U.S. official: Rio Tinto arrests of ‘great concern’

The United States on Wednesday called for more transparency from China on the arrests of four mining employees, including an Australian national, on charges of stealing state secrets. U.S. Commerce Secretary Gary Locke is raising the question with Chinese leaders, including Premier Wen Jiabao, with whom he is to meet Thursday in Beijing

Share

Greening the Internet: How much CO2 does this article produce?

Twenty milligrams; that’s the average amount of carbon emissions generated from the time it took you to read the first two words of this article. Now, depending on how quickly you read, around 80, perhaps even 100 milligrams of C02 have been released.

Share

The Incredible Shrinking Sheep of Scotland

News alert: the sheep of Scotland are shrinking! On Soay Island, off the western coast of Scotland, wild sheep are apparently defying the theory of evolution and progressively getting smaller. Why In short, because of climate change. Generally, the sheep’s life cycle goes like this: they fatten up on grass during the fertile, sunny summer; then the harsh winter comes, the grass disappears and the smallest, scrawniest sheep die off, while their bigger cousins survive

Share

Climate Change Report Shows Things Going From Bad to Worse

Even as Congress belatedly tackles legislation that would cut U.S. carbon emissions and international negotiators have bickered over a global climate deal in Bonn, a new report by several federal agencies underscores the truths that too often risk getting lost in politics: global warming is real, it’s happening now and if we don’t act soon, the consequences are likely to be catastrophic. Scientists and officials working with the United States Global Change Research Program released on Tuesday the first climate change assessment to be completed during Barack Obama’s presidency.

Share

Center-right make gains amid EU vote apathy

Voters endorsed parties of the center-right in elections for the 736 seats of the European Parliament in the midst of a record low turnout, officials figures showed on Monday. Only 43 percent of the 375 million people eligible to vote in 27 countries visited the polls, according to European Parliament figures, continuing a fall in interest since elections for MEPs were first held 30 years ago

Share

The Human Cost of Climate Change

Climate Change: The Anatomy of a Silent Crisis The Global Humanitarian Forum; 117 pages Download the PDF The Gist: Quick: What does global warming look like A forlorn polar bear stuck on a splintering glacier makes for a gripping visual, but a new report says there are millions of climate-change victims we don’t see — and many look just like us.

Share

UK, Netherlands vote in Euro elections

Voters in the United Kingdom and the Netherlands became the first European Union citizens to go to the polls Thursday to elect a new European Parliament. The massive election, involving all 27 member states, around 375 million eligible voters and 736 MEP seats, is the biggest exercise in transnational democracy the world has ever seen, with voters from Bulgaria and Romania, which joined the EU in 2007, participating for the first time.

Share