2009 June: Climate
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Navin Singh Khadka, Himalayan glacier studies commence, BBC, 2009 June 23 (after a long gap, scientists in Nepal have embarked on the first field studies of Himalayan glacial lakes, some of which are feared to be swelling dangerously due to global warming)
Andrew Darby, Scientists warn of gaps in ice monitoring, The Age, 2009 June 13 (Antarctic scientists warn they risk "going blind" to changes in climatically vital polar ice sheets because the most valuable satellite sensors are too old; long gaps in monitoring the ice sheets that lock up most of Earth's fresh water are likely, according to a draft report of the international Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research)
Victoria Gill, Origin of Antarctic ice revealed, BBC, 2009 June 3 (incredible peaks and valleys, buried beneath ice for 14 million years, have revealed evidence of how the East Antarctic ice sheet first formed)
Tom Arup and Cathy Alexander, Fielding frozen in climate disbelief, The Age, 2009 June 25 (efforts to convince Family First senator Steve Fielding of a link between human activity and global warming have failed; Senator Fielding yesterday released a response to chief scientist Professor Penny Sackett and Climate Change Minister Penny Wong, saying they had failed to explain why air temperatures had not risen at the same rate as carbon emissions, and had in fact cooled since 1998)
Jo Chandler, Journey to a hostile climate, The Age, 2009 June 13 (it is time for the physical and psychological scientists to get together to explain how hidden human traits have underpinned the development of climate change as an issue, our responses thus far, and how to better transfer scientific knowledge of risk into action)
Paddy Manning, How the carbon lobby blackens media coverage, The Age, 2009 June 6 (despite a spectacular about-face on climate change in 2007 by News Corp's chairman Rupert Murdoch, no media group can match the Murdoch press for consistently fomenting global warming scepticism and arguing against climate change mitigation measures)
India monsoon rain 'below normal', BBC, 2009 June 24 (Indian officials say that monsoon rains in the country are likely to be "below normal" leading to fears about crop failure and higher food prices)
Philip Hopkins, 'Ignorance' threatens Australian food output, The Age, 2009 June 23 (Australian agriculture's potential to feed the world's growing population through its efficiency and research capabilities could be undermined by community ignorance and bad public policy, a leading researcher has warned)
Marika Dobbin, Growing trend for palatable shapes in shared living, The Age, 2009 June 13 (edible plants grow in every cranny of Cecilia Macaulay's North Melbourne sharehouse; passionfruits spill from the balcony; herbs carpet the courtyard)
Sarah Mukherjee, Will British crops go thirsty?, BBC, 2009 June 18 (the hotter, drier summers predicted by climate change scientists could have a dramatic effect on this agricultural powerhouse of a region, and the thousands of jobs that it supports)
Richard Black, UK 'must plan' for warmer future, BBC, 2009 June 18 (wetter winters, drier summers and warmer weather all year are climate changes the UK must prepare for, government says)
Richard Black, UK maps climate change forecasts, BBC, 2009 June 18 (the UK government's detailed projections of climate change impacts, due out later, are said to be "worse than expected")
AFP, World's megacities ripe for 'megadisaster', The Age, 2009 June 17 (some of the world's biggest cities are at growing risk of "megadisasters", the UN's humanitarian chief said on Tuesday, warning that climate change was behind a rising number of natural catastrophes)
Adam Morton, State must brace for more heatwaves, deaths, The Age, 2009 June 8 (climate change is causing heatwave records to be smashed in ways that would have been considered fantasy just a few years ago, a leading climate scientist warns)
Matthew Glass's “Ultimatum”: Tidal fear, Economist, 2009 June 6 (a thriller for our age; and the ending is brilliant; Ultimatum, Grove Atlantic, 400p.)
Julian Siddle, North America faces beetle plague, BBC, 2009 June 30 (an epidemic of mountain pine beetles, which has devastated forests in British Columbia, is threatening to spread)
Philip Hopkins, Gunns gets say on pulp policy, The Age, 2009 June 24 (Gunns will be a key member of a new Federal Government strategy group that aims to develop an industry policy for the pulp and paper industry similar to the Government's "green car" and textiles, clothing and footwear schemes)
Andrew Darby, Gunns hits snag over mill standards, The Age, 2009 June 15 (a Swedish paper pulp company sharply lifts the environmental bar for Gunns' proposed $2 billion Tasmanian mill)
The Amazon: The future of the forest, Economist, 2009 June 13 (Brazil's government hopes that land reform in the Amazon will slow deforestation; Greens doubt it)
Richard Black, 'Boom and bust' of deforestation, BBC, 2009 June 11 (using the Amazon forest for ranches and plantations creates a short economic "boom" and a long "bust", researchers find)
Jamie Coomarasamy, How Texas manure ethanol plan fell flat, BBC, 2009 June 23 (the plant is only 95% built and it's never produced a drop of ethanol; almost all of the employees who were working on the ethanol trials have been laid off)
Rowena Mason, Oil's roller-coaster price predicted to head upward again, The Age, 2009 June 12 (a year ago the world believed that the era of cheap oil was history. China and India were drinking up energy like thirsty toddlers, drivers began stockpiling petrol as prices soared, and there were wild forecasts that oil prices would hit $US200 a barrel)
Margarita Rodriguez, 'Hidden cost' of Colombian biofuel, BBC, 2009 June 10 (Colombia's government proudly claims that it is the biggest producer of biodiesel and ethanol in Latin America after Brazil, but human rights groups do not share that enthusiasm)
Adam Morton, Britain demands more from world on emissions, The Age, 2009 June 27 (embattled British PM Gordon Brown has broken ranks in global talks on climate change to call for the creation of a $A124 billion a year fund to help the world's poor deal with what lies ahead)
Richard Black, Flood protection 'needs doubling', BBC, 2009 June 18 (with one in six homes in England at risk from flooding in the future, the Environment Agency urges a big rise in spending)
Richard Black, UK 'must plan' for warmer future, BBC, 2009 June 18 (wetter winters, drier summers and warmer weather all year are climate changes the UK must prepare for, government says)
Adam Morton and Suzanne Goldenberg, Obama unveils hard-hitting climate report, The Age, 2009 June 18 (produced by more than 30 scientists working across 13 government agencies, the report said Americans have already been living with 30 years of heavy downpours, rising sea levels and blistering summer heat waves caused by rising greenhouse gas emissions)
America and China talk climate change: Heating up or cooling down?, Economist, 2009 June 13 (the big two emitters try to stop finger-pointing and save the planet)
Adam Morton, Greenhouse pledges way too low: UN, The Age, 2009 June 13 (wealthy countries' targets to cut greenhouse emissions fall well short of what's needed to avoid climate change, according to confidential UN analysis)
Adam Morton and Tom Arup, Tougher climate target unlikely, The Age, 2009 June 12 (Australia appears almost certain not to adopt a target to cut greenhouse gas emissions by around 25 per cent, after Japan unveiled what was widely condemned as a weak target)
Public call to help track moths, BBC, 2009 June 20 (scientists are asking for help to spot important species of moths to understand whether climate change is affecting populations)
Peter Ker, State water targets rely on rising rainfall levels, The Age, 2009 June 15 (rainfall must increase in Victoria in coming years for water targets assigned to the north-south pipeline and food-bowl modernisation project to be achieved)
Peter Ker, State attacked over water projects, The Age, 2009 June 12 (a billion dollars for crucial water projects in Victoria is being withheld because of the Brumby Government's tardiness, according to federal Water Minister Penny Wong)
Adam Morton, State must brace for more heatwaves, deaths, The Age, 2009 June 8 (climate change is causing heatwave records to be smashed in ways that would have been considered fantasy just a few years ago, a leading climate scientist warns)
Adam Morton, North-south pipeline promises undermined, The Age, 2009 June 8 (new evidence of the dire health of Victoria's irrigation district has cast fresh doubt over whether the north-south pipeline will deliver as much water to Melbourne as promised)
Peter Ker, Call to recycle all water and ban outfalls, The Age, 2009 June 3 (a dramatic increase in water recycling has been recommended for Melbourne, following an 18-month investigation by a Labor-dominated parliamentary committee)
Royce Millar, Gippsland water users forced to pay rising costs of factory delay, The Age, 2009 June 3 (Gippsland water users will pick up the tab for big cost blow-outs and delays in one of Victoria's most ambitious water-saving projects)
Adam Morton, Household solar power laws at risk, state warns, The Age, 2009 June 2 (State Government warns it will abandon controversial household solar power laws rather than accept Greens amendments to make it more financially attractive to install rooftop panels)
Richard Black, 'Boom and bust' of deforestation, BBC, 2009 June 11 (using the Amazon forest for ranches and plantations creates a short economic "boom" and a long "bust", researchers find)
Matthew Glass's “Ultimatum”: Tidal fear, Economist, 2009 June 6 (a thriller for our age; and the ending is brilliant; Ultimatum, Grove Atlantic, 400p.)
Jeremy Cooke, Film warns of 'world without fish', BBC, 2009 June 2 (The End of the Line is a film packed with footage of big-scale fishing in oceans around the world; the work is efficient, modern, industrial and, according to the film makers, unsustainable)
Roger Harrabin, Government 'must back insulation', BBC, 2009 June 11 (the winner of a clean energy prize says government must show much greater urgency in insulating people's homes)
Peter Ker, A slippery slope, The Age, 2009 June 11 (Victoria's alpine resorts are under threat from climate change, but differences have emerged over the best way to ensure their survival)
Paddy Manning, We can bury our problems and do the planet a favour, The Age, 2009 June 1 (biochar is being hailed as a global warming solution that may also help jobs and farming)
Pallab Ghosh, Climate warnings' error margins, BBC, 2009 June 18 (projections by the UK's Climate Impact Programme released on Thursday come with strict caveats about how they should be used and their margin for error)
Richard Black, Mobiles boost Africa climate data, BBC, 2009 June 18 (gaping gaps in weather and climate data across Africa may be filled by a partnership between humanitarian groups and mobile phone companies)
Adam Morton and Suzanne Goldenberg, Obama unveils hard-hitting climate report, The Age, 2009 June 18 (produced by more than 30 scientists working across 13 government agencies, the report said Americans have already been living with 30 years of heavy downpours, rising sea levels and blistering summer heat waves caused by rising greenhouse gas emissions)
Andrew Darby, Scientists warn of gaps in ice monitoring, The Age, 2009 June 13 (Antarctic scientists warn they risk "going blind" to changes in climatically vital polar ice sheets because the most valuable satellite sensors are too old; long gaps in monitoring the ice sheets that lock up most of Earth's fresh water are likely, according to a draft report of the international Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research)
Tom Arup and Cathy Alexander, Fielding frozen in climate disbelief, The Age, 2009 June 25 (efforts to convince Family First senator Steve Fielding of a link between human activity and global warming have failed; Senator Fielding yesterday released a response to chief scientist Professor Penny Sackett and Climate Change Minister Penny Wong, saying they had failed to explain why air temperatures had not risen at the same rate as carbon emissions, and had in fact cooled since 1998)
Peter Doherty, We cannot go on living like this, The Age, 2009 June 15 (humanity has pillaged the planet, but Australia can use its abundant natural resources to forge a new way)
Jo Chandler, Journey to a hostile climate, The Age, 2009 June 13 (it is time for the physical and psychological scientists to get together to explain how hidden human traits have underpinned the development of climate change as an issue, our responses thus far, and how to better transfer scientific knowledge of risk into action)
Peter Ker, Record low Murray flows turning Lake Albert acidic, The Age, 2009 June 13 (lying at the mouth of the Murray River, near Adelaide, the Lower Lakes and nearby Coorong are protected under the international Ramsar agreement, which seeks to preserve migratory bird habitats)
Adam Morton and Tom Arup, Tougher climate target unlikely, The Age, 2009 June 12 (Australia appears almost certain not to adopt a target to cut greenhouse gas emissions by around 25 per cent, after Japan unveiled what was widely condemned as a weak target)
Peter Ker, State's deal fails to calm water fight, The Age, 2009 June 5 (a High Court challenge continues to hang over the Victorian Government despite a landmark agreement being reached with the Commonwealth yesterday over the Murray River)
Dolphin 'super pod' seen in firth, BBC, 2009 June 26 (environmental charity Earthwatch says a massive migration of short-beaked common dolphins are a sign of climate change)
Erich Hoyt, Saving the seas for marine mammals, BBC, 2009 June 8 (why time is running out to protect the vast areas of the world's seas to ensure the long-term survival of whales and dolphins)
Adam Morton, Adelaide targets water recycling, The Age, 2009 June 29 (South Australia has taken a different approach to Victoria in securing its water future, opting for a large-scale expansion in recycling of storm and wastewater; it yesterday announced a goal to recycle 45 per cent of urban wastewater for use in agriculture, industry and parklands by 2013)
Peter Ker, Record low Murray flows turning Lake Albert acidic, The Age, 2009 June 13 (lying at the mouth of the Murray River, near Adelaide, the Lower Lakes and nearby Coorong are protected under the international Ramsar agreement, which seeks to preserve migratory bird habitats)
India monsoon rain 'below normal', BBC, 2009 June 24 (Indian officials say that monsoon rains in the country are likely to be "below normal" leading to fears about crop failure and higher food prices)
Richard Black, Flood protection 'needs doubling', BBC, 2009 June 18 (with one in six homes in England at risk from flooding in the future, the Environment Agency urges a big rise in spending)
Peter Ker, State water targets rely on rising rainfall levels, The Age, 2009 June 15 (rainfall must increase in Victoria in coming years for water targets assigned to the north-south pipeline and food-bowl modernisation project to be achieved)