Dinosaur gas and the greenhouse effect

In a major new climate finding, researchers have calculated that dinosaur flatulence could have put enough methane into the atmosphere to warm the planet during the hot, wet Mesozoic era. Like gigantic, long-necked, prehistoric cows, sauropod dinosaurs roamed widely around the Earth 150 million years ago, scientists reported in the journal Current Biology May 7.

Sea change in salinity heralds shift in rainfall

Singapore/Reuters — Scientists have detected a clear change in salinity of the world’s oceans and have found that the cycle that drives rainfall and evaporation has intensified more than thought because of global warming. The finding published April 20 helps refine estimates of how different parts of the globe will be affected by increased rainfall


Link builds between weather extremes and warming

Extreme rainfall, heat waves and increased pollen-induced allergies are to be expected as climate change unfolds

Reuters / Extreme weather events over the past decade have increased and were “very likely” caused by man-made global warming, a study in the journal Nature Climate Change said March 25. Scientists at Germany’s Potsdam Institute for Climate Research used physics, statistical analysis and computer simulations to link extreme rainfall and heat waves to global

2011: Record warmth in the Arctic

As we slowly make our way into 2012 I thought we should take a little bit of time to look back at how 2011 turned out globally. I’ve already mentioned that in the last half of 2011 our region of the world saw record-warm temperatures along with very dry conditions. Globally, 2011 came in tied


Weaker sun will not delay global warming

London/ Reuters / A weaker sun over the next 90 years is not likely to significantly delay a rise in global temperature caused by greenhouse gases, a report said Jan. 23. The study, by Britain’s Meteorological Office and the University of Reading, found that the sun’s output would decrease up until 2100 but this would

Whither the weather?

If this is global warming — bring it on! That was a common response to last week’s record-setting temperatures across southern Manitoba —at least initially. Who could complain about a daytime high of 11 C the first week of January? But at the same time few could deny a sense of unease over a less-than-white



Climate Change Adaptation Is A Priority

Here at the Canadian Foodgrains Bank, we ve been saying that a lot over the past couple of years. For smallholder farmers, women, fisher folk and other people especially vulnerable to climate change, support in adapting to the changes they re experiencing is more important than trying to slow those changes. After all, they produce


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

Taking Climate Change Seriously

While there is no such thing as an “average” farmer, there seems to be a certain proportion of the species with a somewhat selective attitude toward science-based research. When it comes to crop chemicals or genetically modified organisms, they are quite prepared to accept the vast majority of scientific opinion that they are perfectly safe,