Global Warming

The search for clean, renewable energy is turning toward the ocean, but not without some waves of skepticism. Construction has begun off Oregon on what would be the nation's first commercial wave-energy farm, said Sean O'Neill, president of the Ocean Renewable Energy Coalition, a Maryland-based trade association that promotes marine energy. It is planned to supply energy to about 400 homes. Oregon is first U.S. site for a wave-power farm - USATODAY.com

January 2010 Global Tropospheric Temperature Map : " Here’s the UAH lower tropospheric temperature anomaly map for January, 2010. As can be seen, Northern Hemispheric land, on a whole, is not as cold as many of us thought (click on image for larger version). Below-normal areas were restricted to parts of Russia and China, most of Europe, and the southeastern United States. Most of Canada and Greenland were well above normal: (click image to enlarge) It should also be remembered that lower tropospheric temperature anomalies for one month over a small region are not necessarily going to look like surface temperature anomalies. Since January 2010 was the third-warmest month in the 32-year satellite record, it might be of interest to compare the above patterns with the warmest month of record, April, 1998, which was an El Nino year, too: (click image to enlarge) "

November 2009 UAH Global Temperature Update +0.50 deg. C : " YR MON GLOBE NH SH TROPICS 2009 1 +0.304 +0.443 +0.165 -0.036 2009 2 +0.347 +0.678 +0.016 +0.051 2009 3 +0.206 +0.310 +0.103 -0.149 2009 4 +0.090 +0.124 +0.056 -0.014 2009 5 +0.045 +0.046 +0.044 -0.166 2009 6 +0.003 +0.031 -0.025 -0.003 2009 7 +0.411 +0.212 +0.610 +0.427 2009 8 +0.229 +0.282 +0.177 +0.456 2009 9 +0.422 +0.549 +0.294 +0.511 2009 10 +0.286 +0.274 +0.297 +0.326 2009 11 +0.496 +0.418 +0.575 +0.493 The global-average lower tropospheric temperature anomaly rebounded from +0.29 deg. C in October to +0.50 deg. C in November . Both hemispheres, as well as the tropics, contributed to this warmth. The global anomaly for November of +0.50 deg. C is a period r...

Climate change: already affecting people and livelihoods around the world : " Climate change is already impacting different people around the world, affecting agriculture and livelihoods. For example, in Nepal people are finding that cultivating rice (a staple crop) is not as easy as before and are having to change to other crops. In the Himalayas, retreating glaciers are already causing water shortages for local villages high in the mountains, while vast areas of the South Asia region will be affected. In Mozambique, increasing floods are affecting agricultural practices and ways of life, while in Mauritania problems are being caused by increasing desertification. The global warming and climate change introduction page has been updated to include a number of short videos that highlights these issues further. Read full article: Climate Change and Global Warming Introduction "

Massive Antarctic ice sheet collapses with global warming : " Massive Antarctic ice sheet collapses with global warming A chunk of the Wilkins ice shelf 7 times the size of Manhattan began collapsing almost a month ago. Scientists say the melting of the shelf is another sign of global warming, as temperatures have risen dramatically in Antarctica over the last 50 years. The collapse of the shelf is also a concern because it acts as a buttress for continental ice, which will erode more quickly and lead to rising sea level without the buffer. From: LCVheatison Views: 74058 123 ratings Time: 02:20 More in News & Politics "

Climate change leads to increasing frequency of extreme weather events evident around the globe. Unusually high rain fall, which many scientists agree is due to climate change, is a significant cause of floods. On the other hand droughts are becoming longer, harder and more frequent. Floods Major floods that used to happen only once in 100 years now take place every 10 or 20 years. Flooding can be disastrous. Houses can be destroyed, lives can be ruined, and wildlife threatened. Climate change is not the only cause of floods. Other ill-considered human activities play a key role as well. Upstream forests are able to soak up a lot of water, but if humans are destroying these areas, we increase the risk of floods. Wetlands can act as sponges and soak up a lot of moisture, but they are often drained to make room for agriculture and development. By stopping deforestation and reforesting upstream areas, by halting wetland drainage and restoring damaged wetlands, we can significantly soft...

Heating up Fever is an early and usually reliable sign of illness – one of the first things any doctor looks for when a person is not feeling well. Our planet has a fever Specialist researchers at Britain's University of East Anglia have put together all the available data to produce a temperature chart for the last millennium. The warmest year on record was 1998, while the ten warmest years globally have all occurred in the last decade and half. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has also said that most of the observed warming over the last 50 years "is likely to have been due to the increase in greenhouse gas concentrations." The most significant of these gases is carbon dioxide (CO 2 ). And the single biggest source of it – 37% of all emissions worldwide – is the carbon-rich coal burnt in power plants. The global average temperature has increased by about 0.7°C in the last hundred years, according to the European Env...

What's happening to our world? Hurricanes in the Caribbean and the United States. Extensive droughts in eastern Africa, Australia, southern Europe and parts of China and India. Uncontrollable floods in many parts of the world, sometimes preceded by a long drought. Is this all perfectly normal? Or is the increased intensity of these extraordinary events something we should be worried about? Fish moving from the Irish Sea to the north Atlantic around Shetland, in search of cooler waters. Forests in Alaska dying off because of swarms of pests which thrive in the warm winters. Coral reefs unable to cope with warming seas, bleaching and dying more rapidly. The impacts of a warming world are scary enough when considered one by one. The view becomes apocalyptic when one looks at them together. We still have time to avoid the worst – but we need to act now. It's urgent! How do you grow crops in the snow? Rising sea levels are not the only problem caused my melting ice. ...

Scientific proof: climate change is happening now The world is warming faster than at any time in the last 12,000 years. The 1990s was the hottest decade in the past millennium. As global warming tightens its grip, the effects are being felt from the highest mountain peaks to the depths of the oceans. In just the last few years there are numerous examples of how this is affecting people and nature all over the world. Global warming is melting glaciers in every region of the world, putting millions of people at risk from floods, droughts and lack of drinking water. March 2006 showed the smallest Arctic sea ice cover ever measured. In the space of one year an area about the size of Italy was lost. The National Snow and Ice Data Center in the United States found that sea ice extent had reduced by 300,000 square km in comparison to March 2005, itself already a record low year. 2003, Scotland's hottest year on record, saw hundreds of adult salmon die in Scotl...