Global warming headlines and climate change news for March 2011
March 30 - The greening of Antarctica
As Antarctica warms, researchers are finding one of the few flowering
plant species on the continent has increased its range over the last half
century. Read
more.
March 29 - Climate change, the past and our food
Our ancestors' focus on a small number of food crops and our continuance
of that practice and further limiting options thorough science and
selective breeding may come back to haunt us as the world's climate
changes. The answer to the problem may be to look back to the past and
utilize some of our current food crop's wild cousins. Read
more
March 26- Higher CO2 level = more toxin uptake by
plants
Some feel that increased carbon dioxide levels will benefit humanity in
that food crops will grow faster. It has been demonstrated that higher
levels of CO2 will promote plant growth, but a new study has found it also
increases the amount of toxic substances such as arsenic they soak up too.
Read more. Read
more
March 26 - Global wind speeds increase
Wave heights and wind speeds are picking up around the world on average
according to a recent study. Extreme wind speeds have accelerated around
most of the globe by approximately 10% over the last two decades. Read
more.
March 24 - Personal experience & climate change
attitudes
There's nothing like being there as they say and being in the midst of
extreme weather certainly appears to shape and change people's beliefs
about climate change. British researchers have found those who experience
extreme weather events find the concept of climate change more real and
results in greater intentions to act in sustainable ways. Read
more.
March 20 - Australians still divided on climate change
A recent survey has found as many people not believing the science behind
climate change indicating human involvement as those who accept it. There
has been a substantial drop in the numbers of people accepting the human
link to climate change, even while scientists have become more certain of
it. Read
more
March 19 - A push for home vegetable gardens
With climate change related events set to continue putting upwards
pressure on food prices; some countries are pushing for their citizens to
establish vegetable gardens to help reduce demand. Sri Lanka aims to
establish a million home gardens, with participating households to be provided free seeds, fertilizer and advice.
Read
more
March 17 - Australian carbon price - this year or
never
Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard believes if Australia does not set
a carbon price during the course of 2011, the nation probably never will
and that only the ruling Labor party could make it happen while protecting existing jobs and creating new ones.
Read
more
March 16 - Scotland plays carbon sequestration jobs
card
The Scottish Carbon Capture and Storage (SCCS) study states up to 13,000
jobs could be generated through storing carbon dioxide in rocks below the Moray
Firth. The viability of CCS as a long term solution is still doubted by
many. Read
more.
March 15 - Japan nuclear emergency boosts carbon
price
The nuclear emergency in Japan saw carbon pricing in the EU emissions trading scheme jump
more than five per cent yesterday due to speculation that the crisis would increase demand for natural gas in Japan and consequently also see coal as an attractive option for energy
generation elsewhere. Read
more.
March 13 - EPA approves refrigerant with less GWP
The EPA has given the go-ahead for the use of a new refrigerant in
automotive air conditioning systems. The new refrigerant,
hydrofluoroolefin-1234yf (HFO 1234yf), has far lower global warming
potential (GWP) than the currently used hydrofluorocarbon134a (HFC-134a).
HFC-134a has an atmospheric life of 14 years. Read
more
March 12 - Climate change, earthquakes and tsunamis
While Japan reels from a devastating earthquake and subsequent tsunami,
the link between such events and climate change is continuing to be hotly
debated. As melting ice masses change the stresses on certain parts of the
earth, it's thought that perhaps this massive shift in weight could play a
role in more, or more intense earthquakes - and with that an increase in
tsunamis. Read
more.
March 10 - Belief in climate change vs. global
warming
Researchers from University of Michigan say Republicans are far more skeptical of “global warming” than of
"climate change", with 44 percent believing “global warming” is
real compared to 60.2 percent feeling the same about "climate
change." Read
more.
March 9 - Ice sheet melt increasing ahead of
predictions
As oceans warm up, they expand, increasing sea levels; as do melting
glaciers. However, the biggest contributor to current rising sea levels
appears to be the melting Antarctic and Greenland ice sheets - and much
sooner than forecasts have predicted. In 2006, the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets lost a combined mass of 475 gigatonnes,
over 70 gigatonnes more than mountain glaciers and ice caps . Read
more.
March 8 - Australia's carbon tax backlash
Australia's government is struggling to sell its proposal for a carbon
tax, further complicated by constant reminders of Prime Minister Julia
Gillard's broken election promise not to introduce a carbon tax until
after the next election - a point the Opposition has seized on and is
using very effectively. A recent poll shows 48 percent of those surveyed
are against the concept of a carbon price, 35 percent support it and 18
percent are still undecided. Read
more
March 7 - Malaria in Tanzania's highlands
Illness in the Tanzania highlands has in the past been mainly confined to
ailments associated with cool and wet weather, but a new threat is
emerging - malaria. In the Rungwe district, over 100,000 malaria cases
were reported in 2009, up 25% in just 3 years. Read
more.
March 6 - Canada's receding tundra threatens caribou
Up to 44 per cent of Canada's vast tundra region could be replaced by boreal forest or shrub environments by
2099 and the nation's iconic Caribou could be negatively affected by the change in
landscape. Only small patches of tundra may exist by the end of the
century and the transformation has already begun. Read
more.
March 5 - Rising carbon dioxide cause plants to
retain water
The density of pores that permit plants to breathe has decreased by over a
third in the last 150 years say researchers. This has an effect of
decreasing the the amount of water vapour the plants release into the
atmosphere; creating questions about the effect on global water cycles. Read
more.
March 3 - Cholera threat looms over North America
North America could seen a return of cholera due to the increase in rain
events sparked by climate change increasing the likelihood of sewage
system malfunctions. The disease which kills millions of people around the
world each year was wiped out in North America by 1900. Read
more.
March 3 - Australia, the lucky carbon country
Australia will be able to hit its carbon emissions target by simply claiming offsets from
revegetation of cleared land, regional forest agreements and ceasing the logging of native
forests a recent report states. Australia is also in the midst of a heated
battle over carbon pricing. Read
more.
March 2 - China acknowledges climate change threat
China's Environment Minister, Zhou Shengxian, said his nation would take a more active approach in ascertaining whether developments in the country such as factories would contribute to climate change through a new risk assessment process.
Read
more.
March 2 - Food prices soar, raising fears of hunger
& riots
Heavy rains in Australia, droughts and fires in Russia and Ukraine,
desertification in China are all helping to push food prices to record
highs, raising fears of a similar or even worse scenario such as
food-related riots that occurred in more than 30 countries in 2008. Read
more.
March 2 - Australia's carbon tax to fund overseas
projects
Australia's proposed price on carbon would generate revenue billions of
dollars of revenue, some of which would be diverted to a United Nations
fund designed to transfer wealth from rich countries to help undeveloped
nations adapt to global warming. Read
more.
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