By Dmitry Orlov23 July 2011 With each passing week more and more of us become ready to concede that economic growth is no longer possible. Economic development, on the old model, which UN Secretary Ban Ki-moon recently characterized as a “global suicide pact,” is becoming constrained by the limits of natural resources of the finite […]
Almost 200 square miles (500 square kilometers) of the Yellow Sea off China are covered by a massive bloom of green algae, according to a report from China’s Xinhua news service. The bloom has spread to almost 7,400 square miles (19,050 square kilometers) in total and is expected to grow, Xinhua reported, citing the North […]
By EVAN LEHMANN of ClimateWire22 July 2011 CHICAGO — A three-year study to determine the possible impacts of climate change on federal flood insurance will warn of huge increases to the amount of land that could be inundated by rising sea levels, heavier downpours and stormier coastlines. The size of the nation’s flood plains is […]
NEW YORK, July 22 (Reuters) – Power company Consolidated Edison (ED.N) said its peak electric use hit an all-time high on Friday as a brutal heat wave enveloped New York City. Con Edison said late on Friday that its overall electric use peaked at 13,189 megawatts at 4 p.m. That eclipsed an all-time record of […]
By John Otis, Global Post22 July 2011 NEVADOS NATIONAL PARK, Colombia — Every year, the magnificent glacier-topped mountains of Nevados National Park attract thousands of tourists. But the snow and ice caps — called “nevados” in Spanish — are melting so fast that officials may have to come up with a new name for the […]
By Monica Spain20 July 2011 With summer in full swing, area beaches see a lot of action. But the shores of the western coast of the United States may be hit with large-scale erosion in coming years, wiping out coastlines that provide protection from the surf, as well as pleasure. That’s according to a new […]
By Ray Smith for IPS, part of the Guardian Environment Network, www.guardian.co.uk22 July 2011 Even though their ice is called ‘eternal’, many alpine glaciers’ lives may come to an end within this century. For 150 years, most of them have been more or less constantly retreating, and since the eighties, their shrinkage has visibly increased. […]
By Julie Ingwersen, with additional reporting by Bob Burgdorfer and Meredith Davis; editing by Jim Marshall21 July 2011 CHICAGO (Reuters) – A historic drought in the southern Plains intensified in the last week and contributed to dry conditions emerging in the heart of the Midwest crop belt, a weekly climatologists’ report said Thursday. The weekly […]
By ARTHUR WESTING 14 July 2011 Some 200 years ago Benjamin Franklin noted that nothing is certain except for death and taxes. Today Franklin could readily have been additionally certain of the inevitability of two further events of sad note, namely armed conflicts and global warming. In his latest book, impassioned investigative journalist and courageous […]
By Neil MacFARQUHAR20 July 2011 UNITED NATIONS — The persistent inability of the United Nations to forge international consensus on climate change issues was on display Wednesday, as Security Council members disagreed over whether they should address possible instability provoked by problems like rising sea levels or competition over water resources. Western powers like the […]
