Territorial claims, environment to dominate debate at polar summit

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20090404/pl_afp/usantarcticarcticdiplomacytourismscienceenvironment_20090404155917

Now that global warming has opened new navigation routes in the area, these deposits have sparked fierce competition among nations surrounding the Arctic, according to French ambassador for international negotiations Michel Rocard.

Antarctica ice bridge linking islands 'snaps'

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/environment/climatechange/5110742/Antarctica-ice-bridge-linking-islands-snaps.html

An ice bridge linking a vast shelf of ice to two islands in Antarctica has snapped, providing the latest evidence of rapid climate change, say scientists.

An Antarctic ice shelf has disappeared: scientists

http://www.reuters.com/article/environmentNews/idUSTRE5332BU20090404

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - One Antarctic ice shelf has quickly vanished, another is disappearing and glaciers are melting faster than anyone thought due to climate change, U.S. and British government researchers reported on Friday.

Scientists: Less ice on Great Lakes during winter

CLEVELAND – Ice cover on the Great Lakes has declined more than 30 percent since the 1970s, leaving the world's largest system of freshwater lakes open to evaporation and lower water levels, according to scientists associated with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

River reaches record high in Fargo, region braces

FARGO, N.D. – The rising Red River broke a 112-year record early Friday and breached one of the dikes fortifying the city, but the mayor pledged to "go down swinging" as he called for more evacuations and additional National Guard troops to prevent a devastating flood.

New estimate raises ND flood higher than sandbags

"Record flows upstream of Fargo have produced unprecedented conditions" on the river, which "is expected to behave in ways never previously observed," the weather service said.

Study: Antarctica joins rest of globe in warming

WASHINGTON – Antarctica, the only place that had oddly seemed immune from climate change, is warming after all, according to a new study. For years, Antarctica was an enigma to scientists who track the effects of global warming. Temperatures on much of the continent at the bottom of the world were staying the same or slightly cooling, previous research indicated.

The new study went back further than earlier work and filled in a massive gap in data with satellite information to find that Antarctica too is getting warmer, like the Earth's other six continents.

Study: Western forests dying at increasing rate

GRANTS PASS, Ore. – Trees in old growth forests across the West are dying at a small, but increasing rate that scientists conclude is probably caused by longer and hotter summers from a changing climate.

Arctic's thaw brings security risks for NATO

REYKJAVIK, Iceland – NATO will need a military presence in the Arctic as global warming melts frozen sea routes and major powers rush to lay claim to lucrative energy reserves, the military bloc's chief said Thursday.

Wake up, freak out--get a grip

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5T_3WJPYY9g

Arctic temperatures hit record high

WASHINGTON — Temperatures in the Arctic last fall hit an all-time high — more than 9 degrees Fahrenheit (5 degrees Centigrade) above normal — and remain almost as high this year, an international team of scientists reported Thursday.

How Arctic melting could benefit shippers, oil companies

WASHINGTON — With global warming melting the Arctic 's eons-old ice at an alarming rate, shipping and oil companies are looking ahead at how to exploit the new open waters.

Save Our Slopes, say top skiers in climate change SOS

"As avid skiers and snowboarders, we're watching first-hand the destructive power of global warming," the athletes said in a petition submitted to Polish Environment Minister Maciej Nowicki, who is chairing the tense UN negotiations.

"From the European Alps to the Asian Himalayas, from the US Rockies and the Central American Andes, global warming is threatening winter."

Native hunters: Climate is thinning caribou herds

POZNAN, Poland – Chief Bill Erasmus of the Dene nation in northern Canada brought a stark warning about the climate crisis: The once abundant herds of caribou are dwindling, rivers are running lower and the ice is too thin to hunt on.

Atlantic hurricane season blows away records

WASHINGTON – The 2008 Atlantic hurricane season, which ends Sunday, seemed to strike the United States and Cuba as if on redial, setting at least five weather records for persistence and repeatedly striking the same areas.

Climate change, drought to strain Colorado River

SALT LAKE CITY – Seven Western states will face more water shortages in the years ahead as climate change exacerbates the strains drought and a growing population have put on the Colorado River, scientists say.