Entries by Codi Kozacek

The Stream, October 12: Biofuels Spur Hunger

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U.S. government support for biofuels and inaction on climate change are creating food price spikes and hunger in other countries, the Guardian reported, citing a new study by the Global Hunger Index. Twenty-six countries, mainly in sub-Saharan Africa, are at extreme risk of hunger. Yemen could face a humanitarian crisis on a par with that […]

The Stream, October 7: Final Hearing On Keystone XL Pipeline

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Environmentalist Bill McKibben talks to the Guardian about tar sands, Obama and the fight over climate change on the eve of the final hearing on the proposed Keystone XL pipeline. Zebra mussels and agricultural runoff are wreaking havoc on fish populations in the Great Lakes, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing a recent study by […]

The Stream, October 5: Out of Water

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Severe water shortages due to the La Nina weather pattern are threatening island communities in the South Pacific. Six months of low rainfall have left Tuvalu and Tokelau in a state of emergency and relying on bottled water. Officials also worry that the lack of rain will damage crops and spur a food shortage, according […]

The Stream, September 23: Sand Mining and Water Quality

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Plans to capture and store carbon have failed to gain traction around the world amid the current global recession and the fading government support for climate action, the Guardian reported, citing the International Energy Agency. Is the Central Intelligence Agency treating its climate change studies as classified information? The North American rush to produce oil […]

The Stream, September 21: Flood Evacuations

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About 1.2 million people have been told to evacuate in western and central Japan due to an approaching typhoon, Xinhua reported. Rising water levels in rivers near Nagoya are creating flood concerns. Meanwhile, about 71,000 people in China’s Shaanxi Province have fled their homes to avoid the province’s worst flood in 50 years, according to […]

2011 is Record-setting Year for Climate Change: Ice Melts in Arctic, High Temps in U.S.

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A new study has revealed that ice volume in the Arctic Sea reached an all-time low in 2010. Meanwhile, in the United States, more high-temperature records have been set this summer than in any other year previously, as well as many regions that have broken rainfall and drought records.

The Stream, September 14: Global Climate Spending Grows

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Global climate-protection spending totaled a record $567 billion last year, a 7 percent increase, Bloomberg reported. Latin America led the world in climate revenue increases with strong growth in its low-carbon energy production, as well as in the water, waste and pollution-control sectors. China is launching this month a nation-wide check on water consumption in […]

The Stream, September 9: U.S. Temperature Records

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Summer 2011 saw more warm temperature records tied or broken in the United States than any other summer in the past decade, Climate Central reported, citing National Climatic Data Center statistics. Check out the details here, including an interactive map of all temperature records set in June, July and August. Meanwhile, the National Weather Service […]

The Stream, September 7: Will Climate Change Sink Bangkok?

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Bangkok could be under water by 2030, the Guardian reported. The ground beneath Thailand’s capital is quickly subsiding due to rising sea levels, coastal erosion and urbanization. The minimum summertime volume of Arctic Sea ice reached a record low in 2010, Reuters reported, citing researchers at the University of Washington in Seattle who will soon […]

Water and Food Security: Somalia Famine Grows, Drought Could Ease

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Meteorologists are hopeful for future rainfall, though they say the current disaster was preventable. The lack of rain, which is also affecting neighboring Kenya and Ethiopia, and political instability have tipped Somalia into a food crisis that could persist, even as drought conditions abate.

From Coal Seam to Fracking, Unconventional Gas Industry Faces Opposition in Australia and South Africa

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As an energy boom, propelled by natural gas, continues to gather steam, mining and drilling companies square off with landowners around the globe over who has the right to resources that are located deep below ground.

Where Food Grows on Water: Environmental and Human Threats to Wisconsin’s Wild Rice

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For generations, the upper Great Lakes region has boasted harvests of wild rice, growing in Lake Superior and other watersheds within the basin. But disease, dams, and climate change are now endangering the uncultivated bounty.