Polar bears disappearing from southern Beaufort Sea – ‘We suspect that they are dying of starvation’

By SETH BORENSTEIN, AP Science Writer17 November 2014 WASHINGTON (Associated Press) – A key polar bear population fell nearly by half in the past decade, a new U.S.-Canada study [pdf] found, with scientists seeing a dramatic increase in young cubs starving and dying. Researchers chiefly blame shrinking sea ice from global warming. Scientists from the […]

Video: NASA computer model provides a new portrait of atmospheric carbon dioxide

By Patrick Lynch17 November 2014 (NASA) – An ultra-high-resolution NASA computer model has given scientists a stunning new look at how carbon dioxide in the atmosphere travels around the globe. Plumes of carbon dioxide in the simulation swirl and shift as winds disperse the greenhouse gas away from its sources. The simulation also illustrates differences […]

Australia repealed its carbon tax, and emissions are now soaring

By Brad Plumer6 November 2014 (Vox) – Back in 2011, Australia’s Labor Party enacted a national carbon tax as a way of tackling global warming. The tax took effect in 2012, and emissions promptly fell over the next two years. But the policy was also highly unpopular with voters. So, in July 2014, a newly […]

NASA: Alaska shows no signs of rising Arctic methane

By Carol Rasmussen13 November 2014 (NASA) – Despite large temperature increases in Alaska in recent decades, a new analysis of NASA airborne data finds that methane is not being released from Alaskan soils into the atmosphere at unusually high rates, as recent modeling and experimental studies have suggested. The new result shows that the changes […]

Carbon dioxide surge drove greenhouse gas levels to new high in 2013 – ‘The laws of physics are non-negotiable. We are running out of time.’

By Tom Miles; editing by Stephanie Nebehay9 September 2014 GENEVA (Reuters) – Atmospheric volumes of greenhouse hit a record in 2013 as carbon dioxide concentrations grew at the fastest rate since reliable global records began, the World Meteorological Organization said on Tuesday. “We know without any doubt that our climate is changing and our weather […]

Melting Away: Beautiful polar photos tell a haunting story about global warming – ‘I stopped going because it felt so futile’

By Jakob Schiller  11 November 2014 (Wired) – When Camille Seaman started photographing icebergs and other arctic wonders, she wasn’t thinking about climate change. She simply found the frozen landscape and white vistas visually stunning. Still, you can’t help but associate her images with the ongoing conversation about climate change. Seaman, 45, says she too […]

Can’t afford to wait: Why disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation plans in Asia are still failing millions of people

By Steph Cousins6 November 2014 (Oxfam) – Climate-related disasters and food crises are devastating thousands of lives and holding back development across Asia. A year after the devastating super-typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines, Oxfam is calling for governments across Asia to increase efforts to address these challenges – and for them to be backed by […]

Graph of the Day: California reservoir levels, 27 October 2014

28 October 2014 (Pacific Institute) – Statewide, California’s major reservoirs (representing nearly 27.1 million acre-feet of storage), are at about 28% of total capacity and 50% of normal. This week in… migratory birds Migratory bird species will likely have a difficult year. This past year, federal wildlife refuges reliant on the Central Valley Project only […]

Why climate scientists get death threats – The way climate scientists are now treated is without parallel in the history of science

By Tim Radford8 November 2014 LONDON (Climate News Network) − If you don’t like the message on climate change, it seems that the answer is to shoot the messenger. According to a new book by veteran environmentalist George Marshall, thousands of abusive emails − including demands that he commit suicide or be “shot, quartered and […]

Government muzzling of Canada scientists widespread, survey suggests – ‘We live in a climate of fear’

OTTAWA, 7 November 2014 (The Canadian Press) – The union representing scientists and other professionals in the federal public service is abandoning its tradition of neutrality in elections to actively campaign against Prime Minister Stephen Harper. The Professional Institute of the Public Service of Canada (PIPSC) says delegates to its annual general meeting have agreed […]

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