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Scientists find bigger than expected polar ice melt
GENEVA — Icecaps around the North and South Poles are melting faster and in a more widespread manner than expected, raising sea levels and fuelling climate change, a major scientific survey showed Wednesday. The International Polar Year survey found that warming in the Antarctic is “much more widespread than was thought,” while Arctic sea ice […]
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Japan may force utilities to buy surplus domestic solar power
TOKYO — Japan plans to soon require electricity companies to buy surplus power generated by household solar panels at about twice the current price, a government official said Tuesday. The scheme, to start as early as the fiscal year beginning in April, aims to promote solar power as part of efforts to cut greenhouse gas […]
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Climate change risk underestimated: study
WASHINGTON — The risk posed to mankind and the environment by even small changes in average global temperatures is much higher than believed even a few years ago, a study said Monday. Published by the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the study updated a 2001 assessment by the Inter-governmental Panel on Climate Change […]
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NASA mission to monitor carbon dioxide fails
WASHINGTON –A US satellite to monitor global carbon dioxide emissions plummeted into the ocean near Antarctica Tuesday after failing to reach orbit, NASA officials said, calling it a major disappointment for climate science. NASA said the satellite launched successfully from the Vandenberg Air Force Base in California aboard a Taurus XL rocket at 1:55 am […]
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Chad fights charcoal in battle against creeping desert
NDJAMENA — Authorities in Chad are cracking down on the use of charcoal to save forests and keep the desert from advancing in the Saharan nation, but discontent is mounting over the tough measures. Sanctions that began coming into effect in December include torching vehicles carrying charcoal and arresting people transporting the product, law-and-order officials […]
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China says willing to work with US on climate change
BEIJING — China said Thursday it was willing to work with the United States on addressing climate change, saying such efforts were vital to fighting global warming. “Strengthening cooperation on climate change is in the interest of the two countries and conducive to our two nations contributing to international climate change cooperation,” foreign ministry spokeswoman […]
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Biofuels may speed up, not slow global warming: study
CHICAGO — The use of crop-based biofuels could speed up rather than slow down global warming by fueling the destruction of rainforests, scientists warned Saturday. Once heralded as the answer to oil, biofuels have become increasingly controversial because of their impact on food prices and the amount of energy it takes to produce them. They […]
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Nearly 1,500 more cars in Beijing daily
BEIJING — Nearly 1,500 cars a day have been added to Beijing’s streets since the start of the year, state media said on Tuesday, indicating new curbs on driving had not dampened the desire for automobiles. The already gridlocked and heavily polluted Chinese capital registered 65,970 new motor vehicles in the first 45 days of […]
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Doomsday seed vault’s stores are growing
CHICAGO — The stores of seeds in a “doomsday” vault in the Norwegian Arctic are growing as researchers rush to preserve 100,000 crop varieties from potential extinction. The imperiled seeds are going to be critical for protecting the global food supply against devastating crop losses as a result of climate change, said Cary Fowler, executive […]
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Canada touts continental climate change policy
OTTAWA — Canada’s environment minister on Thursday heralded a possible continental climate change pact with the United States, saying US President Barack Obama has opened the door. “At this point in history there is an enormous opportunity to work together as North Americans to achieve real focused and concerted progress on the environment,” Environment Minister […]
