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President Obama Going to Copenhagen Climate Summit
November 25, 2009 10:34 AM - NBC News, MSNBC
President Barack Obama will go to Copenhagen next month to participate in a long-anticipated, high-stakes global climate summit, a White House official said. The president will attend the summit on Dec. 9 before heading to Oslo to accept the Nobel Peace Prize. Obama's attendance had been in question until now.
Cutting Greenhouse Pollutants Could Directly Save Millions of Lives Worldwide
November 25, 2009 10:27 AM - ScienceDaily
Tackling climate change by reducing carbon dioxide and other greenhouse emissions will have major direct health benefits in addition to reducing the risk of climate change, especially in low-income countries, according to a series of six papers appearing on, Nov. 25 in the British journal The Lancet.
Can the Sun Help Turn Carbon Dioxide Into Fuel?
November 25, 2009 06:42 AM - Yale Environment 360 , Clean Techies
U.S. researchers have demonstrated a technology that uses the sun’s heat to convert carbon dioxide and water into the building blocks of traditional fuels, a reverse combustion process that may emerge as a practical alternative to sequestration of CO2 emissions from power plants.
Oceans Absorb Less Carbon Dioxide as Marine Systems Change
November 24, 2009 09:34 AM - Ben Block, Worldwatch Institute
The oceans are by far the largest carbon sink in the world. Some 93 percent of carbon dioxide is stored in algae, vegetation, and coral under the sea. But oceans are not able to absorb all of the carbon dioxide released from the burning of fossil fuels. In fact, a recent study suggests that the oceans have absorbed a smaller proportion of fossil-fuel emissions, nearly 10 percent less, since 2000.
Quebec sets 2020 greenhouse gas emission targets
November 24, 2009 06:22 AM - Reuters
The Canadian province of Quebec said on Monday it aims to cut its greenhouse gas emissions by 20 percent below 1990 levels by 2020, the same target as that set by the European Union. "It is a very ambitious target for the government, given that 48 percent of Quebec's total energy currently comes from renewable energy sources," Quebec Premier Jean Charest said in a statement.
East Antarctic ice began to melt faster in 2006
November 23, 2009 06:31 AM - Nina Chestney, Reuters
East Antarctica's ice started to melt faster from 2006, which could cause sea levels to rise sooner than anticipated, according to a study by scientists at the University of Texas. In the study published in Nature's Geoscience journal, scientists estimated that East Antarctica has been losing ice mass at an average rate of 5 to 109 gigatonnes per year from April 2002 to January 2009, but the rate speeded up from 2006.
65 World leaders to join climate talks
November 22, 2009 08:35 AM - John Acher, Reuters
Sixty-five world leaders have confirmed they will attend a U.N. conference in Copenhagen in December that will try to clinch a new global climate deal, and many more are considering, Danish officials said on Sunday.
Agriculture Can Adapt to Climate Change
November 20, 2009 10:40 AM - William D. Dar, Science and Development Network
Innovative agricultural technologies can produce crops that meet climate change challenges, says ICRISAT head William Dar. New strategies must be built around 'green' agricultural technologies, such as adaptive plant breeding, pest forecasting, rainwater harvesting and fertiliser microdosing.
US Army Corps Found Negligent in Katrina Floods
November 20, 2009 10:04 AM - BBC, Environmental Health News
A US judge has ruled that negligence by the US Army Corps of Engineers led to massive floods in parts of New Orleans as Hurricane Katrina struck in 2005. It was the first time a US court has found the federal government directly responsible for some of the damage caused by Hurricane Katrina.
Melting sea ice dilutes water, endangers sea life
November 20, 2009 06:33 AM - Reuters
Melting of the Arctic sea ice due to global warming is diluting surface waters and this is endangering some species of shellfish which need minerals in the water to form their shells and skeletons, scientists have found. In a paper published in Science, they warned that this has serious implications for ecosystems in the Arctic.