Big nations block curbs on tuna overfishing

Manila, 6 December 2012 (AFP) – Efforts to curb overfishing of tuna in the Pacific were blocked by big countries that refused to cut their catch at a meeting of tuna-fishing nations in the Asia-Pacific, delegates said Thursday. The Western and Central Pacific Commission, comprising 30 member nations and territories, ended a five-day meeting in […]

Mortality of biggest and oldest trees around the world is increasing rapidly, study warns

By JIM ROBBINS7 December 2012 The death rate of many of the biggest and oldest trees around the world is increasing rapidly, scientists report in a new study in Friday’s issue of the journal Science. They warned that research to understand and stem the loss of the trees is urgently needed. “It’s a worldwide problem […]

Video: Plastic debris is being ingested by Hawaii wildlife at an alarming rate

[As always, sorry about the ad. –Des] 11 December 2012 (NBC Nightly News) – On Kamilo Beach on Hawaii’s Big Island, disturbing research demonstrates plastic debris is being ingested by wildlife at an alarming rate. NBC’s Miguel Almaguer reports. Troubling signs in paradise Technorati Tags: plastic,pollution,Oceania,ecosystem disruption,bird decline,mammal decline,marine mammal

Protecting New Jersey from future storms will cost billions

By James M. O’Neill, staff writer9 December 2012 (The Record) – The price of protecting New Jersey from rising sea levels and the devastation of future storms is breathtaking, making it seem at times that the problem is insurmountable. Some options that have been floated include $7.4 billion to buy all 13,300 structures in the […]

Climate skeptics swayed by consensus, not evidence

By Tia Ghose, LiveScience Staff Writer  7 December 2012 (LiveScience.com) – Conservatives are less likely to accept the reality of human-caused climate science when presented with supporting scientific evidence. But tell them that 99 out of 100 climate scientists agree on the subject, and conservatives will be more likely to accept that humans are altering […]

Study finds the costs of climate change can be mitigated if economic activity moves in response

[This is a very interesting bit of research, but it strikes Desdemona as a case of the broken window fallacy, writ large.] 8 December 2012 (The Economist) – When Superstorm Sandy roared ashore in late October and the lights of lower Manhattan went out, New Yorkers were given a stark vision of a possible future. […]

Hundreds of fishermen missing after Philippine typhoon – Philippines climate negotiator appeals for action at Doha

By Bullit Marquez9 December 2012 NEW BATAAN, Philippines (AP) – The number of people missing after a typhoon devastated parts of the southern Philippines jumped to nearly 900 after families and fishing companies reported losing contact with more than 300 fishermen at sea, officials said Sunday. The fishermen from southern General Santos city and nearby […]

Typhoon Bopha makes U-turn, threatens Philippines again

NEW BATAAN, Philippines, 8 December 2012 (CBS/AP) – A typhoon that killed nearly 600 people and left hundreds more missing in the southern Philippines has made a U-turn and is now threatening the country’s northwest, officials said Saturday. The weather bureau raised storm warnings over parts of the main northern island of Luzon after Typhoon […]

Philippines typhoon deaths rise as president declares state of calamity

By Liz Neisloss and Jethro Mullen8 December 2012 Montevista, Philippines (CNN) – Philippine President Benigno Aquino III has declared a state of national calamity as the death toll from Typhoon Bopha, the strongest tropical cyclone to hit the Philippines in decades, continues to climb. At least 459 people have died since the typhoon, known locally […]

FAO chief warns Pakistan of future floods – ‘The emergency triggered by climate change is unfolding fast’

By Sikander Shaheen6 December 2012  ISLAMABAD (The Nation of Pakistan) – A top UN diplomat has cautioned that Pakistan faces potential threat of flash flooding for the next year, saying that over a million flood-affectees in Sindh are still in need of food assistance. “Climate change is causing extremely unexpected changes in the weather, a […]

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