Climate crisis news since the Global Warming Email Series began.
In the past eight weeks, the US media has substantially increased its coverage of the growing climate crisis. The news itself has become consistently frightful. But the mere fact that the US media is starting the focus is encouraging. We present a synopsis of twenty of these reports.
Additional Scientific Findings
Scientists warn that rising temperatures will cause sea level rise - CNN
The air over Antarctica is warming faster than in other parts of the world CNN
Results of Montreal Climate Change Conference - UN
Radiative Forcing of Climate Change - Report from the National Academies
UN emergency summit in Paris on March 16th 2006 Second article on UN summit
The meeting dealt with the issue of melting glaciers on Mount Everest and damage to the Great Barrier Reef off the coast of Australia. US delegation opposed adding those two and three other sites to UNESCO's endangered sites list.
Impact on our Lives
Inuit alarmed by signs of global warming: "Sentries for the rest of the world" report massive changes to Arctic life. - Washington Post article.
NY and California: the dirtiest air in US - MSNBC
UN issued report blaming humans for the loss of biodiversity - MSNBC
The report was issued on March 20-31 2006 as a result of UN Convention on Biological Diversity in Curitiba, Brazil.
Some Are Taking Action
Governor of California proposed a bill that would make California the first state to set limits on emissions of greenhouse gases.Official Press Release
The bill also proposes a mandatory carbon dioxide emissions reporting from power plants operators and other heavy industries.
Kyoto update Kyoto Protocol - Status of Ratification. As of 27 February 2006, 162 countries ratified the Treaty.
Seattle update As of March 31, 2006 221 mayors representing 43.9 million Americans signed the US Mayors Climate Protection Agreement.
HSBC Bank announced in 2004 that by January 2006 will become carbon neutral. HSBC Site It is the first major bank in the world that committed to go carbon neutral.
Evangelical Climate Initiative Site New York Times coverage ABC News coverage 86 Evangelical Christian leaders (known as being conservative) launched the statement "Climate Change: An Evangelical Call to Action" in February 2006, calling for action on the legislative level that would require CO2 emissions reductions.
British rock band Coldplay bought 10000 mango trees for villagers in India to neutralize the emissions of carbon dioxide that accompanied in production and redistribution of their last album.
Sweden committed to be no longer dependent on fossil fuels by 2020. Time
Chicago Climate Exchange. CCX is the world's first voluntary, legally binding rules-based greenhouse gas emission reduction and trading system. The Program is divided into two phases.
- Phase I - by December 2006, members committed to reduce their emissions by 4% below a baseline period of 1998-2001.
- Phase II - by 2010 members will reduce GHG emissions by 6% below baseline. CCX members include DuPont, American Electric Power, Motorola, Inc., IBM, Bayer Corporation, City of Chicago, Baxter International, among others.
Government Action on Global Warming
CBS in its program "60 Minutes" interviewed James Hansen, a leading NASA scientist. Hansen reveals how the White House censors his speeches, reports about climate change.
Media Reaction to Climate Crisis
Elizabeth Kolbert - a must read
Interview with the author of "Field Notes from a Catastrophe: Man, Nature, and Climate Change"
The cover story of the April 3rd Time Magazine is dedicated to global warming.
The title of the special report is "Be Worried. Be Very Worried" and reports that glaciers are melting faster, droughts are progressing, sea levels are rising, etc. Time suggests that Earth is at its tipping point now.
THE HCF IN THE NEWS
$100 Challenges and $500 Rebates on Priuses - New York Times (subscription access required to view site archive)