September 8 (FAO) – The FAO Food Price Index (FFPI) averaged 231 points in August 2011, nearly unchanged from July and 26 percent higher than in August 2010. The FFPI hit its all time high of 238 points in February. Firmer cereal prices in August were largely offset by declines in international prices of most […]
By Rhett StevensonSeptember 6, 2011 The 20 hottest years on record have all taken place in the past quarter century. The resulting floods, wildfires, and heat waves have all had deadly consequences, and if we don’t reduce carbon emissions immediately, humanity faces bleak prospects. We can no longer ignore this issue. Beginning today, we must […]
By Andy Coghlan7 September 2011 Huge crabs more than a metre across have invaded the Antarctic abyss, wiped out the local wildlife and now threaten to ruin ecosystems that have evolved over 14 million years. Three years ago, researchers predicted that as the deep waters of the Southern Ocean warmed, king crabs would invade Antarctica […]
Increases in the heaviest 1 percent of all daily precipitation events in the U.S. from 1958 to 2007. Alaska has already seen a 23 percent increase in these events. New England has seen the greatest increase by a significant margin, at 67%. Thirsty for Answers: Preparing for the Water-related Impacts of Climate Change in American […]
By Ashley Powers and Molly Hennessy-Fiske, Los Angeles Times7 September 2011 Reporting from Bastrop, Texas, and Los Angeles – Beleaguered firefighters battling one of the most destructive Texas fire seasons on record found themselves punished not only by searing weather, but by lax brush clearance and dwindling budgets. With no end in sight to scores […]
By Evan Mackinder 23 August 2010 It was supposed to be their time. With significant majorities in Congress, a president promising action and favorable public opinion all on their side, many environmentalists believed their political stars had properly — and finally — aligned. Sensing the unique opportunity to address global warming on a national scale, […]
By Patrick Michels7 September 2011 As fire crews continue battling some of the worst blazes this dry state has seen in years, Texas Gov. Rick Perry took a break from his presidential campaign early this week, for a look at what he called “one of the meanest fires I’ve ever seen,” taking aerial tours of […]
By Julie Cart7 September 2011 The litany of misery playing out in Texas is tough to watch but less difficult to predict. Well before the contagion of wildfires was sparked this week, the state had been experiencing a weather catastrophe. Texas has seen its driest consecutive months since record-keeping began in 1895. Parts of the […]
By Eric Berger 7 September 2011 A couple of weeks ago I reported on the possibility of the current drought plaguing Texas extending into next summer. This is because of the 50 percent probability that La Niña will redevelop after this fall, bringing another dry winter to the state of Texas. With this in mind, […]
By Christine Stebbins; Editing by Peter Bohan5 September 2011 CHICAGO (Reuters) – It can’t happen here, can it? The United States, the breadbasket and supplier of last resort for a hungry world, has been such an amazing food producer in the last half-century that most Americans take for granted annual bounteous harvests of grain, meat, dairy, […]
