Sipping from the internet firehose...
This weekly posting is brought to you courtesy of H.E.Taylor. Happy reading, I hope you enjoy this week's Global Warming news roundup
- Top Stories:WGMS Report, G20 Meeting, Criminal, Eco:nomics Conference
- Arctic Conflict, Antarctica, Chinese CO2, Gulf Stream, La Nina Winter, Zero Emissions, Earth Hour
- Hurricanes, Temperature Record, Sea Levels, ENSO
- Impacts, Forests, Wacky Weather, Floods & Droughts, Food vs. Biofuel, Food Production
- Transportation, Buildings, NAFTA CEC Report, Sequestration, Geoengineering
- Journals, Misc. Science
- Kyoto-2, Carbon Trade, Carbon Tax, Optimal Carbon Reduction Strategy
- Politics:International, Security, America, Britain, Europe, Australia, Indonesia, China, India, Canada
- Ecological Economics, IPAT, Media
- Energy, Solar, Coal, Biofuel, Nukes, Peak Oil, Efficiency, Cars, Business, Greenwashing
- Carbon Lobby, The Usual, Useful Links
- Shameless Self Promotion, .sig
- 2008/03/16: uComics: (cartoon - Wiley) Another Boring Global Warming Rant
The WGMS has released the 2005/2006 glacier mass balance data:
- 2008/03/01: WGMS: glacier mass balance data 2003/2004, 2004/2005, and 2005/2006
- 2008/03/16: CNN: U.N.: Glaciers shrinking at record rate
Glaciers are shrinking at record rates, according to U.N. Environment Program - Scientists say 30 glaciers around the world showed record ice loss in 2006 - UNEP warns ice loss could have dramatic consequences particularly in India - Glaciers lost an average of about a foot of ice a year between 1980 and 1999 - 2008/03/16: ABC(Au): Thaw of world's glaciers reaches record high: UN
- 2008/03/16: PhysOrg: UN: World's Glaciers Melting Faster
- 2008/03/16: AFP: UN warns climate change melting glaciers at alarming rate
- 2008/03/16: CanWest: Glacier melt hits record rate, UN says - Huge losses in Europe spark renewed climate change fears
- 2008/03/16: Guardian(UK): Melting glaciers start countdown to climate chaos
- 2008/03/16: Guardian(UK): Glaciers melt 'at fastest rate in past 5,000 years'
The world's top greenhouse gas emitters are meeting in Japan:
- 2008/03/16: ABC(Au): G20 backs climate fight, divided over industry caps
A grouping of the world's top greenhouse gas emitters has backed UN-led efforts to forge a global pact to fight climate change, but disagreed on a sectoral approach to curb emissions from industry. G20 nations ranging from top carbon emitters the United States and China to big developing economies Brazil, Indonesia and South Africa held three days of talks near Tokyo to discuss ways to tackle rapidly rising emissions. - 2008/03/16: PhysOrg: Top polluters divided on climate change goals [G20]
- 2008/03/15: Yahoo: "Major emitters" tag upsets poor nations at G20 talks
Developing countries urged rich states on Saturday to be clear about funds to fight global warming and said the label "major emitters" for nations like India and Brazil was unfair. Twenty of the world's top greenhouse gas emitters were meeting in Chiba, near Tokyo, to discuss ways to reach a global pact to curb rising carbon dioxide emissions by the end of 2009. - 2008/03/15: People's Daily: Environment ministers gather to talk about post-Kyoto framework
Environment ministers and high-level officials from Group of 20 members gathered Saturday in Chiba, east of Tokyo, to talk about a post-Kyoto framework aimed at better tackling with global climate change. The two-day fourth ministerial meeting of the Gleneagles Dialogue on Climate Change, Clean Energy and Sustainable Development is the first in a series of ministerial meetings in the run-up to the Group of Eight summit slated for July in northern Japan's Hokkaido. - 2008/03/14: ABC(Au): Environment ministers meet for climate change talks
Environment and energy ministers from the world's 20 largest greenhouse gas emitting countries will meet in Tokyo this afternoon for climate change talks. The meeting is known as Gleneagles Dialogue, having emerged from the 2005 G-8 summit held in the UK. - 2008/03/14: ENN: Britain dismisses Japan climate change plan
Japan wants major emitters to fight climate change by targeting efficiency of industries, a trade ministry official said on Friday, but Britain dismissed it as the wrong approach. Japan is hosting a three-day meeting of 20 of the world's top greenhouse gas polluters and believes sectoral curbs on major polluting industries such as cement makers and power generators can rein in growing carbon dioxide emissions. Japan, the world's fifth-largest greenhouse gas emitter, argues nations should share energy efficiency indicators to figure out how much they can cut climate-warming emissions blamed for rising seas, more intense storms and melting glaciers - 2008/03/14: ENN: Greenhouse funds gloom hangs over G20 talks
Rich nations must come up with billions in new money to help poor countries fight global warming and not just repackage development aid to score diplomatic points, environmentalists at a meeting of top polluters said on Friday. The three-day Japan meeting gathers 20 of the world's top emitters of greenhouse gases and includes rich nations the United States and other G8 states as well as rapidly developing China, India and Brazil. Funding schemes for clean energy projects and helping poor nations adapt to droughts, rising seas and more intense storms will be a major theme. - 2008/03/14: BBC: What can Blair's climate trip achieve?
- 2008/03/15: ABC(Au): Blair calls for radical emissions change
- 2008/03/15: BBC: Former Prime Minister Tony Blair has called for a "global environment revolution" to tackle climate change
- 2008/03/15: AFP: Blair urges binding gas cuts by all countries
- 2008/03/15: SMH: Blair to head global green dream team
- 2008/03/14: JEB: Blair - which project?
- 2008/03/13: Yahoo: Blair leading team charged with securing climate change deal
- 2008/03/14: OilChange: Blair to Save the Climate?
- 2008/03/14: BBC: Blair in Japan for climate talks
- 2008/03/14: Guardian(UK): Blair to lead campaign on climate change
In the USA, an "Eco:nomics" conference of corporate heavyweights went down:
- 2008/03/15: GristMill: Eco:nomics: Presidential energy advisors - Campaign energy wonks clarify candidates' differences on climate change
- 2008/03/14: Independent(US): Governator Pushes Green at ECO:nomics on Friday
- 2008/03/14: TruthOut: Eco:nomics: Immelt vs. the Ideologues - General Electric CEO explains practical realities to free marketeers.
- 2008/03/14: GristMill: Eco:nomics: Overload
- 2008/03/14: CNN: [ECO:nomics] GE, Wal-Mart chiefs renew 'green' vows
GE's Jeff Immelt and Wal-Mart's Lee Scott fend off conservative attacks on their environmental policies - 2008/03/14: WSJ:EnvCap: [ECO:nomics] Schwarzengger: Nukes Are Great
- 2008/03/14: WSJ:EnvCap: [ECO:nomics] Climate Politics: For Once, No Hot Air
- 2008/03/13: WSJ:EnvCap: [ECO:nomics] Archer Daniels on the Hotseat
- 2008/03/13: WSJ:EnvCap: [ECO:nomics] How Much Green Do Shareholders Want?
- 2008/03/13: GristMill: Eco:nomics: Quick observations
- 2008/03/13: GristMill: Eco:nomics: Immelt errata
- 2008/03/13: GristMill: Eco:nomics: Immelt vs. the ideologues - GE CEO explains practical realities to free marketeers
- 2008/03/13: WSJ:EnvCap: Walmart: "We Are Not Green"
- 2008/03/13: WSJ:EnvCap: GE's Immelt: U.S. Energy 'Policy' Is a Certain Kind of Hell
Apparently there was also a National Academies' Summit on America's Energy Future:
- 2008/03/14: NatureTGB: Hot talk about our energy future - National Academies' Summit on America's Energy Future
The Arctic this week was all about potential conflict:
- 2008/03/13: CDreams: Guardian(UK): Stalking the Arctic - Instead of watching Arctic powers lay claim to its resources, the world needs a treaty on sharing the region
- 2008/03/11: CanWest: EU report warns of trouble over Arctic resources - Competing claims 'could descend into armed conflict,' expert says
- 2008/03/11: SMH: [EU] Cold war warning over Arctic riches
- 2008/03/10: NatureTGB: Climate change "could lead to conflict with Russia"
- 2008/03/10: Guardian(UK): Climate change may spark conflict with Russia, EU told - Alert over scramble for control of energy resources in the Arctic
While in Antarctica:
- 2008/03/14: ESA: Splitting iceberg - Envisat captures the break up of the massive A53A iceberg
A report on China's projected GHG emmissions caught a wave:
- 2008/03/10: FuturePundit: China CO2 Emissions Rising Faster Than Expected
- 2008/03/11: EcoEcon: China's CO2 Emissions Staged to Get Even Worse
- 2008/03/13: GristMill: China's emissions path: not so good - Projected CO2 emissions dwarf previous expectations
- 2008/03/11: NewScientist: China emissions to swamp Kyoto reductions by 2010
- 2008/03/11: SinoDaily: Alarming Increase In Expected Growth of China's CO2 Emissions
- 2007/08/07: CDLib: Forecasting the Path of China's CO2 Emissions Using Province Level Information by Maximilian Auffhammer & Richard T. Carson
- 2008/03/11: BDL: Forecasting the Path of China's CO2 Emissions
- 2008/03/10: Eureka: Alarming growth in expected CO2 emissions in China, finds UC analysis
The growth in China's carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions is far outpacing previous estimates, making the goal of stabilizing atmospheric greenhouse gases even more difficult, according to a new analysis by economists at the University of California, Berkeley, and UC San Diego. Previous estimates, including those used by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, say the region that includes China will see a 2.5 to 5 percent annual increase in CO2 emissions, the largest contributor to atmospheric greenhouse gases, between 2004 and 2010. The new UC analysis puts that annual growth rate for China to at least 11 percent for the same time period. - 2008/03/10: PhysOrg: Alarming growth in expected CO2 emissions in China
Regarding the Gulf Stream and its influence:
- 2008/03/13: NatureCF: Gulf Stream revisited
- 2008/03/12: NewScientist: Gulf Stream's secret is a load of hot air
- 2008/03/12: PhysOrg: Atlantic's Gulf Stream has huge influence on atmosphere
More reaction to the La Nina winter:
- 2008/03/16: BCLSB: Teh Warming...Is BACK!
- 2008/03/14: Wunderground: If global warming is occurring, why was the winter of 2007-2008 so cold and snowy?
- 2008/03/14: PeakEnergy: OMG !!! Global Cooling
- 2008/03/13: NOAANews: NOAA: Coolest Winter Since 2001 for U.S., Globe
- 2008/03/15: SciDaily: Coolest Winter Since 2001 For U.S., Globe, According To NOAA Data
A zero emissions meme? How unpractical!
- 2008/03/12: KSJT: Wash Post: To save the planet, maybe we need to go cold turkey on our carbon emissions - and fast
- 2008/03/12: AutoBG: More experts: Greenhouse gas emissions must be eliminated
- 2008/03/10: TruthOut: Carbon Output Must Near Zero to Avert Danger, New Studies Say
- 2008/03/10: MSNBC: CO2 output must cease altogether, studies warn - Research points to years of warming even with ambitious emission cuts
- 2008/03/10: WaPo: Carbon Output Must Near Zero To Avert Danger, New Studies Say
More on Earth Hour:
- 2008/03/12: GWWatch: Earth Hour boomerangs back to Sydney
- 2008/03/10: TreeHugger: Nelly Furtado Says Turn Out The Light for Earth Hour
A question worth consideration:
- 2008/03/12: Guardian(UK): Blind date with disaster
We are constantly warned by scientists that our planet is in big trouble, so why can't we change direction? - 2008/03/12: WaPo: The New Face Of Hunger by Ban Ki-moon
The price of food is soaring. The threat of hunger and malnutrition is growing. Millions of the world's most vulnerable people are at risk. An effective and urgent response is needed. - 2008/03/10: MongaBay: Scientists target safe-climate future
Largely unreported Jokwe struck Mozambique:
- 2008/03/11: Xinhuanet: Cyclone [Jokwe] ravages Mozambique coast, at least 7 dead
- 2008/03/14: MSNBC: Homeowners still waiting for Katrina checks - Meanwhile, company [ICF International] assigned to distribute money reaping profits
As for the temperature record:
- 2008/03/13: N3xus6: Fark it's hot (Pt. II)
- 2008/03/12: N3xus6: Fark, it's hot here! [Adelaide]
- 2008/03/14: QuarkSoup: Hadley's February Temperatures
- 2008/03/15: CIP: Chilling on the River
- 2008/03/13: Atmoz: Manually Correcting GISTemp Trends for the 1998 El Nino
- 2008/03/11: ABC(Au): Record heatwave in Adelaide
- 2008/03/11: ABC(Au): Adelaide set to break heatwave record
- 2008/03/12: PeakEnergy: South Australia set to break heatwave record
- 2008/03/10: Atmoz: 4 of 4 Global Metrics Show Agreement in Trends
While on the ENSO front:
- 2008/03/14: Atmoz: First, Assume a Spherical ENSO?
Sea levels are rising:
- 2008/03/14: Tamino: Water World
- 2008/03/14: GeoTimes: The Impending Coastal Crisis
- 2008/03/13: NatGeo: Water in Dams, Reservoirs Preventing Sea-Level Rise
- 2008/03/12: TruthOut: Government Reports Warn Planners on Sea-Rise Threat to US Coasts
- 2008/03/10: ABC(Au): Oceanographer warns of rising sea level risk
More GW impacts are being seen:
- 2008/03/15: JFleck: It's Melting
- 2008/03/14: CBC: Warming climate will change the face of Labrador, experts say
- 2008/03/12: McClatchyDC: Energy, water demands are on collision course
- 2008/03/11: PhysOrg: US rush to produce corn-based ethanol will worsen 'dead zone' in Gulf of Mexico
- 2008/03/11: PhysOrg: Climate change will have a significant impact on transportation infrastructure and operations
- 2008/03/11: PhysOrg: Increased carbon dioxide in atmosphere linked to decreased soil organic matter
- 2008/03/10: Maribo: Corn ethanol production will worsen the Dead Zone
- 2008/03/11: Eureka: Increased carbon dioxide in atmosphere linked to decreased soil organic matter
- 2008/03/11: Eureka: Climate change will have a significant impact on transportation infrastructure and operations
- 2008/03/10: TerraDaily: Seal cubs threatened by global warming, WWF warns
- 2008/03/11: CBC: Climate change paves way for rise in infectious diseases: report
- 2008/03/10: ABC(Au): Climate change affecting fish hearing
- 2008/03/10: ENN: UN: Climate danger for Middle East, North Africa
And then there are the world's forests:
- 2008/03/13: CSM: In the Amazon, a forestry cop matches wits with illegal loggers - As deforestation rises, the Lula government launches a major new effort to stop it
- 2008/03/12: NatureN: Brazil goes to war against logging
- 2008/03/11: WSJ:EnvCap: Merrill Lynch: Turning Trees into Money
- 2008/03/10: MongaBay: Emissions from deforestation offset by increased tree growth in the Amazon
Yes we have no wacky weather, except:
- 2008/03/13: IndieScribe: Record-setting snowfall in Montreal, and Quebec
- 2008/03/12: Xinhuanet: Heavy storm kills 28 people in Ecuador
- 2008/03/11: TerraDaily: Major storm sparks travel chaos and damage in Britain, France
The southern states got whalloped:
- 2008/03/16: DailyIndia: U.S. South raked by storms
- 2008/03/16: BBC: Two killed as storms maul Georgia
A state of emergency has been declared in the US state of Georgia after two people died in storms, a day after a tornado hit the city of Atlanta. Emergency officials confirmed one woman died in Polk County and another in Floyd County as storms lashed the south-eastern state. Friday's 130mph (209km/h) twister left almost 30 people injured and damaged hotels, skyscrapers and sports arenas. Some 10,000 people were still without power on Saturday. - 2008/03/15: Wunderground: Destructive thunderstorm rips Atlanta
- 2008/03/15: NYT: Powerful Tornado Hits Downtown Atlanta
- 2008/03/15: BBC: Severe wind storm strikes Atlanta
A severe wind storm has hit the centre of the US city of Atlanta, causing damage to skyscrapers, hotels and two sports arenas - 2008/03/11: UN: UN rushes aid to 60,000 flood-beleaguered Ecuadorians
- 2008/03/11: BBC: 2007 floods 'no link to climate'
The UK's summer floods of 2007 were a freak event unrelated to global climate change, according to a report from the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology (CEH). The key cause was that extended rains early in summer soaked soils that would normally have been dry at that time. When heavy storms came later, water could not soak away into the ground. - 2008/03/11: BBC: UK storm causes 14 flood warnings
Fourteen flood warnings are in place across England as a powerful storm moves across the UK, causing widespread travel disruption and power cuts. On Monday, gale force winds and rain affected roads, rail and air travel and almost 12,000 homes were without power. The weather is now easing but fears of flooding are expected to increase in the early hours of Tuesday. - 2008/03/10: BBC: Severe flood warnings have been issued for the Devon and Cornwall coast amid storm warnings for most of the UK
The conflict between biofuel and food persists:
- 2008/03/13: OLJ: Rising food prices? Let them eat biofuel
- 2008/03/10: PeakEnergy: Biofuels 'risk global starvation'
- 2008/03/10: NEN: The cost of farming fuel is food
And the troubling matter of falling food production is not going away:
- 2008/03/14: PeakEnergy: Australia's food bowl lies empty
- 2008/03/13: AllAfrica: IRIN: [Zim] More Food Shortages Anticipated
- 2008/03/13: CasaubonsBook: Dinner, And Whether You'll Be Getting Any, to 2050
- 2008/03/11: BBC: Australia's food bowl lies empty - the worst drought on record has slashed its exports of wheat
- 2008/03/13: BBC: Scientists warn of wheat disease
Scientists say poorer populations in vulnerable countries could starve if a disease called Ug-99 hits yields hard enough to push up wheat prices - 2008/03/12: Eureka: Killer fungus [Ug99, a virulent strain of black stem rust (Puccinia graminis)] spells disaster for wheat
- 2008/03/11: AsianTrib: [India] Grain shortage
- 2008/03/10: OilDrum: Food to 2050
- 2008/03/11: FPB: Afghanistan's wheat problem
- 2008/03/10: RE: Burundi Food Production Shows Modest Improvement, but Half the Population Goes Hungry
Sobering thought: Burundi's population has grown 33 per cent since 1988, but food production has dropped 41 per cent. - 2008/03/09: ICGA: More on Wheat, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Global Security
- 2008/03/09: BostonGlobe: Surging costs of groceries hit home - Bread, eggs, milk prices up sharply
Consider transportation & GHG production:
- 2008/03/11: EnvEcon: Transit numbers reflect higher gas prices
- 2008/03/12: NatureTGB: Road, rail and air links under climate cosh
- 2008/03/12: OilChange: US Transport at Risk from Climate Change
- 2008/03/12: AutoBG: Airlines pass fuel surcharges on to passengers
While in the endless quest for sustainable building codes:
- 2008/03/14: GristMill: If you build it ... Green building may be quickest path to decreased emissions
- 2008/03/13: CDreams: SUVs Without Wheels
- 2008/03/12: ABC(Au): City redesign key to reducing transport emissions: experts
- 2008/03/12: CSM: Industry scrambles to find a 'greener' concrete
The NAFTA Commission for Environmental Co-operation released a report on green building:
- 2008/03/13: FuturePundit: Big Energy Savings Possible By Better Building Design
- 2008/03/13: EnergyDaily: 'Green' buildings could slash CO2 emissions: report
- 2008/03/14: BBC: Property plan's 'low carbon' goal
Improving the environmental performance of buildings in North America can cut the region's carbon emissions more than any other measure, a study suggests. The rapid take-up of current and new technologies could save the equivalent of the amount of carbon dioxide emitted by transport in the US, it concluded. However, it added that developers and homeowners were not willing to pay the extra cost for energy saving measures. Buildings are responsible for about 35% of the region's man-made CO2 emissions. The report published by the Commission for Environmental Co-operation (CEC), an international organisation created by Canada, Mexico and the US, said it was possible for the most efficient buildings to consume 70% less energy than conventional properties. - 2008/03/13: CBC: Promote green buildings to cut CO2, NAFTA organization urges
- 2008/03/13: Eureka: Promote green buildings for biggest, easiest cuts in North American CO2 emissions: CEC report
Buildings responsible for over one-third of continent's CO2 emissions; Report prescribes policies to slash buildings' energy use Promoting the green design, construction, renovation and operation of buildings could cut North American greenhouse gas emissions that are fuelling climate change more deeply, quickly and cheaply than any other available measure, according to a new report issued by the trinational Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC) - 2008/03/13: TEB: Basin Electric Selects Powerspan's ECO2 Carbon Capture Process for Commercial Demonstration Project
- 2008/03/10: BCLSB: It Also Doesn't Work - carbon sequestration schemes
Large scale geo-engineering keeps popping up:
- 2008/03/10: NatureCF: Cash and caution for ocean iron fertilization [Climos]
Meanwhile in the journals:
- 2008/03/13: ACP: Tropical thin cirrus and relative humidity observed by the Atmospheric Infrared Sounder by B. H. Kahn et al.
- 2008/03/13: ACP: Validation of ACE-FTS satellite data in the upper troposphere/lower stratosphere (UTLS) using non-coincident measurements by M. I. Hegglin et al.
- 2008/03/13: ACPD: Simultaneous atmospheric measurements using two Fourier transform infrared spectrometers at the Polar Environment Atmospheric Research Laboratory during spring 2006, and comparisons with the Atmospheric Chemistry Experiment-Fourier Transform Spectrometer by D. Fu et al.
- 2008/03/15: EPA: (link to 2 meg pdf) Analysis of the Climate Security Act of 2008
- 2008/03/13: CPD: Recent climate change affecting rainstorm occurrences? A case study in East China by M. Domroes & D. Schaefer
- 2008/03/12: ACPD: Comparison of cloud statistics from spaceborne lidar systems by S. Berthier et al.
- 2008/03/11: ACPD: Error analysis for CO and CH4 total column retrievals from SCIAMACHY 2.3 ?m spectra by A. M. S. Gloudemans et al.
- 2008/03/11: PNAS: The oldest North American primate and mammalian biogeography during the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum by K. Christopher Beard
- 2008/03/11: PNAS: Mushroom fruiting and climate change by HÃ¥vard Kauserud et al.
Before we get into politics, there was some science done:
- 2008/03/11: NatureN: They really were the Dark Ages - A massive volcanic eruption brought gloom to the post-Roman world
- 2008/03/11: Eureka: Modern physics is critical to global warming research
Meanwhile on the Kyoto-2 front:
- 2008/03/12: CarbonFinance: UN climate chief warns Bangkok meeting must deliver
UN climate chief Yvo de Boer has warned that upcoming UN talks in Bangkok must reach agreement on a detailed work plan, if the world is to meet the Bali roadmap deadline of endorsing a new global pact at Copenhagen in 2009 - 2008/03/10: WSJ:EnvCap: Volunteers, Please: Carbon Trading and Voluntary Markets
- 2008/03/10: CanWest: Vancouver set to host carbon trading registry
- 2008/03/09: FTimes: Breakthrough seen in emissions trading
Carbon emissions trading could become the world's leading derivatives product as businesses in Asia and the US move to lower their greenhouse gas emissions and competition intensifies between exchanges, according to a senior US market regulator. Bart Chilton, a commissioner at the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission, said: "I can certainly see carbon becoming the biggest of any derivatives product in the next four to five years. And that would of course mean overtaking T-bills [Treasury] and any contract that is out there right now." Mr Chilton's forecast is the most optimistic assessment to date by a US regulator of the market potential for carbon emissions trading. Although emissions trading in both the US and Asia remains relatively limited, he said both markets could take off "very rapidly". - 2008/03/13: GristMill: Other carbon tax shifts - A quick survey of carbon taxes outside of [BC] Cascadia
- 2008/03/11: GMB: Another Member - Ernesto Zedillo...joins the Pigou Club
The debate over the optimal strategy [carbon trading, carbon offsets and/or a carbon tax] to use in dealing with GHGs continues:
- 2008/03/12: ClimateP: The history of the "safety valve" debate
- 2008/03/11: GristMill: Climate justice: yes. Carbon trading: no.
- 2008/03/11: GristMill: Separating rate theory from rate fact - How will the auction vs. allocation debate affect power prices? [optimal]
- 2008/03/11: GristMill: What price the future? No sensible warming reponse can exclude carbon pricing
Meanwhile on the international political front:
- 2008/03/14: ABC(Au): Tuvaluan climate refugees in political 'pass the parcel'
- 2008/03/12: CSW: Former IPCC chairman Robert Watson says world leaders 'squandered' last 10 years on climate change
- 2008/03/13: ENN: Climate refugees in political pass-the-parcel
- 2008/03/12: Yahoo: Climate change adds to world clandestine migrant dilemma
- 2008/03/11: GristMill: A glass potentially more than half full - What's right with the WCI?
- 2008/03/12: BBerg: World `Squandered' Decade in Climate Debate, Top Scientist Says
World leaders wasted a decade debating whether global warming is happening, and now need to act quickly to limit its effects, [Robert Watson] a former chairman of the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change said - 2008/03/12: Oregonian: Climate plan phases approach
An effort in the western U.S. and Canada to cut greenhouse gases starts with less than half the sources The first pass at a greenhouse gas reduction plan for Oregon and the rest of the western United States and Canada doesn't include autos, agriculture, forestry or natural gas use, leaving out more than half the emissions generated in the West. The Western Climate Initiative -- a group of governors from Oregon and six Western states and the premiers of British Columbia and Manitoba -- wants to reduce greenhouse gases by 15 percent below 2005 levels over the next 12 years. - 2008/03/10: EnergyDaily: Australia and China sign a formal international agreement for clean coal research
As for GW & security:
- 2008/03/13: CSM: Where climate change meets national security - EU report adds urgency to old warnings, NATO to take up discussion next
- 2008/03/10: EUO: EU must boost military capabilities in face of climate change
- 2008/03/10: OilChange: EU Told to Prepare for Climate and Resource Conflict
- 2008/03/10: BBC: EU warns of climate change threat
An EU report says climate change will have a growing impact on global security, multiplying existing threats such as shortages of food and water. It warns that climate change could cause millions of people to migrate towards Europe as other parts of the world suffer environmental degradation. States that are "already fragile and conflict prone" could be over-burdened, the report says - 2008/03/10: Guardian(UK): EU told to prepare for flood of climate change migrants
And on the American political front:
- 2008/03/14: ClimateP: The Bush war on science and climate continues
- 2008/03/14: ClimateP: Don't hold your breath on Lieberman-Warner passing in 2008
- 2008/03/14: AutoBG: New biodiesel laws in Missouri and South Dakota
- 2008/03/12: NatureTGB: Compromise on climate? Not this year, Democrats say
- 2008/03/13: AutoBG: Mayor of Seattle [Greg Nickels] wants taxis to be hybrids
- 2008/03/12: AP: Idaho Senate committee backs tax breaks for uranium plant
- 2008/03/10: ClimateP: The Clear and Present Danger Is Calling
- 2008/03/09: ClimateP: California Cars to Get Global Warming Stickers
- 2008/03/10: HillHeat: House Leadership Prepares Cap-and-Trade Legislation for April
- 2008/03/10: CSM: California's greenhouse-gas law: Who will pay?
A skirmish last week over setup costs only foreshadows the battles ahead for the landmark bill that would slash emissions by 2020 - 2008/03/10: LA Times: Opposition to Calif. tailpipe limits comes from surprising corner
Schwarzenegger's effort to help fight global warming may be undone by the state's own congressional Republicans - 2008/03/12: HillHeat: Enviros, Democrats Respond to Polar Bear Delay
- 2008/03/12: ENN: Arctic climate models playing key role in polar bear decision
- 2008/03/11: TruthOut: Environmental Groups Sue Bush Administration to Force Polar Bear Protection
- 2008/03/10: CSW: Environmental groups sue Bush administration to force polar bear protection
- 2008/03/11: Eureka: Arctic climate models playing key role in [F&WS] polar bear decision
- 2008/03/11: OilChange: US Sued over Failure to Protect Polar Bear
- 2008/03/10: Guardian(UK): US government sued over failure to protect polar bears
- 2008/03/11: Guardian(UK): Agency [F&WS] faces action for delay in protecting polar bears
- 2008/03/10: CBC: Conservation groups sue over government delay on polar bear ruling
Oh the politics of coal!
- 2008/03/16: ClimateP: Dems Introduce a Poisoned Apple for Coal
[...] Tuesday the Congressmen introduced legislation that would put a moratorium on "uncontrolled power plants." [until they can be built with carbon capture and storage] - 2008/03/13: DeSmogBlog: Texas Pollution Apologist Weighs in on Kansas Coal Fight
- 2008/03/13: NEN: Coal wars heat up
- 2008/03/12: HillHeat: Waxman-Markey Bill to Halt Coal Plant Construction
Controversy swirls around the Bush administration EPA:
- 2008/03/14: TruthOut: EPA Closure of Libraries Faulted for Curbing Access to Key Data
- 2008/03/14: HillHeat: EPA Fully Embroiled in Scandal; Bush Changed Regulations
- 2008/03/14: WarmingLaw: EPA Can't Take the Heat: Legal Incompetence Becomes Increasingly Clear
- 2008/03/13: WarmingLaw: EPA Gets Served (By Henry Waxman). Maybe More Than Once
- 2008/03/13: TruthOut: No Action on Auto Fuel Economy Despite EPA's Urging
- 2008/03/12: HillHeat: Waxman, Markey Go After EPA's Supreme Court Avoidance
- 2008/03/13: WarmingLaw: Waxman, Markey Go After EPA's Supreme Court Avoidance
- 2008/03/12: CSW: Waxman to EPA: Why is work on required greenhouse gas regulation being blocked?
- 2008/03/12: CSW: Nature editorial on EPA administrator's "reckless disregard" for law and science on climate change
- 2008/03/12: CSW: EPA unions charge Administrator Johnson violates agency's Principles of Scientific Integrity
- 2008/03/13: AutoBG: EPA stopped work on CO2 standards in December 2007
- 2008/03/12: ThinkP: EPA officials "have ceased their efforts" on CO2
- 2008/03/05: Nature: [Editorial] The EPA's tailspin - The director of the Environmental Protection Agency is sabotaging both himself and his agency
- 2008/03/11: ClimateP: The EPA's Tailspin
- 2008/03/11: TruthOut: At EPA, Unions Break From Management
- 2008/03/11: SF Gate: Waxman demands EPA documents
- 2008/03/11: TPMM: [Rep. Henry] Waxman (D-Cal) Threatens Second Subpoena against EPA
- 2008/03/11: WaPo: At EPA, Unions Break From Management
Oh Look! More of those late friday afternoon releases:
- 2008/03/15: EPA: (link to 2 meg pdf) Analysis of the Climate Security Act of 2008
- 2008/03/14: GristMill: Shhhh! Bush administration quietly acknowledges climate plan is doable
- 2008/03/14: CSW: GAP [Government Accountability Project] press release on stealth release of climate change transportation impacts report
- 2008/03/12: DOT: Department of Transportation Releases Study of Potential Environmental Impacts on Transportation Infrastructure in U.S. Central Gulf Coast
- 2008/03/12: CliSci: [link to 10 meg pdf] Impacts of Climate Variability and Change on Transportation Systems and Infrastructure -- Gulf Coast Study
- 2008/03/13: CSW: Stealth release of major federal study of Gulf Coast climate change transportation impacts
Southern Baptists are taking up the mantle of environmental stewardship:
- 2008/03/12: Yahoo: The Greening of the Baptists
- 2008/03/10: MTobis: Letter to NPR [GW & religion]
- 2008/03/12: CSM: Southern Baptist leaders urge climate change action - But their unofficial call to action has kindled skepticism within the conservative denomination
- 2008/03/10: Yahoo: Southern Baptists Fight Climate Change
In a major shift, a group of Southern Baptist leaders said their denomination has been "too timid" on environmental issues and has a biblical duty to stop global warming. - 2008/03/11: Guardian(UK): US evangelical rift on global warming widens
- 2008/03/09: GristMill: Notable quotable [GW & religion]
- 2008/03/10: QuarkSoup: God and Climate Change
- 2008/03/10: Yahoo: Southern Baptists fight climate change
- 2008/03/10: NYT: Southern Baptists Back a Shift on Climate Change
- 2008/03/10: BBC: Church to step up climate fight
Leaders of the influential Southern Baptist community in the US have declared their churches have a duty to stop climate change. In a statement, senior figures in the movement said evidence of man-made global warming was "substantial". Southern Baptists are the largest protestant group in the country. They follow other religious figures, including British bishops and leaders of US evangelical denominations, in backing action to curb climate change - 2008/03/15: ClimateP: Could a President Obama or Clinton stop global warming?
- 2008/03/11: Tyee: Obama, Clinton and Hot Air - Who's more likely to confront global warming?
- 2008/03/14: GristMill: WSJ: McCain = Obama = Clinton? Conventional wisdom declares all candidates equally green
- 2008/03/14: GristMill: The elections paradigm shift - Why this is the last election, and another look at McCain [2008]
The Gore-apalooza is still bopping along:
- 2008/03/11: SwissInfo: Blood and Gore endorse sustainable investment
Many investment portfolios are full of risky assets of businesses too reliant on carbon-intensive energy, warns former United States vice-president Al Gore. - 2008/03/15: Guardian(UK): Brown shouldn't deny the potency of climate change
- 2008/03/14: ABC(Au): UK considers new coal-fired power station
- 2008/03/10: Guardian(UK): Government backs coal-fired power stations
- 2008/03/10: Yahoo: Queen urges action, not talk, to tackle climate change
- 2008/03/12: Guardian(UK): Britain is stealing the US crown of No 1 climate villain
If it fails to stand up to BAA on Heathrow, Labour will be cast as the enemy in the environmental battle of the decade - 2008/03/11: Nation: Labor's War on Global Warming
- 2008/03/10: CSM: Britons form clubs to cut carbon, pay for overuse - 'Carbon rationing action groups' ...are cropping up across the country
- 2008/03/10: BBC: Business CO2 tax 'part success'
A tax meant to persuade businesses to cut their carbon emissions has been only partially successful, according to a report by MPs. The Environmental Audit Committee said the climate change levy has not worked in the way it was intended. Its report says energy savings were achieved under the scheme, which gave firms a rebate for energy saving. But this was done by the end of the consultation process and before the tax was actually imposed, it said - 2008/03/10: Guardian(UK): Green experts to press for tougher targets
A powerful new government climate change committee will meet today for the first time to decide how ministers will meet their commitment to cut carbon emissions by 60% by 2050, and whether the target needs to be strengthened in the face of worsening forecasts on climate change. The committee, set up as part of the Climate Change Act and chaired by the former CBI boss Lord Turner, could play an important role in ministers being hauled in front of the courts for failing to take global warming sufficiently seriously - 2008/03/16: inel: Opposition to Heathrow expansion makes West Coast news (LA, I mean, not St. David's!)
- 2008/03/15: Guardian(UK): [Letters] We can expand Heathrow and still tackle climate change
- 2008/03/13: OilChange: Third Runway at Heathrow "Will Increase Mortality and Morbidity"
- 2008/03/13: Guardian(UK): Environment Agency joins Heathrow third runway critics
The Gordon Brown government brought down a roundly condemned budget this week:
- 2008/03/15: inel: Budget box, boys and girls on bags, and behaviour changes
This week, we Brits suffered the (inter)national embarrassment of a petty, weak-kneed budget brought to us by The Chancellor of the Exchequer. It did nothing significant... - 2008/03/11: BBC: Green ideas for Mr Darling's red box
As [Chancellor of the Exchequer] Alistair Darling puts the finishing touches to his Budget statement, Andrew Simms of the New Economics Foundation offers the UK's chancellor guidance on what green measures need to be in his red box - 2008/03/13: Guardian(UK): A load of hot air
Budget 08: This was billed as the 'green budget', but the government has opted for merely cosmetic and token measures - 2008/03/13: Guardian(UK): Fuel duty - Delay is a relief to AA but seen as backtracking by FoE
- 2008/03/13: Guardian(UK): Mixture of warnings about climate change, backing for airport expansion and delayed fuel tax rise infuriates environmentalists
- 2008/03/13: Guardian(UK): Lots of bold initiatives on tricky issues - just not quite yet
This was a really a budget for the future as the chancellor used his debut to delay more decisions than he made - 2008/03/12: Guardian(UK): Budget 2008 - The green reaction: 'a missed opportunity'
- 2008/03/12: Guardian(UK): The [UK] budget: main environmental points
And in Europe:
- 2008/03/14: Yahoo: EU warns US, China on climate change
- 2008/03/13: EnvFin: EU politicians urge more money for energy fund
- 2008/03/15: DailyIndia: [EU] Report warns of Asian water shortages
- 2008/03/14: Guardian(UK): Europe gives US airlines 'go green' ultimatum
- 2008/03/15: Guardian(UK): Concessions to Merkel threaten climate change plan
- 2008/03/15: Guardian(UK): US told to go green on carbon emissions or lose EU flights
- 2008/03/14: TerraDaily: ESA Leads Endeavour To Save Earth Science Data
- 2008/03/13: Times(UK): EU threatens to punish climate deal rebels
America and China face trade protection measures from Europe if they fail to join a global climate deal to replace the Kyoto Protocol, EU leaders will caution at their summit in Brussels today. Nations that refuse to curb greenhouse gases will be told that they face "appropriate measures" -- code for trade sanctions -- if they try to gain a competitive advantage by continuing to allow cheap, high-pollution production. - 2008/03/12: ENN: EU leaders to set timetable for energy reform
- 2008/03/12: Guardian(UK): [Letters] [EU] Ministers failing to lead on green issues
The EU held their spring summit on Friday:
- 2008/03/14: EUO: Brussels to grant some concessions to industry in environment proposals
Energy intensive industries have won some concessions from the European Commission when it comes to taking part in future legislation to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in Europe. Following an EU summit in Brussels on Thursday and Friday (13-14 March) and the intervention of several member states -- including economic powerhouse Germany -- Brussels has offered safeguards to energy intensive industries such as steel and cement factories on its proposal to force them to buy rights to emit carbon dioxide by auction. - 2008/03/14: EUO: EU to commit to tight legislative deadline for green goals
- 2008/03/14: DeutscheWelle: Financial Instability, Climate and Club Med Dominate EU Talks
EU leaders and government ministers meeting in Brussels for their traditional spring summit on Friday, March 14, focused their discussions on the growing concerns about the world economy and the threat of climate change. - 2008/03/13: DerSpiegel: Climate and Energy to Dominate EU Summit
- 2008/03/14: DerSpiegel: Turning pledges into law - EU Commits to Year-End Climate Deadline
The EU summit ended on Friday with leaders setting an end-of-year deadline to agree on new legislation to combat climate change. However, many member states also voiced concerns about the impact the EU's climate measures will have on energy-intense industry. - 2008/03/14: ABC(Au): EU debates emissions cut plans
- 2008/03/14: CSM: At E.U. summit, climate change billed as major security risk
- 2008/03/14: BBC: EU agrees climate plan deadline
EU leaders have agreed to finish talks on an ambitious plan to fight climate change by the end of 2008. After a two-day summit in Brussels, the 27 heads of states said they hoped the legislation would be enacted the following spring. The bloc aims to implement a 20% cut in greenhouse gases by 2020, compared with 1990 levels. - 2008/03/14: AFP: EU leaders commit to agreeing climate change package by year end
- 2008/03/13: EUO: EU leaders to set timetable for energy and climate change goals
- 2008/03/13: EUO: Brussels defends EU burden-sharing on climate change
- 2008/03/13: BBC: Climate change, energy security and reform are set to dominate the European Union's summit in Brussels
Meanwhile in Australia:
- 2008/03/13: ABC(Au): Lake Macquarie councillor wants climate change report released
A Lake Macquarie councillor is calling for the immediate release of New South Wales Government documents showing how residential areas of Lake Macquarie could be underwater within 100 years. - 2008/03/13: ABC(Au): Australia 'must commit to 25pc emissions cut'
- 2008/03/11: ABC(Au): [mp3/transcript] The Australia 2020 Summit - more hallucination than clear vision
- 2008/03/11: ABC(Au): Report outlines Kyoto carbon reductions tracking
- 2008/03/11: ABC(Au): Namoi [Catchment Management] authority plans ahead for climate change
- 2008/03/11: ABC(Au): 'Get on board', [New South Wales Premier Morris] Iemma tells Earth Hour sceptics
- 2008/03/11: ABC(Au): Queensland Govt to pay homes to generate solar power [net metering]
- 2008/03/11: SMH: Solar hot water for free with new rebate
The [NSW] State Government may merge its solar panel rebate scheme with the Federal Government's scheme, which could make buying and installing solar hot water systems virtually cost-free. - 2008/03/11: ABC(Au): Most Australians support Kyoto: poll
- 2008/03/10: ABC(Au): [NSW Premier Morris] Iemma defends climate action plan
- 2008/03/10: ABC(Au): Alice Springs launches solar city project
- 2008/03/09: Yahoo: Australia comes in from the cold on climate change - ratification of the Kyoto Protocol comes into force Tuesday
- 2008/03/10: SMH: Global warming effects tackled in [NSW] state plan
While in Southeast Asia, we will see more particulates:
- 2008/03/14: ENN: Indonesia lawmakers set to reject ASEAN haze pact
And in China:
- 2008/03/12: Yahoo: China tells developed world to go on climate change 'diet'
- 2008/03/10: TerraDaily: China to stick with one-child policy
- 2008/03/10: SMH: [China's] One-child policy to stay
- 2008/03/11: NYT: China Sticking With One-Child Policy
As for India:
- 2008/03/09: NEN: India wants growth, not emissions-cutting
In Canada, minority neocon PM Harper, spiked a significant Liberal plan as soon as he came into office:
- 2008/03/11: CanWest: Tories spiked 'made in Canada' green plan - Harper killed agency created by Liberals early in his mandate
A "made-in-Canada" approach to target industrial greenhouse-gas emissions, fight climate change and spur new technology was ready for launch in 2006, newly released federal documents have revealed. The documents include an unclassified memo from the top-ranking Environment Canada official, sent to Prime Minister Stephen Harper's cabinet, which explained that a new climate change agency created by the previous Liberal government had "the potential to bring about significant, cost-effective transformational change in Canadian society," driving a new market system that would encourage such technologies as carbon capture and storage. - 2008/03/15: CanWest: Oilsands emissions could triple under Conservative plan
Alberta's oilsands industry will be allowed to triple its annual greenhouse-gas pollution over the next decade, and more than 20 per cent of emissions from the rest of the oilpatch will be exempt from Prime Minister Stephen Harper government's green plan, revealed Environments Canada documents released this week. New provisions introduced into the climate change plan would allow oilsands operations in Alberta and the coal-fired power plants of Ontario to offset 100 per cent of their pollution by paying themselves "pre-certified investments." - 2008/03/11: NatPo: Baird talks tough, but emitters win
[...] the long-overdue grand regulatory announcement late yesterday afternoon, minus any technical translation from bureaucrats (a sure sign of a government aiming to duck serious analysis), was expected to produce a dream scheme for hopeful environmentalists and a nightmare for large emitters. Well, perhaps it's the snowdrifts obscuring all things in Ottawa these days in a climate that refuses to change from winter, but industry would have a hard time seeing anything to protest in Mr. Baird's plan. The eight-page synopsis of a 45-page background paper promoted itself as The Detailed Plan, but delivered little more than the promise of details to follow. - 2008/03/11: OilChange: Canada: "get your shovels in the ground now"
- 2008/03/11: DymaxionWorld: Stop digging
- 2008/03/12: TStar: Emissions rules not so 'tough'
The Alberta oil sands are the fastest growing sector of the Canadian economy and a major generator of jobs in Western Canada. That, in turn, renders oil-sands development vital to Prime Minister Stephen Harper's western-based Conservative government. But the oil sands are also the largest single source of greenhouse gases in Canada. The tension between those opposite sides of oil-sands development has created a major predicament for Harper: How to sustain oil-sands growth and, at the same time, meet the target he has set for himself of reducing Canada's greenhouse gas emissions by 20 per cent by 2020. His proposed solution unfortunately takes the form of an untested technology for burying carbon emissions under the ground. Called "carbon capture and storage," the idea has not been implemented anywhere on a large-scale commercial basis. Yet Environment Minister John Baird has announced that after 2012 new oil-sands plants would have to employ this untried technology. - 2008/03/11: G&M: New technology [CCS] has high costs and legal pitfalls
- 2008/03/11: CBC: Stelmach steadfast about new emission rules
- 2008/03/14: TStar: PM's low-risk environmental plan - Ed Stelmach is just what the Prime Minister needs. He makes Stephen Harper look almost green
- 2008/03/12: BBerg: Oil Group [CAPP] to Press Canada to Postpone Emissions Rules
- 2008/03/12: OilChange: Ed [Stelmach] Plays it Tough
- 2008/03/11: TStar: Ottawa's carbon plan jumps gun, critics say
The federal government is relying too heavily on unproven technology as part of its efforts to fight climate change, critics are warning. "We need an independent assessment on something of this magnitude," said Ken Ogilvie, head of Pollution Probe. Green Leader Elizabeth May said the Tories are relying on the promise of carbon sequestration as if it were a "future magic silver bullet." - 2008/03/11: G&M: Alberta approves of Ottawa's new emissions rules
Stelmach's endorsement of proposed regulations targeting oil sands raises questions about how aggressive the plan is, critics say - 2008/03/11: EdSun: Ottawa threatening oilsands - Premier warns tampering with delicate balance could affect national economy
- 2008/03/10: DeSmogBlog: NewCanadian Climate Policy: Good News If It's For Real
- 2008/03/10: BBerg: Canada to Impose Additional Greenhouse Gas Rules, Globe Reports
- 2008/03/10: SeanInSask: Carbon Capture Storage: Um, Wait a Second
- 2008/03/10: G&M: Tough new green plan targets oil sands
Regulations, which also apply to coal-fired power plants, would force future projects to store greenhouse-gas emissions underground - 2008/03/14: DeSmogBlog: Canada Pleads Technicality on Kyoto Non-Compliance
- 2008/03/14: G&M: Technicality used to justify non-compliance with Kyoto
Protocol rules have no teeth, Ottawa says in brief to rebut Friends of the Earth lawsuit The Conservative government has answered a central question on the environment that up to now it has repeatedly avoided: How can Canada stay in Kyoto while ignoring the international protocol's core pledge to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions? The answer, delivered for the first time in a submission to the Federal Court, apparently comes down to a technicality. Signatories to the 1997 Kyoto Protocol outlined a series of options for penalizing countries who don't meet their targets by 2012, including requirements to buy credits or take on even deeper targets in the future. But federal government lawyers argue in their submission these rules have no teeth. "These consequences are not legally binding as they have not been adopted as an amendment to the Kyoto Protocol by agreement of all Parties," the document states. - 2008/03/15: TSun: Dion still waffling on carbon tax - Chastises feds for lack of leadership
Liberal Leader Stephane Dion says he would place a price on carbon as part of his government's commitment to environmental leadership, but he steered clear of calling for a tax, at least for now. Dion told a forum for emerging environmental leaders yesterday morning that it's the government's job to manage the economy and environment responsibly. The Liberal leader acknowledged that the concept of pricing carbon is still a work in progress for his party and the end result could be either a cap-and-trade system or a tax. - 2008/03/11: TMoS: Wake Me When It's Over
- 2008/03/11: G&M: Election Averted
The Liberals have refused to bring down the minority Conservative government over its alleged failure to combat climate change - 2008/03/15: Tyee: The New Carbon Cash, Explained - BC's about to dive into a vast market that limits and trades emissions. How it will work (or not).
- 2008/03/13: GristMill: Oh, Canada! More on B.C.'s carbon tax shift
- 2008/03/12: G&M: B.C.'s carbon tax 'complements' Ottawa's green goals, PM says
- 2008/03/12: TGO: Gas tax could help combat our oil dependency
Somebody in BC seems to get it (or is it real?):
- 2008/03/11: G&M: [BC] Province introduces green building code
- 2008/03/10: DeSmogBlog: Highway dustup in British Columbia highlights gap between talk and action on climate change
The tricky & difficult question of the tar sands looms:
- 2008/03/13: TreeHugger: A Picture is Worth... The Alberta Tar Sands
- 2008/03/14: KSJT: Globe and Mail, etc: Green worries, and anti coal-emission regs, spur nuke talk in Alberta
- 2008/03/13: CBC: Ontario's Bruce Power talks of nuke plant for northern Alberta - Nuclear power could cut oil sands emissions
So, are the tar sands going to get hoisted by the clean energy provision of that US bill?:
- 2008/03/14: NEN: Oil wars heat up - between Canada & U.S.
- 2008/03/14: OilChange: Canada Seeks Exemption for Oil Sands from US Law
- 2008/03/13: Economist: Canada: Please buy our dirty oil - A new American law could limit oil-sands production in Alberta
- 2008/03/11: FinPo: U.S. may protect oilsands
In response to concerns that new U.S. environmental legislation will drastically impact development of Canada's oilsands, Washington is considering classifying oil produced from the region as "conventional" fuel rather than subject it to the stringent standards expected of "alternative" fuels. - 2008/03/12: CanWest: Big banks' carbon responsibility rated
Canada's five big banks have woken up to the impact that their financing has on climate change, according to a report released today by the Ethical Funds Co. But some are doing better than others, says the report by the socially responsible mutual fund. TD Bank and Royal Bank come out on top of the ratings, with policies and practices on lending that address climate change. Bank of Montreal is at the bottom, offering little evidence that it considers the environment in its lending portfolio. In the middle are third-place Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, described as "climbing the ladder," and fourth-place Bank of Nova Scotia, improving, but slow to address climate change risk in its lending. - 2008/03/14: CCurrents: Climate Change In Canada: Ottawa Slumbers As Premier Campbell Cancels The Olympics - An Announcement you may hear in the near future
- 2007//: NRCAN: [many pdf links] From Impacts to Adaptation: Canada in a Changing Climate 2007
- 2008/03/10: CanWest: Get used to the wild weather: scientists - Report warns of hotter summers, more severe winters
- 2008/03/14: BCLSB: Colby Cosh: Harper Covering For The Warmists!
The movement toward a long term ecologically viable economics is glacial:
- 2008/03/10: WorldChanging: Zero, Now.
- 2008/03/09: AngryBear: The Limits of Growth: The Critics
IPAT [Impact = Population * Affluence * Technology] raised its head once again:
- 2008/03/11: TerraDaily: 'One-child' policy aids climate change battle: China
As for how the media handles the science of climatology:
- 2008/03/14: ClimateP: L.A. Times linked to lame climate coverage
- 2008/03/11: ClimateP: Where is the media on the incredible warming and extreme weather of February?
- 2008/03/10: QuarkSoup: Romm's Alarmism
- 2008/03/10: ClimateP: Media enable denier spin 3: PLEASE stop calling them "skeptics"
- 2008/03/10: GristMill: Who exposes the exposer? Mainstream journalism on green issues tends to bash do-gooders and give the PTB a pass
Developing a new energy infrastructure is a fundamental challenge of the current generation:
- 2008/03/16: TStar: Oil dependency fuels crisis
- 2008/02/: Spectrum: Can Wind Energy Continue Double-Digit Growth?
- 2008/03/13: GristMill: Should we laugh or cry? Florida Power & Light on wind power
- 2008/03/13: MTobis: Energy is unbelievably cheap
- 2008/03/14: C411: 10 Surprising Numbers: Where the Money Goes
[...] China spends 200 times more on solar energy than does the U.S., and the U.S. spends six times more on subsidies to the gas and oil industries than it does on renewable energy research. Hmmm...- $6 billion - Amount the federal government gives to the oil and gas industries each year in subsidies and tax benefits, page 11.
- $1 billion - Amount the federal government spends each year on research into renewable sources of energy (this is less than ExxonMobil earns in a single day), page 11.
- $200 billion - Amount China has committed to invest in utility-scale solar power, page 65.
- 2008/03/12: GristMill: New Pew survey on energy shows big support for fuel efficiency and renewables
- 2008/03/13: DeSmogBlog: "It's An Ill Wind" -- Well Not All That Ill!
- 2008/03/13: FPB: Cheney's Saudi mission: Kill alternative energy
- 2008/03/12: Skeptic: (scroll down) The Hydrogen Economy - Savior of Humanity or an Economic Black Hole?
- 2008/03/11: TD: Michael Klare, The Permanent Energy Crisis Hits Home
- 2008/03/12: SF Gate: Green energy is making big money
Worldwide sales for companies specializing in biofuels, wind farms, solar panels and fuel cells grew 40 percent in 2007 to reach $77.3 billion, according to an annual report issued Tuesday by Clean Edge, a research firm that studies the green technology industry. - 2008/03/12: TerraDaily: New Twist On Life's Power Source [photosynthesis]
- 2008/03/12: WSJ:EnvCap: Subsidies? We Don't Need No Stinkin' Subsidies
- 2008/03/10: GristMill: The enemy of my enemy - Natural gas utilities are no friends of Big Coal
- 2008/03/11: Yahoo: Oil prices rocket close to 110 dollars a barrel
- 2008/03/11: WSJ:EnvCap: Thar She Blows: DONG's Wind Woes [Denmark wind & grid]
- 2008/03/11: AfterGutenberg: Coal Zombies and Corn Zombies
- 2008/03/10: TreeHugger: Nicaragua to Develop Wind and Geothermal Energy Resources
- 2008/03/10: Yahoo: Gas prices near records, following oil [at new record US$108.21/barrel]
Meanwhile among the solar afficionados:
- 2008/03/16: PeakEnergy: Solar thermal power could supply most of US Demand
- 2008/03/13: CTB: Edison International Says Solar is the Great Untapped Resource
- 2008/03/13: NEN: Solar power plants in the [NY] Times
- 2008/03/13: SlashDot: DOE Shines $14M on Solar Energy Research
- 2008/03/12: GristMill: Doing the math - Are solar incentives a subsidy for the rich?
- 2008/03/12: AutoBG: Solar company claims it can power a fleet of electric cars... and 90 percent of our homes
- 2008/03/11: NEN: World's biggest CIGS [cadmium-indium-gallium-diselenide] solar plant opens
- 2008/03/11: WSJ:EnvCap: Polysilicon Bonanza: Rising Supplies, Sinking Prices
The arithmetic of coal carbon is striking home:
- 2008/03/12: DeSmogBlog: Coal-power boom falters in stampede to alternative sources
- 2008/03/11: GristMill: Coal: getting expensiver
- 2008/03/10: OilChange: Is there such a thing as 'Clean Coal'?
Biofuel bickering abounds:
- 2008/03/16: TStar: Ethanol craze raises concerns
- 2008/03/14: TEB: New Enzyme Promises to Reduce Ethanol Costs
- 2008/03/12: GristMill: Biodiesel: coming soon to a stream near you? Another black eye for the 'green fuel'
- 2008/03/13: WorldChanging: Growing Sustainable Biofuels: Common Sense on Biofuels, part 2
- 2008/03/11: TruthOut: Pollution Is Called a Byproduct of a "Clean" Fuel
- 2008/03/10: PhysOrg: Trash today, ethanol tomorrow: Invention promises major advance in biofuel production
The nuclear energy controversy continues:
- 2008/03/10: WSJ:EnvCap: China Syndrome: Bring on the Nukes
Yes we have a peak oil sighting:
- 2008/03/14: WSJ:EnvCap: Peak Oil? Industry Numbers Disagree
- 2008/03/13: EnergyBulletin: The peak oil crisis: the last spiral?
- 2008/03/13: GristMill: All close together now - A post-petroleum American dream
- 2008/03/11: AlterNet: Cheap Oil Is Over: Kiss the Gas-Guzzling NASCAR Era Good-Bye
And then there is the matter of efficiency & conservation:
- 2008/03/10: PeakEnergy: LEDs - The Future Of Lighting
Automakers & lawyers, engineers & activists argue over the future of the car:
- 2008/03/16: AutoBG: Electric motorbikes all the rage in Vietnam
- 2008/03/12: FuturePundit: Electric Cars Will Not Need New Electric Power Plants?
- 2008/03/14: ClimateP: Killing the Electric Car Again - Part II
- 2008/03/13: ClimateP: Killing the Electric Car Again -- Part 1
- 2008/03/14: AutoBG: Civic hybrid sales jump in UK
- 2008/03/14: AutoBG: Volvo officially announces Swedish plug-in hybrid development program
- 2008/03/13: PhysOrg: Fuel-cell cars still far from showroom: Toyota
- 2008/03/13: AutoBG: E-One Moli Energy Corp exhibits li-ion battery for electric vehicles
- 2008/03/06: Economist: In search of the perfect battery
Energy technology: Researchers are desperate to find a modern-day philosopher's stone: the battery technology that will make electric cars practical. Here is a brief history of their quest - 2008/03/11: ClimateP: GE backs electric cars -- this time for keeps!
- 2008/03/11: TreeHugger: Electric Vehicles: Good For Climate, Bad For Water?
- 2008/03/10: NEN: GE Gets into battery race
The reaction of business to climate change will be critical:
- 2008/03/15: TreeHugger: Going Green Is Strictly Business. Just Ask Wal-Mart
- 2008/03/13: EnvFin: UBS launches low-carbon tracker index
- 2008/03/14: EnergyDaily: SC Johnson Commits To Additional Renewable Energy Source
Meanwhile in the greenwashing chronicles:
- 2008/03/09: AfterGutenberg: Truth in Biofuel Advertising?
The carbon lobby are up to the usual:
- 2008/03/09: GWWatch: Deniers' canard blown out the water
- 2008/03/13: N3xus6: Solar bollocks
- 2008/03/11: PRWatch: Featured Participatory Project: Who Sponsored and Spoke at Heartland's Climate Conference?
- 2008/03/12: BSD: Scientists leaned towards warming in the 1970s
- 2008/03/13: JEB: Corbyn on March
- 2008/03/13: ClimateP: Wrong Again 2: Delayers cry wolf with same old Garbage In, Garbage Out economic model
- 2008/03/13: ClimateP: Wrong Again 1: Business Attacks Climate Security Act
- 2008/03/13: Deltoid: New CEI Ad: "Al Gore: We call him fat"
- 2008/03/12: ClimateP: CEI campaigns to destroy the climate for centuries
- 2008/03/12: BCLSB: Who The Heck Is Piers Corbyn, Or: Why Has The Denialist Movement Turned On One Of Its Own?
- 2008/03/12: DeSmogBlog: CEI Struggles to Remain Relevant, Bashes Gore
- 2008/03/11: ClimateP: Delayer-1000 v. Climate Progress Smackdown
- 2008/03/11: AutoBG: GM CEO [Rick Wagoner] responds to [GM chairman Bob] Lutz's global warming's a "total crock of sh*t" comment
- 2008/03/11: ThinkP: CEI: Fixing Climate Change Will Cause "Death On A Massive Scale" In The Developing World
- 2008/03/14: AFTIC: With Opponents Like These, Who Needs Allies?
- 2008/03/10: RealClimate: A Galactic glitch
- 2008/03/09: BCLSB: Rearranging The Deck Chairs On The Good Ship Denial [new denial group]
- 2008/03/09: BCLSB: A Crap Alberta Government Survey Of Alberta "Rock Scientists" On Climate Change
- 2008/03/10: ThinkP: Global Warming Denier Group [CEI] Set To Recycle Attacks on Al Gore
Then there was the usual news and commentary:
- 2008/03/15: Stoat: All quiet on the climate front
- 2008/03/14: NatureCF: Back in the land of unintended consequences
- 2008/03/14: TreeHugger: Warning: The Alarmists Are Coming
- 2008/03/13: CDreams: SeattlePI: There's a Homegrown Way to Address Climate Change
- 2008/03/11: Atmoz: Bathtub Analogy: Why the Global Temperature Giggles
- 2008/03/11: CSW: Climate change, disinformation, and the failure of preparedness
- 2008/03/10: GristMill: Bear poops in woods, some observers say
- 2008/03/11: Guardian(UK): Biofuels pioneer [Karl Watkin, D1 Oils founder] vents fury at City as he quits
And here are a couple of sites you may find interesting and/or useful:
- Wiki: Rossby wave
- WMO:GAW: Global Atmosphere Watch
- IGHIH: It's Getting Hot In Here
- GCP: Global Carbon Project
- PewClimate: Global Warming in Depth
- PewClimate: Global Warming Basics
- Greenpeace International News
- CCPI: Climate Change Performance Index
- Wiki: Massachusetts v. Environmental Protection Agency
- PAGES: Past Global Changes
- ACP: The Alliance for Climate Protection
- New Scientist Environment
- CEOS: Committee on Earth Observation Satellites
- Earth911 - Global Warming
- COSMIC: Constellation Observing System for Meteorology, Ionosphere & Climate
- UCSUSA: The A to Z Guide to Political Interference in Science
- GWWatch: Global Warming Watch
Here's a wee chuckle for ye:
So, why is the war criminal involved?
There is more on the growing food crisis below, but an editorial by the UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon should be highlighted:
Late comment on Climate Code Red:
And speaking of floods & droughts:
As for carbon sequestration:
And on the carbon trading front:
The idea of a carbon tax is still bouncing around:
The delayed decision at F&WS drew criticism and a legal suit:
One hears a lot about the campaign(s), not so much about climate:
While in the UK:
Opposition to Heathrow continues to boil:
This week, the Tories spun a non-plan to be detailed in 8 months:
And the Tories also announced an ignominous weasel to rationalize their Kyoto non-compliance:
There is growing dissatisfaction with the leader of the opposition Stephane Dion's apparent reluctance to seriously challenge the Conservative minority government:
BC's Carbon Tax plan continues to draw comment:
The big Canadian banks have been rated for carbon responsibility:
And then there was the miscellaneous Canadiana:
Low Key Plug
My first novel Water was published in Canada May, 2007. The American release was in October. An Introductionto the novel is available, along with the Unpublished Forewordand the Launch Talk. An overview of my writing is available here.
<regards>
P.S. Recent postings can be found in the week archive and the ancient postings can be accessed here, which should open to this.
"This idea of clean, green energy is no longer a tie-dyed T-shirt kind of idea. This is mainstream economics."
-Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland
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End of summer is a really good time to sit down and look at your preparations and your food storage and take inventory. What have you put by? What do you still need more of? What did you use over the last year? What did you have too much of? Whither from here?