In World’s Breadbasket, Climate Change Feeds Some Worry

It can t happen here, can it? The United States, the breadbasket and supplier of last resort for a hungry world, has been such an amazing food producer in the last half-century that most Americans take for granted annual bounteous harvests of grain, meat, dairy, fruits, vegetables and other crops. When horrific images of drought

Belching Bovines More Climate Friendly Than Thought

Australia’s huge cattle herd in the north might be burping less planet-warming methane emissions than thought, said a study released on May 27, suggesting the cows are more climate friendly. Cattle, sheep and other ruminant livestock produce large amounts of methane, which is about 20 times more powerful at trapping heat than carbon dioxide. One


Climate Change Already Reducing Crop Yields: Study

Scientists warn that climate change resulting from global warming could reduce the world’s ability to grow food just when an increasing population needs it most. Now, new research indicates it may already be happening. A recent paper published in Sciencemagazine says two of the world’s four major crops show declining yields over the last 30

Australian Farmers Key To Climate Change Fight

Australian farmers could be major winners from plans to put a price on carbon emissions, particularly as other countries also move to curb greenhouse gas pollution, the nation’s top climate adviser Ross Garnaut said March 1. In a report on how carbon markets will impact on rural land use, Garnaut said farmers had a key


China To Launch Energy Cap And Trade

China is planning trial efforts for an energy cap-and-trade scheme, applying market forces to its goals to reduce fossil fuel consumption and greenhouse gas pollution, the government said March 5. The announcement added to evidence that China will focus on using broad energy consumption levers to pursue its goal of cutting carbon intensity, a measure

2010 Ties For Warmest Year, Emissions To Blame

Last year tied for the warmest since data started in 1880, capping a decade of record high temperatures that shows mankind’s greenhouse gas emissions are heating the planet, a U.S. agency said. Global surface temperatures in 2010 were 1.12 F (0.62 C) above the 20th century average, tying the record set in 2005, the National


Volcanic Blasts Can Boost Asian Rains

Scientists studying tree rings to reconstruct the past have found that major volcanic eruptions can boost rains in Southeast Asia, challenging a common perception of volcanoes as purely destructive forces. Studies in the past have shown massive eruptions such as the 1815 Tambora blast, and Krakatau in 1883, both in Indonesia, dimmed temperatures globally and

Communities Face Big Challenge Ahead To Reduce GHGs

Communities that know how heavy their carbon footprint is, now face the even more daunting job of figuring out how to reduce it. Eleven towns, plus the cities of Brandon, Thompson and Winkler, are the first municipalities to grapple with reducing greenhouse gas emissions. They were selected two years ago by the province to lead


Carbon Credit Market In Doubt

With almost no fanfare, Saskatchewan has passed a new greenhouse gas bill that should theoretically provide a mechanism for farmers to be paid for carbon credits. However, the devil will be in the details and the regulations for the bill have yet to be established. Observers worry that when the dust clears, farmers will not

Climate Report Shows Australia Getting Warmer

Australia’s top scientists have released a “State of the Climate” report at a time of growing skepticism over climate change as a result of revelations of errors in some global scientific reports. The scientists said their monitoring and research of the world’s driest inhabited continent for 100 years “clearly demonstrate that climate change is real.”