Greenhouse Gases Hit High Level In 2006

Two of the most important Greenhouse gases in the Earth's atmosphere reached a record high in 2006, and measurements show that one — carbon dioxide — is playing an increasingly important role in global warming, the U.N. weather agency said Friday.

The global average concentrations of carbon dioxide, or CO2, and nitrous oxide, or N2O, in the atmosphere were higher than ever in measurements coordinated by the World Meteorological Organization, said Geir Braathen, a climate specialist at the Geneva-based agency.

Methane, the third of the three important greenhouse gases, remained stable between 2005 and 2006, he said.

Braathen said measurements show that CO2 is contributing more to global warming than previously.

Welch Scientists Gets Nobel Honor

A WELSH scientist who has described climate change as a “weapon of mass destruction” is to receive the Nobel Peace Prize with former US Vice-President Al Gore, the Western Mail can reveal today.

Sir John Houghton will be part of a delegation from the Inter Governmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) to receive the award next month.

The former head of the Met Office chaired the climate change panel between 1998 and 2002 and was the lead editor of its first three reports on global warming.

Mr Gore is sharing the award with the IPCC as recognition for his efforts in raising awareness of the problem through his documentary An Inconvenient Truth and other work. The Norweigian Nobel Committee recognised the IPCC’s work on global warming over the last two decades. The IPCC and Mr Gore will receive the award at a ceremony in Oslo on December 10.

Global Warming Threatens Tree Frogs

A HEAT-SEEKING frog with a remarkable ability to control its temperature may be protected from extinction by experts in Manchester.

Scientists believe global warming is behind a dramatic decline in Central America's tropical tree frogs - and their findings could help save dozens of other threatened species.

Costa Rican tree frogs live high above the ground and bask in the sun.

Manchester University scientists think they do this because the heat kills fungal infections, but global warming has created cloudy conditions in their habitat, leading to increased illness.

They are testing their theory on tree frogs held as part of a collection of amphibians at Manchester Museum.

Amphibian expert Andrew Gray said a scanner would examine the frogs' skin, which lets them regulate their temperature as well as change colors to camouflage themselves.

He said: "The imaging technique is non-invasive and does not harm the frogs."

A third of the world's 5,700 amphibians face extinction through global warming.
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It is astonishing to me that with all of the available information, concerning global warming and its effects on our planet, that an entire city would not be concerned about energy conservation. Like I have pointed out previously, an energy savings contract, under former New Orleans Mayor, Marc Morial was looted. His confidant, Stan "Pampy" Barre, was the ringleader who because of his own personal greed decided to use the City's coffers as his own personal ATM machine. It is inconceivable to realize that a person would be so cold and calculating as to deny the citizens of New Orleans to reap those benefits of the energy savings contract.

OPEC nations create clean tech fund

Members of OPEC announced today that they will contribute $750 million to a fund to study clean energy and technologies, according to Cleantech.com

The fund will put a particular emphasis on carbon capture and storage.

Saudi Arabia coughed up $300 million for the fund while Kuwait, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates each pledged $150 million. Abu Dhabi, a member of the United Arab Emirates, already participates in a clean technology venture fund.

In a statement, OPEC (according to Cleantech.com) said it would "stress the importance of cleaner and more efficient petroleum technologies for the protection of the local, regional and global environment, and the importance of expediting the development of technologies that address climate change, such as carbon capture and storage."

Downed Trees Called Warming Factor

As if Hurricane Katrina’s effect on life and property along the Gulf Coast were not bad enough, researchers at Tulane University and the University of New Hampshire now say the storm may contribute to global warming.

The researchers point to the estimated 320 million large trees that were killed or severely damaged by Katrina.

Jeffrey Chambers, an assistant professor of ecology and evolutionary biology at Tulane, says young, healthy forests are important in the battle against warming because they remove carbon — in the form of carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas — from the atmosphere by photosynthesis.

Dead trees and downed wood, on the other hand, decompose and release carbon into the atmosphere.

“The carbon that will be released as these trees decompose is enough to cancel out an entire year’s worth of net gain by all U.S. forests. And this is only from a single storm,’’ Chambers, the lead author of an article detailing the team’s findings, said.

The article, “Hurricane Katrina’s Carbon Footprint on Gulf Coast Forests,’’ is published in the most recent issue of the journal Science.

As the Earth’s climate warms, evidence is mounting that hurricanes, tornados and frontal systems will gain in energy, producing more violent storms and stronger winds, Chambers said.

Group Says 'Global Warming' could wipe out decades of progress

Climate change may cut rice and wheat yields in Asia and wipe out decades of social and economic progress, a report on the environment said.

``An increase of just 1 degree Celsius in night-time temperatures during the growing season will reduce Asian rice yields by 10 percent,'' according to environmental group Greenpeace, one of the contributors to the ``Up in Smoke'' report. ``Wheat production could by fall 32 percent by 2050.''

The report comes just before the 10 members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations plus China, Japan, Korea, India, Australia and New Zealand will pledge to reduce the impact on global warming at their summit meeting in Singapore Nov. 21.

UN Climate Panel Reports Risk of Global Warming

The UN climate panel issued a landmark report on Saturday warning of severe consequences of global warming and urging governments to act to rein in greenhouse gas emissions.

The 26-page report, released in the Spanish city of Valencia by the Nobel Peace Prize-winning Intergovernmental Climate Change, said of the climate system is "unequivocal" and governments must take action to avoid warming catastrophic consequences.

Climate change is "evident from observations of increases in global average air and ocean temperatures, widespread melting of snow and ice, and rising global average sea level," the report noted.

The report, which will be the first point of reference for political negotiators meeting next month for talks aimed at finding out a successor to the Kyoto Protocol, attributed global warming mainly to greenhouse gas concentrations caused by human activities.

Signed in 1997, the Kyoto Protocol requires 36 industrial countries to significantly reduce their carbon emissions. It expires in 2012.

"Global total annual greenhouse gas emissions from human activities have risen by 70 percent since 1970," the report said.

It also said governments have a wide range of tools including higher taxes on emissions, regulations, tradeable permits and more investment in research.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon welcomed the report, saying the potential impact of global warming is "so severe and so sweeping that only urgent, global action will do."