Links to the latest news on global climate change http://www.climatechangenews.org 144 144 http://www.climatechangenews.org http://www.climatechangenews.org/images/pod2.jpg http://feeds.reuters.com/~r/reuters/environment/~3/dMZkw8GLp14/idUSTRE55T18S20090630 SYDNEY (Reuters) - Mounting loss of seagrass in the world's oceans, vital for the survival of endangered marine life, commercial fisheries and the fight against climate change, reveals a major crisis in coastal ecosystems, a report says. Wed Jul 01 08:45:05 2009 EST 1st July 2009 http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/YaleEnvironment360/~3/Z5Fzz636iGE/digest.msp Seagrass beds, which play an important role in coastal marine ecosystems and absorb large quantities of carbon dioxide, are increasingly being destroyed or degraded by development and pollution, according to a new study. Reporting in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, American and Australian researchers estimated that 29 percent of the world s seagrass beds have disappeared since 1879, with most of the losses occurring since 1980. Only 68,000 square miles of seagrass beds remain, making them among the most threatened ecosystems on earth, along with coral reefs and mangrove swamps, the study said. Seagrass meadows provide a major spawning area and juvenile nursery for fish, with some estimates saying that 70 percent of all marine life is in some way dependent on seagrass beds. Wed Jul 01 08:45:05 2009 EST http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/YaleEnvironment360/~3/INAUgC4G8TU/digest.msp U.S. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said his department is studying whether 670,000 acres of federal lands in six Western states are suitable for the construction of large-scale solar power projects. Salazar, appearing in Las Vegas with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, said the Obama administration is doing everything we can to put the bulls-eye on the development of solar energy on our public lands. He predicted that by the end of next year, 13 commercial-scale solar power projects could be under construction on U.S. government lands in Nevada, Arizona, California, Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. Wed Jul 01 08:45:05 2009 EST http://e360.yale.edu/content/feature.msp?id=2166 A new U.S. government report paints a disturbing picture of the current and future effects of climate change and offers a glimpse of what the nation s climate will be like by century s end. BY MICHAEL D. LEMONICK Wed Jul 01 08:45:05 2009 EST http://www.radio.cz/en/article/117847 The weather is the subject on the tip of everyone s tongue just now following violent floods over the last week in the Czech Republic. Forecasters warn that there is still a risk of storms causing more deaths and damage. But just how exceptional has the recent weather been and is climate change partly to blame? Wed Jul 01 08:45:05 2009 EST http://www.nytimes.com/gwire/2009/06/30/30greenwire-build-a-better-carbon-trap-and--24454.html To capture the carbon dioxide generated by coal plants, chemical companies like Dow Chemical Co. and energy giants like Alsto... Wed Jul 01 08:45:05 2009 EST http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601082&sid=a8OgsNtzF2pQ June 30 (Bloomberg) -- Canadian wheat farmers may gain from a drought in Argentina, the fourth-largest exporter of the grain last year, by shipping to Latin American nations such as Brazil, Canadian Wheat Board Chief Executive Officer Ian White said. Wed Jul 01 08:45:05 2009 EST http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=47430 LONDON, Jun 30 (IPS) - Governments and interest groups around the world followed the U.S. House of Representatives' vote Friday on the first U.S. policy to limit the country's greenhouse gas emissions. They were especially interested in Europe, where a system similar to the bill's cap-and-trade scheme already exists and where EU countries agreed last December to tough emissions targets. Wed Jul 01 08:45:05 2009 EST http://energybulletin.net/node/49388 Betraying the PlanetLovelock: We need a climate change 'Churchill'America's climate-change bill is a bundle of compromisesObama Opposes Trade Sanctions in Climate BillKucinich: Passing a weak bill today gives us weak environmental policy tomorrow read more Wed Jul 01 08:45:05 2009 EST http://discovermagazine.com/2009/jun/30-state-of-the-climate-and-science&usg=AFQjCNHTr-1lbdi_5ORopcVv6jr6QqPSHg Discover MagazineThe State of the Climate and of Climate ScienceDiscover MagazineBut the probability of all these events' lining up is pretty darn low unless it is global warming. Schneider: When you're covering climate change, ...NH's Science Center Joins Regional Climate GroupWBZall 5 news articles raquo; Wed Jul 01 08:45:05 2009 EST http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/sci/tech/8126331.stm Scientists hope hi-tech tags will help reveal why the puffin population at one of the UK's key colonies fell by a third last year. Wed Jul 01 08:45:05 2009 EST http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/sci/tech/8127177.stm Britain can massively expand wind power by 2030 without suffering power cuts, a report says. Wed Jul 01 08:45:05 2009 EST http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/sci/tech/8126663.stm An epidemic of mountain pine beetles, which has devastated forests in British Columbia, is threatening to spread. Wed Jul 01 08:45:05 2009 EST http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/earth/hi/earth_news/newsid_8125000/8125339.stm The numbers of 18 woodland bird species including nightingales have crashed, according to a 30-year survey. Wed Jul 01 08:45:05 2009 EST http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/jun/30/china-climate-change-warning Cost of crop failure soars as weather disasters become more frequent and severeChina faces an increase in weather disasters which will threaten crops and economic growth, the country's most senior forecaster has warned.He Lifu, of the National Meteorological Centre, told the China Daily newspaper that events such as droughts, floods and storms had become more frequent and severe since the 1990s and the trend was likely to continue."Extreme weather will be more frequent in the future due to the instability of the atmosphere, and global warming might be the indirect cause," the forecaster told the English-language paper. Wed Jul 01 08:45:05 2009 EST http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2009/jun/30/drax-train-trial-protest Prosecutors accuse 22 activists who took control of a coal train last year of 'misusing the court process to continue the action'Climate change campaigners who hijacked a power station coal train were accused today of planning to turn their trial into a second public protest on energy policy and global warming.Prosecution lawyers claimed that 22 men and women who clambered aboard a 21-wagon supply service to Drax in north Yorkshire last year were bent on "misusing the court process to continue the action."The dock at Leeds crown court overflowed into the well as the group, aged between 21 and 48, pleaded not guilty to obstructing a railway engine contrary to the Malicious Damage Act of 1861.The court heard that they had carried out "a well-planned and orchestrated action," halting the train with red flags and fake railwaymen's uniforms precisely by a river bridge which ... Wed Jul 01 08:45:05 2009 EST http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/georgemonbiot/2009/jun/29/climate-change-scepticism-heatwave If a UK cold snap persuades climate sceptics that global warming isn't happening, then a heatwave must convince them that it isWe're still waiting. During the cold weather last winter, Gerald Warner, Peter Mullen and a host of other climate change deniers lined up to suggest that there must be something wrong with global warming theory, because some snow had fallen in Britain. Clearly they possessed the mystical ability to divine a long-running global climate trend from a single regional weather event. This clairvoyance could be very useful to climate researchers, so I hoped they would continue to favour us with their insights. Wed Jul 01 08:45:05 2009 EST http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2009/jun/30/rbs-nationalised-banks-green Environmental groups are suing the Treasury in an effort to ensure that RBS invests only in sustainable and ethical projectsSince the banking crisis last year, RBS has remained firmly in the public eye as the most controversial bank in the UK. Beyond the populist pillorying of Fred Goodwin's undeserved pension bonanza and the most recent wave of outrage over the size of the new boss's pay packet, lay more fundamental questions over the relationship between public money, climate change and the role of finance in fuelling the expansion of coal, oil and gas around the world. Because the Treasury didn't provide any satisfactory answers when we asked them these questions, Platform, the World Development Movement and People Planet are today filing an application for a judicial review over the lack of environmental and human rights considerations in the recapitalisation of RBS.For some years, RBS has been targeted by NGOs ... Wed Jul 01 08:45:05 2009 EST http://feeds.reuters.com/~r/reuters/environment/~3/EMJYPKI0oTo/idUSTRE55T75820090630 SINGAPORE (Reuters) - The amount of carbon locked away in frozen soils in the far Northern Hemisphere is double previous estimates and rapid melting could accelerate global warming, a study released on Wednesday says. Wed Jul 01 08:45:05 2009 EST http://feeds.reuters.com/~r/reuters/environment/~3/iRhu99A3s3g/idUSTRE55T65N20090630 NEW DELHI (Reuters) - India will not sign up to targets to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions but will instead focus on fighting poverty and boosting economic growth, the environment minister said Tuesday. Wed Jul 01 08:45:05 2009 EST http://www.angus-reid.com/polls/view/americans_assess_how_to_fight_climate_change/ (Angus Reid Global Monitor) - The views of adults in the United States on climate change are shifting, according to a poll by TNS released by the Washington Post and ABC News. 59 per cent of respondents think the U.S. should take action to curb global warming even if other countries such as China and India do less, down nine points since July 2008. Wed Jul 01 08:45:05 2009 EST http://feeds.reuters.com/~r/reuters/blogs/environment/~3/dwMITa3P1KE/ Sometimes, even electric vehicles aren t good enough for the die-hard green car set. An electric car advocacy group on Tuesday criticized California s influential air quality regulator, the California Air Resources Board, for allowing BMW s one-year pilot program of electric Mini Coopers to earn the same credit towards the state s clean vehicle program as standard production cars. California is requiring that automakers, collectively, put 7,500 zero-emissions vehicles, or ZEVs, on its roads. But Plug In America on Tuesday said there is a gaping loophole in the program that could deal a blow to the proliferation of plug-in vehicles. Specifically, the group targeted BMW s leasing program of 500 electric Mini Coopers, which it calls MINI Es. Wed Jul 01 08:45:05 2009 EST http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/31664839/ns/us_news-environment/ Reversing a Bush-era decision and honoring a pledge last month, the EPA on Tuesday granted California the ability to impose stringent rules on greenhouse gas emissions from vehicles. Wed Jul 01 08:45:05 2009 EST http://feeds.grist.org/click.phdo?i=9ba15820337d9231d0117371ac08799f The EPA announced on Tuesday that it will grant a waiver for California and 13 other states to set automobile emission standards that are higher than national ones. The move is important symbolically, though it isn t likely to lead to emission reductions in the next few years. Wed Jul 01 08:45:05 2009 EST http://feeds.grist.org/click.phdo?i=dec01afb8c06a5f788974a222a339ba6 James Kunstler says we should stop calling Americans consumers. It pigeonholes all Americans and also becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. Wed Jul 01 08:45:05 2009 EST http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=metal-organic-frameworks-carbon-capture To capture the carbon dioxide generated by coal plants, chemical companies like Dow Chemical Co. and energy giants like Alstom SA have been betting big on liquid solvents like amine, a corrosive derivative of ammonia that has a thirst for binding with CO2. Problem is, once the two are bound, they never want to part. [More] Wed Jul 01 08:45:05 2009 EST http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/georgemonbiot/2009/jun/30/energy-building-regulations Bang goes its promise of efficient homes; bang goes the green new deal. How will the government meet its obligations under the Climate Change Act?I've asked this question before, but the mystery seems only to thicken: how in God's name does the government intend to meet its obligations under the Climate Change Act? Its programme for cutting carbon through renewable energy is way behind schedule. It is expanding airports and motorways, while bailing out the car industry, ensuring that motor emissions stay high. The EU emissions trading scheme hardly touches the industries it is meant to regulate. Full carbon capture and storage will come too late to stop new coal-burning power stations from adding greatly to the problem. Wed Jul 01 08:45:05 2009 EST http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2009/jul/01/puffin-decline-satellite Stubby seabird with comedy beak to help scientists investigate steep decline in seabird populations across BritainAudio slideshow: Studying puffins on the Farne islandsShort, stubby and gifted with a distinctive comedy beak, the puffin is an iconic bird. But seabird may also be the bellwether for a crisis in the seas around Britain.The puffin now has a new role, helping scientists investigate the causes of a steep decline in seabird numbers across the British Isles using miniaturised digital tracking devices, including one borrowed from in-car satellite navigation systems.Data for last year shows puffin numbers suddenly and sharply crashed. Scientists found that on the most significant North Sea colonies, puffin populations fell by a third or more. Wed Jul 01 08:45:05 2009 EST http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/cif-green/2009/jul/01/environment-economy-89-months This month environmental initiatives nurtured green shoots in the economy, which returned the favour with slower growthThey're still out there, the deniers, but they become increasingly exotic. And excuses for inaction on global warming become stranger. One I found would have us believe that spending on wind farms was responsible globally for "killing millions" through the misallocation of resources. That came from a panellist at a public debate at one of the UK's leading scientific establishments. Oddly, he cited no learned journals to back the claim. The same voice went further. There are no limits on the human use of natural resources, we were told, because when things run out on earth, we can always mine ... Wed Jul 01 08:45:05 2009 EST http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2009/jul/01/drax-climate-change-protest-court Defendant tries to address court on dangers of global warming but is told jury not concerned with motivesClimate change campaigners on trial for hijacking a coal train on its way to the Drax power station in North Yorkshire were stymied three times this morning in their attempts to address a jury on the dangers of global warming.Judge Spencer repeatedly warned Paul Chatterton, a Leeds University lecturer who is leading the defence of 22 activists, that the jury was concerned only with whether they had stopped and boarded the train and not with their reasons for doing so.The defendants, aged between 21 and 43, have pleaded not guilty to obstructing a railway engine contrary to the Malicious Damage Act of 1861. Wed Jul 01 08:45:05 2009 EST http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/01/opinion/01wed2.html?hpw&usg=AFQjCNGD49FgCIPnW52yQT2xuOyTOC8Q1g MiamiHerald.comClimate in the SenateNew York TimesGlobal negotiations to replace the expiring Kyoto agreement on climate change resume in the fall. The world is waiting for the United States, after years of ...Climate change cure plan hurts least among usThe Detroit NewsFirst step: House passage of energy bill shows willingnessHouston ChroniclePolitical Surf on the climate change billStandardNetSalt Lake Tribune -Daily Mirror -Los Angeles Timesall 1,355 news articles raquo; Wed Jul 01 08:45:05 2009 EST http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/sci/tech/8127177.stm Britain can massively expand wind power by 2030 without suffering power cuts, a report says. Wed Jul 01 08:45:05 2009 EST http://feeds.grist.org/click.phdo?i=9fd0ed8b8fd2a7a1bdb46205ff1af6af Connie Hedegaard, the impressive Danish Minister for Climate and Energy, has been holding ministerial dialogues on climate policy in different parts of the world for the past five years, but Greenland is her prime location, her secret weapon. Wed Jul 01 08:45:05 2009 EST http://www.nature.com/climate/2009/0907/full/climate.2009.64.html The urge to build climate-resilient nations naturally brings with it a desire for more detailed knowledge of the changes that lie ahead. Where local and regional stakeholders have very specific information requests, on which multi-million-pound decisions rest, climate scientists can find themselves in a decidedly uncomfortable position. This is especially true of government climatologists whose role is the provision of a bespoke service to society. But where conflict exists between user requirements for information and the ability of the science to meet those demands, clearly the latter must take priority. The British government seemed to have lost sight of this the week before last, when the Department of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) released the long-awaited projections of UK climate impacts (Nature News, doi:10.1038/news.2009.586). Wed Jul 01 08:45:05 2009 EST http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/climate.2009.54 Shutting out sun Nature Reports: Climate Change77 (2009). doi:10.1038/climate.2009.54 Author: Anna Armstrong Wed Jul 01 08:45:05 2009 EST http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/climate.2009.55 Abnormal nitrogen Nature Reports: Climate Change77 (2009). doi:10.1038/climate.2009.55 Author: Alicia Newton Wed Jul 01 08:45:05 2009 EST http://www.nature.com/climate/2009/0907/full/climate.2009.59.html Farming on river-fed floodplains cuts their carbon storage, suggests a new study. These floodplains are highly productive ecosystems covering more than 1.3 per cent of the Earth's surface, but little is known about the quantities of carbon cycling through them. In 2004, Georg Lair of the University of Natural Resources and Applied Life Sciences in Vienna and colleagues measured the organic carbon content of floodplain soils surrounding the Danube River in Austria. T hey found that the youngest soils - those less than 100 years old - sequester more than 100 grams of carbon per square metre each year. As undisturbed floodplains are regularly replenished by fresh, nutrient-rich sediments, they could maintain this high carbon uptake for centuries, the authors suggest. In intensively farmed floodplains, however, young soils take up much less carbon annually, making croplands significantly weaker carbon sinks than uncultivated ground. Over 70 per cent of European floodplains and 46 per cent of North American floodplains have already been converted to cropland. The researchers warn that uncultivated plains should be preserved if we are to make the most of these carbon sinks. Wed Jul 01 08:45:05 2009 EST http://www.nature.com/climate/2009/0907/full/climate.2009.62.html Natural barriers could stop African birds winging it away from climate change. A new large-scale study finds that features such as rough mountain terrain and the borderlines between grassland and jungle are more important than temperature in limiting species' ranges. Lynsey McInnes and colleagues at Imperial College, London, examined the ranges of all 2,075 terrestrial bird species in the African tropics and found that their range boundaries fall in clusters. Ranges tend to end in heterogeneous environments with steep elevation changes or a variety of landscape types, such as the Eastern Arc Mountains of Kenya and Tanzania or places where central African rainforests give way to savannah. Even the widest-ranging species often seem unable to spread beyond such barriers; many species with tiny ranges make use of specialized niches within them. Wed Jul 01 08:45:05 2009 EST http://www.nature.com/climate/2009/0907/full/climate.2009.63.html Atmospheric aerosols may be offsetting greenhouse warming to a lesser extent than previously thought, suggests a new study. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change currently estimates, albeit with large uncertainty, that direct cooling from aerosols can counteract almost one-third of the warming caused by carbon dioxide. But by resolving an existing discrepancy between satellite-derived and modelled estimates of the effect of aerosols, Gunnar Myhre of the Center for International Climate and Environmental Research-Oslo finds that the true value is likely to be much lower. Myhre calculated the radiative forcing of aerosols - a measure of their impact on the balance between radiation coming into and going out of the atmosphere - using estimates from both a global model and satellite-derived data. He then reconciled the difference between the two estimates by including some vital information. Assuming that aerosols are globally ubiquitous, he included modelled aerosol data in regions where satellite data is currently unavailable. He also accounted for the substantial change in aerosol optical properties that has occurred since pre-industrial times, which largely results from the disproportionate increase in black carbon. Myhre's revised estimate suggests that the direct aerosol effect offsets only ten per cent of the warming of greenhouse gases. Wed Jul 01 08:45:05 2009 EST http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/climate.2009.61 A third way Nature Reports: Climate Change85 (2009). doi:10.1038/climate.2009.61 Author: Roger A. Pielke New philosophies on climate policy are well and good, but to be meaningful they must be translated into concrete policy options. Wed Jul 01 08:45:05 2009 EST http://www.physorg.com/news165643703.html More than 40 percent of a sample of amphibians, reptiles, mammals, and birds that are restricted to mangrove ecosystems are globally threatened with extinction, according to an assessment published in the July/August issue of BioScience. Wed Jul 01 08:45:05 2009 EST http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/Environment/2009/06/30/9989126-cp.html VICTORIA, B.C. - Scott Robertson was filling up his girlfriend's Toyota Corolla when he realized he'd saved himself some money buying gasoline on Tuesday, the day before British Columbia's controversial carbon tax will mark its first anniversary with a hike in price. Wed Jul 01 08:45:05 2009 EST http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601072&sid=aKecgoGFIH7Y July 1 (Bloomberg) -- Canada and Russia , both northern and oil-rich, are making the least progress in cutting carbon- dioxide emissions among the major economies, a new study shows. Wed Jul 01 08:45:05 2009 EST http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/capress/090630/world/as_japan_un_2 TOKYO - U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said Wednesday the world must seal the deal on a new treaty to curb pollution at a crucial climate change meeting in Copenhagen in December, urging global business leaders to join efforts against global warming. Wed Jul 01 08:45:05 2009 EST http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/Environment/Suzuki/2009/06/30/9988221-ca.html We often write about the challenges facing Canada the lack of a credible plan to address climate change, the overreliance on tar sands to fuel our energy needs and economy, the snail s pace with which we work to protect endangered species and their habitat, including iconic wildlife like polar bears and caribou. Wed Jul 01 08:45:05 2009 EST http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601102&sid=apdmjN2IEmPE Times OnlineUK Raises Heat-Wave Warning Level to Highest in Three YearsBloombergJuly 1 (Bloomberg) -- British authorities raised the country's heat-wave alert as London and England's South East ...Heatwave set to continue for many partsBBC NewsBritain declares heatwave as temperatures rise towards 32Cguardian.co.ukHeatwave alert raised to level 3Telegraph.co.ukMirror.co.uk -Times Online -BBC Newsall 732 news articles raquo; Wed Jul 01 08:45:05 2009 EST http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/8128141.stm ITV.comBritain's heatwave set to continueBBC NewsBritain's heatwave is expected to go on until the weekend, raising the possibility that the official "watch level" could be raised to protect vulnerable ...Britain braced for another sizzlerThe Press Associationall 149 news articles raquo; Wed Jul 01 08:45:05 2009 EST http://media.smh.com.au/?rid=50208&usg=AFQjCNG2mJ5tCtp-xOAOhs5zKXGU5BjRsA Sydney Morning HeraldPoms swelter in UK heatwaveSydney Morning HeraldBrits sizzle as temperatures hit 33 degrees - the hottest summer's day for the last three years. 01/07/09 Please wait while we detect your connection speed. ...and more raquo; Wed Jul 01 08:45:05 2009 EST http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601130&sid=a01TSCUpnCEE July 1 (Bloomberg) -- Arctic permafrost, the frozen soil beneath polar snow and ice, contains twice as much carbon as previously estimated and may spark a further increase in temperatures should global warming continue. Wed Jul 01 08:45:05 2009 EST http://resourceinsights.blogspot.com/2009/06/is-united-states-drifting-toward-war.html Jay Hansen is a well-known voice on issues of peak oil and sustainability. A systems analyst by trade, he established one of the first web sites (dieoff.org) to discuss these issues in depth in the mid-1990s. His latest web venture is a site called War Socialism on which he proposes a form of governance which he believes will be the only viable one in the coming age of scarcity.By discussing Hansen's views I am not endorsing them. But Hansen is no lightweight. He has thought very deeply about our ecological predicament. He has tried to square what he knows about human behavior with what he believes needs to be done in the world we now face. Mon Jun 29 22:42:05 2009 EST 30th June 2009 http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/28/us/politics/28cong.html?em&usg=AFQjCNFDCIDUpK_EPQrpcdyNe9HxUsTZQA New York TimesClimate Change Bill May Be Election IssueNew York TimesWASHINGTON As Democrats strained to win over crucial holdouts on the way to narrow, party-line approval of global warming legislation, ...Obama clears major global warming hurdleTelegraph.co.ukVictory on climate change boosts president's positionguardian.co.ukClimate Change Bill Narrowly Passes in HouseCQPolitics.comDallas Morning News -Reuters -Voice of Americaall 4,697 news articles raquo; Mon Jun 29 22:42:05 2009 EST http://www.physorg.com/news165402599.html The sun is the focus of a deepening mystery. Solar scientists want to know: Why is the sun so quiet? Mon Jun 29 22:42:05 2009 EST http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/energy/5676023/Red-tape-in-UK-defeats-eco-fund.html The British team behind the launch of a 200m £170m investment fund for renewable energy has turned to Eastern Europe because of regulatory barriers to green energy projects in the UK. Mon Jun 29 22:42:05 2009 EST http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20090629/pl_nm/us_climate_usa_obama_1 President Barack Obama on Sunday called a House-passed climate change bill "an extraordinary first step," but spoke out against a provision that would impose trade penalties on countries that fail to cut greenhouse gas emissions. Mon Jun 29 22:42:05 2009 EST http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/uk/8122864.stm Britain must invest hugely to create a new low-carbon economy, say leading members of the Royal Society. Mon Jun 29 22:42:05 2009 EST http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/scotland/8123160.stm Proposals to widen the use of electric vehicles in Scotland are due to be unveiled by the Scottish Government. Mon Jun 29 22:42:05 2009 EST http://feeds.reuters.com/~r/reuters/environment/~3/MM7S2fVOYF8/idUSTRE55S2KY20090629 SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Staples such as cassava on which millions of people depend become more toxic and produce much smaller yields in a world with higher carbon dioxide levels and more drought, Australian scientists say. Mon Jun 29 22:42:05 2009 EST http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2009/jun/29/rising-sea-level-new-orleans Scientists say between 10,000 and 13,500 square kilometres of coastal land around New Orleans will go underwater due to rising sea levels and subsidenceA vast swath of the coastal lands around New Orleans will be underwater by the dawn of the next century because the rate of sediment deposit in the Mississippi delta can not keep up with rising sea levels, according to a study published today.Between 10,000 and 13,500 square kilometres of coastal lands will drown due to rising sea levels and subsidence by 2100, a far greater loss than previous estimates.For New Orleans, and other low-lying areas of Louisiana whose vulnerability was exposed by hurricane Katrina, the findings could bring some hard choices about how to defend the coast against the future sea level rises that will be produced by climate change.They also revive the debate about the long-term ... Mon Jun 29 22:42:05 2009 EST http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2009/jun/29/green-jobs-brown PM highlights carbon capture demonstration plants and commitment to build 1,000 wind turbinesAmong the many jobs proposed in Gordon Brown's statement today, 400,000 will have a green tinge by 2017. That will take the total British employment in the sector to more than a million.The prime minister also highlighted some key proposals that will form the basis of the upcoming white paper on energy: four commercial-scale carbon capture and storage demonstration plants for Britain and a commitment to build 1,000 onshore and offshore wind turbines in 2009-10."The bill complements the £1.4bn of public investment provided in the budget, and up to £4bn now on offer from the European investment bank," said Brown."In addition following our reforms to the policy, planning and regulatory regimes we will see between now and 2020 as we meet our renewable energy ... Mon Jun 29 22:42:05 2009 EST http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2009/jun/28/china-algae-carbon-capture-plan Chinese firm behind ambitious plan to breed microalgae in greenhouse with the potential to absorb carbon emissionsThe garish gunk coursing through a greenhouse filled with transparent pipes appears to belong on the set of a particularly slimy episode of Star Trek.Multiplying rapidly as it flows through tubes, stacked 14 high in four long rows, the organism thickens and darkens like the bioweapon of a deranged scientist.But this is not a science fiction horror story, it is one of humankind's most ambitious attempts to recruit algae in the fight against climate change.Developed by a groundbreaking Chinese firm, ENN, the greenhouse is a bioreactor that breeds microalgae, one of the fastest growing organisms on the planet, with carbon captured from gasified coal.China is the world's biggest emitter of greenhouse gases, largely because it relies on coal for 70 per cent of its power. Mon Jun 29 22:42:05 2009 EST http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2009/jun/29/climate-war-lovelock We need a climate change 'Churchill' to lead us away from planet-wide devastation, writes James Lovelock in the latest edition of Conservation magazine, part of the Guardian Environment NetworkIn a small way, the plight of the British in 1940 resembles the state of the civilized world now. At that time we had had nearly a decade of the well-intentioned but quite wrong belief that peace was all that mattered. The followers of the peace lobbies of the 1930s resembled the environmentalist movements now; their intentions were more than good but wholly inappropriate for the war that was about to start. Mon Jun 29 22:42:05 2009 EST http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2009/jun/28/nuclear-industry-global-body-plans Critics say France is using debate about where to base new Irena global renewables body to co-opt organisationThe nuclear power industry has been accused of trying to muscle in on plans to establish a global body to represent the renewable energy industry at a key meeting in Egypt tomorrow.France a major user and exporter of nuclear technologies is accused by critics of trying to win the top job inside the renewable organisation so it can move the International Renewable Energy Agency (Irena) towards being a promoter of "low-carbon" technologies including atomic power.The talks in Sharm el-Sheikh are already threatening to become a major standoff between Germany and the United Arab Emirates over which country should win the right to have the headquarters of Irena based in its country.France, which recently signed a nuclear co-operation agreement with the UAE, is ... Mon Jun 29 22:42:05 2009 EST http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2009/jun/29/energy-bills-green-technology Royal Society report says current government policy is not enough to pay for green technology Consumers will need to pay more for energy if the UK is to have any chance of developing the technologies needed to tackle climate change, according to a group of leading scientists and engineers.In a Royal Society study to be published today, the experts said that the government must put research into alternatives to fossil fuel much higher among its priorities, and argued that current policy in the area was "half-hearted"."We have adapted to an energy price which is unrealistically low if we're going to try and preserve the environment," John Shepherd, a climate scientist at Southampton University and co-author of the report said. Mon Jun 29 22:42:05 2009 EST http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2009/jun/28/bp-alternative-energy 'Beyond Petroleum' boast in doubt as clean energy boss quits Renewables budget will be reduced by up to £550m this yearBP has shut down its alternative energy headquarters in London, accepted the resignation of its clean energy boss and imposed budget cuts in moves likely to be seen by environmental critics as further signs of the oil group moving "back to petroleum".But Tony Hayward, the group's chief executive, said BP remained as committed as ever to exploring new energy sources and the non-oil division would benefit from the extra focus of being brought back in house.BP Alternative Energy was given its own headquarters in County Hall opposite the Houses of Parliament two years ago and its managing director, Vivienne Cox, oversaw a small division of 80 staff concentrating on wind and solar power.But the 49-year-old Cox BP's most senior female ... Mon Jun 29 22:42:05 2009 EST http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2009/jun/29/brown-transport-strategy National cycling plan to be developed to show councils and employers how they can boost two-wheeled travelRail, bus and bicycle travel were the focus of the transport sections in today's Building Britain's Future document, as Gordon Brown announced initiatives including a national cycling plan.An active transport strategy drafted by the Department for Transport and Department for Health will be announced later this year, with the emphasis on encouraging schoolchildren and commuters to walk and cycle more often. A national cycling plan will also be developed, setting out how local authorities and employers can boost two-wheeled travel through, for example, better bike parking and installing showers at workplaces.Citing London as a prime example cycling has doubled in the capital since 1997 the document said it wanted to deliver a "cycling revolution" across the UK. Mon Jun 29 22:42:05 2009 EST http://feeds.reuters.com/~r/reuters/environment/~3/wfNVAHPAvJc/idUSTRE55S4MC20090629 CAIRO (Reuters) - Member states of the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) voted to locate their headquarters in the United Arab Emirates, Egypt's state news agency MENA said on Monday. Mon Jun 29 22:42:05 2009 EST http://feeds.reuters.com/~r/reuters/blogs/environment/~3/V8iCRTI1LBo/ America's social and religious conservatives are turning up the heat as they galvanize heartland opposition against the latest example of President Barack Obama-inspired "socialism" -- a climate change bill that aims to reduce fossil fuel emissions, which most scientists have linked to climate change. The Democratic Party-led House of Representatives passed the bill on Friday. It would require large companies, including utilities and manufacturers, to reduce emissions of carbon dioxide and other gases associated with global warming by 17 percent by 2020 and 83 percent by 2050, from 2005 levels. It must still go through the U.S. Mon Jun 29 22:42:05 2009 EST http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/audio/2009/jun/18/climate-change-scienceofclimatechange What will our world look like in 2050? Astronomer Royal and president of the Royal Society Martin Rees predicts crises in water and energy supplies as a result of increased population pressure, exacerbated by climate change. Speaking to Alok Jha earlier this month, he also discussed the prospects for mitigating global warming and the UK's role in reducing carbon emissions. This is the ... Mon Jun 29 22:42:05 2009 EST http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/blog/2009/jun/23/teleworking-carbon-emissions Working from home and meeting electronically save time and hassle, but the evidence that they reduce emissions is lacking Amid the chaos of this month's Tube strike, BT's marketing folk seized the moment by offering free demonstrations of its latest high-definition video conferencing software to show Londoners that there is another way teleworking. Besides saving time and cutting out the ... Mon Jun 29 22:42:05 2009 EST http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2009/jun/24/air-fuelled-lithium-battery Is using air the answer to a longer-lasting lithium battery? It's a surprising question but one familiar to Professor Peter Bruce of the University of St Andrews. A new "air-fuelled" rechargeable lithium battery being developed in his research laboratory promises up to 10 times today's energy storage capacity. A normal lithium battery in your mobile or laptop consists of a graphite negative ... Mon Jun 29 22:42:05 2009 EST http://blogs.zdnet.com/green/?p=5702 New research indicates atmospheric aerosols are not going to be a big help in combatting greenhouse gases. Research in Norway says the aerosols are likely to counter only about 10% of the greenhouse gas effects in our atmosphere. Earlier it had been hoped aerosols could reverse up to one-third of the warming effect of CO2. Mon Jun 29 22:42:05 2009 EST http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/29/opinion/29krugman.html?em Climate change poses a clear and present danger to our way of life. How can anyone justify failing to act? Mon Jun 29 22:42:05 2009 EST http://en.ce.cn/National/Politics/200906/30/t20090630_19426372.shtml The United States set the bar too low and offered the world a poor example when it passed its climate change bill on Friday, according to a senior Chinese climate change official. Mon Jun 29 22:42:05 2009 EST http://thestar.com.my/lifestyle/story.asp?file=/2009/6/30/lifefocus/4219209&sec=lifefocus Scientists probe how clouds react to climate change. Mon Jun 29 22:42:05 2009 EST http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2009/06/29/tech/main5122812.shtml Increasing Dust Speeds Melting of Mountain Snow Due to Global Warming and Human Activity Mon Jun 29 22:42:05 2009 EST http://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/news/article/21437 Particulates, atmospheric soot combine chemically to absorb solar energy, increase global warming. Mon Jun 29 22:42:05 2009 EST http://news.smh.com.au/breaking-news-world/obama-against-penalties-on-polluters-20090629-d1yn.html US President Barack Obama expressed his opposition to a provision in the clean energy bill that would impose trade penalties on countries that do not accept limits on global warming pollution, The New York Times reported. Mon Jun 29 22:42:05 2009 EST http://energybulletin.net/node/49377 A weekly review including: - Production & Prices - In the Congress - Briefs read more Mon Jun 29 22:42:05 2009 EST http://energybulletin.net/node/49340 This Vision for a Sustainable West Cheshire is intended to guide the Cheshire West and Chester Authority (CW&C) in taking decisions about the future of the area. It is centred on the premise that if we are to achieve a truly sustainable community by 2050 the direction of travel set now must be right. read more Mon Jun 29 22:42:05 2009 EST http://money.canoe.ca/News/Other/2009/06/29/9968646-ap.html KILLINGLY, Conn. (AP) From the first time he saw Emmett "Doc" Brown fire up the Mr. Fusion home energy reactor in the "Back to the Future" movies, Dave Nichols has always wanted to make a vehicle run on garbage. Mon Jun 29 22:42:05 2009 EST http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601086&sid=acXLbbY1XcxE June 29 (Bloomberg) -- Argentina, the world s fourth largest wheat exporter last year, may withdraw from world markets for the first time in at least a century as drought reduces plantings. Mon Jun 29 22:42:05 2009 EST http://www.nasdaq.com/aspx/stock-market-news-story.aspx?storyid=200906290735dowjonesdjonline000226&title=shell-is-on-track-to-become-most-co2-intensive-oil-co--study LONDON -(Dow Jones)- Royal Dutch Shell PLC (RDSB.LN) is on track to become the most carbon intensive international oil company because of its focus on unconventional oil resources like Canadian tar sands, said a study published by a coalition of environmental groups Monday. Mon Jun 29 22:42:05 2009 EST http://www.physorg.com/news165517024.html Particulate pollution thought to be holding climate change in check by reflecting sunlight instead enhances warming when combined with airborne soot, a new study has found. Mon Jun 29 22:42:05 2009 EST http://www.physorg.com/news165515435.html An international team of scientists warns that accelerating losses of seagrasses across the globe threaten the immediate health and long-term sustainability of coastal ecosystems. The team has compiled and analyzed the first comprehensive global assessment of seagrass observations and found that 58 percent of world's seagrass meadows are currently declining. Mon Jun 29 22:42:05 2009 EST http://www.physorg.com/news165508154.html (PhysOrg.com) -- Scientists have traced a sudden collapse in plant biodiversity in ancient Greenland, some 200 million years ago, to a relatively small rise in atmospheric carbon dioxide which caused a rise in the Earth`s temperature. Mon Jun 29 22:42:05 2009 EST http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=47412 VIENNA, Jun 29 (IPS) - "So who here thinks there will be a meaningful deal in Copenhagen?" Few of the more than 600 energy ministers, officials and experts from 80 countries attending the Vienna Energy Conference raised their hands in response to the conference moderator's question about the final round of climate negotiations this December in Copenhagen. Mon Jun 29 22:42:05 2009 EST http://feeds.grist.org/click.phdo?i=75216718ae926577c4701f4f3e3136d4 President Obama and his team think clean energy will emerge much faster than official projections estimate. This helps explain Obama s strategy on climate legislation. Mon Jun 29 22:42:05 2009 EST http://feeds.grist.org/click.phdo?i=82ea69b5d90ea0289632e1af284012d9 Almost exactly three years ago, Ontario s government announced the construction of two new nuclear reactors to replace aging parts of our current power supply. Oh, how the mighty have fallen. Mon Jun 29 22:42:05 2009 EST http://www.culturechange.org/cms/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=468&Itemid=66 It is true that the Internet has challenged the newspaper business like nothing else. The Internet has also changed social networking and activist organizing. But we must also see beyond the Internet, a system that banks on the notion of unlimited non-renewable resources for computers, power generation, and shipping through petroleum. The Internet also operates on anonymity or the potential for it, as little face-to-face communication is required. Is that really the future? Mon Jun 29 22:42:05 2009 EST http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/capress/090629/science/science_capturing_carbon_science_1 REDWATER, Alta. - Here, in this open field under a blue Alberta sky, is the business end of what the energy industry hopes will be a crucial part of its plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and what the provincial government prays will get the world off its back. Mon Jun 29 22:42:05 2009 EST http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090629/ap_on_bi_ge/us_bp_pollution_lawsuit_1 BP Products North America Inc. has agreed to a court order forcing the petrochemical giant to end what state officials say are illegal emissions at its Texas City refinery. Mon Jun 29 22:42:05 2009 EST http://news.yahoo.com/s/csm/20090629/wl_csm/oirena_1 A new global effort that aims to make renewable energy more accessible to every country in the world will launch on July 1st. Mon Jun 29 22:42:05 2009 EST http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/world/americas/8121528.stm The US House of Representatives narrowly backs legislation to cut carbon emissions, but the bill now faces a tough Senate battle. Sun Jun 28 00:58:03 2009 EST 28th June 2009 http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/georgemonbiot/2009/jun/26/us-obama-climate-monbiot The Waxman-Markey climate bill is the best we will get from America until the corruption of public life is addressed. Sun Jun 28 00:58:03 2009 EST http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/world/americas/8120209.stm Brazil's president approves a controversial bill allowing Amazon farmers to acquire an area of public land larger than France. Sun Jun 28 00:58:03 2009 EST http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/YaleEnvironment360/~3/P10OSRH4sfc/digest.msp Growing depletion of aquifers and climate change are turning parts of Italy, Spain, and France into desert, according to the Italian environmental group, Legambiente. The group said that 11 percent of arable land in Sicily, Sardinia, and sections of southern Italy already shows signs of drying up and could eventually affect the livelihoods of 6.5 million people. The main cause is the depletion of underground aquifers, which can result in seawater intruding into the groundwater, effectively poisoning water supplies, Legambiente said. The group reported that 74 million acres of land in Italy, Spain, and the French Riviera were gradually turning to desert because of overexploitation of water resources, with 20 percent of the Iberian Peninsula already experiencing desertification. Sun Jun 28 00:58:03 2009 EST http://www.redorbit.com/news/science/1712217/climate_most_significant_factor_in_fanning_wildfires_flames_in_the/index.html?source=r_science Study finds that climate's influence on production, drying of fuels -- not higher temperatures or longer fire seasons alone -- critical determinant of Western wildfire burned areaThe recent increase in area burned by wildfires in the Western United States is a product not of higher temperatures or longer fire seasons alone, but a complex relationship between climate and fuels that varies among ... Sun Jun 28 00:58:03 2009 EST http://www.rigzone.com/store/product.asp?p_id=1126 Usually ships in 1 to 2 weeks. This is the first book published on the emerging research field of naturally occurring gas hydrates (focusing on methane hydrate) that is not primarily a physical chemistry textbook. Sun Jun 28 00:58:03 2009 EST http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=47395 NEW DELHI, Jun 27 (IPS) - Predicting the monsoons - a risky proposition despite the deployment of satellites and supercomputers - appears to have become iffier thanks to climate change. Sun Jun 28 00:58:03 2009 EST http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=47382 TOKYO, Jun 26 (IPS) - Environment Minister Tetsuo Saito talked to IPS about Japan giving technical and financial support to developing countries and its goal of cutting its greenhouse emissions by 15 percent below 2005 levels by 2020. Japan is the world s fifth- largest greenhouse gas emitter. Sun Jun 28 00:58:03 2009 EST http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=47390 WASHINGTON, Jun 26 (IPS) - Amid furious lobbying on both sides, the U.S. House of Representatives narrowly approved landmark legislation Friday designed to reduce the nation's greenhouse emissions that contribute to global warming 17 percent below 2005 levels by 2020 and 83 percent by 2050. Sun Jun 28 00:58:03 2009 EST http://www.realclimate.org/index.php/archives/2009/06/bubkes/ Some parts of the blogosphere, headed up by CEI ("CO2: They call it pollution, we call it life!"), are all a-twitter over an apparently "suppressed" document that supposedly undermines the EPA Endangerment finding about human emissions of carbon dioxide and a basket of other greenhouse gases. Well a draft of this "suppressed" document has been released and we can now all read this allegedly devastating critique of the EPA science. Let's take a look First off the authors of the submission; Alan Carlin is an economist and John Davidson is an ex-member of the Carter administration Council of Environmental Quality. Sun Jun 28 00:58:03 2009 EST http://energybulletin.net/node/49360 Time Wastes Too Fast (a wonderful link)Bartlett votes against cap-and-tradeMonbiot: Why do we allow the US to act like a failed state on climate change?Recession brings 'Las Vegas dream' to an endHansen of NASA Arrested in Coal Country read more Sun Jun 28 00:58:03 2009 EST http://energybulletin.net/node/49358 Sailing plastics to the Garbage Patch (Kon-Tiki made from plastic bottles)Ozone saver is global warmerBill McKibben on U.S. climate politics McKibben: I m spewing carbon for your benefit and mine read more Sun Jun 28 00:58:03 2009 EST http://energybulletin.net/node/49353 Transition movement vs post-carbonistasThe Transition Initiative: changing the scale of change, from The Orion magazineTransition Hohenwald: Rural Community Targets Energy Efficiency read more Sun Jun 28 00:58:03 2009 EST http://energybulletin.net/node/49352 Uganda 'at risk' of losing all its forestsGrowth of global carbon emissions halved in 2008, say Dutch researchersThe Pacific isn t the only ocean collecting plastic trash read more Sun Jun 28 00:58:03 2009 EST http://www.physorg.com/news165242543.html The enormous trees forming rainforest canopies bear little resemblance to their seedlings, many described for the first time in the new field guide, "Seedlings of Barro Colorado Island and the Neotropics," published in July 2009 by Cornell University Press. Author Nancy Garwood, professor of plant biology at the University of Southern Illinois in Carbondale, began the daunting task of describing seedling stages of tropical plants 25 years ago at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute in Panama. Sun Jun 28 00:58:03 2009 EST http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1195734/Tea-prices-tipped-hit-record-high-drought.html?ITO=1490 Tea prices tipped to hit a record high after drought Sun Jun 28 00:58:03 2009 EST http://blogs.zdnet.com/green/?p=5591 Remember the world debt clock that loomed notoriously over Times Square in New York? Now, city residents will get to see a massive, close-to-70-foot tall carbon carbon counter that is being sponsored by Deutsche Bank's Asset Management division. [caption id="attachment_5597" align="alignnone" width="475" caption="Deutsche Bank counts carbon rather publicly"][/caption] The counter actually ISN'T ... Sun Jun 28 00:58:03 2009 EST http://feeds.grist.org/click.phdo?i=8847189931f5c99ab8ff17c3b762225b Most Democrats voted for the Waxman-Markey bill 211 in all but 44 Dems voted against. Almost all Republicans opposed the bill 168 but eight Republicans broke ranks to support the measure. Which side was your rep on? Sun Jun 28 00:58:03 2009 EST http://feeds.grist.org/click.phdo?i=b3e59386005f496c0d47f841b4a8ca5e The narrow victory for House Democrats climate and energy bill came only after much coercion by party leaders and the White House. The close vote makes it clear that Waxman-Markey will face many more tough battles in the Senate and again in the House when a final bill comes back for final, final approval. Sun Jun 28 00:58:03 2009 EST http://feeds.grist.org/click.phdo?i=6f2d38fc4314d106e62a69e2f3f87438 Big Ag s going schizo on climate legislation: the lobby wants to preserve the concessions won by Collin Peterson, but kill the overall bill. Reminds Tom Philpott of the time he got mugged in Mexico City. Sun Jun 28 00:58:03 2009 EST http://www.culturechange.org/cms/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=469&Itemid=65 More vital news from Germany: besides the creation of a car free city (Vauban), Chancellor Merkel is holding Obama's feet to the fire to do more to halt greenhouse-gas emissions -- even as she faces domestic protest regarding sacrosanct coal power. Germany's entire society enjoys a better quality of life than the U.S. thanks to generous vacations while using half the energy per capita used by U.S. citizens. But all is not well in Germany due to economic and demographic stress combined with unsustainable energy dependence. Sun Jun 28 00:58:03 2009 EST http://feeds.reuters.com/~r/reuters/environment/~3/gB49laVFW_A/idUSTRE55P6KR20090627 NEW YORK/SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - States that have set the U.S. agenda on addressing greenhouse gas emissions are lining up behind a federal climate bill, fearing signs of dissent would weaken a plan that still faces hurdles. Sun Jun 28 00:58:03 2009 EST http://feeds.reuters.com/~r/reuters/environment/~3/oH0Qf1UVHcc/idUSTRE55P5ZJ20090626 NEW YORK (Reuters) - The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission completed the environmental part of the license renewal proceeding for Exelon Corp's 786-megawatt Unit 1 at the Three Mile Island nuclear power station in Pennsylvania, the NRC said in a release Friday. Sun Jun 28 00:58:03 2009 EST http://feeds.reuters.com/~r/reuters/environment/~3/TQ46oLYD2C4/idUSTRE55P2VX20090626 BEIJING (Reuters) - China's top climate change official on Friday welcomed a U.S. climate change bill but said Washington needed to take stronger action to ensure success at year-end talks to settle a global framework on warming. Sun Jun 28 00:58:03 2009 EST http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/england/london/8121432.stm A plan to turn a corner of Regent's Park into a mini-rainforest - complete with treehouses and rope-bridges - gets the green light. Sun Jun 28 00:58:03 2009 EST http://news.yahoo.com/s/csm/20090626/cm_csm/ymiller_1 Now here's a curveball to secular Western policy experts: China's intellectuals are openly debating the role of Confucianism, Buddhism, and Taoism in promoting the Communist Party's vision of a harmonious society and ecologically sustainable economic development. Sun Jun 28 00:58:03 2009 EST http://feeds.newscientist.com/c/749/f/10928/s/4f900d8/l/0L0Snewscientist0N0Carticle0Cmg20A2271440B50A0A0Ebiofuels0Ecould0Eclean0Eup0Echernobyl0Ebadlands0Bhtml0DDCMP0FOTC0Erss0Gnsref0Fclimate0Echange/story01.htm Land contaminated by radioactive fallout and not fit for growing food could be cleaned up by growing biofuel crops that suck contaminants out of the ground Sun Jun 28 00:58:03 2009 EST http://feeds.newscientist.com/c/749/f/10928/s/4f4f6af/l/0L0Snewscientist0N0Carticle0Cdn173850Eozone0Ehole0Ehas0Eunforeseen0Eeffect0Eon0Eocean0Ecarbon0Esink0Bhtml0DDCMP0FOTC0Erss0Gnsref0Fclimate0Echange/story01.htm The Southern Ocean has lost its appetite for carbon dioxide, and now it appears that ozone levels could be partly to blame Sun Jun 28 00:58:03 2009 EST http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/feedarticle/8578602&usg=AFQjCNFKR3IeeifupM-IKZix5NM6kWByAw Earthtimes (press release)Global free trade accord seen helping environmentguardian.co.ukGENEVA, June 26 (Reuters) - A new global free trade accord could help fight climate change by making clean-energy products more widely ...WTO supports climate protection goalsEarthtimes (press release)Climate Change Deal Crucial To Greener Trade - WTO, UNEasyBourse.comall 59 news articles raquo; Sun Jun 28 00:58:03 2009 EST http://agwired.com/2009/06/26/international-trade-is-now-causing-global-warming/&usg=AFQjCNEjEeSpaFyI6UAhsVwirifEK1hKVQ Earthtimes (press release)International Trade Is Now Causing Global WarmingAgWiredLast time it was their idiotic report about how cows and other forms of livestock are contributing so much to global warming (now calling it climate change ...Global free trade accord seen helping environmentguardian.co.ukFree trade can help combat global warming, finds UN reportUN News CentreWTO supports climate protection goalsEarthtimes (press release)EasyBourse.comall 63 news articles raquo; Sun Jun 28 00:58:03 2009 EST http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2009/06/27/national/w111546D97.DTL Congress has taken its first step toward an energy revolution, with the prospect of profound change for every household, business, industry and farm in the decades ahead. It was late Friday when the House passed legislation that would, for the first time,... Sponsored Topics: United States Congress - Climate change - Energy - Environment - Legislation Sun Jun 28 00:58:03 2009 EST http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/YaleEnvironment360/~3/U80d4vut8gQ/digest.msp After intensive lobbying by President Obama, the U.S. House of Representatives narrowly passed an historic bill that places a cap and a price on carbon dioxide emissions contributing to the warming of the planet. The legislation, approved by the House in a 219 to 212 vote, now moves to the U.S. Senate, where a tough fight is expected. Republicans voted overwhelmingly against the bill, as did 44 Democrats. The 1,300-page bill would require all major sources of fuels that emit carbon dioxide including utilities, oil refiners, and manufacturers to cut their greenhouse gas emissions by 17 percent below 2005 levels by 2020 and by 83 percent by 2050. Sun Jun 28 00:58:03 2009 EST http://www.cfr.org/publication/16362 Against the backdrop of increasing attention to energy and climate change in the presidential campaigns, recent failure of the Senate to advance the Lieberman-Warner climate bill, and preparations for this summer s G8 summit, a CFR-sponsored Independent Task Force recommends an overhaul of U.S. domestic and foreign policy to confront the challenge. Sun Jun 28 00:58:03 2009 EST http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/leading-articles/leading-article-leading-the-world-ndash-in-hot-air-1722249.html Just as New Labour's "new dawn" was giving way to the harsher light of hard work nine years ago, Tony Blair appointed Jonathon Porritt to chair a new Sustainable Development Commission. It was an inspired appointment. Mr Porritt has a remarkable record of a lifetime's commitment to, and technical knowledge of, the green cause. The commission was a visionary idea, albeit labelled with the stodgy concept of "sustainability" a way of describing the central imperative of environmentalism, namely that human activity should not deplete the earth's capacity to sustain future generations. Sun Jun 28 00:58:03 2009 EST http://blogs.shell.com/climatechange/?p=522 The MIT Joint Program on the Science & Policy of Global Change have long been advocates of cap-and-trade as an appropriate policy instrument to drive a reduction in national emissions. They also provide valuable insight into the economic impacts of such an instrument through the economic modelling tools they have at their disposal. As Waxman-Markey races through Congress and might even become legislation this year, both sides of the debate are arming themselves with data to defend or attack the proposal. In recent weeks MIT have found themselves in the middle of this foray as their findings have been somewhat misquoted by those not in favour of a cap-and-trade approach in the USA. Sun Jun 28 00:58:03 2009 EST http://www.culturechange.org/cms/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=472&Itemid=66 Editor's note: Culture Change has made the claim for almost two decades that collapse of the whole petroleum infrastructure and the economy was closer than any other known oil-industry analysis suggested. For example, we have politely corrected Dr. Colin Cambell's claim that the "second half of the Age of Oil" was going to be the result of peak oil. Now, Dmitry Orlov has made the most clear case yet that petrocollapse is rather imminent. - Jan Lundberg Sun Jun 28 00:58:03 2009 EST http://feeds.reuters.com/~r/reuters/environment/~3/HqQMquJ4J7c/idUSTRE55O4R120090627 WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama scored a major victory on Friday when the House of Representatives passed legislation to slash industrial pollution that is blamed for global warming. Sun Jun 28 00:58:03 2009 EST http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/scotland/highlands_and_islands/8120825.stm High summer temperatures are having an effect on the operation of fridges and freezers, leading to increased sales. Sun Jun 28 00:58:03 2009 EST http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2009/jun/28/barack-obama-climate-change-vote&usg=AFQjCNH2KUKl981osuejdZF8UddWG0f8Yg New York TimesVictory on climate change boosts president's positionguardian.co.uk... yesterday - a vote in Congress to act on global warming - saying the time had arrived for America to show international leadership on climate change. ...Climate bill shaped by compromiseLos Angeles TimesHouse passes landmark climate change billReutersDemocrats, Obama Win Major Victory as House Passes Climate Change BillVoice of AmericaSuffolk News-Herald -Buffalo News -CNNMoney.comall 4,320 news articles raquo; Sun Jun 28 00:58:03 2009 EST http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/blogs/beltway-confidential/Has-the-white-House-decided-global-warming-is-a-losing-issue-49343312.html&usg=AFQjCNFOo3Jyja6lZ5CcMGA4XARQ39p5CQ csr-news.net (Pressemitteilung)Has the white House decided global warming is a losing issue?Washington Examiner... President Obama's words alone, you would think this bill had nothing to do with capping greenhouse gas emissions in an effort to battle climate change. ...Global warming bill still contains some smoke and mirrorsLos Angeles TimesBTL:Greenpeace and Other Environmental Groups Oppose Waxman-Markey ...Bay Area IndymediaChicago Tribune Says No Thanks To Waxman-Markey Global Warming BillThe Chilling EffectCNSNews.com -csr-news.net (Pressemitteilung) -PR Newswire (press release)all 54 news articles raquo ... Sun Jun 28 00:58:03 2009 EST http://feeds.reuters.com/~r/reuters/environment/~3/_5Gr-xwDOuQ/idUSTRE55O4EJ20090625 OSLO (Reuters) - Major economies including the United States and China are considering setting a goal of halving world greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 when they hold a summit in Italy next month, a draft document showed. Fri Jun 26 08:29:51 2009 EST 26th June 2009 http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2009/jun/25/us-democrats-climate-bill-vote Sweeping energy and climate change bill would deliver key Obama administration promise to cut US carbon emissionsDemocrats say they are confident of delivering on one of Barack Obama's defining promises tomorrow, by calling a vote in Congress on a sweeping energy and climate change bill.The bill, produced with hands-on involvement from the White House and surrounded by an intense lobbying and PR offensive, would see the US commit for the first time to cutting back the carbon emissions that cause global warming.After weeks of attack from Republicans, the energy reform package got an important boost yesterday when its most formidable opponent in Congress the Democratic chair of the house agricultural committee said he would now push for its passage."We think we have something here now that can work with agriculture," Collin Peterson, who led the Democratic opposition to the bill, told a conference ... Fri Jun 26 08:29:51 2009 EST http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2009/jun/25/carbon-emissions Recession and oil price main drivers behind fall in consumption as developing world emissions rise above 50% for first timeThe growth of global carbon dioxide emissions fell by half in 2008, according to data released today. The global recession and high oil prices played a major role in reducing the rate of emissions. But measures to tackle global warming by cutting emissions such as renewable energy were only partly responsible. The data from the Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency (NEAA) also show that, for the first time, CO2 emissions from the developing world account for more than half of the global total.Analysis from the NEAA draws on fossil fuel consumption figures published last week by BP. Fri Jun 26 08:29:51 2009 EST http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2009/jun/25/dyson-engineering At the launch of his latest innovation, Dyson accuses UK ministers of being more interested in bailing out banks than fostering entrepreneurs and engineersSir James Dyson today criticised the UK government for its lack of support for entrepreneurs and engineers, accusing ministers of being more interested in bailing out banks than fostering companies that could create money and high-tech jobs.The entrepreneur behind the bagless vacuum cleaner said ministers should be backing large projects that could help tackle environmental problems and also encourage young people to take up engineering.Dyson made the comments at the launch of his latest innovation, an electric motor that spins faster than a jet engine, which will be used in the latest models of Dyson's handheld vacumn cleaners. Fri Jun 26 08:29:51 2009 EST http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2009/jun/25/rapley-science-musuem-climate-change People more likely to act on climate change if offered positive vision of low-carbon future, says Chris RapleyPoliticians and scientists must adopt a more positive and aspirational message on climate change and "re-think" the current "hair shirt" approach if they are to persuade more people of the importance of action, according to the head of the Science Museum in London.On the eve of the museum's centenary, Professor Chris Rapley, said that people needed to be shown a positive picture of low-carbon future rather than focus on how difficult the global warming problem is. "We have to believe that that's possible otherwise we might as well all give up," he said.In a reference to the title of the hit climate change film The Age of Stupid - which he called "very thought-provoking and very valuable" - he said the museum's climate change exhibit planned ... Fri Jun 26 08:29:51 2009 EST http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2009/jun/25/greenwash-electronic-waste-directive An EU directive to clean up the electronic waste industry is not being operated or policed properly, and is often ignored completely by manufacturersRemember the charmingly named Weee directive from Brussels? That's Weee as in what to do with waste electronics goods like computers.It is now two years since the waste electrical and electronic equipment directive came into force in the UK. The idea was to stop land-filling all those toxins in computers and to keep the computers in use as long as possible.But the directive has proved to be a dreadful wasted opportunity. In fact, it is worse than that. Fri Jun 26 08:29:51 2009 EST http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/ethicallivingblog/2009/jun/25/bike-blog-cycling-films Inspired by films that make cycling look like video games Matthew Weaver decided to make his own bike film with a bodged up bike-mounted cameraDuring the Tube strike in London a couple of weeks ago I came across a wonderful video that perfectly illustrated the logic and thrill of riding a bike into work.The cyclist and YouTuber, called kmcyc, whizzed passed miles of gridlocked traffic and bus queues and nipped in and out of badly driven cars and vans. The film made a hum drum commute into work look like an exhilarating video game, and I wanted a go. Fri Jun 26 08:29:51 2009 EST http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/2/hi/business/8090914.stm Can Mexico have a green energy policy and feed its poor? Fri Jun 26 08:29:51 2009 EST http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601072&sid=aTL2BC8uTICI June 25 (Bloomberg) -- The Obama administration suppressed analysis that didn t back up its proposed finding that greenhouse-gas pollution poses a danger to the public, a Republican lawmaker charged. Fri Jun 26 08:29:51 2009 EST http://www.independent.co.uk/environment/climate-change/miliband-2020-is-year-of-no-return-for-emissions-1719998.html The world's emissions of the greenhouse gases causing global warming should peak in 2020 and then start to decline, the British Government is proposing in the run-up to the global climate conference taking place at Copenhagen in December. Fri Jun 26 08:29:51 2009 EST http://www.huffingtonpost.com/cynthia-gordy/is-the-climate-change-bil_b_221015.html In the opening remarks of his news conference on Tuesday, President Obama mentioned a climate change bill working its way through the House of Representatives,... Fri Jun 26 08:29:51 2009 EST http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/us_and_americas/article6579128.ece President Obama today put his weight behind frantic last-minute efforts to push Congress into backing fiercely contested legislation on climate change as he declared: We cannot be afraid of the future, we cannot be prisoners of the past. Fri Jun 26 08:29:51 2009 EST http://news.yahoo.com/s/usnw/20090625/pl_usnw/76__of_african_americans_want_delay_on_climate_legislation_until_economy_recovers 76% of African-Americans want Congress to make economic recovery, not climate change, its top priority, says a newly released nationwide poll of African-Americans conducted by the National Center for Public Policy Research. Fri Jun 26 08:29:51 2009 EST http://www.physorg.com/news165159011.html Rising carbon dioxide levels in the ocean have been shown to adversely affect shell-forming creatures and corals, and now a new study by researchers at Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego has shown for the first time that CO2 can impact a fundamental bodily structure in fish. Fri Jun 26 08:29:51 2009 EST http://feeds.reuters.com/~r/reuters/blogs/environment/~3/vWAr4vGC9rc/ Microsoft Corp Chief Research and Strategy Officer Craig Mundie the guy in charge of the company s $9 billion research budget and deep thinking sat down with Reuters to talk about clean energy carbon free, not necessarily renewable, in his view. Following are a couple of excerpts. Mundie talks about why wind and solar power may not be huge players on the renewable energy scene. Mundie discusses his affinity for novel nuclear approaches. Mundie shares his thoughts on clean energy road blocks. Video editing by Courtney Hoffman Fri Jun 26 08:29:51 2009 EST http://resourceinsights.blogspot.com/2009/06/which-matters-most-size-of-tap-or-tank.html My latest column on Scitizen entitled "Which Matters Most? The Size of the Tap or the Tank?" has now been posted. The theme will be familiar to frequent readers of this blog. Here is the teaser:Energy optimists are fond of citing very large numbers for worldwide fossil fuel resources such as oil and natural gas. But they conveniently leave out the critical variable. How fast can we actually produce these resources?....Read more Fri Jun 26 08:29:51 2009 EST http://www.joabbess.com/2009/06/23/big-carbon-cuts-coming/ http://www.berr.gov.uk/files/file50354.pdf Energy trends : March 2009 : URN 09/79a ISSN number: 0308-1222 In the section starting on Page 19 Carbon dioxide emissions and energy consumption in the UK , another document was linked :- http://www.berr.gov.uk/files/file50484.xls The last points on the right-hand side of the chart are 34less than the 1990 figure on the left-hand side. Fri Jun 26 08:29:51 2009 EST http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=47365 ROME, Jun 25 (Tierramerica) - If the world's governments fail to reach an immediate agreement on how to manage water resources by 2030, half the planet's population will not have enough water to survive, scientist Jonathan Baillie told Tierramerica. Fri Jun 26 08:29:51 2009 EST http://feeds.grist.org/click.phdo?i=ad0f2a6b48a8ebb8d837ba09c042c1bf Today we are an oil-based civilization, one that is totally dependent on a resource whose production will soon be falling. This prospect of peaking oil production has direct consequences for world food security, as modern agriculture depends heavily on the use of fossil fuels. Fri Jun 26 08:29:51 2009 EST http://energybulletin.net/node/49328 Monbiot: Any real effort on climate change will hurt. Start with the easy bits: war toysThe Griffin Has LandedSpare me that rubbish about your 'rights' read more Fri Jun 26 08:29:51 2009 EST http://www.culturechange.org/cms/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=467&Itemid=68 Along with Australia, the Indonesian government is hoping to turn a deforestation disaster in Borneo island into a global lesson on how to help locals save tropical forests. After the Amazon, the rainforest in Borneo is the next biggest center of efforts to fight deforestation which is the greatest contributor to global warming. An 830,000-hectare tract of rainforest in Cameroon has been granted a 30-day reprieve from logging following an exploratory expedition that turned up large populations of lowland gorillas, forest elephants, mandrills, and chimpanzees. The Cameroonian government has given Wildlife Works 30 days to come up with a competitive conservation proposal to logging. Fri Jun 26 08:29:51 2009 EST http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/sci/tech/8119887.stm Gordon Brown is pledge UK leadership in the battle against climate change, as he outlines emissions cut plans. Fri Jun 26 08:29:51 2009 EST http://feeds.reuters.com/~r/reuters/environment/~3/pVP-68LyjtQ/idUSTRE55O4R120090625 WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Legislation to slash carbon dioxide pollution blamed for global warming is gaining support in the U.S. House of Representatives, where a vote is possible this week, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said on Thursday. Fri Jun 26 08:29:51 2009 EST http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/06/25/AR2009062504133.html&usg=AFQjCNH9AKURUdArdsDnl75niS-j1qm8YA Washington PostFor the Farm Lobby, Too Much Is Never EnoughWashington Post... hit harder by global warming than agriculture. A report out last week from scientists at 13 government agencies found that climate change is happening ...and more raquo; Fri Jun 26 08:29:51 2009 EST http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601085&sid=a0bvNNJolMQI June 26 (Bloomberg) -- Japan, the U.S. and China must show greater ambition to fight global warming as they enter the last six months of treaty talks, said Ed Miliband , the British Cabinet minister in charge of environmental issues. Fri Jun 26 08:29:51 2009 EST http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/scotland/highlands_and_islands/8120523.stm Environmental charity Earthwatch says a massive migration of short-beaked common dolphins are a sign of climate change. Fri Jun 26 08:29:51 2009 EST http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/earth/hi/earth_news/newsid_8119000/8119402.stm People should be encouraged to chop down fewer trees for firewood in China's largest panda reserve, says a new report. Fri Jun 26 08:29:51 2009 EST http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2009/jun/26/network-coal Tighter restrictions on mountaintop removal mining are simply not enough. Instead, the Obama administration must prohibit this destructive practice, which is devastating vast stretches of Appalachia. By James Hansen of Yale Environment 360, part of Guardian Environment NetworkPresident Obama speaks of "a planet in peril." The president and the brilliant people he appointed in energy and science know that we must move rapidly to carbon-free energy to avoid handing our children a planet that has passed climate tipping points.The science is clear. Burning all fossil fuels will destroy the future of young people and the unborn. And the fossil fuel that we must stop burning is coal. Fri Jun 26 08:29:51 2009 EST http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2009/jun/26/brown-miliband-global-warming-plan Gordon Brown will tomorrow outline Britain's blueprint for a new international deal on global warming, which world leaders are pushing to be agreed at December's critical UN talks in Copenhagen. In a speech at London Zoo, the prime minister is expected to call on all developed countries, including Britain and the US, to show greater ambition in the fight against climate change.The new agreement is intended to replace the Kyoto protocol in setting national limits on carbon pollution, and is billed by green campaigners as the last chance to save the planet from severe and dangerous levels of warming.Brown and Ed Miliband, the energy and climate change secretary, will publish details in the government's Road to Copenhagen document, which Miliband said was aimed at revitalising public interest in the issue.Speaking ahead of the launch, Miliband said ... Fri Jun 26 08:29:51 2009 EST http://feeds.newscientist.com/c/749/f/10928/s/4f4129a/l/0L0Snewscientist0N0Carticle0Cmg20A2271430B50A0A0Edebate0Eheats0Eup0Eover0Elongterm0Eclimate0Eforecasts0Bhtml0DDCMP0FOTC0Erss0Gnsref0Fclimate0Echange/story01.htm The UK Met Office has produced detailed forecasts of the climate many years from now, but climate scientists have criticised such predictions as worthless Fri Jun 26 08:29:51 2009 EST http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/la-ed-climate26-2009jun26,0,5647633.story&usg=AFQjCNE1hqiiamyn8MrpyC_eDd4juom5lA Center For American ProgressThe farm lobby vs. the global warming billLos Angeles TimesWhich is why, when congressional Democrats bring their sweeping 1200-page bill to fight climate change to the House floor today, the farm lobby's loamy ...Editorial: A big step against climate changePhiladelphia InquirerRep. Ed Markey: Acting today on climate changeTaunton Daily GazetteWaxman-MarkeyWashington PostSeattle Times -The Chilling Effect -Los Angeles Timesall 230 news articles raquo; Fri Jun 26 08:29:51 2009 EST http://e360.yale.edu/content/digest.msp?id=1941 The owners of the 110-story Sears Tower in Chicago the tallest building in the U.S. and the Western Hemisphere will spend $350 million to install new energy and water systems that they say will slash the tower s electricity consumption by 80 percent and its water usage by 40 percent. American Landmark Properties, principal owner of the 1,450-foot skyscraper, announced that the green retrofit will replace 16,000 single-pane windows with insulated windows, install natural gas boilers with a new fuel cell technology, renovate 104 elevators and 15 escalators to cut their electricity usage by 40 percent, install lighting that will automatically dim based on available sunlight, plant green roofs, erect wind turbines, conserve 24 million gallons of water with new plumbing fixtures and condensation capture, and install solar panels to heat water. Fri Jun 26 08:29:51 2009 EST http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/LQ733066.htm Source: Reuters (Adds details) LONDON, June 26 (Reuters) - Developed countries must contribute collectively to a $100 billion annual fund to fight climate change in developing countries by 2020, UK Prime ... Fri Jun 26 08:29:51 2009 EST http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2009/jun/23/uk-electric-car-trial UK government's £25m scheme to slash emissions from transport will allow public to take part in long-term trials of a range of electric cars The UK government will today unveil the world's largest ever coordinated trial of environmentally friendly vehicles. The £25m scheme, which is designed to accelerate the introduction of electric cars to the UK will allow people to take part in long-term ... Fri Jun 26 08:29:51 2009 EST http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/environment/climatechange/5638670/Government-pamphlet-urges-people-to-walk-to-work-to-stop-climate-change.html Catastrophic floods and droughts caused by climate change could be prevented simply by putting less water in the kettle according to new Government advice. Fri Jun 26 08:29:51 2009 EST http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/266/f/3780/s/4f3b4d8/l/0L0Sindependent0O0Cenvironment0Cclimate0Echange0Cgrace0Eboyle0Ewater0Eis0Etoo0Ebasic0Ea0Eneed0Eand0Etherefore0Ebecomes0Etoo0Epowerful0Ean0Eemotional0Eissue0E1720A4130Bhtml/story01.htm My desk in the Greenpeace office is on the veranda, tucked under the last lip of roof cover. This means that when it's raining, like it's doing now, the water falls only a foot away, so I can reach out with my fingers and touch it. Fri Jun 26 08:29:51 2009 EST http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601130&sid=a1ZiIqv3E4QE June 26 (Bloomberg) -- America s biggest oil companies will probably cope with U.S. carbon legislation by closing fuel plants, cutting capital spending and increasing imports. Fri Jun 26 08:29:51 2009 EST http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/scotland/highlands_and_islands/8120523.stm Environmental charity Earthwatch says a massive migration of short-beaked common dolphins are a sign of climate change. Fri Jun 26 08:29:51 2009 EST http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/155380.php Global warming will likely mean more unpredictable weather, scientists say, and a new study by researchers at the University of Georgia pins down, possibly for the first time, how drought conditions in an area's fall and winter may effect tornado activity the following spring. Fri Jun 26 08:29:51 2009 EST http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/2/hi/uk_news/wales/south_west/8120638.stm An academic turns down a flight to a US conference to discuss carbon emissions and others follow suit. Fri Jun 26 08:29:51 2009 EST http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/world/south_asia/8116377.stm Indian officials say that monsoon rains in the country are likely to be "below normal" leading to fears about crop failure and higher food prices. Thu Jun 25 09:59:31 2009 EST 25th June 2009 http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/8118276.stm A severe heatwave has claimed the lives of nearly 100 people across India, reports say. The eastern Indian state of Orissa appears to be the worst affected with 58 people dying from heat stroke, according to local officials. Unofficial figures in the Orissa media put the number of dead closer to 200. Thu Jun 25 09:59:31 2009 EST http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/sci/tech/8117704.stm The UK government moves to clear the path for a quarter of the nation's electricity to be powered by wind by 2020. Thu Jun 25 09:59:31 2009 EST http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2009/jun/25/offshore-wind-uk-homes Offshore wind has the potential to power every home in the UK and provide up to 70,000 jobs, according to the governmentThe UK's seas could provide enough extra wind energy to power the equivalent of 19m homes, according to an assessment by the government.The government's strategic environmental assessment (Sea) confirmed projections that an extra 25GW of electricity generation capacity could be accommodated in UK waters.This would be in addition to the 8GW of wind power already built or planned offshore, bringing the potential total electricity capacity of offshore wind to 33GW enough to power every household in the UK.According to the government, offshore wind has the potential to meet more than a quarter of the UK's electricity needs, provide the UK with up to 70,000 new jobs and generate £8bn a year in revenue.The findings of the Sea mean the crown ... Thu Jun 25 09:59:31 2009 EST http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2009/jun/24/scotland-climate-change-bill Campaigners say 'hugely significant' vote to cut emissions by 42% by 2020 sets new 'moral' standard for the rest of the industrialised worldScotland has set itself the world's most ambitious greenhouse gas reduction targets after the Scottish parliament voted today to cut the nation's CO2 emissions by 42% by 2020.In a rare show of unity, all political parties at Holyrood unanimously agreed to fix the target as part of a radical climate change bill which also requires the Scottish government to set legally binding annual cuts in emissions from 2012.The measures are tougher than the 34% target set in the UK government's climate change act last year, which has no statutory annual targets. Thu Jun 25 09:59:31 2009 EST http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2009/jun/24/environment-network-nature Is this busy, technological world a happy one? Kate Humble from ChinaDialogue, part of the Guardian Environment Network explains why we can improve our state of mind if we log off and spend more time with nature.Our vocabulary has changed so much in recent decades that our grandparents would now wonder what we were talking about. In the 1980s we got stuck in a language of acronyms, full of yuppies, dinkies and nimbyism. By the 1990s we'd become subversive, flipping "wicked" on its head and turning "mobile" from an adjective to a noun.As we entered the new millennium, we retreated to our computers and started blogging and googling for all we were worth. Thu Jun 25 09:59:31 2009 EST http://feeds.newscientist.com/c/749/f/10928/s/4ea3a40/l/0L0Snewscientist0N0Carticle0Cmg20A2271410B10A0A0Eice0Eon0Efire0Ethe0Enext0Efossil0Efuel0Bhtml0DDCMP0FOTC0Erss0Gnsref0Fclimate0Echange/story01.htm Methane trapped in sub-marine ice and permafrost could possibly fuel the world for hundreds of years but there's an explosive snag Thu Jun 25 09:59:31 2009 EST http://feeds.reuters.com/~r/reuters/environment/~3/1YPpJBERXCQ/idUSTRE55N4HG20090624 WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The climate bill advancing in the U.S. House of Representatives will reward farmers who plant trees or take other steps to control greenhouse gases, and remove for five years an obstacle to corn-based ethanol, farm-panel Chairman Collin Peterson said on Wednesday. Thu Jun 25 09:59:31 2009 EST http://feeds.reuters.com/~r/reuters/environment/~3/Ha5fQQTjXaA/idUSTRE55N3ZV20090624 LONDON (Reuters) - Scottish lawmakers Wednesday backed a binding goal to cut greenhouse gases by 42 percent by 2020 from 1990 levels, edging Germany into second place in a ranking of the most ambitious developed world targets. Thu Jun 25 09:59:31 2009 EST http://feeds.reuters.com/~r/reuters/environment/~3/PIvuQS9SbqY/idUSTRE55N2QU20090624 BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The United States and Canada must do more than currently proposed to tackle greenhouse gases, France says in a position paper ahead of global climate talks in Copenhagen this December. Thu Jun 25 09:59:31 2009 EST http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/YaleEnvironment360/~3/X6kPbnAaNAU/digest.msp A flurry of last-minute deal making has cleared the way for a vote in the U.S. House of Representatives on historic legislation to cap carbon emissions, with President Obama urging lawmakers to pass what he called an extraordinarily important bill. The vote is expected to be close, with Republicans in near-unanimous opposition and Democrats from coal and farm states wavering. To secure the support of conservative Democrats, congressional leaders are making last-minute concessions in the 1,201-page bill, including extra emissions allowances for rural electric cooperatives and allowing the U.S. Department of Agriculture, rather than the Environmental Protection Agency, to administer farm and forestry projects designed to offset industrial emissions. Thu Jun 25 09:59:31 2009 EST http://news.yahoo.com/s/bloomberg/20090624/pl_bloomberg/a8zry2km1p9e_1 June 24 (Bloomberg) -- A plan to limit U.S. greenhouse gas emissions won new support under an agreement to give farmers and coal-fired electric utilities added benefits in a bill set for a vote this week in the House of Representatives. Thu Jun 25 09:59:31 2009 EST http://www.denverpost.com/ci_12683960?source=rss Three-quarters of Americans think the federal government should regulate the release into the atmosphere of greenhouse gases from power plants, cars and factories to reduce global warming, according to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll, with substantial majority support from Democrats, Republicans and independents. Thu Jun 25 09:59:31 2009 EST http://www.culturechange.org/cms/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=466&Itemid=65 Oil companies are salivating over the supply of black gold beneath Ecuador's rainforest. The South American country is pledging to keep the oil in the ground -- if the international community provides compensation. Now Germany has taken a leading role in raising the necessary cash. Thu Jun 25 09:59:31 2009 EST http://www.newscientist.com/blogs/shortsharpscience/2009/06/-normal-0-false-false-1.html A British-affiliate company accused of helping fund the imminent destruction of a critical area of Indonesian rainforest says it is acting "responsibly" Thu Jun 25 09:59:31 2009 EST http://feeds.grist.org/click.phdo?i=3e182ffc63d485bab084b574cf4bf4c8 Why has climate change not galvanized us? Why are there pro and con positions on insuring a livable planet? The press must accept some of the blame. Thu Jun 25 09:59:31 2009 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/06/090624093458.htm Does ozone have an impact on the ocean s role as a carbon sink ? Yes, according to researchers. Using original simulations, they have demonstrated that the hole in the ozone layer reduces atmospheric carbon uptake in the Southern Ocean and contributes to the increase in ocean acidity. These results should have a considerable impact on future models of the IPCC, which do not currently take ozone ... Thu Jun 25 09:59:31 2009 EST http://www.tes.co.uk/article.aspx?storycode=6015938 Global warming lesson on powerpoint with a true/false starter on the carbon cycle. Thu Jun 25 09:59:31 2009 EST http://www.salon.com/tech/htww/2009/06/24/waxman_markey_compromises/index.html?source=rss&aim=/tech/htww Stopping climate change won't be easy if everybody who squawks gets a free pass Thu Jun 25 09:59:31 2009 EST http://feeds.reuters.com/~r/reuters/blogs/environment/~3/Y0XIT-p3oM4/ A gold-rush-like buzz has spread across Germany in the last week over tentative plans to invest the staggering sum of 400 billion euros to harvest solar power in the Sahara for energy users across Europe and northern Africa. Even though European and Mediterranean Union leaders have been exploring and studying for several years the idea of using concentrated solar power (CSP), the Desertec proposition suddenly captivated the public s attention a week ago when German reinsurer Munich Re announced it had invited blue chip German companies such as Deutsche Bank, Siemens and several major utilities to a July 13 meeting on the project. Thu Jun 25 09:59:31 2009 EST http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601130&sid=axhKlPL94h5U June 25 (Bloomberg) -- Australia s upper house of parliament delayed a vote on the Labor government s carbon- pollution reduction plan until August as opposition grew to the program s targets and economic modeling. Thu Jun 25 09:59:31 2009 EST http://www.physorg.com/news165058793.html Against the background of climate change, how can xDSL systems function more energy-efficiently and cost-effectively? Scientists are providing a solution combining existing methods which network providers could implement immediately. Thu Jun 25 09:59:31 2009 EST http://www.physorg.com/news165082424.html (PhysOrg.com) -- At any moment, the winds in high-altitude jet streams hold roughly 100 times more energy than all the electricity being consumed on Earth, according to a study by Stanford environmental and climate scientists Cristina Archer and Ken Caldeira. Thu Jun 25 09:59:31 2009 EST http://www.physorg.com/news165073393.html (PhysOrg.com) -- The first complete map of global ammonia emissions has recently been achieved using to satellite data. It reveals an underestimation of some of the ammonia concentrations detected by current inventories, and identifies new hotspots. Thu Jun 25 09:59:31 2009 EST http://www.wsbt.com/news/regional/49054316.html INDIANAPOLIS (AP) A new report by a science advocacy group warns global warming could bring scorching summers, more flooding and lower crop yields to Indiana in the coming decades. Thu Jun 25 09:59:31 2009 EST http://www.dailytech.com/article.aspx?newsid=15523 One state looks to ensure its citizens do not have to pay for climate change efforts... Thu Jun 25 09:59:31 2009 EST http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/cif-green/2009/jun/25/climate-science-uncertainty For climate sceptics, the mere presence of uncertainty is reason enough to doubt. But doubt is not an enemy it is the stimulus that drives science forwardIt seems the one thing climate change sceptics are certain of is uncertainty, in particular how uncertainty in the predictions of climate models fatally undermines their legitimacy.So the recent revelation of the UK government's projections of global warming through to 2080 was met, predictably, with some cynicism by the deniers. While some commentators used the detailed projections about possible future UK climate scenarios to underscore why we must take strong action on climate change, the response of climate sceptics was to say that the error bars in the projections made them worthless.Never mind that the level of uncertainty about mean temperature increase, sea level rise and seasonal rainfall was dealt with in painstaking and meticulous detail in the report. Thu Jun 25 09:59:31 2009 EST http://feeds.newscientist.com/c/749/f/10928/s/4ef6fec/l/0L0Snewscientist0N0Carticle0Cmg20A2271460B0A0A0A0Emethane0Econtrols0Ebefore0Erisky0Egeoengineering0Eplease0Bhtml0DDCMP0FOTC0Erss0Gnsref0Fclimate0Echange/story01.htm Reducing carbon dioxide emissions will be vital in the long run, but we should start by tackling methane, says Kirk Smith Thu Jun 25 09:59:31 2009 EST http://www.upi.com/Top_News/2009/06/25/Poll-wide-support-to-regulate-emissions/UPI-78301245930952/ WASHINGTON, June 25 (UPI) -- Americans give wide support to regulation of atmospheric release of greenhouse gases from power plants, cars and factories, a poll indicated Thursday. Thu Jun 25 09:59:31 2009 EST http://www.reuters.com/article/homepageCrisis/idUSB203919._CH_.2400 Africa needs compensation for climate change - MelesReutersBy Barry Malone and Tsegaye Tadesse ADDIS ABABA, June 25 (Reuters) - Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi has demanded that the rich world compensate Africa for global warming and said pollution in the northern hemisphere may have caused his country's ... Thu Jun 25 09:59:31 2009 EST http://www.app.com.pk/en_/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=79955&Itemid=2 Ban calls on G8 to combat climate change, boost support for ...Associated Press of Pakistan, Pakistan... and firm commitments to slash greenhouse gas emissions by 25-40 per cent, the levels the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) says are required on the part of industrialized countries to ward off the worst effects of global warming. ... Thu Jun 25 09:59:31 2009 EST http://science.ubc.ca/news/294 Hot Summers, Calm Seas Are Tipping Point for Tatoosh Island's Red AlgaUBC Faculty of Science, Canada"If we take predicted temperature increases related to global warming and apply them to our study system, lethal combinations of environmental conditions which previously occurred only about once per decade will begin to happen once every two to four ... Thu Jun 25 09:59:31 2009 EST http://www.agriculture.com/ag/story.jhtml?storyid=/templatedata/ag/story/data/1245882097369.xml House ag leader scores big changes in climate bill for farmersAgriculture OnlineHouse Agriculture Committee Chairman Collin Peterson (D-MN) announced victories for farmers and the ethanol industry Wednesday after the end of a late-Tuesday negotiating session with Democratic leaders over a climate change bill that could come up for ... Thu Jun 25 09:59:31 2009 EST http://www.thenation.com/blogs/thebeat/445688 Friends of Earth Score Energy Bill as "Step Backward"The Nation., NYWorse, the bill eliminates preexisting EPA authority to address global warming--that means it's actually a step backward," says FOE president Brent Blackwelder, a veteran campaigner - who has often been ahead of the curve when issues of economics and ... Thu Jun 25 09:59:31 2009 EST http://www.thestatesman.net/page.news.php?clid=4&theme=&usrsess=1&id=258911 Fight for the AmazonThe Statesman, IndiaThe Hadley Centre in Exeter, one of the most sophisticated scientific centres for studying the impacts of global warming, has warned that if we carry on belching out greenhouse gases at the current rate, the humid Amazon will dry up and burn down ~ and ... Thu Jun 25 09:59:31 2009 EST http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/sci/tech/8115464.stm The climate could have a direct effect on the speed of "molecular evolution" in mammals, according to a study. Thu Jun 25 07:35:50 2009 EST 24th June 2009 http://www.superbikeplanet.com/2009/Jun/090624a.htm Following the success of the TTXGP race held on the Isle of Man on June 12, the FIM (Fe?de?ration Internationale de Motocyclisme) has decided to create a FIM Series for electric bikes in 2010. This new FIM Series will be run inside the Road Racing Grand Prix Commission, a great and innovative project led by Mr Azhar Hussain a UK Entrepreneur founder of the TTXGP. The FIM Series for electric bikes will provide an international platform for the development of electric bikes and the technology behind them to be tested in an exciting and challenging way. It aims at driving low- carbon technological innovation forward, to demonstrate that clean-emission transport technologies have matured and can be fun, fast and exciting. Thu Jun 25 07:35:50 2009 EST http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/technology/8114470.stm Ministers launch electric and low carbon car trials across the UK Thu Jun 25 07:35:50 2009 EST http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/sci/tech/8113952.stm Key ruling on land ownership keenly awaited Thu Jun 25 07:35:50 2009 EST http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/sci/tech/8109389.stm Scientists have embarked on field studies of Himalayan glacial lakes, which are feared to be swelling dangerously as glaciers melt. Thu Jun 25 07:35:50 2009 EST http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/england/humber/8113339.stm More than 700 conservation areas in England are at risk of neglect, decay or damaging changes, English Heritage says. Thu Jun 25 07:35:50 2009 EST http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/blog/2009/jun/24/joanna-lumley-climate-change Actor and Gurkha campaigner Joanna Lumley provides voiceover for short animated environment filmFirst, Joanna Lumley stood up for the Gurkhas and won. Now she's standing up for the environment. And, if she applies the usual vim and vigour to her campaigning efforts, it would be a unwise person who bet against her succeeding. Just ask Gordon Brown or Phil Woolas.The actor has provided the voiceover for a short animated film that will be screened at the upcoming series of Live Nation concerts being held in London's Hyde Park, in which an estimated 300,000 people will turn up to see the likes of Blur, Neil Young and the Killers.The film will introduce the Increase Your Positive Handprint campaign which is being orchestrated by the environmental charity, Earth Restoration Service, of which Lumley is a patron. Thu Jun 25 07:35:50 2009 EST http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2009/jun/24/james-hansen-daryl-hannah-mining-protest Protesters arrested for blocking a road near Massey Energy coal processing plant in Raleigh County, southern West VirginiaActor Daryl Hannah and Nasa climate scientist James Hansen were among 31 people arrested yesterday as they protested against mountaintop removal mining in southern West Virginia.State police sergeant Michael Baylous said all were released after being cited for impeding traffic and obstructing an officer after they blocked a road near a Massey Energy subsidiary's coal processing plant.Another woman, who was among a crowd of mining industry supporters, was charged with misdemeanour battery, Baylous said.The arrests followed a rally involving several hundred protesters outside an elementary school about 90m away from the plant's coal storage silo. Thu Jun 25 07:35:50 2009 EST http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/cif-green/2009/jun/24/europe-soil-legislation-protect EU legislation protects Europe's water and air, but not its soil though none of us can live without itThe other evening I had an experience of mundane magic. At the early age of 38, I ate the first vegetable that I had grown all by myself. It was a humble scallion yet on my tongue it had a tang of pride and achievement.How many of the EU's environment ministers who will gather in Luxembourg this Thursday produce their own food? I'm not asking that question because I think that my success story with organic scallions suddenly gives me greener credentials than the political masters of this continent. Thu Jun 25 07:35:50 2009 EST http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2009/jun/23/stations-bikes-adonis-cycling Major railway stations will be offered the chance to become "cycling hubs", with extra bike racks and repair shops, under government plans to boost the appeal of two-wheeled travel among train passengers.Lord Adonis, the transport secretary, will today launch a £5m fund to provide 10 terminals with better cycle facilities for commuters, including more storage space and specialist stores. The scheme will attempt to emulate the Netherlands, where cycling accounts for about a third of all trips to and from stations, compared with just 2% in the UK. "I want to see every major station also serve as a cycling hub, as is the case in Holland," said Adonis. Thu Jun 25 07:35:50 2009 EST http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2009/jun/23/obama-climate-change-congress US president uses news conference to address concerns about costs of moving to clean energyBarack Obama put his presidential prestige on the line to urge Congress to pass climate change legislation today, using the high visibility of a White House press conference to take on widespread concerns about the costs of moving to cleaner sources of energy.The intervention from Obama comes on the eve of a high stakes vote in Congress on a climate change bill. Democrats in Congress have called on Obama to make a personal appeal for the bill which is on a high stakes course this week.The Democratic House speaker, Nancy Pelosi, has taken a gamble on moving up the date for a vote on the bill to Friday - despite near total resistance to the reform package from Republicans and strong opposition from farm state Democrats. Thu Jun 25 07:35:50 2009 EST http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2009/jun/24/us-carbon-emissions-stern Barack Obama's climate envoy dismisses calls at major economies summit for US and other rich nations to cut emissions by 40% by 2020President Barack Obama's climate envoy has rejected calls for the US and other rich nations to make radical greenhouse gas cuts over the next decade.Speaking at the end of a ministerial level meeting of the world's most polluting countries in Mexico yesterday, Todd Stern dismissed the idea that the US might comply with calls for industrialised nations to cut carbon emissions by 40% below 1990 levels by 2020."In our judgment [this kind of cut is] not necessary and not feasible given where we are starting from," he said. Thu Jun 25 07:35:50 2009 EST http://www.businessgreen.com/business-green/news/2244715/uk-set-join-international James Murray, BusinessGreen , Wednesday 24 June 2009 at 12:24:00 Energy minister confirms UK is "very keen to join" IRENA The UK looks to have overcome its initial reservations about the new International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) and could join the group as early as next week. Speaking at the British Wind Energy Association's (BWEA) offshore wind conference in London earlier today, energy ... Thu Jun 25 07:35:50 2009 EST http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=fighting-cow-flatulence-with-garlic Methane gas released as flatulence from livestock is a significant source of greenhouse gas, but entrepreneurs may have found a ready antidote to the problem: garlic. Mootral ( moo and neutral ), produced by Neem Biotech in Cardiff, Wales, contains a natural garlic extract--allicin--that when fed to cows and sheep limits the growth of certain methane-producing bacteria in the animals ... Thu Jun 25 07:35:50 2009 EST http://feeds.reuters.com/~r/reuters/environment/~3/3QkAKsvojDE/idUSTRE55M1QJ20090623 GENEVA (Reuters) - Former United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan said on Tuesday he was optimistic that the world could agree on a climate change accord with the support of the U.S. administration of Barack Obama. Thu Jun 25 07:35:50 2009 EST http://feeds.reuters.com/~r/reuters/environment/~3/pOeIXr6DdGk/idUSTRE55N1DI20090624 CANBERRA (Reuters) - A senator crucial to Australia's plans for carbon trading said on Wednesday he did not believe climate change was real, delivering what could be a fatal blow to government plans to slash industrial gas emissions. Thu Jun 25 07:35:50 2009 EST http://feeds.reuters.com/~r/reuters/environment/~3/6IZhNtZWzzc/idUSTRE55M0XT20090623 GAOJIAGOU, China (Reuters) - Ten-year old Yilong is already a statistic. Thu Jun 25 07:35:50 2009 EST http://feeds.reuters.com/~r/reuters/environment/~3/Qc9TlJM8Wb0/idUSTRE55M27F20090624 BEIJING (Reuters) - China has halted a program of letting marginal farmland return to woodland, because of fears the country's arable land area could fall below a "red line" needed to feed its people, a vice minister said on Tuesday. Thu Jun 25 07:35:50 2009 EST http://feeds.reuters.com/~r/reuters/environment/~3/90PXGfMKC2k/idUSTRE55N26720090624 LONDON (Reuters) - Migrants uprooted by climate change in the poorest parts of the world are likely to only move locally, contrary to predictions that hundreds of millions will descend on rich countries, a study said on Wednesday. Thu Jun 25 07:35:50 2009 EST http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/scotland/8114193.stm Stronger targets for reducing greenhouse gas emissions are included in legislation to be debated on Wednesday. Thu Jun 25 07:35:50 2009 EST http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/2/hi/uk_news/scotland/8115597.stm Landmark legislation to help Scotland tackle the threat of climate change is expected to be passed at Holyrood. Thu Jun 25 07:35:50 2009 EST http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/world/americas/8115947.stm Texas town's manure ethanol plan falls flat Thu Jun 25 07:35:50 2009 EST http://energybulletin.net/node/49328 Monbiot: Any real effort on climate change will hurt. Start with the easy bits: war toysThe Griffin Has LandedSpare me that rubbish about your 'rights' read more Thu Jun 25 07:35:50 2009 EST http://www.monbiot.com/archives/2009/06/23/stop-building-tanks/ Let s divert the money spent on arms to addressing the real strategic threat. Thu Jun 25 07:35:50 2009 EST http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=47336 DILI, Jun 24 (IPS) - Disasters happen regularly in East Timor, but until now, the institutions called on to deal with them have struggled to effectively react to seasonal events that impact thousands of Timorese lives every year. Thu Jun 25 07:35:50 2009 EST http://www.johannhari.com/archive/article.php?id=1525 In the depths of the Amazon rainforest, the poorest people in the world have taken on the richest people in the world Thu Jun 25 07:35:50 2009 EST http://www.joabbess.com/2009/06/23/make-poverty-permanent/ I strongly agree with one central theme from Nicholas Stern s analysis of how to tackle Climate Change. In his book A Blueprint for a Safer Planet , he argues in depth that Climate Change Adaptation strategies for countries in the Global South must be combined with those strategies to beat Poverty and encourage Development. By using the term Global South , I mean mostly undeveloped countries, which just happen to be South of the Earth s Equator. They also happen to be countries where international trade has a heavy drain on their domestic resources and commodities. One could question whether it is right to continue to draw them into the global economy if Sustainable Development cannot be achieved by their integration. Thu Jun 25 07:35:50 2009 EST http://www.physorg.com/news164972866.html As global warming whips up more powerful and frequent hurricanes and storms, the world's coral reefs face increased disruption to their ability to breed and recover from damage. Thu Jun 25 07:35:50 2009 EST http://www.physorg.com/news164977211.html Scientists in Delaware say they have developed a new hydrogen storage method -- carbonized chicken feather fibers -- that can hold vast amounts of hydrogen, a promising but difficult to corral fuel source, and do it at a far lower cost than other hydrogen storage systems under consideration. Thu Jun 25 07:35:50 2009 EST http://www.physorg.com/news165038272.html Climate has always presented a challenge to farmers, herders, fishermen and others whose livelihoods are closely linked to their environment, particularly those in poor areas of the world. A type of insurance, called index insurance, now offers significant opportunities as a climate-risk management tool in developing countries, according to a new publication launched today during a workshop at the Global Humanitarian Forum (GHF) in Geneva. Thu Jun 25 07:35:50 2009 EST http://www.physorg.com/news164988956.html A new study by a team of researchers led by Jessica Hellmann, assistant professor of biological sciences at the University of Notre Dame, offers interesting insights into how species may, or may not, change their geographic range - the place where they live on earth - under climate change. The lead author on the paper is recent Notre Dame doctoral degree recipient Shannon Pelini. Thu Jun 25 07:35:50 2009 EST http://www.physorg.com/news165003225.html The federal government on Tuesday issued its first exploratory leases for wind energy projects on the Outer Continental Shelf, the first step of what could be a race to harness the powerful Atlantic winds not far from major population centers on the East Coast. Thu Jun 25 07:35:50 2009 EST http://www.physorg.com/news164958172.html Toyota Motor, the world's top automaker, plans to roll out a fuel-cell car by 2015 in its push to stay ahead in the global race for green autos, vice president Masatami Takimoto said. Thu Jun 25 07:35:50 2009 EST http://feeds.grist.org/click.phdo?i=549c923f5e9ca48e8330f57f930015ec Today Grist devoured frogs for lunch well, not exactly. We sat down with conservation biologist Dr. Kerry Kriger of the newly minted nonprofit Save the Frogs! on his stop in Seattle during a country-wide speaking tour. As one of the lone voices raising the alarm for amphibians, Kriger dished about the worst disease ever to hit wildlife, why it s such a big deal that one-third of amphibians are threatened with extinction, and just how many people actually are having frogs for lunch. Thu Jun 25 07:35:50 2009 EST http://feeds.grist.org/click.phdo?i=14d4958783cb8bae0323886c732f705c Rep. Henry Waxman (D-Calif.) on Tuesday surrendered to agriculture interests on a key provision in the massive climate and energy bill he introduced with Rep. Ed Markey (D-Mass.). Thu Jun 25 07:35:50 2009 EST http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2009/jun/20/life-ascending-nick-lane Tim Radford counts our blessings, from blue sky and muscles to sex, sight, warm blood and death Life began in a world that we would not now recognise. The skies were orange or dusty red, the oceans were certainly not blue, and almost certainly not salt. There would have been no significant land: just a scattering of volcanic peaks pushing above the dark waters that swirled over the whole globe. ... Thu Jun 25 07:35:50 2009 EST http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/blog/2009/jun/22/end-science-unified-theory-mavericks Almost all the great revolutions in scientific thinking may be behind us, but the way modern science is conducted stifles radical new ideas Wired magazine is well known for its catchy cover lines. I won't forget one from 2007. Alongside a mocked-up image of a yellowing lab notebook and magnifying lens, it proclaimed: "The end of science: The quest for science used to begin with grand theories; ... Thu Jun 25 07:35:50 2009 EST http://feeds.reuters.com/~r/reuters/blogs/environment/~3/b6Mp6zQj608/ No more Mr. Nice Green! San Francisco passed what it called the first mandatory requirement to throw carrot peels, moldy bread and other icky compostable material into separate bins in order to improve recycling. Total recycling would rise to 90 percent from a current 72 percent if all of the paper and scraps currently in the garbage were put in the right cans, the city said. Mayor Gavin Newsom soft-pedaled the sticky side of the situation (although who wants any carrot in this story?). There is a $100 cap for fines on residences and small businesses, and the main goal is public awareness, he said in a statement. Thu Jun 25 07:35:50 2009 EST http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/chi-wx-weathersummary0624jun24,0,5901892.story?track=rss The mercury reached 90 degrees in Chicago for the first time in 2009 at 12:09 p.m. Tuesday on its way to the warmest June high temperature in the city in four years. Thu Jun 25 07:35:50 2009 EST http://www.huffingtonpost.com/linda-adams/a-call-for-some-much-need_b_219662.html A Call for Some Much Needed Sisterhood on This PlanetHuffington Post, NYThose types of natural disasters are projected to worsen as temperatures continue to rise from higher concentrations of pollution that causes global warming. Impacts of climate change already are happening. The melting of ice sheets of Greenland and ... Thu Jun 25 07:35:50 2009 EST http://dotearth.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/06/24/african-dryland-diaspora/ A Diaspora From African DrylandsNew York Times, United StatesThe piece is a close-up view of the global issue of migration driven by climate change. He focuses on Nandom, a town in the poorest part of northern Ghana that has lost half its population. Elders stay, both in town and in surrounding parched (and ... Thu Jun 25 07:35:50 2009 EST http://www.brazzil.com/component/content/article/205-june-2009/10200-a-market-value-on-the-rainforest-is-the-best-hope-for-brazils-amazon.html A Market Value on the Rainforest Is the Best Hope for Brazil's AmazonBrazzil.com, CABrazil's recent bout of flooding has brought to the forefront the fact that the partial destruction of the Amazon rainforest is a significant culprit of global warming. As the rainforest is one of the largest natural resources, when properly ... Thu Jun 25 07:35:50 2009 EST http://www.examiner.com/x-12720-DC-Environmental-Policy-Examiner~y2009m6d23-An-Inconvenient-Truth-WaxmanMarkey-climate-bill-in-trouble An Inconvenient Truth: Waxman-Markey climate bill in troubleExaminer.comRepublicans roundly reject the bill, with arguments predictably running along the lines of If there isn'ta problem (global warming), why fix it? and emission limits would destroy the economy. It's disappointing that this extraordinary bill could ... Thu Jun 25 07:35:50 2009 EST http://www.forbes.com/afxnewslimited/feeds/afx/2009/06/23/afx6575852.html Car makers fight EU ban on climate change chemicalsForbes, NYIn the worst case, use of hydrofluorocarbons could surge to cause global warming in 2050 equivalent to the impact of between 28 and 45 percent of emissions of carbon dioxide, Dutch and American scientists said in the US journal Proceedings of the ... Thu Jun 25 07:35:50 2009 EST http://www.ecorazzi.com/2009/06/23/fatboy-slim-and-others-fight-climate-change-until-theyre-blue-in-the-face/ Fatboy Slim And Others Fight Climate Change Until They're Blue In ...Ecorazzi, NY... Oxfam is launching Blue in the Face a brand new celebrity summer climate change campaign. The goal is to encourage world leaders at the climate summit in Copenhagen this December to get their asses in gear with this global warming stuff! ... Thu Jun 25 07:35:50 2009 EST http://www.linexlegal.com/transit.php?content_id=93675&id8=1 Quebec introduces bill aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissionsLinex Legal (subscription), UK... and social impact of emission reduction efforts, public awareness campaigns and adaptation to global warming and climate change, or to finance the development of and Québec's participation in related regional and international partnerships. ... Thu Jun 25 07:35:50 2009 EST http://www.fairhome.co.uk/2009/06/24/london-beachfront-property-if-sea-level-rises-25-meters/ London beachfront property if sea level rises 25 metersFair Home, UKby Alan Harten Global warming may rear its head quicker then thought as a new study shows that sea levels may rise up to 25 metres instead of the original figure of seven metres that was estimated by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) ... Thu Jun 25 07:35:50 2009 EST http://news.smashits.com/398692/Himalayan-glaciers-feared-to-be-swelling-dangerously-due-to-global-warming.htm Himalayan glaciers feared to be swelling dangerously due to global ...Smash Hits, IndiaLondon, June 24 (ANI): Scientists in Nepal have embarked on the first field studies of Himalayan glacial lakes, some of which are feared to be swelling dangerously due to global warming. In May, they completed the field visit to the first location, ... Thu Jun 25 07:35:50 2009 EST http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/abe37b38-5483-11de-a58d-00144feabdc0.html It was like the dotcom boom all over again. Everybody wanted to be in on the action. Everyone you met was doing something. It was all people talked about. Mon Jun 22 22:41:49 2009 EST 23rd June 2009 http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2009/jun/17/immersion-heater-renewable-energy New research suggests the simple immersion heater could be key to a renewable electricity solution Forget expensive high-tech silver bullets such as nuclear fusion and carbon capture and storage; the solution to climate change lies in the humble electric immersion heater that sits in the hot water tank under your stairs. That's the view of Dr Mark Barrett, senior researcher at the UCL Energy ... Mon Jun 22 22:41:49 2009 EST http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/crime/article6552561.ece Five climate change protesters have been arrested after a group boarded a coal freighter to prevent it unloading its cargo at Kingsnorth power station in Kent. Mon Jun 22 22:41:49 2009 EST http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2009/jun/21/supermarket-suppliers-amazon-rainforest-deforestation Meat companies sued over Amazon deforestation Accused firms supplying Tesco, Asda and MSBrazilian authorities investigating illegal deforestation have accused the suppliers of several UK supermarkets of selling meat linked to massive destruction of the Amazon rainforest. Brazilian firms that supply Tesco, Asda and Marks Spencer are among dozens of companies named by prosecutors, who are seeking hundreds of millions of pounds in compensation.The move follows a three-year investigation by Greenpeace into the trade in cattle products such as meat and leather traced to illegal farms across the Amazon region. The Greenpeace report, revealed in the Guardian earlier this month, showed that a handful of major Brazilian processors exported products linked to Amazon destruction to dozens of blue-chip companies across the world. Mon Jun 22 22:41:49 2009 EST http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/jun/21/green-environment-ecology-congress-us-supermarkets 98% of supposedly environmentally friendly products in US supermarkets make false or confusing claims, campaigners sayMore than 98% of supposedly natural and environmentally friendly products on US supermarket shelves are making potentially false or misleading claims, Congress has been told. And 22% of products making green claims bear an environmental badge that has no inherent meaning, said Scot Case, of the environmental consulting firm TerraChoice.The study of nearly 4,000 consumer products found "greenwashing" in nearly every product category from a lack of verifiable information to outright lies.Even the experts are confused. Case, whose firm runs its own Ecologo certification programme, admitted he had bought a refrigerator only to find it failed to meet its claims of energy efficiency."My refrigerator used twice as much energy as advertised," he told members of the House of Representatives committee on commerce, trade and consumer protection. Mon Jun 22 22:41:49 2009 EST http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2009/jun/21/ethical-living-soya Growing soybeans has serious eco consequences - but they're not what you may think. Time to spill the beans, says Lucy SiegleA number of upset vegetarians and vegans have been in touch to say they've been accused by acquaintances of causing planetary damage through their tofu and soya-milk consumption, given that soya production has become synonymous with deforestation. The first thing I should do is to explain that although Europe imports 39m tonnes of soya a year (imagine it contained in 15 miles' worth of lorries bumper to bumper), 90% is destined for animal feed. It's beef rather than veggie burgers that ate all the soybean. Mon Jun 22 22:41:49 2009 EST http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/cifamerica/2009/jun/19/obama-climate-change-report The new report on the effects of global warming makes it clear we need to act. But a bill won't pass without a push from ObamaThe top scientific advisers in the Obama administration on Tuesday unveiled a startling new report on what the latest climate science tells us is both already happening and likely to happen in the near future if planet-warming emissions continue unhindered. The report is astounding in the foreseeable future, the United States could witness the submersion of the Florida Keys, up to 100 days of more-than-100-degree heat in places like Texas and the end of a domestic maple syrup industry.For those who were paying attention, these were shocking findings. Mon Jun 22 22:41:49 2009 EST http://feeds.newscientist.com/c/749/f/10928/s/4d7ea92/l/0L0Snewscientist0N0Carticle0Cdn173430Eearths0Ecoastlines0Eafter0Esealevel0Erise0E40A0A0A0Ead0Bhtml0DDCMP0FOTC0Erss0Gnsref0Fclimate0Echange/story01.htm Even if we could freeze-frame the atmosphere as it is today, sea levels would still rise by 25 metres, says the latest study into the effects of climate change on melting ice sheets Mon Jun 22 22:41:49 2009 EST http://feeds.reuters.com/~r/reuters/environment/~3/Ju2l4PtqCmg/idUSTRE55L1UP20090622 ZURICH (Reuters) - Switzerland's glaciers shrank by 12 percent over the past decade, melting at their fastest rate due to rising temperatures and lighter snowfalls, a study by the Swiss university ETH showed Monday. Mon Jun 22 22:41:49 2009 EST http://www.culturechange.org/cms/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=463&Itemid=68 Editor's note: The Center for Biological Diversity is one of the few environmental groups Culture Change can endorse. So an activist alert from them has got to be well considered. The Center was part of the old Alliance for a Paving Moratorium, a ten-year project our office ran until 2001. Would you flip a coin to determine whether hundreds of thousands of species live or die? How about whether hundreds of millions of people are displaced and forced to live in misery? Mon Jun 22 22:41:49 2009 EST http://www.joabbess.com/2009/06/22/astonishing-admissions/ http://hmccc.s3.amazonaws.com/pdfs/LaunchPressRelease01.12.08.pdf CCC recommends a minimum 34cut in greenhouse gas emissions by 2020, with a 42cut if a global deal is achieved. But Ed Miliband said in Questions and Answers after his presentation We are not going to reach 40reductions by 2020 [we are in] the art of the possible. Mon Jun 22 22:41:49 2009 EST http://www.canada.com/Report+foresees+drastic+climate+change/1720667/story.html Smoke blankets the province as mega-fires devour withered pine forests. Dust bowls scour the Okanagan, increasingly resembling the Sahara. Mon Jun 22 22:41:49 2009 EST http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2009/jun/18/uk-weather-climate-impact-report Average mean temperature likely to rise by more than 2C across the UK by 2050, says major new Met Office report detailing the impacts of climate change over the next century Scientists today produced a detailed map of how climate change is expected to affect every part of the UK over the next century. Experts from the Met Office used sophisticated computer models to build up a picture of how ... Mon Jun 22 22:41:49 2009 EST http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2009/jun/22/letters-climate-change-uk Hilary Benn announced the results of a study into the impacts of climate change in the UK (Now the weather forecast for the next 80 years or so, 19 June). One stark reminder of the UK's vulnerability to a changing climate is the fact that "summer rainfall in southeast England could decrease by a fifth by the 2050s". This is a terrifying prediction for a region which already has less water per ... Mon Jun 22 22:41:49 2009 EST http://www.guardian.co.uk/artanddesign/2009/jun/21/radical-nature-art-architecture-barbican One of the strange things that gives such point and style to our culture is the simultaneous collision of radically different ideas. Mon Jun 22 22:41:49 2009 EST http://www.nytimes.com/cwire/2009/06/22/22climatewire-a-sea-change-in-chinas-attitude-toward-carbo-94519.html When European and Chinese scientists first agreed to collaborate on capturing carbon dioxide from power plants and storing it... Mon Jun 22 22:41:49 2009 EST http://news.therecord.com/article/557490 GLEICHEN, Alta. - Occasional showers over the weekend were a welcome sight in Alberta but many farmers say it isn't enough to stave off what could be the worst drought in a decade. Mon Jun 22 22:41:49 2009 EST http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/SYD478481.htm Source: Reuters By James Grubel CANBERRA, June 22 (Reuters) - The Australian parliament's upper-house Senate began debating plans for the government's carbon trading scheme on Monday with little sign the package of ... Mon Jun 22 22:41:49 2009 EST http://www.euractiv.com/en/climate-change/germany-agrees-scaled-co2-capture-law/article-183368?Ref=RSS Germany's grand coalition government has reportedly agreed to a scaled-down draft law on carbon dioxide storage after conservatives objected to some of the measures. Mon Jun 22 22:41:49 2009 EST http://www.enn.com/ecosystems/article/40101 Arctic nations are promising to avoid new "Cold War" scrambles linked to climate change, but military activity is stirring in a polar region where a thaw may allow oil and gas exploration or new shipping routes. Mon Jun 22 22:41:49 2009 EST http://news.theage.com.au/breaking-news-national/feeding-world-is-major-challenge-expert-20090622-ctwl.html Feeding the world is a greater challenge than climate change or the economic crisis, the National Farmers' Federation congress has heard. Mon Jun 22 22:41:49 2009 EST http://www.palmbeachpost.com/storm/content/local_news/epaper/2009/06/21/0621climate.html?cxtype=rss&cxsvc=7&cxcat=76 More drought, more flooding. Hotter days, harder rain. Higher- intensity hurricanes. Mon Jun 22 22:41:49 2009 EST http://www.prw.com/subscriber/headlines2.html?cat=1&id=1245664870 Dow and Gazprom Marketing and Trading have signed a memorandum of understanding to develop greenhouse gas reduction projects on a global basis. Mon Jun 22 22:41:49 2009 EST http://www.greenpeace.org/international/news/kingsnorth-revisited-220609 Kingsnorth Revisited:Greenpeace International, Netherlands... no way we can stop climate change if power companies are allowed to keep on burning so much coal. I'm terrified by the scale of the problem my children will have to deal with. We have to give the next generation a chance of beating global warming, ... Mon Jun 22 22:41:49 2009 EST http://solveclimate.com/blog/20090622/lesson-stovepipe-city-everything-climate-change-connected A Lesson for Stovepipe City: Everything in Climate Change is ConnectedSolveClimate, NYThe great lesson of global climate change is that everything is connected. The emissions from a coal plant in Iowa, for example, add to the global carbon dioxide emissions that may produce floods in Bangladesh. Or the folks in Iowa may someday suffer ... Mon Jun 22 22:41:49 2009 EST http://greeninc.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/06/22/pressing-the-case-for-geoengineering/ Pressing the Case for GeoengineeringNew York Times, United StatesIn his analysis, there are three ways of coping with climate change: controlling emissions, adapting to the altered climate and geoengineering, which he concedes, is the most drastic, even desperate. It is Dr. Strangelove, but it is entirely doable, ... Mon Jun 22 22:41:49 2009 EST http://edition.cnn.com/2009/TECH/science/06/22/synthetic.tree.climate.change.ccs/ 'Synthetic tree' claims to catch carbon in the airCNN InternationalHe personally explained the concept in a 45-minute meeting with US Energy Secretary Steven Chu last month at a three-day symposium on climate change in London. "He was there and I was there and he showed interest," Lackner told CNN. ... Mon Jun 22 22:41:49 2009 EST http://www.theparliament.com/latestnews/news-article/newsarticle/society-faces-irreversible-impact-from-climate-change/ Society faces 'irreversible' impact from climate changeTheParliament.com, UK"Even if we keep global warming below two degrees, we will still see extreme effects of climate change on our societies," he said. "Data suggests that climate indicators such as sea-level rise and glacier-melt are all changing at the maximum rate ... Mon Jun 22 22:41:49 2009 EST http://www.joabbess.com/2009/06/22/an-essential-holiday-read/ http://www.pik-potsdam.de/news/press-releases/files/synthesis-report-web.pdf This is an utterly terrifying blockbuster that will have you gripping your seat in panic. Expect to sweat as you turn the pages and digest the deadly narrative, hear the characters talk about their pain, take in the menacing charts. Mon Jun 22 22:41:49 2009 EST http://feeds.reuters.com/~r/reuters/environment/~3/eM4bDZVJOfA/idUSTRE55L62H20090622 OSLO (Reuters) - Greenhouse gases from chemicals used in refrigerants and air conditioning are set to be a bigger than expected spur of climate change by 2050, scientists said. Mon Jun 22 22:41:49 2009 EST http://feeds.reuters.com/~r/reuters/environment/~3/pD6u91wmxaY/idUSTRE55L5U120090622 JIUTEPEC, Mexico (Reuters) - Mexican President Felipe Calderon warned governments on Monday against letting economic crisis derail steps to cut greenhouse gas emissions, saying failure to reach a deal would cost all nations dearly. Mon Jun 22 22:41:49 2009 EST http://www.countercurrents.org/kishore220609.htm By Joe KishoreHumanity will achieve the dubious distinction this year of having more than 1 billion members of its species living in hunger for the first time in history. The number of undernourished is estimated to soar by about 100 million over last year, to 1.02 billion, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) Mon Jun 22 22:41:49 2009 EST http://feeds.grist.org/click.phdo?i=2942daa03b0473ff9ff4014f098d344a I am outside of Mexico City with delegates from the world s 17 biggest economies who are meeting this week ahead of the next G8 meeting to further negotiate international climate agreements. Issues on the table include funding for forest protection, mid-term and long-term emission reduction targets, and financing for adaption and mitigation. The outcomes from these talks remain in doubt and other questions fester, like to what will the U.S. commit to? Mon Jun 22 22:41:49 2009 EST http://www.physorg.com/news164915519.html (AP) -- A strong earthquake jolted a swath of southern Alaska on Monday, sending people diving under desks and huddling in doorways but causing little damage. Mon Jun 22 22:41:49 2009 EST http://www.spacedaily.com/2006/090623014319.kpn7cmg4.html WASHINGTON, June 22 (AFP) Jun 23, 2009 Access to green technology is becoming a growing stumbling block in global efforts to fight climate change, with US lawmakers bristling at what they see as China's attempt to "steal" US know-how. Mon Jun 22 22:41:49 2009 EST http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dr-james-hansen/a-plea-to-president-obama_b_219300.html The issue of mountaintop removal is so important that I and others concerned about this problem will engage in an act of civil disobedience on... Mon Jun 22 22:41:49 2009 EST http://www.themoscowtimes.com/article/1009/42/378984.htm 23 June 2009 By Alister Doyle / Reuters OSLO -- Arctic nations are promising to avoid new "Cold War" scrambles linked to climate change, but military activity is stirring in a polar region where a thaw may allow oil and gas exploration or new shipping routes. Mon Jun 22 22:41:49 2009 EST http://www.carbonpositive.net/viewarticle.aspx?articleID=1587 Russia's weak target cements climate stalemateCarbon Positive, NetherlandsThe most authoritative body of scientists, the UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), says cuts of this magnitude are necessary if we are to limit global warming to 2 degrees Celsius this century. Developing countries, which include ... Mon Jun 22 22:41:49 2009 EST http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2009/jun/18/new-york-carbon-counter New Yorkers leaving Penn station and the tenor Andrea Bocelli's concert at Madison Square Garden stadium were confronted with an unusual advert yesterday a huge sign showing greenhouse gas levels in the atmosphere.Updated in real time, using projections from monthly measurements of CO2 and other greenhouse gases by Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the Carbon Counter is designed to get everyone to reduce their emissions.Kevin Parker, the global head of Deutsche Bank's asset management division, which put up the 21-metre sign, said: "Carbon in the atmosphere has reached an 800,000-year high. We can't see greenhouse gases, so it is easy to forget that they are accumulating rapidly."Yesterday the counter, which uses 40,960 low-energy LEDs and carbon-offsets its electricity usage, gave a figure of 3.64tn tonnes.At current rates, the counter's figures are expected to rise by 2bn tonnes a month. Sun Jun 21 21:17:40 2009 EST 20th June 2009 http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2009/jun/19/ask-leo-air-conditioning Shutters, curtains and moving water are a few natural solutions, but there are green options if you can't live without air-conditioningWhat is the most efficient form of air conditioning for the home?T Briar, by emailAnyone reading through the government's climate predictions for Britain this week probably had the same instinctive thought as me: where can I buy shares in companies installing or manufacturing air-conditioning units? With worst-case predictions of temperatures in London reaching 41C in the summer months you only have to travel on the Tube right now to realise what a nightmare scenario this will be.Britons have never really needed to consider installing air-conditioning within their own homes. Sun Jun 21 21:17:40 2009 EST http://feeds.reuters.com/~r/reuters/environment/~3/45VdIF4h6h4/idUSTRE55I5VG20090619 (Reuters) - Nissan Motor Co plans to launch production of electric vehicles and their batteries in the United States to tap low-interest loans for green vehicles, the Nikkei business daily said. Sun Jun 21 21:17:40 2009 EST http://feeds.reuters.com/~r/reuters/environment/~3/GJ1SeDMdYZI/idUSTRE55I3GO20090619 NEW YORK (Reuters) - It's a long way from rock and roll to eco-activist but Chuck Leavell, most recently keyboardist for The Rolling Stones, believes the two are anything but mutually exclusive. Sun Jun 21 21:17:40 2009 EST http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/YaleEnvironment360/~3/zebBDPJJ8yg/digest.msp The dream of launching satellites into space to harness the sun s energy and beam it back to earth is looking increasingly realistic as U.S. companies aggressively research the technology. One firm, PowerSat Corp. of Everett, Wash., has filed for patents that it says could overcome two of the major hurdles facing satellite solar technology. The company said it is developing technology that could link as many as 300 satellites together in space, allowing satellites covered in photovoltaic cells to beam energy to one big satellite, which would then transmit the energy to earth. The second technology would help lower the high cost of launching satellites into orbit by using solar-powered Click to EnlargePowerSat Corp.Satellite Solar Technology electronic thrusters to send the satellites from low-earth orbit to geosynchronous orbit 22,000 miles above the earth. Sun Jun 21 21:17:40 2009 EST http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/YaleEnvironment360/~3/dODHuRTrdQE/digest.msp U.S. government scientists have issued a report saying that evidence of climate change is already unequivocal and that warming this century could significantly alter the nation s weather and coastlines. The report, Global Climate Change Impacts in the United States, says that average U.S. temperatures have increased by 2 degrees F in the past 50 years and can be expected to rise 4 to 11 degrees F by 2100, depending on the success of cutting carbon dioxide emissions. In our backyards, climate change is happening and it s happening now, said Jane Lubchenco, administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Sun Jun 21 21:17:40 2009 EST http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2009/jun/21/kingsnorth-protester-arrests-video-complaint Women arrested for challenging officer with no badge number Footage shows arresting officers binding Fit Watch pair's feet IPCC to receive video as concerns grow over police tacticsTwo female protesters who challenged police officers for not displaying their badge numbers were bundled to the ground, arrested and held in prison for four days, according to an official complaint lodged today.The incident was caught on camera, and footage shows officers standing on the women's feet and applying pressure to their necks immediately after the women attempted to photograph a fellow officer who had refused to give his badge number.The images are likely to fuel concern over the policing of protests, which is already subject to a review by the national police inspectorate and two parliamentary inquiries after the G20 demonstrations and the death of Ian Tomlinson.Val Swain, 43, and Emily Apple, 33, both mothers with young children, ... Sun Jun 21 21:17:40 2009 EST http://feeds.reuters.com/~r/reuters/environment/~3/kUqRRSsZu-E/idUSTRE55I67420090619 WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The climate change law being written in Congress is unlikely to pay directly U.S. farmers if they alter their operations to control greenhouse gases, said the House Energy Committee chairman on Friday. Sun Jun 21 21:17:40 2009 EST http://www.skynews.com.au/eco/article.aspx?id=344224 Debate on climate change in Australia is small-minded and a repeat of the Victorian bushfires is possible if global temperatures do not ease, climate change expert Tim Flannery says. Sun Jun 21 21:17:40 2009 EST http://www.smh.com.au/environment/our-climate-hots-up-but-the-debate-is-divided-and-smallminded-20090620-crwe.html THE next 30 years will be spent fighting increasingly severe bushfires, even if a new global warming protocol is brokered in Copenhagen later this year, climate change expert Tim Flannery says. Sun Jun 21 21:17:40 2009 EST http://pantagraph.com/articles/2009/06/21/news/doc4a3d080ba43d0265926782.txt WASHINGTON, D.C. -- One contributor to global warming - bigger than coal mines, landfills and sewage treatment plants - is being left out of efforts by the Obama administration and House Democrats to limit greenhouse gas emissions. Cow burps. Belching from the nation's 170 million cattle, sheep and pigs produces about one-quarter of the methane released in the U.S. each year, according to the ... Sun Jun 21 21:17:40 2009 EST http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2009/jun/16/climate-change-sea-level Hard-hitting report describes how America will be affected region by region if no action is taken on climate change The Obama administration's long-awaited scientific report on the sweeping and life-altering consequences of a failure to act on global warming Global climate change impacts in the United States is released today. It provides the most detailed picture to date of the impacts on ... Sun Jun 21 21:17:40 2009 EST http://www.manilatimes.net/national/2009/june/21/yehey/top_stories/20090621top1.html RICE production will decline by as much as 75 percent in the Philippines if it is not quick enough to adapt to and put in place safeguards against climate change.The decline starts in 2020, according to a study made by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and released this week during a high level regional meeting on the impact of climate change in Asia and the Pacific. Sun Jun 21 21:17:40 2009 EST http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/World/2009/06/21/9879921-ap.html Vermont dairy farmers Tim Maikshilo and Kristen Dellert, mindful of shrinking their carbon footprint, have changed their cows' diet to reduce the amount of gas the animals burp - dairy cows' contribution to global warming. Sun Jun 21 21:17:40 2009 EST http://blogs.zdnet.com/green/?p=5441 You know all those carbon footprint calculator tools that you can find all over the Web? Well, it seems not that many people are actually using them. A recent poll finds that just 7.1 percent of Americans (in this survey group at least) have attempted to figure out there personal or professional or household footprint. The survey, conducted by Sacred Heart University, reflects the responses of ... Sun Jun 21 21:17:40 2009 EST http://english.people.com.cn/90001/90777/90853/6682622.html European Union leaders were criticized on Friday for playing a "delaying tactic" on climate change shortly after they finished a two-day summit without any progress on the issue. During their summit, leaders of the 27-member bloc reached agreement on a number of key issues including legally-binding guarantees to Ireland to secure the country's approval of the reforming Lisbon Treaty, and a deal ... Sun Jun 21 21:17:40 2009 EST http://www.financialpost.com/news-sectors/mining/story.html?id=1713622 The worst drought in 50 years for Western Canada s grain-growing region means farmers will likely reap smaller crops than the Canadian Wheat Board estimated a week ago, the Wheat Board said on Friday. Sun Jun 21 21:17:40 2009 EST http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601072&sid=aI7nKh7RfjuI June 19 (Bloomberg) -- Contracts for carbon dioxide permits in the U.S. Northeast s cap-and-trade program fell to a record low today after prices declined in the latest auction of new allowances. Sun Jun 21 21:17:40 2009 EST http://www.realclimate.org/index.php/archives/2009/06/a-warning-from-copenhagen/ In March the biggest climate conference of the year took place in Copenhagen: 2500 participants from 80 countries, 1400 scientific presentations. Last week, the Synthesis Report of the Copenhagen Congress was handed over to the Danish Prime Minister Rasmussen in Brussels. Denmark will host the decisive round of negotiations on the new climate protection agreement this coming December. The climate congress was organised by a "star alliance" of research universities: Copenhagen, Yale, Berkeley, Oxford, Cambridge, Tokyo, Beijing - to name a few. The Synthesis Report is the most important update of climate science since the 2007 IPCC report. So what does it say? Sun Jun 21 21:17:40 2009 EST http://www.joabbess.com/2009/06/21/triumph-voluntary-bigger-than-coal/ In the hallway supping on orange juice and ice, I turned off the Sky Eternal Non-News on a fat, loud TV because I saw someone standing in front of it in a hynotic trance. He complained, but didn t demand the show turned back on. Thankfully that provided the quiet for us all to talk some to each other and read a little. At the Fabian Society conference Six Months to Copenhagen , I read the summary pages of a publication called The Green Crunch written by Sir John Harman : Green politics has got it wrong and must embrace globalisation . Sun Jun 21 21:17:40 2009 EST http://www.joabbess.com/2009/06/20/ed-miliband-hot-reaction/ I mustn t be too hard on the man, he s just become a father. And he is most congenial, friendly and well-motivated in his heart-felt engagement with Climate Change. But seriously, if he really wanted to engage the people in the room, he would have been more careful not to be so dismissive of the magician outside the front door who was trying to show everyone very theatrically that Carbon Trading doesn t work. Plus, he would have showed that after all this time in full view of the facts on Global Warming, that he understood that sooner or later Government policy must match the scientific requirements, instead of harping on about the art of the possible . Sun Jun 21 21:17:40 2009 EST http://www.joabbess.com/2009/06/20/new-labour-can-win/ As usual at these events, I bumped into a couple of political activists of various flavours and persuasions at the Fabian Society conference Six Months to Copenhagen , today, held in the faded-yet-still-grand setting of the Foreign Press Association, just off The Mall in London. [ The Mall is the street that links Trafalgar Square and Buckingham Palace. It's not a shopping centre ]. One such person was a New Labour communications person. I saw my chance. I mentioned that I had been advising a Liberal Democrat on greening the yellows, offering specific policy ideas and even helping with information surrounding global Carbon management. Sun Jun 21 21:17:40 2009 EST http://www.joabbess.com/2009/06/20/a-cabal-of-campaigners/ There s news from the Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO) quarter. A whole bunch of Aid and Development, charity, Third Sector and green groups got together today and were instilled with their responsibility to hold politicians feet to the fire by Ed Miliband, who just happens to be a politician. Not just any old politician, no. Only the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change in the United Kingdom. Expect to be leafletted in every highway and by-way. Expect homilies, moralising, enthusiastic youngsters, pledges to click and postcards to complete. Expect moving speeches, public protest, random acts of street communication. Sun Jun 21 21:17:40 2009 EST http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=47303 REYKJAVIK, Jun 20 (IPS/IFEJ) - Iceland manages to produce tomatoes, paprika and cucumbers all year round by harnessing geothermal energy locally, even though the growing season is short. Sun Jun 21 21:17:40 2009 EST http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/266/f/3780/s/4d58cc2/l/0L0Sindependent0O0Cnews0Cpeople0Cnews0Cshes0E10A10Endash0Emeet0Ebritains0Eoldest0Egreen0Ecampaigner0E17115560Bhtml/story01.htm At the age of 101, Kathy Dimock has lived through two world wars and too many prime ministers to remember. For most of her lifetime the phrases "global warming" and "climate change" had not been coined. But now she is Britain's oldest eco-warrior. Sun Jun 21 21:17:40 2009 EST http://feeds.grist.org/click.phdo?i=0b2a3d5de2813600c0c214cdab2d10f2 Will there be a House vote next week on Waxman-Markey? Sun Jun 21 21:17:40 2009 EST http://energybulletin.net/node/49283 Why we need the national academy of sciences to study peak oil Peak flow rates, not peak oil?The pitfalls of natural gas as the default climate change optionGM preparing for high oil prices: chief executive read more Sun Jun 21 21:17:40 2009 EST http://energybulletin.net/node/49281 As Iraq runs dry, a plague of snakes is unleashedAfrican farms becoming too hot to handle Warming may outstrip Africa's ability to feed itselfClimate change hits China's 'poor hardest'Learning to live with climate change will not be enough read more Sun Jun 21 21:17:40 2009 EST http://energybulletin.net/node/49277 If you actually care about limiting the worst of climate change, Waxman-Markey is a disastrous bill. It enriches the powerful at the expense of the poor world and ordinary Americans. It fails to do anything useful, or to even address the science... And it is the only shot we ve got, at least for a while, at getting one passed. I hate it. I support it. read more Sun Jun 21 21:17:40 2009 EST http://www.culturechange.org/cms/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=462&Itemid=65 The awareness that humans could alter the climate of Earth has dawned slowly on our consciousness. In 1896, Swedish chemist Svante Arrhenius deflected his anguish over a failed marriage into remarkably tedious and, as it turned out, accurate calculations about the effect of CO2 emissions on climate. It was an oddly therapeutic thing to do, but it had no more effect on public attention than the smallest cloud on a distant horizon. Another 69 years would pass... Sun Jun 21 21:17:40 2009 EST http://www.culturechange.org/cms/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=461&Itemid=63 It will take a long time for the US to embrace pedestrians, bicycling, and electric carts as substitutes for cars in our communities. And yet an inevitable change is coming that will significantly increase environmental quality, and restore real community and economic viability. Changing legislation, master planning, and the development of car-reduced and car-free communities will move us forward. Sun Jun 21 21:17:40 2009 EST http://feeds.newscientist.com/c/749/f/10928/s/4d23247/l/0L0Snewscientist0N0Carticle0Cdn173410Eexplore0Ehow0Eclimate0Echange0Emight0Eaffect0Ethe0Eus0Bhtml0DDCMP0FOTC0Erss0Gnsref0Fclimate0Echange/story01.htm The US government has released a detailed report on how climate change could affect the nation see our interactive map Sun Jun 21 21:17:40 2009 EST http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/2009/06/19/met-office-study-forecasts-catastrophic-climate-change-91466-23920665/ Met Office study forecasts catastrophic climate changeWalesOnline, United Kingdom It will be more a case of global storming rather than global warming. This year in particular, governments must show real leadership by example ahead of crucial climate negotiations at Copenhagen in December. Investing in solutions such as cutting ... Sun Jun 21 21:17:40 2009 EST http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/06/20/BAL118AM61.DTL State drops warming suit against carmakersSan Francisco Chronicle, USAState Attorney General Jerry Brown agreed Friday to drop a global warming lawsuit that accused the six largest automakers of damaging California's resources by selling vehicles that emit large amounts of heat-trapping gases. ... Sun Jun 21 21:17:40 2009 EST http://www.physorg.com/news164637295.html Scientists in China are recommending that the Chinese government consider phasing out the direct burning of traditional chunks of coal in millions of households. It suggests that the government substitute coal briquettes and improved stoves for cooking and heating to help reduce the country`s high air pollution levels. Sun Jun 21 21:17:40 2009 EST http://www.physorg.com/news164735814.html A drought in Tibet has intensified into the region's worst in three decades, leaving thousands of hectares parched and killing more than 13,000 head of cattle, China's state media said Saturday. Sun Jun 21 21:17:40 2009 EST http://www.physorg.com/news164687888.html Uganda has lost nearly a third of its forest cover since 1990 due to expanding farmlands, a rapidly growing human population and increased urbanisation, a government report said on Friday. Sun Jun 21 21:17:40 2009 EST http://www.redorbit.com/news/science/1708765/study_of_agricultural_watersheds_and_carbon_losses/index.html?source=r_science Specific land management practices in agricultural watersheds, such as manure application, can affect carbon losses, according to a study in the Journal of Environmental Quality Sun Jun 21 21:17:40 2009 EST http://www.monstersandcritics.com/science/news/article_1484513.php/UN_Energy_efficiency_can_create_jobs_save_900_billion_dollars UN: Energy efficiency can create jobs, save 900 billion dollarsMonsters and Critics.com... to global warming. UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon opened a one-day debate on energy efficiency, energy conservation and renewable sources of energy, saying the world can achieve a great deal by pursuing energy efficiency to fight climate change. ... Fri Jun 19 13:21:23 2009 EST 19th June 2009 http://www.independent.co.uk/environment/climate-change/the-outlook-for-the-rest-of-the-century-40c-summer-days-1708981.html The outlook for the rest of the century: 40C summer daysIndependent, UKSimilar huge increases are forecast for every region of Britain in the first localised forecasts of the potential impacts of global warming. Also for the first time, detailed projections of drought, increased winter rainstorms and sea level rise are ... Fri Jun 19 13:21:23 2009 EST http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/michael-mccarthy-whats-so-depressing-is-the-inevitability-of-all-this-1708980.html Michael mccarthy: What's so depressing is the inevitability of all ...Independent, UKThis enables risk to be mathematically quantified and is an essential component of future planning to cope with what global warming may bring. Secondly, for the first time there are regional predictions in quite enormous detail, which will now enable ... Fri Jun 19 13:21:23 2009 EST http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2009/6/18/744117/-Dolphins,-Magnificent-FrigatebirdSpoonbills Dolphins, Magnificent Frigatebird & SpoonbillsDaily Kos, CAThe government has released a new report regarding global warming and its accelerating pace. The oceans are rising at an accelerating pace, too, which means most of the present coastline and wetlands won't exist fifty to a hundred years from now. ... Fri Jun 19 13:21:23 2009 EST http://allafrica.com/stories/200906180900.html Liberia: Climate Change Threatens CountryAllAfrica.com, WashingtonDiscussions will focus in particular on the impacts of climate change on the key sector of agriculture, approaches for more efficient energy uses, and ways in which forests can be used for reducing the greenhouse gas emissions that cause global warming ... Fri Jun 19 13:21:23 2009 EST http://www.businessgreen.com/business-green/comment/2244453/climate-change-future-hands Climate change: the future is in our hands but we must adaptBusiness Green, UKWhile not attributed to global warming, the events were an example of the types of extreme rainfall which could become more common in future as a result of climate change. The heat wave across Europe in summer 2003, which is thought to have resulted in ... Fri Jun 19 13:21:23 2009 EST http://www.theage.com.au/environment/rising-ocean-temperatures-near-worstcase-predictions-20090619-cmcs.html Rising ocean temperatures near worst-case predictionsThe Age, AustraliaThe report, titled Climate change: Global risks, challenges & decisions, says greenhouse gas emissions needed to peak within the next six years for the world to give a chance of limiting global warming above pre-industrial levels to about two degrees. ... Fri Jun 19 13:21:23 2009 EST http://feeds.reuters.com/~r/reuters/environment/~3/bSxVIHKIm-0/idUSTRE55H6EV20090618 WASHINGTON (Reuters) - As Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives struggled to resolve disputes over a climate change bill, Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Thursday courted moderate Republicans she hopes may help pass the legislation. Fri Jun 19 13:21:23 2009 EST http://feeds.reuters.com/~r/reuters/environment/~3/_OBKLg9AgrM/idUSTRE55H65A20090618 LIMA (Reuters) - Peru's Congress overturned two controversial land laws on Thursday that ignited deadly clashes between police and indigenous protesters in the Amazon rainforest two weeks ago, killing at least 34 people. Fri Jun 19 13:21:23 2009 EST http://feeds.reuters.com/~r/reuters/environment/~3/61N-x8G7dCg/idUSTRE55H4NG20090618 BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Union agreed the basis of its financial contribution to a global climate change deal on Thursday, but environmentalists said more was needed to ensure success at global talks in Copenhagen in December. Fri Jun 19 13:21:23 2009 EST http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/266/f/3780/s/4cd9f9b/l/0L0Sindependent0O0Cenvironment0Cclimate0Echange0Cthe0Eoutlook0Efor0Ethe0Erest0Eof0Ethe0Ecentury0E40Ac0Esummer0Edays0E170A89810Bhtml/story01.htm Frightening temperature increases which would make life difficult if not intolerable are forecast for Britain during the course of the coming century, according to the latest detailed Government predictions of how climate change may affect the United Kingdom. Fri Jun 19 13:21:23 2009 EST http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=47280 Moshi, TANZANIA, Jun 18 (IPS/IFEJ) - With the snow-capped peak of Mount Kilimanjaro providing a backdrop under simmering tropical sunshine, a group of women in Mijongweni village break into song. Fri Jun 19 13:21:23 2009 EST http://www.joabbess.com/2009/06/17/irony-bryony-worthington/ [ UPDATE : Some of you have mentioned that you thought this piece was rather biting. So I put it under Bryony's nose and offered to change anything that she felt was inaccurate, personally distressing, or that she disagreed with or objected to on professional grounds. Changes are bolded. ] At the The Guardian Climate Change Summit in London s Russell Square s Hotel Russell on Monday 15th June 2009, there was a large banner marked out with the name of the key sponsor of the event, E.On, but nobody at the large table underneath it to schmooze the attendees. Fri Jun 19 13:21:23 2009 EST http://www.salon.com/tech/htww/2009/06/18/steven_chu_s_excessive_faith/index.html?source=rss&aim=/tech/htww Rolling Stone accuses the Energy Secretary of having "excessive faith" in technology. But why not? Fri Jun 19 13:21:23 2009 EST http://www.connpost.com/ci_12620538?source=rss Despite conflicting messages on global warming, the majority of Americans believe in the phenomenon, see it as an environmental threat and want to do something about it. Fri Jun 19 13:21:23 2009 EST http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601072&sid=aG5p2kBin538 June 18 (Bloomberg) -- Carbon dioxide in the earth s atmosphere has risen to its highest level in at least 2.1 million years, according to a new investigation of the greenhouse gas s role in ice ages over the millennia. Fri Jun 19 13:21:23 2009 EST http://www.physorg.com/news164556026.html Scientists have unearthed striking evidence for a sudden ancient collapse in plant biodiversity. A trove of 200 million-year-old fossil leaves collected in East Greenland tells the story, carrying its message across time to us today. Fri Jun 19 13:21:23 2009 EST http://www.physorg.com/news164553776.html Synthetic fertilizers have dramatically increased food production worldwide. But the unintended costs to the environment and human health have been substantial. Nitrogen runoff from farms has contaminated surface and groundwater and helped create massive "dead zones" in coastal areas, such as the Gulf of Mexico. And ammonia from fertilized cropland has become a major source of air pollution, while emissions of nitrous oxide form a potent greenhouse gas. Fri Jun 19 13:21:23 2009 EST http://feeds.grist.org/click.phdo?i=a95fbba75371fab76cfc81bb8586f884 The Obama administration this week released a 196-page plain-language report that describes predicted future impacts of climate change on the U.S. The report comes during a week of inconclusive negotiation among key House lawmakers on climate legislation, and as the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee passes what could be the third energy bill in four years. Green jobs start to wear a human face. Fri Jun 19 13:21:23 2009 EST http://feeds.grist.org/click.phdo?i=a9fb0a3121f86619e914a0ab7ad838b1 House Republicans are circulating a PowerPoint document that purports to show the regional breakdown of costs for energy consumers under the Waxman-Markey climate and energy bill and it appears to have been authored by the coal giant Peabody Energy. Fri Jun 19 13:21:23 2009 EST http://energybulletin.net/node/49257 Message to Washington: You're not getting it - we're still out of work. WInd farms and energy efficient public buildings are important, but what about the housing industry? The recession started with the housing industry -- and can end if we bring back construction -- so lets focus on the real problem. That's the heart of the message to Congress and the Obama administration from a group of architects and builders who are promoting a plan to end the recession by revitalizing America's read more Fri Jun 19 13:21:23 2009 EST http://energybulletin.net/node/49260 As carbon cap-and-trade legislation works it way through Congress, the environmental community is intensely debating whether the Waxman-Markey bill is the best possible compromise or a fatally flawed initiative. Yale Environment 360 asked 11 prominent people in the environmental and energy fields for their views on this controversial legislation. read more Fri Jun 19 13:21:23 2009 EST http://www.desmogblog.com/art-appraiser-puts-principle-ahead-profit RichardLindzen.jpg Bostonian rebuffs denier darling Richard Lindzen A Boston art dealer sacrificed an easy buck recently in a principled protest against the writings of the climate change denier-darling Dr. Richard Lindzen, according to an outraged story by the junk scientist and cigarette salesman, Steve Milloy. Prof. Lindzen (inset) is a senior scientist at MIT, a man who has had an impressive scientific career, but who for the past decade has made himself famous and much-loved in the climate change denial community by quibbling about narrow aspects of climate change science.<!--break--> Apparently, the professor suffered a recent house fire, resulting in damage to a valuable old rug. Fri Jun 19 13:21:23 2009 EST http://www.culturechange.org/cms/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=460&Itemid=65 The clock is ticking, and we are not building life boats. As the population's options close and a harder ecological and socioeconomic fall is assured more each day, Barack Obama is leading the thumb twiddlers, albeit with eloquence and charm. What passes for policy debate today seldom reckons with the life and death issues of climate extinction, petrocollapse, and the social chaos ahead. Obama is dealing with a heck of a lot, granted. This alone is supposed to quiet the people quite a bit, and despite the Depression, ecocide and unending war, it has worked rather well. Fri Jun 19 13:21:23 2009 EST http://feeds.reuters.com/~r/reuters/environment/~3/VkvrTiBCeRg/idUSTRE55H6IJ20090618 NEW YORK (Reuters) - Deutsche Bank lit a seven-storey-high sign in the middle of Manhattan on Thursday that counts the total amount of greenhouse gases trapped in the Earth's atmosphere. Fri Jun 19 13:21:23 2009 EST http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601080&sid=aLM4otYnvXHQ China Attacks Kyoto Carbon Trading With Greenpeace ApprovalBloombergBy Mathew Carr June 19 (Bloomberg) -- The market for trading rights to spew carbon dioxide, created by the 1997 Kyoto Protocol to reduce global warming, is under attack by developing countries and environmentalists as negotiators hammer out a sequel ... Fri Jun 19 13:21:23 2009 EST http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/sci/tech/8107920.stm With one in six homes in England at risk from flooding in the future, the Environment Agency urges a big rise in spending. Fri Jun 19 13:21:23 2009 EST http://feeds.reuters.com/~r/reuters/environment/~3/cP_Wd1m19lg/idUSTRE55I01R20090619 SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Within a vast deforested area on Borneo island, Australia and Indonesia hope to turn an ecological disaster into a global lesson on how to help local communities save tropical forests and fight climate change. Fri Jun 19 13:21:23 2009 EST http://feeds.reuters.com/~r/reuters/environment/~3/RGXdjbmojgs/idUSTRE55I06C20090619 ANCHORAGE, Alaska (Reuters) - Polar bear populations in and around Alaska are declining due to continued melting of sea ice and Russian poaching, according to reports released Thursday by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Fri Jun 19 13:21:23 2009 EST http://feeds.grist.org/click.phdo?i=fd3290212b36d960b14f72e21ae3b58d The House is gearing up to vote on the American Clean Energy and Security Act as soon as next week, and both the White House and environmental groups are planning a full-court press to get it passed. Fri Jun 19 13:21:23 2009 EST http://www.desmogblog.com/climate-change-hangover CO2 and temperature.jpg Let s assume that the Obama administration and Congress get their act together this year and make good on their pledge of enacting meaningful climate legislation by establishing the nation s first cap-and-trade system. Let s further assume, for the sake of argument, that the administration, working with its international partners, succeeds in drafting a robust successor to the Kyoto Protocol at the climate talks in Copenhagen later this year. If we accept that the U.S. climate bill, known as the American Clean Energy and Security Act (ACES), will accomplish its goal of bringing down emission levels 80 percent below 2005 levels by 2050 which is nothing to sneeze at when you consider that a substantial fraction of policymakers (including some Democrats) vehemently oppose the measure then the question becomes ... Fri Jun 19 13:21:23 2009 EST http://energybulletin.net/node/49255 It is not a lack of climate science that holds back action. It is how we respond to the challenge that the science poses, and that is deeply cultural. It is the values that we bring to bear, what we think is good for us, our religious underpinnings, our view of power and opportunity, of what is possible in the world and Australia's place in it. (Speech to National Press Club) read more Fri Jun 19 13:21:23 2009 EST http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=47286 RIO DE JANEIRO, Jun 18 (IPS) - A commitment signed by federal and state authorities in Brazil Thursday was described by the energy minister as a "historic step" towards promoting wind power. Fri Jun 19 13:21:23 2009 EST http://physicsworld.com/cws/article/news/39526 Masking of global warming could be smaller than previously thought Fri Jun 19 13:21:23 2009 EST http://feeds.reuters.com/~r/reuters/environment/~3/PuUEFL1Cow0/idUSTRE55I0I420090619 CANBERRA (Reuters) - Australia's government, facing Senate defeat of key emission trading laws, vowed on Friday to bring its climate-fighting regime to the upper house a second time, opening the door for a possible snap election. Fri Jun 19 13:21:23 2009 EST http://feeds.reuters.com/~r/reuters/environment/~3/6MPSRXc2dvI/idUSTRE55I0HV20090619 WASHINGTON (Reuters) - By a one-vote margin, a U.S. House committee decided on Thursday not to intervene in federal regulations that could hold U.S. ethanol makers responsible for greenhouse gases from crops overseas. Fri Jun 19 13:21:23 2009 EST http://www.desmogblog.com/republicans-cribbing-big-coal peabodyenergy.jpg It s a small world after all. Turns out that a PowerPoint being trotted out by House Republicans to undermine the Waxman-Markey climate and energy bill was apparently created by none other than dirty fuel giant Peabody Energy. Grist broke this hilarious story by burrowing into the PowerPoint file properties, revealing the author was Peabody CEO Greg Boyce and their communications services manager Chris Taylor was listed as the file manager. Oops. As if Republican clean energy opponents needed another hit to their already battered credibility, it seems the fossil fuel industry is now even writing their talking points for them. Fri Jun 19 13:21:23 2009 EST http://www.guardian.co.uk/artanddesign/gallery/2009/jun/18/radical-nature-exhibition-barbican Climate change forms the inspiration for a major new exhibition of ecological art opening today at the Barbican Art Gallery in London. Radical Nature: Art and Architecture for a Changing Planet 1969 2009 brings together environmental activists, land artists and architects to explore solutions to our ever-changing planet. Fri Jun 19 13:21:23 2009 EST http://www.reuters.com/article/latestCrisis/idUSLI320173 Europe to offer China help in burying CO2 emissionsReutersBy Pete Harrison BRUSSELS, June 19 (Reuters) - Europe will next week start moves to help China and India develop technology to trap and bury carbon dioxide underground in the fight against global warming, according to a draft European Commission ... Fri Jun 19 13:21:23 2009 EST http://www.monstersandcritics.com/news/europe/news/article_1484621.php/Environmental_groups_slam_EU_for_delay_on_climate_action_ Environmental groups slam EU for delay on climate actionMonsters and Critics.com'European leaders were right to state that the time has now come for the international community to speed up the pace of negotiations and take the commitments needed to limit global warming to under 2 degrees Celsuis,' said Jason Anderson, ... Fri Jun 19 13:21:23 2009 EST http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/2/hi/uk_news/northern_ireland/8107959.stm NI summers will be hotter by about 2.2C and less rainy by 2050, according to government climate predictions. Fri Jun 19 13:21:23 2009 EST http://feeds.vnunet.com/c/554/f/7147/s/4cfcfb3/l/0L0Sbusinessgreen0N0Cbusiness0Egreen0Cnews0C22444790Cgreen0Einvestments0Ebetter0Ejob/story01.htm Matthew Wheeland, Greenbiz.com, BusinessGreen , Friday 19 June 2009 at 11:29:00 New reports argue investment in low carbon technologies can create four times more jobs than same level of spending in fossil fuel industries Two new reports on the impacts of moving to a low-carbon economy show putting money toward energy efficiency, building retrofits and renewable energy projects can create 1.7 ... Fri Jun 19 13:21:23 2009 EST http://business.smh.com.au/business/probe-carbon-claims-garnaut-20090619-cndn.html Professor Ross Garnaut calls on watchdog to investigate claims that some businesses have been exaggerating the impact of emissions trading on their operations. Fri Jun 19 13:21:23 2009 EST http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601072&sid=aPEzDA9VWvZk June 19 (Bloomberg) -- The U.S. should create a multibillion dollar program to prove that carbon-dioxide from the nation s coal-fired power plants can be captured, vastly reducing emissions, a report by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology said. Fri Jun 19 13:21:23 2009 EST http://blogs.shell.com/climatechange/?p=520 The actual reason I went to Bonn last week was to participate in a side event run by The Oxford Institute for Energy Studies. They put forward the view that the real issue at hand is not the emissions in 2020 or 2050 or any other year, but the total additional GHG carrying capacity of the atmosphere in relation to a temperature objective. The full story on this appears in the 30th April edition of Nature. To limit temperature rise to 2 deg.C, the number is about one trillion tonnes of Carbon, or 3.67 trilllion tonnes of CO2 (equivalent). Fri Jun 19 13:21:23 2009 EST http://uk.news.yahoo.com/22/20090619/tpl-environment-us-eu-energy-china-43a8d4f.html Europe will next week start moves to help China and India develop technology to trap and bury carbon dioxide underground in the fight against global warming, according to a draft European Commission document. Fri Jun 19 13:21:23 2009 EST http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=47290 BERLIN, Jun 19 (IPS) - As its name suggests, the West Nile virus, a leading cause of a form of meningitis and a neuro-invasive disease, has until recently been reported mostly in tropical and sub-tropical African regions. But it is now about to become a global virus. Fri Jun 19 13:21:23 2009 EST http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=47256 ROME, Jun 17 (IPS) - How many varieties of date palm or melon exist? And why should we care? IPS spoke to three 'Guardians of Diversity' so named by Bioversity International for their contribution to conservation. Fri Jun 19 13:21:23 2009 EST http://www.guardian.co.uk/artanddesign/2009/jun/19/art-radical-nature-barbican Even the remotest hermit knows that the effects of climate change are the greatest threat faced by mankind. So where does that leave artists? Can they contribute anything to debates about the environment? Might the imperatives of environmentalism constrain their freedom to make interesting work? Fri Jun 19 13:21:23 2009 EST http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2009/jun/18/new-york-carbon-counter New Yorkers leaving Penn station and the tenor Andrea Bocelli's concert at Madison Square Garden stadium were confronted with an unusual advert yesterday a huge sign showing greenhouse gas levels in the atmosphere.Updated in real time, using projections from monthly measurements of CO2 and other greenhouse gases by Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the Carbon Counter is designed to get everyone to reduce their emissions.Kevin Parker, the global head of Deutsche Bank's asset management division, which put up the 21-metre sign, said: "Carbon in the atmosphere has reached an 800,000-year high. We can't see greenhouse gases, so it is easy to forget that they are accumulating rapidly."Yesterday the counter, which uses 40,960 low-energy LEDs and carbon-offsets its electricity usage, gave a figure of 3.64tn tonnes.At current rates, the counter's figures are expected to rise by 2bn tonnes a month. Fri Jun 19 13:21:23 2009 EST http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/8108100.stm How aerosols mask climate changeBBC News, UK"Global models of the emission of these aerosols suggest the cooling effect they have cancels out approximately 10% of the global warming caused by greenhouse gases," explained Jim Haywood, an aerosol researcher from the UK Met Office, ... Fri Jun 19 13:21:23 2009 EST http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/sci/tech/8108100.stm Uncertainty over exactly how much aerosols impact on the climate has finally been settled, scientists say. Fri Jun 19 13:21:23 2009 EST http://www.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/blogs/thereporters/richardblack/ Climate concerns fail to quicken clean energy vision Fri Jun 19 13:21:23 2009 EST http://feeds.reuters.com/~r/reuters/environment/~3/uZT6U6hsX2o/idUSTRE55I3CP20090619 MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russian President Dmitry Medvedev set greenhouse gas emission goals on Friday, saying Russia would aim to cut emissions by 30 billion tonnes between 1990 and 2020. Fri Jun 19 13:21:23 2009 EST http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2009/jun/19/denmark-wind-electric-cars The project will use electric car batteries to store excess energy and feed electricity back into the grid when the weather is calmCars could be the solution to the intermittent nature of wind power if a multimillion European project beginning on a Danish island proves successful.The project on the holiday island of Bornholm will use the batteries of parked electric cars to store excess energy when the wind blows hard, and then feed electricity back into the grid when the weather is calm.The concept, known as vehicle-to-grid (V2G) is widely cited among greens as a key step towards a low-carbon future, but has never been demonstrated. Fri Jun 19 13:21:23 2009 EST http://feeds.reuters.com/~r/reuters/environment/~3/v8tZv9kFd5k/idUSTRE55I3QD20090619 GENEVA (Reuters) - The United Nations called on Friday for more aid funds to help countries prepare for -- instead of respond to -- natural disasters, saying simple steps could halve the number of deaths they cause. Fri Jun 19 13:21:23 2009 EST http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/england/cumbria/8108586.stm A £20m training centre for the nuclear industry is to be officially opened in west Cumbria. Fri Jun 19 13:21:23 2009 EST http://www.marketwire.com/mw/release.do?id=1006534&sourceType=3 Providing Shippers With Data to Make Greener Transportation Choices Fri Jun 19 13:21:23 2009 EST http://energybulletin.net/node/49271 Globesity: How climate change and obesity draw from the same rootsMarijuana and Cocaine Should Be Legalized, Says Latin American Drugs CommissionStand up for rural America while you still can read more Fri Jun 19 13:21:23 2009 EST http://energybulletin.net/node/49264 China and the developing world are watching the US to see if it is serious about combating climate change. Waxman-Markey, the bill and the legislative process, sends a clear signal: not very. read more Fri Jun 19 13:21:23 2009 EST http://www.joabbess.com/2009/06/19/banking-on-china/ The Circle Line can get a bit stifling in the evening. Not as much as the Central Line, which is often only a few tiers from the fires of Hell itself, but the Circle Line is often clammy in Summer, long after the Rush Hour home. Global Warming ? Global Steamy Clammy Heat ! So, I m trying to maintain my personal cool and composure on the London Underground by not moving very much and reading a self-styled pamphlet I acquired at the 5th June 2009 conference The politics of climate change : from economic crisis to business revolution . Fri Jun 19 13:21:23 2009 EST http://www.investorschronicle.co.uk/Companies/ByEvent/Results/Analysis/article/20090619/a675273a-5c19-11de-b28e-0015171400aa/Falkland-Islands-suffers-squid-squeeze.jsp The 'failure' of the Illex squid catch earlier this year, the first failure since 2004, means that revenues on the Falkland Islands are going to be squeezed in 2009-10, which is bad news for Falkland Islands Holdings (FIH). Fri Jun 19 13:21:23 2009 EST http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2009/jun/16/obama-climate-change-impacts Climate impacts report warns of flooding, heat waves, drought and loss of wildlife that will occur if Americans fail to act on global warming The Obama administration is poised for its most forceful confrontation with the American public on the sweeping and life-altering consequences of a failure to act on global warming with the release today of a long-awaited scientific report on climate ... Fri Jun 19 13:21:23 2009 EST http://www.nytimes.com/cwire/2009/06/19/19climatewire-rural-electric-co-ops-threaten-climate-deal-98492.html Some say Glenn English, CEO of the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association, could play a role in killing climate legi... Fri Jun 19 13:21:23 2009 EST http://www.therenewableplanet.com/blogs/the_daily_green/archive/2009/06/19/climate-change-forecast-the-real-impact-on-the-united-states.aspx Climate Change Forecast: The Real Impact on the United StatesThe Renewable Planet, CanadaThe impact of climate change on water supplies, agriculture and ultimately human health, are clearly outlined in the report, and paints a dire picture of the future for the US as its climate continues to be affected by global warming. Fri Jun 19 13:21:23 2009 EST http://www.pr-inside.com/climate-change-voices-of-khumbu-s-children-r1333534.htm Climate Change: Voices of Khumbu's ChildrenPR-Inside.com (Pressemitteilung), AustriaThe students from 16 primary and secondary schools in the Khumbu region near Mount Everest in Nepal had taken the opportunity to express their views on climate change and global warming through painting and writing. The competition, jointly organised ... Fri Jun 19 13:21:23 2009 EST http://www.businessweek.com/ap/financialnews/D98TL31O0.htm EU postpones climate funding decision until Oct.BusinessWeekBy AOIFE WHITE European Union leaders will decide only in October how much money they will give poor nations to help them combat climate change -- a delay that environmentalists said Friday could jeopardize a global pact to curb greenhouse gas ... Fri Jun 19 13:21:23 2009 EST