Topic: Global Climate Change

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Where gas prices are highest

Gasoline is a very visible price, and closely watched by many drivers. Petroleum prices impact many products, from food to industrial production. While the cost of crude is the major factor in gasoline price volatility, some countries levy taxes on fossil fuels. Here are ten countries where high gas prices are the norm, according to British insurance firm Staveley Head.
Sixth Summit of the Americas: 8 things to watch

Yes, the Summit of the Americas in Cartagena will debate drug policy and Cuba. Here are eight other topics to be discussed at the Summit.
Gas prices fact check: Six ideas in Congress, but can they work?

Soaring gas prices have also shown a consistent and significant ability to push members of Congress over the deep end. Here's the experts' take on 6 ideas floating through Congress.
High gas prices: what presidential candidates say they'll do about it

Gas prices jumped 30 cents a gallon in February, and Republicans are blaming President Obama for not having a policy fix. Here's what Mr. Obama and the GOP presidential aspirants are saying on the campaign trail lately about their remedy for high gas prices.
Five hotbeds of biodiversity

Here are five flora- and fauna-rich ecologies that Conservation International, a nonprofit organization in Arlington, Va., says are more than 70 percent intact.

All Content

Climate change: Arctic passes 400 parts per million milestone

Arctic monitoring stations show carbon dioxide levels are now above 400 parts per million. Carbon dioxide is the chief climate-change gas and stays in the atmosphere for 100 years. Before the Industrial Age, carbon dioxide levels were 275 ppm.
Consumer Energy Report
Oil subsidies: Surprise! Liberals are fans, too.

When asked if the federal government should eliminate subsidies for oil companies, most would respond with a resounding 'yes.' But such a policy would have unwelcome unintended consequences, and not just for billionaire oil tycoons.
Modern Parenthood
US Navy uses new online game to gather energy security solutions

A new online game developed by the US Navy creates a platform for older kids to contribute ideas on how the military can lessen its dependence on oil, supplementing its current research on energy security.
Rich-poor divide bogs down UN climate talks

Developing nations say the industrialized world - responsible for most of the emissions historically - should bear the brunt of the emissions cuts while developed nations want to make sure that fast-growing economies like China and India don't get off too easy.
Where gas prices are highest

Gasoline is a very visible price, and closely watched by many drivers. Petroleum prices impact many products, from food to industrial production. While the cost of crude is the major factor in gasoline price volatility, some countries levy taxes on fossil fuels. Here are ten countries where high gas prices are the norm, according to British insurance firm Staveley Head.
Change Agent
Community radio cuts disaster risk in flood-prone Bangladesh

Radio stations that broadcast in local dialects along Bangladesh’s coast warn residents about storms and help farmers cope with erratic weather.
Twice as many mega rainstorms in Midwest in past 50 years

Wisconsin saw the biggest rise (203 percent) in extreme rainstorms – 3 inches of rain or more in a day, new study says. Climate change is behind more Midwest flooding, say scientists.
Antarctic ice sheet at risk, say scientists

A new study points out an unexpected weakness in the Antarctic ice sheet, which could melt rapidly within the next century, say scientists.
Warm water threatens vast Anatarctic ice shelf (+video)

A new study indicates that a large ice sheet is at risk. Warm water from below is causing it to melt.
Did gassy dinosaurs cause global warming?

A new study found that giant plant-eating dinosaurs could have produced giant quantities of methane, a powerful greenhouse gas.
Scientists: Dinosaur flatulence may have warmed Earth (+video)

Like gigantic, long-necked, prehistoric cows, sauropod dinosaurs roamed widely around the Earth 150 million years ago, scientists reported in the journal Current Biology on Monday.
Heartland Institute's digital billboards make bombastic comparisons (+video)

New billboards designed by the Heartland Institute compare climate scientists to the Unabomber, and other mass murderers. Climate scientists and other writers respond.
Japan shuts down last nuclear reactor for tests. End of nuclear power?

If Japan survives the summer without power blackouts, citizens may pressure the government to make the temporary nuclear shutdown permanent.
Greenland's glaciers melting faster, say scientists

Greenland's glaciers are melting 30 faster than they were a decade ago, satellite images reveal.
Plants flowering much faster as global temperatures rise (+video)

Scientists have been underestimating the effects of climate change on plant growth, according to a recent study.
Private Empire

Pulitzer Prize-winner Steve Coll takes a close look at secretive behemoth that is Exxon Mobil.
How a bizarre ocean current could create coral refuges (+video)

Warming in the Pacific could lead to new currents that create islands of refuge for corals, new research suggests.
Don't believe the headlines. Wind farms do not cause 'global' warming.

A recent study published in Nature Climate Change suggests that large wind farms could be pulling down hot air at night, raising the average temperature of the local region. The results of the study, however, have been widely misconstrued in the news media.
How wind farms could cause local (but not global) warming

The atmospheric turbulence caused by large wind farms could cause local temperature increases, a new study indicates.
Modern Parenthood
Arbor Day: 5 reasons to plant the family tree

Arbor Day: The family tree is good for the planet – 5 reasons to plant one, or more
Antarctic ice melting from below, reveals satellite (+video)

Antarctica's ice shelves are being melted away by warm ocean currents underneath, shows data collected from a NASA satellite.
The Race for What's Left

It's not just oil and gas, warns Michael T. Klare in this first-rate wake-up call. Planet Earth is now in danger of running out of just about everything.
Corn pricing affected by global warming, federal mandates not helping, study finds

Researchers out of Purdue and Stanford University have found evidence that small temperature increases over the next two decades could have a surprisingly drastic impact on the volatility of corn prices. And federal biofuel mandates may make things worse.
Carbon trading: Why 'good' companies embrace 'bad' credits

When it comes to Europe's carbon-trading system, top companies like Dow Chemical, ConocoPhillips, and BP prefer to save a little money than hone their 'green' reputation.
Cover Story
With all this natural gas, who needs oil?

It's home-grown, plentiful, and touted as the best way to wean the US off Mideast oil. But there are limits to how far the US can tilt toward a natural gas economy.