China ‘hit by power crunch’ amid drought, forced to ration electricity

May 18 (AFP) — Chinese factories are facing curbs on electricity use as coal prices soar and a severe drought hits hydropower plants, state media have said, with possible major shortages ahead this summer. The situation has highlighted the difficulties faced by China, the world’s largest energy consumer, as global fuel prices climb and the […]

Freakish weather may be here to stay – Scientists finding more links with climate change

By Graham Thomson, Edmonton Journal 17 May 2011 EDMONTON – If there’s a silver lining to the clouds of smoke roiling over Slave Lake, it’s the response by Albertans to the catastrophe. It’s as fine a demonstration as any that, for all its faults, the system seems to work when we need it most -from […]

Greenhouse ocean study offers warning for future

Contact: David Ellis (email)websiteMedia OfficerMarketing & Strategic CommunicationsThe University of AdelaideBusiness: +61 8 8303 5414Mobile: +61 421 612 762 The mass extinction of marine life in our oceans during prehistoric times is a warning that the Earth will see such an extinction again because of high levels of greenhouse gases, according to new research by […]

Video: Canada wildfire forces entire town to flee

May 17 (AP) – Wildfires that blazed through a northern Canadian town forced the evacuation of nearly 7,000 people. The mayor of Slave Lake nearly one-third of the buildings were destroyed after strong winds suddenly turned the flames on the town. Canadian Wildfire Forces Entire Town to Flee Technorati Tags: North America,Canada,wildfire,forest fire,global warming,climate change,drought

Beyond Mississippi flood, southern Africa sees record deluges

By Jeremy Hance, www.mongabay.com12 May 2011 While record crests of the Mississippi River are creating havoc in the southern US, this is not the only region in the world facing unprecedented flooding. Huge rain events have produced floods in southern Africa as well, impacting Namibia, Botswana, and South Africa. Since last year rainfall has been […]

Drought expands dramatically in Texas, losses mount

By Carey Gillam; editing by Dale Hudson16 May 2011 Another dry week in the southern United States has driven the spread of a devastating drought further across Texas and neighboring states, promising to add to economic losses that could top $3 billion. Texas, suffering its longest dry spell on record, saw the highest level of […]

Fishing impact amplifies the sensitivity of exploited marine populations to climate variability

ScienceDaily (May 16, 2011) — Researchers from the IEO, the University of Oslo and the Institute of Marine Science Leibniz have recently published a study in the journal Marine Ecology Progress Series showing why the effect of climate variations on Mediterranean fish stocks depends on its population structure. The lost of population structure may increase […]

France in crisis as drought deepens, with hottest April in over a century

By Gerard Bon, Marie Maitre, and Sybille de La Hamaide; editing by Anthony Barker16 May 2011 PARIS (Reuters) – France has imposed limits on water consumption in 28 of its 96 administrative departments, the environment ministry said Monday, amid signs that a prolonged dry spell that has hit grain crops would continue. “We are already […]

Striking ecological impact on Canada’s Arctic coastline linked to global climate change

May 16 (Queen’s University) – Scientists from Queen’s and Carleton universities head a national multidisciplinary research team that has uncovered startling new evidence of the destructive impact of global climate change on North America’s largest Arctic delta. “One of the most ominous threats of global warming today is from rising sea levels, which can cause […]

UK ministers call emergency summit as drought looms

One of the driest springs on record has sparked fears for agriculture and wildlife, while crews ‘work to the point of exhaustion’ to battle forest fires By Matt Chorley and Tom Moseley15 May 2011 Ministers are to hold an emergency drought summit in an attempt to avert a crisis caused by one of the driest […]

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