U.K. Climate Threat Dire
November 26, 1999In a report by the U.K. Climate Impact, climate experts warn that by
2050 sea levels will rise up to 20 inches in Britain. Rob Jarman, National
Trust's environmental practices adviser, says that this report on U.K.
climate shows that one of the biggest issues is coastal change, which
threatens life and property. (Reuters)
Global Warming Hurting Polar Bears
November 15, 1999Polar bears along the Hudson Bay are starving because their feeding
season is dwindling because of global warming, according to a study by
Canadian Wildlife Service. Gary Cook, director of the Greenpeace Climate
campaign, says that if this trend continues that the population will
decline and that bears will enter human habitats. (Tom Cohen, Associated
Press)
Remote Sensing Takes Farming High Tech
November 15, 1999NASA scientists want to use remote sensing technology to help farmers.
Doug Rickman, a remote sensing scientist at NASA, says that combining
remote sensing techniques with precision farming will improve agricultural
yields. (Environmental News Network)
Don't Forget Methane
November 10, 1999Including methane, the primary component in natural gas, is key to
curbing global warming costs report a team of atmospheric scientists,
economists, and emission experts. Katharine Hayhoe, atmospheric scientist
at the University of Illinois, says that methane can reduce U.S. costs by
more than 25 percent. (Environmental News Network)
Storm Warning Scale
November 9, 1999After Jan. 1, 2000, the sun will begin the most active part of its
11-year cycle with bursts of energy that can threaten satellites and
electrical power, according to National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration (NOAA) officials. James Baker, NOAA administrator, says
that NOAA has created a new scale to precisely describe the intensity of
solar storms to help power companies and satellites operators might be
affected by the solar storm (Paul Recer, Associated Press)
Things Could Get Hot by 2050
November 9, 1999If you thought El Niño was a rough ride, just wait half a century, say
researchers at the University of Washington. Philip Mote, an atmospheric
scientist, says that global climate models predicted temperature increases
of 2 to 6 degrees Fahrenheit. The researchers also predicted water
shortages, dimished snow pack, wetter winters, decreased forest
productivity, and increased wildfires as a result of global warming. (Eric
Sorensen, Seattle Times)
Studying Deep Ocean Currents for Clues to Climates
November 9, 1999Scientists believe that they may have identified a kind of deep ocean
current oscillation comparable to the surface temperature oscillation of El
Niño and La Niña. Researchers at the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory of
Columbia University report in the journal, Science, that deep ocean
currents are responsible for 1,500-year cold cycles that affect global warming and cooling on time scales of centuries to millennia. (William K. Stevens, New York Times)
Impact of Climate Change
November 2, 1999Climate change can influence ecosystems by altering the behavior of the
predators that live in them. A team of Norwegian biologists have tracked
wolves and found that during harsh winters, wolves travel in larger packs.
This is bad news for the wolves' favorite prey, moose, but it is good news
for the vegetation the moose eat. (Henry Fountain, New York Times)
Researchers Gather Global Warming Data from Ship's Bow
November 2, 1999Carbon dioxide is only one of the many gases involved in greenhouse
warming and scientists are looking for ways to isolate the other gases.
Tim Bates at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration says that
from analyzed air samples from the ship, researchers will be able to create
a better model of how greenhouse gases are warming and cooling the Earth.
(Eric Sorensen, Seattle Times)
Greenhouse Gas Strategy Unclear
November 2, 1999Droughts, floods, disease and environmental destruction likely will
increase unless carbon emissions are reduced, warn researchers. At the
U.N. climate conference 150 nations gathered to ratify an anti-pollution
accord, but there has been no consensus between the U.S., European Union,
and developing countries. (Clare Nullis, Associated Press)