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
June 22, 2008
- A Brief Note
- Top Stories:Domingues et al., Greenland Ice Cores, Melting Arctic
- Food Crisis, Food vs. Biofuel, Food Production
- Hurricanes, GHG Stats, Satellites
- Impacts, Forests, Wacky Weather, Wildfires, Floods & Droughts
- Mitigation, Transportation, Buildings, Sequestration, Geoengineering, Adaptation
- Journals, Misc. Science, Hansen, Pielke
- Kyoto-2, Carbon Trade, Carbon Tax, Optimal Carbon Reduction Strategy
- Politics:International, Security, America, Britain, Europe, Australia, Canada
- Ecological Economics, Media, Books, Courts
- Energy, Solar, Coal, Biofuel, Peak Oil, Cars, Business
- Carbon Lobby, The Usual, Useful Links
- Shameless Self Promotion, .sig
- 2008/06/18: ClimateP: (cartoon - TomTom) The Republican Good News Fairy
Estimations of ocean heat content have been revised dramatically [~50%] upward:
- 2008/06/19: Nature: (ab$) Improved estimates of upper-ocean warming and multi-decadal sea-level rise by Catia M. Domingues et al.
- 2008/06/19: RealClimate: Ocean heat content revisions
- 2008/06/19: CSIRO: Ocean warming on the rise
- 2008/06/18: SciDaily: Ocean Temperatures And Sea Level Increases 50 Percent Higher Than Previously Estimated
Temperatures rose surprisingly quickly in Greenland ~11,000 years ago:
- 2008/06/20: NewScientist: Greenland ice offers clues to last big melt
- 2008/06/19: ClimateP: Science: Greenland can warm 2-4 degrees C in one year!
- 2008/06/19: Eureka: Greenland ice core analysis shows drastic climate change near end of last ice age - Temperatures spiked 22 degrees F in just 50 years, researchers say
- 2008/06/19: Eureka: Ice cores map dynamics of sudden climate changes
The Arctic melt continues to get attention:
- 2008/06/20: MTobis: Sea Ice Update
- 2008/06/19: BBC: Arctic sea ice melt 'even faster' - Arctic sea ice is melting even faster than last year, despite a cold winter
The food crisis remains a top story:
- 2008/06/19: Asia Times: Are we all North Koreans now?
Gas prices in the United States are above US$4 a gallon; global food prices surged 39% last year; and an environmental disaster looms as carbon emissions continue to spiral upward. The global economy appears on the verge of a technical knockout, a triple whammy from energy, agriculture and climate-change trends. Right now you may be grumbling about the extra bucks you're shelling out at the pump and the grocery store; but, unless policymakers begin to address all three of these trends as one major crisis, it could get a whole lot worse.
Just ask the North Koreans. - 2008/06/20: FTimes: Security fears over food and fuel crisis
Western countries have upgraded the food and fuel crisis into a national security concern as they fear record high energy and agriculture commodity costs are destabilising key developing regions of the world. The concerns come as the world suffers for the first time since 1973 from the confluence of record oil and food prices. Corn, soyabean and meat prices jumped this week to all-time highs, while oil prices hit a record of almost $140 a barrel. This shift toward a national security concern will become apparent at Sunday's oil meeting in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, where ministers are expected to warn that developing countries are cracking under the burden of record oil and food costs. - 2008/06/19: Guardian(UK): New study to force ministers to review climate change plan - Exclusive Official review admits biofuel role in food crisis
And the troubling matter of falling food production is not going away:
- 2008/06/22: NYT: In Fertile India, Growth Outstrips Agriculture
- 2008/06/16: CJ: New study finds that growers do not reap benefits of rising food prices
- 2008/06/17: TerraDaily: US breadbasket state Iowa faces crop losses from flooding
- 2008/06/17: FTimes: The rising cost of food - US floods hit food prices
- 2008/06/18: SMH: Record wheat planting forecast
Despite a very dry autumn over much of the eastern grain belt, Australian farmers are still forecast to sow a record 14 million hectares of wheat as they chase high prices created by the global food shortage - 2008/06/17: People's Daily: Corn leaps to record on US floods
[...] Corn gained as much as 3.5 percent to $7.9150 a bushel in Chicago and has advanced 33 percent in the past two weeks. It's up 85 percent in the past year on record demand for biofuels and livestock feed as rising Asian incomes increase meat consumption. - 2008/06/17: People's Daily: Bumper summer harvest expected [in China]
- 2008/06/16: BBC: Malaysia to boost rice production
- 2008/06/16: CBC: U.S. Midwest floods wipe out crops, raise food prices
- 2008/06/16: CBC: Food crisis threatens to undo years of progress in Africa: [Africa Progress Panel] report
- 2008/06/15: EconInv: A Small Farms Paradise?
In the hurricane wars, Typhoon Fengshen zapped the Philippines:
- 2008/06/22: CBC: Few survivors found after ferry capsizes in Philippines [during Typhoon Fengshen]
- 2008/06/22: G&M: Typhoon [Fengshen] sinks Philippines ferry
- 2008/06/22: BBC: Philippine ship stranded by storm [Typhoon Fengshen]
At least four people have been killed after a ferry with some 700 passengers became stranded off the Philippines in the wake of a typhoon, officials say. They say the MV Princess of Stars stalled on Saturday near the central island of Sibuyan after being hit by huge waves from the storm. Some reports from local officials say the ship has begun to sink. Typhoon Fengshen has killed at least 17 people in the Philippines, causing flash floods and landslides. Thousands of people have been evacuated from the path of the typhoon. - 2008/06/17: InternDaily: WHO says Myanmar health system 'back on its feet'
- 2008/06/18: BBC: Unseen Burma: An aid worker's story
- 2008/06/18: Intersection:CCM: Just in Time For Hurricane Season...New Orleans still can't necessarily withstand a strong Category 2...
As for GHGs:
- 2008/06/21: PhysOrg: EU CO2 emissions drop 7.7 percent from 1990 levels: EEA
- 2008/06/18: TreeHugger: China Cements Its Lead in CO2 Production
Meanwhile in near earth orbit:
- 2008/06/20: BBC: Key ocean mission [Jason-2] goes into orbit
- 2008/06/20: NatureTGB: Sea surface science satellite launches - Jason 2
- 2008/06/20: ABC(Au): Sea-level tracking satellite launched
- 2008/06/17: BBC: Space cameras to monitor forests
Plans to use a state-of-the-art camera onboard a satellite to monitor deforestation levels in Africa's Congo Basin have been unveiled - 2008/06/22: Canoe: Prof warns of 'climate change refugees'
- 2008/06/20: ClimateP: Lake Chad now more like Pond Chad
- 2008/06/21: ABC(Au): World heritage sites 'threatened by climate change'
- 2008/06/19: ABC(Au): Melting ice poses threat for whales
- 2008/06/18: ABC(Au): Climate change fuelling conflict, increased refugees: UN
- 2008/06/20: ENN: Warming temperatures dangerously pushing bird migrations ever forward
- 2008/06/20: Eureka: New report available on ecosystems and climate change - Preliminary Review of Adaptation Options for Climate-Sensitive Ecosystems and Resources
- 2008/06/21: TreeHugger: More Trees in the Arctic Could Mean... Worsening Climate Change [due to albedo effect]
- 2008/06/19: News(Au): Warming 'could wipe out whales' - Climate change threatens whale food supply
- 2008/06/18: ClimateP: Nature: Mass extinction linked to sea level change
- 2008/06/18: TreeHugger: Sea Level Fluctuations Played a Crucial Role in Planet's Mass Extinctions
- 2008/06/17: Guardian(UK): Conflicts fuelled by climate change causing new refugee crisis, warns UN
And then there are the world's forests:
- 2008/06/19: ENN: International Carbon Initiative Failing: The Case of Papua New Guinea
- 2008/06/18: Guardian(UK): 108 million pound scheme to save [Congo basin] rainforest to be policed by satellite
- 2008/06/17: CBC: Fund aims to make [Congo Basin] rainforest worth more living than cut down
- 2008/06/17: CBC: NASA study targets northern forest fires
Yes we have no wacky weather, except:
- 2008/06/21: NOAANews: Scientific Assessment Captures Effects of a Changing Climate on Extreme Weather Events in North America
- 2008/06/19: HillHeat: NOAA: Global Warming Has Damaged Our Weather
- 2008/06/20: ENN: Changing climate will lead to more extreme weather: Report
- 2008/06/20: SciDaily: Expect More Droughts, Heavy Downpours, Excessive Heat, And Intense Hurricanes Due To Global Warming, NOAA
- 2008/06/17: ClimateP: Lessons from an Angry Planet
- 2008/06/16: DemNow: Extreme Weather & Global Warming
As for wild fires:
- 2008/06/22: CNN: Lightning sparks hundreds of fires in California
- 2008/06/21: NewScientist: Global warming to spark increase in US wildfires
Speaking of floods & droughts, China got whalloped:
- 2008/06/17: People's Daily: South China faces danger of serious flooding
- 2008/06/17: BBC: More floods threaten south China
- 2008/06/17: CBC: Flood-stricken China braces for more rain - At least 63 dead in recent floods, 1.27 million flee homes
- 2008/06/17: BBC: Flood warning after Chinese rains
- 2008/06/15: TerraDaily: Heavy rains in China leave at least 65 dead or missing
- 2008/06/16: ChinaDaily: 57 killed as rain, floods lash south
- 2008/06/16: ChinaDaily: South China faces danger of serious flooding - worst in 50 years
- 2008/06/15: CBC: 57 dead as 1 million flee southern China floods
- 2008/06/16: AFP: Thousands evacuated as rains lash China quake region - At least 65 people have been killed by the heavy downpours
- 2008/06/19: Wunderground: Two 500-year floods in 15 years
- 2008/06/18: JQuiggin: Bad news on the Murray
The US Midwest flood is getting mainstream coverage:
- 2008/06/21: CBC: Floodwaters cause Mississippi barge bottleneck
- 2008/06/21: AP: River rises again, along with worries in Missouri & Illinois
- 2008/06/22: SMH: US farmers left high and dry
- 2008/06/17: Wunderground: Iowa flood price tag at $2 billion and growing
- 2008/06/17: AP: Mississippi River breaks through Illinois levee
- 2008/06/17: FDL: Levee breaks as Midwest flood damage mounts
- 2008/06/16: AP: Iowa City's flood protections face marathon test
- 2008/06/17: BBC: People along the Mississippi river in the US state of Iowa are preparing for flooding after thousands were forced from their homes in neighbouring areas
- 2008/06/16: CNN: How the floods will hurt the economy
Beyond the human tragedy, the flooding in Iowa and other parts of the Midwest may also lead to higher food prices and lower exports. - 2008/06/16: KSJT: AP etc: A slug of gulf moisture, some northern chill, a big late snowpack and next thing you know Iowa is under water
- 2008/06/15: TerraDaily: Flood ravaged Iowa drenched with more rain
- 2008/06/16: Wunderground: Flood waters recede in Cedar Rapids
- 2008/06/16: WUSTL: Lower Midwest braces for flood onslaught
Elsewhere on the mitigation front:
- 2008/06/22: PhysOrg: At Toyota greenhouse, C02 emissions no villain
- 2008/06/18: WorldChanging: Walking: Still Better Than Driving
- 2008/06/20: QuarkSoup: Walking = 220 mpg
Consider transportation & GHG production:
- 2008/06/18: EnergyDaily: Oil Has Grounded Airlines
- 2008/06/17: CBC: Air Canada cutting 2,000 jobs, trimming capacity
- 2008/06/16: Guardian(UK): Canal boat charts way to greener ships - Zero-emissions hydrogen narrowboat shows vessel efficiency could improve five-fold
While in the endless quest for sustainable building codes:
- 2008/06/22: NYT: The New Trophy Home, Small and Ecological
As for carbon sequestration:
- 2008/06/18: Guardian(UK): Deep-sea carbon storage must be tested, says leading scientist [Wallace Broecker]
- 2008/06/18: Guardian(UK): CO2 disposal in the ocean is a dangerous distraction
- 2008/06/18: Guardian(UK): Deep divisions
One of the world's leading climate scientists [Wallace S Broecker] challenges Greenpeace's opposition to storing CO2 in the depth of the oceans - 2008/06/20: ABC(Au): Ocean seeding a viable carbon reduction option, conference told [by Oceans Nourishment Corporation]
- 2008/06/18: Guardian(UK): LA turns to rainmakers as drought starts to bite
- 2008/06/17: Guardian(UK): Los Angeles to fight drought with 'cloud-seeding'
And on the adaptation front:
- 2008/06/16: ENN: Southern collaboration 'key to adaptation', says climate scientist
Meanwhile in the journals:
- 2008/06/19: Nature: (ab$) Improved estimates of upper-ocean warming and multi-decadal sea-level rise by Catia M. Domingues et al.
Before we get into politics, there was some science done:
- 2008/06/18: Eureka: UC Davis researcher leads climate-change discovery [N cycle]
More on Hansen:
- 2008/06/21: GWWatch: James Hanson -- hero
- 2008/06/20: CSW: "A Climate Hero: An Outspoken Truth"
- 2008/06/16: GristMill: A climate hero: The early years - A look back at James Hansen's seminal testimony on climate, part one
The Pielke fan clubbe again put in an appearance:
- 2008/06/21: MTobis: Surprised to Agree
Meanwhile on the Kyoto-2 front:
- 2008/06/20: Guardian(UK): What happens after Kyoto?
And on the carbon trading front:
- 2008/06/22: PhysOrg: Hong Kong's carbon trading move too little, too late: analysts
The idea of a carbon tax is still bouncing around:
- 2008/06/20: BCLSB: High Gas Prices As A Natural Carbon Tax, Part III
- 2008/06/16: GDTK: Do we still need a Carbon Tax?
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:
- 2008/06/20: DeSmogBlog: Lesson from EU: We Can't Finesse Nature With Accounting Tricks
- 2008/06/17: ENN: The Regulatory Arena for Voluntary Offsets
- 2008/06/16: GristMill: No justice, no cap -- National environmental justice coalition blasts cap-and-trade, backs carbon tax
- 2008/06/16: SMH: For Earth, a carbon price is priceless
Meanwhile on the international political front:
- 2008/06/17: ABC(Au): G8 'not a forum' for mid-term emissions goals: Japan
- 2008/06/17: ENN: Major economies must take lead in climate battle: U.S.
- 2008/06/18: SMH: Interim carbon targets will not be on G8 agenda, says summit host
The Group of Eight nations will not set a target for cutting carbon dioxide emissions by 2020 or 2030 when their leaders meet next month, the Japanese Prime Minister, Yasuo Fukuda, said yesterday, dampening hopes of a step that environmentalists say is critical. Mr Fukuda, who will host the summit of developed nations in northern Japan, also said the G8 should send a message on tackling soaring energy and food prices at next month's summit, but added that the complex problem could not be solved in the short term. Leaders at the summit from July 7-9 are expected to formalise a goal of halving global emissions by 2050 after agreeing last year in Germany to seriously consider that target. - 2008/06/16: GristMill: In China, we'll win or lose - China's emissions are an argument for, not against, America taking action
- 2008/06/16: NEN: G8 wants "clean" coal trials but there is a catch [It doesn't exist yet...]
As for GW & security:
- 2008/06/21: PhysOrg: Russian leader says environment problems a security threat
- 2008/06/22: NakedCapitalism: Russia's President Deems Environmental Problems a Security Threat
- 2008/06/20: DeSmogBlog: Are We Making Nature More Extremist Than Al Queda?
And on the American political front:
- 2008/06/21: Yahoo: Everything seemingly is spinning out of control
- 2008/06/18: ClimateP: EIA bombshell: Offshore drilling "would not have a significant impact on domestic crude oil and natural gas production or prices before 2030"
- 2008/06/19: ClimateP: Note to media: Please ignore biased Rasmussen polling on offshore oil drilling
- 2008/06/17: FuturePundit: American Public Support Oil Drilling In Off Limits Places
- 2008/06/18: HillHeat: Republicans Filibuster Renewable Tax Credit Legislation Again
- 2008/06/17: HillHeat: House Democrats Introduce Climate MATTERS Act
- 2008/06/17: CSW: Scott McClellan and White House global warming spin
- 2008/06/16: CSW: NASA internal investigation of climate science political interference let higher-ups off the hook
- 2008/06/21: TreeHugger: California Rolls Out "Global Warming Score" Labels to Show Vehicles' Emissions
- 2008/06/20: ENN: Why is US Senate delaying on ship pollution legislation?
- 2008/06/17: ENN: Senate blocks debate of clean energy tax credits
- 2008/06/18: BBC: Bush calls for offshore drilling
- 2008/06/18: EconBrowser: Drilling Our Way to ... [ANWR]
- 2008/06/16: GristMill: Who you callin' a carbon tax, buddy? The political chances of carbon taxes
- 2008/06/16: GristMill: The Brownstein diagnosis - What went wrong on Lieberman-Warner?
One hears a lot about the campaigns, not much about their climate & energy policies:
- 2008/06/19: DeSmogBlog: McCain's Definition of Alternative Energy Proves Radioactive
- 2008/06/17: ClimateP: McCain energy bombshell: More oil + dirty coal. That's Bush-lite, crude, and not sweet
- 2008/06/17: FDL: McCain, Just Like Bush: The Answer To Our Energy Problems Is To Do Exactly What Big Oil Wants
- 2008/06/16: CTV: Gore endorses Obama, vows to help get him elected
- 2008/06/16: ClimateP: Memo to media: McCain doubletalks to woo conservatives and independents at the same time
- 2008/06/15: ClimateP: Saudis agree with McCain: Cut gasoline taxes!
- 2008/06/16: GristMill: All that, and Gore - Al Gore to endorse Barack Obama in Detroit tonight
- 2008/06/16: GristMill: Depends on the definition of the word 'mandatory' -- John McCain doesn't appear to understand his own emissions plan
The Gore-apalooza is still bopping along:
- 2008/06/19: QuarkSoup: Gore's Electricity Usage
While in the UK:
- 2008/06/21: TMoS: Britain's Green Revolution
- 2008/06/21: BBC: Green energy push planned for UK
- 2008/06/19: BBC: The UK government is unlikely to meet its target of 10% of electricity being generated by renewable sources by 2010, a committee of MPs has warned
- 2008/06/21: Guardian(UK): We must leave the fossil century behind to reach the golden age of renewable energy, Mr Brown
- 2008/06/21: Guardian(UK): Wind power to drive green revolution
- 2008/06/22: Guardian(UK): Electric cars given official green light to boost climate change goals
- 2008/06/19: Guardian(UK): Britain set to miss EU renewable energy target
- 2008/06/18: BBC: Energy bills could go up by 40%
Household energy bills could increase by as much as 40% this winter, the BBC has learned, as oil and wholesale gas prices hit record highs. The increases could mean households paying £400 more a year on average for their gas and electricity, senior industry sources have said. The increase is far more than analysts have predicted in recent months. It would put more pressure on homeowners already struggling with higher food and fuel costs - 2008/06/17: Guardian(UK): Labour: the polluter's friend
The Tories are putting meat on their green policy bones, while Labour continues to invest in climate-wrecking projects - 2008/06/17: Guardian(UK): Tories to block third runway at Heathrow - David Cameron criticises Gordon Brown for 'pig-headedly' pressing ahead with the scheme
- 2008/06/17: Guardian(UK): [Letters] Climate change: time is running out
- 2008/06/17: Guardian(UK): [Letters] Severn Barrage deserves a thorough appraisal
Here is a poll I would like to see replicated by a third party:
- 2008/06/22: Guardian(UK): Poll: most Britons doubt cause of climate change
The majority of the British public is still not convinced that climate change is caused by humans - and many others believe scientists are exaggerating the problem, according to an exclusive poll for The Observer. The results have shocked campaigners who hoped that doubts would have been silenced by a report last year by more than 2,500 scientists for the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), which found a 90 per cent chance that humans were the main cause of climate change and warned that drastic action was needed to cut greenhouse gas emissions. The findings come just before the release of the government's long-awaited renewable energy strategy, which aims to cut the UK's greenhouse gas emissions by 20 per cent over the next 12 years. - 2008/06/21: PhysOrg: German university town's green plans raise a storm
A plan making solar panels mandatory in the German university town of Marburg sparked a furore Saturday with critics accusing municipal authorities of being Green "dictators." Late Friday, the civic authorities of the town of some 80,000 people led by a coalition of Social Democrats and Greens approved the controversial law aimed at battling climate change and spiralling energy prices. Scheduled to come into force on October 1, the law stipulates that all new houses or those whose roofs or heating systems are being renovated will have to install solar panels. - 2008/06/22: TreeHugger: First Solar City in Germany: Marburg City Council Approves Law Requiring Solar
- 2008/06/18: TreeHugger: European Transportation Sector's Carbon Emissions Increase
- 2008/06/17: Guardian(UK): Europe's century - Despite the Irish no vote, the EU's destiny is to lead the world on security, trade and climate change
Meanwhile in Australia:
- 2008/06/19: ABC(Au): NSW Govt 'lacking leadership' on climate change
- 2008/06/16: ABC(Au): Green power needed to offset desal plant emissions
In Canada, minority neocon PM Harper, continues his do-nothing policy:
- 2008/06/18: CBC: Green group in court showdown with feds over Kyoto law
An environmental group went to court Wednesday to try to force the Conservative government to obey a law passed by opposition members ordering it to comply with the Kyoto Protocol. Lawyers for Friends of the Earth will argue before a Federal Court judge in Toronto that Prime Minister Stephen Harper's government must follow the Kyoto Protocol Implementation Act passed by Parliament a year ago. The act, which passed last June on the strength of opposition support, requires the government to meet the targets it committed to under the international Kyoto Protocol and to submit a plan showing how it would do so. The Conservatives maintain that the Kyoto targets are unattainable after years of inaction by previous Liberal governments and would hurt the economy. - 2008/06/17: JAWL: Tomorrow, a federal court will examine whether Baird can defy the will of Parliament
The Liberals released their carbon tax plan this week:
- 2008/06/19: Liberals: A Green Shift for Canada
- 2008/06/19: Liberals: Bold Liberal Green Shift Will Benefit All Canadians
- 2008/06/20: CBC: Dion tax plan destructive: Alberta
- 2008/06/20: CBC: PM: Dion's carbon tax would 'screw everybody'
- 2008/06/21: CBC: Dion invites Harper to 'adult' debate
- 2008/06/22: Far-n-Wide: Calling Out Harper - Who's playing chess now? The best defence is a good offence, and Dion has successfully turned the tables on Harper.
- 2008/06/21: ScottsDiatribe: Dion tells Harper to grow up and act mature
- 2008/06/21: JBowie: Harper Stands No Chance Against Dion
- 2008/06/22: CanWest: Carbon tax versus intensity targets: Discuss
- 2008/06/19: NunScio: Dion releases carbon-cutting plan
- 2008/06/19: JCherniak: A Green Shift for Canada
- 2008/06/19: KChapman: Dion's Carbon Tax-Shift Policy Will Give Canadians a Positive Choice for the Future
- 2008/06/20: BCLSB: Harper Fucked In Head, Dion Plan Won't Screw Canadians!
- 2008/06/19: TStar: A summer makeover for Stéphane
- 2008/06/19: CBC: Carbon tax plan 'good for the wallet,' Dion pledges
- 2008/06/18: TStar: Dion bets big on carbon tax - Liberals stake future on $14 billion `green shift'
- 2008/06/17: G&M: Carbon tax: the right policy, the wrong time
The Conservative attacks ads [against the Green Shift] seem to be fizzling:
- 2008/06/16: Far-n-Wide: Thud - the sound of the latest Conservative attacks ads falling flat...
- 2008/06/16: KChapman: Looks Like Harper's Negative Ad Campaign Is Backfiring?
- 2008/06/16: Putsch: Tory Tax Ad Tricks
- 2008/06/16: HillTimes: Tory attack ads only working with Conservative base, says poll
- 2008/06/16: BCLSB: Unless Tory Supporters Are Allowed To Vote Twice -- "oily the oil spot" ads a dismal failure...
BC is still wrangling over its carbon plan:
- 2008/06/17: BCLSB: B.C.'s Carbon Tax: The Fury is NOT Palpable
- 2008/06/18: BCLSB: B.C. Poll Shows Gord Campbell Doing Fine With Carbon Tax
- 2008/06/18: CanWest: Most [59%] oppose carbon tax - Anti-tax sentiment a potential threat to Liberals ahead of election, pollster says
The tricky & difficult question of the tar sands looms:
- 2008/06/22: PEF: The OECD and the Tar Sands
And then there is the miscellaneous Canadiana:
- 2008/06/21: PhysOrg: Canada puts brakes on electric vehicles
- 2008/06/18: BCLSB: Toronto Company's Electric Car Can Now Run On Quebec Roads
- 2008/06/22: PnP: Nuclear PR Campaign Begins
- 2008/06/21: TMoS: British Columbia's Limitless Free (Almost) Energy [geothermal]
The movement toward a long term ecologically viable economics is glacial:
- 2008/06/22: ClimateP: Banking on a Clean Future? [WB fubar]
- 2008/06/18: NatureCF: Climate change 'for a crowded planet' [Sachs]
- 2008/06/15: GristMill: GHG policy thoughts, economics edition - The goal of climate policy is not high GHG prices
As for how the media handles the science of climatology:
- 2008/06/17: MTobis: Progress in Pop Climatology
- 2008/06/16: DotEarth: "Green Noise" and "Destructive Interference"
Here is something for your library:
- 2008/06/17: BBC: Climate book is judges' hot pick
A book about global warming has won this year's Royal Society prize for popular science writing. Mark Lynas' Six Degrees: Our Future on a Hotter Planet has already been turned into a TV programme and is now almost certain to experience a jump in sales. The book explains how Earth will change for every degree rise in temperature - from droughts to mass extinctions. - 2008/06/16: Guardian(UK): Our diet of destruction
[Book Preview] _Adapted from Eat Your Heart Out: Why the Food Business Is Bad for the Planet and Your Health_ by Felicity Lawrence - 2008/06/16: DeSmogBlog: Big Oil Gets Sued for Climate Change
Wrestling over a new energy infrastructure continues unabated:
- 2008/06/21: TreeHugger: Graphic Of The Day: USA Residential Energy Consumption Outpacing Population Growth
- 2008/06/18: FuturePundit: Venture Capital Spending On Energy Surges
- 2008/06/18: DeSmogBlog: Solutions: New trading funds highlight expanding role of wind in global warming struggle
- 2008/06/17: People's Daily: What if oil hits the $250 mark?
- 2008/06/15: USAToday: Price jolt: Electricity bills going up, up, up
Utilities across the USA are raising power prices up to 29%, mostly to pay for soaring fuel costs, but also to build new plants and refurbish an aging power grid. Even more dramatic rate increases are ahead. The mounting electric bills will further squeeze households struggling with spiraling gasoline prices. - 2008/06/16: NEN: Ocean energy swell slowly rolling in
- 2008/06/16: OilChange: Pumping more oil is the wrong solution?
- 2008/06/16: AFP: Oil hits historic $139.89 despite 'Saudi promise'
- 2008/06/16: Yahoo: Oil surges to new record high near $140 a barrel
- 2008/06/15: EconBrowser: Saudi oil production plans
Meanwhile among the solar afficionados:
- 2008/06/20: WorldChanging: SuperSCAF [Solar City Air Filtre]: Carbon negative power plants
- 2008/06/17: Atmoz: Solar Power for an Apartment?
- 2008/06/16: PhysOrg: Perfecting a solar cell by adding imperfections
- 2008/06/16: ABC(Au): Solar atlas developed for Victoria, Queensland
- 2008/06/16: TreeHugger: Intel Invests in Solar Power, Forms New Company
- 2008/06/16: Guardian(UK): Solar future brightens as oil soars - World's biggest producer of panels doubles output
The arithmetic of coal carbon is striking home:
- 2008/06/16: ABC(Au): Greenpeace sees coal era over by 2030
- 2008/06/16: WorldChanging: How Clean Coal Cooks Your Brain
Biofuel bickering abounds:
- 2008/06/16: LA Times: Human cost of Brazil's biofuels boom
- 2008/06/16: WaPo: All Biofuels Are Not The Same [Khosla]
- 2008/06/16: SMH: Drivers slow to adopt ethanol
Yes we have a peak oil sighting:
- 2008/06/15: WorldChanging: The Nexus of Peak Oil, Climate Change and Infrastructure
Automakers & lawyers, engineers & activists argue over the future of the car:
- 2008/06/19: CalcRisk: DOT: Americans Drove Fewer Highway Miles in April
- 2008/06/20: ClimateP: U.S. driving down 4.5 billion miles in April
- 2008/06/21: FuturePundit: Driving Cutbacks Continue In America
- 2008/06/21: TreeHugger: US Drivers Traveled 20 Billion Fewer Miles in April of 2008 than Last Year
- 2008/06/19: TheBigPicture: Chart of the Day: US Miles Driven
- 2008/06/18: TreeHugger: World's Most Powerful Electric Truck
- 2008/06/16: ABC(Au): Honda begins production of hydrogen car
- 2008/06/16: PhysOrg: Toyota hybrid battery outpaced by demand
- 2008/06/16: PhysOrg: A promising step towards more effective hydrogen storage
- 2008/06/16: AutoBG: Toyota wonders what comes after lithium?
- 2008/06/16: BBC: Honda makes first hydrogen cars
- 2008/06/16: CBC: Honda rolls out new zero-emission fuel cell car
- 2008/06/16: AFP: Honda starts producing next-gen fuel cell car
The reaction of business to climate change will be critical:
- 2008/06/20: PhysOrg: Business leaders call for global warming action
- 2008/06/20: BBC: A coalition of 99 companies is asking political leaders to set targets for cutting greenhouse gas emissions and to establish a global carbon market
- 2008/06/20: Guardian(UK): Biggest firms call for huge cuts in emissions to start green industrial revolution
- 2008/06/20: ENN: Global business leaders urge huge cuts in emissions
The carbon lobby are up to the usual:
- 2008/06/22: BCLSB: CBS Vincidated? Media Giant Stupid, Not Dishonest In Chalko Affair
- 2008/06/20: GWWatch: Truth brought to bear on Bolt's hypocricy
- 2008/06/20: Deltoid: Another Wacky Theory About Global Warming [Chalko]
- 2008/06/19: Deltoid: Andrew Bolt goes quote mining
- 2008/06/21: BCLSB: Dances With Wingnuts [T.Harris]
- 2008/06/21: BCLSB: Who Pranked CBS? [Chalko]
- 2008/06/19: BCLSB: CRAP! Immensely CRAP!! beyond craptacular reporting by Associated Press
- 2008/06/20: QuarkSoup: Krauthammer Crap
- 2008/06/17: ERabett: Ask for it under the counter in a plain brown wrapper [the Journal of Scientific Exploration]
- 2008/06/16: ERabett: The underbelly of scientifical publishing
- 2008/06/18: Deltoid: Gregg Easterbrook is an idiot
- 2008/06/18: Deltoid: Gore decreases his energy usage so TCPR lies about it
- 2008/06/16: Deltoid: Satellites cause Global Warming!
- 2008/06/16: Stoat: Satellite stupidity
- 2008/06/15: RealClimate: Wired Magazine's Incoherent Truths
- 2008/06/15: BCLSB: Lawrence Solomon: From Credible To Refuted In Under Fifteen Minutes!
Then there was the usual news and commentary:
- 2008/06/19: ClimateP: Nature publishes my climate analysis and solution
- 2008/06/17: BBC: A way of life is feeling the heat
- 2008/06/16: ClimateP: This just in: Great Ice Age of 2008 is STILL over
- 2008/06/16: ABC(Au): Hope heatwave research will prevent deaths
- 2008/06/16: DotEarth: Flooding, Monitoring, Warming, Building
- 2008/06/16: Atmoz: It's June. It's Hot.
- 2008/06/16: ERabett: Twice more -- Rabbet Lab's simple explanation of man made climate warming...
And here are a couple of sites you may find interesting and/or useful:
- CBFF: Congo Basin Forest Fund
- EnviroMedia
- CCA: Climate Change Action
- Carbon Catalog - Carbon Offset Directory
- Wiki: Cretaceous-Tertiary extinction event
- Wiki: Permian-Triassic extinction event
- 2007/12/: IISD: Earth Negotiations Bulletins [Day by day reports in English, French & Spanish]
- ACT for the Earth
- CIRES: Konrad Steffen Research Group
- Ecological Economics
- CDIAC: Trends: Carbon Dioxide Emissions
- REN21: Renewable Energy Policy Network for the 21st Century
A Brief Note:
The hard drive on my olde system has been failing irregulary, so before it goes completely, I have been switching to newer hardware and OS. During this transition period, coverage will lighter.
It's always nice to start with a larf:
The conflict between biofuel and food persists:
There is little news from Myanmar:
More GW impacts are being seen:
Large scale geo-engineering keeps popping up:
And in Europe:
Meanwhile among the 'Sue the Bastards!' contingent:
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>
PS
Recent postings can be found in the archiveand the ancient postings can be accessed herewhich should open to this.
"Internationally we're looking at a 43% inflation rate in food this year."
-Ed Schafer, US secretary of Agriculture, 2008
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