In The News

Mourn the Death of the Great Barrier Reef

Irene Banos Ruiz May 3, 2016
With minimal enforcement for protecting the ocean commons, coral reef are being destroyed. Coral reefs survive within a narrow range of temperatures, and a report from the Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies points out that more than 90 percent of the Great Barrier Reef has endured a bleaching event due to warmer temperatures and acidification. “Reefs dampen...

Uncertainty Clouds Climate Deal as Nations Prepare to Sign Accord

Pilita Clark April 22, 2016
More than 150 nations are expected to sign the Paris climate change accord that aims for net zero carbon emissions by 2100. Delays are expected from countries that must pursue legislative approval. Scientific research overwhelmingly supports that the world is warming due to human activities. The United States is expected to balk at final approval: The US Supreme Court blocked regulation of...

Out of Africa

Thomas L. Friedman April 14, 2016
Thousands of migrants travel the deserts of North Africa, fleeing poverty and conflict, determined to reach Libya and eventually Europe. Many Africans with large families can no longer find work as drought and high temperatures devastate the agriculture industry, explains Thomas Friedman for the New York Times. Smugglers collect migrants from Senegal, Nigeria Chad and other countries, cramming...

Australia Climate R&D Spending Cut Bad News for Asia Pacific Region

A. Barrie Pittock March 16, 2016
Climate change caused by burning fossil fuels developed over many years, and finding alternatives to fossil fuels and ways to stem the warming will take time, too. Governments strapped for cash are cutting research and may have to muddle through in dealing with more intense storms, floods, droughts as well as rising seas. Australia’s CEO of the Australian Scientific and Industrial Research...

Study Reveals Stunning Acceleration of Sea Level Rise

John Upton February 23, 2016
The 20st century stands out for sudden rising sea levels, much more than any of the previous 27 centuries. “The new study, the culmination of a decade of work by three teams of farflung scientists, has charted what they called an ‘acceleration’ in sea level rise that’s triggering and worsening flooding in coastlines around the world,” reports John Upton for Climate Central. “The findings also...

Scientists Are Floored by What’s Happening in the Arctic Right Now

Chris Mooney February 19, 2016
The data from NASA is ominous: January is reported as the ninth straight month of record-breaking global warmth. The warmth is not evenly distributed around the globe though, but concentrated in the Arctic. “Global warming has long been known to be particularly intense in the Arctic – a phenomenon known as ‘Arctic amplification’ – but even so, lately the phenomenon has been extremely pronounced...

US Can Meet Paris Climate Deal Goals Despite Court Ruling: White House

February 11, 2016
Almost 200 countries reached an historic agreement in December to reduce carbon emissions. The Obama administration imposed limits on power plants’ carbon emissions, but the US Supreme Court “took the unusual step to delay implementation of the Clean Power Plan until legal challenges to the regulation are completed,” reports Reuters. A Los Angeles Times editorial was blunt, suggesting “What'...