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The scale of the rush by speculators, pension funds and global agri-businesses to acquire large areas of developing countries is far greater than previously thought, and is already leading to conflict, hunger and human rights abuses, says Oxfam.

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A string of technologies that could be used to engineer our environment to head off climate change are being field-tested

According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric administration, there have been 10 major disasters this year As deadly fires continue to burn across bone-dry Texas and eight inches of rain from tropical storm Lee falls on New Orleans, the US is beginning to count the cost of nine months of unprecedented weather extremes. READ TO THE BOTTOM FOR LIST OF HAZARDS FOR USA IN 2011 (HOMEWORK 1)

NASA Study Goes to Earth's Core for Climate Insights The latest evidence of the dominant role humans play in changing Earth's climate comes not from observations of Earth's ocean, atmosphere or land surface, but from deep within its molten core.

The huge increase in coal-fired power stations in China has masked the impact of global warming in the last decade because of the cooling effect of their sulphur emissions, new research has revealed.

Freak Atlantic Tsunami Hits Southwest England July 8, 2011 While no damage was reported from the 16-inch-high ocean surge, people rushed to higher ground when the sea suddenly retreated just prior to the tsunami. "It was surreal. I couldn't believe what had happened.

Posted by feww on June 20, 2011 Extreme rains have inundated large parts of several provinces in China affecting millions of people according to China's official news agency. Torrential rains have also triggered landslide destroying homes, roads, bridges, dykes, and other infrastructure, killing many people.

The sun is a key driver of the Earth's climate, but it isn't behind the strong recent warming trend* See all questions and answers* Read about the project Over the very long term, variations in Earth's orbit that shape where and when sunlight reaches the planet are the main cause of ice ages, but this doesn't apply to our current situation.

Ice sheet layers can be read like the pages of a book - if you know the language. In this video, we see how scientists are deciphering the history of Earth's climate from ice cores taken from western Antarctica Snow that is compressed into ice forms distinct layers.

This question and answer is part of the Guardian's ultimate climate change FAQ* See all questions and answers* Read about the project A changing climate isn't inherently bad, and commentators who are sceptical about the risks posed by global warming often point to the benefits that higher temperatures could bring - such as longer growing seasons in cool countries and more efficient shipping routes through an ice-free Arctic.

Read more: See an interactive graphic of tornado devastation It's been a severe start to the spring season in the United States. Tornadoes have ravaged the southeastern US, flooding threatens much of the Midwest, and wildfires are scorching Texas. But according to researchers, a confluence of seasonal oscillations in weather patterns, rather than climate change, is to blame.

You think you're discussing technologies, and you quickly discover that you're discussing belief systems. The battle among environmentalists over how or whether our future energy is supplied is a cipher for something much bigger: who we are, who we want to be, how we want society to evolve.

THE Peruvian highlands were hit hard by El Niño in 1982, and crops were destroyed. The same year, guerrilla attacks by the Shining Path movement erupted into a civil war that would last 20 years. Random coincidence? Possibly not.

Does a changing climate mean an increase in conflict and civil unrest around the world? Some of the world's military authorities believe it might - elements in the US armed forces hierarchy, for example, see climate change as a security issue for just that reason.

UK climate secretary to tell defence experts that conflict caused by climate change risks reversing the progress of civilisation Climate change will lead to an increased threat of wars, violence and military action against the UK, and risks reversing the progress of civilisation, the energy and climate secretary Chris Huhne will say on Thursday, in his strongest warning yet that the lack of progress on greenhouse gas emission cuts would damage the UK's national interests.