In fact, it is hydrogen sulfide, rather than killer asteroids or some other interstellar death-bringer, that has possibly become the go-to kill-shot of most mass extinctions in Earth's history.

Anti-poverty campaigners at the World Development Movement (WDM) also said the controversial plan could be responsible for up to 60,000 more people suffering from drought in Africa.

"Life on Earth is under serious threat," the International U-nion for Conservation of Nature said in a 155-page report that describes the past five years of a losing battle to protect species, natural habitats and geographical regions from the devastating effects of man.

The wild Soay sheep that live on the island of Hirta in the North Atlantic have been under careful scientific observation since 1985, partly because the island ecosystem is a simple one consisting of the sheep and the vegetation they eat.

The band supplies fresh water to almost a billion people and affects climate elsewhere.

I spend a lot of time playing "What if?" It is an important aspect of my line of work, but we all do this to some extent. I do it when I am driving - "What if that car at the next intersection pulls out in front of me?" - when I am working "What if that high pressure line ruptures?" - and at home - "What if I wake up and find the house is on fire?" I also spend a lot of time pondering the "What if there are energy shortages in the near future?" "

"WTO case law has confirmed that WTO rules do not trump environmental requirements," the global commerce body said. "

...In order to determine how much sea ice there has been, the researchers needed to turn to data from the logbooks of ships, which whalers and fisherman kept of their expeditions to the boundary of the sea ice. The ship logbooks are very precise and go all the way back to the 16th century. They relate at which geographical position the ice was found. Another source of information about the ice are records from harbours in Iceland, where the severity of the winters have been recorded since the end of the 18th century. "

A study by the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization, or CSIRO, showed a 10 percent reduction of permafrost through warming could add 80 parts per million more of atmospheric CO2, corresponding to a temperature gain of about 0.7 degrees Celsius (3.4 degrees Fahrenheit). "

I learned two things last week about Sunil Paul, a Silicon Valley venture capitalist with a passion for clean tech. One is that he thinks big. The other is that he is very well-connected in Washington. tweetmeme_url = 'here’; Paul came to D.C. to release a report called the Gigaton Throwdown that, in his words, “redefines what’s possible for clean energy by 2020.” It’s roadmap that demonstrates how we can scale up clean energy to have a major impact in the next decade. Joining him at a news conference to unveil its findings were an all-star group from the Obama administration -- green jobs czar Van Jones (check him out on video, below), White House science advisor John Holdren and assistant secretaries of energy David Sandalow and Cathy Zoi, key players in Steven Chu’s brain trust at DOE. "

With the Copenhagen climate talks looming, the blame game has begun. China condemns Japan’s climate plan, France demands that Canada and the United States do more to stop global warming, Europeans squabble among each other.

But where does each country really stand in the battle against climate change? No government will commit to a Copenhagen treaty until it knows who is advancing, and who is retreating. It is time for a snapshot of the reality behind the rhetoric of climate change politics."

The amount of carbon in frozen soils, sediments and river deltas (permafrost) raises new concerns over the role of the northern regions as future sources of greenhouse gases. "

More important, the technology already exists to make huge reductions in greenhouse emissions from coal, allowing power companies to begin cutting the carbon footprint of coal today. Instead, advanced-technology coal power sits on the shelf while regulators wait to see what happens with a project that may be just an expensive boondoggle."

...We have enjoyed 12,000 years of climate peace since the last shift from a glacial age to an interglacial one. Before long, we may face planet-wide devastation worse even than unrestricted nuclear war between superpowers. The climate war could kill nearly all of us and leave the few survivors living a Stone Age existence. But in several places in the world, including the U.K., we have a chance of surviving and even of living well. "

Although the EPA has not established official criteria for ranking the greenness of a city, there are several key areas to measure for effectiveness in carbon footprint reduction. These include air and water quality, efficient recycling and management of waste, percentage of LEED-certified buildings, acres of land devoted to greenspace, use of renewable energy sources, and easy access to products and services that make green lifestyle choices (organic products, buying local, clean transportation methods) easy."