In a mid-December 2011 climate change conference held in California, USA and attended by UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change chair Dr. Rajendra Pachauri, former Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and British entrepreneur Sir Richard Branson, Governor Jerry Brown calls for action to anticipate and mitigate the increasing effects of global warming.

http://www.sacbee.com/2011/12/16/4126458/jery-brown-arnold-schwarzenegger.html
http://hosted2-2.ap.org/MOSTP/6c4f1c9b30804a70bc4ae998df74d877/Article_2011-12-15-California-Climate%20Change/id-6bd6a68466724afa8e1c1a21d3c8d414

Scientists with the Texas Forest Service in the USA reported on December 20, 2011, that up to 500 million trees have died in the state's extreme and extended drought, which has not yet shown signs of abating.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/12/20/texas-drought-trees_n_1159637.html?ref=green
http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/12/20/us-drought-trees-texas-idUSTRE7BJ20M20111220

A statement released by Secretary General Ban Ki-moon at the December 18, 2011 official launch of the UN Decade on Biodiversity highlighted the urgent necessity of actions that match pledges already made by member nations to implement a strategic plan that saves animal and plant life from extinction and allows humans to co-exist in harmony with nature.

http://www.clickgreen.org.uk/news/international-news/122963-un-launches-decade-on-biodiversity-to-stem-loss-of-world-species.html
http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=40766&Cr=Biodiversity&Cr1=