Environmental News Network

Emissions irrelevant to future climate change?
Climate change and the carbon emissions seem inextricably linked. However, new research published in BioMed Centralâ€™s open access journal Carbon Balance and Management suggests that this may not always hold true, although it may be some time before we reach this saturation point. The land and the oceans contain significantly more carbon than the atmosphere, and exchange carbon dioxide with the atmosphere. >> Read the Full Article
Sudanese climate scientist receives prestigious award
A Sudanese climate researcher has been honoured by the UN Environment Programme in recognition of her work on climate change and adaptation in conflict-stricken Darfur. Balgis Osman-Elasha, a senior researcher at Sudan's Higher Council for Environment and Natural Resources, was presented with a 'Champions of the Earth 2008' award this week (22 April), along with six other awardees from Bangladesh, Barbados, Monaco, New Zealand, United States and Yemen. >> Read the Full Article
Human warming hobbles ancient climate cycle
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Before humans began burning fossil fuels, there was an eons-long balance between carbon dioxide emissions and Earth's ability to absorb them, but now the planet can't keep up, scientists said on Sunday. The finding, reported in the journal Nature Geoscience, relies on ancient Antarctic ice bubbles that contain air samples going back 610,000 years. >> Read the Full Article
Plan to reverse global warming could backfire
CHICAGO (Reuters) - A proposed solution to reverse the effects of global warming by spraying sulfate particles into Earth's stratosphere could make matters much worse, climate researchers said on Thursday. They said trying to cool off the planet by creating a kind of artificial sun block would delay the recovery of the Antarctic ozone hole by 30 to 70 years and create a new loss of Earth's protective ozone layer over the Arctic. >> Read the Full Article
Timeline for Irreversible Climate Change
Fifty years ago, Yankee Stadium had about 70,000 seats. It seldom sold out, and almost any kid could afford the cheapest seats. Capacity was reduced to about 57,000 when the stadium was remodeled in the 1970s. Most games sell out now, and prices have gone up. The new stadium, opening next year, will reduce seating to about 51,800. >> Read the Full Article
Security risk from climate said underestimated
LONDON (Reuters) - Countries around the world have hugely underestimated the potential conflicts stemming from climate change and must invest heavily to correct that mistake, a report said on Wednesday. The report for Britain's Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) by environment expert Nick Mabey said the response had been "slow and inadequate" and to rectify it spending needed to surge to levels comparable to sums spent on counter-terrorism. >> Read the Full Article
Report confirms ozone pollution can kill
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Even breathing in a little ozone at levels found in many areas is likely to kill some people prematurely, the National Research Council reported on Tuesday. The report recommends that the Environmental Protection Agency consider ozone-related mortality in any future ozone standards, and said local health authorities should keep this in mind when advising people to stay indoors on polluted days. >> Read the Full Article
As Earth Day Arrives, Population Still the Uneasy Issue
NEW ORLEANS-People walking around the Sheraton Hotel here are talking about population as if it were the most natural conversation in the world. The topic interests me, so I join in. As it happens, I've written a book on it, just published by Island Press, which I don't shrink from mentioning. Just being here, though, reminds me that human numbers aren't often talked about outside this hotel. >> Read the Full Article
Freshening of deep Antarctic waters worries experts
SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Scientists studying the icy depths of the sea around Antarctica have detected changes in salinity that could have profound effects on the world's climate and ocean currents. The scientists returned to the southern Australian city of Hobart on Thursday after a one-month voyage studying the Southern Ocean to see how it is changing and what those changes might mean for global climate patterns. >> Read the Full Article
Turtles to be climate change canaries
Just as canaries help miners monitor underground gases, marine turtles are emerging as excellent indicators of the effects of climate change. â€œTurtles are a really good way to study climate change because they depend on healthy beaches as well as mangroves, sea grass beds, coral reefs and deep ocean ecosystems to liveâ€, said Dr. Lucy Hawkes, coordinator of an initiative to develop adaptation strategies for climate change impacts to turtles. >> Read the Full Article