January 2014 Climate Change Headlines

January 29 - Obama : The Climate Change Debate Is Settled.
In his State Of The Union address; US President Barack Obama said the debate over climate change is settled. "Climate change is a fact. And when our children's children look us in the eye and ask if we did all we could to leave them a safer, more stable world, with new sources of energy, I want us to be able to say yes, we did." Read more. 

January 28 - Pacific Villages Being Washed Away
Rising seas are eating away at Otong Java in the Solomon Island and saltwater intrusion is now at a stage that growing food is near to impossible. The situation is such that villagers will need to leave their ancestral home soon. Read more.

January 28 - 2013 The Seventh Hottest Year
During 2013, global temperatures averaged 14.6 degrees Celsius (58.3 degrees Fahrenheit) - 0.6 degrees Celsius (1.1 degrees Fahrenheit) warmer than the 20th Century average; making it the seventh hottest year since records began. Read more.

January 19 - Carbon Emissions To Continue Climbing
A recent report from BP shows global carbon dioxide emissions are expected to grow by 29% by 2035 as a result of an increase in demand for energy. Read more.

January 18 - California Declares Drought Emergency
While it may be winter in the USA, California’s rivers and reservoirs are below their record lows; prompting Governor Jerry Brown to declare a State of Emergency. Read more.

January 17 - Old Trees Vs. Younger Trees And Carbon
Contrary to popular belief, older trees are very valuable carbon dioxide sponges. A single large tree can sequester as much carbon in a year as is contained in an entire mid-sized tree. Read more.

January 16 - Al Gore Labels Geo-engineering "Insane"
Al Gore believes turning to geo-engineering in an attempt to rein in climate change would be "insane, utterly mad and delusional in the extreme". Read more.

January 15 - Death-bearing dust
An interesting and frightening article on the increasing prevalence of Valley Fever in the USA, a disease caused by inhaling the microscopic spores of a soil-dwelling fungus. Read more

January 15 - Climate Deniers Don't Publish Papers
Of 2,258 peer-reviewed articles written by a total of 9,136 authors appearing in scientific journals from Nov. 12, 2012 through December 31, 2013, just one rejected man-made global warming. Read more.

January 14 - Australia's Economy Fuelled By Coal
A report from the OECD states Australia was second only to Estonia among 34 advanced nations in terms of greenhouse gas emission intensity per unit of GDP. Read more.

January 12 - Emissions Fighting Fungi
A major source of carbon emissions comes from decaying plants. However, some fungi have been shown to alter how much carbon is released into the air from this source by a staggering 70 percent. Read more.

January 11 - Impacts Of Climate Change On Inuit Mental Health
Increasing temperatures are having negative psychological effects on Inuit populations in Labrador due to major changes to the environment in which they live. Read more.

January 10 - Emperor Penguins Adapting To Loss Of Ice
Emperor penguins in Antarctica are developing breeding strategies to adapt to an environment where sea ice; on which they usually deposit their eggs, is decreasing. Read more.

January 9 - Heatwave Kills Thousands Of Fruit Bats
An estimated 100,000 fruit bats may have perished as a result of blistering temperatures in the Australian state of Queensland. Read more.

January 8 - Geoengineering Could Cause Drought
Geoengineering methods using artificial volcanic eruptions may help rein in temperature rises, but would also result in a reduction of rain of up to one-third in South America, Asia and Africa says a new study. Read more. 

January 7 - The Polar Vortex And Climate Change
As much of the USA shivers in low temperatures not seen for decades, the question of climate change invariably pops up. However, this single weather event - as extreme as it is, masks the fact winter temperatures have increased in recent decades across the northern hemisphere; and increased severe weather events (hot or cold) can be markers of climate disturbance. Read more.

January 6 - Butterflies On The Move
Some butterfly species are pulling up stakes in the south of England and heading to Scotland as conditions there become warmer and more suitable. Unfortunately, several species may not make the move in time. Read more.

January 5 - Carbon Emissions Skyrocket.
Global carbon dioxide emissions are likely to have reached 36 billion tonnes in 2013, a level nearly two-thirds higher than in 1990; the baseline year for the Kyoto Protocol. The USA is still the biggest per capita contributor, at 16 tonnes per person. Read more.

January 3 - Florida's Mangroves Benefiting From Warming
It's an ill wind that blows nobody any good they say. There are some winners on a warming planet, such as the mangrove areas of Florida that appear to be expanding thanks to milder weather.  Read more.

January 3 - Creatures Of The Deep And Climate Change
A new study predicts a 38% decline in seafloor-dwelling marine life in the North Atlantic due to changes in food supply being affected by global warming. Read more.

January 3 - 2013 Australia's Hottest Year.
Average temperatures in Australia were 1.20 degrees Celsius above the long-term average in 2013, breaking the previous record set in 2005 by 0.17C, according to Australia's Bureau of Meteorology. Read more.

January 2 - Antarctic Food Chain Threatened
Krill, tiny crustaceans that form a crucial part of the Antarctic's food chain, could see their habitat shrink by up to 20% as a result of global warming. The impact on other species that directly or indirectly depend on krill could be even worse. Read more.

January 2 - 4C Temperature Rise By 2100
It's looking increasingly likely that if current trends continue, the planet will warm by 4C by the end of the century; a situation that would be catastrophic. Read more.