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Alex_Verbeek : Reducing emissions will be ... The age of climate warfare is here. The military-industrial complex is ready. Are you? During his speech at West Point Military Academy earlier this week, President Barack Obama described climate change as a "creeping national security crisis" that will require the armed forces to "respond to refugee flows, natural disasters, and conflicts over water and food.

The age of climate warfare is here. The military-industrial complex is ready. Are you?

" The speech emphasised that US foreign policy in the 21st century is increasingly being honed in recognition of heightened risks of social, political and economic upheaval around the world due the impacts of global warming. A more detailed insight into US military planning could be seen in the report published a couple of weeks earlier by the Center for Naval Analyses (CNA) Military Advisory Board, written and endorsed by a dozen or so senior retired US generals. Describing climate change as a not just a "threat multiplier," but now - even worse - a "catalyst for conflict", the study concluded that environmental impacts from climate change in coming decades: So far the record hasn't been spectacular.

Climate Change: Assessing The Potential Long-Term Effects. Carbon Dioxide Passes Global 400 ppm Milestone. A new carbon dioxide milestone has been reached according to the World Meteorological Agency.

Carbon Dioxide Passes Global 400 ppm Milestone

Average carbon dioxide measurements at all monitoring stations in the northern hemisphere were above 400 parts per million for the month of April, the first time that’s been recorded in human history. The location and April average CO2 levels measured at 12 World Meteorological Organization monitoring stations around the globe. Data: World Meteorological Organization Previous reports from the Mauna Loa Observatory, the longest continually running CO2 monitoring site in the world, showed that the average CO2 concentration for April was above 400 ppm.

More than 400 dams planned for the Amazon and headwaters. 412 hydroelectric dams will be built across the Amazon basin and its headwaters if current plans are fulfilled, it was announced on 25 April in Lima, potentially leading to the "end of free-flowing rivers", contributing to "ecosystem collapse", and causing huge social problems.

More than 400 dams planned for the Amazon and headwaters

Of the 412 dams already in operation, under construction or proposed, 256 are in Brazil, 77 in Peru, 55 in Ecuador, 14 in Bolivia, six in Venezuela, two in Guyana, and one each in Colombia, French Guyana and Surinam, said anthropologist Paul Little at the launch of the English version of his report Mega-Development Projects in Amazonia: A geopolitical and socioenvironmental primer.

According to Little, 151 of the 412 dams involve five of the six main rivers that drain into the Amazon after birthing in the Andes. The weight of these socioenvironmental impacts is distributed in an extremely unequal manner. 1.6 million – km2 of the Amazon covered by mining concessions. Climate Blues: How Environmentalists Chill Out in a Warming World. Studies warning of an Antarctic ice sheet collapse.

Climate Blues: How Environmentalists Chill Out in a Warming World

A wildfire season that could shatter records. Shellfish eaten away by oceans turned more acidic due to greenhouse gases. Ocean acidification slurps up oysters. Editor’s note: We’re publishing a series from The Story Group that shows Americans on the front lines of climate change.

Ocean acidification slurps up oysters

The videos put faces to the warnings in the latest National Climate Assessment. “The ocean is so acidic that it is dissolving the shells of our baby oysters,” says Diani Taylor of Taylor Shellfish Farms in Shelton, Wash. She and her cousin Brittany are fifth-generation oyster farmers, and are grappling with ocean waters that are more acidic and corrosive than their fathers, grandfathers, and great-grandfathers knew. Sea-level rise is already eating our coasts. Greenland glacial melt is growing factor in rising sea levels. Greenland’s glaciers are far more vulnerable to climate-change-induced warming oceans than previously thought, according to a report released Sunday by the University of California at Irvine and NASA glaciologists.

Greenland glacial melt is growing factor in rising sea levels

The study, published in the journal Nature Geoscience, reveals previously uncharted deep valleys stretching for dozens of miles under the Greenland ice sheet, showing that there are no natural barriers to stop the melting. The findings echo a report released last week showing that glacial melting in West Antarctica is now “unstoppable” because of topographical conditions that, similarly, will not slow the glaciers’ retreat. Bedrock canyons in Greenland sit well below sea level, which means that warming ocean waters will erode the ice much more than previously assumed. The bottom line is why Big Food should take a stand on climate. Oxfam has a new report out predicting that climate change will drive up food costs, leading to hunger and suffering.

The bottom line is why Big Food should take a stand on climate

Though that’s not exactly news, what’s interesting is that Oxfam has aimed this report at the 10 largest food and beverage companies in the world. The authors take pains to demonstrate that there’s not just a moral obligation for these corporations to act against climate change; it’s also the right — intelligently selfish — business decision.

The report finds that the food industry “has a very patchy record, which for some companies verges on downright negligence.” It singles out Kellogg and General Mills for special criticism: “Both companies are highly vulnerable to climate impacts but also well positioned to lead the industry towards a more sustainable future.” All these companies are working independently to reduce the amount of greenhouse gases they release, but none of them is going far enough. Record rains turned Australia into a giant green global carbon sink. Record-breaking rains triggered so much new growth across Australia that the continent turned into a giant green carbon sink to rival tropical rainforests including the Amazon, our new research shows.

Record rains turned Australia into a giant green global carbon sink

Published in the international journal Nature, our study found that vegetation worldwide soaked up 4.1bn tonnes of carbon in 2011 – the equivalent of more than 40% of emissions from burning fossil fuels that year. Unexpectedly, the largest carbon uptake occurred in the semi-arid landscapes of Australia, Southern Africa and South America. It set a new record for a land-based carbon sink since high-resolution records began in 1958, in a remarkable example of ecosystems working to stabilise the Earth’s climate. And that had a global impact. While atmospheric carbon dioxide still rose in 2011, it grew at a much lower rate – nearly 20% lower – than the average growth over the previous decade. Early wildfires season around Lake Baikal, Russia... - The Watchers.

Temperatures around Russian Lake Baikal have skyrocketed in the past few weeks to 21 degrees Celsius (70 degrees F) prompting outbreaks of fire.

Early wildfires season around Lake Baikal, Russia... - The Watchers

Temperatures in this region are usually cooler until late July/early August when the bulk of the wildfires in this area normally erupt. The Voice of Russia reports, "The Siberian Federal District reported 52 forest fires on an area of 53,644.1 hectares (132,557 acres) as of Thursday morning, the district department of the Federal Forestry Agency said. The wildfire rate is the highest in the Trans-Baikal territory - twelve fires burning on 48,150 (118,981 acres) hectares. Good news: Warming waters extend swim season. Bad news: They’re full of monster jellyfish. What all our computers together can tell us about climate change.

This is part of a series exploring how collective intelligence can create a better world.

What all our computers together can tell us about climate change

Read the whole series here. As I type these very words, I’m helping scientists figure out the future of climate change. I’m doing it by running a program that I downloaded from Climateprediction.net (CPDN), a group that’s using my laptop’s extra processing power to forecast how global warming is going to impact heat waves in Australia. They’re not just doing it on my skimpy Mac (sorry, Apple — sleek as the Air is, it’s still underwhelming when up against the sorts of computers that normally get this kind of job done). They’ve got tens of thousands of other people’s laptops and desktops involved too.

Read The Secret Trade Memo Calling For More Fracking and Offshore Drilling. WASHINGTON -- The European Union is pressing the Obama administration to expand U.S. fracking, offshore oil drilling and natural gas exploration under the terms of a secret negotiation text obtained by The Huffington Post. The controversial document is an early draft of energy policies that EU negotiators hope to see adopted under the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) trade deal, which is currently being negotiated. The text was shared with American officials in September. The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative declined to comment on the document. Environmental groups fear the broad language proposed for the deal would eliminate key restrictions on the export of crude oil and natural gas, fossil fuels that contribute to climate change.

Scientists Warn of Rising Oceans as Antarctic Ice Melts. Wildfires worse due to global warming, studies say. May 18, Earth/Environment A helicopter transporting water flies over trees during a wildfire Thursday, May 15, 2014, in Escondido, Calif. One of the nine fires burning in San Diego County suddenly flared Thursday afternoon and burned close to homes, trigging thousands of new evacuation orders.

(AP Photo/Gregory Bull) The devastating wildfires scorching Southern California offer a glimpse of a warmer and more fiery future, according to scientists and federal and international reports. As San Diego Burns Republicans Refuse to Acknowledge Climate Change. Even in the face of overwhelming evidence, Republicans continue to live in their own, made-up world. Case in point: The current wildfire situation in San Diego, California. Firefighters in the region are currently battling record-high heat in an attempt to quell fires that have consumed nearly 10,000 acres since Tuesday morning.

In total, nine separate fires have engulfed the area causing the displacement of thousands of San Diego County residents as well as closing schools, colleges, and attractions in the region. Several homes have been destroyed by the blazes as well as an eighteen-unit apartment complex in the coastal town of Carlsbad. AUDIO: Why Oklahoma Lawmakers Don't Want Kids To Learn About Climate. As much as any state in the US, Oklahoma is a victim of climate change. In 2011, notes the newly released US National Climate Assessment, the state suffered from its hottest summer on record.

For Oklahoma and Texas, the related drought, exacerbated by high temperatures, cost $10 billion in agricultural losses. And the report states as plainly as you can that climate change was involved. Five ways we’re killing ourselves with climate change. On Tuesday, the Obama administration released the third National Climate Assessment, laying out in detail what global warming means for the country. This NCA is the longest — over 800 pages — and most comprehensive yet.

“Climate change is not a distant threat; it’s already affecting the U.S.,” said John Holdren, director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, in a conference call with reporters about the report. “This is the largest alarm bell to date.” There is a lot in the report to contemplate, but here’s a central takeaway: Climate change is deadly, and Americans have already begun to die from it. 4 months worth of rain in one day - Serbia flooded... - The Watchers. Climate-change-report. Arctic Methane Emissions 'Certain to Trigger Warming' Greenland glacial melt is growing factor in rising sea levels. April carbon dioxide levels above landmark 400ppm threshold for entire month. Climate Change May Be Killing All Our Fancy Coffee. When climate change hurts crops, everyone suffers. Climate Change Poses Significant Threat to Human Nutrition. The world needs a ‘transformative agenda. Balkan continues to fight with historic floods... - The Watchers. Scenarios and projections.

Report: Climate change affecting corporate bottom lines.