2008 October: Climate
Anchor: Base Index
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and New Scientist's special report, which is continually updated.
Juliette Jowit, Big decline in depth of Arctic winter sea ice, Guardian, 2008 Oct. 28 (thinning northern cap could be due to human effect or changes in ocean currents)
Mark Kinver, Arctic ice thickness 'plummets', BBC, 2008 Oct. 28 (arctic sea ice thickness "plummeted" last winter, thinning by as much as 49cm in some regions, data shows)
Kashmir's environment: How green was my valley?, Economist, 2008 Oct. 25 (climate change will only intensify problems in Kashmir)
AP, Arctic temperatures hit record highs, reindeer herds take tumble, The Age, 2008 Oct. 18 (autumn temperatures in the Arctic are a record 5 degrees above normal, the Arctic Ocean is getting warmer and less salty as sea ice melts, and reindeer herds appear to be declining, researchers say)
Rebecca Morelle, Aquatic alien 'thugs' set to meet, BBC, 2008 Oct. 15 (scientists believe the ranges of the non-native crayfish and the Chinese mitten crab are set to overlap)
Andrew Darby, Warmer ocean led to ice collapse, The Age, 2008 Oct. 6 (latest alarming ice shelf collapse in the Antarctic caused by warming Southern Ocean melting shelf from below)
James Morgan, Fish farming in Malawi's dustbowl, BBC, 2008 Oct. 22 (this seems an unlikely place to go fishing for your dinner; the dusty scrublands of Zomba West have been brittle dry since April, when the rainy season ended)
Jo Adetunji, Bleak warning that UK fish face extinction, Guardian, 2008 Oct. 14 (severe overfishing biggest environmental threat facing Britain today, says Marine Conservation Society)
Felicity Lawrence, Food crises could swing future UK elections, says thinktank, Guardian, 2008 Oct. 7 (UK food system unable to cope with rapid changes in supply driven by factors such as climate change)
Adam Morton, Roos win a reprieve, The Age, 2008 Oct. 7 (Despite a suggestion by climate adviser Ross Garnaut that parts of Australia embrace kangaroo farming as a replacement for greenhouse gas-intensive beef and lamb, Climate Change Minister Penny Wong is not interested in re-shaping diets)
Earth on course for eco 'crunch', BBC, 2008 Oct. 29 (the planet is headed for an ecological "credit crunch", according to a report issued by conservation groups)
Robin McKie, Lethal build-up of ozone poses threat to UK, Observer, 2008 Oct. 19 (scientists call for global measures amid warnings the gas damages health and environment)
Biodiversity: Fewer creatures great and small, Economist, 2008 Oct. 18 (nature needs a bail-out, say those who fear that a poorer, hotter world will bode ill for life's infinite variety)
Charlotte Higgins, Catastrophe at the Tate: new installation sees future world as a disaster shelter, Guardian, 2008 Oct. 14 (Turbine Hall transformed into nightmare vision of a time beset by environmental catastrophe)
Russell Mittermeier, Climate focus 'good news for species', BBC, 2008 Oct. 7 (why climate change could help save some of our most endangered species; conservationists should capitalise on the worldwide attention being given to global warming)
Richard Black, Disease warning on climate change, BBC, 2008 Oct. 7 (climate change may hasten the spread of diseases that can move from wild animals to humans, researchers warn)
David Jones, Our hot, dry future, The Age, 2008 Oct. 6 (what Victorians are living through now is not just a drought, it's climate change)
David Smith, Britain's rivers could run dry, Observer, 2008 Oct. 5 (flows in Severn and Mersey in summer could drop by up to 80 per cent by 2050, experts warn)
Tracee Hutchison, It's the link that everyone is missing, The Age, 2008 Oct. 4 (so this was it; the week of the boiling frog; the week Victoria registered its driest September on record, the week our dams hovered at about one-third capacity)
Tony Wright, Professor makes sense of another meltdown, The Age, 2008 Oct. 1 (Australia and the world have a choice: prevaricate, adopting every passing excuse to do little, thus probably condemning future generations to horror; or sacrifice a bit in an attempt to save Earth as we know it)
Andrew Darby, Gunns sticks to . . . er, its guns, The Age, 2008 Oct. 31 (timber giant Gunns Limited is standing defiantly behind its controversial Tasmanian pulp mill project, saying it will be built however long it takes)
John Vidal, Going, going . . . Britain's vanishing woodland, Guardian, 2008 Oct. 22 (ancient forest under threat from government's plan to build bypass near Weymouth)
Andrew Darby, Logging blamed for decline in already rare swift parrot, The Age, 2008 Oct. 21 (one of Australia's rarest and fastest birds, the swift parrot, seems to be plummeting in number, and logging has been blamed)
Dan Glaister, California fires leave two dead and dozens of homes wrecked, Guardian, 2008 Oct. 15 (two thousand firefighters battle through the night as wildfires approach Pacific coast)
Roger Harrabin, Forest plan may 'fuel corruption', BBC, 2008 Oct. 14 (the UK prime minister launches a plan to save threatened rainforests—but already it is running into opposition)
Carrillo Gantner, Heritage is more than buildings, The Age, 2008 Oct. 13 (the State Government has the opportunity to protect our ecosystems forever)
Lucy Siegle, They clean our air, reduce carbon and will save the planet . . . So why are trees public enemy No1?, Observer, 2008 Oct. 12 (despite professing our love for trees, we are cutting them down faster than ever)
Richard Black, Nature loss ‘dwarfs bank crisis’, BBC, 2008 Oct. 10 (the global economy loses more money from deforestation than the current banking crisis, says an EU-commissioned report)
——, Pledge to protect Sumatran forest, BBC, 2008 Oct. 9 (Indonesia pledges to stop the loss of forests and species in Sumatra, one of the world's most ecologically important islands)
Darren Gray, Warning of earlier, fiercer bushfires on coast, The Age, 2008 Oct. 7 (popular holiday spots along the Great Ocean Road and in Gippsland face the risk of bushfires that are earlier and fiercer than normal this fire season)
Adam Morton, Action sought on river gums, The Age, 2008 Oct. 6 (more than 40 scientists sign open letter to Premier John Brumby urging end to mismanagement of water-starved river red gum forests along the Murray)
Dan Milmo, Biofuel flying will take off in three years, says Boeing, Guardian, 2008 Oct. 27 (aircraft ready to run on biofuel, says jet manufacturer, but critics question long-term sustainability)
The anti-West: An axis in need of oiling, Economist, 2008 Oct. 25 (Russia, Iran and Venezuela have been making common cause; a plunging oil price may stay their hand, but the West should still watch out)
‘Drastic’ reforms on energy urged, BBC, 2008 Oct. 24 (“urgent and drastic” changes are needed if the UK is to meet challenging EU targets on renewable energy, peers say)
Rory Carroll, 20bn barrel oil discovery puts Cuba in the big league, Guardian, 2008 Oct. 18 (self-sufficiency beckons for communist state as estimate places oil reserves on a par with US)
Solar energy: Tubular sunshine, Economist, 2008 Oct. 11 (a new sort of solar panel is less fussy about where the sun shines from)
Hydrogen centre 'first in the UK', BBC, 2008 Oct. 10 (a hydrogen energy research centre, described as the first of its kind in the UK, opens near Swansea, Wales)
Terry Macalister, Biodiesel breakthrough comes at £13m cost to BP-backed firm, Guardian, 2008 Oct. 1 (revolutionary plan to produce green fuel from the jatropha plant passes major test by delivering first shipments)
China warns on emissions control, BBC, 2008 Oct. 29 (China admits its greenhouse gas emissions are equal to America's and that there is little prospect of an early improvement)
Rory Carroll, The temples of doom, Guardian, 2008 Oct. 28 (population explosion, ecological disaster and weak leadership . . . that's what probably killed off the Maya at the height of their powers; are the modern-day parallels too close for us to ignore? )
Ashley Seager, Now is the perfect time to save the planet, Guardian, 2008 Oct. 27 (United Nations call for a 'Green New Deal' to help us out of recession and stave off climate crisis)
Patrick Wintour, Minister pledges UK will make 80% cut by 2050, Guardian, 2008 Oct. 17 (Ed Miliband commits the UK to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 80% by the middle of the century)
Roger Harrabin, Climate plan concern as EU meets, BBC, 2008 Oct. 15 (environmentalists fear an EU summit will see climate change plans hit by cost concerns, as financial uncertainty persists)
George Monbiot, This stock collapse is petty when compared to the nature crunch, Guardian, 2008 Oct. 14 (the financial crisis at least affords us an opportunity to now rethink our catastrophic ecological trajectory)
Matt Wade, Bangladesh's global warning, The Age, 2008 Oct. 11 (the flood plains of southern Bangladesh are climate change ground zero, where villages disappear almost daily as the sea steadily swallows people's homes; and while many who can afford to will leave, most in this poor and overpopulated region have nowhere else to go)
Chee Chee Leung, Heed wake-up call for world, The Age, 2008 Oct. 9 (she is described variously as a scientist, a conservationist and a primatologist; but Jane Goodall has one simple label for the state of the Earth: a mess)
Juliette Jowit, New charges on shipping could help climate, Guardian, 2008 Oct. 6 (‘fuel tax’ proceeds to go towards implementing green technology in developing nations)
Marlowe Hood, Earth faces 'tsunami' of species loss, The Age, 2008 Oct. 4 (animal and plant species are vanishing at unprecedented rates, evidence that the Earth is facing a tsunami of mass extinction, warn experts gathering for a global conservation conference starting tomorrow)
Adam Morton, It's a matter of emphasis, The Age, 2008 Oct. 1 (the only deal Professor Garnaut believes is politically feasible at Copenhagen next year would stabilise carbon dioxide at 550 parts per million, a level scientists say gives just a 26% chance of the globe avoiding the slide into disastrous climate change)
Rebecca Morelle, Aquatic alien 'thugs' set to meet, BBC, 2008 Oct. 15 (scientists believe the ranges of the non-native crayfish and the Chinese mitten crab are set to overlap)
——, Exotic spiders crawl into the UK, BBC, 2008 Oct. 14 (exotic species of spider are setting up home in the UK, making the best of an increasingly mild climate)
Peter Ker, Profits for water retailers dry up, The Age, 2008 Oct. 31 (water restrictions wreak havoc on finances of Victoria's water authorities, wiping off millions of dollars in expected revenues)
——, Long, hot summer, but no water cuts, The Age, 2008 Oct. 29 (Victoria is likely to have a hotter summer, but Melbourne should still avoid stage 4 water restrictions)
Paul Austin, Restrictions could be back by 2030, The Age, 2008 Oct. 27 (Victoria's $4.9 billion water plan may only secure Melbourne's supplies for about 20 years—not the 50 years repeatedly claimed by the Government)
Melissa Fyfe, Water worries temporary, The Age, 2008 Oct. 26 (Melbourne will have so much water in the next few decades it will no longer make economic sense to install rainwater tanks or greywater systems in new homes, a State Government-commissioned report has found)
Peter Ker, Melbourne's spring drought set to send rainfall records to a new low, The Age, 2008 Oct. 24 (Melbourne closing in on number of unwelcome records, as severe lack of spring rain continues to worry scientists and water officials)
Ben Doherty, Water plan may not go far enough, The Age, 2008 Oct. 23 (Victoria's $4.9 billion water plan may not be enough to secure Melbourne's drinking needs for the long term, with one of the state's top water bureaucrats suggesting more big projects could be needed within a decade)
Stephen Cauchi, Stricter water bans loom with drier days, The Age, 2008 Oct. 19 (the dire state of Melbourne's water storages—by far the worst recorded for October—could force the imposition of stage four water restrictions when Water Minister Tim Holding considers the issue next month)
Adam Morton, Winds of change stir up a rift in rural community, The Age, 2008 Oct. 18 (plans are moving ahead to build Victoria's biggest wind farm near Ballarat)
Peter Ker, Experts in fierce desal debate, The Age, 2008 Oct. 18 (fierce debate erupts between ocean experts over environmental impact of Victoria's desalination plant, raising more questions about validity of 1600-page environment effects statement)
——, Official protection urged for species endangered by pipeline, dredging works, The Age, 2008 Oct. 17 (threatened species affected by two of Victoria's most controversial infrastructure projects recommended for official protection)
——, EPA raises concerns on desalination plant, The Age, 2008 Oct. 15 (gaps have emerged in the environmental appraisal of the Wonthaggi desalination plant, with Victoria's environment watchdog telling the Government that further investigations are required)
Kenneth Davidson, Outcome of Eildon-Sugarloaf north-south pipeline will be anything but sweet, The Age, 2008 Oct. 6 (there is a possibility heavy metals and other pollutants will be sent into Melbourne's water supply)
Melissa Fyfe, Solar hopes up in smoke, The Age, 2008 Oct. 5 (the State Government's half-baked solar energy plan will be of no benefit to households, industry or the environment)
——, Plan firms for water targets, The Age, 2008 Oct. 5 (Melbourne residents could be asked to cut their daily water use to 150 litres each this summer to counter the looming shortage caused by poor spring rainfalls)
Peter Ker, Water strategy spurns channel, The Age, 2008 Oct. 3 (missing link in Victoria's statewide water grid will remain on back burner as State Government releases its draft 50-year water strategy for northern Victoria)
Darren Gray, Wheat farmers look to the sky as resources run dry, The Age, 2008 Oct. 3 (dry September means that buoyant predictions made earlier in the season of an average or above-average wheat crop looking more and more shaky each day)
Kenneth Davidson, There is time to abandon water plans, The Age, 2008 Oct. 2 (the desalination plant and the pipeline will become white elephants)
Peter Ker, Parched city records barely a drop, The Age, 2008 Oct. 1 (the ninth month of 2008 has smashed rainfall records, with the city centre registering its driest September since records began in 1855, 12mm, almost a fifth of the September average and comfortably below the previous record low of 13.4mm in September 1907)
David Adam, CO2 curbs may be too late for reefs, study warns, Guardian, 2008 Oct. 27 (ambitious targets to stabilise greenhouse gas levels still place over 90% of coral in jeopardy)
Ben Doherty, Rising sea could flood 700,000 homes, The Age, 2008 Oct. 17 (up to $150 billion worth of homes, property and infrastructure at risk of seawater inundation, parliamentary inquiry hears)
Andrew Darby, The krilling fields: study fears catastrophe in Antarctic food chain, The Age, 2008 Oct. 14 (the first evidence suggests that a predicted rise of atmospheric carbon dioxide will wreak havoc on krill, the tiny crustacean at the heart of the Antarctic food web)
Richard Black, Closure call for tuna 'disgrace', BBC, 2008 Oct. 14 (major tuna-fishing nations—including Spain—back calls for a temporary closure of the Mediterranean tuna fishery)
Steven Morris, South-west England's treasures in danger, Guardian, 2008 Oct. 13 (200 miles of coastline threatened by rising sea levels, says National Trust report)
Navin Singh Khadka, Weak flood defences 'risking lives', BBC, 2008 Oct. 13 (South Asia grapples with its inadequate flood defences)
Juliette Jowit, Now is the time to tackle global warming, Guardian, 2008 Oct. 7 (peer recommends spending on renewable and low-carbon industries to stimulate economy)
Pallab Ghosh, Climate damage science studied, BBC, 2008 Oct. 30 (the UK's Royal Society is to investigate whether ambitious engineering schemes could reduce the impact of global warming)
Juliette Jowit, World is facing a natural resources crisis worse than financial crunch, Guardian, 2008 Oct. 29 (Living Planet report calculates humans are using 30% more resources than the Earth can replenish each year)
FAQ: Planet's capacity, Guardian, 2008 Oct. 29 (key questions answered about the planet's limited capacity)
Tim Colebatch, Emission model to call polluters' bluff, The Age, 2008 Oct. 29 (claims rejected that an emissions trading scheme will force industries with high carbon emissions to leave Australia)
Peter Ker, State to study health impact of climate change, The Age, 2008 Oct. 27 (fears that climate change will damage the health of Victorians have prompted a major investigation by the state's health officials)
Study probes clouds' climate role, BBC, 2008 Oct. 22 (scientists hope to shed light on how massive cloud systems over the Pacific Ocean affect global climate and weather systems)
AP, Arctic temperatures hit record highs, reindeer herds take tumble, The Age, 2008 Oct. 18 (autumn temperatures in the Arctic are a record 5 degrees above normal, the Arctic Ocean is getting warmer and less salty as sea ice melts, and reindeer herds appear to be declining, researchers say)
Tim Colebatch, There's more to that tick of approval than meets eye, The Age, 2008 Oct. 31 (at first sight, Treasury's modelling gives the Government what it needs: an official tick of approval to tell Australians that we can tackle climate change without doing ourselves significant economic damage)
Peter Martin, Farmers face drought relief at dole rates, The Age, 2008 Oct. 31 (drought assistance for farmers would be replaced with a Centrelink payment set at the level of the dole under a radical plan prepared for the Federal Government)
Kenneth Davidson, New crops could help Murray, The Age, 2008 Oct. 27 (when will the Government wake up?; the water buyback won't work—there is no water to buy)
Melissa Fyfe, Revamp push as solar panel coffers empty, The Age, 2008 Oct. 19 (Canberra's rebate for solar panels has proven so popular—even with the controversial means test—that the Federal Government has spent $150 million, or three years of funding, in just 16 months)
Adam Morton, Financial crisis will pass, climate change won't, The Age, 2008 Oct. 17 (”unprecedented” financial crisis will be short-lived and should not stand in way of global action on climate change, Ross Garnaut says)
David Rood and Darren Gray, Extra $115 million relief for farmers, The Age, 2008 Oct. 14 (drought-ravaged farmers and country communities will receive an extra $115 million in drought relief as they struggle to cope with the worst dry spell in 150 years—not to mention the global financial meltdown)
Dan Harrison, On a universal quest, The Age, 2008 Oct. 4 (Australia's new Chief Scientist, appointed this week, predicts climate change will dominate her term)
Chris Hammer, Failure to last until end of time, The Age, 2008 Oct. 1 (climate change adviser Ross Garnaut has used his final report to outline a radical vision of a low-carbon Australia, with big changes in agriculture, transport and energy by mid-century)
Paul Rincon, Climate link to amphibian decline, BBC, 2008 Oct. 27 (amphibians populations at Yellowstone—the world's oldest national park—are in steep decline, a major study shows)
Peter Ker, Bay watchers to track ‘forgotten’ penguins, The Age, 2008 Oct. 27 (they have been dubbed the “forgotten penguins” of Victoria, but the lives of St Kilda's little penguin colony will soon be far less private)
Gethin Chamberlain, Man-eaters rule in a land of widows as tigers get a taste for human flesh, Observer, 2008 Oct. 26 (West Bengal's villagers are increasingly the prey of tigers driven out of Bangladesh by flooding)
Chee Chee Leung, Hue are you? Climate may turn rosella's crimson to yellow, The Age, 2008 Oct. 15 (climate change could mean birds of a different colour of feather will dominate Victoria's crimson rosella population, researchers say)
Richard Black, Fisheries waste 'costs billions', BBC, 2008 Oct. 8 (the world's fishing fleets are losing billions of dollars each year through depleted stocks and poor management, a UN report says)
Adam Morton, Mammals in danger on the planet of the doomed, The Age, 2008 Oct. 7 (the world's mammal life is in grave peril, a startling study reveals, and in Australia the position is especially dire)
Ed Pilkington, Revealed: oil-funded research in Palin's campaign against protection for polar bear, Guardian, 2008 Oct. 1 (two-thirds of the world's polar bears likely to be extinct by 2050 due to the rapid melting of the sea ice; paper authored by known climate change sceptics; governor suing over threatened species ruling)
Tania Branigan , China plans string of dams in south Tibet, Guardian, 2008 Oct. 14 (officials say dams are least damaging way of providing power and raising living standards in region; environment groups fear wider impact downstream)
David Rood and Darren Gray, Extra $115 million relief for farmers, The Age, 2008 Oct. 14 (drought-ravaged farmers and country communities will receive an extra $115 million in drought relief as they struggle to cope with the worst dry spell in 150 years—not to mention the global financial meltdown)
Peter Ker, Rivers need good luck, good management, The Age, 2008 Oct. 11 (Victoria's stressed northern rivers will require good fortune and wily management to benefit from increased environmental flows)
David Smith, Britain's rivers could run dry, Observer, 2008 Oct. 5 (flows in Severn and Mersey in summer could drop by up to 80 per cent by 2050, experts warn)
Helen Carter and Matthew Connolly, Organisers criticised as atrocious weather brings chaotic end to marathon fell race, Guardian, 2008 Oct. 27 (event called off after three hours but, as mobile phones were banned, runners could not be reached)
Steven Morris, Rivers burst banks after torrential rainfall, Guardian, 2008 Oct. 6 (torrential downpours after wet summer causes flooding in north-west, Wales and Midlands)
Peter Ker, Parched city records barely a drop, The Age, 2008 Oct. 1 (the ninth month of 2008 has smashed rainfall records, with the city centre registering its driest September since records began in 1855, 12mm, almost a fifth of the September average and comfortably below the previous record low of 13.4mm in September 1907)