. . . . . . . .  CLIMATE CHANGE NEWS ITEMS  

“The scientific basis for the Greenhouse Effect and the potential impact of human emissions of greenhouse gases such as CO2 on climate is well established and cannot be denied.”  This is what energy industry scientists wrote back in 1995 but energy companies denied in order to delay US government action on global warming. Original document

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January 13 2012: Cutting the amounts of methane and soot that are poured into the sky would diminish warming by half a degree Celsius by 2050 - buying a little time for the world in the fight against global warming. link

October 27 2011: The world's governments need to plan now to resettle millions of people expected to be displaced by climate change. Resettlement is already occurring at the rate of some 10 million people a year. If global temperatures rise, as predicted, by as much as 4ºC   this century, resettlement would become virtually unavoidable in some regions of the world. link

July 14 2011: U.S. government has grossly underestimated the social costs of CO2 emissions, making decisions based on flawed calculations: cost may be up to forty times higher. link

June 19 2011: NOAA makes it official - 2011 among most extreme weather years in history. Near the halfway point, 2011 has already seen eight weather-related disasters in the U.S. that caused more than $1 billion in damage. link

May 26 2011: Solar power may be cheaper than electricity generated by fossil fuels and nuclear reactors within three to five years according to Mark Little, the global research director for GE. link

July 5 2010: The world is heading for an average temperature rise of nearly 4C (7F) according to analysis of national pledges from around the globe. Such a rise would bring a high risk of major extinctions, threats to food supplies and the near-total collapse of the huge Greenland ice sheet. link

May 20 2010: National Research Council urges Congress action - says "Climate change is occurring, is caused largely by human activities, and poses significant risks"  - evidence that global warming is man-made is compelling. link

April 19 2010  Scientists call for research on climate link to geological hazards. Experts say suggestions that climate change could trigger more volcanoes and earthquakes are speculative, but there is enough evidence to take the threat seriously.   link

March 30 2010  Global water crisis and cheaper technology sparks surge in desalination. Fresh water production increases to twice the annual flow of the Thames as one-third of world goes thirsty. link

December 29 2009   Emissions disclosure as a business virtue. Corporations are outperforming governments in terms of dealing with climate change. link

November 17 2009  Nuclear power will set back race against global warming, new report shows. Environmental, consumer groups, and energy experts release report on how nuclear power will hurt America’s ability to fight global warming. link   52-page report -  pdf

Sept. 25 2009  Climate change speeding toward irreversible yipping points . The speed and scope of global warming is now overtaking even the most sobering predictions of the last report of the Intergovernmental Panel of Climate Change, finds a new report issued by the United Nations Environment Programme, entitled "Climate Change Science Compendium 2009.  link

Sept. 15 2009  World Bank urges climate action now. The bank urges governments to conclude an "equitable deal" at December's UN climate summit in Copenhagen and  acknowledge industrialized countries paying for the damage their historical emissions have caused. link

July 27 2009  World will warm faster than predicted in next five years, study warns.  The world faces a new period of record-breaking temperatures as the sun's activity increases, leading the planet to heat up significantly faster than scientists had predicted over the next five years, according to a new study. link

June 3 2009 Green energy investment overtook fossil fuels in attracting investment for power generation for the first time last year, with biggest growth in China, India. link

April 17 2009  Obama administration breaks with years of climate change denial.
The EPA's decision, known as an "endangerment finding", gives the agency the legal authority to demand cuts in emissions - and can begin regulating power plants and chemical and cement factories without waiting for Congress. link

March 8 2009 Scientists issue dramatic new sea level figures - Scientists will warn this week that rising sea levels, triggered by global warming, pose a far greater danger to the planet than previously estimated more 

February 26 2009  Droughts 'may lay waste' to parts of US. World's pre-eminent climate scientists produce a blunt assessment of the impact of global warming on the US warning of droughts that could reduce the American south-west to a wasteland.  link

January 26 2009  New study shows climate change largely irreversible. A new scientific study led by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration reaches a powerful conclusion about the climate change caused by future increases of carbon dioxide:  to a large extent, there’s no going back. link  

January 8 2009  Heat may spark world food crisis. Half the world's population could face a climate induced food crisis by 2100, a new report by US scientists warns. link  (See also April 10 2007: Millions face hunger from climate change -  link)

December 23 2008  Tennessee coal-fired plant disaster. What may be the nation’s largest spill of coal ash lay thick and largely untouched over hundreds of acres of land. Up to 400 acres of land has been coated by coal ash sludge, a bigger area than the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill. About 2.6 million cubic yards of coal ash was released as a retention site wall broke.  link 
December 26 - Ash spill now worst environment incident in US - update

October 27 2008 Australia's review warns of runaway global warming. Carbon pollution levels are rising so fast that the world has no realistic chance of hitting ambitious climate targets set by Britain and the G8, an influential report to the Australian government has warned.  link

October 27, 2008 Risks of global warming greater than financial crisis. "The risk consequences of ignoring climate change will be very much bigger than the consequences of ignoring risks in the financial system." - Nicholas Stern. link

September 24 2008   CO2 emissions booming, shifting east. Despite widespread concern about climate change, annual carbon dioxide emissions from burning fossil fuels and manufacturing cement have grown 38% since 1992, from 6.1 billion metric tons of carbon to 8.5 billion metric tons in 2007.  link

September 12 2008  EU in crop biofuel goal rethink. European ministers now reject food crops as a realistic alternative to fuel vehicles and reduce targets by 40% recognizing worldwide harm to food prices and deforestation. link

September 9 2008  Climate inaction 'costing lives'.  An Oxfam report says failure to take urgent action to curb climate change is effectively violating the human rights of people in the poorest nations, and that emissions, primarily from developed countries, are exacerbating flooding, droughts and extreme weather events.  As a result, harvests are failing and people are losing their homes and access to water..  link

September 1 2008 Extreme and risky action the only way to tackle global warming. Experts say a reluctance "at virtually all levels" to address soaring greenhouse gas emissions means carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere are on track to pass 650 parts-per-million (ppm), which could bring an average global temperature rise of 4C.  link  (Note: we should be aiming for an upper target of 350 ppm for equilibrium .)

August 28 2008  Arctic ice 'is at tipping point'.  The National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC) says that the ice-covered area has fallen below its 2005 level, which was the second lowest on record..  link

July 25 2008  EU  supergrid to harness Saharan sun. If successful, the supergrid project could supply all of Europe's electricity needs, according to the EU's Institute for Energy in the Netherlands.   link

July 23 2007  Warnings sounded as Mediterranean melts in heat. Many politicians now fear the Mediterranean coast may soon be too hot to sustain a viable tourist industry.  link

July 17 2008  Al Gore Says US must abandon fossil fuels by 2018  Former Vice President Gore said that Americans must abandon fossil fuels within a decade and rely on the sun, the winds and other environmentally friendly sources of electric power, or risk losing their national security as well as their creature comforts."  link

December 2006 Global warming claims tropical island. Rising seas, caused by global warming, have for the first time washed an inhabited island off the face of the Earth.  link

October 2006  The Stern Report.  A report by economist Sir Nicholas Stern suggests that global warming could shrink the global economy by 20%. But taking action now would cost just 1% of global gross domestic product.  link