Another week of GW News, June 5, 2011

Logging the Onset of The Bottleneck Years

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Another week of Climate Disruption News

Information Overloadis Pattern Recognition

June 5, 2011

• Chuckles, COP17+, Fukushima News, Nuclear Policy, Fukushima Talk
• C40, Death Threats, Cate Debate, FOI Weapon, Thermodynamics, Cook
• Melting Arctic, Penguins, Geopolitics, Antarctica
• Food Crisis, Agro-Corps, Food Prices, CCAFS, Land Grabs, GMOs, Food Production
• Hurricanes, Monsoon, GHGs, Ozone, Historical Climate
• Attribution, Tipping Points, Anthropocene, Volcanoes
• Impacts, Forests, Extreme Weather, Tornadoes
• Wildfires, Corals, Acidification, Sea Levels, Floods & Droughts
• REDD, Transportation, Buildings, Geoengineering, Adaptation
• Journals, Other Docs , Misc. Science, Models, Hansen, Wegman
• UN, Carbon Trade, Carbon Tax
• Security, Law & Activism, Activism, Polls, Water Politics & Business, Religioso
• National Politics: America, BP Disaster, 2012, Obama, USAdmin, Congress
• Britain, Europe, Australia, Carbon War, Murray-Darling, India, China, Japan, Middle East
• Canada, Post G20, Lobbying Europe, GHG Report, Layoffs, Pipelines
• BC, Tar Sands, Alberta, Sask, Manitoba, Ontario, Maritimes, Canadiana
• Ecological Economics, Apocalypso, Fixes, Media, Books, Video, Courts
• Energy, Fracking, Coal, Oil & Gas, Pipelines, Peak Oil, Biofuel
• Solar, FITs, Nukes, Nuclear Waste, Grid, Efficiency, Gee Whiz, Energy Storage
• FAQs, Joe's List, Carbon Lobby, Miscellaneous Climate, Useful Links
• Shameless Self Promotion, .sig

If you're tired of black humour, try laughing at the deniers:

• 2011/06/04: CA: (cartoon - TomTom) How can there be global warming...
• 2011/06/02: QuarkSoup: (cartoon - Seitz) The Stern Report
• 2011/06/02: CDreams: One Hoax to Rule Them All: The Hobbit Movie Tar Sands Story Revealed
  Travellers at Terminal 3 in the Toronto airport were astounded Tuesday morning to see Gandalf the Grey and several hobbits march their handcuffed prisoner Stephen Harper, dressed as the evil lord Sauron, into a Synacrude Ltd. recruiting meeting. They demanded that Synacrude take him back to Mordor aka the Alberta tar sands, "the hell on earth that he created."
• 2011/05/30: ERabett: (cartoon - TomTom) How can there be global warming...

  And for those interested in exploring the nether reaches of Poe's Law:

• 2011/06/01: Onion: Planet Earth Doesn't Know How To Make It Any Clearer It Wants Everyone To Leave
• 2011/05/18: Onion: Planned Parenthood Opens $8 Billion Abortionplex

  Looking ahead to COP17 and future international climate negotiations:

• 2011/06/03: PlanetArk: Climate Action Faces Legal Gap, No Deal This Year
  The world will again fall short of a full climate deal this year, after two past attempts, say developed countries which want a narrower focus on forests and funds at resumed U.N. talks in Germany next week. A fresh postponement will all but end hopes of a binding U.N. deal to succeed the Kyoto Protocol before its present round expires at the end of 2012, leaving a legal gap and possible makeshift arrangements for years. A summit in Copenhagen two years ago was blown off course by world recession and political wrangling. Hopes are now dimmed for a conference in Durban, South Africa later this year.
• 2011/06/02: PlanetArk: Rich Nations Say On Track With $30 Billion Climate Aid
  Earthquake-hit Japan and many other rich nations are reaffirming pledges to give $30 billion from 2010-12 to help poor nations fight climate change despite budget cuts, a Reuters survey showed on Wednesday. Climate aid has totaled $16.2 billion since January 2010, according to submissions to the United Nations by a May deadline. Poor nations have said much of the cash is from existing programs and is not new as promised.
• 2011/06/01: EurActiv: [UNEP] chief rattled by Durban climate summit prospects
  The chief of the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) has plainly expressed his fears of failure at "a very critical moment" in the history of UN climate change talks later this autumn. He spoke to EurActiv in an exclusive interview. "At this point, everyone should be extremely concerned about what we will walk away with from Durban," Achim Steiner, UNEP's executive director told EurActiv.

Not much good news coming out of Fukushima:

• 2011/06/03: CNN: Rain raises fear of more contamination at Fukushima
  Officials are installing water decontamination equipment at the plant - It is to be set up by June 15, but could be delayed - Heavy rains between now and then could cause spill of radioactive water
• 2011/06/03: APR: Fukushima Daiichi update: Friday
• 2011/06/02: NatureNB: Radioactive water about to overflow at Fukushima
• 2011/06/01: APR: Fukushima Daiichi update
• 2011/06/01: APR: IAEA Initial Report
• 2011/06/01: DerSpiegel: Poisoned Fields -- The Painful Evacuation of a Japanese Village
  Contamination levels in the Japanese mountain village of Iitate are higher than in some parts of the Chernobyl exclusion zone. Its evacuation has been a painful process for residents -- and many are more afraid of resettlement than they are of radiation.
• 2011/06/01: BBC: Japan underestimated the risk of a tsunami hitting a nuclear power plant, the UN nuclear energy agency has said
• 2011/06/01: CBC: Japan tsunami threat 'underestimated' [says IAEA]
• 2011/05/31: Guardian(UK): Japanese nuclear plant hit by explosion and oil spill
• 2011/05/31: EurActiv: Ombudsman slams secrecy over Fukushima contamination
  Following complaints from citizens, the European Ombudsman has opened an investigation into the EU's permitted levels of food contamination following the Fukushima nuclear accident in Japan and their communication to the wider public. Similar complaints are also being heard in France. "Based on complaints submitted to me, it appears that a number of Union citizens perceive a lack of precise and reliable information as regards the changes made to the maximum permitted levels in the aftermath of the Fukushima accident," wrote EU Ombudsman P. Nikiforos Diamandouros in a letter addressed to European Commission President José Manuel Barroso on 19 May.
• 2011/05/31: PlanetArk: Two Fukushima Workers May Have Exceeded Radiation Limit
• TEPCO: Live Camera -- Video pictures of Units 1 to 4 at Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power station are available
• 2011/05/31: BBC: Japan pensioners volunteer to tackle nuclear crisis
  A group of more than 200 Japanese pensioners are volunteering to tackle the nuclear crisis at the Fukushima power station. The Skilled Veterans Corps, as they call themselves, is made up of retired engineers and other professionals, all over the age of 60. They say they should be facing the dangers of radiation, not the young.
• 2011/05/30: CBC: Hard rain delays Japan nuclear cleanup
  [...]
  The tropical storm causing the driving rain has already brought flooding to the Philippines and one of the strongest cyclones globally this year -- equivalent to a category five at one point, CBC News meteorologist Johanna Wagstaffe said. A low-pressure system -- the remnant of Typhoon Songda -- hung over the Pacific coast and dumped up to 15 centimetres of rain in 24 hours, the Japan Meteorological Agency said.
• 2011/05/29: APR: Fukushima Daiichi... Sunday
• 2011/05/29: RawStory: Fukushima plant not ready for approaching typhoon

  Post Fukushima, nuclear policies are in flux around the world:

• 2011/06/03: APR: Nuclear Sanity, Nuclear Insanity, Fukushima, and the NRC
• 2011/06/03: NatureN: The knock-on effects of Germany's nuclear phase-out -- Policy change promises more renewable energy and electricity price hike
• 2011/06/02: Grist: Oops: Germany's nuclear shutdown will cause 100s of million of tons of CO2 emissions
• 2011/06/02: CSM: Germany's costly decision to give up nuclear power
• 2011/06/01: EurActiv: German nuclear phase-out ignites push for coal, gas
  A battle over the future shape of Germany's energy industry is looming after its pioneering decision to shut all 17 of its nuclear reactors by 2022.
• 2011/06/01: PlanetArk: German Nuclear Cull To Add 40 Million Tonnes CO2 Per Year
• 2011/06/01: NBF: German Utility will try to bill the German Government for Nuclear Shutdown
• 2011/06/01: DerSpiegel: Business Model at Risk -- Nuclear Phaseout Could Spell Disaster for German Energy Giants
  With the government's decision to phase out nuclear energy, Germany's four biggest utility companies face an uncertain future. Profits could tumble this year by as much as 30 percent and the companies are also becoming increasingly vulnerable to takeovers. Are the days of giant energy companies numbered in Germany?
• 2011/05/30: DerSpiegel: Roadmap for the Energy Revolution -- Germany to Phase Out Nuclear Power by 2022
  The German government has agreed on a roadmap for phasing out nuclear power. All of the country's 17 nuclear plants are to go offline by 2021, with a possible one-year extension for three reactors should there be the risk of an electricity shortfall.
• 2011/05/31: PlanetArk: Analysis: German Nuclear Exit Plan Won't Draw Many Imitators [says Chatham House's Malcolm Grimston]
• 2011/05/31: ScienceInsider: Nuclear Phaseout Will 'Pay Off' for German Energy Research, Says Panel Chair
• 2011/05/31: NBF: Switzerland and Germany plan to phase out their use of nuclear power
• 2011/05/30: Guardian(UK): Germany to shut all nuclear reactors
  Move prompted by mass protests against nuclear power following Japan's nuclear disaster
• 2011/05/30: EurActiv: Germany to be non-nuclear by 2022
  Germany will shut all its nuclear reactors by 2022, parties in Chancellor Angela Merkel's coalition government agreed today (30 May), in a reaction to Japan's Fukushima disaster that marks a drastic policy reversal.
• 2011/05/30: EUO: Germany to phase out nuclear energy by 2022
  The German government announced on Monday (30 May) it will shut down all of its nuclear power plants by 2022, calling the move "definite".
• 2011/05/30: ABC(Au): Germany wants nuclear exit by 2022
• 2011/05/30: TreeHugger: Germany to be 100% Nuclear Power-Free by 2022
• 2011/05/30: SwissInfo: Costs of atomic energy opt-out remain unclear
  What is the cost of opting out? The answer is not yet known The government says that giving up nuclear power by 2034 in Switzerland will have a significant economic impact on the country.

And of course, the pundits. lobbyists and politicians have a lot to say:

• 2011/06/04: NakedCapitalism: WashingtonsBlog: Are Nuclear Reactions Still Occurring at Fukushima?
• 2011/06/02: ScienceInsider: Marine Scientists Begin Cruise off Fukushima
• 2011/06/01: BBC: Japan promotes 'Super Cool Biz' energy saving campaign
• 2011/06/01: Guardian(UK): Fukushima effect: Japan schools take health precautions in radiation zone
• 2011/05/31: NakedCapitalism: WashingtonsBlog: Update on the Japanese Nuclear Crisis - Not a Pretty Picture
• 2011/05/31: PSinclair: Life in the Zone: The Children of Minamisoma
• 2011/05/30: CBC: Energy angst: Japan's post-tsunami power crisis
• 2011/05/30: BBC: Nuclear power in Germany: The reasons behind Chancellor Merkel's U-turn
• 2011/05/30: BBC: Viewpoints [Malcolm Grimston & Jeremy Leggett]: German nuclear shutdown
• 2011/05/29: SwissInfo: Poll finds huge support for nuclear opt-out
  A survey has found that 80 per cent of people approve of the government's decision to phase out nuclear power in Switzerland by 2034.

Not much news about the C40 summit:

• 2011/05/31: Grist: Megacity mayors leading the fight for sustainable survival at the C40 summit

  It appears Australian deniers are getting desperate:

• 2011/06/05: ABC(Au): Death threats fail to shake climate scientists
  A climate change scientist who has been targeted by death threats says the science community must still continue to release the latest research. A number of the country's top climate change scientists, including several at the Australian National University (ANU), have been targeted by death threats and abusive phone calls for months. But the situation has now worsened, and ANU has moved its scientists to a more secure location and introduced other security measures.
• 2011/06/03: Google:AFP: Australian scientists threatened in carbon tax row
• 2011/06/04: TCoE: The ongoing violence of climate change denial
• 2011/06/04: TP:JR: Australian climate scientists face death threats, cyberbullying
• 2011/06/04: CCP: Climate of fear: scientists face death threats
• 2011/06/04: ABC(Au): Death threats sent to top climate scientists
  Several of Australia's top climate change scientists at the Australian National University have been subjected to a campaign of death threats, forcing the university to tighten security. Several of the scientists in Canberra have been moved to a more secure location after receiving the threats over their research. Vice-chancellor Professor Ian Young says the scientists have received large numbers of emails, including death threats and abusive phone calls, threatening to attack the academics in the street if they continue their research. He says it has been happening for the past six months and the situation has worsened significantly in recent weeks.

And they're beating on Galadriel:

• 2011/06/02: ABC(Au):TDU: Cowardice from behind a wall of newsprint
  The attacks on Cate Blanchett this week have been a disgrace, and those making the attacks have behaved contemptibly - both in the media and in the Parliament.
• 2011/06/02: CCP: Cate Blanchett: I want to be able to look my children in the face
• 2011/05/30: Guardian(UK): Cate Blanchett TV ad angers Australia's opposition
• 2011/05/30: ABC(Au): Actor Michael Caton has accused Barnaby Joyce of playing "dirty pool" in his attack on actress Cate Blanchett over her participation in a carbon pricing ad campaign
• 2011/05/29: BBC: Actress Cate Blanchett sparks Australia climate debate
• 2011/05/30: BBC: The great 'Cate Debate'
  Raging since first thing Sunday morning, I dare say many of you will have already taken sides in the great Cate Debate. For the uninitiated, Cate Blanchett, Australia's most luminous actress, has made a brief appearance in a television advertisement urging her compatriots to "Say Yes" to a carbon tax. The response from opponents of the government's controversial proposal, who claim the tax will damage the Australian economy and hit ordinary Australians with increased bills, has been vituperative.

Further in the FOI as a weapon saga:

• 2011/06/04: ERabett: Strange George Mason University interpretations of Virginia FOI requests
• 2011/05/30: CSW: Washington Post editorial: Resist denialist 'freedom of information' harassment of climate change scientists
• 2011/05/31: DeSmogBlog: The UVA Emails and Confirmation Bias: Seek and Ye Shall Find
• 2011/05/30: TPL: WaPo Editorial on Abuse of FOIA to Harass Climate Scientists
• 2011/05/30: PSinclair: Washington Post: On the Harassment of Climate Researchers
• 2011/05/30: CCP: Harassing climate-change researchers [via FOI]

  Delving into the laws of thermodynamics this week:

• 2011/06/05: TSoD: Water Vapor Trends - Part Two
• 2011/06/02: TSoD: Water Vapor Trends

  John Cook and friends continue their point-counterpoint articles:

• 2011/06/05: SkeptiSci: Of Averages & Anomalies - Part 2B. More on why Surface Temperature records are more robust than we think by Glenn Tamblyn
• 2011/06/04: SkeptiSci: Of Averages & Anomalies - Part 2A. Why Surface Temperature records are more robust than we think by Glenn Tamblyn
• 2011/06/03: SkeptiSci: CO2 - Some facts, figures and outcomes by Agnostic
• 2011/06/03: SkeptiSci: IEA CO2 Emissions Update 2010 - Bad News by dana1981 & John Abraham
• 2011/06/02: SkeptiSci: Amazon drought: A death spiral? (Part 3: 2005 & 2010 droughts) by Rob Painting
• 2011/06/01: SkeptiSci: The Critical Decade - Part 2: Climate Risks by dana1981
• 2011/06/01: SkeptiSci: Amazon drought: A death spiral? (part 2:climate models) by Rob Painting
• 2011/05/31: SkeptiSci: Database of peer-reviewed papers: classification problematics by Ari Jokimäki
• 2011/05/31: SkeptiSci: An Interactive History of Climate Science
• 2011/05/30: SkeptiSci: Are you a genuine skeptic or a climate denier?
• 2011/05/30: SkeptiSci: Of Averages and Anomalies - Part 1B. How the Surface Temperature records are built by Glenn Tamblyn
• 2011/05/29: SkeptiSci: Of Averages and Anomalies - Part 1A. A Primer on how to measure surface temperature change by Glenn Tamblyn

  The Arctic melt continues to garner a lot of attention:

• 2011/06/04: PeakEnergy: The Arctic Sea Ice Death Spiral Continues
• 2011/06/03: CCP: NSIDC: Arctic Sea Ice Extent, June 2, 2011
• 2011/06/02: CCP: NASA's Earth Observatory: Rate of Ice Loss in the Canadian Arctic Archipelago has tripled
• 2011/05/31: ASI: Bering in mind

  As for the charismatic fauna:

• 2011/06/02: NatureNB: Video: Penguin groups use physics to avoid crush and keep warm
• 2011/06/02: BBC: Penguin huddle secrets revealed with time lapse footage

  As for the geopolitics of Arctic resources:

• 2011/05/31: Eureka: With global warming, Arctic access will diminish by land but improve by sea
• 2011/05/31: TreeHugger: Melting Ice Roads Could Cause Northern Countries' Interiors To Become Wilder
• 2011/05/31: CBC: Climate change to ravage Arctic ice roads
• 2011/05/30: PostMedia: Underwater survey to bolster Canada's Arctic domain nears end
  A High Arctic mapping expedition this summer along a mysterious undersea mountain chain near the North Pole will mark the culmination of a 10-year federal research project aimed at adding millions of square kilometres of ocean floor - potentially an area as large as Canada's three Prairie provinces combined - to this country's territorial possessions.
• 2011/05/30: PlanetArk: Ice Melt To Close Off Arctic's Interior Riches: Study
  Global warming will likely open up coastal areas in the Arctic to development but close vast regions of the northern interior to forestry and mining by mid-century as ice and frozen soil under temporary winter roads melt, researchers said.
• 2011/05/29: NatureNB: Global warming will open Arctic sea routes but sever the region's ice roads
• 2011/05/29: PostMedia: Canada has 'more to lose than it realizes': global warming report on Arctic

  While in Antarctica:

• 2011/06/03: KSJT: Lots of Ink: Fjords below! Old airplane with new engines and gadgets sees under Antarctic ice
• 2011/06/02: BBC: Antarctic survey reveals rugged buried landscape
• 2011/06/01: Eureka: New map reveals giant fjords beneath East Antarctic ice sheet
  Scientists from the U.S., U.K. and Australia have used ice-penetrating radar to create the first high- resolution topographic map of one of the last uncharted regions of Earth, the Aurora Subglacial Basin, an immense ice-buried lowland in East Antarctica larger than Texas. The map reveals some of the largest fjords or ice cut channels on Earth, providing important insights into the history of ice in Antarctica. The data will also help computer modelers improve their simulations of the past and future Antarctic ice sheet and its potential impact on global sea level.

The food crisis is ongoing:

• 2011/06/04: ITracker: The New York Times is watching the food
• 2011/06/04: NYT: A Warming Planet Struggles to Feed Itself
• 2011/06/04: EnergyBulletin: Eating fossil fuels for breakfast, lunch, and dinner
• 2011/06/04: TreeHugger: Where Are The World's Hotspots of Climate-Induced Food Insecurity?
• 2011/06/02: ITracker: Watch the food, ctd
• 2011/06/02: AllAfrica: FinancialGazette: Zimbabwe: Wheat Production Drastically Declines
  Zimbabwe's tale of winter wheat production has been told over and over again to the extent of getting monotonous. Having declined over the past decade to 12 000 tonnes or less than three percent of the country's annual requirement of between 380 000 and 450 000 tonnes, wheat production is further expected to drop this year because most farmers have since abandoned wheat farming in favour of potatoes, which are offering better returns.
• 2011/06/01: PlanetArk: Hunger Crisis Worsens, Food System Broken: Oxfam
• 2011/05/27: USDA:FNS: SNAP Monthly Data
• 2011/05/31: ZeroHedge: Time To Celebrate The Recovery: Food Stamp Usage Hits Fresh Record
• 2011/05/: BostonReview: Feast and Famine -- India Is Growing, But Indians Are Still Starving
• 2011/05/31: WSJ: Share of Population on Food Stamps Grows in Most States
  The share of residents turning to food stamps has risen in nearly every state nationwide in the past year even as unemployment has moderated. After a temporary plateau in February, the number of Americans receiving food stamps ticked up again in March. Nearly 44.6 million received food stamps in March, up more than 11% from the same time a year ago, the Department of Agriculture said Tuesday.
• 2011/05/31: Guardian(UK): Global food crisis: Climate change imperils Guatemala's food security
• 2011/05/31: WiC: 'Perfect storm' looms for world's food supplies
• 2011/05/31: CBC: Food crisis will create millions more hungry: Oxfam
  Demand for food to rise 70-90% by 2050 as production capacity drops: report
• 2011/05/30: CBC: Atlantic salmon stocks could collapse like cod

  On the food corp. front:

• 2011/06/01: Guardian(UK): Argentina accuses world's largest grain traders of huge tax evasion
  Grain traders ADM, Bunge, Cargill and Dreyfus deny charges by Argentine government of substantial tax evasion
• 2011/05/30: BBerg: Funds Revive Agriculture Bets as Drought, Floods Hurt Crops, Demand Grows

  Food Prices are still problematic:

• FAO: World Food Situation - Food Price Indices
• 2011/05/31: WFP: Rising Food Prices: 10 Questions Answered
• 2011/06/02: TP:JR: Oxfam Predicts Climate Change will Help Double Food Prices by 2030: "We Are Turning Abundance into Scarcity"
• 2011/05/31: Guardian(UK): Food prices to double by 2030, Oxfam warns
  Charity says era of permanent food crisis will hit poorest people hardest and spark social unrest
• 2011/05/31: TMoS: Global Food Prices May Double by 2030
• 2011/05/31: CDreams: Oxfam Warns of Mass Hunger Over Food Prices
• 2011/05/31: InformedComment: Carbon Emissions Record, Food to Double in Price

  The Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security research group warns climate will wreak havoc on the food supply:

• CCAFS: Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security
• 2011/06/03: CCAFS: [link to 3.9 meg pdf] Study Reveals Future "Hotspots" of Risk for Hundreds of Millions Whose Food Problems are on a Collision Course with Climate Change
• 2011/06/04: HotTopic: Hotspots hit poor hardest
• 2011/06/03: Guardian(UK): Climate change in tropics poses food threat to poor
• 2011/06/03: TCoE: Doc alert: Climate change hotspots
• 2011/06/03: NatureNB: Hotspots vulnerable to climate change and food insecurity identified [CCAFS]
• 2011/06/03: NBF: Salt loving plants [halophytes] in India
• 2011/06/03: BBC: Climate to wreak havoc on food supply, predicts report
  Areas where food supplies could be worst hit by climate change have been identified in a report. Some areas in the tropics face famine because of failing food production, an international research group says. The Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS) predicts large parts of South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa will be worst affected. Its report points out that hundreds of millions of people in these regions are already experiencing a food crisis.
  
• 2011/05/30: BBC: Food prices 'will double by 2030', Oxfam warns
  The prices of staple foods will more than double in 20 years unless world leaders take action to reform the global food system, Oxfam has warned.

So, are these land grabs Colonialism V2.0?

• 2011/06/01: BPA: The Perils of International Farmland Investing
• 2011/06/01: NYT: When the Nile Runs Dry by Lester R. Brown
  A new scramble for Africa is under way. As global food prices rise and exporters reduce shipments of commodities, countries that rely on imported grain are panicking. Affluent countries like Saudi Arabia, South Korea, China and India have descended on fertile plains across the African continent, acquiring huge tracts of land to produce wheat, rice and corn for consumption back home. Some of these land acquisitions are enormous. South Korea, which imports 70 percent of its grain, has acquired 1.7 million acres in Sudan to grow wheat -- an area twice the size of Rhode Island. In Ethiopia, a Saudi firm has leased 25,000 acres to grow rice, with the option of expanding. India has leased several hundred thousand acres there to grow corn, rice and other crops. And in countries like Congo and Zambia, China is acquiring land for biofuel production. These land grabs shrink the food supply in famine-prone African nations and anger local farmers...
• 2011/06/01: BPA: Video: Planet for Sale - Big Ag Buying Up World's Fertile Land
• 2011/05/31: CDreams: The New Geopolitics of Food
  From the Middle East to Madagascar, high prices are spawning land grabs and ousting dictators. Welcome to the 21st-century food wars.

Regarding the genetic modification of food:

• 2011/06/05: Grist: Genetically engineered salmon's fishy promises

  And how are we going to feed 9 billion?

• 2011/05/31: FAO: Stemming post-harvest waste crucial to African food security -- Grain losses in sub-Saharan Africa could total $4 billion, FAO/WB report
• 2011/06/01: MLynas: Feeding a world of 9 billion
• 2011/06/01: UN: Sudan: UN delivers food aid to thousands displaced by conflict in Abyei
• 2011/06/01: UN: More UN food aid reaches besieged Libyan city of Misrata
• 2011/06/01: UN: Sustainable agriculture key to green growth, poverty reduction - UN officials
• 2011/06/01: PlanetArk: France Pledges Aid For Drought-Hit Farmers
• 2011/06/01: PlanetArk: Seed Maker Races For Crops As Climate Changes
• 2011/05/27: AlterNet: How Seed Banks, Vaults and Exchanges Are Saving Our Food From Disaster
• 2011/05/31: EnergyBulletin: The perennial imperative: Breaking the land-abuse spiral of annual agriculture
• 2011/05/31: UN: UN calls for better grain storage to reduce Africa's post-harvest losses

  Songda faded as it moved North. Otherwise, there are a couple of numbered storms in the Caribbean:

• 2011/06/03: Wunderground: Caribbean disturbance slow to develop; 5 EF-5 tornadoes this year confirmed
• 2011/06/03: Eureka: NASA watching 2 areas in the Caribbean, 1 is a rainmaker -- Keeping an eye out for tropical cyclone development
• 2011/06/01: Eureka: Atlantic hurricane season sticks to the calendar: System 93L
• 2011/06/01: Wunderground: Hurricane season blows in 93L for Central Florida
• 2011/05/31: Eureka: 2 NASA satellites see Typhoon Songda weaken and move past Japan
• 2011/05/31: Wunderground: An early start to hurricane season?

  While elsewhere in the hurricane wars:

• 2011/06/02: PlanetArk: CSU Forecasts Five Major Hurricanes In 2011 Season
• 2011/06/01: Wunderground: CSU predicts a very active hurricane season: 16 storms, 9 hurricanes

  As for the Monsoon:

• 2011/05/30: PlanetArk: India's Monsoon Rains Hit Mainland Two Days Early

  As for GHGs:

• 2011/06/03: ABC(Au):TDU: Conversations: Rising carbon emissions
• 2011/06/03: QuarkSoup: Emissions: Tracking the Worst of the IPCC Scenarios
• 2011/06/03: TreeHugger: Record-Breaking CO2 Emissions Levels Put World on Track for Worst-Case Warming Scenarios
• 2011/06/03: CCurrents: Record Emissions Of Carbon Dioxide: The Bells Are Ringing For Humanity
• 2011/06/03: Grist: How last year's record emissions stack up to the worst-case scenario
• 2011/06/03: AutoBG: IEA says CO2 emissions hit record high in 2010, and 2020 reduction target "will be extremely challenging"
• 2011/06/02: PSinclair: Graph of the Day: Largest Jump ever in Carbon Emissions
• 2011/05/30: PressEurop: Bleak prospects for climate, warns IEA
• 2011/05/31: CCurrents: Worst Ever Carbon Emissions Leave Climate On The Brink
• 2011/05/31: Guardian(UK): World must face 'inconvenient truth' of emissions rise, says UN climate chief [Christiana Figueres]
• 2011/05/31: Guardian(UK): Carbon levels hit new peak, research shows
• 2011/05/31: PlanetArk: IEA Sees Record CO2 Emissions In 2010
• 2011/05/31: JQuiggin: Bad and good news from the IEA
• 2011/05/31: OilChange: "This is the worst news on emissions"
• 2011/05/31: BBC:RB: Emissions and growth continue their dance
• 2011/05/30: QuarkSoup: World CO2 Emissions See Record Jump
• 2011/05/30: CBC: Carbon emissions hit record: energy agency
  Global carbon dioxide emissions related to energy consumption reached a record high in 2010, according to estimates released Monday by the International Energy Agency. The Paris-based agency said that after dipping in 2009 with the slowdown caused by the global financial crisis, emissions are believed to have climbed to a highest-ever 30.6 gigatonnes. That would be a five per cent increase from the previous record year in 2008, when levels reached 29.3 Gt.
• 2011/05/30: BBC: Global carbon emissions reach record, says IEA
  Energy-related carbon emissions reached a record level last year, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA). The watchdog says emissions rose again after a dip caused by the financial crisis in 2009, and ended 5% up from the previous record in 2008. China and India account for most of the rise, though emissions have also grown in developed countries.
• 2011/05/30: IEA: Prospect of limiting the global increase in temperature to 2ºC is getting bleaker
  CO2 emissions reach a record high in 2010; 80% of projected 2020 emissions from the power sector are already locked in Energy-related carbon-dioxide (CO2) emissions in 2010 were the highest in history, according to the latest estimates by the International Energy Agency (IEA).
• 2011/05/30: ABC(Au): A British newspaper has published leaked figures which show the world's greenhouse gas emissions increased by a record amount last year
• 2011/05/30: NatureNB: CO2 emissions climb to all-time high
• 2011/05/30: ClimateShifts: Worst ever carbon emissions leave climate on the brink
• 2011/05/29: Guardian(UK): Ailing UN climate talks jolted by record surge in greenhouse gases
  Lord Stern talks of 'wake-up call' for governments meeting in Bonn next week with no sign of an agreement to succeed Kyoto
• 2011/05/29: Guardian(UK): Worst ever carbon emissions leave climate on the brink
• 2011/05/30: Guardian(UK): Global warming: Bleaker and bleaker
  New figures show we are still hurtling towards dangerous climate change - at a time when policymakers are running out of ideas

The hazards of UV due to ozone depletion are rising in the North:

• 2011/06/03: CBC: UV levels extra high this summer
  Ultraviolet rays that can cause sunburn and skin cancer are at unusually high levels in Canada this year, due to record ozone loss above the Arctic this past winter, Environment Canada warns.

In historical times:

• 2011/05/31: PlanetArk: Greenland Cold Snap Linked To Viking Disappearance

  In the attribution debate:

• 2011/06/04: HuffPo: The C-Word [Cullen]
• 2011/06/02: Yale360: Forum: Is Extreme Weather Linked to Global Warming?
  In the past year, the world has seen a large number of extreme weather events, from the Russian heat wave last summer, to the severe flooding in Pakistan, to the recent tornadoes in the U.S. In a Yale Environment 360 forum, a panel of experts weighs in on whether the wild weather may be tied to increasing global temperatures.

The cliff, aka tipping points, aka planetary boundaries, put in an appearance:

• 2011/06/02: CCurrents: The Wonders Of Human Creatureliness And The Biophysical Boundaries Of A Tiny Celestial Orb Called Earth

  Oh look! The Anthropocene came up again:

• 2011/06/03: Guardian(UK): Geologists press for recognition of Earth-changing 'human epoch'
  Experts want the human imprint in the geological record to be acknowledged as a new epoch, the Anthropocene

What's up with volcanoes this week?

• 2011/06/05: al Jazeera: Chile volcano eruption forces mass evacuation
  Exodus as southern Chile's Puyehue volcano erupts for the first time in half a century, spewing ash up to 10 kilometres [into the sky]
• 2011/06/04: BBC: Chile: Puyehue volcano chain erupts, forcing evacuation

  More GW impacts are being seen:

• 2011/06/03: ProMedMail: Lyme disease - USA: (PA, WI) increased incidence
• 2011/06/03: PlanetArk: Australia Warns Climate Change Threatens Kakadu Park
• 2011/06/03: Grist: The 'hellish' 4C warmer World of Tomorrow
• 2011/06/02: TP:JR: Royal Society Special Issue on Global Warming Details 'Hellish Vision' of 7°F (4°C) World -- Which We May Face in the 2060s!
• 2011/06/02: UCSUSA: Report Projects Health Impacts and Costs from Worsening Ozone Pollution in a Warming World
• 2011/05/31: TreeHugger: Food For Thought As The Future Heats Up
• 2011/05/31: Purdue: Climate change allows invasive weed to outcompete local species
• 2011/05/31: CCP: Andrew Glikson: Beyond 2 Degrees Celsius: Implications of NASA/GISS updates for the Earth energy balance, global temperatures, ice melt and sea level rise
• 2011/05/31: BBC: Clownfish, the spectacular tropical species feted in the movie Finding Nemo, appear to lose their hearing in water slightly more acidic than normal

  And then there are the world's forests:

• 2011/06/01: NYT: Brazil, After a Long Battle, Approves an Amazon Dam
• 2011/06/03: UN: UN urges leaders to harness extraordinary benefits of forests
• 2011/06/02: ScienceInsider: Brazil Gives Green Light to 'Monster Dam'
• 2011/06/02: PlanetArk: Brazil Approves Massive Amazon Dam For Construction
• 2011/06/02: NatureNB: Giant dam in the Amazon is approved
• 2011/06/01: BBC: Brazil grants building permit for Belo Monte Amazon dam
  Brazil's environment agency has backed construction of a hydro-electric dam in the Amazon, opposed by indigenous groups and environmentalists.
• 2011/06/01: PlanetArk: Experts Meet In Congo In Bid To Rescue World Forests
• 2011/06/01: PlanetArk: Indonesia Forest Decree To Help CO2 Projects
• 2011/06/01: TreeHugger: NASA Map Reveals Massive Carbon Storage of Tropical Forests
• 2011/05/31: Eureka: Storing seeds for a rainy day -- or in this case, a fire -- Study looks at how lodgepole pines protect against fire, mountain pine beetles infestation
• 2011/05/31: BBC: Brazil 'to step up Amazon activists' protection'

  This week in extreme weather:

• 2011/05/29: NewsWeek: Are You Ready for More?
  In a world of climate change, freak storms are the new normal. Why we're unprepared for the harrowing future
• 2011/05/31: CCP: Sharon Begley, Newsweek: Are You Ready for More? In a world of climate change, freak storms are the new normal. Why we're unprepared for the harrowing future

  On the tornado front:

• 2011/06/03: ClimateSight: Tornadoes and Climate Change
• 2011/06/02: CNN: Death toll from Joplin, Missouri, tornado reaches 138
  Four more people died in the hospital from injuries sustained in the storm - The death toll could continue to rise as more fight for their lives, public safety official says - The tornado struck the town of 50,000 people May 22
• 2011/06/02: Wunderground: Tornadoes rip Massachusetts, killing 4
• 2011/06/02: CSM: East coast tornado, storms kill four in Mass., towns digging out
• 2011/06/02: BBC: A cluster of tornadoes has hit the US state of Massachusetts, killing at least four people
• 2011/06/01: CCP: Andrew Freedman, WaPo: In St. Louis, pilot was unaware of approaching tornado. Part II in investigative series on St. Louis tornado
• 2011/06/01: CBC: Massachusetts tornadoes kill 4 people
• 2011/05/31: KSJT: More tornado science (and tornado mystery) roundups. Still no outbreak of globalwarmingitis

  As for heatwaves and wild fires:

• 2011/06/04: CNN: 1,000 battle raging Arizona wildfires -- Wildfires continue to rage in Arizona
  Officials have spent some $3 million so far, says Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer - Largest fire grows to 140,000 acres - Nearly 2,500 people evacuated as fire rages - People evacuated in several neighborhoods
• 2011/06/03: CBC: Huge bomber to douse stubborn Alberta fire
  The largest water bomber in the world is flying to Alberta from British Columbia to help fight wildfires in the oilsands region. Alberta Sustainable Resources says the Martin Mars is to begin dropping huge loads of water Saturday on the Richardson backcountry fires. The fires have been burning north of Fort McMurray for about three weeks in a 3,600 square kilometre area.
• 2011/06/02: BBC: North Canada residents airlifted away from wildfires
  Canadian military planes and helicopters have airlifted nearly all the residents of two communities in the Saskatchewan province to safety, after wildfires moved into the region. The last of the area's more than 1,000 residents were being moved out of Wollaston Lake and Hatchet Lake First Nation early on Thursday morning.
• 2011/06/02: CBC: Saskatchewan forest fire airlift in last stages
  Military transport planes and helicopters are airlifting the last of about 1,100 residents escaping a massive forest fire in the remote Saskatchewan communities of Wollaston Lake and Hatchet Lake First Nation. The massive airlift began about 9:45 p.m. CST Wednesday, after three Hercules planes and four Griffon helicopters arrived in the area in the northern part of the province. The communities are about 800 kilometres north of Saskatoon and only accessible by air. The airlifts continued Thursday morning.
• 2011/06/01: CBC: Northern Saskatchewan fire threatens 1,000
  Officials hope to evacuate 1,000 people from the northern Saskatchewan community of Wollaston Lake because of a wildfire, but smoke is hampering the operation. A fire, which officials said now covers about 490 hectares (1,210 acres), was close to the community's airport Wednesday morning and heavy smoke was making it difficult for planes to land.

Corals are dying:

• 2011/06/03: CBC: Coral smuggling raises alarm in Philippines -- Marine ecosystem devastated by 'search and destroy' smugglers
• 2011/05/31: SciNews: Mellow corals beat the heat -- Species that overreact to distress signals from algae more likely to succumb to warming
• 2011/05/30: ClimateShifts: Bubbling sea signals severe coral damage this century
• 2011/05/29: Eureka: Tiny bubbles signal severe impacts to coral reefs worldwide
  New research shows ocean acidification will likely reduce diversity, resiliency in coral reef ecosystems
• 2011/05/29: BBC: Bubbling sea signals severe coral damage this century
  Findings from a "natural laboratory" in seas off Papua New Guinea suggest that acidifying oceans will severely hit coral reefs by the end of the century. Carbon dioxide bubbles into the water from the slopes of a dormant volcano here, making it slightly more acidic. Coral is badly affected, not growing at all in the most CO2-rich zone. Writing in journal Nature Climate Change, the scientists say this "lab" mimics conditions that will be widespread if CO2 emissions continue.

Acidification is changing the oceans:

• 2011/06/03: TreeHugger: Plankton May Be Better Equipped to Survive Ocean Acidification Than Previously Thought
• 2011/05/31: SciNews: Fish ignore alarming noises in acidifying seawater

  Sea levels are rising:

• 2011/06/05: ABC(Au): Report outlines worst-case climate damage
  A new report on the risk of climate change to Australia's coasts predicts sea level rises could claim thousands of buildings and significant infrastructure by the end of the century.

As for hydrological cycle disruptions [floods & droughts]:

• 2011/06/03: MSNBC: Half of Texas now under "exceptional" drought
• 2011/06/02: JFleck: Increased flood risk in California under climate change
• 2011/06/01: PlanetArk: France Pledges Aid For Drought-Hit Farmers
• 2011/05/31: PlanetArk: China's "Land Of Fish And Rice" Parched By Drought
• 2011/05/29: CBC: High River flood victims brace for snow melt
• 2011/05/29: CBC: Richelieu waters keep rising -- Levels expected to rise up to 15 centimetres by Monday

  Reduced Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation has somehow seemed chimeric:

• 2011/05/29: NatureN: Smart-REDD plan targets causes of deforestation -- Strategy would focus on drivers of deforestation to reduce carbon emissions and improve human welfare.

  Consider transportation & GHG production:

• 2011/06/01: CalcRisk: U.S. Light Vehicle Sales 11.8 million SAAR in May

  While in the endless quest for zero energy, sustainable buildings and practical codes:

• 2011/05/31: Grist: Buildings that make more energy than they use gain steam

  Large scale geo-engineering keeps popping up:

• 2011/06/02: GEP: Latest on CBD [Geoengineering Moratorium]

  While on the adaptation front:

• 2011/05/31: Guardian(UK): Cholera early warning system could save thousands of lives

  Meanwhile in the journals:

• 2011/06/03: NERC:NORA: Changes in extreme high water levels based on a quasi-global tide-gauge data set by Melisa Menendez et al.
• 2011/06/03: NERC:NORA: Sea ice production and water mass modification in the eastern Laptev Sea by T. Krumpen et al.
• 2011/06/03: NERC:NORA: Monitoring the Antarctic Circumpolar Current in the Drake Passage by Maqueda Morales et al.
• 2011/06/01: OS: The effects of biogeochemical processes on oceanic conductivity/salinity/density relationships and the characterization of real seawater by R. Pawlowicz et al.
• 2011/06/01: TC: A robust and energy-conserving model of freezing variably-saturated soil by M. Dall'Amico et al.
• 2011/06/01: TC: A new model for estimating subsurface ice content based on combined electrical and seismic data sets by C. Hauck et al.
• 2011/06/01: TCD: An assessment of uncertainties in using volume-area modelling for computing the twenty-first century glacier contribution to sea-level change by A. B. A. Slangen & R. S. W. van de Wal
• 2011/06/01: CPD: Impact of CO2 and climate on the Last Glacial Maximum vegetation: results from the ORCHIDEE/IPSL models by M.-N. Woillez et al.
• 2011/05/30: CPD: Holocene evolution of the Southern Hemisphere westerly winds in transient simulations with global climate models by V. Varma et al.
• 2011/05/30: CPD: Glacial CO2 cycle as a succession of key physical and biogeochemical processes by V. Brovkin et al.
• 2011/05/30: CPD: A critical humidity threshold for monsoon transitions by J. Schewe et al.
• 2011/06/01: ACP: A numerical study of mountain waves in the upper troposphere and lower stratosphere by A. Mahalov et al.
• 2011/06/01: ACPD: Parameterisation and impact of aerosol uptake of HO2 on a global tropospheric model by H. L. Macintyre & M. J. Evans
• 2011/05/31: ACP: On the behaviour of the tropopause folding events over the Tibetan Plateau by X. L. Chen et al.
• 2011/05/31: ACP: Influences on the fraction of hydrophobic and hydrophilic black carbon in the atmosphere by G. R. McMeeking et al.
• 2011/05/31: ACP: Atmospheric sulfur cycling in the southeastern Pacific - longitudinal distribution, vertical profile, and diel variability observed during VOCALS-REx by M. Yang et al.
• 2011/05/31: ACP: Middle atmosphere response to the solar cycle in irradiance and ionizing particle precipitation by K. Semeniuk et al.
• 2011/05/31: ACPD: In-situ observation of Asian pollution transported into the Arctic lowermost stratosphere by A. Roiger et al.
• 2011/05/31: ACPD: Horizontal variability of aerosol optical depth observed during the ARCTAS airborne experiment by Y. Shinozuka & J. Redemann
• 2011/05/31: ACPD: Regional impacts of ultrafine particle emissions from the surface of the Great Lakes by S. H. Chung et al.
• 2011/05/30: ACPD: Optimal estimation of tropospheric H2O and ?D with IASI/METOP by M. Schneider & F. Hase
• 2011/06/01: Nature: [Letter$] A dynamic early East Antarctic Ice Sheet suggested by ice-covered fjord landscapes by Duncan A. Young et al.
• 2011/05/31: PNAS: (ab$) Committed sea-level rise for the next century from Greenland ice sheet dynamics during the past decade by Stephen F. Price et al.
• 2011/05/31: PNAS: (ab$) Climatically driven biogeographic provinces of Late Triassic tropical Pangea by Jessica H. Whiteside et al.
• 2011/05/31: PNAS: (ab$) Isocyanic acid in the atmosphere and its possible link to smoke-related health effects by James M. Roberts et al.
• 2011/05/31: PNAS: (ab$) Impacts of a recent storm surge on an Arctic delta ecosystem examined in the context of the last millennium by Michael F. J. Pisaric et al.
• 2011/05/31: GMDD: A new version of the CNRM Chemistry-Climate Model, CNRM-CCM: description and improvements from the CCMVal-2 simulations by M. Michou et al.
• 2011/05/31: TCD: Variability of snow depth at the plot scale: implications for mean depth estimation and sampling strategies by J. I. López-Moreno et al.
• 2011/05/29: NatureCC: (Letter$) Divergent long-term trajectories of human access to the Arctic by Scott R. Stephenson et al.
• 2011/05/29: NatureCC: (Letter$) mplementation and opportunity costs of reducing deforestation and forest degradation in Tanzania by Brendan Fisher et al.
• 2011/05/29: NatureCC: (Letter$) Losers and winners in coral reefs acclimatized to elevated carbon dioxide concentrations by Katharina E. Fabricius et al.
• 2011/05/30: AGWObserver: New research from last week 21/2011

  And other significant documents:

• 2011/06/03: CCAFS: [link to 3.9 meg pdf] Study Reveals Future "Hotspots" of Risk for Hundreds of Millions Whose Food Problems are on a Collision Course with Climate Change
• 2011/05/31: Oxfam: [link to 3.7 meg pdf] Growing a Better Future -- Food justice in a resource-constrained world

  As for miscellaneous science:

• 2011/06/02: NAP: More than 4,000 National Academies Press PDFs Now Available to Download for Free
• 2011/06/01: RealClimate: Unfinished Business
• 2011/06/01: NatureN: A new eye on biodiversity -- Airborne observatory will use chemical clues to map and assess tropical ecosystems
• 2011/06/01: Eureka: Tapping into plants is the key to combat climate change, says scientist -- Photosynthesis mechanics is the answer to solar energy
• 2011/05/31: CCP: Don Shelby: Why climate experts are using tougher language

  What's new in models?:

• 2011/06/02: ClimateSight: Beautiful Things
• 2011/06/02: OSU: Climate projections don't accurately reflect soil carbon release

  Regarding Hansen:

• 2011/06/05: HotTopic: Hansen in NZ: final roundup
• 2011/06/04: EnergyBulletin: Silence is deadly: I'm speaking out against Canada-U.S. tar sands pipeline by James Hansen
• 2011/06/04: CCP: James Hansen: Silence is Deadly
  The U.S. Department of State seems likely to approve a huge pipeline to carry tar sands oil (about 830,000 barrels per day) to Texas refineries unless sufficient objections are raised. The scientific community needs to get involved in this fray now. If this project gains approval, it will become exceedingly difficult to control the tar sands monster.

Regarding Wegman:

• 2011/06/02: ScienceInsider: Journal Retracts Disputed Network Analysis Paper on Climate [Wegman]
• 2011/06/02: BCLSB: Edward Wegman: The Retraction

  While at the UN:

• 2011/05/31: UNEP: Countdown begins to World Environment Day 2011
  Whether through a litter clean-up around Mount Everest, a training programme in forest management Costa Rica or a music festival in Belgium, millions of people across the world will join forces to mark World Environment Day (WED) on 5 June 2011.
• 2011/06/01: WMO: Scientists review challenges to observe greenhouse gases
• 2011/06/03: WMO: Megacities: a new focus for weather and climate services
• 2011/06/03: WMO: World Meteorological Congress Sets Priorities for Next Four Years -- New tools to cope with climate change impacts top the agenda
• 2011/06/02: Grist: Starry-eyed [UNFCCC] chief says we need to limit climate change to 1.5C of warming, not 2C
• 2011/06/01: Guardian(UK): Global warming should be limited to 1.5C, UN climate chief says
  Christiana Figueres tells carbon trading conference that the current limit of a 2C temperature rise is 'not enough'
• 2011/06/01: Guardian(UK): [UNFCCC] chief challenges world to agree tougher target for climate change
  Global warming should be limited to 1.5C, not 2C, declares Christiana Figueres

And on the carbon trading front:

• 2011/06/01: Guardian(UK): World Bank warns of 'failing' international carbon market
  Report shows collapse in market with just $1.5bn of credits traded internationally last year

The idea of a carbon tax is still bouncing around:

• 2011/06/03: CSM: Carbon taxes: the levy (some) conservatives love
• 2011/06/01: EconView: Why Not Pollution Taxes? Brad Plumer hints at a change in the politics of a carbon tax

  As for GW, energy & water security:

• 2011/06/02: ABC(Au): Global warming estimates could pose 'enormous strife'
  The chairman of Victoria's Environmental Assessment Council, Duncan Malcolm, has described new estimates on global warming as alarming. The International Energy Agency has released figures showing record levels of greenhouse gas emissions last year, well beyond predictions.

The issue of the law and activism is playing out around the world:

• 2011/06/02: CBC: Greenpeace activists arrested on Greenland oil rig
• 2011/06/02: BBC: Greenpeace occupation of Cairn Greenland rig ends
  Greenpeace campaigners who scaled a drilling vessel off Greenland in a bid to stop work have been removed, it has been revealed. The 53,000-tonne Leiv Eiriksson rig is run by Edinburgh-based Cairn Energy. Activists were hanging from the underside of the rig in a survival pod for four days. Greenpeace said the Danish navy had removed the two campaigners. A Cairn spokesperson said there had been no impact on its schedule.
• 2011/05/31: PlanetArk: Greenland Condemns Greenpeace Arctic Oil Protest

  What are the activists up to?

• 2011/06/01: TP:JR: Bill McKibben on Climate Movement: The Next Generation?
• 2011/05/29: BBC: Greenpeace boards Cairn Energy oil drill in Greenland
  Three Greenpeace campaigners have scaled an oil rig off the coast of Greenland in a bid to stop a Scottish company drilling. The 53,000-tonne Leiv Eiriksson rig is run by Edinburgh-based Cairn Energy.

Polls! We have polls!

• 2011/06/03: ABC(Au): Study says majority [of Australians] believe in climate change
• 2011/06/02: PostMedia: For this generation, 'revolution' calls for greater sustainability, poll finds -- Young adults serious about green challenge

  Regarding Water Politics and Business:

• 2011/06/04: JFleck: On the importance of stakeholder communication and buy-in
• 2011/06/02: JFleck: Campana's Advice to Californians
• 2011/06/01: JFleck: Mulroy: We don't need to tear up the compact
• 2011/05/30: JFleck: California and the Problem of Variability in Water Management
• 2011/05/29: JFleck: Co-Equal Goals

  Among the world's religions:

• 2011/06/03: CCurrents: Spiritual Environmentalism: Healing Ourselves By Replenishing The Earth by Wangari Maathai

  And on the American political front:

• 2011/06/04: EnergyBulletin: Dear Stephen King: an open letter to one American who really could scare the rest of us into action by Ellen LaConte
• 2011/06/03: DVoice: Freedom Feels So Good It Hurts
• 2011/06/03: TreeHugger: The GOP's "Environmental Wish List" is Horrifying
• 2011/06/02: BBerg: Texas Urges U.S. to Leave Gas Fracking Oversight to States
  [...]
  Texas Railroad Commission Chairman Elizabeth Ames Jones said in an interview today that states are better-equipped than the federal government to regulate hydraulic fracturing, the practice of injecting high-pressure jets of water, sand and chemicals into rock formations to release gas and oil. Jones said yesterday that Texas won't require drillers to disclose ingredients they regard as trade secrets.
• 2011/06/02: Grist: States fight back against nuclear power, even as the feds remain in its thrall
• 2011/06/03: PlanetArk: Californian CO2 Market Delay Seen Up To 12 Months
• 2011/06/02: OPB: Why Oregon imports power from fossil fuels and exports renewable energy
• 2011/05/31: Grist: Apollo and BlueGreen Alliance merge -- a smart move at a time of clean-energy trouble
• 2011/05/31: TP:JR: Reviving American Manufacturing with Low-Carbon Innovation
• 2011/05/31: Grist: Only 15 U.S. states even have a plan to deal with 'new normal' extreme weather
• 2011/05/31: Grist: Why is the United States so obsessed with nuclear power?
• 2011/05/31: Grist: Tea Party reveals: 'Sustainable Development' is sinister attempt to destroy American Dream
• 2011/05/31: TreeHugger: Vermont Speeds Up Small-Scale Solar Power Approvals
• 2011/05/30: Guardian(UK): Climate 'trutherism': the conspiracy theory that's no joke
  To its eternal shame, the Republican party has taken climate change denial out of the crank fringe and made it mainstream

The BP disaster continues to twist US politics:

• 2011/06/02: CCP: Kiley Kroh: Corexit Makes Oil Spills Worse, Not Better, Scientists Find -- more toxic than oil alone and doesn't even disperse oil in the first place
• 2011/06/02: NakedCapitalism: WashingtonsBlog: Even BP-Funded Scientists Find that the Use of Corexit Dispersant in the Gulf Made Things Worse -- but BP Still Tries to Blame Others for Destruction

  So, do you want a corporate dweeb, or a sociopathic corporate dweeb? Your choice:

• 2011/06/04: BBickmore: Romney not a Climate Contrarian
• 2011/06/04: Grist: Mitt Romney: Reducing global-warming pollution is 'important'
• 2011/06/02: CSM: Mitt Romney is officially in. Will he do better this time?
• 2011/05/31: TP: Rand Paul, Supposed Defender Of Civil Liberties, Calls For Jailing People Who Attend 'Radical Political Speeches' [2012]
• 2011/06/01: TreeHugger: Chris Christie: A 'Green' GOP Presidential Candidate for 2016?
• 2011/05/31: TP:JR: After Raiding RGGI Funds, Chris Christie Calls the Carbon Trading Program a 'Failure'
• 2011/05/30: NYT: Gov. Christie Abandons a Good Idea
• 2011/05/31: TreeHugger: The Hypocrisy of Chris Christie, "New Jersey's No. 1 Clean Energy Advocate"
• 2011/05/30: DeSmogBlog: New Jersey Governor Christie Bails On [RGGI] Carbon Pollution Reduction Initiative
• 2011/05/29: ERabett: Fats Desserting a Stinking Ship

  The Obama chatter is nonstop:

• 2011/06/02: Grist: Carbon President: Obama won't say no to fossil fuels [McKibben]
• 2011/06/02: WiC: Bill McKibben: Obama strikes out on global warming
• 2011/06/02: AlterNet: Does Obama Have the Guts to Stand Up to Fossil Fuel Energy Interests? [McKibben]
• 2011/06/02: EnergyBulletin: Three strikes and you're hot: Time for Obama to say no to the fossil fuel wish list

  The actions of the Obama administration are being watched closely:

• 2011/06/03: NatureNB: NOAA science appointment: no end to the hold
• 2011/06/01: Grist: Why Republicans are fighting Obama's commerce pick
• 2011/05/30: SF Gate: EPA exempts Calif. [Avenal Power Center, LLC] plant from pollution standards

  As for what is going on in Congress:

• 2011/06/02: PlanetArk: Shutting Yucca Dump Ignores US Law-House Lawmakers
• 2011/06/02: Grist: Republicans' latest defunding target: food safety
• 2011/06/01: Grist: Down with healthy school lunches, says House GOP
• 2011/05/31: ABC(US):TN: Congress Mulls Cuts to Food Stamps Program Amid Record Number of Recipients [food crisis & Congress]/A>
• 2011/06/01: Wonkette: With 45 Million Americans On Food Stamps, GOP Will Cut Food Stamps
• 2011/06/01: TreeHugger: US' First Two Offshore Wind Farms On Hold Thanks To Congressional Budget Battle
• 2011/05/31: DM:BA: Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA): on climate change, makes wrong even wronger
• 2011/05/31: DeSmogBlog: House Republicans Distort Reality To Blame Obama For High Gas Prices

  While in the UK:

• 2011/06/02: DeSmogBlog: UK Opposed to Europe's Tar Sands Import Ban
• 2011/06/01: Independent(UK): Pollution fears as UK blocks European ban on fuel from tar sands
  The British Government is unlikely to support an EU push to include tar sands in its new fuel directive The Coalition Government's claim to be the "greenest government ever" has come under fresh scrutiny from politicians and environmental groups who accuse Britain of undermining a Europe-wide forecourt ban on one of the most climate-polluting fuels. Britain is one of just two major European nations opposing efforts to prohibit sales of petrol and diesel obtained from the Canadian tar sands.
• 2011/06/02: NatureN: UK ecosystem services declining -- [UK National Ecosystem Assessment] Report urges changes in policy governing natural capital
• 2011/06/02: BBC: Centrica suspends South Morecambe gas field
  Centrica, the owner of British Gas, has mothballed its South Morecambe gas field, following through on a threat made last month in response to increased taxes.
• 2011/06/02: BBC: Energy saving Green Deal scheme comes closer
  The government has revealed more details of its Green Deal scheme to help people pay for home insulation and other energy saving measures. The plan should be launched in the autumn of next year.
• 2011/06/01: BBC: Nature 'is worth billions' to UK
  The UK's parks, lakes, forests and wildlife are worth billions of pounds to the economy, says a major report. The health benefits of merely living close to a green space are worth up to £300 per person per year, it concludes. The National Ecosystem Assessment (NEA) says that for decades, the emphasis has been on producing more food and other goods - but this has harmed other parts of nature that generate hidden wealth. Ministers who commissioned the NEA will use it to re-shape planning policy.
• 2011/05/31: BBC: Blackpool Shale Gas drilling suspended after quake
  Shale gas test drilling in Lancashire has been suspended following an earthquake on the Fylde coast.
• 2011/05/31: BBC: Rainfall shows North-South divide
  The south and east of England are on course for their driest spring since 1910, but parts of Scotland have experienced above average rainfall.
• 2011/05/30: Guardian(UK): Support wind farms? It would be less controversial to argue for blackouts [Monbiot]
  By rejecting all the means by which renewable electricity can be generated, the UK has set a very dangerous course
• 2011/05/30: JQuiggin: UK leading the way

  And in Europe:

• 2011/05/30: PressEurop: Germany - Beyond nuclear in 2022
• 2011/05/31: PressEurop: German press review -- Where does the nuclear exit lead to?
• 2011/05/31: DerSpiegel: The World from Berlin -- 'A Huge Victory for the Anti-Nuclear Movement'
  The government of German Chancellor Angela Merkel now has concrete plans to abandon nuclear energy by 2022. The move could make Germany a clean energy model for the world, but newspaper editorialists are deeply divided on the issue.
• 2011/05/30: DerSpiegel: The World from Berlin -- Nuclear Phaseout Is an 'Historic Moment'
  Angela Merkel's government has decided to phase out nuclear power by 2022, in a reversal of its previous policy. German commentators are split over the wisdom of the decision, with one newspaper comparing the move to the fall of the Berlin Wall and another saying it will harm future generations.
• 2011/05/30: BBC: Nuclear phase-out can make Germany trailblazer - Merkel
  German Chancellor Angela Merkel has said a decision to phase out nuclear power by 2022 can make her country a trailblazer in renewable energy. Ms Merkel said Germany would reap economic benefits from the move.
• 2011/05/30: PlanetArk: Solar Panels Win Reprieve In EU Toxic Substance Ban

  Meanwhile in Australia. See also Threatsand Cate:

• 2011/06/05: ABC(Au): Report outlines worst-case climate damage
  A new report on the risk of climate change to Australia's coasts predicts sea level rises could claim thousands of buildings and significant infrastructure by the end of the century. The report, titled Risk to Coastal Settlements and Communities, was commissioned by the Federal Government and assesses the potential damage caused by a worst-case scenario sea level rise of 1.1 metres within 90 years.
  [...]
  The report identifies $226 billion worth of assets at risk of erosion or being wiped out. It found up to 274,000 homes are at risk of inundation and erosion along with over 8,000 commercial buildings, and up to 35,000 kilometres of roads and rail around the country. It warns any future developments in coastal areas must take account of potential sea level rises.
• 2011/06/04: ABC(Au): [NSW] Greens call for a stop to coal seam gas mining
• 2011/06/03: ABC(Au): Ice bear reminds of climate challenge
• 2011/06/03: ABC(Au): Calls for tighter controls over coal seam gas mining
• 2011/06/03: ABC(Au): Study says majority believe in climate change
• 2011/06/02: ABC(Au): Climate change will hurt Kakadu: report
  Prime Minister Julia Gillard has added more ammunition to her climate change arsenal after the release of a new report showing climate change could have direct impacts on world heritage listed Kakadu National Park.
• 2011/06/02: ABC(Au): Global warming estimates could pose 'enormous strife'
  The chairman of Victoria's Environmental Assessment Council, Duncan Malcolm, has described new estimates on global warming as alarming. The International Energy Agency has released figures showing record levels of greenhouse gas emissions last year, well beyond predictions.
• 2011/06/01: ABC(Au): Camden Haven residents oppose coal seam gas exploration
• 2011/06/01: BBC: Australian economy sees sharpest contraction since 1991 [as floods and cyclones take their toll]
• 2011/05/31: ABC(Au): Warning over solar power installations
  Consumers are being warned to shop around before paying to have solar panels installed. Consumer Protection has received more than 50 complaints in WA about the industry this year. Many of those are to do with misleading claims.
• 2011/05/31: ABC(Au): Demonstrators have rallied outside a coal seam gas (CSG) conference in Brisbane's CBD, calling for the industry to be stopped
• 2011/05/31: PeakEnergy: [Australian] Boom gathers pace as resource projects surge
• 2011/05/30: ABC(Au): A new poll out on Monday shows Kevin Rudd and Malcolm Turnbull are the preferred leaders of the two major parties
• 2011/05/30: ABC(Au): Complexities of climate change politics
• 2011/05/30: PeakEnergy: Thousands protest against coal seam gas drilling

  The Australian carbon war rages on:

• 2011/06/05: ABC(Au): Thousands of Tasmanians have rallied in Hobart as part of a national campaign for action on climate change
• 2011/06/05: ABC(Au): Thousands of people have gathered at locations around the nation to rally in support of the Federal Government's plan to put a price on carbon pollution
• 2011/06/05: PeakEnergy: The Carbon Tax Debate
• 2011/06/03: ABC(Au):TDU: Why Garnaut's 'independent' committees aren't a good idea
• 2011/06/03: ABC(Au): Warming reception for government climate adviser
  The Federal Government's chief climate adviser Ross Garnaut has highlighted the impact of climate change on Western Australia's south west in his pitch to sell a price on carbon. Professor Garnaut spoke at a public forum in Perth last night as part of a national tour outlining details of his final report handed down this week. Despite considerable opposition to the carbon tax in WA's mining industry, most of last night's packed crowd at the University of Western Australia seemed supportive of Professor Garnaut's recommendations.
• 2011/06/02: ABC(Au): Green group backs carbon pricing report
  The Latrobe Valley Sustainability Group has welcomed Professor Ross Garnaut's final report on pricing carbon. The report recommends a starting carbon price of $20 to $30 a tonne and directs most of the proceeds to low and middle income households.
• 2011/06/02: ABC(Au): Opposition Leader Tony Abbott has dismissed Labor stalwart Bob Hawke's support of the carbon tax, saying he is "as dishonest" as Prime Minister Julia Gillard
• 2011/06/02: ABC(Au): Hawke enters heated carbon tax battle
  Former prime minister Bob Hawke has labelled Liberal leader Tony Abbott "as mad as a cut snake" for his opposition to the Government's climate change proposals.
• 2011/06/02: ABC(Au): Several leading Australian economists have signed an open letter calling for a price on carbon, saying it would provide essential and structural reform for the domestic economy
• 2011/06/02: PlanetArk: Battle Over Australia's Planned Carbon Tax Heats Up
• 2011/06/02: JQuiggin: Why the global carbon price should probably be around $50/tonne (nerdy/wonkish, but not too difficult, I hope) [optimal & Aus cwar]
• 2011/06/02: ABC(Au): Coalition would reverse carbon tax cuts: Joyce
  Nationals Senate leader Barnaby Joyce says the Coalition would repeal any proposed income tax cuts linked with a carbon tax if elected.
• 2011/06/01: ABC(Au): Oakeshott faces lengthy carbon tax talks
  Lyne Independent Rob Oakeshott says it will be difficult to finalise the federal government's plan to put a price on carbon by the end of next month.
• 2011/06/01: ABC(Au): Carbon tax shapes as key issue at CHOGM
  The debate over a tax on carbon emissions and climate change will be key agenda items at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) to be held in Perth in October.
• 2011/06/01: PlanetArk: Australia Risks Isolation Unless It Prices Carbon: Adviser
  Australia's top climate adviser said on Tuesday the country faced isolation and potential trade retaliation unless it puts a price on carbon pollution and joins international efforts to fight global warming. In his final report to the government, adviser Ross Garnaut also said Australia should consider a stronger emissions target, and the commitment to cut emissions by 5 percent of 2000 levels by 2020 should be the minimum target. Garnaut said the 2010 Cancun global climate meeting increased the need for Australia to set strong targets, after delegates agreed to limit global warming to no more than 2 degrees Celsius.
• 2011/06/01: JQuiggin: Garnaut summary and responses
• 2011/05/31: Guardian(UK): How mining and media distort Australia's carbon tax debate
• 2011/05/31: ABC(Au): Garnaut's report an excursion through history
• 2011/05/31: ABC(Au): Garnaut delivers final carbon price report
  The Government's key climate change adviser has recommended polluters pay a carbon price of $26 a tonne, raising $11.5 billion in the first year of a carbon tax.
• 2011/05/31: ABC(Au): Garnaut to unveil carbon compo plans
• 2011/05/31: PlanetArk: Carbon Bank Could Help Australia Avoid European Scandals
• 2011/05/31: ABC(Au): Garnaut to unveil carbon compo plans
  The Federal Government will get final recommendations today about how it should compensate families for the extra costs of a carbon tax. The Government's climate change adviser, Ross Garnaut, will today release his final 200-page report outlining how he believes people and industries should be compensated.
• 2011/05/30: ABC(Au): Green group says carbon price impact exaggerated
  Environment Victoria has accused a Latrobe Valley power generator of making outrageous claims about a carbon price.
• 2011/05/30: ABC(Au): Oakeshott warns carbon deal may miss deadline
  Independent MP Rob Oakeshott has cast doubt on whether the Federal Government will be able to finalise its plans for a carbon price by the end of June.
• 2011/05/30: ABC(Au): Carbon tax ads dominate Question Time
• 2011/05/29: ABC(Au): The Federal Opposition is calling for the Government to rule out using public funds for a carbon price advertising campaign

  After a 10 year drought and recent massive flooding, water usage planning is controversial and difficult:

• 2011/06/03: ABC(Au): Murray Darling Basin Report released
• 2011/06/03: JQuiggin: Giving up on the Murray Darling Basin
• 2011/06/02: ABC(Au): Murray-Darling review upsets green groups
  The Australian Conservation Foundation says it is disappointed by the findings of a parliamentary inquiry into the Murray-Darling river system.
• 2011/06/02: ABC(Au): Windsor report slams Murray-Darling authority
  A federal parliamentary committee has delivered a scathing rebuke to the Murray-Darling Basin Authority and its recommendations on water cutbacks in the basin.
• 2011/06/02: ABC(Au): Windsor's Basin Plan report released today

  While in the Indian subcontinent:

• 2011/05/31: CCurrents: The Hungry Can Wait. India To Create A National Food Security Commission
• 2011/05/: BostonReview: Feast and Famine -- India Is Growing, But Indians Are Still Starving
• 2011/05/30: PlanetArk: Analysis: India Takes Unique Path To Lower Carbon Emissions
  With four times the population of the United States, an economy growing 8-9 percent a year and surging energy demand, India's race to become an economic power has propelled it to No. 3 in the list of top carbon polluters.
  [...]
  In the world's first such national market-based mechanism, called Perform, Achieve and Trade (PAT), India is starting a mandatory scheme that sets benchmark efficiency levels for 563 big polluting from power plants to steel mills and cement plants, that account for 54 percent of the country's energy consumption. The scheme allows businesses using more energy than stipulated to buy tradeable energy saving certificates, or Escerts, from those using less energy, creating a market estimated by the government to be worth about $16 billion in 2014 when trading starts.

And in China:

• 2011/06/03: Guardian(UK): A report card for China's environment
• 2011/05/31: ScienceInsider: Bracing Tour of China Leaves E.U. Science Chief Impressed

  In Japan:

• 2011/06/02: BBerg: Japan Politics 'Chaos' With Kan Resignation Vow
• 2011/06/02: BBC: Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan has survived a no-confidence motion brought by MPs critical of his handling of the earthquake and tsunami disaster
• 2011/06/02: al Jazeera: Japan PM survives no-confidence vote
  Under fire from the opposition and members of his own party, Naoto Kan says he still could step down in six months.

And in the Middle East:

• 2011/06/03: UPI: Egypt, Israel rift over gas cut escalates
  Egypt's cutoff of natural gas supplies to Israel is escalating a dispute over resources that is wrecking the Jewish state's relations with its Arab neighbor, which, until the fall of President Hosni Mubarak in February, were the linchpin of the Middle East peace process.

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

• 2011/06/02: ChronicleHerald: Governments slammed for incoherence on climate
  Canadian governments head off in all directions when it comes to tackling climate change, a new tally of provincial and federal environment policies shows. The end result is a disorganized, inefficient approach to greenhouse-gas reduction which won't allow Canada to meet its goals, say researchers at the Conference Board of Canada.
• 2011/05/30: Impolitical: "Like winning bingo on the Titanic"

  The G20 controversy lingers:

• 2011/05/29: CBC: G8/G20 police raked in bonuses, OT pay -- Documents detail lucrative RCMP summit security contracts to out-of-town forces

  The Harper government is desperately lobbying Europe not to regulate tar sands oil:

• 2011/05/31: Guardian(UK): Canada's crude politics on tar sands
  Stephen Harper's government, allied with big oil, is lobbying Europe not to regulate tar sands oil, but the pushback has begun
• 2011/06/02: DeSmogBlog: UK Opposed to Europe's Tar Sands Import Ban
• 2011/06/01: Independent(UK): Pollution fears as UK blocks European ban on fuel from tar sands
  The British Government is unlikely to support an EU push to include tar sands in its new fuel directive The Coalition Government's claim to be the "greenest government ever" has come under fresh scrutiny from politicians and environmental groups who accuse Britain of undermining a Europe-wide forecourt ban on one of the most climate-polluting fuels. Britain is one of just two major European nations opposing efforts to prohibit sales of petrol and diesel obtained from the Canadian tar sands.
• 2011/05/30: PostMedia: Feds considered hiring PR firm to polish image of oilsands
  The federal government has explored hiring a professional public relations firm and organizing trips for international leaders to promote Canada's oilsands industry, while fighting back against foreign climate change policies requiring it to reduce its pollution, a newly released federal document has revealed. The action plan, prepared by the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade, also suggested hosting an "annual retreat" of its oilsands advocacy team in London to plan a strategy to help boost the image of the industry that has developed an international reputation, as a result of campaigns launched by environmental groups, for producing "dirty oil."
• 2011/05/30: BuckDog: If I Publish A Blog Post Denying That Climate Change Is Happening AND Praising The Tar Sands As A True Paradise ... how much will my cheque be???
• 2011/05/30: Guardian(UK): UK undermining Europe's tar sands ban, say campaigners
  Environmentalists accuse coalition of caving in to Canada by blocking attempt to restrict controversial fuel
• 2011/05/30: CCP: UK undermining Europe's tar sands ban, say campaigners

  Mr Harper has demonstrated to the international community what his government's word is worth:

• 2011/05/30: PostMedia: Oilsands emissions data left out of UN report
  Federal government admits deliberately leaving numbers out that indicate pollution from oilsands production outstrips auto emissions The federal government has acknowledged that it deliberately excluded data indicating a 20 per cent increase in pollution from Canada's oilsands industry in 2009 from a recent 567-page report on climate change that it was required to submit to the United Nations. The numbers, uncovered by Postmedia News, were left out of the report, a national inventory on Canada's greenhouse gas pollution. Overall, the report revealed a six per cent drop in annual emissions for the entire economy from 2008 to 2009, but does not directly show the extent of pollution from the oilsands production, which is now greater than the greenhouse gas emissions of all the cars driven on Canadian roads. The data also indicated that emissions per barrel of oil produced by the sector is increasing, despite claims made by the industry in an advertising campaign.
• 2011/06/01: Guardian(UK): Canada tries to hide Alberta tar sands carbon emissions
  Greenhouse gas emissions from the tar sands are on the rise, but try finding that in Canada's official report to the UN
• 2011/06/03: PI:B: Digging into the data from Canada's latest greenhouse gas emissions report
• 2011/06/03: PostMedia: Oilsands greenhouse gas emissions shot up in 2009: Environment Canada
  After days of discussions with an oil and gas industry association, Environment Canada has confirmed a substantial rise in greenhouse gas pollution from the oilsands sector in 2009, along with data that casts doubts on whether the industry can continue to reduce emissions per barrel of oil produced. While overall emissions from the sector rose by 11 per cent in 2009 -- a new calculation based on revised Environment Canada estimates for oilsands emissions in 2008 -- department spokesman Mark Johnson said the data indicated "very little change in the total emissions intensity in oilsands" in 2009. The details on the rise in emissions for the sector were left out of an inventory report on greenhouse gas emissions submitted by Canada to the UN. But they were released gradually over the past week by Environment Canada through a series of emails in response to questions from Postmedia News. The department declined all interview requests, except for one with a department official that was cancelled at the last minute without explanation.
• 2011/06/01: Maribo: Honesty in Canadian emissions reporting
• 2011/05/30: CfC: What else are they lying about?
• 2011/05/30: Far-n-Wide: So Much For "Intensity" Targets
• 2011/05/30: MrSinister: The Harperites Faked A Climate Change Report You Say?
• 2011/05/30: DawgsBlawg: Dirty oil and dirty tricks

  Mr Harper is getting rid of more of those troublesome scientists:

• 2011/06/02: CBC: Environment Canada layoffs spook civil servants
  More than two dozen Environment Canada employees have received layoff notices, spurring fears among federal civil servants that thousands of job losses loom as the government struggles to balance its budget. The notices were handed out this week to at least 28 scientists at the department, said Bill Pynn, president of the Union of Environment Workers, a branch of the Public Service Alliance of Canada. The personnel were all contract employees, many of them nearing permanent status.

The battle over the Keystone XL and Northern Gateway pipelines rages on:

• 2011/06/02: Tyee: Kinder Morgan's Grand Plan to Pipe Oil Sands Crude
  Tankers in Vancouver harbour to steeply increase. Second pipeline to Kitimat could eclipse proposed Enbridge project.
• 2011/05/31: PostMedia: Factbox: A year of Canadian oil pipeline ruptures
• 2011/05/31: TMoS: And They Want to Run a Pipeline Across British Columbia?

  In BC, the stage is set. Now what will Clark and Dix do?

• 2011/06/02: DeSmogBlog: Tar Sands Industry Has Its Eyes On Vancouver For Asian Export Terminal
• 2011/06/02: BCLSB: Vivian Krause On Sea-Lice
• 2011/06/02: CBC: Progress has $1B deal to develop, export B.C. gas -- Malaysian company Petronas will invest in and market LNG
  Progress Energy Resources Corp. has a framework agreement to sell half of its interest in three northeast British Columbia shale gas properties for $1.07 billion in a deal aimed at developing and exporting liquified natural gas to Asia, the company said Thursday. The buyer is Petronas, the Malaysian national oil company, which will bring capital and its access to LNG markets to the table.
• 2011/06/01: Tyee: About Fracking Time for an Investigation
  Independent MLAs call on premier to probe dangers of hydraulic fracturing in gas fields.
• 2011/05/31: BCLocalNews: Metro Vancouver may be hit with a second carbon tax
  Any move to fund TransLink expansion with carbon tax revenue would be by creating a new "regional carbon tax" that would be charged in addition to the existing one, according to Transportation Minister Blair Lekstrom. He was responding to NDP questions in the legislature last week after Premier Christy Clark indicated the government would consider using a share of carbon tax revenues -- a longstanding request from the regional mayors council. Lekstrom, however, said the province won't share revenue now collected through the current carbon tax but would instead consider creating a second Metro Vancouver-only version.

Meanwhile in that Mechanical Mordor known as the tar sands:

• 2011/06/04: NBF: Canadian oil sands projected to produce 3.7 million barrels per day by 2025
• 2011/06/02: CBC: Oilsands production to grow sharply: report
  Total Canadian oil production is expected to increase by two-thirds by 2025, with the oilsands contributing a growing share of the total, the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers said Thursday. The industry group's annual forecast is predicting production of 4.7 million barrels of oil a day by 2025, up from 2.8 million in 2010. The oilsands will account for more than three-quarters of 2025 production (3.7 million barrels/day), up from just over half (1.5 million b/d) last year.
• 2011/05/29: PostMedia: Trade Mission: China targeting tens of billions in Alberta oilsands investment
  Alberta government and business leaders who sat down with Chinese energy executives this week were told tens of billions of dollars in new oilpatch investment will flow in the coming years - if export capacity issues in Canada are improved. Finance Minister Lloyd Snelgrove said Sunday that senior officials from Chinese state-owned oil firms anticipate future investment will dwarf - potentially tripling - what they have already spent in Canada's energy sector in recent years. In the past 18 months alone, Chinese oil companies have pumped more than $13 billion into developing crude oil and natural gas prospects in Western Canada.

Also in Alberta:

• 2011/06/04: CBC: Slave Lake residents sign waivers
  Slave Lake residents who lost their homes when a forest fire ripped through the community last month are being asked to sign waivers before returning to their lots. The waivers absolve the town of responsibility if someone gets sick or injured.

In Saskatchewan:

• 2011/06/01: CBC: Higher oil price prompts increased drilling
  Higher-than-expected oil and gas drilling activity in Western Canada led the Canadian Association of Oilwell Drilling Contractors Wednesday to increase its forecast for the total number of wells to be drilled in 2011. It now expects the total to be 13,128, an increase of some 1,300, or 11 per cent over the 11,811 wells it anticipated in its project released in October.

In Manitoba, people are dealing with the aftermath of the flood:

• 2011/06/01: CBC: Lake Manitoba swallowed homes: residents
  Residents along Twin Beach Road worked hard to protect their properties from flooding, but their efforts proved no match for a storm packing 90 km/h winds on rain-swollen Lake Manitoba. The storm hit on Tuesday, damaging numerous properties in the Rural Municipality of St. Laurent -- Twin Lakes Beach, Laurentian Beach, Delta Beach, and Sandpiper Beach.
• 2011/06/03: CBC: Manitobans deal with aftermath of storms
• 2011/06/01: CBC: Hundreds displaced after Lake Manitoba flooding -- Evacuees might not get back into flooded properties for months
• 2011/05/31: CBC: Flood risk forces evacuations on Lake Manitoba
  Homeowners and cottagers along the south end of Lake Manitoba were forced to flee rising lake waters whipped up by fierce winds late Tuesday.

In Ontario, upcoming election issues are appearing:

• 2011/06/03: BCLSB: Battling Ontario's Anti-Wind NIMBYs

  In the Maritimes:

• 2011/06/02: DeSmogBlog: Apache Corp Pulls Out Of New Brunswick Gas Fracking Project

  As for miscellaneous Canadiana:

• 2011/05/31: ChronicleHerald: Warm summer predicted for soggy Canadians

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

• 2011/06/01: CCurrents: In The World, At The Limits To Growth
• 2011/06/01: CCurrents: Creating A New Vision Of Economic Growth [Speth]
• 2011/06/04: TreeHugger: Whither Ecological Limits? Jairam Ramesh, Economic Growth & Energy Expansion
• 2011/06/03: RWER: Is there hope?
• 2011/06/02: GaianEconomics: There is No Wealth But Life
• 2011/05/27: EnergyBulletin: In the world, at the limits to growth
• 2011/05/31: EnergyBulletin: Off the pedestal: creating a new vision of economic growth
• 2011/05/26: AlterNet: Vision: As the American Capitalist Economy Craters, Promising Alternatives Emerge
• 2011/05/29: Guardian(UK): Climate change demands we re-engineer the world economy now

  Apocalypso anyone?

• 2011/05/29: CCurrents: Facing The New Dark Age: A Grassroots Approach
  Abstract: Despite four decades of detailed warnings, industrial civilization has failed to turn aside from self-destructive policies of exponential growth and dependence on nonrenewable resources. At this point, stark limits of time and resources as well as a failure of political will make attempts to prevent the fall of industrial society an exercise in futility. Individuals, small groups, and communities can still prepare for the approaching crises by mastering low-tech survival skills now to lay foundations for a sustainable society in the future.

Okay hot shot, how are we gonna fix this?

• 2011/06/01: Guardian(UK): 10 steps to tackle climate change
  Our global approach to impending environmental crisis needs an urgent shakeup. Here are my [Andrew Simms'] suggestions for climate negotiators

As for how the media handles science:

• 2011/06/03: MediaMatters: Jeff Jacoby Pollutes Debate With Climate Fallacies
• 2011/05/30: ABC(Au): Businessman Dick Smith says he was too "gutless" to appear in the pro-carbon price campaign because he feared a backlash against him from Rupert Murdoch's News Limited newspapers

  Here is something for your library:

• 2011/06/01: RRapier: [Book Review] _Power Trip: The Story of America's Love Affair with Energy_ by Amanda Little
• 2011/06/02: HotTopic: [Book Review] _A Perfect Moral Storm: The Ethical Tragedy of Climate Change_ by Stephen Gardiner

  And for your film & video enjoyment:

• 2011/06/05: HotTopic: Hansen in NZ: final roundup
• 2011/06/05: APR: TEPCO Video: Dust inhibitor operations
• 2011/05/20: AGU:TLSB: Snake River landslide, Wyoming with an amazing (and very funny) time-lapse video of the movement
• 2011/06/04: DM:BA: Slo-mo landslide
• 2011/06/03: QuarkSoup: Amazing Video of Massachusetts Tornado
• 2011/06/04: APR: TEPCO video: Steam and high rad levels in No. 1 plant
• 2011/06/03: PSinclair: Feed In Tariffs -- Empower people -- Make them less dependent on Big Energy
• 2011/06/02: PSinclair: Brain vs Blowhard: Downunder edition
• 2011/06/02: TreeHugger: Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on Colbert Report: Big Coal Destroyed Area the Size of Delaware in 10 Years (Video)
• 2011/05/30: BBC: Waterspout filmed by helicopter in New South Wales

  Meanwhile among the 'Sue the Bastards!' contingent:

• 2011/06/03: NatureNB: Organic farmers expand lawsuit against Monsanto
• 2011/06/03: PlanetArk: Oil Firm Files Lawsuit Against Arctic Protesters
  UK-based Cairn Energy has filed a legal action in the Netherlands, seeking damages of up to $2 million a day if Greenpeace protesters again disrupt the explorer's drilling plans offshore Greenland. A Cairn spokesman said on Thursday the action was intended as a deterrent after Greenpeace ended a four-day protest which involved protesters hanging suspended from a drilling rig in a plastic pod.
• 2011/06/03: PlanetArk: Groups Sue To Stop SunPower Plant In California
  Two conservation groups and a California resident have sued to stop construction of a SunPower Corp solar power plant, saying the project would harm the rural area's wildlife, air quality and natural beauty. San Luis Obispo county community groups Carrizo Commons and North County Watch and local farmer and auto repair shop owner Michael Strobridge filed the lawsuit on May 20 in California state court. In court papers, the plaintiffs said county officials did not adequately analyze the 250-megawatt California Valley Solar Ranch's impact on the area's aesthetics, air quality, biological resources, noise, traffic, greenhouse gas emissions and agricultural resources. The suit asks that the county be ordered to set aside its approval of the California Valley Solar Ranch and that the project be declared unlawful.
• 2011/06/01: PlanetArk: New York State Sues Federal Government Over Gas Drilling
• 2011/06/01: DeSmogBlog: New York Attorney General Sues Over Lack Of Fracking Studies
  Attorney General Eric Schneiderman of New York has filed a lawsuit against the federal government for failing to properly study the effects of hydraulic fracturing (fracking) before granting permits to gas drillers. The lawsuit seeks to stop fracking in the Delaware River Basin until a comprehensive analysis of the dangers is performed by the government.

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

• 2011/06/04: PSinclair: Wind: More Reliable, Less "Lumpy", than Nuclear
• 2011/06/03: Tyee: How Fish Use Energy Teaches True Oil Economics [EROI]
• 2011/06/03: NBF: Protecting coastlines and generating wave power by reflecting or absorbing 90 per cent of wave energy
• 2011/06/03: OilDrum: Space Solar Power -- Recent Conceptual Progress
• 2011/06/03: NBF: Space Solar Power proposal by Keith Henson
• 2011/06/03: Stoat: Deaths per unit of electricity generated
• 2011/06/01: TP:JR: Debunking the myth that clean energy and carbon reduction policies aren't good for ratepayers
• 2011/06/01: Grist: How solar power will become cheaper than fossil fuels in three to five years
• 2011/05/30: Guardian(UK): Cheap gas will overtake renewables, energy chief warns
• 2011/05/30: AlterNet: Why Our 21st Century Slave Society Can't Last

  Hey! Let's contaminate the aquifer for thousands of years! It'll be a fracking gas!

• 2011/06/04: ABC(Au): [NSW] Greens call for a stop to coal seam gas mining
• 2011/06/03: EnergyBulletin: A comment on: "Public Health Concerns of Shale Gas Production"
• 2011/06/03: TP:JR: Bringing Fracking to the Surface: More Scrutiny Needed on Natural Gas Development
• 2011/06/03: PlanetArk: U.S. Firms Should Reveal More On shale Drilling: Chevron
• 2011/06/02: DeSmogBlog: Apache Corp Pulls Out Of New Brunswick Gas Fracking Project
• 2011/06/01: DeSmogBlog: ExxonMobil Drilling Plan Threatens Drinking Water In Delaware River Basin
• 2011/06/01: DeSmogBlog: Is Fracking In The UK Causing Earthquakes?
• 2011/06/01: PlanetArk: New York State Sues Federal Government Over Gas Drilling
• 2011/06/01: OilChange: Fracking "Causing Earthquakes"
• 2011/06/01: Tyee: About Fracking Time for an Investigation
  Independent MLAs call on premier to probe dangers of hydraulic fracturing in gas fields.
• 2011/06/01: CBC: U.K. miner halts fracking due to earthquake concerns
• 2011/05/30: PeakEnergy: Thousands protest against coal seam gas drilling

  On the coal front:

• 2011/06/01: WVGazette: Massey directors did little to improve safety, documents indicate
• 2011/06/01: PeakEnergy: Chinese Power Plants Shutting Down Due To High Coal Prices
• 2011/05/29: CCurrents: Globalizing the Grassroots Movement Against Coal
• 2011/05/31: PlanetArk: China Coal Imports To Double In 2015, India Close Behind

  On the gas and oil front:

• 2011/06/03: BBerg: Closing oil prices Friday
  OIL (US$/bbl)
  Nymex Crude Future..100.22
  Dated Brent Spot....115.90
  WTI Cushing Spot....100.56
• 2011/06/03: CSM: Natural gas booming in Asia
• 2011/06/01: NatureNB: Oil well leaks foul fish flesh
• 2011/06/01: OilDrum: Oil prices and recession
• 2011/06/01: PeakEnergy: Floating LNG: The Final Frontier Of The Gas Age
• 2011/05/31: Salon:WR: Everything you've heard about fossil fuels may be wrong
• 2011/05/30: OilDrum: The Fundamental Problem with Oil Prices

  And in pipeline news:

• 2011/06/05: PostMedia: Pipeline to resume shipments under strict conditions -- TransCanada's Keystone system could restart in U.S. as early as Sunday
  A day after refusing to allow Calgary-based TransCanada Corp., to restart its massive Keystone pipeline, the U.S. government gave the company the green light Saturday, saying the line carrying oil from Alberta into the States can resume under "restricted conditions" as early as this weekend. The U.S. Department of Transportation indicated in a statement that the company had addressed at least some of the government's concerns.
• 2011/06/04: PostMedia: Project seen hiking U.S. oil 'dependence' -- Bureaucrats hail $13-billion pipeline
  A controversial $13-billion pipeline project originating in Hardisty, Alta., will accelerate U.S. addiction to Canadian oil, says a newly-released report from Natural Resources Canada. "The Keystone XL project is seen as both furthering U.S. dependence on oil, and enabling more oilsands crude to enter the U.S. market," said the document, released through access to information legislation. The document, which assessed the ongoing debate about the project in the U.S., noted a growing opposition that was stalling the U.S. State Department from issuing the presidential permit required to authorize the project. "Although the Keystone XL pipeline was certificated in Canada in late April 2010, the company continues to wait for approvals in the U.S. before it can begin construction," said the report, obtained by Ottawa researcher Ken Rubin. "This ... has been caused by U.S. opposition to imports of 'dirty' Canadian crude oil from the 'tarsands'."
• 2011/06/04: PostMedia: U.S. order keeps pipeline stalled -- Route shut down after two spills
  The Obama administration issued an order Friday preventing Calgarybased TransCanada Corp. from restarting its massive Keystone oil pipeline after an investigation into two spills in less than a month found "serious" concerns about safety in pump stations along the 3,450-kilometre line.
• 2011/06/03: DeSmogBlog: Breaking: TransCanada Keystone I Pipeline Shut Down Indefinitely Due to Safety Concerns
• 2011/06/03: CBC: TransCanada blocked from restarting U.S. pipeline
  The U.S. pipeline safety agency has blocked a Canadian company from restarting its Keystone oil pipeline until U.S. officials are satisfied the company has made required repairs and completed safety tests. The order Friday by the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration cites two leaks in May on the 2,100-kilometre pipeline...
• 2011/06/03: Grist: Perilous [Keystone XL] pipeline: Help a Texas town fight back against the tar sands
• 2011/06/01: TreeHugger: Another Day, Another Spill: TransCanada Shuts Down Keystone Pipeline
• 2011/06/01: DeSmogBlog: TransCanada says Their Eleventh Leak Proves Keystone is Safe
• 2011/05/31: CBC: TransCanada's Keystone pipeline has new leak -- Kansas spill comes 2 weeks after Oklahoma's

  Yes we have a peak oil sighting:

• 2011/06/03: CCurrents: The Peak Oil Crisis: An Announcement
• 2011/06/02: EnergyBulletin: The Peak Oil Crisis: An Announcement
• 2011/05/27: BizInsider: Why Time Is Short Now That We're Past Peak Oil

  Biofuel bickering abounds:

• 2011/05/30: RRapier: Scientists Create Ethanol From Hydrogen They Created From Ethanol
• 2011/06/01: CleanBreak: Valero Energy extends ethanol portfolio to Montreal's Enerkem as part of $60M investment round
• 2011/05/30: PlanetArk: Analysis: German Drought Threat To Biodiesel Producers

  Meanwhile among the solar aficionados:

• 2011/06/03: AutoBG: Chevy Volt owners get a charge out of the sun
• 2011/05/31: NBF: Desertec is a proposal for terawatts of wind and solar to be located in Libya and Algeria and Saudi Arabia for European Power
• 2011/05/31: TreeHugger: Flexible Solar Cells Reach Record Efficiency of 18.7%

  Feed-In-Tariffs are being variously implemented around the world:

• 2011/06/03: PSinclair: Feed In Tariffs -- Empower people -- Make them less dependent on Big Energy

  The nuclear energy controversy continues:

• 2011/06/04: BNC: Disposal of UK plutonium stocks with a climate change focus
• 2011/06/04: Grist: Nuclear power is expensive and uninsurable
• 2011/05/31: AlterNet: Google Earth Tool Shows Alarming Proximity of Nuclear Power Plants to Populated Areas
• 2011/06/03: PlanetArk: Canada's Port Hope Reaps Uranium's Rewards And Risks
• 2011/06/03: Grist: Is pro-nuke enthusiasm in the U.S. waning?
• 2011/06/02: Grist: States fight back against nuclear power, even as the feds remain in its thrall
• 2011/06/01: Grist: The nuclear industry has powerful backers and weak opponents
• 2011/05/31: BNC: Critique of MIT future of nuclear fuel cycle study
• 2011/05/31: NatureN: Japan quake rocks fusion project -- Damaged facilities force further delay to ITER experiment
• 2011/05/30: CBC: Germany to shut down nuclear plants by 2022
• 2011/05/29: TMoS: A Rational View on Nuclear Power
• 2011/05/29: BBC: Germany pledges to end all nuclear power by 2022

  Nuclear waste storage requires long term thinking:

• 2011/06/02: PlanetArk: Shutting Yucca Dump Ignores US Law-House Lawmakers

  More people are talking about the electrical grid:

• 2011/06/02: TreeHugger: Smart Grid Comes To The Netherlands
• 2011/05/30: PeakEnergy: The Origin of an energy revolution

  And then there is the matter of efficiency & conservation:

• 2011/06/03: Guardian(UK): When energy-saving does not mean saving energy
• 2011/06/01: TP:JR: Energy efficiency is THE core climate solution. Part 1: The biggest low-carbon resource by far
• 2011/06/01: Aalto: Researchers cut machinery fuel consumption by half

  This week in the Gee Whiz File:

• 2011/06/01: NBF: Rossi Provides More Answers about the Energy Catalyzer and Nasa's Dennis Bushnell lists it as the number one energy solution

  As for Energy Storage:

• 2011/06/02: CBC: New wind farm to study energy storage
  The Wind Energy Institute of Canada on P.E.I. is building a new wind farm to study how to use the electricity it generates when the wind is not blowing. There are currently no commercial-scale storage solutions for wind energy operations, meaning the electricity must be used as it is generated. The Institute is building a five-turbine, 10-MW wind farm near North Cape, and will test whether it can successfully store some of the electricity for future use.

Who's fielding the FAQs?

• 2011/06/01: Guardian(UK): Are tornadoes affected by climate change?

  Joe Romm posts a daily list of top energy and climate stories:

• 2011/06/03: TP:JR: June 3 Energy and Climate News...
• 2011/06/02: TP:JR: June 2 Energy and Climate News...
• 2011/06/01: TP:JR: June 1 news...
• 2011/05/31: TP:JR: May 31 news...

  Other (weekly) lists:

• 2011/06/02: CCentral: This Week in Climate Science: Fruits and Nuts, Reindeer, and a Renewable Future
• 2011/06/03: BPA: Agricultural News

  The carbon lobby are up to the usual:

• 2011/06/02: CCP: Bjørn Lomborg: Debunked by the Climate Science Rapid Response Team
• 2011/06/02: Tamino: Frankly, Not
• 2011/06/02: AFTIC: A "Science Blog of the Year" voter speaks!
• 2011/06/01: QuarkSoup: Facile Denialism
• 2011/06/01: TWTB: WUWT not even going through the motions of fact-checking any more
• 2011/05/31: ERabett: Forbes' James Taylor: 'Initiation' means 'completion'
• 2011/05/30: DVoice: What Justifies the Adoption of Convenient Fantasy and Denial of Inconvenient Truth?
• 2011/05/31: Guardian(UK): BP among founding members of World Bank carbon fund
• 2011/05/31: HotTopic: Predicting the bleeding obvious (and getting it wrong)
• 2011/06/01: TP:JR: Saudi Prince (who backs Fox News): "We Don't Want The West To Go Find Alternatives" To Oil
• 2011/05/29: TreeHugger: Saudi Prince Worries We Might Find Alternatives to Oil
• 2011/05/29: TPL: Accurate, Detailed and Technical Commentary
• 2011/05/29: TheCanadian: Shades of Green: Manufactured Doubt

  As for climate miscellanea:

• 2011/06/03: MTobis: Climate, Weather, Severe Events
• 2011/06/02: AutoBG: Shell VP says global CO2 policy is a necessity
• 2011/06/02: EnergyBulletin: From King Coal to carbon tax: A historical perspective on the energy and climate-change debate
• 2011/06/02: NA: The climate wars are over. We lost. What do we do next?
• 2011/06/02: DM:CCM: On Not Being Certain About Uncertainty -- Or, Why You Can't Downplay Global Warming
• 2011/05/31: AlterNet: The Turning Point We Miss at Our Own Peril
  We have the choice of burning all the oil left and hacking down all the remaining rainforests -- or saving humanity.
• 2011/06/01: Guardian(UK): The triple crunch won't be pretty. But will it banish our economic torpor?
• 2011/06/01: ITracker: A simple way to think about uncertainty
• 2011/06/01: SMandia: Climate Change: It's the Humans
• 2011/05/31: CCurrents: The Sky Really Is Falling
• 2011/05/31: CSM: Will recovering global economy thwart efforts to curb global warming?
• 2011/05/31: AlterNet: The Sky Really Is Falling and Our Only Salvation Is the Rapid Dismantling of the Fossil Fuel Industry
• 2011/05/31: EnergyBulletin: Weather will never be weird enough to end climate denial
• 2011/05/31: TCoE: Europe 2011: Ground zero for the energy/water/food nexus
• 2011/05/31: ClimateShifts: The peer reviewed literature has spoken
• 2011/05/30: CDreams: The Sky Really Is Falling
• 2011/05/30: ITracker: Judith Curry and Charlie Sheen: Winning like a eight-car pile-up
• 2011/05/30: PeakEnergy: Saul Griffith: The future doesn't have to suck

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

• World Environment Day - 05 June -- Forests: Nature At Your Service
• CCAFS: Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security
• NA: New Anthropocene
• UK National Ecosystem Assessment
• ICECAP: Investigating the Cryospheric Evolution of the Central Antarctic Plate
• UNFCCC: UN Climate Change Conference June 2011. Bonn Germany
• Garnaut Review 2011
• Nature Climate Change
• Environmental and Urban Economics
• CO2 Now
• Wiki: Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI)
• Wiki: Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI)

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(which includes some quotations), 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.

"We don't want the West to go and find alternatives, because, clearly, the higher the price of oil goes, the more they have incentives to go and find alternatives." -Saudi Prince Al-Waleed bin Talal

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