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UK Butterflies Need Warm Summer in 2008

By postMigrator April 25, 2008 April 25, 2008 Uncategorized

UK butterflies ‘need good summer’

The Duke of Burgundy butterflies have seen their numbers fall

Butterflies need a warm summer in order to help numbers recover from last year’s washout, say conservationists.

Data from the UK Butterfly Monitoring Scheme showed that eight species were at an all-time low as a result of an unsuccessful summer in 2007.

The main reason behind the decline was an above average rainfall, which meant the insects, such as the common blue, had fewer chances to feed or breed.

Early forecasts suggest this summer could be wetter than average.

Climate Change and War

By postMigrator April 25, 2008 April 25, 2008 RT Newswire

Published on Wednesday, April 23, 2008 by The Telegraph/UK

Climate Change ‘May Put World at War’
By Charles Clover

Climate change could cause global conflicts as large as the two world wars but lasting for centuries unless the problem is controlled, a leading defence think tank has warned.

The Royal United Services Institute said a tenfold increase in research spending, comparable to the amount spent on the Apollo space programme, will be needed if the world is to avoid the worst effects of changing temperatures.

CO2, Methane Up Sharply in 2007

By postMigrator April 25, 2008 April 25, 2008 RT Newswire

CO2, methane up sharply in 2007
Wed Apr 23, 2008 4:55pm EDT

By Deborah Zabarenko, Environment Correspondent

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The amount of two key greenhouse gases in Earth’s atmosphere rose sharply in 2007, and carbon dioxide levels this year are literally off the chart, the U.S. government reported on Wednesday.

In its annual index of greenhouse gas emissions, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration found atmospheric carbon dioxide, the primary driver of global climate change, rose by 0.6 percent, or 19 billion tons last year.

The amount of methane increased by 0.5 percent, or 27 million tons, after nearly a decade of little or no change, according preliminary figures to scientists at the government’s Earth System Research Laboratory in Colorado.

Sun Cycles Not Key to Current Global Warming

By postMigrator April 25, 2008 April 25, 2008 RT Newswire

Sun cycles seen not key to recent global warming
Wed Apr 23, 2008 6:15pm EDT By Bruce Nichols

SAN ANTONIO, Texas (Reuters) – Satellite data show that changes in the sun are contributing to global warming but to a smaller extent than human activity, a space scientist at the Naval Research Laboratory in Washington told a group of petroleum geologists on Wednesday.

“The sun is playing a role that you can detect, but it’s not the dominant role,” Judith Lean told a crowded session at the 2008 convention of the American Association of Petroleum Geologists in San Antonio.

Climate-change skeptics have suggested that solar cycles may be more responsible than human activity for increasing global temperature. But Lean said her findings showed “the sun is a factor of 10 less than the anthropogenic.”