Problem

mondaq.com- by Stephen L. Kass - January 6, 2014

In my last column (" Keystone and Fukushima: Balancing Needs and Risks," Sept. 18, 2013), I pointed out the significant environmental risks from both Canada's oil sands and Japan's nuclear facilities and concluded that, after balancing their respective benefits and risks, neither represented a desirable model for either the United States or the international community to meet their future energy needs. Those needs are expected to grow substantially as developing countries strive to improve their standards of living and the world's population grows from seven billion to more than nine billion people.

Where is that new energy going to come from?

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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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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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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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