2011 was hottest year in U.S. since records began in 1895

Washington, D.C., 10 July 2012 (ANI) – Last year in the continental United States has been recorded as the country’s hottest year since 1895, government scientists have said. According to the BBC, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) said that the US had broken its record for the hottest six months. Agency’s weather experts […]

Climate change: ‘This is just the beginning’

By Amy Goodman8 July 2012 Evidence supporting the existence of climate change is pummeling the United States this summer, from the mountain wildfires of Colorado to the recent “derecho” storm that left at least 23 dead and 1.4 million people without power from Illinois to Virginia. The phrase “extreme weather” flashes across television screens from […]

U.S. science official says more extreme events convincing Americans climate change is real

CANBERRA, Australia, 5 July 2012 (AP) – Increasingly common experiences with extreme climate-related events such as the Colorado wildfires, a record warm spring and preseason hurricanes have convinced many Americans climate change is a reality, the head of a U.S. scientific agency said Friday. Many Americans had previously seen climate change as a “nebulous concept” […]

U.S. experiences warmest 12-month period on record, again – One-in-1.6 million event

[UPDATE: Probably not as unlikely as 1-in-1.6 million; more like 1-in-134000.] By Dr. Jeff Masters9 July 2012 Thanks in part to the historic heat wave that demolished thousands of high temperature records at the end of June, temperatures in the contiguous U.S. were the warmest on record over the past twelve months and for the […]

How forest fires are changing the landscape of the U.S. West

By Brandon Keim6 July 2012 The vast wildfires of this summer and last represent a new normal for the western United States. They may signal a radical landscape transformation, one that will make the 21st century West an ecological frontier. “These transitions could be massive. They represent the convergence of several different forces,” said Donald […]

Colorado’s perfect firestorm: Will the Waldo Canyon fire make climate change skeptics easier to convince?

By Mark Lubell6 July 2012 Last week, my parents had to pack their belongings and flee as the Waldo Canyon fire barreled toward their house in Colorado Springs. They were among 32,000 people forced from their houses by the fire, which has destroyed nearly 350 homes. My parents were lucky. Despite the trauma and fear […]

Forest fires in U.S. West are a window into the future

By Robert Krier3 July 2012 The fires that are burning throughout the country offer a window into what we can expect in the future as the climate heats up. That grim assessment comes from Steve Running, a wildfire expert, ecologist and forestry professor at the University of Montana. Running was among the scores of scientists […]

U.S. Drought Monitor shows record-breaking expanse of drought

By Kelly Helm Smith, National Drought Mitigation Center; Steve Smith, University Communications5 Jul 2012 (UNL) – More of the United States is in moderate drought or worse than at any other time in the 12-year history of the U.S. Drought Monitor, officials from the National Drought Mitigation Center at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln said today. […]

Society not ready for heat waves coming with climate change – ‘The power grid can’t handle it’

By Oren Dorell, USA TODAY6 July 2012 Health officials are better prepared for heat waves than they used to be, but they have more to do in the face of climate change, experts say. “Nationally and internationally we are much more aware of the danger of extreme heat than we were in 1995,” says sociologist […]

Rising temperatures and drought create fears of a new Dust Bowl

By Bryan Walsh5 July 2012 Triple-digit days. Weeks with little to no rain. Soil crumbling away. Stunted corn stalks. Right now the fertile fields of the U.S. Midwest are experiencing corn-killing weather, with parts of five corn-growing states in the region experiencing severe or extreme drought. In at least nine states, one-fifth to one-half of […]

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