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Arctic Methane Time Bomb Could Have Huge Economic Costs

      

Increasing temperatures in the Arctic region are reducing sea ice cover and increasing the possibility of methane leaching from the sea bed

bbc.co.uk - by Matt McGrath - July 24, 2013

Scientists say that the release of large amounts of methane from thawing permafrost in the Arctic could have huge economic impacts for the world.

The researchers estimate that the climate effects of the release of this gas could cost $60 trillion (£39 trillion), roughly the size of the global economy in 2012.

The impacts are most likely to be felt in developing countries they say.

The research has been published in the journal Nature.

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RESEARCH - NATURE - Climate science: Vast costs of Arctic change

Climate science: Vast costs of Arctic change (3 page .PDF file)

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Global Warming and the Future of Storms

submitted by Albert Gomez

      

Hurricane Sandy battered towns along the United States east coast. Photograph: Scott Eisen/REUTERS

New research by Kerry Emanuel suggests that hurricanes will become more frequent and more intense

guardiannews.com - by John Abraham - July 26, 2013

Very recently, a publication appeared by perhaps the world's best-known hurricane scientist, Dr. Kerry Emanuel of MIT. Dr. Emanuel combined global computer simulations with more regional simulations to look into the future at the evolution of storms. What he found was surprising.

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STUDY - Downscaling CMIP5 climate models shows increased tropical cyclone activity over the 21st century
http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2013/07/05/1301293110.abstract

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Dangerous Global Warming Could Be Reversed, Say Scientists

      

We’re going to need a bigger bucket of water.  Shutterstock

grist.org - by Natalie Starkey - July 14, 2013

Global warming could be reversed using a combination of burning trees and crops for energy, and capturing and storing carbon dioxide underground (CCS), according to an analysis by scientists. But experts cautioned that trying such an approach after temperatures had passed dangerous levels could be problematic, as climate change reduced the number of trees available for “bioenergy.”

The bioenergy and CCS method was the most cost-effective way of tackling carbon emissions, said the team at Chalmers University of Technology in Sweden, publishing their research in the journal Environmental Research Letters on Thursday.

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Research - Meeting global temperature targets—the role of bioenergy with carbon capture and storage
http://iopscience.iop.org/1748-9326/8/3/034004/article

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Climate Change is Happening Too Quickly for Species to Adapt

      

Species that live on mountains, such as the snow leopard, are particularly at risk. Photograph: Tom Brakefield/Getty Images

guardian.co.uk - by Robin McKie - July 13, 2013

Among the many strange mantras repeated by climate change deniers is the claim that even in an overheated, climate-altered planet, animals and plants will still survive by adapting to global warming. . .

. . . However, their rate of change turns out to be painfully slow, according to a study by Professor John Wiens of the University of Arizona. . . The results, published online in the journal Ecology Letters, show that most land animals will not be able to evolve quickly enough to adapt to the dramatically warmer climate expected by 2100.

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Due to Global Warming, End Is Virtually Certain for NYC, Boston, Miami, Holland

huffingtonpost.com - by Eric Zuesse - July 20, 2013

A new article in the prestigious Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), is headlined "The Multimillennial Sea-Level Commitment of Global Warming," and it reports that because of carbon emissions that are virtually certain, on the basis of the lack of policy-response to global warming thus far, sea levels are now set to rise anywhere from around 8 inches to 7 feet within 100 years, and around 5 yards to 10 yards within 2,000 years. The projections are clearer (within a narrower range) for the longer time-frame than for the shorter one. That's because even if the short-term consequences of heat-rise turn out to be relatively slight, the longer-term consequences are clearer, and will be considerably larger, as delayed impacts kick in.

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PNAS - The multimillennial sea-level commitment of global warming
http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2013/07/10/1219414110

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Global Humanitarian Assistance Report 2013

globalhumanitarianassistance.org - July 17, 2013

‘Year of perpetual crises’ exposes chronic poverty and vulnerability

Geneva: The Global Humanitarian Assistance (GHA) report 2013, released today by Development Initiatives at the UN’s ECOSOC meeting, highlights the absence of any ‘mega-disasters’ [1] in 2012 but reveals the perpetual vulnerability of the poorest people in developing countries and their persistent exposure to crises.

The GHA report, the most comprehensive annual review of humanitarian financing, highlights the shocking death toll of the hunger crisis in Somalia, with 257,000 people (or 4.6% of the population) estimated to have died between 2010 and 2012.

Judith Randel, Executive Director of Development Initiatives, said:“The data shows that the response to slow-onset crises such as Somalia is often late, resulting in huge numbers of unnecessary deaths. By intervening earlier, as well as investing in mechanisms that reduce risk, donors could save more lives and protect more livelihoods - probably at lower cost.”

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India Floods In June Leave Over 5,700 Missing And Presumed Dead

      

A rescue boat sailing through the water logged lanes during flood in river Yamuna on June 20, 2013 in New Delhi, India. Low-lying areas along the Yamuna remained submerged for the second consecutive day though the water level in the river started receding today. (Photo by Arijit Sen/Hindustan Times via Getty Images)

CLICK HERE - Red Flood alert in India from 23/06/2013 00:00 UTC to 15/07/2013 23:59 UTC -
Global Disaster Alert and Coordination System (GDACS)

huffingtonpost.com - by BISWAJEET BANERJEE - July 16, 2013

LUCKNOW, India -- More than 5,700 people missing since floods devastated northern India last month are being presumed dead, even as rescue officials struggle to bring aid to affected villages, top officials said Tuesday.

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Air Pollution Killing Over Two Million Annually, Study Says

      

New Delhi: Air pollution accounts for over 500,000 deaths in India annually, a new study says.

CLICK HERE FOR STUDY - Environmentsl Research Letters - Global premature mortality due to anthropogenic outdoor air pollution and the contribution of past climate change

cnn.com - by Matthew Knight - July 16, 2013

Article Highlights:

  • Air pollution responsible for more than two million premature deaths worldwide annually
  • Study assesses impact of fine particulates and ozone using atmospheric climate models
  • East Asia worst affected region with over a million deaths per year
  • Study also found that climate change hasn't had huge impact on effects of air pollution

(READ COMPLETE ARTICLE HERE)

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Geofeedia - Pioneering Location-Based Social Media Monitoring

geofeedia.com

Location-based streaming, search, monitoring, and analytics.

Create live, location-based social media streams, or “Geofeeds”. Once you create a Geofeed – by simply entering an address or drawing a boundary around a location on a map – you can search, monitor and analyze all social media activity from that location.

http://corp.geofeedia.com/company/how-it-works/

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Illicit Power Structures In Afghanistan: Ethnic diversity, Drug trafficking, War lords and Corruption in the systems of government

By: Maryam Safi

(THE COMPLETE DOCUMENT IS AVAILABLE FOR DOWNLOAD IN THE ATTACHMENT BELOW)

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