2011

Al Gore: clear proof that climate change causes extreme weather

Author: 

Severin Carrell
Al Gore: clear proof that climate change causes extreme weather
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Former US vice president tells Scottish green conference that evidence from floods in Pakistan and China is compelling

Al Gore has warned that there is now clear proof that climate change is directly responsible for the extreme and devastating floods, storms and droughts that displaced millions of people this year.

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River basins could double food production - study

Author: 

Deborah Zabarenko
River basins could double food production - study
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* More food possible without water crisis, experts say

* Africa has greatest potential for improvement

By Deborah Zabarenko, Environment Correspondent

WASHINGTON, Sept 26 (Reuters) - Major river basins in Africa, Asia and Latin America could sustainably double food production in some of the poorest parts of the globe in the next few decades, water experts reported on Monday.

But myriad competing claims on the water -- from industry, cities and power producers among others -- may stand in the way of a big increase in food production.

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Wind, Water, and Solar Power for the World

Author: 

Mark Delucchi
Wind, Water, and Solar Power for the World
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We don’t need nuclear power, coal, or biofuels. We can get 100 percent of our energy from wind, water, and solar (WWS) power. And we can do it today—efficiently, reliably, safely, sustainably, and economically.

We can get to this WWS world by simply building a lot of new systems for the production, transmission, and use of energy. One scenario that Stanford engineering professor Mark Jacobson and I developed, projecting to 2030, includes:

 

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Green growth

Author: 

Schumpeter
Green growth
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THE enrichment of previously poor countries is the most inspiring development of our time. It is also worrying. The environment is already under strain. What will happen when the global population rises from 7 billion today to 9.3 billion in 2050, as demographers expect, and a growing proportion of these people can afford goods that were once reserved for the elite? Can the planet support so much economic activity?

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Can game theory save the UN climate talks?

Can game theory save the UN climate talks?
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German academics have used the mathematics behind the strategic behaviour of countries to propose a way though the myriad impasses

Delegates at the Bonn climate in June 2010. Photograph: UNFCCC/IISD RS

America will never sign up, but the EU will if China does, which is unlikely if Africa doesn't. No nation wants to go it alone but Russia doesn't want to do anything, and the poor want the rich to absorb all the costs but the rich will only agree to sign if the poor do more.

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The 'other' Arctic sea ice melt

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Reports focus on the possibility a record minimum for Arctic sea ice in September, but a major loss during the early summer months is climatologically more important

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Urgent Investment In Renewables Needed

Urgent Investment In Renewables Needed
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PARIS -- A fundamental change is needed in power generation, with a greater and more urgent investment required in renewables used in all industries, including the metals sector, an executive at the International Energy Agency said Thursday.

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Weather Disasters Keep Costing U.S. Billions This Year

Author: 

Mary Wisniewski
Weather Disasters Keep Costing U.S. Billions This Year
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Blizzards. Tornadoes. Floods. Record heat and drought, followed by wildfires.

The first eight months of 2011 have brought strange and destructive weather to the United States.

From the blizzard that dumped almost two feet of snow on Chicago, to killer tornadoes and heat waves in the south, to record flooding, to wildfires that have burned more than 1,000 homes in Texas in the last few days, Mother Nature has been in a vile and costly mood.

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Weather Disasters Costing U.S. Billions This Year

Author: 

Mary Wisniewski
Weather Disasters Keep Costing U.S. Billions This Year
Show

Blizzards. Tornadoes. Floods. Record heat and drought, followed by wildfires.

The first eight months of 2011 have brought strange and destructive weather to the United States.

From the blizzard that dumped almost two feet of snow on Chicago, to killer tornadoes and heat waves in the south, to record flooding, to wildfires that have burned more than 1,000 homes in Texas in the last few days, Mother Nature has been in a vile and costly mood.

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