EU chief [allegedly] confident climate deal will be reached | Special Coverage | Reuters

COPENHAGEN (Reuters) - European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso said on Monday he was confident the world would sign a global deal to combat climate change in Copenhagen in December.

Barroso urged European industry to gear up for a green technology race instead of shoring up outdated, high-carbon business models.

"I am confident that the deal is going to be reached but it will of course be a very difficult negotiation until the very last minute," he said on the sidelines of a green business conference.

"I don't underestimate the differences and the difficulties but I am confident that a deal is possible in Copenhagen, and I'm saying that because I am seeing progress," he added, pointing to new U.S. engagement on the issue.

The Associated Press: Amazon hit by climate chaos of floods, drought

Experts suspect global warming may be driving wild climate swings that appear to be punishing the Amazon with increasing frequency.

It's "the $1 million dollar question," says Carlos Nobre, a climatologist with Brazil's National Institute for Space Research.

While a definitive answer will take years of careful study, climatologists say the world should expect more extreme weather in the years ahead.
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"Something is telling us to us to be more careful with the planet. Changes are happening around the world, and we're seeing them as well in Brazil," President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said this month on his radio program.

Lesson Plan - Aztec Religion

Sometime around 1450, the growing Aztec empire was experiencing severe drought that lasted for four years and destroyed their valuable corn crops. The Aztec priests encouraged the people to sacrifice blood to the gods to regain their favor. In desperation, the Aztecs sacrificed thousands of people in a few weeks. By awful coincidence the rain came and restored the corn crops. With this powerful evidence, what do you think the Aztec leaders learned? Soon the practice of human sacrifice became a necessary ritual to maintain the lifestyle they built. This leads us to wonder how far we should go to sacrifice for the common good.