Fiji Daily Post: Ocean warming, frequent tropical cyclones, flash floods and droughts are likely to have a devastating impact on food production systems in Pacific island countries, the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) warned this week. Climate change-related disasters are already imposing serious constraints on development in the islands, which appear to be in a "constant mode of recovery," according to a new report titled Climate Change and Food Security in Pacific Island Countries, jointly …
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Telegraph: Ministers had promised a decision this month, but the announcement has now been pushed back until the New Year. Government sources insisted that Geoff Hoon, the Transport Secretary, still wants to back Heathrow expansion, and said the timing had changed to give ministers time to consider some technical aspects of the plan in more detail. But the delay will be seized on by critics of the plan including the Conservatives and environmental groups hoping for a change. Mr …
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window.document.getElementById(’post-7932′).parentNode.className += ‘ adhesive_post’;Times (UK): Car manufacturers have won a four-year delay to the introduction of European rules designed to force them to reduce carbon dioxide emissions from new cars. Jaguar Land Rover was granted a special deal after Britain joined ranks with other car-producing EU states to water down fuel efficiency targets proposed last year. The highest levels of fines for failing to comply with the targets will not come into force until 2019, not in 2015 as previously proposed. The deal means …
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Guardian: The government’s decision on whether to build a third runway at Heathrow has been postponed until January 2009. A consultation was expected to report on whether work on the runway - which would be ready by 2020 - should begin this year. The scheme would take Heathrow’s capacity from 480,000 flights a year to more than 700,000. Today, the transport secretary, Geoff Hoon, said the decision had been delayed to allow proper consideration of the evidence. In its 2003 aviation …
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Business Green: Electric car firm Nice Car Company has reportedly entered into administration as new figures from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) showed that sales of electric vehicles during the year to November slumped 56 per cent to just 168 cars. However, industry insiders insisted that the drop in sales was to be expected given the tough economic climate and falling sales across the auto market. They also argued that the long-term outlook for the emerging sector remained …
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Greenpeace: Having spent two days atop the 150 metre chimney stack of the Patnów power plant to highlight the catastrophic impact that coal-fired power stations are having on the climate, the 11 Greenpeace climbers came down today and are heading for the UN climate talks in Posnan to continue their campaign to save the climate. "For two days and nights I’ve sat on this smokestack and watched it accelerate climate change," said Gavin Edwards, head of Greenpeace’s global climate campaign. "Nothing …
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ScienceDaily: Climate change is hampering the long-term recovery of rivers from the effects of acid rain, with wet weather offsetting improvements, according to a new study by Cardiff University. The research, by Professor Steve Ormerod and Dr Isabelle Durance of the School of Biosciences took place over a 25 year period around Llyn Brianne in mid-Wales. Their findings are published online today in the British Ecological Society’s Journal of Applied Ecology. Carried out in 14 streams, the …
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Herald: Emily Beament There were renewed calls last night to stop the building of new coal-fired power stations in the UK as the government’s Climate Change Committee called for large emissions cuts by 2020. The Committee on Climate Change, chaired by Adair Turner, said the UK must cut its greenhouse gas output by at least 34% on 1990 levels by 2020 and by even more if an international deal on reducing greenhouse gases is agreed. If the current UN negotiations lead to a new deal on …
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Guardian: Press the starter button underneath the steering wheel, and the only way you’d know the Mini E is ready for action is the lights winking on the dashboard. Even as it begins to move, the experience is eerily silent, like coasting down a hill. On the road the Mini E is a quick mover, and its tight steering keeps it nimble in traffic. BMW claims the car should handle like a normal Mini, despite being 20% heavier, and it certainly accelerates like one: put your foot down and you’ll be …
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Western Mail: CLIMATE change is hampering the long-term recovery of Welsh rivers from the effects of acid rain, a team of scientists claim today. Professor Steve Ormerod and Dr Isabelle Durance of the School of Bio- sciences at Cardiff University, undertook a 25-year study around Llyn Brianne near Llandovery. They found that an increase in wet weather is offsetting improvements in the quality of water in rivers and streams. The research, carried out in 14 streams, assessed the number …
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Agence France-Presse: Venice was under water again on Tuesday after suffering its worst flooding in 22 years, as a new tide left the Renaissance city awash up to about thigh level. On Monday the "acqua alta" (high water) reached 1.56 metres, the highest level since 1986, before beginning to recede. Lower parts of the tourist mecca, including the world-famous St Mark’s Square, remained under water at midday on Tuesday after reaching a high of 1.02 metres, according to the ANSA news agency. The …
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Daily Monitor: Ahead of the UN summit to discuss climate change and its effects on the environment in the city of Poznan in Poland, forest researchers at the National Forestry Resources Research Institute (Naforri) are worried that weather changes are affecting our forests and rivers in the country. According to the Principal Senior Research officer at Naforri, Dr Epila Otala, 20 per cent of the gasses that warm the environment are as a result of deforestation. Dr Otala says Naforri in Mukono …
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LA Times: Reporting from Bakersfield — Just up the road, past pump jacks bobbing in California’s storied oil patch, look sharp and you’ll catch a glimpse of the state’s energy future. Rows of gigantic mirrors covering an area bigger than two football fields have sprouted alongside almond groves near California 99. This is a power plant that uses the sun’s heat to produce electricity for thousands of homes. Owned by Palo Alto-based Ausra Inc., it’s the first so-called solar thermal …
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Environment News Service: A new analysis of economic activity generated by Florida’s coral reefs finds that some 70,000 jobs and more than $5.5 billion in business in the state could disappear if climate change destroys the reefs. "A business-as-usual approach to climate change could mean a lot less business for Florida," said Jerry Karnas, Florida project director at Environmental Defense Fund, which commissioned the report, "Corals and Climate Change: Florida’s Natural Treasures at Risk." Florida …
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Associated Press: The global financial crisis already has delayed some green energy projects, stoking fears that a shortage of investment money will lead to cheap and dirty decisions on new power plants, the UN’s top climate official said. Instead, investors should see the crisis as ‘an opportunity for green growth’ as they replace up to 40 per cent of the world’s power generation over the next decade, said Yvo de Boer, the executive secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate …
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