Climate change: this is what climate change looks like

The above is a before and after shot of the Chacaltaya glacier in 1996 and 2007. As can be seen, it has disappeared in just eleven years. But this doesn't just mean the loss of a pretty piece of scenery - it also means thirsty people. Two million Bolivians - 20% of Bolivia's population - depend on Chacaltaya and its nearby glaciers (which are also shrinking) for drinking water; without it, they will eventually have to move.

Thanks to climate change, this is our future. And we will be facing similar problems here. According to projections from MAF, the East Coast of New Zealand is basically going to dry up and blow away thanks to climate change. I guess those filthy farmers will be paying the price for their own pollution.

Bolivia votes

Bolivians went to the polls yesterday in a recall referendum on their President and eight of nine regional governors. The recall referendum was organised in an effort to confirm President Evo Morales' mandate in the face of growing opposition from Bolivia's rich to his reforms, and early exit polls suggest he will be successful. However, a couple of the Governors are likely to lose their posts, forcing by-elections in those regions.

Unfortunately, the referendum is not likely to settle anything. The major problem in Bolivia is the same as in Venezuela: a former ruling oligarchy unwilling to accept being voted out of power by the masses. In Venezuela, this has led to a coup attempt, abuse of media ownership, and a sustained attempt to undermine democracy. Unfortunately, Bolivia seems to be headed down the same path.

Morales wins in Bolivia

According to exit polls, Evo Morales has won an outright majority in the Bolivian election, and looks set to become Bolivia's first indigenous President. Morales is a leftist, who has promised to legalise coca-farming (reportedly a staple crop for indigenious Bolivians), make foreign companies pay a higher price for their exploitation of Bolivia's natural gas, and generally roll back the tide of neo-liberal "reform" imposed on Bolivia by the IMF and World Bank. He's likely to be deeply unpopular with Washington, which views him as being in the same camp as Venezuela's Hugo Chavez and Cuba's Castro - and has already said "no to a relationship of submission" with the US and promised to be America's "nightmare". But he's Bolivia's democratic choice, and Washington will just have to accept him.

Full results will be released on Tuesday.