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Archive for December 2nd, 2014
After years finger pointing, world leaders readytackle global warming
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on December 2nd, 2014
CBS: As global leaders gather in Peru Monday to start negotiating a new U.N. climate deal, there is a sense that finally the world may be ready to take action.
The years of finger pointing between East and West have given way to a newfound desire for consensus. China and the United States, the world's two biggest emitters, agreed last month to tackle rising greenhouse gases which are blamed for warming the planet to record levels. That followed on the heels of the European Union agreeing to cut emissions...
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UN climate talks set sights on historic Paris pact
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on December 2nd, 2014
Agence France-Presse: To fresh warnings and appeals to seize the political momentum, UN talks opened in Lima yesterday tasked with drawing the outlines of a 2015 deal to roll back climate change.
Gathering 195 states, the 12-day meeting also has to agree on the pact's heart - a format for nations to make pledges to reduce earth-warming carbon pollution.
These national commitments would form the cornerstone of an unprecedented accord to be sealed in Paris in December 2015 and take effect by 2020.
"2014 is threatening...
United Kingdom: £2.3bn flood defences in England good news but still not enough
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on December 2nd, 2014
Guardian: The £2.3bn for flood defences in England re-announced by the government on Tuesday is, quite literally, the least it could do. It is good news for the 300,000 homes that will gain better protection. But is not enough to hold back the rising tide of flood risk, driven by climate change, that affects millions more.
Flood defences are expensive, of that there is no doubt. But they represent excellent value for money, typically preventing damage eight to 10 times as much as the initial investment....
98 percent Costa Ricans believe in climate change, says UN survey
Posted by Tico Times: None Given on December 2nd, 2014
Tico Times: Nearly every single Costa Rican surveyed by the United Nations Development Program said they agreed the climate is changing, and more than 90 percent said that humans are at least partially responsible. The survey results released Monday also showed that Costa Ricans would be willing to pay more to reduce their impact on the planet. (See a PDF of the survey in Spanish here)
Costa Rica’s reputation as a “green” country is well established. The country made a name for itself in the eco-tourism field...
Calif. drought could wipe out southernmost coho salmon group
Posted by Reuters: Michael Fleeman on December 2nd, 2014
Reuters: California’s three-year drought threatens to wipe out the last of the Muir Woods coho salmon that make their way each year from the Pacific Ocean to spawn in a freshwater creek running through the redwoods near San Francisco, state officials said on Monday.
As the annual salmon migration reaches its peak in streams through the northern part of the state, those in Redwood Creek, the southernmost home for returning coho salmon, are on the verge of local extinction, officials said. About 100 juvenile...