Climate change headlines and global warming news for August 2009
August 31 - 10,000 LA homes threatened by fire
A fire in the Los Angeles area threatened 10,000 homes on the weekend and more than tripled in size. The blaze is being fueled by continual hot weather and dense, dry vegetation that has not burned in over half a century.
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more
August 29 - Australian bushfire season starts early
As perhaps a taste to come of what's predicted to be a horror year for
blazes in the country, bushfires have been breaking out across the eastern
seaboard of Australia; even though the country is still in winter. The
latest blazes are occurring in national parks along the New South Wales
South Coast. Read
more.
August 28 - The cost of adapting to climate change
While many feel that addressing climate change is too costly, adapting to
it won't be a cheap exercise either. A new study estimates the true annual
cost of dealing with the worst effects of climate change may be as high as
$300 billion - three times the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC)
projections. Read
more
August 27 - Boreal forests - massive carbon sinks.
Researchers from around the world have warned that unless existing boreal forests are preserved, not only will biodiversity be lost, so will one of the world's largest carbon sinks. The boreal forests cover large areas of Russia, Canada, Alaska and Scandinavia and contain one-third of the world's stored carbon.
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more
August 26 - Climate change to worsen urban heat
waves
According to a new report, global warming will bring increased summer heat waves across the USA that will be particularly dangerous in urban areas are
they can be as much as 10 degrees hotter than rural regions due to the amount of asphalt and concrete.
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more
August 25 - Global warming could shift Earth's axis
Warming of the oceans caused by humanity could move Earth's axis up to 1.5 meters
by the end of this century, according to a new study. As ocean temperature increases,
water expands, pushing sea levels up into the shallows - and can be heavy enough to nudge the planet's rotational axis slightly closer to Alaska.
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more
August 22 - Coal job losses = renewable energy job
gains
The coal power generation industry, responsible for massive amounts of
greenhouse gas emissions, has often used the spectre of job losses to try
and garner community support. However, job losses in that sector would be
more than offset by pouring equivalent investment into renewable energy. Read
more.
August 21 - Mexico City's water woes worsen
Mexico is experiencing its driest year in 68 years that has left about 80 of Mexico's 175 largest reservoirs less than half full. Trucks are now delivering water to some parts of Mexico City where cuts have made the flow of water intermittent. Greater Mexico City has a population exceeding 19 million people.
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August 20 - UK heatwave triggers algae bloom
Warm weather, sunshine and high amounts of nitrates flooding into the sea
from local agricultural operations and sewage works has triggered thick mats of green algae to form at a dozen sites on the south
coast of England. The algae threatens to rob the marine ecosystem of
oxygen; threatening sea and bird life. Read
more
August 19 - Ancient farmers kicked off global
warming?
A recent study proposes that over thousands of years, farmers burned so many forests that
massive quantities of carbon dioxide were spewed into the atmosphere,
possibly causing the the Earth to warm up and change its climate. Read
more
August 17 - Farmers guarding water with guns
Bihar, a state in Eastern India, has declared 26 of its 38 districts as being drought-stricken. The water crisis has become so severe, farmers are resorting to guarding their water sources with guns.
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more
August 16 - Ocean temperatures break records
Global average ocean surface temperatures were the warmest on record for
July and the he combined average global land and ocean surface temperature for July 2009 ranked fifth-warmest since world-wide records began in
1880 according to NOAA’s National Climatic Data Center. Read
more
August 15 - UN: serious climate change = game over
The UN's top climate change official has warned that a deal will
not be struck at Copenhagen meeting this December unless the pace of
negotiations increases significantly. Yvo de Boer also said that
"serious climate change is equal to game over". Read
more.
August 14 - Millions of salmon disappear - climate
change?
Up to 10.6 million bright-red sockeye salmon were expected to return to
spawn this summer in a river on Canada's Pacific Coast, but less than 1
million have appeared. It's thought that climate change may have reduced
food supply for salmon in the ocean or the rising temperature of the
Fraser River may have weakened the fish. Read
more.
August 13 - Australian carbon reduction legislation
blocked
The Australian Senate today blocked crucial carbon reduction legislation
from being written into law. The controversial legislation was coupled
with Australia's revised Renewable Energy Target legislation, of which the
Solar Credits program was a part. Without the legislation passing, funding
for the program that helps finance home solar power systems will not be
released.
Read
more
August 12 - Climate change to devastate Australia
tourism
The Great Barrier Reef Foundation has warned that the assessed loss from a total and permanent bleaching event
of the reef would be a massive $37.7 billion over the next century;
primarily due to the loss of tourism dollars. Temperature change, such as
the world's oceans are experiencing now due to global warming, is the most
common cause of coral bleaching. Read
more
August 11 - UN - Climate change world's greatest
challenge
U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has warned that climate change is the
greatest challenge facing the world and that the international community
has under 10 years to halt the rise of greenhouse gas emissions in order
to avoid catastrophic consequences for people and the planet. Read
more
August 10 - Climate change wars a reality
Crises such as drought, storms, mass migration and pandemics resulting from the effects of climate change could topple governments, inspire terrorist movements or destabilize entire regions; and the US military may find itself responding to
such climate instigated wars. Read
more
August 8 - Arctic Ocean toxic and stagnant by 2070
By 2070, the Arctic Ocean could become a stagnant, polluted soup due to
effects from climate change. The Transpolar Drift, powerful ocean currents and
key in the dispersal of pollutants such as pesticide and petroleum
residue, is likely to disappear because of global warming. Read
more
August 7 - Climate change action not so costly
A U.S. government study has concluded that climate legislation
currently before Congress would have only a small impact on consumers, adding a
just over $100 to household costs in 2020; putting paid to scaremongers
forecasting much higher costs. Read
more
August 7 - Climate change a low priority for
Americans.
According to a global survey, Americans are least likely to consider
climate change a priority. According to the poll of over 18,000 people in
19 countries conducted by the University of Maryland, only 44% of Americans thought climate change should be a major
focus for President Obama. 77% of Britons felt that officials should be doing more and 94% in China thought it should remain a top priority.
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more
August 5 - Pacific islands plead greater emission
cuts
Leaders of seven tiny Pacific island states most threatened by climate change met ahead of the Pacific Islands Forum summit in Queensland Australia and stated that developed nations must slash their greenhouse gas emissions.
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more
August 4 - Global rainfall projection atlas launched
Researchers from The Australian National University have released the world’s first
atlas of global rainfall projections over the next 100 years based on data
used by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change in its most recent report.
The Atlas of the Global Water Cycle is available for sale in hard copy or
free download from ANU E press. Read
more
August 4 - 83 million climate change refugees by
2040
Climate change could see eight million refugees in
the Pacific Islands, plus another 75 million refugees in the Asia Pacific
region in the next 40 years according to a new report from aid agency,
Oxfam Australia. The Future is Here: Climate Change in the Pacific
states that Pacific Islanders are already feeling the effects of climate
change and need greater support now Read
more
August 3 - Irreversible climate change by 2040
A report by Andrew Brierley of St Andrews University states that carbon
dioxide levels are rising at a faster rate than the worst-case scenario
predicted by United Nations experts, meaning "catastrophic" and
"irreversible" climate change for the planet by 2040. Read
more
August 3 - 2010 could be the hottest on record
Global warming and the forming of another El Niño could see increased
drought in Africa, India and Australia, heavier rainfall in South America
and increased extremes in Britain - and may make 2010 one of the hottest
years on record. The 1997-98 El Niño combined with global warming to make
1998 the world's hottest year. Read
more
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