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Christiana Figureres, the former head of the United Nations’ Framework Convention on Climate Change, recently joined with a group of climate scientists and policy wonks to state there are three years left to get emissions moving sharply downward. If, that is, we’re holding out hope of limiting the warming of the globe to below 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit) above pre-industrial temperatures, often cited as the threshold where “dangerous” warming begins (although in truth, that’s a matter of interpretation). Yet a battery of recent studies call into question even that limited optimism. Last week, a group of climate researchers published research suggesting the climate has been warming for...

Australian meteorologists have been caught changing temperature data from two crucial weather stations.  Would it surprise you to hear that they were altering the numbers to show warmer temperatures? Daily Caller: Agency officials admit that the problem with instruments recording low temperatures likely happened in several locations throughout Australia, but they refuse to admit to manipulating temperature readings. The BOM located missing logs in Goulburn and the Snow Mountains, both of which are in New South Wales. Meteorologist Lance Pidgeon watched the 13 degrees Fahrenheit Goulburn recording from July 2 disappear from the bureau's website. The temperature readings fluctuated briefly and...

Australian scientists at the Bureau of Meteorology ordered a review of temperature recording instruments after the government agency was caught tampering with temperature logs in several locations. Agency officials admit that the problem with instruments recording low temperatures likely happened in several locations throughout Australia, but they refuse to admit to manipulating temperature readings. The BOM located missing logs in Goulburn and the Snow Mountains, both of which are in New South Wales. Meteorologist Lance Pidgeon watched the 13 degrees Fahrenheit Goulburn recording from July 2 disappear from the bureau’s website. The temperature readings fluctuated briefly and then disappeared from...

New research suggests the chance of limiting global warming to less than 2 degrees Celsius is highly unlikely. According to the latest analysis, there is a 90 percent chance Earth will warm by 2.0 to 4.9 degrees Celsius by the end of the century. The researchers analyzed the trajectory and impact on global warming of three factors: total world population, GDP per person and carbon intensity, or carbon emitted per dollar of economic activity. To postulate forward, scientists analyzed the three inputs' effect on global warming over the last 50 years. Their analysis -- published this week in the journal...

In recent years, it has become increasingly common to frame the climate change problem as a kind of countdown — each year we emit more carbon dioxide, narrowing the window for fixing the problem, but not quite closing it. This outlook has allowed for climate optimism, in which big changes, someday soon, will make the difference. Christiana Figureres, the former head of the UN's Framework Convention on Climate Change, recently joined with climate scientists and policy wonks to state there are 3 years left to get emissions moving sharply downward. Yet a battery of recent studies call into question even...

President Barack Obama insists that Americans have to take climate change seriously, or else a key part of one the world’s greatest cities could end up underwater. “When scientists tell us that the planet is getting warmer and we need to do something about it, the majority of people think that’s a good idea, let’s do something about that, because we don’t want Manhattan to be underwater,” Obama said during a fundraiser in New York City. Obama observed that people are frustrated by the current presidential election campaign. “The bad news is that our politics has been a little screwed...

(CNSNews.com) - At news conference in Paris on Tuesday, President Obama said "the most elegant way" to reduce carbon emissions is "to put a price on it." He was responding to a reporter who asked Obama, "I wonder if you see any political path back home toward putting a price on carbon?" "I have long believed that the most elegant way to drive innovation and to reduce carbon emissions is to put a price on it. This is a classic market failure," Obama replied. "If you open up an Econ 101 textbook, it will say the market's very good about...

Obama suggested other world leaders think climate change is "a really big problem," even if Republicans don't. "So whoever is the next president of the United States, if they come in and they suggest somehow that that global consensus — not just 99.5% of scientists and experts, but 99% of world leaders — think this is really important, I think the president of the United States going to need to think this is really important," he continued. He further said the broader American public was with him on the issue. "It's important for us to not project what's being said...

A solid majority of Americans say the United States should join an international treaty to limit the impact of global warming, but on this and other climate-related questions, opinion divides sharply along partisan lines, according to the latest New York Times/CBS News poll. Two-thirds of Americans support the United States joining a binding international agreement to curb growth of greenhouse gas emissions, but a slim majority of Republicans remain opposed, the poll found. Sixty-three percent of Americans -- including a bare majority of Republicans -- said they would support domestic policy limiting carbon emissions from power plants. Public support for...

“Look, I think it is absolutely vital for every country, every leader to send a signal that the viciousness of a handful of killers does not stop the world from doing vital business,” Obama said, when asked on Sunday whether the attacks would have an effect on the mood of the summit. Obama has repeatedly emphasized the damaging effect that climate change has on national security in preparation for the summit. During a Coast Guard graduation speech in May, Obama emphasized that the recruits would be facing the threat global warming. “Climate change constitutes a serious threat to global security,...

Half of Republicans back carbon limits, poll says "Six in 10 Americans, including half of all Republicans, said they support regulation of carbon dioxide pollution, although they weren't asked how. Nearly half of Republicans said the U.S. should lead the global fight to curb climate change, even if it means taking action when other countries do not. And majorities across party lines said environmental protections "improve economic growth and provide new jobs" in the long run, a popular Obama administration talking point." [snip] The AP-NORC Center survey of 1,578 adults was conducted online Nov. 20-Dec. 1, using a sample...

Geneva (AFP) - Last year tied for the sixth-hottest on record, confirming that Earth's climate system is in the grip of warming that will affect generations to come, the UN's weather agency said Wednesday. "This is confirmation of the trend of global warming of the planet," World Meteorological Organization (WMO) chief Michel Jarraud told AFP. Last year equalled 2007 as the sixth-warmest year since reliable records began in 1850, with a global land and ocean surface temperature that was 0.5 degrees Celsius (0.9 degrees Fahrenheit) above the 1961-1990 average, the WMO said in a statement. Last year equalled 2007 as...

False Witness: President Obama is being lauded for his plans to restrict carbon dioxide emissions. But the scheme looks more like the last refuge of a desperate movement......1. "The planet is warming."2. "Human activity is contributing to it....."3. "The overwhelming judgment of science — of chemistry and physics and millions of measurements — has put all that (doubt) to rest."......4. "Ninety-seven percent of scientists, including, by the way, some who originally disputed the data, have now put that (doubt) to rest."....5. "Americans across the country are already paying the price of inaction in insurance premiums, state and local taxes, and...