NewsRack: 'Greenhouse Gases' news in 'Climate Change' topic for user demo

How to Make Staggering Amounts of Money and Ruin the Planet	23.5.2013	Mother Jones
This story first appeared on the TomDispatch website. We have a word for the conscious slaughter of a racial or ethnic group: genocide. And one for the conscious destruction of aspects of the environment: ecocide. But we don't have a word for the conscious act of destroying the planet we live on, the world as humanity had known it until, historically speaking, late last night. A possibility might be "terracide" from the Latin word for earth. It has the right ring, given its similarity to the commonplace danger word of our era: terrorist. The truth is, whatever we call them, it's time to talk bluntly about the terrarists of our world. Yes, I know, 9/11 was horrific. Almost 3,000 dead, massive towers down, apocalyptic scenes . And yes, when it comes to terror attacks, the Boston Marathon bombings weren't pretty either. But in both cases, those who committed the acts paid for or will pay for their crimes. In the case of the terrarists—and here I'm referring in particular to the men who ...
Also found in: [+]
Matt Ridley's misguided climate policy \| Dana Nuccitelli	23.5.2013	Guardian: Science
If we're fortunate that climate consequences will take a decade longer, we're still not doing nearly enough to solve the problem In an opinion article for the London Times this past Monday, writer Matt Ridley discussed his interpretation of a new paper which suggests that the Earth's climate sensitivity may be a bit lower than current best estimates. Climate sensitivity refers to the average amount of warming that will occur at the Earth's surface in response to an increased greenhouse effect. This new paper , led by Alexander Otto at the University of Oxford, suggested that the Earth's surface may warm a bit more slowly than climate models generally indicate. I roughly estimate that about 80% of the warming over the past century would be due to human carbon dioxide emissions, if the results of this study are correct. The good news is that Ridley has accepted the consensus amongst 97% of climate experts that humans are causing global warming and has moved on to examine the consequences. ...
Also found in: [+]
Obama Group's Climate Push Puts President Under Scrutiny	23.5.2013	NPR News
Organizing for Action — a group that formed out of President Obama's re-election campaign — has focused its ire on Republicans it calls "climate change deniers." But some environmentalists are frustrated with the president himself on issues like the Keystone pipeline.
Also found in: [+]
Don't delay on renewable energy, government told	23.5.2013	The Guardian -- Front Page
Committee on Climate Change says the sooner the UK invests in low-carbon power generation the cheaper it will be Investing in new renewable power generation, rather than a "dash for gas", will be the lower-cost option for keeping the lights on while cutting greenhouse gas emissions, the government's climate change watchdog has said. The sooner the UK makes large investments in low-carbon generation – including offshore and onshore wind, nuclear power and energy from waste – the cheaper it will be, according to David Kennedy, chief executive of the Committee on Climate Change (CCC), the statutory body that advises ministers on meeting emissions targets. The conclusions are likely to be controversial, as many MPs on the right of the Tory party have been clamouring for an end to onshore windfarms and reductions in renewable subsidies. They would prefer to see a new "dash for gas" that would require the UK to massively expand shale gas drilling and import tens of billions of pounds worth ...
Also found in: [+]
No evidence global warming caused it	23.5.2013	CNN: Top Stories
Yes, climate change is happening. But it's hard to say that the tornado that ripped through Moore, Oklahoma -- or any given tornado, for that matter -- was influenced by climate change.
Also found in: [+]
Fossil fuel divestment campaign's victory in Australia will be a moral one \| Alexander White	22.5.2013	Guardian: Environment
Global climate divestment campaigns led by 350.org and Bill McKibben will have a larger moral impact than financial one Journalist and climate activist Bill McKibben is in Australia in June on his epic Do The Math tour , which aims to highlight the danger of fossil fuel company oil and coal reserves and encourage divestment. The tour was kick started by McKibben's Rolling Stone article, Global Warming's Terrifying New Math , which argued that in order to stay below the 2C warming limit, the global economy has a budget of less than 565 gigatons of carbon dioxide. Unfortunately, fossil fuel companies have reserves of carbon from oil, coal and gas of almost 3000 gigatons — far exceeding the climate's safe limit if it were to all be burned. This "math" has been known for some years before McKibben's article. The Potsdam Institute wrote about humanity's carbon budget back in 2009 , noting that even if we stayed within budget, we still had a 25% chance of going over 2 degrees warming. ...
Also found in: [+]
Matt Ridley has joined the real climate debate	21.5.2013	Guardian: Environment
The climate sceptic's interpretation of my study as final endorsement of his position means we can move on It isn't often, as a climate scientist, that you find your research being enthusiastically endorsed by climate sceptic Matt Ridley in the Times . We published a paper in the journal Nature Geoscience on Sunday giving a new best estimate of 1.3C for the warming expected due to increasing carbon dioxide in the atmosphere at the time when carbon dioxide levels reach double what they were before the industrial revolution (known as Transient Climate Response, or TCR ). Ridley is excited about this, because he feels it means that until his teenage children reach retirement age, they won't have to worry about global warming. And he is worried that government policies are misguided because they place their faith in climate models, like one of the Met Office models that puts the warming instead at 2.5C, almost twice our estimate. But no one places their faith in any single climate model, and ...
Also found in: [+]
Reasons to Be Hopeful a Decade After We Went Into Iraq	21.5.2013	Mother Jones
This story first appeared on the TomDispatch website. Ten years ago, my part of the world was full of valiant opposition to the new wars being launched far away and at home—and of despair. And like despairing people everywhere, whether in a personal depression or a political tailspin, these activists believed the future would look more or less like the present. If there was nothing else they were confident about, at least they were confident about that. Ten years ago, as a contrarian and a person who prefers not to see others suffer, I tried to undermine despair with the case for hope. A decade later, the present is still contaminated by the crimes of that era, but so much has changed. Not necessarily for the better—a decade ago, most spoke of climate change as a distant problem, and then it caught up with us in 10,000 ways. But not entirely for the worse either—the vigorous climate movement we needed arose in that decade and is growing now. If there is one thing we can draw ...
Also found in: [+]
Heartland Institute wastes real scientists' time – yet again \| John Abraham	20.5.2013	Guardian: Science
Wouldn't it be nice to live in a world where armchair experts gave up fighting over whether climate change is occurring? This spring, I began receiving calls and emails from colleagues about a strange little book that was mailed to environmental science professors around the country. This was a big mailing, in total, a reported 100,000 copies were sent out . What was it about this little book that got us talking? Many things. First, a coordinated mailing of a book is unusual. But what is more unusual is a book that purports to be the "real story" about climate change, with graphs, figures, and tables. It came with a foreward by Senator Harrison Schmitt who is well known for misrepresenting the science. There was also an accompanying letter by Fred Singer. Many of us already know of Fred Singer; he was focused on in an excellent book by Dr Naomi Oreskes who catalogued his history of undermining the science and concerns related to second-hand smoke, ozone depletion, and acid rain. The letter ...
Also found in: [+]
Overheated rhetoric on climate change doesn’t make for good policies	20.5.2013	Washington Post
Climate change is an issue that needs to be discussed thoughtfully and objectively. Unfortunately, claims that distort the facts hinder the legitimate evaluation of policy options. The rhetoric has driven some policymakers toward costly regulations and policies that will harm hardworking American families and do little to decrease global carbon emissions. The Obama administration’s decision to delay, and possibly deny, the Keystone XL pipeline is a prime ...
Also found in: [+]
India Ink: India Arrives at the Arctic	20.5.2013	NY Times: World
Why does India’s inclusion as a permanent observer in the Arctic Council matter.
Also found in: [+]
Letter: Cutting Carbon Emissions	20.5.2013	NY Times: Editorials
Letter: Cutting Carbon Emissions
Also found in: [+]
Climate change meltdown unlikely but human disaster looms, claims new research	19.5.2013	Guardian: Environment
But forecast global temperature rise of 4C heralds disaster for large swaths of planet with oceans absorbing most global warming Some of the most extreme predictions of global warming are unlikely to materialise, new scientific research has suggested, but the world is still likely to be in for a temperature rise of double that regarded as safe. The researchers said that warming was most likely to reach about 4C above pre-industrial levels if the past decade's readings were taken into account. That would still lead to catastrophe across large swaths of the Earth, causing droughts, storms, floods and heatwaves and with drastic effects on agricultural productivity leading to secondary effects such as mass migration. Some climate change sceptics have suggested that because the highest global average temperature yet recorded was in 1998, climate change has stalled. The new study, which is published in the journal Nature Geoscience , shows a much longer "pause" would be needed to suggest ...
Also found in: [+]
Warming extremes 'not as likely'	19.5.2013	BBC: Front Page
Global temperature rises will be slower in the coming decades say researchers but the long term picture is consistent.
Also found in: [+]
A second chance to save the climate	19.5.2013	New Scientist: Being Human
A second chance to save the climate
Also found in: [+]
Analysis-Airline Emissions Deal May Not Come Before EU Deadline	19.5.2013	International Herald Tribune: Americas
Analysis-Airline Emissions Deal May Not Come Before EU Deadline
Also found in: [+]
Editorial: Climate Warnings, Growing Louder	18.5.2013	NY Times: Editorials
Editorial: Climate Warnings, Growing Louder
Also found in: [+]
Not Your Grandpa's RV: This Roving Lab Tracks Air Pollution	18.5.2013	NPR Health Science
Atmospheric scientist Ira Leifer installed special air sensors on a camper, then drove from Florida to California, measuring methane levels all along the way. More than 6,000 readings later, he found some noticeable spikes, especially around petrochemical plants and urban areas like Los Angeles.
Also found in: [+]
Hot and getting hotter	18.5.2013	Salt Lake Tribune
by Mark Reynolds Published May 18, 2013 01:01AM MDT In the rarefied air of Mauna Loa Observatory in Hawaii, 11,141 feet above sea level, scientists have charted the passing of a milestone that, if ignored, heralds a future for civilization both tragic and chaotic. I’m referring to the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, which Charles David Keeling began monitoring in 1958. At that time, CO2 concentration was 313 parts per million. We are now at 400 ppm and that is not good news. Why is this number so important? For hundreds of thou... ...
Also found in: [+]
May 18 Readers' letters: Governor's fixation on four-year graduation rates and California's overcrowded prisons	18.5.2013	San Jose Mercury News: Letters
Letters from Mercury News readers.
Also found in: [+]

1 to 20 of 16,517