Video - Fossil Fuels Must be Eliminated by 2100 (IPCC Synthesis Report)

According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Synthesis Report there is no future for fossil fuels. The world must scale back the use of fossil fuels immediately and eliminate their use by 2100 if we are to avoid the worse impacts of climate change.

Infographic - Stranded Fossil Fuel Assets

Fossil Fuels are a Clear and Present Danger

Fossil fuels are the primary cause of climate change. This is not some distant concern it is with us today and destined to get worse -- far worse-- if we do not address our addiction to petrochemicals. The scientific evidence is clear and overwhelming, unless we stop burning fossil fuels soon climate change will radically undermine life on Earth.

The impacts of global warming are the most studied phenomena in the history of the world. A recent White House report written by hundreds of scientists confirms and the work of the thousands of scientists that contributed to the UN's IPCC AR5 report. Both studies come to the same conclusions as reams of previous research.

Thousands of scientists from diverse disciplines are virtually unanimous in their shared conviction that climate change is a clear and present danger. We need to appreciate that by burning fossil fuels we are jeopardizing the basic things we require for our survival, namely our air, water and food.

Video - Years of Living Dangerously (Premiere Full Episode)

Watch the world premiere of the new series, "Years of Living Dangerously" which involves celebrities and respected journalists as they span the globe to explore the issues of climate change and cover intimate stories of human triumph and tragedy. The "Years of Living Dangerously" takes you directly to the heart of climate change issues in an awe-inspiring, cinematic documentary series event.

Infographic - Climate Change: Threat or Opportunity

Senators All Night Vigil Urging Action on Climate Change

Starting on Monday, March 10 and concluding on Tuesday, March 11, 28 Senators (26 Democrats and two independents) will be speaking all night to urge action on climate change. Immediately following votes on the evening of Monday, March 10 until approximately 9 am ET Tuesday, March 11, Senators from the Senate Climate Action Task Force will be holding the Senate floor to urge action on climate change.

Secretary of State Kerry Compares Climate Change to Weapons of Mass Destruction

Here are excerpts of US Secretary of State John Kerry's Sunday February 16th speech in Jakarta, Indonesia, in which he compares climate change to weapons of mass destruction.

Think about this: terrorism, epidemics, poverty, the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction — all challenges that know no borders. The reality is that climate change ranks right up there with every single one of them.

Alaska's Record Breaking Heat in January Offers More Evidence for a Dramatically Warmer Arctic

While the continental US was being slammed with a succession of cold spells and winter storms in January, Alaska was experiencing some of the hottest temperatures ever recorded for the month. Temperatures were as much as 40°F (22°C) above normal. The all-time warmest January temperature ever observed in Alaska was tied on January 27 when the temperature peaked at 62°F (16.7°C) in Port Alsworth.

The NASA map (above left) shows the temperature anomalies in Alaska for January 23–30, 2014. Those areas which experienced higher than average temperatures compared to the 2001–2010 average for the same week are highlighted in red. The map is based on data from Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Terra satellite.

Secretary of State Kerry: Climate Change is a Catastrophic Threat

Secretary of State John Kerry gave a speech in Indonesia on Sunday February 16. In this speech he made some of his most powerful statements to date about the threat posed by climate change.

Here are some highlights from his speech in Jakarta:

It’s not an exaggeration to say to you that the entire way of life that you live and love is at risk.

CERES calls for an Oil and Gas Climate Stress Test Today

Today, January 15, 2014, CERES will ask 48 of the world's leading fossil fuel companies to run a ‘climate stress test.’ The purpose of the exercise is to show that the core activities of the major oil, gas and coal companies are incompatible with mitigating global warming. The test also makes the point that these companies need to diversify beyond fossil fuels. Fund managers and investors are in New York for an annual summit hosted by Ceres at UN headquarters. US based global sustainability leader CERES heads a $12 trillion network of investors. CERES has organized a low carbon investor’s conference at the UN for the past six years. According to CERES data, shareholders in the US continue to show interest in disclosures regarding companies exposure to climate change risks.

One of the chief issues is a so called carbon bubble. This reflects worries about the $674 billion of fossil fuel investments that cannot be extracted if the world is to avoid dangerous levels of warming. Each year about a half a trillion dollars is being spent to locate new petrochemical sources. This is at odds with the low carbon economy. It is also incomprehensible in light of the fact that preparations are well underway that will arrest the growth of the carbon based economy.

Why We are Not Seeing More Action on Climate Change

The unbridled pursuit of profit by powerful interests is actively delaying action on climate change. Climate denying corporate interests and their political counterparts, along with the press and cynical investments, are making progress on climate change mitigation very difficult.

Republicans are the political minions of climate denial

Republicans continue to oppose action on climate change. Rather than lead, Republicans in the House are catering to the most conservative elements of their own constituencies and putting partisan interests ahead of national interests. However, this is only part of the story.

Infographic - One Day in the Life of Big Oil

Event - The 3rd International Conference on Earth Science & Climate Change (Earth Science-2014)

The 3rd International Conference on Earth Science & Climate Change (Earth Science-2014) will take place on July 28-30, 2014 San Francisco, USA. This conference will focus on a number of disciplines and areas of research, and will provide a forum for scientists, postgraduate & graduate students, and representatives from the private sector to discuss recent research and developments in Earth Science and Climate Change Research.

Earth Science-2014 is comprised of 10 tracks and 73 sessions designed to offer comprehensive sessions that address current issues in Earth Science & Climate Change.

Graph of Fossil Fuel's GHG Contributions

What We Learned about Climate Change in 2013

The year that was provided a host of interesting scientific findings about the Earth and other planets. In addition to discovering hundreds of exoplanets, in 2013 we learned that Mars once had abundant water. The new data appears to indicate that the Earth is not the only planet to suffer the ravages of climate change. In the context of a review of climate change the new Maven Mars space probe may offer unsettling insights into our future if we continue with business as usual.

Here is a list of things we learned about our changing climate in 2013 as published by Smithsonian.

[I]n terms of the long-term survival of both our species and all others on the planet, 2013 is remarkable for a much darker reason. It’s a year in which we’ve pushed the climate further than ever away from its natural state, learned more than ever about the dire consequences of doing so, and done as little as ever to stop it.

NASA's MAVEN to Explore Climate Change on Mars

Earth is not the only planet to suffer the impacts of climate change. A new space probe is currently en-route to study how the Martian climate underwent a drastic change from a planet with water and an atmophere to a cold, dry, dead rock.

On November 18th, 2013, NASA launched the Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution (MAVEN) from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station’s Space Launch Complex 41. The 5,400-pound, $671 Million MAVEN spacecraft separated from the Atlas Centaur upper stage some 52 minutes after liftoff, unfurled its solar panels and began a 10 month interplanetary voyage to the Red Planet. Maven is scheduled to begin orbiting Mars on September 22, 2014.

Its Going to Get Even Hotter than Predicted by Climate Models According to a New Cloud Study

New research focusing on clouds reveals that temperatures will get even hotter than predicted by climate models.

Climate deniers who disguise themselves as skeptics like to say that climate models exaggerate the effects of global warming. This new research appears to indicate that climate models predict significantly lower temperatures than will likely materialize.

According to the new research temperatures will rise at least 3 degrees by the end of the century which is twice the commonly accepted lower boundary predicted by climate models. The research by a team led by the University of NSW studied 43 climate models and was published in the Journal Nature at the start of 2014.

Global Warming Predictions for 2014 and Beyond

It does not take much more than a basic understanding of climate science to appreciate that global warming will continue to have far reaching impacts in 2014 and beyond. Here is a review of some of the well known impacts predicted by climate models. This includes higher atmospheric levels of CO2, warmer temperatures, melting ice, flooding, the spread of infectious diseases, diminished water quality, decreased food production, excessive heat and other extreme weather events.

More Emissions

The planet currently absorbs half our CO2 emissions. However, the level of CO2 absorption is expected reach a saturation point where the oceans and other carbon sinks will no longer be able to naturally sequester CO2.

Radiative Forcing: Carbon Dioxide and Methane

Radiative forcing is the warming effect on our climate due to carbon dioxide (CO2) and other heat-trapping greenhouse gases (GHGs). In climate science radiative forcing is the change in net irradiance between different layers of the atmosphere. Typically, radiative forcing is quantified at the tropopause in units of watts per square meter. A positive forcing (more incoming energy) tends to warm the system, while a negative forcing (more outgoing energy) tends to cool it. Sources of radiative forcing include changes in insolation (incident solar radiation) and in concentrations of radiatively active gases and aerosols.