Posted by: Saving Water SA (Cape Town, South Africa) – partnered with Water Rhapsody conservation systems – 30 August 2010
A review due on Monday (US time) can help restore public faith in the United Nations panel of climate scientists and its finding that global warming is man made despite errors in a 2007 report, the UN’s environment chief said.
The IPCC is 90% certain that mankind is driving global warming. Photo: AP/Mikhail Metzel
Achim Steiner also said extreme weather in 2010, such as floods in Pakistan or Russia’s heatwave, were a “stark warning” of the need to act to slow global warming, as outlined by the UN panel.
He said he would be surprised if the review, spurred by mistakes in a 2007 report such as an exaggeration of the thaw of Himalayan glaciers, called for any radical overhaul of the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).
The InterAcademy Council, comprising science academies around the world, is due to hand its review and recommendations for the future of the IPCC to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in New York.
Mr Steiner, head of the Nairobi-based UN Environment Program (UNEP), said the report follows others in 2010 that have backed the core findings by the IPCC that it is at least 90 per cent certain that mankind is driving global warming. Continue reading Climate review set to restore faith in UN scientists
Posted by: Saving Water SA (Cape Town, South Africa) – partnered with Water Rhapsody conservation systems – 23 August 2010
Preveli Crete
Analysis of catastrophic wildfires in Russia and Greece has highlighted a deadly combination of climate change impacts and the neglect of forest management, WWF organizations in the two fire prone countries said today.
In the joint statement, WWF-Russia and WWF-Greece said the catastrophic wildfires that hit Russia during the first two weeks of August awoke the memories of the tragic Greek “black summer” of 2007. Fires have now flared up in Greece, where the national budgetary crisis has seen fire defences downgraded.
“Although the weather did not favour mega-wildfires during June and July, as the 2010 summer ends Greeks witness once more the dramatic ecological consequences of forest fires,” said Demetres Karavellas, Director of WWF Greece.
“Yesterday, we lost to the flames one of the most important forest ecosystems in the Mediterranean, the rare and endemic palm forest of Preveli in Crete.” Continue reading Deadly combination highlighted by wildfires
Posted by: Saving Water SA (Cape Town, South Africa) – partnered with Water Rhapsody conservation systems – 21 August 2010
The catastrophic wildfires that have swept across Russia this summer have killed at least 50 people and could cost the country’s economy an estimated US$15 billion. But among the hidden victims of the fires are small, nocturnal animals that are fast losing their habitats. Russia’s bat population – which boasts some 30 species – has been hit especially hard by the flames.
Noctule bats will experience a dramatic loss of habitat long after the wildfires have been contained.
The areas worst affected by the wildfires are concentrated in western Russia, one of the most important breeding and foraging areas for the country’s bat species.
Although no official assessments have been carried out, recent satellite images show that more than one million hectares of forests have been destroyed in western Russia. According to the country’s Ministry of Nature Resources, the fires have already harmed about 40,000 hectares of protected forest areas.
Species such as the Noctule, Leisler’s or Nathusius’ pipistrelle bats roost over summer in tree hollows and will experience a dramatic loss of habitat long after the wildfires have been contained.
“Our thoughts are with the Russian people who are suffering during this crisis,” says Andreas Streit, Executive Secretary of EUROBATS, a UNEP-administered body that promotes bat conservation throughout Europe. “Many people have lost their homes and even entire villages have disappeared. The disappearance of forest habitats adds an extra dimension to the catastrophe. Forest ecosystems are vital for our planet and for many local communities whose lives are intertwined with forests and nature.”
Although the damaged areas account for only a small part of the vast forest surface in Russia, the fires could have devastating consequences for populations of migratory bats. While birds will be mainly affected by air pollution and smoke inhalation, bats will suffer long-term losses of habitats and foraging areas, as well as a decrease of available prey such as insects. Continue reading Russia’s bat population hard hit by fires
Posted by: Saving Water SA (Cape Town, South Africa) – partnered with Water Rhapsody conservation systems – 18 August 2010
In this tour, Ted Danson and Oceana guide you through the problems that the Arctic Ocean is facing due to climate change, and introduce you to the positive changes that have been made due [...]
Posted by: Yes Solar Cape (Cape Town, South Africa) – 16 August 2010
Issued by: Communication Department City of Cape Town
The City of Cape Town’s Environmental Resource Management, Disaster Risk Management and Electricity Services Departments will be hosting a Climate Change and Energy Week from 16 to 19 August 2010. The focus will [...]
