Climate Change

"The protracted fight over this year's federal budget has left its mark on the nation's climate and weather satellites, experts said yesterday at a conference organized by defense trade publisher IHS Jane's."

"Two environmental groups have challenged the air pollution permit for a $750 million iron plant in southwestern Louisiana, which is the first project that was approved under the greenhouse gas regulations that were implemented by U.S. EPA in January."

"Advocates of stringent curbs on greenhouse gas emissions sued the federal government on Wednesday, arguing that key agencies had failed in their duty to protect the earth's atmosphere as a public trust to be guarded for future generations."

"The ice of Greenland and the rest of the Arctic is melting faster than expected and could help raise global sea levels by as much as 5 feet this century, dramatically higher than earlier projections, an authoritative international assessment says."

"Photographer Jonas Bendiksen made three separate trips to Bangladesh last year to document the wet season and the ways that rising waters are altering Bangladeshi life."

"The federal government’s ability to gather and analyze energy data and produce market forecasts will be significantly impaired by the recently enacted budget cuts, the administrator of the Energy Information Administration said."

Climate change may be global, but it is already changing local North Carolina ecosystems in myriad ways. Beaches are eroding, shorelines are retreating, and birds are shifting their winter ranges. Even insects, fish, and frogs are changing behavior.

"The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia [Friday] rejected an attempt to overturn California's authority to implement greenhouse gas emissions standards for new cars brought by the National Automobile Dealers Association and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce."

There is little evidence to suggest that tornado outbreaks like the one that devasted the South last week are related to global climate change.