Chelsea gives a glimpse of gardens in 2050. Hotter, drier, but remarkably short of cacti
Features
This year's Chelsea Flower Show will feature hundreds of gardens, and one greenhouse effect. Alongside the pavilions, water features, canopies, mosaic paths and rammed earth walls on display by the banks of the Thames next week, the show's organisers, the Royal Horticultural Society, have made climate change a key theme. From using willow as biofuel, to adapting flower gardens, a series of exhibits will tackle how to make a garden grow in a changing climate.
Source: Guardian Unlimited
Date Published: May 17, 2008

Great white hope
Features
Gilbert Leavitt pulls up his thick parka hood against the biting wind, revs up his snowmobile and ploughs on through the ice of the Arctic tundra in pursuit of a polar bear he saw at America's most northerly point a few days ago. As a part-time tour guide from the Inupiat tribe who inhabit Alaska's harsh northern coastline, 350 miles inside the Arctic Circle, he knows many of the favourite hang-outs of the world's biggest bear and the best time of day to catch one frolicking in the snow.
Source: Guardian Unlimited
Date Published: May 17, 2008

In praise of ... Skiddaw
Features
Skiddaw is not the hardest English mountain to climb but it is lofty, distinctive in character and shape, hymned in poetry and - on a good day like yesterday - there is no finer place in the land to enjoy a well-served three-course lunch. William Wordsworth and Robert Southey provided the inspiration for this year's Keswick Mountain Festival with their account of a Skiddaw summit lunch of roast beef, plum pudding and punch in 1815 to celebrate Napoleon's defeat at Waterloo. Yesterday's lunch, prepared on the summit in fine weather for 30 diners by the Keswick chef Peter Sidwell - and due to be repeated today - was a healthier and more sober affair with local produce such as lamb and damsons. This airy celebration - perhaps the start of an annual event - writes a new chapter in the story of an ancient and noble fell. Most visitors know the ascent from Keswick, but bolder walkers and writers such as Hugh Walpole and Melvyn Bragg have been inspired by its remoter northern flanks too. "The
Source: Guardian Unlimited
Date Published: May 15, 2008

World's wildlife and environment already hit by climate change, major study shows
Features
Global warming is disrupting wildlife and the environment on every continent, according to an unprecedented study that reveals the extent to which climate change is already affecting the world's ecosystems.
Source: Guardian Unlimited
Date Published: May 15, 2008

How long will summer last?
Features
That chilly April is starting to seem a distant memory. But while most of us bask in what seems unusually warm weather, the doom-mongers are muttering about a repeat of last year.
Source: Guardian Unlimited
Date Published: May 12, 2008

Mittal braced for protests on pollution
Features
Steel giant ArcelorMittal will be accused of leaving a trail of environmental destruction in its wake this week when campaigners descend on Luxembourg to protest at its annual meeting.
Source: Guardian Unlimited
Date Published: May 11, 2008

Is this climate change?
Features
There have always been episodes of extreme weather, and there is no way to know whether global warming has made it worse. On the other hand, some scientists argue that storms like Nargis are more likely in a warming world. Al Gore was careful with his words, but he said as much this week when he reportedly told NPR radio in the US: "We're seeing consequences that scientists have long predicted might be associated with continued global warming." A similar debate followed Hurricane Katrina in 2005. Some scientists said that warmer seas could make such storms more intense, though not more frequent. Last year's reports from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change said it was "likely" that future cyclones would be more intense. Since then, however, research has shown a fuzzier picture, with future storm strength increasing in places but decreasing in others.
Source: Guardian Unlimited
Date Published: May 10, 2008

Great white hope
Features
Gilbert Leavitt pulls up his thick parka hood against the biting wind, revs up his snowmobile and ploughs on through the ice of the Arctic tundra in pursuit of a polar bear he saw at America's most northerly point a few days ago. As a part-time tour guide from the Inupiat tribe who inhabit Alaska's harsh northern coastline, 350 miles inside the Arctic Circle, he knows many of the favourite hang-outs of the world's biggest bear and the best time of day to catch one frolicking in the snow.
Source: Guardian Unlimited
Date Published: May 17, 2008

UK demands repayment of climate aid to poor nations
Features
Britain's £800m international project to help the poorest countries in the world adapt to climate change was under fire last night after it emerged that almost all the money offered by Gordon Brown will have to be repaid with interest.
Source: Guardian Unlimited
Date Published: May 16, 2008

Expert warns climate change will lead to 'barbarisation'
Features
Climate change will lead to a "fortress world" in which the rich lock themselves away in gated communities and the poor must fend for themselves in shattered environments, unless governments act quickly to curb greenhouse gas emissions, according to the vice-president of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).
Source: Guardian Unlimited
Date Published: May 15, 2008

US loophole puts polar bears at risk
Features
Environmental groups are claiming that a US decision to list polar bears as an endangered species would still leave them unprotected against their biggest threat; global warming caused by man-made pollution. Yesterday's decision announced by the US interior secretary, Dirk Kempthorne, ended a court battle over whether the animals should be protected from melting sea ice caused by climate change.
Source: Guardian Unlimited
Date Published: May 15, 2008

World's wildlife and environment already hit by climate change, major study shows
Features
Global warming is disrupting wildlife and the environment on every continent, according to an unprecedented study that reveals the extent to which climate change is already affecting the world's ecosystems.
Source: Guardian Unlimited
Date Published: May 15, 2008

World carbon dioxide levels highest for 650,000 years, says US report
Features
The concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere has reached a record high, according to the latest figures, renewing fears that climate change could begin to slide out of control.
Source: Guardian Unlimited
Date Published: May 13, 2008

Up, up and away
News
Hot air balloons assist researchers in tornado predictions.
Source: scenta
Date Published: May 12, 2008