China: Cold weather delays apple harvest in Jining Foreign Trading

Gansu province had experienced cold weather in April delaying the harvest season of Huaniu apples. “The weather did not suit so well in growing of Huianiu apples. It was too cold when the apple trees were in blossom and we have to wait for the good coloration before we start picking the apples,” says Jining Foreign Trading's international representative Mr.George Sun.

“The quantity of Huaniu apples is expected to decrease by 40% this year in some produce area. We are hoping to have these apples out in the market by first week of September. ” says Mr. Sun.

AFP: UN to get report on climate panel August 30

PARIS — A UN-requested review of the world's top panel of climate scientists, accused of flaws in a key assessment on global warming, will be unveiled on August 30, the investigating committee said on Friday.

The five-month probe into "the processes and procedures" of the UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is being conducted by the InterAcademy Council (IAC), gathering 15 leading science academies.

Its report will be handed to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and IPCC chairman Rajendra Pachauri in New York on August 30, and will be followed by a press conference, according to a statement for the IAC by Britain's Royal Society.

350.org sets realistic climate goals on Environmental Expert

True, there may be a bit of an information overload surrounding climate change. But one new organization has made significant headway in making things a lot simpler. And its accomplishing this by viewing climate change through the lens of a magic number: 350.

Essentially, according to scientific consensus and a seminal report by Dr. James Hansen—perhaps the world’s most venerated climate change researcher—350 ppm (parts per million) is the safe upper limit for atmospheric carbon dioxide. So 350.org was launched to make that number a focal point of achievable, realistic action on climate change.  [Could we see a list of the names of the scientists who believe that 350ppm is the safe upper limit for atmospheric CO2?]