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Seas turn to acid as they soak up CO2
Robin McKie, The Guardian
The Bay of Naples is renowned for its breathtaking beauty and glittering clear waters. For centuries, tourists have flocked to the region to experience its glories.

But beneath the waves, scientists have uncovered an alarming secret. They have found streams of gas bubbling up from the seabed around the island of Ischia. 'The waters are like a Jacuzzi - there is so much carbon dioxide fizzing up from the seabed,' said Dr Jason Hall-Spencer, of Plymouth University. 'Millions of litres of gas bubble up every day.'

The gas streams have turned Ischia's waters into acid, and this has had a major impact on sea life and aquatic plants. Now marine biologists fear that the world's seas could follow suit...
(5 October 2008)

Climate change and energy policies lack cohesion, says Oxfam report
John Vidal, The Guardian
Ed Miliband will be greeted today on his first full day of work as the new secretary of state for energy and climate change with a 100-page Oxfam report showing how disjointed the government has become in tackling these two most pressing environmental problems.

The Oxfam Forecast report highlights how the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (DBRR) and the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) have been contradictory in their policies.

It likens the different interests of companies, government departments and public attitudes as a "gathering storm", which must be resolved if UK climate policy is to secure a low-carbon future.

"Too often it has been a case of the left hand having no idea what the right hand is up to, and this [new department] must now bring a much-needed cohesiveness to government policies.

With global climate and energy security at stake, the government must now demonstrate powerful leadership," said Barbara Stocking, head of Oxfam...
(6 October 2008)

One in four mammals risks extinction
Alister Doyle, Reuters
A quarter of the world's mammals are threatened with extinction, an international survey showed on Monday, and the destruction of habitats and hunting are the major causes.

The report, the most comprehensive to date by 1,700 researchers, showed populations of half of all 5,487 species of mammals were in decline. Mammals range in size from blue whales to Thailand's insect-sized bumblebee bat.

"Mammals are declining faster than we thought -- one in four species is threatened with extinction worldwide," Jan Schipper, who led the team, told Reuters of the report issued in Barcelona as part of a "Red List" of threatened species.
(6 October 2008)
Related: Survey Finds 'Bleak Picture' for World's Mammals (Washington Post)

Meltdown: A global warming travelogue
Gary Braasch, CNN

Since 1999, Gary Braasch has traveled the world to see where and how climate change has affected people.

Braasch says photos best illustrate what is already happening, but can lead the discussion on where we are going. He quotes a Chinese proverb: "If we don't change direction, we'll end up where we're going."

Braasch recently spoke to CNN.com about his photos which appear in David Elliot Cohen's latest book, What Matters.

[Audio and slideshow with striking photos at original.]

Gary Braasch is a recipient of the Ansel Adams Award for Conservation Photography and a fellow of the International League of Conservation Photographers. He has documented the visible effects of global warming since 1998. His photographs have been published by the United Nations and have appeared in Time, Discover, Audubon, Smithsonian, Scientific American, Nature, National Geographic and other publications. Braasch's fourth book, "Earth under Fire: How Global Warming Is Changing the World," was published in 2007.
(6 October 2008)