Climate Change

"Ice fields in southern South America are rapidly losing volume and in most cases thinning at even the highest elevations, contributing to sea-level rise at 'substantially higher' rates than observed from the 1970s through the 1990s, according to a study published Wednesday."

"More than 20,000 high-temperature records have been broken so far this year in the United States. And the heat is especially bad in cities, which are heating up about twice as fast as the rest of the planet."

"With the worst drought in half a century withering corn across the Midwest, agricultural experts on Tuesday urged international action to prevent the global spike in food prices from causing global hunger."

Science is at the heart of some key policy issues dividing Republicans and Democrats. Presidential candidates Obama and Romney may never square off in person on TV over scientific issues like climate. But through "Science Debate 2012," they are addressing them in writing online. Is that good enough?

"Climate change may be the subject of debate in some places but in South Florida it’s become a costly reality."

"In Miami Beach, where prolonged flooding in low-lying neighborhoods has become the norm after heavy storms, city leaders are weighing a $206 million overhaul of an antiquated drainage system increasingly compromised by rising sea level.

"Labor Day is summer’s last hurrah, and families from across the country will be flocking to the beach this weekend to soak in some final rays. Beachgoers on the East Coast making their way to Cape Cod or one of six other National Seashores, however, might want to pause and take an extra look around at the wind-tossed dunes and sloping sands. Not just because summer is coming to an end, but because these areas are some of the most susceptible to the effects of climate change and may look very different, very soon."

"Over the past four years, the Republican Party has undergone a fairly dramatic shift in its approach to energy and environmental issues. Global warming has disappeared entirely from the party’s list of concerns. Clean energy has become an afterthought. Fossil fuels loom larger than ever. And one way to see this shift clearly is to compare the party’s 2008 and 2012 platforms."

"A vast reservoir of the potent greenhouse gas methane may be locked beneath the Antarctic ice sheet, a study suggests. Scientists say the gas could be released into the atmosphere if enough of the ice melts away, adding to global warming."

"ERDOS, China -- Shenhua Group Corp., one of China's coal giants, has built much of its success at the cost of climate change. Every year, the company digs hundreds of million of tons of coal out of the ground and sells this carbon-intensive energy source throughout China."