Zoos carefully introduce discussions of climate change

By LESLIE KAUFMAN26 August 2012 BOSTON – Sitting on an artificial mangrove island in the middle of the ray and shark “touch tank,” Lindsay Jordan, a staff member at the New England Aquarium, explained the rays’ eating habits as children and their parents trailed fingers through the water. “Does anyone know how we touch these […]

‘Sunshade’ to fight climate change costed at $5 billion a year

[cf. So the leaders of men conceived of their most desperate strategy yet] By Alister Doyle and David Fogarty; editing by Andrew Roche30 August 2012 OSLO/SINGAPORE (Reuters) – Planes or airships could carry sun-dimming materials high into the atmosphere for an affordable price tag of below $5 billion a year as a way to slow […]

Bad news for movie fans, U.S. drought hits popcorn crop

By P.J. Huffstutter; Editing by Leslie Gevirtz2 September 2012 CHICAGO (Reuters) – For more than half a century, the Shew family has harvested mountains of popcorn kernels to be buttered, salted and munched by movie fans. But as a crippling Midwestern drought sends commodity soybean and grain prices soaring, the family’s farmland in west-central Indiana […]

Graph of the Day: Frequency of Extreme Downpours in the United States, 1948-2011

Global warming is happening now and its effects are being felt in the United States and around the world. Among the expected consequences of global warming is an increase in the heaviest rain and snow storms, fueled by increased evaporation and the ability of a warmer atmosphere to hold more moisture. An analysis of more […]

Storms, drought overshadow UN climate talks

By Apilaporn Vechakij30 August 2012 World climate change negotiators faced warnings Thursday that a string of extreme weather events around the globe show urgent action on emission cuts is needed as they opened new talks in Bangkok. The week-long meeting in the Thai capital, which was devastated by major floods last year, aims to prepare […]

World Bank issues hunger warning after droughts in U.S. and Europe

By Larry Elliott, www.guardian.co.uk30 August 2012 The World Bank issued a global hunger warning last night after severe droughts in the US and eastern Europe sent food prices to a record high. Damage to crop harvests from exceptionally dry weather this year raised sharply the Bank’s food price index taking it above its peak in […]

American Meteorological Society issues updated statement on climate change – ‘Warming of the climate system now is unequivocal’

By Dan Satterfield1 September 2012 The AMS has released its updated statement on climate change, and as expected, it is considerably more direct than the previous one issued in 2007. This is no surprise since the last 5 years have seen a remarkable increase in understanding, along with 5 more years of observations and measurements. […]

Heatstroke deaths prompt new high school football rules, as global warming causes hotter summers

By Neela Banerjee, Los Angeles Times 31 August 2012 MARIETTA, Georgia – The August afternoon was a merciful one. The sky above Marietta High School was overcast, and by 3:30 p.m., temperatures hovered in the low 80s as football practice began. Still, like high school football coaches all over Georgia, Marietta’s coaches were leaving little […]

Economists: Civilization may not survive ‘death spiral’

By Terry Weiss, Money Morning Richard Duncan, formerly of the World Bank and chief economist at Blackhorse Asset Mgmt., says America’s $16 trillion federal debt has escalated into a “death spiral, “as he told CNBC. And it could result in a depression so severe that he doesn’t “think our civilization could survive it.” And Duncan […]

Image of the Day: Nighttime satellite view of Hurricane Isaac, 29 August 2012

Caption by Adam Voiland30 August 2012 Early on 29 August 2012, the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) on the Suomi-NPP satellite captured this nighttime view of Hurricane Isaac and the cities near the Gulf Coast of the United States. The image was acquired at 1:57 a.m. local time (6:57 Universal Time) by the VIIRS […]

Social media & sharing icons powered by UltimatelySocial