I don't often find myself saying the words "benefit of global warming," but a recent study shows that climate change might prove advantageous for one species.

New Scientist reports that "When the heat is on, lizards become smarter – potentially giving them a competitive edge as the world warms."  How did scientists test it?  Researchers incubated two sets of eggs in different temperatures -- cold versus warm.  After they'd hatched, the two groups of lizards were put into separate aquariums, each equipped with two hideouts.  One hiding place was blocked off, while the other was completely accessible.

The team scared the lizards by touching a paintbrush to their tails.  Then they recorded how the lizards reacted. According to New Scientist, "After 16 trials, five of the nine cold-incubated lizards still headed for the inaccessible hideout. Just one of the 12 warm-incubated lizards made the same mistake."

What conclusion can be drawn?  According to Joshua Amiel, a researcher at the University of Sydney in Australia, "Climate change might not be so bad for these guys."

We all learned back in basic science that environmental changes can affect an animal's characteristics. Remember how the Industrial Revolution affected moths throughout Britain?  As trees and buildings became more covered in soot, moths that were originally pale evolved into a black color, proving our effect on the natural world.

According to a press release distributed by the National Science Foundation, the environment is similarly affecting wolves in America's Yellowstone National Park.  That's based on a study, part of the Yellowstone Wolf Project, in which various characteristics of the wolves since their reintroduction to the park in 1995 were tracked and reported. The press release reports that "Some tracked characteristics--such as population size--are related to population ecology. Other tracked characteristics--such as coat color--are genetically determined through evolution."

Tim Coulson, a study researcher from Imperial College London, told LiveScience that "Biologists and people who study wild populations in animals have been noticing over the last decade or so [of studies] that when you change the environment around a species — climate change, introduction of new species, disease epidemics, etc. — you don't just change the size of the population, the number of individuals living there, you often change the characteristics of the animals."

For the most part, researchers looked at the impact of environmental changes on the population of wolves in Yellowstone National Park.  But what the results tell us is that evolutionary changes can occur quite rapidly.  This is something to keep in mind as the effects of global warming continue to alter the world and its inhabitants.

Starting this week, United Nations climate change talks are set to take place in Durban, South Africa. And as the discussions begin, the spotlight is on strange weather patterns the world has seen so far this year. From widespread wildfires to disastrous tsunamis, we've undoubtedly experienced some rare conditions in 2011.

In a statement released by Michel Jarraud, secretary-general of the U.N.'s World Meteorological Organization (WMO), he asserts that our extreme weather is linked to global warming. "Our science is solid and it proves unequivocally that the world is warming and that this warming is due to human activities," Jarraud said.

It therefore comes as no surprise that 2011 will go down as one of the hottest years on record.  The Huffington Post reports that "2011 was tied as the 10th hottest year since records began in 1850. Arctic sea ice, a barometer for the entire planet, had shrunk to a record low volume."

An important issue at the climate conference will be to build a new strategy that will contain greenhouse emissions and manage global warming.  The current treaty, the Kyoto Protocol, was created in 1997 and features binding reductions in greenhouse gas emissions.

However, the agreement expires next year, at which point all participating nations should have reduced levels by 5.2% from 1990.  If temperatures rise in excess of 2 degrees Celsius each year, the world will see irreversible alterations, catastrophic events and mass extinctions, reports the Los Angeles Times.

It's great that international climate negotiators are meeting in order to address the issues at hand, but is it too late?  According to R.D.J. Lengoasa, Deputy Director for the WMO, "Climate change is real, and we are already observing its manifestations in weather and climate patterns around the world."

The Gap, Kraft, MillerCoors, Sara Lee, and Nestle -- chances are you recognize at least one of these companies.  In fact, you probably purchased an item from one of these organizations recently.

What do they have in common?  All of these corporations, according to EnvironmentalLeader.com, have been affected by the world's water woes.

Take the Gap, for example.  After the Texas droughts destroyed cotton crops, the clothing retailer "cut its profit forecast by 22 percent."  Other companies, like Kraft and Nestle, will have to raise product prices due to droughts in some locations and floods in others.

On rainy days like today in the Northeast, it's hard to imagine a drought-stricken world.  But what happens all over the globe affects us more than we know.  And as water consumption grows "over twice as quickly as the global population," it looks like the stresses will only get worse.

Who could forget Al Gore's 'An Inconvenient Truth' campaign? Starting with his Oscar-winning 2006 documentary about global warming and supplemented by a book, music tour, and more, Gore's global warming awareness project would go on to earn him a Nobel Peace Prize. 

Now Gore is back and ready to remind Americans about climate reality.  According to MSNBC, "Former Vice President Al Gore and his Climate Reality Project on Wednesday plan to stream online 24 hours straight with scientists and activists from around the world speaking about climate impacts."  The event, dubbed "24 Hours of Reality," will culminate in a wrap-up presentation by Gore on Thursday in New York.

Trewin Restorick, who heads the event's UK partner, Global Action Plan, told MSNBC that "there will be 200 new slides arguing the connection between more extreme weather and climate change."  One can only imagine the footage that will be presented considering the harsh weather the US has seen so far in 2011.

Will you be participating in Gore's climate marathon?

This year, the United States has experienced it all in terms of weather disasters. Within the past few weeks in New York alone we've seen an earthquake, a tropical storm, flooding and up-and-down temperatures.

"From the blizzard that dumped almost two feet of snow on Chicago, to killer tornadoes and heat waves in the south, to record flooding, to wildfires that have burned more than 1,000 homes in Texas in the last few days, Mother Nature has been in a vile and costly mood," reports the Mother Nature Network. Might there be a common thread between all of these bizarre weather conditions?

According to climate experts, global warming could quite possibly be the culprit.  As reported by Mother Nature Network, "...Given the variety and violence of both short-term weather events and longer-term effects like a Southwestern drought that has lasted years, more scientists say climate itself seems to be shifting and weather extremes will become more common."

This sentiment is echoed by USA Today, which reports that higher temperatures tied to global warming "have widely contributed to recent runs of horrible weather."

And the year's not even over.  In fact, as I write this blog entry, there are three tropical cyclones gaining strength in the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico, "drought-fueled wildfires" burning through Texas, and flood waters rising throughout the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast.

According to meteorologist Jeff Masters from Weather Underground, it's due to the warming of our atmosphere, which acts as a steroid to already-threatening weather. "A warmer atmosphere has more energy," reports Masters. "Years like 2011 may be the new normal."

We all know by now how harmful greenhouse gas emissions can be to our environment and to our health. Our current energy systems in place do not fully take advantage of renewable sources of energy. And according to the UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), we as a global society could potentially reduce our reliance on greenhouse gasses substantially by the year 2050. That is, as long as governments can afford to invest more in renewable forms of energy, such as solar and wind power.

Right now, the IPCC is reporting that only 13 percent of the world's energy supply is coming from renewable sources. Therefore, a jump to 77 percent is quite drastic. Ramon Pichs Madgruga, a member of the IPCC, said "The report shows that it is not the availability of the resource, but the public policies that will either expand or constrain renewable energy development over the coming decades."

According to a New York Times article on the topic, "To reach the goal of generating nearly 80 percent of the world's energy from those same sources would require investments by governments and the private sector amounting to $5.1 trillion through 2020, and nearly $7.2 trillion between 2021 and 2030." To many individuals, these figures may seem insane; this is a very large amount of money. How well governments across the globe will be able to meet these expectations is unclear. However, the benefits are much more obvious.

If the world's countries were able to achieve this goal, the results would be quite honestly amazing. The biggest advantage to switching over to these renewable forms of energy would be cleaner air for everyone. Cleaner air would mean overall better public health. Additionally, with less greenhouse gasses being emitted into the air, the increase in global temperature would be held to below two degrees Celsius. This would have a huge impact on the slowing and prevention of global warming.

Just knowing that these results are achievable from an environmental standpoint is phenomenal. However, from a political standpoint things do not look as bright. According to Ottmar Edenhofer, who serves as a member on the IPCC, a "substantial increase of renewables is technically and politically very challenging." To make such huge progress on this issue would require worldwide responsibility and cooperation-- every country would have to take steps toward cleaning up.

This week, leaders from around the world met at the international summit building for carbon emission discussions in Copenhagen, Denmark. Government leaders are hoping to make agreements that will help us all move towards more sustainable societies.

The United States, who when joined with China account for 50% of the entire earth's emissions, is feeling the pressure. President Barack Obama plans on joining the committee towards the end of the week when more leaders are present and more brainstorming has been done.

It's likely that Australia will have a strong presence in Denmark as well. An environmentally focused group from Australia recently created the first ever world-wide community dedicated to fighting carbon emissions with fun. They provide packages to help you spread eco-friendly practices in your workplace.

Their latest promotion uses the ever popular promotional stickers. Each sticker displays a carbon fighter slaying the "C" shaped carbon. The stickers urge people to recycle and conserve energy. One sticker reads, "Go for the Stairs," and depicts the carbon "C" as an elevator being violently shaken. Another urges you to turn off the lights and one more to promote car pooling. 

                             
Each has a twisted illustration, a clever hook and an awesome message. We're got to make every aspect of our lives more sustainable.To my surprise they even have a promotional sticker about promotional mugs. It reads, "Use a mug, not a plastic cup." It shows swords all piercing through the carbon "C" but only sticking out of the custom mugs. Like our promotional eco-friendly mugs, they're durable and long lasting.

An article in Time Magazine once said, "Don't blow it - good planets are hard to find." With our planet earth piling up with trash and our atmosphere subject to increased global warming, it's pretty fair to say that we're blowing our chances as earth's residents. Though astronauts are seeking out other life sustaining planets it's important to make our planet more sustainable. With the use of environmentally friendly promotional items, we've made that very possible.
                                    
People are making great efforts to slow global warming while some are realizing that climate change is not our only environmental problem. Animals across the world are also in danger of loosing their own lives due to our invasion of their habitats. Underwater eco-systems are under increased strain because it is there that the most diverse species exist. When one organism is eliminated, it could ultimately change the course of the lives of every other species in the eco-system.

The leatherback turtles, found in both the Atlantic and Pacific, are one of the 1000+ endangered species on the earth. These beautiful creatures that reach sizes up to six and seven feet, are under risk because of egg harvesting, food availability and most commonly, fishery bycatch. Fishermen use gigantic nets made from rope or wires to catch edible fish for our consumption. They drag these heavy nets across the oceans floor and grab any living creature in its path. Once the nets are raised, the attractive fish life are scooped out and preserved, but the majority of other animals and plant life are left for dead.
                  
To raise awareness of these endangered leatherback turtles, the Canadian Sea Turtle Network joined with National Geographic magazine for a great promotion. Green nets bound each magazine enclosed with personalized cards marking the page of the article. The cards explained the cause and functioned as awesome awareness event giveaways.

To read the magazine, recipients had to cut through the net, and in essence, free the leatherback turtles. I urge everyone to spread the word that we need to cherish this earth - because it's all we got. With beautiful custom turtle shaped ornaments, you too can spread leatherback turtle endangerment awareness. With knowledge, comes action.  Let's spread what we know with the use of promotional eco-friendly products and help restore the earth to the way it's meant to be.