Another Week of GW News, October 19, 2008

Sipping from the internet firehose...

(skip to bottom)

• Top Stories:Canadian Election, Credit Crunch, Melting Arctic, Climate Futures, Sensitivity, Sunspots, Ozone
• Food Crisis, World Food Day, Global Hunger Index, Food vs. Biofuel, Food Production
• Hurricanes, Temperatures, Feedbacks, Paleoclimate, Glaciers, Sea Levels, Other Planets' Climates
• Impacts, Forests, Wacky Weather, Tornadoes, Wildfires, Floods & Droughts
• Mitigation, Transportation, Buildings, Sequestration, Geoengineering
• Journals, Misc. Science
• Kyoto, Kyoto-2, Carbon Trade, Optimal Carbon Reduction Strategy
• Politics: America, Britain, Europe, Australia, China, Japan, Asia, Canada
• Ecological Economics, Apocalypso, Media
• Energy, Black Silicon, Solar, Coal, Biofuel, Nukes, Peak Oil, Efficiency, Cars
• Carbon Lobby, The Usual, Useful Links
• Shameless Self Promotion, .sig

Here's a chuckle for ya:

• 2008/10/16: TI:CF: (cartoon - Roberts) World Wide Webs
• 2008/10/13: TI:CF: (cartoon - Roberts) Hearts of Gold

  The Canadian election has resulted in another Conservative minority government -- which means neocon PM Harper will continue his 'do nothing' policy with regard climate change, and his other largely regressive policies, hindered minimally by a divided opposition:

• 2008/10/15: CarbonFinance: Canada's vote dims hopes on climate change
• 2008/10/18: CanWest: Liberals' grim defeat bad news for Green Shift -- Carbon emissions tax is a good idea, climate experts say
• 2008/10/15: NatureTGB: Oh, Canada (sigh) -- Canadians seemingly turned their backs on the environment in favour of protecting their pocketbooks in their federal election this week.

  The credit crunch, the bailout and the energy - climate struggle implications:

• 2008/10/19: Independent(UK): Green energy is not a middle-class conceit, more the only way forward
  A Green New Deal is essential if we are to enjoy a sustainable prosperity...
• 2008/10/19: PeakEnergy: The Green New Deal, Part 2
• 2008/10/17: FPIF: The Crisis and the Environment by Michael T. Klare
  Given the magnitude and scope of the current economic crisis, the world will no doubt experience a significant economic downturn -- of what degree and duration, no one can say -- profoundly affecting all aspects of U.S. and international society. Of the many areas that will be impacted by the downturn, the environment stands out in particular. It's closely tied to the tempo of resource consumption, and significant efforts to ameliorate environmental decline will prove very expensive and out of reach for already-stretched budgets. The question thus arises: Will the crisis be good or bad for the environment, especially with respect to global warming?
• 2008/10/18: APOV: What Will Be The Impact Of The Economic Crisis On The Environment?
• 2008/10/17: Guardian(UK): Saving the economy or saving the planet is not an either-or
• 2008/10/17: Guardian(UK): Analysis: What would the bank-bail out money buy for the environment?
• 2008/10/17: UN: European Union's climate actions could be economic boon, Ban says
• 2008/10/17: NewScientist: Financial crisis a chance for change, says UN
• 2008/10/16: Google:AP: Crisis bodes ill for climate change talks
• 2008/10/16: JQuiggin: Climate change and the crisis
• 2008/10/16: C411: Climate Legislation Buried by Economic Meltdown?
• 2008/10/15: KSJT: Wires, SF Chronicle, Telegraph, Times of India, etc: Climate change initiatives could be hit by economic turmoil
• 2008/10/15: ClimateP: Q: Is a global economic slowdown good for the climate, as Nobelist Paul Crutzen says?
  A: Of course not. Only efforts to sharply cut CO2 emissions starting immediately would be good for the climate.
• 2008/10/14: Forbes:TFN: Climate deal to help overcome financial crisis-EU
• 2008/10/14: TerraDaily: Financial crisis must not slow talks on CO2 emissions: UN
• 2008/10/13: ZNet: Meltdown Strategies: Financial Disaster and Climate Change
• 2008/10/13: GristMill: Spenders' game -- The economic crisis should prompt more green infrastructure spending, not less
• 2008/10/13: PlanetArk: UN Says Credit Crisis Could Enable "Green Growth"
• 2008/10/12: WaPo: Economic woes chill effort to stop global warming
• 2008/10/13: SF Gate: Fiscal woes could delay climate change efforts
• 2008/10/13: EarthTimes: What warming? Climate change slips among global priorities
• 2008/10/12: TP:WonkRoom: We Can't Wait For A Global Boiling Bailout

  The Arctic melt continues to get a lot of attention:

• 2008/10/16: GWWatch: Arctic melt season post mortem
• 2008/10/17: NatureTGB: Arctic scorecard is glowing red
• 2008/10/17: KSJT: Wires, Newsweek, McClatchy: Arctic report card from NOAA says it's been warm up there
• 2008/10/16: MongaBay: NOAA offers "dramatic evidence" of Arctic warming
• 2008/10/16: ClimateP: NOAA's Arctic report card shows stronger effects of warming in Greenland and permafrost
• 2008/10/17: NewScientist: Arctic air temperatures hit record highs
• 2008/10/17: PeakEnergy: Arctic on thin ice
• 2008/10/17: ADN: Global warming continues to take toll in Arctic regions -- Ocean warmer, and the sea is less salty as ice melts
• 2008/10/17: BostonGlobe: Report says Arctic's warmth at record high
• 2008/10/17: ScottsDiatribe: The Arctic ecosystem continues to degrade
• 2008/10/16: McClatchyDC: Arctic temperatures hit record high [more than 5 degrees Centigrade above normal]
• 2008/10/16: NOAANews: Annual Arctic Report Card Shows Stronger Effects of Warming
• 2008/10/16: NewScientist: Time-lapse footage reveals [Greenland's] ice sheet in crisis
• 2008/10/16: PhysOrg: Report says Arctic temperatures at record highs
• 2008/10/16: Yahoo: Report says Arctic temperatures at record highs

  Forum for the Future released a five scenarios of climate change consequences:

• 2008/10/14: OilChange: Welcome to 2030: Refugees in Antarctica, bio-warfare over water...[FftF]
• 2008/10/13: FftF: [link to 6.7 meg pdf] Climate Futures
  Climate Futures analyses the social, political, economic and psychological consequences of climate change and describes how different global responses to the problem could lead to five very different worlds by 2030
• 2008/10/12: Yahoo: From energy efficiency to war: [Forum for the Future] thinktank sees 2030 climate future

  Nice to see Fergus posting again....:

• 2008/10/18: FergusB: Are we heading for a monster El Nino and an ice free Arctic?

  Rob Grumbine continues his education project:

• 2008/10/17: MGS: Science is collaborative
• 2008/10/16: MGS: Computers in climate

  Michael Tobis kicked off a wrangle over climate sensitivity:

• 2008/10/15: MTobis: Climate Sensitivity is not the Central Issue
  We must stop emitting greenhouse gases entirely.
• 2008/10/17: MTobis: Followup re Huge Sensitivity Arguments

  Sunspots redux:

• 2008/10/14: BCLSB: Solar Cycle 24 Seems To Be Underway
• 2008/10/13: NewScientist: New sunspots may signal end of solar dry spell

  Surface level ozone is rising:

• 2008/10/19: Guardian(UK): Lethal build-up of ozone poses threat to UK

  The food crisis remains a top story:

• 2008/10/16: DerSpiegel: As Banks Are Rescued, Will the World's Hungry Be Overlooked?
  A dramatic increase in food prices over the last year has pushed nearly a billion people to the brink of starvation. The international aid organization Oxfam warns in a new report that the global financial crisis could exacerbate the situation
• 2008/10/16: AllAfrica: IPS: Food Crisis Worsens
  Zimbabwe's agricultural production has been hit by a long list of difficulties -- several rounds of severe drought, a collapsed currency that has made fertiliser and other farm inputs very expensive, ill-considered land redistribution, and brutal pre- and post- election violence by the ruling ZANU-PF that has hurt rural populations most.
• 2008/10/15: TerraDaily: Ethiopia's 'green famine' takes its toll
• 2008/10/16: BBC: Cost of food: Global roundup
• 2008/10/14: WichitaEagle: Record numbers of people are looking for food
• 2008/10/15: BBC: High food costs 'a global burden'
  Almost two-thirds of people - 60% - in 26 countries say higher food and energy prices this year have affected them "a great deal", a BBC report has found
• 2008/10/16: Guardian(UK): Billion go hungry as rich countries fail to pay up, Oxfam says
• 2008/10/15: NatPo: Zimbabwe faces collapse, starvation -- Crisis to get 'much worse,' UN official warns
• 2008/10/14: BBC: Hunger in India states 'alarming'
  Twelve Indian states have "alarming" levels of hunger while the situation is "extremely alarming" in the state of Madhya Pradesh, says [2008 Global Hunger Index] a new report
• 2008/10/12: AllAfrica: ZimStandard: Food Crisis Now a 'National Disaster'

  World Food Day went down this week:

• 2008/10/16: Reuters: Hunger eclipsed by financial crisis on World Food Day
• 2008/10/16: Guardian(UK): Burma's misery
  Supporters of World Food Day can find in Burma a case study in the lethal combination of climate change, poverty and politics
• 2008/10/16: UN: World Food Day reminder of daily crisis borne by millions, say UN officials
• 2008/10/15: BBC: World wakes up to food challenge
  On World Food Day in 2007, the early warning signs that something serious was about to happen to food prices were already apparent.

The International Food Policy Research Institute released a new Global Hunger Index:

• 2008/10/14: IFPRI: 2008 Global Hunger Index -- Key Findings & Facts
• 2008/10/14: IFPRI: New Global Hunger Index -- 33 Countries Have "Alarming" or "Extremely Alarming" Levels of Hunger

  The conflict between biofuel and food persists:

• 2008/10/13: MFF: World food scarcity and the challenges of climate change and bio energy

  And how are we going to feed 9 billion?

• 2008/10/18: BBC: Italy aims for carbon-neutral farm -- Castello Monte Vibiano Vecchio farm An attempt to create a pioneering carbon-neutral farm is starting in Italy
• 2008/10/17: PhysOrg: Armyworms attacking pastures, wheat in Texas
• 2008/10/17: TheNews(Pk): High prices of fertilisers, seeds
• 2008/10/17: GEA: Where Are Food Prices Headed?
• 2008/10/16: PhysOrg: Experts seek cure to global hunger
• 2008/10/16: ENN: Greenpeace: Climate change threatens China's food safety
• 2008/10/15: GristMill: Yo! No GMOs! Non-GM seed and feed make a comeback
• 2008/10/13: Telegraph(UK): Climate change targets could end farming as we know it - NFU
• 2008/10/13: NaturalNews: As Food Prices Rise, Fertilizer Shortage Now Threatens World's Farms
• 2008/10/13: SciDaily: Huge Gap Between World Demand For Fish And What Can Be Sustainably Harvested

  Omar churned up the Atlantic and Norbert the East Pacific, but otherwise it was relatively quiet:

• 2008/10/18: Wunderground: Omar dies, but leaves behind plenty of damage
• 2008/10/16: TerraDaily: Ferocious Hurricane Omar swirls out to sea
• 2008/10/17: Wunderground: Caribbean islands clean up after Omar
• 2008/10/16: Wunderground: Omar intensifies to Category 3, but mostly spares the Lesser Antilles
• 2008/10/16: CBC: Hurricane Omar weakens, swirls into Atlantic's open waters
• 2008/10/15: EarthTimes: Hurricane Omar threatens islands in Caribbean
• 2008/10/15: Wunderground: Virgin Islands brace for Hurricane Omar
• 2008/10/15: Wunderground: Omar steadily strengthening
• 2008/10/15: Yahoo: Hurricane Omar gains strength, nears Puerto Rico
• 2008/10/15: CBC: Hurricane Omar gains strength over Caribbean Sea
• 2008/10/15: AFP: Hurricane Omar gathers force in northeastern Caribbean
• 2008/10/12: TerraDaily: Tropical storm Nana forms in Atlantic Ocean
• 2008/10/14: Wunderground: Omar near hurricane strength; TD 16 slowly strengthening
• 2008/10/12: TerraDaily: Three dead in Mexico from effects of Norbert
• 2008/10/12: Wunderground: Puerto Rico and Hispaniola will get heavy rains from 98L
• 2008/10/13: Wunderground: Dangerous Eastern Caribbean disturbance near tropical depression strength
• 2008/10/13: Wunderground: Tropical Depression 15 forms; new Caribbean disturance a threat to develop

  While elsewhere in the hurricane wars:

• 2008/10/13: Dartmouth: Hurricane Ike triggers Dartmouth's work for the National Center for Disaster Mental Health Research

  As for the temperature record:

• 2008/10/15: NOAANews: Ninth Warmest September for Global Temperatures

  Yes we have feedbacks:

• 2008/10/14: NYT: Rising Temperatures May Dry Up Peat Bogs, Causing Carbon Release
• 2008/10/13: ClimateP: For peat's sake: A point of no return as alarming as the tundra feedback

  While in the paleoclimate:

• 2008/10/14: KSJT: High Country News: An ancient warming in the arched rocks of Wyoming [PETM]

  Glaciers are melting:

• 2008/10/15: ADN: Bad weather was good for Alaska glaciers
  Mass Balance: For decades, summer snow loss has exceeded winter snowfall. Two hundred years of glacial shrinkage in Alaska, and then came the winter and summer of 2007-2008. Unusually large amounts of winter snow were followed by unusually chill temperatures in June, July and August.

Sea levels are rising:

• 2008/10/18: Stoat: One-metre sea-level rise this century, scientists say?
• 2008/10/16: ENN: Scientists to probe Antarctica [Larsen C] for sea rise clues
• 2008/10/14: C411: South Pacific Island Evacuating Due to Global Warming

  Climate systems on other planets got some attention this week:

• 2008/10/13: PhysOrg: Martian weather satellite's first report [MRO]
• 2008/10/13: PhysOrg: Moist Convection Can Drive Jet Streams on All Four Giant Planets
• 2008/10/13: SciDaily: Giant Cyclones At Saturn's Poles Create A Swirl Of Mystery

  More GW impacts are being seen:

• 2008/10/17: ABC(Au): Dire climate predictions for Snowy Mtns
• 2008/10/17: TerraDaily: Climate Change Will Affect Public Health
• 2008/10/16: SciDaily: Global Warming Threatens Australia's Iconic Kangaroos
• 2008/10/15: Straight: David Suzuki: When mammals are threatened, we are threatened
• 2008/10/15: NatureCF: Impacts research -- the next frontier
• 2008/10/15: Eureka: Global warming threatens Australia's iconic kangaroos
• 2008/10/14: BBerg: Climate Change May Harm Health of Humans, Raise Disease Risk
• 2008/10/14: BBC: Alaska village faces eroded future -- the permafrost is melting
• 2008/10/14: SMH: Greenhouse gas threatens food chain
  The predicted rise of atmospheric carbon dioxide will wreak havoc on krill, the tiny crustacean at the heart of the Antarctic food web, a study has shown. Captive-bred krill at the Australian Antarctic Division developed deformities as larvae and lost energy when they were exposed to the greenhouse gas at levels predicted for 2100. The damage meant that the krill were unlikely ever to breed, said a University of Tasmania researcher, Lilli Hale. Polar life, from tiny seabirds through penguins and seals to whales, depends for food on Antarctic krill, Euphausia superba, which has a biomass estimated at around 500 million tonnes. A loss of krill suggested there would be a catastrophic impact on these other species, Ms Hale said.
• 2008/10/13: SciDaily: Climate Change: Pushing Species To The Brink
• 2008/10/13: SciDaily: Climate Change To Devastate Or Destroy Many Penguin Colonies

  And then there are the world's forests:

• 2008/10/19: TreeHugger: Indigenous Rights Crucial To Reducing Carbon Emissions from Deforestation
• 2008/10/17: NatureN: Ignoring forest dwellers' rights will be costly, report predicts -- Deforestation plans will fail unless habitation rights are considered
• 2008/10/17: PhysOrg: EU seeks tougher rules on illegal logging
• 2008/10/17: EarthTimes: Indonesia's Papua rainforest under mounting threat
• 2008/10/17: Eureka: University of Leicester professor adds new perspective to rainforest debate -- Call at Brazil conference to use modern radar technology to monitor forest biomass
• 2008/10/15: Eureka: Forest peoples' rights key to reducing emissions from deforestation
• 2008/10/15: Guardian(UK): Seeing the wood
• 2008/10/13: BBC: Brown's plan to save rainforests
  A new global deal to protect the world's rainforests has been proposed in a report drawn up for Gordon Brown. The idea is part of a review into deforestation and green energy by Swedish businessman Johan Eliasch. The ex-Tory donor says cash put aside for carbon saving in rich countries should be transferred to nations with rainforests in need of protection. Rainforest destruction accounts for about a fifth of the carbon emissions blamed for fuelling climate change.

Yes we have no wacky weather, except:

• 2008/10/12: CBC: Early autumn snow blankets southeastern Saskatchewan

  Meanwhile in tornado alley:

• 2008/10/15: KSJT: USA Today: Tornadoes on record-setting pace in US

  As for wild fires:

• 2008/10/16: Eureka: When it comes to forest soil, wildfires pack 1-2 punch -- New study finds substantial loss of carbon, nitrogen from burned soils -- and connections to warming climate
• 2008/10/15: CNN: Winds ease, helping California firefighters
  More than 20,000 acres burn in Southern California - 58 homes destroyed, more than 1,800 residents flee - Winds had gone as high as 70 mph Tuesday
• 2008/10/15: Guardian(UK): California fires leave two dead and dozens of homes wrecked
• 2008/10/14: CNN: California fires force thousands to evacuate
  Fires have burned 26,800 acres, destroyed 64 structures, governor says - Two deaths are connected to fires in Los Angeles, Ventura counties, officials say - Winds could push fires to pricey neighborhoods near coast, officials say - California governor declared state of emergency Monday
• 2008/10/13: TerraDaily: Firefighters battle blaze north of Los Angeles
• 2008/10/14: WSJ:EnvCap: Burning Brush: Global Warming or McMansions to Blame for California Wildfires?
• 2008/10/14: CBC: Wildfires in southern California force thousands to flee, kill 2
• 2008/10/14: AFP: Firefighters battling deadly blazes in California
• 2008/10/14: BBC: About 1,000 US firefighters are tackling wildfires near Los Angeles, which have caused two deaths, with 12,000 people driven from their homes
• 2008/10/14: Guardian(UK): Two reported dead in Californian fires
• 2008/10/13: CNN: 1 killed in Los Angeles-area wildfire
  Adult male found dead in makeshift shelter, Los Angeles mayor says - First fire has burned 3,500 acres; second has burned 750 acres - About 1,200 people have evacuated; more are expected - Fire inspector says about 30 mobile homes destroyed, all had been evacuated
• 2008/10/13: CBC: Wildfire roars north of Los Angeles

  As for hydrological cycle disruption [floods & droughts]:

• 2008/10/19: BBC: At least seven people have died in flash floods triggered by heavy rains in central Vietnam...
• 2008/10/18: EarthTimes: At least four dead in Central America floods
• 2008/10/18: BBC: Afghan drought -- Fears of winter hardship in the Saighan Valley
• 2008/10/16: TerraDaily: Eight more deaths in Algerian floods
• 2008/10/14: TerraDaily: Ethiopia urges aid for drought victims
• 2008/10/13: BBC: Weak flood defences 'risking lives'
  Recent flood events in Nepal, India and Bangladesh that displaced millions have stoked fears that defences along rivers in the region may not withstand climate change-induced floods, and could result in bigger catastrophes. Experts say many infrastructures are becoming weaker while the rivers' flows are getting stronger - a classic setting for projected climate change calamities. Most floods this year were monsoon-related and many would argue they had nothing to do with changes in the climate. However, the Kosi disaster in eastern Nepal that left millions of Nepalese and Indians homeless was a different story altogether. The devastation was the result of human mistakes. The embankment along the Kosi was not properly maintained, resulting in it being overrun by the meandering river even when there was no flood. The event has forced experts to imagine what could happen if rivers like the Kosi swell as the projected impacts of climate change take hold.

Elsewhere on the mitigation front:

• 2008/10/14: NewScientist: Coastal wetlands may not impede hurricane storm surges
• 2008/10/14: CBC: Antarctic DNA gives climate coping clues
• 2008/10/13: EnergyBulletin: Cool Cuisine: Taking the Bite Out of Global Warming

  As for transportation & GHG production:

• 2008/10/17: WorldChanging: Global Sustainable Tourism Criteria Announced
• 2008/10/13: AutoBG: SolidNav brings batteries onto the water with first all-electric boat motor

  While in the endless quest for sustainable building codes:

• 2008/10/18: GristMill: Live, baby, live -- Architecture 2030's challenge targets would provide five times the energy as offshore and nuclear
• 2008/10/16: CJR: The American Nightmare -- James Howard Kunstler and the tragicomedy of suburban sprawl
• 2008/10/14: PhysOrg: Transforming the 1930s house into an energy efficient home of the future

  As for carbon sequestration:

• 2008/10/19: TreeHugger: Carbon Capture Make Renewables Look Better, Suggests Swedish Report
• 2008/10/13: PhysOrg: Byproduct of steel [slag] shows potential in CO2 sequestration

  Large scale geo-engineering keeps popping up:

• 2008/10/17: GGE: Psychological reasons to reject geoengineering
• 2008/10/14: ABC(Au): Snowy Mtns cloud seeding 'paying off'
  A big cloud seeding trial is being credited for a positive turn-around in lake levels in the New South Wales Snowy Mountains.

Meanwhile in the journals:

• 2008/10/16: ACP: Effect of explicit urban land surface representation on the simulation of the 26 July 2005 heavy rain event over Mumbai, India by M. Lei et al.
• 2008/10/16: ACPD: Spatio-temporal variability and principal components of the particle number size distribution in an urban atmosphere by F. Costabile et al.
• 2008/10/15: ACP: Amplification of obliquity forcing through mean annual and seasonal atmospheric feedbacks by S.-Y. Lee & C. J. Poulsen
• 2008/10/17: VoxEU: Border measures in US climate policy options by Gary Clyde Hufbauer & Jisun Kim
  US climate change policy seems likely to include border measures to address competitiveness concerns. This column warns against such measures, arguing that they will do little to protect US industries, expose the US to retaliatory trade restrictions, and significantly burden the global trading system. The US would be better served by addressing its competitiveness concerns in international negotiations.
• 2008/10/14: PNAS: A role for atmospheric CO2 in preindustrial climate forcing by Thomas B. van Hoof et al.
• 2008/10/14: PNAS: High frequency new particle formation in the Himalayas by Hervé Venzac et al.
• 2008/10/13: ACP: The effect of organic compounds on the growth rate of cloud droplets in marine and forest settings by N. C. Shantz et al.
• 2008/10/13: ACP: Interpreting the variability of space-borne CO2 column-averaged volume mixing ratios over North America using a chemistry transport model by P. I. Palmer et al.
• 2008/10/15: VoxEU: Climate policy uncertainty: Shall we hedge against it? by Valentina Bosetti et al.
  The future of climate change policy is very uncertain due to economic, environmental, and political complexities. This column quantifies the economic cost of delaying action to reduce carbon emissions and argues that the best strategy is to hedge our bets by adopting a mild emissions reduction policy now rather than naïvely waiting for the uncertainties to be resolved.
• 2008/09/17: CC: Geoengineering climate by stratospheric sulfur injections: Earth system vulnerability to technological failure by Victor Brovkin et al.
• 2008/10/12: NatureGeoSci: (ab$) High sensitivity of peat decomposition to climate change through water-table feedback by Takeshi Ise et al.
  [Clip from the Abstract] In our long-term simulation, an experimental warming of 4 °C causes a 40% loss of soil organic carbon from the shallow peat and 86% from the deep peat. We conclude that peatlands will quickly respond to the expected warming in this century by losing labile soil organic carbon during dry periods.
• 2008/10/10: E&ES: (ab$) Consistency of modelled and observed temperature trends in the tropical troposphere by B. D. Santer et al.

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

• 2008/10/14: NOAANews: Aquarius [underwater laboratory] Mission First to Study Ocean Acidification From the Surface to the Seafloor on Florida Coral Reef

  Meanwhile on the Kyoto front:

• 2008/10/16: WaPo: 15 EU countries on track to meet Kyoto targets

  And on the Kyoto-2 front:

• 2008/10/18: Guardian(UK): Bolivia's climate challenge - We need a fair deal so that countries which have contributed little to global warming are not prevented from developing
• 2008/10/15: ENN: Environment officials meet in Warsaw to address climate change
• 2008/10/14: ClimateP: Who will be the biggest obstacle to climate action in the next decade -- China, Russia, India, or us?
• 2008/10/13: Yahoo: Ecologists raise alarm ahead of UN climate summit
• 2008/10/13: IndiaTimes: Transfer money, technologies [from industrialised countries to developing countries] to fight climate
• 2008/10/12: IHT: Ministers in Warsaw to address climate change

  And on the carbon trading front:

• 2008/10/17: PlanetArk: EU, Kyoto Carbon Trading Link "Up and Running"
• 2008/10/16: EnvFin: Relief for carbon market at EU-UN connection
• 2008/10/16: IndiaTimes: EU, Kyoto carbon link to cut climate costs
• 2008/10/15: Reuters: EU, Kyoto carbon registries to connect on Oct 16
• 2008/10/13: CarbonPositive: Carbon market grows despite credit crisis

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

• 2008/10/15: ClimateP: EDF's and MIT's magical thinking on carbon caps and oil
• 2008/10/13: EnvEcon: Here we go again: More on Cap-and-Trade v. Carbon Tax
• 2008/10/14: EnvEcon: What is the opposite of 'polluter pays'?

  And on the American political front:

• 2008/10/19: TP:WonkRoom: Global Boiling Continues To Stoke California's Fires As Bush Recklessly Does Nothing
• 2008/10/17: inel: Hansen offers to help US Dominion 11 as he did UK Kingsnorth 6
• 2008/10/14: CSW: Federal climate science program ill-equipped to measure impacts: Better focus, more support needed
• 2008/10/14: GristMill: State of denial -- Two very un-green candidates compete for South Carolina Senate seat
• 2008/10/14: GristMill: Where we are going and why we are in this handbasket, part 2 -- Deregulation and inequality are bad for both the economy and the environment
• 2008/10/14: GristMill: Green bubble burst? Lawmakers use financial crisis as pretext to screw with climate legislation
• 2008/10/12: CChange: "Drill, Baby, Drill" debunked as "Burn, Baby, Burn the Planet"
• 2008/10/13: EnergyBulletin: [US] Federal energy incentives have chiefly benefited oil, natural gas industries; nuclear, renewables lag
• 2008/10/12: GristMill: Pyle driver -- Brooks Brothers rioter turns attention to energy this election season
• 2008/10/13: ENN: Global warming getting political cold shoulder in U.S. amid economic woes
• 2008/10/13: ThinkP: South Carolina Democratic Senate Candidate [Bob Conley] Is A Global Warming Denier
• 2008/10/10: PostCarbon: The California Natural Gas and Big Truck Addiction Scam

  Florida has released a climate action plan:

• 2008/10/17: ClimateP: Florida, Part 1: A 50% GHG cut by 2025 will SAVE the state $28 billion
• 2008/10/17: C411: Florida Report: Capping Carbon Saves Money
• 2008/10/16: GristMill: Sunshine statement -- Florida's Action Team on Energy and Climate Change unveils full plan to halt warming
• 2008/10/15: GristMill: Stickin' it where the sun does shine -- Florida to release tough climate action plan

  California has released a plan to cut GHGs:

• 2008/10/17: WSJ:EnvCap: California Dreaming: What Does an 80% Cut in Emissions Really Mean?
• 2008/10/16: EconBrowser: Balancing California's Energy Needs with its Environmental Goals
• 2008/10/16: PhysOrg: California releases plan to cut greenhouse gases
• 2008/10/16: GristMill: Schwarzenegger's folly? How the new European carbon standard could backfire
• 2008/10/13: BizJournal: California air board issues draft greenhouse plan, sans specifics

  UCSUSA has produced a report card on federal agency media policies:

• 2008/10/16: UCSUSA: [link to 1.3 meg pdf] Freedom to Speak? A Report Card on Federal Agency Media Policies
• 2008/10/17: WaPo: [US] Agencies Rated on Scientific Candor

  More Bush administration misdeeds:

• 2008/10/14: McClatchyDC: Memos tell wildlife officials to ignore global-warming impact
• 2008/10/15: GristMill: [EPA's Steve] Johnson block deemed 'abuse' of executive privilege -- Oversight Committee says White House overstepped its bounds
• 2008/10/14: Yahoo: Memos tell wildlife officials to ignore global-warming impact
  New legal memos by top Bush administration officials say that the Endangered Species Act can't be used to protect animals and their habitats from climate change by regulating specific sources of greenhouse gas emissions, the cause of global warming
• 2008/10/14: WarmingLaw: Bipartisan Report Confirms that Bush Abused His Power Concerning Climate Change

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

• 2008/10/19: ClimateP: McCain "is not serious about clean energy and he has increasingly walked away from the climate issue."
• 2008/10/18: DotEarth: The Candidates and Climate
• 2008/10/18: TreeHugger: Obama and McCain Discuss Global Warmng, Environmental Views in Interview
• 2008/10/17: GristMill: Out of this League -- League of Conservation Voters releases 2008 congressional scorecard
• 2008/10/17: ThinkP: League Of Conservation Voters Gives McCain '0 Percent' Environmental Rating
• 2008/10/16: NYT: If Elected ... Rivals' Visions Differ on Unleashing Innovation
• 2008/10/17: Ph&Ph: Rating McCain and Obama on Scientific/Technological Innovation
• 2008/10/17: GristMill: Clearing the air -- Energy adviser says Obama would regulate emissions under the Clean Air Act
• 2008/10/16: McClatchyDC: Scientists: Next president needs to act on climate change
• 2008/10/16: ClimateP: Obama to declare CO2 a dangerous pollutant
• 2008/10/15: GristMill: Talking points of no return -- Candidates talk energy in the final debate, but don't stray from their usual talking points
• 2008/10/15: GristMill: Debate climate question
• 2008/10/16: NatureCF: Focus on energy independence in final debate
• 2008/10/16: inel: Nary a peep about climate in final Obama McCain debate
• 2008/10/16: QuarkSoup: Obama to Classify CO2
• 2008/10/16: TP:WonkRoom: McCain's Opposition To Energy Independence
• 2008/10/14: GristMill: Old dog, nuke tricks -- Environment America says McCain's nuclear expansion would be 'an economic disaster'
• 2008/10/12: ClimateP: NYT issues strong editorial on oil, climate, and the election

  While in the UK:

• 2008/10/19: Guardian(UK): On our present course, the bold new carbon target is worthless
• 2008/10/17: Guardian(UK): Can Ed Miliband deliver?
• 2008/10/17: Guardian(UK): The climate change disconnect -- I'd welcome the government's tough new CO2 targets if its other policies weren't going in exactly the opposite direction
• 2008/10/17: Guardian(UK): Another green dream? Britain is setting ambitious targets on emission reductions but the government is failing to deliver
• 2008/10/17: CSN: Nuclear consultation condemned
  A Whitehall consultation on nuclear energy was "fixed", according to environmental campaigners. Greenpeace made the claims on Friday after an independent investigation by the Market Research Standards Board (MRSB) questioned the way in which the work was carried out.
• 2008/10/16: inel: London Evening Standard FoI docs join political dots re Heathrow expansion
• 2008/10/15: Guardian(UK): Army of loft insulators to cut gas bills and tackle climate change
• 2008/10/14: BBC: Forest plan may 'fuel corruption'
  The UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown has launched a plan to save the world's threatened rainforests - but already it is running into opposition. [...] However, some development groups have deep reservations about the plan, believing it could fuel corruption.
• 2008/10/14: Guardian(UK): Global fund 'could pay owners to keep rainforests safe'
• 2008/10/13: Guardian(UK): Rush parliament! Where climate change is concerned, the government is not acting in our interests. It's time to rekindle that suffragette spirit

  Ed Miliband, the head of the new DECC, has set a new emission cuts goal:

• 2008/10/17: ABC(Au): UK commits to 80pc emissions cuts by 2050
• 2008/10/17: inel: Miliband says HM Government will cut carbon emissions by 80% by 2050
• 2008/10/16: Guardian(UK): Government pledges to cut carbon emissions by 80% by 2050 -- New climate change secretary Ed Miliband sets new goal to replace former target of 60%
• 2008/10/16: BBC: Tougher climate target unveiled
  The government has committed the UK to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 80% by the middle of this century. Climate Change and Energy Secretary Ed Miliband said the current 60% target would be replaced by a higher goal. He told MPs the government would not "row back" on green issues in the light of the current economic crisis. He also warned the big energy companies they face a crackdown on "unfair" pricing policies in his first statement as head of the new department. Mr Miliband told MPs the government accepted all the recommendations of the report from Lord Turner's Committee on Climate Change. The target does not include aviation or shipping emissions - but Mr Miliband said they would "play a part" in the government's overall strategy
• 2008/10/16: Guardian(UK): Target to cut carbon emissions may be increased as Miliband insists climate change is priority

  And in Europe:

• 2008/10/18: ClimateP: 15 EU countries on track to meet Kyoto targets
• 2008/10/17: TerraDaily: Analysis: EU climate efforts hit by crisis
• 2008/10/17: EurActiv: Report: EU on track to meet Kyoto target
• 2008/10/17: EUO: EU-15 mostly on track to meet Kyoto targets
• 2008/10/17: PlanetArk: Merkel Says EU Sticks to December Climate Deadline
• 2008/10/17: OilChange: EU CO2 Targets in "Disarray"
• 2008/10/15: Guardian(UK): Cold feet on climate change? Now is not the time for inefficiency or backpedalling on EU policies, despite the faltering climate pact

  At a meeting in Brussels, the EU scrabbled towards a climate policy:

• 2008/10/19: PhysOrg: Italy will sign EU climate plan with revision clause: report
• 2008/10/17: EurActiv: Brussels readies for tough climate negotiations
• 2008/10/16: CBC: EU upholds climate plan despite financial turmoil
• 2008/10/17: Xinhuanet: EU summit focuses on financial crisis, climate change
• 2008/10/17: Times(UK): EU climate change push in disarray as Italy joins Iron Curtain revolt
• 2008/10/17: BBC: Budget fears dominate EU summit
  Anxiety about national budgets dominated an EU summit where the rescue and supervision of banks vied with climate change as the most pressing issue. The severity of the financial crisis has had an impact on the EU's ambitious plans to cut greenhouse gas emissions, which look likely to be watered down under pressure from a new "eastern bloc", along with Italy.
• 2008/10/17: SMH: Berlusconi warns of veto for EU greenhouse cuts
• 2008/10/16: Guardian(UK): EU leaders split on cost of meeting climate targets
• 2008/10/16: Guardian(UK): The EU has 10 weeks to broker a deal on climate change
  Europe's credibility will be in tatters at the Copenhagen summit next year if its leaders cannot reach a deal beforehand on how to share the burden of climate change targets
• 2008/10/16: Guardian(UK): EU pledges to lead climate change fight despite financial crisis
  The French president warned EU leaders they will face ridicule if they renege on their low-carbon targets
• 2008/10/16: EurActiv: EU weighing compromises to clinch climate deal
• 2008/10/16: EUO: Climate package must now be 'cost-effective'
• 2008/10/16: ClimateP: Economy doesn't trump climate : EU sticks by GHG plan, UK goes for 80% cut.
• 2008/10/16: ABC(Au): EU pledges to maintain emissions goals
• 2008/10/15: ENN: EU leaders guard economies in climate battle
• 2008/10/16: ABC(Au): Financial crisis makes climate change plan too costly: EU
• 2008/10/16: EarthTimes: EU summit backfire sets up for bumpy climate ride
• 2008/10/16: EarthTimes: EU backs December date for climate deal
• 2008/10/15: TerraDaily: Italy, Poland threaten to veto EU climate change plans
• 2008/10/16: BBC: EU 'holds firm' on climate goals
• 2008/10/16: al Jazeera: EU climate goals survive crisis
  Leaders of the European Union (EU) have decided to stick to climate change targets despite some members urging caution in the wake of the global financial crisis.
• 2008/10/15: EUO: EU leaders have second thoughts on bank rescue and green goals
• 2008/10/14: BBerg: EU's [Environment Commissioner, Stavros] Dimas Expects Climate Rules Approval Before '09
• 2008/10/14: IHT: Huge fight looms in EU over climate change
• 2008/10/15: EarthTimes: Scrap deadline for climate deal, Poland tells EU
• 2008/10/15: EarthTimes: EU climate-change plans: the proposals and the problems
• 2008/10/15: EarthTimes: Climate row claims first victim ahead of EU summit [as the French government dropped plans to propose a common set of rules on how to cut greenhouse-gas emissions]
• 2008/10/15: BBC: Climate plan concern as EU meets
• 2008/10/15: CBC: Economic threat warrants easing greenhouse-gas targets, some EU countries say
• 2008/10/15: Guardian(UK): EU climate pact in crisis ahead of summit - Friction over methods to meet agreed targets - Sarkozy proposals face UK and German opposition
• 2008/10/14: EUO: EU summit to see battle over union's green ambitions
  European Commission chief Jose Manuel Barroso has urged EU leaders set to gather for two-days talks in Brussels this week (15-16 October) not to use the ongoing financial crisis to sacrifice the EU's ambitious, although costly, green goals. Meanwhile, some EU states are gearing up for a heated debate on the issue.
• 2008/10/14: EurActiv: EU summit to balance climate goals and economy
• 2008/10/13: BBerg: Climate Talks Push Ahead in Poland Amid Credit Crunch
• 2008/10/14: ENN: Climate deal to help overcome financial crisis: EU
• 2008/10/13: WSJ:EnvCap: Changed Climate: Meltdown Has Europe Backpedaling on Climate Caps
• 2008/10/13: OilChange: Financial Crisis Undermines Climate Change Action

  Meanwhile in Australia:

• 2008/10/19: SMH: Solar rebates go sky high
  The national solar-panel rebate for Australian homes is so popular that the Federal Government has handed out $150 million - the equivalent of three years' funding - in 16 months. Only four months into this financial year, the bucket of money put aside to subsidise solar panels is empty. However, Federal Environment Minister Peter Garrett said the Government would continue to fund the initiative out of next year's budget. High demand has meant that approval for rebates takes two months as bureaucrats in the Environment Department find themselves swamped by applications.
• 2008/10/18: ABC(Au): Emissions scheme will stimulate economy: Garnaut
• 2008/10/17: ABC(Au): Fight against climate change must continue: Rudd
  Prime Minister Kevin Rudd says worldwide action against climate change must continue despite the worsening global economic crisis.
• 2008/10/16: ABC(Au): Positive response to Dapto climate change forum
  The New South Wales Department of Environment and Climate Change says it received a positive response to a climate change forum it held at Dapto yesterday. The forum was to inform the community about the potential impacts of climate change and seek feedback on State Government plans to address key issues.
• 2008/10/16: ABC(Au): Greens accuse candidates of "greenwash"
• 2008/10/16: ABC(Au): ACT warned to expect hotter days, less rain
• 2008/10/16: PeakEnergy: [Aus. PM Kevin] Rudd: Market chaos won't slow carbon scheme
• 2008/10/16: SMH: Forest firm told to pay $2m for damaging islands
  One of Australia's largest forest plantation companies has been ordered to pay $2 million after a Federal Government investigation of its operations on the Tiwi Islands in the Northern Territory found it had failed to protect vital rainforests and wetlands.
• 2008/10/15: ABC(Au): Climate change audit of local businesses
  The Department of Environment and Climate Change has conducted a review and audit of 14 industrial businesses in Wollongong. The audit was designed to assess emissions that could lead to local air, water and noise pollution.
• 2008/10/15: ABC(Au): Carbon scheme could make Port Pirie smelter 'unviable'
  There has been a call for changes to the Federal Government's emissions trading scheme, to take regional economies such as Port Pirie's into consideration. The city's smelter operator Nyrstar says the current form of the carbon pollution reduction scheme could make its Port Pirie operation unviable.
• 2008/10/14: TerraDaily: Financial crisis won't delay Australian carbon trade: PM [Rudd]
• 2008/10/13: ABC(Au): Financial crisis no reason to delay emissions trading: Garnaut
  The Federal Government's climate change adviser Ross Garnaut says the global financial crisis is not a good reason for the Government to delay its proposed emissions trading scheme. The Government wants the scheme to begin in 2010, but there have been calls for it to be delayed because of the turmoil on the global financial markets.
• 2008/10/13: ABC(Au): The Bureau of Meteorology says Gippsland, in south-east Victoria, is likely to have another dry summer
• 2008/10/13: ABC(Au): Climate Change Minister Penny Wong says the Government will resist calls for it to delay the introduction of an emissions trading scheme
• 2008/10/13: ABC(Au): Labor, Libs tight-lipped on $70m solar factory plan
  Both major ACT political parties have given a guarded response to a Canberra company's plan to build a $70 million solar cell factory in the Territory. Spark Solar says it wants to build the factory possibly in Hume or Mitchell but it is also considering attractive incentives offered by the New South Wales and Victorian Governments. It says if the ACT Government provides it with a loan guarantee it would seal their decision to stay local.

It's been a bad week for effective climate change action in Canada:

• 2008/10/18: TreeHugger: Let's Have a Coalition Against Climate Change in Canada
• 2008/10/17: BCLSB: Requiem For A Green Plan: The Green Shift As Policy
• 2008/10/17: TStar: Dion ignored Green Shift warnings
  Liberal Leader Stéphane Dion was warned by the party's own pollster seven weeks before launching his Green Shift plan that it was a "vote loser, not a vote winner." Despite the confidential warning to senior campaign officials April 29 from pollster Michael Marzolini, the Dion team pressed ahead and, with great fanfare, announced the plan on June 19.
• 2008/10/15: Maribo: RIP the Green Shift
• 2008/10/16: CanWest: Canadians didn't see green and vote red -- they saw red and voted blue
  In the same week the world's economy teetered at the edge of a precipice, and in the same week we went to the polls to elect a government, I confess that the news story that had the greatest effect on me had nothing to do with either. It was the front-page story in Monday's Sun on the collapse of B.C.'s bird populations. If you missed it, the story cited bird population surveys showing crashes that make Wall Street's look piddling: olive-sided flycatchers, down 75 per cent; barn swallows, down 80 per cent; red-eyed vireos, down 85 per cent. This was happening to bird species worldwide.
• 2008/10/16: ChronicleHerald: Green Shift failure worries Suzuki
• 2008/10/16: CanWest: Dion's Green Shift deserves a better end
  One almost certain casualty of this week's election is Stéphane Dion's Green Shift. Count it as gone, and gone for good. So resoundingly did Canadian voters reject the Liberal leader that his plan to save the planet from climate change is likely to join Joe Clark's 18-cent-a-gallon gasoline tax and Pierre Trudeau's National Energy Policy on the slagheap of toxic electoral platforms.
• 2008/10/15: G&M: The environment was not a winning issue on this campaign trail
• 2008/10/15: OilChange: Harper's Victory is Bad News for the Environment
• 2008/10/13: CanWest: Climate author goes political -- Scientist endorses Dion to deal with 'the defining problem for humanity'

  Wrangling over the BC energy & climate plan continues:

• 2008/10/17: G&M: Bill Clinton praises B.C.'s carbon tax
• 2008/10/16: Tyee: Greens say no to big dam plan [Site C in the Peace River Valley]
• 2008/10/15: CBC: Working with Ottawa possible despite carbon tax differences: Campbell
• 2008/10/15: CanWest: Political lessons for the premier
  One question on my mind as I settled down in front of the TV last evening was this: What lessons should Premier Gordon Campbell and Opposition leader Carole James be looking for in the federal results? Specifically, I wondered, what about the carbon tax, a plank of both the federal and provincial Liberals? Plenty of analysts predicted this policy proposal would spell the end for Stephane Dion, and plenty more say it'll sink Campbell, too. So is it as bad as it's critics claim it to be? The answer is hard to read.
• 2008/10/14: BCLocalNews: B.C. enters wind energy era

  Problems in Ontario:

• 2008/10/17: TStar: Red tape halts $300M wind farm -- Long wait for provincial approvals on project near Goderich proves too costly for Alberta firm

  The tricky & difficult question of the tar sands looms:

• 2008/10/17: Reuters: Credit crunch forces Canada oils to make cuts

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

• 2008/10/14: OilDrum: A Long Term Solution to Our Financial Crisis: The Other Forms of Capital
• 2008/10/16: NewScientist: Why politicians dare not limit economic growth
• 2008/10/16: NewScientist: How our economy is killing the Earth
• 2008/10/15: Guardian(UK): Tobin's nice little earner -- A levy on currency transactions could raise billions and act to calm markets in turmoil
• 2008/10/14: Guardian(UK): This stock collapse is petty when compared to the nature crunch
  The financial crisis at least affords us an opportunity to now rethink our catastrophic ecological trajectory
• 2008/10/13: DotEarth: Growth Economics on a Finite Planet [Herman Daly]
• 2008/10/13: GristMill: Brit's Eye View: Is this the end of capitalism as we know it? The financial crisis could open up new opportunities for sustainability thinking
• 2008/10/13: SwissInfo: Crisis leads to ecological crossroads
  The current financial crisis presents an opportunity to re-examine the strain on natural resources, according to a Swiss expert. Environmental economist Mathis Wackernagel tells swissinfo that it is time to rethink the concept of continuous growth. Increased consumption of resources makes us poorer and undermines our future, he says

Apocalypso anyone?

• 2008/10/17: CCurrents: Fear The Coming Nature Crunch
  This is nothing. Well, nothing by comparison to what's coming. The financial crisis for which we must now pay so heavily prefigures the real collapse, when humanity bumps against its ecological limits.
• 2008/10/16: EnergyBulletin: Protecting our families and future in a time of crisis
• 2008/10/14: Monbiot: This Is What Denial Does

  As for how the media handles the science of climatology:

• 2008/10/17: KSJT: Col. Journalism Review: Writers on many beats gather to talk climate change

  Late coverage of the ABC ad censorship:

• 2008/10/13: BSD: Alliance for Climate Protection ad censored by ABC

  Developing a new energy infrastructure is a fundamental challenge of the current generation:

• 2008/10/19: PeakEnergy: Future Still Bright For Coal Seam Gas?
• 2008/10/19: PeakEnergy: Morgan Stanley's Tidal Powered Data Centre
• 2008/10/17: Reuters: Canada diesel shortage seen lasting another month
• 2008/10/16: GristMill: [US specific] Pop pop, quiz quiz -- Take a fun quiz on energy
• 2008/10/16: GristMill: 'The great growth industry of the 21st century' -- Lester Brown talks about renewable energy expansion
• 2008/10/17: TreeHugger: Renewable Energy Economy 101: Lester Brown Updates Us On the Story So Far
• 2008/10/17: TreeHugger: Don't Just Take it From Me: IEA Warms Up to Feed-in-Tariffs for Renewable Energy
• 2008/10/15: GristMill: New energy economy emerging in the United States -- Wind, solar thermal, and geothermal development outpaces expectations
• 2008/10/16: TreeHugger: Could Solar Power Satellites Beam Down Gigawatts of Energy?
• 2008/10/16: NEN: Geothermal gets hot
• 2008/10/16: PeakEnergy: Ethiopia To Build Largest Wind Farm in Africa
• 2008/10/16: WSJ:EnvCap: Going Down: What Will Falling Oil Prices Do to Clean Energy?
• 2008/10/16: CBC: Oil retreats under $70 US
• 2008/10/16: CalcRisk: Oil Below $70 per Barrel
• 2008/10/13: RigZone: MMS [Minerals Management Service]: '81 Evacuated Platforms, 43.3% of Gulf Oil Production Shut-In'
• 2008/10/13: WSWS: Hard winter ahead -- US heating and power costs to rise, utility cutoffs to follow
• 2008/10/13: ETS: Credit Crisis Meet Power Crisis - New Study Warns US Blackouts Loom in '09 -- California Looks Like 'Ground Zero' (Pt. 1 of 2)
• 2008/10/14: Guardian(UK): Energy concerns rekindle love affair with open fires -- Sales of woodburning stoves and demand for chimney sweeps and coal surge amid fears about energy supplie
• 2008/10/14: CBC: Methane hydrates: Energy's most dangerous game
  All the energy America needs for the next 100 years lies under the sea off the coast of South Carolina. One problem: Digging it out could cause a global climate disaster. Welcome to the final frontier in fossil fuels, the wild card in climate change theories and the dark horse in the scramble to secure access to clean energy. Meet methane hydrates, the world's most promising and perilous energy resource.
• 2008/10/13: PhysOrg: ITER, IAEA sign deal to move nuclear fusion research forward
• 2008/10/13: SwissInfo: Fusion will be cracked "within 30 years"
  Despite the complexity and high research and development costs, scientists are convinced they can unlock the massive power of nuclear fusion within a generation

Claims of dramatic [300 percent] increases in efficiency for 'black silicon' raised a few eyebrows:

• 2008/10/15: Guardian(UK): 'Black silicon' boosts solar cell efficiency -- Rough surface means black silicon traps wide range of light frequencies, says company after decade of development
• 2008/10/13: AfterGutenberg: Black Silicon
• 2008/10/15: PeakEnergy: SiOnyx And "Black Silicon"
• 2008/10/12: NYT: Intuition + Money: An Aha Moment
  It started with a Harvard physicist acting on a hunch. It ended up producing a new material, called black silicon, that could have a broad impact on technologies ranging from ultrasensitive sensors to photovoltaic cells. On Monday, Harvard plans to announce that it has licensed patents for black silicon to SiOnyx, a company in Beverly, Mass., that has raised $11 million in venture financing.
• 2008/10/13: TreeHugger: 'Black Silicon' Breakthrough to Change Solar Power Forever?

  Meanwhile among the solar aficionados:

• 2008/10/13: SolarDaily: The Place Of Solar PV Technology In The Current Energy Market
• 2008/10/17: PeakEnergy: Mass Production of Plastic Solar Cells
• 2008/10/16: PhysOrg: New solar energy material captures every color of the rainbow
• 2008/10/16: TreeHugger: 1.1 Megawatt Solar Array Installed on HP Printer Factory in San Diego
• 2008/10/16: TreeHugger: 30-Fold Increase in Solar Power Possible by 2016, If Solar Industry and Utilities Collaborate to Make it Happen
• 2008/10/14: TreeHugger: New Solar Energy Potential Map Seamlessly Covers All of Western Hemisphere
• 2008/10/14: TreeHugger: SolarCity SolarLease Progam Expanding to Arizona and Oregon
• 2008/10/14: OregonLive: PGE to roll out the Northwest's largest solar project [1.1 megawatts]
• 2008/10/13: GristMill: The game is changing -- Utilities moving in on distributed generation solar markets
• 2008/10/13: BizJournal: Solar tax credit gives huge opportunity to PG&E
  As the solar industry reveled in the better-than-expected 8-year tax-credit extension Congress passed October 2, PG&E was celebrating, too. Utilities will for the first time be able to collect that 30 percent credit as part of the federal government's latest extension. And that means utilities will now be able to develop their own solar or wind or biomass power plants rather than relying solely on private developers.

The arithmetic of coal carbon is striking home:

• 2008/10/17: CSM: What is 'clean coal,' anyway?
• 2008/10/17: JFleck: Coal's Welsh Comeback
• 2008/10/17: WSJ:EnvCap: Coal Storage: Clean Coal's Next Big Hurdle?
• 2008/10/16: DeSmogBlog: Report outlines major risks of "clean coal"

  Biofuel bickering abounds:

• 2008/10/17: GristMill: Whatever happened to cellulosic ethanol? AP: cellulosic 'not even close' to being ready to satisfy government mandates

  The nuclear energy controversy continues:

• 2008/10/17: NewsObserver: [Raleigh] Reactors likely to cost $9 billion -- Progress Energy doubles estimate

  Yes we have a peak oil sighting:

• 2008/10/16: FCNP: The Peak Oil Crisis: The Crash of 2008
• 2008/10/13: QuarkSoup: Peak Oil and all the Crap
• 2008/10/13: OilDrum: My April 2007 Forecast Regarding The Connection Between Peak Oil and the Collapse of the Monetary System
• 2008/10/12: iReport: From the Subprime Crisis to the Financial Meltdown, Peak Oil the Hidden Responsible

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

• 2008/10/17: ClimateP: Hybrid production costs may drop two-thirds within 10 years
• 2008/10/17: GristMill: The future is small -- Gas-efficient and diesel 'city' cars are creating a buzz
• 2008/10/14: PeakEnergy: Berlin Announces Plans for World's Largest Community Electric Car Infrastructure
• 2008/10/13: TreeHugger: 57 MPG Toyota iQ Goes on Sale in Europe, No U.S. Release Date Yet

  The carbon lobby are up to the usual:

• 2008/10/19: FergusB: Why we should keep talking, nail denialism permanently and, most of all, act now on climate change...
• 2008/10/17: FergusB: Well done, Watts, but...
• 2008/10/18: ERabett: Users
• 2008/10/16: GWWatch: Pay the deniers, call the tune
• 2008/10/15: GWWatch: Get in early for a breakthrough in AGW Denial
• 2008/10/18: TreeHugger: Skeptics' Claim of Cooling Climate 'Consensus'? Bull, Says New Research
• 2008/10/16: inel: The Reliability of CO2 Ice Core Studies by Zbigniew Jaworowski
• 2008/10/14: Stoat: Revenge of the pollsters [Bray & von Storch]
• 2008/10/16: Deltoid: Monckton on the commie plot against him
• 2008/10/15: Deltoid: The Australian's War on Science XXI
• 2008/10/14: Tamino: Bjorn Lomborg: How did you get those numbers?
• 2008/10/14: ClimateP: Yet another denier talking point melts down
• 2008/10/14: Deltoid: Bray again
• 2008/10/13: GristMill: No Moore -- Greenpeace formally disavows any connection to industry shill Patrick Moore
• 2008/10/13: MGS: Ad hominem

  Then there was the usual news and commentary:

• 2008/10/18: TreeHugger: The American Museum of Natural History Tackles Climate Change
• 2008/10/18: TreeHugger: 12 Colleges Chosen to Fight Climate Change
• 2008/10/17: CourierMail: Gwynne Dyer focuses on human survival in climate debate
  For a man who has spent almost his entire adult life engaged by the politics of war and international affairs, Gwynne Dyer presents a most unlikely greenie.
• 2008/10/17: TreeHugger: Cornell U. Creates Climate Action Plan
• 2008/10/16: NatureCF: Watching peat dry
• 2008/10/15: DeSmogBlog: Change your leaders: Take II
• 2008/10/15: CBC: Conservation group [IUCN] calls for deeper cuts to greenhouse gas emissions
• 2008/10/13: ClimateP: Why scientists aren't more persuasive, Part 2: Why deniers out-debate "smart talkers"
• 2008/10/13: Tamino: Predicting the "Weather"
• 2008/10/12: RealClimate: Tropical tropospheric trends again (again)
• 2008/10/13: NEN: 2025, Emissions free and thriving -- report
• 2008/10/17: QuarkSoup: Linear Correlations - A Love Story [tutorial]

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

• AMNH: Climate Change: The Threat to Life and A New Energy Future
• EPA:NCEE: Economics of Climate Change
• IFPRI: International Food Policy Research Institute
• UNL: Drought Monitor
• BOM: The South Pacific Sea Level & Climate Monitoring Project
• Climate Progress
• Logical Science - Defending the scientific consensus from vested interests
• Climate Choices - Global Warming and Climate Change in California
• LE: Lomborg Errors
• CDP: Carbon Disclosure Project
• CPC: Climate Protection Campaign
• NASA:SORCE: Solar Radiation and Climate Experiment
• Steve Sherwood's Global Warming FAQ

My first novel Water was published in Canada May, 2007. The American release was in October. An Introductionto the novel is available, along with the Unpublished Forewordand the Launch Talk. An overview of my writing is available here.

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

"Saving the planet is not an after-dinner drink, a digestif you take or leave. Climate change does not disappear because of the financial crisis." -José Manuel Barroso

• Global Warming Links
• Global Warming News Archive
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• Energy News
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Last modified October 19, 2008