Global Climate Change News

A collection of news items taken from the world's newspapers, journals, and magazines that are related to Global Climate Change. This site is updated as news items appear in the popular press. All links will take you to sites outside of the PRISM site. Use your back button to return.

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August, 2007


August 14, 2007 - Greenland Residents Detect Sea Change - PBS
On Greenland's west coast, residents of the town of Ilulissat -- the name means "among the icebergs" -- say they are already feeling some results of global warming.


August 13, 2007 - Arctic sea ice set to hit new low - BBC
Arctic sea ice is expected to retreat to a record low by the end of this summer, scientists have predicted.


August 3, 2007 - Tropical storms doubled due to global warming - CNN
The number of tropical storms developing annually in the Atlantic Ocean more than doubled over the past century, with the increase taking place in two jumps, researchers say.


August 2, 2007 - An Incomplete Energy Bill - New York Times
The House will begin debating Friday on a generally useful energy bill that would increase energy efficiency, encourage more responsible oil and gas development on public lands and stimulate investment in cleaner fuels. Yet the bill is incomplete.


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July, 2007


July 31, 2007 - Energy Bill Aids Expansion of Atomic Power - New York Times
A one-sentence provision buried in the Senate’s recently passed energy bill, inserted without debate at the urging of the nuclear power industry, could make builders of new nuclear plants eligible for tens of billions of dollars in government loan guarantees.


July 23, 2007 - Study: Glaciers contributing more to rising seas - CNN.com
Don't worry too much, for now, about rising seas caused by melting ice in Greenland and Antarctica. The big threat this century could come from small thawing glaciers, researchers reported Thursday.


July 17, 2007 - Glaciers in Retreat - New York Times
At nearly 13,000 feet above sea level, in the shadow of a sharp Himalayan peak, a wall of black ice oozes in the sunshine. A tumbling stone breaks the silence of the mountains, or water gurgles under the ground


July 16, 2007 - Climate Change Debate Hinges on Economics - Washington Post
Here's the good news about climate change: Energy and climate experts say the world already possesses the technological know-how for trimming greenhouse gas emissions enough to slow the perilous rise in the Earth's temperatures.


July 12, 2007 - Report Warns of a Much Warmer Northeast - The Washington Post
People in Philadelphia would swelter through as many as 30 days with temperatures higher than 100 degrees each summer. The Northeastern ski industry, except for western Maine, would probably go out of business. And spruce and hemlock forests -- as well as songbirds such as the Baltimore oriole -- would all but disappear from New Jersey to the Canadian border.


July 12, 2007 - Florida Plan Will Focus on Emissions and Climate - New York Times
Gov. Charlie Crist of Florida has drafted a series of executive orders to slow climate change and cut the state's emission of heat-trapping gases by more than 25 percent, to 1990 levels, over the next 18 years.


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March, 2007


March 5, 2007 - Global Warming News - NTSA Express
Washington, D.C. Meteorologist Bob Ryan sat down recently with Dr. Ralph Cicerone, President of the National Academy of Sciences, to discuss global warming. To watch the interview and read more about global warming and the recent statement by the American Meteorological Society on the issue, visit http://science.nsta.org/nstaexpress/nstaexpress_2007_03_05_interview.htm


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December, 2006


December 24, 2006 - KU takes flight to aid study of global warming - Kansas City Star
Somewhere in Antarctica, a little plane with a University of Kansas logo is doing its part to help scientists understand global warming. KU research on glacial melting has broadened to include the use of ice-penetrating radar devices mounted on the wings of an unmanned airplane. The plane, in 2008 and 2009, will use ground-penetrating radar to measure the thickness of ice and look for melting.


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November, 2006


November 29, 2006 - Warmer oceans storing climate change dangers - Guardian News
Global warming is creating a climate time bomb by storing enormous amounts of heat in the waters of the north Atlantic, UK scientists have discovered. Marine researchers at Southampton and Plymouth universities have found that the upper 1,500 metres of the ocean from western Europe to the eastern US have warmed by 0.015C in seven years. The capacity of the oceans to store heat means that a water temperature rise of that size is enough to warm the atmosphere above by almost 9C.


November 27, 2006 - Carbon emissions show sharp rise - BBC News
The rise in humanity's emissions of carbon dioxide has accelerated sharply, according to a new analysis. The Global Carbon Project says that emissions were rising by less than 1% annually up to the year 2000, but are now rising at 2.5% per year.


November 11, 2006 - Melting ice turns up the heat - The Sydney Morning Herald
Richard Alley's eyes glint as we discuss how fast global warming could cause sea levels to rise. The scientist sums up the state of knowledge: "We used to think that it would take 10,000 years for melting at the surface of an ice sheet to penetrate down to the bottom. Now we know it doesn't take 10,000 years, it takes 10 seconds."


November 9, 2006 - Global climate efforts 'woeful' - BBC News
Efforts to help developing nations adapt to the impacts of climate change have been called "woefully inadequate" by a UN-commissioned report.


November 9, 2006 - Climate Change Threatens Agricultural Crisis: UN - The New York Times
Immediate steps are needed to avert a potential catastrophe as climate change dries up water resources in drought affected areas, hitting poor farmers, a United Nations report said on Thursday.


November 5, 2006 - Talks to Start on Climate Amid Split on Warming - The New York Times
Climate negotiators are gathering in Nairobi, Kenya, for their 12th conference since 1992, with the world divided into three seemingly inflexible blocs on what to do about global warming.


November 3, 2006 - Greenhouse gases hit record high - BBC News
The steady rise in atmospheric levels of the greenhouse gases blamed for climate change shows no signs of abating, a UN agency has announced.


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October, 2006


October 31, 2006 - Climate change fight 'can't wait' - BBC News
The world cannot afford to wait before tackling climate change, the UK prime minister has warned.


October 30, 2006 - Stern Review on the Economics of Climate Change - HM Treasury
This Review has assessed a wide range of evidence on the impacts of climate change and on the economic costs, and has used a number of different techniques to assess costs and risks. From all of these perspectives, the evidence gathered by the Review leads to a simple conclusion: the benefits of strong and early action far outweigh the economic costs of not acting.


October 30, 2006 - Sydney's vanishing future - The Sydney Morning Herald
Based on conservative projections of the effects of climate change, scientific modelling done for the Herald by University of Sydney researchers show many waterfront areas, including the Spit Bridge, Manly ferry terminal and Nielsen Park, are at risk from a sea level rise of less than a metre.


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August, 2006


August 1, 2006 - IF YOU THOUGHT LAST WEEK WAS HOT ... - San Francisco Chronicle
A report recently issued by the California EPA, details some of the effects of climate change in California based on data from models, the number of high temperature (90 degrees and above) days could go up to 100 days a year. Some highlights included the near total loss of fresh drinking water due to loss of the snowpack, increased power demands but loss of hydropower supplies, increased potential for wildfires, etc.


August 1, 2006 - Cross-Atlantic clean-energy pact - International Herald Tribune
British Prime Minister Tony Blair and California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger met to discuss a pact aimed at sharing economic and scientific research as well as nonpolluting technologies. This agreement sets the precedent that individual state governments must also work to fight global warming.


August 1, 2006 - THE MAPPING REVOLUTION-How Google Earth Is Changing Science - (International ) Spiegel Online
Originally designed as a game for virtual hobbyists, more and more scientists are discovering the incredible Google Earth modeling capabilities. It possesses the overlay tools that allow both researchers to track data, as well as allow for navigation straightforward enough for young students. Epidemiologists, meteorologists, urban planners and governmental agencies can also take advantage of the geographical display and overlay capabilities.


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July, 2006


July 19, 2006 - Climate change may have role in wildfire trend - The Salt Lake Tribune
Rising temperatures and earlier snowpack melt-offs appear to have sparked an increase in the number of forest wildfires across the western United States. "There is a very dramatic increase in forest fires in the West" over the past 15 years, said Anthony Westerling, a researcher with the Scripps Institute of Oceanography, La Jolla, Calif.


July 3, 2006 - Climate change brings new options for farming - ABC
Climate change provides many new opportunities for farmers, like tea and energy crops, but also poses challenges including the threat of new insects and diseases, a British government minister said. "We want to see farmers seize opportunities for new crops that a changing climate is going to bring," junior environment minister Ian Pearson said on Sunday.


July 3, 2006 - Climate change could cause earthquakes and volcanic eruptions, scientists say - cnews
So the warnings of harsher heat waves, stronger hurricanes and rising seas fail to impress. How about volcanic eruptions in the Arctic, or a tsunami off the coast of Newfoundland? The latest scientific discipline to enter the fray over global warming is geology.


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June, 2006


June 14, 2006 - Fewer night flights could cut climate change impact - ABC news
New research has shown that cutting down on the flights that leave at night could lessen the contribution of aviation to climate change. Night flights differ from day flights because condensation from jet engines because the trails left during the day will help deflect some of the sun's radiation, causing a slight cooling effect, whereas the night flights trap energy given off from the surface of the earth.


June 14, 2006 - Scientists urge G8 not to ignore global warming - ABC news
Scientists are urging World leaders to respond to global warming as promised at the G8 Summit in Gleneagles last year. This request comes in light of recent "concern for energy security" and the upcoming summit scheduled to held next month in St. Petersberg, Russia


June 5, 2006 - Climate change threatens deserts - Aljazeera.net
Scientists predict that rainfall will decrease by as much as 20% by the end of the century, seriously jeopordizing the ecosystem that exists in the deserts of the world today, including a population of about 500 million people world wide. The drying out of the deserts comes from danger to water sources such as run off from Glaciers that feeds rivers and lakes, due to the inability of glaciers to reform.


June 5, 2006 - Talks advance as planet continues to warm - CNN.com
Discussion is underway concerning the increased emissions from the US which fails to meet the goals of the Kyoto Pact. Currently only two countries out of 18 in the pact, Britain and Sweden, meet expectations. Talks cover reductions, regimes, plans and research data.


June 4, 2006 - Green around the edges - Calgary Herald
The most difficult challenge for Alternative fuel technologies to be implemented into the market seems to be getting both the vehicles and the fueling stations both online. Automakers are set to have them out but investment in the stations themselves is less profitable due to the fact that there are not very many vehicles out on the road that require stations that need alternative fuels, leading to an impasse for 'greener' vehicles and fuel systems. For this technology to be more successful, gvernment support -- through legislation and tax credits, for example -- combined with private-sector investment are the most logical places to start because of the incentive they can create.


June 4, 2006 - Widening tropics 'will drive deserts into Europe' - The Independent
New research from satellite data over the past 25 years - shows that the tropics have moved outward toward the poles by 140 miles since 1979. Scientists believe that global warming is to blame. This is shocking to some scientists as they considered the most dramatic changes to be at the poles, but the data indicate that the changed are equally dramatic elsewhere. Data also suggest that the areas just outside the tropics, such as parts of China, North India, the Middle East, North Africa, Florida, the US Gulf Coast, and through Australia, Southern Africa and Argentina - are warming at an alarming rate.


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May, 2006


May 30, 2006 - Poison Ivy Getting Meaner - U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
Increased levels of Carbon Dioxide fosters the growth poison ivy. Greater photosynthesis allows plants to grow faster, larger and more poisonous. Currently, some apes and about 80% of the human populationare susceptible to developing allergic reactions to the poison ivy sap, but that will likely increase with increasing virulence. A major concern is for forest regeneration, since greater vine abundance will kill off the younger trees.


May 23, 2006 - Report calls for Canada to bury tonnes of emissions - The Province
Canada has found a new solution to its Carbon Dioxide pollution emissions problem, in the form of Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS). This will allow Canada's industrial sections to pump anywhere from 10- 100 million tons of CO2 down underground, into the sedimentary basin under the Prairies, which "is enormous and ideal for soaking up CO2." Canada is looking to CCS as a long term solution and will begin to impliment it very soon.


May 23, 2006 - Earth-Solar Cycle Spurs Greenhouse Gases, Studies Show - Environmental News Network
There is a reciprocal effect between greenhouse gasses and global warming. Not only do greenhouse gasses contribute to globalwarming, but also global warming encourages production of greenhouse gasses, resulting in temperatures that are higher, faster than expected.


May 9, 2006 - Where have all the butterflies gone? - San Fransisco Chronicle
Fluctuations in winter and spring weather have caused the populations of some Butterfly species to drop to the lowest numbers recorded in three decades, leading scientists to be increasingly concerned about links to climate change and loss of habitats. Published studies have shown that increased variablility in rain, as predicted by global warming models, has helped lead to lead to the extinction of two populations of Checkerspot Butterflies.


May 9, 2006 - Climate change altered water plan: Beattie - ABC News Online
Queensland Premier Peter Beattie is planning the building of two new dams because of the effects of global warming.


May 9 2006 - Recycling efforts need improving - Financial Times- FT.com
Carbon dioxide emissions are approximately 10 per cent of the greenhouse gases given off by UK households every year. Recycling measures have decreased the amount of Carbon Dioxide given off, but officials say even more recycling must be implemented.


May 6, 2006 - Climate change could shift rainfall line - ABC News Online
Scientists say Goyder's Line in South Australia could be shifted south on maps because of climate change. The line was originally drawn on maps after the 1860s drought as a boundary to indicate where graziers to the north required government help. It is now thought of as a rainfall line indicating the areas suitable for cropping. Research by the South Australian Research and Development Institute (SARDI) and the CSIRO suggests higher temperatures and less rain will change the agricultural landscape, moving the line further south. SARDI spokesman Peter Hayman says the northern-most point of the line could shift from Orroroo to Jamestown or even Clare within 60 years or so. "For people in that region, that's a big change. Land values change enormously across that transect," he said.


May 5, 2006 - More rain in the Pacific due to climate change - Radio New Zealand International
US scientists indicate that global warming is weakening the vast system of air currents that fuel Pacific trade winds, creating more El Nino-like weather patterns. The change in weather patterns will also bring a change in the ocean currents, lessening the circulation that brings nutrients to the surface for marine life to feed on, which could have an impact on fishing in the Pacific.


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March, 2006


March 22, 2006 - U.S. Companies Slow To Move On Climate - International Herald-Tribune (NY Times)
European and Asian companies care more about global warming than do their American counterparts. And chemical companies care more than oil companies. Those are two conclusions that jump out of "Corporate Governance and Climate Change: Making the Connection," a report that Ceres, a coalition of investors and environmental groups, released Tuesday.


March 22, 2006 - Climate Change Hard On Poorest Countries - Gulf News
Droughts, floods, changing rain patterns and rising sea levels are threatening development efforts in the world's poorest countries, experts and aid workers said at the 4th World Water Forum, an international meeting that explores how to manage water services and resources. The meeting was held in Mexico City. Similar story from The Independent.


March 21, 2006 - Humans Spur Worst Extinctions Since Dinosaurs - ENN
Humans are responsible for the worst spate of extinctions since the dinosaurs and must make unprecedented extra efforts to reach a goal of slowing losses by 2010, a U.N. report said on Monday. A rising human population of 6.5 billion was undermining the environment for animals and plants via pollution, expanding cities, deforestation, introduction of "alien species" and global warming, it said.


March 20, 2006 - Energy Goals Help 'Cut Global Warming' - China.org
China's commitment to reducing energy consumption per unit of GDP by 1/5 by 2010 was welcomed yesterday by world-renowned economists and leading business executives who said it would make a positive contribution to cutting down global warming.


March 17, 2006 - Global Warming Blamed For Increasing Force of Hurricanes - Guardian Unlimited
Global warming is increasing the frequency of the most intense hurricanes, insist scientists who have analysed data from six oceans. These data took into account many other environmental factors such as wind shear, making them more robust than previous studies.


March 16, 2006 - Global Warming Reaches 'Tipping Point,' Report Says - ENN
Human-fueled global warming has reached a "tipping point," according to a new survey of scientific research by the Washington-based World Resources Institute. Their conclusion was that warming would continue even if greenhouse gas emissions halted immediately.


March 15, 2006 - Survey: 3 Out of 4 Americans Fault Federal Leadership on Global Warming & Alternative Energy ... - PR Newswire
A national survey by the nonprofit Opinion Research Corporation (ORC) and nonpartisan Civil Society Institute (CSI) finds that 58 percent of Americans, including 57 percent of independents and 42 percent of conservatives, are more concerned about global warming today than they were two years ago. Also 76% of those surveyed (including 2 out of 3 conservatives) think the federal government is not doing "enough to address global warming and develop alternative energy sources in order to reduce our dependence on foreign oil."


March 15, 2006 - Meteor 'Cause of Global Warming' - Scotsman
A top Russian scientist, Vladimir Shaidurov, has suggested that global warming was started by a meteor that exploded in the atmosphere nearly 100 years ago. He says his mathematical models show that the meteor explosion fundamentally damaged high, thin clouds letting in more of the sun's energy to heat the Earth.


March 15, 2006 - Global Warming Gases At Highest Levels Ever - New Zealand Herald
Greenhouse gases blamed for global warming and climate change have reached their highest ever levels in the atmosphere, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) said today. "Global observations coordinated by WMO show that levels of carbon dioxide, the most abundant greenhouse gas in the atmosphere, continue to increase steadily and show no signs of leveling off," said WMO Secretary-General Michel Jarraud.


March 9, 2006 - Global Warming Threatens New Guinea Paradise - ENN
Exotic species in the mountains of New Guinea island are under threat from global warming according to a climatolotist at Plymouth State University, New Hampshire. His latest data show that the temperatures in the mountain regions of the island are rising far faster than previously was predicted.


March 7, 2006 - UN: Global Warming Threat Rising; Govt. Action Needed - USA Today
Evidence that humans are to blame for global warming is rising but governments are doing too little to counter the threat, according to Rajendra Pachauri, chairman of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). He also said also said that costs of braking climate change in coming decades might be less than forecast in the IPCC's last report in 2001.


March 6, 2006 - U.S. Fleet Of Climate Satellites Is Shrinking - MSNBC
Budget cuts and poor management may be jeopardizing the future of our eyes in orbit — America’s fleet of environmental satellites, vital tools for forecasting hurricanes, protecting water supplies and predicting global warming.


March 5, 2006 - Himalayan Melting Risk Surveyed - BBC
A new weather station is expected to show the extent of warming in the Himalayas, one of the world's biggest deposits of ice and a key source of fresh water. This station is set up on the Nguzumpa Glacier and a river fed by the glacier. Photo of the glacier.


March 2, 2006 - Africa: Warming Threatens Key Water Sources - All Africa
Declines in rainfall caused by global warming threaten rivers and other local sources of fresh water in densely populated areas of Africa, according to a new study published in Science magazine by scientists from Africa Earth Observatory Network (AEON) at the University of Capetown.


March 1, 2006 - Consensus Grows On Climate Change - BBC
The global scientific body on climate change, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, will soon release a report that says that only greenhouse gas emissions can explain freak weather patterns.


March 1, 2006 - Getting Kids Fired Up About Global Warming - Asahi
The nonprofit, Osaka Environmental Counselors Association, has recently created a lesson that graphically illustrates for children how sea level rise could affect their own city. The students were stunned by what they learned.


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February, 2006


February 27, 2006 - World Lawmakers Set Up Global Warming Monitor Group - ENN
Lawmakers and business leaders from around the world launched a campaign on Friday to push recalcitrant governments to take action on climate change. Accusing rich and poor alike of talking a good fight against but doing little, the parliamentarians from the Group of Eight rich nations and five major developing countries said their three-year goal was to force the pace.


February 22, 2006 - Some American Evangelicals Call For Action To Stop Global Warming - VOA
Some prominent American evangelical leaders have launched a campaign to persuade their congregants that more needs to be done to stop global warming.


February 21, 2006 - Combating Global Warming With Community - ENN
Bill McKibben, an environmentalist and author, says that people can take control of global warming by having better communities.


February 18, 2006 - Could Global Warming Become A Runaway Train? - ABC (U.S.)
Scientists are worried about a "feedback loop" from global warming. In a feedback loop, the rising temperature on the Earth changes the environment in ways that then create even more heat. Those working in the Arctic say that the feedback loop is already underway.


February 17, 2006 - Proposed Arctic Pipeline Obstacle: Warming - MSNBC
Environmental hearings on Canada's proposed $6 billion Mackenzie Valley pipeline opened with warnings that the safety of the pipeline and the natural gas fields that feed it is threatened by climate change that already is damaging northern roads and airstrips.


February 16, 2006 - Paramount , Gore Strike Film Deal - News 24
The producers of a global warming documentary starring former Vice-President Al Gore have landed a worldwide distribution deal with Paramount Pictures


February 14, 2006 - Global Warming Makes The Common Cold Season Shorter - Leader-Post (Canada.com)
Global warming may be making the common cold season shorter in cool countries like Canada, says a new study from Britain that links warmer weather to earlier relief from colds. For each increase of one degree Celsius in the average temperature of central England, the busy season for hospital visits by cold sufferers ends 2.5 weeks earlier, the study shows.


February 13, 2006 - Professor Sir Nicholas Shackleton Dies - Guardian Unlimited
Nicholas Shackleton, a geologist who specialized in paleoclimatology, and distant relative of explorer Ernest Shackelton has died in Cambridge, England. Dr. Shackelton's work on the role played by carbon dioxide in climate change was pivotal to our current understanding of climate change.


February 10, 2006 - Global Warming Shrinks Glacier - News 24
Europe's longest glacier, the Trift glacier, shrank by 66m last year because of global warming, Swiss scientists said on Wednesday. Similar story from MSNBC


February 4, 2006 - Poor Nations Need Billions To Fight Climate Change - News International
Nicholas Stern, a top British environmentalist and advisor to the British government, said on Friday the developing world needed to spend at least $40 billion more every year to fight climate change.


February 1, 2006 - Deadline Set On Climate Disaster - Scotsman
International action to halt climate change must be taken within 20 years or global warming will be irreversible, scientists have warned in a comprehensive analysis of climate research. This report warns that irreversible damage to the ecosystem will occur unless action is taken on an international level. Similar story from ABC (Australia)


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January, 2006


January 31, 2006 - Scientists Back Nuclear Power To Help Beat Global Warming - Scotsman
Scientist,s who attended a conference hosted by the UK Meteorological Office last year, have concluded that the United Kingdom must use a wide range of tools, including nuclear power, if they want to address the issue of global warming.


January 30, 2006 - Scientists Debate Human Effect On Global Warming - Boston Globe
Now that most scientists agree that human activity is causing earth to warm, the central debate has shifted to whether climate change is progressing so rapidly that, within decades, humans may be helpless to slow or reverse the trend. This ''tipping point" question has begun to consume many prominent researchers in the United States and abroad. Some background information on Climate Change from the BBC


January 25, 2006 - 2005 Was Century�s Warmest Year: NASA - Hindustani Times
Climatologists at NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS) in New York City said the highest global annual average surface temperature in more than a century was recorded in their analysis for 2005.


January 25, 2006 - Al Gore To Publish Book On Global Warming In April - ENN
Former Vice President Al Gore's second book about global warming will be published in April with the title "An Inconvenient Truth," according to his publisher Rodale Books.


January 12, 2006 - Global Warming Killing Frogs - news24
Global warming has wiped out two-thirds of species of unique frogs that inhabit the cloud forests of Central America, a study published on Thursday in Nature says. Sixty-seven percent of the 110 varieties of harlequin frog, along with the golden toad, have disappeared from tropical America in the past 20 years according to the researchers.


January 12, 2006 - Global Warming: Blame The Forests - Guardian
Scientists have realised that plants are part of the global warming problem. According to a study published today, living plants may emit almost a third of the methane entering the Earth's atmosphere.


January 12, 2006 - U.S. Puts In $52 Million For Clean Air - The Australian
U.S. President George W Bush has agreed to contribute $52 million (AUST$69m) to a clean-air partnership, U.S. Energy Secretary Sam Bodman said today. The money is a one-year allocation at this time.


January 5, 2006 - U.S. To Attend Asia-Pacific Climate Talks - CRI Online
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman and presidential adviser James Connaughton will meet next week in Sydney, Australia, with representatives from five Asian and Pacific nations. Along with the U.S., these countries account for nearly half the world's population, energy use and economic output. The White House said its talks with Australia, China, India, Japan and South Korea will enhance rather than replace the Kyoto climate treaty that President George W. Bush rejected because of its mandatory cuts in carbon dioxide, methane and other gases.