The science behind what makes our planet's temperature rise is pretty straightforward. Pollutants like soot and greenhouse gases like methane and carbon dioxide trap heat within the earth's atmosphere, the global average surface temperature goes up, ice caps melt, sea levels rise and extreme weather events become even more extreme. To source

A decade ago, the sea floor off the coast of the west Antarctic Peninsula (WAP) was a patchwork quilt of different colors and species. But now, icebergs are increasingly scouring the sea floor as they drift close to shore, fundamentally altering that rich ecosystem in the process. To source

The Environmental Photographer of the Year competition is a relatively new one (since 2007) but its raison d'etre is important. It was created to enable photographers to share images of environmental and social issues. With over 10,000 submissions this year, there is a clearly an interest and engagement with this subject. To source

Coral Davenport, who reports on energy and environment policy from the Washington bureau of The New York Times, answered questions on Tuesday from readers on Twitter. To source

Three years of observations show that the Antarctic ice sheet is now losing 159 billion tonnes of ice each year -- twice as much as when it was last surveyed. To source

Analyzing thousands of breeding bird surveys sent in by citizen scientists over 35 years, wildlife researchers report that most of the 40 songbird species they studied shifted either northward or toward higher elevation in response to climate change, but did not necessarily do both. To source

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has released a new, very important report. It was created with the help of 1250 experts, and approved by 194 governments, which is probably even harder than it sounds. It confirms some things that we already knew about climate change and turns up the urgency dial on other things. To source

No one is immune to the impact of climate change, which is fuelling war, hastening natural disasters, causing the extinction of species and threatens to drag societies back into poverty, the most comprehensive study into the phenomenon has warned. To source