The EU failed to reach agreement to help developing countries reduce emissions

Finance ministers of the EU (Ecofin) on Tuesday failed to agree on financial assistance needed by developing countries to cut emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2) and thus to address the impacts of climate change.
"It's a disappointing result," he acknowledged at a news conference Swedish Finance Minister Anders Borg, whose country chairs the EU this semester.
The Twenty-seven were unable to reach agreement on the needs of non-industrialized nations to curb emissions and on how much each Member State should provide financial assistance from the EU to those countries.
Poland's opposition, meanwhile, prevented adoption of any conclusions that had already withdrawn all the key figures, so the issue will go to European leaders, meeting in Brussels next week.
'Lack of commitment'

According to the Swedish presidency of the EU shift the problem is "lack of commitment" of the EU countries themselves.
The European Commissioner for Economic and Monetary Affairs Joaquin Almunia, conceded that, given what happened today and what is happening internationally, "will be difficult" to reach agreement on a UN summit on climate change , held in December in Copenhagen.

Still, Almunia said he was hopeful and said that Tuesday's meeting has ended without a text of conclusions "does not mean that Europe will continue to lead the efforts in search of agreement" to replace the Kyoto Protocol.

Until this morning, the European ministers hoped to agree on at least three general figures on funding. First, according to draft conclusions that have been discussing, they recognized that developing countries need between 5,000 and 7,000 million per year to tackle climate change and reducing emissions in the period 2010-2012.

The text also noted that mitigation and adaptation to global warming will cost around 100,000 million per year from 2020, of which between 22,000 and 50,000 million would come from international public funding.

However, strong opposition from several countries, led by Poland, now forced to withdraw all the figures except the most comprehensive document (100,000 million), yet they failed to check the support of member countries.

Countdown to the end of the oil era

The decline of the oil industry could be closer than expected. The Council of Energy Research in the UK, in a study from 500 papers on the subject, asserts that there is "significant risk" that the production reaches its maximum in 2020, when it would begin its decline.

The authors of this study warn that most governments are not sufficiently aware of the magnitude of the problem. The last existing estimate, conducted by the International Energy Agency (IEA), noted that most experts place the output ceiling ten years later, in 2030.

However, the report of the British Research Council describes this forecast "optimistic at best." He also warns that given the difficulty of the search process for alternative energy sources, 2030 is not far.

The study also raises the possibility that more than two thirds of production capacity have to be replaced for the same year, claiming that the ten largest oilfields in the world have begun to decline in terms of production.
International Debate

The subject is under a stormy debate. On the one hand those who say that global reserves have already reached the zenith and we are not sufficiently prepared for the crisis that hit the economy in coming years. In addition, energy companies and analysts who deny that stocks are running low.

The study authors say it is difficult to prove what the correct posture and that currently there is no accurate method for measuring the reserves. The problems stem from "inconsistent definitions, lack of reliable data and the absence of third party review and the resulting insecurity figures on these data." The resulting confusion creates an obvious risk for governments that can not be being properly advised on this matter.

Part of the difficulties come from the barriers imposed by some countries and companies that refuse to disclose the entirety of its reserves relying on the economic implications of disclosing this information. The report adds that the greatest difficulties are in OPEC countries.

Discovered seven new mushrooms that glow in the dark

Researchers at the State University of San Francisco in the U.S. have discovered seven new species of mushrooms that glow in the dark and increasing the number of species of luminescent fungi from 64 to 71. The discoveries include two new species that have been named after two movements 'Requiem' by Mozart. The findings, published in the journal Mycologia, 'also shed light on the evolution of the luminescence.

The researchers found mushrooms in Belize, Brazil, Dominican Republic, Jamaica, Japan, Malaysia and Puerto Rico. The discoveries include four new and three reports of luminescence in known species. Three quarters of luminous fungi, including those described in the study belong to the genus 'Mycena', a group of fungi that feed on decaying organic matter.

Explains Dennis Desjardin, director of the study, "what interests us is that within the 'Mycena' luminescent species come from 16 lineages, suggesting that the luminescence evolved into a point and that some species after they lost their ability to shine. "

Desjardin think some mushrooms glow to attract nocturnal animals to help disperse the spores and seeds that allow them to grow new bodies.