Tag archives for climate change
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Researchers in Australia have found a lake that has defied the odds by showing a remarkable resilience to climate change. Blue Lake, the second largest lake on North Stradbroke Island just off the coast of Queensland, has been relatively untouched by changes in climate for the past 7,000 years, and has so far also resisted…
IEA Says Policies Could Keep 2 Degrees Celsius Goal Alive
Posted by Tim Profeta of Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions, Duke University on June 13, 2013 Redrawing the Energy-Climate Map, a new report from the International Energy Agency (IEA), warns global energy-related greenhouse gas emissions set an all-time high in 2012, throwing the world off its path to limit global warming to 2 degrees Celsius by 2020. These emissions rose 1.4 percent in 2012 to 31.6 billion tons—though the U.S. posted its lowest emissions (down 200 million…
U.N. Climate Talks Pick Back Up in Bonn
Posted by Tim Profeta of Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions, Duke University on June 6, 2013 The next round of U.N. climate change talks began in Bonn, Germany—the final round of midyear negotiations before the 19th Conference of the Parties to the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change in November. The talks are, in part, focused on defining elements of a universal climate agreement by 2015, an agreement that would be enforced by 2020.…
Water – and Us – in the “Anthropocene”
Posted by Sandra Postel of National Geographic's Freshwater Initiative in Water Currents on June 3, 2013 
In late May, 500 scientists from around the world gathered in Bonn, Germany, to converse about the global dimensions of water in the so-called Anthropocene – the proposed name for a new geologic epoch in which humans are a dominant driver of planetary systems and processes. Without question, the scholarly evidence for massive human disruption…
NOAA, Others Predict Active Atlantic Hurricane Season
Posted by Tim Profeta of Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions, Duke University on May 30, 2013 The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) released its predictions for hurricane activity, ahead of the official start of the storm season June 1. In the Atlantic, NOAA forecasts an active season with 13 to 20 named storms. Seven to 11 of those storms, NOAA said, could actually develop into Category 1 or higher hurricanes. As many as three…
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The Arctic regions are home to a variety of wildlife, including polar bears (Ursus maritimus). Polar bears are generally solitary animals. At first glance, more than white, are cream-colored. In fact, the outer coat is hollow and translucent and perfectly fulfills its function of transmitting the sun’s heat to the base of the hair, where…
With Oklahoma Tornado, Questions Swirl about Climate Change Link
Posted by Tim Profeta of Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions, Duke University on May 23, 2013 Hours after a powerful tornado tore through an Oklahoma suburb, killing dozens, some renewed speculation about such storms’ connection to climate change. In recent years, researchers have been working to assess what causes these storms and whether manmade global warming could be affecting them. Plain geography is a factor. Moore, Oklahoma, is in the middle of what is known as Tornado Alley—an area where cold,…
Carbon Dioxide Milestone Revised by NOAA
Posted by Tim Profeta of Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions, Duke University on May 16, 2013 The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) announced last week that carbon dioxide concentrations at the Mauna Loa Observatory in Hawaii surpassed the milestone 400 parts per million for a sustained period. NOAA has since revised the figure—on the basis of computer analysis—saying its May 9 readings actually remained fractions of a point below the historic level, coming in at…
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The top 10 stories on our radar today: The citizens of a small town in Alaska have become America’s first refugees displaced by climate change, a new species of pit viper has been discovered in Honduras, and…
Arctic Experiencing More Than Just Melt
Posted by Tim Profeta of Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions, Duke University on May 9, 2013 Carbon dioxide emissions are soaking into Arctic waters and affecting the chemistry of the ocean, a new report by the Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Program shows. Increasing carbon dioxide emissions and freshwater runoff challenge the ocean’s ability to neutralize acidification—an imbalance caused by absorption of the greenhouse gas from the air. The study said the Arctic’s cold water makes it more vulnerable to…
U.S. Oil Reserves Higher Than Previously Thought
Posted by Tim Profeta of Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions, Duke University on May 2, 2013 According to a new U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) assessment, two formations in the central United States hold three times the amount of natural gas and two times the amount of oil than the federal government previously estimated. Concentrated in the Dakotas and Montana, the Bakken and Three Forks formations are expected to hold 7.4 billion barrels of recoverable oil and…
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Every week, embark with host Boyd Matson on an exploration of the latest discoveries and interviews with some of the most fascinating people on the planet, on National Geographic Weekend. Please check listings near you to find the best way to listen to National Geographic Weekend, or pick your favorite segments and listen now below! Episode: 1317 – Air…
Posted by The sweeping slums of Khayelitsha outside Cape Town are a stark reminder of the endemic inequality that continues to haunt South Africa almost twenty years since the end of apartheid. Here we find around half a million people living in a sea of shacks that are often associated with urban blight across the developing world.…
Arctic Breeding Birds Need Our Attention
Posted by Wildlife Conservation Society on April 24, 2013 
During the summer, the coastal plain transforms itself from a sub-zero inhospitable place to a vast productive wetland. Millions of migratory birds from all over the world – including waterfowl and shorebirds – return there to breed on the tundra: timing their nesting activities with melting snow and a bountiful flush of insects.
Seeing the photos from the record-breaking algal bloom on Lake Erie in 2011 was like déjà vu for me. I grew up in the Great Lakes region in the 1960s and 1970s and remember the days when Lake Erie was declared “dead.” I later learned that the green scum that plagued the lake during summer…
Earth Day Opinion: Helping Coral Ecosystems Survive a Changing Climate
Posted by Wildlife Conservation Society on April 22, 2013 With corals across the globe bleaching due to advancing ocean temperatures, many of the world’s coral reef experts believe these centers of marine biodiversity may become the first casualty of climate change. But while the news on corals has been largely grim, it is not beyond hope.
European Union Rejects Carbon Market Solution
Posted by Tim Profeta of Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions, Duke University on April 18, 2013 The European Union Parliament rejected a proposal to backload the auctioning of credits within its Emissions Trading Scheme this week. The proposed “backloading” plan would have removed a surplus of emissions permits from the world’s largest carbon market—potentially saving it from collapse and making fossil fuels more expensive for utilities and factories to burn. The surplus, partly a result of the…
Moniz, McCarthy Face Questions at Senate Confirmation Hearings
Posted by Tim Profeta of Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions, Duke University on April 11, 2013 Senate confirmation hearings for Ernest Moniz and Gina McCarthy—President Barack Obama’s appointees to oversee the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)—began this week. For Moniz, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology physicist, committee grilling started Tuesday. Natural gas exports were a popular topic throughout Moniz’s hearing—signaling his likely support for exports as a way to combat climate change. With…
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Icon of the Arctic, the polar bear thrives in the remote Arctic landscape of ice and snow. World-renowned polar bear scientist Ian Stirling offers his thoughts on the state of polar bears in the wild, the threats they face today, and insights from his recent book, Polar Bears: A Natural History of a Threatened Species.
EPA Proposes Clean Air Measures for Gasoline, Finalizes MATS Rules
Posted by Tim Profeta of Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions, Duke University on April 4, 2013 The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on Friday announced its proposed Tier 3 rules, which would reduce allowable amounts of sulfur in gasoline and help automobiles’ catalytic converters capture more pollutants. The new measures would reduce sulfur in gasoline by more than 60 percent—from the present average of 30 parts per million to 10 parts per million by 2017—an environmental benefit comparable to taking 33 million…
Posted by By Michael Conathan and Shiva Polefka This article was originally published by the Center for American Progress. When President Barack Obama convenes his cabinet in the White House’s Roosevelt Room, one might be left with the impression that defenders of our oceans are rather pointedly underrepresented. The Department of Commerce, which oversees the National Oceanic…
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By Claire Schoen Media Most of the great cities, the world over, are built along the water. So are many towns, hamlets, and villages. But sea level rise and extreme weather, both fueled by climate change, threaten to reclaim coastal lands and the communities that are built on them. The destruction of New York’s shoreline,…
Studies Link Warming to Increased Weather Extremes
Posted by Tim Profeta of Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions, Duke University on March 28, 2013 A new study in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) finds global temperatures to be one of the best predictors of hurricane activity. In fact, the PNAS study found that a one degree Celsius (1.8 degrees Fahrenheit) rise in global temperatures could multiply the frequency of Katrina-like storms by two to seven times. In the Arctic, melting sea ice—which reached its sixth lowest…
Details of Obama’s Plan to Reduce Dependence on Foreign Oil Emerge
Posted by Tim Profeta of Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions, Duke University on March 21, 2013 The White House has released more details about the Energy Security Trust that President Barack Obama first mentioned in February’s State of the Union address. Obama introduced the plan—which aims to reduce the country’s dependence on foreign oil, improve vehicle fuel efficiency and protect consumers from gas price spikes—during a speech at Chicago’s Argonne National Laboratory. “By investing in our…
Slow Progress in Protecting Polar Waters
Posted by Claire Christian of Antarctic and Southern Ocean Coalition in Ocean Views on March 19, 2013 
Yesterday, I talked about the justification for imposing new requirements on ships that operate in polar waters. The good news is that countries with major presences in the Arctic and Antarctic agree that such requirements are necessary, and over the past decade have made slow but steady progress towards creating them. The bad news…
