Ben Santer credit: Getty

In the two decades since Ben Santer helped write a landmark international report linking global warming and human activity, he’s been criticized by politicians, accused of falsifying his data and rewarded with a dead rat on his doorstep...

cartoon by Adam Zyglis

#1 THE DIRTY SECRETS BEHIND THE NEW PARIS CLIMATE CONFERENCE (COP21) AGREEMENT THEY DON'T WANT YOU TO KNOW…

Strong, smart adults do not want to be fed false hopes, false targets or false facts. They want to know the way things really are so that they can adapt to or effectively manage what actually is there. If you would like to quickly cut through the Paris Climate Conference media spin as well as other greenwashing from the poorly informed concerning the Paris agreement and results, keep reading…

(note: This ones on the cusp of the new year but it tells the story that is about to unfold...)

"Standing amid the skeletons of cushion plants, I wept tears of frustration". Photo: Emma Doxiadi

During the hottest year on record, Karl Mathiesen travelled to Tasmania and found his home irreparably changed...

This year is likely to remembered as a turning point for climate change...

Clockwise from top left: flooding in Alexandria, Va., in June; a house raised on temporary supports in Norfolk, Va.; flooding in Colombo, Sri Lanka, in May; drought conditions at Lake Purdy in Alabama in October. CreditClockwise from top left: Gabriella Demczuk for The New York Times; Eliot Dudik for The New York Times; Eranga Jayawardena, via Associated Press; Brynn Anderson, via Associated Press

As the year ends, The New York Times asked reporters who have focused on climate change, global warming and the environment to choose the news they reported on that was the most memorable. These are their selections, ranging from sea level rise to the phenomenon of “rolling coal” to local actions to confront a warming planet...

US President Barack Obama attends a joint ratification ceremony of the Paris climate change agreement with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Hangzhou on September 3, 2016. HOW HWEE YOUNG/AFP/GETTY IMAGES

NO NATION CAN fight climate change alone...

When Donald Trump takes over the U.S. presidency from Barack Obama he will face a world already committed to climate change action, and his hostility to science and action could cause diplomatic ripple effects. Credit: Win McNamee/Getty Images

The president-elect can surround himself with climate deniers, but he will govern in a world where climate change affects almost all international dealings...

The Block Island Offshore Wind Farm in Rhode Island. Credit: NREL/flickr

The U.S. may be on the cusp of a stark turning point in energy and climate policy with the election of Donald Trump, who has stocked his cabinet with a majority of people who doubt or reject established climate science...

The Mount Thorley Warkworth mine in the Hunter Valley of New South Wales produces coal for both electricity and steel-making. Lock the Gate Alliance/Flickr, CC BY

The Baird government has approved the expansion of the most aggressive coal mine in the Special Areas of Greater Sydney's catchment despite not knowing the compounding impact it will have on water supplies...

A tract of Amazon rain forest, which has been cleared by loggers and farmers for agriculture, near the city of Santarem, Para State, Brazil. (Nacho Doce/Reuters)

Environmental advocates are worried that President-elect Donald Trump will try to withdraw the United States from the Paris climate agreement — and a recent scientific analysis says that if he does and other major countries follow suit, the consequence could be dire, tipping the world toward a dangerous level of global warming...

President Barack Obama met with Donald Trump in the Oval Office following the election. Pablo Martinez Monsivais/AP

And Trump wouldn't be able to stop it!

NEW YORK, Dec 28 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - From coast to coast, U.S. cities have multiplied their efforts to emit fewer greenhouse gases and brace for climate change-driven natural disasters, scientists and environmentalists say...

What a year this was. (Reuters/Stringer)

When Fox News’ Chris Wallace asked Donald Trump about his thoughts on climate change, the president-elect responded, “Nobody really knows. Look, I’m somebody that gets it, and nobody really knows. It’s not something that’s so hard and fast.” He’s not alone; according to Pew Research less than half (48%) of all American adults believe that the Earth is warming mostly due to human activity. They are wrong, though, and 2016 was the year that news from around the world made climate change undeniable to anyone paying attention...

Reindeers graze on the tundra at sunset in Nenets Autonomous District, Russia. (Sergei Karpukhin/Reuters)

The Arctic continues to amaze. Hit by a second bout of extremely warm winter temperatures in recent days, the seasonal growth of floating sea ice has flattened out, just as it did when hit by similarly dramatic heat in November...

A view of Bayshore Blvd flooding from the Bank of Tampa building. (Photo: Ashley Singletary)

HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, Fla. -- A study released by the City of Tampa and the county's Planning Commission said that many low-lying areas could be flooded permanently by 2040 due to rising sea levels...

Algae blooms fueled by runoff and warmer summer temperatures have created a dead zone in Green Bay, threatening wildlife and potentially tourism.(Photo: Val Klump / University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee)

Officials replaced this wording:

“Earth’s climate is changing. Human activities that increase heat-trapping ('greenhouse') gases are the main cause.”

The old text goes on to say “scientists agree” that the Great Lakes region will see longer summers and shorter winters, decreased ice cover and changes in rain and snow patterns “if climate change patterns continue.”

Birds with long migrations are expected to suffer most, as other species reach breeding grounds before them. Photograph: Gerry Penny/EPA

A University of Edinburgh study finds birds are arriving at breeding grounds too soon, causing some to miss out on food...