earth-policy.org - by Emily E. Adams
July 23, 2013

Increasing global emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2), a heat-trapping gas, are pushing the world into dangerous territory, closing the window of time to avert the worst consequences of higher temperatures, such as melting ice and rising seas. Since the dawn of the Industrial Revolution, carbon emissions from burning fossil fuels have grown exponentially. Despite wide agreement by governments on the need to limit emissions, the rate of increase ratcheted up from less than 1 percent each year in the 1990s to almost 3 percent annually in the first decade of this century.

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Species that live on mountains, such as the snow leopard, are particularly at risk. Photograph: Tom Brakefield/Getty Images

guardian.co.uk - by Robin McKie - July 13, 2013

Among the many strange mantras repeated by climate change deniers is the claim that even in an overheated, climate-altered planet, animals and plants will still survive by adapting to global warming. . .

. . . However, their rate of change turns out to be painfully slow, according to a study by Professor John Wiens of the University of Arizona. . . The results, published online in the journal Ecology Letters, show that most land animals will not be able to evolve quickly enough to adapt to the dramatically warmer climate expected by 2100.

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Oil polluting the ground at Cold Lake in Alberta.  Photograph obtained by the Toronto Star

grist.org - by John Upton - July 22, 2013

Thousands of barrels of tar-sands oil have been burbling up into forest areas for at least six weeks in Cold Lake, Alberta, and it seems that nobody knows how to staunch the flow.

An underground oil blowout at a big tar-sands operation run by Canadian Natural Resources Ltd. has caused spills at four different sites over the past few months. . .

Media and others have been blocked from visiting the sites, but the Toronto Star obtained documents and photographs about the ongoing disaster from a government scientist involved in the cleanup, who spoke to the reporter on condition of anonymity.

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huffingtonpost.com - by Eric Zuesse - July 20, 2013

A new article in the prestigious Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), is headlined "The Multimillennial Sea-Level Commitment of Global Warming," and it reports that because of carbon emissions that are virtually certain, on the basis of the lack of policy-response to global warming thus far, sea levels are now set to rise anywhere from around 8 inches to 7 feet within 100 years, and around 5 yards to 10 yards within 2,000 years. The projections are clearer (within a narrower range) for the longer time-frame than for the shorter one. That's because even if the short-term consequences of heat-rise turn out to be relatively slight, the longer-term consequences are clearer, and will be considerably larger, as delayed impacts kick in.

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PNAS - The multimillennial sea-level commitment of global warming
http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2013/07/10/1219414110

globalhumanitarianassistance.org - July 17, 2013

www.wcs-heal.org

HEALTH & ECOSYSTEMS: ANALYSIS OF LINKAGES (HEAL) represents a global collaboration among leading public health and environmental conservation institutions focused on understanding relationships between the state of ecosystems and public health outcomes.

With planning grants over the past several years from the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation and the Rockefeller Foundation, the Wildlife Conservation Society organized a series of workshops starting in 2009 that brought together top professionals from the public health and conservation communities.

Image: A worker is seen at a wheat store after the harvest at Damanhour city in Al Beheira, governorate, about 135 km (84 miles) north of Cairo May 4, 2013. Picture taken May 4, 2013. REUTERS/Stringer

preview.reuters.com - July 11th, 2013 - Sarah McFarlane

Egypt has less than two months' supply of imported wheat left in its stocks, ousted President Mohamed Mursi's minister of supplies said, revealing a shortage more acute than previously disclosed.

Speaking to Reuters near midnight in a tent at a vigil where thousands of Mursi supporters are protesting against the Islamist president's removal, former Minister of Supplies Bassem Ouda said the state had just 500,000 tonnes of imported wheat left. Egypt usually imports about 10 million tonnes a year.

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A rescue boat sailing through the water logged lanes during flood in river Yamuna on June 20, 2013 in New Delhi, India. Low-lying areas along the Yamuna remained submerged for the second consecutive day though the water level in the river started receding today. (Photo by Arijit Sen/Hindustan Times via Getty Images)

CLICK HERE - Red Flood alert in India from 23/06/2013 00:00 UTC to 15/07/2013 23:59 UTC -
Global Disaster Alert and Coordination System (GDACS)

huffingtonpost.com - by BISWAJEET BANERJEE - July 16, 2013

LUCKNOW, India -- More than 5,700 people missing since floods devastated northern India last month are being presumed dead, even as rescue officials struggle to bring aid to affected villages, top officials said Tuesday.

New Delhi: Air pollution accounts for over 500,000 deaths in India annually, a new study says.

CLICK HERE FOR STUDY - Environmentsl Research Letters - Global premature mortality due to anthropogenic outdoor air pollution and the contribution of past climate change

cnn.com - by Matthew Knight - July 16, 2013

Article Highlights:

• Air pollution responsible for more than two million premature deaths worldwide annually
• Study assesses impact of fine particulates and ozone using atmospheric climate models
• East Asia worst affected region with over a million deaths per year
• Study also found that climate change hasn't had huge impact on effects of air pollution

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The incident took place as crowds gathered to commemorate the Dalai Lama

bbc.co.uk - July 9, 2013

Chinese police opened fire on Tibetans who had gathered to mark the Dalai Lama's birthday, injuring several, rights groups and reports say.

The incident happened in Daofu in Sichuan province on 6 July.

A crowd had gathered at a mountain to mark the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader's birthday with offerings and incense, when police used tear gas and opened fire, the reports said.

China's Foreign Ministry said it was unaware of the reports, Reuters said.

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earth-policy.org - by Lester R. Brown - July 9, 2013

Peak oil has generated headlines in recent years, but the real threat to our future is peak water. There are substitutes for oil, but not for water. We can produce food without oil, but not without water.

We drink on average four liters of water per day, in one form or another, but the food we eat each day requires 2,000 liters of water to produce, or 500 times as much.

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Millions of Muslims travel to Mecca in Saudi Arabia every year

bbc.co.uk - July 13, 2013

Health officials in Saudi Arabia have asked pilgrims visiting its holy sites to wear masks in crowded places to stop the spread of the MERS coronavirus.

A list of requirements issued by the health ministry also tells elderly people or those with chronic diseases to postpone their pilgrimage.

Thirty-eight people have died from the virus in Saudi Arabia.

Millions of Muslims from around the world are expected to take part in the Hajj this October.

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The arrest warrant for Mohamed Badie has provoked anger among his supporters according to the BBC's Jim Muir

bbc.co.uk - July 10, 2013

Egypt's state prosecutor has issued an arrest warrant for the leader of the Muslim Brotherhood, Mohamed Badie, and at least nine other senior figures.

Mr Badie is accused of inciting the violence in Cairo on Monday in which more than 50 people were killed.

Many Brotherhood members are already in detention and warrants are said to have been been issued for hundreds more.

Meanwhile, a foreign ministry spokesman has said ousted President Mohammed Morsi is being held in a "safe place".

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