Environment

Climate Change Debate Ends In Global Accord I would so love to see that headline for real; wouldn't you? I can just imagine some of the big names on both sides of the debate coming together for a meeting in a Berlin beer cellar, perhaps the famous Kuhfurz Klimakeller.  After a few beers, a heated debate and a modicum of fisticuffs they conclude their cordial get-together with a joint news release.  The news release spells out the scientific points on which both sides are agreed.  It is issued at 03:00 am local time.  It is picked up rapidly by the British hapless haploid…

IPCC Seeks Independent Review Committee For 5th Report The IPCC has started work on the preparation of its Fifth Assessment Report (AR5).  They are currently looking for experts who can act as authors: http://www.ipcc.ch/ The IPCC is also seeking to establish an independent review committee: While embarking on the preparation of its Fifth Assessment Report it was the intention of the IPCC that an independent committee of distinguished experts evaluate means by which IPCC procedures must be implemented fully and that they should also examine any changes in procedure that may be required…

Globally environmental changes are happening very fast. Drying up of Aral sea and Sambher lake is one example. Drying up water bodies are another concern globally. Although 3 fourth of the earth is saline water but man has not learned to use it safely and energy efficient way. Under this context can we share news paper reports , matters received in email, or matters available on net. I would like to be educated how a matter openly available on the news site can we shared globally so that those reading the papers away from 1 billion people of the global earth from its total of 8 billion say…

CRACICE Team's Cracked Ice Study Goes Crack!A team of scientists has been studying two cracks in an ice tongue to see if they would meet.  During that study the tongue was rammed by a giant iceberg.  The team studying the development of two major cracks in the Mertz Glacier Tongue has captured a sequence of satellite images showing how a giant iceberg, B-9B, rammed the tongue they were studying and broke it off. B-9B is about 97 kilometers long.  The new iceberg is 78km long and 33 to 39km wide. It has a surface area of 2,500 square kilometres.  That's about as big the UK…

Many scientists warn that with a changing climate there's a good chance that forest fires in the Pacific Northwest will become larger and more frequent – and according to one expert, that's just fine. The future of fire in this region is difficult to predict, will always be variable, and undoubtedly a part of the future landscape. People should understand, however, that fire is not only inevitable but also a valuable part of forest ecosystems and their management, says John Bailey, an associate professor in the Department of Forest Engineering, Resources and Management at Oregon State…

A century ago, biofuels (wood, dung and crop residues) provided the great majority of household energy worldwide. With the advent of fuels such as oil and gas, and the more widespread availability of electricity, the share of household energy from bio-fuels has fallen to around 15%. However, this small percentage hides the fact that around half of the world's population (rising to three-quarters of people in developing countries) still rely on bio-mass energy. This is more so in poor household uses very much less fuel than each wealthy one. With over 30 percent population below poverty line…

The southern limit of permafrost in the James Bay Region in northern Quebec, Canada is now 130 kilometers further north than it was 50 years ago, according to two researchers from the Department of Biology at Université Laval. A lack of long term climatic data for the area makes it impossible for the researchers to confirm the cause, but If the trend continues, permafrost in the region will completely disappear in the near future. The results of the new study appear in Permafrost and Periglacial Processes. During the study, researchers measured the retreat of the permafrost border by…

As 70 percent of the agriculture based population lives in villages where  the only accessible source of fuel is wood fuel, cow dung cakes and agricultural waste material like wheat straw, culms of crops left in the field and the twigs of plants which have dried up. Women tread 2 to 5 km to fetch the wood for the household as cooking is their responsibility and women including girls are often subjected to sexual abuse while going for wood collections deep into woods. A head load of wood has to be collected almost every day to cook for the family of 5 to 8 people with family planning…

Pachauri's IPCC report faces fresh questions | LONDON: The UN climate panel headed by Rajendra Pachauri faced fresh allegations with a British paper claiming that the data contained in its report on the potential of wave power and drop in north Africa's crop output by half were not properly substantiated. The Sunday Telegraph, which is carrying on a campaign against Pachauri, claimed it has discovered a series of new flaws in the report, even as Pachauri's predecessor said he "cannot be personally blamed" for the errors. The latest discrepancies, relate among others to the claim that…

This year's environmentally friendly exhibits include toys made of wood and innovative offers AFP, 16 February 2010, 08:34am IST NEW YORK: US toy makers are coming out of a long recession tunnel this year, hoping to ride the recovery wave with new lines of classic, "green" and high-tech toys, and a sales pitch centered on affordability. Toy manufacturers have hit the fair with exhibits ranging from classic erector sets by Lego and Playmobil to spanking new offers like a Twitter collar for pets and the perennial doll favorite Barbie, who this year is decked out as a television anchorwoman.…