Environment

Polar ice loss quickens, raising seas

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Richard Black
Polar ice loss quickens, raising seas
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The Greenland ice sheet is losing its mass faster than its southern counterpart

Ice loss from Antarctica and Greenland has accelerated over the last 20 years, research shows, and will soon become the biggest driver of sea level rise.

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Coal's hidden costs top $345 billion in U.S.: study

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Scott Malone
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BOSTON | Wed Feb 16, 2011 11:57am EST

 

 (Reuters) - The United States' reliance on coal to generate almost half of its electricity, costs the economy about $345 billion a year in hidden expenses not borne by miners or utilities, including health problems in mining communities and pollution around power plants, a study found. 

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Figures On Global Climate Show 2010 Tied 2005 As The Hottest Year On Record

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New government figures for the global climate show that 2010 was the wettest year in the historical record, and it tied 2005 as the hottest year since record-keeping began in 1880.

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The Ocean's Accelerator

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Scripps researchers see evidence that melting polar ice could alter climate by slowing ocean circulation...or speeding it up

January/February 2011

By Robert Monroe

Imagine the ocean as a giant swimming pool - devoid of topographical features like seamounts and trenches and with smooth walls instead of jutting continental shelves or jagged coastlines.

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ANALYSIS: Asia's Water Scarcity Poses Economic, Political Test

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 Source: ReutersBy Alan Wheatley, Global Economics Correspondent JINGHONG, China, Oct 11 (Reuters) - Framed by banana and eucalyptus trees, the caramel-coloured Mekong river rolls through this lush corner of Yunnan province in southwestern China with an unerring rhythm that is reassuring in its seeming timelessness. Yet as recently as April, a fearsome drought had shrivelled the Mekong to its narrowest in 50 years.

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Ocean's Color Affects Hurricane Paths

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ScienceDaily (Aug. 14, 2010) — A change in the color of ocean waters could have a drastic effect on the prevalence of hurricanes, new research indicates. In a simulation of such a change in one region of the North Pacific, the study finds that hurricane formation decreases by 70 percent. That would be a big drop for a region that accounts for more than half the world's reported hurricane-force winds.

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