Age: ROSS Garnaut’s interim report on climate change has opened up divisions at both ends of the political spectrum. On the left, the Greens are attacking the Government for not embracing the need for more ambitious greenhouse reduction targets, while on the right, backbenchers are expressing dissent from the Coalition’s official position of keeping an open mind on targets. The report, by Canberra’s top adviser on climate change, suggests the Government’s pre-election promise of a …

Bend Weekly: A review of all available ocean data records concludes that the low-oxygen events that have plagued the Pacific Northwest coast since 2002 are unprecedented in the five decades prior to that, and may well be linked to the stronger, persistent winds that are expected to occur with global warming. In a new study to be published Friday in the journal Science, researchers from Oregon State University outline a "potential for rapid reorganization" in basic marine ecosystems and the …

Associated Press: Philippe Daniel opens a slim briefcase so buyers can glimpse his wares, then snaps it shut with a wary glance over his shoulder. Daniel is not dealing in drugs, counterfeits or other illicit goods, but in truffles aromatic tubers prized for their heady fragrance and rich, earthy flavor. One of the world’s most sought-after gastronomical treasures, truffles fetch astronomical prices, and sellers like Daniel are always alert for spying competitors. Daniel used to deal in big …

Reuters: Chile is suffering its worst drought in decades, and the government is handing out emergency drinking water along a quarter of the Andean nation’s length as wells dry up. Farmers in small towns in south-central Chile have lost crops and livestock in the drought blamed on the weather phenomenon La Nina. Rainfall records show the semi-arid region got one of its lowest levels of precipitation in half a century, and some specialists say its been 80 years since the weather got so …

Deutsche Presse-Agentur: The rising emissions of greenhouse gases and the resultant climate change are adding to the threats to the world’s dwindling stocks of fish, the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) said in a report made public on Friday. The main problem is the changes in circulation brought on by the fading and falling of the ocean’s natural pumping system, which may "seriously impact" three-fourths of the globe’s key fishing grounds. "These natural pumps, dotted at sites across the …

Age: DEEP in the daily combat of last year’s federal election campaign, climate change was a potent political weapon Kevin Rudd used against John Howard and his riven government to devastating effect. Now, to use one of Rudd’s favoured metaphors, we’ve reached a fork in the road. Climate change is no longer a convenient rhetorical device used in a political contest to frame the future and decry the alleged failures of the past - it is a profound and challenging problem for a new …

Reuters: The Canadian government is not very interested in implementing a national a carbon tax, despite a decision by its third largest province to adopt one, federal Environment Minister John Baird said on Wednesday. British Columbia’s plan, unveiled on Tuesday, is the first of its kind in North America and its supporters say is among the world’s most comprehensive tax programs aimed at curbing emissions of greenhouse gases, blamed for climate change. Baird said British Columbia had …

Age: THERE is no doubt that global warming is the world’s greatest crisis, the real weapon of mass destruction against which a workable defence strategy must be found, and found soon. It is on every agenda of every major meeting of world leaders from G8 to APEC to the European Commission. Indeed, EU President Jose Manuel Barroso last month described the management of climate change as "the great project of our generation". Prime Minister Kevin Rudd’s laudable ratification of the …

Reuters: Vast mines in Peru and Chile that supply the world with crucial metals have started to pump water from the Pacific Ocean high into the Andes Mountains because of chronic water shortages exacerbated by climate change. Tapping seawater allows miners to avoid relying on unpredictable rivers, which may run dry as glaciers melt, and avert clashes with farmers who draw their water from creeks in poor mountain villages. "Water always generates conflicts between mines and …

Sydney Morning Herald: THE world is hurtling towards dangerous levels of climate change at an increasingly fast pace requiring much greater cuts in greenhouse gas emissions, the Federal Government’s architect on global warming policy has warned. Professor Ross Garnaut’s interim report on climate change said Australia could be the "biggest loser" among developed countries if aggressive action was not taken. But the Minister for Climate Change, Penny Wong, said the Government was not …