Coral reefs fall victim to overfishing, pollution, ocean warming
Three-year study of reef health is one of largest, longest ever undertaken
HOUSTON -- (June 7, 2016) -- One of the longest and largest studies of coral reef health ever undertaken finds that corals are declining worldwide because a variety of threats -- overfishing, nutrient pollution and pathogenic disease -- that ultimately become deadly in the face of higher ocean temperatures.
The study by marine biologists from Rice University, Oregon State University and other institutions was published today in Nature Communications on the eve of World Oceans Day, an annual global celebration of Earth's oceans. The findings are based on a continuous three-year experiment to measure how humans impact reef health. Data from the experiment on reefs in the Florida Keys suggests that widespread coral deaths, including the ongoing global bleaching event that affected 90 percent of the Great Barrier Reef this year, are being caused by a combination of multiple local stressors and global warming.
Nuclear Standoff in South Asia
India’s economy is now nine times larger than Pakistan’s. Pakistan can produce from 14-27 warheads annually, whereas India can only produce 2-5 warheads per year.
Santiago’s subway system will soon be powered mostly by solar and wind energy
The solar plant will be built by SunPower, based in San Jose, California and majority owned by oil company Total.
Adani identifies 650MW large-scale solar projects in Australia
It still wants to proceed with Carmichael coal mine, but sais solar is better financial deal than coal.
http://reneweconomy.com.au/
Globalization made economic production more vulnerable to climate change
POTSDAM INSTITUTE FOR CLIMATE IMPACT RESEARCH (PIK)
IMAGE: SHOWN ARE THE 1,000 LARGEST TRADE FLOWS BETWEEN 26 INDUSTRY SECTORS AND FINAL DEMAND IN 186 COUNTRIES FOR THE YEAR 2011 (BASED ON DATA FROM THE EORA WORLD MRIO,
The susceptibility of the global economic network to workers' heat-stress has doubled in the last decade, a new study published in the journal Science Advances finds. The analysis by the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research and Columbia University shows for the first time how enhanced connectivity of the global network of supply can amplify production losses, as these losses can be spread more easily across countries.
"Climate damages do not only depend on the warming of our planet, but also on the resilience of our societies and economies," says lead author Leonie Wenz. "Our study shows that since the beginning of the 21st century the structure of our economic system has changed in a way that production losses in one place can more easily cause further losses elsewhere." The study examines the example of local heat-stress-related productivity reductions causing global effects. Across the world, production is interlinked. "What is self-evident for us today is really a phenomenon of the last two decades," Wenz explains.
From typhoons to heat-stress on workers: local events, global effects
Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines destroyed more than half the world's production of coconut oil which is one of the two most commonly used vegetable fats in food production worldwide. The 2011 flood in Queensland stopped production in the fourth biggest coal exploration site on Earth for weeks, with economic repercussions well beyond Australia. While single major shocks to economic networks like these illustrate how economic activity is globally linked, the researchers focused on the effects of small daily perturbations due to extreme temperatures leading to heat-stress among workers in construction, agriculture and other economic sectors. Previous research shows that increasing temperatures decrease productivity, because, for instance, workers get exhausted more rapidly.
