The Arctic Ocean could be largely ice-free and open to shipping during the summer in as little as ten years' time, a top polar specialist has said. "It's like man is taking the lid off the northern part of the planet," said Professor Peter Wadhams, from the University of Cambridge. Professor Wadhams has been studying the Arctic ice since the 1960s. He was speaking in central London at the launch of the findings of the Catlin Arctic Survey. The expedition trekked across 435km of ice earlier this year. Led by explorer Pen Hadow, the team's measurements found that the ice-floes were on...

Dipdivers check out this very important and significant music video by The:Hours. More than just a music video, this is a virtual “musical petition” which will aim to influence those in power in all countries to make vital decisions when it comes to the United Nations meeting in Copenhagen on the 7th December 2009, when they will decide how to replace the Kyoto protocol. The Tck Tck Tck campaign, and it’s song “Beds are burning” is an effort on the part of Mr Kofi Annan, former Secretary General of the United Nations and Nobel Peace Prize winner. Teaming up with Euro RSCG...

Democratic leaders are expected to take on the monumental challenge of getting the Senate to act on global warming today by formally unveiling a draft climate change bill proposing a 20% cut in greenhouse gas emissions. The draft bill, which is to be announced by Senators Barbara Boxer and John Kerry at a press conference this morning, sets out a more ambitious target for cutting greenhouse gas emissions than the 17% cut from 2005 levels by 2020 passed by the House of Representatives in June. The draft would push for a 20% reduction from 2005 levels by 2020 and an 83% reduction by 2050....

Almost 10% of the World's mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians and fish are at risk of extinction, says an Australian report. The animals face threats including habitat loss and climate change. The report comes from Australia's Biological Resources Study, a project aiming to document all of the planet's known animal and plant species. The study found that almost 1% of the World's 1.9 million classified species were threatened. This included 9.2% of major vertebrate species. The publication, Numbers of Living Species in Australia and the World, is part of a major effort to document the...

Global warming could lead to a 4C rise in temperatures in this generation if it remains unchecked, according to a new study from British scientists. The study, prepared for the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC ) by the Met Office, claims that climate change is an imminent threat. Unveiled today at Oxford University, it says that if greenhouse gas emissions are not cut then there could be a 4C rise by 2060, some areas such as the Arctic and western and southern Africa seeing leaps of 10C. Richard Betts from the Met Office Hadley Centre said: 'We've always talked about these...

When the first public drinking fountain was unveiled in London 150 years ago, a large crowd gathered at St Sepulchre’s Church at Snow Hill to witness an engineering marvel that for the first time would provide the city’s poor with cold, clean, fresh water (and, the authorities hoped, would also keep the toiling masses out of the pub). A rather smaller crowd gathered in Hyde Park yesterday for the opening of the first drinking fountain built in the park for 30 years, and the serving of champagne would suggest that fountains no longer have the same links with the Temperance movement....

Welcome to the Battle of the Summits. On Tuesday we had UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon’s Climate Change Summit in New York at which the presidents of the world’s two biggest polluters, China and the US, tried to convince delegates that they were serious about tackling carbon dioxide emissions. Today the G20 opens its two-day summit in Pittsburgh, where the transition to a low carbon economy will receive lip service alongside the main preoccupation: returning the world to economic growth. If it comes down to a policy battle between growth and climate, the “grow-at-all-costs”...

WATER power is set to be harnessed by an environment-conscious householder to generate green electricity for his home – and help play his part in tackling climate change. While growing numbers of homeowners are installing domestic wind turbines to lower their carbon footprint, retired environmental worker Bob Hull has turned to a hydro-system as his preferred method of supporting renewable energy. Mr Hull wants to use the water flowing down the Cockshaw Burn, a tributary of the River Tyne which runs past his garden, to generate electricity for the house in Allendale Road,...

Excerpt from San Francisco Chronicle article  "Newsom's fresh idea: mandates on healthier food" by Heather Knight, Chronicle Staff Writer. " San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom is calling for city-funded food to be healthy and sustainable. His administration provided the following directives for what this means: Safe and healthy:  Avoids excessive pesticide use and has high nutritional value. Culturally acceptable:  Acceptable culturally and religiously to San Francisco's diverse population. An example would be providing Chinese seniors with bok choy and other vegetables they're...