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News articles on Climate Change

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Mongabay.com news articles on climate change in blog format. Updated regularly.

Developing countries to suffer worst global warming impacts
(11/18/2005) In a recent chilling assessment, the World Health Organization (WHO) reported that human-induced changes in the Earth's climate now lead to at least 5 million cases of illness and more than 150,000 deaths every year.


Developed countries cut greenhouse gas emissions 5.9% since 1990
(11/17/2005) Developed countries, taken as a group, have cut overall greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions 5.9% compared to the 1990 levels according to a new publication from the United Nations Climate Change secretariat.


Coral reefs decimated by 2050, Great Barrier Reef's coral 95% dead
(11/17/2005) Australia's Great Barrier Reef could lose 95 percent of its living coral by 2050 should ocean temperatures increase by the 1.5 degrees Celsius projected by climate scientists. The startling and controversial prediction, made last year in a report commissioned by the World Worldwide Fund for Nature (WWF) and the Queensland government, is just one of the dire scenarios forecast for reefs in the near future. The degradation and possible disappearance of these ecosystems would have profound socioeconomic ramifications as well as ecological impacts says Ove Hoegh-Guldberg, head of the University of Queensland's Centre for Marine Studies.


Climate change means less water for western US by 2050, more for Montana
(11/17/2005) USGS scientists simulated the impact of future climate change on global water availability. By 2050, the models predict increased water runoff in eastern equatorial Africa, the La Plata basin and high latitude North America and Eurasia. They predict decreases in runoff in southern Africa, southern Europe, the Middle East and mid-latitude western North America. The authors of the paper, which appears tomorrow in Science, say climate climate will result in costly disruptions to water supply and resource management systems.


Five million tons of carbon dioxide successfully buried, DOE eyes Kyoto
(11/16/2005) Secretary Samuel W. Bodman today announced that the Department of Energy (DOE)-funded "Weyburn Project" successfully sequestered five million tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) into the Weyburn Oilfield in Saskatchewan, Canada, while doubling the field's oil recovery rate. If the methodology used in the Weyburn Project was successfully applied on a worldwide scale, one-third to one-half of CO2 emissions could be eliminated in the next 100 years and billions of barrels of oil could be recovered.


Australia's freshwater ecosystems threatened by climate change
(11/16/2005) Australia's freshwater ecosystems are increasingly under threat from global warmning and expanding human population according to an interview of an Australian academic by The Age.


Massive climate change rocked ecosystems, animals 55 million years ago
(11/14/2005) Continued increases in greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere from the combustion of fossil fuels could trigger large-scale changes in global biodiversity and require thousands of years of recovery according to recent research on an extreme global warming episode 55 million years ago.


Satellites map forests of Europe for Kyoto Protocol monitoring
(11/14/2005) A prototype service utilising satellites for mapping forests to aid compliance with the Kyoto Protocol has been endorsed by end users from European countries -- one environmental ministry representative called the baseline carbon stock information provided a "goldmine".


Climate change brought tropical forest to Wyoming
(11/9/2005) Climate change 55 million years ago caused significant changes in forest composition and the distribution of mammals according to a new study in Science. The Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum, in which temperatures rose by as much as 10 degrees in a relatively short period of time, helped bolster the "Age of Mammals," which included the first appearance of modern primates. After an initial period of increasing aridity in northern latitudes like the study site of Bighorn Basin in northwestern Wyoming, it appears that forests transitioned towards warm tropical ecosystems with closely spaced trees, ideal for the evolution of primates.


Global warming to fuel rise in asthma, malaria
(11/2/2005) The Center for Health and the Global Environment at Harvard Medical School, along with co-sponsors Swiss Re and the United Nations Development Programme, today released a study showing that climate change will significantly affect the health of humans and ecosystems and these impacts will have economic consequences.


14.5 degree increase in Earth's temperature possible finds new model
(11/2/2005) If humans continue to use fossil fuels in a business-as-usual manner for the next few centuries, the polar ice caps will be depleted, ocean sea levels will rise by seven meters and median air temperatures will soar to 14.5 degrees warmer than current day.


Invasive species may increase with global warming
(10/13/2005) New research published in Molecular Ecology suggests that climate change could trigger the expansion of invasive species into wider ranges. The study looked at the genetic history of a goby species in the Eastern Atlantic which appears to have expanded its range dramatically when the world warmed about 150,000 years ago


Tropics Play Active Role In Controlling Earth's Climate
(10/12/2005) Researchers from the Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona and Durham University (UK) have discovered that a million years ago, global climate changes occurred due to changes in tropical circulation in the Pacific similar to those caused by El Nino today. Changes in atmospheric circulation caused variations in heat fluxes and moisture transport, triggering a large expansion of the polar ice sheets and a reorganisation of the Earth's climate. The discovery, published in Geology, shows that local climate changes in the tropics can create more global climate changes, and emphasises the hypothesis that the tropics play a more active role than was thought in controlling the Earth's climate.


Africa Heats Up -- climate change threatens future of the continent
(10/11/2005) A series of recent studies have revealed a sobering future for the majority of Africa, a future predicated by undeniable and significant climate change. The threat traverses all levels of the environmental, social, political and economic spheres, from heightened socio-economic disparity to dwindling fish populations, from civil strife to desperate hunger. The greatest and saddest irony of this dark fate projected for the continent is that while Africa has the world's lowest levels of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gas emissions, contributing the least to global climate change, it has been forced to bear the brunt of the phenomenon.


Environmental refugees to top 50 million in 5 years
(10/11/2005) Amid predictions that by 2010 the world will need to cope with as many as 50 million people escaping the effects of creeping environmental deterioration, United Nations University experts say the international community urgently needs to define, recognize and extend support to this new category of 'refugee'.


Environment killing millions says World Bank report
(10/7/2005) A new report from the World Bank says millions of deaths can be attributed to environmental factors, including climate change, pollution, unsafe water, poor sanitation and hygiene. These environmental conditions are significantly affecting health -- responsible for about a fifth of all ill health in poor countries -- and impeding economic development and growth. The report also links cancer to the environment.


Climate change to affect migratory birds and animals
(10/6/2005) Climate change could affect and disrupt breeding, hamper migrations, and increase disease transmission in migratory birds and animals, a new report has warned. The report, Climate Change and Migratory Species, was commissioned by Defra and prepared by a group led by the British Trust for Ornithology, and draws together broad research on the effects of climate change migratory wildlife.


Climate change boosts visitors to Alaska, Antarctica
(10/4/2005) A new advertising campaign launched Monday urges tourists to visit Alaska before they die. The billboards posted in Seattle, Washington; Los Angeles, California; and Minneapolis, Minnesota, show an Alaska license plate that reads "Alaska B4UDIE" -- or Alaska, before you die.


Climate changing faster than ever -- sea levels may rise 1 foot by 2100
(10/1/2005) According to the calculations of scientists at the Max Planck Institute for Meteorology in Hamburg, over the next century the climate will change more quickly than it ever has in the recent history of the earth. These results come from the latest climate model calculations from the German High Performance Computing Centre for Climate and Earth System Research.


Sun's role in global warming may be underestimated says Duke researchers
(10/1/2005) The physicists said that their findings indicate that climate models of global warming need to be corrected for the effects of changes in solar activity. However, they emphasized that their findings do not argue against the basic theory that significant global warming is occurring because of carbon dioxide and other "greenhouse" gases.


Biofuels threaten rainforests as important European Commission decision lies ahead
(10/1/2005) To meet Kyoto protocol commitments, various European and other governments are encouraging the use of biomass as fuel (biofuel) in transport and electricity. Biofuels are mostly carbon neutral, and switching from fossil fuels to biodiesel is promoted as a solution to climate change.


Rising carbon dioxide levels could devastate marine food chain
(9/29/2005) Rising carbon dioxide in the atmosphere could make oceans to acidic for marine organisms producing protective shells according to research published in the journal Nature. Such a development could be catastrophic for the ocean's food chain and devastating for world fisheries.


Alaska - climate change causing ancient lakes and wetlands to be replaced by forest
(9/28/2005) Lakes and wetlands in the Kenai Peninsula of south-central Alaska are drying at a significant rate. The shift seems to be driven by climate change, and could endanger waterfowl habitats and hasten the spread of wildfires


Capturing and storing the carbon dioxide could be key in minimizing climate change
(9/26/2005) A new assessment report finalized here today by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) concludes that capturing and storing the carbon dioxide (CO2) produced by power plants and factories before it enters the atmosphere could play a major role in minimizing climate change.


Insurers not disclosing climate change-related risks finds FOE study
(9/26/2005) A new report by Friends of the Earth shows that America's property and casualty insurers are doing a very poor job in disclosing climate change-related risks in their SEC filings on material risks facing the firms. Only 5 companies out of the 106 surveyed referenced climate change issues in their SEC reporting, despite the growing body of evidence that climate change will produce increasingly intense storms.


Climate change could have significant impact on health of Australians
(9/22/2005) The Australian Medical Association (AMA) and the Australian Conservation Foundation (ACF) are calling for a national response to one of the world's most significant environmental threats -- climate change and its effect on human health.


Hurricane Katrina damage just a dose of what's to come
(9/21/2005) The kind of devastation seen on the Gulf Coast from Hurricane Katrina may be a small taste of what is to come if emissions of the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide (CO2 ) are not diminished soon, warns Dr. Ken Caldeira of the Carnegie Institution's Department of Global Ecology in his opening remarks at the 7th International Carbon Dioxide Conference in Boulder, Colorado, September 26, 2005.


90% of largest companies concerned about climate change
(9/18/2005) More U.S. corporations than ever before now factor climate change into the risks and opportunities faced by their businesses, according to a report released today by the Carbon Disclosure Project, a coalition of institutional investors with more than $21 trillion in assets. Increased interest from the investment community, in conjunction with related macro-economic developments, is encouraging the development of strategies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.


Airline passengers urged to fight global warming via green tax
(9/12/2005) Starting today, British Airways passengers will be asked to make a donation towards green energy efforts whenever they fly. The airline is introducing the "green fee" to persuade the government that it takes the issue of pollution seriously and that policymakers need not adopt a European proposal for environmental taxes on flights. The EU is considering such a proposal as a way to reduce carbon dioxide emissions which are strictly limited under the Kyoto Protocol.


Humans impacted climate thousands of years ago
(9/9/2005) New research suggests humans were influencing the world's climate long before the Industrial Revolution. Atmospheric levels of methane, a potent greenhouse gas, climbed steadily during the first millennium due to massive fires set by humans clearing land agriculture.


Vegetation growth in Arctic could add to global warming
(9/8/2005) Warming in the Arctic is stimulating the growth of vegetation and could affect the delicate energy balance there, causing an additional climate warming of several degrees over the next few decades. A new study indicates that as the number of dark-colored shrubs in the otherwise stark Arctic tundra rises, the amount of solar energy absorbed could increase winter heating by up to 70 percent. The research will be published 7 September in the first issue of the Journal of Geophysical Research-Biogeosciences, published by the American Geophysical Union.


Carbon reinjection strategies to be affected by climate change
(9/8/2005) An Earth System model developed by researchers at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign indicates that the best location to store carbon dioxide in the deep ocean will change with climate change.


Glaciers melting at alarming rates, water problems feared
(9/7/2005) Global Warming is melting glaciers in every region of the world, putting millions of people at risk from floods, droughts and lack of drinking water says a report from WWF.


Gas hydrates in ocean could trigger catastrophic climate change
(9/6/2005) Global warming will cause gasses trapped beneath the ocean floor to release into the atmosphere according to research presented at the Annual Conference of the Royal Geographical Society. The impact could initiate a catastrophic global greenhouse effect.


Human evolution linked to climate change says study
(9/6/2005) New evidence suggests human evolution was caused by specific periods of climatic change in Africa according to research presented at the Annual Conference of the Royal Geographical Society. These climatic influences played a crucial part in enhancing human development says Dr Mark Maslin, Senior Lecturer in Geography at University College London.


Fires in peat lands cost climate
(9/6/2005) The tropical rainforests of Kalimantan have long been threatened and increasingly endangered by deforestation and other invasive types of human activity. However, a lesser known ecosystem in the region that is literally coming under fire, is the tropical peat lands, particularly in the central area of the province of Indonesian Borneo.


Global warming may have triggered worst mass extinction
(8/29/2005) A dramatic rise in carbon dioxide 250 million years ago may have caused global temperatures to soar and result in Earth's greatest mass extinction, according to a study published in the September issue of Geology. Global warming, which may have produced temperatures 10 to 30 degrees Celsius higher than today, would have had a significant impact both on oceans, where about 95% of lifeforms became extinct, and on land, where almost 75% of species died out.


Hurricanes getting stronger due to global warming says study
(8/29/2005) Late last month an atmospheric scientist at Massachusetts Institute of Technology released a study in Nature that found hurricanes have grown significantly more powerful and destructive over the past three decades. Kerry Emanuel, the author of the study, warns that since hurricanes depend on warm water to form and build, global climate change might increase the effect of hurricanes still further in coming years.


Bacteria's combined weight exceeds that of all fish in world's oceans
(8/24/2005) Researchers at Oregon State University and Diversa Corporation have discovered that the smallest free-living cell known also has the smallest genome, or genetic structure, of any independent cell - and yet it dominates life in the oceans, thrives where most other cells would die, and plays a huge role in the cycling of carbon on Earth.


Modifying clouds to fight global warming
(8/15/2005) An article in The Sunday Times reports that a scientist is working a cloud manufacturing technique to counter global warming.


Animals behaving strangely; climate change the culprit?
(8/11/2005) For the first time, scientists have found a direct relationship between global warming and the evolution of contemporary wildlife.


Amazon not holding expected carbon, carbon-credit trading scheme at risk?
(7/28/2005) The rivers of South America's Amazon basin are "breathing" far harder -- cycling the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide more quickly -- than anyone realized.


Food demand greater threat to wildlife than global warming
(7/28/2005) A redoubling of human food demand over the next 50 years that could imperil vast tracts of wildlife habitat. Recognizing the food demand, however, would shift government research funds from climate models to politically incorrect agricultural research stations-our main hope to double crop and livestock yields.


California to face water shortage warns new study
(7/27/2005) At current rates, California's demand for water will increase by 40 percent over the next 25 years, warns a new study from the Public Policy Institute of California.


EU to charge passengers carbon tax for vacation flights
(7/26/2005) The European Commission wants to begin tacking carbon emission charges on airlines in its strategy to tackle climate change, according to a document released by the EU executive Commission yesterday. Airlines would likely pass these fees on to passengers, who would see ticket prices rise by up to 9 euros ($10.86) for a return flight.


Global warming shrinks sacred glacier in the Andes
(7/6/2005) The melting of a glacier in the Peruvian Andes due to global climate change is impacting the religious practices of local people, according to an article run last month in The Wall Street Journal.


Climate change could ruin tourism in the Mediterranean
(7/1/2005) According to a new study the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), global climate change will bring hotter, drier summers to the Mediterranean and significantly impact two of the region's largest industries, agriculture and tourism.


Mayors agree on 'green cities' environmental pact
(6/5/2005) Mayors from around the world on Sunday signed an international treaty to make their cities more environmentally conscious that calls for boosting use of public transportation, drastic cuts to the volume of trash sent to landfills and ensured access to potable water.


Borneo's peat lands going up in smoke
(4/21/2005) The tropical rainforests of Kalimantan have long been threatened and increasingly endangered by deforestation and other invasive types of human activity. However, a lesser known ecosystem in the region that is literally coming under fire, is the tropical peat lands, particularly in the central area of the province of Indonesian Borneo


Impact of Deforestation - Extinction
(3/1/2005) The greatest loss with the longest-lasting effects from the ongoing destruction of wilderness will be the mass extinction of species that provide Earth with biodiversity. Although great extinctions have occurred in the past, none has occurred as rapidly or has been so much the result of the actions of a single species. The extinction rate of today may be 1,000 to 10,000 times the biological normal, or background, extinction rate of 1-10 species extinctions per year..



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