Latest Global Warming News
Aborigines to feel climate most: report
MELBOURNE - 20 Jan 2008 Aborigines living in remote parts of Australia will feel the impact of climate warming more than other Australians, a report says.With temperatures in the tropical north and interior tipped to rise by three degrees Celsius by 2050, worsening already searing summer heat, the government needs to urgently improve Aboriginal health and housing, researchers wrote in the Medical Journal of Australia.
"Elevated temperatures and increases in hot spells are expected to be a major problem for Indigenous health in remote areas, where cardiovascular and respiratory disease are more prevalent and there are many elderly people with inadequate facilities to cope with the increased heat stress," they wrote.
Halt all carbon emissions by 2050: Worldwatch
WASHINGTON - To avoid the most catastrophic effects of climate change, world carbon emissions will have to drop to near zero by 2050 and "go negative" after that, the Worldwatch Institute reported on Tuesday.This is a deeper cut than called for by most climate experts and policymakers, including President-elect Barack Obama, who favors an 80 percent drop in U.S. carbon emissions by mid-century.
Limiting carbon emissions aims to keep global mean temperature from rising more than 3.6 degrees F (2 degrees C) over what it was before the Industrial Revolution -- but one Worldwatch author said even this is too dangerous.
NASA's James Hansen tells Barack Obama - Australia "Destroying Much of Life on Earth"
29 December 2008
Michelle and Barack Obama
Chicago and Washington, D.C.
Polar ice melting '80 years early'
A new study of polar ice loss reveals critical stages in climate change are happening 80 years ahead of schedule, scientists say.Up to 2 trillion tonnes of ice in Antarctica, Alaska and Greenland have melted at a faster rate than predicted during the past five years, according to research by leading scientists in the United States.
The study's lead author, geophysicist Scott Luthcke said, ''The ice tells us in a very real way how the climate is changing.''
Changes 'amplify Arctic warming'
Scientists say they now have unambiguous evidence that the warming in the Arctic is accelerating.
Computer models have long predicted that decreasing sea ice should amplify temperature changes in the northern polar region.
Land ice melting fast, NASA satellite data show
More than two trillion tons of land ice in Greenland, Antarctica and Alaska have melted since 2003, according to new NASA satellite data that show the latest signs of what scientists say is global warming.More than half of the loss of landlocked ice in the past five years has occurred in Greenland, based on measurements of ice weight by the Grace satellite, said a NASA geophysicist, Scott Luthcke. The Greenland melt seems to be accelerating, he said.
NASA scientists planned to present their findings Thursday at the American Geophysical Union conference in San Francisco. Luthcke said Greenland figures for the summer of 2008 were not yet complete, but the ice loss this year, while still significant, would not be as severe as in 2007.
PM's 5-15 per cent cuts a death warrant for Great Barrier Reef
Climate Positive urges the Australian Government to rethink it's decision to limit carbon pollution cuts to between 5 and 15 percent.
"Far from being in the national interest, this target condemns Australia to ecological and economic losses that will dwarf the costs of retrofitting the Australian economy to a low carbon future. It is a sad day for our major ecosystems, agricultural sector, security, coastlines and economy," Climate Positive Chairman, Mr Brendan Condon said. "The Australian Government's idea of what is acceptable climate change puts us in a very dangerous position in terms of future global warming. It is a death warrant to the Great Barrier Reef, Kakadu and the Murray Darling Basin," he said.
It's the ultimate hottie
Steam from deep underground could provide the nation's power for the next 500 years, writes Rick Feneley.
It is a eureka moment for scientists Prame Chopra and Doone Wyborn. Standing in a parched-white patch on the edge of the Simpson Desert, the pair witness the reward for 15 years' hard labour: a continuous blast of steam sizzling from a well drilled four kilometres into the deep hot rock beneath their feet.
Vatican installs huge solar system
ROME, 26 November 2008 - More than 2,000 photovoltaic panels have been fixed to the roof of one of the city state's main buildings, enabling the Holy See to cut its carbon dioxide emissions by about 225 tonnes a year, saving the equivalent of 80 tonnes of oil annually.Looming over them is the imposing bulk of St Peter's Basilica, but the panels will not be visible from ground level, leaving the Vatican's impressive skyline unblemished.
The solar energy system covers the massive roof of the "Nervi Hall", where Pope Benedict XVI holds general audiences.
195,000 Home Wind Turbines to appear in UK
LONDON UK, 24 November 2008 - A "feed-in tariff" will be introduced to ensure any household generating power through renewable power sources like wind, solar or biomass will be paid for the energy they produce, as part of measures to tackle climate change.
The Energy Saving Trust, the independent body in charge of improving energy efficiency in the UK, predicted that the introduction of the tariffs could persuade 8.6 million people - around a quarter of households - to invest in combined heat and power, wind turbines or other low carbon technologies.