Manmade climate change is the main driver behind the unexpected emergence of a group of bacteria in northern Europe which can cause gastroenteritis, new research by a group of international experts shows. [Reuters]
“The big apparent increases that we’ve seen in cases during heat wave years … tend to indicate that climate change is indeed driving infections,” Craig Baker-Austin at the UK-based Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science, one of the authors of the study, told Reuters.
Climate studies show that rising greenhouse gas emissions made global average surface temperatures increase by about 0.17 degrees Celsius a decade from 1980 to 2010.
It is home to a quarter of the planet’s oil and natural gas reserves, yet humans have hardly touched these resources in the far north. But in a few days that could change dramatically if Shell receives approval to drill for oil in the Arctic. [Guardian]
New restrictions for cruise ships — which will phase out the world’s dirtiest transportation fuel in U.S. waters — represent one of the Obama administration’s most ambitious, and least-noticed, anti-pollution programs. [Washington Post]
Some of North America’s most vulnerable mammals are definitely feeling the heat of global warming, as localized pika extinctions in the Great Basin have increased at five times the 20th century average in the last 10 years. [Summit County Citizen's Voice]
Coal-fired power is being replaced by renewable energy and gas in Australia, but it will remain the dominant source of electricity for years to come, Federal Opposition resources spokesman Ian Macfarlane said on Monday. [Sunshine Coast Daily]
Scotland said it will cut subsidies for onshore wind power by 10 percent to end uncertainty about support for the industry after the U.K. government last week delayed a decision on funding. [Bloomberg]
Japanese authorities are investigating subcontractors on suspicion they forced workers at the tsunami-hit nuclear plant to underreport their instrument readings so they could stay on the job longer. [Guardian]
Previous in TP Climate Progress
Language Intelligence: Lessons on persuasion from Jesus, Shakespeare, Lincoln, and Lady Gaga
An additional roundup of energy and climate news for July 23 is posted at http://www.marcaccicomms.com/news/energy-and-environment-news-roundup-7-23-12/
Some pointed out that Saturday’s deluge was historic in nature, with the Global Times noting it was the heaviest rainstorm in the capital in 61 years. The worst-hit area of the city received 460 millimeters (18.4 inches) of rain on Saturday.
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5jFJAqZW565P9IkxIfeeGaSn1L9ew?docId=94a1c1cc37b94e3b8a28690365fa5af5
Although Beijing’s worst-hit areas were in rural hilly outskirts of the city, the scale of the disaster was a major embarrassment for China’s showcase capital, where such things are not supposed to happen.