07 January 2013

Mass extinction forecast with 6C temperature rise

Hobbit-sized humans, able to exist on less nourishing food, will have the best chance of survival in a warmer world, scientists say.

Animals, including humans, will shrink in size to survive in a warming world, according to scientists studying the last time the planet's temperature rose rapidly by 6°C. What scientists call dwarfism was the successful strategy to avoid starvation for a large range of species including horses, many insects and even earthworms. The widespread response was partly to do with the heat but mostly because many plants became less nutritious, forcing mammals and insects to eat far more to survive.

In the next 100 years the combination of more carbon dioxide in the atmosphere and increased temperature could be "catastrophic" for an overpopulated world, according to one of the scientists involved. With food supply drastically reduced, evolutionary forces suggest hobbit-sized humans who needed to eat less would have the greatest chance of survival. These findings are the work of an international group of 30 scientists looking at the vast fossil deposits in rock strata in Wyoming in the US, charting the period 55 million years ago when the Earth's temperature rose suddenly – as it is expected to do this century.

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08 December 2012

EU misses opportunity to show leadership

[8 December 2012 - COP18, DOHA] At the Doha climate talks, governments failed to do anything meaningful to avert the planet's slide towards catastrophic climate change. Countries used the economic crisis as a reason to avoid paying for climate finance, while billions of dollars in damages rack up from monster storms.

Wendel Trio, Director of CAN Europe said:

"Rather than contribute to closing the gap between what countries are willing to do and what is needed in terms of climate action, Doha has increased it. By sticking with only the lowest end of their promises, Parties like the European Union are moving this gap in the wrong direction. The EU missed its chance to play a leadership role in Doha, which it could have done by increasing its emission reduction target to 30%, in line with policies it already has in place. We are dismayed that the EU accepted weakening "hot air" rules by allowing the use of emission surpluses from the past."

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