Nasa: Earth is warming at a pace 'unprecedented in 1,000 years' | Environment The planet is warming at a pace not experienced within the past 1,000 years, at least, making it “very unlikely” that the world will stay within a crucial temperature limit agreed by nations just last year, according to Nasa’s top climate scientist. This year has already seen scorching heat around the world, with the average global temperature peaking at 1.38C above levels experienced in the 19th century, perilously close to the 1.5C limit agreed in the landmark Paris climate accord. July was the warmest month since modern record keeping began in 1880, with each month since October 2015 setting a new high mark for heat. But Nasa said that records of temperature that go back far further, taken via analysis of ice cores and sediments, suggest that the warming of recent decades is out of step with any period over the past millennium. “In the last 30 years we’ve really moved into exceptional territory,” Gavin Schmidt, director of Nasa’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies, said.
Désertification, un enjeu du développement durable [dossier] Tous publicsAgriculture - alimentation,Environnement - développement durable - énergies,Habitat - territoire - transports,Médecine - santé,Sciences de la TerreDéficients visuels,Sourds,Malentendants,Mobilité réduite,Handicap mental Les problèmes de désertification, de dégradation des terres et de sécheresse, ont longtemps été présentés comme une avancée naturelle du désert, liée aux variations climatiques à long terme. Le processus est beaucoup plus complexe. 2010-2020 est la décennie des Nations Unies pour "les déserts et la lutte contre la désertification " et le 17-juin, la Journée internationale de lutte contre la désertification et la sécheresse. Tous publicsAgriculture - alimentation,Environnement - développement durable - énergies,Habitat - territoire - transports,Sciences de la TerreDéficients visuels,Sourds,Malentendants,Mobilité réduite,Handicap mental Crédits © Bibliothèque des Sciences et de l'Industrie/universcience.
Nepal's forests under threat over fuel crisis - BBC News Image copyright AFP/Getty Nepal's world-renowned community forests are under threat from a sudden rise in demand for firewood because of a fuel crisis, officials say. A blockade on the Himalayan nation's border with India has halted imports. Ethnic communities in the southern plain bordering India are protesting against the new constitution, saying it does not adequately represent them. At least 40 people have died and hundreds of trucks have been stuck across the border in India. Nepal is a landlocked country and totally reliant on India for all its fuel, food and medicine imports. Supplies have been disrupted for over two weeks. Conservationists say people have been left with no choice but to cut down trees for firewood despite having a tradition of protecting their forests. "We have received information from our different member community forests that people are now entering forests to collect firewood and in several areas trees have been chopped down." Illegal logging Mr. Political dispute
Unnatural Climates Whether anthropogenic climate change began over 8,000 years ago or within the last few centuries, our inadvertent experiment in climate geoengineering is now not only discernible in its effects, but is also providing major challenges for ourselves and future generations Whatever action we take, from managing greenhouse gas emissions to active solar radiation management, it will have climate consequences. It’s therefore appropriate to ask two fundamental questions related to climate as a context for current and future actions: 1. What is or would be ‘natural’ climate, without human interference? Establishing the character of ‘natural’ climate is made difficult by our potential influence over the Holocene, especially if we have indeed had a long Anthropocene with human changes in greenhouse gas emissions over several millennia. Defining ‘natural’ climate is however tricky in deciding what criteria to use.
Exposition aux risques climatiques en France [carte] 24 mars 2014 (mis à jour le 8 décembre 2015) Cet indicateur rend compte de l’exposition des populations, en France métropolitaine, aux risques climatiques depuis 1982. En bref Selon les évaluations du Groupe d’experts intergouvernemental sur l’évolution du climat (GIEC), les impacts dus aux changements de fréquence et d’intensité des événements météorologiques extrêmes sont susceptibles d’augmenter. « Certains événements et extrêmes météorologiques deviendront plus fréquents, plus répandus et/ou plus intenses pendant le xxie siècle et on dispose de nouvelles connaissances sur les effets potentiels de tels changements. » (GIEC, 2007) Cet indicateur est conçu comme le croisement de la densité de population et du nombre de risques climatiques identifiés comme risques naturels : avalanches, cyclones ettempêtes,feux de forêt, inondations… Les risques considérés ici sont ceux qui sont susceptibles d’être directement ou indirectement influencés par le changement climatique. Véronique ANTONI
Everything you need to know about the Paris climate summit and UN talks | Environment What is happening in Paris this December? The governments of more than 190 nations will gather in Paris to discuss a possible new global agreement on climate change, aimed at reducing global greenhouse gas emissions and thus avoiding the threat of dangerous climate change. Why now? Current commitments on greenhouse gas emissions run out in 2020, so at Paris governments are expected to produce an agreement on what happens for the decade after that at least, and potentially beyond. Why is this important? Scientists have warned that if greenhouse gas emissions continue to rise, we will pass the threshold beyond which global warming becomes catastrophic and irreversible. Why has nobody thought of getting a global agreement on this before now? They have: global negotiations on climate change have been carrying on for more than 20 years. Hasn’t global warming stopped? No. During the period since 1998, global temperatures have risen at a slower pace than they did in the previous 30 years. Yes.
Alaskan village votes on whether to relocate because of climate change | Environment The residents of an Alaskan coastal village have begun voting on whether to relocate because of rising sea levels. If they vote to move, the village of Shishmaref, just north of the Bering Strait, and its population of 650 people, could be the first in the US to do so because of climate change. The village would be relocated at an estimated cost of $180m to a new location less threatened by rising waters and melting sea ice. The results of the vote will be announced on Wednesday, the city clerk said. The sea ice used to protect Shishmaref, which is built on a barrier island and largely inhabited by members of the Inupiat Inuit tribe. “Over the past 35 years, we’ve lost 2,500 to 3,000 feet of land to coastal erosion,” wrote Esau Sinnok, a Shishmaref native and Arctic Youth Ambassador, in an essay for the Department of the Interior in 2015. “To put this in perspective: I was born in 1997, and since then, Shishmaref has lost about 100 feet,” he continued.
Esprit Sorcier - Le climat dans tous ses états Venez discuter de ce dossier sur le forum ! Regardez l’émission qui prolonge ce dossier : Emission #7 : Climat, les artisans d’un nouveau monde Pour plus de détails, consultez notre série de dossiers sur le climat : Un dossier préparé par Estelle Villemin et l’ensemble de la rédaction Rédaction en chef Frédéric Courant Direction artistique et technique Pascal Léonard Direction de productionJoël Guillemet Assistante de réalisationAnaïs Van Ditzhuyzen Assistant de productionPatrick Berger Documentaliste Laurence Lebon Directeur photoArthur Le Ret Montage/Prise de vue Timothée CoignusBenoît Aubert Prise de sonThomas Spitz VoixValérie GuerlainJean-Baptiste Puech MixagePascal StevensLaurent Cauneau Relation presseNathalie BôGraphisme et animations Christophe Pernoud – BROTHERMAN Productions Web design Olivier Hamon – VO Productions Antoine Chérel – ATALANTA Intégration Florent Chevallier Remerciements SolarSoundSystem.org Crédits images Au Fil du Temps – « Unbelievable!!! – Chicxulub crater © NASA/Don Davis Sahel
Fukushima disaster: Japan reopens radiation-hit Naraha - BBC News Japan is inviting residents to return to a town evacuated in 2011 after the Fukushima nuclear plant disaster. Naraha is the first town to allow people to return permanently, following several years of decontamination work. But many say they are not ready to come back, and only a fraction have returned for brief stays since a trial period began in April. The Fukushima Daiichi plant suffered a series of meltdowns following a massive earthquake and tsunami. After the disaster, all of Naraha's 7,400 residents moved out. The town, about 20km (12 miles) south of the nuclear plant, is seen as a test case for the return of evacuated residents. Some 100,000 people in the area are still unable to return to their homes. Authorities in Naraha are issuing people with devices to check radiation levels and have been rebuilding local services, including shops and clinics. Naraha Mayor Yukiei Matsumoto said the lifting of the evacuation order was "just a start". Image copyright AP
See Before-and-After Photos of the Changing Environment Side-by-side comparisons reveal just how much glaciers, lakes, and snowpacks have been altered by nature and humans. From the ice sheets of Greenland to the deserts of Arizona, many of the world’s landscapes have been dramatically transformed as their climate grows warmer and drier. At the same time, water use and other human activities have altered many landscapes. A Shrinking Sea The Aral Sea was once the fourth largest lake in the world. Diminished Snowfall Snowpack in California’s Sierra Nevada reached the lowest level in recorded history. Reservoir at Risk Lake Mead, which depends on snowmelt from the Rockies, has seen its water levels plummet due to drought and increased demand. Glacier’s Retreat Yosemite National Park’s Lyell Glacier has receded tremendously over the last century, exposing swaths of bedrock underneath. Choked by Drought Decreased snowmelt from the Rockies severely reduced water levels in Arizona’s Lake Powell, affecting those who depend on it for water.
Les atolls, des territoires menacés par le changement climatique global ? L’exemple de Kiribati (Pacifique Sud) Bibliographie | citer cet article En 2014, le Groupe d’experts intergouvernemental sur l’évolution du climat (GIEC)[1] a publié son cinquième rapport d’évaluation. L’illustration du volume portant sur les « conséquences, l’adaptation et la vulnérabilité » met en évidence les États atolliens : des habitants de Tuvalu ont été photographiés à planter des palétuviers dans le but de développer une mangrove. Tuvalu, Kiribati, les Îles Marshall dans l’océan Pacifique et les Maldives dans l’océan Indien ont pour particularité d’être des États entièrement composés d’atolls. Les atolls sont des systèmes fragiles. Au moment où l’élévation du niveau de la mer est avérée, ces États atolliens, surtout ceux du Pacifique, cristallisent les inquiétudes en raison de l’étroitesse de leurs îles coralliennes (200 m à 1 000 m de large) et de leur faible altitude (2 à 3 m). L'exemple de Kiribati, État équatorial du Pacifique Sud, est utilisé pour apporter des éléments de réponse à ces questions. 1. 1.1. 1.2.
Carbon nanofibres made from CO2 in the air - BBC News Scientists in the US have found a way to take carbon dioxide (CO2) from the air and make carbon nanofibres, a valuable manufacturing material. Their solar-powered system runs a small current through a tank filled with a hot, molten salt; the fluid absorbs atmospheric CO2 and tiny carbon fibres slowly form at one of the electrodes. It currently produces 10g per hour. The team says it can be "scaled up" and could have an impact on CO2 emissions, but other researchers are unsure. Nonetheless, the approach offers a much cheaper way of making carbon nanofibres than existing methods, according to Prof Stuart Licht of George Washington University. "Until now, carbon nanofibres have been too expensive for many applications," he told journalists at the autumn meeting of the American Chemical Society in Boston. The question is whether the "one-pot" reaction demonstrated by Prof Licht and his team could help to drop that cost. But Prof Licht is confident his design can succeed.
Professor Brian Cox clashes with Australian climate sceptic Professor Brian Cox has verbally sparred with a newly elected Australian politician who believes climate change is a global conspiracy. The British physicist behind BBC's Wonders of the Universe was a guest on the adversarial panel show Q&A. Also on the Australian TV show was senator-elect Malcolm Roberts from the anti-immigration One Nation party. The celebrity scientist was dumbfounded by Mr Roberts' claim that climate change data was manipulated by Nasa. The Australian Broadcasting Corp. panel show puts politicians, commentators and experts from different fields in front of a live studio audience to face questions about the issues of the week. Mr Roberts has previously claimed that the United Nations is using climate change to lay the foundations for an unelected global government. Six graphics that explain climate change Image copyright ABC TV's Q&A 'Blue in the face' A member of the audience asked Prof Cox to address Mr Roberts' request for proof of a human element in climate change.
Le changement climatique est le terreau du terrorisme, constate un rapport d’experts Terrorisme et changement climatique ? Les deux n’ont apparemment rien à voir. Et pourtant, un rapport publié ce jeudi 20 avril par le think tank allemand Adelphi [1] est clair : « Le changement climatique ne crée pas les terroristes, mais il contribue à créer un environnement favorable à son développement ». Plus largement, le document, intitulé Insurrection, terrorisme et crime organisé face au réchauffement climatique, s’intéresse aux « organisations armées non étatiques ». Parmi elles, des groupes terroristes tels que l’État islamique, Boko Aram ou les talibans, mais aussi le crime organisé avec les mafias ou les réseaux internationaux de trafic de drogue. Malgré des objectifs et des modes d’action très divers, on peut trouver quelques points communs : l’usage de la violence — qui fait concurrence à celle de l’État — et la mise en place d’activités illégales comme source de revenus — trafic de drogue et d’êtres humains ou exploitation illégale des ressources naturelles par exemple.