Category Archives: Global warming

Martin Wolf on the Difficulties of Combatting Climate Change Inertia

Climate change is rapidly joining a host of media stories, like Darfur and the deterioration of living standards in Iraq, where the public half-heartedly follows the updates because they believe there’s no underlying news and even if they are bothered, there is nothing they can do. For example, the final, summary report from the Intergovernmental […]

New York Times: What Didn’t Make It Into the Final IPCC Report

The fourth and final installment of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s fourth, summary report is to be released later today. As with earlier versions, certain elements have already been passed on to the press, but there seems to be far less anticipatory chatter than with the previous installments. I hope this isn’t a sign […]

"Welcome to a world of runaway energy demand"

Martin Wolf, in today’s Financial Times, does a very nice job of summarizing the International Energy Agency’s newly released World Energy Outlook. Some tidbits: energy consumption will rise 50% by 2030; coal will increase its share of energy production; even if the powers that be get serious about greenhouse gases, their level will be 30% […]

BBC: People Willing to Sacrifice to Combat Global Warming

The BBC conducted a large-scale survey of 22,000 people in 21 countries and found widespread support for curtailing lifestyle in to fight global warming. Note that this survey was conducted before the news of the extraordinary Arctic summer ice melt, which could have shifted opinion further in the direction of taking action. Of course, the […]

China’s Dependence on Coal

A good article from the Associated Press, “World’s Coal Dependency Hits Environment,” doesn’t appear, at least according to Google News, to have been picked up elsewhere, which is a shame. While the title refers to “world’s,” the story is largely about China. We’ve discussed the environmental damage done by coal-fired electrical plants, yet China and […]

Martin Wolf is Down on Biofuels

Martin Wolf, the Financial Times’ highly regarded economics editor, has an usually blunt article today, “Biofuels: a tale of special interests and subsidies.” While the main target is the way special interests are turning biofuels into yet another agricultural pork barrel, he makes a number of important observations: biofuels are only marginally cleaner than conventional […]

Rising Ozone Levels to Reduce Agricultural Productivity by 40%

Ozone is getting increasing attention as a greenhouse gas, and the findings are not pretty. We reported earlier on research that found that ozone interferes with plant photosynthesis, which both reduces its effectiveness as a carbon sink and reduces plant productivity. A new MIT study (hat tip Mark Thoma) reports that rising ozone levels are […]

Higher Temperatures Linked to Mass Extinctions

Human activity has led to a considerable loss of species, and more is in the offing. But what is particularly alarming is that the scientists quoted in the Associated Press and on the BBC today see it coming in mere decades. The discovery is that hotter, wetter periods on this planet are associated with a […]

CO2 Levels Rising Faster Than Forecast

The journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences has published an article that finds that atmospheric concentrations of greenhouse gases are rising faster than projected. We reported recently on the fact that oceans are becoming less effective as a carbon sink, an idea independently confirmed by Dr. Corinne Le Quere, of the University of […]

The Future of Coral Reefs

John Quiggin, Australian economist and popular blogger, participated in the Coral Reef Futures Forum since one of his many roles is to look at the economics of the Great Barrier Reef. In addition to shedding light on the progress and consequences of global warming, Quiggin’s post also provides informative comments on what he calls delusionist […]

Warm Wind a Culprit in Arctic Melt

A story on BBC today, citing the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, attributes the record melt in summer Arctic ice to a shift in wind patterns which the researchers believe was caused by global warming. Worryingly, this appears to be a lasting change. From the BBC: The Arctic is being hit by melting ice, […]

Oceans Becoming More Acidic (and Why That’s a Big Deal)

We’ve mentioned before that higher atmospheric CO2 levels make the oceans more acidic. And that in turn is very nasty for shellfish, coral reefs, and the foundation of the ocean food supply, plankton. As this article in Science Daily reports, the consequences may be even more serious than those of global warming: The world’s oceans […]

Clive Crook on America’s Sham Carbon Emission Legislation

Faithful readers, I hope you will bear with me over the next couple of days. I am having weird problems with my mice, and needless to say, the lack of a properly functioning mouse is a big obstacle to efficient computer use. The result will likely be fewer posts and/or fewer links in posts. I […]

Arctic Walruses Displaced by Polar Ice Retreat

More disheartening news on the global warming front: Arctic walruses have moved from their customary ice sheet habitat to the rocky Alaskan Northwest coast, raising fears that their new foraging grounds won’t provide sufficient food. From the Associated Press viaPnysOrg: Thousands of walrus have appeared on Alaska’s northwest coast in what conservationists are calling a […]