February 2012 global warming headlines and climate change news
February 29 - Natural gas not so climate friendly?
While natural gas may be considered somewhat of a saviour in the climate
battle, others believe it will not be of any benefit. While combusting
the gas generates fewer emissions; the plants have to be built, drilling
must occur and the gas then transported - with the latter two items
piling on the emissions. Read
more.
February 28 - Climate change could rock the world
In an extreme example of the butterfly effect, shifts in weight
distribution from melting ice and rising seas around the world could
result in an increase in volcanic and earthquake activity. Read
more.
February 26 - Mayan collapse due to climate change?
It's often said that those who forget the lessons of history are doomed
to repeat them - and maybe the once might Mayan civilization has some
lessons for use. Further research into why the Classic Maya civilization
collapsed in just two centuries is giving further credence to climate
change playing a role - specifically, a lack of rainfall. Read
more.
February 25 - Lower clouds slowing temperature rises?
Over the last decade, clouds have lowered in altitude by 30 to 40 meters
say researchers from University of Auckland. If they continue to drop,
global warming may slow down. Read
more.
February 21 - Coal a bigger emissions villain than tar sands
University of Victoria climate modeller Andrew Weaver says emissions from the exploitation of oil sands in Alberta, Canada will unlikely make a major difference in terms of global warming and that the real villain will be coal.
Read
more.
February 20 - Ice fishing getting the cold shoulder
The USA's unusually warm winter has caused a slowdown in the world of ice fishing. Ice-fishing classes and competitions have been called off in some states and cars and people have been reported falling through the ice at increasing rates.
Read
more.
February 19 - Global warming "freezing" yellow cedars
Vast numbers of yellow cedar in Southeast Alaska have been dying in the
last hundred years and the culprit has finally been identified - a lack
of snow cover that acts as an insulating blanket to tiny roots that are
not tolerant of freezing conditions. In a sense, global warming is
causing the trees to freeze. Read
more.
February 18 - ClimateGate victims send letter to Heartland
A group of scientists have written to The Heartland Institute regarding
the Institute's current situation in relation to reportedly leaked
documents concerning their activities; reminding them Heartland
"had no qualms about utilising and distorting emails stolen from
scientists". Read
more.
February 17 - Heartland Institute incident heats up
A series of documents reportedly exposing the details of where The
Heartland Institute, an organization critical of the general scientific consensus
on climate change, gets its money as well as the people and projects it is funding
have been posted online. The Heartland Institute says some of these
documents were illegal obtained and one is fake and is also reportedly
gearing up to go after web sites that have posted the information. Read
more.
February 15 - Fake glaciers water crops
Rising to the challenge of water resources depleting due to glacial
melt, villagers in Stakmo in India re building dams to store ice that
will provide them with water through increasingly dry spring months. Read
more.
February 14 - Arctic temperatures set new record in 2011
According to data from NASA, average Arctic temperatures last year were 2.28 degrees Celsius (4.1 degrees Fahrenheit) above
the averages from 1951-1980. In 2011, the Arctic also experienced the lowest sea ice volume yet recorded.
Read
more.
February 12 - Climate variation speeds up microbe change
Scientists studying ecosystems in Antarctica have found communities of microbes in the soil undergo rapid
changes in response to environmental conditions; which can have a major
effect on ecosystems. Read
more.
February 11 - The impact of early farmers on climate
Humanity may have been altering climate in some regions thousands of
years ago. A French geochemist says early farmers in Central Africa may have
had an impact on climate through agricultural and foundry practices. Read
more
February 10 - Storm damage costs could quadruple
The cost of damage from tropical cyclones has been predicted to quadruple globally by the end of the century due to increased population and economic activity, along with the influence of climate change.
Read
more.
February 8 - Ice melt was enough to flood entire USA
Researchers from the University of Colorado have determined the amount of glacial ice melt from 2003 to 2010 was enough to flood the entire USA in a 18 inches of melted ice.
Read
more.
February 6, 2012 - Global warming has not stopped
Global Warming has not stopped, but cherry-picked data is fooling some into believing it has says Peter Gleick; co-founder and President of the Pacific Institute in Oakland, California.
Read
more.
February 5, 2012 - Texas communities trucking water in
The drought in Texas is now starting to have a marked effect in
residential areas. Four communities in Texas now have to bring water in
by truck. The well serving Spicewood Beach in Burnet County has run so
low, the trucks are making water runs several times a day. Nearby Lake
Travis is also practically dry. The County is one of 13 public water
systems in Texas that are projected to run out of water in 6 months. Read
more.
February 3, 2012 - Island nations seek justice on climate
Island nations that have the most to lose from a warming world are
pursuing the idea of possibly taking the issue of climate change before the International Court of Justice,
with view to compelling developed nations to rein in greenhouse gas emissions;
assuming no international treaty on such is put in place. Read
more.
February 2, 2012 - Antarctica's New York sized iceberg
An iceberg 350 square miles (907 square kilometers) is expected to shear away from Antarctica soon and will be larger than all of New York city. While large icebergs certainly aren't unheard of, this event is causing concern as the crack in the icesheet
that will form this has occurred further back from the coastline than usual, indicating changes in ice.
Read
more
February 1, 2012 - NASA : Sun isn't causing global warming
Greenhouse gases generated by human activity and not changes in solar activity are
are what is primarily driving global warming states recent NASA research
led by James Hansen, director of NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS).
Read
more
|