NewsTrust - Global Warming - Most Recent Stories: News (Mainstream)

Forget global warming - it's Cycle 25 we need to worry about (and if NASA scientists are right the Thames will be freezing over again)

Sun, 29 Jan 2012 00:00:00 -0800

Daily Mail - By David Rose - Jan. 29 (News Analysis) - Figures suggest that we could even be heading for a mini ice age to rival the 70-year temperature drop that saw frost fairs held on the Thames in the 17th Century.

NewsTrust Rating: 3.6 average - 3 Reviews » - Review It Visit NewsTrust | About | Sign Up | Disclaimer

News Analysis: Climate Scientists Hampered in Study of 2011 Extremes

Sat, 24 Dec 2011 00:00:00 -0800

New York Times - By By JUSTIN GILLIS - Dec. 24 (Special Report) - Facing political hostility and lacking adequate financing, scientists are struggling to report on the causes of a concentrated span of extreme weather in the United States.

NewsTrust Rating: 4.1 average (not enough reviews) - See Review » - Review It Visit NewsTrust | About | Sign Up | Disclaimer

U.N. Climate Talks End With Deal for New Emissions Treaty

Sun, 11 Dec 2011 00:00:00 -0800

New York Times - By John M. Broder - Dec. 11 (News Report) - More than 190 nations agreed to work toward a treaty that would require all countries to reduce emissions that contribute to global warming.

NewsTrust Rating: 3.9 average (not enough reviews) - See Review » - Review It Visit NewsTrust | About | Sign Up | Disclaimer

Is the end of the world really nigh?

Sun, 20 Nov 2011 00:00:00 -0800

The Guardian - By Alok Jha - Nov. 20 (Special Report) - All too real are the human-caused threats born of climate change, excess pollution, depletion of natural resources and the madness of nuclear weapons. We tinker with our genes and atoms at our own peril. Nanotechnology, synthetic biology and genetic modification offer much potential in giving us better food to eat, safer drugs and a cleaner world, but they could also go wrong if misapplied or if we charge on without due care.

NewsTrust Rating: 3.5 average - 8 Reviews » - Review It Visit NewsTrust | About | Sign Up | Disclaimer

CIA urged to be more open about climate change

Tue, 15 Nov 2011 00:00:00 -0800

The Guardian - By Suzanne Goldenberg - Nov. 15 (News Report) - After a year of epic weather, drought, heatwaves, hurricanes and floods, America's intelligence establishment has come out with a bold new suggestion: maybe it's time the CIA stopped treating climate change as a secret. A new report from the Defence Science Board – a US government agency – urges the CIA to step outside its traditional culture of secrecy and begin sharing the intelligence it has been gathering on climate change. The report, Trends and Implications of Climate Change for National and International Security, goes as far as to recommend the establishment of a new agency devoted to the study of climate change – one that would operate in the open and transparent manner so alien to the CIA. The report is the latest in the series of blows to CIA's climate centre, which has been struggling to justify its existence to the public since its establishment ...

NewsTrust Rating: 3.5 average - 3 Reviews » - Review It Visit NewsTrust | About | Sign Up | Disclaimer

Climate change scientist Michael Mann fends off lobby group's raid on emails

Wed, 02 Nov 2011 00:00:00 -0700

The Guardian - Nov. 02 (News) - The climate scientist Michael Mann has successfully fought off an attempt by a pro-industry thinktank to gain access to thousands of private emails. After a day-long court hearing on Tuesday, a judge in Manassas, Virginia, granted Mann's petition

NewsTrust Rating: 3.4 average (not enough reviews) - See Review » - Review It Visit NewsTrust | About | Sign Up | Disclaimer

Oceans left out of climate debate

Mon, 08 Aug 2011 00:00:00 -0700

Sydney Morning Herald - Aug. 08 (News Report) - Oceans have been left out of climate change debate in Australia, the founder of Earthwatch says. Brian Rosborough said the role of oceans and coasts should be given more attention. "Coastal vegetation and oceans which account for 55 per cent of all the c

NewsTrust Rating: 3.8 average (not enough reviews) - See Review » - Review It Visit NewsTrust | About | Sign Up | Disclaimer

Global warming is a litmus test for US Republicans

Wed, 03 Aug 2011 00:00:00 -0700

The Guardian - By Raymond S. Bradley - Aug. 03 (News Analysis) - Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney crossed a dangerous party line when he stated his belief in anthropogenic climate changeMitt Romney, arguably the leading Republican candidate for president of the United States in the 2012 election, recently significantly diminished his prospects for obtaining the support he needs from the right wing of his party. How did he do this? He simply declared that he believes the Earth is warming, and that human activities are responsible. To most scientists, such a statement would be considered fairly innocuous, and an accurate assessment of current understanding. But to a large fraction of the US Republican party, this is a completely unacceptable position - ranking alongside gay marriage, gun control and abortion rights. Anthropogenic climate change has become a litmus test for Republicans in the United States.If you want to appeal to the hard core of the party - those whom you need in order to obtain the party's nomination - you simply can not acknowledge what almost every national science academy and scientific organisation has accepted for many years. In fact, many other prominent Republicans, sensing the winds of retribution, have already back-tracked on whatever previous statements they might have made, if they contained even a whiff of climate reality. Given the importance of getting the United States on board to obtain a comprehensive international agreement on controlling greenhouse gases, this dismissal of scientific evidence about global warming is both sad and alarming.Climate scientists on the frontlines of this battle have suffered badly from the poisonous political atmosphere. Rightwing blogs and talk radio demagogues have promoted the idea that climate science is a worthless charade, where data are simply manipulated to obtain a politically motivated result. Scientists have been abused on blogs and via emails and some have even been physically threatened. Government officials have misused their positions to intimidate and harass prominent scientists, following a strategy of attacking the messenger when they don't like hearing the message. A leading Republican senator asked the Justice Department to investigate 17 climate scientists (myself included) for committing fraud and other crimes. How have we arrived at this sorry state?In order to understand the current state of play, one has to recognise that the issue of global warming is being completely manipulated by a group of individuals, businesses and organisations that have entrenched financial interests in making sure that the United States does not enact any legislation to control greenhouse gas emissions. At the extreme, these groups believe in complete market fundamentalism - that free markets, stripped of all constraints, will take care of any and all problems that we may face. To bolster this fundamentalist strategy, they provide major financial support to organisations that promote nonsensical ideas, such as global warming is a hoax and the IPCC reports are full of errors.They also flood the electoral system with money, to ensure that like-minded rightwing politicians are elected to Congress. These politicians then dutifully hold hearings, inviting hand-picked scientists (often with minimal qualifications in climate science) to provide testimony which sows the seeds of doubt about the reality of global warming. The political objectives of these hearings are rarely discussed by the media. The general public just hears that more scientists disagree about an issue they find hard to deal with (which it is) and so they conclude that if scientists can't agree, why should they support legislation to control emissions? In this way, the cynical but very effective strategy of the rightwing runs its course, and the US sits on its hands while atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations approach levels not seen on Earth for more than 2.5 million years.If climate scientists were indeed all working together to manipulate data and create a fictitious scenario of the future, that would require a truly remarkable feat of coordination, and a sense of common purpose. What could the motivation of this cohort be? The answer was given to me by Congressman James Sensenbrenner (remarkably, now vice-chairman of the US House committee on science, space and technology). This high-ranking Republican carefully explained that the Kyoto protocol was a conspiracy by developing nations to cripple the US economy. Since these developing countries (apparently) could not compete on a level playing field with the US, they had devised the Kyoto treaty to tilt things in their direction, and climate scientists were complicit in this strategy. To those who subscribe to Sensenbrenner's bizarre idea, it is only a small step further to frame the argument in patriotic terms. If you support Kyoto (or its goals) you must be anti-American, or at the very least a socialist. Which brings me back to Mitt Romney.The Republican party in the United States is now in thrall to the extreme right wing, which is in turn financed and coached by those with the financial muscle to promote their narrow ideological agendas. To obtain the backing of these groups, you have to toe the line, and speak the words their dogma requires: global warming is not happening, perhaps even a hoax; whatever warming has occurred is just a natural oscillation; even if humans had something to do with it, it's not a big deal and we can adapt to it. And besides, we can't afford to control greenhouse gases, as such action will result in massive job losses. For a politician seeking the party's nomination for president, it is a dangerous strategy to cross the line on this topic.To the idealogues who have invested millions to support their political factotums in the US Congress, their money has been well spent, as meaningful legislation to control greenhouse gases has virtually disappeared from the congressional agenda. But not content with that success, they have now drawn a line in the sand for those seeking political office; global warming is off limits entirely. It is not something they want to be discussed at all.Meanwhile, the rest of the world has recognised the reality of global warming and acknowledged the real dangers that it poses for the future. Although taking steps to address the matter is difficult, many countries have embraced the opportunity to reduce energy consumption, implement conservation strategies and promote new technologies that involve energy production from non-carbon based fuels. Politicians who embrace these strategies represent the future. Those who don't will simply become footnotes in history. Romney made the right decision - on this topic, at least.• Raymond S Bradley is director of the Climate System Research Center at the University of Massachusetts AmherstClimate change scepticismClimate changeClimate changeRepublicansUnited StatesUS politicsguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2011 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds

NewsTrust Rating: 4.3 average - 4 Reviews » - Review It Visit NewsTrust | About | Sign Up | Disclaimer

UK sails ahead in offshore wind power

Wed, 27 Jul 2011 00:00:00 -0700

The Guardian - By Fiona Harvey - Jul. 27 (News) - The UK has sailed ahead in offshore wind power generation in the past six months, building more offshore windfarms than any other country in the world, and accounting for almost all of the turbines erected in European waters this year.

NewsTrust Rating: 3.7 average - 6 Reviews » - Review It Visit NewsTrust | About | Sign Up | Disclaimer

Supreme Court has given firms a stronger hand

Sat, 25 Jun 2011 00:00:00 -0700

Los Angeles Times - By David G. Savage - Jun. 25 (News Report) - This year, it gave firms a stronger shield against class actions. But it also ruled for several individuals suing employers and made it easier for car crash victims to sue automakers.The Supreme Court, which winds up its term Monday, has once again shown itself to be highly skeptical of large lawsuits against big business, regardless of whether the suits are intended to protect workers, consumers or the environment.

NewsTrust Rating: 3.4 average (not enough reviews) - See Review » - Review It Visit NewsTrust | About | Sign Up | Disclaimer

Warning: extreme weather ahead

Tue, 14 Jun 2011 00:00:00 -0700

The Guardian - By John Vidal - Jun. 14 (News Report) - Tornados, wildfires, droughts and floods were once seen as freak conditions. But the environmental disasters now striking the world are shocking signs of 'global weirding' Drought zones have been declared across much of England and Wales, yet Scotland has just registered its wettest-ever May. The warmest British spring in 100 years followed one of the coldest UK winters in 300 years. June in London has been colder than March. February was warm enough to strip on Snowdon, but last Saturday it snowed there. Welcome to the climate rollercoaster, or what is being coined the "new normal" of weather. What was, until quite recently, predictable, temperate, mild and equable British weather, guaranteed to be warmish and wettish, ensuring green lawns in August, now sees the seasons reversed and temperature and rainfall records broken almost every year. When Kent receives as much rain (4mm) in May as Timbuktu, Manchester has more sunshine than Marbella, and soils in southern England are drier than ...

NewsTrust Rating: 3.9 average - 4 Reviews » - Review It Visit NewsTrust | About | Sign Up | Disclaimer

Studies: Natural gas has own environmental problems

Sun, 17 Apr 2011 00:00:00 -0700

Associated Press - By Tom Zeller - Apr. 17 (News Report) - Natural gas, with its reputation as a crucial linchpin in the effort to wean the nation off dirtier fossil fuels and reduce global warming, may not be as clean overall as its proponents say. Even as natural gas production in the United States increases and Washington gives it a warm embrace as a crucial component of America’s energy future, two coming studies try to poke holes in the clean-and-green reputation of natural gas. They suggest that the rush to develop the nation’s vast, unconvention... ...

NewsTrust Rating: 3.8 average (not enough reviews) - See Reviews » - Review It Visit NewsTrust | About | Sign Up | Disclaimer

When did we discover man-made climate change?

Wed, 02 Mar 2011 00:00:00 -0800

The Guardian - Mar. 02 (News) - This question and answer is part of the Guardian's ultimate climate change FAQ • See all questions and answers • Read about the project • This answer drawn from The Rough Guide to Climate Change Early in the 20th century, the prevailing notion was that people could alter climates locally (for instance, by cutting down forests and ploughing virgin fields) but not globally. Of course, the ice ages and other wrenching climate shifts of the past were topics of research. But few considered them an immediate threat, and hardly anyone thought humans could trigger worldwide climate change. A few pioneering thinkers – such as Swedish chemist Svante Arrhenius in the 1890s – had already seen the potential global impact of fossil-fuel use, but their views were typically dismissed by colleagues. Starting in 1958, precise measurements of carbon dioxide confirmed its steady increase in the atmosphere. The first computer models of global climate in the 1960s, and more complex ones thereafter, supported ...

NewsTrust Rating: 3.5 average (not enough reviews) - See Review » - Review It Visit NewsTrust | About | Sign Up | Disclaimer

Sedimentary clues to an ancient megadrought

Sat, 26 Feb 2011 00:00:00 -0800

New Scientist - Feb. 26 (News) - Sedimentary clues to an ancient megadrought

NewsTrust Rating: 3.4 average (not enough reviews) - See Review » - Review It Visit NewsTrust | About | Sign Up | Disclaimer

China Announces Big Steps To Curb Emissions

Sat, 15 Jan 2011 00:00:00 -0800

Associated Press - Jan. 15 (News Report) - China said Friday it would cut emissions this year by rejecting construction projects that pollute too much and developing new technologies that curb greenhouse gases. The Ministry of Environmental Protection set a target to cut emissions of major pollutants such as sulfur dioxide, ammonia nitrogen and nitrogen oxide by 1.5 percent in 2011 compared to last year, a report on the ministry's website said. China is the world's largest polluter, with energy demands growing sharply every year. The consumption boom reflects the country's transformation from a nation of subsistence farmers to one of workers increasingly trading bicycles for cars and buying energy-hungry home electronics.

NewsTrust Rating: Not rated yet - See Info » - Review It Visit NewsTrust | About | Sign Up | Disclaimer

E.P.A. Delays Tougher Rules on Emissions

Fri, 10 Dec 2010 00:00:00 -0800

New York Times - By John M. Broder, Sheryl Gay Stolberg - Dec. 10 (News) - The Obama administration is retreating on long-delayed environmental regulations — new rules governing smog and toxic emissions from industrial boilers — as it adjusts to a changed political dynamic in Washington with a more muscular Republican opposition.

NewsTrust Rating: 3.9 average (not enough reviews) - See Review » - Review It Visit NewsTrust | About | Sign Up | Disclaimer

Ministers at climate change conference flying to luxury beach resort

Sat, 04 Dec 2010 00:00:00 -0800

Associated Press - Dec. 04 (News Report) - Ministers from around the globe have begun flying to the luxury Mexican beach resort of Cancun for a climate change conference that is already in danger of unravelling.

NewsTrust Rating: 3.6 average - 3 Reviews » - Review It Visit NewsTrust | About | Sign Up | Disclaimer

Sea Level Could Rise in South, Fall in North

Thu, 02 Dec 2010 00:00:00 -0800

Der Spiegel - By Gerald Traufetter - Dec. 02 (News Analysis) - Climate change is expected to cause sea levels to rise -- at least in some parts of the world. Elsewhere, the level of the ocean will actually fall. Scientists are trying to get a better picture of the complex phenomenon, which also depends on a host of natural factors.

NewsTrust Rating: 4.0 average - 6 Reviews » - Review It Visit NewsTrust | About | Sign Up | Disclaimer

UN issues severe climate warning ahead of summit

Wed, 24 Nov 2010 00:00:00 -0800

The Independent - Nov. 24 (News) - The world is now firmly on the path for dangerous climate change in the coming century, a major new assessment reveals today on the eve of the forthcoming UN climate conference which opens next week in Mexico.

NewsTrust Rating: 2.9 average (not enough reviews) - See Reviews » - Review It Visit NewsTrust | About | Sign Up | Disclaimer

Leaking methane may be tip of iceberg for climate change

Sun, 21 Nov 2010 00:00:00 -0800

Seattle Times - By Arthur Max - Nov. 21 (Special Report) - Some scientists believe the thawing of permafrost could become the epicenter of climate change. They say 1.5 trillion tons of carbon, locked inside icebound earth since the age of mammoths, is a climate time bomb waiting to explode if released into the atmosphere.

NewsTrust Rating: Not rated yet - See Info » - Review It Visit NewsTrust | About | Sign Up | Disclaimer

Fear-Based Messaging May Influence Skepticism of Global Warming

Sat, 20 Nov 2010 00:00:00 -0800

Scientific American - Nov. 20 (News) - Earlier this year a Gallup pole found that 48 percent of Americans believe that global warming concerns are exaggerated. Back in 1997 31 percent of Americans thought the concerns were overrated. Why the increase? Well it might have to do with the

NewsTrust Rating: 4.0 average (not enough reviews) - See Review » - Review It Visit NewsTrust | About | Sign Up | Disclaimer

At NATO summit, Obama's ride is talk of the town

Fri, 19 Nov 2010 00:00:00 -0800

Reuters - By Reuters Staff - Nov. 19 (News Report) - Some heads of state are zipping around Lisbon, host city of the NATO summit, in no-emission electric vehicles. Security dictates that Obama travel in the no-efficiency 'Beast,' a vehicle that fascinates the local press.

NewsTrust Rating: 4.0 average (not enough reviews) - See Reviews » - Review It Visit NewsTrust | About | Sign Up | Disclaimer

Fixes: Clean Water at No Cost? Just Add Carbon Credits

Tue, 16 Nov 2010 00:00:00 -0800

New York Times - By By TINA ROSENBERG - Nov. 16 (News Report) - The villages of Africa and South Asia are littered with the ghosts of water projects past. …Water systems need to function all day, every day, forever. Now there’s a new way to save water projects from an early death: make clean water a for-profit business, charging people an unusual price: zero.

NewsTrust Rating: 3.8 average - 3 Reviews » - Review It Visit NewsTrust | About | Sign Up | Disclaimer

Can Social Scientists Help Ease the Nation's Rift Over Climate Change?

Mon, 15 Nov 2010 00:00:00 -0800

New York Times - Nov. 15 (News) - Stop being so skeptical of climate skeptics, says one researcher who believes there's been a failure to understand the mounti...

NewsTrust Rating: 4.0 average (not enough reviews) - See Review » - Review It Visit NewsTrust | About | Sign Up | Disclaimer

Climate scientists plan campaign against global warming skeptics

Mon, 08 Nov 2010 00:00:00 -0800

Los Angeles Times - By Neela Banerjee - Nov. 08 (News Report) - The American Geophysical Union plans to announce Monday that 700 researchers have agreed to speak out on the issue. The effort is a pushback against congressional conservatives who have vowed to kill regulations on greenhouse gas emissions.

NewsTrust Rating: 3.4 average - 10 Reviews » - Review It Visit NewsTrust | About | Sign Up | Disclaimer