Global warming headlines and climate change news for July 2010
July 30 - Global warming wipes out Malaysia's corals
90% of Malaysia’s corals are dead due to global warming. Major coral
bleaching events have occurred in marine parks at Pulau Payar, Pulau
Tioman and Pulau Redang. Coral bleaching usually occurs when sea
temperature rises above 31 °C for more than two days. Read
more
July 29 - Phytoplankton decimated by global warming
Phytoplankton, microscopic plants that are the first link in the ocean's food chain, have declined by 40% over the last century, with the majority of losses in the last 60 years.
One of the causes for the dramatic drop is thought to be rising sea temperatures brought on by global warming.
Read
more
July 28 - Fish under threat from carbon emissions
Researches say baby fish may become easy prey for predators as the world's
oceans become more acidic due to carbon dioxide saturation connected with
human activity. As carbon levels rise, the behaviour of baby fish changes
in ways that decrease their chances of survival by 50 to 80 per cent. Read
more
July 25 - Cash for clunkers on the cards for
Australia
Green groups have slammed Australia's government for plans to fund a
U.S.-style "cash for clunkers" scheme with money already tagged
for solar power. The Australian Greens say funding should instead come
from subsidies for fossil fuels. The Australian Government says it will
offer a $2,000 rebate to owners of pre-1995 to upgrade to more fuel
efficient and emissions friendly cars. Read
more
July 24 - U.S. climate bill pulled
On Thursday, U.S. Democrat party leaders abandoned a goal of passing a comprehensive energy bill over the next few months and would instead push for more limited measures, such as tightening energy efficiency standards.
Read
more
July 23 - Australia's "lack of leadership"
on climate
Australian Prime Minister Gillard's climate change policy announced today
is an excuse for more delay on the climate crisis, according the
Australian Greens. The Greens' comments came after Prime Minister Gillard
said she wanted the same policy on climate change that her predecessor,
Kevin Rudd, failed to pass, but that any action would be delayed until at least 2012.
Australia's government took a beating in polls earlier this year after
abandoning its efforts to have its emissions trading scheme legislation
passed. Read
more
July 20 - Great Lakes: a climate change canary
Analysis of several buoys that measure temperatures in Lake Superior show the waters are around 15 degrees warmer than usual for this time of the year. The senior adviser to the U.S. EPA on the Great Lakes says the lakes aren't just a canary in the coal mine for the region or nation, but for the world.
Read
more.
July 18 - Climate change a key Australian election
issue
Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard will send the nation to the voting booth on August 21 and has listed climate change as one of her top priorities. The Labor government was slammed in opinion polls after shelving its carbon emissions trading scheme earlier in the year.
Read
more
July 17 - Russia's worst drought for 130 years
Russia's summer has been a cruel one with nearly 10 million hectares of crops destroyed by high temperatures and peat and forest fires raging around Moscow. The current drought is thought to be the worst for 130 years.
Read
more
July 16 - Earth's hottest June on record
The US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration reports June 2010 was the fourth consecutive month that was the warmest on record for the combined global land and surface temperatures.
NOAA says thatMarch, April, and May 2010 were also the warmest. Read
more.
July 14 - Australia's outback a giant carbon sink
As dry and desolate as it may be in some places, the Australian outback is
also a massive carbon sink according to a new study, with a 6 million
square kilometre chunk sequestering 9.5 billion tonnes of carbon. Read
more
July 12 - Climate countdown for Hudson Bay's polar
bears
Hudson Bay's polar bears are the most studied population in the world and
with the health of polar bears directly tied to the amount of time they
spend on sea ice hunting seals, a researcher has been able to gauge how
much longer before they disappear - no more than a few decades. Read
more
July 10 - U.S heatwaves to become more frequent
According to climate scientists from Stanford University, most of the USA
could experience heat as intense as the hottest season ever recorded at
least four times between now and 2049. In some states, hot seasons could
occur as frequently as seven times. Read
more
July 9 - EU could slash emissions 95% by 2050
The European Union could source 92% of its energy from renewables by 2050 while
slashing carbon emissions by 95% compared with 1990, according to a report
from Greenpeace International and the European Renewable Energy Council. Read
more.
July 8 - When algae attacks
A flotilla of more than 60 ships are set to do battle with a massive tide of algae
approaching the coast of Qingdao, China. The outbreak is believed to be
caused by warm ocean temperatures and nutrient rich runoff from
agriculture and aquaculture. Algae can become so dense that it removes
most of the oxygen from the water below it, creating underwater "dead
zones" that most aquatic organisms cannot survive in. Read
more
July 7 - UPS expands carbon neutral shipping
UPS has announced an expansion of its carbon-neutral shipping initiative to 35 countries and territories
including Argentina, Brazil, France, Germany, Australia, Japan, the
Philippines, South Korea, China and the UK. The program allows customers
to pay a small premium to calculate and offset the carbon emissions associated with their
shipping. Read
more.
July 6 - Prehistoric humans contributed to climate
change
According to new research, humans may have begun affecting global climate
much earlier than thought. The disappearance of woolly mammoths likely
helped to change the climate and if the animals were hunted to extinction,
that means humans played a role in climate change. Read
more
July 5 - Climate change a concern during Nixon era
Documents released from the Nixon Presidential Library detail how some members of US President Richard Nixon's inner circle raised concerns about global warming over 40 years ago. A 1969 memo shows even then, increases in carbon dioxide levels
and the possible effects were recognised. Read
more
July 3 - Kyoto encouraging carbon emissions?
The United Nations has expressed concern that a scheme under the Kyoto Protocol scheme may be encouraging some factories to generate more greenhouse gases as a result of incentives related to carbon offsets.
Read
more
July 3 - EPA finalizing greenhouse gas reporting
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is in the process of finalizing
greenhouse gas reporting requirements for sub-surface coal mines, industrial wastewater treatment systems, industrial waste landfills and magnesium production facilities.
The resulting data will assist the EPA and industries involved in
developing policies for the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. Read
more.
July 3 - The "hockey stick" temperature
graph stands
Penn State has issued an exoneration of Dr. Michael Mann in relation to his scientific practices for conducting climate change research and in doing so has vindicated his controversial "Hockey Stick" graph which shows a major increase in
temperatures coinciding with human industrial activities. Read
more
July 3 - Global warming favors cane toads
Already a major pest in Australia, increased temperatures will allow the
cane toad to thrive, helping it to spread further across the nation. The
cane toad's skin is toxic and deadly when ingested by other animals - some
of them native predators. The cane toad was imported into Australia to
deal with sugar cane beetles, but their numbers rapidly grew and they now
also compete with native fauna for other food sources. Read
more.
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