By JOANNA M. FOSTER17 May 2012 In just over a month, policy makers from around the world will meet in Rio de Janeiro for the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development. The meeting has been called Rio+20, reflecting the two decades that have passed since a landmark conference on the environment and development was held […]
By Petchanet Pratruangkrai, The Nation 8 May 2012 Drought could result in a loss of 20 million to 30 million tonnes of sugar-cane output next year if the rainy season is not well underway by July and August, warned the Thailand Society of Sugar Cane Technologists. If that happens, the global price of sugar could […]
By Tamino16 May 2012 Over thirty years ago, James Hansen was lead author of a scientific paper titled Climate Impact of Increasing Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide. They estimated that doubling the amount of CO2 in the air would raise global temperature about 2.8 degrees (C, equal to about 5 degrees F). They projected that from 1980 […]
17 May 2012 (ForecastTheFacts.org) – Less than two weeks after the Heartland Institute compared people who believe in global warming to the Unabomber on a Clear Channel Chicago (CCMO) digital billboard, Clear Channel has rejected an ad campaign highlighting corporate support for the controversial think tank on the eve of its annual climate-change-denial conference. The […]
Study of tree rings, corals, and ice cores find unnatural spike in temperatures that lines up with manmade climate change By Alison Rourke in Sydney, www.guardian.co.uk17 May 2012 The last 60 years have been the hottest in Australasia for a millennium and cannot be explained by natural causes, according to a new report by scientists […]
Contact: Jason McGeownHead of Media RelationsTel: +44 (0)1225 420000 jason.mcgeown@maplecroft.com 10 May 2012 (Maplecroft) – The viability of water supplies throughout key regions of China, India, Pakistan, South Africa and the US are under threat from unsustainable domestic, agricultural, and industrial demands, according to a new study that maps water use down to 10km² worldwide. […]
By CORNELIA DEAN14 May 2012 Little by little, Hawaii’s iconic beaches are disappearing. Most beaches on the state’s three largest islands are eroding, and the erosion is likely to accelerate as sea levels rise, the United States Geological Survey is reporting. Though average erosion rates are relatively low — perhaps a few inches per year […]
By Andrew Freedman15 May 2012 Last year at this time, all eyes were on Texas, where drought conditions were intensifying into what became that state’s worst single year drought on record, causing nearly $8 billion in economic losses. Recently, though, Texas has gone from famine to feast in the precipitation department, and drought concerns for […]
[Not a surprise to Desdemona readers.] By Erin Hale, www.guardian.co.uk15 May 2012 Twenty years on from the Rio Earth summit, the environment of the planet is getting worse not better, according to a report from WWF. Swelling population, mass migration to cities, increasing energy use and soaring carbon dioxide emissions mean humanity is putting a […]
By Emily Sohn, Discovery Channel 14 May 2012 As the climate changes over the next century, the ranges of nearly 90 percent of mammal species will shrink — in many cases because animals won’t be able to get to areas where the climate is going to become suitable for them, says new research. Across the […]