UN chief Ban Ki-moon briefed on Arctic climate off Norway : Environment

The UN head was accompanied by Erik Solheim, Norwegian environment and international development minister.

"His mission is to convince world leaders of the need for drastic measures against the climate threats," Solheim told broadcaster NRK.

Ag secretary comes to Ohio

"It's all about jobs, if we do climate change right," [naive U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown] said.

But Brown said he wants to make sure that the final bill -- Senate committees will begin marking up the bill as early as next month -- will not result in severe spikes in electrical prices and further hurt Ohio's manufacturing base.

The senator said he does like how Ohio is positioned to transition its manufacturing base -- previously geared toward the auto-parts market -- into supplying parts for the alternative-energy industry.

"If we can make gears for cars, we can make gears for wind turbines," Brown said. "We can make this state the Silicon Valley of alternative energy."

Warmer winters, cooler summers ahead for Hunter - Local News - News - General - The Herald

STARTLING new climate research shows the Hunter Region will experience fewer differences between the seasons and more extreme storms, floods and heatwaves over the next 70 years.

A University of Newcastle report, done for Hunter councils to consider climate change, projected a return to the weather trends of 1948 to 1976, a period characterised by the La Nina weather pattern and heavy rainfall.

It found average maximum temperatures, from 2020 to 2080, would get cooler in summer and spring, and winter and autumn would get warmer.

Will climate change make the United Kingdom warmer or cooler?

There are two scenarios for the UK as a result of global warming. It could get warmer or the climate could even become cooler.