Brazil: Deforestation rises sharply as farmers push into Amazon | Environment | The Guardian
Concerns over the destruction of the Brazilian rainforest resurfaced at the weekend after it emerged that deforestation jumped by 64% over the last 12 months, according to official government data.
Brazil's National Institute for Space Research this week said that around 3,145 square miles - an area half the size of Wales - were razed between August 2007 and August 2008.
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Carbon Sequestration in Central California | celsias°
What if it were possible to bury carbon dioxide over a mile below a power plant in the second worst air basin in the United States? In 2011 the greenhouse gas will be pumped below a power plant in the southern San Joaquin Valley of California.
Located in Kern County near Bakersfield, the Clean Energy Systems power plant is powered by different kinds of natural gas and oxygen. It produces five megawatts of energy, enough for 5,000 homes, but the carbon sequestration experiment will increase that to 50 megawatts.
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Think Progress » Palin denies global warming is manmade.
In an interview released today by Newsmax, Gov. Sarah Palin (R-AK) — Sen. John McCain’s (R-AZ) newly minted running mate — was asked for her “take on global warming and how is it affecting our country.” “A changing environment will affect Alaska more than any other state, because of our location,” Palin said, adding, “I’m not one though who would attribute it to being man-made.” DeSmogBlog notes that NASA and the National Academy of Sciences disagree:
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ESA - Observing the Earth - Understanding Our Planet - Arctic ice on the verge of another all-time low
Following last summer's record minimum ice cover in the Arctic, current observations from ESA's Envisat satellite suggest that the extent of polar sea-ice may again shrink to a level very close to that of last year.
Envisat observations from mid-August depict that a new record of low sea-ice coverage could be reached in a matter of weeks. The animation above is a series of mosaics of the Arctic Ocean created from images acquired between early June and mid-August 2008 from the Advanced Synthetic Aperture Radar (ASAR) instrument aboard Envisat. The dark grey colour represents ice-free areas while blue represents areas covered with sea ice.
more fromwww.esa.int
Arctic ice at second-lowest level ever - CNN.com
New satellite measurements show that crucial sea ice in the Arctic Ocean has plummeted to its second-lowest level on record.
Arctic ice always melts in summer and refreezes in winter. But more and more ice is being lost and not recovered.
The National Snow and Ice Data Center in Boulder, Colorado, announced Wednesday that the extent of sea ice in the Arctic is down to 2.03 million square miles.
The lowest point on record is 1.65 million square miles set last September.
With about three weeks left in the melt season, the record may fall, scientists say.
more fromwww.cnn.com
Scientists Warn Against Sudden Shift to Biofuels; Climate May be Harmed, not Helped
(NaturalNews) Scientists have increasingly warned that a hasty switch from fossil fuels to biofuels may actually accelerate global warming rather than helping to avert it, leading U.K. Prime Minister Gordon Brown to declare his opposition to new European Union biofuel standards that will soon be going into effect.
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Reuters AlertNet - Climate hazard hotspots (cumulative)
This map is from the August 2008 "Humanitarian Implications of Climate Change" report, commissioned by U.N. OCHA and CARE. It shows cumulative humanitarian risk hotspots for all three climate-related hazards studied - floods, cyclones and drought. Areas at risk of more than one type of hazard are considered to be of most concern for humanitarian actors.
more fromwww.alertnet.org
Flat-screen TV gases may be added to climate fight | Environment | Reuters
New greenhouse gases emitted in making flat-screen televisions or some refrigerants might be capped under a planned U.N. treaty to combat global warming, delegates at U.N. talks in Ghana said on Friday.
Emissions of the recently developed industrial gases, including nitrogen trifluoride and fluorinated ethers, are estimated at just 0.3 percent of emissions of conventional greenhouse gases by rich nations. But the emissions are surging.
more fromwww.reuters.com
Newsvine - Climate Change & Australia's water problem...
Australia is the dryest nation on earth, always was always will be, the trouble is Global warming is making the situation worse and rainfall is reducing in a disturbing pattern.
For two centuries since European settlement the States have fought over 'Water-Right's' and the use of water to the detriment of the environment and ultimately to the sustainability of everyone residing here.
The Murray-Darling Basin is 3,370km long, drains one-seventh of the Australian land mass, and is currently by far the most significant agricultural area in Australia. The name of the basin is derived from its two major rivers, the Murray River and the Darling River.
more frombarry-rutherford.newsvine.com
t r u t h o u t | Kelpie Wilson | Birth of a New Wedge
The first meeting of the International Agrichar Initiative convened about 100 scientists, policymakers, farmers and investors with the goal of birthing an entire new industry to produce a biofuel that goes beyond carbon neutral and is actually carbon negative. The industry could provide a "wedge" of carbon reduction amounting to a minimum of ten percent of world emissions and possibly much more.
more fromwww.truthout.org
Who is behind climate change deniers? | watoday.com.au
When the tobacco industry was feeling the heat from scientists who showed that smoking caused cancer, it took decisive action.
It engaged in a decades-long public relations campaign to undermine the medical research and discredit the scientists. The aim was not to prove tobacco harmless but to cast doubt on the science.
more fromwww.watoday.com.au
globeandmail.com: Huge chunk snaps off storied Arctic ice shelf
A four-square-kilometre chunk has broken off Ward Hunt Ice Shelf - the largest remaining ice shelf in the Arctic - threatening the future of the giant frozen mass that northern explorers have used for years as the starting point for their treks.
Scientists say the break, the largest on record since 2005, is the latest indication that climate change is forcing the drastic reshaping of the Arctic coastline, where 9,000 square kilometres of ice have been whittled down to less than 1,000 over the past century, and are only showing signs of decreasing further.
more fromwww.theglobeandmail.com
Govt aiming to halve cost of solar power generation : National : DAILY YOMIURI ONLINE (The Daily Yomiuri)
The government plans to announce policy measures aimed at halving the price of solar power generation in the next three to five years as part of its action plan on greenhouse gas emissions, government sources say.
According to the sources, the measures will form part of an action plan designed to bring about a 60 percent to 80 percent cut in carbon dioxide emissions by 2050 and thereby create a low carbon-emission society.
more fromwww.yomiuri.co.jp
Green Blog » What Top World Scientists Say About the Climate Emergency
We are familiar with the notion of getting an expert second opinion when an expert medical specialist has diagnosed life threatening circumstances. However a second opinion that is a bit more optimistic simply decreases the perceived odds of death somewhat – the dire initial prediction remains.
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Canadian government mimics US “quiet release” method for major climate and health report (posting from Climate Science Watch)
“The Conservative government is planning a quiet release for a major Health Canada report that warns of the harmful impact of climate change on the health of Canadians, particularly the young, elderly and aboriginals.” Only days after the “quiet release” of a major US climate science program report on the same topic, Canada appears to be following the Bush administration’s bad example: Instead of highlighting these reports and using them to advance broader public awareness of the consequences of unchecked global warming, current US and Canadian government “leaders” leave them to be released by middle management and discussed by a relatively few experts.
more fromwww.climatesciencewatch.org
Human Race Faces "Oblivion" From Global Warming, Says UN Chief
United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki Moon has warned that without a comprehensive international agreement to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions that lead to global warming, humanity faces "oblivion."
"The world's scientists have spoken with one voice: the situation is grim and urgent action is needed," Ban said. "The situation is so desperately serious that any delay could push us past the tipping point, beyond which the ecological, financial and human costs would increase dramatically.
more fromwww.naturalnews.com
Greenhouse bees spread disease to wild bees | Science & Health | Reuters
Disease spread to wild bees from commercially bred bees used for pollination in agriculture greenhouses may be playing a role in the mysterious decline in North American bee populations, researchers said on Tuesday.
more fromuk.reuters.com
Technology Review: A Concrete Fix to Global Warming
A Canadian company says that it has developed a way for makers of precast concrete products to take all the carbon-dioxide emissions from their factories, as well as neighboring industrial facilities, and store them in the products that they produce by exposing those products to carbon-dioxide-rich flue gases during the curing process. Industry experts say that the technology is unproven but holds great potential if it works.
more fromwww.technologyreview.com
Think Progress » Bush Cronies Tried To Redefine ‘Carbon Dioxide’ To Save Power Plants From Emissions Regulations
Earlier this month, former EPA official Jason Burnett wrote to Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-CA) with explosive revelations on how the White House has neutered climate change science to protect corporate interests. For example, OMB general counsel Jeffrey Rosen asked for multiple memos on whether carbon dioxide (CO2) from cars and plants could be regulated differently.
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