The governors of California, Oregon, and Washington, together with the premier of British Columbia, have signed a pact to coordinate efforts to combat global warming. With a combined GDP of $2.8 trillion and a population of 53 million people, the three states and the Canadian province represent the world’s fifth largest economy.
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global warming
Eighty Percent of Ecosystems Vulnerable to Climate Change, Study Finds
written by Yale Environment 360
Climate change could significantly transform up to 86 percent of the planet’s land ecosystems under worst-case global warming scenarios, according to researchers at Germany’s Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research. That estimate is based on a 4 to 5 degree C temperature increase by the year 2100 — a scenario that is plausible given many
Saying it is 95 percent certain that humans have caused most of the global warming of the last half-century, scientists with the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) warned today that the world can afford to burn about 1 trillion more tons of carbon before facing extreme climate change.
Production of energy is one of the most crucial challenges facing many countries across the world. Energy production method varies from one point to another but what makes it expensive is the cost of production. Bio gas is one of the most efficient gases that have gained worldwide recognition because of energy production. I know many people
What does the changing climate sound like? It’s an unusual question , but one that has now has at least one answer. University of Minnesota student Daniel Crawford, who turned climate change data from 1880 to 2012 into a musical composition.
Crawford used surface temperature data provided by
Think sea levels will rise only a bit in response to an increase in global temperature of one degree? Think again!
A new study estimates that global sea levels will rise about 2.3 meters, or more than seven feet, over the next several thousand years for every degree (Celsius) the planet warms.
A new analysis of tree-ring data indicates that the climate cycle known as the El Niño – Southern Oscillation (ENSO) has been more active during the latter part of the 20th century than at any other time during the past seven centuries, suggesting that global warming is affecting this climate phenomenon.
In a new report released last week, the World Bank warned that climate change-driven increasing severe weather, sea-level rise, storm surges will threaten the food security and livelihoods of millions of the world’s poorest and most vulnerable people. According to the report, climate-related extremes events from current warming are already pushing the most vulnerable
Today is World Environment Day, a date established in 1970 to raise awareness of pressing ecological issues. Every year, the United Nations Environmental Protection agency chooses a theme to promote on this date; in 2013 the theme is food waste. One third of the food produced globally is wasted and, with it, we waste a great deal of energy and water as well, since
According to the latest statistics from Eurostat – the data agency for the European Commission – greenhouse gas emissions in the European Union fell by 2.1 percent from 2011 to 2012. This takes place after a massive 4.1 percent decrease from 2010 to 2011.
This decrease can be explained by the increased importance of renewable energy sources, by more energy efficiency and conservation but also by a warmer winter and the economic crisis. Unemployment in the Euro area has reached a staggering 12.2 percent.
As the official press release notes :
Eurostat estimates that from 2011 to 2012 CO2 emissions decreased in nearly all Member States, except Malta (+6.3%), the United Kingdom (+3.9%), Lithuania (+1.7%) and Germany (+0.9%).
The largest decreases were recorded in Belgium and Finland (both -11.8%), Sweden (-10.1%), Denmark (-9.4%), Cyprus (-8.5%), Bulgaria (-6.9%), Slovakia (-6.5%), the Czech Republic (-5.2%), Italy and Poland (both -5.1%).
Given how in 2010, greenhouse gas emissions were already 15.4 percent lower than in 1990 (source: Eurostat), the goal of slashing emissions by 20 percent from 1990 to 2020 is within reach.
As the European Environmental Agency notes, ” The European Union’s total greenhouse gas emissions in 2011 were 18.4 % below 1990 levels, according to the EU greenhouse gas inventory.”
This is why the European Parliament has called for 30 percent cuts last year. Environmental organizations such as the WWF stated last week that “There’s no reason now to go sit on our hands for 7 years, knowing that by keeping up the recent pace we could reach the 95% cuts needed by 2050 to keep Europe in line with efforts to avoid dangerous global warming.”
As we have seen before, going for 30 percent cuts would enable the European Union to create long lasting jobs, decrease air pollution levels and could even allow some country members to pay back their debts…
Large Majority of Americans Believe Global Warming Should be a Priority, Poll Shows
written by Yale Environment 360
Roughly 70 percent of Americans say global warming should be a priority for President Obama and Congress and 61 percent support requiring fossil fuel companies to pay a carbon tax that would be used to help reduce the national debt, according to a new survey by the Yale Project on Climate Change Communication.
Geoengineering is the deliberate and large-scale intervention in the Earth’s climatic system with the aim of reducing global warming. Who should do it and when? Anything done has the possibility of affecting everybody so who should be consulted? Who decides such world spanning concepts? A new study investigated these concerns. The findings are the
Who said the effects of global warming are all negative? According to new research conducted by UCLA, melting sea ice during the late summer will make Arctic shipping channels much more accessible.
The economy of the world depends on shipping
A new smart material called a MOF (metal organic framework) has the ability to adsorb carbon dioxide and release it when exposed to sunlight thus creating a new breakthrough in a way to recycle CO2 emissions using renewable energy.
The process is known as dynamic photo-switching