The medical case against climate change
Deniers stating that climate change is a threat for the distant future forget that air pollution from coal fired plants, industry and vehicle exhausts are just a huge threat to our present as well.
Extreme weather
A massive drought strikes Brazil
In the land of carnavals, I had read that some festivities had been cancelled because of the lack of water, so I knew something was wrong in Brazil. In fact, it is the worst drought in 84 years !
Pentagon acknowledges threat of climate change
It will become significantly harder for those who deny climate change in the United States to continue to do so after this. The US Department of Defense believes that global warming is a ” threat multiplier “.
Don’t say climate change, prefer ” climate crises “
To a recent study, global warming could cause a 50 percent increase in violent conflict. To another, a warming arctic could cost the world economy around $60 TRILLION.
Hope for climate in Davos’ World Economic Forum
Last week in Davos, Switzerland, took place the annual World Economic Forum. As the financial crisis of 2008 is drawing to an end, climate change is emerging as a key crisis that has to be addressed as soon as possible. To Reuters : ” Christine Lagarde, managing director of the International Monetary Fund, summed it …
Are our cities just too big to flood ?
This was the question asked on the the Yale Environment 360 blog and I believe the timing is perfect as last year cities such as New York City, Manila and Bangkok got it by record floods. Now it is the turn of Jakarta. The capital megacity of Indonesia now has water in its streets and …
7 ways climate change is worse than thought
In case you would haven’t guessed : Climate change is here and it’s even worse than we thought. New Scientist proposes a compelling series of article showing that the IPCC predictions in 2007 were below what we are witnessing. Here are the seven points of their argumentation : arctic warming, extreme weather, food production, sea …
Another year, another CO2 emissions record
This is getting really worrying. To the German renewable energy institute, global CO2 emissions rose by 2.5 percent in 2011. The IEA on its side saw a 3.2 percent increase. Global emissions are now 50 percent higher than in 1990. This is taking place as respected organizations such as the World Bank, the IEA and …
World Bank urges to ” turn down the heat “
Earlier this week, the World Bank published a new report called “Turn Down the Heat” with catastrophic figures, as to their projections, global temperatures could rise by 4°C by 2100. As this venerable institution notes, this would have catastrophic consequences for the world’s poorest as extreme weather, decreasing crops quantities, biodiversity loss, water scarcity and …
Hurricane Sandy, aka the Frankenstorm
Unless you have spent the week remote from civilization, you must have heard of THE event of the week : Disney bought the Star Wars franchise. Ooops, sorry, I meant : Hurricane Sandy, also known as the Frankenstorm. All joking aside, the matter is tremendously serious as dozens died in the Caribbean and the United …
Arctic ice 18 percent below previous records
We have seen it this year quite a few times : the arctic has been melting this year at an unprecedented rate to a never seen before low level. Indeed, the new low level is 18 percent below the previous record, which dated from 2007. This has led a scientist from Cambridge to believe that the …
Americans connect the dots, demand action
Two recent polls are showing that change might soon take place in the United States. Climate Progress recently noted that 75 % of Americans support regulating carbon dioxide as a pollutant, and that 60 % support a carbon tax. The same website mentioned shortly afterwards another poll showing that 63% of Americans say their country …