Issues & Trends

	Arctic sea-ice levels at record low for June Sea ice in the Arctic has melted faster this year than ever recorded before, according to the US government's National Snow and Ice Data Centre (NSIDC).
	Infographic On The Energy-Water Collision: How Hot, Dry Summers Impact Water and Power Generation Every year, the United States consumes more than 3 trillion KWh of electricity. This power is generated by coal-fired power plants, nuclear plants, solar panels, hydroelectric damns, wind turbines, geothermal wells, and other sources and it requires water to produce.
	The Open PV Project: The real-time status of the solar photovoltaic market in the U.S.
	Aquaculture Tries to Fill World's Insatiable Appetite for Seafood
	Satellite Data Indicates Unprecedented Greenland Ice Sheet Surface Melt ASA says new satellite measurements indicate unprecedented recent Greenland ice sheet surface melt. The images above show the extent of surface melt over Greenland’s ice sheet over just a four day period - from July 8 (left) and July 12 (right).
	Thousands of fish die from heat wave as scientist blames climate change AP reported today that thousands of fish died just last week in the Midwestern United States because the heat wave made the rivers too hot. At the same time a leading scientist said statistical analysis confirms the blistering heat is a result of climate change.
	Vision of Humanity: 2012 Global Peace Index The 2012 Global Peace Index has found that the world has become slightly more peaceful over the last year. Explore the index on the new interactive map. View Map
	World over-using underground water reserves for agriculture LONDON, Aug 8 (Reuters) - The world is depleting underground water reserves faster than they can be replenished due to over-exploitation, according to scientists in Canada and the Netherlands.
	On World Population Day, Nine Strategies to Stop Short of 9 Billion Although most analysts assume that the world’s population will rise from today’s 7 billion to 9 billion by 2050, it is quite possible that humanity will never reach this population size.
	Filling In the Blanks on a Map of Life Have you ever longed for a Google map of koala bears? Bald eagles? Red pandas? A team of researchers from Yale and the University Colorado at Boulder have made it happen. This month they released a demo version of a Web-based “Map of Life” intended to eventually reflect the distribution of all plant and animal life on earth.