As scientists worry about rapidly warming world, U.S. public doesn’t – ‘If the American population were left to lead on the issue of climate, it’s just not going to happen’

By Seth Borenstein3 November 2015 WASHINGTON (Associated Press) – Americans are hot but not too bothered by global warming. Most Americans know the climate is changing, but they say they are just not that worried about it, according to a new poll by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. And that is keeping […]

Ethiopia: Large-scale food emergency projected for 2016 after worst drought in more than 30 years – 15 million people likely to need food assistance

19 November 2015 (IRIN) – Alarm bells are ringing for a food emergency in Ethiopia. The UN says 15 million people will need help over the coming months. The government, wary of stigma and therefore hesitant to ask for help, has nevertheless said more than eight million Ethiopians need food assistance. Extra imports to stem […]

Paris global warming conference: Public support for tough climate deal ‘declines’

By Matt McGrath 27 November 2015 (BBC News) – Public support for a strong global deal on climate change has declined, according to a poll carried out in 20 countries. Only four now have majorities in favour of their governments setting ambitious targets at a global conference in Paris. In a similar poll before the […]

U.S. breaks all-time wildfire record – More than 9.8 million acres burned in 2015

26 November 2015 (Desdemona Despair) – Because 2015 is certain to be the hottest year on record globally, it’s reasonable to expect that it will also be the worst year for wildfires. In the U.S., this has turned out to be the case: wildfires in 2015 have exceeded the record of 9.8 million acres (3.9 […]

UN report finds 90 per cent of disasters are weather-related – ‘The world is paying a high price in lives lost’

23 November 2015 – A new report issued today by the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR) shows that over the last 20 years, 90 per cent of major disasters have been caused by 6,457 recorded floods, storms, heatwaves, droughts and other weather-related events. The report, titled The Human Cost of Weather Related […]

Study: Dispersants did not help oil degrade in BP spill – ‘The oil with no dispersant degraded a heckuva lot faster than the oil with dispersants’

By Seth Borenstein9 November 2015 (PhysOrg) – The chemical sprayed on the 2010 BP oil spill may not have helped crucial petroleum-munching microbes get rid of the slick, a new study suggests. And that leads to more questions about where much of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill went. If the new results are true, up […]

On climate science, U.S. Republican candidates get failing grades – ‘That sort of ignorance would be dangerous in a doorman, let alone a president’

By Seth Borenstein23 November 2015 WASHINGTON (Associated Press) – When it comes to climate science, two of the three Democratic presidential candidates are ‘A’ students, while most of the Republican contenders are flunking, according to a panel of scientists who reviewed candidates’ comments. At the request of The Associated Press, eight climate and biological scientists […]

Half of tree species in the Amazon at risk of extinction, say scientists – ‘It’s a battle we’re going to see play out in our lifetimes’

By Damian Carrington20 November 2015 (The Guardian) – More than half the myriad tree species in the Amazon could be heading for extinction, according to a study that makes the first comprehensive estimate of threatened species in the world’s largest rainforest. Among the species expected to suffer significant falls in numbers are the Brazil nut, […]

El Niño could be the most powerful on record, scientists say – ‘There is no doubt: It’s coming’

By Rong-Gong Lin II and Rosanna Xia17 November 2015 (Los Angeles Times) – Temperatures in a key location of the Pacific Ocean are now hotter than they ever were in the record 1997 El Niño. Some scientists say the readings show that this year’s El Niño could be among the most powerful on record — […]

In Greenland, another major glacier comes undone – ‘The changes are staggering and are now affecting the four corners of Greenland’

12 November 2015 (NASA) – It’s big. It’s cold. And it’s melting into the world’s ocean. It’s Zachariae Isstrom, the latest in a string of Greenland glaciers to undergo rapid change in our warming world. A new NASA-funded study published today in the journal Science finds that Zachariae Isstrom broke loose from a glaciologically stable […]

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