Another Week of GW News, December 7, 2008

Sipping from the internet firehose...

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December 7, 2008

• Top Stories:Poznan, Recession, UN Atlas, Methane, Nahcolite, IEA WEO. THC, ICE, Melting Arctic, Antarctica
• Food Crisis, Food vs. Biofuel, Food Production
• Hurricanes, GHGs, Carbon Cycle, Temperatures, Feedbacks, Paleoclimate, Glaciers, Sea Levels, Satellites, DSCOVR
• Impacts, Forests, Climate Refugees, Wacky Weather, Floods & Droughts, Venice
• Mitigation, Transportation, Buildings, Sequestration, Geoengineering, Adaptation
• Journals, Misc. Science, Hansen
• Kyoto-2, Carbon Trade, Carbon Tax, Optimal Carbon Reduction Strategy
• Politics:International, Resource Wars, America, Britain, Europe, Australia, India, China, Russia, Asia, Canada
• Ecological Economics, IPAT, Apocalypso, Media, CNN, Books, Courts
• Energy, Solar, Coal, Biofuel, Nukes, Peak Oil, Efficiency, Cars, Business, Greenwashing
• Carbon Lobby, Miscellaneous Climate, Useful Links
• Shameless Self Promotion, .sig

Laugh. I dare ya:

• 2008/12/03: SeattlePI: (cartoon -- Horsey) As the clock ticks down on the Bush administration...
• 2008/12/03: TI:CF: (cartoon - Roberts) Running on empty
• 2008/12/03: TerraDaily: Excuse me, do you speak climate? [Poznan humour]
• 2008/12/02: TI:CF: (cartoon - Roberts) Fashion victims
• 2008/12/01: TI:CF: (cartoon - Roberts) Long-game

  The COP 14 meeting in Poznan, Poland:

• UNFCCC: The United Nations Climate Change Conference in Poznan', 1-12 December 2008
• COP14
• NatureN: Poznan Coverage
• 2008/12/07: ABC(Au): No emission targets expected from Poland talks: Wong
  Climate Change Minister Penny Wong says people should not expect concrete greenhouse gas reduction targets to come from this week's UN climate change meeting in Poland.
• 2008/12/06: Reuters: Climate protesters demand swifter U.N. action [Poznan]
• 2008/12/03: CarbonFinance: UN climate talks kick off
• 2008/12/01: DerSpiegel: Kyoto II in Poznan -- Can the Climate Survive the Financial Crisis?
• 2008/12/06: Guardian(UK): Poznan is a shambles -- The world cannot afford the climate conference's foot-dragging on carbon cuts. We need action now
• 2008/12/04: UN: Next year will be critical year for action on climate change, UN officials say
• 2008/12/05: ClimateP: Youth report from Poznan': Taking Back Our Future
• 2008/12/05: RushPR: Doing 'Nothing' at Poznan Seems to Be Par for the Course
• 2008/12/05: BizStd: The agenda for Poznan
• 2008/12/04: FAO: Farms and forests can fight climate change -- Incentives needed in developing countries
• 2008/12/04: UN: Farms, forests can help fight climate change, says UN agriculture agency [FAO]
• 2008/12/04: KSJT: Bloomberg, NYTimes, other Press: Trickle from or about the UN Climate Talks
• 2008/12/04: GristMill: Changing climate targets in Poland -- Poznan: Least developed countries present CO2 targets of 350 ppm
• 2008/12/05: PacificMag: 'Small Islands Should Not Have To Negotiate For Their Survival'
• 2008/12/05: PacificMag: Small Islands Tell World Summit They Want Adaptation Fund 'Disbursed Expeditiously'
• 2008/12/04: TerraDaily: Thwarting Efforts To Use Carbon Markets To Halt Deforestation
• 2008/12/03: EarthTimes: US criticizes lack of clean technology progress in climate talks
• 2008/12/04: ENN: Island states seek tougher U.N. climate deal
• 2008/12/01: ENN: UN climate summit seeks clarity
• 2008/12/04: ENN: Climate action
• 2008/12/04: Reuters: Rich, poor in dispute over rainforest cash
  Brazil ruled out on Thursday letting rich countries offset their greenhouse gas emissions by helping to save the Amazon rain forest, an idea under active discussion by the European Union.
• 2008/12/03: Yahoo: Deadline for global climate treaty in question
• 2008/12/04: NTI: Drowning countries clutch at monetary straws [Poznan]
• 2008/12/01: ENS: Youth Embarrassed By U.S. Delegation at Climate Conference
• 2008/12/03: EurActiv: MEPs to push development agenda at UN climate talks
• 2008/12/03: GreenGrok: Rain Forests to Headline at Poznan...
• 2008/12/03: KSJT: One city, many stories: UN Climate Talks heat up in Poland
• 2008/12/03: GristMill: Posting from Poznan: Obama buzz -- Obama injects hope into climate negotiations, even though he's not attending
• 2008/12/03: GristMill: Negotiations and love songs -- Humanity is still bargaining with climate change
• 2008/12/04: PacificMag: LDCs [Least Developed Countries] Need More Financing To Adapt To Climate Change
• 2008/12/04: PacificMag: AoSIS [Alliance of Small Island States] Rejects IPCC's Post Kyoto Proposal
• 2008/12/04: PacificMag: Least Developed Countries Frustrated With Distribution Rate Of Funds
• 2008/12/02: WorldChanging: Why Does Poznan Matter?
• 2008/12/03: ENN: Island states seek tougher U.N. climate deal
  A group of 43 small island states called on Wednesday for tougher goals for fighting global warming than those being considered at U.N. climate talks, saying that rising seas could wipe them off the map. "We are not prepared to sign a suicide agreement that causes small island states to disappear," Selwin Hart of Barbados, a coordinator of the alliance of small island states, told Reuters at the 187-nation meeting.
• 2008/12/03: Xinhuanet: Curbing greenhouse gas emission not to cut developed countries' competitiveness
  The industrialized countries have no reason to worry about losing their competitiveness when discussing setting emission reduction targets during Poznan talks on climate change, a report said on Wednesday. "Industry scaremongering and doom and gloom scenarios about the impact of climate policies on competitiveness are not justified," the assessment report conducted by the non-governmental organization World Wild Fund for Nature (WWF) said.
• 2008/12/03: Xinhuanet: UN climate chief [UNFCCC head, Yvo de Boer]: Industrialized nations need to show "ambition" in fighting climate change
• 2008/12/03: Asia Times: Climate change matters; does the UN?
• 2008/12/02: NatureCF: Pole positions
• 2008/12/02: NewScientist: Poland sends conflicting signals at climate summit
• 2008/12/01: BBerg: UN Climate Summit Begins; [Polish PM Donald] Tusk Calls for Compromise
• 2008/12/01: VOA: International Climate Change Forum Opens in Poland
• 2008/12/01: IHT: Delegates at UN climate conference are urged to finalize treaty
• 2008/12/02: IndiaTimes: No excuse to neglect UN climate fight
• 2008/12/01: AHN: Global Economic Crisis Loom Over UN Global Warming Summit In Poland
• 2008/12/02: Stoat: Hot air [Poznan]
• 2008/12/02: EarthTimes: Poorer countries press EU on climate goals
• 2008/12/02: EarthTimes: UN climate talks focus on clean technology for poorer countries
• 2008/12/01: EarthTimes: Obama is missing link in UN climate talks -- Poznan, Waiting for Obama...
• 2008/12/02: Yahoo: Ex-bad boy China praised at climate talks
• 2008/12/02: WSJ:EnvCap: Polish Sausage: A Thaw In Poznan Climate Talks, or Maybe Not
• 2008/12/02: People's Daily: Country [China] has 'key role' on climate [Poznan]
• 2008/12/02: People's Daily: Environmentalists seek to improve public awareness of climate change in Poznan
• 2008/12/01: Guardian(UK): Will Poznan lead to worldwide action?
• 2008/12/01: EurActiv: Poznan kicks off as EU climate talks stumble
  Delegates from 186 nations are in Poznan, Poland today (1 December) to launch 12 days of talks designed to bring forward an international deal to tackle climate change. But the conference is currently overshadowed by an EU internal row over how to share the 'effort' of reducing CO2 emissions.
• 2008/12/01: UN: Latest round of UN-led climate change talks kicks off in Polish city of Poznan
• 2008/12/01: GreenGrok: Pulse of the Planet: The 23-Billion Ton Gorilla at the Climate Talks
• 2008/12/01: KSJT: Lots of Ink: In Poland, UN holds another climate summit
• 2008/12/01: ClimateP: Will Poznan' be a good COP, a bad COP or just another COP out?
• 2008/12/01: Google:AFP: Climate change juggernaut on the horizon, UN talks told
  War, hunger, poverty and sickness will stalk humanity if the world fails to tackle climate change, a 12-day UN conference on global warming heard on Monday. A volley of grim warnings sounded out at the start of the marathon talks, a step to a new worldwide treaty to reduce greenhouse gases and help countries exposed to the wrath of an altered climate.
• 2008/12/01: Xinhuanet: UN starts climate talks in Poland to seek deal in Copenhagen
• 2008/12/01: Reuters: Tough UN climate deal urged despite economic woes
• 2008/12/01: Guardian(UK): Q&A: What's happening at Poznan? A 'son of Kyoto' climate change treaty is the aim of the negotiations at Poznan
• 2008/11/30: QuarkSoup: Poznan -- Tomorrow is the beginning of a 12-day meeting in Poznan, Poland on the climate...
• 2008/12/01: EarthTimes: US says global climate deal 'won't be easy'
• 2008/12/01: EarthTimes: UN climate talks begin tough two weeks of bargaining
• 2008/12/01: EarthTimes: Australia ducks 2020 carbon target cuts
  Australia has reneged on its promise to set a 2020 emissions reduction target before the start of United Nations climate change talks Monday in Poznan, Poland. "This is a complete shemozzle from the Government," Greens leader Bob Brown said Monday. "Here's Australia, which was the big sensation at Bali, going to be the big cop-out at Poznan. It's all happened in 12 months. It's quite astonishing." A year ago, Australia ratified the Kyoto Protocol on reducing the greenhouse gases that cause global warming and promised a 60-per-cent cut by 2050. Climate Change Minister Penny Wong confirmed that the year-old Labor government had broken its word.
• 2008/12/01: ENN: Building trust tops global climate agenda
• 2008/12/01: ENN: UNFCCC head, Yvo de Boer warns of "cheap, dirty" energy fix
• 2008/12/01: ENN: UN climate summit seeks clarity
• 2008/12/01: Yahoo: Climate change juggernaut on the horizon, UN talks told
• 2008/12/01: Yahoo: UN climate conf. concerned about financial crisis
• 2008/12/01: ChinaDaily: UN starts climate talks in Poland to seek deal in Copenhagen
• 2008/12/01: BBC: UN climate summit seeks clarity
• 2008/12/01: SMH: Climate talks a test of will
  For the next two weeks, environment ministers from 192 nations will batten down in the chilly Polish city of Poznan to confront one big question: can politicians bridge the gap that separates them from climate scientists over the action needed to avoid dangerous climate change? The Poznan talks are the second round of United Nations negotiations aimed at getting a new global agreement on climate change by the end of next year.
• 2008/12/01: CSM: Building trust tops global climate agenda -- Talks start Monday in Poland for a post-Kyoto climate treaty

  The global recession looms over all climate discussion:

• 2008/12/06: Hindu: Dirty technology will lead to bigger economic crisis: UN
• 2008/12/05: ChronicleHerald: Solving the economic and environmental crises
• 2008/12/04: Straight: David Suzuki: Better ways to spend $4.1 trillion
• 2008/12/02: TP:WonkRoom: The Economic Imperative For Clean Energy

  The UN released an atlas of climate impacts:

• 2008/12/05: UN: Ground-breaking UN atlas seeks to tackle climate change and biodiversity loss
• 2008/12/05: ClimateP: The Human Toll of Climate Change -- The Map
• 2008/12/05: NewScientist: Conservation atlas reveals 'most valuable' forest

  A new twist on Arctic methane:

• 2008/12/03: SciNews: Methane even escapes from freezing permafrost -- The autumn freeze in the arctic squeezes the gas out of some high-latitude wetland soils
• 2008/12/04: KSJT: Science News: Fall's freeze liberates a final big puff of methane from arctic soil
• 2008/12/03: NatureN: Methane bursts from frozen tundra -- Ice build-up may squeeze greenhouse gas from cold soil
• 2008/12/03: NatureCF: Frozen tundra bursting with gas
• 2008/12/02: GreenGrok: Update: Methane Up in the Air

  Another one of those 'oh oh' reports:

• 2008/12/01: Eureka: Foretelling a major meltdown -- Rare mineral might portend return to hothouse climate of old
• 2008/12/01: PhysOrg: Foretelling a major meltdown: Rare mineral might portend return to hothouse climate of old
  [...] What [Binghamton University geologist Tim] Lowenstein and his colleague Robert Demicco at Binghamton University have discovered is that nahcolite, a rare, yellowish-green or brown carbonate mineral, only forms on earth under environmental conditions marked by very high atmospheric CO2 levels. That establishes it as both a marker and a benchmark that can be used by scientists as they consider the likely climatic implications of ever-increasing CO2 levels in our atmosphere today.

Late coverage of the IEA WEO report:

• 2008/12/05: OilDrum: IEA WEO 2008 - Natural Gas Liquids to the Rescue?
• 2008/12/04: OilDrum: The IEA WEO 2008: Long term prospects for coal production
• 2008/12/03: OilDrum: The 2008 IEA WEO - Renewable Energy
• 2008/12/02: OilDrum: IEA WEO 2008 - Fossil Fuel Ultimates and CO2 Emissions Scenarios
• 2008/12/01: OilDrum: IEA WEO 2008 - World Oil Forecasts using Wikipedia Megaprojects, Dec 2008

  There's a report that THC is strengthening:

• 2008/12/02: NatureCF: There's life in the cold sink yet
• 2008/12/01: NatureN: North Atlantic cold-water sink returns to life -- Convective mixing resumes after a decade due to massive loss of Arctic ice

  I wonder if this report will be verified...:

• 2008/12/02: PhysOrg: Researchers Use Sun Cycle to Predict Rainfall Fluctuations

  Apropos commentary on communication:

• 2008/12/04: Digby: On Not Using Corporate-Created Buzzwords, Part II
• 2008/12/04: ClimateP: Memo to Gore: Don't call coal 'clean' seven times in your ad
• 2008/12/03: MGS: Words to beware of [rapid]

  Another mention of ICE [International Court for the Environment]:

• 2008/12/01: Telegraph(UK): Lawyers call for international court for the environment
  A former chairman of the Bar Council is calling for an international court for the environment to punish states that fail to protect wildlife and prevent climate change.

The Arctic melt continues to get a lot of attention:

• 2008/12/06: OttawaCitizen: Arctic to see first ice-free summer in 2015 -- Rush to exploit will make things worse: expert [University of Manitoba geoscientist, David Barber]
• 2008/12/04: DerSpiegel: Fast-Forward Warming -- Point of No Return for the Arctic Climate?
• 2008/12/03: EarthTimes: Polar regions key to understanding climate change, scientists say
• 2008/12/02: Reuters: Soot darkens ice, stokes runaway Arctic melt: study
• 2008/11/30: Tamino: Northern Hemisphere Sea Ice Extent

  While in Antarctica:

• 2008/12/01: Eureka: First comprehensive 'inventory' of life in Antarctica

  The food crisis is ongoing:

• 2008/12/04: TerraDaily: Aid chief warns of famine in Ethiopia
• 2008/12/05: SMH: Going hungry in the 21st century
• 2008/12/03: FAO: New German funds for anti-hunger projects -- $14.2 million pledged for food security, forestry and biofuel initiatives
• 2008/12/02: FAO: Pacific: climate change threatens food security
• 2008/12/04: BBC: Somalia is in danger of descending into famine while the world's attention is focused on the problem of piracy off its coast, the Red Cross has warned
• 2008/12/02: TerraDaily: Global warming could harm Pacific food security: UN
• 2008/12/02: UN: Food security in Pacific islands at risk from climate change-related disasters - UN
• 2008/11/27: DailyKos: The Famine Of 2009
• 2008/12/02: People's Daily: FAO: Climate change threatens food security of Pacific island countries
• 2008/12/01: Eureka: Food price crisis and financial crisis present double threat for poor people

  The conflict between biofuel and food persists:

• 2008/12/02: SciDaily: Replacing Corn With Perennial Grasses Improves Carbon Footprint Of Biofuels

  And how are we going to feed 9 billion?

• 2008/12/04: BBC: Growing crops in salt water is becoming necessary to overcome shortages of fresh water, say researchers writing in the journal Science
• 2008/12/03: PhysOrg: Managing carbon loss [in soil due to biofuel]
• 2008/12/01: Agronomy: Managing Carbon Loss -- New research reported in Agronomy Journal shows cover crops and composting can offset carbon loss from corn stover ethanol production
• 2008/12/01: Soils: 3-D Laser Scanning: A New Soil Quality Measurement
  Researchers report in the Soil Science Society of America Journal that 3-D laser scanning can provide a more thorough analysis of a soil's quality, helping to further understand how healthy crops are produced.
• 2008/12/01: PS: Europe and the Global Food Crisis
• 2008/12/02: WpgSun: Canada's farm population hits historic low
  Census finds farmers age, immigrants shun rural life Canada's farm population has fallen to an historic low as farmers age and immigrants shun rural life. Statistics Canada says one in 46 Canadians lived on a farm in 2006 compared to one in three Canadians in 1931.
• 2008/11/30: GristMill: Of rice and men -- Perennial rice on the rise?
• 2008/12/01: Stoat: How overfed are we?
• 2008/12/01: Eureka: Experts: Targeted agricultural investments will yield high results, slash poverty in Africa
  World's leading agricultural research group [CGIAR] calls for specific investments in face of global financial crisis, climate change concerns
• 2008/11/30: STimes: Food crunch opens doors to bioengineered crops
• 2008/12/01: ChinaDaily: China foresees bumper grain harvest this year

  There was a numbered storm blowing around the Indian Ocean, but otherwise it has been quiet:

• 2008/12/05: Wunderground: Increasing hurricane damages
• 2008/12/01: USAToday: Galveston-area hospitals still swamped by hurricane
  Hurricane Ike has turned the nation's top-ranked trauma center into a doc-in-the-box. [...] UTMB's John Sealy Hospital, which typically handled more than 60,000 emergencies and 3,000 trauma operations a year from communities along the Gulf Coast, now must transfer injured patients elsewhere.
• 2008/12/03: CSM: Hit by hurricane Ike and unexpected layoffs, Galveston ponders its recovery
• 2008/11/30: CNN: An unusually destructive hurricane season ends
  Damage caused by 2008's Atlantic hurricanes is estimated at $54 billion - That's second in recorded history only to 2005, the year Hurricane Katrina hit - Gustav was responsible for much of 2008 devastation from Haiti to Louisiana
• 2008/12/01: KSJT: Lots of Ink: Busy 2008 Atlantic hurricane season ends. Few US horror stories but a record anyway
• 2008/12/01: EnvEcon: Final 2008 Atlantic Hurricane Tally: 8
• 2008/12/01: CBC: 'Relentless' Atlantic hurricane season churns out weather records

  Meanwhile GHGs are still going up:

• 2008/12/05: SciDaily: U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions Still Increasing
• 2008/12/04: PhysOrg: Greenhouse gas emissions increase in US
• 2008/12/03: ThinkP: U.S. greenhouse gas emissions surged in 2007
• 2008/12/03: ClimateP: Bush policies cause U.S. GHG emissions to soar 1.4% in 2007
• 2008/12/03: DOE:EIA: Emissions of Greenhouse Gases in the United States 2007
• 2008/12/03: JFleck: US greenhouse gas emissions up 1.4 percent in '07 [says DOE:EIA]
• 2008/12/03: DeSmogBlog: (link to 1.3 meg pdf) US Government Releases 2007 Greenhouse Gas Emissions Report

  And in the carbon cycle:

• 2008/12/02: SciDaily: Measuring Greenhouse Gases In Old Bottles Of Wine
• 2008/12/01: ClimateP: Carbon is forever: Fossil CO2 impacts will outlast Stonehenge and nuclear waste
• 2008/12/01: DotEarth: CO2's Long Goodbye
• 2008/11/30: Eureka: Modern day scourge helped ancient Earth escape a deathly deep freeze
  The planet's present day greenhouse scourge, carbon dioxide, may have played a vital role in helping ancient Earth to escape from complete glaciation, say scientists in a paper published online today

As for the temperature record:

• 2008/12/06: Guardian(UK): Explainer: Coolest year since 2000
• 2008/12/05: Guardian(UK): 2008 will be coolest year of the decade
  Global average for 2008 should come in close to 14.3C, but cooler temperature is not evidence that global warming is slowing, say climate scientists
• 2008/12/02: BSD: 2008 to be the warmest La Nina-influenced year with no El Nino events?
• 2008/12/03: GWWatch: Oceans cooling. Not.
• 2008/12/02: Tamino: Western Sizzlin'

  Yes we have feedbacks:

• 2008/12/07: Guardian(UK): Melting ice may slow global warming -- Scientists discover that minerals found in collapsing ice sheets could feed plankton and cut C02 emissions

  While in the paleoclimate:

• 2008/12/07: SciDaily: Climate Change Wiped Out Cave Bears 13 Millennia Earlier Than Thought
• 2008/12/05: KSJT: Boston Globe: Ancient DNA from coral and buffalo bones and more tells a climatic tale
• 2008/12/05: Eureka: Cave's climate clues show ancient [Roman and Byzantine] empires declined during dry spell
• 2008/12/04: PhysOrg: Cave's climate clues show ancient empires declined during dry spell
  The decline of the Roman and Byzantine empires in the Eastern Mediterranean more than 1,400 years ago may have been driven by unfavorable climate changes.

Glaciers are melting:

• 2008/12/05: SciDaily: Shrinking Glaciers Reveal Hidden Forests And A Warmer Climate
  Uniquely old tree remains have recently been uncovered by the thawing of the rapidly shrinking KÃ¥rsa Glacier west of Abisko in Lapland, in northernmost Sweden. The finds show that in the last 7,000 years it has probably never been so warm as during the last century.

Sea levels are rising:

• 2008/12/02: SciDaily: Accelerated Melting Of Continental Icepacks Is Major Reason For Rise In Sea Level Between 2003 And 2008

  Meanwhile in near earth orbit:

• 2008/12/05: SciDaily: Satellites Flying In Formation To Help Improve Understanding Of Earth
• 2008/12/02: ESA: ESA satellites focusing on the Arctic

  The campaign to uncover DSCOVR [Deep Space Climate Observatory] rolls on:

• 2008/12/01: GWWatch: Cheney grounded $100 million climate satellite
• 2008/11/30: DeSmogBlog: "DSCOVR killed by Cheney" - NASA Insider

  More GW impacts are being seen:

• 2008/12/07: STimes: Native hunters say climate affecting [Caribou] herds
• 2008/12/05: WarmingLaw: Polar Bears. Penguins. Pacific Walruses. Oh My!
• 2008/12/04: TP:WonkRoom: Australian Possum May Be Global Boiling Casualty
• 2008/12/03: UN: Nearly 1.5 million Nepalese hit by floods and rising food prices receive UN aid
• 2008/12/03: ABC(Au): White possum may have become 'climate change casualty'
• 2008/12/03: PhysOrg: Climate change setback for acidified rivers
• 2008/12/03: TerraDaily: Global Warming Is Changing Organic Matter In Soil
• 2008/12/03: Eureka: Forest inventories in Oregon include more than trees
• 2008/12/03: Eureka: Forest inventories in California include more than trees -- First report on the state provides information on biomass, carbon stocks, wood volume, biodiversity, disturbance and more
• 2008/12/02: KSJT: Sacramento Bee: Warming Sierra, early snowmelt, long fall, big fires -- and trouble for a familiar landscape.
• 2008/12/03: ABC(Au): Climate change fears for rare white possum
  Scientists say a white possum, only found in far north Queensland, could be the world's first mammal to be made extinct by global warming
• 2008/12/02: ENN: Ice beetles impacted by climate change
• 2008/12/02: SciDaily: Influence Of Climate Warming On The Increase In Tick-borne Diseases
• 2008/12/01: Eureka: Ice beetles impacted by climate change -- moving to higher ground
• 2008/11/30: SeattlePI: Global warming: Too close to home

  And then there are the world's forests:

• 2008/12/04: PhysOrg: Ghana's 'miracle': Logging underwater forests for exotic timber
• 2008/12/04: MWatch: Forestry: A Truly 'Green' Solution
• 2008/12/01: TerraDaily: Climate change putting forests at risk
• 2008/12/03: CBC: Potential World Heritage boreal forest valued at $130M annually: study
• 2008/12/04: WpgFP: Boreal forest critical to Manitoba's economy: study
• 2008/12/03: Guardian(UK): Brazil sets target to slow Amazon deforestation
• 2008/12/01: NatureTGB: Axing the Amazon
• 2008/12/01: KSJT: Wires, etc: Brazil reports surge in Amazon deforestation - and vows to cut the cutting in half
• 2008/12/01: NewScientist: Amazon destruction gathers pace
• 2008/12/01: TreeHugger: Tropical Forests Better Left Intact As Carbon Sinks Than Converted to Biofuel Plantations
• 2008/12/01: BBC: 70% deforestation cuts for Brazil
  Brazil has announced a plan to reduce deforestation rates in the Amazon region by 70% over the next ten years. The plan follows a call for international funding to prevent further loss of the Amazon rainforest. This year, the rate of Amazon deforestation increased after falling for the past four years. The announcement comes as the UN's latest round of climate talks begin.

Climate refugees are becoming an issue:

• 2008/12/03: GMANews: UN: Climate change could cause refugee surge

  Yes we have no wacky weather, except:

• 2008/12/02: ABC(Au): Northern Territory weather breaking records

  As for hydrological cycle disruptions [floods & droughts]:

• 2008/12/05: PhysOrg: Climate change, drought to strain Colorado River
• 2008/12/05: Yahoo: Climate change, drought to strain Colorado River
• 2008/12/02: TerraDaily: Monsoon floods affect 370,000 in Sri Lanka: UN
• 2008/12/02: UN: UN bolsters aid efforts in Panama as floods worsen
• 2008/12/01: EarthTimes: Death toll reaches 112 from rains in Brazil, epidemics feared
• 2008/12/01: CBC: Repairs of weekend rain damage to take days: St. John's [Newfoundland]

  Venice has seen some of it's highest tides in a long time:

• 2008/12/06: Guardian(UK): Venice flood fails to damp down fight over sea walls
• 2008/12/03: Wunderground: Venice suffers its fourth-worst flood since 1872
• 2008/12/02: ClimateP: Venice flooding provides glimpse of what's to come
• 2008/12/01: Guardian(UK): Venice sees worst flooding in 20 years
• 2008/12/01: Guardian(UK): Venice is under water -- Many of Venice's streets are submerged today, following the worst flooding for over 20 years
• 2008/12/01: AQDS: Watch the acqua alta in Venice today!
• 2008/12/01: BBC: Venice has been hit by the biggest flood in more than 20 years, with waters rising 1.56m (5ft) above normal
• 2008/12/01: CBC: Pedestrians up to their knees as Venice floods
• 2008/12/01: WpgFP: High water floods historic centre of Venice

  Elsewhere on the mitigation front:

• 2008/12/07: TreeHugger: Betting on Biochar to Solve Our Super CO2 Imbalance
• 2008/12/05: TreeHugger: US Sources Of Greenhouse Gas Emissions In 2007: Moving From Data, To Policy Innovation And Green Design
• 2008/12/04: NYT: As More Eat Meat, a Bid to Cut Emissions

  As for transportation & GHG production:

• 2008/12/05: EJ: Rail Efficiencies

  While in the endless quest for sustainable building codes:

• 2008/12/06: UN: Construction sector can do more to curb carbon emissions -- UN report
• 2008/09/15: LibraryJournal: Future-Proof Design -- Building for relevance and flexibility can ensure your library will be there to help patrons navigate rapidly changing times
• 2008/12/04: GristMill: Always -- What should be done with the empty big box?

  As for carbon sequestration:

• 2008/12/04: EnvExp: Monitoring carbon storage `more effective than closing power plants`

  Large scale geo-engineering keeps popping up:

• 2008/12/07: PhysOrg: Climate change: Sci-fi solutions no longer in the margins
• 2008/12/05: Google:GE: AGU Meeting Geoengineering Related Abstracts-7
• 2008/12/05: Google:GE: AGU Meeting Geoengineering Abstracts-8
• 2008/12/01: NewScientist: Invention: Supersonic hurricane neutraliser

  While on the adaptation front:

• 2008/12/02: PhysOrg: Most US organizations not adapting to climate change
• 2008/12/02: Eureka: Most US organizations not adapting to climate change

  Meanwhile in the journals:

• 2008/12/06: CP: Mid-depth South Atlantic Ocean circulation and chemical stratification during MIS-10 to 12: implications for atmospheric CO2 by A. J. Dickson et al.
• 2008/12/05: TC: On the limit to resolution and information on basal properties obtainable from surface data on ice streams by G. H. Gudmundsson & M. Raymond
• 2008/12/06: ACP: Sensitivity of US air quality to mid-latitude cyclone frequency and implications of 1980-2006 climate change by E. M. Leibensperger et al.
• 2008/12/05: ACP: Spectral UV measurements in Austria from 1994 to 2006: investigations of short- and long-term changes by S. Simic et al.
• 2008/12/04: ACP: Monthly-averaged anthropogenic aerosol direct radiative forcing over the Mediterranean based on AERONET aerosol properties by A. Bergamo et al.
• 2008/12/04: ACP: Observations of mesoscale and boundary-layer scale circulations affecting dust transport and uplift over the Sahara by J. H. Marsham et al.
• 2008/12/05: ACPD: A six year satellite-based assessment of the regional variations in aerosol indirect effects by T. A. Jones et al.
• 2008/12/02: CP: The carbon cycle during the Mid Pleistocene Transition: the Southern Ocean Decoupling Hypothesis by P. Köhler & R. Bintanja
• 2008/12/05: VoxEU: Does daylight saving time save electricity? by Laura E. Grant & Matthew J. Kotchen
  Daylight saving time, designed for energy conservation purposes, is among the most widespread regulations on the planet. Surprisingly little evidence exists that it actually saves energy. This column, using a natural experiment, concludes that "saving" daylight has cost electricity.
• 2008/12/03: ACP: Comparison of cloud statistics from spaceborne lidar systems by S. Berthier et al.
• 2008/12/02: PNAS: Southern Ocean acidification: A tipping point at 450-ppm atmospheric CO2 by Ben I. McNeila & Richard J. Matear
• 2008/12/02: PNAS: Dynamic patterns and ecological impacts of declining ocean pH in a high-resolution multi-year dataset by J. Timothy Wootton et al.
• 2008/11/20: GRL: (ab$) Renewed growth of atmospheric methane by M. Rigby et al.

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

• 2008/12/02: USGS: New National Program to Study Seasonal Changes in Wildlife Begins
• 2008/12/06: SciDaily: Dry Winter Weather Results In Highest Particulate Pollution Levels From Traffic
• 2008/12/05: PhysOrg: Scientists demonstrate their commitment to the environment by going 'virtual' [at Second Life conference]
• 2008/12/04: NewScientist: Are climate scientists overselling their models? Physicist Lenny Smith thinks that climate modellers are overselling their results
• 2008/12/03: PhysOrg: ESA tests laser to measure atmospheric carbon dioxide
• 2008/12/03: MTobis: Withdraws from Funded Work due to Climate Ethics
• 2008/12/01: SciDaily: Ocean Currents Off South Africa Influence Gulf Stream
• 2008/12/01: Eureka: Rivers are carbon processors, not inert pipelines

  More Hansen:

• 2008/12/01: GristMill: James Hansen faces death threats -- Hansen and Danny Bloom inspire vicious hate speech on web

  Meanwhile on the Kyoto-2 front:

• 2008/12/05: Crimson: Climate Reports Propose New Climate Architecture -- Kennedy School economist [Robert N. Stavins] offers blueprints for successor to Kyoto Protocol
• 2008/12/05: Eureka: Report offers options for negotiators seeking to craft critical accord on forests and climate change
• 2008/12/02: ClimateP: If there's no U.S. climate bill in 2009, would U.N. climate talks collapse in Copenhagen?

  And on the carbon trading front:

• 2008/12/05: CSM: UN defends carbon-trading scheme from US [GAO] criticism
• 2008/12/05: ClimateP: GAO rips rip-offsets: "The use of carbon offsets in a cap-and-trade system can undermine the system's integrity."
• 2008/11/30: Times(UK): The fool's gold of carbon trading -- A huge new market designed to solve global warming seems doomed to failure
• 2008/12/04: KSJT: Times - Wotta picture. And wotta take down on carbon trading's loophole bonanza
• 2008/12/03: ClimateP: You can call a rip-offset a CDM project, but it's still a rip-offset

  The idea of a carbon tax is still bouncing around:

• 2008/12/05: GristMill: If Nader is for it, can we officially ignore it now? More misleading salvos in the great carbon tax debate
• 2008/12/03: WSJ: We Need a Global Carbon Tax -- The cap-and-trade approach won't stop global warming.

  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:

• 2008/12/01: EnvEcon: Silly green infighting

  Meanwhile on the international political front:

• 2008/12/04: Maribo: Towards bilateral climate agreements [China-US]

  Meanwhile in the Resource Wars:

• 2008/12/02: FPIF: '2025' Report: A World of Resource Strife

  And on the American political front:

• 2008/12/06: ClimateP: How would you spend $50 billion, Part 2 -- The Alliance to Save Energy Plan
• 2008/12/04: ClimateP: How would you spend $50 billion to stimulate the economy AND energy efficiency, Part 1
• 2008/12/05: GristMill: CO2 at $3 per ton in 2020? CARB does not recognize the meaning of 'cost-effectiveness'
• 2008/12/05: NYT: Energy Goals a Moving Target for States
• 2008/12/04: GristMill: A wartime mobilization -- We need climate action on the scope of the WWII mobilization
• 2008/12/03: DeSmogBlog: Western Climate Initiative Under Attack
• 2008/12/03: STimes: Task force suggests ways state can curb climate change [in Washington state]
• 2008/12/02: ClimateP: Whose bailout plan is best? Ford drops hydrogen while GM remains confused about ethanol
• 2008/12/03: WSJ:EnvCap: Hot Question: How Big Should Solar Get?
• 2008/12/02: ClimateP: Reid wants 'green' transmission [grid] included in stimulus bill
• 2008/12/02: TreeHugger: Activists Occupy Environmental Defense Offices, Accuse Them of Protecting Corporations Over the Environment
• 2008/12/01: IdahoStatesman: Western governors are right to tap Obama on green energy

  The Bush administration's midnight regulation changes continue to gather opprobrium:

• 2008/12/05: TreeHugger: EPA Ignores Own Scientists' Advice, Makes a Gift to Coal Mining Interests
• 2008/12/04: NYT: Interior Dept. Changes Rule to Remove Congress Veto
  In another regulatory action in the waning days of the Bush administration, the Interior Department on Thursday unveiled a new rule that challenges Congress's authority to prevent mining planned on public lands. Congress has emergency power to stop mineral development, and has used it six times in the last 32 years. The most recent was in June, when it put a three-year moratorium on uranium mining on one million acres near the Grand Canyon. Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne has ignored that Congressional directive, saying it was procedurally flawed. The new rule issued by the Interior Department's Bureau of Land Management comes as environmental groups are suing the bureau in federal court for failing to obey Congress's directive, which under a 1976 law can be invoked when "an emergency situation exists and extraordinary measures must be taken to preserve values that would otherwise be lost." The revision of the rule eliminates all references to Congressional authority. The revision moved through the often-cumbersome rule-making process with lightning speed; it was proposed in October, and the public was given just 15 days to comment.
• 2008/12/04: TreeHugger: Bush Administration Takes Another Last Minute Poke at the Environment: Approves Easier Coal Mine Waste Dumping in Streams
• 2008/12/03: NYT: Coal Mining Debris Rule Is Approved
  The White House on Tuesday approved a final rule that will make it easier for coal companies to dump rock and dirt from mountaintop mining operations into nearby streams and valleys. The rule is one of the most contentious of all the regulations emerging from the White House in President Bush's last weeks in office.
• 2008/12/01: WorldChanging: Resource: Midnight Regulation Watch

  It looks like the Kansas State legislature is taking anopther shot at Gov. Sebelius:

• 2008/12/04: WarmingLaw: A Rumble in the States -- Kansas State Legislature Will Try to Overrule Gov. Sebelius on Coal-Fired Plants. For the Fourth Time

  The Obama chatter is nonstop:

• 2008/12/06: NewScientist: Yes you can change the climate, Mr Obama
• 2008/12/06: GristMill: School house, rocked -- Obama pledges to use stimulus to make schools and public buildings more energy efficient
• 2008/12/05: WorldChanging: Yes, We Can Take Swift Action On Climate Change
• 2008/12/04: USAToday: Economists raise doubts about alternative-energy spending
• 2008/12/04: ClimateP: What will make Obama a great president, Part 2: A climate deal with China
• 2008/12/04: GristMill: The fierce urgency of now -- Some thoughts on the merits of regulating greenhouse gases via the Clean Air Act
• 2008/12/04: CSW: "The Climate Crisis and the Adaptation Myth" -- a must read for Obama's climate change advisors
• 2008/12/04: ENN: Obama climate goals not enough: China, India
• 2008/12/03: STV: Obama climate goals not enough: China, India
• 2008/12/03: WSJ:EnvCap: Nixed: No Windfall Tax on Big Oil from Obama
• 2008/12/02: NYT:OJ: Back to Reality -- President-elect Obama already has a long to-do list. But here's another item for it: to restore science in government
• 2008/12/01: ClimateP: Obama can't get a global climate treaty ratified, so what should he do instead? Part 1
• 2008/12/01: CSW: Note to Obama economic team: New infrastructure must withstand climate disruption
• 2008/12/01: GristMill: Transition talk: Climate in security -- Obama notes climate and energy policy will be key to national security
• 2008/11/30: STimes: Obama's victory puts positive spin on climate talks -- New energy is expected as countries hammer out a global-warming treaty

  And there has been a fair amount of chatter about some of Obama's appointments:

• 2008/12/03: ClimateP: The first green Secretary of Commerce [Bill Richardson]
• 2008/12/03: DeSmogBlog: James Jones: New National Security Advisor is a Climate Change Risk Factor
• 2008/12/02: NatureCF: James Jones's poor energy policy
• 2008/12/01: ClimateP: Stuff I learned at DOE, Part 1: SOS trumps NSA (Hillary Clinton trumps Gen. Jones)
• 2008/12/02: LA Times: James L. Jones' energy views worry some environmentalists
  James L. Jones is Obama's new national security advisor. But he leads an institute that has challenged global warming
• 2008/12/01: TP:WonkRoom: Jim Jones' Chamber Of Commerce Organization Promotes Catastrophic Energy Future

  The Gore-apalooza is still bopping along:

• 2008/12/04: ThinkP: Al Gore leads new 'Reality' Coalition to debunk 'clean coal' myth

  While in the UK:

• 2008/12/07: TreeHugger: Scotland Crafts Own World-Beating Climate Bill
• 2008/12/03: CarbonFinance: UK committee proposes 43% GHG cut by 2020
• 2008/12/05: BBC: Climate bill 'could lead world'
  A newly-published Scottish bill to help tackle climate change could be a "world leader", environmental groups have claimed. The Scottish Government proposals would see an 80% reduction in the country's greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. It also sets out measures to tackle shipping and aviation emissions.
• 2008/12/04: Guardian(UK): Heathrow runway decision delayed until 2009
• 2008/12/04: Guardian(UK): Should it fly? The decision on whether to build a third runway at Heathrow...
• 2008/12/05: Guardian(UK): Sipson can define an era -- The hugely symbolic Heathrow runway ruling has been delayed, and there is a tiny ray of hope
• 2008/12/05: Guardian(UK): Hoon delays Heathrow third runway decision
• 2008/12/03: Times(UK): British car makers win [4 year] delay to bringing in carbon emission cuts
• 2008/12/03: Guardian(UK): [Letters] British flaw on climate change cuts
  [...] Our own government is trying to wriggle out of its climate commitments by pushing for half of its reduction in emissions to be allowed to be met by purchasing offset credits from outside the EU. In other words, paying others so that we can carry on polluting
• 2008/12/03: Guardian(UK): CBI calls for incentives to protect climate
• 2008/12/02: BBC: The UK government has been urged to speed up the pace of action on climate change by the Confederation of British Industry (CBI)
• 2008/12/02: Guardian(UK): Climate change -- End of the party [UK pol]
• 2008/12/02: Guardian(UK): How changes in daily routine may become second nature
• 2008/12/02: Guardian(UK): Long, detailed, impressive - but futile in the face of runaway climate change
  This environmental state of emergency demands a bolder answer than Lord Turner's. We could start by taking six critical steps
• 2008/12/01: Guardian(UK): UK climate watchdog urges dramatic cuts in greenhouse gases
• 2008/12/01: Guardian(UK): Don't wait for the planet to go up in smoke -- The Climate Change Committee's proposals are a step in the right direction, but more immediate action is needed
• 2008/12/01: Guardian(UK): Will our leaders ever lead? The free markets will never tackle climate change effectively. We need bold innovations and interventions - now
• 2008/12/01: Guardian(UK): The scary reality buried in Adair Turner's report -- worrying temperature increases
• 2008/12/01: Guardian(UK): In brief: What the report recommends -- What the government's Climate Change Committee says needs to happen by 2020
• 2008/12/01: Guardian(UK): Analysis: Will the carbon cuts be delivered?
• 2008/12/01: Guardian(UK): UK climate watchdog [Climate Change Committee] urges dramatic cuts in greenhouse gases
• 2008/12/01: Reuters: UK climate body's targets will raise energy bills
• 2008/12/01: AutoBG: London congestion charge zone expansion canceled by new mayor [Boris Johnson]
• 2008/12/01: BBC: Britain 'needs deeper CO2 cuts'
  Official advisers to the UK government have demanded Britain slash greenhouse gases by a fifth of current levels by 2020 - the toughest target so far. The Committee on Climate Change said a cut of 21% on 2005 levels was needed for the UK to play its fair share in combating dangerous change. It proposes firm carbon budgets for the next three five-year periods. It is believed to be the first time any major nation has attempted such a move. Ministers are considering the report.
• 2008/12/01: Guardian(UK): Carbon capture and electric energy at centre of [UK] climate plans
• 2008/12/01: BBC: Climate advisors take electric road

  And in Europe:

• 2008/12/04: EnvFin: Car-makers face weaker emissions targets under EU deal
• 2008/12/05: EurActiv: EU chemical industry in 'carbon leakage' row
  The chemical sector was embroiled in a bitter row yesterday (4 December) over its exposure to the EU's ambitious climate goals, as new research contradicted its claim that producers were at risk of delocalising factories, jobs and emissions to other parts of the world.
• 2008/12/05: EurActiv: EU agrees 10% 'green fuel' target in renewables deal
• 2008/12/05: EUO: European Parliament capitulates on biofuel deal
• 2008/12/05: AutoBG: Almost maybe finally definitve: EU to establish 130 g/km CO2 limit
• 2008/12/04: TreeHugger: Czech President & Climate Denier Vaclav Klaus To Preside Over EU In 2009
• 2008/12/03: EUO: [European Commission President Jose Manuel] Barroso to create new energy directorate
• 2008/12/03: Guardian(UK): EU reaches compromise deal on car emission caps
• 2008/12/02: EurActiv: EU lawmakers split over biofuels
• 2008/12/02: EurActiv: EU clinches deal on CO2 emissions from cars
• 2008/12/02: EUO: Car companies win dilution of EU emissions law
• 2008/12/02: PhysOrg: German automakers denounce EU compromise on CO2 emissions
• 2008/12/02: HillHeat: GAO: European Cap-And-Trade Program Skewed To Industry
• 2008/12/02: EarthTimes: EU compromise on cars' carbon dioxide emissions reached
  Representatives from the European Parliament, EU states and the European Commission late Monday reached a compromise agreement to limit carbon dioxide emitted by new cars. Under the deal, plans to limit the gas blamed for global warming would be phased in over several years, with 65 per cent of cars to meet the goal of releasing 120 grams or less of the pollutant per kilometre by 2012. By 2013, 75 per cent of vehicles would need to meet the target, with 80 per cent compliance by 2014 and 100 per cent by 2015. The plan was greeted by industry allies, but called a step backward by some environmental activists. The long-term goal is to limit emissions to 95 grams per kilometre by 2020.
• 2008/12/01: EarthTimes: Polish coal mine [Konin] to sue Greenpeace

  The EU has been tussling over its own climate change plan:

• 2008/12/07: ABC(Au): Sarkozy fails to break EU climate change deadlock
• 2008/12/06: ENN: Sarkozy urges Poland not to block EU climate deal
• 2008/12/06: BBC: No deal amid EU climate deadlock
  France's Nicolas Sarkozy, the current EU president, says he has failed to break a deadlock with Eastern states over an ambitious climate change deal.
• 2008/12/05: BBC: EU climate package explained
  The EU is trying to hammer out a final deal on a climate change package that is supposed to become law in the 27-nation EU early next year.
• 2008/12/05: EUO: Deal on climate package left to EU leaders
• 2008/12/04: TerraDaily: EU talks on climate change heat up summit nears
• 2008/12/05: EarthTimes: EU climate-change fight goes into last round
• 2008/12/05: WSJ:EnvCap: Mais Non: Europe Dials Back Climate Goals Amid Job Worries
• 2008/12/04: EurActiv: EU moves closer to climate deal for heavy industry
• 2008/12/04: SpaceDaily: EU climate efforts will fail without global deal: Merkel
• 2008/12/03: Guardian(UK): Foot-dragging as the ice melts -- European leaders have claimed the moral high ground in fighting climate change, but the reality is less impressive
• 2008/12/03: EarthTimes: Europe cool toward faster action on climate change
• 2008/12/02: Yahoo: Over 10,000 metal workers protest EU climate plans
• 2008/12/02: EurActiv: Sarkozy moves to enlist Eastern EU members on climate change
• 2008/12/02: EUO: Metal unions side with bosses to battle EU climate package

  Meanwhile in Australia:

• 2008/12/07: ABC(Au): Environment Centre chief to lobby for 20pc emission cuts
• 2008/12/05: ABC(Au): Big business pressuring Govt on emissions: Brown
  The Greens are concerned the Federal Government is going to renege on its pledge to lead the world on climate change mitigation.
• 2008/12/05: ABC(Au): Sydney to weather 24 pc more bushfires: report
• 2008/12/05: Australian: Communities 'sacrificed' to carbon sink forests
• 2008/12/05: SMH: Rudd dobbed himself into dilemma
  The Rudd Government is aiming to make one of its most difficult decisions in the next three days - setting the target for cutting Australia's carbon emissions over the next 12 years. A cabinet sub-committee has been meeting every second day, searching for agreement on one of the signature issues of Rudd's first term. The Government does not plan to announce its decision until it publishes its white paper on December 15. But the main elements of the new national carbon regime will be decided before the Climate Change Minister, Penny Wong, leaves for Poland for an international meeting on Monday.
• 2008/12/05: SCR: Greens want limits imposed on infrastructure fund
• 2008/12/03: AP: WA task force releases climate change report
• 2008/12/04: SMH: Emission cuts plea to Rudd
  More than 50 environment groups have delivered an urgent letter to the Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd, that calls on him to reject advice to set a low 2020 target for the reduction of Australia's greenhouse gas emissions, saying it would "represent a profound failure" by his Government. The critical letter was also delivered to all federal Labor members and senators just hours before the cabinet's climate change subcommittee was due to discuss the issue, which has become increasingly fraught inside the Government.
• 2008/12/03: ABC(Au): Summit to discuss SA climate change
  The Conservation Council will hold a summit today to deliver its coast and marine report card for the state.
• 2008/12/04: ABC(Au): US eyes Australia's carbon emissions scheme
  A senior American diplomat says US climate change officials are looking to see what they can learn from the way Australia is tackling carbon emissions.
• 2008/12/03: ABC(Au): Govt introduces carbon storage legislation -- The Queensland Government says new laws will regulate underground greenhouse gas storage
• 2008/12/02: ABC(Au): Big business lobbies backbenchers ahead of ETS release
• 2008/12/02: ABC(Au): Survey reveals carbon trading scheme delaying investment
  The Hunter Business Chamber says more than $1 billion in investment has been put on hold in the region because of the uncertainty over the emissions trading scheme.
• 2008/12/02: ABC(Au): Public transport key to cutting emissions: RACQ
• 2008/12/02: ABC(Au): Polluters meet to discuss ETS
  Some of Australia's biggest carbon emitters have told a forum in Brisbane that they are committed to reducing their greenhouse gas levels.
• 2008/12/02: ABC(Au): A coalition made up of social, environment, economic and union groups has called on the Federal Government to release a strong 2020 emissions target and make green jobs a priority
• 2008/12/02: SMH: Green groups condemn climate plan delay
  A central plank of the NSW Government's climate change plan has been delayed. Targets for statewide energy efficiency improvements have been put back to next July. The Minister for Climate Change and the Environment, Carmel Tebbutt, said some businesses were having trouble preparing to make the switch, so the scheme could not start next month as originally announced. The new targets will cover the transition between the state's existing "G-Gas" energy abatement program and the introduction of a national emissions trading scheme in 2010, and will ultimately translate into hundreds of millions of dollars in saved energy costs. The delay has been condemned by green groups, which see it as a concession to large energy users.
• 2008/12/01: ABC(Au): The Federal Government has gone back on its plan to present a 2020 emissions reduction target to UN climate talks in Poland later this month
• 2008/12/02: ABC(Au): Greens and Nationals senators combined in the Upper House last night in an unsuccessful bid to overturn a tax break for tree plantations created as carbon sinks
• 2008/12/01: ABC(Au): The Ecological Society of Australia's annual conference in Sydney has been told research shows marine reserves are failing to protect coral reefs from climate change
• 2008/12/01: ABC(Au): [Climate Change Minister Penny] Wong defends emissions target delay
• 2008/12/01: ABC(Au): Greens leader Bob Brown has hit out at the Federal Government over its decision not to take a concrete emissions cut target to key climate talks starting in Poland today

  And in India:

• 2008/12/05: ENN: India loses more people to climate change than any other country
• 2008/12/03: FinEx: [Indian] Power stations stare at acute coal shortage

  While in China:

• 2008/12/06: PeakEnergy: China power generation falls record amount

  And in Russia:

• 2008/12/01: Novosti: Russian weather official says global warming to continue
  Global warming will continue at least until 2015, the head of the Russian hydrometeorological service said. "On the whole, the trend of temperature growth is an objective process, it exists. The rise in temperature will be maintained at least until 2015," Alexander Bedritsky told RIA Novosti. He said that a number of theories existed including that there could be a period of global cooling linked to the sun's activity. "None of the hypotheses can either be checked or discarded," he said.

In Asia:

• 2008/12/04: EarthTimes: Bangladesh targets 10 per cent green energy by 2020

  In Canada, minority neocon PM Harper, had the governor general shut down Parliament:

• 2008/12/05: CSM: In Canada, Harper's government in crisis -- Just seven weeks after the prime minister's party won reelection, the Conservative administration could be toppled
• 2008/12/04: Guardian(UK): A sad day for Canada
  By agreeing to shut down parliament, the governor general saved the bacon of Stephen Harper's besieged Conservatives The political situation in Canada -- coup, crisis, call it what you want -- continues to take new and dramatic turns. On Thursday morning, as expected, Prime Minister Stephen Harper, seeking to avoid a confidence motion - which he would lose, given that his Conservative government only has a minority of the seats in the House of Commons - met with governor general Michaëlle Jean to ask her to prorogue, or end, the current session of Parliament. Instead of calling for another election or turning to the Liberal-New Democratic coalition (which, with support from the Bloc Québécois, holds the majority in Canada's House of Commons), Jean granted his request. What this means is that there won't be another confidence motion until parliament resumes sitting late in January - seven weeks from now - at the earliest. The government may then lose a confidence vote on the Throne Speech, which will begin the next parliamentary session, or on the budget, but, in the meantime, both sides will campaign aggressively to woo public opinion - the Conservatives even more so given the fact that they have more money than the other parties. In other words, we're about to be sucked into an election campaign but without the election.

The tricky & difficult question of the tar sands looms:

• 2008/12/06: NatPo: Tories pledge protection for embattled oil sands
  The Harper government pledged to protect the oil sands sector from economic uncertainty as it challenged opposition parties yesterday to explain how their proposed coalition would regulate pollution from the western Canadian industry.
• 2008/12/02: CBC: Millions of birds could die from oilsands development: report
  Millions of birds could be lost over the next 30 to 50 years due to oilsands development in northern Alberta, according to a report released Tuesday in Edmonton. "As many as 166 million may be lost if tar sands development continues without some kind of major change," said Jeff Wells, the lead author of the report and senior scientist with Boreal Songbird Initiative. The report was sponsored by the Boreal Songbird Initiative, the Natural Resources Defense Council and the Pembina Institute.
• 2008/12/02: UpstreamOnline: Canada oil sands seen as threat to birds
• 2008/12/02: OttawaCitizen: Oilsands killing birds, habitat: report -- Study calls for moratorium on new projects

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

• 2008/12/01: WorldChanging: Andy Revkin: Climate Change Is Not the Story of Our Times
• 2008/11/28: NYT: Dying of Consumption

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

• 2008/12/02: BBC: Baby decisions - adding to the world's woes? How responsible is it to have children in a world whose environmental health is already under stress?
• 2008/11/30: JFleck: Women's Rights as a Climate Change Strategy
• 2008/12/01: PeakEnergy: Peak Population and Generation X

  Apocalypso anyone?

• 2008/12/02: Straight: Gwynne Dyer: Four harsh truths about climate change
  [...] The first is simply this: the scientists are really scared. [...]
  The second conclusion is that the generals are right. Food is the key issue, and the world food supply is already very tight [...]
  The third conclusion is that there is a point of no return after which warming becomes unstoppable [...]
  So -- final conclusion -- we will have to cheat. In the past two years, various scientists have suggested several "geoengineering" techniques
• 2008/12/07: JapanTimes: Four harsh truths about climatic change
• 2008/12/02: ODT(NZ): Hard times here to stay
  Murray Grimwood argues that with peak oil past, our civilisation could be in for a long, slow decline - and that we should plan for a permanent recession

As for how the media handles the science of climatology:

• 2008/12/03: CJR: The Local Climate -- Regional papers invest in multi-part series on warming
• 2008/12/05: DotEarth: News Coverage of Climate Entering 'Trance'?
• 2008/12/05: Maribo: Reporting about climate change
• 2008/12/04: GristMill: The horse they rode in on -- The AP's climate conference footprint fetish

  CNN has turfed its science staff, giving rise to a lot of negative comment:

• 2008/12/07: ClimateP: CNN fires staff covering science and environment, hires psychic to cover climate change
• 2008/12/05: PNT: News that no longer fits into CNN
• 2008/12/04: CJR: CNN Cuts Entire Science, Tech Team -- Despite network's intention to launch wire service, compete with the AP
• 2008/12/05: NatureTGB: Science sphere condemns CNN cuts
• 2008/12/04: KSJT: Col. J. Rev, NYTimes, Science News etc: Another science+ unit axed - at CNN. But Miles O'Brien!!?? (& LA Times, Cox whack again?)
• 2008/12/04: DotEarth: Science Journalism Implosion, CNN and Beyond

  Here is something for your library:

• 2008/12/02: NewScientist: [Book Review] _Ten Technologies to Save the Planet_ by Chris Goodall

  Meanwhile among the 'Sue the Bastards!' contingent:

• 2008/12/03: WarmingLaw: Court Rejects Loophole for Pollution Created by the Bush EPA
• 2008/12/02: HillHeat: Duke Carolina Coal Plant Blocked By Federal Court

  Wrestling over a new energy infrastructure continues unabated:

• 2008/12/06: JFleck: Coal-to-Liquids Watch
• 2008/12/04: CSM: Will solar power ever be as cheap as coal? Some predict that within five years, it could rival fossil-fuel energy
• 2008/12/01: FuturePundit: Turbine With Shroud Could Cut Wind Power Costs In Half
• 2008/12/04: RigZone: Exxon Underscores Importance of O&G to Meet Global Energy Demand
• 2008/12/05: BRitholtz: Crude Oil = $41
• 2008/12/03: Guardian(UK): Capturing the ocean's energy
• 2008/12/04: NEN: New energy transmission superhighway or coal hustle?
• 2008/12/04: WSJ:EnvCap: Oil Prices: Falling Through the Floor
• 2008/12/04: AP: Oil hits near 4-year low below $46 on weak economy
• 2008/12/04: Guardian(UK): Go-ahead for wind farm puts Wales on track to meet clean energy targets
• 2008/12/03: TreeHugger: 10 Energy Myths Exposed: Solar, Wind, Nuclear and More
• 2008/12/03: SciDaily: Carbon-neutral Way To Power Your Home
• 2008/12/03: CleanBreak: DOE: Combined Heat and Power a compelling but underutilized source of energy efficiency
• 2008/12/03: NEN: Wind -- a billion here, a billion there
• 2008/12/03: PeakEnergy: More OTEC Power For Hawaii?
• 2008/12/03: BBC: [750 megawatt] One of the largest offshore wind farms in the world has been approved to be built off the coast of north Wales
• 2008/12/02: FTimes: Oil prices fall to 3½-year lows
• 2008/12/03: SMH: It's the ultimate hottie -- Steam from deep underground could provide the nation's power for the next 500 years...
• 2008/12/02: ClimateP: Media eats crow: Green tech is still selling
• 2008/12/02: PhysOrg: A Promising Catalyst for Solar-Based Hydrogen Energy Production
• 2008/12/02: GristMill: Wind turbines get fancy -- Electronics, biomimicry, and design advances improve a mature technology
• 2008/12/02: MTobis: Shale energy and water constraints in Colorado
• 2008/12/01: USAToday: Consumers flock to firewood to cut winter heating costs
• 2008/12/02: USAToday: Oil and gas prices slip to 3-year lows [on bleak U.S. economic news]
• 2008/12/02: TechRev: Europe Backs Supergrids -- Recent efforts show hope for regional transmission planning for renewable power
• 2008/12/02: PeakEnergy: Ocean currents can power the world
• 2008/12/01: People's Daily: China's domestic-made biomass gasification power system
• 2008/12/01: TreeHugger: Jet Engine Wind Turbine Design Could Halve Wind Power Electricity Costs
• 2008/12/01: Eureka: Self-powered devices possible, says Texas A&M researcher [via sound driven micro-piezoelectrics]
• 2008/12/01: NEN: Old energy is just too expensive
• 2008/12/01: PeakEnergy: Sodium Sulphur Battery Storage For Wind Power
• 2008/12/01: PeakEnergy: Geothermal industry plan launched in Australia
• 2008/12/01: NakedCapitalism: New Downbeat Tone on Oil

  Meanwhile among the solar aficionados:

• 2008/12/04: FuturePundit: Solar Thermal Cheaper Than Solar Photovoltaics
• 2008/12/04: ClimateP: Calif. agency approves SoCal Edison's first solar baseload contract
• 2008/12/05: TreeHugger: 850 MW Solar Thermal Power Plant Seeks California State Approval
• 2008/12/04: EUO: Solar panels for the poor, but no new funding
• 2008/12/04: TreeHugger: First 'Commercial' CIGS Thin-Film Solar Array Powers Global Solar Energy's Own Factory
• 2008/12/03: GTM: Solar a Bust in Spain
  Installers of solar energy systems are trying to unload megawatts worth of panels cheaply after buying too many at high prices earlier this year.
• 2008/12/04: PeakEnergy: Efficient Thin-Film Solar Cells
• 2008/12/03: TreeHugger: Largest Solar Thermal Power Plant Outside of California Begins Construction in Florida, Online in 2010
• 2008/12/03: LA Times: Solar thermal projects gather steam -- and opposition
• 2008/12/03: NEN: L.A. wants sun
• 2008/12/02: TreeHugger: 600,000 Square Foot Solar Power Rooftop Completed by Southern California Edison
• 2008/12/02: NEN: 2008 Global solar report card -- global green grades the world
• 2008/12/02: LA Times: Edison's rooftop solar project powers up

  The arithmetic of coal carbon is striking home:

• 2008/12/05: GristMill: ACCCE in the hole -- Clean coal salesman Joe Lucas shucks and jives for NPR
• 2008/12/04: ERabett: King Coal is wearing no clothes
• 2008/12/05: NEN: Coalition calls on coal to put up or shut up
• 2008/12/05: WSJ:EnvCap: Coal Warriors: Enviros Take Aim at Clean Coal 'Myth'
• 2008/12/05: WaPo: Environmental Groups Bash 'Clean Coal' in New Campaign
• 2008/12/04: GristMill: Reality bites -- Green groups launch campaign highlighting falsity of 'clean coal'
• 2008/12/03: WSJ:EnvCap: Coal Pits: Recession Sends Coal Prices Plunging
• 2008/12/03: TP:WonkRoom: How To Make A Coal-Fired Power Plant In Your Backyard
• 2008/12/02: NEN: The high cost of coal

  Biofuel bickering abounds:

• 2008/12/03: BioenergyBiz: Bangchak halts ethanol project on market uncertainty
• 2008/12/05: TreeHugger: Biofuel Crops Grown in Saltwater Could Supply 35% of US's Liquid Fuel Needs
• 2008/12/04: NewScientist: Rich countries carry out '21st century land grab'
• 2008/12/03: AutoBG: The state of the ethanol market depends on which hemisphere you're in
• 2008/12/01: GristMill: Agrofuel proponents hone tactics -- The food price blame game
• 2008/12/02: BBC: Palm oil offers no green solution -- A major international study says palm oil plantations reduce plant and animal diversity, and do little to reduce carbon emissions
• 2008/12/01: Eureka: Biofuel plantations on tropical forestlands are bad for the climate and biodiversity, study finds
• 2008/11/30: FarmOnline: US ethanol sector to shrink

  The nuclear energy controversy continues:

• 2008/12/05: KSJT: Denver Post: Just a commodity story, but it's uranium and the price is plunging

  Yes we have a peak oil sighting:

• 2008/12/04: EnergyBulletin: The peak oil crisis: July 2008 -- a month to remember

  And then there is the matter of efficiency & conservation:

• 2008/12/05: VoxEU: Does daylight saving time save electricity? by Laura E. Grant & Matthew J. Kotchen
  Daylight saving time, designed for energy conservation purposes, is among the most widespread regulations on the planet. Surprisingly little evidence exists that it actually saves energy. This column, using a natural experiment, concludes that "saving" daylight has cost electricity.

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

• 2008/12/07: AutoBG: Norway electric car sales hit record as Buddy finds buyers
• 2008/12/04: McClatchyDC: Could electric cars charge up struggling automakers?
• 2008/12/05: NatureTGB: World-record solar car makes an impact in Poznan
• 2008/12/05: TreeHugger: Tata Indica EV Plug-In Electric Car Unveiled at Bologna Motor Show
• 2008/12/05: AutoBG: US electric car sales slow to a trickle
• 2008/12/05: AutoBG: USABC [United States Advanced Battery Consortium] gives $2.3 million grant to develop lithium battery components
• 2008/12/03: CNN: The cars of the future are here now
  The gas engine is starting to be challenged by a fleet of cleaner, leaner rivals - Hydrogen fuel-cell cars have the potential to be the cleanest form of transport - New electric cars are shedding their old image as slow and undesirable - But most alternative-fuel cars are still too expensive for the average buyer
• 2008/12/04: AutoBG: Electric vehicle sales dive in the UK
• 2008/12/04: CBC: Solar car completes 1st round-the-world trip [Swiss schoolteacher Louis Palmer]
• 2008/12/04: Times(UK): Electric shock as sales of green cars go into reverse
• 2008/12/04: Guardian(UK): Hawaii goes electric
• 2008/12/03: DotEarth: Will $1.81 Gas or Russia Save the Hummer?
• 2008/12/03: TreeHugger: Hawaii To Be First With Statewide Electric Car Charging Stations
• 2008/12/03: NYT: Hawaii Endorses Plan for Electric Cars
• 2008/12/03: TStar: Vehicle sales tumble 10% in Canada
• 2008/12/02: RReich: Why the Automakers Won't Make Fuel-Efficient Cars, Even as the Price of Being Bailed Out
• 2008/12/03: BRitholtz: Auto Sales
• 2008/12/03: GEA: Auto Sales Plunge To Lowest Level Since 1982
• 2008/12/02: CalcRisk: Chrysler sales off 47%
• 2008/12/03: Guardian(UK): Another Mini adventure, but this time with the sound off. And no back seat - BMW launches electric version of British classic - 95mph model can travel 150 miles on full charge
• 2008/12/02: TreeHugger: 28 States To Get Smartlet Electric Vehicle Charging Station Distributors, Entire US + Canada Early Next Year
• 2008/12/02: CalcRisk: GM Sales Off 41%
• 2008/12/02: CalcRisk: Ford sales off 31%, Toyota sales off 34%

  The reaction of business to climate change will be critical:

• 2008/12/04: ThinkP: Bank of America to stop financing mountaintop coal mining

  Meanwhile in the greenwashing chronicles:

• 2008/12/06: DeSmogBlog: GM VP Bob Lutz's green pose is (what's the phrase?) a "total crock of sh#t"
• 2008/12/01: TreeHugger: Another Reason to Laugh When They Say that Concrete is Green

  The carbon lobby are up to the usual:

• 2008/12/06: QuarkSoup: Allen vs. Lomborg
• 2008/12/06: Deltoid: Another correction to Duffy
• 2008/12/06: GWWatch: AGW deniers deperate in their death throes
• 2008/12/06: GWWatch: Andrew Bolt: The climate concerned are Nazis
• 2008/12/05: ClimateP: Are ALL National Review bloggers libelous, incapable of rational discourse?
• 2008/11/25: GreenFyre: Evolution & Climate Deniers: The Redux Edition
• 2008/12/05: ERabett: Antipangloss
• 2008/12/04: TerraDaily: Analysis: Skeptics renew climate debate
• 2008/12/05: DeSmogBlog: The Global Warming Deniers Are Restless
• 2008/12/04: AFTIC: Follow the money
• 2008/12/04: Deltoid: The Australian's War on Science XXV
• 2008/12/03: KSJT: Cleveland Plain Dealer: Want to see a climate change skeptic? Could be on TV each night, just before sports
• 2008/12/03: Deltoid: Gregg Easterbrook is an idiot
• 2008/12/03: TP:WonkRoom: Brookings Science 'Expert' [Gregg Easterbrook] Doesn't Understand Basic Science
• 2008/12/02: Deltoid: Windschuttle's vote of no confidence in Quadrant's climate science articles
• 2008/11/30: RealClimate: Why don't op-ed's get fact checked?

  Then there was the miscellaneous news and commentary:

• 2008/12/05: UND: Weaning the Meaning of Greening
• 2008/12/03: CCD: Climate change and the empathy deficit
• 2008/12/06: BostonGlobe: New US military report on global warming raises worry -- Calls theories on the cause 'contradictory'
• 2008/12/06: DeSmogBlog: It's Time For A New Military War on Error
• 2008/12/03: AlterNet: Forget the Polar Bears -- The Climate Crisis Is About All of Us
• 2008/12/05: GristMill: Lights, camera, climate action! Grist video kicks off Global Day of Climate Action 2008
• 2008/12/04: ClimateP: A Framework for Achieving Energy Security and Arresting Global Warming
• 2008/12/04: NewScientist: Cleaner air to turn iconic buildings green
• 2008/12/04: Guardian(UK): [Letters] The young are the key to fighting climate change
• 2008/12/03: TreeHugger: Five Dire Green Myths Causing the Greatest Global Harm
• 2008/12/02: DeSmogBlog: Research Paper: Alliance for Energy and Economic Growth
• 2008/12/02: SF Gate: Climate change fallout may cost annual $50 billion
• 2008/12/01: NewScientist: Robot gliders take the ocean's pulse
• 2008/12/01: NewScientist: Heat we emit could warm the Earth
• 2008/12/01: GristMill: The 'Grand Climate Plan' -- Low-carbon roadmap comes into focus -- with some notable gaps
• 2008/12/01: OilChange: A "Critical Month" for Climate Change

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

• GreenFyre
• Wiki: Ethanol fuel in Brazil
• Front Groups
• GTM: Green Tech Media
• UNEP: The Green Economy Initiative
• RotEC: Revenge of the Electric Car
• Pacific Mag
• Wiki: Methane
• EcoGeek
• Millennium Ecosystem Assessment
• World Radiation Centre
• NGDC.NOAA: Solar Irradiance Data
• Exxpose Exxon
• SciAmP: SciAm Perspectives
• IPCC: National Greenhouse Gas Inventories Programme

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.

"The lesson is as clear as it is daunting: if we are to be confident about saving humanity and the planet from what could be the worst extinction event of all time, worse even than at the end of the Permian, we must stop at two degrees. -Mark Lynas, Pg. 252, _Six Degrees_

• Global Warming Links
• Global Warming News Archive
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