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Climate change: Arctic passes 400 parts per million milestone

Submitted by ward on Mon, 06/25/2012 - 11:24am

Author:

Seth Borenstein

Climate change: Arctic passes 400 parts per million milestone

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Arctic monitoring stations show carbon dioxide levels are now above 400 parts per million. Carbon dioxide is the chief climate-change gas and stays in the atmosphere for 100 years. Before the Industrial Age, carbon dioxide levels were 275 ppm.

The world's air has reached what scientists call a troubling new milestone for carbon dioxide, the main global warming pollutant.

Link:

http://www.csmonitor.com/Science/2012/0531/Climate-change-Arctic-passes-400-parts-per-million-milestone

Level:

Global

Year:

2012

U.N. report warns environment is at tipping point

Submitted by ward on Mon, 06/25/2012 - 11:08am

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RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) – The earth's environmental systems "are being pushed towards their biophysical limits," beyond which loom sudden, irreversible and potentially catastrophic changes, the United Nations Environment Program warned Wednesday.

Link:

http://www.usatoday.com/weather/climate/story/2012-06-06/un-environment-report/55431404/1?csp=34news

Level:

Global

Year:

2012

Africa land deals lead to water giveaway

Submitted by ward on Mon, 06/25/2012 - 10:59am

Author:

Mark Tran

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Africa heads for 'hydrological suicide' as land deals hand water resources to foreign firms, threatening environmental disaster

Millions of people will lose access to traditional sources of water because of "land grabs" in Africa, according to a report on Monday that looks behind the scramble for farmland in Africa.

Link:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/global-development/2012/jun/12/africa-land-deals-water-giveaway

Level:

Regional

Year:

2012

Geographic Area:

Africa

Rivers will generate a quarter of GDP by 2050, study shows

Submitted by ward on Mon, 06/25/2012 - 10:54am

Author:

Damian Carrington

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The world's 10 most populous river basins will be vital for economic growth – but only if water shortage threat is tackled

Water is the very stuff of life, yet billions of people do not have access to a clean, reliable source. Changing that takes investment - public and private - so winning the economic argument about the value of such investment is very valuable. And a new report commissioned by HSBC makes the argument in a striking way.

Link:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/damian-carrington-blog/2012/jun/11/water-river-hsbc?intcmp=122

Level:

Global

Year:

2012

Development banks pledge $175bn for public transport at Rio+20

Submitted by ward on Mon, 06/25/2012 - 10:48am

Author:

Jonathan Watts

Development banks pledge $175bn for public transport at Rio+20

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Money will be invested in building transport systems that will reduce greenhouse gas emissions

The world's biggest development banks have made a fundamental investment shift from roads to public transport, under a $175bn (£111bn) initiative to promote buses, trains and cycle lanes that was unveiled on Wednesday at the Rio+20 Earth summit.

Link:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2012/jun/20/development-banks-rio20-public-transport

Level:

Global

Year:

2012

New index shows lower growth for major economies

Submitted by ward on Mon, 06/25/2012 - 10:41am

Author:

Nina Chestney

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RIO DE JANEIRO, (Reuters) - Some large economies show significantly lower growth when natural assets such as forests and water are factored into growth indicators, an index showed on Sunday, a few days before an international sustainability summit starts in Rio de Janeiro.

The Inclusive Wealth Index was unveiled by the United Nations University's International Human Dimensions Programme on Global Environmental Change (UNU-IHDP) and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).