Arctic Melt Raises Sea Levels and Reinforces Global Warming

If you want to see global warming’s signature, look to the Arctic. Up north, the air is warming and the ice is melting. For two decades, scientists have predicted these things would happen as the Earth warms, and now we see that the Arctic is changing much as expected. Melting Arctic ice is also contributing significantly to sea level rise.

Fukushima Citizens Remain Highly Exposed to Radiations

Greenpeace International Executive Director Dr Kumi Naidoo unveiled a sample of contaminated soil from a Fukushima playground at a Tokyo press conference, criticising the Japanese government’s response to the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear crisis, and its ongoing failure to protect the health and welfare of its people.

City Pavement Affects Weather and Foster Build-up of Polluted Air

Urban development is exacerbating air pollution in coastal regions, new research says. The study, led by researchers at the U.S. National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR), found that the sprawl of strip malls and other paved areas can affect weather patterns, trapping pollutants and hurting air quality during the summer months.

Coastal States Discuss U.S. Tsunami Capabilities, Local Preparedness Needs

The tsunami threat is often overlooked in the Atlantic basin, including the Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean Sea, because catastrophic events in that region have been rare. However, in January 2010, an earthquake off the coast of Haiti generated a 10-foot high tsunami, and nearly 2,000 people were killed in 1946 when a tsunami struck the Dominican Republic.

A Giant Brought to Its Knees: The Atlantic Coastal Forest

The Atlantic Forest is a shadow of its former self. Originally covering more than 386,000 sq. miles along Brazil’s coast, extending into eastern Paraguay and northeastern Argentina. Today less than 7% of that cover remains, in the wake of centuries of forest clearing for agriculture and urban development, and fragmented by centuries of unsustainable use and logging.

“100 percent trash boat” sets sail in Taiwan

“ForEver” a boat built completely from plastic bottles and other recycled materials, including old advertising banners, set sail in Taiwan to raise awareness about the marine environment. As Canadian province of Manitoba bans plastic water bottles from its offices.