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Articles on Climate change

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A coal ship caught on Nobby’s Beach in Newcastle. The city is the biggest in the world for coal exports. asnewlibrarian/Flick

Why Australia must stop exporting coal

Why get worked up about our climate responsibilities when Australia’s contribution to global emissions – around 1.5% of the total - is small? Here is the usual reply. Australia’s domestic greenhouse gas…
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Climate change, fire may wipe out Australia’s giant gum trees

As Australia gears up for another risky bushfire season this summer, some of its most iconic and valuable forests are at risk. Giant eucalpytus trees rely on fire to regenerate, but an increase in major…
The new normal? … Climate change will be at the forefront of discussion in the weeks following Hurricane Sandy. Wandering the World/Flickr

After the deluge, what hope the politics of climate response?

I am writing with Hurricane Sandy having brought devastation to New York and the East coast of the United States. Much has been written on the politics of climate change. But until a few days ago, a severe…
New Jersey was hit hard by the storm surge. Michael Reynolds/AAP

Losing higher ground: hurricanes and sea level rise

As I write this, the worst coastal flooding effects from Hurricane Sandy’s attack on the densely populated regions of the US northeast are almost over. Even so, the effects have been significant: record…
Recent extreme weather doesn’t tell us how the future will be. EPA/Justin Lane

Hurricane Sandy: the new normal?

Are we now experiencing the “new normal” climate? Let’s look at the recent evidence: A storm of historic proportions is moving up the east coast as a Nor’easter without precedent, since no such storm has…
Sea levels are rising globally at record-breaking rates and Antarctica is playing an increasing role. Matt King

Weigh-in reveals Antarctica’s losing 190 million tonnes a day

A small slice of Antarctica turns up along your coastline each year. We’re all glad it’s just a small slice, given Antarctica could deliver a total sea-level rise of 59 metres. That’s not going to happen…
Methane locked under the Arctic ice could take climate change to a whole new level. Antonio Delgado Huertas

Methane hydrates: a volatile time bomb in the Arctic

The risk with climate change is not with the direct effect of humans on the greenhouse capacity of Earth’s atmosphere. The major risk is that the relatively modest human perturbation will unleash much…
Children suffer around 90% of the disease burden from climate change. Flickr/SeemaKK

Future under threat: climate change and children’s health

Climate change has been widely recognised by leading public health organisations and prestigious peer reviewed journals as the the biggest global health threat of the 21st century. A recently released…
Brightening and increasing a cloud’s longevity would help reduce the effects of global warming. karindalziel/Flickr

Whiter than white: could brightening clouds reduce symptoms of climate change?

Marine cloud brightening: it’s a concept that has been floated in climate engineering discussions for some time. But what are the moral implications of this geoengineering technology, and how likely is…
Extreme weather events, such as Cyclone Yasi, are damaging the Great Barrier Reef. AAP

Calls for climate action as Great Barrier Reef suffers major coral loss

The Great Barrier Reef has lost half its coral cover in the last 27 years, and it could halve again by 2022 say researchers from the Australian Institute of Marine Science. A study published today in the…

Warmer oceans could lead to smaller fish

Change in climate, resulting in warmer and less oxygenated oceans, could mean a reduction in the size of fish. Over 600 species…
Mitt Romney and the Republicans are openly sceptical of climate change. EPA/Michael Reynolds

What happened to climate change? Fox News and the US elections

Climate change has been significantly absent from the US presidential election campaign. President Obama, who made climate change a key plank of his 2008 campaign, has not been anywhere near as vocal in…
The role of powerlines in bushfires is raising some pressing issues of climate change adaptation. Paul Hocksenar

Hot issue - bushfires, powerlines and climate change

We have unwittingly hardwired a bushfire ignition source throughout our flammable landscapes – powerlines. Powerlines can fail under any conditions but the risk increases on days of high bushfire risk…
The Climate Commission says Queensland could be a leader in concentrated solar thermal power, but the political will is lacking. AAP

Qld a leader in solar? Not under current govt, say experts

Around the clock solar power could be a reality for Australians in the foreseeable future, but experts say a hostile state government stands in the way of Queensland becoming the solar power leader suggested…
Humans as well as animals are affected by climate change. A treaty could keep them safe and reduce forced migration. AAP

We need a treaty to help people displaced by climate change

Climate change will lead to significant human displacement. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and other groups warn that the effects – including rising sea levels, heavier floods, more…
The climate system is highly sensitive to radiative forcing, so it’s no wonder we’re seeing more extreme weather events. Isn’t it time to take notice? AAP

The atmosphere’s shift of state and the origin of extreme weather events

The linear nature of global warming trends projected by the IPCC since 1990 and as late as 2007 (see Figure 1) has given the public and policy makers an impression there is plenty of time for economies…
Will we ultimately see 2012 as triumphant, or as just one step in an emerging global tragedy? Jenny Varley

Opening the fabled Northwest Passage: triumph or tragedy?

A combination of 33-year satellite records, measurements made over the past century, and long-term proxy analysis suggests Arctic sea ice may be at its lowest level for more than 1,000 years. According…

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