Our forests, our future

By: Ron Luhur, Washington D.C.

This December, thousands of representatives from countries, companies and civil groups will gather in Bali to discuss climate change. The world will be watching and Indonesia will find itself in a unique position in history. Indonesia has the opportunity to influence the way we resolve the world’s most pressing economic and environmental challenge.

Read more at The Jakarta Post

Photo by Eric in SF

Airlines losing image war with climate change activists, say industry strategists

The airline industry risks losing an image battle with environmentalists concerned about aircraft CO2 emissions and should fight back by highlighting the steps airlines are taking to limit pollution, a leading strategist said Friday.

Read more at International Herald Tribune

21 cities labelled ‘most susceptible’ to danger of climate change effects

Twenty-one major cities are reported to be in most danger of rising sea levels, one of the effects of climate change. A report released by the Worldwatch Institute announced that these cities are those most vulnerable, among a count of 33 cities predicted to have at least an 8-million population count by 2015.

According to the Associated Press, the list of cities included “Dhaka, Bangladesh; Buenos Aires, Argentina; Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; Shanghai and Tianjin in China; Alexandria and Cairo in Egypt; Mumbai and Kolkata in India; Jakarta, Indonesia; Tokyo and Osaka-Kobe in Japan; Lagos, Nigeria; Karachi, Pakistan; Bangkok, Thailand, and New York and Los Angeles in the United States.”

Read more at AHN

Scientists say oceans losing ability to trap CO2

Since the industrial revolution much of the CO2 that human activity has spewed into the air has been absorbed by the ocean. But scientists say that research shows the ocean is losing its ability to hold any more of the greenhouse gas warming pollutant, fueling additional concerns over the earth’s rapidly warming temperatures.

Environmental scientists from the University of East Anglia made the discovery. It is significant because the ocean has played a key role in slowing global warming to the pace it is now. Without the ocean’s ability to absorb as much CO2 as it has the problem, the world’s levels of CO2 would have risen much faster and global warming would be a much worse problem already than it is. But now that scientists have discovered the world’s oceans can no longer absorb CO2 at the rates they have, scientists are worried.

Read more at AHN

Photo by Mark A. Vargas

Farming faces phosphate shortfall

Scarcity of phosphate, an indispensable fertilizer for farming, is worrying soil experts, given the voracious plans of Brazil and many other countries in the race for biofuel leadership.

Phosphorous is a “finite and irreplaceable” mineral, whose known reserves that are economically viable for exploitation could run out in 60 to 100 years if the current pace of global consumption continues, Euripedes Malavolta, veteran agronomist and researcher at the University of Sao Paulo, told Tierramérica.

Read more at Tierramerica

Photo by:  IRRI

Bangkok faces underwater future

Experts say these waters, aided by sinking land, threaten to submerge Thailand’s sprawling capital of more than 10 million people within this century. Bangkok is one of 13 of the world’s largest 20 cities at risk of being swamped as sea levels rise in coming decades, according to warnings at the recent Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change held here.

Read the news in USA Today.

Photo by fantomdesigns