Forests feeling the heat of climate change

Climate change has negative impact on forests from many different angles. The increased temperatures are not only causing heat stress and drought but they are also opening the door for wide-spread insect infestation.

In many parts of the world researchers are already talking about rapidly growing forest mortality. Not all tree species are affected the same with some species of trees being more resistant than other, with other likely to be hit particularly hard, depending on factors such as age or sizes of trees.

Some researchers fear that in business as usual scenario many forest areas will cease to exist and will turn into grasslands or some other ecosystems. This could further increase climate change impact because forests are large carbon sinkers, absorbing plenty of CO2 from the atmosphere. Also, the decomposition of dead trees releases CO2 in the atmosphere, therefore increasing global warming effect and debris from dead trees could also increase a forest's fire risk and result in even more CO2 emissions.

Forests play vital role in not only absorbing CO2 from the atmosphere, but also in regulating climate and water purification. They are also important for water and nutrient cycle, not to mention that they also provide homes for thousands of different animal and plant species.

In United States, this summer's severe drought has taken heavy toll on forests, and we are yet to receive official data about the total damage done to U.S. forests. One thing is sure though, there will be plenty dead trees in the final report.

Many researchers believe that one-dimensional approach may not be enough to save our forests and are calling for joint action that would not only include climate change scientists and ecologists but also, biogeochemists, hydrologists, economists, social scientists, etc.

Current forest management practices won't be enough to save many of our forests from climate change impact and this is why this issue needs to involve more scientists, from different scientific fields.

Warm climate means short-term extinction of species

The British scientists from the Universities of York, Glasgow and Leeds have been recently re-examining fossil and geological records going back 540 million years, in order to discover the connection between biodiversity and global warming of the planet.

Their conclusion was that in the normal scenario biodiversity on Earth increases as the planet warms but present rapid trends of increasing temperature will unlikely increase global biodiversity on short-tem because climate change is happening too fast (primarily due to increased human impact).

The rate of increase in biodiversity is primarily dependant on the evolution of new species over millions and millions of years. Of course, the evolution of new species is also usually accompanied by extinctions of existing species that fail to adapt to changes in climate.

Overall speaking, warm climates seem to boost biodiversity in the very long run (millions of years), rather than reducing it but short-term speaking there is likely to be more extinction than evolution of new species.

The scientists however still disagree that that current global warming is good for existing species, at least from the current point of view, because large changes in our planet's biodiversity need millions of years so the only thing we could right now predict with a reasonable dose of certainty is short-term losses in our planet’s biodiversity.

The fossil records showed clear proof that the warmer periods in past were at first accompanied by the increased rate of extinction, but after a longer time span they also promoted the evolution of new species, increasing overall biodiversity on our planet.

The past geological periods however didn’t have humans in the climate change equation.

The global temperatures continue to rise with warm July

The global temperatures continue to rise as the June 2012 was the fourth warmest June since record keeping began in 1880. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) scientists said that the average global temperature over land and ocean surfaces was 61.03°F, 1.13°F above the 20th century average.

The clear sign of ongoing global warming is also the fact that the June 2012 also represents the 36th consecutive June and 328th consecutive month with a global temperature above the 20th century average.

The scientists also report that most areas of North America, Eurasia, and northern Africa have experienced significant above-average monthly temperatures with only Australia, northern and Western Europe, and the northwestern United States being somewhat cooler than average.

The only real exception to the warmer than usual June was United Kingdom where temperatures were 0.5°F below the 1971-2000 average, making this the coolest June in the last 20 years.

If we look at the oceans alone then we can see that the June global ocean surface temperature was 0.85°F above the 20th century average of 61.5°F, making it the 10th warmest June on record.

By the current looks of it July and August should follow the June pattern, giving yet another clear proof of the ongoing global warming phenomenon.

U.S. experiencing the warmest spring of all time

According to a latest analysis from NOAA's National Climatic Data Center United States is currently experiencing its warmest spring (March-May) on record, with national average temperature being 57.1°F, 5.2°F above the 1901-2000 long-term average, overtaking the previous warmest spring (1910) by 2.0°F.

In fact, this May was the second warmest May on record, with the average national temperature being 64.3°F, surpassing the long-term average by 3.3°F.

Other interesting findings include:

Twenty-six states had May temperatures ranking among their ten warmest. Only Oregon and Washington had spring temperatures (March-May) near normal.

Midwest were wetter than average and the Northwest was the only area that hasn't experienced warmer than average temperatures.

Ongoing drought, combined with windy conditions, created ideal wildfire conditions across the Southwest, and led to largest wildfire on record for the state of New Mexico.

37.4 percent of the contiguous U.S. experienced drought conditions at the end of the May.

This year's spring had warmest March, third warmest April and second warmest May on record.

The June 2011-May 2012 period was the warmest 12-month period on record for the contiguous United States.

The more info with even more data can be found here http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/sotc/national/2012/5.

Canada will not escape warmer temperatures

According to a new study by researchers from the Simon Fraser University Canada will not escape the warming of two degrees Celsius, even if zero greenhouse gas emissions were to be achieved.

Under the best-case scenario (with zero greenhouse gas emissions) the global temperature would still continue to rise by about a quarter of a degree over a decade.

In their study researchers used an earth system climate model developed by the University of Victoria to study the impact of greenhouse gas and aerosol emissions on the global climate.

They have concluded that the widespread presence of aerosols in the Earth's atmosphere is effectively blocking solar radiation at this moment but once aerosol blanket is removed the global temperatures will rise significantly.

They have also concluded that the elimination of all emissions would lead to an additional short-term warming by 0.25 to 0.5 degrees. Earth's temperature would actually continue to rise by a by 0.25 to 0.5 degrees over the next 10 years and then it would begin to decrease by a few tenths of a degree, coming down to today's level after about a century.

Global warming will not have the same impact on all regions - mid to high latitude regions such as Canada, Alaska, northeastern Europe, Russia, and northern China will likely be mostly affected, with a warming of at least 2 ° C being unavoidable in those regions.

Professor Kirsten Zickfeld, an assistant professor of geography at the Simon Fraser University said that "two degrees increase is pretty significant, especially when you consider the global temperature was only five degrees colder than today's during the ice age."

Climate change is already shrinking animals and plants?

Climate change has already brought many animal and plant species at the very brink of extinction while other plants and animals are shrinking in size because of warmer temperatures.

Jennifer Sheridan and David Bickford at the National University of Singapore have studied climate-change episodes in the distant past as well as experiments and observations in recent history. Their conclusion was that climate change has already begun to shrink dozens of animal and plants species with many more likely to follow.

Fossil records from the past clearly show that past periods of rising temperatures had led both marine and land organisms to gradually shrink in size. During a warming event 55 million years ago many species such as beetles, bees, spiders, wasps and ants shrank by 50 to 75 percent in size over a period of several thousand years.

The most worrying fact is that the current warming trend is lot faster than the one of 55 million years ago. In the worst possible scenario if food crops and animals continue to shrink this will in years to come lead to severe food shortages and more hunger in the world.

The scientists have calculated that the each degree of warming reduces by 0.5 to 4 percent the body size of marine invertebrates and 6 to 22 percent of fish. Not only that, frequent droughts also lead to smaller offspring.

The additional problem in the whole climate change story is the fact that our planet is warming really fast which doesn't leave much room for plants and animals to adapt quickly enough.

And the carbon emissions still continue to grow…

Ocean layers warming too fast

The subsurface ocean layers that surround the polar ice sheets continue to warm really fast because of the global warming phenomenon. This will in years to come significantly add to melting of the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets increasing sea level rise well beyond current projections.

Polar ice sheets are even more troubled with the rapid warming of ocean layers than with the increased air temperatures. This is because water has a much larger heat capacity than air, you can for instance just compare the effect of melting an ice cube in a warm room to the melting of the ice cube in the warmer water. While to melt an ice cube in a warm room you need several hours in order to melt ice cube in a warmer water you only need couple of minutes.

The researchers from the University of Arizona believe that the subsurface ocean along the Greenland coast could experience a temperature increase of a 3.6 °F (2 °C) by 2100. This is twice as much as the predicted average warming of ocean layers of 1.8 °F.

The main reason why Arctic will melt more rapidly compared to Antarctica is the Gulf stream. The Gulf Stream carries warm subtropical waters north towards the Arctic while Antarctic Circumpolar Current blocks large share of subtropical warmth from entering Antarctic's waters.

Still, even despite this blocking Antarctica won't be spared of rapid warming and will likely melt faster than previously predicted though very likely not as fast as Arctic.

If ocean layers continue the current trend of warming by the end of the century world could experience a sea level rise of around one meter if not even more. This is certainly a one thing we should avoid at all costs.

Climate change to make 2010 the warmest year on record?

Many climate change scientists predict that 2010 will be the hottest year in recorded history. Many people will say that this will not be the case, especially given the very cold winter in Europe and North America, but we must not forget that climate change is global phenomenon, and therefore if we look at the global data we can see that period from January to March was one of the seven warmest starts to the year on record.

The data gathered from Nasa also shows that global temperatures, averaged over the past 12 months, were the warmest for 130 years. And the warming trend looks very likely to continue for the rest of the year. According to Vicky Pope, head of climate change advice at the Met Office, the year 2010 has therefore more than a 50% chance of being the warmest on record.

The year 2010 has more than decent chance to become the warmest year on record.

Warming is not only connected with climate change but also with El Nino effect which has caused the ocean to release large amounts of heat into the atmosphere by making temporary shift in Pacific currents.

Some scientists like Kevin Trenberth from the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Colorado believe that warming trend in 2010 will be more the result of El Nino phenomenon rather than climate change.

In any case both these factors will likely play a huge role if average temperatures reach roof this summer. I say if because with climate you can never be sure, as Mother Nature tends to surprise climate change scientists from time to time.

Is our planet still warming?

It may not seem that way to us but scientists continue to claim that our planet is still warming, and that climate change is very much a reality we live in. This was the conclusion of the newest review of climate data that included 26 climate scientists from eight countries, and all these scientists agreed how Earth is really warming, and how the global warming could reach as high as 7 degrees temperature increase by the end of the century if greenhouse gases growth continues its current trend.

Global warming in Switzerland - Swiss glaciers melting very fast

Global warming is happening in Switzerland too. The latest study revealed that glaciers in Switzerland shrank by huge 12 percent in the last 10 years, which is their highest melting rate in history. Scientists agree that this is due to higher temperatures and lighter snowfalls. Scientific data showed that this last decade was really bad in terms of glacier melting in Switzerland, and that Switzerland lost lot of water due to rapid melting of glaciers.

Glaciers are not only important for Switzerland as source of water but also as tourist attraction. Each month almost 200,000 visitors visits these wonderful monuments of nature. But if melting of these glaciers continues to be so rapid, Switzerland could very soon lose all of its glaciers. There are many people believing how this year will be good for glaciers because there was a lot of snow in 2008/2009 winter. But the snow will count very little since spring was very warm, and if summer continues the spring pattern 2009 will still turn out to be another negative year for glaciers.

The worst year in last decade was year 2003 when Swiss glaciers shrunk by 3.5 percent in just one year time. Many different climate models showed that temperatures in European Alps will rise by 1.8 degrees Celsius in winter and by 2.7 degrees Celsius in the summer by 2050. If these predictions turn out to be true then Swiss glaciers could even disappear by the end of this century.

The trend that is happening with Swiss glaciers is happening in many parts of the world, and there are very few example in the world that show glaciers expansion instead of shrinking. One of these rare good examples is Polar bears have over the years become the endangered animals everyone is talking about, mostly because of climate change problem in Arctic. Argentina's glacier Perito Moreno that seems to be constantly growing. Sadly this glacier looks to be nothing more than an exception to ever-increasing climate change impact.

Is global warming still a theory?

Many people today believe how global warming is still nothing but a theory discussed by some weird scientists because they just want to scare us. To many people climate change isn't happening yet, and even many people that acknowledge climate change believe how climate change isn't man-made but due to solar rays, cosmic activity, and God knows what else. Is it really so hard to accept the truth and take the responsibility?

Apparently it is. Because many of us still close the eyes upon many global warming evidences. Why is polar ice melting if there's no global warming? Why is sea level rise increasing in many parts of the world? Why has Earth's temperature increased in many corners of the world? Why extreme weather events like drought, floods, hurricanes are becoming more and more frequent? Does this really sounds to you like global warming is still a theory?

Well if this all is just a theory then I'm really afraid of what's gonna happen once this theory becomes reality. Possible scenario includes unusually hot weather, big sea level rise, flooding of coastal waters, rapid glaciers melting and water scarcity, extinction of many animals and plant species, heavy snowfalls, flooding, droughts wildfires, new diseases etc.

World still hasn't realized that climate change is one of the biggest challenges in human history, and still delays immediate action against global warming. International climate deal is more than necessary, and if the world fails to significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions we'll be heading into nightmare future.

It really puzzles me why so many people still believe that global warming is still happening only in theory. If that's really the thing then there's really no difference between theory and reality in my book. OK world hasn't seen the worst of global warming, well at least not yet, but if we continue our current trend of emissions we'll soon see what global warming is all about. And trust me this won't be a pretty sight.

Is there enough time left to fight against global warming?

Ten to 20 years ago we could have spoken about having enough time to work on solutions for global warming and climate change. Today we do not have this luxury of time, and world needs urgency to fight global warming. Since 90s many things have shaped in the worst possible scenario, for instance U.S. emissions have increased by 20 percent, China more than doubling its carbon emissions, and many transition countries polluting our planet like never before. This has all resulted in such huge rise of greenhouse gas emissions that even scientists were shocked as their worst possible scenarios suddenly became true.

Many scientists believe that we have already passed safe levels of carbon dioxide (CO2) in the atmosphere, and yet the carbon emissions are still rising. Kyoto protocol, international agreement that should have make the difference failed big time as almost all major polluters were excluded, or given certain exceptions that in the end resulted in the highest CO2 levels in the history. Alarming condition around Arctic and rapid disappearance of Arctic ice should be more than enough warning that we are running out of time, and that sea level rise in many parts of the world could happen lot sooner than first expected.

But yet, in conditions as serious as this one, yet again we first have to overcome different political and economic opinions that care only for high profits. Certain lobbies are extremely powerful and this will make "go green option" very difficult to achieve. But despite this the whole world will have to act right away and do anything that is possible to cut greenhouse gas emissions, whether to turn to renewable energy sector or using some other solution. United States finally have the right leader to achieve "green revolution" after almost a decade of dark years, and this is something that gives hope.

However there is one problem, namely financial crisis. Financial crisis is really the perfect excuse for politicians and different lobbies to yet again delay urgent action on climate change problem. Like we have all the time in the world. If there is one thing we are really short of then this is time. Urgency is necessity.

Can world stop global warming?

This is the question that definitely deserves positive answer but can we give positive answer to this question at this time? Positive answer at this stage would really be nothing more than false hope, something to settle nerves of few worried people across the globe. OK, maybe not so few people but definitely not enough to make the difference in forcing the world leaders to actually do something more concrete than talk and promise.

We are constantly listening promises from world leaders how it is necessary to significantly reduce greenhouse gas emission in upcoming years, how we should start using renewable energy sources, how the whole world should act together as one to tackle climate change. So many words and so little action. Every action needs political approval, and politicians are really only good in talking and giving false promises. Only when some problem reaches critical proportions, only then politics acts. The problem with global warming and climate change is specific one, namely politicians still haven't realized that this we are in really critical situation, and what they really do is act like we have all the time in the world. Unfortunately luxury of time is no longer with us. It died couple of years ago after transition countries started their industrial boom on coal burning which resulted in rapid rise of greenhouse gas emissions.

Don't get me wrong these countries do not share the greatest responsibility for global warming phenomenon, the greatest responsibility lies on US shoulders, and their traditional fossil fuel dependence. Data shows that only last year China overtook United States in becoming the biggest CO2 emitter, but all the past years it was none other than Uncle Sam that made this tremendous environmental mess that caused global warming. Some could even say that developing countries are only following US footsteps. Definitely wrong footsteps to follow but who can blame them? They also have right to progress and higher standard but the cost of achieving this is really big one. In fact it is so big that threatens future of our planet.

So what is next to do? Will Barrack Obama prove to be Messiah that will not only lead US but the whole world to ecological redemption? Will world leaders finally put some action behind their words, and actually stop increase in greenhouse gas emissions, or is there another bunch of false promises ahead before the real action starts? There is not only the question of how to stop global warming from becoming even worse, there is also the question of adapting to global warming, which will be particularly difficult for poor countries. After all these questions become answered, only then we'll know answer to the original question will we stop global warming or not.

U.S. serious about global warming or not?

After almost a decade under George Bush United States are having hard time convincing world that they are ready to take climate change problem more seriously. Many countries are still having doubts whether this time U.S. really does care about global warming problem, and whether Obama's administration is really so eager to shape an international climate deal. When you look at the past couple of years it is really no surprise that U.S. is still characterized by many as big doubt. Are things really so different now?

After almost a decade on sidelines U.S. should now accept the role of playmaker and lead the world to international climate pact. Many environmentalists see this international deal as the last chance to stop global warming impact. U.S. economy is still very much based on fossil fuels and it is difficult to see just how will the second largest CO2 emitter curb down massive CO2 emissions. Lot of things will depend on U.S. Congress, Obama alone definitely won't be enough.

We are still only talking, and there is very large distance between talking and actually doing something, and U.S. still needs to prove that they mean business, that they are finally committed and they will do anything in their power to try to get it right this time. During George Bush period climate deal looked like the last thing for discussion, and greenhouse gas reductions were mentioned only by environmentalists. Hopefully U.S. has learned from its past mistakes.

Obama's plan to reduce greenhouse gas emission by 80 % till the end of this century could really make the difference but the last word will go to Congress that needs to pass a cap-and-trade program that would ensure such drastic reductions. Congress is still having major doubts whether climate change is more important than for instance recession and health care. This could be world's last chance to do something against global warming and climate change. Success of international climate deal is in the hands of Congress. Will they get it right this time?

Global warming - Only science can save us?

International climate deal that would significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions is necessary but still there are many people questioning success of such a deal, mainly because world's energy demand keeps on increasing. Greenhouse gases are mostly the result of fossil fuels burning and given the fact that world population will grow significantly in years to come, and the fact that renewable energy sector is still miles away from reaching necessary level, our task of reducing CO2 emissions by 80 % till the year 2050 is really enormous one.

There is no doubt that the whole world wants to see drastic CO2 cuts, and signing international climate deal is first step needed to achieve this. Signing international climate deal is less than half job done, the most important factor is of course its implementation in real life, and this could be very tricky. 80 % emissions cut sounds excellent in theory but achieving it in real life will require not only much more efforts, but also much more development in different technologies, and here is where science should step in, and make the difference.

Many believe that renewables will make the difference. It is definitely true that renewables have enormous potential but current technologies are not even close enough in making renewables dominant energy sources. Renewables are still negligent on global scale, and though this is expected to change in years to come, we are still at least a century away from satisfying our energy needs from renewable energy sources. So how will we then manage to satisfy energy demand of the world, and in the same time drastically reduce greenhouse gas emissions? Only science can give us an answer to this question.

Without the science, and major scientific discoveries that would enable use of new technologies we really have no chance to win the fight against global warming and climate change. Only science can make the difference here by deploying new advanced technologies that would ensure the energy mix needed not only to reduce greenhouse gas emissions but also to satisfy energy needs of world population that constantly grows. This will be one of the biggest challenges science has ever faced, especially given the fact that scientists have very little time to come up with solutions. Science has come to our rescue many times but can it do it once again?

Global warming threatens cedar trees

Lebanon's national symbol are majestic cedar trees, that were since ancient times famous for their quality wood in terms of strength and durability. Lebanon's majestic cedar trees are now on the International Union for Conservation of Nature's "Red List" as a "heavily threatened" species, and though there is a lot of talk how we should do our best to preserve these legendary trees we still miss any real action.

Environmentalists, both local as well as international agree that global warming impact could have devastating effect on cedar trees if current temperatures continue to rise in years to come. The main problem that could cause disappearance of cedar trees in Lebanon is the melting of snow on mountains as the result of increased temperatures. Cedar trees need snow for the seeds to be able to germinate since they have a natural range from 1,200 to 1,800 metres (from 4,000 to 5,900 feet) above sea level. Warmer temperatures would push the trees higher up in order to grow and develop.

Global warming threatens majestic cedar trees in Lebanon

Without snow, rain, frost for several consecutive days, cedar seeds won't be disseminated, and they also need summer mist, which compensates for water needs. Deforestation also took heavy toll on cedar trees as cedars were extremely deforested for thousands of years which on the end lead to their protection in some areas of the country. Even with the protected areas cedar tress will lose the battle with climate change if current warming trend continues. Some experts even believe that Lebanon will turn to desert if this warming continues.

Any year with bad rain season does great damage to cedar trees, and then there is also pest problem because many pests become active once temperatures increase during droughts. This was the case with wood wasp that several years ago ravaged cedars in Tannourin village in northern Lebanon because rising temperatures have extended its life cycle from once a year to three times a year. Cedars are not important from environmental point of view, they are also Lebanon's national symbol, as well as cultural symbol and symbol of some political parties. In any case cedar trees definitely deserve much more preservation efforts.

Global warming causing earlier hotter days

Latest study carried out by the scientists at the University of California, Berkeley and Harvard that studied temperature data from 1850 to 2007 compiled by the University of East Anglia's Climate Research Unit in the United Kingdom come up with very interesting results, namely that the hottest and coldest days of the years now occurring almost two days earlier, or to be more precise from the mid-1950s onward (the period when global average temperatures began to rise), the hottest day came 1.7 days earlier.

Both summer and winter peaks are getting warmer and the gap between them is closing because winter temperatures are rising faster than summer ones. Scientists firmly believe this is all down to global warming phenomenon. But earlier arrival of the hottest day is not the only thing that implies on global warming, there are also other "early" signs: birds are migrating earlier, plants are blooming earlier, mountain snows are melting earlier.

Hottest days are now occurring almost two days earlier because of global warming

One of the authors of this study Alexander Stine said: "Once we have accounted for the fact that the temperature averaged over any given year is increasing, we find that some months have been warming more than other months, and we were surprised to find that over land, most of the difference in the warming of one month relative to another is simply the result of this shift in the timing of the seasons, and a decrease in the difference between summer and winter temperatures".

This decrease between summer and winter temperatures is very likely to continue in years to come as global warming impact strenghtens.

Global warming is real despite cold winter

This year's cold winter in Europe and North America has raised some eyebrows whether the global warming is real or not. But the latest survey of 3,146 earth scientists showed that scientists are convinced that global temperatures have been rising in the past 200+ years, and that human factor is key contributor to these increased temperatures. 90 percent of surveyed scientists agreed that global temperatures increased compared to pre-1800s levels, and 82 percent of surveyed scientists believe that humans played significant role in changing average earth temperatures over the past 200+ years.

One cold winter doesn't mean there is no global warming

As you can see one cold winter doesn't mean that there is no global warming. Global warming isn't some short-term phenomenon, this phenomenon is long-term climate process. And responsibility for causing global warming most likely lies on our shoulders, and excessive greenhouse gas emissions over the years. Scientists really have no reason to lie, and they are the ones that study these phenomenons so they really now what they are talking about. Some people choose to live in illusion but reality is one completely different thing.

How long will global warming last?

Well if we are to believe some top climate scientists the answer could even be forever. As some top climate scientists calculated levels of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases emitted from today's homes, cars and factories will continue to heat up our planet for hundreds of thousands of years. This is contrary to belief that world should see quick recovery once we stop current levels of greenhouse gas emissions.

These results are pretty much shocking because most people believe that once we cut carbon dioxide emissions we should very soon see atmosphere that would clean itself of harmful levels in no more than one century of time. But if we are to believe Professor David Archer of Chicago University and his associates "the climatic impacts of releasing fossil fuel carbon dioxide into the atmosphere will last longer than Stonehenge, longer than time capsules, far longer than the age of human civilization so far. Ultimate recovery takes place on timescales of hundreds of thousands of years, a geologic longevity typically associated in public perceptions with nuclear waste."

Proffesor Archer believes that oceans play key role in absorbing CO2 and "the ocean is getting fed up with absorbing our CO2," he says. The surface waters, about 100 metres deep, which used to sop up the gas quite fast, are now getting saturated with it – turning acid in the process – and so decreasing their uptake. Oceans need to be replaced with fresh water from deep down, but this overturning circulation "takes centuries or a millennium". And global warming is expected to slow this down: the hotter the surface layer becomes, the longer the replenishment takes.

It looks like vast amounts of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere will require eternity (from our current point of view) before being removed. And as carbon dioxide emissions continue to rise this eternity looks longer and longer.

You can say that world's governments are under a real pressure to agree a new international treaty, that would put greenhouse gas emissions to "acceptable levels" and give us a decent chance to fight against global warming. Hopefully they will learn from mistakes made in Kyoto protocol to actually ensure decrease in global CO2 emissions, not only on paper, but in reality as well. This could well be our last chance to fight global warming and climate change.

Are people concerned about global warming?

Global warming is getting more and more worldwide attention but apparently still not enough attention to make serious changes in energy sector that would cut down current rate of greenhouse gas emissions. Among 24 countries surveyed in this latest survey Brazil is most concerned about global warming with 92% of Brazilian people thinking about global warming as serious problem. This is perhaps not as surprising given recent talks about Amazon deforestation, and the impact that Amazon deforestation has on global warming.

What was really surprising was the fact that only 42 % Americans believe that global warming is serious problem, and In china this number is even smaller. United States and China are two countries most responsible for global warming emissions as they are the biggest emitters of CO2 in the world and maybe this is the reason why these countries still do not acknowledge seriousness of global warming.

People were also asked which country is hurting environment the most and majority agreed that this was United States. This is indeed so, though it has to be said, China looks to even overtake US as the example of extremely negative environmental policy.

On the other hand German's renewable energy policy has become famous throughout the world as 10 of 24 countries have the most confidence in Germany to do the right thing in protecting the world's environment and solve ecological problems. However Germany is to small on global scale to make significant impact, and as long US and China will stick to their current energy policy we won't see any progress. In fact things will only get worse. A lot worse.