Tag Archives: united nations

Scientists Discover a Climate Change Warning Deep Under The Dead Sea

*University of Minnesota professor is part of international team that predicts the volatile region’s water may once again vanish*

MINNEAPOLIS / ST. PAUL — An international team of scientists drilling deep under the bed of the Dead Sea has found evidence that the sea may have dried up during a past warm period similar to predicted scenarios for climate change in coming decades. Emi Ito, professor of earth sciences in the University of Minnesota’s College of Science and Engineering, is a research team member. (more…)

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There Are No Clear Lines When It Comes To Homeland Security, Says Napolitano

Protecting the nation from terrorism, breaches in cyber security and other threats inside its borders is such a massive undertaking it is “not easy to draw red lines” that can chart individual or departmental responsibilities, Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano said during a campus visit on Oct. 6.

In a talk hosted by the Jackson Institute of Global Affairs, Napolitano used the example of the so-called “Underwear Bomber” — a suspected terrorist who attempted to blow up (using explosives hidden in his underwear) a Northwest Airlines flight between Amsterdam and Detroit on Christmas Day 2009 — to illustrate the partnerships that are required to ensure the nation’s safety. Her talk in the Law School’s Levinson Auditorium highlighted the importance of international partnerships in that mission. (more…)

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Evaluation of Climate Policy Rocketing But in an Undeveloped and Unsystematic Way

*New research led by the University of East Anglia and the VU University Amsterdam shines new light on the little studied but politically vital practices of climate policy evaluation in Europe.*

Published in the international journal Policy Sciences, a meta-analysis by a team of researchers from across Europe offers the very first systematic cataloging of the emerging patterns of policy evaluation undertaken in different parts of the European Union.

In the last decade or so the politics surrounding the development of new policies has attracted unprecedented attention. Many new targets and policies have been adopted. But a lot less is known about what is being done to check that the resulting policies are actually delivering on their promises. (more…)

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Carnegie Airborne Observatory: Mapping Video

Some 55% of tropical forests are negatively affected by land use practices and deforestation worldwide. But the ability to penetrate the canopy to see what’s going on has been lacking until now.

Global Ecology’s Greg Asner’s group has developed new airborne methods to peer through the canopy to measure and map, in beautiful 3-D, the underlying vegetation, degradation and deforestation, and the amount of carbon stored and emitted in these forests. (more…)

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Population Change: Another Influence on Climate Change

*Changes in population, including aging and urbanization, could affect global carbon dioxide emissions*

Changes in the human population, including aging and urbanization, could significantly affect global emissions of carbon dioxide over the next 40 years, according to research results published this week. (more…)

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