January 2017 Climate Change News
Will Trump And Prince Charles Clash?
Newly-minted U.S. President Donald Trump is reportedly reluctant to meet with Prince Charles when the President visits Britain in June due to their very different views on global warming.
Doomsday Clock Ticks Closer To Midnight
The hands of the symbolic Doomsday Clock have been moved closest to midnight in 64 years; to two minutes and 30 seconds to midnight. Part of the reason is due to the growing effects and threats of climate change.
Rising Temperatures Could Boost Fish Mercury Levels
Swedish researchers says increasing temperatures could elevate mercury levels in fish by up to 7 times; levels that have already increased by between 200 and 500% since the industrial revolution.
EPA Employees Go Rogue?
After gag orders were placed on the USA Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), three employees of the agency have reportedly set up a Twitter account to ensure facts about climate change continue to reach the public during Donald Trump's presidency.
Trump Administration Gag Order On Climate?
Trump administration officials have reportedly restricted what employees of the Environmental Protection Agency, Agriculture and Interior and other agencies should report to the public about their work through press releases and social media posts.
CDC Cancels Climate Conference
In what's been referred to as a "strategic retreat", the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention cancelled a conference on climate change and health scheduled for next month, reportedly out of concern of backlash from the new Trump Administration.
USA Faces Greatly Decreased Grain Harvests
Higher temperatures may slash the USA's wheat harvest by 20 percent, soybean yield by 40 percent and an almost 50 percent reduction for corn by the end of the century according to a new study.
California Unveils New Climate Change Plan
California's new climate plan, said to be the most ambitious in North America, seeks to slash emissions 40 percent below 1990 levels by 2030.
Climate Change Programs Removed From White House Web Site
All mentions of former president Barack Obama's climate change initiatives were reportedly removed from the White House web site very shortly after President Donald Trump took the oath of office.
Rising Seas Eating Lennox Island
Lennox Island, off the coast of Prince Edward Island in eastern Canada, has lost more than 400 acres in just a few generations.
2016 Was The Hottest Year On Record
NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies said global sea and land temperatures last year eclipsed the previous high set in 2015. Temperatures in 2016 were approximately 1.1 degrees higher than during the pre-industrial period.
Global Warming = More Wasps
Researchers at New Zealand's Victoria University have found climate change has a significant effect on common wasp populations. Their study was based on 23 years of data on wasp numbers from New Zealand and 39 years from the United Kingdom.
Trump Warming To Climate Change?
China’s chief climate negotiator, Xie Zhenhua, says President-elect Donald Trump has “softened his tone on whether climate change is real” since his election in November.
World's First Floating City
It's a rather extreme way to avoid sea level rise - the world's first floating city will be constructed off the coast of French Polynesia. Ultimately, the concept may enable some island nations threatened by inundation to stay in their general geographic areas.
Rural Australians Already Feeling Climate Change Impact
Ninety per cent of Australians living in rural and regional area believe they are already experiencing the impacts of climate change according to a new report from the Climate Institute.
Cost Of Global Warming Underestimated
The National Academy of Sciences has recommended changes to a federal metric known as the “social cost of carbon”, which has been omitting certain climate damages.
Ticks Devastating Moose Populations
Warmer temperatures and shorter winters are allowing ticks to survive longer, which is creating a heavy toll on moose calves across Maine and New Hampshire in the USA. Up to 70% of calves are dying as a result of the parasites
Prince Charles Co-Authors Climate Change Book
Prince Charles has been criticised for his role in a book on climate climate change that reportedly states overwhelming scientific evidence exists that largely man-made global warming causes catastrophic events.
Climate Change Threatens Parasites
A review led by UC Berkeley suggests climate change threatens parasites with extinction, which could have significant consequences. Rather than being a good thing, it could destabilise ecosystems.
Obama Puts Pressure On Trump
Calling the clean energy revolution "irreversible", U.S President Barack Obama has turned the heat up on President-elect Donald Trump in an opinion article in the journal Science
Australia's Ski Season Could Become Incredibly Short
Climate change could see Australia's ski season reduced by 80 days a year by 2050 according to a CSIRO study - effectively wiping it out.
2016 Another Temperature Record-Breaker
2016 will beat 2015 as the warmest since reliable records began and by a wide margin according to the European Union’s Copernicus Climate Change Service
Climate Change May Impact Migratory Birds
With climate change expected to change vegetation cycles and food supplies in different parts of the world, migratory birds may be in for a tough time; arriving in locations that cannot support them like they once did.
Massive Iceberg About To Break Free From Antarctica
A chunk of ice with an area of 5,000 square kilometres will soon break free from the Larsen C ice shelf on the Antarctic Peninsula.
Climate Change Could Spark Conflict In Central Asia
Lower water supplies brought about by the effects of climate change is increasing risk of political tensions in Central Asia. This could threaten China's plans to promote trade along the ancient Silk Road.
A Stormy, Warm And Wet 2016 In Australia
Australia's Bureau of Meteorology says Australia experienced its fourth-hottest year on record in 2016. Mean temperatures were 0.87 degrees above the 1961-90 norm. It also saw a number of sever and unusual weather events, including an entire state blacked out due to storms.
Biofuel Crops And Carbon Sequestration
Sugarcane and napiergrass may be able to sequester more carbon in soil than is lost to the atmosphere says a new study out of the University of Hawaii Manoa.
Future Coral Reef Climate Carnage
Based on current trends continuing, severe bleaching of coral reefs will occur every year on 99% of the world’s coral reefs - and within this century says the United Nations Environment Programme.
Global Warming "Pause" Debunked (Again)
There has been no slowdown in the pace of global warming and ocean temperatures have warmed consistently over the past 50 years according to a new NOAA study.
Climate Change Threat To Tropical Birds
A study in Panama's Soberania National Park found the numbers of 19 of the 20 species of birds could drop dramatically if conditions become dryer.
Malawi To Plant Millions Of Trees
Approximately 60 million trees will be planted throughout Malawi over a period of three years in an attempt to address deforestation and mitigate the impacts of climate change.
Singapore Topples Temperature Records
2016 was the warmest year since Singapore started keeping temperature records in 1929. Last year also saw Singapore's worst coral bleaching event.
The Final Climate Change Countdown
It's just 100 months, according to a conservative estimate, before the Earth could reach a tipping point for the start of runaway climate change.
Alberta's Drivers Top Up Before Carbon Tax
A carbon tax to begin today in Alberta, Canada will push the price of gasoline up by 4.5 cents a litre. The carbon levy will also push up the price of coal by an additional $35.39 per tonne
Fijian PM On Climate Change Crusade
Fijian Prime Minister Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama will be spending 2017 travelling the world in an attempt to convince leaders to join the battle against climate change.
South Florida Streets To Get Soggier
The streets of South Florida could be subject to significant tidal flooding 10 times a year by 2040, says a study by the American Meteorological Society.
Solar Activity Not A Major Climate Change Driver
Solar activity has not been a strong influencer of climate change according to scientists at the University of Edinburgh, and has had minimal impact on temperature in the past thousand years.
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