UN Chief Makes Antarctica Visit

Mr Ban - the first UN chief to visit the continent - wanted to see for himself the effects of climate change on the world's largest wilderness.

After flying over melting glaciers, he told reporters that what he had seen had been both "extraordinarily beautiful" and "disturbing".

Mr Ban is preparing to host a climate conference in Indonesia in December.

The secretary general flew to Antarctica from southern Chile, and was briefed by experts about the impact of global warming on the frozen continent.

Antarctica is home to about 90% of the world's ice, but scientists say some parts are melting fast.


In some areas of the continent, temperatures have risen by as much as 3C in the past 50 years - prompting penguins to move inland in search of colder habitats.

Over the next century global warming could speed up the melting of the polar ice caps, causing major flooding of lowlands and changes in crop production, experts have warned.

California sues EPA over Global Warming

California and 14 other states are demanding urgent action on global warming from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, arguing in a lawsuit filed Thursday that the environmental and health risks are mounting every day that the Bush administration delays action.

But a quick remedy to the problem may not be in the cards, even if the EPA makes a decision about California's plan to give its drivers cleaner cars that emit fewer greenhouse gases.

A tangle of lawsuits is expected to follow, no matter what the EPA's decision is, as Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger acknowledged Thursday.

EU Praises Efforts to 'Fight Global Warming '

The European Union yesterday praised China's efforts to fight climate change despite having diverging views from Beijing over a post-Koyto Protocol structure.

China is very committed to fighting climate change, reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emission and improving energy efficiency, the chairman of European Parliament's Temporary Committee on Climate Change, Guido Sacconi, said at a news conference in Beijing.

His remarks came on the last day of his three-day visit to China during which he met with senior officials involved in devising policies to fight climate change and enforce them.

China acknowledges the importance of cooperating with industrialized countries on technology and technology transfer, as well as the need for financial assistance in these fields, he said. The EU and China will continue cooperating closely on the issue.

Experts Warn Florida About 'Climate Change'

Scientists and economists Tuesday warned lawmakers of consequences Florida faces from climate change, including more destructive hurricanes and a rising sea level, but they also said the state could be a leader in reducing global warming.

Three panels of experts spoke at a symposium held by the House Environmental Resources Council and three related committees.

Climate change will figure into comprehensive energy and environmental policy legislation the lawmakers will be considering during the 2008 legislative session, said Council Chairman Stan Mayfield, R-Vero Beach.

Some legislators, though, questioned whether Florida could do much to reduce carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gasses, spewed mostly from power plants and vehicle exhausts, that contribute to global warming. That's because Florida emits only 1 percent of those gasses worldwide.

"If Florida is the only group in the world doing anything you're not going to make a dent in this," acknowledged Judy Curry, a professor of earth and atmospheric sciences at the Georgia Institute of Technology. "But some of the things that Florida is doing really could lead the way."

Gov. Charlie Crist has attempted to put Florida in the lead by ordering that greenhouse gas emissions be reduced to 2000 levels by the year 2017, to 1990 levels by 2025 and 20 percent below 1990 levels by 2050.

U.S. Must Meet Global Warming Challenge

Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton Monday pledged to slash US greenhouse gas emissions, as she aimed to bounce back from her most difficult week yet on the campaign trail.

Clinton's comprehensive plan to tackle global warming represented the latest sign that environmental issues are playing a greater role in the 2008 White House race, than in any previous US election.

"This is the biggest challenge we've faced in a generation, a challenge to our economy, our security, our health, and our planet," Clinton said in the midwestern state of Iowa, which holds first party nominating contests on January 3.

"It is time for America to meet it," she said.

The Clinton plan uses a cap and trade system to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 80 percent from 1990 levels by 2050, in a bid to head off the most damaging results of global warming.

It also sets a target of reducing foreign oil imports to the gas guzzling United States by two-thirds from levels projected to be reached in 2030 -- a cut of 10 million barrels per day.

Is There A Link Between Hurricanes and Global Warming?

"There's no question it's been a schizophrenic season," said Chris Mooney, author of the book Storm World, which explores the link between global warming and hurricanes.

With its Category 5 storms and low ACE index, the 2007 season offers ammunition for both camps of scientists arguing over the impact of global warming on hurricanes.

The overall number of systems for this year so far — 14 named storms, four of which became hurricanes — is above the long-term average of about 10 named storms a year.

But scientists who believe global warming is having a measurable effect on hurricanes say climate change is more apt to influence the intensity of systems, rather than the overall number.

"Two Category 5s in a slow year argues in favor of the climate change hypothesis, as the per-storm intensification rate was quite high this year," said James Elsner, a Florida State University hurricane scientist who believes global warming is affecting storm activity.

Yet some hurricane scientists who are uncertain whether hurricane activity would already be showing a measurable effect from global warming say having two Category 5 hurricanes in a single season may not be much of a rarity in the Atlantic.

KICKBACKS

Kickbacks are another example of the type of corruption that the citizens of New Orleans had to endure from some of its elected officials and businessmen who are cronies of those elected officials.


A kickback is an official's share of misappropriated funds allocated from his or her organization to an organization involved in corrupt bidding. For example, suppose that a politician is in charge of choosing how to spend some public funds. He can give a contract to a company that isn't the best bidder, or allocate more than they deserve. In this case, the company benefits, and in exchange for betraying the public, the official receives a kickback payment, which is a portion of the sum the company received.

This sum itself may be all or a portion of the difference between the actual (inflated) payment to the company and the (lower) market-based price that would have been paid had the bidding been competitive. Kickbacks are not limited to government officials; any situation in which people are entrusted to spend funds that do not belong to them is susceptible to this kind of corruption.