we have underestimated the overall risks

… the whole of marine degradation is greater than the sum of its parts, and that degradation is now happening at a faster rate than predicted.

Oceans Are at Dire Risk, Team of Scientists Warns - NYTimes.com

The best way to drive energy innovation would be an emissions charge of $5 per ton of greenhouse gases beginning in 2012, rising to $100 per ton by 2032.

—

Daniel C. Esty is the commissioner of the Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection. Michael E. Porter is a professor at Harvard Business School.

Pain at the Pump? Try a Charge on Carbon Emissions - NYTimes.com

While several factors have contributed to soaring food prices, what really stands out is the extent to which severe weather events have disrupted agricultural production. And these severe weather events are exactly the kind of thing we’d expect to see as rising concentrations of greenhouse gases change our climate — which means that the current food price surge may be just the beginning.

— Droughts, Floods and Food - NYTimes.com

But from year to year the picture becomes clearer, the research more finely detailed, the news more dire. And that news bears repeating because it’s of the utmost urgency — and because we haven’t listened very carefully, much less responded.

— Book Review - The View From Lazy Point - A Natural Year in an Unnatural World - By Carl Safina - NYTimes.com

salakahle:

HSBC is trying to position itself as the first carbon neutral bank in the world. They have launched an interesting ad campaign that portrays submerged cityscapes as a consequence of global warming.

Water World

As a result of recent calculations that take the changes into account, many scientists now say that sea level is likely to rise perhaps three feet by 2100 — an increase that, should it come to pass, would pose a threat to coastal regions the world over.

And the calculations suggest that the rise could conceivably exceed six feet, which would put thousands of square miles of the American coastline under water and would probably displace tens of millions of people in Asia.

via The New York Times