Global Warming

A girl looks at global warming banners during an exhibition at the Climate Village in Cancun, Mexico, on December 4, 2010 in the framework of the COP16 summit. UN climate talks in Cancun ran into a storm Friday as a deepening split emerged over the future of the carbon-cutting Kyoto Protocol.

A file picture taken on April 5, 2008 shows former Education minister Claude Allegre. A report published by the Academie des Sciences on October 28, 2010 in Paris maintains that the carbon dioxide increasing in the atmosphere causes global warming. The report denies the septical thesis of Allegre who accused in 2006 proponents of manmade catastrophic global warming of being motivated by money.

WASHINGTON - SEPTEMBER 16: Edison2 Founder and CEO Oliver Kuttner testifies before the House Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming September 16, 2010 in Washington, DC. Creven is the team leader for the Edison2 'Very Light Car #98' vehicle which won the Automotive X Prize Mainstream Class. The three winning vehicles emerged from an original field of 111 competing teams, representing 136 vehicle entries from around the world. Each vehicle is capable of achieving 100 miles per gallon or the energy equivalent (MPGe).

WASHINGTON - SEPTEMBER 16: U.S. House Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming Chairman Edward Markey (D-MA) sits behind the wheel of the Edison2 'Very Light Car #98,' the Automotive X Prize Mainstream Class winning vehicle outside the U.S. Captiol September 16, 2010 in Washington, DC. Sponsored by Progressive Automotive Insurance, The three X Prize winning vehicles emerged from an original field of 111 competing teams, representing 136 vehicle entries from around the world. Each vehicle is capable of achieving 100 miles per gallon or the energy equivalent (MPGe).

Doctors Adeline Soulier-Perkins (L) and Ariadna Libertad Burgos of the National Museum of Natural History take samples to study the biodiversity of the mangrove on February 10, 2010 in the French South American territory of Guiana. A three-mast sail boat left the Brittany harbor of Fecamp in November 2009 for a two-year scientific expedition, called 'Terre Ocean' (Earth Ocean) from South America to the Pacific Ocean. The Terre-Ocean mission is today one of the �field� operations of the Grenelle de la Mer (a French project geared towards improving environmental issues associated with the sea) and was launched on 27 February 2009 on board La Boudeuse when it was docked in Paris. The concerns of the Grenelle de la Mer project are many and reflect the desire to preserve the planet for future generations: the protection of the environment and biodiversity, the fight against global warming, sustainable development, energy management, etc.

Doctors Adeline Soulier-Perkins (L) and Ariadna Libertad Burgos of the National Museum of Natural History take samples to study the biodiversity of the mangrove on February 10, 2010 in the French South American territory of Guiana. A three-mast sail boat left the Brittany harbor of Fecamp in November 2009 for a two-year scientific expedition, called 'Terre Ocean' (Earth Ocean) from South America to the Pacific Ocean. The Terre-Ocean mission is today one of the �field� operations of the Grenelle de la Mer (a French project geared towards improving environmental issues associated with the sea) and was launched on 27 February 2009 on board La Boudeuse when it was docked in Paris. The concerns of the Grenelle de la Mer project are many and reflect the desire to preserve the planet for future generations: the protection of the environment and biodiversity, the fight against global warming, sustainable development, energy management, etc.

In this photograph taken on October 16, 2010 during an aerial survey mission by Greenpeace over Sumatra island shows a rainforest canopy of Sungai Sembilang National Park. The protected area is bounded by two huge concessions of paper and pulpwood company located in South Sumatra province. According to the global environmental campaign group, massive concessions of paper and pulpwood companies are operating in the Island's last remaining peatland forest and the habitat of the endangered Sumatran tiger. The destruction of rainforests and peatlands is the major reason Indonesia is considered the world's third largest emitter of greenhouse gases, blamed for global warming.

In this photograph taken during an aerial survey mission by Greenpeace over Sumatra island a tugboat pulls a barge loaded with logs on a river in South Sumatra province on October 16, 2010. According to the global environmental campaign group, massive concessions of paper and pulpwood companies are operating in the Island's last remaining peatland forest and the habitat of the endangered Sumatran tiger. The destruction of rainforests and peatlands is the major reason Indonesia is considered the world's third largest emitter of greenhouse gases, blamed for global warming.

A combo of three photographs taken on October 16, 2010 during an aerial survey mission by Greenpeace over Sumatra island shows rainforest of the Sungai Sembilang National Park (L), a different area of Sumatra thinned by loggers activity (C) and a third area of completely logged peatland forest in South Sumatra province. According to the global environmental campaign group, massive concessions of paper and pulpwood companies are operating in the Island's last remaining peatland forest and the habitat of the endangered Sumatran tiger. The destruction of rainforests and peatlands is the major reason Indonesia is considered the world's third largest emitter of greenhouse gases, blamed for global warming.

Combo of photos taken on October 16, 2010 during an aerial survey mission by Greenpeace over Sumatra island shows an area of rainforest of the Sungai Sembilang National Park (L) while nearby, at the edge of the protected area, a lone tree (R) isolated after the peatland forest was cut and cleared in a huge paper and pulpwood concession area located in South Sumatra province. According to the global environmental campaign group, massive concessions of paper and pulpwood companies are operating in the Island's last remaining peatland forest and the habitat of the endangered Sumatran tiger. The destruction of rainforests and peatlands is the major reason Indonesia is considered the world's third largest emitter of greenhouse gases, blamed for global warming.

In this photograph taken during an aerial survey mission by Greenpeace over Sumatra island a tugboat pulls a barge loaded with logs on a river in South Sumatra province on October 16, 2010. According to the global environmental campaign group, massive concessions of paper and pulpwood companies are operating in the Island's last remaining peatland forest and the habitat of the endangered Sumatran tiger. The destruction of rainforests and peatlands is the major reason Indonesia is considered the world's third largest emitter of greenhouse gases, blamed for global warming.

In this photograph taken during an aerial survey mission by Greenpeace over Sumatra island a tugboat pulls a barge loaded with logs on a river in South Sumatra province on October 16, 2010. According to the global environmental campaign group, massive concessions of paper and pulpwood companies are operating in the Island's last remaining peatland forest and the habitat of the endangered Sumatran tiger. The destruction of rainforests and peatlands is the major reason Indonesia is considered the world's third largest emitter of greenhouse gases, blamed for global warming.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel (L) looks at French President Nicolas Sarkozy (R) and French Prime Minister Francois Fillon (C) prior to an European Union summit at the European Council headquarters on October 29, 2009 in Brussels. Europe's leaders grapple on Thursday with deadlock on how to fight global warming and the legacy of recession, all the while jockeying for control of arguably the biggest appointment in Brussels' history.

A woman wears a face mask on a hazy and polluted day in Beijing on December 1, 2010. China has met its 2010 target to cut emissions of key pollutants and is on track to meet its energy efficiency goal, state media said, quoting the country's top climate change official as saying after China last week acknowledged it had become the world's biggest emitter of the greenhouse gases that are blamed for climate change and global warming, surpassing the United States, though not in terms of emissions per capita.

A peasant walks along a dried corn field around the village of Felipe Carrillo Puerto, in the Mexican state of Quintana Roo, on December 3, 2010 as the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP-16) is being held in the nearby seaside resort of Cancun. The field and surrounding area has apparently been affected by a drought caused by the increasing global warming.

The Prime Minister of Grenada, Tillman Thomas, participates in a Heads of State dialogue session with other leaders from different parts of the world to share their nations experiences on global warming issues in the Aztec event center on December 8, 2010, as part of the sidelines activities during the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP-16) held in Cancun, Mexico.

Prime Minister of Ethiopia Zenawi Meles, participates in a Heads of State dialogue session with leaders from different parts of the world sharing their nations experiences on global warming issues in the Aztec event center on December 8, 2010, as part of the sidelines activities during the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP-16) held in Cancun, Mexico.

Followers of the Supreme Master Chin Hai call for Vegan nutrition as a solution to global warming rallying close to the Cancun Meese Convention Center on December 10, 2010, during the closing day of United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP-16) held in Cancun, Mexico.

A file picture shows grape-pickers at work in a vineyard of Rivesaltes, 02 August 2007, south western France, on the opening grape harvest of the area. Grapes on the vine crave sunshine, but wine makers across France are starting to worry that global warming will give them too much of a good thing.

Doctor Adeline Soulier-Perkins of the National Museum of Natural History captures insects to study the biodiversity of the mangrove on February 10, 2010 in the French South American territory of Guiana. A three-mast sail boat left the Brittany harbor of Fecamp in November 2009 for a two-year scientific expedition, called 'Terre Ocean' (Earth Ocean) from South America to the Pacific Ocean. The Terre-Ocean mission is today one of the �field� operations of the Grenelle de la Mer (a French project geared towards improving environmental issues associated with the sea) and was launched on 27 February 2009 on board La Boudeuse when it was docked in Paris. The concerns of the Grenelle de la Mer project are many and reflect the desire to preserve the planet for future generations: the protection of the environment and biodiversity, the fight against global warming, sustainable development, energy management, etc.

Colombian scientist Ariadna Libertad Burgos (L) of the National Museum of Natural History takes samples to study the biodiversity of the mangrove on February 10, 2010 in the French South American territory of Guiana. A three-mast sail boat left the Brittany harbor of Fecamp in November 2009 for a two-year scientific expedition, called 'Terre Ocean' (Earth Ocean) from South America to the Pacific Ocean. The Terre-Ocean mission is today one of the �field� operations of the Grenelle de la Mer (a French project geared towards improving environmental issues associated with the sea) and was launched on 27 February 2009 on board La Boudeuse when it was docked in Paris. The concerns of the Grenelle de la Mer project are many and reflect the desire to preserve the planet for future generations: the protection of the environment and biodiversity, the fight against global warming, sustainable development, energy management, etc.

Eskimo Richard Weyiouamma, 6, poses in Shishmaref, Alaska, 27 September 2006. The village, home of Inupiat Eskimos, is located some 600 miles (965kms) northwest of Anchorage but just 110 miles (177kms) from the east coast of Russia. Shishmaref, on an island reachable only by air and inhabited for 4,000 years, is facing evacuation because of global warming. Temperatures that have risen 15F (4.4C) over the last 30 years are causing a reduction in sea ice, thawing of permafrost along the coast, making the shoreline vulnerable to erosion. The census of 2000 reported there were 562 people, 142 households, and 110 families residing in the village all facing evacuation and the loss of their traditional life.

In this photograph taken during an aerial survey mission by Greenpeace over Sumatra island, a road lined by a canal cuts through a receding peatland forest after trees have been cut for paper and pulpwood in South Sumatra province on October 16, 2010. According to the global environmental campaign group, massive concessions of paper and pulpwood companies are operating in the Island's last remaining peatland forest and the habitat of the endangered Sumatran tiger. The destruction of rainforests and peatlands is the major reason Indonesia is considered the world's third largest emitter of greenhouse gases, blamed for global warming.

A combo of three photographs taken on October 16, 2010 during an aerial survey mission by Greenpeace over Sumatra island shows rainforest of the Sungai Sembilang National Park (L), a different area of Sumatra thinned by loggers activity (C) and a third area of completely logged peatland forest in South Sumatra province. According to the global environmental campaign group, massive concessions of paper and pulpwood companies are operating in the Island's last remaining peatland forest and the habitat of the endangered Sumatran tiger. The destruction of rainforests and peatlands is the major reason Indonesia is considered the world's third largest emitter of greenhouse gases, blamed for global warming.

This photograph taken during an aerial survey mission by Greenpeace over Sumatra island shows trees being grown (top R) in an agro-forestry tree plantation while the natural forest has been cut for a paper and pulpwood in South Sumatra province on October 16, 2010. According to the global environmental campaign group, massive concessions of paper and pulpwood companies are operating in the Island's last remaining peatland forest and the habitat of the endangered Sumatran tiger. The destruction of rainforests and peatlands is the major reason Indonesia is considered the world's third largest emitter of greenhouse gases, blamed for global warming.

In this photograph taken during an aerial survey mission by Greenpeace over Sumatra island a tugboat pulls a barge loaded with logs on a river in South Sumatra province on October 16, 2010. According to the global environmental campaign group, massive concessions of paper and pulpwood companies are operating in the Island's last remaining peatland forest and the habitat of the endangered Sumatran tiger. The destruction of rainforests and peatlands is the major reason Indonesia is considered the world's third largest emitter of greenhouse gases, blamed for global warming.

In this photograph taken during an aerial survey mission by Greenpeace over Sumatra island, backhoe machines gather cut logs from a peatland forest while a third (R blue) is immobilsed after being submerged in deep mud on October 16, 2010. According to the global environmental campaign group, massive concessions of paper and pulpwood companies are operating in the Island's last remaining peatland forest and the habitat of the endangered Sumatran tiger. The destruction of rainforests and peatlands is the major reason Indonesia is considered the world's third largest emitter of greenhouse gases, blamed for global warming.

Photo taken on October 16, 2010 during an aerial survey mission by Greenpeace over Sumatra island shows a logged over peatland forest paper and pulpwood concession near the Sungai Sembilang National Park in South Sumatra province. According to the global environmental campaign group, massive concessions of paper and pulpwood companies are operating in the Island's last remaining peatland forest and the habitat of the endangered Sumatran tiger. The destruction of rainforests and peatlands is the major reason Indonesia is considered the world's third largest emitter of greenhouse gases, blamed for global warming.

Dutch Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende (R) gestures as French Prime Minister Francois Fillon (L), French President Nicolas Sarkozy (C), Finnish Prime Minister Matti Vanhanen (up C) and Romanian President Traian Basescu (upR) look prior to an European Union summit at the European Council headquarters on October 29, 2009 in Brussels. Europe's leaders grapple on Thursday with deadlock on how to fight global warming and the legacy of recession, all the while jockeying for control of arguably the biggest appointment in Brussels' history.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel (L) looks at French President Nicolas Sarkozy (R) and French Prime Minister Francois Fillon (C) prior to an European Union summit at the European Council headquarters on October 29, 2009 in Brussels. Europe's leaders grapple on Thursday with deadlock on how to fight global warming and the legacy of recession, all the while jockeying for control of arguably the biggest appointment in Brussels' history.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel (L) looks at French President Nicolas Sarkozy (R) and French Prime Minister Francois Fillon (C) prior to an European Union summit at the European Council headquarters on October 29, 2009 in Brussels. Europe's leaders grapple on Thursday with deadlock on how to fight global warming and the legacy of recession, all the while jockeying for control of arguably the biggest appointment in Brussels' history.

Evening rush hour traffic comes to a standstill on a hazy and polluted day in Beijing on December 1, 2010. China has met its 2010 target to cut emissions of key pollutants and is on track to meet its energy efficiency goal, state media said, quoting the country's top climate change official as saying after China last week acknowledged it had become the world's biggest emitter of the greenhouse gases that are blamed for climate change and global warming, surpassing the United States, though not in terms of emissions per capita. China's efforts to improve energy efficiency allowed for savings of 490 million tonnes of coal and prevented carbon dioxide emissions totalling 1.13 billion tonnes in 2006-2009, state media reported.

A woman wears a face mask on a hazy and polluted day in Beijing on December 1, 2010. China has met its 2010 target to cut emissions of key pollutants and is on track to meet its energy efficiency goal, state media said, quoting the country's top climate change official as saying after China last week acknowledged it had become the world's biggest emitter of the greenhouse gases that are blamed for climate change and global warming, surpassing the United States, though not in terms of emissions per capita.

Visitors look for information about global warming in a stand of a computing company at the Climate Village in Cancun, Mexico, on December 4, 2010 in the framework of the COP16 summit. UN climate talks in Cancun ran into a storm Friday as a deepening split emerged over the future of the carbon-cutting Kyoto Protocol.

President of Palau, Johnson Toribiong, participates in a Heads of State dialogue session with other leaders from different parts of the world to share their nations experiences on global warming issues in the Aztec event center on December 8, 2010, as part of the sidelines activities during the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP-16) held in Cancun, Mexico.

Conservationist and author of the Stern Report, Lord Nicholas Stern, participates as a mediator in a Heads of State dialogue session with leaders from different parts of the world sharing their nations experiences on global warming issues in the Aztec event center on December 8, 2010, as part of the sidelines activities during the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP-16) held in Cancun, Mexico.

(L-R) Mediator conservationist and author of the Stern Report, Lord Nicholas Stern, Palau's President Johnson Toribiong, Ethiopia's Prime Minister Zenawi Meles, Mexican President Felipe Calderon, Grenada's Prime Minister Tillman Thomas, Honduras' President Porfirio Lobo (and on the screen), and the President of the African Union Commission Jean Ping, take part in a Heads of State dialogue session to share their nations experiences on global warming issues in the Aztec event center on December 8, 2010, as part of the sidelines activities during the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP-16) held in Cancun, Mexico.

(L-R on screen) Mediator conservationist and author of the Stern Report, Lord Nicholas Stern, Palau's President Johnson Toribiong, Ethiopia's Prime Minister Zenawi Meles, Mexican President Felipe Calderon, Grenada's Prime Minister Tillman Thomas, Honduras' President Porfirio Lobo and the President of the African Union Commission Jean Ping, take part in a Heads of State dialogue session to share their nations experiences on global warming issues in the Aztec event center on December 8, 2010, as part of the sidelines activities during the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP-16) held in Cancun, Mexico.

Ana Oposa (R) and Christopher Yu (L), members of delegations from the Philippines, share a table in the sea with Australian Ody Kamal (2-R) and Dominican Vanesa Taveras (2-L), both members of the NGO 350.org, representing a negotiation table of the islands in danger of disappearing due to the rising ocean levels caused by global warming, in the framework of the COP16 United Nations Climate Change conference on December 9, 2010 in Cancun, Mexico.

Ana Oposa (R) and Christopher Yu (L), members of delegations from the Philippines, share a table in the sea with Australian Ody Kamal (2-R) and Dominican Vanesa Taveras (2-L), both members of the NGO 350.org, representing a negotiation table of the islands in danger of disappearing due to the rising ocean levels caused by global warming, in the framework of the COP16 United Nations Climate Change conference on December 9, 2010 in Cancun, Mexico.

Ana Oposa (R) and Christopher Yu (L), members of delegations from the Philippines, share a table in the sea with Australian Ody Kamal (2-R) and Dominican Vanesa Taveras (2-L), both members of the NGO 350.org, representing a negotiation table of the islands in danger of disappearing due to the rising ocean levels caused by global warming, in the framework of the COP16 United Nations Climate Change conference on December 9, 2010 in Cancun, Mexico.

A soldier stands guard close to a sign calling for Vegan nutrition as a solution to global warming posted by followers of the Supreme Master Chin Hai, close to the Cancun Meese Convention Center on December 10, 2010, during the closing day of United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP-16) held in Cancun, Mexico.

In this panoramic composite image from two photographs taken on August 5, 2010 during an aerial survey by Greenpeace over Sumatra island shows logging concession operating in the forest land. The world's climate negotiators worked into early Friday morning during the UN-led climate talks in Cancun amid guarded hopes of making progress, as a new willingness by India to accept binding action brightened the mood. Indonesia is widely seen as the world's third biggest emitter of greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide blamed for man-made global warming, largely through deforestation for pulp and palm oil plantations.

WASHINGTON - SEPTEMBER 16: Li-Ion Mortors Project Development Engineer Ron Cerven testifies before the House Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming September 16, 2010 in Washington, DC. Creven is the team leader for the Li-Ion Motors 'Wave II' vehicle which won the Automotive X Prize Alternative Side-by-Side Class. The winning vehicles emerged from an original field of 111 competing teams, representing 136 vehicle entries from around the world. Each vehicle is capable of achieving 100 miles per gallon or the energy equivalent (MPGe).

In this photograph taken during an aerial survey mission by Greenpeace over Sumatra island, backhoe machines gather cut logs from a peatland forest while a third (R blue) is immobilsed after being submerged in deep mud on October 16, 2010. According to the global environmental campaign group, massive concessions of paper and pulpwood companies are operating in the Island's last remaining peatland forest and the habitat of the endangered Sumatran tiger. The destruction of rainforests and peatlands is the major reason Indonesia is considered the world's third largest emitter of greenhouse gases, blamed for global warming.

A combo of three photographs taken on October 16, 2010 during an aerial survey mission by Greenpeace over Sumatra island shows rainforest of the Sungai Sembilang National Park (L), a different area of Sumatra thinned by loggers activity (C) and a third area of completely logged peatland forest in South Sumatra province. According to the global environmental campaign group, massive concessions of paper and pulpwood companies are operating in the Island's last remaining peatland forest and the habitat of the endangered Sumatran tiger. The destruction of rainforests and peatlands is the major reason Indonesia is considered the world's third largest emitter of greenhouse gases, blamed for global warming.

In this photograph taken during an aerial survey mission by Greenpeace over Sumatra island a tugboat pulls a barge loaded with logs on a river in South Sumatra province on October 16, 2010. According to the global environmental campaign group, massive concessions of paper and pulpwood companies are operating in the Island's last remaining peatland forest and the habitat of the endangered Sumatran tiger. The destruction of rainforests and peatlands is the major reason Indonesia is considered the world's third largest emitter of greenhouse gases, blamed for global warming.

Photo taken on October 16, 2010 during an aerial survey mission by Greenpeace over Sumatra island shows a logged over peatland forest paper and pulpwood concession near the Sungai Sembilang National Park in South Sumatra province. According to the global environmental campaign group, massive concessions of paper and pulpwood companies are operating in the Island's last remaining peatland forest and the habitat of the endangered Sumatran tiger. The destruction of rainforests and peatlands is the major reason Indonesia is considered the world's third largest emitter of greenhouse gases, blamed for global warming.

A file picture shows Danish professor Bjorn Lomborg as he speaks with a journalist at the Bella center of Copenhagen on December 15, 2009 on the 9th day of the COP15 UN Climate Change Conference. Humanity has what it takes to adapt to global warming and there's no need to panic: so goes the message in a new documentary on the bad boy of the climate change debate, Bjoern Lomborg.

A woman wears a face mask on a hazy and polluted day in Beijing on December 1, 2010. China has met its 2010 target to cut emissions of key pollutants and is on track to meet its energy efficiency goal, state media said, quoting the country's top climate change official as saying after China last week acknowledged it had become the world's biggest emitter of the greenhouse gases that are blamed for climate change and global warming, surpassing the United States, though not in terms of emissions per capita.