Climate change headlines and global warming news for October 2010

October 31 - North Atlantic Oscillation still negative
Last winter the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) was at its strongest negative value since records started being kept nearly 190 years ago and given the continuing negative trend, the UK and much of Northern Europe can expect another cold winter and Southern Europe, an active storm season. Read more

October 30 - Australia told to act now on carbon price
A briefing on the impacts of global warming submitted to the Australian government has recommended it should immediately set a price on carbon. The report, gained under Australia's Freedom Of Information Act and heavily censored also stated that it is too late to avoid serious effects of climate change on Australia's economy. Read more

October 29 - Eggshells as carbon dioxide sponges
Indian researchers believe eggshells could be used to help combat rising carbon emissions as the membrane in the shell can soak up almost seven times its own weight of carbon dioxide. Read more.

October 27 - New U.S. truck emissions regulations
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of Transportation has announced the first national standards to reduce greenhouse gas  emissions and improve fuel efficiency of heavy trucks and buses. The goal of the initiative is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by nearly 250 million metric tons during the serviceable lives of the vehicles manufactured within the program’s first five years. Read more.

October 26 - Arctic shipping's vicious climate cycle
As the Arctic melts, new shipping channels are being opened up - which could in turn play a role in accelerating further melting according to a U.S. and Canadian research team that includes a University of Delaware scientist. Read more

October 24 - Space tourism and climate change
Space tourism may have a negative impact on climate if it becomes popular. According to a pair of researchers, hybrid engines using synthetic solid hydrocarbons as a fuel and nitrous oxide as an oxidizer would inject black carbon soot into the stratosphere, possibly impacting atmospheric circulation and regional temperatures. Read more

October 23 - Call for geo-engineering moratorium
The controversial concept of geo-engineering, the purposeful tinkering of the planet's climate, has met with stiff resistance from some quarters. Green groups say given the consequences of such drastic actions are unknown, the United Nations should ban geo-engineering projects. Read more.

October 21 - Krill kill climate change related?
What is killing krill, the tiny creatures of the ocean that form the basis of the aquatic food chain. Is it climate change, over fishing or something else? A study over two decades has found an alarming decrease in krill and researchers are still trying to understand why. Read more

October 20 - Extreme, prolonged droughts forecast 
When it comes to rain, it will be feast or famine in the years ahead according to a new study. The National Centre for Atmospheric Research says parts of Asia, including Australia, the United States and southern Europe, and much of Africa, Latin America and the Middle East may experience severe drought within next few decades, but the world's northern regions could see increased rainfall - and perhaps more than they would like. Read more.

October 19 - USA forests losing carbon sink capability
The ability of forests in the western United States to sequester carbon is diminishing as the planet warms. Research has found hotter summers, changing rainfall patterns and less snow cover are already "aridifying" Western forests. Read more.

October 18 - Carbon cutting ship design unveiled.
Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) has announced a new design for container ships that it says will bring 35% reduction in carbon emissions. Key features of the design are a dual propulsion system and special air lubrication system for the hull, which Mitsubishi says reduces friction as the vessel moves through the water. Read more.

October 17 - Climate change spurring migrations in Ethiopia
The United Nations High Commission for Refugees says that climate change is already causing migrations within the country and that the situation would worsen in the years ahead as global warming continued. Read more

October 16 - African leaders say climate talks will fail
African's leading spokesperson on climate change does not hold high hopes for upcoming climate talks in Cancun, Mexico; saying they will be a "total flop" and will not eventuate in a deliver set targets for greenhouse gas emissions reduction. Read more

October 15 - Americans' global warming understanding
A recent survey has found found that only half of Americans understand global warming's main cause is the activity of humans and only 43% know what the greenhouse effect is. The Yale University study also found 63 percent of Americans believe that global warming is happening, but many do not understand why. Read more

October 13 - Tasmania to feel the heat
According to new climate modelling, if carbon emissions continue at the current rate, Australia's island state of Tasmania could be 3 degrees Celsius hotter by the end of this century. Tasmania contains many sensitive habitats that could be severely impacted by such an increase. Read more.

October 12 - Birth control the answer to climate change?
The Earth's population could reach 9 billion by 2050, but a new analysis from U.S. National Center for Atmospheric Research has found that by somehow curtailing that growth to 8 billion it could save  at least 1.4 billion metric tons of carbon from entering the atmosphere each year by 2050. Read more

October 11 - Earth's water cycle "pushed to the limit"
The amount of water evaporating from the land into the atmosphere hit a maximum 12 years ago and is now dropping according to researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry. The researchers says as the atmosphere is now warmer, it can hold more water, effectively trapping it and leaving less water available on the surface for maintaining the cycle. Read more

October 10 - Glaciers threatened in China
Glacial coverage in western China may decrease by close to 30 percent by 2050 due to global warming and cropping. Extreme drought currently affects 697,000 square kilometres of China and drought is impacting 2.98 million square kilometres, which is over 38% percent of China's land area.  Read more

October 9 - Increased fresh water flows into oceans
University of California Irvine researchers have the amount of fresh water flowing into the world's oceans has increased significantly. 18 percent more fresh water reached the oceans between 1994 and 2006, an average yearly rise of 1.5 percent. Among the causes are more frequent storms dumping water on land which then runs off into the sea, but instead of this being good news, it seems wet regions are just getting wetter and dry regions drier. Read more

October 8 - U.S. and China clash at climate talks
At the UN climate talks in Tianjin in China, the US has threatened to pursue alternatives to the UN process and China's negotiator has hinted to the threat as unacceptable behavior. Read more

October 7 - World to pass greenhouse emissions "redline"
Global greenhouse gas emissions could be close to one third more in 2020 than the level considered needed to avoid catastrophic climate change. The redline according to a study by the WWF is 40 gigatonnes annually by 2020, however the world looks set to exceed that considerably - 47.9 - 53.6 gigatonnes. Read more 

October 6 - Livestock greenhouse gas emissions to jump
Researchers at Dalhousie University, Canada, have published a study stating that the booming livestock industry, on its own, could generate enough carbon emissions by 2050 to cause temperatures to exceed 'safe' levels of climate change. Read more. Read more

October 5 - Legal action to force emission reductions?
Developing nations particularly at risk from the effects of climate change could sue developed countries according to a new study. A UK group says poor countries may be able to pursue an inter-state case before the United Nations' International Court of Justice; and given the desperation some are facing, it may well happen. Read more

October 4 - Pakistan facing massive  malaria outbreak
The news keeps getting worse for the people of Pakistan. First the record breaking flooding and now malaria is posing a major threat with 2 million cases expected in the coming months. Additionally, and on top of over 1.6 million cases of digestive and skin diseases, 20 million people affected by the flooding will struggle to cope as the winter approaches. Read more

October 3 - Global warming affecting India's monsoons
With the number of heavy monsoon rainfall periods in India's north east region reducing and heavy monsoon rainfall on the rise in the Central part of the country; the nations' monsoon season is becoming less predictable and last year was India's warmest in the last hundred years. Read more

October 2 - Royal Society revises climate change guide
The Royal Society has toned down its predictions for climate change, saying that while greenhouse gas concentrations due to human activity are the dominant cause of recent global warming, it isn't possible to determine exactly how much the Earth will warm or exactly how the climate will change. Read more.

October 2 - Australian banks still bankrolling coal
A new report from Greenpeace claims Australia's big four banks are continuing to invest huge sums in coal power and using bank customers money to do so. Read more

October 2 - Current climate change targets not enough
Based on historical geological data, researchers from the University of Exeter have found that current emission reduction targets with the goal of keeping global temperatures from rising above 2 degrees Celsius may not avoid catastrophic effects of climate change.  Read more

October 2 - Osama bin Laden plays climate change card
In what some say is an attempt to improve his image, Osama bin Laden has released an audio tape that makes mention of climate change, stating that it claims more lives than wars. Read more

October 1 - Biochar could reduce carbon emissions
A Cornell University soil scientist believes biochar - heating organic matter in the absence of oxygen - could play a major role in reducing greenhouse gas emissions if applied to processing waste materials. Additionally, when buried in farm fields, biochar helps retain moisture and adds nutrients. Read more.