UNITED NATIONS (AP) - The number of people fleeing their homes and becoming refugees or displaced in their own countries will increase in the next 10 years as a result of a host of intertwined causes ranging from conflict and climate change to population growth and food shortages, according to a report Thursday by the U.N. refugee agency.
'The State of the World's Refugees,' covering the period 2006-2011, said a key change and dominant challenge is the increasing number of internally displaced people - some 26 million globally compared to around 15-16 million refugees who have crossed borders to another country and a further one million asylum seekers.
It said helping the internally displaced is becoming more costly and dangerous, citing Somalia, Afghanistan, Yemen and Iraq where access is difficult and conflict or criminality can present deadly risk.
'Global forced displacement reached a 16-year high in 2011 and has become more complex than ever before,' U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon wrote in a preface to the report. 'Today, conflict and human rights abuses - the traditional drivers of displacement - are increasingly intertwined with and compounded by other factors such as population pressure, food insecurity and water scarcity.'
Ban said many of these factors are related 'to the relentless advance of climate change.' In addition, he said, 'growing numbers of people are being uprooted by natural disasters.'
The 266-page report said experts predict that natural disasters, which are already displacing millions of people, will increase in number and intensity. And it said climate change is likely to increase conflict over scarce resources which could lead to an increase in internal displacement and refugees.
'Global trends suggest that displacement will not only continue in the future but will take different forms,' the report said, citing predictions that global population will increase from 7 billion today to over 10 billion by 2100, with most of the increase in Africa and Asia where increased poverty is likely to squeeze resources and send young people from rural areas to cities.
At a news conference launching the report, U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees Antonio Guterres said 'a multiplication of new crises ... led to the fact that last year, we had the highest number of new refugees in the last decade.'
He said he expects this trend to continue because 'the number of crises emerging in 2012 is exactly the same as last year.
At the moment, Guterres said, there are three acute crises - Syria, Sudan-South Sudan and Mali - as well as the recent flight of Congolese to neighboring Rwanda and Uganda.
Guterres said 70 percent of refugees his agency deals with have been refugees for more than five years 'and it's becoming more and more difficult to find solutions for them.' It's also becoming more difficult to reach out to them and support them, he said.
Eighty percent of refugees live in the developing world - including 1.7 million Afghans in Pakistan, 1 million Afghans in Iran, and more than 600,000 refugees in Kenya - and he urged donors and industrialized nations to step up support and offers of resettlement.
Although the U.N. is legally required to help refugees fleeing conflict or persecution, it has no mandate to assist people displaced in their own country, known as IDPs.
But Guterres said his agency has increasingly assisted IDPs and tried to help the 12 million stateless people.
He said an international debate has started on how to deal with the growing number of people forced to move because of issues such as climate change and population growth who have no legal protection.
'Global displacement is an inherently international problem,' Guterres said, 'and as such needs international solutions - and by this I mainly mean political solutions.'
This news article is brought to you by SMALL HOUSE PLANS - where latest news are our top priority.
Thursday, May 31, 2012
Clinton to assert U.S. claim in scramble for Arctic
OSLO (Reuters) - Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will assert U.S. interest in the Arctic, where the prospects for abundant oil, gas and new trade routes has been likened to a modern-day gold rush, when she visits the region on Saturday.
As the sea ice recedes with climate change, huge oil and gas fields are adding vast amounts to global reserves, while sea passages are opening for longer periods each year and cutting thousands of miles off trade routes between Europe and Asia.
Clinton will visit Tromsoe, a Norwegian town in the Arctic Circle, as part of an 8-day trip to Scandinavia, the Caucasus and Turkey.
She follows a host of high-profile international visitors as the region enjoys unprecedented political and economic power.
Norway has moved its military operational headquarters into the Arctic Circle, China has development plans for Iceland and countries, including Russia, are laying claim to exploration rights in the once pristine Barents Sea.
European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton visited the remote Svalbard archipelago this year and a regional summit of Nordic leaders takes place in June.
But while the resources are there, the rules and infrastructure are just emerging.
'A lot of people perceived this as a modern-day gold rush into a no-man's land,' Jan-Gunnar Winther, director of the Norwegian Polar Institute in Tromsoe said. 'The interest is not just from the traditional polar countries but China, Korea and Japan are also coming to the table.
'It has taken a lot of work to create an understanding that this isn't the Wild West and it's actually government by law,' Winther said.
A senior Oslo-based diplomat said of Clinton: 'Her aim is to emphasize that the U.S. is keeping its eye on the Arctic and remains very keen. Big firms are investing big money and she wants to say 'I can do more than one thing at a time, the world is not just Pakistan, Afghanistan and Iraq'.'
Testifying earlier in May before the U.S. Senate, Clinton said that as the Arctic warmed: 'It is more important that we put our navigational rights on a treaty footing and have a larger voice in the interpretation and development of the rules. You will see China, India, Brazil, you-name-it - all vying for navigational rights and routes through the Arctic.'
One of the biggest reasons for the interest is energy.
'It's all about oil and gas. It's just a hot issue, it's almost a cliché already,' Aileen Aseron Espiritu, director of the Barents Institute at the University of Tromsoe, said.
'Even Russia, the largest provider of oil and gas to Europe is keen to accelerate gas production from its offshore gas fields as soon as possible, or as soon as economically viable.'
The U.S. Geological Survey estimates that the Arctic holds about 13 percent of the world's undiscovered conventional oil and 30 percent of its undiscovered natural gas resources.
OIL BOUNTY
Development costs in the area could be twice as high as in the case of conventional onshore resources but that is not stopping some of the sector's top players.
'All the major powers are positioning themselves for this development,' said Ole Arve Misund, director of the University Centre in Svalbard. 'The resource has become more available and prospects have already been opened in Norway, Russia, Canada, the U.S. and Greenland.'
ExxonMobil is working with Rosneft to develop blocks in the Kara Sea, off Siberia, despite sea ice for up to 300 days a year.
Gazprom is also working with Total and Norway's Statoil on the 4-trillion-cubic-metre Shtokman gas field 550 km offshore. Statoil has also established a strong Arctic record with its Skrugard and Havis finds, holding up to 600 million barrels of oil.
But the rush for oil and gas has brought condemnation from environment campaigners and those who say the rights of local people risk being trampled.
Only about 4 million people live in Arctic areas, leaving local interest groups weak and creating a high risk of uncontrolled development, a major challenge for the Arctic Council, the forum of the eight polar nations.
'The climate is changing very fast and the ecosystem is extremely fragile,' Misund in Svalbard said.
The Arctic ice cap shrunk to 4.33 million sq km last summer, one of the lowest levels on record, and 2.38 million sq km below the average of 1979-2000, the National Snow and Ice Data Centre reported, opening the northern shipping route between Europe and Asia.
Only a few ships actually took advantage of the opening, which could save 7,000 km and 14 days on a journey between Rotterdam and Korea, as the route's availability is unpredictable and it lacks the necessary infrastructure, like safe harbors and navigation equipment.
But the sea ice will continue to recede and the Arctic could be nearly ice free in summers within 30 to 40 years, the Oslo-based Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Program said.
The promise of economic bounty has actually fostered some cooperation, experts said.
Russia and Norway settled a decades-long border dispute last year, allowing both to start exploring.
And while problems have continued to simmer, such as a fishing dispute with Iceland, experts say Norway's 'High North, low tensions' approach may be working.
'There is no reason to believe that conflicts, small or large, would lead to heightened tensions or war,' Espiritu said.
(Added reporting by Arshad Mohammed; Editing by Alistair Scrutton and Janet Lawrence)
This news article is brought to you by RELATIONSHIPS - where latest news are our top priority.
As the sea ice recedes with climate change, huge oil and gas fields are adding vast amounts to global reserves, while sea passages are opening for longer periods each year and cutting thousands of miles off trade routes between Europe and Asia.
Clinton will visit Tromsoe, a Norwegian town in the Arctic Circle, as part of an 8-day trip to Scandinavia, the Caucasus and Turkey.
She follows a host of high-profile international visitors as the region enjoys unprecedented political and economic power.
Norway has moved its military operational headquarters into the Arctic Circle, China has development plans for Iceland and countries, including Russia, are laying claim to exploration rights in the once pristine Barents Sea.
European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton visited the remote Svalbard archipelago this year and a regional summit of Nordic leaders takes place in June.
But while the resources are there, the rules and infrastructure are just emerging.
'A lot of people perceived this as a modern-day gold rush into a no-man's land,' Jan-Gunnar Winther, director of the Norwegian Polar Institute in Tromsoe said. 'The interest is not just from the traditional polar countries but China, Korea and Japan are also coming to the table.
'It has taken a lot of work to create an understanding that this isn't the Wild West and it's actually government by law,' Winther said.
A senior Oslo-based diplomat said of Clinton: 'Her aim is to emphasize that the U.S. is keeping its eye on the Arctic and remains very keen. Big firms are investing big money and she wants to say 'I can do more than one thing at a time, the world is not just Pakistan, Afghanistan and Iraq'.'
Testifying earlier in May before the U.S. Senate, Clinton said that as the Arctic warmed: 'It is more important that we put our navigational rights on a treaty footing and have a larger voice in the interpretation and development of the rules. You will see China, India, Brazil, you-name-it - all vying for navigational rights and routes through the Arctic.'
One of the biggest reasons for the interest is energy.
'It's all about oil and gas. It's just a hot issue, it's almost a cliché already,' Aileen Aseron Espiritu, director of the Barents Institute at the University of Tromsoe, said.
'Even Russia, the largest provider of oil and gas to Europe is keen to accelerate gas production from its offshore gas fields as soon as possible, or as soon as economically viable.'
The U.S. Geological Survey estimates that the Arctic holds about 13 percent of the world's undiscovered conventional oil and 30 percent of its undiscovered natural gas resources.
OIL BOUNTY
Development costs in the area could be twice as high as in the case of conventional onshore resources but that is not stopping some of the sector's top players.
'All the major powers are positioning themselves for this development,' said Ole Arve Misund, director of the University Centre in Svalbard. 'The resource has become more available and prospects have already been opened in Norway, Russia, Canada, the U.S. and Greenland.'
ExxonMobil is working with Rosneft to develop blocks in the Kara Sea, off Siberia, despite sea ice for up to 300 days a year.
Gazprom is also working with Total and Norway's Statoil on the 4-trillion-cubic-metre Shtokman gas field 550 km offshore. Statoil has also established a strong Arctic record with its Skrugard and Havis finds, holding up to 600 million barrels of oil.
But the rush for oil and gas has brought condemnation from environment campaigners and those who say the rights of local people risk being trampled.
Only about 4 million people live in Arctic areas, leaving local interest groups weak and creating a high risk of uncontrolled development, a major challenge for the Arctic Council, the forum of the eight polar nations.
'The climate is changing very fast and the ecosystem is extremely fragile,' Misund in Svalbard said.
The Arctic ice cap shrunk to 4.33 million sq km last summer, one of the lowest levels on record, and 2.38 million sq km below the average of 1979-2000, the National Snow and Ice Data Centre reported, opening the northern shipping route between Europe and Asia.
Only a few ships actually took advantage of the opening, which could save 7,000 km and 14 days on a journey between Rotterdam and Korea, as the route's availability is unpredictable and it lacks the necessary infrastructure, like safe harbors and navigation equipment.
But the sea ice will continue to recede and the Arctic could be nearly ice free in summers within 30 to 40 years, the Oslo-based Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Program said.
The promise of economic bounty has actually fostered some cooperation, experts said.
Russia and Norway settled a decades-long border dispute last year, allowing both to start exploring.
And while problems have continued to simmer, such as a fishing dispute with Iceland, experts say Norway's 'High North, low tensions' approach may be working.
'There is no reason to believe that conflicts, small or large, would lead to heightened tensions or war,' Espiritu said.
(Added reporting by Arshad Mohammed; Editing by Alistair Scrutton and Janet Lawrence)
This news article is brought to you by RELATIONSHIPS - where latest news are our top priority.
Wednesday, May 30, 2012
Warming gas levels hit 'troubling milestone'
WASHINGTON (AP) - The world's air has reached what scientists call a troubling new milestone for carbon dioxide, the main global warming pollutant.
Monitoring stations across the Arctic this spring are measuring more than 400 parts per million of the heat-trapping gas in the atmosphere. The number isn't quite a surprise, because it's been rising at an accelerating pace. Years ago, it passed the 350 ppm mark that many scientists say is the highest safe level for carbon dioxide. It now stands globally at 395.
So far, only the Arctic has reached that 400 level, but the rest of the world will follow soon.
'The fact that it's 400 is significant,' said Jim Butler, global monitoring director at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Earth System Research Lab in Boulder, Colo. 'It's just a reminder to everybody that we haven't fixed this and we're still in trouble.'
Carbon dioxide is the chief greenhouse gas and stays in the atmosphere for 100 years. Some carbon dioxide is natural, mainly from decomposing dead plants and animals. Before the Industrial Age, levels were around 275 parts per million.
For more than 60 years, readings have been in the 300s, except in urban areas, where levels are skewed. The burning of fossil fuels, such as coal for electricity and oil for gasoline, has caused the overwhelming bulk of the man-made increase in carbon in the air, scientists say.
It's been at least 800,000 years - probably more - since Earth saw carbon dioxide levels in the 400s, Butler and other climate scientists said.
Until now.
Readings are coming in at 400 and higher all over the Arctic. They've been recorded in Alaska, Greenland, Norway, Iceland and even Mongolia. But levels change with the seasons and will drop a bit in the summer, when plants suck up carbon dioxide, NOAA scientists said.
So the yearly average for those northern stations likely will be lower and so will the global number.
Globally, the average carbon dioxide level is about 395 parts per million but will pass the 400 mark within a few years, scientists said.
The Arctic is the leading indicator in global warming, both in carbon dioxide in the air and effects, said Pieter Tans, a senior NOAA scientist.
'This is the first time the entire Arctic is that high,' he said.
Tans called reaching the 400 number 'depressing,' and Butler said it was 'a troubling milestone.'
'It's an important threshold,' said Carnegie Institution ecologist Chris Field, a scientist who helps lead the Nobel Prize-winning Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. 'It is an indication that we're in a different world.'
Ronald Prinn, an atmospheric sciences professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, said 400 is more a psychological milestone than a scientific one. We think in hundreds, and 'we're poking our heads above 400,' he said.
Tans said the readings show how much the Earth's atmosphere and its climate are being affected by humans. Global carbon dioxide emissions from fossil fuels hit a record high of 34.8 billion tons in 2011, up 3.2 percent, the International Energy Agency announced last week.
The agency said it's becoming unlikely that the world can achieve the European goal of limiting global warming to just 2 degrees based on increasing pollution and greenhouse gas levels.
'The news today, that some stations have measured concentrations above 400 ppm in the atmosphere, is further evidence that the world's political leaders - with a few honorable exceptions - are failing catastrophically to address the climate crisis,' former Vice President Al Gore, the highest-profile campaigner against global warming, said in an email. 'History will not understand or forgive them.'
But political dynamics in the United States mean there's no possibility of significant restrictions on man-made greenhouse gases no matter what the levels are in the air, said Jerry Taylor, a senior fellow of the libertarian Cato Institute.
'These milestones are always worth noting,' said economist Myron Ebell at the conservative Competitive Enterprise Institute. 'As carbon dioxide levels have continued to increase, global temperatures flattened out, contrary to the models' used by climate scientists and the United Nations.
He contends temperatures have not risen since 1998, which was unusually hot.
Temperature records contradict that claim. Both 2005 and 2010 were warmer than 1998, and the entire decade of 2000 to 2009 was the warmest on record, according to NOAA.
___
Online:
NOAA's global monitoring lab: http://esrl.noaa.gov/gmd/
___
Seth Borenstein can be followed at http://twitter.com/borenbears
This news article is brought to you by INSECTS - where latest news are our top priority.
Monitoring stations across the Arctic this spring are measuring more than 400 parts per million of the heat-trapping gas in the atmosphere. The number isn't quite a surprise, because it's been rising at an accelerating pace. Years ago, it passed the 350 ppm mark that many scientists say is the highest safe level for carbon dioxide. It now stands globally at 395.
So far, only the Arctic has reached that 400 level, but the rest of the world will follow soon.
'The fact that it's 400 is significant,' said Jim Butler, global monitoring director at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Earth System Research Lab in Boulder, Colo. 'It's just a reminder to everybody that we haven't fixed this and we're still in trouble.'
Carbon dioxide is the chief greenhouse gas and stays in the atmosphere for 100 years. Some carbon dioxide is natural, mainly from decomposing dead plants and animals. Before the Industrial Age, levels were around 275 parts per million.
For more than 60 years, readings have been in the 300s, except in urban areas, where levels are skewed. The burning of fossil fuels, such as coal for electricity and oil for gasoline, has caused the overwhelming bulk of the man-made increase in carbon in the air, scientists say.
It's been at least 800,000 years - probably more - since Earth saw carbon dioxide levels in the 400s, Butler and other climate scientists said.
Until now.
Readings are coming in at 400 and higher all over the Arctic. They've been recorded in Alaska, Greenland, Norway, Iceland and even Mongolia. But levels change with the seasons and will drop a bit in the summer, when plants suck up carbon dioxide, NOAA scientists said.
So the yearly average for those northern stations likely will be lower and so will the global number.
Globally, the average carbon dioxide level is about 395 parts per million but will pass the 400 mark within a few years, scientists said.
The Arctic is the leading indicator in global warming, both in carbon dioxide in the air and effects, said Pieter Tans, a senior NOAA scientist.
'This is the first time the entire Arctic is that high,' he said.
Tans called reaching the 400 number 'depressing,' and Butler said it was 'a troubling milestone.'
'It's an important threshold,' said Carnegie Institution ecologist Chris Field, a scientist who helps lead the Nobel Prize-winning Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. 'It is an indication that we're in a different world.'
Ronald Prinn, an atmospheric sciences professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, said 400 is more a psychological milestone than a scientific one. We think in hundreds, and 'we're poking our heads above 400,' he said.
Tans said the readings show how much the Earth's atmosphere and its climate are being affected by humans. Global carbon dioxide emissions from fossil fuels hit a record high of 34.8 billion tons in 2011, up 3.2 percent, the International Energy Agency announced last week.
The agency said it's becoming unlikely that the world can achieve the European goal of limiting global warming to just 2 degrees based on increasing pollution and greenhouse gas levels.
'The news today, that some stations have measured concentrations above 400 ppm in the atmosphere, is further evidence that the world's political leaders - with a few honorable exceptions - are failing catastrophically to address the climate crisis,' former Vice President Al Gore, the highest-profile campaigner against global warming, said in an email. 'History will not understand or forgive them.'
But political dynamics in the United States mean there's no possibility of significant restrictions on man-made greenhouse gases no matter what the levels are in the air, said Jerry Taylor, a senior fellow of the libertarian Cato Institute.
'These milestones are always worth noting,' said economist Myron Ebell at the conservative Competitive Enterprise Institute. 'As carbon dioxide levels have continued to increase, global temperatures flattened out, contrary to the models' used by climate scientists and the United Nations.
He contends temperatures have not risen since 1998, which was unusually hot.
Temperature records contradict that claim. Both 2005 and 2010 were warmer than 1998, and the entire decade of 2000 to 2009 was the warmest on record, according to NOAA.
___
Online:
NOAA's global monitoring lab: http://esrl.noaa.gov/gmd/
___
Seth Borenstein can be followed at http://twitter.com/borenbears
This news article is brought to you by INSECTS - where latest news are our top priority.
Severe Storms and Cooler Weather in Forecast for North Texas
='en' xmlns:fb='http://www.facebook.com/2008/fbml' xmlns:addthis='http://www.addthis.com/help/api-spec' > Severe Storms and Cooler Weather in Forecast for North Texas « CBS Dallas / Fort Worth
This article is brought to you by FREE DAILY HOROSCOPE.
This article is brought to you by FREE DAILY HOROSCOPE.
Sun-powered plane waits for better weather to continue trip
The Swiss sun-powered aircraft Solar Impulse is waiting for weather conditions to improve before continuing on its first transcontinental flight, organisers said Wednesday.
The experimental plane, which is not designed to fly into clouds, landed in Madrid on Friday from its home base in Payerne in Switzerland at the end of the first leg of its attempt to reach Morocco without using a drop of fuel.
After technical checks and a pilot change it was hoped Solar Impulse would leave for Rabat on Monday but its departure was put off due to strong winds.
'At present, we are waiting for a good weather forecast window on the Madrid-Rabat leg. For sure we know that it won't be until Monday,' project spokeswoman Charlotte Pichon told AFP.
If successful the 2,500-kilometre (1,550-mile) journey will be the longest to date for the aircraft after a flight to Paris and Brussels last year and it will mark the first time that the plane has left Europe.
The trip is intended as a rehearsal in the run-up to the plane's round-the-world flight planned for 2014.
The high-tech aircraft, which has the wingspan of a large airliner but weighs no more than a saloon car, is fitted with 12,000 solar cells feeding four electric motors driving propellors.
This article is brought to you by DAILY HOROSCOPE.
The experimental plane, which is not designed to fly into clouds, landed in Madrid on Friday from its home base in Payerne in Switzerland at the end of the first leg of its attempt to reach Morocco without using a drop of fuel.
After technical checks and a pilot change it was hoped Solar Impulse would leave for Rabat on Monday but its departure was put off due to strong winds.
'At present, we are waiting for a good weather forecast window on the Madrid-Rabat leg. For sure we know that it won't be until Monday,' project spokeswoman Charlotte Pichon told AFP.
If successful the 2,500-kilometre (1,550-mile) journey will be the longest to date for the aircraft after a flight to Paris and Brussels last year and it will mark the first time that the plane has left Europe.
The trip is intended as a rehearsal in the run-up to the plane's round-the-world flight planned for 2014.
The high-tech aircraft, which has the wingspan of a large airliner but weighs no more than a saloon car, is fitted with 12,000 solar cells feeding four electric motors driving propellors.
This article is brought to you by DAILY HOROSCOPE.
Global carbon market value rises to record $176 billion
COLOGNE, Germany (Reuters) - Carbon market trading rose 11 percent to a record value of $176 billion in 2011 as an increase in secondary trading volumes offset lower prices and slowing economies, the World Bank said on Wednesday.
Companies and governments are turning to emissions trading as a tool for fighting climate change, with the European Union by far the most active since its cap-and-trade scheme began in 2005.
A record number of emissions products were traded in 2011, even though prices of EU carbon permits and international offsets plumbed new depths well below $10 a tonne late in the year, the bank said in its annual report on carbon markets.
Worldwide emissions trading last year rose 17 percent in volume to 10.3 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent, with permits in the EU Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) accounting for more than three quarters of the total.
The rise in volume lifted the value of the EU market to $148 billion from a revised $134 billion in 2010, even though average EU carbon prices fell 4 percent year on year to $18.80 a tonne.
Carbon markets were not immune to recent global economic volatility from the Arab Spring, Japan's Fukushima nuclear disaster and the euro zone debt crisis, the World Bank report said.
'A considerable portion of the trades is primarily motivated by hedging, portfolio adjustments, profit-taking and arbitrage,' it said.
But if carbon prices continue to remain below $10 a tonne, there will be little incentive for companies and governments to invest in low-carbon projects, a bank official said.
'There is a question over whether (prices) are high enough to support new projects coming in,' Alexandre Kossoy, senior financial specialist with the World Bank's Carbon Finance Unit, told reporters in an industry conference.
He said carbon prices could rise if the EU agreed to toughen its 2020 emissions-reduction ambitions or took other policy measures to rebalance a massive oversupply of carbon units, which is likely to last until 2020.
But front-year EU carbon prices are averaging under $10 a tonne so far this year as the bloc's sluggish economy dampens demand for carbon permits in a market that analysts say has accumulated a surplus near the equivalent of 1 billion tonnes.
'We are in a very difficult situation where we don't have any positive price signal coming from the international community,' said Pedro Moura Costa, executive president of Rio de Janeiro's environmental commodity exchange, BVRio.
Other national and regional carbon schemes showed mixed results. New Zealand's carbon market value tripled to $351 million, while the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative in North America nearly halved to $249 million, the bank said.
INTERNATIONAL OFFSETS
Secondary trading volumes for international offsets regulated by the United Nations also soared in 2011, rising 43 percent year on year to 1.8 billion units valued at $23 billion.
The main reason for this was a rise in demand for U.N.-backed emissions offsets, because a certain number of the credits can be used for compliance in markets such as the EU ETS.
Average offset prices, which trade at a discount to EU carbon prices, fell 21 percent year on year to $12.80 a tonne as a record number of credits were issued last year.
The Clean Development Mechanism (CDM), which paves the way for investments in emission-reduction projects in developing nations, is the biggest offset market. It accounted for over 95 percent of total spot and secondary emissions offset trading.
Direct pre-2013 CDM project-based transactions declined to under $1 billion in 2011 from $1.5 billion in the previous year as its 2008-2012 commitment period draws to an end.
Primary investment in post-2012 CDM offsets, however, rose to nearly $2 billion in 2011 from $1.2 billion, despite depressed prices and uncertainty about the future of the Kyoto Protocol and its market mechanisms such as the CDM.
U.N. climate talks in South Africa last year reached agreement on a package of measures that would extend Kyoto, a global pact enforcing carbon cuts, and decide on a new, legally binding accord by 2015, coming into force by 2020.
The World Bank suggested recent and emerging cap-and-trade schemes in Australia, California, Mexico, South Korea and Quebec could contribute to future growth in overall carbon trading.
Primary project-based transactions in the voluntary offset market were valued at $569 million in 2011, up 37 percent, the bank said. ($1 = 0.7977 euros)
(Editing by Jason Neely and Jane Baird)
This news article is brought to you by ASTHMA - where latest news are our top priority.
Companies and governments are turning to emissions trading as a tool for fighting climate change, with the European Union by far the most active since its cap-and-trade scheme began in 2005.
A record number of emissions products were traded in 2011, even though prices of EU carbon permits and international offsets plumbed new depths well below $10 a tonne late in the year, the bank said in its annual report on carbon markets.
Worldwide emissions trading last year rose 17 percent in volume to 10.3 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent, with permits in the EU Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) accounting for more than three quarters of the total.
The rise in volume lifted the value of the EU market to $148 billion from a revised $134 billion in 2010, even though average EU carbon prices fell 4 percent year on year to $18.80 a tonne.
Carbon markets were not immune to recent global economic volatility from the Arab Spring, Japan's Fukushima nuclear disaster and the euro zone debt crisis, the World Bank report said.
'A considerable portion of the trades is primarily motivated by hedging, portfolio adjustments, profit-taking and arbitrage,' it said.
But if carbon prices continue to remain below $10 a tonne, there will be little incentive for companies and governments to invest in low-carbon projects, a bank official said.
'There is a question over whether (prices) are high enough to support new projects coming in,' Alexandre Kossoy, senior financial specialist with the World Bank's Carbon Finance Unit, told reporters in an industry conference.
He said carbon prices could rise if the EU agreed to toughen its 2020 emissions-reduction ambitions or took other policy measures to rebalance a massive oversupply of carbon units, which is likely to last until 2020.
But front-year EU carbon prices are averaging under $10 a tonne so far this year as the bloc's sluggish economy dampens demand for carbon permits in a market that analysts say has accumulated a surplus near the equivalent of 1 billion tonnes.
'We are in a very difficult situation where we don't have any positive price signal coming from the international community,' said Pedro Moura Costa, executive president of Rio de Janeiro's environmental commodity exchange, BVRio.
Other national and regional carbon schemes showed mixed results. New Zealand's carbon market value tripled to $351 million, while the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative in North America nearly halved to $249 million, the bank said.
INTERNATIONAL OFFSETS
Secondary trading volumes for international offsets regulated by the United Nations also soared in 2011, rising 43 percent year on year to 1.8 billion units valued at $23 billion.
The main reason for this was a rise in demand for U.N.-backed emissions offsets, because a certain number of the credits can be used for compliance in markets such as the EU ETS.
Average offset prices, which trade at a discount to EU carbon prices, fell 21 percent year on year to $12.80 a tonne as a record number of credits were issued last year.
The Clean Development Mechanism (CDM), which paves the way for investments in emission-reduction projects in developing nations, is the biggest offset market. It accounted for over 95 percent of total spot and secondary emissions offset trading.
Direct pre-2013 CDM project-based transactions declined to under $1 billion in 2011 from $1.5 billion in the previous year as its 2008-2012 commitment period draws to an end.
Primary investment in post-2012 CDM offsets, however, rose to nearly $2 billion in 2011 from $1.2 billion, despite depressed prices and uncertainty about the future of the Kyoto Protocol and its market mechanisms such as the CDM.
U.N. climate talks in South Africa last year reached agreement on a package of measures that would extend Kyoto, a global pact enforcing carbon cuts, and decide on a new, legally binding accord by 2015, coming into force by 2020.
The World Bank suggested recent and emerging cap-and-trade schemes in Australia, California, Mexico, South Korea and Quebec could contribute to future growth in overall carbon trading.
Primary project-based transactions in the voluntary offset market were valued at $569 million in 2011, up 37 percent, the bank said. ($1 = 0.7977 euros)
(Editing by Jason Neely and Jane Baird)
This news article is brought to you by ASTHMA - where latest news are our top priority.
Global carbon market value hits record $176 billion
COLOGNE, Germany (Reuters) - Carbon market trading reached a record value of $176 billion in 2011, rising 11 percent spurred by secondary trading volumes which offset lower prices and slowing economies, the World Bank said on Wednesday.
Companies and governments are turning to emissions trading as a tool for fighting climate change, with the European Union by far the most active since its cap-and-trade scheme began in 2005.
A record number of emissions products were traded in 2011, even though prices of EU carbon permits and international offsets plumbed new depths well below $10 a metric ton (1.1023 tons) late in the year, the bank said in its annual report on carbon markets.
Worldwide emissions trading volume rose 17 percent year on year to 10.3 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent, with permits in the EU Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) accounting for more than three quarters of the total.
The rise in volume lifted the value of the EU market to $148 billion from a revised $134 billion in 2010, despite average EU carbon prices falling 4 percent year on year to $18.8 a metric ton.
'Carbon markets were not immune to the economic volatility,' the World Bank report said, citing events such as the Arab Spring, Japan's Fukushima disaster and the euro zone debt crisis.
'A considerable portion of the trades is primarily motivated by hedging, portfolio adjustments, profit taking and arbitrage.'
Other national and regional carbon schemes showed mixed results. New Zealand's carbon market value grew threefold to $351 million, while the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative in North America was nearly halved to $249 million, the bank said.
INTERNATIONAL OFFSETS
Secondary trading volumes for international offsets regulated by the United Nations also soared in 2011, rising 43 percent year on year to 1.8 billion units valued at $23 billion.
The main reason for this was a rise in demand for U.N.-backed emissions offsets, because a certain number of the credits can be used for compliance in markets such as the EU ETS.
Average offset prices, which trade at a discount to EU carbon prices, fell 21 percent year on year to $12.8 a metric ton, as a record number of credits were issued last year.
The Clean Development Mechanism (CDM), which paves the way for investments in emission-reduction projects in developing nations, is the biggest offset market. It accounted for over 95 percent of total spot and secondary emissions offset trading.
Yet the value of the primary CDM market, direct project-based transactions, declined to under $1 billion in 2011 from $1.5 billion in the previous year as its 2008-2012 commitment period draws to an end.
Primary investment in post-2012 CDM offsets, however, rose to nearly $2 billion in 2011 from $1.2 billion, despite depressed prices and uncertainty about the future of the Kyoto Protocol and its market mechanisms such as the CDM.
U.N. climate talks in South Africa last year agreed a package of measures that would extend Kyoto, a global pact enforcing carbon cuts, and decide a new, legally binding accord by 2015, coming into force by 2020.
'More ambitious targets are needed from a larger number of countries to foster demand that can set the groundwork for a truly transformational carbon market, one that can emerge from fragmented but workable market initiatives,' the World Bank said.
'The challenge then will be to chart a course to further evolve these initiatives through linking and potentially reshaping the global carbon map.'
It suggested recent and emerging cap-and-trade schemes in Australia, California, Mexico, South Korea and Quebec could contribute to future growth in overall carbon trading.
Meanwhile, primary project-based transactions in the voluntary offset market were valued at $569 million in 2011, up 37 percent, the bank said. ($1 = 0.7992 euros)
(Editing by Jason Neely)
This article is brought to you by HOROSCOPE.
Companies and governments are turning to emissions trading as a tool for fighting climate change, with the European Union by far the most active since its cap-and-trade scheme began in 2005.
A record number of emissions products were traded in 2011, even though prices of EU carbon permits and international offsets plumbed new depths well below $10 a metric ton (1.1023 tons) late in the year, the bank said in its annual report on carbon markets.
Worldwide emissions trading volume rose 17 percent year on year to 10.3 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent, with permits in the EU Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) accounting for more than three quarters of the total.
The rise in volume lifted the value of the EU market to $148 billion from a revised $134 billion in 2010, despite average EU carbon prices falling 4 percent year on year to $18.8 a metric ton.
'Carbon markets were not immune to the economic volatility,' the World Bank report said, citing events such as the Arab Spring, Japan's Fukushima disaster and the euro zone debt crisis.
'A considerable portion of the trades is primarily motivated by hedging, portfolio adjustments, profit taking and arbitrage.'
Other national and regional carbon schemes showed mixed results. New Zealand's carbon market value grew threefold to $351 million, while the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative in North America was nearly halved to $249 million, the bank said.
INTERNATIONAL OFFSETS
Secondary trading volumes for international offsets regulated by the United Nations also soared in 2011, rising 43 percent year on year to 1.8 billion units valued at $23 billion.
The main reason for this was a rise in demand for U.N.-backed emissions offsets, because a certain number of the credits can be used for compliance in markets such as the EU ETS.
Average offset prices, which trade at a discount to EU carbon prices, fell 21 percent year on year to $12.8 a metric ton, as a record number of credits were issued last year.
The Clean Development Mechanism (CDM), which paves the way for investments in emission-reduction projects in developing nations, is the biggest offset market. It accounted for over 95 percent of total spot and secondary emissions offset trading.
Yet the value of the primary CDM market, direct project-based transactions, declined to under $1 billion in 2011 from $1.5 billion in the previous year as its 2008-2012 commitment period draws to an end.
Primary investment in post-2012 CDM offsets, however, rose to nearly $2 billion in 2011 from $1.2 billion, despite depressed prices and uncertainty about the future of the Kyoto Protocol and its market mechanisms such as the CDM.
U.N. climate talks in South Africa last year agreed a package of measures that would extend Kyoto, a global pact enforcing carbon cuts, and decide a new, legally binding accord by 2015, coming into force by 2020.
'More ambitious targets are needed from a larger number of countries to foster demand that can set the groundwork for a truly transformational carbon market, one that can emerge from fragmented but workable market initiatives,' the World Bank said.
'The challenge then will be to chart a course to further evolve these initiatives through linking and potentially reshaping the global carbon map.'
It suggested recent and emerging cap-and-trade schemes in Australia, California, Mexico, South Korea and Quebec could contribute to future growth in overall carbon trading.
Meanwhile, primary project-based transactions in the voluntary offset market were valued at $569 million in 2011, up 37 percent, the bank said. ($1 = 0.7992 euros)
(Editing by Jason Neely)
This article is brought to you by HOROSCOPE.
Tuesday, May 29, 2012
Severe Weather Causes Power Outages, Flight Delays
='en' xmlns:fb='http://www.facebook.com/2008/fbml' xmlns:addthis='http://www.addthis.com/help/api-spec' > Severe Weather Causes Power Outages, Flight Delays « CBS Philly
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Weather service money shifting problems hit agency
WASHINGTON (AP) - The head of the National Weather Service has suddenly retired and the agency is seeking an emergency $35.6 million from Congress because of allegations of financial mismanagement and money shifting within the agency.
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration chief Jane Lubchenco, who oversees the weather service, said in a memo investigators found that agency officials moved tens of millions of dollars around without congressional approval, as required by law. The money went from being appropriated for technology improvements to meeting shortfalls in payroll and operations at local weather offices.
Weather service director Jack Hayes retired Friday. His chief financial officer was already on administrative leave.
Agency spokesman Scott Smullen said investigators found no evidence of corruption or personal financial gain. The agency will soon release a report on the issue.
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National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration chief Jane Lubchenco, who oversees the weather service, said in a memo investigators found that agency officials moved tens of millions of dollars around without congressional approval, as required by law. The money went from being appropriated for technology improvements to meeting shortfalls in payroll and operations at local weather offices.
Weather service director Jack Hayes retired Friday. His chief financial officer was already on administrative leave.
Agency spokesman Scott Smullen said investigators found no evidence of corruption or personal financial gain. The agency will soon release a report on the issue.
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Weather causes big tree to fall on road
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Saturday, May 26, 2012
Beryl to bring rain, winds to southeast US coast
SAVANNAH, Ga. (AP) - A cluster of thunderstorms that stalled off the southeastern U.S. coast on Saturday is expected to make for a sloppy, rainy Memorial Day on beaches and in tourist towns from Florida to South Carolina.
Tropical storm warnings were in effect for the entire Georgia coastline, as well as parts of Florida and South Carolina, according to the National Hurricane Center in Miami.
Beryl was technically still considered a 'subtropical storm,' but the system is expected to bring winds and rain to the area regardless of its official classification.
Tropical storm conditions - meaning maximum sustained winds of 45 mph (72 kph) - could reach the coast as early as Saturday night. Three to six inches of rain are forecast for the area. Some coastal flooding is forecast, as the rain could cause high tides.
As of 8 p.m. EDT Saturday, Beryl was still centered about 220 miles (354 kilometers) east-southeast of Charleston, S.C. It had become stronger, with maximum sustained winds of 50 mph (80 kph). It was moving southwest at 6 mph, with its center expected to be near the coast by late Sunday.
Dangerous surf conditions are possible from northeast Florida to North Carolina over the holiday weekend, forecasters said.
The southeastern coast is popular with tourists who visit the beaches and wilderness areas.
'A three-day thunderstorm is what it's probably going to be,' said Jay Wiggins, emergency management director for Glynn County, which is about 60 miles south of Savannah and includes Brunswick and St. Simons Island. 'Unfortunately, it's going to ruin a lot of Memorial Day plans.'
Wiggins said he expects some flooded roadways and scattered power outages, perhaps some minor flooding in waterfront homes, but otherwise little damage. However, he urged beachgoers to beware of dangerous rip currents.
On Tybee Island, home to Georgia's largest public beach east of Savannah, employees at Amy Gaster's home and condo rental business were making sure arriving guests were aware of the approaching storm. Gaster said her 180 rentals were sold out and nobody was canceling plans or asking to check out early.
'Mostly I think people are just curious,' said Gaster, adding that guests were being urged to bring in patio furniture if the winds kick up and prepare to hunker down for movies and home cooking Monday. 'We're just saying. 'Take advantage of today as your beach day and get it while you can.''
On Cumberland Island, a federally protected wilderness area beloved by hikers and campers, superintendent Fred Boyles said he planned to wait until Sunday to decide if campers need to evacuate before the storm arrives. Boyles said he had about 100 campers planning to stay overnight Sunday, and the only way to leave Cumberland Island is by ferry.
While Georgia hasn't taken a direct hit from a major hurricane in 114 years, the last time a tropical storm made landfall here was in August 1988. Tropical Storm Chris hit near Savannah but did little damage as it pushed northward into South Carolina.
In South Carolina, Beaufort County Emergency Management deputy director David Zeoli (zee-oli) said that at midday Saturday word went out to first-responders along the coast near the Georgia line to pay attention to the storm's progress. Officials haven't been ordered to work on an otherwise lovely day for the beach, but have been told to stay near a phone, Zeoli said.
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Tropical storm warnings were in effect for the entire Georgia coastline, as well as parts of Florida and South Carolina, according to the National Hurricane Center in Miami.
Beryl was technically still considered a 'subtropical storm,' but the system is expected to bring winds and rain to the area regardless of its official classification.
Tropical storm conditions - meaning maximum sustained winds of 45 mph (72 kph) - could reach the coast as early as Saturday night. Three to six inches of rain are forecast for the area. Some coastal flooding is forecast, as the rain could cause high tides.
As of 8 p.m. EDT Saturday, Beryl was still centered about 220 miles (354 kilometers) east-southeast of Charleston, S.C. It had become stronger, with maximum sustained winds of 50 mph (80 kph). It was moving southwest at 6 mph, with its center expected to be near the coast by late Sunday.
Dangerous surf conditions are possible from northeast Florida to North Carolina over the holiday weekend, forecasters said.
The southeastern coast is popular with tourists who visit the beaches and wilderness areas.
'A three-day thunderstorm is what it's probably going to be,' said Jay Wiggins, emergency management director for Glynn County, which is about 60 miles south of Savannah and includes Brunswick and St. Simons Island. 'Unfortunately, it's going to ruin a lot of Memorial Day plans.'
Wiggins said he expects some flooded roadways and scattered power outages, perhaps some minor flooding in waterfront homes, but otherwise little damage. However, he urged beachgoers to beware of dangerous rip currents.
On Tybee Island, home to Georgia's largest public beach east of Savannah, employees at Amy Gaster's home and condo rental business were making sure arriving guests were aware of the approaching storm. Gaster said her 180 rentals were sold out and nobody was canceling plans or asking to check out early.
'Mostly I think people are just curious,' said Gaster, adding that guests were being urged to bring in patio furniture if the winds kick up and prepare to hunker down for movies and home cooking Monday. 'We're just saying. 'Take advantage of today as your beach day and get it while you can.''
On Cumberland Island, a federally protected wilderness area beloved by hikers and campers, superintendent Fred Boyles said he planned to wait until Sunday to decide if campers need to evacuate before the storm arrives. Boyles said he had about 100 campers planning to stay overnight Sunday, and the only way to leave Cumberland Island is by ferry.
While Georgia hasn't taken a direct hit from a major hurricane in 114 years, the last time a tropical storm made landfall here was in August 1988. Tropical Storm Chris hit near Savannah but did little damage as it pushed northward into South Carolina.
In South Carolina, Beaufort County Emergency Management deputy director David Zeoli (zee-oli) said that at midday Saturday word went out to first-responders along the coast near the Georgia line to pay attention to the storm's progress. Officials haven't been ordered to work on an otherwise lovely day for the beach, but have been told to stay near a phone, Zeoli said.
This news article is brought to you by RADIO - where latest news are our top priority.
Rainy Memorial Day forecast for southeast US coast
SAVANNAH, Ga. (AP) - A cluster of thunderstorms that stalled off the southeastern U.S. coast on Saturday is expected to make for a sloppy, rainy Memorial Day on beaches and in tourist towns from Florida to South Carolina.
Tropical storm warnings were in effect for the entire Georgia coastline, as well as parts of Florida and South Carolina.
Beryl was technically still considered a 'subtropical storm,' but the system is expected to bring winds and rain to the area regardless of its official classification.
Tropical storm conditions - meaning maximum sustained winds of 45 mph (72 kph) - could reach the coast as early as Saturday night. Some coastal flooding is forecast, as the rain could cause high tides.
Late Saturday afternoon, Beryl was centered about 220 miles (354 kilometers) east-southeast of Charleston, S.C. It was moving southwest at 6 mph.
The southeastern coast is popular with tourists who visit the beaches and wilderness areas.
'A three-day thunderstorm is what it's probably going to be,' said Jay Wiggins, emergency management director for Glynn County, which is about 60 miles south of Savannah and includes Brunswick and St. Simons Island. 'Unfortunately, it's going to ruin a lot of Memorial Day plans.'
Wiggins said he expects some flooded roadways and scattered power outages, perhaps some minor flooding in waterfront homes, but otherwise little damage. However, he urged beachgoers to beware of dangerous rip currents.
On Tybee Island, home to Georgia's largest public beach east of Savannah, employees at Amy Gaster's home and condo rental business were making sure arriving guests were aware of the approaching storm. Gaster said her 180 rentals were sold out and nobody was canceling plans or asking to check out early.
'Mostly I think people are just curious,' said Gaster, adding that guests were being urged to bring in patio furniture if the winds kick up and prepare to hunker down for movies and home cooking Monday. 'We're just saying. 'Take advantage of today as your beach day and get it while you can.''
On Cumberland Island, a federally protected wilderness area beloved by hikers and campers, superintendent Fred Boyles said he planned to wait until Sunday to decide if campers need to evacuate before the storm arrives. Boyles said he had about 100 campers planning to stay overnight Sunday, and the only way to leave Cumberland Island is by ferry.
While Georgia hasn't taken a direct hit from a major hurricane in 114 years, the last time a tropical storm made landfall here was in August 1988. Tropical Storm Chris hit near Savannah but did little damage as it pushed northward into South Carolina.
In South Carolina, Beaufort County Emergency Management deputy director David Zeoli (zee-oli) said that at midday Saturday word went out to first-responders along the coast near the Georgia line to pay attention to the storm's progress. Officials haven't been ordered to work on an otherwise lovely day for the beach, but have been told to stay near a phone, Zeoli said.
This news article is brought to you by TEA - where latest news are our top priority.
Tropical storm warnings were in effect for the entire Georgia coastline, as well as parts of Florida and South Carolina.
Beryl was technically still considered a 'subtropical storm,' but the system is expected to bring winds and rain to the area regardless of its official classification.
Tropical storm conditions - meaning maximum sustained winds of 45 mph (72 kph) - could reach the coast as early as Saturday night. Some coastal flooding is forecast, as the rain could cause high tides.
Late Saturday afternoon, Beryl was centered about 220 miles (354 kilometers) east-southeast of Charleston, S.C. It was moving southwest at 6 mph.
The southeastern coast is popular with tourists who visit the beaches and wilderness areas.
'A three-day thunderstorm is what it's probably going to be,' said Jay Wiggins, emergency management director for Glynn County, which is about 60 miles south of Savannah and includes Brunswick and St. Simons Island. 'Unfortunately, it's going to ruin a lot of Memorial Day plans.'
Wiggins said he expects some flooded roadways and scattered power outages, perhaps some minor flooding in waterfront homes, but otherwise little damage. However, he urged beachgoers to beware of dangerous rip currents.
On Tybee Island, home to Georgia's largest public beach east of Savannah, employees at Amy Gaster's home and condo rental business were making sure arriving guests were aware of the approaching storm. Gaster said her 180 rentals were sold out and nobody was canceling plans or asking to check out early.
'Mostly I think people are just curious,' said Gaster, adding that guests were being urged to bring in patio furniture if the winds kick up and prepare to hunker down for movies and home cooking Monday. 'We're just saying. 'Take advantage of today as your beach day and get it while you can.''
On Cumberland Island, a federally protected wilderness area beloved by hikers and campers, superintendent Fred Boyles said he planned to wait until Sunday to decide if campers need to evacuate before the storm arrives. Boyles said he had about 100 campers planning to stay overnight Sunday, and the only way to leave Cumberland Island is by ferry.
While Georgia hasn't taken a direct hit from a major hurricane in 114 years, the last time a tropical storm made landfall here was in August 1988. Tropical Storm Chris hit near Savannah but did little damage as it pushed northward into South Carolina.
In South Carolina, Beaufort County Emergency Management deputy director David Zeoli (zee-oli) said that at midday Saturday word went out to first-responders along the coast near the Georgia line to pay attention to the storm's progress. Officials haven't been ordered to work on an otherwise lovely day for the beach, but have been told to stay near a phone, Zeoli said.
This news article is brought to you by TEA - where latest news are our top priority.
Rainy Memorial Day forecast for southeast coast
MIAMI (AP) - A cluster of thunderstorms that is expected to become Tropical Storm Beryl could make for a sloppy Memorial Day in the southeast.
Tropical storm warnings were in effect Saturday from northern Florida to South Carolina.
Beryl was technically still considered a 'subtropical storm,' but the system is expected to bring winds and rain to the area regardless of its official classification.
Tropical storm conditions - meaning maximum sustained winds of 45 mph (72 kph) - could reach the coast as early as Saturday night. Some coastal flooding is forecast, as the rain could cause high tides.
Late Saturday morning, Beryl was centered about 230 miles east-southeast of Charleston, S.C.
The southeastern coast is popular with tourists who visit to enjoy the beaches and wilderness areas.
This news article is brought to you by COOKING MAIN-COURSE - where latest news are our top priority.
Tropical storm warnings were in effect Saturday from northern Florida to South Carolina.
Beryl was technically still considered a 'subtropical storm,' but the system is expected to bring winds and rain to the area regardless of its official classification.
Tropical storm conditions - meaning maximum sustained winds of 45 mph (72 kph) - could reach the coast as early as Saturday night. Some coastal flooding is forecast, as the rain could cause high tides.
Late Saturday morning, Beryl was centered about 230 miles east-southeast of Charleston, S.C.
The southeastern coast is popular with tourists who visit to enjoy the beaches and wilderness areas.
This news article is brought to you by COOKING MAIN-COURSE - where latest news are our top priority.
Friday, May 25, 2012
Tropical storm warnings for Southeast coast
MIAMI (AP) - Tropical storm warnings have been issued for the Southeast coast from north Florida to South Carolina as a cluster of thunderstorms was gathering strength Friday night and expected to become Tropical Storm Beryl over the Memorial Day weekend.
The National Weather Service said that the storm's maximum sustained winds were at 45 mph. But they are expected to increase as the storm moves over the waters of the Atlantic.
The system was about 305 miles (490 kilometers) from Charleston, S.C., at 11 p.m. and swirling toward the Southeast coast.
Tropical storm warnings were issued for the Volusia/Brevard County line in Florida to Edisto Beach, S.C., and watches from Edisto Beach to the Santee River. The storm is expected to eventually move southwest and the Georgia coast and northern Florida could see heavy rains starting Sunday and into next week.
Higher than normal tides will be crashing against the Southeastern coast and may cause flooding. Heavy rain is forecast and dangerous surf was expected along the coasts of northeastern Florida, Georgia and South Carolina over the holiday weekend.
Forecasters are classifying the storm as Subtropical Storm Beryl, which has more to do with how the center of the storm is forming, not wind speed, according to Weather Underground's website. It is the second named Atlantic storm of the hurricane season that doesn't officially begin until June 1.
Often when subtropical storms remain over warm water for several days, they become tropical because thunderstorms start building close to the center.
Forecasters were not indicating that the storm would become a hurricane.
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The National Weather Service said that the storm's maximum sustained winds were at 45 mph. But they are expected to increase as the storm moves over the waters of the Atlantic.
The system was about 305 miles (490 kilometers) from Charleston, S.C., at 11 p.m. and swirling toward the Southeast coast.
Tropical storm warnings were issued for the Volusia/Brevard County line in Florida to Edisto Beach, S.C., and watches from Edisto Beach to the Santee River. The storm is expected to eventually move southwest and the Georgia coast and northern Florida could see heavy rains starting Sunday and into next week.
Higher than normal tides will be crashing against the Southeastern coast and may cause flooding. Heavy rain is forecast and dangerous surf was expected along the coasts of northeastern Florida, Georgia and South Carolina over the holiday weekend.
Forecasters are classifying the storm as Subtropical Storm Beryl, which has more to do with how the center of the storm is forming, not wind speed, according to Weather Underground's website. It is the second named Atlantic storm of the hurricane season that doesn't officially begin until June 1.
Often when subtropical storms remain over warm water for several days, they become tropical because thunderstorms start building close to the center.
Forecasters were not indicating that the storm would become a hurricane.
This article is brought to you by HOROSCOPE.
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