‘Australia had to add a new color to its weather maps this week. Meteorologists used royal purple to denote an off-the-charts high temperature of 50 degrees Celsius (122 degrees Fahrenheit), part of an unprecedented heat wave and ongoing wildfires occurring down under this month. On the other side of the globe, 2012 proved the hottest year on record in the contiguous U.S., surpassing the previous record-holder by a full degree F (0.6 deg C). In short, global warming is continuing to turn up the heat–so what are we going to do about it?’

via What Will It Take to Solve Climate Change? – Yahoo! Weather.

‘WORCESTER, England — Britons may remember 2012 as the year the weather spun off its rails in a chaotic concoction of drought, deluge and flooding, but the unpredictability of it all turns out to have been all too predictable: Around the world, extreme has become the new commonplace.’

via Extreme Weather Grows in Frequency and Intensity Around World – NYTimes.com.

‘Last year was the hottest year on record for the contiguous 48 states, marked by near-record numbers of extreme weather events such as drought, wildfire, tornadoes and storms, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.’

via 2012 was hottest year on record for Lower 48 states – latimes.com.

‘Delaying global action on climate change by 20 more years will put the goal of keeping the world relatively cool out of reach forever, no matter how much money humanity later spends to try to solve the problem, a new study finds.’

via Politics Is Key to Avoiding Global Warming Catastrophe – Yahoo! News.

‘The study, published in the journal Geology, found that during periods of rapid climate change over the last million years, the rapid melting of continental glaciers and the resulting sea-level rise eventually increased volcanic eruptions as much as fold.’

via Climate Change May Increase Volcanic Eruptions – Yahoo! News.

‘SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — The executive director of San Francisco-based environmental group Rainforest Action Network has died in a swimming accident at a beach near Mexico’s Pacific coast resort of Puerto Vallarta, police said Friday.’

via Rebecca Tarbotton Dead: Rainforest Action Network’s Executive Director Dies In Swimming Accident.

‘Another climate change study is projecting declines in runoff in many parts of the West, a scenario that would put more pressure on the region’s water supplies.’

via Climate change could cut Western water runoff by 10% – latimes.com.

‘Another climate change study is projecting declines in runoff in many parts of the West, a scenario that would put more pressure on the region’s water supplies.’

via Climate change could cut Western water runoff by 10% – latimes.com.

‘After a decade of legal and regulatory fights, the Environmental Protection Agency has finalized how it will crack down on highly toxic pollution from industrial boilers and cement plants.’

via EPA issues air pollution standards for boilers and cement plants – latimes.com.

‘Once again, the IPCC’s upcoming report has kicked up a kerfuffle months before its scheduled release. An online blogger, who loathes the idea of regulating carbon emissions, leaked a draft of the IPCC’s fifth assessment now under review until its release in September.’

via Draft of global warming report leaked online – latimes.com.