July 2014 Climate Change News


31 July - Waves Where Once Was Ice
An area of the Arctic once covered by permanent ice is now being buffeted by 16 foot waves. The wave action could drive the Arctic system toward an ice-free summer

30 July - Siberian Craters - Methane Blowholes?
Three major craters that have recently appeared in Siberia may be methane blow holes says an Australian scientist who is very disturbed by the possibility as the methane trapped under the Arctic permafrost could be ticking time bomb 

25 July - How To Make People Care About Climate Change
A recent series of virtual reality experiments has revealed the technology may be key in helping apathetic groups care about issues and taking action, including on climate change.

23 July - Fur Seal Colony At Risk
After having survived being pushed to the brink of extinction by hunting, the population of a South Antarctic fur seal colony is declining again due to a lack of food thought to be attributable to climate change. 

20 July - Polar Bears Adapting To Climate Change
It's been feared that polar bear populations will plummet as a result of climate change and its effect of the bears' hunting of its favored food - seals. However, it appears the bears may be adapting by broadening their dietary horizons and consuming eggs, geese and caribou.

19 July - Religious Groups Dumping Fossil Fuel Investments
Churches and other religious groups are increasingly shedding their investments in fossil fuel companies due to concerns with damage to the environment and climate change.

17 July - Australian Carbon Tax Dumped
The Australian government has finally succeeded in axing the country's carbon tax; but the repeal is a tragedy, not a triumph says Michael Raupach, Director of the Climate Change Institute, Australian National University.

16 July - EC Eyes 30% Energy Use Reduction Goal
European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker has set his sights on a 30 per cent reduction in energy consumption in the EU by 2030 and to boost renewable energy uptake.

15 July - A Mighty Tree Planting Effort
After originally setting a target of 1 million trees, Lagos State Government states it has planted over 5,000,000 trees across the state.

14 July - Rupert's Climate Change Ignorance Continues
Rupert Murdoch continues to piffle the concept of climate change and says it should be treated with much skepticism. On the topic of renewable energy, he was even more blunt, stating "We shouldn't be building windmills and all that rubbish".

12 July - WMO Calls For Shift In Climate Baselines
With global warming increasingly setting a new “normal” for weather conditions, the World Meteorological Organisation says climate-sensitive industries may be basing important decisions on information that could be out of date

10 July - Australian PM "Reckless" On Climate Change
The UK's Lord Deben says Australia's repeal of carbon tax is a 'deeply retrograde step' and says he has not met an Australian who isn't deeply ashamed the country's government.

8 July - Too Little And It's Nearly Too Late
A new report, Deep Decarbonization Pathways", states national governments around the world have made very little progress in achieving carbon emissions reductions and time is running out.

7 July - Coastal Winds Intensifying
Climate change is thought to be a cause of summer winds intensifying along the west coasts of North and South America and southern Africa; which could have some severe effects on marine ecosystems in these regions.

6 July - Church Tells Australian PM To Respect Climate Science
Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott has been advised by the Anglican Church to "respect and act upon relevant independent evidence-based scientific advice’’ on climate change.

5 July - $4 Billion Loan Guarantees For Clean Energy
The US Department of Energy has announced $4 billion in loans will be made available to clean energy projects; part of the Obama Administration's all-of-the above approach to energy in order to slash carbon emissions.

3 July - Carbon Sniffer Satellite Launched
After an unsuccessful first attempt, NASA's Orbiting Carbon Observatory has been successfully launched. The satellite will monitor carbon dioxide moving into and out of Earth's atmosphere.

2 July - Kudzu A Carbon Culprit
Japanese knotweed and kudzu, two of North America's most proflic weeds, have been shown to released carbon stored in native soils. Read more

2 July - Caribbean Coral Reefs Gone Within 2 Decades
A new report warns most Caribbean reefs will disappear in the next twenty years. Currently, just one-sixth of the original coral cover remains. Climate change, oceanic acidification and loss of crucial marine species have all contributed to the unfolding disaster.

1 July - Kiribati Buys Climate Refuge In Fiji
In the face of rising seas and inundation, Kiribati's government has recently purchased 20 sq km of land on the Fijian island of Vanua Levu, some 2,000km away.

1 July - Atmospheric CO2 Hits New Record
Scientists at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Mauna Loa observatory in Hawaii say June was the third month in a row where average levels of carbon dioxide were above 400 parts per million (ppm).