Jan 01 2010

Climate Changes

Posted by: Kory Raftery

Several stories on the science and politics of global warming caught our attention this week:

Just weeks after world leaders came to an accord at the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen, UN secretary-general Ban Ki-moon is calling on the leaders of various countries to take immediate action on their pledges to stop global warming. "While I am satisfied that we sealed a deal, I am aware that the outcome of the Copenhagen conference, including the Copenhagen Accord, did not go as far as many have hoped," he said. "The leaders were united in purpose, but they were not united in action."

British billionaire Richard Branson wants to wage a war on global warming.  Agreeing with the position of many scientists and environmentalists - and upset by what he called the blasé attitudes of global governments - Branson claims businesses must bear the brunt of moving away from burning oil and fossil fuels. "There are some of us who believe that the problem of (global) warming is as bad as the First and Second World Wars combined," he said.  Branson's operation will start by addressing carbon emissions from a significant but little-known source that is not covered by any national or international regulations: global marine shipping.

New research claims global warming is the culprit when it comes to an alarming increase in cases of malaria on the slopes of Mount Kenya in Africa. Average temperatures in the region have increased by roughly four degrees in the last 20 years, allowing the disease to creep into communities at higher altitudes, where people have little or no immunity to the disease. Before the 1990's, when average temperatures never rose above 64.4 degrees, malaria was absent from the region.

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