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Archive for November 24th, 2015
As Indonesia Burns, Its Government Moves To Increase Forest Destruction
Posted by Conversation: None Given on November 24th, 2015
Conversation: In the midst of its worst fire crisis in living memory, the Indonesian government is taking a leap backward on forest protection. The recently signed Council of Palm Oil Producing Nations between Indonesia and Malaysia, signed at the weekend in Kuala Lumpur, will attempt to wind back palm oil companies' pledges to end deforestation.
If successful the move will undo recent attempts to end deforestation from palm oil production, and exacerbate the risk of future forest fires.
Forests on fire...
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Hunger Heralds Climate Change’s Arrival in Botswana
Posted by Inter Press Service: Baboki Kayawe on November 24th, 2015
Inter Press Service: A perfect storm of lower rainfall and a growing population beckons for Botswana. But others find climate change is already in the fields and paddocks. "As climate change ushers in more stress on the water sector, it is increasingly a concern that losses in rangeland productivity will result in food insecurity, especially in rural areas," a country analysis report unveiled recently on Botswana states. Far from the airy conference rooms where such reports are typically shared, are thousands of subsistence...
Report: Miami could lose billions from coastal flooding by 2050
Posted by Miami Herald: Nicholas Nehamas on November 24th, 2015
Miami Herald: When the floodwaters rise, they could take billions of dollars worth of South Florida real estate with them. No region in the U.S. is more vulnerable to the threat of coastal flooding than the Miami metro area, according to a new report from commercial brokerage CBRE. About $366 billion worth of real estate would be exposed to a worst-case scenario “100-year flood” in Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties, the report found. The greater New York area has $237 billion worth of real estate at...
Exposing a small part of a forest to the heat of 2100
Posted by ClimateWire: Gayathri Vaidyanathan on November 24th, 2015
ClimateWire: "Oops!" She places a hand over her mouth and looks around surreptitiously. Wood, 40, is responsible for the daily operations of this first-of-its-kind experiment, where scientists are cranking up the heat by 7.2 degrees Fahrenheit (4 degrees Celsius) to see what happens to the saplings of palm and tabonuco and small plants growing here. This is as hot as our planet may be in 2100 if nations emit carbon dioxide at present-day rates. The scientists want to see whether tropical forests will thrive...
New study casts doubt on how much sea levels may rise from collapse of the Antarctic ice sheet
Posted by Environmental News Network: British Antarctic Survey on November 24th, 2015
Environmental News Network: A new study by scientists in the UK and France has found that Antarctic ice sheet collapse will have serious consequences for sea level rise over the next two hundred years, though not as much as some have suggested.
This study, published this week in the journal Nature, uses an ice-sheet model to predict the consequences of unstable retreat of the ice, which recent studies suggest has begun in West Antarctica.
An international team of researchers, including a scientist from British Antarctic...
Valley facing rising temperatures, decreasing rainfall: Report
Posted by Kashmir Reader: None Given on November 24th, 2015
Kashmir Reader: By 2030, the number of rainy days in eastern parts of the state are likely to increase by 15 even as rainfall in all other parts, including the Valley, shows a decreasing trend, a report released by the Indian Network for Climate Change Assessment (INCCA) said. “All metrological stations in the state are showing decreasing trends in total number of rainy days and rainfall except Jammu and Katra where rainfall in significantly on the rise,” said Majid Farooq, coordinator Climate Change Centre (J&K...
California, An Environmental Leader, Eyes A Key Role In Climate Talks
Posted by National Public Radio: Lauren Sommer on November 24th, 2015
National Public Radio: World leaders are scheduled to meet in Paris soon, trying to draft an agreement on how to combat climate change. Among the heads of state, you'll also see California Gov. Jerry Brown, who is spearheading his own international climate movement.
Brown has been on an international diplomatic tour the last few months - all about climate change.
"The world faces an existential threat," he told Canadian leaders in July.
Then, he went to the Vatican. "Whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also...