U.N. report: World economy is on the brink of another major downturn

[Executive Summary pdf] The world economy is on the brink of another major downturn. Global economic growth started to decelerate on a broad front in mid-2011 and is estimated to have averaged 2.8 per cent over the last year. This economic slowdown is expected to continue into 2012 and 2013. The United Nations baseline forecast […]

Russia warming at twice the global rate

Moscow, January 17 (IANS/RIA Novosti) – Temperatures in Russia in the past century rose at twice the rate of warming in the rest of the world, the emergencies ministry said. “Despite ongoing discussions in the scientific community about the nature and long-term outlook for global climate change, the fact of global warming itself is uncontroversial,” […]

Judge prevents Wisconsin town from tightening coal ash regulations

By Rachel Cernansky, Energy / Fossil Fuels17 January 2012 The EPA is still deciding how to regulate coal ash, and a bill in Congress would prevent the EPA from regulating it at all. Here’s a hint of what happens with weak regulations—in this case, a town is prevented from creating regulations stricter than what the […]

Climate science denial seeps into U.S. science classrooms

By Neela Banerjee, Washington Bureau 16 January 2012 Reporting from Washington – A flash point has emerged in American science education that echoes the battle over evolution, as scientists and educators report mounting resistance to the study of man-made climate change in middle and high schools. Although scientific evidence increasingly shows that fossil fuel consumption […]

Aerosol particle increase linked to more rainfall: study

By Nina Chestney, editing by Rosalind Russell15 January 2012 LONDON (Reuters) – A rise in the atmosphere of aerosols – miniscule particles which include soot, dust and sulphates – has led to more rainfall in certain parts of the world and could provide vital clues for future climate predictions, a scientific study shows. A deeper […]

Flights confirm Rena wreck unchanged

16 January 2012 (voxy.co.nz) – Aerial observation flights to Rena this morning by Maritime New Zealand and Svitzer salvors confirm no change to the state of the wreck. The crane barge Smit Borneo is now in position near the wreck of the Rena. Swell and sea conditions continue to ease at Astrolabe Reef with more […]

Video: NASA says Canada ‘hot spot’ of ecological change

[cf. NASA: Climate change to bring big ecosystem changes – Current warming is 100 times faster than end of last ice age. Apologies in advance for the advertisement.] By Mychaylo Prystupa, CBC News 12 January 2012 A new NASA study predicts massive ecological changes for Canada’s Prairies and boreal regions by the year 2100. Those […]

Image of the Day: Satellite View of Receding Floodwaters around Ayutthaya, Thailand, 9 January 2011

Ayutthaya, Thailand, 9 January 2011   Ayutthaya, Thailand, 1 December 2011 Caption by Michon Scott9 January 2012 Flood waters continued receding in Thailand’s historic city of Ayutthaya in December 2011 and January 2012. The Advanced Land Imager (ALI) on NASA’s Earth Observing-1 (EO-1) satellite captured the top image on 9 January 2012, and the bottom […]

Rare stonefly, found only in Glacier National Park, threatened by melting glaciers

Contacts:  Scott Hoffman Black, Xerces Society, (503) 449-3792Noah Greenwald, Center for Biological Diversity, (503) 484-7495 16 December 2011 GLACIER NATIONAL PARK, Montana – In response to a scientific petition from the Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation and Center for Biological Diversity, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service today determined that the western glacier stonefly, an […]

Graph of the Day: Agricultural Systems at Risk – Human Pressure on Land and Water

ROME, 28 November 2011 (FAO) – Widespread degradation and deepening scarcity of land and water resources have placed a number of key food production systems around the globe at risk, posing a profound challenge to the task of feeding a world population expected to reach 9 billion people by 2050, according to a new FAO […]

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