euractiv.com - January 8, 2014

The EU's decarbonisation of its energy sector will only cut emissions by half the amount needed to limit global warming to 2 degrees Celsius in 2050, according to a business-as-usual scenario quietly released by the European Commission over the Christmas period.

CLICK HERE - STUDY - EU Energy, transport and GHG emissions trends to 2050

Scientists and EU leaders agree that by mid-century, Europe must ramp up energy savings and green its power generation to slash CO2 emissions by 80-95% compared to 1990 levels, and so avoid catastrophic climate change. 

But according to a European Commission ‘Trends to 2050’ study, which was released below the radar over the Christmas period, the continent is only on track to reduce its emissions by around a third in 2030, and 44% in 2050.

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CREDIT: shutterstock

CLICK HERE - STUDY - Multimodel assessment of water scarcity under climate change

CLICK HERE - SUPPORTING INFORMATION - Multimodel assessment of water scarcity under climate change

thinkprogress.org - by Ari Phillips - January 3, 2014

A new study by a diverse group of researchers from twelve countries found that of the human impacts stemming from climate change, the threat it poses to global water supplies may be the most severe.

Blend Images/John Lund via Getty Images

CLICK HERE - STUDY - Spread in model climate sensitivity traced to atmospheric convective mixing

huffingtonpost.com - by Nick Visser - December 31, 2013

Climate change may be far worse than scientists thought, causing global temperatures to rise by at least 4 degrees Celsius by 2100, or about 7.2 degrees Fahrenheit, according to a new study.

The study, published in the journal Nature, takes a fresh look at clouds' effect on the planet, according to a report by The Guardian. The research found that as the planet heats, fewer sunlight-reflecting clouds form, causing temperatures to rise further in an upward spiral.

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Much is still uncertain about the potential effects of climate change on agriculture. New study merges climate models to learn more. Photo: Cgiarclimate

World's leading economic modelers put their minds together and came up with scenarios for agriculture and food production under climate change.

CLICK HERE - PNAS - STUDY - Climate change effects on agriculture: Economic responses to biophysical shocks

ccafs.cgiar.org - by International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) - December 30, 2013

Climate change will alter future weather and change crop and animal productivity. But economic models differ on the magnitude of these changes, according to the world’s lead economic modelers. Estimates on both the direction and magnitude are crucial to address world food security issues at global, regional, and national levels.

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reliefweb.int - Agence France-Presse - by Waakhe Simon WUDU - December 30, 2013

JUBA, December 30, 2013 (AFP) - South Sudanese rebels allied to ex-vice president Riek Machar sought to retake control of a key town Monday, the army said, as hopes faded that an upcoming ceasefire deadline will be met in the violence-wracked nation.

United Nations peacekeepers said they were concerned over claims that thousands of armed youths from Machar's Nuer tribe were readying to attack Bor, the capital of Jonglei state.

International efforts have tried to stop two weeks of violence, believed to have left thousands dead, from spiralling into all-out civil war.

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iwnsvg.com - December 26, 2013

Thomson Reuters Foundation - Inter Press Service - by Desmond Brown - December 30, 2013

KINGSTOWN, St. Vincent, Dic 30 (IPS) - Ralph Gonsalves fought to hold back tears as he shared how his cousin was killed the night before Christmas.

Raymond Gonsalves was buried alive when a slow-moving, low-level trough dumped more than 400 mm of rain on this island in a less than 24 hours and triggered massive flooding and huge landslides.

"People have lost their lives; families are suffering. I was with a family which lost five in one household," Gonsalves, the prime minister of St. Vincent and the Grenadines, told IPS.

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thinkprogress.org - By Kiley Kroh and Jeff Spross - December 18, 2013

While the news about climate change seems to get worse every day, the rapidly improving technology, declining costs, and increasing accessibility of clean energy is the true bright spot in the march toward a zero-carbon future. 2013 had more clean energy milestones than we could fit on one page, but here are thirteen of the key breakthroughs that happened this year.

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gigaom.com - by Kevin C. Tofel - November 7, 2012

After 4 days without power thanks to Hurricane Sandy, something arrived today that will help keep my mobile devices fully charged and connected to the web. I backed a Fenix ReadySet on Kickstarter, which is a large battery that charges with an included solar panel.

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http://www.fenixintl.com/

Photo: A former BP geologist speaks out on the danger of peak oil. Photograph: Ben Stansall/AFP/Getty Images

theguardian.com - December 23rd, 2013 - Janet Larsen and Emily E. Adams

A former British Petroleum (BP) geologist has warned that the age of cheap oil is long gone, bringing with it the danger of "continuous recession" and increased risk of conflict and hunger.

At a lecture on 'Geohazards' earlier this month as part of the postgraduate Natural Hazards for Insurers course at University College London (UCL), Dr. Richard G. Miller, who worked for BP from 1985 before retiring in 2008, said that official data from the International Energy Agency (IEA), US Energy Information Administration (EIA), International Monetary Fund (IMF), among other sources, showed that conventional oil had most likely peaked around 2008.

Photo: Map of the Northwest Passage. Photo Credit: Hugo Ahlenius, UNEP/GRID-Arendal

earth-policy.org - December 19th, 2013 - Janet Larsen and Emily E. Adams

On October 7, 2013, the Nordic Orion bulk carrier ship completed its journey from Vancouver, Canada, to Pori, Finland, having traveled northward around Alaska and through the Northwest Passage.

It was the first large commercial freighter ever to make the voyage through these typically ice-covered Arctic waters.

Avoiding the longer journey, through the Panama Canal, reportedly saved $80,000 in fuel costs and five days in travel time.

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submitted by Luis Kun

homelandsecuritynewswire.com - December 27, 2013

In the United States, 80 percent of the antibiotics are consumed in agriculture and aquaculture for the purpose of increasing food production. This flood of antibiotics released into the environment — sprayed on fruit trees and fed to the likes of livestock, poultry, and salmon, among other uses — has led bacteria to evolve.Mounting evidence shows resistant pathogens are emerging in the wake of this veritable flood of antibiotics — resulting in an increase in bacteria that is immune to available treatments. Scientists say that if the problem is left unchecked, this will create a health crisis on a global scale.

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CLICK HERE - RESEARCH REPORT - Preserving Antibiotics, Rationally

An ICRC-led programme is working to reduce prison rat populations

Two cases of pneumonic plague - more deadly than bubonic plague - have been reported in Madagascar, a health official has told the BBC.

bbc.co.uk - December 11, 2013

It comes after it was confirmed that there was a deadly outbreak of the bubonic plague in a village in the north-west of the island.

Pneumonic plague can be inhaled and transmitted between humans without involvement of animals or fleas.

It is the most virulent and least common form of plague.

It can kill within 24 hours.

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Sudanese anti-government protesters chant slogans during a demonstration in Khartoum, Sudan, Sunday, Sept. 29, 2013. (AP Photo/Khalil Hamra)

huffingtonpost.com - AP - by CHARLTON DOKI and RODNEY MUHUMUZA - December 16, 2013

JUBA, South Sudan (AP) -- South Sudan's president on Monday ordered a dusk-to-dawn curfew in the capital after soldiers loyal to the former deputy attempted to seize power by force, leading to clashes between military factions that highlight the growing instability of the world's youngest nation.

Flanked by government officials, President Salva Kiir --who put on fatigues with an army general's epaulets inside of his usual gentleman's suit -- said Monday in a televised address to the nation that the military had foiled a coup orchestrated by "a group of soldiers allied with the former vice president." The soldiers had attacked the South Sudanese military headquarters near Juba University late Sunday, sparking sporadic bursts of gunfire that continued Monday, he said.

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submitted by Luis Kun

homelandsecuritynewswire.com - December 13, 2013

Computational model demonstrates how disease spreads in a highly connected world. The computational work has led to a new mathematical theory for understanding the global spread of epidemics. The resulting insights could not only help identify an outbreak’s origin but could also significantly improve the ability to forecast the global pathways through which a disease might spread. . .

. . . Their study is published today (13 December) in the journal Science.

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RESEARCH - Science - The Hidden Geometry of Complex, Network-Driven Contagion Phenomena

Members of the media inside the Fukushima Daiichi plant on Thursday. The plant’s operator plans to start moving radioactive fuel to safer storage.  Pool photo by Tomohiro Ohsumi

nytimes.com - by Hiroko Tabuchi - November 10, 2013

TOKYO — It was the part of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant that spooked American officials the most, as the complex spiraled out of control two and a half years ago: the spent fuel pool at Reactor No. 4, with more than 1,500 radioactive fuel assemblies left exposed when a hydrogen explosion blew the roof off the building.

In the next 10 days, the plant’s operator, the Tokyo Electric Power Company, is set to start the delicate and risky task of using a crane to remove the fuel assemblies from the pool, a critical step in a long decommissioning process that has already had serious setbacks.

Just 36 men will carry out the tense operation to move the fuel to safer storage; they will work in groups of six in two-hour shifts throughout the day for months.

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