News: Archive for August, 2010
‘Reuters – Global wheat markets reeling from Russian droughts, thousands of cattle killed by heat in Kansas, and countless crop acres wiped out by floods in Pakistan are glimpses of what can be expected as the world struggles to battle climate change.’
via Analysis: Extreme weather plagues farming, talks flounder | Reuters.
‘According to news aggregator Energy Collective, a historic era is upon us because solar power has become affordable. More specifically, solar power has become cheaper than nuclear power.’
via Solar power now cheaper than nuclear – Environment – MiamiHerald.com.
‘UNITED NATIONS — Ban Ki-moon, the United Nations secretary general, said Monday that he doubted that member states would reach a new global climate change agreement in December at a conference in Mexico.’
via U.N. Chief Recommends Small Steps on Climate – NYTimes.com.
‘Reuters – China will soon publish a plan for what it called “newly developing energy industries” that will involve 5 trillion yuan $739 billion in investment through 2020, the China Securities Journal reported on Monday.’
via China to unveil $739 billion new energy plan soon: report | Reuters.
‘WASHINGTON AFP – A massive ice island four times the size of Manhattan has broken off an iceberg in north-western Greenland, a researcher at a US university said.’
via Massive ice island breaks off Greenland glacier – Yahoo! News.
‘During an unparalleled heat wave, President Dmitri Medvedev of Russia steps up his climate warnings. “Everyone is talking about climate change now. Unfortunately, what is happening now in our central regions is evidence of this global climate change, because we have never in our history faced such weather conditions in the past,” he says. “This means that we need to change the way we work, change the methods that we used in the past.” [Kremlin]’
via On Our Radar: Russia Warns of Climate Change – Green Blog – NYTimes.com.
‘Reuters – U.N. climate talks have moved backward rather than forward toward a hoped-for deal later this year as nations make slow progress on pledges to cut greenhouse gas emissions and add more proposals to the working document.’
Incredible pictures of the flood in this Boston Globe article.
‘It is only the start of the monsoon season, but already Pakistan is experiencing some of the worst flooding it has seen in over 80 years.’
via Severe flooding in Pakistan – The Big Picture – Boston.com.
‘Scientists previously mapped huge floating trash patches in the Pacific and Atlantic oceans, but now a husband-wife team researching plastic garbage in the Indian Ocean suggest a new and dire view. “The world’s oceans are covered with a thin plastic soup,” says Anna Cummins, cofounder of 5 Gyres Institute.’
via New garbage patch discovered in Indian Ocean – Yahoo! News.
‘(Reuters) – The global solar industry is likely to face a fresh sector trough if the recent European demand feast ahead of subsidy cuts turns into a famine next year.’
via Analysis: Global solar sector faces fresh cell glut | Reuters.