Another Week of GW News, August 3, 2008

Sipping from the internet firehose...

(skip to bottom)

August 3, 2008

• Top Stories:Ward Hunt Ice Shelf, Melting Arctic, Geopolitics
• Food Crisis, Food vs. Biofuel, Food Production
• Hurricanes, GHGs, Carbon Cycle, Temperatures, Abrupt Climate Change, Paleoclimate, Glaciers, Sea Levels, Satellites
• Impacts, Forests, Tornadoes, Wildfires, Floods & Droughts
• Mitigation, Transportation, Buildings, Sequestration, Geoengineering, Adaptation
• Journals, Misc. Science
• Kyoto, Carbon Trade, Optimal Carbon Reduction Strategy
• Politics:International, America, Britain, Europe, Australia, New Zealand, China, Japan, South Africa, Canada
• Ecological Economics, IPAT, Media, Books, Video
• Energy, Super-lattice Fuel Cell, MIT Hydrolysis, Solar, Coal, Biofuel, Nukes, Peak Oil, Efficiency, Cars, Business, Greenwashing
• Carbon Lobby, The Usual, Useful Links
• Shameless Self Promotion, .sig

Here's a chuckle for ya:

• 2008/07/30: uComics: (cartoon - Toles) Your Government At Work

  Ward Hunt ice shelf shed a huge chunk of ice this week:

• 2008/07/31: NatureTGB: Holy cracking ice sheets! Canada is breaking up!
• 2008/07/30: TerraDaily: Arctic sheds huge chunks of ice
• 2008/07/30: KSJT: Wires, Globe and Mail, etc: Another chunk of Arctic ice shelf breaks off
• 2008/07/30: ABC(Au): Giant chunks break off Canadian ice shelf
• 2008/07/29: PhysOrg: 7-square-mile ice sheet breaks loose in Canada
• 2008/07/31: ABC(Au): Major Arctic ice shelf cracks
• 2008/07/30: DeSmogBlog: "Oh, Canad!" [Ward Hunt]
• 2008/07/29: DeSmogBlog: Massive piece of Ward Hunt Ice Shelf collapses
• 2008/07/30: ENN: Arctic [sea] ice bigger than 2007, but thawing long-term
• 2008/07/30: JuneauEmpire: Seven-square-mile chunk of ice breaks off in Canada - Researcher says more likely to melt away from country's largest ice shelf
• 2008/07/30: BBC: Canadian Arctic sheds ice chunk
  A large chunk of an Arctic ice shelf has broken free of the northern Canadian coast, scientists say. Nearly 20 sq km (eight sq miles) of ice from the Ward Hunt shelf has split away from Ellesmere Island, according to satellite pictures.
• 2008/07/29: CBC: Fragmenting Arctic ice shelf a sign of warming temperatures: scientist
• 2008/07/30: TStar: Ice break ominous, Arctic scientist says
• 2008/07/29: G&M: Huge chunk snaps off storied Arctic [Ward Hunt] ice shelf
  Break marks latest in erosion that has whittled 9,000 square kilometres down to 1,000 over past century

The Arctic melt continues to get a lot of attention:

• 2008/08/02: ABC(Au): Record heat forces closure of Canada Arctic park
• 2008/08/02: NewScientist: Arctic ice continues to thin
• 2008/08/01: G&M: Record heat forces closure of Arctic park
• 2008/08/01: DeSmogBlog: Arctic tourists evacuated amid melting and unprecedented warming
• 2008/07/28: McClatchyDC: Scientists worry as once frozen tundra thaws in Alaska

  And the geopolitics:

• 2008/08/03: Times(UK): Russia 'sticks foot in door' of Arctic riches
• 2008/07/28: KSJT: NYTimes Magazine: In Greenland, melting ice and warming seas mean $$$

  The food crisis remains a top story:

• 2008/08/02: PNWLocalNews: Sign of the times: Cupboards growing bare at food bank
• 2008/08/02: GMB: Why food prices are rising
• 2008/08/01: Guardian(UK): The rains have come, the land is lush but Ethiopians still go hungry - Despite appearances, a cycle of drought and escalating food prices is taking its toll
• 2008/07/31: Reuters: South Asian nations discuss food bank [a common food grains reserve] to fight hunger
• 2008/07/30: BBC: North Koreans are experiencing their worst food shortages since the famine of the late 1990s, a UN agency says
• 2008/07/29: Guardian(UK): Haiti: Mud cakes become staple diet as cost of food soars beyond a family's reach

  The conflict between biofuel and food persists:

• 2008/07/30: BioEnergyBiz: World Bank firmly blames biofuel boom for food price rises
• 2008/07/31: GristMill: Biofuel bombshell - World Bank finally releases 'secret' report on biofuels and the food crisis
• 2008/07/30: G&M: Corn-based ethanol: The negatives outweigh the positives
• 2008/07/28: GristMill: Industrial food and fuel forever! If we just trust Monsanto and ADM, we can eat and drive to our heart's content [biof vs food]

  How are we going to feed 9 billion?

• 2008/08/03: PeakEnergy: Stuffed And Starved [Patel]
• 2008/07/31: DotEarth: [National] Academy Answers [Bill & Melinda] Gates' Call for Technology to Aid Poorest Farmers
• 2008/07/31: FTimes: Moscow to seize grain export controls
  Russia plans to form a state grain trading company to control up to half of the country's cereal exports, intensifying fears that Moscow wants to use food exports as a diplomatic weapon in the same way as Gazprom has manipulated natural gas sales.
• 2008/07/29: CCurrents: Small Farming Is The Future
• 2008/07/30: AFTAU: TAU Researchers Root Out New and Efficient Crop Plants
• 2008/07/29: RedOrbit: The Rise of Agri-Powers
• 2008/07/29: PeakEnergy: Industrial Agriculture Input Costs On The Rise
• 2008/07/29: Guardian(UK): Eaten up
  Raj Patel's book Stuffed and Starved predicted the current global food crisis - spiralling food prices, starvation and obesity. Ed Pilkington meets the soothsayer of agro-economics and talks about what will happen when all the food finally runs out
• 2008/07/28: PhysOrg: No-tillage plus
• 2008/07/28: ASAgronomy: No-Tillage Plus - Scientists Report in Agronomy Journal that Cover Crops Offer a Model for Sustainability in Tropical Soils
• 2008/07/28: UGA: New UGA biomass technology dramatically increases ethanol yield from grasses and yard waste
• 2008/07/28: CapTimes: Small farming is the future

  Typhoon Fung-Wong zapped Taiwan, then China, but since then it has been quiet:

• 2008/08/03: Wunderground: Three areas of interest in the Atlantic -- one near the Gulf Coast
• 2008/08/01: Wunderground: New Invest 99L to watch in the central Atlantic
• 2008/07/31: TerraDaily: Five dead as storm [Fung-wong] wreaks havoc in China
• 2008/07/29: TerraDaily: Typhoon [Fung-Wong] kills two in Taiwan: officials
• 2008/07/29: TerraDaily: Over 600,000 evacuated as tropical storm [Fung-Wong] hits China: reports
• 2008/07/28: al Jazeera: Typhoon [Fung Wong] causes chaos in Taiwan
• 2008/07/29: People's Daily: Typhoon [Fung Wong] lashes Fujian, brings rain
• 2008/07/28: CBC: Deadly typhoon pounds Taiwan
• 2008/07/28: BBC: Typhoon Fung-Wong lashes Taiwan
  A typhoon with winds of up to 140km/h (87 mph) has hit the east coast of Taiwan bringing heavy rain, and causing schools and businesses to close.

While elsewhere in the hurricane wars:

• 2008/08/03: SMH: Junta gags comedian
  A famous Burmese comedian and three other activists who helped deliver relief supplies to cyclone victims could be imprisoned for two years on charges of causing public unrest, his lawyer said today. Comedian Zarganar and the others appeared in court inside Insein prison on Wednesday, according to Aung Thein, their attorney. They included a sports writer identified as Zaw Thet Htwe and Thant Zin Aung.
• 2008/08/03: Guardian(UK): Burma comic arrested after criticising cyclone relief
• 2008/08/01: PhysOrg: Boston Hurricane Frequency Over Last Millennium Linked To Ocean Surface Temperatures
• 2008/07/31: NatureTGB: Hurricane keeps dead zone small
• 2008/07/31: SMH: Cyclone aid skimmed off by junta
  The United Nations has admitted that more than $10 million of aid intended for Burmese cyclone survivors has been skimmed off by banks run by the country's junta. The missing money is likely to have lined the pockets of the ruling generals and their business cronies.
• 2008/07/29: KSJT: AP: Hurricane stirs Gulf of Mexico, hypoxic dead zone shrinks to just under the record
• 2008/07/29: UN: Madagascar making good progress in post-cyclone [Ivan] recovery, says UNICEF chief
• 2008/07/29: PhysOrg: Hurricane Dolly may have shrunk Gulf 'dead zone'

  GHGs are going up:

• 2008/08/01: TreeHugger: Carbon Emissions in UK 49% Higher Than Acknowledged: New [SEI] Report Claims

  In the carbon cycle:

• 2008/07/31: Eureka: Microbe diet key to carbon dioxide release [C cycle]

  As for the temperature record:

• 2008/08/02: MTobis: Angry Red Chart
• 2008/07/31: ClimateP: When can we expect extremely high surface temperatures?
• 2008/07/31: MGS: Earth temperature

  Several stories on abrupt climate change showed up:

• 2008/08/02: Discovery: Harsh Climate Change Once Fell Swiftly
• 2008/08/02: DeSmogBlog: Prehistoric Deep Freeze Occurred in One Year!
• 2008/08/01: Reuters: Climate chill came exactly 12,679 years ago: study
• 2008/08/01: PhysOrg: Tracking down abrupt climate changes
• 2008/08/01: Eureka: Tracking down abrupt climate changes - Rapid natural climate change 12,700 years ago

  While in the paleoclimate:

• 2008/07/31: PhysOrg: Cold and ice, not heat, episodically gripped tropical regions 300 million years ago
• 2008/07/31: NSF: Cold and Ice, and Heat, Episodically Gripped Tropical Regions 300 Million Years Ago
• 2008/07/29: SciDaily: Insect Biodiversity In Amazon May Be Result Of Ice Age Climate Change And Ancient Flooding, Not River Barriers
• 2008/07/29: SciDaily: Snapshot Of Past Climate Reveals No Ice In Antarctica [40] Millions Of Years Ago
• 2008/07/28: PhysOrg: Snapshot of past climate reveals no ice in Antarctica [40] millions of years ago
• 2008/07/28: SciDaily: Explosion In Marine Biodiversity [460 mya] Explained By Climate Change
• 2008/07/28: SciDaily: New Piece Of Climate Change Puzzle Found In Ancient Sedimentary Rocks
• 2008/07/28: Eureka: Snapshot of past climate reveals no ice in Antarctica millions of years ago
  A snapshot of New Zealand's climate 40 million years ago reveals a greenhouse Earth, with warmer seas and little or no ice in Antarctica, according to research published this week in the journal Geology

Glaciers are melting:

• 2008/07/29: ENN: Peru mountain glaciers 'receding rapidly'

  Sea levels are rising:

• 2008/08/01: ClimateP: JPL's new climate website: Yes, sea level rise has accelerated
• 2008/07/31: DotEarth: Can Crumbling Himalayas Protect Bangladesh From Rising Seas?
• 2008/07/31: PhysOrg: Timing is everything: How vulnerable to flooding is New York City?
• 2008/07/30: BBC: Bangladesh landmass 'is growing'
  New research shows Bangladesh may not be as vulnerable to rising sea levels caused by climate change as previously feared, scientists in Dhaka say. They say satellite images show the country's landmass is actually growing because of sediment dumped by rivers.

Meanwhile in near earth orbit:

• 2008/07/30: BBC: Ocean mission delivers first maps
  Less than a month after it was put in orbit, the ocean-mapper Jason-2 has returned its first pictures to Earth. From an altitude of more than 1,300km, the spacecraft is now feeding back data covering nearly the entire globe. Jason-2 is set to become the primary means of measuring the shape of the world's oceans, taking readings with an accuracy of better than 4cm. The information will be crucial to our understanding of both sea level rise and changing ocean currents.
• 2008/07/30: AngryBear: Everything Old is New Again (Space Science Edition)

  More GW impacts are being seen:

• 2008/08/02: TreeHugger: Ocean Acidification: 100 Years in the Future
• 2008/08/03: ModBee: Global warming shows itself as trees die out, flowers, glaciers fade
• 2008/07/31: Yahoo: Global Warming's Fish-Sex Effect
• 2008/07/31: PhysOrg: More acidic ocean could spell trouble for marine life's earliest stages
• 2008/07/31: Eureka: More acidic ocean could spell trouble for marine life's earliest stages
• 2008/07/30: ENN: Birds fly north in climate change vanguard: study
• 2008/07/30: SciDaily: European Birds Flock To Warming Britain, While Some Northern Species Not Faring As Well
• 2008/07/28: NOAANews: Study: Reefs may "Unglue" in Oceans with High Carbon Dioxide
• 2008/07/29: PhysOrg: Acidification of the sea hampers reproduction of marine species
• 2008/07/29: PhysOrg: Study shows most health department directors see climate change as looming health threat
• 2008/07/29: GMU: Mason study shows most health department directors see climate change as looming health threat
• 2008/07/28: ABC(Au): Climate change hurting marine snails [in the Southern Ocean]

  And then there are the world's forests:

• 2008/08/02: ABC(Au): Brazil launches Amazon rainforest protection fund
• 2008/08/01: BBC: Brazilian President Luis Inacio Lula da Silva has launched an international fund to protect the Amazon rainforest and help combat climate change
• 2008/07/30: Mathaba: Developing nations of ''Rainforest Coalition'' agree to avoid deforestation
• 2008/07/30: ABC(Au): PNG has 'role to play' in combating climate change - Great Britain is calling on Papua New Guinea to play a leading role in combating climate change
• 2008/07/29: TreeHugger: Spending One Billion Dollars Could Slow Tropical Deforestation by One-Tenth, Reduce Carbon Emissions by Half a Billion Tonnes Annually

  As for tornadoes:

• 2008/08/01: Intersection:CCM: New Scientist Cover Story on Tornadoes and Global Warming
• 2008/07/30: GristMill: Stormy weather - NewScientist cover story looks at link between tornadoes and global warming

  And wild fires:

• 2008/07/30: DailyIndia: Fires burn in northern Utah [near Salt Lake City]
• 2008/07/29: LA Times: Air tanker drops in wildfires are often just for show
• 2008/07/29: CBC: Rains cool off Quebec's forest-fire budget
• 2008/07/28: KSJT: LA Times: For many reasons, wildfire in the west has gotten upper hand, and we're not "anywhere close to ... the worst" ahead.
• 2008/07/28: CNN: Fire near Yosemite park destroys 12 homes
  Wildfire exploded in size on Sunday and threatens 2,000 more homes - Some 2,500 firefighters, hampered by high temperatures, are trying to control fire - Three firefighters have sustained minor injuries, the department said - Fire has burned a total of 26,130 acres, says forestry department spokesman
• 2008/07/27: CBC: Wildfire endangers homes in California

  While in the water cycle, we have floods & droughts:

• 2008/07/31: TerraDaily: Death toll in Ukraine floods rises to 30: minister
• 2008/07/31: UN: West African floods spark warning from UN humanitarian wing
• 2008/07/28: TerraDaily: Four dead as rivers overflow in Japan
• 2008/07/28: TerraDaily: Disaster warning after floods kill 26 in Ukraine and Romania
• 2008/07/29: People's Daily: Flooding season takes heavy toll on agriculture in China
• 2008/07/29: People's Daily: Death toll in Ukrainian floods rises to 22
• 2008/07/28: KSJT: AP: Midwestern top soil washing away. Floods don't help, it says here.
• 2008/07/28: CNN: Floods force hundreds from N.M. homes
  Torrential rainfall from Hurricane Dolly remnants flood parts of eastern New Mexico - Up to 9 inches of rain had fallen since Friday in mountainous areas, officials say - Some 300 to 500 people evacuated from homes and campgrounds
• 2008/07/28: PhysOrg: Floods strip Midwest of tons of valuable topsoil
• 2008/07/28: JQuiggin: A tale of two lakes
• 2008/07/27: TerraDaily: At least 16 dead in flooding in Ukraine, Romania: governments
• 2008/07/28: DailyIndia: Floods, record rainfall hit New Mexico
• 2008/07/28: DailyIndia: Nearly two dozen die in Ukrainian flooding
• 2008/07/27: BBC: Floods kill 16 in eastern Europe
  At least 16 people have died in western Ukraine and northern Romania, where severe storms and flooding have forced thousands to abandon their homes.

Elsewhere on the mitigation front:

• 2008/07/30: DotEarth: U.N. Chief Seeks Action to Cut Disaster Losses Before the Fact

  Consider transportation & GHG production:

• 2008/08/01: C411: Transportation by the Numbers
• 2008/08/01: TStar: British Airways profit collapses
• 2008/07/29: USAToday: Gas prices drive push to reinvent America's suburbs
• 2008/07/28: NatureTGB: California clamps down on ships' sulphur
• 2008/07/28: Guardian(UK): Public transport catches on in the US

  While in the endless quest for sustainable building codes:

• 2008/07/30: ColoradoDaily: Boulder-based team designing homes with 'geo-green' features
• 2008/07/30: DotEarth: Google Energy Guru Pushes Congress to Insulate America
• 2008/07/29: PhysOrg: If you can't measure the heat...
• 2008/07/28: PhysOrg: Green Roofs Differ in Building Cooling, Water Handling Capabilities

  As for carbon sequestration:

• 2008/08/01: EnergyDaily: Capturing And Storing CO2 Deep Underground
• 2008/07/31: CSIRO: Carbon capture milestone for CSIRO in China
• 2008/07/30: ABC(Au): Why we need CCS - whether you like the idea or not!
• 2008/07/29: ABC(Au): Carbon plan for Nullarbor limestone
• 2008/07/29: NEN: 'Clean' coal trial proceeding apace, results due in 10 years

  Large scale geo-engineering keeps popping up:

• 2008/07/31: BBC: Mirrors in space - a shortcut to halt global warming?
  It's the stuff of science fiction, but could mirrors in space or sea water sprayed in the air be shortcuts to halt global warming? "It's Dr Strangelove. But it's the kind of Dr Strangelove you could see governments really using." That's how one expert describes geo-engineering - the idea that we can use a kind of technical quick fix to cool the planet if global warming accelerates.

While on the adaptation front:

• 2008/08/01: DotEarth: Adapting to Warming: Shorts in the Office?

  Meanwhile in the journals:

• 2008/08/02: ACPD: Detection of ship tracks in ATSR2 satellite imagery by E. Campmany et al.

  Before we get into politics, there was some science done:

• 2008/08/01: SciDaily: Climate Change Science Program Issues Report On Climate Models
• 2008/07/31: Eureka: Climate Change Science Program issues report on climate models
• 2008/07/29: SciDaily: Climate Change: Secret Life Cycles Of Atmospheric Aerosols Can Be Illuminated With New Technology [aerosol mass spectrometer]
• 2008/07/30: PhysOrg: Rosella research could re-write 'ring theory'
• 2008/07/30: MGS: Peer review
• 2008/07/30: SciDaily: Soil's Carbon Storage Capacity Investigated
• 2008/07/28: SSSA: Soil's Carbon Storage Capacity Investigated
• 2008/07/31: NatureCC: A new kind of scientist - Climate researchers must begin to bridge disciplinary divides -- and institutions must begin to reward them for it
• 2008/08/02: RealClimate: Bridging the divides

  The Pielke fan clubbe put in an appearance:

• 2008/08/01: ERabett: The Tethered Goat or the Honest Broker [PFC]

  While on the Kyoto front:

• 2008/08/01: Reuters: Russia govt shake-up stalls Kyoto scheme approvals

  And on the carbon trading front:

• 2008/07/30: Reuters: Market remedy to climate change stalls
  The world's biggest source of private sector investment to fight climate change in the developing world has stalled pending complex global climate talks and uncertain demand. The $13 billion trade in carbon offsets has also come under withering attack over profiteering and scam projects to cut greenhouse gas emissions.
• 2008/07/30: Reuters: European carbon permits fell to their lowest level in nearly four months on Wednesday as France and Portugal allocated EU permits to industry...
• 2008/07/29: Reuters: Japan to start trial carbon trading in October
• 2008/07/27: Independent(UK): Market meltdown? Carbon trading is just warming up
  First, the price of the EU's credit allowances crashed. Now shares in companies that trade in them are falling too. But getting polluters to change their ways will be a process of trial and error...

The debate over the optimal strategy [carbon trading, carbon offsets, auction vs. allocation, and/or a carbon tax] to use in dealing with GHGs continues:

• 2008/07/28: VoxEU: Carbon-motivated border tax adjustments: Old wine in green bottles?

  On the international political front, the WCI had a meeting:

• 2008/07/31: WorldChanging: Inside WCI: Thresholds
• 2008/07/29: WorldChanging: Inside WCI: State Carbon Budgets
• 2008/07/30: CanWest: Climate-change allies [WCI] chart bold course
• 2008/07/29: WorldChanging: Inside WCI: Scope
• 2008/07/29: Tyee: [San Diego WCI] Summit Crafts the Spew Economy -- On the table: how to dole out pollution offsets for big parts of Canada, US.

  And on the American political front:

• 2008/07/31: TP:WonkRoom: Bush's 'Sprint To The Finish': Destroy The Planet
• 2008/08/02: TLC: Failure to Dream
• 2008/08/01: Guardian(UK): Does immigration hurt the environment?
  Anti-immigration groups in the US are trying to co-opt the environmental movement
• 2008/07/30: GristMill: Climate gets religion - Richard Cizik and enviro religious leaders speak to Grist on climate leadership
• 2008/07/28: GristMill: Breakfast with Bingaman - Sen. Bingaman talks climate and energy with reporters
• 2008/07/29: HillHeat: Climate Obstructionist [Jeff Rosen] Nominated For Federal Judiciary
• 2008/07/29: NEN: Democratic [party] convention offsets: Misunderstood answer to climate question
• 2008/07/29: TP:WonkRoom: The Billionaires Behind Newt's 'American Solutions For Winning The Future'
• 2008/07/28: Mercury: Governor [Schwarzenegger] vetoes climate change curriculum
  [...] In his veto statement, Schwarzenegger said he supported education that spotlights the dangers of climate change. However, the Republican governor said he was opposed to educational mandates from Sacramento.

The Yanks are arguing about energy in a big way:

• 2008/08/03: NYT: A Push to Wrest More Oil From Land, but Most New Wells Are for Natural Gas
• 2008/08/02: AutoBG: Bill proposed in Congress would require NHTSA to use realistic gas prices to set CAFE
• 2008/08/02: BtP: Washington Post Adopts Republican Talking Points on Off-Shore Drilling
• 2008/08/01: EconView: "Offshore Drilling Claims Are a Political Hoax"
• 2008/08/01: GristMill: Waived by the bell - Congress goes on recess without passing energy legislation
• 2008/07/31: GristMill: EPA-holes -- When pleasing industry compulsively takes precedence over public interest
• 2008/07/31: GristMill: Ninth time's the charm?
  Yesterday, for the eighth time this session, the Senate took up the extension of the critical tax credits for solar and wind. The Republicans filibustered and the cloture vote failed.
• 2008/07/31: Yahoo: Republicans in Congress Grab Oil Drilling as Political Lifeline
• 2008/08/01: CNN: More Americans feel gas price pain - CNN/Opinion Research poll finds high prices causing hardship for three quarters of Americans
• 2008/07/31: ThinkP: Bachmann Lies: Claims Democrats Won't 'Pass The Tax Credit For Solar And Wind' After GOP Blocked It
• 2008/07/31: Guardian(UK): Democrats criticise oil companies on heels of Exxon's $11.7bn quarterly profit
• 2008/07/31: TreeHugger: Three US West Coast Governors [California, Oregon & Washington] 'United In Opposition To Offshore Drilling'
• 2008/07/30: DeSmogBlog: Massive Profits, High Gas Prices and $33 billion in Taxpayer Giveaways to Big Oil
• 2008/07/31: PhiladelphiaInquirer: Oil woes were foreseen - Jimmy Carter warned that our addiction would one day threaten national security.
• 2008/07/31: SF Gate: An energy plan we can believe in
  [...] The United States is in energy crisis. Oil and electricity prices are rapidly escalating, our dependence on imported energy is increasing, and global warming continues unabated, each presenting grave threats to our national interests and security. Solving these interlinking crises requires large strategic investments to spark a clean energy economy and develop cheap and nonpolluting energy for every American.
  But let's pause for a moment to imagine what a clean energy economy would actually look like...
• 2008/07/30: Guardian(UK): Bush calls on Democrats to allow drilling in US coastal waters
• 2008/07/30: ClimateP: Energy efficiency, Part 4: How does California do it so consistently and cost-effectively?
• 2008/07/30: ClimateP: Another Test for the Shills on the Hill [incentives for renewable energy]
• 2008/07/30: WSJ:EnvCap: Wind Breaker: Senate Again Rejects Tax Breaks for Clean Energy
  The renewable-energy industry's still out of luck: The U.S. Senate tried and failed again to extend the tax credits that make clean energy competitive. That leaves the crucial government support even closer to expiration at the end of the year, and means lots of renewable-energy projects in pipelines around the country could get cancelled.
• 2008/07/30: TP:WonkRoom: Newt's 'American Solutions' Is A Front Group For King Coal
• 2008/07/29: GristMill: Deadlock, stock, and oil barrel - Congress hopes to break energy deadlock before August recess -- but don't hold your breath
• 2008/07/28: GristMill: More choices for a healthy economy - An effective political response to the Republican push for drilling
• 2008/07/29: C411: New Poll: Development of New Energy Technology Beats Expanded Oil Drilling
• 2008/07/28: ClimateP: The offshore-drilling hoax, Part 2: The truth is, Conservatives Want You To Pay High Gas Prices
• 2008/07/28: HillHeat: LiHEAP Funding Increase Filibustered
• 2008/07/28: TreeHugger: Senators Want to Switch Drugs Rather Than Kick the Habit: Flex Fuel Vehicle Legislation Introduced Into Congress
• 2008/07/28: NEN: Impasse? Markets act on new energy, why can't Congress?

  The Bush EPA continues to be a focus of dissension:

• 2008/07/31: PhysOrg: California threat to sue US govt over ship, aircraft emissions
• 2008/08/01: HillHeat: States and Environmental Groups to Sue EPA to Get Emissions Rules
• 2008/07/31: ClimateP: Whitehouse admits "the [EPA] Administrator deliberately and repeatedly lied to Congress"
• 2008/07/30: NatureTGB: It's beat up the EPA day! - Yesterday four US Senators told Environmental Protection Agency head Stephen Johnson to resign as they had "lost all confidence" he could follow the law
• 2008/07/29: NatureTGB: The battle over EPA heats up ... yet again
• 2008/07/30: HillHeat: Sen. Whitehouse: 'I Call On Administrator Johnson To Resign'
• 2008/07/30: ENN: Three senators call for EPA chief to resign
• 2008/07/30: SF Gate: 4 Senate Dems urge EPA chief to resign - He's accused of misleading Congress
• 2008/07/29: ThinkP: Senate Democrats call on EPA administrator Stephen Johnson to resign, want DOJ investigation
• 2008/07/29: TP:WonkRoom: Sen. Whitehouse: 'I Call On Administrator Johnson To Resign'
  In a sobering speech on the Senate floor, Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) formally announced the request for a Department of Justice investigation into the potential criminal conduct of EPA Administrator Stephen Johnson, whom he called "a man after Spiro Agnew's own heart." Whitehouse listed five charges of "putting the interests of corporate polluters before science and the law" in ozone, lead, soot, tailpipe emissions, and global warming pollution; and four charges of degrading "the procedures and institutional safeguards that sustain the agency;" before discussing "his apparent dishonesty in testimony before Congress"
• 2008/07/28: McClatchyDC: EPA tells its staff: Don't answer watchdogs' queries
• 2008/07/29: Guardian(UK): Democratic senators call for investigation of US environmental agency
• 2008/07/29: Guardian(UK): US environmental agency silences employees on climate change
• 2008/07/28: ClimateP: Please post your comment on EPA's aburdly whitewashed 'Greenversations' blog
• 2008/07/28: CSW: Speaking Truth to Power: Why on earth is EPA whistleblower Jason Burnett standing alone?
• 2008/07/28: TreeHugger: EPA Tells Staff to Keep Quiet, Play Dumb with Regulators, Press
• 2008/07/29: WaPo: EPA Managers Warned Not to Answer Inquiries - Only Press Officers Are Allowed To Talk to Media, Investigators
  A senior official in the Environmental Protection Agency's enforcement office has warned managers they should direct inquiries from reporters, congressional investigators and the agency's inspector general to designated officials rather than answering the questions themselves...
• 2008/07/29: TPMM: EPA Prohibits Pollution Experts From Talking To IG Investigators
• 2008/07/28: TP:WonkRoom: EPA Gags Staff: 'Do Not Respond To Questions'

  One hears a lot about the campaigns, not much about their climate policies:

• 2008/08/01: GristMill: Oil execs' alternate reality - McCain says he trusts Big Oil over energy and economic experts
• 2008/08/01: CBC: Obama shifts position on offshore drilling
  Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama said Friday he would be willing to support limited additional offshore oil drilling if that's what it takes to enact a comprehensive policy to foster fuel-efficient autos and develop alternate energy sources. Shifting from his previous opposition to expanded offshore drilling, the Illinois senator told a Florida newspaper he could get behind a compromise with Republicans and oil companies to prevent gridlock over energy.
• 2008/08/01: BBerg: Offshore Drilling Claims Are a Political Hoax
• 2008/08/01: WSJ:EnvCap: Citizen Kaine: Does Obama Love Coal?
• 2008/08/01: AutoBG: Obama calls for $1,000 consumer energy rebates
• 2008/08/01: TP:WonkRoom: McCain Embraces Newt's Big Oil Lie, Chants 'Drill More, Drill Now, Pay Less'
• 2008/08/01: ThinkP: Clueless Gingrich Claims Inflating Car Tires Properly To Save Energy Is 'Loony Tunes'
• 2008/07/31: ThinkP: Report: McCain Received $881,450 From Big Oil Since He Announced Support For Offshore Drilling
• 2008/08/01: DailyIndia: Poll: Candidates must invest in energy
• 2008/07/31: ClimateP: DOE/EPA say Obama's right, Limbaugh's wrong: More oil can be found in your car than offshore
• 2008/07/31: GristMill: The world is full of crashing oil barrels - Ads from Sierra Club and MoveOn hit McCain over energy policy
• 2008/07/30: FactCheck: Obama's Celebrity Cred - A new McCain ad calls Obama a celebrity (true) who says he'll raise taxes on electricity (false).
• 2008/07/30: TreeHugger: The Empire Strikes Black: McCain Leads Team of Saturn Oil Prospectors
• 2008/07/29: ClimateP: Note to media: Are you going to allow McCain to just make up stuff on oil drilling?
• 2008/07/29: ClimateP: Abba was right: Fool me once, shame on Bush, fool me twice, shame on McCain
• 2008/07/29: DeSmogBlog: Senator John McCain the Oil and Gas Presidential Pick
• 2008/07/27: ClimateP: You've heard of 'polluters pay'? So has McCain.
• 2008/07/28: GristMill: A coffer they can't refuse - McCain's switch on offshore drilling brings him big money from Big Oil
• 2008/07/27: OilChange: McCain strikes oil money
• 2008/07/27: PRWatch: A Tank Full of Nonsense [2008]
• 2008/07/28: BBC: Obama's biofuels policy tension
  US presidential hopeful Barack Obama is coming under increasing pressure to change his policies on biofuels. Senator Obama has been a big supporter of corn subsidies for American farmers to produce the plant-fuel ethanol. But a new report from his own green adviser warns of the many problems associated with the biofuel.

And the Gore-apalooza is still bopping along:

• 2008/07/30: BSD: Gore's carbon-free challenge includes carbon sequestration

  While in the UK:

• 2008/08/03: Guardian(UK): A Green New Deal for our times
• 2008/08/02: DailyIndia: British CO2 emissions higher than reported
• 2008/08/01: DerSpiegel: UK Nuclear hopes dented - French Takeover of British Energy Collapses
• 2008/08/01: BBC: UK nuclear energy deal collapses - Talks which would have seen eight of the UK's nuclear power stations sold to a French state-owned energy firm have broken down without agreement
• 2008/08/01: Guardian(UK): The climate change clock is ticking - The exact timescale of global warming is unknown, but the 100 months campaign provides a much-needed sense of urgency
• 2008/08/01: Guardian(UK): BA flight cuts 'undermine case for Heathrow expansion'
• 2008/08/02: Guardian(UK): Nuclear group loses power as EDF pulls plug
  British Energy shares fell sharply yesterday after an expected £12bn bid from EDF was scuppered by dissident shareholders.
• 2008/07/31: BBC: UK in 'delusion' over emissions
  The UK has been living under a delusion over its claim to be cutting greenhouse gases, according to two reports that will shake the climate change debate. They show that instead of falling since the 1990s, UK greenhouse emissions have being growing in line with the economy. This is dependent on emissions from aviation, shipping and imported goods being counted. At the moment they are excluded under the internationally-agreed system for carbon accounts. Both reports are from the respected Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI) based at the University of York. They are a massive blow to the British government which claimed to have grasped the Holy Grail of climate policy - de-coupling economic growth from emissions growth.
• 2008/08/01: Guardian(UK): '100 months' to stop overheating
• 2008/08/01: Guardian(UK): The final countdown
  Time is fast running out to stop irreversible climate change, a group of global warming experts warns today. We have only 100 months to avoid disaster.
• 2008/07/31: Times(UK): Consumer fury at hikes and profits
• 2008/07/31: Guardian(UK): [Letters] Confusion over nuclear options
• 2008/07/30: Guardian(UK): Plan for third Heathrow runway is white elephant, [former chief scientific adviser Professor Sir David King] professor warns
• 2008/07/31: Guardian(UK): Energy to burn - Protesters at our coal plant are deluded if they think renewables alone can serve Britain's needs
• 2008/07/31: Guardian(UK): How to go to Climate Camp - and enjoy it -- This Sunday a week-long camp begins in Kent against plans to build a new coal-powered fire station
• 2008/07/30: BBC: Record rise for British Gas bills [effective immediately]
  British Gas owner Centrica says it is raising gas prices by a record 35% and electricity prices by 9%. The UK's biggest domestic energy supplier said that the price hikes would take place with immediate effect.
• 2008/07/30: Guardian(UK): Councils must take the lead on tackling energy costs

  And in Europe:

• 2008/07/29: PlanetArk: Biofuels Down, Energy Saving Up in EU Climate Plan
  Biofuels are down and energy efficiency measures are up as the European Union's ambitious plan to fight climate change works its way towards becoming law.
• 2008/07/28: EUO: Biofuels targets too much too soon for Ireland

  Meanwhile in Australia:

• 2008/08/03: ABC(Au): Canberrans making the GreenPower switch
  The ACT Government says the number of Canberra households switching to alternative green energy has increased by 150 per cent over the past two years.
• 2008/08/02: ABC(Au): Solar rebate applications on the rise, Govt says
• 2008/08/01: ABC(Au): A plant research centre has been launched in Canberra aimed at tackling major global challenges such as climate change
• 2008/08/01: ABC(Au): Australians ready for carbon scheme: [Federal Minister for Infrastructure and Transport Anthony] Albanese
• 2008/08/02: GWWatch: Sydney seeks to be carbon trading hub
• 2008/07/31: Australian: Still seeking world emission pact
  Kevin Rudd's public faith in multilateralism and its ability to deliver a global agreement on climate change remains unabated after the failure of the World Trade Organisation to agree on the Doha trade round.
• 2008/07/28: WSWS: Australian Labor government unveils carbon trading scheme that shields corporate polluters
• 2008/07/31: ABC(Au): Farmers wary of climate change training
  The South Australian Farmers Federation is wary of support for primary producers to adapt their farming practices for climate change.
• 2008/07/31: ABC(Au): Sydney should be 'carbon trading hub' ...says New South Wales state Government
• 2008/07/31: GWWatch: AGL green paper briefing notes
• 2008/07/31: ABC(Au): Seafood industry fears carbon trading impact
  The Queensland Seafood Industry Association (QSIA) says it has concerns about the impact a carbon emissions trading scheme will have on the industry
• 2008/07/30: ABC(Au): MP [Paul Neville] fears carbon trading scheme would cost jobs
  The Nationals' Member for Hinkler says the Federal Government should not implement a carbon emissions trading scheme unless big polluters like China and India do the same
• 2008/07/30: ABC(Au): Farmers mull emissions dilemma
  The newly re-elected president of the NSW Farmers' Association has sounded a warning over the way carbon emissions in agriculture are accounted for. Jock Laurie has told the association's 30th annual conference in Sydney that the Federal Government must ensure the Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme gives full credit to sequestration in the sector.
• 2008/07/30: SMH: Opportunities in a warming world
  In politics, we like to think that every day we are dealing with issues of vital importance - decisions that improve life for generations to come. The reality is, however, that only a couple of issues in any parliamentary term are of generational importance - in areas which, if we do not make the right decision now, future governments will not be able to correct them. Climate change is one such generational issue.
• 2008/07/29: ABC(Au): [Climate Change Minister Penny] Wong stands by 2010 carbon trading start-up
• 2008/07/29: ABC(Au): The Federal Government has launched a $26 million scheme to give farmers access to training programs to deal with the impacts of climate change
• 2008/07/29: Deltoid: 80% of Australians accept that humans are causing climate change
• 2008/07/28: ABC(Au): Greenpeace paint grim climate change message [on coal carriers in north Queensland waters]
• 2008/07/28: ABC(Au): AMWU [Australian Manufacturing Workers Union] formulating climate change strategy

  The Opposition held a troubled conference:

• 2008/08/02: SMH: Dr Disclaimer's goose is cooked
  The problem for Brendan Nelson is that it will be hard, from now on, to take anything he says seriously. Very few of his colleagues seem to. In the past few weeks, as Nelson set about erecting a new philosophical platform for the Libs on climate change, his shadow cabinet simply followed along behind him, tactfully dismantling his efforts every day after sun down. The most surreal part of this routine is that his opponents don't tend to disagree with him openly. Instead, they simply pretend that he hasn't spoken at all, or that whatever he's said has been catastrophically misinterpreted.
• 2008/07/30: TheAge: In this climate Nelson cannot survive - The Opposition Leader was rolled on climate change by his main leadership rival. His days are surely numbered.
• 2008/08/01: SMH: Hostile climate for the craven
  Brendan Nelson's utter isolation within his shadow cabinet on Tuesday was sealed the day before. Most of his senior colleagues were at the meeting of the Coalition's policy review committee, but the leader was not. The man who most covets Nelson's job, the shadow treasurer, Malcolm Turnbull, was there. And so was the man who, more than anyone else, has prevented him from taking it, the leader of the Opposition in the Senate, Nick Minchin. As the godfather of the Liberals' right faction, Minchin was vital in putting together the support bloc that Nelson needed to win the leadership. Minchin remains vital to his ability to hold onto it. With a big decision on the Coalition's climate change policy looming for the next day, it was the subject of most urgent interest. Minchin has long been a sceptic on climate change.
• 2008/07/31: ABC(Au): Nelson 'worse than Howard' on climate change
  Finance Minister Lindsay Tanner says Opposition Leader Brendan Nelson is "even worse on climate change" than former prime minister John Howard.
• 2008/08/01: ABC(Au): Coalition's emissions trading policy likely to change: [Federal Opposition treasury spokesman Malcolm] Turnbull
• 2008/07/30: ABC(Au): Emissions trade row over: Hunt
  Opposition climate change spokesman Greg Hunt says the public wrangling over the Coalition's stance on emissions trading is now over and has produced a "sharper" policy. Federal Opposition Leader Brendan Nelson has left the Coalition open to starting an emissions trading scheme later than 2012, as frustration grows about his handling of the climate change issue.
• 2008/07/30: ABC(Au): [Opp Leader Brendan] Nelson had 'own agenda' when pushing climate policy
• 2008/07/30: SMH: Nelson's team leaves him high and dry on climate
  Brendan Nelson abandoned his plans for a hardline approach to climate change policy yesterday when he was rolled comprehensively by his shadow cabinet. In the biggest setback yet to Dr Nelson's leadership, the shadow ministry overwhelmingly backed Malcolm Turnbull and other senior Liberals such as Julie Bishop and Greg Hunt who were urging the Coalition to stick to its election policy. After three weeks of pushing to change the policy - to doing nothing until all the big polluters such as China, India and the US had committed to action - Dr Nelson fell into line and reverted to a position similar to the original Coalition policy for an emissions trading scheme by 2012.
• 2008/07/30: SMH: A heated grab for climate control
  It's not often that the media is more interested in the policy, or potential policy, of an opposition rather than a government. Especially when the government in question is not even a third of the way through its inaugural term. However, this seems to be the case in the lead-up to today's shadow cabinet deliberations and tomorrow's meeting of the Coalition parties.
• 2008/07/29: ABC(Au): [Opposition Leader Brendan] Nelson pushes for 'conditional' emissions scheme
• 2008/07/29: ABC(Au): Coalition begins talks on emissions trading
• 2008/07/29: ABC(Au): Australia must take lead on emissions trading: [Opposition] Liberal backbencher [Dr. Mal Washer]
• 2008/07/28: HeraldSun: Malcolm Turnbull falls into line on carbon-trading plan
  Malcolm Turnbull has moved to adopt a wait-and-see climate change policy, matching that of his leader, Brendan Nelson.
• 2008/07/29: ABC(Au): Opposition to meet over its climate change policy
  The federal Coalition begins two days of meetings in Canberra today, which will focus on the Opposition's climate change policy. The Climate Institute's latest poll shows 69 per cent of those surveyed support an emissions trading scheme starting in 2010 or earlier. But today, the federal Opposition's shadow Cabinet is expected to approve Opposition Leader Brendan Nelson's new hardline stance. He wants any action by Australia to be conditional on similar moves from big emitters like China, India and the US.
• 2008/07/28: ABC(Au): Coalition 'dinosaurs' putting off climate action: [Federal Environment Minister Peter] Garrett
• 2008/07/27: ABC(Au): Opposition 'ducking and weaving' on emissions trading
• 2008/07/27: ABC(Au): Turnbull denies emissions rift with Nelson

  While in New Zealand:

• 2008/07/28: NZHerald: Power shortages [due to low water levels] cost economy $3b

  And in China:

• 2008/08/02: SMH: Beijing turns its back on dirty energy
  Cynics may scoff, but China - the world's biggest greenhouse-gas emitter - is poised to lead world production of solar cells, wind-power turbines and low-carbon energy technology.
• 2008/08/01: NewScientist: Could China lead the green revolution?
• 2008/08/01: WSJ:EnvCap: Green Dragon: China's Clean-Energy Revolution
• 2008/08/01: BBC: China's 'rapid renewables surge'
  China's rapid investment in low carbon technologies has catapulted the nation up the global renewable energy rankings, a report shows. The Climate Group study said China invested $12bn (£6bn) in renewables during 2007, second only to Germany.
• 2008/08/01: Guardian(UK): China 'leads the world' in renewable energy
• 2008/07/30: Reuters: China's options to end its power shortage
• 2008/07/30: Times(UK): Coal shortage brings fear of electricity crisis in China
• 2008/07/29: BBerg: China's Power Crisis Deepens as Coal Supply Dwindles
• 2008/07/28: NatureCF: Nature takes a closer look at coal in China
• 2008/07/28: NewScientist: 33% of China's carbon footprint blamed on exports
• 2008/07/28: WaPo: China's Cars, Accelerating A Global Demand for Fuel

  And Japan:

• 2008/07/29: Yahoo: Japan adopts action plan against global warming

  While in South Africa:

• 2008/08/03: Yahoo: SAfrica's ambitious climate change strategy may include carbon tax
• 2008/07/28: BBerg: South Africa to Set Greenhouse-Gas Emissions Targets

  In Canada, minority neocon PM Harper, continues his do-nothing policy:

• 2008/08/02: Far-n-Wide: It's A Simple Question Really - NRTEE on Cons
• 2008/08/01: CTV: Expert report questions Tory greenhouse-gas claims
  The Harper government might be overestimating how much its climate-change plan will lower greenhouse gases, says a federal advisory panel. Flaws in government calculations could skew projections around the Tories' green policies, the National Roundtable on the Environment and the Economy says in a report to be released Saturday.
• 2008/07/28: JAWL: Bairds Delay and Pollute Plan
• 2008/07/28: TStar: Climate change debate [Ottawa vs WCI provinces]

  A report on the health effects of climate change was released:

• 2008/08/01: TStar: Tories deny burying release of climate report
• 2008/07/31: Canoe: Health Canada issues climate change health warning
• 2008/08/01: JAWL: Talk about trying to bury the bad news, Tony Clement has out done himself
• 2008/08/01: PR: Get Used to It...another Liberal inside job to undermine the Conservative government's non-position on climate change
• 2008/08/01: CBC: Diseases, heat-related deaths likely to spike from climate change: report

  The Liberal Green Shift carbon tax plan is still being debated:

• 2008/08/02: CanadaEast: Agriculture industry opposes Green Shift - Three Liberal MPs lead Agricultural Federation meeting in Moncton
• 2008/08/02: TStar: Big polluters should pay to combat climate change - Carbon tax would leave Canadians with less money to invest in green technology by NDP leader Jack Layton
• 2008/08/02: CanWest: Dion's carbon tax a good way to split the country - Taking money from Alberta and Saskatchewan for Ontario and Quebec spells trouble
• 2008/07/31: BCLSB: Green Shift Shifts Again, Again [suit]
• 2008/07/31: G&M: [The federal government's] Green plan will hit bottom line, Canada Post report says
• 2008/07/30: Tyee: Digging out of the Energy Hole - Carbon tax just part of whole new mindset.
• 2008/07/30: JCherniak: Preston Manning supports a carbon tax?
• 2008/07/29: QJ: The politics of pollution - Bold carbon tax proposal deserves praise, but political posturing could be its demise
• 2008/07/29: CanWest: Campbell, Dion all hot air on carbon taxes - Leaders playing politics over taxing pollution twice
• 2008/07/27: ChronicleHerald: Carbon tax plan boosts Dion's image, if not Liberal fortunes
• 2008/07/28: TStar: Dion, Tories spar over side deals - Conservatives demand Liberal leader clarify how his green plan will work with provinces

  The tricky & difficult question of the tar sands looms:

• 2008/08/01: AS: Oil Sands: Cost of Carbon
• 2008/08/01: Guardian(UK): Tar sands less damaging than coal, insists Shell - Profits from controversial source increase by 74% [to US$7.9bn]
• 2008/07/29: TreeHugger: Economic, Environmental Costs of Developing Tar Sands & Oil Shale "Unthinkable": WWF-UK
• 2008/07/29: Guardian(UK): Oil: Campaigners seek an end to production of CO2-intensive 'unconventional fuels' - Ethical investment groups try to halt tar sand projects
• 2008/07/28: Tyee: Law Suit a Tar Sands Stopper? Win for Alberta Cree band could clog up oil ambitions.
• 2008/07/28: DeSmogBlog: Canada Oilsand Lawsuit Launched

  Various agencies are still scuppering electric cars:

• 2008/07/26: CanWest: Transport Canada rules finish off electric car - Restrictions on use make it impractical to manufacture the vehicles at Vancouver-area plant
• 2008/07/28: DeSmogBlog: Who Killed the Electric Car - Again?
• 2008/07/29: CBC: Ont. wants further studies into electric car safety
• 2008/07/28: TStar: Province studying electric vehicles - No plans to allow low-speed cars before safety evaluation, Ontario minister says

  And then there is the miscellaneous Canadiana:

• 2008/07/31: CanWest: Climate change poses big threat to infrastructure, engineers warn
  Climate change is making Canadian roads, water supplies, sewer systems and government buildings more vulnerable to multibillion-dollar failures that place human health and safety at risk, warns a new national engineering assessment uncovered by the Vancouver Sun. The study, Adapting to Climate Change, is the first national engineering vulnerability assessment in Canada and comes on the heels of other government reports about the impacts of global warming and potential health implications.
• 2008/07/30: CBC: Nunavut to release climate-change adaptation plan [this fall]
• 2008/07/30: G&M: [BC] Government not trusted on carbon tax, poll says
• 2008/07/30: G&M: Green Subsidies - Ready to be railroaded again?
• 2008/07/28: ENN: Toronto Pays Citizens Hefty Grants For Projects Reducing Carbon Footprint

  The movement toward a long term ecologically viable economics is glacial:

• 2008/07/31: JQuiggin: Putting the creativity back in creative capitalism
• 2008/07/31: JQuiggin: Yet more on fiduciary obligation
• 2008/07/29: ClimateP: Krugman almost gets 'Economics of Catastrophe'
• 2008/07/29: GristMill: An economist's eye view - Outline for a move to a sustainable agriculture system
• 2008/07/29: OLJ: Perverse priorities
• 2008/07/22: EnvEcon: It's not over 'til the fat tail zings [_On Modeling and Interpreting the Economics of Catastrophic Climate Change_ by Marty Weitzman discussion]
• 2008/07/29: NYT:PK: Economics of catastrophe
• 2008/07/25: E&UE: Big Questions in Environmental Economics

  IPAT [Impact = Population * Affluence * Technology] raised its head once again:

• 2008/07/30: CCurrents: Common Sense And Survival by William H. Kötke
  The graph line of the global population explosion now goes upward almost vertically. The graph line of reserves of resources that fund that explosion falls precipitously. The point at which population crosses the food production line is the point of the beginning of the coming mass die-off of human population

As for how the media handles the science of climatology:

• 2008/07/29: CJR: "Whiplash" Climate Journalism -- Revkin investigates the media's tendency to ricochet from one global-warming study to another
• 2008/07/30: CJR: Scientists and Journalists: Too Cozy? Maybe it's time for a few more science critics
• 2008/07/31: OurFuture: Headlines You Won't See: Americans Support Clean Energy
• 2008/07/29: RealClimate: Journalistic whiplash
• 2008/07/29: DotEarth: Climate Research + Media Focus = Whiplash
• 2008/07/29: NYT: Climate Experts Tussle Over Details. Public Gets Whiplash.
• 2008/07/27: MTobis: How Loud to Squawk - The question of scientific neutrality vs scientific obligation to the greater good...

  Here is something for your library:

• 2008/07/27: DailyKos: [Book Review] _Dire Predictions: Understanding Global Warming_ by Michael E. Mann and Lee R. Kump

  And for your film & video enjoyment:

• 2008/07/30: AFTIC: Sizzle: A Global Warming Comedy

  Wrestling over a new energy infrastructure continues unabated:

• 2008/08/03: Yahoo: Kuwait official sees oil staying above $100: report
• 2008/08/03: PeakEnergy: The Search For Steam [Geothermal]
• 2008/08/03: PeakEnergy: The Latest Edition Of "World's Largest Onshore Wind Farm"
• 2008/08/02: ClimateP: Follow your money - Record Big oil profits from record oil prices and taxpayer subsidies -- where does all your money go?
• 2008/08/02: LJWorld: Wind won't solve energy crisis
• 2008/08/01: NGE: What we don't know actually can hurt us
• 2008/08/01: ClimateP: WSJ must be joking -- "Prius Problem: Could Using Less Oil Make Oil More Expensive?"
• 2008/08/01: ClimateP: Massachusetts mandates more renewable energy
• 2008/08/01: NEN: On new energy investing
• 2008/08/01: NEN: Europe wind: 25% by 2030
• 2008/08/01: PeakEnergy: Tidal Power In The Bay Of Fundy
• 2008/07/30: GristMill: Speaking of expiring support for renewables ... [solar hot water system]
• 2008/07/31: EnergyDaily: Untapped Ocean Currents Show Great Energy Potential
• 2008/07/31: TreeHugger: 2000 Megawatt Wyoming Wind Farm to Produce Power for Southern California, Las Vegas, Arizona
• 2008/07/31: DeSmogBlog: US oil company profit higher than the GDP of Canada
• 2008/07/31: DeSmogBlog: Exxon's Earnings Track Global Temperatures
• 2008/07/31: OilDrum: 10 Fundamental Principles of Net Energy Analysis
• 2008/07/31: NEN: South Dakota gets in the wind game in a humongous way!
• 2008/07/31: FPB: Is T. Boone Pickens full of it?
• 2008/07/31: ThinkP: ABC: Exxon spends 1 percent of profits on alternative energy
• 2008/07/31: IHT: Shell reports 33% rise in profit [to US$11.56 billion]
• 2008/07/31: AP: Exxon Mobil 2Q profit sets US record [$11.68 billion], shares fall
• 2008/07/30: AngryBear: Oil: A New Pricing Mechanism and the Coming Crunch [Clingendael]
• 2008/07/30: PeakEnergy: Smart Meters In New Zealand
• 2008/07/30: DutchNews: Dutch report [by Clingendael institute for international relations] warns of oil crisis in 2010
• 2008/07/28: McClatchyDC: Using West's oil shale would pump up greenhouse gases
• 2008/07/30: BBC: Oil prices have rebounded [to US$126.44 a barrel] after the US said petrol stockpiles had fallen unexpectedly last week
• 2008/07/29: EconBrowser: Oil prices and demand - More evidence of significant changes in the behavior of American consumers.
  [...] U.S. gasoline demand appeared to be quite unresponsive to price during 2001-2006. My interpretation is that the primary reason we ignored $3.00 gasoline is because we could afford to.
• 2008/07/30: BBC: New turbine to harness wave power
  A turbine designed to be the forerunner of the UK's first commercial wave power station has been officially switched on in Argyll and Bute. The device on Islay was set in motion by Scottish Energy Minister and local MSP Jim Mather. Inverness-based Wavegen plans to install 40 of the turbines off Siader on Lewis in the Western Isles. It would produce enough power for 1,500 homes and create a much-needed breakwater for boats.
• 2008/07/28: ClimateP: U.S. driving is down 10 billion miles in May and 30 billion year to date
• 2008/07/25: GBE: Low Impact Living: Are Geothermal Heat Pumps For You?
• 2008/07/29: TreeHugger: Big Surprise: The Cheaper the Power, the More We Use
• 2008/07/29: TreeHugger: Blowing Hot and Cold on Ground Source Heat Pumps
• 2008/07/29: ENN: Scraping the bottom of the oil barrel a significant new climate risk
• 2008/07/29: OilDrum: Forecasts on Saudi Arabia liquids production
• 2008/07/29: PeakEnergy: Tidal Power In Korea
• 2008/07/29: WSJ:EnvCap: T. Boone's Stake: Oil Tycoon's Got a Dog In California Energy Fight
• 2008/07/29: USAToday: Fuel prices force schools to weigh class, staff cuts
• 2008/07/29: DailyIndia: Energy costs spurring school spending cuts
• 2008/07/28: TFOT: Alaska Opts for Underground Energy [geothermal]
• 2008/07/27: PhysOrg: Kenya energy goes green to meet electricity boom
  Facing soaring electricity demands, Kenya is opting to go full steam ahead with geothermal energy to boost its production while preserving its rich environmental heritage
• 2008/07/27: OilDrum: Compressed Air Energy Storage - How viable is it?
• 2008/07/28: PeakEnergy: Why we never need to build another polluting power plant
• 2008/07/28: CalcRisk: Oil: Demand Destruction
• 2008/07/28: NEN: London array, world's biggest offshore wind, gets funding

  The possibility of a non-platinum fuel cell has been raised:

• 2008/08/02: TreeHugger: New Electrode Design Could Make "Much Cheaper" [non-platinum] Fuel Cell Possible
• 2008/08/01: NYT: 2 Reports Raise Hopes on Energy
• 2008/07/31: PhysOrg: Researchers analyze material with 'colossal ionic conductivity'
  A new material characterized at the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory could open a pathway toward more efficient fuel cells. The material, a super-lattice developed by researchers in Spain, improves ionic conductivity near room temperature by a factor of almost 100 million, representing "a colossal increase in ionic conduction properties," said Maria Varela of ORNL's Materials Science and Technology Division, who characterized the material's structure with senior researcher Stephen Pennycook.
• 2008/07/31: Eureka: Monash fuels the next generation of hybrid cars - with revolutionary fuel cell design

  An optimized hydrolysis story out of MIT got wide coverage:

• 2008/08/02: ClimateP: 'Major discovery' from MIT primed to unleash solar revolution -- NOT!
• 2008/07/31: FuturePundit: MIT Advance In Electric Power Storage
• 2008/08/01: OTF: Solar Hydrogen
• 2008/08/01: KSJT: NYTimes, Wires, Boston Globe: MIT researcher says he can make solar cells work at night, sort of.
• 2008/08/01: DotEarth: Hydrogen Hopes Revived?
• 2008/07/31: EconView: A Solar Power Revolution?
• 2008/07/31: NatureN: Catalyst heralded as solar-power breakthrough
• 2008/07/31: NewScientist: Electrode lights the way to artificial photosynthesis
• 2008/07/31: PhysOrg: Scientists mimic essence of plants' energy storage system
  In a revolutionary leap that could transform solar power from a marginal, boutique alternative into a mainstream energy source, MIT researchers have overcome a major barrier to large-scale solar power: storing energy for use when the sun doesn't shine.
• 2008/07/31: Eureka: 'Major discovery' from MIT primed to unleash solar revolution
• 2008/07/31: Eureka: Water refineries?
  New method extracts oxygen from water with minimal energy, potentially boosting efforts to develop solar as a 24-hour energy source Using a surprisingly simple, inexpensive technique, chemists have found a way to pull pure oxygen from water using relatively small amounts of electricity, common chemicals and a room-temperature glass of water.

Meanwhile among the solar aficionados:

• 2008/08/03: PeakEnergy: Applied Solar Materials
• 2008/07/31: NewScientist: Solar-cell material can soak up more Sun
• 2008/07/31: PhysOrg: Researchers Produce Best-Yet Dye-Based Solar Cells [11% efficiency]
• 2008/07/31: NEN: Utilities vs. installers in the solar world?
• 2008/07/31: PeakEnergy: Utah's Solar Fired Furnace
• 2008/07/30: NatureCF: Thin films: ready for their close-up?
  New types of solar cell that can be mass-produced cheaply, and integrated into building materials, are popular with venture capitalists and market analysts. But scientists are less gung ho...
• 2008/07/30: TreeHugger: One Small Step for Concentrator Photovoltaics, One Bigger Step for SolFocus
• 2008/07/30: NEN: Another solar power plant for Arizona
• 2008/07/28: ClimateP: Solar baseload update

  The arithmetic of coal carbon is striking home:

• 2008/08/02: TreeHugger: New Mexico (And Some Navaho) Object To 1,500-megawatt Coal-Fired Power Plant
• 2008/08/01: Guardian(UK): A dangerous untruth
  E.ON's claims for coal are deluded. We can't afford the huge environmental cost of burning this fuel
• 2008/07/30: JFleck: Coal-to-liquids
• 2008/07/30: PeakEnergy: Coal to liquids in the US
• 2008/07/28: WSJ:EnvCap: Coal Juice: High Energy Prices Prompt First U.S. Coal-to-Liquids Plant

  Biofuel bickering abounds:

• 2008/07/30: PhysOrg: Miscanthus can meet US biofuels goal using less land than corn or switchgrass
• 2008/07/30: GristMill: Sustainable biotech crops -- solution or oxymoron? Industry report touts potential for biotech crops to combat climate change
• 2008/07/30: DailyIndia: Ethanol yield from grass, yard waste hiked
• 2008/07/30: UIUC: Miscanthus can meet U.S. biofuels goal using less land than corn or switchgrass
• 2008/07/28: BBC: Brazil defends biofuel's merits

  The nuclear energy controversy continues:

• 2008/08/01: ClimateP: Yes, even low levels of radiation cause harm -- and coal plants are worse than nuclear plants
• 2008/07/25: FreeP: The Nuclear Regulatory Commission says the reactor revival is NOT ready for prime time
• 2008/07/31: ClimateP: The Nukes of Hazard
• 2008/07/29: OLJ: The Nuclear Regulatory Commission says the reactor revival is not ready for prime time
  A devastating blow to the much-hyped revival of atomic power has been delivered by an unlikely source -- the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. The NRC says the "standardized" designs on which the entire premise of returning nuclear power to center stage is based have massive holes in them, and may not be ready for approval for years to come.
• 2008/07/28: NBF: Deep burn and seriously scaling nuclear power to 2100 and beyond

  Yes we have a peak oil sighting:

• 2008/08/01: EnergyBulletin: Growing pains -- climate and peak oil
  It is entirely possible -- some would say likely -- that the United States, China, the EU, India, et. al. will lack the spirit of cooperation and political will necessary to reduce CO2 emissions to combat global warming.
• 2008/07/31: Forbes:Reuters: POLL-Non-OPEC oil outlook sluggish, may be near its peak
• 2008/07/30: OilDrum: Mainstream Dutch analysts [Clingendael] foresee oil supply constrained world
• 2008/07/29: EnergyBulletin: What are the real implications of peak oil in a culture where common sense has been suppressed by consumerism?
• 2008/07/29: GristMill: What can we do about oil? Short, medium, and long-term solutions to phase out oil
• 2008/07/30: PeakEnergy: Peak Oil In The Washington Post

  And then there is the matter of efficiency & conservation:

• 2008/07/31: TreeHugger: Anchorage, Alaska, to Install 16,000 LED Streetlights. Will Save $360,000 per Year
• 2008/07/31: AutoBG: Hands on: Spain to promote 31 measures to save energy and makes cars an important part of them
• 2008/07/30: PeakEnergy: LEDs - The Next Generation Of Lighting
• 2008/07/29: GristMill: Efficiency first! Part two - The urgency to begin CO2 reduction via efficiency
• 2008/07/27: ClimateP: Efficiency, Part 3: The only cheap power left
• 2008/07/28: GristMill: Efficiency first! Part one - There's only one way to get big near-term carbon reductions

  Automakers & lawyers, engineers & activists argue over the future of the car:

• 2008/08/02: AlterNet: Electric Cars Are the Key to Energy Independence
• 2008/08/01: Reuters: Electric cars -- It's the economy, stupid!
• 2008/08/02: AFP: US auto sales slam on brakes in July
• 2008/08/01: Yahoo: U.S. July auto sales spiral to 16-year low
• 2008/08/01: BBerg: GM Has $15.5 Billion Loss on U.S. Sales Drop, Leases
• 2008/08/01: CalcRisk: GM: $15.5 Billion Loss
• 2008/07/30: GristMill: Japanese automakers plugged-in - Toyota at work on commercial plug-in hybrids, Mitsubishi to offer electric car
• 2008/07/30: AutoBG: EEStor makes production milestone announcement of sorts
• 2008/07/29: TreeHugger: Tata Promises An Electric Car (Not As Cheap As The Nano) In 12 Months...But Will It Beat Germany's BG?
• 2008/07/29: TreeHugger: Lithium Iron Phosphate Breakthrough: Better Batteries for Hybrids and Electric Cars
• 2008/07/29: PeakEnergy: Mitsubishi Goes Electric in Australia - 'i MiEV' on sale in 2009
• 2008/07/28: AutoBG: First keys delivered to customer for [hydrogen fuel cell-powered] Honda FCX Clarity

  The reaction of business to climate change will be critical:

• 2008/07/30: ClimateP: Strangest global warming ad -- from Grape Nuts!
• 2008/07/29: ENN: U.S. should find way to price carbon emissions, say execs

  While in the greenwashing chronicles:

• 2008/08/01: PRWatch: Return of the "American Energy Alliance"
• 2008/07/30: DeSmogBlog: Coal Industry's ACCCE mixes apples (coal) with oranges (wind)
• 2008/07/29: McClatchyDC: Florida shuts down utility's 'green' program as a fraud
  State regulators Tuesday terminated a Florida Power & Light voluntary green energy program because three-fourths of the money customers were donating went to marketing and administrative costs, not to the purchase of energy from renewable sources.

The carbon lobby are up to the usual:

• 2008/08/02: BSD: Clearing up some confusion over Hansen 1988
• 2008/08/03: MGS: Unreliability at Icecap.us
• 2008/08/01: IJI: The "Sue Us" Petition is up
• 2008/08/03: Deltoid: "Sue Us" petition ready to sign
• 2008/08/02: JEB: Another good month for Corbyn
• 2008/07/28: TWTB: Yes, Roy Spencer IS a creationist
• 2008/08/01: Deltoid: Roy Spencer and climate sensitivity
• 2008/08/02: GWWatch: There are no "smoke-free areas" on the planet - Climate denial may turn out to be the world's most deadly PR campaign
• 2008/08/02: SMH: The climate change smokescreen
  Global warming scepticism is being manipulated by tactics reminiscient of an earlier campaign of denial, writes David McKnight. When the tobacco industry was feeling the heat from scientists who showed smoking caused cancer, it took decisive action, engaging in a decades-long public relations campaign to undermine the medical research and discredit the scientists. The aim was not to prove tobacco harmless but to cast doubt on the science. In the space provided by doubt, billions of dollars in sales could continue. Delay and doubt were crucial products of its PR campaign. In May, the multibillion-dollar oil giant Exxon Mobil acknowledged it had been doing something similar.
• 2008/08/02: SMH: Despite sceptics' noise, scientific consensus is growing
• 2008/08/02: SMH: Common [climate skeptic] myths
• 2008/08/01: Tamino: Spencer's Folly 3
• 2008/08/01: Deltoid: McIntyre has another go at Hansen's 1988 paper
• 2008/08/01: BCLSB: The Highest Compliment A Canadian AGW Denier Can Receive
• 2008/08/01: DeSmogBlog: ClimateAudit Endorses 1988 Climate Change Projections
• 2008/07/31: Deltoid: "Sue us" petition
• 2008/07/30: Tamino: Spencer's Folly 2
• 2008/07/29: ERabett: You too could be Richard Courtney, Expert Peer Reviewer
• 2008/07/29: Deltoid: The Australian's War on Science XVI - "It's only a flesh wound!"
• 2008/07/29: JEB: Well well - Even The Now Show has got in on the act, laughing at OFCOM's spineless judgement...
• 2008/07/29: Deltoid: David Evans and that "missing" signature
• 2008/07/29: QuarkSoup: David Evans on GHGs
• 2008/07/28: DeSmogBlog: David Bellamy's glacier growing myth finally put to rest
• 2008/07/28: ClimateP: Deniers delight -- a negative climate feedback! [wildfire smoke]
• 2008/07/28: Tamino: Spencer's Folly
• 2008/07/28: Deltoid: Andrew Bolt falls into Steve McIntyre's error trap
• 2008/07/27: Deltoid: Monckton claims UCSD told Oreskes to apologize
• 2008/07/27: TP:WonkRoom: Americans For The Prosperity Of Koch Industries
• 2008/07/28: ScruffyDan: Jim Peden, Atmospheric Physicist makes some very dubious claims

  Alas the APS story grinds on:

• 2008/08/02: ERabett: The Monckton's Tale, a chronology
• 2008/07/31: ERabett: The biter bit
• 2008/07/31: Deltoid: Monckton flunks Latin
• 2008/07/30: Atmoz: Monckton, Schmidt, and McIntyre (2008)
• 2008/07/29: ERabett: Lord Voldemort bleats
• 2008/07/30: DeSmogBlog: Monckton Goes Postal Over RealScience Riposte

  Then there was the usual news and commentary:

• 2008/08/03: CanWest: High gas prices are good news for the planet
• 2008/08/01: ClimateP: Can This Planet Be Saved? Not if conservatives rule
• 2008/08/01: MTobis: Reflections on Feynman per J. Case
• 2008/07/30: DeSmogBlog: Is CORE fighting for the poor or Big Oil?
• 2008/07/30: DeSmogBlog: CORE's War on the Poor and the Environment
• 2008/07/30: JFleck: Climate Change and Forecast Skill
• 2008/07/30: CCurrents: Humanity At crossroads: Attitudes And Climate Change
• 2008/07/29: NatureCF: Climate war games
• 2008/07/29: ClimateP: There Will Be Tweets: ExxonMobil is on Twitter
• 2008/07/29: AFTIC: Sceptic Guide now on Science Blogs
• 2008/07/29: Eureka: Carnegie Mellon researcher says China's export trade impacts climate
• 2008/07/28: NatureTGB: 'Climate change Dungeons and Dragons'
• 2008/07/28: NatureBlogs: Climate War Game: The world's largest polluters meet...
• 2008/07/28: SeattlePI: Want to calculate a carbon footprint? Good luck, because numbers can vary widely

  And here are a couple of sites you may find interesting and/or useful:

• TWTB: The Way Things Break
• NASA:JPL: Global Climate Change: NASA's Eyes on the Earth
• MGS: More [Robert] Grumbine Science
• MMAB Sea Ice Analysis Page
• BariumTitanate - EEStor Ultracapacitors: Battery Revolution begins with Electric Cars
• AFTIC: How to Talk to a Climate Sceptic
• GBE: Green Building Elements
• TFOT: The Future Of Things
• E&UE: Environmental and Urban Economics
• Kyoto USA
• CTW: Carbon Trade Watch
• Plausible Futures
• PNT: Post-Normal Times
• NODC: Publication summary of the NODC Ocean Climate Laboratory, 1990-2005
• Millennium Ecosystem Assessment
• World Radiation Centre
• NGDC.NOAA: Solar Irradiance Data
• Exxpose Exxon
• SciAmP: SciAm Perspectives
• IPCC: National Greenhouse Gas Inventories Programme
• UNFCCC: Greenhouse Gas Inventory Database

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.

P.S. Recent postings can be found in the week archive and the ancient postings can be accessed here, which should open to this.

Appell's Theorem: Despite the worst threats to the planet, earthlings will burn whatever it is that keeps them warm.

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