In the world's breadbasket, climate change feeds some worry

CHICAGO (Reuters) - It can't happen here, can it? The United States, the breadbasket and supplier of last resort for a hungry world, has been such an amazing food producer in the last half-century that most Americans take for granted annual bounteous harvests of grain, meat, dairy, fruits, vegetables and other crops.

Total Arctic sea ice at record low in 2010: study

500 MILES FROM THE NORTH POLE (Reuters) - The minimum summertime volume of Arctic sea ice fell to a record low last year, researchers said in a study to be published shortly, suggesting that thinning of the ice had outweighed a recovery in area. The study estimated that last year broke the previous, 2007 record for the minimum volume of ice, which is calculated from a combination of sea ice area and thickness.

EU, Australia to discuss linking carbon trading schemes

CANBERRA/SYDNEY (Reuters) - Australia and the European Union have agreed to start talks to link carbon-emissions trading schemes, as global efforts to combat climate change struggle to make headway. The Australian government unveiled plans two months ago to impose a tax on carbon emissions from July 2012, before moving to a carbon trading system from mid-2015.