Home/Articles in: climate change
Articles in: climate change
Climate & Change, climate change, Natural disasters, Nature, Wildlife & Flora, Apr 19th, 2012,
By Michael D. Lemonick For years, we who communicate about climate change have been wringing our hands over how to make people understand the problem at a gut level. Endangered polar bears? Too far removed. Island nations like the Maldives sinking beneath the waves? Too far away. Hot temperatures by 2100? Too far in the future. But like the first, outlying squalls from an oncoming hurricane, the first effects of climate change are already here, in the form of heat waves, droughts, intense rainstorms and more, and people are evidently noticing. Not just the extremes themselves: you couldn’t have missed…
Tags: climate change, climatecentral.org, extreme weather, global warming, natural disasters
Climate & Change, climate change, Conservation, Nature, Science & Technology, Sustainable living, Apr 5th, 2012,
One of the most striking changes that has taken place in the Arctic since the start of satellite monitoring in 1979 is the rapid decline of the perennial sea ice cover. This ice is the sea ice that survives the summer melt season, and is typically the thickest part of the sea ice cover, sometimes spanning several years. Sea ice extent has declined as the globe has warmed, but the ice cover has thinned as well. Thinner sea ice melts more easily, and as multiyear sea ice is lost, Arctic sea ice has declined more rapidly. This NASA visualization shows…
Tags: arctic ice, climate change, climatecentral.org, melting arctic ice, melting ice caps, NASA
Climate & Change, climate change, green living, Health, Sustainable living, sustainable living, Mar 28th, 2012,
The key to a green future is doing a little at a time, and considering all the options At this point we’re past the stage where energy saving and renewables are talked about as something futuristic and unobtainable or something for sandal wearers and lentil-eaters. Solar panels are appearing on many suburban homes, wind turbines a common site on farms and new commercial buildings and wind-farms, heat pumps and tidal power generators and a smorgasbord of clever new technologies are popping up all over the UK, Europe and beyond. But what, as a normal everyday consumer can you or I…
Tags: AnderhamEnergy, eco-friendly living, green living, reducing your carbon footprint
Climate & Change, climate change, Science & Technology, Sustainable living, Mar 22nd, 2012,
By Andrew Freedman COMMENTARY One of the biggest hurdles to overcome when communicating climate science is the resistance many have to accepting the notion that human activities are capable of altering the earth’s climate system. After all, the planet is a pretty big place, and the climate was doing its thing long before humans arrived. To some, the abundant scientific evidence showing that manmade emissions of global warming gases, such as carbon dioxide, are likely the key driver behind recent global warming seems, well, kind of arrogant. To these folks, I say check out a recent study that had nothing…
Tags: climate change, climatecentral.org, man infuences climate, manmade climate change
Climate & Change, climate change, Health, Natural disasters, Politics, Mar 8th, 2012,
By Alyson Kenward While the cumulative effects of rising global temperatures have already caused dramatic changes to our planet, those changes often seem distant and it’s hard to put faces to them. But as climate change becomes more disruptive to daily life around the world, it’s more likely than not that the faces of that disruption will be those of women. With the world celebrating International Women’s Day on Thursday, it’s a good time to reflect on just how vulnerable women are to the effects of climate change. If you’re surprised to hear that gender makes a difference, you shouldn’t…
Tags: climatecentral.org, international women's day, Natural Resources Defense Council, women and climate change, world health organization
Climate & Change, climate change, Science & Technology, Weird & Wonderful, Feb 23rd, 2012,
By Michael D. Lemonick Legend has it that in the final days of the Third Reich, loyalists smuggled Adolf Hitler’s remains out of Berlin along with those of his paramour, Eva Braun. The deceased were later ferried by U-Boat all the way down to a secret Nazi base in Antarctica, where they were, depending on which version you believe, interred or used for cloning experiments. Maybe a thousand identical copies of the mass murderer walk among us! Or maybe the legends about Nazis in Antarctica are as every bit as ridiculous as they sound (though not as ridiculous as this…
Tags: Antarctica, climate change, climatecentral.org, ice
Climate & Change, climate change, Health, Science & Technology, Jan 19th, 2012,
By Andrew Freedman It often seems like weather forecasters blame everything unusual on El Niño or La Niña, be it a drought, a heat wave, or a snowless winter. But this natural climate cycle in the equatorial Pacific Ocean may actually have much greater — and far deadlier — impacts. A new study published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences explores the possibility that La Niña helps make conditions more favorable for deadly global flu pandemics. The study finds that the past four flu pandemics, including the Spanish Flu of 1918, the Asian Flu of 1957, the Hong Kong…
Tags: climate change, climatecentral.org, Flu pandemics, La Nina
Climate & Change, climate change, Wildlife & Flora, Dec 15th, 2011,
When it comes to global warming, humans have certainly felt the effects, and this year more than ever. With one weather disaster after another hammering the globe (there were a dozen in the U.S. alone that topped the billion-dollar mark for damages), there’s no denying that the natural course of the climate has been altered due to the many greenhouse gas emissions we spew into the air courtesy of industry and transport. And the results of our pollution are not only affecting us, but also the many species of wildlife that call this planet home. The question is: how is…
Tags: global warming, NRDC, wildlife
Climate & Change, climate change, green living, Science & Technology, Sustainable living, sustainable living, Weird & Wonderful, ,
If you’re interested in staving off climate change without trying too hard, painting your roof white seems like a complete no-brainer. It’s far cheaper than trading in your SUV for a Prius, and it turns the laws of physics to best advantage. Dark roofs absorb sunlight that heats up your house, office tower, or apartment building. That means you’re bound to crank up the energy-intensive air conditioner to keep pace in the summer months — and since electricity in the U.S. comes largely from fossil fuels, the net result is more heat-trapping greenhouse gas emissions, and more global warming. But…
Tags: climate central, climate change white roofs, global warming, white roofs global warming, white rooftops
climate change, Green Cars, green living, Science & Technology, Sustainable living, sustainable living, Oct 13th, 2011,
BlablaCar is a community-based travel service. Founded in 2006, the site now has over 1.5 million drivers and passengers and is growing by over 50,000 users every month. The concept of the website, www.blablacar.com, is to provide its members with a social platform that allows car owners with empty car seats to connect with people looking for a ride in Europe (France, Spain and more recently the UK). What makes the BlablaCar concept unique is its mix of travel site and social network. The site doesn’t just connect drivers with passengers, it allows both parties to post information about themselves…
Tags: BlaBlaCars, carpooling, save CO2, save gas, sharing a car
Climate & Change, climate change, Nature, Aug 26th, 2011,
While passing over the Bahamas, Hurricane Irene destroyed close to 90% of all houses in two settlements. Fortunately there were no casualties. Sadly, in the Dominican Republic, three people lost their lives when the storms passed over. Hurricane Irene is a third category hurricane on a scale of five and is expected to increase in strength to category four, with winds reaching up to 250 kilometers per hour. It is not often that such powerful hurricane reaches the vicinity of New York. But now hurricane Irene is threatening to hit New York and hit it hard. That is why representatives…
Tags: bahamas irene, hurricane irene, hurricane new york, new york irene, new york state of alarm
climate change, Conservation, Politics, Jun 7th, 2011,
The UK government has released the Natural Environment White Paper, an official report on its environmental vision for the next 50 years. In the wake of the somewhat revolutionary report by Defra (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs) entitled the UK National Ecosystem Assessment (UK NEA), which I wrote about last Thursday, the white paper attempts to address questions of biodiversity in tandem with climate change, population, etc. From Defra’s website: We will work to improve the quality of our natural environment and will aim to halt the decline in habitats and species, degradation of landscapes and erosion of…
Tags: biodiversity, Defra, National Ecosystem Assesment, Natural Environment, NEA, UK government, white paper
climate change, Videos & Documentaries, May 13th, 2011,
In the tradition of classic hip-hop feuds like Kool Moe Dee vs LL Cool J or Tupac vs. Biggie, a group of Australian climate scientists have made a full on dis track calling out climate skeptics, aka those why deny the scientific consensus that human activity causes global warming and climate change. True to form, the skeptics are hittin’ back with some serious mackin’ in the comment section of the Guardian’s Environment Blog and of course on YouTube , but I guess anything is better than the usual degeneration into racist rants that website seems to constantly engender. I’m waiting for…
Tags: Australian, climate scientists, deniers, hip-hop, rap, skeptics
Climate & Change, climate change, Nov 6th, 2010,
“There is insufficient data to say what will happen to the Indus,” says David Grey, the World Bank’s senior water advisor in South Asia. “But we all have very nasty fears that the flows of the Indus couldbe severely, severely affected by glacier melt as a consequence of climate change,” and reduced byperhaps as much as 50 percent. “Now what does that mean to a population that lives in a desert[where], without the river, there would be no life? I don’t know the answer to that question,” he says.“But we need to be concerned about that. Deeply, deeply concerned.”
Tags: climate change, climate change in Pakistan, flooding, Floods in Pakistan 2010, Global Climate Change, Pakistan
climate change, Politics, sustainable living, Videos & Documentaries, Oct 12th, 2010,
“The Choice Between Poverty and Poison” Parts of China are awash in electronic waste, or “e-waste”; a rising tide of circuit boards, glass monitors and other bits and bobs of computers that we don’t want anymore due to their having become passé and no longer suited to our hyper-modern, technology and consumer-driven lifestyles. Chinese towns, such as the now infamous Guiyu in the south of the country, are dedicated e-waste recycling centers, dominated, darkened and scarred by the toxic trash industry. In very poor and basic conditions, metals such as lead, copper and gold are extracted from recycled e-waste via…
Tags: China, computer recycling, computer waste, e-waste, electronic waste, Recycling
climate change, sustainable living, Oct 11th, 2010,
“This is the most shocking thing I have seen” – Oprah Winfrey In the middle of the Pacific Ocean there is a maelstrom of debris twice the size of Texas. It has been affectionately given a variety of clever names: the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, the Sea of Trash, the Eastern Garbage Patch, the Asian Trash Trail and (my personal favorite) the Trash Vortex. It is, in short, a spiraling swirl of rushing refuse, mostly of the non-biodegradable plastic variety: shampoo bottles, grocery bags, disposable razors, toys… you know, stuff made out of plastic. Which unfortunately, means just about everything…
Tags: environment, Great Pacific Garbage Patch, North Pacific Gyre, plastic, Plastic Swirl
Climate & Change, climate change, Science & Technology, Sep 8th, 2010,
Geo-engineering doesn’t prevent at all the rise of the tides. Engineering on a global scale is not a solution, even in an emergency, to the climate damage caused by human activities. This is the conclusion reached by a team of British, Chinese and Danish researchers after a new study on the future of the Earth’s oceans. In their opinion there is no escape: sea levels will rise at least 30-70 cm by the end of 2100, even using the latest weather manipulation techniques. Substituting geo-engineering for the control of emissions would create an enormous risk for future generations, according to…
Tags: climate change, global warming, sea, sea level, water
Climate & Change, climate change, Sep 6th, 2010,
El Niño, one of the most impressive natural phenomena affecting our planet, is also changing appearance
Tags: climate, El Nino, environment, global warming
Climate & Change, climate change, Pollution, Sep 5th, 2010,
The circulation of groundwater in Rome is being threatened by great transformations in natural physiographic systems completely upset by great peripheral urban settlements. Rome is supplied by springs located several hundred km’s from the city. Local sources contribute marginally to the supply, such as the Acqua Vergine Spring and some other mineral water springs. The groundwater quality is consistently damaged by extensive urban development, characterised by large new districts developed without respect to regulations (average dimension of thousands of inhabitants), and by the excessive quantity of wells connecting upper water tables that are often polluted with the deep water tables,…
Tags: climate change, environment, Pollution, river, Rome, tiber, water
climate change, Jun 27th, 2010,
Today’s temperatures are predicted go as high hit 30C (85F) making it the hottest day of the year in England, with temperatures highest in London and the southeast. World cup fever – and the more civilized pursuit of eating strawberries and cream whilst watching a considerably smaller yellow ball move backwards and forwards at a much faster rate than a football ever could when North Korea are not playing – is gripping the country. But so is a heatwave. According to an article in the Guardian, ‘MeteoGroup weather forecaster Steve Ellison said the heatwave was caused by a ridge of…
Tags: climate change, England, global warming, heatwave, london, skeptic, temperatures
Page 1 of 1312345...10...»Last »
