Sipping from the internet firehose...
This weekly posting is brought to you courtesy of H.E.Taylor. Happy reading, I hope you enjoy this week's Global Warming news roundup
- Top Stories, $100 Oil, Northern Carbon, Old/New Year
- Arctic Warming, North Atlantic Warming, USCCSP, Earth Hour, Hansen, Bali
- Hurricanes, GHGs, Carbon Cycle, Temperatures, Glaciers, Sea Levels, Moon, Solar Cycle
- Impacts, Forests, Corals, Wacky Weather, Wildfires, Floods & Droughts, Australian Drought, Food vs. Biofuel
- Mitigation, Transportation, Electra, Buildings, Sequestration
- Journals, Misc. Science, Bolin
- Carbon Trade, Carbon Tax, Optimal Carbon Reduction Strategy
- Politics:International, AntiWar & GW America, Britain, Europe, Germany, Australia, China, Japan, Canada
- Ecological Economics, Apocalypso, Media, Books, Courts
- Energy, Solar, Coal, Biofuel, Nukes, Peak Oil, Efficiency, Cars, Greenwashing, Insurance
- Carbon Lobby, The Usual, Useful Links
- Shameless Self Promotion, .sig
- 2008/01/02: uComics: (cartoon - Toles) US cooperation on Global Warming
The big story of the week has to be oil passing US$100/barrel:
- 2008/01/06: Times(UK): How $100 oil will change your life
- 2008/01/06: AFP: Crude oil barrel at $100 'not necessarily very high': OPEC president [Chakib Khelil]
- 2008/01/04: GristMill: Bad combo - Cheap coal and $100 oil
- 2008/01/05: BI-ME: US$100 oil, production concerns renew interest in peak oil theory
- 2008/01/05: IR^2: GM Drops the V8; WSJ on $100 Oil
- 2008/01/03: LFB: Oil Surpasses $100 Per Barrel
- 2008/01/04: DerSpiegel: 'Oil Prices Are Still Too Cheap'
What does $100-a-barrel oil mean? No one is entirely sure. But this week's new high has economists, pundits and politicians vigorously speculating on the impact on the world economy. German commentators, though, are more concerned about the environment. - 2008/01/04: CSM: What to do when oil hits $100 a barrel - Congress must be bolder in forcing oil substitutes for transportation. It did that for electric utilities
- 2008/01/03: ClimateP: Oil breaks $100 -- Why and what do we do?
- 2008/01/03: BBerg: IEA Chief Says Oil May Rise to $150 on China Demand
- 2008/01/02: DotEarth: Ah, for the Days of 15-Cent-a-Barrel Oil -- or Not
- 2008/01/02: G&M: Oil hits $100 a barrel
- 2008/01/02: Yahoo: Crude Futures Hit Record $100 a Barrel for 1st Time on Supply Concerns
- 2007/12/31: CNN: Oil's wild ride - Crude looks set to end the year up nearly 60 percent...
A report that carbon uptake is dimished by warming raised much comment:
- 2008/01/05: ENN: Northern plants 'losing carbon' due to warming
- 2008/01/04: GristMill: Shorter winters weaken forest carbon sinks - New study says trees are absorbing less CO2 than predicted
- 2008/01/04: G&M: A critical shield against global warming [boreal forest]
- 2008/01/04: SMH: Forests failing in carbon relief role
- 2008/01/03: OilChange: Forests Losing Ability to Soak Carbon
- 2008/01/03: Guardian(UK): Trees absorbing less CO2 as world warms, study finds
- 2008/01/02: PhysOrg: Losing more than we gain from autumn warming in the north
- 2008/01/02: PhysOrg: Carbon sink capacity in northern forests reduced by global warming
- 2008/01/02: ENN: Loosing more than we gain from Autumn warming in the north
- 2008/01/02: Eureka: Carbon sink capacity in northern forests reduced by global warming
- 2008/01/02: Eureka: Losing more than we gain from autumn warming in the north - Carbon sink capacity in northern forests reduced by global warming
End of the year wrapup & look-ahead to the new year stories:
- 2008/01/03: QuarkSoup: 2008 Climate Prediction
- 2007/12/26: TrinidadExpress: It was all about oil, global warming
- 2008/01/03: GristMill: Predictions for 2008: II - The Lieberman-Warner bill will ... happen
- 2008/01/01: Wunderground: Top U.S. weather story of 2007: the Southeast U.S. drought
- 2008/01/02: CTV: The environment entered pop culture in 2007
- 2008/01/01: ClimateP: Top 10 global warming stories of 2007
- 2007/12/31: OilDrum: 2007 - The Year in Review
- 2007/12/31: CTB: 2007 Roundup [energy trends]
- 2008/01/01: NEN: Big energy stories of 2007, 2008 & 2009
- 2007/12/31: PhysOrg: 2007 a Year of Weather Records in U.S.
- 2007/12/31: inel: Climate change challenge tops list of issues - UK Chief Scientific Advisers
An article on Arctic warming mechanisms tickled the denyosphere & caught some flak:
- 2008/01/03: Nature: (ab$) Vertical structure of recent Arctic warming by Rune G. Graversen et al.
- 2008/01/04: RealClimate: New rule for high profile papers
New rule: When declaring that climate models are misleading in a high profile paper, maybe looking at some model output first would be a good idea - 2008/01/05: Stoat: Polar amplification, again
- 2008/01/04: People's Daily: Study: double whammy cause of Arctic thawing
- 2008/01/03: NatureTGB: Arctic amplification
- 2008/01/03: KSJT: AP, New Scientist, etc: Arctic's warming is not all direct greenhouse effect. Winds are peculiar, too.
- 2008/01/03: NewScientist: Melting ice may not explain warming Arctic
- 2008/01/03: PhysOrg: Nature and Man Jointly Cook Arctic
- 2008/01/03: TerraDaily: Shifting heat layers above Arctic to blame for ice crisis: study
The dramatic loss of the Arctic ice cap may have been triggered by disruption to the thermal layers of atmosphere stacked over Earth's far north, according to Swedish research to be published Thursday. - 2008/01/03: DeSmogBlog: Nature Helps With the Arctic Meltdown -- We Could Never Have Done It Alone!
- 2008/01/03: ADN: Nature given part of blame for thawing across Arctic region
- 2008/01/03: OttawaSun: Global warming not only culprit in Arctic thaw: Study
- 2008/01/03: CBC: Nature, man jointly cook Arctic: report
- 2008/01/01: AfterGutenberg: Bad News, Albedo-wise
- 2008/01/02: AFP: Shifting heat layers above Arctic to blame for ice crisis: study
Until now, the big suspect in "Arctic amplification" has been reflectivity of sunlight. When the Sun's rays hit snow or ice, most of that solar energy bounces back into space -- but as those melting surfaces give way to dark-blue sea, the heat is absorbed instead. This self-reinforcing process, called a feedback, is an established factor in accelerating warming in snow and ice. But Stockholm University scientists led by Rune Graversen believe a possibly bigger cause for Arctic warming could be changes in heat transport in the middle of the troposphere, an atmospheric band that extends 10 kilometers (seven miles) above Earth's surface. In polar regions, the layers of relative heat above the surface are usually stable. But Graversen says that over the last two decades or so there have been changes in Arctic atmospheric circulation which have brought in heat and moisture. - 2008/01/03: ERabett: A penny for the Old Guy [Northern hemisphere Sea Ice Area graph]
- 2008/01/03: Atmoz: Sea Ice Again?
And the North Atlantic warming:
- 2008/01/05: ENN: North Atlantic Warming Tied To Natural Variability
- 2008/01/05: SciDaily: North Atlantic Warming Tied To Natural Variability
- 2008/01/04: TerraDaily: North Atlantic Warming Tied To Natural Variability; But Global Warming May Be At Play Elsewhere
- 2008/01/03: PhysOrg: North Atlantic warming tied to natural variability; but global warming may be at play elsewhere
- 2008/01/03: Eureka: North Atlantic warming tied to natural variability; but global warming may be at play elsewhere
A Duke University-led analysis of available records shows that while the North Atlantic Ocean's surface waters warmed in the 50 years between 1950 and 2000, the change was not uniform. In fact, the subpolar regions cooled at the same time that subtropical and tropical waters warmed. This striking pattern can be explained largely by the influence of a natural and cyclical wind circulation pattern called the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO), wrote authors of a study published Thursday, Jan. 3, in Science Express, the online edition of the journal Science. - 2008/01/03: inel: Forty days for Noah. Sixty days for NOAA - Public Invited to Comment on Revised U.S. Climate Change Science Program Research Plan
It seems there is an "Earth Hour" PR campaign forthcoming:
- 2008/01/01: SMH: Earth Hour pledges circle the world
Earth Hour is continuing to grow, with 15 cities around the world now pledging to switch off their lights on March 29 and others negotiating to join in. - 2008/01/02: WorldChanging: 350 ppm
- 2008/01/02: SMH: Science puts a number on survival [McKibben 350 ppm]
And in other Hansen news:
- 2008/01/02: ClimateP: Hansen's op-ed advice to Massachusetts
- 2008/01/02: BostonGlobe: The wrong choice for Massachusetts
Late comment on Bali:
- 2008/01/03: SeattlePI: Our line in the sand at Bali
- 2008/01/03: NatureCF: The road from Bali
- 2007/12/31: ENN: Cities, Countries Make Up for What Bali Lacked
It was fairly quiet on the hurricane front:
- 2008/01/01: SMH: Cyclone [Melanie] forces BHP to close WA oil wells
Meanwhile GHGs are still going up:
- 2008/01/03: QuarkSoup: cement [GHGs]
And in the carbon cycle:
- 2008/01/02: KSJT: Wall St. Journal: Fossil carbon is building up in the air...but where else?
- 2008/01/01: TreeHugger: Where Does all the Carbon Dioxide End Up?
As for the temperature record:
- 2008/01/03: ABC(Au): SA [South Australia] records warmest year
- 2008/01/03: PhysOrg: World to cool slightly in 2008: British experts
- 2008/01/03: Maribo: Temperature and CO2: A new figure for a new year
- 2008/01/03: AfterGutenberg: Temperature vs. CO2
- 2008/01/03: OilChange: 2007 "Second Warmest Year" in UK
- 2008/01/03: BBC: 2007 'second warmest year' in UK - Last year was the second warmest on record in the UK, according to figures released by the Met Office.
- 2007/12/30: ENN: NOAA: 2007 a Top Ten Warm Year for U.S. and Globe
Glaciers are melting:
- 2008/01/05: PhysOrg: Ice Pioneer Eyes Farthest Glaciers
For 5,000 years, great tongues of ice have spread over the 3-mile-high slopes of Puncak Jaya, in the remotest reaches of this remote tropical island [in the southwestern Pacific]. Now those glaciers are melting, and Lonnie Thompson must get there before they're gone. - 2008/01/03: GristMill: U.S. miscalculates threat of global warming - Sea-level rise at our doorstep; puts nation at risk
- 2007/12/31: ClimateP: Sea levels may rise 5 feet by 2100
Meanwhile on the moon:
- 2008/01/05: NewScientist: Boreholes on the Moon could solve climate puzzle
And on the sun:
- 2008/01/06: SlashDot: Solar Cycle 24 Has Started
- 2008/01/05: PhysOrg: NOAA Confirms Start of New Sunspot Cycle
More GW impacts are being seen:
- 2008/01/03: SacBee: Climate change's effect on state air detailed - Stanford research estimates warming's role in California pollution levels
- 2008/01/02: TruthOut: Do Polar Bears Need US Protection?
- 2008/01/02: SciDaily: Orangutan Plan To Curb Carbon Emissions
Indonesia's new 10 year action plan for conserving orangutans will have important benefits in mitigating climate change, according to WWF - 2007/12/31: TruthOut: Global Warming to Alter California Landscape
- 2008/01/01: SciDaily: Declining Water Levels In The Great Lakes May Signal Global Warming
- 2008/01/02: CSM: Do polar bears need U.S. protection?
A federal agency [US Fish and Wildlife Service] is poised to say whether global warming means the bear should be added to the 'threatened species' list - 2007/12/30: PhysOrg: Global Warming to Alter California Landscape
- 2008/01/02: BBC: Canada's climate change boomtown [Churchill]
And then there are the world's forests:
- 2008/01/06: HfxNews: Fort Knox of carbon in Canada's forests
- 2008/01/02: AutoBG: U.S. corn subsidies aggravating Amazon deforestation - The law of unintended consequences has struck again...
Corals are dying:
- 2008/01/02: Australian: Corals may move from warming seas
Yes we have no wacky weather, except:
- 2008/01/06: ENN: Flights cancelled as heavy snowfalls hit Iran
- 2008/01/05: Wunderground: Heavy snow and rain continue to pound California
- 2008/01/05: CBC: Huge storm hits West Coast
- 2008/01/04: CNN: Wicked winter storm pounds California
100,000 without power in Sacramento - Winds blow over big rigs, shut Bay Area bridge - Mountain drivers put their lives at risk, Weather Service says - Some areas report 8 inches of rain since midnight - 2008/01/04: DotEarth: Alarming Weather and Global Warming
- 2008/01/03: BBC: Storm brings chaos to Black Sea
At least four sailors have died after their Bulgarian cargo ship sank in a storm lashing the Kerch Strait, just north of the Black Sea - 2008/01/03: CBC: Atlantic Canada digs out from latest storm - the fourth to hit the region in a week
As for wild fires:
- 2008/01/01: SMH: Three die in trucks in WA bushfire
- 2007/12/31: BBC: Three people were killed in Western Australia after bushfires engulfed a convoy of trucks on a highway
And speaking of floods & droughts:
- 2008/01/03: UN: UN rushes aid to help Indonesians stricken by floods and landslides
- 2008/01/05: TMoS: California - Deluge on the Heels of Drought
- 2008/01/04: CBC: Floods ravage southern Africa - Mozambique, Zambia, Zimbabwe affected
- 2008/01/05: SMH: Floodwaters cut off town for two days
- 2008/01/03: EnvEcon: Observing the drought
- 2008/01/04: BBC: Deadly floods hit southern Africa - Thousands are affected by flooding in Zimbabwe, Zambia and Mozambique, with at least 21 people dead
- 2008/01/02: TerraDaily: Indonesian landslide, floods toll at 107 dead: health ministry
- 2007/12/30: TerraDaily: New Indonesia landslide as search for victims continues
- 2007/12/31: AP: Rain Saves Atlanta From Drought Record
In some parts of Australia the drought has broken:
- 2008/01/04: ABC(Au): Rain brings relief for some in Murray-Darling
Some New South Wales farmers have had their water allocations go from 0 to 100 per cent after recent rains. - 2008/01/04: ABC(Au): Rain a relief for western NSW irrigators
- 2008/01/02: ABC(Au): Some Qld towns enjoying bumper rain - Despite years of prolonged drought, parts of inland Queensland have recorded above-average rain during 2007
While others think another tack is appropriate:
- 2008/01/04: PeakEnergy: This Drought May Never Break
- 2008/01/04: SMH: This drought may never break
It may be time to stop describing south-eastern Australia as gripped by drought and instead accept the extreme dry as permanent, one of the nation's most senior weather experts warned yesterday. "Perhaps we should call it our new climate," said the Bureau of Meteorology's head of climate analysis, David Jones. - 2008/01/03: OilChange: Biofuels Cause Price of Grains to Surge
And the troubling matter of falling food production is not going away:
- 2008/01/04: DerSpiegel: Genetically Altered Profits - Monsanto's Rich Harvest
- 2008/01/04: EnergyBulletin: Survival tools -- farming, stories, poetry, writing, and leaning
- 2008/01/04: GristMill: Monsanto counts its cash - Seed-and-chemical giant sees its profit triple [to US$256 million]
- 2008/01/04: TerraDaily: Australia looks to GM crops after scorching 2007
- 2008/01/04: EnvEcon: Ethanol Dominoes continue to fall [food]
- 2008/01/04: FinPo: Forget oil, the new global crisis is food
BMO [Bank of Montreal Financial Group] strategist Donald Coxe warns credit crunch and soaring oil prices will pale in comparison to looming catastrophe - 2008/01/03: BBC: Bangladesh 'facing rice crisis'
The chief of the Bangladesh army says the country is facing a catastrophe over rice supplies. Gen Moeen U Ahmed said that he was "very concerned" about the problem which he said must be redressed immediately. Many people have been hit hard by spiralling food prices, which in some cases have doubled over the last year. Rice is the staple diet of most Bangladeshis, but this year crops have been damaged by heavy monsoon rain. - 2008/01/02: SciDaily: Rising Food Prices Threaten World's Poor People
Income growth, climate change, high energy prices, globalization, and urbanization are all converging to transform food production, markets, and consumption, according to a new report by the International Food Policy Research Institute - 2007/12/31: Yahoo: Why the era of cheap food is over
- 2007/12/31: CSM: Why the era of cheap food is over - Corn, milk, bread, and other farm products hit record high prices in 2006 and will likely keep rising in 2008
Elsewhere on the mitigation front:
- 2008/01/04: SMH: Grass could help save the world
With new research showing that the world's forests are absorbing less man-made carbon dioxide each year, two Australian scientists said some plants could store CO2 for thousands of years. Grasses such as wheat and sorghum can store large amounts of carbon in microscopic balls of silica, called phytoliths, that form around a plant's cells as they draw the mineral from the soil, a report in the latest issue of New Scientist says. - 2007/12/30: Oregonian: Worse for climate than cars: eating meat
As for transportation & GHG production:
- 2008/01/02: SciDaily: Climate Pollution From Aviation Increasing
- 2008/01/02: Guardian(UK): Giant sail technology could make shipping greener
- 2007/12/31: AfterGutenberg: Leaving' On a Bullet Train
The electric airplane got a little buzz:
- 2008/01/03: Times(UK): Air travel switches to electricity [Electra]
- 2008/01/05: Stoat: Green aeroplanes, ho ho [Electra]
- 2008/01/05: TreeHugger: First Conventional Light Aircraft Powered by Electricity Flies over France [Electra]
While in the endless quest for sustainable building codes:
- 2008/01/03: GristMill: Green building is the new black - Rising hopes for 2008
- 2008/01/02: TreeHugger: Slate on "Decidedly Dupable" LEED
As for carbon sequestration:
- 2008/01/02: QuarkSoup: Loser: Ocean Carbon Sequestration
- 2008/01/03: NEN: Cancel the Capture, It costs too much
NewEnergyNews reports so often on carbon-capture-and-sequestration (CCS) projects because there is a serious disconnect between what political leaders say about it and what is found in these stories. - 2008/01/04: ACP: Aerosols' influence on the interplay between condensation, evaporation and rain in warm cumulus cloud by O. Altaratz et al.
- 2008/01/04: ACP: Tropospheric ozone climatology over Beijing: analysis of aircraft data from the MOZAIC program by A. J. Ding et al.
- 2008/01/04: ACPD: Variability of the total ozone trend over Europe for the period 1950-2004 derived from reconstructed data by J. W. Krzy?cin & J. L. Borkowski
- 2008/01/03: Nature: (ab$) Vertical structure of recent Arctic warming by Rune G. Graversen et al.
- 2008/01/02: CP: Changes in C3/C4 vegetation in the continental interior of the Central Himalayas associated with monsoonal paleoclimatic changes during the last 600 kyr by M. Mampuku et al.
Before we get into politics, there was some science done:
- 2008/01/04: PhysOrg: Baby Mammoth Could Shed Light on Warming
- 2008/01/01: MTobis: NCAR vs Google: Place your Bets [GCMs]
- 2007/12/31: Tamino: MSU
A lot of people took note of Bert Bolin's passing:
- 2008/01/04: ERabett: Bert Bolin, founder of the IPCC died December 30
- 2008/01/04: UN: Ban Ki-moon mourns death of pioneering climate change scientist
- 2008/01/02: CSW: R.I.P Bert Bolin
- 2008/01/04: ABC(Au): Tributes flow for climate change pioneer [Bert Bolin]
- 2008/01/04: NYT: Bert Bolin, 82, Is Dead; Led U.N. Climate Panel
- 2008/01/03: NatureTGB: IPCC co-founder dies at 82
- 2008/01/03: ABC(Au): Climate change research pioneer [Bert Bolin] dies, aged 82
- 2008/01/02: CBC: Swedish global-warming pioneer dies - Scientist Bert Bolin co-founded key UN panel
And on the emissions trading front:
- 2008/01/04: PhysOrg: UC San Diego begins trading greenhouse gas credits on Chicago Climate Exchange
The idea of a carbon tax is still bouncing around:
- 2008/01/03: GMB: Rogoff: Time for a Carbon Tax
The debate over the optimal strategy [carbon trading, carbon offsets and/or a carbon tax] to use in dealing with GHGs continues:
- 2008/01/04: ClimateP: Peter Barnes' Cap & Dividend plan is fatally incomplete
- 2008/01/04: GristMill: Why grandfathering sucks - More on cap-and-trade systems
- 2008/01/04: NEN: Cap-and-trade attack: Coming to the U.S.
- 2008/01/03: VoxEU: Free greenhouse gas cuts: too good to be true?
The possibility of "no cost" emission reductions has been raised by research on California's Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006. Here is a more sober assessment. Overly optimistic findings leave policymakers with inadequate appreciation of the stakes, and provide little insight into the relative cost of policy design alternatives. - 2008/01/02: Sightline: Cap and Trade: Why Grandfathering Sucks
Meanwhile on the international political front:
- 2008/01/04: Forbes: The Old Future Is Gone
Global climate change is rapidly turning into the defining issue of our time. - 2008/01/02: GristMill: China, coal, and the U.S. economy - More evidence that we're exporting massive carbon emissions
- 2008/01/02: FP: What America Must Do: Kenneth Rogoff
Here's a link between the antiwar & GW crowds:
- 2008/01/02: Rabble: It's time to take action on global emergency
We have now entered an era in which the "environment" itself is becoming the source of conflict and war as nations compete for control of what remains of finite global resources like oil. [...] Acknowledging the truth about our current emergency would necessitate dramatic changes to "business as usual." It would, for example, force them to recognize that the world can no longer afford to spend upwards of $1 trillion per year on weapons and warfare because we need all our global resources devoted to the preservation rather than the destruction of life on our planet. - 2008/01/06: HeraldTrib: Bush's Global Warming Legacy - Catching up from eight lost years
- 2008/01/05: AutoBG: California Air Resources Board proposes $25M to replace or retrofit older diesel trucks
- 2008/01/04: DotEarth: A "Bottle Bill" for the Climate
- 2008/01/03: CSW: House-Senate conferees should report strong Whistleblower Protection Enhancement Act bill
- 2008/01/04: WarmingLaw: AGs for Progress...and Denial
- 2008/01/04: Intersection:CCM: Redefining the Role of Presidential Science Adviser
- 2008/01/04: OLJ: As Planet Earth struggles with ecological damage, America's appetite remains insatiable
- 2008/01/02: ClimateP: Greening the Export-Import Bank
- 2008/01/03: DotEarth: Paying People for the Costs of Climate Control (Part 2)
- 2008/01/03: HillHeat: Alaska Drilling Sale Announced Before Polar Bear Endangerment Decision
- 2008/01/02: DotEarth: Paying the Cost of Climate Control
- 2008/01/02: BillingsGazette: Montanans ready to slow global warming [poll]
- 2007/12/28: TruthOut: EPA Is to Reveal Greenhouse Gas Papers [Calif waiver]
- 2007/12/31: CSM: America: Step up on climate change - Global warming is the nuclear issue of our age.
- 2007/12/31: JWN: Global warming as "the nuclear issue of our age"
- 2007/12/31: PhysOrg: Missouri Mandates Ethanol in Gasoline
- 2007/12/31: CDreams: CSM: America: Step Up On Climate Change
- 2007/12/31: Oregonian: Climate change reheats interest in nuclear power - In the nation's Capitol, nuclear is being seriously considered...
California sued the EPA over denying their GHG waiver:
- 2008/01/03: CTB: Carbon Roundup: Farm Bill & California vs. EPA
- 2008/01/04: ClimateP: California sues EPA
- 2008/01/04: WarmingLaw: Our Dream: Everyone vs. the EPA
- 2008/01/04: CSM: California's data challenges EPA - The Golden State filed suit on Wednesday for the right to limit greenhouse-gas emissions from autos
- 2008/01/04: SMH: US states fight for right to cut pollution
California, joined by 15 other states led by New York, has sued the Environmental Protection Agency over its refusal to allow the state to set its own, tougher vehicle-emissions standards to control greenhouse gases and combat global warming - 2008/01/04: Guardian(UK): California to sue government over car emissions
- 2008/01/03: PhysOrg: Calif. Sues EPA Over Greenhouse Gas Rules
- 2008/01/03: HillHeat: California Sues EPA Over Waiver Denial
- 2008/01/03: TreeHugger: California to U.S. EPA: We'll See You In Court!
- 2008/01/03: AutoBG: California files suit against EPA to overturn greenhouse gas waiver decision
- 2008/01/02: SeattlePI: State joins suit against EPA over emissions - Tougher limits sought to meet greenhouse goals
- 2008/01/03: Oregonian: California sues EPA over vehicle emissions
Oregon and Washington back the state in its bid to implement greenhouse gas controls - 2008/01/03: SF Gate: State sues EPA to force waiver over greenhouse gas emissions
- 2008/01/02: ThinkP: California sues EPA over blocked emissions law
- 2008/01/03: BBC: California sues US over emissions
- 2008/01/02: GristMill: The EPA papers - Cheney and Johnson probably conspired, ho hum
- 2008/01/02: WarmingLaw: California Sues EPA
- 2008/01/02: WarmingLaw: Mass. v. EPA as "Expertise-forcing": New Reading Provides Further Support for California in Waiver Denial Suit
- 2008/01/02: CSW: As California sues EPA on CO2 regulation, inside sources could help set the record straight
- 2008/01/02: ENN: Fifteen states sue EPA over auto emissions
The 2008 campaign is not making much climate news:
- 2008/01/04: DeSmogBlog: Obama named SmogMaker of 2007 - Prize honors those who sow confusion and delay on Climate Change
- 2008/01/05: ClimateP: DeSmogBlog owes Obama three apologies
- 2008/01/04: Reuters: Energy crisis? Not on U.S. campaign trail
- 2008/01/04: GristMill: How will climate play out in an Obama v. McCain race? Will climate wash out as an issue or help the greener candidate?
- 2007/12/31: TruthOut: Nuclear Power Gets Boost From Candidates
The Gore-apalooza is still bopping along:
- 2008/01/03: CSM: In U.S., Al Gore has more company on climate change now
As the climate debate shifts away from the blame game, there's a growing interest in climate-action strategy. - 2008/01/04: BBC: Second nuclear review criticised
A second public consultation into whether new nuclear stations should be built has "failed", a report suggests. The Nuclear Consultation Working Group said key issues had not been addressed "in any meaningful way" and it had been designed to "provide limited answers". Greenpeace, which won a court challenge to the first consultation, says its lawyers are studying the report. The government, which will publish the latest consultation's findings next week, said it had been "fair and full". - 2008/01/04: OilDrum: New Nuclear Reactors For The UK: Is This Really A Good Idea?
- 2008/01/04: Independent(UK): Pressure on [UK PM, Gordon] Brown to veto coal-fired power station
- 2008/01/04: Guardian(UK): 1bn pound coal-fired power station gets green light
- 2008/01/03: BBC: Row over coal power station plan
Councillors in Kent have voted in favour of building a coal-fired power station, the UK's first for 24 years. Medway Council gave its approval to a planning application by energy company E.ON UK to build two new cleaner coal units at Kingsnorth, near Rochester. But opponents say the move would be a serious setback to efforts to cut the UK's carbon emissions, with Greenpeace labelling it "dinosaur technology" - 2008/01/02: Guardian(UK): Energy firms face tough year as new emissions rules bite
Watching what Gordon does versus what Gordon says:
- 2008/01/01: Guardian(UK): 10.5m pounds climate change grants left unclaimed
The government appears to have seriously undermined one of its key climate change initiatives by toughening up the rules under which householders can obtain financial assistance to erect wind turbines and install solar panels. - 2007/12/31: Guardian(UK): Government toughens up rules for home renewable power generation
The government appears to have seriously undermined one of its key climate change initiatives by toughening up the rules under which householders can obtain financial assistance to erect wind turbines and install solar panels - 2007/12/31: Guardian(UK): Moving targets keep low-carbon economy on the back burner - Government's scorecard on combating climate change doesn't add up
While in Europe:
- 2008/01/02: REA: France Sets Ambitious Renewable Energy Targets
Wind and solar power are at the heart of a big new push by the French government to increase the renewable share of the country's total energy consumption from 6.7 percent in 2004 to 20 percent by 2020 - 2008/01/02: TreeHugger: Gas Tax Just A Drop In CO2 Bucket [Sweden]
In Germany, several cities have introduced a GHG labelling program for cars:
- 2008/01/03: TreeHugger: Berlin Drivers Don't Balk At Emission Badges
- 2008/01/02: PhysOrg: Germany begins ban on polluting cars in city centres [colour badges]
- 2008/01/01: BBC: Germans tighten car exhaust rules
Three German cities - Berlin, Cologne and Hanover - have introduced "environmental zones" to reduce fine particle emissions from traffic. Drivers now have to display a coloured sticker on their vehicle to enter the inner city zones. The colour depends on the pollutants the vehicle emits. The cities are gradually phasing in fines of 40 euros (£29;$58) for anyone caught driving without a sticker. Other German cities - but not all - plan to have such zones later in 2008. - 2008/01/03: ABC(Au): Minister touring farms to review drought relief
- 2008/01/03: ENN: Global warming hits Australia with fires and floods
- 2008/01/01: TreeHugger: In Face of Climate Change, Australian Politicians Scrap Green Vouchers for Schools [rebranding?]
- 2007/12/31: ABC(Au): SA [South Australia] advertising blitz on greenhouse gas emissions
And in China:
- 2008/01/04: CBC: China to measure pollution across the country
- 2008/01/01: ENN: Beijing introduces cleaner fuel standards
- 2008/01/02: NEN: China to clean up energy?
While in Japan:
- 2008/01/01: BBC: Climate focus as Japan heads G8
Japan is to propose the fight against global warming as a main discussion topic at a Group of Eight nations summit next year. The Japanese government takes over the chairmanship of the G8 group of industrialised nations on 1 January. - 2008/01/01: TStar: From rogue nation to world leader
Nation needs to cast off neo-conservatism and lead on human rights and the environment "So, how does it feel to be the citizen of a rogue state?" The British professor asking the question was serious. We were in Cambridge, England, and yet the words "Kyoto," "Bali" and "Canada" were on many lips. [...] Thanks to Harper, Canada has become the pliant instrument of a failed U.S. presidency. We are now, for all intents and purposes, a vassal state. But in the same way that Harper's government has hijacked our foreign policy, so could a new government bring us back on course. - 2008/01/02: CanWest: Canada urged to change its notorious ways
Top greenhouse gas producer. Country must transform how it creates and uses energy, experts warn [...] It all adds up to 747 million tonnes a year of greenhouse gas, according Environment Canada, or more than 20 tonnes for each and every Canadian. That is twice as much as Europeans produce, and five times more than the 4.2 tonnes per capita generated by South Asians. - 2007/12/31: CanWest: Follow the European leaders - They are light years ahead of North America, says environmental lawyer and UBC Trudeau Scholar
- 2007/12/31: CanWest: Voluntary action needed: expert - Pierre Boileau says more than regulatory measures are required to meet carbon reduction targets
Electric vehicles are being tied up in red-tape rather than supported:
- 2008/01/04: AutoBG: Three electric vehicle companies ready to move south out of Canada
- 2008/01/02: CBC: New York [state] woos Ontario's electric car, boat makers
BC is wrestling with its new carbon reduction plan:
- 2008/01/04: TreeHugger: Canuck Forests [Pulp & Paper Industries] Reduce Emissions by 62 Per Cent
- 2008/01/04: CanWest: Cutting greenhouse gases is the law, so let's talk about it [B.C.'s Greenhouse Gas Reduction Targets Act]
- 2008/01/02: G&M: Emissions concerns delay [BC] LNG project
- 2007/12/30: BCLN: Langley battles with emissions
The tricky difficult question of the tar sands looms:
- 2007/12/31: Dominion: What the Tar Sands Need - Processing requires massive inputs of water, energy, land, labour
The movement toward a long term ecologically viable economics is glacial:
- 2008/01/05: WSJ:EconBlog: Climate Report Warnings "Underestimated" Risks [Stern]
- 2008/01/02: GristMill: Creating an Earth Atmospheric Trust - A system to control climate change and reduce poverty
- 2008/01/02: GristMill: Paging Nordhaus and Shellenberger - Please, can we lay off the calls for sacrifice in the face of climate change?
- 2008/01/02: TruthOut: What's Your Consumption Factor?
Apocalypso anyone?
- 2008/01/05: CCurrents: Toward A Post-Oil Community
As for how the media handles the science of climatology:
- 2008/01/04: TreeHugger: NPR Reports on, Fumbles Story on FTC's Investigation of Carbon Offsets
- 2008/01/04: NPR: Carbon Offsets: Government Warns of Fraud Risk - FTC to investigate
- 2008/01/04: ClimateP: AP blows the Arctic ice story
An article by Peter Baker in the Post was soundly excoriated:
- 2008/01/04: GristMill: Bush plays Baker, part V - Why not Eilperin?
- 2008/01/04: GristMill: Bush plays Baker, part IV - Tom Carper totally knows the president
- 2008/01/03: GristMill: Bush plays Baker, part III - [Fred] Krupp plays along
- 2008/01/03: GristMill: Bush plays Baker, part II - 'Environmentalists say' the WaPo should learn to distinguish rhetoric from reality
- 2008/01/03: GristMill: Bush plays Baker, part I - The Washington Post offers a late entry for Worst Story of the Year
The NYT editorial on GW politics generated some comment:
- 2008/01/01: NYT: The One Environmental Issue
The overriding environmental issue of these times is the warming of the planet. The Democratic hopefuls in the 2008 campaign are fully engaged, calling for large -- if still unquantified -- national sacrifices and for a transformation in the way the country produces and uses energy. The Republicans do not go much further than conceding that climate change could be a problem and, with the notable exception of John McCain, offer no comprehensive solutions. In 2000, when Al Gore could have made warming a signature issue in his presidential campaign, his advisers persuaded him that it was too complicated and forbidding an issue to sell to ordinary voters. For similar reasons, John Kerry's ambitious ideas for addressing climate change and reducing the country's dependence on foreign oil never advanced much beyond his Web site. Times have certainly changed. - 2008/01/02: ClimateP: Confused NY Times editorial on presidential climate politics
- 2008/01/01: DeSmogBlog: New York Times pegs global warming as top environmental issue
Here is something for your library:
- 2008/01/03: ClimateP: 2008 global warming books to watch for
- 2008/01/01: Nature: The significance of small things [Book Review] _What We Know About Climate Change_ by Kerry Emanuel
Meanwhile among the 'Sue the Bastards!' contingent:
- 2008/01/04: WarmingLaw: New Suit Against EPA in the Offing?
- 2008/01/04: WarmingLaw: Update on the Rhode Island Case
- 2008/01/04: SF Gate: Global warming goes to court
- 2008/01/03: WarmingLaw: Suit Against Rhode Island Cars Progam Allowed to Proceed
- 2008/01/03: WarmingLaw: Waiver Denial Challenge: 9th Circuit vs. D.C. Circuit
Developing a new energy infrastructure is a fundamental challenge of the current generation:
- 2008/01/05: FergusB: Wind energy; how small is practical?
- 2008/01/04: NatureTGB: Going power [station] mad...
- 2008/01/04: PhysOrg: HydroPak Fuel Cell Could Replace Generators, Batteries
- 2008/01/04: CNN:Fortune:GoWest: Sure signs of an alt-fuels investment bubble
- 2008/01/04: NEN: Range war over Texas wind heats up
- 2008/01/04: STimes: Sitting on a hot energy source [geothermal]
- 2008/01/03: AfterGutenberg: Agri-char as Part of Coal / Biomass to Synthetic Natural Gas
- 2008/01/03: ABC(Au): People power to warm new building in Stockholm
- 2008/01/02: NEN: Space power
- 2008/01/05: TheNews(Pk): 'Shortage of water, furnace oil, gas mars power generation'
The Peshawar Electric Supply Company (Pesco) said on Friday due to severe water shortage in the Tarbela, Mangla and Warsak reservoirs, shortage of furnace oil and limited gas supply to some of the important power plants, the power generation capability of Wapda decreased drastically. - 2008/01/02: Hindu: North India facing serious power crunch
Entire northern India is facing power shortage due to failure of winter rains and less availability of electricity from hydro-generating stations because of less inflow in reservoirs - 2008/01/02: SF Gate: The deadly toll of wind power
Despite yearlong effort to curb bird deaths by turbines on the Altamont Pass, many still have perished - 2008/01/01: TreeHugger: Networked Wind Power For Base-Load Stability
- 2007/12/31: FergusB: An interesting question about wind (no, honestly)
Meanwhile among the solar afficionados:
- 2008/01/02: FuturePundit: Photovoltaic Prices To Drop In Half By 2010?
- 2008/01/05: AfterGutenberg: SolarReserve [molten salt]
- 2008/01/03: TreeHugger: Molten Salt As Solar Heat Battery
- 2008/01/03: PeakEnergy: Thin Film Solar Power - Cheaper than Coal?
- 2008/01/02: SlashDot: Molten Salt-Based Solar Power Plant
- 2008/01/01: JapanTimes: Solar panels to go in 30% of houses by 2030
- 2007/12/31: TEB: A Solar Grand Plan
- 2007/12/31: CCurrents: A Solar Grand Plan
- 2007/12/31: TreeHugger: One Picture Tells The Story: Solar Is World's Fastest Growing Energy Source
The arithmetic of coal carbon is striking home:
- 2008/01/03: KSJT: BBC in England, Boston Globe in New England: Coal plants in the news
- 2007/12/31: ClimateP: New Years Resolution #47: Get the real facts out on liquid coal
Biofuel bickering abounds:
- 2008/01/04: TruthOut: Burning Biofuels May Be Worse Than Coal and Oil, Say Experts
- 2008/01/04: AfterGutenberg: Cogeneration and ethanol production
- 2008/01/04: CDreams: Guardian(UK): Burning Biofuels May Be Worse Than Coal and Oil, say Experts
- 2008/01/03: ArsTechnica: That biofuel may not be as green as you think it is
- 2008/01/04: SeattlePI: Working our way out of the energy trap [biofuels]
- 2008/01/04: OilChange: Burning Biofuels "Worse than Oil"
- 2008/01/04: Guardian(UK): Burning biofuels may be worse than coal and oil, say experts
- 2008/01/03: ClimateP: A negative-carbon corn ethanol plant?
- 2008/01/03: Eureka: Smithsonian scientists highlight environmental impacts of biofuels
- 2008/01/01: AfterGutenberg: Integrated Biofuel Production - Part 3
- 2008/01/01: AfterGutenberg: Integrated Biofuel Production - Part 1
The nuclear energy controversy continues:
- 2008/01/02: HillHeat: Uranium in Virginia
- 2007/12/31: CCurrents: 2007: Annus Mirabilis And The Smiling Garden Of Eden
Yes we have a peak oil sighting:
- 2008/01/05: TStar: Is oil supply at its peak?
- 2008/01/05: Reuters: Iran says many OPEC states can't raise output - agency
- 2008/01/04: PeakEnergy: Global Warming And Peak Oil Negate Conventional Wisdom
And then there is the matter of efficiency & conservation:
- 2008/01/04: Oikos: Will fuel efficiency laws save motorists money?
Automakers & lawyers, engineers & activists argue over the future of the car:
- 2008/01/05: FuturePundit: US Average Car Fuel Efficiency Rises
- 2008/01/06: AutoBG: 2008 model of Flybo electric car will include heater
[...] Flybo has a range of 70 to 100 miles, top speed of 42 miles per hour and you can pick one up for $10,000. - 2008/01/06: Guardian(UK): The £1,290 car delights Indians but horrifies the green lobby
- 2008/01/03: SciDaily: Hydrogen Storage For Cars?
- 2007/12/31: ENN: Nobel Expert: Car Industry Can Reach, Exceed New Standards
UC Davis auto fuels authority Daniel Sperling says that despite years of automakers "kicking and screaming" about the new mileage standards that Congress set this month, the industry should be able to reach -- even exceed -- 35 mpg by 2020 - 2007/12/31: MSNBC: For car sales, this year may mark worst in 10 - High gas prices, housing slump, weakening economy discourage shoppers
- 2008/01/01: AfterGutenberg: Will 2008 see production of automotive lithium ion batteries?
Meanwhile in the greenwashing chronicles:
- 2008/01/05: CCurrents: Time To Stop The Greenwashing
Insurance and re-insurance companies are feeling the heat:
- 2007/12/30: DeSmogBlog: Weather-Related Insurance Losses Doubled in '07
- 2007/12/31: SMH: Storms wipe out Suncorp div plan [insurance]
The carbon lobby are up to the usual:
- 2008/01/05: TreeHugger: Competitive Enterprise Institute Digs Deeper Hole, Says CAFE Will Cost Lives
- 2008/01/04: inel: ExxonMobil's position on climate change continues to be misunderstood by some individuals and groups
- 2008/01/04: JEB: The gathering storm (2) [Corbyn]
- 2008/01/04: ERabett: Eli has a little list
- 2007/12/31: DeSmogBlog: Has the NRSP [Not Really Science People] Lost its Funding?
Habibullah Abdusamatov has another global cooling prediction:
- 2008/01/04: Atmoz: Help Me to Help You: Climate
- 2008/01/03: Novosti: A cold spell soon to replace global warming
The Inhofe gang is still getting laughs:
- 2008/01/02: GristMill: The 'Inhofe 400' skeptic of the day - Gwyn Prins and Steve Rayner on climate change
- 2007/12/27: PNT: irrational discourse
- 2007/12/31: AbqJournal: The Inhofe 400
- 2008/01/01: ERabett: Join the 400 Club
- 2007/12/30: GristMill: The 'Inhofe 400' Skeptic of the Day - Today: Chris Allen
- 2007/12/30: Maribo: Religion and the 400 Club
- 2007/12/31: BCLSB: Hard Rockin' Creationist Solos For Skeptics!
- 2007/12/31: BCLSB: One Of Inhofe's "Eminent Scientists" Blames Global Warming On God
Then there was the usual news and commentary:
- 2008/01/03: QuarkSoup: Global warming deaths
- 2008/01/03: DeSmogBlog: Earth's Newest Era is Named After Us! [Anthropocene]
- 2008/01/02: ERabett: Eli's Elevator Speech
- 2007/12/31: ZMag: Ending the 2007 Fast by Ted Glick
- 2008/01/01: Atmoz: The Significance of Small Things
And here are a couple of sites you may find interesting and/or useful:
- Wiki: North Atlantic oscillation
- SolveClimate - Chronicle for a New America
- Common Tragedies - Thoughts on Environmental Economics
- ABC(US): GlobalWarming
- Fight Global Warming - Environmental Defense [GW ads]
- Exxpose Exxon
- Exxon Secrets
- UA:DGESL: Department of Geosciences Environmental Studies Laboratory
- NOAA:GFDL: Tom Knutson's Home Page
- 2006/01/: NOAA:GFDL: Global Warming and Hurricanes
- California Climate Change Portal
- NASA:GPM: Global Precipitation Measurement
More evidence GW humour is black humour:
Regarding the state of Arctic sea ice:
The NOAA has invited public comment on their Revised USCCSP Research Plan:
Late comment on Hansen's 350ppm thesis:
Sea levels are rising:
The conflict between biofuel and food persists:
Meanwhile in the journals:
And on the American political front:
In the UK, there is some serious wrangling over energy:
Meanwhile in Australia:
In Canada, minority neocon PM Harper, continues his do-nothing policy:
Low Key Plug
My first novel Water was published in Canada May, 2007. The American release was in October. An Introductionto the novel is available, along with the Unpublished Forewordand the Launch Talk An overview of my writing is available here.
<regards>
P.S. Recent postings can be found in the week archive and the ancient postings can be accessed here, which should open to this.
"We are the Ones We've been Waiting For.
You have been telling the people that this is the Eleventh Hour.
Now you must go back and tell the people that this is The Hour.
And there are things to be considered:
Where are you living?
What are you doing?
What are your relationships? Are you in right relation?
Where is your water? Know your garden.
It is time to speak your Truth.
Create your community. Be good to each other.
And do not look outside yourself for the leader.
We are the ones we've been waiting for."
-The Elders Oraibi, Arizona Hopi Nation
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