By Michael Ricciardi •
October 23, 2009
An interview with and climate scientist and oceanographer Dr. Julian P. Sachs. quote from the interview: “The increase in atmospheric CO2 and methane since about 1850 are unprecedented in the last 800,000 years in terms of the amount and rate. High levels of these gases in the atmosphere in the geologic past (last 800 kyr there is excellent data from ice cores) have always been associated with warm temperatures, and vice versa. It is not a stretch to [...]
By Kay Sexton •
August 13, 2009
Drought is something we think of as being substantial and dramatic – months in which rain doesn’t fall, monsoons that never happen. But the truth about drought is that it is much more insidious – when average rainfall drops, crops fail even though rain happens and can appear plentiful.
By Dave Harcourt •
July 9, 2009
Scientists from the University of Haifa have shown that Desert Rhubarb, has evolved to ensure that it makes more of the limited rainfall in the Negev Desert than other competitor plants.
Desert Rhubarb (Rheum palaestinum) grows in Israel and Syria, but was studied in the Negev desert by the University of Haifa. Desert Rhubarb is a perennial hemicryptophyte, that grows during the rainy winter in mountainous desert areas where the average annual rainfall is only 75 mm (just under 3 inches).
By Govind Singh •
May 16, 2009
Rainfall patterns altered by climate change and worsened by inequity in the water distribution system has led to a water crisis in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh.
This has led to a spurt in water related violence and conflicts so shocking, we thought they were predicted to take place only in the next 50 years. The local incident mentioned in the news report above was one among many where a mob of about six people killed a family for illegally drawing water from the municipal supply even as onlookers rushed back and forth to collect water before the pipe ran dry.
The incident, which occurred in a below poverty line (BPL) settlement, is yet another validation of how climate change is having much more impact on the poor, especially in the developing world.
By Kay Sexton •
February 25, 2009
Magellenic penguins living on the Punta Tombo peninsula, 110 kilometres south of Argentina, are having to swim up to 50 miles further to find food than they did ten years ago.
By Joshua S Hill •
September 28, 2008
There is almost nothing quite as intriguing and interesting as learning of a new experiment. And while Bunsen burners and the like may be OK for some of you, for me, get me outside and in some dirt any day.
A new experiment, being conducted at Imperial College London’s Silwood Park campus in Berkshire, will attempt to determine how the British plant ecosystem will be affected by future changes to climate and biodiversity.
With this experiment, however, there will be no computer simulations. Instead, scientists and researchers will be conducting the experiment outside, with 168 plots of grassland ecosystem at their fingertips. This will give a clear insight into how the ecosystems will hold up under a variety of different situations.
By Joshua S Hill •
March 2, 2008
Speaking to a friend the other day, our conversation wound its way to the Australian drought. My side of the conversation consisted of imparting facts regarding the Indian Ocean Dipole’s effect on the La Nina, subsequently creating or worsening Australian drought conditions. Dave’s side of the conversation was to inform me that there are kids throughout the country – particularly on the eastern seaboard – that are for the first time in their lives seeing rain.
And these just aren’t 8-month old babies. Kids as old as 16 years old are witnessing rain fall on their very heads.
That rain, according to the National Climate Center (NCC), is an indicator of what might be called the end of our drought. And for this, the entire nation is beyond thankful. We’ve moved all the way through in to … well, whatever is past thankful!
