Global warming concerns Greenland yet nature lures tourists

Frommer's reports on the natural wonders of Greenland and the affects of global warming on this northern island.

Everyone's worried about the shrinking ice cap in Greenland. And yet, locals seem as confident about the future as they are worried about the present.

The 57,000 inhabitants of this huge island go about their business of fishing, mining, and gently handling the tourists.

Aurora borealis (Northern Lights) [can be seen] year-round. You can find mussels on the beach near Oqaatsut, pick berries and mushrooms while hiking, take a kayak out in summer for netting small salmon, and otherwise enjoy the great outdoors. Dog sledding is best here in March and April.

Read the full story: Greenland: living on an ice cap

Photo from USGS

Climate change studies on volcano ash plane ban

Reuters reports that the recent European flying ban due to the Icelandic erupting volcano ash could help scientists understand the link between flight emissions and climate change.

The climate effects of jet fuel burned at high altitude are poorly understood, partly because scientists cannot often compare plane-free skies with days when many regions are criss-crossed by white vapor trails.

Scientists will pore over European temperature records, satellite images and other data from days when flights were grounded by ash -- trying to isolate any effect of a lack of planes from the sun-dimming effect of Iceland's volcanic cloud.

"The presence of volcanic ash makes this event much more challenging to analyze," said David Travis, of the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, who found that an absence of vapor trails influenced U.S. temperatures after the September 11 attacks.

Read the full story: Like Sept. 11, volcano plane ban may hold climate clue

Photo from Emory Kristof / National Geographic

Two glaciers gone in Montana NP

USA Today reports that two glaciers are gone from Glacier National Park.

Warmer temperatures have reduced the number of named glaciers in the northwestern Montana park to 25, said Dan Fagre, an ecologist with the U.S. Geological Survey. He warned the rest of the glaciers may be gone by the end of the decade.

The park's glaciers have been slowly melting since about 1850, when the centuries-long Little Ice Age ended. They once numbered as many as 150, and 37 of those glaciers eventually were named.

A glacier needs to be 25 acres to qualify for the title.

Read the full story: Glacier National Park loses two more glaciers

Photo from National Parks Service / AP

Canadian grizzlies vs. polar bears

Discovery News reports that Canadian grizzly bears are encroaching on polar bear territory.

A Canadian Field Nationalist study shows that the grizzlies are moving into territory in northern Manitoba traditionally thought as polar bear territory. The study claims that this grizzly encroachment could inflict damage on the polar bear population.

Before 1996, there was no evidence that grizzly bears encroached on polar bear territory. From that year on, however, there have been at least 12 sightings, negating the prior theory that the barren landscape north of the Hudson Bay was impassable, in terms of resources, for migrating grizzly bears. But the flexible bears, which can eat everything from meat to berries, have crossed the gap and likely won't look back much, since the polar bear region is known for its abundant caribou, moose, fish and berries.

Read the full story: Grizzly bears enter polar bear territory

Photo by Linda Gormezano

Maldives photos show environmental vulnerability

British newspaper the Guardian has an online photo exhibition of the popular tropical island getaway of the Maldives.

But these photos highlight the vulnerability the islands have to climate change and global warming. Erosion (picture left of a house on Maduvvari island, Raa Atoll), coral bleaching, tsunamis, and rising ocean height all affect these low-lying islands located southwest of India.

See the full slide show: Vulnerable: An exhibition on the fragile state of the Maldives

Photo by Saffah Faroog / Bluepeace

2009: fifth warmest year

Reuters reports that 2009 will have been the fifth warmest ever recorded and the hottest this decade according to the World Meteorological Organization.

The WMO reported its findings at this week's United Nations Climate conference in Copenhagen.

WMO head Michel Jarraud pointed to extreme hotspots this year -- Australia had its third warmest year since record dating began in 1850, "with three exceptional heatwaves."

"I could go on. There was the worst drought in five decades which affected millions of people in China, a poor monsoon season in India causing severe droughts, massive food shortages associated with a big drought in Kenya," he told reporters.

Read the full story: 2009 set to be fifth warmest year on record

Photo from Reuters

Global warming's dire effects

Reuters video reports on the trickle-down effects of global warming from melting glaciers to drought.

Lima, Peru is the driest city on earth because of the rapid decline of the glaciers that supplied rivers and other water sources, according to the report.

Australia is also experiencing a seven-year drought, the longest on record and no end in sight.

Watch below:

Hike in Swiss Alps, see climate change

BBC video reports on climate change hikes in the Swiss Alps.

A Swiss resort is offering climate change hiking trips to show the changes in the landscape scientists say are the result of global warming.

Mobile phones with GPS show the area as it once was, but melting and retreating glaciers have caused huge changes to the area - not least flooding and landslides.

Imogen Foulkes reports from the Swiss resort of Grindelwald.

Click to watch the video: Climate change hikes in Alps

Alaska's Caribou in a warming climate

National Parks Traveler is excerpting the National Parks Conservation Association's report on climate change and the affects on national parks.

This excerpt explains how caribou in Alaska are being impacted by a warmer planet.

Ice fields are shrinking, ice sheets are breaking up, forest fires and insect outbreaks are increasing, permafrost is melting, and coastal villages are disappearing into the sea.

For caribou, one of the Earth’s great iconic species, these climate-related shifts are expected to bring many changes, some good, some not so good, and some unknown. Cows and calves require lush spring vegetation for vital nutrients during the critical period around calving and early development.

Climate change will affect when that spring vegetation appears, potentially putting the green-up out of sync with calving, and leaving adults and newborns without adequate nutrition.

With climate-change forecasts predicting a warming of as much as 5 degrees centigrade throughout the Arctic, a trend that is likely to lead to earlier plant germination, will caribou be able to advance their biological clocks and keep calving when food is most available?

Read the full story: Climate change and national parks: caribou in Alaska

Photo from National Parks Traveler

Lights out at tourist sites during Earth Hour

MSNBC reports on the tourist spots turning off their lights for one hour this weekend to honor the climate change and global warming initiative Earth Hour.

Among those to turn off their lights will be the Los Angeles International Airport sign (left). It be lit with green lights for the hour right before it is turned off.

Read the full story: Earth Hour to hit major draws near you

Soot-covered ice speeds melt

Reuters reports on the study showing how soot-covered Arctic ice accelerates its melt.

Scientists at the United Nations climate talks this week in Poland say that global warming efforts should be redirected to soot, ozone, and methane reduction from Europe, Russia, and the USA:

"'Reductions in these pollutants would have a greater impact' in the next two decades than curbing emissions of the main greenhouse gas -- carbon dioxide," they say.

Dark colors absorb more sunlight, so the black pollution particles from industry and vehicle exhaust that now cover the Arctic ice are speeding its melt.

Read the full story: Soot darkens ice, stokes runaway arctic melt: study

Venice floods bespeaks of global warming

USA Today reports on the recent Venice, Italy flooding, which is the worst since 1986.

The low-lying and highly-touristed Italian city has been prone to flooding for centuries. This time the water reached 61 inches, well over the 40-inch flood mark.

"It was the fourth highest tide since 1872, when the city started keeping records. The last time Venice saw such high waters was in 1986, while the all-time record was 76 inches in 1966."

Natural disasters such as flooding and more severe storms are effects of global warming.

Read the full story: Venice faces worst flooding in 20 years

Canada's boreal forest fate in government's hands

Reuters reports that Canadian politicians are saving the boreal forest on advice from environmental experts.

Only 10 percent of the forest is protected now and deforestation is a big concern. The forest covers 1.4 billion hectares (see picture above) and is "better than almost anywhere else on the planet at keeping climate-warming carbon out of the atmosphere."

The plan to preserve the boreal forest picked up momentum last year when 1,500
scientists from more than 50 countries called for its protection.

In July, the government of Ontario agreed to strictly protect half of its boreal lands and to sustainably manage the other half, with no extraction of minerals or other natural resources allowed.

Last week, Quebec Premier Jean Charest, now campaigning for re-election, pledged to do the same if he wins. Canadian businesses also have endorsed the plan, and Kallick said there is a good chance most provincial governments will as well.

Read the full story: Politicians persuaded to save Canada boreal forest

Study says Canada isn't fighting global warming

Reuters reports on the study showing Canada to be one of the most developed nations lax on environmental standards.

The report put out by the Conference Board of Canada, says Canada's worst environmental problems are "greenhouse gas emissions, high garbage production, and rampant overuse of fresh water."

"Canada's government has been widely criticized for being soft on greenhouse gas emissions, which have been on the rise, partly due to booming development of the Alberta oil sands."

According to the study, the only two countries with worse environmental records are Australia and the United States.

Read the full story: Canada an environmental slouch

Alaska's glaciers retreating and melting, book says

U.S. News and World Report LiveScience reports on the U.S. Geological Survey's (USGS) new book that documents the thinning and retreating of all Alaska's glaciers.

"The new book on Alaska's glaciers used satellite images, aerial photos, maps and other studies to document the retreat of the glaciers, which began as early as the mid-19th century. Some glaciers have even disappeared since being mapped in the mid-20th century, the report found."

Read the full story: Most Alaskan glaciers retreat and thin

CA to boost economy by combating global warming

The Sacramento Bee reports on the recently released study that shows California will actually get a boost to their economy by combating global warming.

The state analysis predicts that the Golden State's mandate to cut vehicle and industry greenhouse gas emissions by one-third in the next 12 years will increase the economy, even though the measures are costly:

"The study, generated from computer models, shows that the bulk of the economic benefits will come from investments in costlier but more efficient vehicles, appliances and industrial equipment that more than pay for themselves by 2020, the deadline for meeting the targeted reductions."

Read the full story: Global warming fight will boost California economy, study says

Where global warming is now: Alaska

The Christian Science Monitor reports on Alaska, where global warming and its consequences are being felt now.

Alaska's glaciers are melting at double the amounts just 10 years ago and melting ice is raising sea levels almost double to that of Greenland's.

Milder winters are also allowing insects such as the spruce bark beetle to survive and decimate native spruce trees.

Other problems include changing wetlands:

"Now shrubs and trees are encroaching on what has been a peat moss-dominated bog. Cores taken show no evidence of woody plants until the top, or recent decades. Their arrival implies a drying-out, [says Ed Berg, an ecologist with the US Department of Fish and Wildlife]."

Read the full story: Alaska: climate-change frontier

Global warming's effects

Earth First has a poignant article detailing seven areas of the world that are being directly and direly affected by global warming.

As the global temperature increases, so does the severity of natural phenomena such as major storms like hurricanes and cyclones, insects are able to survive and prosper in climes that used to be too cold for them, and melting glaciers cause oceans to rise and create severe flooding.

Airline and car travel create greenhouse gas emissions that contribute greatly to the man-made problem of global warming.

Read the full story: 7 places global warming is smacking the crap out of the Earth right now

Offsets don't always erase carbon footprint

Reuters reports that people may be "fooling themselves" when they offset their air carbon footprint.

Critics of carbon offsetting claim that it is difficult to fully offset ones carbon footprint because different airplanes put out different amounts of carbon dioxide, the global warming greenhouse gas.

"Carbon offsetting has also had to contend with critics who say that it only creates an illusion of fighting climate change, focusing on marginal efforts such as planting trees or building wind turbines rather than tackling the underlying problem, for example by flying less or burning less coal."

A poll about the meaning of carbon offsetting by travel website Expedia found that only one third knew what it meant. One in ten thought carbon offsetting "meant to walk to work instead of driving."

Read the full story: Critics say air travel carbon offsetting too crude

Low-cost Euro airlines + more flyers = carbon upsurge

The New York Times reports on how the popularity of low-cost European airlines has upped air travel across the continent and thus also the rise in carbon emissions.

Warm countries such as Spain are seeing the increase in weekend tourists from colder climes such as the U.K. and Germany, which although good for the tourist industry, just adds to the global warming conundrum.

The competitiveness of the budget airlines keeps the prices low as well as being much cheaper and faster than car or train travel:

"[For] many, the economics of flying cheap are proving more compelling than the environmental consequences. With prices for gas and hotels at all-time highs in Britain and Germany, it is, somewhat bizarrely, more economical to fly to Spain, even for a weekend, than to take a traditional driving vacation near home."

Read the full story: Air travel and carbon on increase in Europe