tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-333330202011-06-13T17:48:36.687-07:00Climate change refers to the variation in the Earth's global climate or in regional climates over time. It describes changes in the variability or average state of the atmosphere—or average weather—over time scales ranging from decades to millions of years. These changes may come from processes internal to the Earth, be driven by external forces (e.g. variations in sunlight intensity) or, most recently, be caused by human activities.sauravnoreply@blogger.comBlogger141100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33333020.post-1160525315102909492006-10-10T17:08:00.000-07:002006-12-22T13:55:57.030-08:00

A COLOURFUL bird new to science has been discovered in an unexplored forest, spurring efforts to protect the area.The bright yellow and red-crowned Yariguies brush-finch was named after the indigenous tribe that once inhabited the mountainous area where it was discovered. The Yariguies committed mass suicide instead of submitting to Spanish colonial rule. For conservationists the discovery of the

sauravnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33333020.post-1158083007950486882006-09-12T10:43:00.000-07:002006-12-15T11:47:52.853-08:00

Thousands of plant species are being pushed to the brink of extinction by global warming, and those already at the extremes are in the greatest danger, a leading botanist said on Tuesday.Paul Smith, head of Britain's Millennium Seed Bank, said the drylands of the world which cover 40 percent of the earth's surface and are home to more than one-third of the population faced the bleakest future."In

sauravnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33333020.post-1157215911328923182006-09-02T09:51:00.000-07:002006-09-02T09:51:51.346-07:00

A drought-hit resort town in Canada's Pacific rain forest is trucking in water to avert a total shutdown, but hotels and other businesses will have to severely limit consumption, the mayor said on Friday.Tofino, on the west coast of Vancouver Island, usually receives about 10 feet of rain a year. It has had no serious rainfall since June and last month was the driest August on record.Mayor John

sauravnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33333020.post-1156951523904354772006-08-30T08:24:00.000-07:002006-08-30T08:25:23.916-07:00

Climate change may be one of the biggest threats to slashing poverty in the world's poorest nations and has forced the World Bank to reassess its development projects, the bank said on Tuesday.Studies have shown that climate change and global warming linked to greenhouse gas emissions will slash economic growth, development and investment in some of the world's most vulnerable and poor nations."

sauravnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33333020.post-1156509522256306772006-08-23T05:37:00.000-07:002006-08-25T05:38:42.256-07:00

Cool your home, warm the planet. When more than two dozen countries undertook in 1989 to fix the ozone hole over Antarctica, they began replacing chloroflourocarbons in refrigerators, air conditioners and hair spray.But they had little idea that using other gases that contain chlorine or fluorine instead also would contribute greatly to global warming.CFCs destroy ozone, the atmospheric layer

johnnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33333020.post-1156509439733159952006-08-23T05:36:00.000-07:002006-08-25T05:37:19.733-07:00

As wildfires grow in number and strength worldwide, they are unleashing mercury that has polluted wetlands in the north since at least the dawn of the Industrial Revolution.These infernos in the north of North America are releasing mercury at levels up to 15 times greater than fires elsewhere in the continent. The key, researchers note, is that climate change is making northern wetlands more

johnnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33333020.post-1156509332712893492006-08-21T05:34:00.000-07:002006-08-25T05:35:32.713-07:00

The recovery of the earth's protective ozone layer, which was ravaged by chemicals in the 20th century, will take five to 15 years longer than predicted."The delayed recovery is a warning that we cannot take the ozone layer for granted and must maintain and accelerate our efforts to phase out harmful chemicals," said Achim Steiner, executive director of the UN Environment Programme Friday.Some

johnnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33333020.post-1156509152799377452006-08-18T05:31:00.000-07:002006-08-25T05:32:32.800-07:00

The increase in the intensity and duration of Atlantic hurricanes in recent decades is due to temperature increases in the atmosphere caused by global warming, and not by natural variations in ocean temperature, according to a new study.Recent studies have linked rising sea surface temperatures, or SSTs, in the Atlantic Ocean to climate change caused by human activities. Warmer SST's means the

johnnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33333020.post-1156509074725332832006-08-17T05:30:00.000-07:002006-08-25T05:31:14.726-07:00

Climate change could be slowed by burying greenhouse gases blamed for global warming deep below the ocean floor under thick, cold sediment that would trap it for thousands of years, said a team of Harvard-led scientists.The seafloor along the U.S. east and west coast is vast enough to store almost unlimited carbon dioxide emissions from U.S. coal-fired plants, said Daniel Schrag, director of

johnnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33333020.post-1156509026327174562006-08-13T05:28:00.000-07:002006-08-25T05:30:26.330-07:00

Sometimes, global warming can help put money in your pocket.Hansruedi Burgener has welcomed up to 800 people a day -- twice the average number of visitors -- to his remote mountain hostel in the Alps this summer.They all hope to watch a rock the size of two Empire State Buildings collapse onto the canyon floor up to 656 feet below, as retreating glacier ice robs a cliff face on the eastern edge

johnnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33333020.post-1156508918948334752006-08-07T05:26:00.000-07:002006-11-26T03:28:40.016-08:00

The quaint seaside town of Lyme Regis with its narrow, winding streets seems a million miles from the melting polar ice caps or the flooded coral atolls of the Pacific.But the exposed steel piling behind the promenade and the newly reinforced beach, designed to stop Lyme from crumbling into the sea, show that this, too, is a corner of the planet threatened by climate change.Many scientists reckon

johnnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33333020.post-1156508813466300032006-08-05T05:25:00.000-07:002006-08-25T05:26:53.466-07:00

Temperatures are reaching triple digits across the country and air conditioners are working overtime. They are also injecting additional carbon into the air, a gas known to insulate the planet and contribute to global warming.A new analysis suggests the cycle will be exacerbated.Earth's temperature has increased by about 1 degree Fahrenheit (0.56 degrees Celsius) in the last century. Studies

johnnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33333020.post-1156508665851992242006-08-03T05:23:00.000-07:002006-08-25T05:24:41.973-07:00

Australian scientists have said they were studying what rare iridescent clouds over Antarctica can reveal about global climate change.Researchers at Australia's Mawson weather station in Antarctica captured images of the spectacular mother-of-pearl formations known as nacreous clouds late last month.Meteorologist Renae Baker, who photographed the clouds, said they were rarely seen and only formed

johnnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33333020.post-1156506893845954812006-07-31T04:52:00.000-07:002006-08-25T04:54:53.853-07:00

One way to curb global warming is to purposely shoot sulfur into the atmosphere, a scientists suggested today.The burning of fossil fuels releases carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas, into the atmosphere. It also releases sulfur that cools the planet by reflecting solar radiation away from Earth.Most researchers say the warming effect has been winning in recent decades.Injecting sulfur into the

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