Cyclone Phailin battering India, turns deadly – 600,000 people evacuated, 12 million people likely to be affected

By Eric Leister, Meteorologist12 October 2013 (AccuWeather) – Tropical Cyclone Phailin has made landfall in northeastern India, where a catastrophe threatens to unfold and deaths are already being reported. Destructive winds well over 160 kph (100 mph) and flooding rain of at least 100-200 mm (4-8 inches) is expected across a wide area. There will […]

Map: These are the cities that climate change will hit first – ‘The boundary of passing from the climate of the past to the climate of the future happens surprisingly soon’

By Max Fisher9 October 2013 (Washington Post) – Climate scientists sometimes talk about something called “climate departure” as a way of measuring when climate change has really changed things. It’s the moment when average temperatures, either in a specific location or worldwide, become so impacted by climate change that the old climate is left behind. […]

Typhoon Phailin bearing down on India with winds and rain – ‘It’s going to cause pretty complete devastation on the coast where it hits’

KENDRAPARA, India, 11 October 2013 (UPI) – Rough seas forced fishing vessels to return to port Friday as Typhoon Phailin bore down on India’s Bay of Bengal, officials said. Four fishermen were rescued a day after their ship capsized near the Gahirmatha and Bhitarkanika marine sanctuaries, Paradip marine fisheries officer Ranjit Keshari Dash told Press […]

Study: U.S. media sowed doubt in coverage of UN climate report

By Max Greenberg, Denise Robbins, and Shauna Theel10 October 2013 (Media Matters) – A study of coverage of the recent United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report finds that many mainstream media outlets amplified the marginal viewpoints of those who doubt the role of human activity in warming the planet, even though the […]

U.S. adults score below average on worldwide test – ‘If you want to avoid having an underclass — a large group of people who are basically unemployable — the educational system is absolutely key’

[If, however, your nation wants a permanent underclass…] By KIMBERLY HEFLING 8 October 2013 WASHINGTON (AP) – It’s long been known that America’s school kids haven’t measured well compared with international peers. Now, there’s a new twist: Adults don’t either. In math, reading and problem-solving using technology — all skills considered critical for global competitiveness […]

Alaska National Weather Service office begs ‘please pay us’ in secret message

By Jason Samenow4 October 2013 (Washington Post) – In an official public forecast discussion, the Anchorage National Weather Service office  – whose employees are working without knowledge of when they will be paid during the ongoing Federal shutdown –  encoded this secret message: “Please pay us.” The first letter in each of the first 11 […]

Graph of the Day: Global mean surface temperature increase as a function of cumulative total global CO2 emissions

27 September 2013 (IPCC) – Global mean surface temperature increase as a function of cumulative total global CO2 emissions from various lines of evidence. Multi-model results from a hierarchy of climate-carbon cycle models for each RCP until 2100 are shown with coloured lines and decadal means (dots). Some decadal means are indicated for clarity (e.g., […]

More than 100 scientists warn Ecuador Congress against oil development in Yasuní National Park – ‘They are not nibbling around the edges of the park anymore, but going deep into the core’

By Jeremy Hance 3 October 2013 (mongabay.com) – Over 100 scientists have issued a statement to the Ecuadorian Congress warning that proposed oil development and accompanying roads in Yasuní National Park will degrade its “extraordinary biodiversity.” The statement by a group dubbed the Scientists Concerned for Yasuní outlines in detail how the park is not […]

Forests increasingly limited to steeper slopes as humans clear lowland areas for agriculture and cities

By Sue Palminteri 1 October 2013 (mongabay.com) – Forests are increasingly limited to steep slopes as mankind continues to clear lowland areas suitable for agriculture and urban areas, finds a new study published in Nature Communications. The trend has significant implications for global biodiversity. As human societies have expanded, they have been remarkably efficient at […]

The climate change denial machine is going up to 11

By Phil Plait26 September 2013 (Slate) – As I predicted, with the advent of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report due tomorrow, the noise machine is out in full force. Still, when I saw that James Delingpole had written yet another climate change denial piece for The Telegraph, I dithered. After all, in my […]

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