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☆ COP27: Loss of Arctic summer sea ice 'inevitable' within 30 years — report
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-07 | by ( Gloria Dickie | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The newest report's authors highlighted the "terminal diagnosis" for the ice that forms and floats atop the Arctic Ocean each summer. On Monday evening, Arctic campaigners and indigenous youth from the region planned a media event to mark the demise of sea ice. Mallett said COP27 talks would do little to save the summer sea ice. Last year, the U.N. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change said summer sea ice would be lost even if warming peaked at 1.6 degrees above the preindustrial average. If summer sea ice is lost, no multiyear sea ice — sea ice that persists in the ocean from year to year — will remain.

☆ Climate woes bad and getting worse faster, UN weather report says
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-06 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Earth's warming weather and rising seas are getting worse and doing so faster than before, the World Meteorological Organization warned Sunday in a somber note as world leaders started gathering for international climate negotiations. "The latest State of the Global Climate report is a chronicle of climate chaos," United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said. "The melting (of ice) game we have lost and also the sea level rate," WMO chief Petteri Taalas told The Associated Press. The data on sea level and average temperatures are nothing compared to how climate change has hit people in extreme weather. The rate of warming the last 15 years is 67% faster than since 1971, the report said.

☆ Explainer: Why methane emissions are threatening climate stability
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-03 | by ( Tim Cocks | Avi Asher-Schapiro | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Nov 3 (Reuters) - Methane emissions have emerged as a top threat to the global climate, with scientists and policymakers calling for aggressive action to curb the output. At last year's U.N. climate summit in Glasgow, Scotland, more than 100 countries pledged a 30% cut from 2020 methane emissions levels by 2030. "If you're interested in the climate impacts, we'll be experiencing in 2050 ... you'd be absolutely screaming about methane emissions." WHERE IT COMES FROMThree-fifths of the world's estimated methane emissions are from human activity; the rest are from natural sources like swamps. The European Union recently endorsed labeling some natural gas projects as "green" in a major boost to the industry.

☆ Danes hand Social Democrats mandate to form government
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-02 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

The Social Democrats secured their strongest backing in more than two decades. Danes on Tuesday handed the Social Democratic Party a mandate to form a new government in a general election seen as a vote of confidence in Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen's handling of the pandemic and her leadership to overcome yet another crisis. "Thanks to all Danes who have trusted us with your vote, it's a huge vote of confidence. The Social Democrats again became the biggest in parliament with 27.5% of votes. She said she will submit the resignation of her one-party government to the Queen on Wednesday and seek to form a broad government.

☆ China's CIFI suspends all offshore debt payments, starts restructuring
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

HONG KONG, Nov 1 (Reuters) - Shanghai-based property developer CIFI Holdings (0884.HK) said on Tuesday it has suspended payments on all of its offshore debt after it failed to reach an agreement with creditors to which it owes $414 million in total. CIFI said in a filing it has engaged Haitong International Securities Company Limited as financial advisor and Linklaters as legal adviser to facilitate a restructuring of its $6.85 billion offshore debt, as it is likely to come under continued pressure to generate sufficient cash flows for repayments. CIFI and Longfor had borrowings of 114 billion yuan ($15.61 billion) and 212 billion yuan, respectively, as of June, and Greenland had 122 billion yuan. But it added its offshore debt issues do not materially affect its onshore financing arrangements as a whole and that its commercial operations remain normal. CIFI said on Oct. 13 it had not met certain offshore interest and amortisation payments due to delays in remittances during an extended holiday in mainland China.

☆ The Music of Inuit Art
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-29 | by ( Peter Saenger | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +1 min

In the Inuit language, tusarnitut means “sounds that please the ear.” It’s a fitting title for a new exhibition at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts focused on the power of songs and music in Inuit art. “TUSARNITUT! Music Born of the Cold,” opening on Nov. 10, juxtaposes prints, drawings and installations by modern and contemporary artists with musical instruments and field recordings. Today, more than 180,000 Inuit live in a band of northern territory stretching from Eastern Siberia through Alaska, Canada and Greenland. In the traditionally male art of drum dancing, performers use drums of seal or caribou skin to celebrate important events like births, marriages or successful hunts, as well as to honor the dead.

☆ Climate Change Is Real. Markets, Not Governments, Offer the Cure. - The New York Times
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-28 | by ( Bret Stephens | Mr. Stephens Is An Opinion Columnist. Mr. Winter Is A Staff Photographer On Assignment In Opinion. | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +32 min

worse-case, highest-carbon-emission scenario.” (The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change is the U.N. body that assesses climate change.) How do we weigh the risks of underreacting to climate change against the risks of overreacting to it? While he’s not an expert on climate change, he has spent decades thinking deeply about every manner of risk. That’s particularly true if climate change is akin to cancer — manageable or curable in its earlier stages, disastrous in its later ones. Maybe, I realized, in assessing my newfound concerns about climate change, my long-held beliefs might provide a solution — look to the market.

☆ The US and Canada are updating a Cold War-era system to keep an eye on Russian and Chinese missiles. Experts say they need to add a lot more territory too.
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-26 | by ( Michael Peck | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

The US and Canada are modernizing NORAD to watch for Russian, Chinese, and North Korean missiles. At the same time, some experts argue that the command should expand beyond North America to include Denmark and its North American territory, Greenland. North American Aerospace Defense Command, as it's now known, is also responsible for detecting and tracking North Korean missile launches. But the North Pole is still a dagger pointed at North America. The defense of North America is still on NORAD's radar.

☆ Wealthy people are splurging on bucket-list trips, flying to the Arctic Circle for private-chef-catered meals, renting out African safari lodges, and spending $300,000 for a half-hour opera serenade
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-25 | by ( Zoe Rosenberg | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Hard-to-access places like the Arctic Circle and Galapagos Islands are bucket-list travel hot spots. These well-off wanderlusters have helped create a travel-industry boom, with pent-up demand pushing bucket-list travel into this year's shoulder seasons. American Express Travel's 2022 Global Travel Trends report, which used polling data collected in early February 2022, confirms the move toward bucket-list travel this year. Quality time with loved ones matters above allBut not all bucket-list travel experiences need to be in far-flung corners of the world. Finnegan said traveling with his family made it a bucket-list trip.

☆ Fact Check-Study on Greenland warming does not contradict human-driven climate change
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-11 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

Rather, the study focused on a natural Pacific Ocean weather anomaly and its role in a recent slowdown of Greenland warming. The study’s finding that the slowdown in Greenland warming was driven largely by CP ENSO events doesn’t dispute anthropogenic climate change, Matsumura said. In fact, CP ENSO events have been projected to increase under global warming, Matsumura added, and a frequent occurrence of La Niña would likely accelerate Greenland warming (here), (here). Reuters Fact Check has previously addressed claims that short-term trends in Arctic ice cover undermine the idea that human-driven climate warming is a threat (here). A study by researchers in Japan that explains cooler Greenland summers with less ice melt over the past decade does not undermine the notion of human-driven climate change.

A senior Ukrainian official called the incident a Russian attack to destabilise Europe, without giving proof. Neither pipeline was pumping gas to Europe at the time the leaks were found, but the incidents will scupper any remaining expectations that Europe could receive fuel via Nord Stream 1 before winter. Operator Nord Stream said the damage was "unprecedented". CUTTING SUPPLIESRussia reduced gas supplies to Europe via Nord Stream 1 before suspending flows altogether in August, blaming Western sanctions for causing technical difficulties. The new Nord Stream 2 pipeline had yet to enter commercial operations.

☆ Explainer: How methane leaks accelerate global warming
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-27 | by ( Tim Cocks | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Methane, the main component of natural gas, can leak from pipelines and drill sites, and is also emitted from farming and food waste. Scientists normally compare the warming effects of methane and carbon dioxide over one century, and over that timescale methane is 28 times worse. "If you're interested in the climate impacts we'll be experiencing in 2050 ... you'd be absolutely screaming about methane emissions." WHERE IT COMES FROMThree-fifths of the world's estimated methane emissions are from human activity; the rest, from natural sources like swamps. The European Union recently endorsed labeling some natural gas projects as "green" in a major boost to the industry.

☆ Rare video shows a seal inflating its nose like a balloon to attract a female in a mating ritual
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-21 | by ( Marianne Guenot | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

A rare video shows the mating ritual of hooded seals in the Arctic Ocean. In the video, a young male hooded seal appears bobbing along a slab of ice, where a female is nursing a pup. A male hooded seal is shown in an illustration. More than 600,000 hooded seals live across the North Atlantic and Arctic Ocean, per the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) fisheries. Hooded seal pups are weaned off the milk in just four days, the shortest time for any mammal.

☆ Facts about sharks that may surprise you
▼ + stars: | 2022-07-26 | by ( Rachel Fadem | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

However, humans are a larger threat to sharks than sharks are to us. Sharks may be helpful for our environmentTiger sharks, one of Australia’s primary predators, may help ecosystems respond to extreme climate events. “It seems like it’s more than just tiger sharks,” Heithaus said. Some sharks, like mako sharks and bull sharks, give live birth, while other sharks, like cat sharks, lay eggs, said Jasmin Graham, president and CEO of Minorities in Shark Sciences, based in Bradenton, Florida. With this finely attuned sense, sharks hunt sick and weak animals, playing a crucial role in keeping the marine ecosystem healthy.

Persons: Michael Heithaus, Pangea, Catherine Macdonald, Heithaus, ” Heithaus, “ It’s, mako, Jasmin Graham, “, ” Macdonald Organizations: CNN — Sharks, Discovery, Discovery Channel, CNN, Warner Bros ., College of Arts , Sciences & Education, Florida International University, Sharks, Science, Field School, University of Miami’s Rosenstiel, of Marine, Fiji Islands . Media, Minorities, Shark Sciences Locations: Miami, Atlantic, Greenland, Beqa Lagoon, Fiji, Bradenton , Florida

America’s relationship to gun ownership is unique, and its gun culture is a global outlier. It is then unsurprising that the US has more deaths from gun violence than any other developed country per capita. A 2019 study published in the British Medical Journal found that US states with more permissive gun laws and greater gun ownership had higher rates of mass shootings. A decade of gun violence, culminating with the Port Arthur massacre in 1996, prompted the Australian government to take action. Many countries around the world have been able to tackle gun violence.

Persons: Uvalde, –, Zachary Elkins, Elkins, they’ve, Jason R, Silva, Joe Biden’s, St Louis ’ Whitney R, Rukmani Bhatia, “, Jacinda Ardern Organizations: CNN, Kansas, Monterey Park ., Survey, SAS, Gallup, University of Texas, US, of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, Explosives, FBI, Shooting Sports Federation, European Union, Institute for Health Metrics, Washington , DC, El, Stanford University, William Paterson University, British Medical, Washington University, St Louis, Harris World Law, Inter, American, Human Rights, United Nations, Center for American Progress, Port, Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies, University of Washington, UN Locations: Kansas City . Lewiston, Monterey Park, Monterey Park . Orlando, Las Vegas . Newtown, Parkland, San Bernardino, Nashville . Louisville, United States, Switzerland, Falkland, Argentina, Yemen, Austin, Guatemala, Mexico, Canada, Australia, Washington ,, Brazil, Latin America, Caribbean, El Salvador, Venezuela, Colombia, Honduras, America, Belize, Panama, Greenland, California, American, Colorado , South Carolina, Texas, Washington, Port Arthur, South Africa, New Zealand, Christchurch, Britain, Plymouth, England, Geneva

☆ Lupta pentru aprovizionarea cu metale rare. Planurile UE pentru tranziția verde ar putea rămâne blocate în Groenlanda
▼ + stars: | 2021-06-02 | by ( Publika.Md - Aici Sunt Știrile | ) www.publika.md time to read: +4 min

Planul UE de a-și asigura aprovizionarea cu metale rare, vitale pentru tranziția verde, se confruntă cu probleme în Groenlanda. În prezent, China reprezintă aproximativ 70% din exploatarea metalelor rare la nivel global și între 85% și 90% din prelucrarea acestora. Cel mai mare depozit cunoscut al UE de metale rare se află aproape de al doilea cel mai mare lac al Suediei, într-un cătun numit Norra Kärr. Asta înseamnă că Copenhaga ar trebui să aibă un cuvânt de spus în aprovizionarea cu metale rare a Uniunii Europene, făcând Groenlanda un partener comercial mai stabil decât China. În 2013, guvernul din Groenlanda a schimbat din nou cursul și, după un vot, a afirmat că extracția de uraniu s-ar putea relua, o mișcare care a revigorat proiectul Kvanefjeld.

Persons: Thierry Breton, Nathanielsen Organizations: UE, Uniunii Europene Locations: Groenlanda, danez, UE, China, praseodim, Suediei, Danemarca, Copenhaga, Groenlandei, Narsaq

☆ 12 of the oldest animals ever, ranked by age
▼ + stars: | 2019-04-23 | by ( Zoë Miller | Azmi Haroun | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

Many animals can live much longer than their average life expectancies. We've rounded up some of the world's oldest animals. Giant tortoises, for example, can live more than 100 years, while bowhead whales can reach 200 years of age. Plus, certain individual animals have blown past the life expectancy of their species, gaining notoriety for the feat. Here are 12 of the world's oldest animals, ranked by age.

☆ Water's edge: the crisis of rising sea levels
▼ + stars: | 2014-09-04 | by ( Reuters Graphic | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +20 min

But sea levels have been rising for 100 years in Baltimore.”ROCKET SCIENCEThe irony is evident at Wallops Flight Facility. Yet this bastion of climate research has been slow to apply the science of sea level rise to its own operations. Reviewers from state and federal agencies criticized the 348-page document for failing to adequately take rising sea levels into account in the project design and impact, or to temper future plans for expansion. Joshua Bundick, Wallops’s environmental planning manager, explained that he distilled the issues “down to only the highest points,” and sea level rise wasn’t among them. The cost to American taxpayers of repeated destruction of the parking lot and causeway from rising sea levels would only increase, Fish and Wildlife officials said.

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