Canadian Arctic sheds ice chunk

Nearly 20 sq km (eight sq miles) of ice from the Ward Hunt shelf has split away from Ellesmere Island, according to satellite pictures.

Loss of ice in the Arctic, and in particular the extensive sea-ice, has global implications. The "white parasol" at the top of the planet reflects energy from the Sun straight back out into space, helping to cool the Earth.

Read the full article from BBC news here

Haiti

Where is Haiti?
What does this picture show? read the article from The Guardian here
How does this make you feel?
List factors that have led to this situation in a compass rose diagram (Natural, Economic, Social, Who decides)

Californian earthquake

http://earthquake.usgs.gov/eqcenter/recenteqsus/Maps/US10/27.37.-125.-115.php

The quake made buildings in the city shake and was felt as far south as San Diego

The US Geological Survey said the tremor had a magnitude of 5.8

The epicentre of the quake was located 29 miles south-east of downtown Los Angeles, near Chino Hills in San Bernardino County

Tornadoes in Lancashire?

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7494552.stm

First hurricane of the season

Bertha Builds Into 1st Atlantic Hurricane



Some nice links on this website including ones which allow you to track all storms of 2008 season.

You might also like to check out this website which has lots of detailed information and relevant maps of sea temperatures etc for tropical storms.

Click here for another good website for tracking storms.

What does Global Warming look like?

Series of before/after photos showing effects of global warming on number of American cities
here

Regeneration of wetlands

Large areas of wetlands must be created over the next 50 years to safeguard wildlife, counteract climate change and reduce flooding, say conservationists. Read the whole article on BBC news website

Further details can also be found on Wetland Vision Partnership website

India unveils climate change plan

The Indian government has unveiled a national action plan to confront the threat posed by climate change.


The Prime minister said the plan envisaged a gradual shift to greater reliance on sustainable sources of energy. The development of India's capacity to tap solar power would be central to the strategy.

The action plan makes no commitment to cut India's carbon emissions.
India's government says that it must strive to lift much of the country's population out of poverty. It argues that its carbon emissions per head of population are only a fraction of those of rich countries.

Read the full report from the BBC news website here