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| Headline |
Author |
Published |
Section |
Ice, Ice Scraping
Antarctic icebergs scraping seafloor bare more often due to climate change |
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18 Jul 2008 |
News |
| Posted at 7:14 AM on 18 Jul 2008 The warming Antarctic is changing life on the seafloor as well as above as icebergs freed from surrounding sea ice earlier than in previous years can pummel bottom-dwelling creatures for much of the year, according to a new study. "Our results suggest that as the winter sea-ice season shortens, the thousands of icebergs that float around the coastline of the Antarct ... |
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| Topics: Antarctica, climate, climate change impacts, news, scientific research, wildlife (all these topics) |
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Uganda Drink That?
Ugandan coffee endangered by climate change |
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17 Jul 2008 |
News |
| Posted at 3:52 PM on 17 Jul 2008 Uganda's coffee industry could be basically kaput in 30 years, according to a new Oxfam report. Uganda is Africa's second-largest coffee exporter after Ethiopia, but the report direly predicts that if "average global temperatures rise by two degrees or more, then most of Uganda is likely to cease to be suitable for coffee." In the last two decades, inconsistent weather has reduced crop yiel ... |
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| Topics: agriculture, climate, climate change impacts, food, news, severe weather, Uganda (all these topics) |
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So uncool
Eighth warmest June on record means 'Great Ice Age of 2008' is still over |
Joseph Romm |
17 Jul 2008 |
Gristmill |
| I know we're supposed to be going into a period of cooling, at least according to people who don't believe in the scientific method, but for those who do, NOAA's National Climatic Data Center reports in its 'Climate of 2008 June in Historical Perspective': Based on preliminary data, the globally averaged combined land and sea surface temperature was the eighth warmest on record for June and the ninth warmest for January-June year-to-date period. It is pretty darn h ... |
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| Topics: Arctic, climate, climate change impacts, climate science, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (all these topics) |
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Sounds like a good speech!
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David Roberts |
16 Jul 2008 |
Gristmill |
| Former Bush speechwriter Michael Gerson, safely removed from any position from which he might actually do anything about it, discovers that climate change is real. |
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| Topics: climate change impacts, politics, shenanigans (all these topics) |
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Tide to be Fit
On sea-level rise |
Umbra Fisk |
16 Jul 2008 |
Ask Umbra |
| Dear Umbra, I'm a bit confused about the possible rise in sea level that may be caused by global warming. I know that in general water expands when warmed, and that is one cause of sea level elevation with respect to global warming. The larger cause for alarm seems to be the melting or collapse of the polar ice caps. I recently read an article that warned that Antarctica, which stores 70 percent of the world's fresh water, could lose the ... |
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| Topics: advice, Ask Umbra, climate, climate change impacts, oceans, scientific research (all these topics) |
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Go With the Floe
Russian researchers abandon shrinking ice floe |
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15 Jul 2008 |
News |
| Posted at 3:33 PM on 15 Jul 2008 Russian scientists are evacuating early from their research base on a shrinking Arctic ice floe. Last April, the floe was sturdy enough to build an air strip on. In September, 21 researchers and two dogs arrived, at which point their ice abode measured 1.2 by 2.5 miles. The researchers meant to leave in late August, but will evacuate this week from a floe that has shrunk to a mere 1,000 by 2,000 fee ... |
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| Topics: Arctic, climate, climate change impacts, news, Russia, scientific research (all these topics) |
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Hog heaven, part 2
Climate action requires leadership beyond political 'reasonableness' |
Joseph Romm |
15 Jul 2008 |
Gristmill |
| This post is by ClimateProgress guest blogger Bill Becker, executive director of the Presidential Climate Action Project. Let's face it: The Bush Administration has made a mess of things, as noted in 'Hog heaven, part 1.' It is now clear, if it hasn't been all along, that by the time George Bush leaves office, the White House will have wasted eight years of leadership on the Mother of All Issues. If those eight years are a profound disappointment looking backwa ... |
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| Topics: climate, climate change impacts, climate change mitigation, politics (all these topics) |
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Model behavior
Global warming will worsen storms, says U of Michigan scientist |
JMG |
11 Jul 2008 |
Gristmill |
| From ScientificBlogging: Mathematical Model Says Climate Change Will Make Storms WorseA new mathematical model developed by University of Michigan atmospheric and planetary scientist Nilton Renno says that dust devils, water spouts, tornadoes, hurricanes, and cyclones are all born of the same mechanism and will intensify as climate change warms the Earth's surface.Renno hopes the new equation will allow scientists to more accurately calculate the maximum expected intensity ... |
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| Topics: climate, climate change impacts, scientific research, severe weather (all these topics) |
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The Smog Days of Summer (and Spring, and Fall)
EPA says climate change could worsen smog levels, extend smog season |
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11 Jul 2008 |
News |
| Posted at 8:38 AM on 11 Jul 2008 In a draft report released Thursday, the U.S. EPA said smog levels could increase significantly in many areas of the United States due to climate change, especially in the Northeast, lower Midwest, and mid-Atlantic regions. Smog is mainly a summer phenomenon in most places, caused by sunlight reacting with nitrogen oxides and volatile organic compo ... |
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| Topics: air pollution, climate, climate change impacts, news, scientific research, US EPA (all these topics) |
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Costly climate
The Freakonomists weigh in on the effects of warming |
Ryan Avent |
09 Jul 2008 |
Gristmill |
| Manzian (as in Jim Manzi) climate policy skepticism stems in part from a fairly simple idea: The cost of legislation is unlikely to be justified given likely savings from averted warming effects. In other words, warming, in the short-term, just isn't going to cost that much. But what does that mean? Well, for one thing, it means that near-term bad effects from warming will be overwhelmingly concentrated in poor nations, and luckily for us, making the poor much w ... |
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| Topics: climate, climate change impacts, climate change mitigation, economy (all these topics) |
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Climate change imperils July Fourth (again)
Drought conditions in West and Southwest inspire new fireworks bans |
Joseph Romm |
03 Jul 2008 |
Gristmill |
| Global warming threatens our White Chistmases with winter heatwaves. And our Halloweens with poor pumpkin crops. And our Arbor Days with record wildfires. And our immoral myopia threatens Father's Day. At this rate, the only holiday left will be the gas tax holiday -- for oil companies! But I digress. Last year, Independence Day fireworks fizzled out for many thanks to ever worsening droughts. And MSNBC reports the droughts have done it again this year: Autho ... |
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| Topics: climate, climate change impacts, holiday, severe weather (all these topics) |
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The dogma whisperer
A possible consensus perspective on the tax vs. cap debate |
Ken Johnson |
02 Jul 2008 |
Gristmill |
| Last revised: 07/10/2008 In his recent Congressional testimony, James Hansen talked about a 'perfect storm' of climatological tipping points that may soon converge to yield global cataclysm. But another kind of perfect storm is brewing: a technology storm that could rapidly displace fossil fuels and restore global climate sustainability. Effective regulatory policy could provide the kind of incentives and stable investment climate that are needed to facili ... |
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| Topics: climate, climate change impacts, climate science, greenhouse-gas emissions, James Hansen (all these topics) |
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A Penguin for Your Thoughts
Penguin declines don't bode well for the rest of us |
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01 Jul 2008 |
News |
| Posted at 3:49 PM on 01 Jul 2008 Penguin populations are declining, which is bad news not just for the tuxedoed birds but for, well, the world in general. A new scientific review published in the journal BioScience shows that everywhere they live, penguins are suffering from a combination of climate change, ocean pollution, overfishing, tourism, and development. "Many penguins we thought would be safe because t ... |
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| Topics: climate, climate change impacts, endangered species, news, scientific research, water pollution, wildlife, World Conservation Union (all these topics) |
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What drove the dramatic retreat of arctic sea ice during summer 2007?
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Joseph Romm |
27 Jun 2008 |
Gristmill |
| Funny you should ask. That is the title of an analysis published this month in Geophysical Research Letters ($ub. req'd) by four scientists from the Polar Science Center, Applied Physics Laboratory, College of Ocean and Fishery Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle. What did they conclude? A model study has been conducted of the unprecedented retreat of arctic sea ice in the summer of 2007. It is found that preconditioning, anomalous winds, and ice-albedo ... |
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| Topics: Arctic, climate, climate change impacts (all these topics) |
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Bjorn again
His argument is still bogus |
Andrew Dessler |
26 Jun 2008 |
Gristmill |
| The Washington Post embarrasses itself today by publishing the usual delayer drivel in an op-ed by Bjorn Lomborg. The fundamental problem with Lomborg's argument (which he also makes in his recent book Cool It!) is that it is based on the assumption that the worst-case, climate-change scenario cannot happen. The IPCC's predictions for climate change over the next hundred years range from about 2°C to 5°C. If you assume that the warming will be closer to 2° th ... |
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| Topics: climate, climate change impacts, climate change skepticism, climate science (all these topics) |
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Sorry, delayers and enablers, part two
Climate change means worse droughts for American Southwest, Australia |
Joseph Romm |
25 Jun 2008 |
Gristmill |
| Part one presented the synopsis of the remarkable new U.S. Climate Change Science Program (a.k.a. the Bush Administration) report, Weather and Climate Extremes in a Changing Climate. One central point in the synopsis is Droughts are becoming more severe in some regions, though there are no clear trends for North America as a whole ... Substantial areas of North America are likely to have more frequent droughts of greater severity. Seems pretty clear, no? Dry a ... |
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| Topics: climate, climate change impacts, climate science, severe weather (all these topics) |
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We must tax carbon
Hansen's message to the planet |
Charles Komanoff |
25 Jun 2008 |
Gristmill |
| Maybe it was the thought of two decades of climate-crisis exhortation, little more heeded than words shouted at a hurricane. Photo: germuska via Flickr.Maybe it was the temporizing of the Democrats and the obstructionism of the GOP. Or it might have been the images of cities, houses and farmland of his native Iowa drowned by the latest '500-year' floods. Perhaps it was all three. Whatever the reasons, the climate crisis' Paul Revere turned it up ... |
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| Topics: cap-and-dividend, carbon tax, carbon trading, climate, climate change impacts, climate science, James Hansen (all these topics) |
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Home, Home Outside the Range
Climate change may force California endemic plants to migrate or die |
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25 Jun 2008 |
News |
| Posted at 7:10 AM on 25 Jun 2008 Climate change is expected to significantly affect California's endemic plants over the next century as temperatures rise and rainfall patterns change, according to a new study published in the journal PLoS One. Up to two-thirds of the state's unique plants could be wiped out in their current ranges by century's end and will have to move to cooler areas in order to ... |
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| Topics: California, climate, climate change impacts, endangered species, news (all these topics) |
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Revkin interviews Hansen
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David Roberts |
24 Jun 2008 |
Gristmill |
| Here, NYT reporter Andrew Revkin interviews climate scientist James Hansen about the 20th anniversary of his seminal Congressional testimony: More on Dot Earth. |
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| Topics: climate, climate change impacts, climate science, James Hansen, politics, video (all these topics) |
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Sorry deniers and delayers, part one
Even U.S. government says human emissions are changing climate |
Joseph Romm |
24 Jun 2008 |
Gristmill |
| The U.S. Climate Change Science Program (a.k.a. the Bush Administration) has issued a must-read report, Weather and Climate Extremes in a Changing Climate. It wouldn't be must-read or even big news if it weren't for the fact that Many environmentalists stopped talking about the extreme weather/global warming link a decade ago. The deniers, the delayers, and of course the Roger Pielkes of the world have pushed back against any claims that climate change is driving ... |
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| Topics: climate, climate change impacts, climate science, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (all these topics) |
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Twenty years later
The new testimony before Congress |
Guest author |
23 Jun 2008 |
Gristmill |
| The following is a guest post from climate scientist James Hansen, taken from his briefing to the House Select Committee on Energy Independence & Global Warming. ----- My presentation today is exactly 20 years after my June 23, 1988 testimony to Congress, which alerted the public that global warming was underway. There are striking similarities between then and now, but one big difference. Again a wide gap has developed between what is understood about global wa ... |
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| Topics: climate, climate change impacts, climate science, James Hansen (all these topics) |
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Maximum impact
Will California's climate change regulations mandate maximum emission reductions? |
Ken Johnson |
23 Jun 2008 |
Gristmill |
| [This post is follow-up to a David Roberts post from Jan. '08: "What does California's climate bill mandate?"] Sometime later this month, the California Air Resources Board (CARB) will release its draft 'Scoping Plan' on implementation of the state's Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006 (AB 32), which requires that statewide GHG emissions be reduced to or below 1990-level emissions by 2020. AB 32 also requires that the regulations ... |
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| Topics: California, climate, climate change impacts, greenhouse-gas emissions, legislation, politics (all these topics) |
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There will be flood
The Midwest will suffer if we don't change our approach to flood protection |
Guest author |
23 Jun 2008 |
Gristmill |
| This is a guest essay by Mary Kelly, the head of Environmental Defense Fund's rivers and deltas program. ----- We've heard a lot this week about how the floods in the Midwest might be an act of humans -- or an act of City Council, as one Iowan leader put it. We can start the futile cycle of fighting Mother Nature again if we want to: spend billions of dollars on levees and flood control infrastructure, encouraging development of river floodplains and low-lying wet ... |
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| Topics: climate, climate change impacts, Iowa, severe weather (all these topics) |
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A hundred miles of mirrors
Solar thermal can save us, but it needs public clamor |
Ted Nace |
22 Jun 2008 |
Gristmill |
| [Editor's note: When this post was originally run, the phrase '100 miles by 100 miles' was changed to '100 square miles,' which is very different. The article has now been corrected (or rather, unmiscorrected) and the appropriate intern flogged; our apologies to Ted and Alex.] This post was coauthored with Alex Carlin, organizer of Let's Go Solar and instigator of the recent Environment America study (PDF), 'On the Rise: Solar Thermal Power and the Fight Against Global ... |
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| Topics: climate, climate change impacts, energy (all these topics) |
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A shrinking Chad
Lake Chad now one-tenth of its 1972 size |
Joseph Romm |
22 Jun 2008 |
Gristmill |
| Satellite images show Lake Chad one-tenth the size it was in 1972, not even 40 years ago. Lake Chad used to be the world's sixth-largest lake, but its resources have been diverted for human use or affected by rainfall such that its been almost entirely depleted in a very short amount of time: In the IPCC's 2007 report (PDF) on impacts, vulnerability and adaptation in Africa, there is no specific mention of Lake Chad. But staring at these satellite images one can ... |
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| Topics: Chad, climate, climate change impacts, climate science, water crisis (all these topics) |
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