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Fossil Fuel Production Up Despite Recession

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World production of fossil fuels-oil, coal, and natural gas-increased 2.9 percent in 2008 to reach 27.4 million tons of oil equivalent (Mtoe) per day.1 (See Figure 1.) In the first half of the year, producers strained to meet global demand, but when the recession took hold later in the year the market was swamped by excess supply. Energy prices reflected this shift: oil peaked at $144 per barrel in July, then fell to $34 per barrel in December.2 Continuing a decade-long trend, most of the growth was in the... region.

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Climate Roulette

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They say that everyone who finally gets it about climate change has an "Oh, shit" moment--an instant when the full scientific implications become clear and they suddenly realize what a horrifically dangerous situation humanity has created for itself. Listening to the speeches, groundbreaking in their way, that President Obama and Chinese President Hu Jintao delivered September 22 at the UN Summit on Climate Change, I was reminded of my most recent "Oh, shit" moment.

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Oil Demand Has Peaked in Developed Nations, Never to Return -- Report

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Demand for oil in developed nations peaked in 2005, and changing demographics and improved motor-vehicle efficiency guarantee that it won't hit those heights again, IHS Cambridge Energy Research Associates says in a new report. Reduced petroleum demand in developed nations could make their economic growth less vulnerable to oil price shocks, the report states. Nonetheless, global oil demand is still expected to grow, overall, driven by China and other developing nations as the world economy recovers.

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Food Production "Must Rise 70%"

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Food production will have to increase by 70% over the next 40 years to feed the world's growing population, the United Nations food agency predicts. The Food and Agricultural Organisation says if more land is not used for food production now, 370 million people could be facing famine by 2050. The world population is expected to increase from the current 6.7 billion to 9.1 billion by mid-century. Climate change, involving floods and droughts, will affect food production.

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World 'Will Miss Biodiversity Loss Targets'

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World Will Miss 2010 Target To Stem Biodiversity Loss, Experts Say; As losses accelerate, missed target is "certain;" Growing water needs, mismanagement leading to "catastrophic decline" in freshwater biodiversity; Biodiversity science evolving from sounding alarms to finding solutions; New systems being created to monitor biodiversity, inform policy; http://uk.oneworld.net/article/view/163774/1/5795

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Giant, Mucus-Like Sea Blobs on the Rise, Pose Danger

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Beware of the blob—this time, it's for real. As sea temperatures have risen in recent decades, enormous sheets of a mucus-like material have begun forming more often, oozing into new regions, and lasting longer, a new Mediterranean Sea study says (sea "mucus" blob pictures). And the blobs may be more than just unpleasant. Up to 124 miles (200 kilometers) long, the mucilages appear naturally, usually near Mediterranean coasts in summer.

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New Saudi University's Stunning Visualization Facilities Prototyped at UC San Diego

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In inaugural ceremonies webcast around the world, Saudi Arabia inaugurated the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) on Sept. 23. Those facilities include Shaheen, the region's fastest supercomputer, as well as what is being billed as the world's most advanced facilities for scientific visualization.

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Could Food Shortages Bring Down Civilization?

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“In early 2008, Saudi Arabia announced that, after being self-sufficient in wheat for over 20 years, the non-replenishable aquifer it had been pumping for irrigation was largely depleted,” writes Lester R. Brown in his new book, Plan B 4.0: Mobilizing to Save Civilization (W.W. Norton & Company). “In response, officials said they would reduce their wheat harvest by one eighth each year until production would cease entirely in 2016.

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Two Meter Sea Level Rise Unstoppable-Experts

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By Gerard Wynn Gerard Wynn – Tue Sep 29, 3:14 pm ET OXFORD, England (Reuters) – A rise of at least two meters in the world's sea levels is now almost unstoppable, experts told a climate conference at Oxford University on Tuesday. "The crux of the sea level issue is that it starts very slowly but once it gets going it is practically unstoppable," said Stefan Rahmstorf, a scientist at Germany's Potsdam Institute and a widely recognized sea level expert.

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New Analysis Brings Dire Forecast Of 6.3-Degree Temperature Increase

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Climate researchers now predict the planet will warm by 6.3 degrees Fahrenheit by the end of the century even if the world's leaders fulfill their most ambitious climate pledges, a much faster and broader scale of change than forecast just two years ago, according to a report released Thursday by the United Nations Environment Program.

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