could reverse the global decline in woodlands within 30 years, scientists said yesterday. The surprise finding emerges from an analysis of the world's forests which found that many countries which have presided over losses in the past are now expanding their forests.
environment.guardian.co.uk: Forests are poised to make a comeback, study shows

Homeowners 'in denial' over flood risks
November 14, 2006 - Homeowners who live in flood risk areas are in denial about the serious damage that could be done to their property, the head of the Environment Agency said today.
environment.guardian.co.uk: Homeowners 'in denial' over flood risks

Doomed to failure
November 13, 2006 - The carbon reduction proposals in the Stern review are not enough to save the planet. We must recognise that there are limits to economic growth says Stephan Harding.
environment.guardian.co.uk: Doomed to failure

Blair faces revolt over C02 targets
November 13, 2006 - Tony Blair faces a major Commons revolt over his refusal to commit Britain to annual cuts in the amount of carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere.
independent.co.uk: Blair faces revolt over C02 targets

Scientists urge collaborative action to address effects of global environmental change
Beijing, November 12, 2006 - Immediate, collaborative action by governments is necessary to ensure sustainable development in the face of unprecedented global environmental change, according to a statement released today by hundreds of scientists attending the Earth System Science Partnership (ESSP) Open Science Conference on Global Environmental Change: Regional Challenges in Beijing.
www.igbp.net: Scientists urge collaborative action to address effects of global environmental change

Kyoto countries seen agreeing steps to extend pact
NAIROBI (Reuters), November 11, 2006 - No breakthrough will happen next week in talks to extend the Kyoto pact on global warming, but a softening of stances will produce an agreement on next steps to take, senior negotiators have told Reuters.
today.reuters.com: Kyoto countries seen agreeing steps to extend pact

Scientists say millions could flee rising seas
NAIROBI (Reuters), November 9, 2006 - Nations must make plans to help tens of millions of "sea level refugees" if climate change continues to ravage the world's oceans, German researchers said.
Waters are rising and warming, increasing the destructive power of storms, and seas are becoming more acidic, threatening to throw entire food chains into chaos.
"In the long run, sea level rises are going to be the most severe impact of global warming on human society," said Professor Stefan Rahmstorf, presenting a report by German scientists at a major United Nations climate change meeting.
today.reuters.com: Scientists say millions could flee rising seas

Project would plant a billion trees worldwide
Nairobi, November 8, 2006 - The United Nations and Africa's Nobel laureate, environmentalist Wangari Maathai, launched a project on Wednesday to plant a billion trees worldwide to help fight climate change and poverty.
edition.cnn.com: Project would plant a billion trees worldwide
www.unep.org: The Billion Tree Campaign

Planet saved?: Why the green movement is taking to the streets
London, 6th November 2006 - The government says it will tackle global warming with renewed vigour. But radical groups such as Plane Stupid tell Alice O'Keeffe that they want more than promises.
www.newstatesman.com: Why the green movement is taking to the streets

Take a last look!

November 7, 2006 - They are one of our most beloved animals - but their world is melting away. Terry Nutkins on the plight of the polar bear.
environment.guardian.co.uk: Take a last look!

World risks 'dirty' energy future
November 07, 2006 - The world could be dependent on "dirty, insecure and expensive" energy by 2030, an influential report has warned.
news.bbc.co.uk: World risks 'dirty' energy future

Indonesia forest fires, attacks kill 1,000 orangutans
November 06, 2006 - About 1,000 orangutans are estimated to have died in Indonesia during the dry season this year in which raging forest fires have produced thick smoke across huge areas of Southeast Asia, a conservationist said on Monday.
The fires in the Indonesian part of Borneo have deprived orangutans of food and forced them to encroach on human settlements, where they are often attacked for damaging crops, the Borneo Orangutan Survival Foundation said.
today.reuters.com: Indonesia forest fires, attacks kill 1,000 orangutans
Forest Fires Indonesia (page partly in Dutch language)

Chaotic world of climate truth
November 4, 2006 - As activists organised by the group Stop Climate Chaos gather in London to demand action, one of Britain's top climate scientists says the language of chaos and catastrophe has got out of hand.
news.bbc.co.uk: Chaotic world of climate truth

Climate Change: The Issues
November 04, 2006 - On 6th November, the UN Conference on Climate Change begins in Nairobi, Kenya, two days after the simultaneous global action against Climate Change. How serious is this question, and how seriously should it be taken?
pravda.ru: Climate e Change: The Issues

Melting Arctic Makes Way for Man
November 04, 2006 - A relentless climb of temperature -- 5 degrees in 30 years -- is shrinking the Arctic ice and reawakening dreams of a 4,000-mile shortcut just shy of the North Pole, passing beside the Arctic's beckoning oil and mineral riches.
www.washingtonpost.com: Melting Arctic Makes Way for Man

Rising Tide: UK Stern Report Paves Way to Global Warming Catastrophe
November 01, 2006 - Today the international climate justice movement condemned a major new policy advisory from the United Kingdom on the economics of climate change. Named "The Stern Review" after its chief author Sir Nicholas Stern, climate activists warn that this 700-page analysis offers a dangerously inadequate and deceptive plan that will lead to inevitable global warming catastrophe if its recommendations are followed.
risingtidenorthamerica.org: UK Stern Report Paves Way to Global Warming Catastrophe

Opec Says British Climate Change Report "Unfounded"
November 1, 2006 - A hard-hitting report on climate change published by the British government on Monday has no basis in science or economics, OPEC's Secretary-General Mohammed Barkindo said on Tuesday.
www.planetark.com: Opec Says British Climate Change Report "Unfounded"

Britain calls for urgent climate change action
London, October 30, 2006 - Britain issued a call for urgent action on climate change on Monday after a hard-hitting report painted an apocalyptic picture of the economic and environmental fallout from further global warming.
The report said failing to tackle climate change could push world temperatures up by 5 degrees Celsius (9 Fahrenheit) over the next century, causing severe floods and harsh droughts and potentially uprooting as many as 200 million people.
www.reuters.com: Britain calls for urgent climate change action

We must pay now to avoid climate disaster, says Blair
London, October 30, 2006 - Tony Blair today said that the world was facing "nothing more serious, more urgent, or more demanding of leadership" than climate change and that Britons must be prepared to pay now to avoid future disaster.
environment.guardian.co.uk: We must pay now to avoid climate disaster, says Blair

Climate report demands action, says Blair
London, October 30, 2006 - The consequences for the world if global warming continues unchecked will be "disastrous", Tony Blair warned today. He was speaking as the Government launched the report of a major review of the likely economic impact of climate change.
environment.guardian.co.uk: Climate report demands action, says Blair

Warming 'could bring 1930s havoc'
London, October 30, 2006 - Climate change will devastate the global economy on a scale of the two world wars and the depression of the 1930s if left unchecked, a British report has warned. Former U.S. Vice President Al Gore is enlisted as adviser to the Blair government on the issue.
Britain wants tighter limits on greenhouse gases by Europe and other rich countries as a first step toward establishing a global carbon trading system to help reduce the cost of climate change.
edition.cnn.com: Warming 'could bring 1930s havoc'

'Almost too late' to stop a global catastrophe
London, October 30, 2006 - The possibility of avoiding a global catastrophe is "already almost out of reach", Sir Nicholas Stern's long-awaited report on climate change will warn today. news.independent.co.uk:'Almost too late' to stop a global catastrophe

Climate change fight 'can't wait'
London, October 30, 2006 - The world cannot afford to wait before tackling climate change, the UK prime minister has warned.
A report by economist Sir Nicholas Stern suggests that global warming could shrink the global economy by 20%.
But taking action now would cost just 1% of global gross domestic product, the 700-page study says.
news.bbc.co.uk/Tony Blair: Climate change fight can't wait
HM Treasury: Stern Review final report
news.bbc.co.uk: At-a-glance: The Stern Review
news.bbc.co.uk: Report's stark warning on climate
news.bbc.co.uk: Climate costs: The next generation
www.met-office.gov.uk: Stern Report welcomed. UK science now needs to do more

UNFCCC greenhouse gas data report points to rising emission trends
October 30, 2006 - The UN has released new data showing an upward trend in emission of greenhouse gases, and called for urgent action from rich countries.
news.bbc.co.uk: Greenhouse gas emissions rising
today.reuters.com: Greenhouse gases hit record levels in 2005: U.N.

Budgets Falling in Race to Fight Global Warming
Denver, October 30, 2006 - Cheers fit for a revival meeting swept a hotel ballroom as 1,800 entrepreneurs and experts watched a PowerPoint presentation of the most promising technologies for limiting global warming: solar power, wind, ethanol and other farmed fuels, energy-efficient buildings and fuel-sipping cars.
“Houston,” Charles F. Kutscher, chairman of the Solar 2006 conference, concluded in a twist on the line from Apollo 13, “we have a solution.”
Hold the applause (...) because research into energy technologies by both government and industry has not been rising, but rather falling.
www.nytimes.com: Budgets Falling in Race to Fight Global Warming

Dire prediction for world's coral reefs
Charlotte Amalie, U.S. Virgin Islands, October 25, 2006 - Researchers fear more than half the world's coral reefs could die in less than 25 years and say global warming may at least partly to blame.
edition.cnn.com: Dire prediction for world's coral reefs

Low-lying South Pacific countries warn of exodus as global warming claims them
NADI, Fiji, October 24, 2006 - Low-lying South Pacific countries are asking their neighbors to prepare for a complete exodus of their people if global warming causes rising seas to swamp their island homes.
mdn.mainichi-msn.co.jp: Low-lying South Pacific countries warn of exodus as global warming claims them

Why we must ration the future
October 20, 2006 - You can't bargain with the planet because it doesn't care whether or not targets are "politically acceptable". So unless we secure a deal determining how much carbon each nation and each person can emit, we simply will not survive.
www.newstatesman.com: Why we must ration the future

Panama Canal expansion
October 20, 2006 - Voters in Panama will decide in a referendum on Sunday, October 22, whether they want an expansion of the canal that links the Pacific and the Atlantic Ocean.
The expansion will apparently increase capacity. Ships with 12,000 containers will be able to pass through. The present limit is of about 4,000 containers.
news.bbc.co.uk: Panama Canal expansion

Norway, Iceland and Japan to legalize whale massacre
October 20, 2006 - This week Iceland has announced its decision about reopening the commercial whale industry. Local ministry of fishing economy declared that in the 2006-2007 it is going to allow the hunting of 30 minke and 9 finback whales.
pravda.ru: Norway, Iceland and Japan to legalize whale massacre

Blair & Balkenende warn of climate change 'tipping points'
October 20, 2006 - Tony Blair will warn today that the world will reach "catastrophic tipping points" on climate change within 15 years, unless serious action is taken to tackle global warming.
In his strongest warning yet on the environment, the prime minister will tell fellow EU leaders that the world faces "conflict and insecurity" unless it acts now.
"We have a window of only 10-15 years to take the steps we need to avoid crossing catastrophic tipping points," Mr Blair says, in a joint letter with his Dutch counterpart, Jan Peter Balkenende.
environment.guardian.co.uk: Blair warn of climate change 'tipping points'
news.bbc.co.uk: EU to discuss energy with Putin

NASA: Greenland ice loss far greater than gain
October 19, 2006 - Ice losses now far surpass ice gains in the shrinking Greenland ice sheet, an annual net loss six times the water flow from the Colorado River, NASA scientists reported Thursday after analyzing satellite data.
www.nasa.gov: NASA: Greenland ice loss far greater than gain
earthobservatory.nasa.gov: Greenland ice sheet on a downward slide
earthobservatory.nasa.gov: Greenland Ice Sheet Losing Mass (map)

Expect a warmer, wetter world this century, computer models agree

©UCAR, photo by Carlye Calvin

Boulder, October 19, 2006 - Recent heat waves, long dry spells and heavy bursts of rain and snow hint at longer-term changes to come, according to a new study based on several advanced climate models. Much of the world will face significant changes in extreme weather events by the end of this century.
www.ucar.edu: Expect a warmer, wetter world this century, computer models agree

The Planet in Peril — Part I
Yale, October 19, 2006 - In Sweden and Norway, the treeline is marching northward and uphill as the snowline recedes. In the Arctic, the polar bear finds its habitat shrinking. Elsewhere in the northern hemisphere, animals are slowly moving north to escape rising temperatures. Behind the silent movement hides a disturbing story that we had better take note of before it is too late. If the present warming trend continues, rising seawater will claim coastal cities all over the world, says James E. Hansen.
yaleglobal.yale.edu: The Planet in Peril

How close is runaway climate change?
London, October 18, 2006 - In his new book on global warming, Paul Brown looks at how close the planet is to irreversible damage.
environment.guardian.co.uk: How close is runaway climate change?
environment.guardian.co.uk: Slideshow "How climate change is affecting the planet"

UN to talk on climate adaptation
London, October, 18 2006 - There is an "urgent need" to help developing countries adapt to impacts of climate change, UK Climate Change Minister Ian Pearson has said.
Nations were experiencing environmental changes as a result of greenhouse gases already in the atmosphere, he told MPs.
He said he was hopeful that an action plan and funding would be agreed at a climate summit in Africa next month.
news.bbc.co.uk: UN to talk on climate adaptation

Greens dismiss nuclear energy claims
October 16, 2006 - Environmentalists have rejected a claim by the World Nuclear Association that the world needs 20 times as many nuclear power plants to avoid the disastrous effects of global warming.
aljazeera.net: Greens dismiss nuclear energy claims

Antarctic Ice Shelf Collapse Tied to Global Warming

LONDON, England, October 16, 2006 (ENS) - Scientists reported the first direct evidence linking the 2002 collapse of an Antarctic ice shelf to global warming.
The researchers found that stronger westerly winds in the northern Antarctic Peninsula, fueled primarily by human-induced climate change, were responsible for the dramatic summer warming that led to the retreat and collapse of the Larson B ice shelf.
www.planetark.com/Reuters: Antarctic Ice Collapse Tied to Greenhouse Gases
www.ens-newswire.com: Antarctic Ice Shelf Collapse Tied to Global Warming
www.nzherald.co.nz: New evidence climate change melting Antarctic ice shelf
www.antarctica.ac.uk: First direct evidence that human activity is linked to Antarctic Ice Shelf Collapse

IATAL an International Air Travel Adaptation Levy
October 16, 2006 - The world has reached a stage where even a rapid stabilisation and significant reduction of global greenhouse gas emissions could no longer prevent significant climate change.
While all countries will experience impacts, the developing world is most vulnerable. Significant financial assistance for adaptation is needed (and would be cost-effective), but current proposals are inadequate.
At the same time, aviation emissions are increasing rapidly and are likely to continue to do so in the absence of major policy changes. Solutions to the challenges of adaptation finance and aviation emissions are both urgently required.
Download full report at http://www.oxfordenergy.org/pdfs/EV36.pdf (734 kb)

Clocks Tick for CO2 Trade in Energy Business
October 16, 2006 - The Kyoto Protocol has sparked carbon emission markets into action but governments must adopt broader carbon rules quickly if trade is to snowball through the global energy business, the president of carbon asset management company Natsource LLC said in an interview.
www.planetark.com: Clocks Tick for CO2 Trade in Energy Business

Fires and worst drought in 100 years wake Australia up to the reality of climate change
October 14, 2006 - South Australia this week stared into the abyss and did not like what it saw. The strands of the future suddenly came together to wake even the most complacent to the fact that human actions are having a dire impact on the planet's weather.
Australia is confronting its worst drought in a century with rampant fires devastating agricultural areas, rivers drying up, crops failing, and farmers forced to sell off their livestock.
www.andnetwork.com 20061014: Australia hit by stark reality of climate change
www.independent.co.uk 20061014: Fires and worst drought in 100 years wake Australia up to the reality of climate change
www.independent.co.uk: Fires and worst drought in 100 years wake Australia up to the reality of climate change
news.bbc.co.uk: Australian PM warning on drought
www.bom.gov.au: Drought Statement Sep 30
www.stopglobalwarming.org: Australia: Worst Drought on Record (2002 + 2005)

Economists Warn Climate Change will Cost Trillions without Government Action
October 13, 2006 - The cost of allowing global temperatures to increase by two degrees centigrade or more above pre-industrial levels will run into the trillions of dollars and the environmental and social costs will be incalculable, according to a report released today.
www.commondreams.org: Economists Warn Climate Change will Cost Trillions without Government Action
www.foe.co.uk: Climate Change, the cost of inaction (Full Report in pdf)

Cows belching a major contributor to global warming!
October 13, 2006 - It might sound bizarre, but while on one hand cows’ milk holds a number of nutritional values, their belching poses a potential threat towards increasing global warming.
news.sawf.org: Cows belching a major contributor to global warming!

'An Inconvenient Truth': climate change is indeed a moral issue
October 11, 2006 - Al Gore's movie on global warming, An Inconvenient Truth, has surely been the subject of more reviews and media comment than any other film in recent history. Not least because of the unflagging razzmatazz with which Mr Gore has undertaken a world "author's tour" to invoke publicity.
Overall, the film is a compelling account of various natural earth phenomena that have the potential to impact humanity disastrously, and therefore a graphic illustration of the fact that we live on a dynamic planet.
www.aim.org: 'An Inconvenient Truth': climate change is indeed a moral issue

PM urged to act on climate change
October 11, 2006 - Green campaigners have said they will give Tony Blair a last chance to take action on climate change.
www.dailymail.co.uk: 'An Inconvenient Truth': PM urged to act on climate change

There's a mass extinction in the making
Why the Frogs Are Dying
October 10, 2006 - Climate change is no longer merely a matter of numbers from a computer model. With startling swiftness, it is reordering the natural world.
Draped like a verdant shawl over Costa Rica's Tilarán Mountains, the Monteverde cloud forest has long been a nature lover's idyll. Hidden birds flirt to the whisper of rushing streams and epiphytes tumble from the mist, while delicate flowers bloom impossibly from the jungle's maw. With luck you might even catch the iridescent flash of the resplendent quetzal, the elegant symbol of the Central American rain forest. There's one member of this pageant that won't be turning up, however: the Monteverde harlequin frog....
newsweek (issue 16102006): Why the Frogs Are Dying

Climatechange: shock report
October 9, 2006 - Leading aid agencies are calling for an urgent review of Australia's immigration program, warning millions of people in the Asia-Pacific region will be left homeless by climate change in the next 40 years.
Australia could be flooded with millions of refugees from South-East Asia and the Pacific under a nightmare climate change scenario painted by leading aid and environmental groups yesterday.
canberra.yourguide.com.au: Climatechange: shock report
www.news.com.au: Climate change tipped to devastate Asia
www.planetark.com: Rising Seas Could Leave Millions Homeless in Asia

Antarctic holds clues to future
October 9, 2006 - How much and how quickly will the ice shelves in Antarctica melt as the global warming noose tightens, and with what consequences?
www.nzherald.co.nz: Antarctic holds clues to future

Living on the edge
October 9, 2006 - Britain's coastline has remained more or less intact since the end of the last ice age. But as sea levels rise, erosion is accelerating and more than a million homes are now under threat. Is the only solution for us to abandon the shore?
environment.guardian.co.uk: Living on the edge

World moves into ecological overdraft today, says study
October 9, 2006 - Humanity slides into the red today and begins racking up an ecological overdraft driven by unsustainable exploitation of the world's resources, according to a report by the sustainable development organisation Global Footprint Network.
environment.guardian.co.uk: World moves into ecological overdraft today, says study

Scientists call for air travel freeze
October 6, 2006 - A severe clampdown on air travel will be necessary for the government to meet its stringent target to cut greenhouse gas emissions, climate experts warned yesterday. Calculations by researchers at the prestigious Tyndall Centre for Climate Change in Manchester reveal the number of flights will have to be frozen at today's levels or lower to avoid warming that could trigger catastrophic damage to ecosystems.
environment.guardian.co.uk: Clampdown on air travel 'a must' for Britain to meet climate target

Prepare for climate change - environment commissioner
October 6, 2006 - New Zealand could be in for a rough ride in the face of turbulent changes in the world, Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment Morgan Williams has warned.
www.stuff.co.nz: Prepare for climate change

Mixed outcomes at climate talks
October 5, 2006 - Climate talks between the world's top 20 polluters have ended with an unusual level of agreement on the urgent need to tackle greenhouse gas emissions.
news.bbc.co.uk: Mixed outcomes at climate talks

Grim report serves as wake-up call for Canada
October 5, 2006 - A blistering new report on Canada's environmental track record has served as a harsh wake-up call for a nation whose environmental consciousness has outgrown its 'green' initiatives.
The report, which calls for a "massive scale-up" in federal initiatives, says the former Liberal government's work to reduce greenhouse gas emissions fell far short of the mark and Ottawa has done an inadequate job preparing for the effects of global warming.
www.ctv.ca: Grim report serves as wake-up call for Canada

Warning over climate 'time bomb'

October 3, 2006 - Scotland is sitting on a global warming time bomb according to a former government adviser on the environment.
news.bbc.co.uk: Warning over climate 'time bomb'

Climate Report Seen Setting Out Scary Scenarios
October 3, 2006 - Climate campaigners said on Tuesday they expected a British government report on the global costs of climate change to make it clear that major concerted action was needed now.
www.planetark.com: Climate Report Seen Setting Out Scary Scenarios
www.wwf.org.uk: Stern Review sets out economic imperative of climate change
www.hm-treasury.gov.uk: Stern Review on the Economics of Climate Change

Climate Change Affects Forest-Floor Ecosystem
October 3, 2006 - To see how far-reaching climate change effects could be, you might try looking under your feet. In some regions, climate change models predict new rainfall patterns that may affect how leaves on forest floors decompose. Entomologists from the University of Kentucky report that low rainfall leads to a series of events that result in faster decomposition.
www.sciam.com: Climate Change Affects Forest-Floor Ecosystem

Demise of the world's most famous iceberg
October 3, 2006 - Swell from Alaskan storm breaks up megaiceberg at opposite end of the globe.
www.nature.com: Demise of the world's most famous iceberg
earth.esa.int: animations collision B15a & Drygalski

Greens 'aid destruction of planet'
October 2, 2006 - A leading scientist has warned that opposition to nuclear power by environmental campaigners is irrational as well as dangerously misguided
www.timesonline.co.uk: Greens 'aid destruction of planet'
Related:
bbc: Lovelock and 'The Revenge of Gaia' Debate
www.americanscientist.org: Goodness, Gracious, Great Balls of Gaia!

Britain proposes plan to battle climate change
October 2, 2006 - Britain is proposing an extraordinary scheme to battle climate change in which the Amazon rainforest would be turned into an international trust and its trees sold to individuals and groups.
www.gulfnews.com: Britain proposes plan to battle climate change

Impact from the Deep
October 1, 2006 - Strangling heat and gases emanating from the earth and sea, not asteroids, most likely caused several ancient mass extinctions. Could the same killer-greenhouse conditions build once again?
sciam.com: Impact from the Deep

Global warming is more than just a green issue, says Secretary-General

September 29, 2006 - Climate change must be viewed as much more than an environmental issue if the world is to understand and tackle the scope and nature of the threat it represents, Secretary-General Kofi Annan said last night.
www.un.org: Global warming is more than just a green issue, says Secretary-General
www.planetsave.com: Gore presents global-warming message at UN headquarters

Science and action on climate change diverging
September 29 , 2006 - The gap between what countries are doing to address climate change and what scientists say they should be doing is widening, Britain's Environment Minister David Miliband, said on Friday.
today.reuters.co.uk: Science and action on climate change diverging

Free Dscovr!

September 29, 2006 - Built and paid for. Nations offer to launch it for free. Scientists say it's an essential mission. So what's it doing in a box outside (Washington) DC?
At a time when the Earth's climate is at the top of practically every nation's agenda, it might seem perplexing that there's a $100 million, fully completed climate-sensing satellite stored in a warehouse in Maryland.
Could the decision to kill DSCOVR have anything to do with the politics of climate science? Is there a stronger smoking gun of the political suppression of science?
www.seedmagazine.com: FREE DSCOVR!

Cost of saving the planet: a year's growth

September 29, 2006 - The world would have to give up only one year's economic growth over the next four decades to reduce carbon emissions sufficiently to stave off the threat of global warming, a report says today.
environment.guardian.co.uk: Cost of saving the planet: a year's growth

Official Sounds Alarm on Canada Climate
September 28, 2006 — In a challenge to the Conservative prime minister, Canada's independent environment commissioner called Thursday for stepping up the country's efforts to combat global warming.
www.foxnews.com: Official Sounds Alarm on Canada Climate
www.theglobeandmail.com: Climate right for emissions exchange
www.planetsave.com: Canada's environment commissioner calls for massive scale up in climate efforts

White House says no change on carbon strategy
September 28, 2006 — The Bush administration has no plans to ease its opposition to national limits on greenhouse gas output despite talk that a change may be under consideration, a White House spokeswoman said on Thursday.
www.abcnews.go.com: White House says no change on carbon strategy
www.abcnews.go.com: U.S. on track with greenhouse goals, but too easy?

Coal said top enemy in fighting global warming
September 28, 2006 - Cheap coal will be the main enemy in a fight against global warming in the 21st century because high oil prices are likely to encourage a shift to coal before wind or solar power, a top economist said on Thursday.
today.reuters.com: Coal said top enemy in fighting global warming

Schwarzenegger Signs Landmark Greenhouse Gas Law
September 28, 2006 - In a move backers hope will change the US approach to the problem of global warming, California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed a law on Wednesday aimed at reducing the state's greenhouse gas emissions.
today.reuters.com: Schwarzenegger Signs Landmark Greenhouse Gas Law

Virgin boss aims to save the planet: Airline entrepreneur tackles climate change.
September 27, 2006 - British business mogul Richard Branson made headlines last week by pledging to invest a whopping US$3 billion in programmes and businesses that tackle climate change. Less than a week later, he is back on the trail, announcing plans to cut carbon emissions in British aviation by up to 25%.
www.nature.com: Virgin boss aims to save the planet

Germany to Put Global Warming Back on G8 Agenda
September 27, 2006 - Germany will make fighting climate change a top priority when it takes control of the G8 next year and will try to persuade the United States of its importance, Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Tuesday.
www.planetark.com: Germany to Put Global Warming Back on G8 Agenda

Economists on Climate Change: Do We Care?
September 27, 2006 Will the spending needed to prevent global warming cost the world more than just sitting back, or even enjoying the possible financial benefits of a hotter planet?
today.reuters.com: Economists on Climate Change: Do We Care?

NOAA: Caribbean Coral Reefs Facing Greatest Warming Threat Yet
September 26, 2006 - Scientists have issued their strongest warning so far this year that unusually warm Caribbean Sea temperatures threaten coral reefs that suffered widespread damage last year in record-setting heat.
www.foxnews.com: Caribbean Coral Reefs Facing Greatest Warming Threat Yet

Africa must plan for climate change'
September 26, 2006 - Africa already has extreme variability of rainfall, and an uneven distribution of water resources. Climate change is expected to increase this variability, with direct impact on river flows and rain-fed agriculture. New policies towards water use on the continent are urgently needed.
www.peopleandplanet.net: Caribbean Coral Reefs Facing Greatest Warming Threat Yet

Ignore Global Warming, There Is No Practical Solution, Let’s Be Realistic
September 25, 2006 - It is time to really look at what faces the human race, the whole picture, not the broken up concepts that make us feel like we are actually in control of our fate.
www.americanchronicle.com: Ignore Global Warming, There Is No Practical Solution, Let’s Be Realistic

“Hot & Cold Media Spin: A Challenge To Journalists Who Cover Global Warming”
September 25, 2006 - US senator Inhofe in a senate hearing: "I am going to speak today about the most media-hyped environmental issue of all time, global warming. I have spoken more about global warming than any other politician in Washington today. My speech will be a bit different from the previous seven floor speeches, as I focus not only on the science, but on the media’s coverage of climate change.
Global Warming -- just that term evokes many members in this chamber, the media, Hollywood elites and our pop culture to nod their heads and fret about an impending climate disaster. As the senator who has spent more time speaking about the facts regarding global warming, I want to address some of the recent media coverage of global warming and Hollywood’s involvement in the issue. And of course I will also discuss former Vice President Al Gore’s movie “An Inconvenient Truth.”
epw.senate.gov: "A Challenge To Journalists Who Cover Global Warming"

Scientists fear that carbon dioxide is altering ocean chemistry
September, 24 2006 -
Fifty-five million years ago, Earth endured a period of rapid global warming, a shift so dramatic it altered ocean and atmospheric circulation, driving plankton in the seas and mammals on land to extinction.
www.paramuspost.com: Scientists fear that carbon dioxide is altering ocean chemistry

CO2 targets 'should be binding'
September 24, 2006 - The mock statement claims the rules need not stop development Binding targets to reduce CO2 emissions should be included in regional planning rules, campaigners are to say in a "mock" climate change policy statement.
news.bbc.co.uk: CO2 targets 'should be binding'

The green house of the future
September 24, 2006 - Branson and the greenerati can afford to go green. And so, soon, could you. Radical plans are being drawn up to make Britain's houses the most environmentally friendly in Europe, with new "zero-carbon" developments proposed to cut back on global warming.
news.independent.co.uk: The green house of the future

Rethinking Design: Towards a Low-Carbon World
September 24, 2006 - Energy awareness and a growing consumer appreciation for ecological and social responsibility have come together to create a new market for sustainable design.
www.dexigner.com: Rethinking Design

The Nuclear Option
September 24, 2006 - A threefold expansion of nuclear power could contribute significantly to staving off climate change by avoiding one billion to two billion tons of carbon emissions annually.
www.sciam.com: The Nuclear Option

Grow Your Own?
September 24, 2006 - Would the widespread adoption of biomass-derived transportation fuels really help the environment?
www.americanscientist.org: Grow Your Own?

Beckett to warn UN on climate change
September 22, 2006 - All countries must take their share of responsibility for tackling climate change or suffer its consequences, the foreign secretary, Margaret Beckett, will warn the UN general assembly today. Attempts to "free ride" will end up in "freefall", she will say.
environment.guardian.co.uk: Beckett to warn UN on climate change

Branson pledges $3B to fight climate change
September 21, 2006 - British business mogul Richard Branson on Thursday pledged to invest about $3 billion over the next decade to combat global warming and promote alternative energy, saying that it was critical to protect the environment for future generations.
edition.cnn.com: Branson pledges $3B to fight climate change

Technology and Voluntary Cutbacks Urged
White House Outlines Global Warming Fight
September 21, 2006 - The Bush administration yesterday laid out a long-term "strategic plan" for using technology to curb the impact of global warming, reiterating its position that basic scientific research and voluntary actions can curb greenhouse gases linked to climate change.
www.washingtonpost.com: White House Outlines Global Warming Fight
www.washingtonpost.com: The threat of climate change

On the flight path to global meltdown
September 21, 2006 - There is no technofix to the disastrous impact of air travel on the environment, argues George Monbiot in the final extract from his new book - the only answer is to ground most of the aeroplanes flying today.
environment.guardian.co.uk: On the flight path to global meltdown

California sues car firms on climate
September 20, 2006 - The state of California is suing six carmakers for costs associated with their cars' greenhouse gas emissions. California is asking for "monetary compensation" for the damage which it says their emissions are doing to health, economy and environment. About one-third of California's CO2 emissions come from traffic.
news.bbc.co.uk: California sues car firms on climate

'New climate' detected as Britain grows ever hotter
September 19/20, 2006 - England has become a full degree Celsius warmer since the Beatles started playing - and human activity is the cause, according to research released yesterday.
news.independent.co.uk: 'New climate' detected as Britain grows ever hotter
news.bbc.co.uk: England's warming 'not natural'

The denial industry
September 19, 2006 - For years, a network of fake citizens' groups and bogus scientific bodies has been claiming that science of global warming is inconclusive. They set back action on climate change by a decade. But who funded them? Exxon's involvement is well known, but not the strange role of Big Tobacco. In the first of three extracts from his new book, George Monbiot tells a bizarre and shocking new story.
www.guardian.co.uk: The denial industry
www.guardian.co.uk: Royal Society tells Exxon: stop funding climate change denial
www.physorg.com: Exxon Mobil accused of misleading public

Fiddling While the Planet Burns
September 19, 2006 - Will the Wall Street Journal's editorial writers accept a challenge to learn the truth about the science of global climate change?
Another summer of record-breaking temperatures brought power failures, heat waves, droughts and tropical storms throughout the U.S., Europe and Asia. Only one place seemed to remain cool: the air-conditioned offices of the editorial board of the Wall Street Journal....
www.sciam.com: Fiddling While the Planet Burns
www.realclimate.org: Sachs’ WSJ Challenge / Scientific American versus the Wallstreet Journal

Former Vice President Al Gore calls for bipartisan action to slow 'climate crisis'
September 19, 2006 - Former Vice President Al Gore stepped up his call for immediate action to halt global warming, urging politicians on both sides of the aisle to ``have the courage to do better.''
www.planetsave.com: Former Vice President Al Gore calls for bipartisan action to slow 'climate crisis'

Gore Suggests Ways America Could Combat Climate Change
September 19, 2006 - America should commit to an immediate freeze in levels of carbon dioxide emissions and replace payroll taxes with levies on corporate pollution, Vice President Gore said yesterday in a speech at New York University in which he endorsed a series of far-reaching proposals to combat climate change.
www.nysun.com: Gore Suggests Ways America Could Combat Climate Change
www.washingtonpost.com: Gore Unveils Global-Warming Plan

Gore: Global Warming an Immediate Crisis
September 19, 2006 - Former Vice President Al Gore on Monday called for immediate action to stop global warming, calling the phenomenon a ``climate crisis'' that demands attention from American leaders.
www.guardian.co.uk: Al Gore calls global warming an Immediate Crisis

Investors urged to back climate change awareness with action
September 18, 2006 - There has been a major increase in the number of top institutional investors waking up to the financial risks of climate change for the businesses in which they own shares, a report out today shows.
More than 225 investment houses including Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs and AIG have signed up to the government-backed Carbon Disclosure Project, which produced the latest 2006 annual survey.
environment.guardian.co.uk: Investors urged to back climate change awareness with action

Al Gore: An Inconvenient Truth

Al Gore

September 15, 2006 - After his failure to become the US President, Al Gore has contrived a sensational comeback with this movie - a filmed record of his lecture road-show about the coming environmental catastrophe. The message is that global warming is more dangerous than Al-Qaeda, and Americans, weary of the divisive "war on terror", have been glad enough to see the subject changed.
environment.guardian.co.uk / Al Gore: An Inconvenient Truth

Warning: bigger carbon cut needed to avoid disaster
September 15, 2006 - Leading researchers say government has misled public and call for 90% reduction in greenhouse gases by 2050.
Drastic action is needed if Britain is to have any chance of avoiding catastrophic climate change, a ground-breaking environmental report warns today.
environment.guardian.co.uk: Warning: bigger carbon cut needed to avoid disaster

UK's first climate road map published
September 15, 2006 - The Government has only four years to implement a major new programme of action to cut carbon emissions if the UK is to play its part in keeping global temperatures below danger levels [1] warned a new report launched by The Co-operative Bank and Friends of the Earth today.
www.foe.co.uk: UK's first climate road map

Friends of the Earth urges Government action, based on Tyndall Manchester work
September 14, 2006 - The Government has only four years to implement a major new programme of action to cut carbon emissions if the UK is to play its part in keeping global temperatures below danger levels warned a new report launched by The Co-operative Bank and Friends of the Earth today, based upon research commissioned from Tyndall Centre Manchester.
www.tyndall.ac.uk: Friends of the Earth urges Government action, based on Tyndall Manchester work

Warming expert: Only decade left to act in time
September 14, 2006 - James Hansen, a leading U.S. climate researcher says the world has a 10-year window of opportunity to take decisive action on global warming and avert catastrophe.
msnbc.msn.com: ‘We have a very brief window of opportunity’

Global Warming Taking Earth Back to Dinosaur Era
September 8, 2006 - Global warming over the coming century could mean a return of temperatures last seen in the age of the dinosaur and lead to the extinction of up to half of all species, a scientist said on Thursday.
www.planetark.com: Global Warming Taking Earth Back to Dinosaur Era

World's most wanted: climate change
September 8, 2006 - Human-induced climate change must be treated as an immediate threat to national security and prosperity, says John Ashton, the UK's climate change envoy. He argues that we must secure a stable climate whatever the cost, as failure to do so will cost far more.
news.bbc.co.uk: 'World's most wanted: climate change'

Solve climate 'whatever it costs'
September 8, 2006 - Climate change will compromise food supplies, John Ashton believes Climate change is "potentially the most serious threat there has ever been" to security and prosperity, according to Britain's new climate ambassador.
news.bbc.co.uk: Solve climate 'whatever it costs'

The Economist: The heat is on

September 7, 2006 - Global warming, it now seems, is for real. Emma Duncan examines the nature of the problem, and possible solutions.
www.economist.com: ‘The heat is on’
www.economist.com: ‘Survey Climate Change’

Scientist: Planet going back to dinosaur era
September 7, 2006 - Global warming over the coming century could mean a return of temperatures last seen in the age of the dinosaur and lead to the extinction of up to half of all species, a scientist said on Thursday.
today.reuters.com: Planet going back to dinosaur era

FSU scientist finds greenhouse gas bubbling from melting permafrost feeds climate warming at much higher than expected rates

Methane bubbles captured in ice

September 7, 2006 - A study co-authored by a Florida State University scientist and published in the Sept. 7 issue of the journal Nature has found that as the permafrost melts in North Siberia due to climate change, carbon sequestered and buried there since the Pleistocene era is bubbling up to the surface of Siberian thaw lakes and into the atmosphere as methane, a greenhouse gas 20 times more potent than carbon dioxide.