One Degree Matters
The Turanor takes its name from the Elvish language of JRR Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings, and means “power of the sun”.
Launched from Germany’s northern port of Kiel, the yacht is set to sail around the world, powered by its 500 square meters of solar panels.
Its Swiss skipper Raphael Domjan says he hopes to deliver the message that a cleaner planet is possible.
He hopes to complete the trip in 160 days, via a route specially chosen to capitalise on the sun.
Without sunshine, the Turanor can still travel for three days on stored energy.
Male polar bears are resorting to eating cubs as their seal hunting grounds disappear.
Tourists often take excursions to northern Manitoba for a first hand look at polar bears.
But one group recently experienced a horrifying sight as a male bear separated a cub from its mother, then killed and ate it.
Scientists say there have been at least eight cases of polar bears eating cubs this year and that the cubs are being killed for food.
The Hudson Bay sea ice, which the bears use to hunt for seals so they can fatten up for winter, is not appearing until weeks later than usual. Read the rest of this entry »
Photo from: http://www.flickr.com/photos/350org/4039375152/in/photostream/
I like this photo from the Kiwis, Christchurch NZ. www.350.org
Data came from samples brought up by the drilling ship Joides Resolution
Researchers used ocean sediments to plot CO2 levels back 20 million years.
Levels similar to those now commonly regarded as adequate to tackle climate change were associated with sea levels 25-40m (80-130 ft) higher than today.
Scientists write in the journal Science that this extends knowledge of the link between CO2 and climate back in time.
The last 800,000 years have been mapped relatively well from ice cores drilled in Antarctica, where historical temperatures and atmospheric content have left a series of chemical clues in the layers of ice.
But looking back further has been more problematic; and the new record contains much more precise estimates of historical records than have been available before for the 20 million year timeframe.
Sustained levels
Full storey: news.bbc.co.uk
The new standards were agreed to at a meeting in Montreal where the International Air Transport Association (IATA) has its headquarters.
IATA represents 230 of the world’s airlines.
It says air carriers, airports and aerospace companies have pledged to improve fuel efficiency by 1.5 per cent a year between now and 2020.
They also agreed to setting a goal of carbon-neutral growth within the same period, and to a 50 per cent net reduction of carbon emissions in 2050 compared to 2005 levels. Read the rest of this entry »
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