Global extinction: Gradual doom is just as bad as abrupt
Around 250 million years ago, most life on Earth was wiped out in an extinction known as the "Great Dying." Geologists have learned that the end came slowly from thousands of centuries of volcanic activity.
Around the world coral reefs are facing threats brought by climate change and dramatic shifts in sea temperatures. While warming has been the primary focus for scientists and ocean policy managers, cold can also cause significant damage. Scientists have shown that cool temperatures can inflict more damage in the short term, but heat is more destructive in the long run.
Global experts question claims about jellyfish populations
Blooms, or proliferation, of jellyfish have shown a substantial, visible impact on coastal populations -- clogged nets for fishermen, stinging waters for tourists, even choked intake lines for power plants -- and recent media reports have created a perception that the world's oceans are experiencing increases in jellyfish due to human activities such as global warming and overharvesting of fish. Now, a new study questions claims that jellyfish are increasing worldwide and suggests claims are not supported with any hard evidence or scientific analyses to date.
A global study has questioned claims that jellyfish are increasing worldwide. Blooms, or proliferation, of jellyfish have shown a substantial, visible impact on coastal populations -- clogged nets for fishermen, stinging waters for tourists, even choked intake lines for power plants -- and recent media reports have created a perception that the world's oceans are experiencing increases in jellyfish due to human activities such as global warming and overharvesting of fish. Now, a new global and collaborative study questions claims that jellyfish are increasing worldwide and suggests claims are not supported with any hard evidence or scientific analyses to date.
Tropical cyclones to cause greater damage, researchers predict
Tropical cyclones will cause $109 billion in damages by 2100, according to researchers in a new paper. That figure represents an increased vulnerability from population and especially economic growth, as well as the effects of climate change. Greater vulnerability to cyclones is expected to increase global tropical damage to $56 billion by 2100 -- double the current damage -- from the current rate of $26 billion per year if the present climate remains stable.
Less summer Arctic sea ice cover means colder, snowier winters in Central Europe
Even if the current weather situation may seem to go against it, the probability of cold winters with a lot of snow in Central Europe rises when the Arctic is covered by less sea ice in summer.
First plants caused ice ages, new research reveals
New research reveals how the arrival of the first plants 470 million years ago triggered a series of ice ages. The research reveals the effects that the first land plants had on the climate during the Ordovician Period, which ended 444 million years ago. During this period the climate gradually cooled, leading to a series of 'ice ages.' This global cooling was caused by a dramatic reduction in atmospheric carbon, which this research now suggests was triggered by the arrival of plants.
Earth's energy budget remained out of balance despite unusually low solar activity, study finds
A new NASA study underscores the fact that greenhouse gases generated by human activity -- not changes in solar activity -- are the primary force driving global warming. The study offers an updated calculation of Earth's energy imbalance, the difference between the amount of solar energy absorbed by Earth's surface and the amount returned to space as heat. The researchers' calculations show that, despite unusually low solar activity between 2005 and 2010, the planet continued to absorb more energy than it returned to space.
Arctic is already suffering the effects of a dangerous climate change
Two decades after the United Nations established the Framework Convention on Climate Change in order to "prevent dangerous anthropogenic interference with the climate system", the Arctic shows the first signs of a dangerous climate change.
Was the Little Ice Age triggered by massive volcanic eruptions?
Scientists suggest that the Little Ice Age was triggered by an unusual, 50-year episode of four massive volcanic eruptions. This led to an expansion of sea ice and a related weakening of Atlantic currents that caused the cool period to persist for centuries.
New study may answer questions about enigmatic Little Ice Age
According to a new study, the Little Ice Age began abruptly between A.D. 1275 and 1300, triggered by repeated, explosive volcanism, and was sustained for centuries by a self- perpetuating sea ice-ocean feedback system in the North Atlantic Ocean.
Warming in the Tasman Sea, near Australia, a global warming hot spot
Oceanographers have identified a series of ocean hotspots around the world generated by strengthening wind systems that have driven oceanic currents, including the East Australian Current, polewards beyond their known boundaries.
Killer whales are the top marine predator. The increase in hunting territories available to killer whales in the Arctic due to climate change and melting sea ice could seriously affect the marine ecosystem balance. New research has combined scientific observations with Canadian Inuit traditional knowledge to determine killer whale behavior and diet in the Arctic.
Grasslands soils offer some insurance against climate change
The earth beneath our feet plays an important role in carbon storage – a key factor in climate change – and new research shows that in times of drought some types of soil perform better than others.
Good news about carbon storage in tropical vegetation
Tropical vegetation contains 21 percent more carbon than previously thought. Using a combination of remote sensing and field data, scientists were able to produce the first "wall-to-wall" map (with a spatial resolution of 500 m x 500 m) of carbon storage of forests, shrublands, and savannas in the tropics of Africa, Asia, and South America.
The large changes in the carbon isotopic composition of carbonates which occurred prior to the major climatic event more than 500 million years ago, known as "Snowball Earth," are unrelated to worldwide glacial events, a new study suggests.
Over dinner on R.V. Calypso while anchored on the lee side of Glover's Reef in Belize, Jacques Cousteau told Phil Dustan that he suspected humans were having a negative impact on coral reefs. Dustan -- a young ocean ecologist who had worked in the lush coral reefs of the Caribbean and Sinai Peninsula -- found this difficult to believe. It was December 1974. But Cousteau was right. During the following three-plus decades, Dustan, an ocean ecologist and biology professor at the University of Charleston in South Carolina, has witnessed widespread coral reef degradation and bleaching from up close.
Temperate freshwater wetlands are 'forgotten' carbon sinks
A new study comparing the carbon-holding power of freshwater wetlands has produced measurements suggesting that wetlands in temperate regions are more valuable as carbon sinks than current policies imply.
REC-ing Crew: Does the ‘Greening’ of the Super Bowl Pass Muster?
The Super Bowl is pure American Red, White and Blue. And organizers are trying to throw in a shade of green as well. This year, the National Football league is undertaking a variety of initiatives — from an urban forestry program to donation of a small solar array — to “green” its operations. The most highly [...]
NASA: Human Activity, Not Solar Activity, Drives Global Warming and Returning to 350 ppm Is Needed to Stop It
Earth’s Energy Budget Remained Out of Balance Despite Unusually Low Solar Activity Adam Voiland, NASA’s Earth Science News Team, in a repost. The research brief by Hansen et al is here. A new NASA study underscores the fact that greenhouse gases generated by human activity — not changes in solar activity — are the primary [...]
Solar Panels From Grass Clippings: Researchers Make Progress on “Biophotovoltaics”
It’s chore day. You’ve raked the leaves, taken out the recycling, and emptied out the old junk in your garage. But wait — don’t toss it all out! You have all the ingredients for your very own homemade solar system. If new advances in “biophotovoltaics” research are any indication, you may someday be able to [...]
Drought May Cause Shutdown of Texas Rice Production
By Andrew Freedman, in a Climate Central repost Although recent rains have put a dent in the Texas drought, a day of reckoning looms for the state’s long-grain rice growers, who pump millions into the economy in Southeast Texas each year and account for about 5 percent of America’s rice production. Come March 1, if [...]
Apparently Unaware of Global Warming, L.A. Times Remains “Perplexed by the Mild Weather Across the U.S.”
One thing you can say about the Los Angeles Times, they are consistent in their miscoverage of global warming. On January 27, they committed “journalistic malpractice,” as climatologist Michael Mann tweeted, for omitting any mention of global warming whatsoever in their article seeking to explain why the U.S. “seems to have largely escaped winter.” On [...]
Romney to Nevadans: I Don’t Know ‘What The Purpose is’ of Public Lands
(Hint: They Pump $1 Billion into the State Economy and Support 13,000 Jobs) by Jessica Goad, cross-posted from ThinkProgress Green Former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney likes to sing about America the beautiful, but he mainly seems interested in mining it. In an interview with the editorial board of the Reno Gazette-Journal last night, Mitt Romney [...]
I love riding my bike. But clearly not as much as Guillaume Blanchet, who “lived” on his bicycle for 382 days in Montreal — cooking food, showering, shaving and reading his email. Blanchet’s short film, “The Man Who Lived on His Bike,” is a delightful celebration of the bicycle. Perhaps it should mandatory viewing for [...]
Putting a Freeze on Arctic Ocean Drilling: America’s Inability to Respond to an Oil Spill in the Arctic
Have we learned nothing from the disastrous 2010 oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico? Below is the summary of a comprehensive report on the inadequate disaster response capabilities in the Arctic. by Kiley Kroh, Michael Conathan and Emma Huvos When the Deepwater Horizon oil rig exploded in the Gulf of Mexico in the early [...]
Boehner’s Last Stand: House Leader Wants to Kill Transit Funding
by Greg Hanscom, reposted from Grist It was apparently not enough to obliterate funding for bike lanes and walking paths and kids trying to get to school. House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) wants to keep our tax dollars from paying for public transit as well. Earlier this week, Rep. John Mica (R-Fla.) unveiled a draft [...]
Romney Could Save $89,000 on Electric Bill By Going Solar
by Zachary Rybarczyk and Stephen Lacey Republican presidential front runner Mitt Romney makes more money in one day than the average American makes in a year. With $20.9 million in income last year and a lower tax rate than most middle-class Americans, perhaps he’d be willing to join the thousands of homeowners around the country [...]
February 3 News: EU Climate Chief Calls for Doubling of Renewable Energy Targets at Rio Summit
Other stories below: Cedar trees are victims of climate change; Poor minorities face greatest health risks from climate change EU Climate Chief Seeks Doubling of Global Clean Energy at Rio European Union Climate Commissioner Connie Hedegaard said countries meeting at a conference in June should pledge to double the share of renewable energy they use [...]
Coal-Powered PAC Runs Harassment Campaign Against Climate Scientist Michael Mann
A coal-industry astroturf group is running a public campaign to harass Pennsylvania State University climate scientist Michael Mann for his “radical agenda” of climate science. The Common Sense Movement/Secure Energy for America Political Action Committee (CSM/SEAPAC) has established a website asking people to criticize the Penn State Speakers Forum for allowing Michael Mann to speak [...]
Top Five Reasons Why Attacks on Green Jobs Training Programs Don’t Hold Up
by Jorge Madrid Another week, another misguided attack on green jobs. This week, Congressman Darrell Issa (R-CA) is going after the Department of Labor’s green jobs training program. The program, which was signed into law by fellow Republican George W. Bush, was funded for the first time under the 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. [...]
GOP House Pushes a Fuel Dirtier and More ‘Disastrous’ Than the Tar Sands: Oil Shale
Rep. Cantor (R-VA): In addition, Chairman Hastings will add provisions boosting domestic energy production and American jobs both offshore and on, highlighting innovative new technologies that will unlock our vast oil shale resources and reduce our dependence on foreign sources of oil. X-axis is the range of potential resource in billions of barrels. Y-axis is [...]
Shell Produces Less Oil, But 2011 Profits Soar 54% to $31 Billion
Royal Dutch Shell announced today profits of $31 billion for 2011, up by 54 percent since 2010. Shell’s fourth-quarter profits slipped four percent compared to the fourth quarter last year. But spurred by high energy prices, the company is making more profit on fewer barrels of oil and cubic feet of natural gas. Here are [...]
Offshore Wind One Step Closer to Reality in the Mid-Atlantic
How the U.S. can match Europe, which has 53 offshore wind projects, nearly 3,800 MW of capacity by Kit Kennedy, reposted from NRDC’s Switchboard Today the Obama administration moved forward with plans to develop the enormous offshore wind energy resources along the Mid-Atlantic coast, using a “Smart for the Start” approach designed to expedite the [...]
Video: Mitt Romney Sings ‘America the Beautiful.’ But Would His Energy Policies Keep America Beautiful?
After winning the Florida primary this week, Mitt Romney celebrated with a call to “fight for the America we love.” But will Romney’s energy policies preserve that America? In order to show his passion for the country’s natural beauty, Romney is fond of quoting the song “America the Beautiful.” Earlier this week, before leading an [...]
February 2 News: Ocean “Hotspots” Warming 2-3 times Faster Than Global Average Rate
Other stories below: Three states require insurance companies to disclose climate change response; filmmaker sounds the alarm over plastic Changes in global wind patterns have pushed the East Australian Current southward and warmed temperatures in the ocean off Tasmania by several degrees in the past few decades. Global warming drives dramatic changes in ocean currents An [...]
Groundhog Decade: We’re Stuck in a Bad Movie, Where It’s Always the Hottest Decade on Record
Somewhere on a Hollywood movie set for Groundhog Day, Part 2: Bill Murray wakes up to find he’s just lived through the hottest decade on record, just as he did in the 1990s, just as he did in the 1980s. And he keeps waking up in the hottest decade on record, until he gains the [...]
(AP) -- Even in hard times, fighting climate change is not a luxury but a necessity, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said Wednesday, as climate negotiators bickered about how to raise hundreds of billions of dollars to adapt to a warming world.
DURBAN (Reuters) - The European Union said key developing states backed its roadmap for a binding pact to fight global warming, but warned U.N. climate talks could still collapse on Friday unless all major polluters came on board.
Global warming will boost solar power in Europe but cause losses elsewhere | Duncan Clark
Scientists have predicted how changes to temperature and the distribution of sunlight will effect solar technologiesAmid all the discussion about how energy sources may impact on climate change, we often overlook the fact that climate change will in turn impact on energy sources. As the world warms, this will become an increasingly important issue, affecting everything from nuclear power stations needing cold water for cooling through to melting ice opening up new fossil fuel reserves in the Arctic.Given the current row about how much the UK should subsidise solar power, it was interesting to come across a scientific paper looking at how solar technologies will be affected by global warming in the coming century.
Exploring the Spiritual Side Of the Journey of the Universe
Mary Evelyn Tucker has been one of the innovators in the study of the connections between religion and ecology. In an interview with Yale Environment 360, she talks about her work and about a new film she co-produced that points to the spiritual dimension of responding to the world's environmental challenges.
The EU's climate evangelism has got us nowhere | Sunita Narain
Europe must stop trying to bend developing countries to agree to a legal deal in the hope that this will bring the US on boardI am at the UN climate talks in Durban, an irritated witness to the fact that when it comes to climate change, not only is the world deeply divided between rich and poor, but the world's media is even more riven.Over the last two days, the Western media - including this newspaper - has targeted India for being a deal-breaker. The intent is to drive a wedge in the Basic negotiating bloc (comprising Brazil, South Africa, India and China).
Disease outbreaks are often associated with hot weather. Because many bacteria typically multiply more rapidly in warmer conditions, it's a commonly held notion that warm-weather outbreaks are a straightforward consequence of greater numbers of the microbial culprit.
With feed-in tariff cuts about to take effect, the website where installers must register solar panels has failed to cope with trafficA key government website that enables those who have installed solar panels to apply for the feed-in tariff is experiencing serious technical problems, as contractors rush to register new systems ahead of this weekend deadline.Installers trying to log on to the Microgeneration Certificate Scheme (MCS) website, where all new installations have to register, are reporting huge problems. A message on the site on Thursday warned it is running slow. It goes on to advise users to come back later."We are trying to resolve this issue as soon as possible and do apologise for any inconveniences caused.
Study finds climate changes faster than species can adapt
The ranges of species will have to change dramatically as a result of climate change between now and 2100 because the climate will change more than 100 times faster than the rate at which species can adapt, according to a newly published study by Indiana University researchers.
Latest developments from the final day of the UN COP17 climate change talks in Durban12.12pm: Some sober words from our friend James Murray over at Business Green:. Durban: What is so special about 2015?Unfortunately, from an environmental perspective the new roadmap could prove pretty disastrous. In short, diplomats are working on a treaty to ensure that emissions peak years after scientists are recommending that they peak. Meanwhile, the fixation on agreeing a roadmap for a timeline to agree a framework that may eventually become a protocol, means the crucial issue of how countries share emissions reductions is again being filed in the tray marked "too difficult".. Durban ...
Fox Absurdly Denigrates The "ENTIRE Solar Industry"
- a Media Matters Cross-Post A recent Fox Nation post claimed that the "ENTIRE Solar Industry" is on the "Brink of Collapse." But the solar industry is growing faster than any other energy sector, and experts say solar is becoming increasingly cost competitive. Solar Is Growing Rapidly Even Without Climate Legislation Solar Industry Is Fastest-Growing Energy Sector In U.S. Earlier this year USA Today reported: The U.S. solar power market grew a record 67% last year, making it the fastest-growing energy sector, the industry reports Thursday. Its market share jumped from $3.6 billion in 2009 to $6 billion in 2010, helped by federal tax credits and declining technology costs, according to a report by the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) and GTM Research.
Highs winds leave thousands without power in California
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Heavy winds returned to the Los Angeles area early on Saturday as over 100,000 homes and businesses lost power, due to fallen trees and other damage from an ongoing windstorm.
Waiting on climate is 'escapism': top UN scientist
Leaders who wait for further evidence about the perils of greenhouse gases are flirting with escapism, the head of the UN's Nobel-winning climate scientists says.
Small Island States Fear "Annihilation" From Failed Climate Negotiations, Protests Mark COP17 Closing Hours
Karl Hood, Grenada's Minister of Foreign Affairs and chair of the Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS), responded to a question from veteran ABC correspondent Bill Blakemore about the fact that climate scientists believe it is impossible to keep global warming below 1.5C above pre-industrial levels: "If they're saying that 1.5 isn't possible, are you asking us then to accept annihilation?" Watch Hood respond to Blakemore's question: H/T ThinkProgress for the news and the video Yesterday, U.S. climate envoy Todd Stern said that he considers the 2°C goal codified by the G8 and the Cancun Accords to be a "guidepost," not a "cap that you must meet." The frustration felt by delegates from AOSIS, the Least Developed Countries (LDC), and others - especially the YOUNGO youth delegates whose ...
New analysis shows pulling CO2 from the air would not be cost-effective in the foreseeable future
Since most of the world?s governments have not yet enacted regulations to curb emissions of greenhouse gases, some experts have advocated the development of technologies to remove carbon dioxide directly from the air. But a new MIT study shows that, at least for the foreseeable future, such proposals are not realistic because their costs would vastly exceed those of blocking emissions right at the source, such as at the powerplants that burn fossil fuels.
The UK's Climate Change Secretary issues a call to arms for a credible and binding deal at a UN climate summit in Durban, warning that time runs short.
Hidden Contours of Antarctica Depicted in Map of 'Ice-free' Continent
Scientists with the British Antarctic Survey have published the most detailed map yet of what Antarctica's landscape would look like without its thick covering of ice, showing that large portions of the frozen Click to enlargeBEDMAP/BASAn 'ice-free' Antarctica continent actually rest on the sea bed rather than on land. Using data collected by aerial flights, satellite technology, and research ships over 50 years, British researchers were able to illustrate mountain peaks that are the size of the European Alps but are hidden below thousands of feet of ice. Less than 1 percent of the continent's rock base is currently visible above the ice, which is three miles thick in places.
Australian Green Party Leader: U.S. Climate Denial Machine "Being Directed Straight into Australia" Via Murdoch's News Corp
The Winning Aussie Strategy: Fighting Back Against Deniers and Talking About Climate Change If President Obama needs a role model for his stance (or lack thereof) on climate change, he should look no further than the Deputy Leader of Australia's Green Party, Christine Milne. In a wide-ranging interview with Climate Progress at the COP 17 climate talks in Durban today, Senator Milne outlined her strategy for helping pass a comprehensive climate bill in Australia this year - even when faced with "a massive campaign against the climate science" that rivals the War on Science being waged in America (see Aussie Scientist ...
Could big cities lead the fight against climate change?
They are the world's cultural capitals, the nerve centers of innovation and the engine rooms of economic growth, but could cities also hold the key to cutting carbon emissions long-term?
A second batch of e-mails thought to originate from the UK research unit involved in the "Climategate" controversy in 2009 has been posted on the Internet.
Climate change is shrinking many plant and animal species and is likely to have a negative impact on human nutrition in the future, according to a new study.
Justices reject multistate lawsuit over global warming
The Supreme Court on Monday unanimously tossed out a massive lawsuit brought by several states against private power companies whose greenhouse-gas emissions are accused of presenting a "public nuisance."
Just hot air? Justices debate lawsuit over global warming
The Supreme Court appeared reluctant Tuesday to allow a massive lawsuit by several states to proceed against private power companies whose greenhouse-gas emissions are accused of presenting a "public nuisance."
(HFR for Earth Day) Pace of polar ice melt 'accelerating rapidly'
The pace at which the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets are melting is "accelerating rapidly" and raising the global sea level, according to findings of a study financed by NASA and published Tuesday.
Australia's parliament passed landmark laws to impose a price on carbon emissions on Tuesday in one of the biggest economic reforms in a decade, giving new impetus to December's global climate talks in South Africa.
Natural disasters tied to climate change not only cause physical damage but create significant health costs in terms of hospitalizations and lives lost, according to a study published Monday.
China announced Friday it will phase out incandescent light bulbs within five years in an attempt to make the world's most polluting nation more energy efficient.
Scientists on an aerial survey of Antarctica have come across an 18-mile-long break in an ice shelf, a sign that the unstable area is giving birth to an iceberg likely to be larger than New York City.
MINNEAPOLIS — The annual meeting of the Geological Society of America isn't the type of affair one might associate with outrage among the citizenry — or anyone, really.
Skeptic finds he now agrees global warming is real
A prominent physicist and skeptic of global warming spent two years trying to find out if mainstream climate scientists were wrong. In the end, he determined they were right: Temperatures really are rising rapidly.
Crop scientists in the United States, the world's largest food exporter, are pondering an odd question: could the danger of global warming really be the heat?
Future of Tech: A high-tech crop insurance company aims to make farming profitable — and a profit for itself — by writing policies that offer protection against floods, frosts, droughts and other bouts of crop-damaging weather that are on the rise.
A Danish shipper says it saved a third of the cost and nearly half the time in shipping goods to China by taking advantage of receding Arctic ice to sail north of Russia instead of via the Suez Canal.
As energy demand grows, even alternative energy sources such as wind, solar and nuclear fusion could begin to affect the climate. Anil Ananthaswamy reports
