Increasing sea surface temperatures are imperilling coral reef ecosystems say Australian marine and climate scientists. A new scientific paper reveals that atmospheric warming of 2 degrees celsius is too much for nearly all the world's coral reef ecosystems, including the Great Barrier Reef. The scientists argue that to preserve greater than 10 per cent of coral reefs worldwide would require limiting global warming to below 1.5 °C. This equates to the goal of reducing carbon in the atmosphere to 350ppm, rather than a 2 degree rise or 450ppm that the UN Framwework Convention on Climate Change has adopted as the safe limit at several meetings.

Atmospheric concentration of CO2 currently stands at 392.41ppm. With current pledged reduction in emissions we are heading for 4.4 °C of warming by the end of the century according to the Climate Scoreboard.

Related: The True Cost of Australia's Coal Boom | Greenpeace report: Boom Goes the Reef: Australia's coal export boom and the industrialisation of the Great Barrier Reef (PDF) | The Conversation: - Climate change guardrail too hot for coral reefs?

A banner drop at a construction site for a new coal loader terminal at the Port of Newcastle in the New South Wales Hunter Valley in Australia ended when police instructed the 60 metre crane be lowered to the ground. The Protestors say they were not given warning of this action and alledged it imperiled their lives.

“We are dismayed with the actions of police here today.” said spokesperson Steve Phillips. “We conducted a peaceful protest, with trained and experience climbers, and safety as our priority. NSW Police responded with gross negligence and dereliction of duty, and placed two lives at risk. Our climbers were not even warned before the crane was lowered.”

Related: Australia: Climate activists do Banner drops in Boggabri and Melbourne against coal rush

Apollo Beach, FL—In the climax of the 2012 Republican National Convention, protestors with Earth First! have blocked access roads to TECO’s Big Bend coal plant on the eastern shore of Tampa Bay. The environmental action group is citing corporate influence in politics and ecological impacts of fossil fuel dependency as reasons for the disruption.

Report from Indybay IMC: A30 Earth First! Lockdown at Tampa's Big Bend Coal Plant During 2012 RNC
| Youtube video: Environmental Protest in Tampa Bay during RNC , Protestors chained together, Protest ends peacefully

Surface melt on the Greenland ice sheet reached up to 97% of the ice sheet area by July 12, an unprecedented level of melting, according to readings gathered and cross-referenced from three different satellites by several scientists.

 
Satellite measurements showed that about 40 percent of the ice sheet had undergone thawing at or near the surface on July 8, but over the subsequent 4 days the melting had dramatically accelerated to cover an estimated 97 percent of the ice sheet surface by July 12. This was the largest area seen thawing ever measured on the Greenland ice sheet by satellite measurements.


Update: Arctic Sea Ice Extent drops to lowest on record and still shrinking

climatecrunchGlobal Justice Ecology Project's blog, Climate-Connections.org, will be hosting news, reports, audio, video and photos from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.    

 A team of activist-journalists from Global Justice Ecology Project (GJEP) and Gears of Change is on site in Rio this  week to provide daily coverage of at the UN's Rio+20 Earth Summit, as well as the Peoples' Summit for Social and Environmental Justice which began on Friday and runs parallel to the UN event.  

For the latest on the UN's attempts to promote and advance the dangerous Green Economy, and the Peoples' Summit's efforts to both identify the root causes of the global crises we face and find the real solutions to these problems, visit and subscribe to  http://climate-connections.org 

To support this important work with a donation, click here

The Durban UN climate talks - COP17 - are drawing to a close. Ministers and heads of state met through Friday night to thrash out some meaning from these talks.

Northern Rockies Rising Tide and Earth First! Activists Occupy Montana Capitol Building Demanding Governor Schweitzer Publicly Oppose Keystone XL Pipeline and Tar Sands Megaload Shipments

Related: Over 60 people occupy Montana capitol protesting tar sands, megaloads, and government collusion with Big Oil 

On the morning of July 12th, six activists from Earth First! and Northern Rockies Rising Tide occupied Governor Schweitzer's office in an act of non-violent civil disobedience. The activists locked their arms in a mock oil pipeline made out of PVC plastic pipe. In the wake of the Silvertip spill, Governor Schweitzer has publicly chastised ExxonMobil for their negligence and lack of transparency, while at the same time continuing to promote the construction of TransCanada's Keystone XL pipeline, Exxon's megaload shipments bound for the Alberta Tar Sands, and other extreme fossil fuels projects throughout the state.

A report issued last week from the International Programme on the State of the Ocean (IPSO) has strongly warned of the damage to the health of the world's oceans and marine life from several factors including the impacts of climate change. The report warned that if the current business as usual trajectory of damage continues "that the world's ocean is at high risk of entering a phase of extinction of marine species unprecedented in human history."

Related: International Programme on the State of the Ocean (IPSO) | The Ocean in a high CO2 world | Frontline - World's oceans in crisis: What can be done? | Takver: articles on climate change and oceans | NOAA: Major flooding on the Mississippi river predicted to cause largest Gulf of Mexico dead zone ever recorded

As the Bonn Climate Talks sputtered and choked past the finish line today, the general consensus was that immediate high level political intervention on the part of Northern developed countries is mandatory to the success of international climate negotiations tasked with cutting GHG emissions to less than 2 degrees by 2020.

Related: Ambassador of Bolivia on UN climate talks in Germany | Bonn: World Bank dirty investments fueling climate change claims report | Saudi Arabia delays talks say NGOs
Oxfam - Developing countries pledge bigger climate emissions cuts than world's richest nations | WWF cool on lukewarm outcome in Bonn climate talks

An estimated 10,000 people packed the lawns of the State Library on Swanston street Melbourne on World Environment Day to Say yes to a safe climate and support the introduction of a carbon price by the Gillard Federal Labor Government. About 8000 people also gathered in Sydney, 5000 people rallied in Adelaide's Victoria Square, 5000 in Brisbane, 3000 in Perth, 3000 in Hobart, and 2000 in Canberra. Organisors estimate up to 45000 may have attended rallies across Australia today to support climate action and pricing carbon.

Melbourne Protests weblog - Say ‘Yes’ to Action on Climate Change – rally in Melbourne 5 June 2011 |
Flickr photos: Melbourne | Adelaide | Canberra | Sydney