global warming

An estimated 10,000 people packed the lawns of the State Library on Swanston street Melbourne on World Environment Day to Say yes to a safe climate and support the introduction of a carbon price by the Gillard Federal Labor Government. About 8000 people also gathered in Sydney, 5000 people rallied in Adelaide's Victoria Square, 5000 in Brisbane, 3000 in Perth, 3000 in Hobart, and 2000 in Canberra. Organisors estimate up to 45000 may have attended rallies across Australia today to support climate action and pricing carbon.

A new study of declining penguin populations shows a strong correlation between penguin numbers and krill availability. Krill availability is affected by reduced sea ice conditions in Antarctica due to global warming and climate change.

"For penguins and other species, krill is the linchpin in the food web. Regardless of their environmental preferences, we see a connection between climate change and penguin populations through the loss of habitat for their main food source," said Dr. Wayne Trivelpiece, lead author and seabird researcher of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Antarctic Ecosystem Research Division. "As warming continues, the loss of krill will have a profound effect throughout the Antarctic ecosystem."

Related: On the brink: Penguins face an uncertain climate future (Oct 2010)

It is a long hot summer in Perth with new temperature records being set. Perth has just broken its record for the greatest number of consecutive warm nights. The last 14 consecutive nights the temperatures has remained above 20 degrees. The previous record was 13 days in February-March 1985 and February-March 1990.

Loss of reflectivity in the Arctic is double the estimate used in current state-of-the-art climate models according to new analysis of the Northern Hemisphere's "albedo feedback" over a 30-year period. The research comes hard on the heels that Greenland had a record melt during 2010.