U.Va. poll: Most say global warming is real and they want government to deal with it (Richmond Times-Dispatch) Virginians and most other Americans believe global warming is a real and serious problem, a poll says, and they want local, state and federal governments to do something about it. They’re split, however, on what should be done. Those results from national and state-level polls measuring public attitudes on climate change were released today during the National Conference on Climate Governance at ... [News Source]

No consensus in sight yet at climate change summit (New Kerala) By Joydeep Gupta, Poznan (Poland), Dec 11: Negotiators at the crucial climate change summit here were working hard Thursday to arrive at a consensus on the strategy to combat global warming that has eluded them so far with only a day to go. [News Source]

Obama team set on environment . President-elect Barack Obama has selected his top energy and environmental advisers, including a Nobel Prize-winning physicist and the former head of the Environmental Protection Agency, presidential transition officials said. [News Source]

Tilting at windmills. On Thursday, heads of state return to Brussels in a last-ditch effort to conclude a pact that would put the EU at the forefront of the fight against global warming. If it is successful, Europe will demonstrate that it is possible for big economies to reduce their emissions. [News Source]

Beyond the ice. Greenland is four times the size of France, but with a population of only 57,000 - and as its huge ice sheets begin to melt, what happens here could have a bearing on the fate of the globe. Now, it has voted to cut all ties with its Danish rulers. [News Source]

Very soon, we won’t be able to adapt to climate change: Pachauri. Very soon, the impacts of climate change will exceed our capacities to adapt to them, Rajendra Kumar Pachauri, head of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change warned. [News Source]

2008 one of worst years for disaster losses -insurer. Weather-related disasters and earthquakes are likely to make 2008 the second most costly year for insurers after 2005, when Hurricane Katrina struck the United States, a leading insurer said on Wednesday. [News Source]

Global warming mapping plan delayed by climate change. Council plans to monitor heat loss from homes by taking thermal imaging photos from the air are being delayed by Britain's recent warm winters. [News Source]

Earth has warmed over half a degree in past 30 years. Globally, the Earth's atmosphere has warmed an average of about 0.72 degrees Fahrenheit (0.4 C) in 30 years, according to data collected from NOAA and NASA satellites. Over 80 percent of the planet has warmed by some measure. [News Source]

Grain production to decline due to climate change. Reduced food production is predicted in Ethiopia as a result of climate change, according to the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). [News Source]

Butterfly species may be lost from Britain due to climate change. Britain risks losing many of its butterflies as hundreds of species flee north as a result of climate change, according to experts. [News Source]