In order to stop flood waters overwhelming central London and to save the massive expense of building fresh flood walls and defences, some land could be set aside to act as a safety valve, catching flood waters and storing them until the danger has passed.

BBC: London's drowning

President George W Bush has banned fishing in an area the size of Spain in US-controlled waters of the central Pacific.

BBC: Shortages: Fish on the slide

Chemical effects related to acidification have also been encountered in surface waters of the Bering Strait and the Canada Basin of the central Arctic Ocean.

BBC: Arctic Ocean 'acidifying rapidly'