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		News Archive     11/01/2010 07:00 PM Climate change and habitat destruction affect butterfly populations EurekAlert: Butterfly populations in California are declining and, in some cases, moving to higher elevations in the Sierra Nevada due to climate change and loss of habitat, according to a study authored by biologist Matthew Forister, a University of Nevada, Reno assistant professor in the College of Science. "Caterpillars are important herbivores as well as a food source for small mammals and birds," Forister said. "They play a significant role in an ecosystem. Butterflies are used as indicators ... read more 12/01/2010 07:00 PM Avoiding dangerous warming by 2100 'barely feasible' New Scientist: Fat chance then. Even with all the green power we muster, preventing dangerous climate change by the end of the century is "barely feasible". So says an analysis of how fast low-carbon energy sources can be introduced. For a 50:50 chance of keeping a global temperature rise within 2 °C by 2100, we must halve emissions by 2050. This is the message of climate models by Keywan Riahi of the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis in Laxenburg, Austria, and colleagues. That ... read more 12/01/2010 07:00 PM Malaysia: Dams a 'monument of corruption': Baru Bian, new leader of Sarawak's People's Justice Party Mongabay: In an interview with the Bruno Manser Fond, the new leader of the Malaysian state Sarawak's People's Justice Party (PKR), Baru Bian, spoke out against the state government's plans for mega-dams in the middle of the rainforest, as well as continued rainforest destruction and corruption. Baru, a lawyer by trade, stated that the indigenous communities "very existence and livelihood is being threatened" by the dozen mega-dam projects, which would flood vast areas of rainforest ... read more 12/01/2010 07:00 PM James Hansen rails against cap-and-trade plan in open letter Guardian: "You are choosing the path focused on corporate greed," climate scientist James Hansen has told carbon traders in a open letter which he and climate activists attempted to deliver to a carbon trading conference in New York today. In below-freezing temperatures, climate change campaigners gathered at midday at the Irish Hunger Memorial in Vesey Park, near the Embassy Suites Hotel where the conference is being held, to hear Hansen read parts of his open letter. Tomorrow there will be ... read more 12/01/2010 07:00 PM Pacific islanders bid to stop Czech coal plant Reuters: A small pacific island state's challenge to a Czech coal-fired power plant extension some 6,000 km away on grounds it could harm its environment could open a new front in the fight over global climate change. Micronesia has filed a plea with the Czech environment ministry using a measure designed originally to settle disputes between near neighbors but which could spur others to do the same when opposing power plants, environmental advocates said. "This is part of a new phase ... read more 12/01/2010 07:00 PM Unusual Arctic warmth as north hemisphere shivers Reuters: While much of the Northern Hemisphere has shivered in a cold snap in recent weeks, temperatures in the Arctic soared to unusually high levels, U.S. scientists reported. This strange atmospheric pattern is caused by natural variability and not by rising levels of greenhouse gases. However, it could affect Arctic ice which in turn may impact global warming, said Mark Serreze, director of the U.S. National Snow and Ice Data Center in Colorado. "It's very warm over the Arctic, with ... read more 12/01/2010 07:00 PM United Kingdom: Police prepared to admit Climate Camp 'stop and search' was unlawful Press Association: Police are prepared to admit that the "stop and search" of 11-year-old twins and a veteran environmental campaigner going to a climate camp protest was unlawful, the high court was told today. The twins were stopped while attending a demonstration against the proposed Kingsnorth coal-fired power station in Kent in August 2008. The energy company E.ON owns the power station on the Medway estuary, but in 2006 sparked a long-running campaign by environmental activists by ... read more 12/01/2010 07:00 PM Climate change to make icy UK winters rarer Reuters: Severe winter freezes, like the one gripping parts of Europe over the last few weeks, will become increasingly rare because of the warming effect of climate change, the UK's official forecaster said on Tuesday. Europe's deep winter freeze, partly due to the El Nino weather phenomenon, has shocked parts of northwest Europe that usually escape the coldest winter temperatures, driving heating gas demand to records in Britain [ID:nWLA2033] and disrupting supplies of the fuel when it was ... read more 12/01/2010 07:00 PM Climate scientists convene global geo-engineering summit Guardian: Scientists are to hold a high-level summit to discuss how the world could take emergency measures such as blocking out the sun to slow dangerous global warming. Experts from around the world have been invited to attend the meeting in March in California, which will examine possible field trials of so-called geo-engineering schemes, such as pumping chemicals into the air and oceans to combat climate change. The move follows the failure of the recent Copenhagen climate talks to ... read more 11/01/2010 07:00 PM Preparing Texans for climate change Fort Worth Star Telegram: Our atmosphere and climate are changing in unprecedented ways, due in part to human activity. Population is also expanding; Texas is home to four of the top 10 fastest-growing U.S. cities. The landscape is becoming increasingly urbanized. At the same time, our demand for water, land and other natural resources is increasing. All of these issues raise concerns about what our future may hold. Projections of future climate can be made using computer models that take into account natural ... read more 11/01/2010 07:00 PM Canada: Time to include carbon in forest management Vancouver Sun: Global warming is going to force forest-rich British Columbia to rethink the way forests are managed, putting carbon storage at the top of the list, according to a new report by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives. The report shows that the mountain pine beetle has killed a billion trees in B.C., turning the province's forests into carbon emitters instead of carbon storehouses. Warmer winters have been a factor in the beetle epidemic and it is only one of many pests on the ... read more 12/01/2010 07:00 PM Lobbyists helped Murkowski write bill to limit EPA News Tribune: Her first attempt failed, but on Monday Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, moved again to try to halt the Environmental Protection Agency's movement toward regulating the emission of greenhouse gases. The federal agency last week announced that global warming pollution endangers public health, and announced plans to move forward with regulations that will limit emissions by large producers of greenhouse gases. It could be years before any EPA regulations take effect, and the White ... read more 13/01/2010 07:00 PM Australia: Animals under fire in methane blame game Australian: IF you look at a map of southeast NSW where grazier John Alcock and his children run three properties on the edge of the Snowy Mountains, you'll see that national parks and state forests cover at least the same area as private grazing country. Out of the national parks come mobs of kangaroos that know their way into Alcock's drought-hit land when he plants improved pasture and fodder crops for cattle and fine-wool Merinos. "Good heavens, if we sow something, they just invade ... read more 11/01/2010 07:00 PM Despite icy weather, overall trend is warmer Agence France-Presse: Frigid weather that has gripped swathes of the northern hemisphere this winter is unusual but does not undermine an overall global trend of warming, experts said on Monday. Northern Europe and northeast Asia have experienced brutal snowstorms and freezing temperatures, and cities as far south as Seville in Spain and Miami in Florida have been plunged into the deepest chill in decades. The reason is a natural phenomenon known as the Arctic Oscillation, said Barry Gromett of ... read more 12/01/2010 07:00 PM Wind power takes a blow around Minnesota Star Tribune: very sunny morning, shadows from the massive rotating blades swing across their breakfast table. The giant towers dominate the view from their deck. Noise from the turbines fills the silence that Dolores and Rudy Jech once enjoyed on their Minnesota farm. "Rudy and I are retired, and we like to sit out on our deck," Dolores said. "And that darned thing is right across the road from us. It's an eyesore, it's noisy, and having so many of them there's a constant hum." Just as they ... read more 12/01/2010 07:00 PM International biomass trading platform to tap soaring pellet demand Business Green: With the European biomass energy market continuing to go from strength to strength, an innovative UK start-up has sought to exploit the growing demand for biomass pellets with the launch of a new international trading service designed to bring together fuel suppliers and power plants. The service was debuted last week by Norfolk-based Pellet Zone Ltd (PZL) and will see the company act as the principal in any trades, generating a small margin by purchasing biomass pellets from ... read more 12/01/2010 07:00 PM United Kingdom: Pick-your-own vegetables to replace flowers in high street Guardian: A Lancashire town is experimenting with using traditional floral displays, including hanging baskets and herbaceous borders, to grow slightly less colourful but more practical greens. The idea taking shape in Clitheroe is to replace flowers with edible vegetables and offer a modest "pick-your-own" service of plantings to anyone passing by. The most striking feature will be three-tiered flower/vegetable structures in the centre of the town, if a motion put forward by councillors ... read more 12/01/2010 07:00 PM Consumers should help pay the bill for 'greener' palm oil Mongabay: Palm oil is one of the world's most traded and versatile agricultural commodities. It can be used as edible vegetable oil, industrial lubricant, raw material in cosmetic and skincare products and feedstock for biofuel production. Growing global demand for palm oil and the ensuing cropland expansion has been blamed for a wide range of environmental ills, including tropical deforestation, peatland degradation, biodiversity loss and CO2 emissions (Koh & Wilcove 2008; Butler & Laurance 2009; ... read more 12/01/2010 07:00 PM Vatican City: Pope Denounces Failure of Copenhagen Climate Change Negotiations Voice of America: Pope Benedict XVI focused his annual address to ambassadors accredited to the Vatican on the environment and the protection of creation. He denounced the failure of world leaders to agree to a new climate change treaty in Copenhagen last month. In his address to diplomats from more than 170 nations accredited to the Vatican, Pope Benedict expressed concern about the failure to reach agreement on climate change at the Copenhagen summit last month. Speaking in French, he said he ... read more 12/01/2010 07:00 PM Germany stands by carbon target, US insists Copenhagen delivered progress Business Green: Germany will retain its ambitious target to cut carbon emissions 40 per cent by 2020, despite the failure of the Copenhagen Summit to deliver a binding international agreement to curb greenhouse gas emissions. There had been fears that the failure of the Copenhagen Summit to deliver an agreement featuring binding emission targets could prompt some countries to downgrade their domestic targets. But a senior advisor to the German government insisted yesterday that it would stand by an ... read more 12/01/2010 07:00 PM Graft threatens Indonesia's carbon offset billions: report Reuters: Billions of dollars set to flood into Indonesia under a U.N.-backed forest protection scheme are at risk because of graft unless the country puts strong oversight mechanisms in place, a report released on Tuesday warned. Indonesia has the world's third largest area of tropical forest and stands to gain billions of dollars every year from a proposed greenhouse gas offset scheme called reduced emissions from deforestation and degradation (REDD) that was formalized at recent global ... read more 12/01/2010 07:00 PM Researchers warn US must rethink costly and ineffective biofuels policy Business Green: The US needs to rethink its biofuel policy in the light of new evidence suggesting that current incentive schemes are hitting taxpayers' pockets hard while delivering minimal environmental benefits. The new report from researchers at Rice University found that in 2008 the US government spent $4bn in biofuels subsidies as part of efforts that saw just two per cent of the gasoline supplies replaced by biofuels. It calculated that the average cost to the taxpayer of each ... read more 12/01/2010 07:00 PM The solar cell that builds itself BBC: Researchers have demonstrated a simple, cheap way to create self-assembling electronic devices using a property crucial to salad dressings. It uses the fact that oil- and water-based liquids do not mix, forming devices from components that align along the boundary between the two. The idea joins a raft of approaches toward self-assembly, but lends itself particularly well to small components. The work is reported in Proceedings of the National Academy of ... read more 12/01/2010 07:00 PM Disappearing options Daily Climate: Turns out climate policy has some tipping points. Failure to set and meet strict targets for greenhouse gas emissions cuts over the next 40 years could put long-term goals – such as limiting planetary warming to 2ºC by 2100 – permanently out of reach. That's the conclusion of one of the first analyses to explore the relationships among energy use, mid-century targets and long-term policy options, published Monday by the Proceedings of the National Academy of ... read more 11/01/2010 07:00 PM Basalt vaults could store CO2 and turn it to rock Popular Mechanics: In an 1889 travel article, the New York Times waxed enthusiastic about a nearby but, it said, little visited attraction: "the wondrous Palisades.... basaltic precipices of the Hudson." Rising on the west side of the lower Hudson River for 20 miles in New Jersey and New York, the towering Palisades are actually the visible remnants of enormous floods of magma that flowed hot about 200 million years ago, cooling into a vast expanse of basalt that extends to Europe, Africa and South America, much ... read more 11/01/2010 07:00 PM Bahamas: Damaged coral reefs can recover in marine reserves, study finds The Oregonian: Coral reefs inside protected marine reserves in the Bahamas showed signs of recovering from damage by bleaching and a hurricane while reefs outside reserves -- and affected by fishing -- did not recover at all, a study concludes. The findings from the University of Exeter study, published today in the journal PLOS One, indicate that marine reserves and fishing restrictions could help coral reefs recover if global warming projections pan out, the researchers said. Higher water ... read more 12/01/2010 07:00 PM Architects plan 'amphibious landscape' for NYC ClimateWire: What would New York's waterfront look like after a sea level rise of 2 feet or more? Most officials paint a nightmare scenario -- huge swaths of expensive real estate permanently flooded, with frequent storms and the resultant storm surge routinely forcing mass evacuations every few years. But several architects are now painting a more positive picture, and their visions for a post-climate-change new New York have city planners interested. This weekend, the public was given its ... read more 12/01/2010 07:00 PM Australia: Melbourne sweats through hottest night in 108 years Associated Press: Melbourne recorded its equal hottest night ever last night with temperatures hovering above 34 degrees celsius for most of the night, equalling the previous hottest night in February 1902. The Australian city of Melbourne has sweltered through its hottest night since 1902, with temperatures topping 34 degrees Celsius (93 degrees Fahrenheit), meteorologists said today. Millions tossed and turned in the overnight heat in Australia's second city, with power cuts exacerbating the ... read more 12/01/2010 07:00 PM eSolar secures deal for China's largest concentrated solar power plant Business Green: US solar energy firm eSolar has announced a landmark deal that will see the company license its technology for use in China's largest concentrated solar power (CSP) plant. The deal, which was signed late last week, will see California-based eSolar partner with Penglai Electric, a privately-owned Chinese electrical power equipment manufacturer, to build at least 2GW of solar thermal power plants in China over the next decade. The companies said that construction work on the ... read more 12/01/2010 07:00 PM EU trade chief nominee seeks green goods coalition Reuters: The European Union's trade chief nominee said on Tuesday he supports the abolition of tariffs on environmental goods, but does not envisage an agreement on the issue at the World Trade Organization. Karel de Gucht told members of the European Parliament before they vote on his appointment that he would try to put together a "coalition of countries" to eradicate taxes on green goods as part of the global fight against climate change. read more 12/01/2010 07:00 PM Can the train take the strain? Guardian: Several regions of the US are planning high-speed electric rail services to cut pressure on congested road and air transport systems. California is one of the areas to have won most public support for the service – a link between San Diego, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Sacramento – as it looks like investment in high-speed rail could provide reduced door-to-door trip times and cheaper journeys than the same amount of investment in transit by auto, air or heavy rail. Now researchers ... read more 12/01/2010 07:00 PM Basic countries to meet ahead of crucial Copenhagen accord deadline Business Green: Environment ministers from Brazil, South Africa, India and China are to meet in New Delhi later this month to co-ordinate their position ahead of the January 31 deadline for countries supporting the Copenhagen Accord to submit formal emission targets and climate change action plans. The so-called Basic bloc of countries, which brokered the controversial draft version of the Copenhagen Accord with the US during the frantic final hours of last month's Copenhagen Summit, is seeking to ... read more 12/01/2010 07:00 PM India's sad, corporate farce Guardian: Visiting friends in Delhi, I found the local media celebrating India's performance at Copenhagen, from which it had emerged unburdened by the slightest commitment to reducing carbon emissions. This "climate nationalism" seemed particularly grotesque given that north India's river systems are threatened by receding Himalayan glaciers and its coastal areas by inundation. The front pages were eagerly looking forward to resumption of 9% yearly GDP growth, while you had to look hard for reports ... read more 12/01/2010 07:00 PM United States: Climate change, land development take toll on butterflies Asian News International: Shapiro, a professor of evolution and ecology, said: "Butterflies are not only charismatic to the public, but also widely used as indicators of the health of the environment worldwide. "We found many lowland species are being hit hard by the combination of warmer temperatures and habitat loss." The conclusions of the study have been drawn from Shapiro's 35-year database of butterfly observations made twice in a month at 10 sites in north-central California from sea level to ... read more 11/01/2010 07:00 PM Climate conditions in 2050 crucial to avoid harmful impacts in 2100 ScienceDaily: While governments around the world continue to explore strategies for reducing greenhouse gas emissions, a new study suggests policymakers should focus on what needs to be achieved in the next 40 years in order to keep long-term options viable for avoiding dangerous levels of warming. The study is the first of its kind to use a detailed energy system model to analyze the relationship between mid-century targets and the likelihood of achieving long-term outcomes. "Setting ... read more 12/01/2010 07:00 PM Melting Tundra Creating Vast River of Waste Into Arctic Ocean ScienceDaily: The increase in temperature in the Arctic has already caused the sea-ice there to melt. According to research conducted by the University of Gothenburg, if the Arctic tundra also melts, vast amounts of organic material will be carried by the rivers straight into the Arctic Ocean, resulting in additional emissions of carbon dioxide. Several Russian rivers enter the Arctic Ocean particularly in the Laptev Sea north of Siberia. One of the main rivers flowing into the Laptev Sea is the ... read more 11/01/2010 07:00 PM British carbon cutting efforts 'meaningless' Edie: The British government is 'falling down' when it comes to delivering effective carbon budgets, an influential group of MPs believe. The Government also needs to work with other nations to secure global climate cutting agreements - otherwise UK efforts will be meaningless. The Environmental Audit Committee today (January 11) published its report on Carbon Budgets. The report states the government's work on cutting emissions would be 'rendered meaningless', if world ... read more 11/01/2010 07:00 PM UK should cut carbon by 42% by 2020 Edie: Government is on the right track when it comes to cutting carbon but needs to be prepared to make far bigger reductions than are currently thought politically possible. This, in a nutshell, is the conclusion of the Environmental Audit Committee's report on carbon budgets published this morning. It says Government is also correct in using the IPCC's findings as the basis for its work, but should take into account that the growing evidence base for climate change impacts is ... read more 12/01/2010 07:00 PM Next 40 years key for climate change: study Agence France-Presse: World leaders should focus on reducing greenhouse gas emissions as much as possible over the next 40 years to avoid perilous warming conditions, researchers said Monday. In the first study of its kind, analysts used a detailed energy system model to analyze the relationship between emissions levels in 2050 and chances of achieving end-of-century targets of two or three degrees Celsius (3.5 or 5.5 Fahrenheit) above the pre-industrial average. UN climate talks in Copenhagen ended ... read more 11/01/2010 07:00 PM United Kingdom: Response: A fair comparison of CO2 emissions requires a more detailed analysis Guardian: Your article reported some useful data on carbon emissions (Red faces as hospitals and prisons rank bottom in public buildings CO2 audit, 1 January). These come from the energy certificates that all public (but not yet private) buildings must display. There are huge opportunities for improvements here, some of them simple changes in behaviour, others needing investment in fabric, heating systems, air conditioning and lighting. But your analysis by average emissions per building is ... read more 11/01/2010 07:00 PM World Bank, European governments finance illegal timber exports from Madagascar Mongabay: While Madagascar's current government has drawn sharp criticism from the international community for its failure to prevent the environmental destruction of recent months, France, Holland, Morocco, and the World Bank have all been implicated in financing illegal logging operations in Madagascar's national parks over the past year. Even as foreign governments condemned the surge in illegal logging last year, many--either directly or through institutions they support--are shareholders in the ... read more 11/01/2010 07:00 PM U.S. eyes new nuclear plants in climate battle Reuters: The Obama administration wants to help the nuclear industry build a power plant for the first time in years to help diversify U.S. energy supplies and fight climate change, the White House said on Monday. Carol Browner, President Barack Obama's top energy and climate adviser at the White House, also said the United States was pleased with the outcome of the U.N. climate talks in Copenhagen and would work with international partners on a binding treaty to curb greenhouse gas emissions ... read more 11/01/2010 07:00 PM United States: Act now on climate change Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: This year, Wisconsin will consider important legislation that tracks the nearly unanimous recommendations of Gov. Jim Doyle's Global Warming Task Force to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The scientific consensus is very strong that climate change is occurring as a result of carbon emissions and the long-term costs of inaction will be very significant. It would be imprudent not to take action. Our country's leading corporations are aggressively reducing emissions. They recognize that ... read more 06/01/2010 07:00 PM Indonesia Revoked Licenses of 9 Natural Forest Firms in 2009 Jakarta Globe: The Ministry of Forestry said on Wednesday that it revoked the concession rights of nine companies last year that managed natural forest totaling 470,533 hectares across the archipelago. "The licenses were revoked because the companies were violating the law by neglecting forest areas," said Hadi Daryanto, director general of forest production at the Forestry Ministry. Four of the companies were located in Riau, with the others in South Kalimantan, West Sumatera, West Sulawesi, ... read more 07/01/2010 07:00 PM Trouble for Palm Oil Asia Sentinel: Palm oil, the world's cheapest cooking oil and a versatile product that is used in everything from biofuels to chocolate chip cookies, has always been under fire from various quarters, first allegedly because of its adverse effect on cholesterol -- since disproven -- or because of concerns over tropical deforestation to plant oil palm plantations. However, in recent months the ante has been raised considerably. The oil palm industry beat back an attempt in December at the United ... read more 07/01/2010 07:00 PM Indonesia: Greenpeace Calls for Moratorium on Logging Jakarta Globe: Save the environment or lose up to $7 billion a year in revenue -- as well as tens of thousands of jobs -- from the forestry sector? For environmental group Greenpeace, the answer is simple: Implement a moratorium on logging this year to allow the government time to clean up its act, and give the environment a breather from rampant deforestation. But the Forestry Ministry says the country cannot afford to do so. "A logging moratorium means taking a break from logging ... read more 11/01/2010 07:00 PM Indonesia: Govt revokes 7 concessions, warns 36 other holders Jakarta Post: Having revoked seven forest concessions amounting to more than 500,000 hectares last year, the Forestry Ministry has threatened to revoke at least 36 more this year unless concession holders comply with all the regulations. Speaking on the sidelines of a ceremony to launch REDD (reduction of emissions from deforestation and forest degradation) pilot projects last week, Forestry Minister Zulkifli Hasan said the seven concession holders had been ordered to return their concessions to ... read more 11/01/2010 07:00 PM United States: Butterflies reeling from impacts of climate and development ScienceDaily: California butterflies are reeling from a one-two punch of climate change and land development, says an unprecedented analysis led by UC Davis butterfly expert Arthur Shapiro. The new analysis, scheduled to be published online the week of January 10 in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, gives insights on how a major and much-studied group of organisms is reacting to the Earth's warming climate. "Butterflies are not only charismatic to the public, but ... read more 11/01/2010 07:00 PM Malawi: Green Belt Initiative Taking Shape Inter Press Service: Let the rains fail, even for several successive seasons, and Malawi should still be able to produce enough to feed itself.¨ This is the motivation for the country's green belt concept. It is strengthened by painful memories of the severe drought beginning early 2002 which triggered three years of hunger. By 2005, five million people were affected by famine, all while large quantities of water flowed out of the country to the oceans of the world. Local agriculture experts ... read more 11/01/2010 07:00 PM Canada: Ottawa, Quebec make nice to reveal environmental project Globe and Mail: Prime Minister Stephen Harper will announce $13-million in federal funding for an environmental project in Quebec after being the target of vocal criticism by Premier Jean Charest during last month's international conference on climate change in Copenhagen. Mr. Harper and Mr. Charest are setting aside their differences on climate change to show that on certain environmental issues the two levels of government can still work together despite profound disagreements. The ... read more News Archive     Back to Homepage
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