A Few Things Ill Considered

Ho Ho Ho! Have a Swinging Solstice & a Happy Humbug!

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• Top Stories, European Automakers & GHG Regulation, US EPA & the California Waiver
• Misc Arctic, Year-end Wraps, Oceanic Methane, US$10/bushel Wheat, Permafrost, Bali, AGU
• Hurricanes, GHGs, Temperatures, Glaciers, Sea Levels, ENSO, Satellites
• Impacts, Forests, Corals, Wacky Weather, Wildfires, Floods & Droughts, Food vs. Biofuel, Grain Production
• Mitigation, Transportation, Buildings, Sequestration, Geoengineering
• Journals, Misc. Science
• Kyoto, COP-15, Carbon Trade, Carbon Tax
• Politics, International, America, Britain, Europe, Australia, China, Canada
• Ecological Economics, IPAT, Apocalypso, Media, Books
• Energy, Solar, Coal, FutureGen, Biofuel, Nukes, Peak Oil, Cars, Business, Greenwashing, Insurance
• Carbon Lobby, The Usual, Useful Links
• Shameless Self Promotion, .sig

Laugh, damnit it's funny!

• 2007/12/17: Oikos: (cartoon - Moir) Bali wrap up
• 2007/12/21: The Onion: Bush Acknowledges Existence Of Carbon Dioxide
• 2007/12/19: FergusB: Startling new theory blows AGW away

  The week started with a Bali hangover, but the big stories were North American and European auto regulations:

• 2007/12/20: KSJT: Automotive exhaust ink everywhere: Germany tussles with EU, US EPA nixes California's CO2 rule
• 2007/12/20: ABC(Au): Car makers forced to boost fuel efficiency
  The international car industry seems to be rattled by moves in the United States and Europe to force manufacturers to make cars more fuel-efficient. Governments overseas see the change as an essential part of the effort to cut greenhouse gas emissions. But in Australia there are no compulsory pollution standards for manufacturers. Australia's key scientific expert on emissions in the transport sector is warning that this will have to change.

First Europe:

• 2007/12/22: AutoBG: Peugeot to new EU CO2regulations: Bring it on!
• 2007/12/21: EnvFin: EU Commission tables car emissions plans
• 2007/12/20: DerSpiegel: Automakers Cry Foul over New CO2 Rules
• 2007/12/19: EUPolitix: EU clashes over car emission targets
• 2007/12/21: EUPolitix: EU ministers retreat on airline emission plans
• 2007/12/19: EUO: EU unveils controversial plans to make cars greener
• 2007/12/20: EUO: Commission in turmoil over car emission proposals
• 2007/12/20: NewScientist: EU to limit car emissions from 2012
• 2007/12/20: OilChange: Car Industry to Fight EU CO2 Plans
• 2007/12/20: AutoBG: Volkswagen not too happy about proposed EU CO2 rules
• 2007/12/20: AutoBG: European automakers are a bunch of whiners over CO2 rules
• 2007/12/20: NYT: Europe Proposes Binding Limits on Auto Emissions
• 2007/12/20: Guardian(UK): Carmakers angry over European emissions curbs
  Germany leads opposition to heavy CO2 fines - 'Strange' rules judge vehicles by weight
• 2007/12/19: Guardian(UK): EU unveils plans to cut car emissions
• 2007/12/19: ABC(Au): Europe to enforce car emission standards
• 2007/12/19: AutoBG: The EU enforces CO2 limits and will fine polluting carmakers
• 2007/12/19: BBC: German ire at EU fine on car CO2
  German Chancellor Angela Merkel has opposed European Union (EU) plans to cut pollution from new cars, saying it was "not economically favourable". She said the move would burden Germany and its carmakers disproportionately. Under the EU proposals, carmakers that fail to meet carbon dioxide emission limits by 2012 will face fines. Penalties will start in 2012 at 20 euros (£14.35; $28.80) per gramme of CO2 over a target level, and will grow to 95 euros in 2015.
• 2007/12/19: AFP: EU fuels controversy with fine proposals for carmakers
• 2007/12/18: EUO: Brussels faces criticism over car emissions plan [from both industry and green groups]
• 2007/12/17: ENN: EU eyes phasing in CO2 fines for carmakers: source
• 2007/12/17: Guardian(UK): EU emissions row may stall green campaign - Carmakers go to war over commission's proposals

  In the USA, the Bush EPA finally released their decision on California's waiver request:

• 2007/12/20: TruthOut: EPA Says 17 States Can't Set Emission Rules for Cars
• 2007/12/21: NYT: Arrogance and Warming
  The Bush administration's decision to deny California permission to regulate and reduce global warming emissions from cars and trucks is an indefensible act of executive arrogance that can only be explained as the product of ideological blindness and as a political payoff to the automobile industry. The decision, announced Wednesday by Stephen Johnson, the administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, overrode the advice of his legal and technical staffs, misconstrued the law and defied both Congress and the federal courts. It also stuck a thumb in the eyes of 17 other state governors who have grown impatient with the federal government's failure to regulate greenhouse gas emissions and wanted to move aggressively on their own.
• 2007/12/22: AutoBG: Pelosi to EPA head on CA waiver denial: "I vigorously disagree with your rationale," "strongly support the inquiry"
• 2007/12/20: CBS: Congress To Probe Denial Of Emissions Law
  Bush Stands Behind EPA On Denying California's Bid To Cut Vehicles' Emissions; Schwarzenegger Vows To Sue
• 2007/12/21: ClimateP: EPA Says No: Dems Get Rolled Again
• 2007/12/21: TruthOut: EPA Chief Is Said to Have Ignored Staff
• 2007/12/21: TruthOut: Schwarzenegger: California Will Sue Federal Government
• 2007/12/21: GristMill: Johnson's staff - EPA staff say they were excluded from waiver decision; suspect Cheney's involvement
• 2007/12/20: HillHeat: "EPA Likely to Lose Suit"
• 2007/12/21: WarmingLaw: The Waiver Denial and Chevron Deference
• 2007/12/21: WarmingLaw: It Could Get Worse - Johnson might bury the agency's own greenhouse gas tailpipe emissions standards
• 2007/12/21: WarmingLaw: "An overwhelming voice from the states"
• 2007/12/20: ENN: California to sue U.S. for denying emissions waiver
• 2007/12/21: SF Gate: EPA emission rule - whither states' rights?
• 2007/12/21: Oregonian: The Bush EPA vs. the states
• 2007/12/21: CSM: After EPA rejects California, emissions court battle looms - The agency's legal argument on greenhouse-gas emissions is weak, analysts say.
• 2007/12/21: SeattlePI: State will sue EPA over emission decision - Several others joining against federal agency
• 2007/12/20: RegisterGuard: EPA turns down plans for auto emissions
• 2007/12/21: SF Gate: In past, states were permitted to set own pollution rules
• 2007/12/21: NYT: Denial of State Emissions Plan Was Foreshadowed
• 2007/12/21: LA Times: EPA chief is said to have ignored staff
• 2007/12/21: SF Gate: Staff at EPA supported California's attempt to reduce car emission
• 2007/12/21: SacBee: States join emissions battle - Governors plan to back California's bid to reverse EPA on greenhouse law
• 2007/12/20: CNN: Schwarzenegger: California will sue federal government
  California governor upset about feds' rejection of state greenhouse gas plan - EPA denies state waiver that would have allowed it to cut emissions faster - Governor says California's plan is more effective and quicker than feds' plan - Schwarzenegger: Bush administration not taking global warming seriously
• 2007/12/21: ThinkP: Cheney Repeatedly Met With Auto Execs Before White House Killed California's Emissions Law
• 2007/12/20: MSNBC: GM: Emission law may hamper muscle cars - Detroit performance cars endangered by new, stricter regulations
• 2007/12/20: NatureN: Feds block state emission plan - Washington denies California's request to set its own greenhouse gas standards.
• 2007/12/20: Atmoz: EPA Refuses California's Stricter Limits on Emissions
• 2007/12/21: ABC(Au): California sues Bush over pollution law rejection
• 2007/12/19: DotEarth: E.P.A. to States: CO2 Is Not Your Problem
• 2007/12/20: PhysOrg: Bush Backs EPA's Decision on Calif. Plan
• 2007/12/19: GristMill: More on EPA's waiver decision
• 2007/12/20: HillHeat: Waxman Opens Investigation into EPA Decision
• 2007/12/20: HillHeat: Further California Waiver Denial Responses
• 2007/12/20: HillHeat: California Reponses to California Waiver Denial
  "Governor Schwarzenegger and I are preparing to sue at the earliest possible moment." - Calif. Attorney General Jerry Brown (D)
• 2007/12/20: HillHeat: EPA Admin Denies California Waiver
• 2007/12/20: WarmingLaw: "EPA Likely to Lose Suit" [So said EPA, or at least EPA's legal staff...]
• 2007/12/20: WarmingLaw: EPA Can't Even Cheat Properly
• 2007/12/20: WarmingLaw: Second, Let's Kill all the Lawyers
• 2007/12/20: WarmingLaw: Shame, Mr. President
  ...EPA legal staff advised Johnson that the waiver denial will be challenged in court, and California will likely prevail because the waiver denial is legally indefensible and contraveves the plain requirements of the Act.
• 2007/12/19: WarmingLaw: When you change the question, you change the answer
• 2007/12/19: WarmingLaw: EPA Denies California Waiver request: What Next?
• 2007/12/20: CSW: EPA decision controlled by White House CEQ in denial of California CO2 rules?
• 2007/12/20: C411: EPA Delivers Lump of Coal to America for Holidays
• 2007/12/20: ENN: EPA Denies States the Right to Fight Global Warming
• 2007/12/19: USAToday: EPA rejects states' greenhouse-gas limits on cars
• 2007/12/20: OilChange: Eight hours and 180 degrees [L-W then Cal-EPA]
• 2007/12/19: AutoBG: EPA says no to California greenhouse gas rules waiver
• 2007/12/20: WaPo: EPA Chief Denies Calif. Limit on Auto Emissions - Rules Would Target Greenhouse Gases
• 2007/12/20: Oregonian: EPA rejects state rules for clean-burning cars - Oregon, 12 other states want to tighten limits on greenhouse gas emissions
• 2007/12/20: SeattlePI: EPA blocks states' efforts on emissions - Agency denies permission to go beyond federal standards
• 2007/12/20: SF Gate: EPA blocks California bid to limit greenhouse gases from cars
• 2007/12/19: ThinkP: EPA denies California waiver on tailpipe emissions
• 2007/12/20: ScruffyDan: Bush administration blocks California from climate change action
• 2007/12/19: TruthOut: California EPA Waiver Could Be Casualty of Politics, Boxer Charges
• 2007/12/19: SacBee: Democrats warn of denial by EPA

  The Arctic still gets some ink:

• 2007/12/22: Wunderground: Next century's most important place in the world--Greenland?
• 2007/12/19: OilChange: Iceland Opens Up New Arctic Oil Front
• 2007/12/19: Guardian(UK): Bare necessities - The polar bear's strength and courage, rather than its vulnerability...
• 2007/12/17: NatureTGB: After a year in the ice, science ship breaks free
• 2007/12/16: BBC: Arctic sets records on all fronts

  Those year-end wrap-up stories have started:

• 2007/12/20: C411: Global Warming Science 2007: Ten Top Stories
• 2007/12/19: Yahoo: Top climate scientist [Pachauri] named "newsmaker of 2007" by Nature journal
• 2007/12/20: ClimateP: Climate Progress Person of the Year
• 2007/12/19: PhysOrg: Top climate scientist [IPCC head, Rajendra Pachauri] named 'newsmaker of 2007' by Nature journal

  Regarding methane leaks in the ocean:

• 2007/12/23: TreeHugger: Methane Leaks from the Ocean Floor: Not Such a Big Deal
• 2007/12/20: UCSB: Scientists Find Good News About Methane Bubbling Up From the Ocean Floor Near Santa Barbara

  Wheat broke through the US$10 a bushel barrier:

• 2007/12/17: BBC: Wheat breaks through $10 a bushel - US wheat futures have risen more than 3%, passing the $10-a-bushel mark for the first time.

  The Damoclean sword of Siberian permafrost has been mentioned:

• 2007/12/17: Times(UK): Looming threat to the world climate - The warming of the west Siberian bog threatens our future

  Late comment on Bali:

• 2007/12/20: CarbonFin: Carbon markets give cautious welcome to Bali deal
• 2007/12/17: People's Daily: [Bali] Roadmap with milestone significance
• 2007/12/17: WSWS: Bali climate conference ends in farce as US vetoes emission targets
• 2007/12/18: EUPolitix: EU parliament gives guarded welcome to Bali 'roadmap'
• 2007/12/20: TruthOut: On Energy and Climate: Lead or Get Out of the Way
• 2007/12/20: Straight: Bali summit holds out hope for a post-Bush world by Gwynne Dyer
• 2007/12/20: NatureCF: BBC interview on Second Life climate talks
• 2007/12/20: ClimateP: Disentangling the confusion of Bali
• 2007/12/20: CTB: Carbon Roundup: Bali, Skeptics, and Corn
• 2007/12/18: CBC: Beyond Kyoto, where does the road from Bali lead[?]
• 2007/12/19: ClimateP: CAP's Kit Batten on The Lessons of Bali
• 2007/12/18: DeSmogBlog: Gwynne Dyer: Dab Those Bali Tears
• 2007/12/18: DeSmogBlog: Bali Blog Blather Malkin-Style
• 2007/12/17: DeSmogBlog: China-U.S. rift casts long shadow after Bali
• 2007/12/19: OilChange: Friedman on Bali: "What Was That All About?"
• 2007/12/18: OilChange: The Day After...
• 2007/12/18: NatureN: Climate deal agreed in Bali showdown
• 2007/12/18: NatureCF: Was the science sidelined in Bali?
• 2007/12/18: ClimateP: Testy, testy, 1, 2, 3 [Bali]
• 2007/12/18: TruthOut: The Bali meeting, and the lessons learned
• 2007/12/19: ABC(Au): Bali emissions cuts a tough job, expert warns
• 2007/12/18: GristMill: Belated Bali blogging - An incomplete roundup of reactions and commentary to the Bali climate meetings
• 2007/12/18: ERabett: What really happened in Bali?
• 2007/12/18: OilChange: Bali and the Bigotry of Low Expectations
• 2007/12/18: CanWest: 'Road map' to climate change is a bit of a stretch
  Calling the agreement reached this weekend at the United Nations Climate Change Conference a "road map" was a bit of a stretch. Conference organizers would have been more accurate to describe it as a rough sketch of the landscape ahead, with no clear indication of where the route to an international consensus on cutting greenhouse gas emissions truly lies. Still, there is little point in decrying the vagueness of the wording of what is being called the Bali Road Map because what it reflects is the fact that the world is still deeply divided about the best way to proceed.
• 2007/12/18: CCurrents: The Bali Deal Is Worse Than Kyoto
• 2007/12/18: CCurrents: Bali Exposes US, Canada And Australian Climate Racism, Climate Terrorism, Climate Criminals And Climate Genocide
• 2007/12/17: CCurrents: Bali Climate Conference Ends In Farce
• 2007/12/19: Guardian(UK): Back from the brink - Governments finally agreed in Bali to work together...
• 2007/12/17: WSWS: Bali climate conference ends in farce as US vetoes emission targets
• 2007/12/17: IPSNews: Climate Change: Measuring Bali by a Scientific Yardstick - A tiny step...
• 2007/12/17: NatureCF: Was the science sidelined in Bali?
• 2007/12/17: KSJT: Lots of ink and perplexion: Climate happens. But what, exactly, happened at Bali?
• 2007/12/16: ClimateP: Bush team, humiliated by Papua New Guinea (!), blinks in Bali, sort of
• 2007/12/17: TruthOut: US Pours Cold Water on Bali Optimism
• 2007/12/17: TruthOut: We've Been Suckered Again by the US. So Far the Bali Deal Is Worse Than Kyoto
• 2007/12/17: ABC(Au): US conservatives play down Bali talks
• 2007/12/17: GristMill: Where do we go from here? The Bali meeting, and the lessons learned
• 2007/12/17: WarmingLaw: The Bali Footnote and the Waiver: The World is Watching
• 2007/12/16: MTobis: Non-failure in Bali
• 2007/12/17: InterSection:CCM: Good Golly from Bali
• 2007/12/17: QuarkSoup: NYT on Bali - The New York Times editorial board agrees that the Bali climate conference ended in "disappointment."
• 2007/12/16: QuarkSoup: On Bali - Andrew Light, environmental ethicist...
• 2007/12/17: ENN: Kicking the CO2 Habit at Climate Convention Meet
• 2007/12/16: Yahoo: Simple numbers to shape climate talks
  Behind the millions of words at the Bali climate conference, in documents, speeches and slick brochures, lay a set of simple numbers: 2 and 445 and "25 to 40." That's 2 degrees Celsius, 445 parts per million of carbon dioxide, and a 25-to-40-percent reduction in global-warming gases --- a formula, some say, to save the planet from climate change's severest consequences.
• 2007/12/17: NEN: Bali: That's a wrap
• 2007/12/17: CSM: What Bush really won in Bali
  For the first time, all nations said they will consider ways to reduce global warming -- as Bush sought. Is it a date that will live in infamy? On Dec. 14, at the climate-change talks in Bali, poor and rich nations agreed -- for the first time -- to each consider ways to reduce greenhouse gases. Oddly, though, this historic feat was a win for the Bush White House. The Bali "action plan," reached Saturday by nearly 190 countries, sets the stage for negotiating a new, binding treaty that may be humanity's last opportunity to prevent the worst scenarios predicted in global warming.
• 2007/12/17: CSM: Bali climate deal marks a geopolitical shift
  Developing countries flexed their muscles in unprecedented ways at the climate talks, suggesting the old north-south power equation is changing.
• 2007/12/16: CanWest: Bali plan not enough, experts say
  Despite accepting a "Bali road map" toward tackling climate change, Canada has years of work to do before it can become a greener nation, experts warn. But it could learn a few lessons from B.C., which is on the verge of cutting greenhouse gas emissions and is rallying other provinces and states to get on board for other green schemes.
• 2007/12/16: DailyMail: Floods of tears as climate change 'hard man' breaks down at summit
  He is known as the "hard man" of climate-change negotiation. But after 12 exhausting days of trying to reach a worldwide agreement on reducing greenhouse gas emissions, it was suddenly all too much for Yvo de Boer. As the 200-nation Bali conference wrangled over a minor procedural matter, the Dutch diplomat in charge of the talks burst into tears and had to be led away by colleagues
• 2007/12/17: SMH: A rough and risky plot for salvation
• 2007/12/17: SMH: Australia comes in from the cold to rescue climate deal
• 2007/12/17: SMH: A swift daylight mugging in steamy Bali
• 2007/12/17: Guardian(UK): US pours cold water on Bali optimism - White House wants more from India and China
• 2007/12/17: Guardian(UK): We've been suckered again by the US. So far the Bali deal is worse than Kyoto

  Late comment on the AGU meeting:

• 2007/12/23: JEB: AGU: the science
• 2007/12/18: JEB: The AGU report

  Quiet rules in the hurricane wars:

• 2007/12/21: UN: UN agencies mobilize aid for Dominican flood victims
• 2007/12/20: Intersection:CCM: The Global Hurricane Year
• 2007/12/17: InterSection:SRK: Revisiting Bangladesh: Out of Devastation, Hope
• 2007/12/17: ENN: Saharan Dust Has Chilling Effect on North Atlantic

  Meanwhile GHGs are still going up:

• 2007/12/20: NYT:PK: Carbon dioxide charting

  As for the temperature record:

• 2007/12/18: Atmoz: Compare and Contrast: NCEP, GISS Temperatures

  While on the ENSO front:

• 2007/12/22: JFleck: Don't Count La Nina Out Just Yet
• 2007/12/21 TerraDaily: El Nino Affected By Global Warming
• 2007/12/20: PhysOrg: El Nino affected by global warming
• 2007/12/20: Eureka: El Niño affected by global warming
• 2007/12/17: JFleck: El Nino and the Economy
• 2007/12/17: QuarkSoup: El Nino: no impact on the economy at large.

  Glaciers are melting:

• 2007/12/21 TerraDaily: Global warming causing China's glaciers to melt quickly: survey
• 2007/12/21: Yahoo: Global warming causing China's glaciers to melt quickly: survey
• 2007/12/21: PhysOrg: Global warming causing China's glaciers to melt quickly: survey
• 2007/12/18: DeSmogBlog: Climate Change is Making Tibet Sweat

  Sea levels are rising:

• 2007/12/17: BBC: Rising seas 'to beat predictions'
  The world's sea levels could rise twice as high this century as UN climate scientists have previously predicted, according to a study.

Meanwhile in near earth orbit:

• 2007/12/17: NASA: NASA Climate Change 'Peacemakers' Aided Nobel Effort
• 2007/12/17: Eureka: ASU researchers use NASA satellites to improve pollution modeling

  More GW impacts are being seen:

• 2007/12/20: SciDaily: Evolution Of Crop Grasses Linked To Greenhouse Gases
• 2007/12/20: Eureka: A link between greenhouse gases and the evolution of C4 grasses
• 2007/12/17: WaPo: As Temperatures Rise, Health Could Decline
• 2007/12/19: ABC(Au): NSW marine life 'faces highest climate change risk'
• 2007/12/17: CCurrents: Oceans' Growing Acidity Alarms Scientists
• 2007/12/17: TruthOut: Oceans' Growing Acidity Alarms Scientists
• 2007/12/17: C411: Virus from Africa Spreading in a Warmer Italy
• 2007/12/17: ENN: Penguins in peril as climate warms
• 2007/12/17: Yahoo: Global warming may soon see Santa don shorts
• 2007/12/17: MSNBC: 3,000 walruses die in stampedes tied to climate - Shortage of sea ice on Russian side of Arctic led to crowded conditions

  And then there are the world's forests:

• 2007/12/23: JFleck: Ethanol, Soy and Deforestation
• 2007/12/19: BBC: Deforestation hits nutrient cycle
  The benefits of cutting down tropical forests in order to convert the nutrient-rich soil into farmland are only short-lived, scientists suggest. US researchers studied deforested land in Mexico and found that soil levels of phosphorus, a key nutrient for plants, fell by 44% after three growing cycles. In the long-term, the land risked becoming so degraded that it would be uneconomic to farm, they added.
• 2007/12/21: ABC(Au): Uganda's president [Yoweri Museveni] revives plan to axe rainforest [for a sugar cane plantation]
• 2007/12/17: UN: General Assembly adopts new agreement to protect world's forests
• 2007/12/19: ABC(Au): Good forestry can help fight climate change
• 2007/12/17: C411: Bali Roadmap Addresses Deforestation
• 2007/12/17: TreeHugger: Will Nations Of The World Save Tropical Forests For Their Carbon?
• 2007/12/17: ENN: World Bank launches forest defence scheme

  Corals are dying:

• 2007/12/16: FuturePundit: Carbon Dioxide In Oceans Threatens To Kill Coral Reefs
• 2007/12/13: Cornell: Major international study warns global warming is destroying coral reefs and calls for 'drastic actions'
• 2007/12/17: NatureCF: Coral reefs are on the ropes
• 2007/12/17: TerraDaily: Coral Reefs Unlikely To Survive In Acid Oceans

  Yes we have no wacky weather, except:

• 2007/12/17: TerraDaily: Snowstorm blankets eastern Canada, kills four

  As for wild fires:

• 2007/12/23: Xinhuanet: California's wildfire recovery assistance totals $155 mln

  Speaking of floods & droughts:

• 2007/12/21: TreeHugger: Global Warming Will Worsen West's Water Crisis in Coming Years
• 2007/12/20: PhysOrg: Drought threatens Indian artifacts
  North Carolina officials warned that taking advantage of the drought to look for American-Indian artifacts on lake bottoms is against the law.
• 2007/11/19: AllAfrica: IRIN: Zimbabwe: Country Braces for Another Round of Flooding
• 2007/12/18: TerraDaily: Drought hits over a million people in southern China: report

  The conflict between biofuel and food persists:

• 2007/12/18: NYT: Food and Fuel Compete for Land

  And the troubling matter of falling food production is not going away:

• 2007/12/22: CCurrents: Severe Food Shortages, Price Spikes Threaten World Population
• 2007/12/21: CCurrents: Is A World Wide Famine In The Works?
• 2007/12/22: WSWS: Severe food shortages, price spikes threaten world population
• 2007/12/20: Xinhuanet: Perfect storm of problems leaves many short of water nationwide
      Zhang [Jiatuan, with the office of the State Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters] said in the 1950s, China annually lost 4.35 billion kilograms of grain to drought, or 2.5 percent of the annual total yield. But during the 1990s, agricultural losses increased sharply, to an annual figure of 20.9 billion kg, or 4.4 percent of the total yield. Since 2000, the situation has worsened further, with annual losses of about 37 billion kg, or more than 7 percent of the total. This year, 39.93 million hectares of crops were affected by drought, with 349,267 ha yielding no grain at all, and 37.36 billion kg of grain were lost, according to Zhang.
• 2007/12/20: TCulture: Can Britain Feed Itself?
• 2007/12/20: CNN: Food prices soar in America - Higher food prices, led by milk, are hitting consumers where it hurts - in the stomach
• 2007/12/20: UN: UN-backed meeting on climate change's impact on agriculture wraps up
• 2007/12/19: Economist: Trouble brewing - A shortage of hops [& barley] threatens Christmas [beer]
• 2007/12/20: CPunch: Resisting the Globalization of Food - The Return of the Bread Riot
• 2007/12/19: EnergyBulletin: Agriculture: closing the circle
• 2007/12/17: UN: Growing number of poor countries plunged into food crises by soaring prices - UN
• 2007/12/18: CDreams: IHT: World Food Stocks Dwindling Rapidly, UN Warns
• 2007/12/17: OilDrum: Food Price Inflation
• 2007/12/17: BBC: The soaring cost of food is threatening millions of people in poor countries, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) has warned.
• 2007/12/17: BBC: Wheat breaks through $10 a bushel - US wheat futures have risen more than 3%, passing the $10-a-bushel mark for the first time.
• 2007/12/17: IHT: Global food supply is dwindling rapidly, UN agency warns
  In an "unforeseen and unprecedented" shift, the world food supply is dwindling rapidly and food prices are soaring to historic levels, the top food and agriculture official of the United Nations warned Monday. The changes created "a very serious risk that fewer people will be able to get food," particularly in the developing world, said Jacques Diouf, head of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization. The agency's food price index rose by more than 40 percent this year, compared with 9 percent the year before - a rate that was already unacceptable, he said. New figures show that the total cost of foodstuffs imported by the neediest countries rose 25 percent, to $107 million, in the last year. At the same time, reserves of cereals are severely depleted, FAO records show. World wheat stores declined 11 percent this year, to the lowest level since 1980. That corresponds to 12 weeks of the world's total consumption - much less than the average of 18 weeks consumption in storage during the period 2000-2005. There are only 8 weeks of corn left, down from 11 weeks in the earlier period.

Elsewhere on the mitigation front:

• 2007/12/23: Guardian(UK): Wilder parks can tame climate change threat
  Huge tracts of Britain's landscape should be reclaimed from farming and go back to nature to lock up carbon dioxide and counter global warming, says a government ecology expert
• 2007/12/21: ClimateP: LED Christmas lighting is cool - literally
• 2007/12/17: PhysOrg: Existing biotechnology could save energy and cut CO2 by 100 percent

  As for transportation & GHG production:

• 2007/12/18: GristMill: How much global warming results from air travel? The answer depends on whom you ask
• 2007/12/17: SMH: High winds harnessed to cut emissions on the high seas [kite ship]

  While in the endless quest for sustainable building codes:

• 2007/12/10: PlanetArk: Greener Buildings Easy, But Barriers Remain - Expert
  Building greener homes and office towers and installing energy-efficient lighting could slash planet-warming carbon emissions, UN and industry officials said at climate talks in Bali on Friday. They said the technology already existed to dramatically cut electricity use for very little cost, and yet it was puzzling that governments, industries and home-owners weren't cashing in on the energy-saving ideas.
• 2007/12/17: GristMill: Financing green building and retrofits - A public policy silver bullet that's available to fight global warming today

  As for carbon sequestration:

• 2007/12/23: TreeHugger: Carbon Sequestration Financials Look Weak
• 2007/12/19: QuarkSoup: Carbon Sequestration
• 2007/12/16: HeraldSun: Carbon's rocky road
• 2007/12/18: C411: Sequestering Carbon in Soil and Trees

  Large scale geo-engineering keeps popping up:

• 2007/12/20: FuturePundit: Scientists Consider Climate Engineering Option
• 2007/12/21: WorldChanging: Why Geo-Engineering is a Debate Whose Time Has Gone

  Meanwhile in the journals:

• 2007/12/21: ACPD: Morphology of the tropopause layer and lower stratosphere above a tropical cyclone: A case study on cyclone Davina (1999) by F. Cairo et al.
• 2007/12/20: ACPD: Fast airborne aerosol size and chemistry measurements with the high resolution aerosol mass spectrometer during the MILAGRO Campaign by P. F. DeCarlo et al.
• 2007/12/20: CP: Information on the early Holocene climate constrains the summer sea ice projections for the 21st century by H. Goosse et al.
• 2007/12/19: CP: Non-linear statistical downscaling of present and LGM precipitation and temperatures over Europe by M. Vrac et al.
• 2007/12/19: ACP: The effect of H2O adsorption on cloud drop activation of insoluble particles: a theoretical framework by R. Sorjamaa et al.
• 2007/12/19: ACP: Alignment of atmospheric mineral dust due to electric field by Z. Ulanowski et al.
• 2007/12/18: ACPD: Modeling the effect of plume-rise on the transport of carbon monoxide over Africa and its exports with NCAR CAM by H. Guan et al.
• 2007/12/17: ACPD: Validation and data characteristics of methane and nitrous oxide profiles observed by MIPAS and processed with Version 4.61 algorithm by S. Payan et al.
• 2007/12/17: ACPD: Organic composition of carbonaceous aerosols in an aged prescribed fire plume by B. Yan et al.
• 2007/12/18: PNAS: Environmental impacts of divorce by Eunice Yu & Jianguo Liu
• 2007/12/18: PNAS: Indicators of 21st century socioclimatic exposure by Noah S. Diffenbaugh et al.

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

• 2007/12/20: TerraDaily: Elevated Carbon Dioxide Changes Soil Microbe Mix Below Plants
• 2007/12/20: Eureka: Sulfur dioxide may have helped maintain a warm early Mars
• 2007/12/19: NatGeo: Ancient [PETM] Warming Caused Huge Spike in Temps, Study Says
• 2007/12/19: PhysOrg: Seabed microbe study leads to low-cost power, light for the poor
• 2007/12/19: JEB: A puzzle - what the colour changes represent, and what caused the climate change?
• 2007/12/19: BNL: Elevated Carbon Dioxide Changes Soil Microbe Mix Below Plants

  The Pielke fan club put in an appearance:

• 2007/12/18: Stoat: The case of the vanishing post
• 2007/12/16: Stoat: At last, the truth

  Meanwhile on the Kyoto front:

• 2007/12/19: SMH: Kyoto: it's not the end of the world
• 2007/12/16: Atmoz: 1990 CO2 Emissions: A Good Target?

  Now that Bali is done, we have a post-Bush COP-15 to look forward to...:

• COP15, Copenhagen Climate Change Conference 2009

  And on the carbon trading front:

• 2007/12/17: ENN: British climate official [Henry Derwent] to become IETA [International Emissions Trading Association] president
• 2007/12/17: NEN: Montana cattlemen play carbon market

  The idea of a carbon tax is still bouncing around:

• 2007/12/20: CanWest: Impose a carbon tax, churches urge [Carole Taylor, BC Finance] minister - Saving planet a sacred duty, Anglican and United officials say
• 2007/12/16: GMB: Should a carbon tax be border adjustable?

  Meanwhile on the international political front:

• 2007/12/21: Xinhuanet: International community mobilizing to fight climate change
• 2007/12/20: Yahoo: China: US must be positive on climate
• 2007/12/19: TruthOut: Climate Sanctions Sought Against US - German party launches effort
  Berlin - The Social Democrats are calling for sanctions on energy-intensive US export products if the Bush administration continues to obstruct international agreements on climate protection, the party's leading environmental specialist said yesterday. The move, after the United Nations climate conference last week in Bali, Indonesia, has won strong support from the Greens and other leftist groupings in the European Parliament. Those factions will renew their bid to impose such levies when the Parliament reconvenes next month
• 2007/12/18: UN: Rich and poor nations must forge ahead to tackle climate change - UN official
• 2007/12/18: TerraDaily: Adapt to climate change, World Bank chief tells developing nations

  And on the American political front:

• 2007/12/23: ClimateP: Yielding the Moral High Ground -- Part I
• 2007/12/19: GristMill: The Bush administration's hypocrisy on federalism - Bushies laud state policies when excusing inaction, shut them down when they threaten contributors
• 2007/12/19: GristMill: Bush, Suboleski, and Blankenship - Bush appoints mountaintop-removal mining exec to key DOE position
  His appointment could not send a clearer signal: The DOE is committed to coal and doesn't give a damn about environmental enforcement.
• 2007/12/20: CSM: Many religious leaders back climate-change action - A desire to exercise stewardship over the environment is growing among evangelical Christians
• 2007/12/20: KFeraday: Bush administration has turned America into Bizarro World
• 2007/12/19: WarmingLaw: Et Tu, Mineta?
• 2007/12/19: BillingsGazette: [Montana] Climate change report aired
• 2007/12/19: SF Gate: [San Francisco mayor, Gavin] Newsom plans to make city greener with carbon offset fund
• 2007/12/18: WarmingLaw: A New Mexican Legal Standoff?
  After New Mexico became the 13th state to formally enact California's clean cars program last month, local car dealers and their allies sued, seeking to thwart the purported negative impact on their bottom line. Yesterday, that lawsuit was tossed by a state district judge.
• 2007/12/17: SeattlePI: For our climate, it's too late for 'later'
• 2007/12/17: ClimateP: Judge Rejects Detroit's Clean Car Act Attack
• 2007/12/17: HillHeat: Enviro Groups Attack Nuclear, Coal Loan Provisions in Appropriations Omnibus

  Late comment on the energy bill:

• 2007/12/21: EnvFin: Bush signs Energy Bill with auto mileage, biofuels gains
• 2007/12/21: TruthOut: Tax Credit Expiry Endangers Wind, Solar Expansion
• 2007/12/20: OilDrum: The Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007
• 2007/12/21: AutoBG: Official reactions to the new Energy Bill and 35 mpg CAFE standard
• 2007/12/20: ClimateP: The Fuel on the Hill -- The Corn Supremacy
• 2007/12/20: NEN: President signs old energy bill
• 2007/12/20: CSM: As Bush signs energy bill, new issues come to the fore
• 2007/12/19: NPR: Energy Law Leaves Out Wind, Solar Tax Credits
• 2007/12/20: Guardian(UK): In about turn, Bush signs climate change bill
  Energy law sets efficiency levels for cars and homes - Environmentalists say measures are too limited
• 2007/12/19: KSJT: Lots of Ink: Adios to one of life's fixtures, the 100-watt bulb (ie, big US Energy Bill gets Bush's signature)
• 2007/12/19: ClimateP: Everybody happy? Bush signs do-little energy bill
• 2007/12/19: WarmingLaw: Congratulations, Mr. President [for signing energy bill]
• 2007/12/19: AutoBG: Now it's pen-on-paper official: President Bush signs 35 mpg CAFE into law
• 2007/12/18: NYT: As Ethanol Takes Its First Steps, Congress Proposes a Giant Leap
• 2007/12/17: GristMill: Why did Dems bargain down the energy bill?
• 2007/12/17: OilChange: Happy Xmas to the Airlines too
• 2007/12/17: OilChange: And Happy Xmas to Big Coal as Well...

  The 2008 campaign is not making much climate news:

• 2007/12/21: TreeHugger: How Do We Break The Climate Taboo In Presidential Debates?

  The Gore-apalooza is still bopping along:

• 2007/12/15: Oregonian: From Oslo to Bali, Gore lights the way
  The Nobel laureate brings honor to America at a time when U.S. climate policy exasperates the world

While in the UK:

• 2007/12/22: Guardian(UK): Ministers ordered to assess climate cost of all decisions - Government says new 'carbon price' will favour eco-friendly policy choices
• 2007/12/20: AutoBG: London may abandon plan for CO2 based congestion charge
• 2007/12/20: BBC: Cameron targets 'green coal' goal
  All coal-fired power stations would be fitted with "green coal" technology under a Conservative government, David Cameron has said on a trip to China.
• 2007/12/17: Guardian(UK): All new schools to be zero-carbon by 2016
• 2007/12/18: Guardian(UK): New policy puts climate change at the heart of planning

  Hansen's letter to Brown got some press:

• 2007/12/19: CSW: James Hansen letter to UK Prime Minister Brown: "We must solve the coal problem now."
• 2007/12/19: CSW: James Hansen letter to UK Prime Minister Brown: "We must solve the coal problem now."
• 2007/12/17: BBC: Brown urged to resist coal rush - The renowned climate scientist Dr James Hansen says the UK and Germany must resist new coal-fired power stations.
• 2007/12/17: Independent(UK): Britain's carbon strategy 'up in smoke'
  Britain's plans to build new coal-fired power stations as part of the country's efforts to address its looming energy crisis will completely undermine the Bali agreement on climate change and discredit Gordon Brown's commitments to reduce greenhouse gases, according to one of the world's leading climate scientists. The warning will be made directly to the Prime Minister this week in a letter from James Hansen, the director of the Nasa Goddard Institute for Space Studies in New York, who will urge Mr Brown to block plans to build up to eight new coal-fired power stations --- the first in 30 years.

In Europe, the Commission is taking a lazy aim at airline emissions:

• 2007/12/21: EUO: EU agrees to reduce airline emissions from 2012
• 2007/12/20: BBC: EU cap on air emissions from 2012 - EU ministers have agreed to impose carbon emissions quotas on airlines in an attempt to fight climate change
• 2007/12/20: PhysOrg: EU agrees curbs on airline emissions from 2012

  Elsewhere in Europe:

• 2007/12/19: SwissInfo: Climate change seen as serious threat [survey]
• 2007/12/21: EUO: EU plans to boost green energy take shape
• 2007/12/16: VoxEU: The Credibility of European Leadership: Business 'Angst' and EU Climate Strategy

  Meanwhile in Australia, things have quieted down considerably:

• 2007/12/23: GWWatch: Rudd government more different by the day
• 2007/12/22: SMH: Rudd accused of plan to censor science agencies
• 2007/12/18: ABC(Au): Top companies unprepared for carbon cuts: study
• 2007/12/17: ABC(Au): Households urged to take action on emissions

  While in China:

• 2007/12/21: SMH: Climate regime will bind
  China has vowed to use market-based measures to fight global warming, while giving support for Kevin Rudd's plan to build a climate change "bridge" between the developed and developing worlds. China's climate change ambassador, Yu Qingtai, told reporters China would follow a two-track strategy of reducing emissions at home and negotiating to turn the Bali climate change "road map" into a binding global regime at the end of 2009. "China has two responsibilities. One is to actively take part in international talks, but the core of our work, no matter whether there is climate change talks or how they progress, is that we will continue the tasks we've set for ourselves," Mr Yu said.
• 2007/12/20: TWM: The Middle Kingdom's Dilemma...[China, drought]
• 2007/12/20: ChinaDaily: Nation switches on to nuclear energy - target of 40,000 MW by 2020

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

• 2007/12/22: DeSmogBlog: Canada's Global Warming Grinch
• 2007/12/22: TStar: Grumbling Harper fumbling on warming
• 2007/12/21: ScottsDiaTribe: Harper fearmongering on the environment
• 2007/12/20: CanWest: Warmer temperatures net lower energy consumption in 2006
  Canadians used less energy last year, due in part to warmer weather conditions across the country. Statistics Canada said Thursday that energy demand fell by two per cent in 2006, thanks to declining consumption in the industrial, transportation, residential and commercial sectors.
• 2007/12/18: CanWest: Canadians left in the dark as Europeans go solar
• 2007/12/17: G&M: Corporate Canada braces for new rules on emissions
  Global treaty will put new pressure on companies; 'This is just the start'
• 2007/12/17: TStar: Ottawa too partisan on emissions
  Under the proposed federal emissions trading program, tar sands developers will be eligible for up to $700 million in "carbon credits" - even as they increase their greenhouse gas emissions. Meanwhile, Ontario will get nothing for closing its coal-fired plants, thereby eliminating about half of the province's greenhouse gas emissions. Sounds absurd, right? But that is the analysis of World Wildlife Fund-Canada, and it is supported by officials from the provincial government and its utility, Ontario Power Generation. Here's why: rather than mandate absolute reductions in greenhouse gas emissions, the federal government has opted for cuts in the "intensity" of emissions. Thus, the overall output of greenhouse gases from Alberta's tar sands will rise as production expands, but as long as the per-barrel level of emissions comes down, the oil companies will be rewarded.

The Conservatives behaviour at Bali has not won them any praise:

• 2007/12/21: Rabble: Canada's role in Bali was painful to see by Svend Robinson
• 2007/12/18: DeSmogBlog: Inaction on Global Warming Sees Canadian Tory Government Bleeding In Polls
• 2007/12/18: ThierCBC: Harper is dragging Canada down with him
• 2007/12/17: DeSmogBlog: Bali: Canada - the Prodigal Country Backs Down
• 2007/12/17: Far-n-Wide: Dion 1/14th As Bad As Baird

  The Baird fan club has a vicious streak:

• 2007/12/10: TVC: Bearing Baird's bull
• 2007/12/18: TStar: Does Baird know what he's saying?
  Poor John Baird. I know it's getting close to Christmas, when we should all show charity, but perhaps the federal environment minister needs to spend the festive season in a secure psychiatric institution.
• 2007/12/17: Far-n-Wide: "Neutralized" No More
  The only remaining question to come out of Bali, how much will Baird's dog and pony show hurt the Conservatives, if at all, come election time?
• 2007/12/17: TStar: Baird's Bali flop will haunt Conservatives

  DeSmogBlog has set up a FaceBook Group:

• 2007/12/21: DeSmogBlog: Huge Response to DeSmog's "Environment is My Voting Issue in Canada" Facebook Group!
• 2007/12/19: DeSmogBlog: Support For Harper Government "Plunges" - Global Warming Seen as Key Factor
• 2007/12/18: DeSmogBlog: FaceBook Group: Environment is My Voting Issue in Canada

  Meanwhile in the provinces:

• 2007/12/20: NorthernLife: Ontario in an energy crisis - to replace 80 percent of its current generating capacity over the next 20 years...
• 2007/12/19: CanWest: B.C. best of a bad lot on climate change - We stack up well against other provinces, but not the rest of the world

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

• 2007/12/20: SeattlePI: Acting on climate from ground up
  [...] The fact is, we don't know how to govern the commons. Our governance model is broken. We convene "stakeholder processes," and try to squeeze compromise out of those with the most hardened, vested interests -- a recipe for frustration and inaction, not for discovering what is in the public interest. We are failing to protect the common wealth that underlies our prosperity.
• 2007/12/20: EuroTrib: Hostility to the notion of limits to growth
• 2007/12/20: AfterGutenberg: Ecocidal Ideology
• 2007/12/19: FTimes: The dangers of living in a zero-sum world economy

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

• 2007/12/18: GristMill: The truth everyone knows, but no one says - Is it only OK to talk about limiting population after it's too late?

  Apocalypso anyone?

• 2007/12/21: CCurrents: Climate Change, National Security And Ethics [targetted to Australia, but see "The 13 tipping points that threaten civilisation"]
• 2007/12/16: Swans: 2007: The Great Unraveling Begins

  As for how the media handles the science of climatology:

• 2007/12/21: DotEarth: The Climate Message -- What Works?
• 2007/12/19: CPunch: The Mad Corporate World of Glenn Beck
• 2007/12/19: Atmoz: Science Education and the How it all Ends Video

  The League of Conservation Voters [LCV] has been monitoring Sunday morning news shows:

• 2007/12/22: DotEarth: Talking Heads Not Talking Climate [LCV]
  In the 2,275 questions posed, the phrases "climate change" or "global warming" were used three times, and a total of 24 questions indirectly touched on climate or related issues, the group said
• 2007/12/20: CSpin: Why aren't Sunday morning news shows asking about Global Warming?
• 2007/12/19: CJR: No Such Thing as Dumb Questions? League of Conservation Voters says TV news overlooks climate
• 2007/12/19: GristMill: What are they waiting for? A new site asks political talk show hosts to address climate change
• 2007/12/19: ThinkP: Top Political Talk Show Hosts Dedicate 0.1 Percent Of Their Questions To Global Warming

  Here is something for your library:

• 2007/12/22: CSW: Coming Dec. 27: "Censoring Science: Inside the Political Attack on Dr. James Hansen"
• 2007/12/21: RealClimate: Books '07
• 2007/12/16: ERabett: Censoring Science is a new book by Mark Bowen on la Affair Deutsch/Hansen and other follies.

  Wrestling over a new energy infrastructure continues unabated:

• 2007/12/23: GristMill: The renewable Janus - Renewables are pulling two directions, nationwide and local
• 2007/12/21: HoustonChronicle: 2 Million Acres Proposed for Oil Shale
  Federal land managers have proposed setting aside nearly 2 million acres of public land in Colorado, Utah and Wyoming for potential commercial oil shale development
• 2007/12/18: FuturePundit: Stanford Scientists Claim 10 Times Better Batteries [with silicon nanowires for lithium ion batteries]
• 2007/12/19: REA: A Snapshot of the U.S. Wind Industry
• 2007/12/21: KSJT: Seattle Times, Seattle PI, etc: Sound familiar? Company says it has first license for a wave energy plant
• 2007/12/21: DeSmogBlog: Forecast: Destruction On A Massive Shale
• 2007/12/21: NEN: Another big utility buys wind energy
• 2007/12/21: OilChange: Another industry off the hook?
• 2007/12/05: EnergyPublisher: Angola: Energy profile
• 2007/12/20: SCitizen: Charlie Hall's Balloon Graph
  Energy researcher Charlie Hall's balloon graph challenges the notion that alternative energy sources will provide a smooth transition to a post-fossil fuel society. Scale and energy return remain huge obstacles.
• 2007/12/20: NewScientist: Marine algae get the green light from Shell
• 2007/12/20: EnergyDaily: Wind Energy Companies Flock To North America
• 2007/12/20: Guardian(UK): Big powers in growing competition for oil
• 2007/12/19: ENN: Experts: Pricy Oil Will Push Renewable Fuels Development
• 2007/12/19: GAB: 1 in 5 Americans will borrow to heat their homes this Winter
• Wiki: Oil megaprojects - planned or expected future energy production, transmission, distribution or other energy related infrastructure
• 2007/12/18: NEN: How good can wind get?
• 2007/12/18: PRWatch: Liquid Gas Terminals Crowding the Coastline
• 2007/12/17: ENN: Government Mandates Create Opportunities in New Energy Industries
• 2007/12/17: NEN: GE Energy inks deal to build 333 turbines
• 2007/12/17: AutoBG: New refinery to be built in South Dakota to process Canadian crude

  Meanwhile among the solar afficionados:

• 2007/12/22: GristMill: The success of solar depends on storage - Storage helps the sun keep shining even on cloudy days
• 2007/12/21: REA: Introducing the Solar Tree
• 2007/12/18: CNet:GreenTech: Nanosolar 'prints' first flexible solar cells
• 2007/12/21: SlashDot: Silicon Valley Startup [Nanosolar] Prints $1/watt Solar Panels
• 2007/12/19: AfterGutenberg: Photo Voltaic PowerSheet
• 2007/12/18: PhysOrg: Solar cells of the future - A new material, nano flakes, may revolutionise the transformation of solar energy to electricity
• 2007/12/17: ENN: Largest Solar Array in North America: Nellis AFB
• 2007/12/17: NEN: Better solar assessment

  The arithmetic of coal carbon is striking home:

• 2007/12/22: ENN: Survey: Coal-Fired Power Plant Freeze Favored
  Sending a clear message to state officials and presidential candidates, nearly four out of five Iowans (79 percent) -- including 69 percent of Republicans, 86 percent of Democrats and 79 percent of Independents -- think that "Iowa should focus on increased (energy) conservation steps and more fuel efficiency to reduce demand for electricity before it constructs new coal-fired power plants," according to a major new Opinion Research Corporation (ORC) survey commissioned by Iowa Interfaith Power & Light, Iowa Farmers Union and Plains Justice.
• 2007/12/19: DeSmogBlog: More Bad News for Coal
• 2007/12/18: GristMill: Coal's bad year - Thirteen stories of coal getting stiffed
• 2007/12/18: GristMill: Pity our poor customers - Coal utilities weigh in on the carbon policy

  CCS is an unproven technology as yet, but they've got a flashy name:

• 2007/12/19: CNN: First CO2-free coal power plant announced [FutureGen]
  Coalition wants to siphon off CO2 and pump it into underground reservoirs - Mattoon, Illinois, will host the first full-scale power plant using this technology - The plant won't actually burn coal but gasify it - The system yields several gases which are processed into hydrogen
• 2007/12/19: KSJT: Chicago Trib, NYTimes, Wires, etc: Illinois gets named site of a coal plant that won't emit CO2. But named and built are different things
• 2007/12/19: DotEarth: The (Energy) Future Is Not Now [FutureGen & CCS]
• 2007/12/19: ENN: Texas vows to attract other carbon-capture plants [after losing FutureGen]
• 2007/12/18: NYT: New Type of Coal Plant Moves Ahead, Haltingly
• 2007/12/18: FGA: FutureGen Alliance Selects Mattoon, Illinois as the Final Site for the First-of-a-kind, Near-Zero Emissions Coal-fueled Power Plant

  Biofuel bickering abounds:

• 2007/12/20: TruthOut: Corn Ethanol and Its Consequences
• 2007/12/19: TechRevu: Part II: The Price of Biofuels - Do we really have any alternative to biofuels?
• 2007/12/19: TechRevu: Part I: The Price of Biofuels
  Making ethanol from corn is expensive. Better biofuels are years away from the gas tank. But do we really have any alternative?
• 2007/12/18: KSJT: Two on alternative energy -NY Times on biofuel mania ; and Some Ink for a California wave energy contract
• 2007/12/18: GristMill: Now entering the dead zone - The ethanol boom could trigger a 'tipping point' in the Gulf
• 2007/12/19: SMH: Ethanol mandate fuels farm crop brawl
• 2007/12/18: ENN: South American countries join forces to boost biofuels
• 2007/12/18: EnvEcon: Field of Dreams II: Ethanol Dreams

  The nuclear energy controversy continues:

• 2007/12/23: Guardian(UK): Nuclear waste could power Britain
  Proposed Sellafield fuel-processing plant could provide 60 per cent of UK's electricity until 2060
• 2007/12/18: PnP: US attempt to sneak $25 BILLION in support to nuke industry
• 2007/12/16: PhysOrg: Soaring energy needs, oil prices push SE Asia to nuclear power

  Yes we have a peak oil sighting:

• 2007/12/23: EconView: Life after Peak Oil
• 2007/12/21: BioEnergyBiz: Dutch propose palm oil monitoring system
• 2007/12/: ETCGroup: Peak Soil + Peak Oil = Peak Spoils
• 2007/12/17: CCurrents: Dealing With Peak Oil Depression
• 2007/12/17: CCurrents: Why Peak Guarantees Conservation

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

• 2007/12/20: Wired:FT: 1 Gallon of Gas, 100 Miles -- $10 Million: The Race to Build the Supergreen Car
• 2007/12/20: DeSmogBlog: Hybrid Taxis: Saving Money (and the World) One Fare at a Time
• 2007/12/19: ClimateP: Yes, EV batteries are durable!
• 2007/12/18: KSJT: AFP: A lithium-ion battery from Germany that'll really work for cars?
• 2007/12/18: ENN: Major US electric vehicle manufacturing plant announced [Smith]
• 2007/12/17: ClimateP: German Battery, German Electric Car?
• 2007/12/17: ENN: New York, Ottawa Order Over 1,000 Diesel-Electric Hybrid Buses
• 2007/12/17: AutoBG: Shai Agassi: Israel will have 100,000 electric cars in 2 years

  The reaction of business to climate change will be critical:

• 2007/12/21: EnvFin: Climate change investments could backfire, investors warned

  Meanwhile in the greenwashing chronicles:

• 2007/12/22: SMH: Customers misled by green power claims
  Two of Australia's biggest energy suppliers have been forced to stop advertising some of their "green" electricity products after investigations by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission found them to be misleading. EnergyAustralia has agreed to write to about 30,000 people explaining its ClearAir and GreenFuture products, while Origin Energy has agreed to stop screening television ads that claimed switching to Origin GreenPower was the same as "not driving your car for two years".
• 2007/12/18: ClimateP: BP proves Beyond Petroleum was greenwashing, joins "biggest global warming crime ever seen"

  Insurance and re-insurance companies are feeling the heat:

• 2007/12/21: ABC(Au): Climate change raising insurance premiums
• 2007/12/21: SMH: Insurers battered by storms
  The financial battering suffered by the two biggest insurance players from this month's hail storms could hit almost $300 million after Suncorp, owner of the AAMI and GIO brands, revealed it faced a bill of up to $180 million. A competitor, Insurance Australia Group, issued a profit downgrade two days ago equal to $150 million, and Suncorp expects a significant chunk of the costs from an expected 23,000 claims to fall straight to its bottom line. It is the second time in the past seven months that the industry, and in particular IAG and Suncorp, have felt the fury of extreme weather in NSW. In June the floods and heavy rains in Newcastle and on the Central Coast resulted in the two companies losing $360 million between them.
• 2007/12/18: SwissInfo: Swiss Re hit by European floods
  Natural and man-made catastrophes in 2007 led to overall global financial losses of $61 billion (SFr70 billion), according to initial estimates by Swiss Re. The world's biggest reinsurer also revealed on Tuesday that more than 20,000 people were killed by the disasters.

The carbon lobby are up to the usual:

• 2007/12/22: ERabett: OISM's Baby - Back in the good old days, OISM had a petition...
• 2007/12/18: N3xus6: Show me the credentials!!!! Eli Rabett has a little competition going for the science rant of the year...
• 2007/12/13: N3xus6: Colour me shocked!!! Remember Edward J. Wegman?
• 2007/12/22: BCLSB: For Me? [Surface Stations]
• 2007/12/21: DeSmogBlog: The Excess of Evil Strikes Again!
• 2007/12/20: DotEarth: Climate Consensus "Busted?"
• 2007/12/19: CCD: Beware of Greens Bearing Gifts
• 2007/12/20: AFTIC: Deja vue, all over again
• 2007/12/20: Deltoid: John McLean and the NRSP
• 2007/12/20: DeSmogBlog: Christopher Monckton: a Peerless Prevaricator
• 2007/12/20: WSJ: Bali Who? [NCPA]
• 2007/12/19: DNI2: Global Warming, Conditional Truth, and the Rights of Heretics
• 2007/12/17: ERabett: Where's the bellhop with the ice?
• 2007/12/18: GristMill: [Dessler] Debate: denied! Climate skeptic plays hookey
• 2007/12/18: JQuiggin: Pons asinorum - CIS edition
• 2007/12/18: FergusB: "I agree with most of what you say but..." the doubter said
• 2007/12/17: FergusB: "Make me believe," she said (in AGW)
• 2007/12/18: Deltoid: What if you demanded a debate and nobody came? Part 2
• 2007/12/18: RealClimate: Les Chevaliers de la Ordre de la Terre Plate, Part II: Courtillot's Geomagnetic Excursion
• 2007/12/17: Tamino: Wiggles - one of the favorite false claims of denialists - no net global warming since 1998
• 2007/12/17: Deltoid: Monckton Watch 2
• 2007/12/17: Stoat: Sutera and Speranza? [Lindzen]
• 2007/12/17: DeSmogBlog: NRSP Peddling Deceptive Statistics About IPCC

  Sen. Inhofe (Mark Morano?) posted a minority report:

• 2007/12/22: Atmoz: Over 400 Prominent Scientists Disputed Man-Made Global Warming Claims in 2007
• 2007/12/22: DailyKos: Inhofe (R-Exxon): Truthiness Gift for Christmas
• 2007/12/22: MTobis: The Inhofe 400
• 2007/12/21: ThinkP: Sen. Inhofe's misleading climate denial "report."
• 2007/12/21: ClimateP: Inhofe recycles unscientific attacks on global warming, NYT's Revkin gives him a pass
• 2007/12/21: GristMill: [Dessler] Inhofe's latest windmill - More bogus climate skepticism
• 2007/12/21: DeSmogBlog: 400 Prominent Scientists Dispute Global Warming - Bunk

  Then there was the usual news and commentary:

• 2007/12/19: ZMag: New Year, No Resolutions on Climate Change
• 2007/12/21: BobPark: What's New? #2) Breakdown of the Year: The White House Science Office, #4) Newsmaker of the Year: The Chair of the IPCC
• 2007/12/21: JFleck: Santa Goes Green
• 2007/12/21: Maribo: The separation of earth and sky
• 2007/12/20: MTobis: There's No Ultimate Tipping Point
• 2007/12/17: CTB: Sausage-Makers Unite!
• 2007/12/19: TreeHugger: Wind Turbines as Terrorist Threat: Yeah, Right
• 2007/12/18: NSEB: Fred's Footprint: My ancestral carbon footprint
• 2007/12/19: TerraDaily: The year that changed everything for climate change
• 2007/12/17: Yahoo: Interview: Germany's top climate adviser [Hans Joachim Schellnhuber]
• 2007/12/08: Asia Times: How central bankers could save the world
• 2007/12/17: GristMill: Get in the van - It's not whether we can beat climate change with today's tools, but whether we can get moving
• 2007/12/17: JFleck: Godwin's Law and the Climate Debate
• 2007/12/17: MTobis: World Doesn't End in 2100
• 2007/12/17: Stoat: World Doesn't End in 2100
• 2007/12/17: AutoBG: The end of particullates (sic) in Europe?
• 2007/12/16: Oregonian: Teacher's climate message goes global - Greg Craven's video appeal about the dangers he says we face draws over 4 million views
• 2007/12/17: SMH: Power shift: it's up to you

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

• What Are They Waiting For? [LCV]
• Wunderground: Greenland
• COP15, Copenhagen Climate Change Conference 2009
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• Denialists' Deck of Cards
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• Wiki: Oil megaprojects - planned or expected future energy production, transmission, distribution or other energy related infrastructure
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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>
-het

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

"If you have the case of India, a half a billion people who do not even have electricity, what mitigation (of carbon emissions) can you carry out?" -Rajendra K. Pachauri

• Global Warming Links
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• H.E. Taylor (homepage)