How to Restore World's Trust in US

Obama urges a tougher stance on Iran, N. Korea nuclear programs

(NEWSER) - World leaders gathered in L’Aquila, Italy, today for the G8 summit. Highlights from the day's meetings:

• A forum organized by President Obama for the world’s 17 biggest polluters failed to approve a proposal to cut global emissions by 50% by 2050, the New York Times reports. The group did agree to set a goal of preventing global temperatures from rising more than 2 degrees Celsius.

Carbon dioxide emissions take biggest jump on record

(NEWSER) - Carbon dioxide, methane, and other greenhouse gases continued to build in the atmosphere last year, a federal report finds: Between 2009 and 2010, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s yearly index of greenhouse gases—which measures said gases' combined heating effect—jumped 1.5%, to 1.29. It has climbed 29% since 1990, the Los Angeles Times reports. That number isn't the equivalent to a change in our temperature in degrees, but as it rises, so too does our warming potential, says a NOAA director. More»

Farmers already hit by hurricanes, new rainfall patterns

(NEWSER) - Melting ice caps, unpredictable weather, and ... no more coffee? Starbucks says climate change could put your morning joe in jeopardy. Global warming creates "a potentially significant risk to our supply chain, which is the Arabica coffee bean," the company's sustainability director tells the Guardian . Coffee farmers are already grappling with devastating hurricanes, shifting rain patterns, and more intense bug threats, which Jim Hanna says are associated with the changing climate. More»

Multimedia presentation will cross 24 time zones

(NEWSER) - For those who just can't get enough Al Gore, this might be overkill even for you: The former vice president will attempt to take over the globe this week, by way of a 24-hour worldwide multimedia presentation aimed at winning over climate-change skeptics. "24 Hours of Reality" will have an emphasis on the link between climate change and "cataclysmic" weather, and will come to life as a presentation by Gore that will air every hour for 24 hours through 24 time zones this Wednesday to Thursday, Reuters reports. More»

High stakes demand high seriousness, not 'cynical careerism': Krugman

(NEWSER) - Climate change deniers aren’t just flouting scientific evidence—they’re flouting morals, writes Paul Krugman in the New York Times . Case in point: Last week, Republicans invited a pair of scientists to testify at a Congressional hearing on climate science. When Berkeley’s Richard Muller, a climate change skeptic, “went off script,” saying his findings supported the global warming hypothesis, the climate-denialist establishment threw him under the bus. More»