Global Warming

Global Coal Power Generation Falls

Electricity generated from coal-fired plants is set to fall by a record 3% this year, raising chances for slowing global carbon dioxide emissions growth, according to a report released by Carbon Brief.

The global usage rate for coal-fired generation this year is about 54% and suggests that electricity from the plants, which are built to run at or near capacity for extended periods, is more expensive, according to the report, which was written by researchers from several climate research groups, including the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air. The decline comes even as new coal-fired generation capacity in places including China and Southeast Asia is rising.

Reindeer Herders at Risk From Vanishing Ice Due to Global Warming

Deep in the Sayan Mountains of northern Mongolia, patches of ice rest year-round in the crooks between hills.

Locals in this high tundra call the perennial snowbanks munkh mus, or eternal ice. They’re central to lives of the region’s traditional reindeer herders, who depend on the snowy patches for clean drinking water and to cool down their hoofed charges in summer months.

Now, a new study led by archaeologist William Taylor suggests that this eternal ice, and the people and animals it supports, may be at risk because of soaring global temperatures. The research team discovered, the once-reliable munkh mus is melting faster than at any time in recent history.

Reindeer are cold-loving animals and can overheat when the weather gets too warm. To compensate, the Tsaatan bring their herds to the ice to give them a break from the heat and the tundra’s abundant insects.

Largest global assessment of ocean warming impacts

Climate change is reorganizing the life in our oceans in a big way: as waters warm, cold-loving species, from plankton to fish, leave the area and warm water species become more successful. So say an international group of scientists in the most comprehensive assessment of the effects of ocean warming on the distribution fish communities.

The results showed how subtle changes in the movement of species that prefer cold water or warm water, in response to rising temperatures, made a big impact on the global picture.

While the global warming trend was widely seen, the North Atlantic showed the largest rise in average temperature during the time period. However, for fish communities in the Labrador Sea, where the temperature at 100 meters deep can be as much as five degrees Celsius cooler than the surface, moving deeper in the water column allowed the cold-water species to remain successful.

Most of the data collected were targeted surveys of commercial fish stocks, so the changes seen reflect those likely to be seen in fish markets as cold-water fish like cod and haddock decline, while warm-water species like red mullet increase with warming.

There has been a temperature rise of almost one degree Celsius in some parts of the ocean since 1985.