Tiempo Climate Newswatch

The thickest and oldest Arctic sea ice is melting, according to the National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC) in the United States. "Thickness is an indicator of long-term health of sea ice, and that's not looking good at the moment," said NSIDC's Walt Meier. "This is another startling and serious indicator of massive changes in the Arctic due to climate change," said Rafe Pomerance of Clean Air-Cool Planet. "It is one more reminder that we must address global warming with a level of commitment and resources equal to the problem."

Satellite data show that the perennial sea ice, ice that is older than one year, has declined rapidly in recent years. Perennial sea ice stands at less than 30 per cent of the area of the Arctic, down from up to 60 per cent some years ago. The older ice is being replaced by fragile new ice, which is more susceptible to disruption by winds and higher temperatures. "It's like looking at a Hollywood set," Meier said. "It may look OK but if you could see behind you'd see... it's just empty. And what we're seeing with the ice cover is it's becoming more and more empty underneath."

Carbon emissions from coal-fired power plants in the United States showed the largest rise in nine years during 2007, according to the Environmental Integrity Project (EIP). "The current debate over global warming policy tends to focus on long-term goals, like how to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 80 per cent over the next 50 years," said Eric Schaeffer from EIP. "But while we debate, carbon dioxide emissions from power plants keep rising, making an already dire situation worse." Part of the rise in emissions comes from existing coal-fired power plants that are operating at increasingly higher capacities or that require more heat to generate electricity as they age. EIP recommends that these plants are phased out and replaced with clean energy sources.

Ken Kramer, from the Lone Star chapter of the Sierra Club, responding to the "bad news" that Texas is number one in the EIP emissions league, said that "the good news is that Texas has the potential to play a major role in addressing global warming if we embrace smart energy solutions such as energy efficiency and renewable energy, solutions which pose tremendous economic as well as environmental benefits." Local company, TXU Energy, has dropped plans for nine new coal-fired power plants following determined opposition. A ban on new plants that do not have carbon capture and storage technology has recently been proposed.

The United Nations warns that, by the year 2025, a third of the planet's population could be scavenging for safe drinking water. More than two million people in developing countries die each year from diseases linked to unsafe water. "Poor sanitation combines with a lack of safe drinking water and inadequate hygiene to contribute to the terrible global death toll," according to United Nations secretary-general Ban Ki-moon. "Every 20 seconds, a child dies as a result of the abysmal sanitation conditions endured by some 2.6 billion people globally," he said, when launching recently the International Year of Sanitation.

Global economic growth, population pressures and the rise of mega-cities all contribute to the rising demand for water, with climate change compounding the problem over coming decades. Anders Berntell of the Stockholm International Water Institute, describes the lack of safe drinking water as an "acute and devastating humanitarian crisis." "But," he continues, "this is a crisis of management, not a water crisis per se, because it is caused by a chronic lack of funding and inadequate understanding of the need for sanitation and good hygiene at the local level."