Weak climate deal would jeopardize new development goals – ‘Zero poverty and zero emissions within a generation’

By Laurie Goering; editing by Megan Rowling15 May 2015 LONDON (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – The world’s chances of achieving new international development goals will be slim without more ambitious action to curb climate change, researchers said. Pakistan, for example, is unlikely to be able to end poverty by 2030 if accelerating climate change brings worse […]

Video: Forest fire in Spain – Portugal and Spain bake in record heat wave

Incendio en una zona montañosa de Alicante By HAROLD HECKLE15 May 2015 MADRID (Associated Press) – Sunny Spain and Portugal are seeing record high temperatures for May, hitting levels normally only reached in mid-summer. Up to 20 Spanish cities have been hit by scorching temperatures and several regional governments are worried about the effects the […]

Polluted waters could force Rio de Janeiro to move 2016 Olympic sailing races

By Dom Phillips 15 May 2015 RIO DE JANEIRO (Washington Post) — The site chosen for the finals of next summer’s Olympic sailing races could not be more spectacular. Located at the mouth of Guanabara Bay, at the foot of Rio de Janeiro’s Sugarloaf Mountain, in full view of the crowds on Flamengo Beach, it […]

Ancient Antarctic ice shelf nearing complete collapse – ‘What is really surprising about Larsen B is how quickly the changes are taking place’

By Carol Rasmussen14 May 2015 (NASA/JPL) – A new NASA study finds the last remaining section of Antarctica’s Larsen B Ice Shelf, which partially collapsed in 2002, is quickly weakening and is likely to disintegrate completely before the end of the decade. A team led by Ala Khazendar of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, […]

Brazil drought: Water bill to increase 15 percent in São Paulo

[Translation by Bing] SAO PAULO (O Globo) – The regulatory agency for sanitation and São Paulo Energy (Arsesp) authorized an increase of 15.24% water and sewer accounts of Companhia de Saneamento Basico do Estado de São Paulo (Sabesp). According to the Agency, the new tariff values can be come into effect 30 days after publication […]

Global warming begins in Arctic and moves southward, half-mile slice of West Antarctica ice core reveals

12 May 2015 (SDSU) – SDSU scientists analyzed a half-mile slice of Western Antarctica ice core to help determine that climate change begins in the Arctic and moves southward, according to chemistry professor Jihong Cole-Dai of the SDSU Ice Core and Environmental Chemistry Lab. Since 2006, the SDSU research team have been part of a […]

China crude oil imports surpass those of U.S. for first time in April 2015

By Avaneesh Pandey11 May 2015 (IBT) – Chinese crude oil imports surpassed those of the United States for the first time in April, making the Asian nation the world’s top importer of crude oil. According to a report by the Financial Times, the world’s second-largest economy purchased 7.4 million barrels of crude oil a day […]

Washington State snow pack at 17 percent of normal level, streams at record-low flows – ‘Worst snow drought we’ve ever seen’

By Glenn Farley11 May 2015 (KING 5 News) – Washington State’s snow pack level is now averaging just 17 percent of normal, based on measurements made on May 1, 2015. That’s down from a state wide average of 24 percent on April 1, which is the traditional benchmark for the peak of the state’s snow […]

Graph of the Day: Global increase in herbicide-resistant weeds, 1957-2015

15 April 2015 (weedscience.org) – The International Survey of Herbicide Resistant Weeds is a collaborative effort between weed scientists in over 80 countries.  Our main aim is to maintain scientific accuracy in the reporting of herbicide resistant weeds globally.  This collaborative effort is supported by government, academic, and industry weed scientists worldwide.  This project is […]

Global warming: NASA scientists react to 400 ppm CO2 milestone ‏

(NASA) – The global concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere – the primary driver of recent climate change – has reached 400 parts per million (ppm) for the first time in recorded history, according to data from the Mauna Loa Observatory in Hawaii. Since 1958, the Mauna Loa Observatory has been gathering data on […]

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