ScienceDaily: Earth & Climate News

Level of pollutants accumulated in the body linked to obesity levels Posted: 27 Feb 2015 05:43 AM PST Scientists have confirmed that there is a relation between the levels of certain environmental pollutants that a person accumulates in his or her body and his or her level of obesity. Subjects with more pollutants in their bodies tend to have higher levels of cholesterol and triglycerides, which are important risk factors for cardiovascular disease.

Pollution is driving force behind growth of nuisance algal scums linked to disease Posted: 26 Feb 2015 09:23 AM PST Potentially toxic microbes which pose a threat to our drinking water have undergone a dramatic population explosion over the last 200 years as a result of pollution. Colonies of blue-green algae pose a serious threat to drinking water sources worldwide because many types contain toxins which can cause damage to the liver and nervous system and have been linked with neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, ALS and Lou Gehrig's Disease.

IPCC sea-level rise scenarios not fit for purpose for high-risk coastal areas Posted: 26 Feb 2015 07:15 AM PST The sea-level rise scenarios of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) do not necessarily provide the right information for high-risk coastal decision-making and management, according to new research. A commentary warns that the IPCC scenarios are often inappropriate or incomplete for the management of high-risk coastal areas as they exclude the potential for extreme sea-level rises. This missing information is also crucial for a number of policy processes, such as discussions by G7 countries to establish climate insurance policies and allocations of adaptation funding by the Green Climate Funds.