UN: Concentrations Of Greenhouse Gases Hit Record
Ahead of the 12-day UN meeting in Durban, the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) on Monday reported that carbon dioxide (CO2), the biggest source of heat-trapping gases, had accelerated to a new peak in 2010.
Taxes on natural resources reduce use of raw materials
A policy that taxes virgin natural resources (resources that are used for the first time) can be a way of conserving limited resources. This type of tax can also reduce environmental damage, by encouraging the use of less harmful materials or recycled materials that serve the same purpose. This avoids the waste and emissions associated with extraction of raw materials and with the processing of products made from the natural resources.
Can Egypt Escape Its Climate Future?
” The Mediterranean is remorselessly battering the Egyptian coastline. Salt is leaching into the rich soils and invading the drinking water wells, 1,000-year-old homes are being eroded from below. Sea levels are inexorably rising and storms are becoming more intense…” A first article of a Climate Journey across Africa, which is experiencing rising temperatures, coastal erosion, storms and water scarcity. Narrated by environmental journalist John Vidal.
Miss South Pacific: Beauty And The Sea Trailer
What does a beauty pageant in Suva, Fiji have to do with climate change? Quite a lot, as it turns out. “Miss South Pacific: Beauty and the Sea” is a short documentary film about a Miss South Pacific Pageant that brought contestants, to Suva, Fiji to address issues of rising sea levels, and the salt water intrusion that is destroying their land and drinking water.
IPCC First Report To Confirm Link Between Climate Change And Extreme Weather
The United Nations created Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change is to release its first special report today in which it will highlight extreme weather conditions and explore its links to rising greenhouse gas emissions. Compiled over two years by 220 scientists, this report is the first comprehensive examination of scientific knowledge on the subject.
Ancient Bronze Artifact from East Asia Unearthed, Alaska’s Seward Peninsula
The excavations are part of a project funded by the National Science Foundation, to study human response to climate change at Cape Espenberg from A.D. 800 to A.D. 1400. The team is examining the timing and formation of the beach ridges as well as the contents of peat and pond sediment cores to help them reconstruct the sea-level history and the changing environment faced by Cape Espenberg’s settlers.
Bangkok Floods Could Go Into Next Year
Thailand’s worst floods in half a century, caused by months of unusually heavy monsoon rains, could left parts of Bangkoh still flooded next year.
Attempt To Protect Houston From The Next Big Hurricane
To protect Houston and Galveston from future hurricanes, a Rice University-led team of experts recommends building a floodgate across the Houston Ship Channel adding new levees to protect densely populated areas on Galveston Island and the developed west side of Galveston Bay…
Most oil emptied from stricken New Zealand ship
Salvage crews have pumped almost all the oil from a container ship that ran aground on a New Zealand reef and caused the country’s worst maritime pollution disaster, authorities said Monday. The cost of the response so far was about $12 million.