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ISO Focus+ - From Fish to Forests - May 2010

Tue, 2012-10-09 18:22 — Kathy Gilbeaux

submitted by Albert Gomez

iso.org - May 2010

The use of fish and wood products continues to grow and are fast becoming the world's most traded commodities in their respective fields. At the same time, both sectors, crucial to biodiversity, are facing the pressing threat of climate change.

ISO's standards are powerful tools for taking action and the May issue showcases stories from companies benefiting from ISO standards, such as a Namibian fish processor or a large Brazilian company in the paperboard market, implementing management systems standards for quality and environmental or food safety as well as occupational health and safety.

http://www.iso.org/iso/home/news_index/iso-magazines/isofocusplus_index/isofocusplus_2010/isofocusplus_2010-05.htm

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Arctic Ice Melt, Sea Level Rise May Pose Imminent Threat To Island Nations, Climate Scientist Says

Sat, 2012-10-06 23:07 — Kathy Gilbeaux

      

This Sept. 16, 2012, image released by NASA shows the amount of summer sea ice in the Arctic, at center in white, and the 1979 to 2000 average extent for the day shown, with the yellow line. Scientists say sea ice in the Arctic shrank to an all-time low of 1.32 million square miles on Sept. 16, smashing old records for the critical climate indicator. (AP Photo/U.S. National Snow and Ice Data Center, File)

huffingtonpost.com - by James Gerken - October 5, 2012

Low-lying island nations threatened by rising sea levels this century could see the disastrous consequences of climate change far sooner than expected, according to one of the world's leading climate scientists.

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The Great Barrier Reef Has Lost Half of its Coral in the Last 27 Years

Thu, 2012-10-04 17:12 — Kathy Gilbeaux

Barnards after cyclone Larry. Image: AIMS Long-term Monitoring Team.

Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS)
October 2, 2012

Can we save the Reef by controlling crown of thorns starfish?

(ABSTRACT AND LINK TO STUDY - BELOW)

The Great Barrier Reef has lost half its coral cover in the last 27 years. The loss was due to storm damage (48%), crown of thorns starfish (42%), and bleaching (10%) according to a new study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences today by researchers from the Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS) in Townsville and the University of Wollongong.

"We can't stop the storms but, perhaps we can stop the starfish. If we can, then the Reef will have more opportunity to adapt to the challenges of rising sea temperatures and ocean acidification", says John Gunn, CEO of AIMS.

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100 Million Will Die by 2030 if World Fails to Tackle Climate Change: Report

Thu, 2012-09-27 10:14 — Kathy Gilbeaux

Reuters - by Nina Chestney
September 27, 2012

(CLICK ON "READ MORE" AT THE BOTTOM OF THIS POST FOR LINKS TO THE REPORT )

LONDON: More than 100 million people will die and global economic growth will be cut by 3.2 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) by 2030 if the world fails to tackle climate change, a report commissioned by 20 governments said on Wednesday.

As global average temperatures rise due to greenhouse gas emissions, the effects on the planet, such as melting ice caps, extreme weather, drought and rising sea levels, will threaten populations and livelihoods, said the report conducted by humanitarian organisation DARA.

(READ COMPLETE ARTICLE)

Report - Climate Vulnerability Monitor: A Guide to the Cold Calculus of A Hot Planet
http://daraint.org/climate-vulnerability-monitor/climate-vulnerability-monitor-2012/report/

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Extreme Weather Means Extreme Food Prices Worldwide, Aid Agency Warns

Sun, 2012-09-09 00:22 — Kathy Gilbeaux

      

Somali girls line up to receive a hot meal in Mogadishu last year after the worst drought in the Horn of Africa in decades, compounded by war, put millions in danger of starvation.  Roberto Schmmidt/AFP/Getty Images

npr.org - by Elizabeth Shogren - September 6, 2012

Reducing greenhouse gases and saving the polar bears tend to dominate discussions on climate change. But to the booming world population, one climate change issue may be even more pressing – hunger.

A new report by a leading international relief agency warns that climate change will increase the risk of large spikes in global food prices in the future, and lead to more hungry people in the world.

(READ COMPLETE ARTICLE)

Oxfam report - Extreme Weather, Extreme Prices
http://www.oxfamamerica.org/publications/extreme-weather-extreme-prices

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Why 2013 will be a year of crisis

Wed, 2012-09-05 20:07 — Maeryn Obley

Prediction: 2013 will be a year of serious global crisis. That crisis is predictable, and in fact has already begun. It will inescapably confront the next president of the United States. Yet this emerging crisis got not a mention at the Republican National Convention in Tampa.

Image: Rotting corn was damaged by severe drought on a farm near Bruceville, Indiana.

submitted by Samuel Bendett

cnn.com - September 3rd, 2012 - David Frum

Prediction: 2013 will be a year of serious global crisis. That crisis is predictable, and in fact has already begun. It will inescapably confront the next president of the United States. Yet this emerging crisis got not a mention at the Republican National Convention in Tampa.

(VIEW COMPLETE ARTICLE)

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Trade-offs between water for food and for curbing climate change

Tue, 2012-09-04 15:45 — Maeryn Obley

submitted by Samuel Bendett

homelandsecuritynewswire.com - September 4th, 2012

Earth’s growing human population needs fresh water for drinking and food production. Fresh water, however, is also needed for the growth of biomass, which acts as a sink of carbon dioxide and thus could help mitigate climate change. Does the Earth have enough freshwater resources to meet these competing demands?

An American Geophysical Union release reports that J. Rockström and colleagues, in their recent study, estimate the order of magnitude of freshwater consumption needed to feed a population of nine billion people by 2050 and the amount of water needed to realize the planet’s full biomass carbon sequestration potential.

(VIEW COMPLETE ARTICLE)

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Risk of water wars rises with scarcity

Tue, 2012-09-04 14:35 — Maeryn Obley

aljazeera.com - Chris Arsenault - August 26th, 2012

The author Mark Twain once remarked that "whisky is for drinking; water is for fighting over" and a series of reports from intelligence agencies and research groups indicate the prospect of a water war is becoming increasingly likely.

In March, a report from the office of the US Director of National Intelligence said the risk of conflict would grow as water demand is set to outstrip sustainable current supplies by 40 per cent by 2030.

"These threats are real and they do raise serious national security concerns," Hillary Clinton, the US secretary of state, said after the report's release.

(VIEW COMPLETE ARTICLE)

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Antarctic Methane Could Escape, Worsen Warming

Tue, 2012-09-04 13:08 — Maeryn Obley

A cutaway view of Antarctica shows its southern ice sheet. (Map from National Geographic)

Image: A cutaway view of Antarctica shows its southern ice sheet. (Map from National Geographic)

news.nationalgeographic.com - Rob Kunzig - August 31st, 2012

Swamp gas trapped under miles of Antarctic ice, a chemical souvenir of that continent's warmer days, may someday escape to warm the planet again, an international team of researchers report in Nature this week.

The researchers suggest that microbes isolated from the rest of the world since the ice closed over them, some 35 million years ago, have kept busy digesting organic matter and making methane—a much more effective greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide.

If global warming causes the ice sheets to retreat in the coming decades or centuries, the researchers warn, some of the methane could belch into the atmosphere, amplifying the warming.

(VIEW COMPLETE ARTICLE)

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Maldives to build floating islands to save country from rising sea levels

Thu, 2012-08-30 17:47 — Corey Watts

photo courtesy of Troon Golf / Koen Olthuis/Waterstudio.NL

submitted by Samuel Bendett 

www.ibtimes.com - August 20, 2012 - by Mark Johanson

Maybe you've already heard: The Maldives is sinking. So what do you do when your tourist-dependent country is slowly disappearing into the sea? If you're the Maldivian government, you create a series of floating islands that include a hotel and convention center, private villas, yacht club and 18-hole golf course.

(READ COMPLETE ARTICLE)

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