Logging the Onset of The Bottleneck Years
This weekly posting is brought to you courtesy of H. E. Taylor. Happy reading, I hope you enjoy this week's Global Warming news roundupskip to bottom
Another Week of Global Warming News
Information is not Knowledge...Knowledge is notWisdom
August 5, 2012
- Chuckles, COP18, Blackout, Ballantyne, BEST, GCF, Banks, Cook
- Fukushima Note, Fukushima News, Nuclear Policy
- Melting Arctic, Grolar Bears, Greenland, Geopolitics
- Food Crisis, Fisheries, Food Prices, Food vs. Biofuel, GMOs, GMO Labelling, Food Production
- Hurricanes, Monsoon, GHGs, Carbon Cycle, Temperatures, Aerosols, Paleoclimate
- ENSO, Oceans, Extinctions, Proxies
- Impacts, Forests, Disease, Wacky Weather, Extreme Weather, Tornadoes
- Wildfires, Acidification, Sea Levels, GW Deluge, Floods & Droughts
- Mitigation, Transportation, Buildings, Sequestration, Geoengineering, Adaptation
- Journals, Other Docs, Misc., Models, Open Science, Hansen, Gleick, Emanuel, Mann, Swetnam, Pielke
- International Politics: UN, Carbon Trade, Carbon Tax, Bank Tax
- Hormuz, South China Sea, Solar Spats, EU ETS & Airlines, Rare Earths, Law & Activism, Activism, Polls, H2O Biz
- National Politics: America, BP Disaster, 2012, Keystone, Canute, Birth Control, Ethanol Mandate, USAdmin, Congress
- Britain, Europe, Australia, Carbon Law, Murray-Darling, India, China, Japan, Middle East, South America
- Canada, Post G20, NES, Nexen, Terrorists, Northern Gateway, Kinder Morgan, MVP
- CWB, Salmon, BC, Tar Sands, Sask, Manitoba, Ontario, Maritimes
- Ecological Economics, IPAT, Media, Books, Video, Courts
- Energy, Transitions, Fracking, Coal, Oil & Gas, Corps, Pipelines, Peak Oil, Biofuel
- Wind, Solar, Nukes, Nuclear Waste, Grid, Cars, Energy Storage
- Insurance, Joe's List, Carbon Lobby, Miscellaneous Climate, Useful Links
- Shameless Self Promotion, .sig
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- 2012/08/04: VastLeft: (cartoon - VLWC) American Extremists: "Term limits"
- 2012/08/04: TP:JR: (cartoon - Bennett) It's Getting Hot in Here
- 2012/08/02: uComics: (cartoon - Toles) Corn Crop
- 2012/07/31: MoD: (cartoon - Paley) Bipartisanship
Looking ahead to COP18 and future international climate negotiations:
- 2012/07/29: SimpleC: Developed countries duck warming responsibility
Two days running, major blackouts struck India:
- 2012/08/04: al Jazeera: How 150 million people went missing in India
Media coverage of the blackouts paid little attention to the millions of Indians who were not on the grid to begin with. - 2012/08/02: CSM: India blackout flips a switch
- 2012/08/02: PlanetArk: Off-grid power shines in India solar village
- 2012/08/01: UCSUSA:B: Massive Power Outage in India Highlights Energy, Water, and Climate Vulnerabilities
- 2012/08/01: BBerg: Iran Oil Shipping to Resume as Insurers Step In: Corporate India
India, the third-biggest buyer of Iranian oil, will offer state-backed insurance to tankers, helping the nation's biggest sea carrier to resume cargoes from the Persian Gulf nation hit by international trade sanctions. - 2012/07/31: TreeHugger: Fossil Fuel Supply Shortages Behind India's Largest Power Blackout Ever
- 2012/08/01: PeakEnergy: 620 million without power: India's energy crisis as grids collapse
- 2012/08/01: PSinclair: Massive Blackout in India. 600+ Million with No Power. One More Example of why Renewable Smart Grid's Time has Come
- 2012/07/31: BBC: Hundreds of millions without power in India
Hundreds of millions of people have been left without electricity in northern and eastern India after a massive power breakdown. More than half the country has been left without power after three grids collapsed - one of them for the second day running. - 2012/07/31: CBC: India blackouts widen as 600 million left without power
Grids fail in northeast, leaving more than half the country in dark - 2012/07/31: al Jazeera: Mass blackout strikes India for second day
Northern and eastern grids reported to have failed, leaving millions without electricity for second consecutive day. - 2012/07/31: BBerg: India Blacks Out From New Delhi to Kolkata as Grid Fails Again
- 2012/07/30: Guardian(UK): India power outage hits 350m people
The Ballantyne paper drew some comment, mainly because it engenders hope:
- 2012/08/01: Nature: (ab$) Increase in observed net carbon dioxide uptake by land and oceans during the past 50 years by A. P. Ballantyne et al.
- 2012/08/02: TreeHugger: Earth's Ability to Absorb Our Carbon Emissions Keeping Pace, For Now
- 2012/08/02: NBF: Net carbon dioxide uptake by land and oceans doubled during the past 50 years
- 2012/08/01: NOAANews: NOAA, partners: Earth's oceans and ecosystems still absorbing about half the greenhouse gases emitted by people
Muller plays the naif, has lots of people talking; not so many climatologists:
- 2012/08/04: RealClimate: Let the games begin!
- 2012/08/04: DD: Climate Wars: Beware the Trojan Horse -- Refuting claims of a 'converted' skeptic
- 2012/08/03: ITracker: Do you know what this means?
- 2012/08/03: Guardian(UK): 'There's plenty of room for scepticism' - climate study author Richard Muller
- 2012/08/02: DemNow: Climate Skeptic, Koch-Funded Scientist Richard Muller Admits Global Warming Real & Humans The Cause
- 2012/08/02: CCP: California Academy of Sciences: Thank you, Dr. Muller?
- 2012/08/02: PSinclair: "Everybody Can Now See What Happens When a Planet Starts to Warm" - McKibben on Muller
- 2012/08/01: CCP: Facebook commenter, Anthony, nails Richard Muller
- 2012/07/31: Ph&Ph: Richard Muller And Global Warming
- 2012/08/01: QuarkSoup: Double Standards Better Than No Standards at All?
- 2012/07/31: KSJT: Sorta Lotsa Mulling Ink for a skeptic's epiphany on global warming
- 2012/08/01: Tamino: Much Ado about Nothing
- 2012/07/31: SciAm:PI: New Beginning for the Climate Change Discussion
- 2012/07/31: Guardian(UK): Richard Muller's volte face on climate change is good for science
- 2012/07/31: OPS: Humans, Carbon Dioxide and Climate
- 2012/07/31: CCD: The irresistible story of Richard Muller
- 2012/07/31: QuarkSoup: Reax to Weekend's PR Blitz
- 2012/07/30: NatureNB: Amid criticism, Berkeley Earth extends record, upholds findings
- 2012/07/30: TreeHugger: Outspoken Climate Skeptic Now Admits Global Warming is Man-Made
- 2012/07/30: CCP: James Samenow, WaPo: So-called blockbuster climate change studies by Richard Muller and Anthony Watts prove little
- 2012/07/30: DeSmogBlog: Conversion Fever! Why The Media Adores Former Climate Skeptics
- 2012/07/30: Guardian(UK): What evidence will it take to convince climate sceptics?
Prof Richard Muller's research showing the world is warming and humans are largely to blame is being rejected by climate sceptics - 2012/07/30: WtD: Richard Muller, covert agent for the climate conspiracy: the "sceptic" response to Muller's BEST paper
- 2012/07/29: PSinclair: BEST Results: No News here - It's All About the Framing
- 2012/07/30: ABC(Au): New findings add to certainty on climate change, while one sceptic has a turnaround
- 2012/07/30: Stoat: Cage fight!
- 2012/07/30: Wunderground: Oil industry-funded "BEST" study finds global warming is real, manmade
- 2012/07/30: CSM: Prominent climate change denier now says he was wrong
- 2012/07/30: BBC: A formerly sceptical climate scientist says human activity is causing the Earth to warm, as a new study confirms earlier results on rising temperatures
- 2012/07/29: MoJo: Global Warming: "Humans Are Almost Entirely the Cause" [BEST]
- 2012/07/29: LA Times: Koch-funded climate change skeptic reverses course [BEST]
- 2012/07/29: CCP: Leo Hickman: BEST climate change study forces sceptical scientists to change minds
- 2012/07/29: ERabett: Missing the Trees for the Forest [BEST]
- 2012/07/29: PSinclair: BEST Official Announcement: Warming Man-Caused. Solar Influence "negligible".
- 2012/07/29: P3: Muller's BEST
- 2012/07/29: Guardian(UK): Climate change study forces sceptical scientists to change minds
Remember the Global Carbon Fund?
- 2012/08/03: PlanetArk: First UN climate fund board meeting set for August 23
What are the big banks up to?
- 2012/08/03: TP:JR: Groups Lash Out At U.S. Ex-Im Bank: Financing Coal In Great Barrier Reef Would 'Make A Mockery' Of The Bank
John Cook and friends continue their point-counterpoint articles:
- 2012/08/05: SkS: New research from last week 27-30 by Ari Jokimäki
- 2012/08/04: SkS: Surface Temperature Measurements: Time of observation bias and its correction by John Hartz
- 2012/08/03: SkS: BEST Results Consistent with Human-Caused Global Warming by dana1981
- 2012/08/02: SkS: Watts' New Paper - Analysis and Critique by dana1981, Kevin C
- 2012/08/02: SkS: Is Greenland close to a climate tipping point? by James Wight
- 2012/08/01: SkS: Lindzen's Sandia Talk Contains his Usual Errors by dana1981
- 2012/07/31: SkS: New research special - paleoclimate papers 2010-2011 by Ari Jokimäki
- 2012/07/30: SkS: Peter Hadfield takes on the MWP by Rob Honeycutt
A note on theFukushima disaster:
It is evident that the Fukushima disaster is going to persist for some time. TEPCO says 6 to 9 months. The previous Japanese Prime Minister, Naoto Kan, said decades. Now the Japanese government is talking about 30 years. [Whoops, that has now been updated to 40 years.] We'll see. At any rate this situation is not going to be resolved any time soon and deserves its own section.
Meanwhile...
It is very difficult to know for sure what is really going on at Fukushima. Between the company [TEPCO], the Japanese government, the Japanese regulator [NISA], the international monitor [IAEA], as well as independent analysts and commentators, there is a confusing mish-mash of information. One has to evaluate both the content and the source of propagated information.
How knowledgeable are they [about nuclear power and about Japan]?
Do they have an agenda?
Are they pro-nuclear or anti-nuclear?
Do they want to write a good news story?
Do they want to write a bad news story?
Where do they rate on a scale of sensationalism?
Where do they rate on a scale of play-it-down-ness?
One fundamental question I would like to see answered:
If the reactors are in meltdown, how can they be in cold shutdown?Not much good news coming out of Fukushima:
- 2012/08/04: APR: Hamaoka No. 5 seriously contaminated with seawater
- 2012/08/03: GRC: Fukushima. Radiactive Cesium Contamination of Japan's Food Chain. -- Almost all edibles contain radioactive cesium. Rivers and lakes are contaminated
- 2012/08/02: EneNews: Kyodo: Japan's Prime Minster to meet with protestors - Growing scale of rallies appears to have forced a change of stance
- 2012/08/01: Reuters: Fukushima residents say resounding "no" to nuclear energy
- 2012/08/02: EneNews: Fukushima weather forecast giving out radiation levels
- 2012/08/01: EneNews: Tepco planning to float balloon inside Reactor 1 in early August - Inspecting top floor with spent fuel pool
- 2012/07/31: SafeCast: TEPCO cheating on radiation levels by using "improved" monitoring posts
- 2012/08/01: CCurrents: From Hiroshima To Fukushima by Mordechai Vanunu
- 2012/08/01: BBC: Fukushima plant operator Tepco suffers massive loss
Tokyo Electric Power Co (Tepco), the operator of the Fukushima nuclear plant, has posted a massive quarterly loss as it struggles to recover from last year's nuclear crisis. The group made a loss of 288.4bn yen ($3.68bn; £2.35bn) in the first three months of 2012, compared with a 572bn-yen loss in the same period last year. The losses are due to higher fuel costs and compensation payments to those affected by the Fukushima disaster. - 2012/07/31: DenkiShimbun: Japanese government strengthening international cooperation in nuclear decommissioning and decontamination
- 2012/07/29: Reuters: Japan anti-nuclear groups protest at parliament
- 2012/07/29: NHK: Large anti-nuclear rally held in Tokyo -- The organizer said 200,000 people took part. Police said the figure was 14,000
- 2012/07/30: EneNews: I think they will get to point of throwing concrete on Fukushima reactors and coming back in 300 to 500 years -Gundersen (video)
Post Fukushima, nuclear policies are in flux around the world:
- 2012/08/02: ABC(Au):TDU: The fallout from Fukushima
Two important reports have been released in recent weeks - one analysing the March 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster and another on the impact of the disaster on the nuclear 'renaissance'. The report of the 10-member Nuclear Accident Independent Investigation Commission (NAAIC) - established by Japan's national parliament - states that the Fukushima disaster was "a profoundly man-made disaster that could and should have been foreseen and prevented". The report "catalogues a multitude of errors and wilful negligence that left the Fukushima plant unprepared for the events of March 11."
[...]
The 2012 World Nuclear Industry Status Report details the impact of the Fukushima disaster on the global nuclear 'renaissance'. Global nuclear power capacity has been stagnant for the past 20 years - the renaissance has been more rhetoric than reality. In 2011, seven new reactors started up while 19 were shut down. Four countries have announced that they will phase out nuclear power within a given timeframe: Belgium, Germany, Switzerland and Taiwan. At least five countries have decided not to engage or re-engage in nuclear power programs - Egypt, Italy, Jordan, Kuwait, and Thailand. Some countries - such as China and India - will continue with nuclear expansion plans but at a slower pace. Of the 59 power reactors under construction around the world, at least 18 are experiencing multi-year delays and the others are in the early phase of construction with no certainty of reaching completion. Construction costs are rapidly rising. Most of the world's power reactors are edging towards old-age so even if modest short-term growth is achieved, significant new build will be required in coming decades just to replace permanent reactor shut downs. - 2012/07/06: WNR: The World Nuclear Industry Status Report 2012
- 2012/07/30: NBF: Japan using nuclear saves about $1 trillion versus Fossil fuels [over 20 years]
The Arctic melt continues to garner a lot of attention:
- 2012/08/05: ASI: Cyclone warning!
- 2012/08/04: ASI: New CAPIE [Cryosphere-today Area Per IJIS Extent] record
- 2012/08/04: TP:JR: Arctic Death Spiral Continues: Record Low Sea Ice Volume Appears Likely
- 2012/08/03: ASI: PIOMAS August 2012
- 2012/08/03: Tamino: Arctic Sea Ice
- 2012/08/02: C&S: Latest Arctic Ice data
- 2012/08/02: ASI: Peeking through the clouds 2: animation
- 2012/08/02: ASI: 2012 lower than all minimums before 2007
- 2012/08/01: Guardian(UK): Arctic sea ice melting on par with 2007 record
- 2012/08/01: Aftenbladet: See how quickly the ice is melting in the Arctic
- 2012/07/31: ASI: Northwest Passage as good as open
- 2012/08/01: Bundanga: Ice watch 2012
- 2012/07/30: DM:BA: Icebergs off Greenland
As for the charismatic megafauna:
- 2012/08/02: KSJT: Calgary Herald, Yale e360, Alaska Dispatch, etc: A surge in hybrid grizzly and polar bears as sea ice retreats
- 2012/07/31: MoJo: Does Climate Change Mean More Polar-Grizzly Bear Hybrids?
Greenland is still a major focus:
- 2012/08/03: CCP: NOAA: Summer weighing heavily on Greenland Ice Sheet
- 2012/08/02: SciNews: Greenland enters melt mode -- Island-wide thaw is one for the record books
- 2012/08/03: TreeHugger: Greenland Ice Sheet May Be More Resilient Than We Thought
- 2012/08/02: CSM: Greenland ice: Less vulnerable to climate change than feared
- 2012/08/02: BBC: Greenland's ice 'melts in spurts'
Ice loss from Greenland's vast sheet may happen mainly in short bursts, research by Danish scientists suggests. - 2012/08/03: EnergyBulletin: Shell Game in the Arctic
- 2012/08/02: NorthJersey: War over the Arctic?
- 2012/07/30: RHHO: Mishaps and missteps raise doubts about Arctic drilling
- 2012/07/31: Guardian(UK): Europe looks to open up Greenland for natural resources extraction
- 2012/07/30: NOAANews: NOAA Ship Fairweather conducting hydrographic reconnaissance in the Arctic
The food crisis is ongoing:
- 2012/08/03: al Jazeera: UN urges food aid for flood-hit North Korea
UN call follows Pyongyang's request to prioritise the release of emergency supplies, including food and fuel. - 2012/08/02: BBC: UN: North Korea seeks immediate food aid after floods
- 2012/08/02: Guardian(UK): Syrian refugee crisis: we can't feed our people, say advancing FSA rebels
- 2012/08/02: CBC: North Korea in dire need of food
Deadly floods have wiped out crops and left tens of thousands homeless - 2012/08/02: CNN: Drought may cost billions in U.S. food exports
The drought baking Midwest corn and soybean crops will likely cost the U.S. food export industry billions in lost revenue. But unlike droughts in previous years, it should not cause a major disruption in worldwide food supplies. - 2012/08/02: UN: Three million Syrians in need of food, crops and livestock assistance - UN
- 2012/08/02: ProMedMail: Root knot, rice - India: north, emerging disease
- 2012/08/01: NatureN: Officials act to secure cattle-plague virus -- Risk of accidental reintroduction shadows rinderpest eradication effort
- 2012/08/01: DD: U.S. drought deepens worries about food supplies, prices
- 2012/08/01: BBC: Sahel region of West Africa 'in permanent food crisis'
More than one million children are at risk of severe malnutrition in the Sahel region of West Africa, according to two leading charities. World Vision and Save the Children say that millions of families are suffering in what is effectively a large-scale nutrition crisis. - 2012/07/31: ABC(Au): US drought expected to push older dairy farmers out
- 2012/07/30: CBC: [100] Hives containing 500,000 bees stolen in B.C.
- 2012/07/30: PlanetArk: Midwest crops, fish, water supply punished by drought
- 2012/07/30: PlanetArk: Crops in center of Corn Belt see little drought relief
The state of the world's fisheries is a concern:
- 2012/08/03: SciAm:PI: Plenty of Fish in the Sea?
- 2012/08/03: LiP: How You can Have Your Healthy Environment and Eat Farmed Salmon Too
- 2012/08/02: EurActiv: EU punishes over-fishing with deeper quota cuts
EU member states that have repeatedly flouted EU limits on how much fish they can catch will receive greatly reduced quotas for this year, as the bloc strives to ensure sustainable fishing, the European Commission said on Wednesday (1 August). Those who incur the biggest penalties are France, Portugal and Spain. Quotas are normally reduced by a percentage of the amount a nation has over-fished. Because France, Portugal and Spain repeatedly over-fished the same species in the same area over the last three years, they will in addition see their quotas cut by 50 percent this year compared with their 2011 limit. Spain faced the largest penalty by volume. For this year, its allowable catch of horse mackerel along its northern coastline is reduced by 11,624 tonnes from 22,409. Fisheries Commissioner Maria Damanaki said over-fishing would not be tolerated. - 2012/08/02: EUO: EU cuts fish quota
- 2012/07/29: CBC: Lobster fishermen fighting against climate change -- Warmer global temperatures cause lobster stress, which affects meat quality
Food Prices are still problematic:
- FAO: World Food Situation - Food Price Indices
- 2012/08/01: CNN: Fears grow for rise in food prices
The increase in grain prices is already being felt around the world - In Indonesia, the tofu industry has threatened to strike over soyabean prices - In Mexico, the cost of corn tortillas is on the rise - Benchmark corn, wheat and soyabean prices have jumped 30-50% - 2012/08/01: CCurrents: Grain Markets Soar On Worldwide Crop Downgrades
- 2012/07/31: OLJ: Drought again pushes grain prices
- 2012/07/30: CNN:B: Corn prices hit record as crops shrivel
The conflict between biofuel and food persists. See also:
- 2012/08/03: BLongstaff: Drought, ethanol and the looming food crisis
- 2012/07/31: PlanetArk: Drought spurs ethanol push-back; World Bank watchful
Regarding the genetic modification of food:
- 2012/08/01: Grist: GMO potatoes: Is the biodiversity shortcut worth it?
Regarding labelling GM food:
- 2012/07/31: Grist: Big Food puts its back into fighting GMO labeling in California
- 2012/07/31: TreeHugger: Fighting GMO Labeling in California is Food Lobby's "Highest Priority"
And how are we going to feed 9 billion, 10 billion, 15 billion?
- 2012/08/03: TreeHugger: Study: Sustainable Seafood is Usually the Healthiest
- 2012/08/02: CCurrents: 12 Innovations To Combat Drought, Improve Food Security, And Stabilize Food Prices
- 2012/08/04: CSM: UN to start food aid to flooded North Korea as access eases
- 2012/08/03: STimes: Number of US farmers markets surges
As demand for locally grown fruits and vegetables has increased, so too has the number of urban farmers markets sprouting up across the nation. - 2012/08/02: UN: Over 129,000 Palestinian families to receive food aid from Turkey
- 2012/08/02: UN: UN to air drop food assistance to refugees in South Sudan area with limited access
- 2012/08/02: PSinclair: Extreme Weather and the Future of Soil
- 2012/08/02: al Jazeera: Far-right party doles out food to Greeks only
Golden Dawn hands out food parcels outside parliament, but makes sure only Greek citizens receive assistance. - 2012/07/30: ScienceInsider: Your Seafood Dinner -- Farmed, Wild, or Both?
In the Western Pacific, Saolo and Damrey slammed into China. Haikui is not far behind:
- 2012/08/03: CNN: 2 tropical cyclones strike Chinese coast in quick succession
The Chinese authorities have relocated more than 300,000 people - Tropical Storm Saola hits the Chinese province of Fujian - Hours earlier, Typhoon Damrey slams into the Chinese coast farther north - Saola has already wreaked havoc in the Philippines and Taiwan, killing more than 40 - 2012/08/03: Eureka: NASA sees triple tropical trouble in northwestern Pacific [Damrey, Saola & Haikui]
- 2012/08/04: IOTD: Typhoons Saola and Damrey
- 2012/08/03: CBC: Philippines storm [Saola] death toll hits 39
- 2012/08/03: al Jazeera: The tropics ignite in August
Warm waters of the western Pacific and Atlantic have helped to fuel four storms around the world. - 2012/08/02: NASA: NASA Satellites See Tropical Storm Saola and Typhoon Damrey Arm-in-Arm Near China
- 2012/08/01: Eureka: NASA sees twin typhoons headed for double China landfall
- 2012/08/02: CBC: Typhoon Saola brings torrential rains to Taiwan
A typhoon inched across northern Taiwan on Thursday after already dumping heavy rain that has flooded farmland, swollen rivers and paralyzed life on much of the densely populated island of 23 million people. Typhoon Saola weakened to a strong tropical storm by late afternoon, but its slow movement and continuing heavy rains raised the prospect of devastating flooding in areas that have absorbed more than 150 centimetres of rain since Tuesday. - 2012/08/02: al Jazeera: Tropical storm Saola washes over wary Taiwan
Massive storm that killed 23 people in Philippines makes landfall on island, bringing rains that could last for days. - 2012/08/01: CBC: Taiwan braces for Typhoon Saola -- 14 killed in Philippines
- 2012/08/01: al Jazeera: Taiwan prepares for typhoon Saola
Fishing boats and passenger vessels ordered to return to port, with typhoon expected to bring heavy rainfall to north. - 2012/07/30: Eureka: NASA sees Typhoon Saola's huge reach over the Philippines
- 2012/07/30: Eureka: NASA sees compact Tropical Storm Damrey approaching southern Japan
- 2012/07/30: al Jazeera: Deadly typhoon cuts power across Philippines
Tropical Storm Saola has hit the Philippines with unexpected force, killing one and leaving millions without power. - 2012/08/05: CBC: Jamaica braces for Tropical Storm Ernesto
- 2012/08/04: Wunderground: Ernesto weakens; Florence forms; fires, historic heat wave in Oklahoma
- 2012/08/04: BBerg: Tropical Storm Ernesto Stronger, May Become Hurricane Tomorrow
- 2012/08/03: Wunderground: Ernesto hit the Windward Islands; 128.5°F in Kuwait
- 2012/08/02: Wunderground: Tropical Storm Ernesto forms
- 2012/08/03: Eureka: Tropical Storm Ernesto was an unwelcome visitor in St. Lucia
- 2012/08/03: BBerg: Tropical Storm [Ernesto] Passes St. Lucia, Moves Into Caribbean Sea
- 2012/08/03: CBC: Tropical storm Ernesto weakens near Windward Islands
- 2012/08/02: CBC: Tropical storm Ernesto heads towards Caribbean
Warnings in effect for several countries including Barbados, Dominca, St. Lucia - 2012/08/02: Wunderground: TD 5 struggling; 121° in Oklahoma; little change to U.S. drought
- 2012/08/02: Wunderground: Tropical Depression 5 forms; Typhoon Saola hits Taiwan; 115° in Oklahoma
- 2012/08/01: NASA: NASA Satellite Sees Strength in Developing Atlantic Tropical Low [99L]
- 2012/08/01: Wunderground: Disturbance 99L more organized; record melting in Austrian Alps
- 2012/07/31: Wunderground: African tropical wave 99L slowly organizing
- 2012/07/30: Wunderground: African tropical wave 99L has potential to develop
As for the Monsoon:
- 2012/08/04: ABC(Au): India predicts drop in monsoon rain
India is expected to receive at least 10 percent less rain this June-to-September monsoon season, hurting millions of farmers. - 2012/08/04: CBC: Flash floods and landslides in India kill 7 -- 19 people missing
- 2012/08/04: al Jazeera: Drought fears loom in India as monsoon stalls
Meteorological department predicts at least 10 per cent less rain this year affecting millions of farmers across nation. - 2012/08/03: PlanetArk: US CO2 emissions fall to lowest first-quarter level in 20 years: EIA
- 2012/08/02: TreeHugger: US Carbon Emissions From Energy Production Lowest Since 1992
And in the carbon cycle:
- 2012/07/29: BAS: Press Release - New discovery of how carbon is stored in the Southern Ocean
- 2012/07/31: IOTD: Carbon Eaters on the Black Sea
- 2012/07/30: ABC(Au): Ocean's deep carbon secrets revealed
- 2012/07/30: CSIRO:B: How carbon is stored in the Southern Ocean
- 2012/07/29: Eureka: New discovery of how carbon is stored in the Southern Ocean
- 2012/07/30: ABC(Au): Ocean study reveals carbon not sinking
British and Australian researchers have found that one of the world's largest carbon sinks stores carbon differently than first thought. The Southern Ocean contains about 40 per cent of all carbon dioxide emissions absorbed by the world's oceans. - 2012/08/03: CapClimate: Over 100 High Temperature Records Per Day in July Outnumber Cold Records by 17 to 1
- 2012/08/03: ERabett: Tomato, Tomahto
- 2012/08/02: ArcticNews: Year 2012 set to break all records
- 2012/08/01: VV: A short introduction to the time of observation bias and its correction
- 2012/08/04: DD: 64 Oklahoma temperature records broken in July 2012
- 2012/07/30: CapClimate: Indianapolis Smashes 1936 Record for Warmest Month in History, Most 90° and 95° Days
Aerosols are making their presence felt:
- 2012/08/03: IOTD: Dust Dominates Overseas Aerosol Imports to North America
While in the paleoclimate:
- 2012/08/02: ERW: Tracking seawater chemistry changes
Seawater chemistry has shown major changes over the last 130 million years. Fluid inclusion records indicate that these occurred slowly but sulphur-isotope compositions suggest much more rapid fluctuations. Now researchers from Canada and the US have found a mechanism to account for rapid change -- large-scale dissolution and precipitation of evaporites that altered marine sulphate levels. - 2012/08/01: BBC: Palm trees 'grew on Antarctica'
Scientists drilling deep into the edge of modern Antarctica have pulled up proof that palm trees once grew there. Analyses of pollen and spores and the remains of tiny creatures have given a climatic picture of the early Eocene period, about 53 million years ago. - 2012/08/02: RawStory: Drilling discovers ancient Antarctic rainforest
Drilling of the seabed off Antarctica has revealed that rainforest grew on the frozen continent 52 million years ago, scientists said Thursday, warning it could be ice-free again within decades. The study of sediment cores drilled from the ocean floor off Antarctica's east coast revealed fossil pollens that had come from a "near-tropical" forest covering the continent in the Eocene period, 34-56 million years ago. - 2012/08/05: ABC(Au): Wet Australia warned of dry-weather El Nino
Meteorologists say Australia appears to be returning to the dry-weather El Nino climate pattern. The alternative La Nina weather patterns have caused higher than average rainfall across northern and eastern Australia over the past two years. El Nino patterns bring drier and hotter conditions and can result in drought. - 2012/08/03: Grist: Mixed blessings: A smaller Gulf dead zone offers less to celebrate than you'd think
What's new on the extinction front?
- 2012/08/03: QueensU: Queen's researcher finds situation dire for threatened rhino species
Peter de Groot (Biology) hopes his recent finding confirming the extinction of the Javan rhinoceros in Vietnam pushes the public to protect the last remaining group of these prehistoric creatures living in Indonesia. - 2012/08/02: Eureka: Extinction risk factors for New Zealand birds today differ from those of the past
What's new in proxies?
- 2012/07/31: ABC(Au): Climate change study to analyse seashells
Researchers at James Cook University say they hope to understand more about climate change through the study of seashells. Dr Sean Ulm will radiocarbon date shells from museums, focusing on specimens collected from northern Australia and southern Papua New Guinea. - 2012/08/03: CBC: Weather bad for crops, great for butterflies
The hot, dry weather has been troubling for Island farmers but the conditions are perfect for butterflies, now flocking to P.E.I. in large numbers. - 2012/08/01: ABC(Au): Global warming could help pesky fish pest
- 2012/07/29: EnergyBulletin: Our current infrastructure was built for a different planet
And then there are the world's forests:
- 2012/08/03: NatureNB: Deforestation drops in the Brazilian Amazon (again)
...deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon has fallen 23% over the past year, according to an initial -- and highly uncertain -- analysis released Thursday by the Brazilian government. - 2012/08/03: CSM: Bamboo farming takes pressure off Kenya's forests
- 2012/08/02: PSinclair: Saving Mangroves Could be a Cheap Way to Lock up Carbon
- 2012/08/01: BBC: Mangrove conservation is 'economic' CO2 fix
Protecting mangroves to lock carbon away in trees may be an economic way to curb climate change, research suggests. Carbon credit schemes already exist for rainforests; the new work suggests mangroves could be included too. But other researchers say the economics depend on the global carbon price. - 2012/07/31: PlanetArk: East Africa's forests shrink, especially near parks
- 2012/07/31: TreeHugger: We Can Reforest the Earth by Lester Brown
Emerging diseases accompany ecological change:
- 2012/08/03: CBC: West Nile virus detected in man from Regina area
- 2012/08/04: CNN: West Nile virus on the rise in the U.S., health officials say
At least 80% of the infections are in Texas, Mississippi and Oklahoma - "It is not clear why we are seeing more activity than in recent years," expert says - The virus is transmitted through infected mosquitoes - 2012/08/02: WWLTV: Significant growth of West Nile virus infections in 2012
- 2012/08/01: CBC: West Nile cases confirmed in Ontario and Manitoba -- Clothing, mosquito repellent precautions urged
Yes we have no wacky weather, except:
- 2012/07/31: CBC: Home destroyed, couple survives damaging storm
This week in the New Normal -- extreme weather:
- 2012/08/03: DD: Weather extremes leave parts of U.S. grid buckling - 'We've got the storm of the century every year now'
- 2012/08/03: ABC(Au): Forty per cent increase in [the number of days of] extreme temperatures
Australian scientists have shown extreme hot temperatures are becoming far more common. Researching a 60 year period they measured a 40 per cent jump in the number of days that fall into the hottest category. And on these hottest days both the average maximums and the average minimums were up by around one degree Celsius. - 2012/08/01: TP:JR: Juiced by Climate Change: Extreme Weather On Steroids
- 2012/07/30: TheCanadian: Stephen Hume on Extreme Weather
- 2012/07/29: PostMedia: Extreme weather heralds a grim future
The story that should dominate headlines is the series of extreme weather events which may be portents of a grim future in which much worse is to come. Increasing frequency and intensity of extreme weather is a key predictor of global warming. Perhaps our bizarre weather is just a coincidence - certainly that's the claim of global warming skeptics - but mainstream scientists are for the first time directly attributing extreme weather to the influence of human activities on climate. For example, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change says the probability of increased extreme rainfall events in the 21st century is 66-100 per cent. Skeptical or not, it's been a wild July. - 2012/07/31: MoJo: Study: Bigger, Badder Storms Are the New Norm -- New report highlights climate's influence on extreme precipitation events
- 2012/07/31: CCTimes: Report: Global warming to blame for bigger, more frequent rainstorms
On the tornado front:
- 2012/07/29: CBC: Nasty storm spawns Alberta tornadoes -- Cars flung off the road, trees uprooted northwest of Calgary
As for heatwaves and wild fires:
- 2012/08/02: CCP: USA Today editorial: The atmosphere is juiced -- Are heat records performance-enhanced?
- 2012/08/02: TP:JR: In Oklahoma City, It's So Hot And Dry There's Mandatory Water Rationing
- 2012/08/05: CBC: Oklahoma wildfires destroy homes, force evacuations
- 2012/08/05: IOTD: Myrtle Fire in South Dakota
- 2012/08/01: CCP: Russian battles record-breaking wildfires in Siberia -- worse than 2010
- 2012/07/31: CCP: Mitchell Power: "Climate ultimately drives fire." New study of charcoal in sediment cores links wildfires and climate change
- 2012/07/31: BBickmore: Deseret News: Hotter Climate Equals More Wildfires
- 2012/07/30: UCSUSA:B: Dangerous Summer Heat on the Rise in the Midwest
- 2012/07/30: CBC: Wildfire triggers West Kelowna evacuation alert
- 2012/07/30: TP:JR: A Growing Fire Threat In The Eastern U.S.
- 2012/07/29: DM:BA: The scars of a Colorado fire
- 2012/07/30: UCSUSA:B: 2012 U.S. Drought and Heat Expose Electricity Supply Risks
- 2012/07/30: TreeHugger: Chronic Drought Will Become New Normal Across Parts of US
- 2012/07/29: Eureka: When the world burned less -- Study: Cool climate, not population loss, led to fewer fires [on Turtle Island]
Acidification is changing the oceans:
- 2012/08/02: NPR: How Climate Change Is Changing The Oyster Business
Sea levels are rising:
- 2012/08/01: UCSUSA:B: Where is Sea Level Rise Most Rapid? Today Congress Heard the Answer: North America
These 100, 200, 500 year storms are becoming all too frequent:
- 2012/07/31: TP:JR: When It Rains, It Pours: New Study Finds Extreme Snowstorms And Deluges Are Becoming More Frequent And More Severe
- 2012/07/31: USAToday: Report: USA's heavy rain events rising due to climate change
- 2012/07/31: EA: [Press Release] New Report: Extreme Downpours Up 30 Percent -- Scientists Link Trend to Global Warming
As for hydrological cycle disruptions [floods & droughts]:
- 2012/08/04: al Jazeera: UN to send food aid to flood-hit N Korea
North Korea says death toll from flooding between late June and end of last month has increased to nearly 170. - 2012/08/03: UN: UN agencies mobilize support for flood victims in DPR Korea
- 2012/08/03: TP:JR: More Than 50 Percent Of U.S. Counties Declared 'Disasters,' Mostly Due To Drought
- 2012/08/04: SimpleC: Continued emission growth promises US megadroughts
- 2012/08/04: BBC: North Korea floods: Death toll raised, WFP sends food aid
The floods that hit parts of North Korea in recent weeks have killed 169 people and left 400 missing, the state news agency says, sharply revising earlier casualty figures. - 2012/08/04: ABC(Au): UN sends food in North Korea flood havoc
The World Food Program is sending a first shipment of emergency food aid to flood-hit areas of North Korea. The country's state media says 169 people are confirmed dead in the floods in recent weeks, with 400 missing. Another 212,000 have been made homeless and 65,000 hectares of farmland submerged or washed away, - 2012/08/04: CBC: North Korean floods reportedly kill 170 -- Country says more than 400 are missing
- 2012/08/04: WSWS: Historic US drought deepens
- 2012/08/02: CNN: Little hope for worsening drought in U.S. Plains
Nearly half of the continental U.S. is experiencing severe drought - Almost all of Arkansas is in severe to exceptional drought - Oklahoma is expected to break the statewide 1936 temperature high record Thursday - More than half of U.S. counties are designated disaster zones - 2012/08/02: PlanetArk: Emergency drought aid expands as Midwest bakes
More than 200 additional counties hit by the worst drought in the United States in decades were declared disaster areas on Wednesday as concerns about financial losses and soaring food prices stayed on the boil. - 2012/08/05: BBC: Rain causes North Somerset floods and landslip
- 2012/08/05: BBC: Jedburgh hit by flooding after local river bursts its banks
Emergency services are dealing with serious flooding in the Scottish Borders. - 2012/08/01: CNN: Historic drought puts over half of U.S. counties in disaster zones, USDA says
"Safety net is going to protect a lot more of those producers," economist says - An Arkansas farmer says he was compelled sell his cattle because he was short on feed - Harsh conditions suggest food prices could increase as much as 4.5% in 2013, agency says - Agriculture secretary expanded emergency disaster assistance Wednesday - 2012/08/01: DD: Floods follow drought in North Korea
- 2012/07/31: NatureN: Urbanization contributed to Beijing storms -- Hot air from city made rainfall heavier and more locally concentrated
- 2012/07/31: CBC: UN visits North Korea after heavy rain, floods
- 2012/07/30: TMoS: Megadrought the New Normal
First, stop subsidizing fossil fuels
Second, put a price on carbon
And elsewhere on the mitigation front: - 2012/07/30: GEP: FEMA Staff Launch Unofficial Biochar Initiative
Consider transportation & GHG production:
- 2012/08/02: PlanetArk: New North American rules on cleaner ship fuel take effect
- 2012/08/01: CalcRisk: U.S. Light Vehicle Sales at 14.1 million annual rate in July
- 2012/08/01: CBC: Ford's July sales best in 30 years -- Japanese automakers see double digit gains
Ford Motor Company of Canada Ltd. posted its best July sales in more than three decades as it laid claim to the title of the country's top-selling automaker for the month. The automaker said it sold 27,940 vehicles last month, up 2.2 per cent from 27,344 in July last year, to post its best July since 1979.
[...] Chrysler Canada also posted its best July sales as it reported a three per cent increase from a year ago. The company said it sold 24,162 vehicles in the month, up from 23,385 a year ago...
[...] Toyota Canada Inc. reported sales of 15,819 Toyota, Lexus and Scion passenger cars, SUVs and trucks in July, up 30 per cent from a year ago.
[...] Combined sales by Honda and Acura in July totalled 11,184 vehicles, up 27 per cent from a year ago...
[...] However, Nissan Canada Inc. reported sharp drop in July sales to 5,316, down 29.3 per cent from a year ago when the company sold 7,523.
[...] South Korean automaker Hyundai posted a record for July and sold 12,850 units, up 0.8 per cent over the same month last year. Kia sold 7,683 vehicles for the month, up 20.4 per cent compared with July 2011. - 2012/07/29: TP:JR: Green-Certified Homes Get 9% Higher Sales Price in California
And on the carbon sequestration front:
- 2012/07/31: GEP: Another Report Looks at Induced Seismicity from CCS
- 2012/08/03: GEP: Is CCS for Oil Sands Going Too Far?
Large scale geo-engineering keeps popping up:
- 2012/08/01: Guardian(UK): The new environmentalism: where men must act 'as gods' to save the planet
For the neogreens, science and business will provide while nature can adapt. It is a messsage gaining traction - 2012/07/30: Superorganic: Climate Engineering in the Anthropocene
While on the adaptation front:
- 2012/07/31: UCSUSA:B: Resilience to Drought Can be Improved... Within Limits
Meanwhile in the journals:
- 2012/08/03: ESDD: The influence of dynamic vegetation on the present-day simulation and future projections of the South Asian summer monsoon in the HadGEM2 family by G. M. Martin & R. C. Levine
- 2012/08/02: CP: On the gas-ice depth difference (?depth) along the EPICA Dome C ice core by F. Parrenin et al.
- 2012/07/30: CP: Little Ice Age climate and oceanic conditions of the Ross Sea, Antarctica from a coastal ice core record by R. H. Rhodes et al.
- 2012/08/03: CPD: Multidisciplinary distinction of mass-movement and flood-induced deposits in lacustrine environments: implications for Holocene palaeohydrology and natural hazards (Lake Ledro, Southern Alps, Italy) by A. Simonneau et al.
- 2012/08/03: CPD: What could have caused pre-industrial biomass burning emissions to exceed current rates? by G. R. van der Werf et al.
- 2012/08/02: CPD: Terminations VI and VIII (? 530 and ? 720 kyr BP) tell us the importance of obliquity and precession in the triggering of deglaciations by F. Parrenin & D. Paillard
- 2012/08/01: CPD: Response of methane emissions from wetlands to the Last Glacial Maximum and an idealized Dansgaard-Oeschger climate event: insights from two models of different complexity by B. Ringeval et al.
- 2012/08/01: CPD: An Ocean - ice coupled response during the last glacial: zooming on the marine isotopic stage 3 south of the Faeroe Shetland Gateway by J. Zumaque et al.
- 2012/08/01: CPD: Two ocean states during the Last Glacial Maximum by X. Zhang et al.
- 2012/07/30: CPD: Large-scale features of Pliocene climate: results from the Pliocene Model Intercomparison Project by A. M. Haywood et al.
- 2012/07/30: NERC:NORA: Carbon dioxide capture and geological storage by Sam Holloway
- 2012/07/30: NERC:NORA: Modelling large-scale carbon dioxide injection into the Bunter Sandstone in the UK Southern North Sea by D.J. Noy et al.
- 2012/07/31: NERC:NORA: The Thames flood series: a lack of trend in flood magnitude and a decline in maximum levels by Terry Marsh et al.
- 2012/08/03: NERC:NORA: Open data in science and research : raw data now by Jeremy Giles
- 2012/08/03: ACP: Quantification of chemical and physical processes influencing ozone during long-range transport using a trajectory ensemble by M. Cain et al.
- 2012/08/03: ACP: Parameterization of black carbon aging in the OsloCTM2 and implications for regional transport to the Arctic by M. T. Lund & T. Berntsen
- 2012/08/03: ACPD: Particulate sulfate ion concentration and SO2 emission trends in the United States from the early 1990s through 2010 by J. L. Hand et al.
- 2012/08/03: ACPD: Effect of aerosols and NO2 concentration on ultraviolet actinic flux near Mexico City during MILAGRO: measurements and model calculations by G. G. Palancar et al.
- 2012/08/03: OSD: Seawater capacitance - a promising proxy for mapping and characterizing drifting hydrocarbon plumes in the deep ocean by J. C. Wynn & J. A. Fleming
- 2012/08/01: OSD: Time and space variability of freshwater content, heat content and seasonal ice melt in the Arctic Ocean from 1991 to 2011 by M. Korhonen et al.
- 2012/08/02: TCD: Estimating Greenland ice sheet surface mass balance contribution to future sea level rise using the regional atmospheric climate model MAR by X. Fettweis et al.
- 2012/07/30: CJE: (ab$) Green economics: putting the planet and politics back into economics by Molly Scott Cato
- 2012/08/03: Science: (ab$) Aerosols from Overseas Rival Domestic Emissions over North America by Hongbin Yu et al.
- 2012/08/02: ACP: Can a global model reproduce observed trends in summertime surface ozone levels? by S. Koumoutsaris & I. Bey
- 2012/08/02: ACP: Precipitation response to regional radiative forcing by D. T. Shindell et al.
- 2012/08/01: ACP: Effects of business-as-usual anthropogenic emissions on air quality by A. Pozzer et al.
- 2012/08/01: ACP: Meteorological conditions in the central Arctic summer during the Arctic Summer Cloud Ocean Study (ASCOS) by M. Tjernström et al.
- 2012/08/01: ACP: Determinants and predictability of global wildfire emissions by W. Knorr et al.
- 2012/08/01: ACP: The scavenging processes controlling the seasonal cycle in Arctic sulphate and black carbon aerosol by J. Browse et al.
- 2012/08/01: ACP: Automated ground-based remote sensing measurements of greenhouse gases at the Bia?ystok site in comparison with collocated in situ measurements and model data by J. Messerschmidt et al.
- 2012/08/02: ACPD: Global mapping of vertical injection profiles of wild-fire emission by M. Sofiev et al.
- 2012/08/02: ACPD: Asian dust storm observed at a rural mountain site in Southern China: chemical evolution and heterogeneous photochemistry by W. Nie et al.
- 2012/08/02: ACPD: A 60-yr record of atmospheric carbon monoxide reconstructed from Greenland firn air by V. V. Petrenko et al.
- 2012/08/01: ACPD: Future Antarctic ozone recovery rates in September-December predicted by CCMVal-2 model simulations by J. M. Siddaway et al.
- 2012/08/01: ACPD: Classification and investigation of Asian aerosol properties by T. Logan et al.
- 2012/07/31: ACPD: Estimation of aerosol particle number distribution with Kalman filtering - Part 2: Simultaneous use of DMPS, APS and nephelometer measurements by T. Viskari et al.
- 2012/07/31: ACPD: Estimation of aerosol particle distributions with Kalman Filtering - Part 1: Theory, general aspects and statistical validity by T. Viskari et al.
- 2012/07/31: ACPD: Variability in upwelling across the tropical tropopause and correlations with tracers in the lower stratosphere by M. Abalos et al.
- 2012/07/31: ACPD: Cost effective determination of vehicle emission factors using on-road measurements by N. Hudda et al.
- 2012/07/31: ACPD: Interrelated variations of O3, CO and deep convection in the tropical/subtropical upper troposphere observed by the Aura Microwave Limb Sounder (MLS) during 2004-2011 by N. J. Livesey et al.
- 2012/07/30: ACPD: New particle growth and shrinkage observed in subtropical environments by L.-H. Young et al.
- 2012/07/30: ACPD: The challenge to NOx emission control for heavy-duty diesel vehicles in China by Y. Wu et al.
- 2012/08/01: Nature: (ab$) Increase in observed net carbon dioxide uptake by land and oceans during the past 50 years by A. P. Ballantyne et al.
- 2012/08/01: Nature: (ab$) Persistent near-tropical warmth on the Antarctic continent during the early Eocene epoch by Jörg Pross et al.
- 2012/07/13: GRL: (ab$) Climate response of the South Asian monsoon system to anthropogenic aerosols by Dilip Ganguly et al.
- 2008/01/09: E&PS: (ab$) Oceanic Euxinia in Earth History: Causes and Consequences by Katja M. Meyer & Lee R. Kump
- 2012/07/31: PNAS: (ab$) Herbivore pressure increases toward the equator by Diego Salazar & Robert J. Marquis
- 2012/07/31: PNAS: (ab$) Thieving rodents as substitute dispersers of megafaunal seeds by Patrick A. Jansen et al.
- 2012/07/31: PNAS: (ab$) Historical genomics of North American maize by Joost van Heerwaarden et al.
- 2012/07/31: PNAS: (ab$) Water and sustainable land use at the ancient tropical city of Tikal, Guatemala by Vernon L. Scarborough et al.
- 2012/07/31: PNAS: (ab$) Hot days induced by precipitation deficits at the global scale by Brigitte Mueller & Sonia I. Seneviratne
- 2012/07/31: PNAS: (ab$) Global value chains and agrifood standards: Challenges and possibilities for smallholders in developing countries by Joonkoo Lee et al.
- 2012/07/31: PNAS: (ab$) Constraints to addressing food insecurity in protracted crises by Daniel Maxwell et al.
- 2012/07/31: PNAS: (ab$) Support for agriculture during economic transformation: Impacts on poverty and undernutrition by Patrick Webb & Steven Block
- 2012/07/31: PNAS: (ab$) A systems science perspective and transdisciplinary models for food and nutrition security by Ross A. Hammond & Laurette Dubé
- 2012/07/31: PNAS: (ab$) Behavioral dimensions of food security by C. Peter Timmer et al.
- 2012/07/31: PNAS: (ab$) Green Revolution: Impacts, limits, and the path ahead by Prabhu L. Pingali
- 2012/08/01: AGWObserver: Papers on time of observation bias
- 2012/07/31: GMDD: Porting marine ecosystem model spin-up using transport matrices to GPUs by E. Siewertsen et al.
- 2012/07/31: GMDD: The OASIS3 coupler: a European climate modelling community software by S. Valcke
- 2012/07/31: GMDD: How realistic are air quality hindcasts driven by forcings from climate model simulations? by G. Lacressonnière et al.
- 2012/07/30: GMDD: The Rock Geochemical Model (RokGeM) v0.9 by G. Colbourn et al.
- 2012/07/30: OS: Validation of FOAM near-surface ocean current forecasts using Lagrangian drifting buoys by E. W. Blockley et al.
- 2012/07/31: OSD: Imbalance of energy and momentum source terms of the sea wave transfer equation for fully developed seas by G. V. Caudal
- 2012/07/31: OSD: On the relationship among the Adriatic-Ionian Bimodal Oscillating System (BiOS), the Eastern Mediterranean salinity variations and the Western Mediterranean thermohaline cell by M. Gaceic' et al.
- 2012/07/31: TCD: Ground penetrating radar detection of subsnow liquid overflow on ice-covered lakes in interior Alaska by A. Gusmeroli & G. Grosse
- 2012/07/31: TCD: Heterogeneity in Glacier response from 1973 to 2011 in the Shyok valley, Karakoram, India by R. Bhambri et al.
- 2012/07/31: TCD: The impact of heterogeneous surface temperatures on the 2-m air temperature over the Arctic Ocean in spring by A. Tetzlaff et al.
- 2012/07/30: AGWObserver: New research from last week 27-30
- 2012/07/29: Nature:GeoSci: (ab$) Localized subduction of anthropogenic carbon dioxide in the Southern Hemisphere oceans by Jean-Baptiste Sallée et al.
And other significant documents:
- 2012/07/31: EA: [link to 2.3 meg pdf] When it Rains, it Pours -- Global Warming and the Increase in Extreme Precipitation from 1948 to 2011
- 2012/07/31: NECSI: [link to 186k pdf] July 2012 - The Food Crises: The US Drought
As for miscellaneous science:
- 2012/08/03: ScienceInsider: Federal Scientists Join Lawsuit Protesting New Financial Disclosure Rule
- 2012/08/02: VV: Do you want to help with data discovery?
As was alluded to in an earlier posting here, NOAA's National Climatic Data Center has recently endeavored on an effort to discover and rescue a plethora of international holdings in hard copy in its basement and make them usable by the international science community. The resulting images of the records from the first chunk of these efforts have just been made available online. - 2012/08/01: NatureN: Hopes dashed for solo Serbian science ministry -- A campaign to separate research from the education ministry has failed
- 2012/08/02: ERabett: One the KT diagram
- 2012/08/04: IsaacHeld: 30. Extremes
- 2012/08/01: SlashDot: Scientists Stage Funerals To Protest Against Cuts - a New Trend?
- 2012/08/01: CCP: "Climate extremes and climate change: The Russian Heat Wave and other Climate Extremes of 2010," by Kevin Trenberth & John Fasullo, JGR; doi:10.1029/2012JD018020
- 2012/08/01: CCP: "Greenland ice sheet albedo feedback: thermodynamics and atmospheric drivers," by J. E. Box, X. Fettweis, J. C. Stroeve, M. Tedesco, D. K. Hall & K. Steffen
- 2012/07/30: CCP: "Review of methane mitigation technologies with application to rapid release of methane from the Arctic," by J. K. Stolaroff et al., Environ. Sci. & Technol., 46 (2012)
What's new in models?
- 2012/08/01: Eureka: Worldwide increase of air pollution -- Atmospheric model calculates changes in air quality over the coming decades
- 2012/07/30: Wunderground:RR: Models are Everywhere:
What developments in the ongoing struggle for Free Science?
- 2012/08/03: DebunkingDenialism: 100+ Free Science and Math Textbooks and Lecture Notes
- 2012/08/02: DM:GNXP: Biology discovers arXiv (sort of)
Regarding Hansen:
- 2012/08/03: CCP: James Hansen: Climate change is here -- and worse than we thought
- 2012/08/04: P3: Hansen Breaks the Taboo
- 2012/08/03: WaPO: Climate change is here -- and worse than we thought by James E. Hansen
- 2012/08/04: Agonist: James E. Hansen on Public Acceptance of Climate Change
- 2012/08/05: CNN: NASA scientist links climate change, extreme weather
James Hansen argues that rising global temperatures are fueling an increase in extreme weather = He cites a 2010 heat wave in Russia and last year's Texas drought as examples - Hansen, an activist, directs research at the NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies - 2012/08/04: TP:JR: Must-Read Hansen: 'Climate Change Is Here --- And Worse Than We Thought'
- 2012/08/04: ERabett: Worse than we thought
- 2012/08/04: CBC: Droughts show global warming is 'scientific fact'
NASA researcher's study 'reframes the question,' UVic professor says The relentless, weather-gone-crazy type of heat that has blistered the United States, Canada and other parts of the world in recent years is so rare it can't be anything but man-made global warming, according to a new statistical analysis from a top American scientist. The research by a man often called the "godfather of global warming" says that, from the 1950s through the 1980s, the likelihood of such sweltering temperatures occurring was rarer than 1 in 300. Now, the odds are closer to 1 in 10, according to the study by James Hansen. The NASA scientist says that statistically, what's happening is not random or normal, but pure and simple climate change. - 2012/07/31: HuffPo: The Real Story Behind the Fracking Debate by Peter H. Gleick
Regarding Emanuel:
- 2012/08/01: HotTopic: Kerry Emanuel: the role of reason
Regarding Mann:
- 2012/07/30: PostMedia: "Hockey stick" climate scientist challenges Keystone XL pipeline
An American climate scientist who published research behind the iconic "hockey stick" graph of rising global temperatures in recent decades is speaking out against a major pipeline expansion project due to its potential link to rising carbon dioxide emissions from Alberta's oilsands industry. Michael Mann, a professor from the meteorology and geosciences departments of Pennsylvania State University, joined U.S. conservation groups on Monday in urging the Obama administration to "level the playing field" in its review of Alberta-based TransCanada's proposed Keystone XL project, which would open up new markets for Canadian oil by transporting it to refineries on the gulf coast of Texas. - 2012/07/29: Grist: [Tom Swetnam] Lord of the tree rings: What trees can teach us about fire and climate change
The Pielke fan clubbe, alas:
- 2012/08/02: WottsUWT: Dr. Roger Pielke Sr. on two recent "game changing" climate papers
- 2012/08/01: CCP: The Mendacity of Roger the dodger Pielke, Jr. -- self-aggrandizer, trickster and careerist
While at the UN:
- 2012/07/31: NOAANews: NOAA research on South Asian monsoon honored by World Meteorological Organization
- 2012/07/30: al Jazeera: UN team to visit North Korea flood areas
Two days of heavy rain submerged buildings, left tens of thousands homeless and damaged agricultural areas. - 2012/07/30: UN: UN official calls on academics to step up their efforts to fight hunger
And on the carbon trading front:
- 2012/08/02: PlanetArk: California weighs giving away more CO2 permits
The idea of a carbon tax is still bouncing around:
- 2012/07/30: CNN: Carbon tax gets unusual support
Calls for a carbon tax on fossil fuels like gasoline and coal are coming from a surprising quarter these days -- Republicans. - 2012/08/02: EUO: France launches financial transaction tax
France introduces its financial transaction tax on Thursday. A 0.2 percent tax will be levied on all publicly traded companies with a market value over E1 billion. - 2012/07/29: PCat: President Hollande of France leads the way with a Tobin tax
On the international political front, tensions continue as the empire leans on Iran:
- 2012/08/01: BBerg: Iran Oil Shipping to Resume as Insurers Step In: Corporate India
India, the third-biggest buyer of Iranian oil, will offer state-backed insurance to tankers, helping the nation's biggest sea carrier to resume cargoes from the Persian Gulf nation hit by international trade sanctions. - 2012/08/01: al Jazeera: Iran embargo frays Bangladesh fibre trade
Billion-dollar jute business suffers major losses due to Western sanctions on its biggest customer. - 2012/08/05: CNN: China blasts U.S. for sending 'wrong message' on South China Sea disputes
The U.S. issued a statement criticizing China on South China Sea territorial disputes - A Chinese spokesman responds by claiming the U.S. shows a "total disregard for the facts" - The U.S. confounded "right and wrong" and undermined peace in the region, he adds - There are international disputes about who controls islands and waters in the South China Sea - 2012/08/05: ABC(Au): Stay out of our sea deals, China tells US
China has summoned a senior US diplomat over American criticism of China's decision to set up a new military post in the South China Sea. China's foreign ministry says assistant foreign minister Zhang Kunsheng called in the US embassy's deputy chief of mission, Robert Wang, on Saturday. On the same day, Beijing publicly lashed out at the US. - 2012/08/05: BBC: South China Sea dispute: China summons US diplomat
- 2012/08/05: al Jazeera: China slams US over South China Sea criticism
Senior US diplomat told US criticism of new military base in South China Sea was not conducive to regional peace. - 2012/08/04: al Jazeera: US voices concern over South China Sea rows
US accuses China of raising tensions through a new military garrison in the South China Sea. - 2012/08/03: al Jazeera: Standoff at Scarborough Shoal
Could valuable oil and gas deposits in the South China Sea be behind the growing military build-up in the region? - 2012/08/01: Yahoo:Reuters: Analysis: China unveils oil offensive in South China Sea squabble
First came the diplomatic offensive, then the flexing of military muscle. Now, China is opening a third front to assert its claims in the South China Sea - moving ahead with its first major tender of oil and gas blocks in disputed parts of its waters. China National Offshore Oil Corp (CNOOC), a state oil giant, invited foreign firms in late June to bid on oil blocks that overlap territory being explored by Vietnam, putting the 160,000 sq km of water on offer at the forefront of Asia's biggest potential military flashpoint. Oil companies have until next June to decide whether to bid for the nine blocks, said a Chinese industry source with knowledge of the matter. - 2012/07/31: BBerg: Oil Majors Avoid Philippine Bids for China-Claimed Sea Blocks
- 2012/07/31: BBC: Philippines to auction South China Sea exploration blocks
The Philippine government is set to auction off three areas in the South China Sea for oil and gas exploration that are also claimed by China. Several local and foreign companies are qualified to bid, including French energy giant Total, US-based Exxon and Royal Dutch Shell. The Philippines is eager to reduce its dependence on imported energy. - 2012/08/03: EurActiv: China hits back on EU solar trade case
China could retaliate over a European anti-dumping complaint filed against Chinese solar companies, officials from a Chinese industry body said on Thursday (2 August) in a protracted row over cheaper Chinese solar modules. - 2012/08/03: EUO: Chinese solar workers call off EU protest
- 2012/08/03: TP:JR: A 'Third Way' Approach for U.S.-China Solar Trade
- 2012/08/03: PlanetArk: China industry body warns EU over solar duties
Western solar companies have been at odds with their Chinese counterparts for years, alleging they receive lavish credit lines to offer modules at cheaper prices, while European players struggle to refinance. Jobs and profits would be lost if the European Commission ruled in favor of a complaint made by European solar firms, led by Germany's SolarWorld, Sun Guangbin, Secretary General of the China Chamber of Commerce for the Import & Export of Machinery and Electronic Products, told a news conference. - 2012/07/30: OLJ: China denies EU solar dumping
As the EU-ETS is applied to airlines, we will see who is serious about reducing carbon emissions:
- 2012/08/03: ERabett:BSD: Obama's tightrope on European airline emissions
- 2012/08/03: PlanetArk: Foes of EU airlines carbon plan say back UN scheme
The European Commission has repeatedly said the only grounds for waiving its scheme, which has stirred threats of an international trade war, would be if the UN's International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) could come up with an equally effective world-wide solution to rising airline emissions. The US State Department and Department of Transportation concluded on Wednesday a two-day meeting of countries opposed to the EU's emissions trading system (ETS) without a joint declaration... - 2012/08/03: Guardian(UK): The EU should stand firm on its scheme to limit aviation emissions
- 2012/08/02: Guardian(UK): Countries opposed to EU carbon charge for airlines fail to find an alternative
- 2012/08/02: PlanetArk: EU carbon aviation law foes press ahead with global alternative
Seventeen countries opposed to an EU law that forces their air carriers to pay for the carbon they emit on flights to and from Europe reaffirmed they want to keep working on a multilateral framework under the United Nation's global aviation body, a senior U.S. official said on Wednesday. The U.S. State Department and Department of Transportation concluded a two-day meeting of countries opposed to the EU's emissions trading system (ETS) without a joint declaration, but plan to address the greenhouse gas emissions issue within the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO). - 2012/08/01: Guardian(UK): Congress vote on EU carbon scheme may block US airlines from paying
- 2012/08/01: EurActiv: MEP slams U.S. Congress on ETS: 'Arrogant and ignorant'
A leading MEP strongly reacted after the US Senate transport committee cleared a key vote on a measure that would ban American airlines from paying for their carbon emissions and participating in the EU's controversial cap-and-trade scheme. "The United States spurn international efforts to mitigate climate change," said German Socialist democratic MEP, Jo Leinen, slamming a US bill under which American airlines would not pay into the EU Emission Trading Scheme (ETS). - 2012/08/01: EUO: US seeks to block EU aviation carbon tax
The US congress is preparing to vote in a new law that would make it illegal for US carriers to pay into the EU's carbon aviation tax scheme. A senate committee gave the measure, already approved by the House of Representatives, a green light on Tuesday (31 July). - 2012/08/01: PlanetArk: Senate panel [Commerce Committee] passes bill to block EU airline law
- 2012/08/01: RTCC: Aviation battle lines drawn as first attempt at a global carbon deal turns sour
- 2012/07/31: BBC: US rallies opponents of EU carbon tax on airlines
[Nations opposed to the EU's controversial carbon tax on airlines meet in Washington aiming to come up with an alternative plan] The US is hosting a two-day meeting of countries opposed to the EU's controversial carbon tax on airlines. Delegates meeting at the US Department of Transportation will explore an alternative global solution that would include the EU. China, India, Russia and the US are among the countries opposed to the EU scheme, which took effect on 1 January. The US says the EU's unilateral action could lead to a patchwork system if other countries impose their own tax. International airlines will begin receiving bills in April 2013, after this year's carbon emissions have been assessed. - 2012/07/30: TP:JR: Curbing Aviation Emissions 101: Everything You Need To Know About U.S. And EU Policies
In the global competition for Rare Earths and other natural resources:
- 2012/07/31: Guardian(UK): The rare earth riches buried beneath Greenland's vast ice sheet
The issue of the law and activism is playing out around the world:
- 2012/08/03: Wonkette: Protesting Now Illegal, Basically
- 2012/08/03: ABC(Au): Kimberley LNG protestor fined
A man and a woman have appeared in the Broome Magistrates Court charged over a protest at the site of the Kimberley LNG precinct. - 2012/08/03: Grist: Think being an environmental activist is hard? Try it in Mexico or Brazil
- 2012/08/02: ABC(Au): Police cordon off anti gas hub protest site
- 2012/07/30: CCP: Peaceful anti-tar sands protest takes a violent turn in Burlington, Vermont -- police fire point blank at peaceful demonstrator, Marni Salerno
What are the activists up to?
- 2012/08/02: DemNow: Bill McKibben of 350.org: Even Industry-Funded Climate Change Deniers Can't Ignore Planet's Warming
- 2012/07/31: TP:JR: Stop the Frack Attack: Religious Leaders Kick Off Nation's First Ever Anti-Fracking Rally In DC
Polls! We have polls!
- 2012/08/01: TP:JR: Poll: 77 Percent of Latinos Understand Global Climate Change Is 'Already Happening'
Regarding Water Politics and Business:
- 2012/08/02: TreeHugger: 64% of US Now in Drought, Yet Most States Don't Consider Climate Change's Effect on Water
- 2012/08/03: AllAfrica:FinancialGazette: Zimbabwe: Harare Water Woes Reach Critical Levels
Water shortages ravaging the capital city have reached crisis levels with experts calling on government to declare the situation a national emergency. Health experts fear the resurgence of the water shortages at a time the country is battling the outbreak of typhoid might result in the eruption of cholera, barely three months after the 2011 outbreak had been contained. Harare requires at least 1 200 mega litres of clean water daily. However, council is only able to avail 630 mega litres of water daily. - 2012/08/01: TP:JR: Infographic On The Energy-Water Collision: How Hot, Dry Summers Impact Water and Power Generation
- 2012/07/31: NYT: West Virginia: Judge Strikes Down Water Rules
- 2012/08/01: CBC: Charlottetown water use 'unsustainable'
- 2012/07/29: JFleck: Delta hostages
- 2012/07/29: JFleck: Fire and water
- 2012/07/29: Eureka: Researchers analyze melting glaciers and water resources in Central Asia
And on the American political front:
- 2012/08/03: TP:JR: More Than 50 Percent Of U.S. Counties Declared 'Disasters,' Mostly Due To Drought
- 2012/08/02: TreeHugger: Agenda 21 Update: Prospective Senator Cruz From Texas is An Agender
- 2012/08/04: JQuiggin: US climate change policy: not a hopeless case
- 2012/08/03: TreeHugger: California Got 20% of Its Power from Renewable Sources in the First Half of 2012
- 2012/08/02: SacBee: Experts: Ohio gov's $1T oil, gas price tag wrong
- 2012/08/02: EnergyBulletin: The Degeneration of Politics
- 2012/08/02: Guardian(UK): Stop this culture of paying politicians for denying climate change [Monbiot]
Protecting the environment requires a sweeping reform of political funding, only then corporations will stop throwing big money at senators - 2012/07/31: EnergyBulletin: ALEC Lets Corporations Craft Environmental Policy
- 2012/07/31: Grist: The most important clean-energy vote this year is in Michigan
- 2012/07/31: UCSUSA: New Reports on California's Vulnerability to Climate Change Highlight Dangers and Importance of Action
- 2012/07/31: Grist: Big Food puts its back into fighting GMO labeling in California
- 2012/07/30: Grist: Why the military is trying to reduce its fossil fuel use
The BP disaster continues to twist US politics:
- 2012/07/31: ClarionLedger: Study: Dispersants may have hurt Gulf food chain
A study on possible effects of the 2010 BP oil spill indicates dispersants may have killed plankton - some of the ocean's tiniest plants and creatures - and disrupted the food chain in the Gulf of Mexico, one of the nation's richest seafood grounds. Scientists who read the study said it points toward major future effects of the spill. One called its findings scary. - 2012/08/04: PSinclair: Romney Now a Windbagger. In Battleground Iowa, That's a Problem
- 2012/08/03: TreeHugger: Romney's Folly: Ending Tax Breaks for Wind Power
- 2012/08/02: TP:JR: Iowa's GOP Governor Blasts Romney Campaign On Wind Tax Credits: They Need To 'Come Out Here To The Real World'
- 2012/08/02: DeSmogBlog: What To Expect When You're Electing: Mitt Romney's Energy Advisors
- 2012/08/01: TP:JR: Poll: 77 Percent of Latinos Understand Global Climate Change Is 'Already Happening'
- 2012/08/01: TP:JR: Jurassic Park: Romney's 'Bush-Era' Energy Team Is Dominated By Fossil Fuel Insiders And Its Lobbyists
- 2012/07/31: TBAS: Conspiracy of silence: The irresponsible politics of climate change
The Keystone XL saga rolls along:
- 2012/07/30: Grist: TransCanada gets final OK for last leg of Keystone pipeline down middle of U.S.
- 2012/07/29: NYT: Canada's Oil, the World's Carbon
King Canute has put in another appearance:
- 2012/08/03: PSinclair: In N'oth Cay-lahna, Saahhnce is Agin' the Law
- 2012/08/02: GreenGrok: NC Sea Level Rise Bill Rises to the Status of Law
- 2012/08/02: Winston-SalemJournal: New law temporarily bans use of science panel's finding on sea levels
- 2012/08/01: UCSUSA:B: North Carolina Governor Perdue Balks on Sea Level Rise Science
The GOP War on Women continues:
- 2012/08/01: ACLU: Appeals Court Blocks Most Extreme and Dangerous Abortion Ban in the Nation
- 2012/07/29: NYT: Republicans vs. Women
Even with a persistent gender gap in a presidential election year, House Republicans have not given up on their campaign to narrow access to birth control, abortion care and lifesaving cancer screenings. Far from it. - 2012/08/01: RawStory: Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) files anti-abortion amendment to cyber security bill
- 2012/07/31: Wonkette: Arizona Republicans Manage To Combine Wars On Women, Math
There is a concerted push to change the Ethanol Mandate because of the drought and drastically reduced crop:
- 2012/08/03: UCSUSA:B: Biofuels Policy Flexible Enough to Weather the 2012 U.S. Drought
- 2012/08/02: GG&G: Should the Ethanol Mandate be Temporarily Suspended?
- 2012/08/03: AutoBG: U.S. farmers say government should rethink ethanol policy during drought
- 2012/08/02: PlanetArk: US ethanol waiver would roil grains market: traders
- Wiki: Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007
- Wiki: Energy Policy Act of 2005
- 2012/07/31: EnergyBulletin: It's time to reconsider our biofuel policy
- 2012/07/31: WaPo: Amid a devastating drought, does it still make sense to use corn for fuel?
- 2012/07/30: NYT: Corn for Food, Not Fuel
- 2012/07/31: PlanetArk: Livestock groups seek drought relief with ethanol waiver
- 2012/07/30: Guardian(UK): US farmers urge Obama administration to suspend ethanol quota amid drought
- 2012/07/30: PlanetArk: Petition to waive ethanol mandate may come next week
The actions of the Obama administration are being watched closely:
- 2012/08/02: CSW: Policymaker evasiveness on climate change and drought, cont'd
- 2012/08/03: NYT: [Cass R. Sunstein] Powerful Shaper of U.S. Rules Quits, With Critics in Wake
As for what is going on in Congress:
- 2012/08/05: TP:JR: Why Drought-Stricken Farmers Will Pay The Price For A Failed Climate Bill
- 2012/08/02: CNN: No drought aid for farmers, ranchers as Congress breaks for summer
- 2012/08/03: CCP: George Monbiot rakes Sen. James In Hoax Inhofe over the coals of Koch Industries and oil money: Dance With the One Who Brung You
- 2012/08/03: LA Times: As drought worsens, Congress can't agree on farm relief
The rival parties fail to pass even a scaled-down stopgap measure before the August recess. - 2012/08/01: Wired:DR: Senate Panel [defense appropriations subcommittee] Keeps Navy's Biofuel Plan Afloat
- 2012/08/02: NYT: Amid a Political Calm, a Tax Break for the Wind Industry Advances
[...]
The Senate Finance Committee voted to renew a tax credit for wind power that is set to expire at the end of this year, with several Republicans joining Democrats to support extending the credit for one more year at a cost of $3.3 billion. - 2012/08/02: TP:JR: Message To House GOP About Drilling On Public Lands: 'All Of The Above' Does Not Mean 'All Of The Acres'
- 2012/08/03: SciAm:Obs: Senators Fiddle While Deep Ocean Temperatures Rise
- 2012/08/02: UCSUSA: House Drought Aid Package Harms Farmers in the Long Term
- 2012/08/03: Grist: Busy mocking the trees, Inhofe misses the forest fire
- 2012/08/03: 350orBust: Summer of Drought & Climate Science Doesn't Budge Senate Deniers
- 2012/08/02: PlanetArk: Drought bill offers livestock farmers up to $100,000 each
- 2012/08/02: Grist: Senators fiddle while nation burns
- 2012/08/02: NatureNB: Senate panel takes up climate, just for the record...
- 2012/08/01: ScienceInsider: Déjà Vu at Senate Climate Hearing
- 2012/08/01: TreeHugger: Scientists to Congress: This Summer's Extreme Weather Was Caused by Climate Change
- 2012/08/02: Eureka: Stanford expert brings climate change science to heated Capitol Hill
- 2012/08/01: TP:JR: Senator Jeff Sessions (R-Alabama): 'I Am Offended' By Views Of Climate Scientists
- 2012/08/01: Guardian(UK): Climate change the cause of summer's extreme weather, Congress told
IPCC scientists tell Senate committee drought, wildfires and hurricanes are becoming normal because of climate change - 2012/08/01: QuarkSoup: Liveblogging the Senate Hearing
- 2012/07/31: CSW: US drought planning: Congress reviews the National Integrated Drought Information System
- 2012/07/31: HuffPo: Bill Magwood, NRC Democrat, Is 'Treacherous, Miserable Liar' And 'First-Class Rat,' Says Harry Reid
- 2012/07/31: TP:JR: Senate Climate Hearings Hosted By Denialists, Obstructionists
- 2012/07/29: BBerg: Drought of Ideas in Congress Is Worse Than in Farm Belt
- 2012/07/30: PlanetArk: House drought bill keeps $5 billion subsidy targeted by reformers
While in the UK:
- 2012/08/01: NewStatesman: Why is Boris Johnson promoting climate change "sceptics"?
The Mayor of London's championing of Matt Ridley raises questions over his commitment to science. - 2012/07/31: TreeHugger: Tidal Power Could Inject £3 Billion Each Year Into UK Economy
- 2012/07/30: Guardian(UK): Scotland opens first marine energy park
- 2012/07/29: Guardian(UK): [UK] Coalition green policies are 'incoherent and failing to achieve objectives'
And in Europe:
- 2012/07/30: TreeHugger: Paris Gives Out Free Kits to Measure and Reduce Consumption of Water and Electricity
- 2012/07/30: AutoBG: France unveils green incentive to rescue auto industry
- 2012/07/29: PCat: President Hollande of France leads the way with a Tobin tax
Meanwhile in Australia:
- 2012/08/03: PlanetJ: Renewable Energy Targeted?
- 2012/08/03: ABC(Au): Synergy chairman labels green scheme disappointing
The Chairman of the state's electricity retailer, Synergy, has labelled the utility's green energy schemes 'hugely disappointing'. Synergy came under scrutiny last month when it announced customers who pay a premium for renewable energy would also be slugged the carbon tax. - 2012/08/04: ABC(Au): Green group may not oppose gas fracking
Conservationists say they believe shale gas can be extracted safely in Western Australia, but only if tougher regulations are placed on the industry. - 2012/08/02: PlanetJ: Government admits renewables becoming cheap
- 2012/08/02: ABC(Au): Concern climate change could affect far west water
- 2012/08/02: ABC(Au): $100m more sought for [WA] underground power[-lines] plan
- 2012/08/02: ABC(Au): Legal stoush looms over wind farm noise
The Tablelands Regional Council has voted to take court action against a wind farm at the centre of noise complaints near Ravenshoe in far north Queensland. The council will seek a court order to force the Windy Hill Wind Farm to shut down several turbines each night, until it proves it is complying with noise standards. It also wants the operator, RATCH-Australia, to conduct noise monitoring. - 2012/08/01: ABC(Au): CSG panel faces serious conflicts of interest
Members of an expert committee established by the Federal Government to assess controversial mining projects have financial links to the mining and gas industry. Lateline has learned that most members of a key independent body set up to assess coal seam gas and big coal mining projects have financial links to the mining and gas industry. The Federal Government established the expert committee earlier this year to provide impartial advice and allay community concerns about the environmental impact of CSG and coal mining. The Government says the potential conflict of interests can be managed, but communities and some academics say it calls into question the very independence of the committee. - 2012/08/01: ABC(Au): Underwater wave power generator seeks Clean Energy funding
- 2012/08/01: ABC(Au): Study allays concerns about CSG
The Namoi Water Study should allay community concern about the impact of mining for coal seam gas, according to an industry body. - 2012/07/31: ABC(Au): Office flooded by appeals against gas hub
A decision by the state's environmental watchdog to endorse the Kimberley gas hub has attracted a record number of appeals. More than 200 appeals have been lodged against EPA chairman Paul Vogel's recommendation that the project go ahead with strict conditions. Dr Vogel made the decision alone after the rest of the board were found to have potential conflicts of interest. - 2012/07/31: ABC(Au): Green group sees red over court case
The North East Forest Alliance will meet with the Environment Protection Authority today to find out why legal action over logging breaches was dropped. NEFA spokesman Dailan Pugh says a court case over logging breaches in an area west of Evans Head was supposed to start last week.
[...]
"We don't know what's going on, we don't know if it's political interference or whether they're just incompetent, but it's happening to us time and time again. "We're reporting breaches of NSW environmental laws to the Environment Protection Authority and they're not taking and regulatory action. "They're a failure." - 2012/07/30: ABC(Au): Police investigate Ashby teen-sex claims
In the latest explosive twist in the Peter Slipper-James Ashby saga, 7.30 can reveal Mr Ashby, the staffer who made the allegation of sexual harassment against the Speaker, is himself being investigated over alleged relationships with two 15-year-old boys. The claims come from a Queensland man who contacted Mr Slipper after Mr Ashby launched his case. The young man says he had a sexual relationship with Mr Ashby in Townsville in 2003, when he was 15 and Mr Ashby was in his mid-twenties. - 2012/08/03: ABC(Au): Carbon farming warning
A warning has been given to landholders looking at taking part in carbon farming. Addressing a forum in Armidale yesterday, Mick Keogh, Executive Director of the Australian Farm Institute, said farmers need to explore their tax liabilities before signing any contracts. - 2012/08/02: ABC(Au): Growcom says Federal Government is ignoring its carbon tax concerns
Queensland's horticulture lobby group says the Federal Government is ignoring the "collateral damage" of the carbon price to its industry. Growcom says the government flippantly rejected its assessment of the effect of the carbon price on the horticulture sector. Growcom's policy manager Dave Putland says his organisation doesn't reject the idea of a carbon tax; it just wants the Commonwealth to take another look at the policy's consequences for fruit and vegetable growers. - 2012/08/02: ABC(Au): Farmers to be trained in monitoring soil carbon
Over the next two years, almost 1,800 farmers from the NSW central west, Riverina and western Victoria will be trained to monitor carbon in their soil. It's driven by new research which shows paddocks can store up to 10 times more carbon in the top 30 centimetres of the soil if grain stubble is left in after harvest. - 2012/08/02: ABC(Au): More scrutiny of power providers
The electricity watchdog says it's watching power generators, to make sure they're not abusing their power to affect wholesale electricity prices in the wake of the carbon tax. The Australian Energy Regulator says there have been some unusually high price rises since the introduction of the tax. - 2012/08/02: ABC(Au): Providers scrutinised over electricity price rises
The Australian Energy Regulator says it has noticed some unusually high prices in the wholesale electricity market since the introduction of the carbon tax. The watchdog says it will continue to monitor power generators amid accusations that Macquarie Generation in New South Wales and others in Victoria and South Australia have been manipulating prices. - 2012/08/01: ABC(Au): Clarence Valley Council urged to act carbon tax
- 2012/07/31: ABC(Au): Gym fined for false carbon tax claims
A Melbourne gym has become the first business to be fined by the competition regulator for making misleading claims about the impact of the carbon tax. The ACCC has fined Genesis Fitness Club, in Berwick in Melbourne's south-east, $6,600 for claiming the carbon tax could increase the cost of gym memberships. - 2012/07/31: ABC(Au): Carbon tax partly blamed for manufacturing slump
- 2012/07/31: ABC(Au): Clarence Valley Council to pay carbon tax [unless it can get carbon dioxide emissions below 25 thousand tonnes a year]
- 2012/07/31: ABC(Au): Carbon tax delay considered for NSW power sell-off
The New South Wales Government is considering whether its sale of state electricity assets should be delayed, in case the carbon tax is repealed. Federal Opposition Leader Tony Abbott has pledged to axe the tax if the Coalition wins the federal election next year. - 2012/07/30: ABC(Au): Poll shows carbon tax fear easing
The Murray-Darling Basin Plan controversy continues:
- 2012/08/04: ABC(Au): Full water storages and huge river flows from Victoria through the Murray-Darling
Goulburn Murray Water says the majority of its storage's are at more than 90 percent capacity. - 2012/08/02: ABC(Au): Basin plan talks focus on SA's legal rights
A group of legal experts has told a forum in Adelaide that there are legal grounds to challenge the Murray-Darling Basin Plan. Five legal experts addressed a forum at the University of Adelaide last night, to discuss the legal rights of South Australia in regards to the plan. - 2012/08/02: ABC(Au): Mixed reaction to Namoi Water Study
- 2012/08/01: ABC(Au): Namoi Water Study highlights data gaps
More than 2 years in the making, the final stage of the Namoi Catchment Water Study is now available for public scrutiny. - 2012/07/30: ABC(Au): More water to be let out of Menindee Lakes
- 2012/07/30: ABC(Au): Thousands of Swan River fish die from algal bloom
And in the Indian subcontinent:
- 2012/08/02: CCurrents: Who Benefits From Nuclear Power Plants In India?
- 2012/07/31: CCurrents: CPCB Submits Error Ridden Misleading Affidavit, Fails To File Report On Groundwater Contamination Around Site Of Bhopal's Industrial Disaster In Supreme Court
While in China:
- 2012/08/02: ABC(Au): Climate campaigner says Chinese making carbon reduction a priority
A leading Chinese climate change scholar says China is doing more to combat climate change than it gets credit for. - 2012/07/30: Guardian(UK): Anti-nuclear campaigners launch Japan's first green party
Greens Japan promises voters to put environment first and abolish nuclear power plants - 2012/07/26: UPI: Saudis, Emirates push nuclear power plans
Saudi Arabia is pressing ahead with its ambitious plans to develop nuclear power to meet rising electricity demand, and save oil for export. - 2012/08/02: NatureN: Brazil's fund for low-carbon agriculture lies fallow -- Farmers remain sceptical of programme to reduce agricultural carbon emissions
- 2012/07/30: NatureNB: National security trumps indigenous rights on development projects in Brazil
In Canada, neocon PM Harper pushes petroleum while ignoring climate change:
- 2012/08/03: TStar: Harper moves to streamline B.C. pipeline review process
The Harper government moved Friday to streamline the review and decision-making process for the proposed Northern Gateway oil pipeline, which has emerged as one of the most contentious mega-projects of modern times. To prevent any more delays in the National Energy Board-directed study of the feasibility of the $6-billion plan to ship oilsands-derived crude through northern British Columbia, the Conservatives said the review must be completed by no later than December 2013. The government also formalized new rules that for the first time give the Harper cabinet the final word on whether the pipeline should go ahead, even if the arms-length NEB-led panel concludes the project is environmentally unsound. - 2012/08/04: PaiD: Harper's Parody of Democracy
- 2012/08/04: PostMedia: Canada needs energy diversity: federal documents
A dependence on fossil fuel resources is making the country vulnerable to a planetary "mega trend" toward low-carbon energy that "will affect the whole of Canada's economy," Natural Resources Minister Joe Oliver was told in newly released internal briefing notes. - 2012/07/31: TStar: Conservative line hypocritical
- 2012/07/30: PostMedia: Harper has little to gain by wading into B.C.-Alberta Gateway oil spat, observers say
B.C.'s ultimatum for Ottawa and Alberta to come to the table on the Northern Gateway pipeline fight is forcing Prime Minister Stephen Harper's hand on a project the federal government already has deemed to be in the "national interest." The Harper government, however, is doing its best to stay out of the bitumen battle, especially on the question of B.C. getting its "fair share" of economic benefits, possibly including federal tax revenue. - 2012/07/30: Maribo: Proposed pipelines undermine Canada's climate target for 2020
The G20 controversy lingers:
- 2012/08/04: TLS: 'Celebrating' the G20 in Toronto
Regarding a national energy strategy:
- 2012/07/30: G&M: What is a national energy strategy?
Alberta Premier Alison Redford is right: Canada clearly needs to develop a national energy strategy. But where many of our national and provincial leaders are wrong is in how they define what a national energy strategy is. Unlike most efforts now under way in Canada, a national energy strategy is not about exploiting the country's vast resource riches. A national energy strategy is not about promoting specific actions, such as developing the oil sands or pipelines. It's not even about expanding development of renewable energy sources or advancing efficiency standards. Overall, an energy strategy is not about what can be done or -- in the eyes of some observers -- should be done. Instead, an energy strategy is a long-term and adaptive framework for guiding decisions about energy development and delivery. It is a deliberative process that encourages involvement from all key stakeholders and gives each a legitimate role in addressing the tradeoffs that are key to the decisions at hand. It is a way to organize information and dialogue about energy options and consequences. And it is a way to structure choices about energy in a manner that facilitates, and more efficiently incorporates, learning. - 2012/08/01: EmbassyMag: Yemeni envoy, a former Nexen employee and oil minister, sees positives in CNOOC bid -- NDP wants public review after SEC alleges insider trading
- 2012/08/02: MWatch: China's Nexen takeover has a big U.S. hedge -- Harper is likely to approve the deal, and China will profit
- 2012/08/01: G&M: Harper can't ignore opposition to Nexen sale by his political base
Since the Harper gang started calling environmentalists terrorists, a mixture of ridicule and concern has coloured the debate:
- 2012/08/02: iPolitics: Policing the police state
- 2012/07/31: MSimon: The Pipeline and the Terrorist Menace
- 2012/07/29: WMTC: memo to rcmp and csis: it's not the environmentalists who are radical. it's the harper government
The battle over the Northern Gateway pipeline rages on:
- 2012/08/03: CBC: Feds set Gateway pipeline deadline amid Moore's concerns
Senior B.C. Minister James Moore said Wednesday it's 'simply not true' pipeline will be rammed through The federal government has set a firm deadline of Dec. 31, 2013 for the review panel deciding the future of the Northern Gateway pipeline, shutting down the possibility of further extensions and putting into place the expedited assessment process pledged in its budget implementation bill. - 2012/08/03: BCLSB: How Enbridge Fixes An Exposed Pipe
- 2012/08/01: Tyee: It Just Gets Worse: NTSB's Final Flaying of Enbridge -- US federal investigator's latest 'Summary of Enbridge Organizational Deficiencies' reprinted here
- 2012/08/03: TheCanadian: Rafe Responds to Gwyn Morgan's Attack on 'Environmental Zealots' Opposing Enbridge
- 2012/08/03: PaiD: Harper's Political Posturing
- 2012/08/02: TStar: Conservatives running out of bogeymen on the Northern Gateway pipeline project
- 2012/08/02: CBC: Enbridge sure Northern Gateway can meet safety demands
- 2012/08/02: BCLSB: Northern Gateway Pot Pourri
- 2012/08/01: TheCanadian: Rafe Responds to Far-Right Wing Fraser Institute Fellow, Defender of Enbridge Pipeline
- 2012/07/30: G&M: B.C. natives willing to 'go to the wall' against Enbridge pipeline
The proposed Enbridge pipeline is the largest issue ever faced by B.C.'s aboriginal community, native leader Stewart Phillip declared Monday, as he vowed a long, protracted fight, including blockades and mass protests, against the project, if it is allowed to proceed. - 2012/07/31: TMoS: Enbridge Shut Out Again
- 2012/07/31: WCEL: Enbridge foes: Schedule your statement so you don't get Calgaried
[...] Calgarians who were registered to speak found out the hard way -- if you snooze your public hearing gets cancelled. - 2012/07/30: TStar: B.C. premier's stance unlikely to affect Northern Gateway Pipeline
- 2012/07/30: PostMedia: The 'petro dictators' are among us
British Columbia Premier Christy Clark's belated but necessary assertion of B.C.'s bottom lines on the preposterously irresponsible $5.6 billion Enbridge Inc. pipeline-and-tanker scheme has caused a great deal of windy indignation to erupt from Ottawa. Clark is hijacking the prospects for a national energy strategy, we're told. Even worse, what's at stake is the delicate balance of Confederation itself. The thing to notice is that what the federal Conservatives share with the Opposition New Democrats and Liberals is a comical inability to open their mouths on these subjects without insulting the intelligence of nine out of 10 Canadians. That's the proportion of us who showed up in a February Harris Decima survey to affirm the obvious, which is that encouraging Beijing's police-state racketeers to take over Canadian oilsands corporations - this is the core of the "national energy strategy" on offer, by the way - is unpardonably stupid and reckless. - 2012/07/31: PostMedia: Time for leaders to sheath swords in pipeline palaver Harper, Clark and Redford need to sit down and craft a win-win-win solution to Northern Gateway conundrum
- 2012/07/30: CCP: Canadian First Nations hold the cards in Northern Gateway battle with Enbridge over the tar sands (dilbit) pipeline
- 2012/07/30: BCLSB: In The Event of An Oil Spill, Enbridge Will Pay
- 2012/07/30: TMoS: First Nations Fiercely Reject Northern Gateway
- 2012/07/30: TMoS: Ex EnviroMin David Anderson - Northern Gateway Bad but Enbridge Even Worse
- 2012/07/30: CBC: B.C. Enbridge pipeline critics say money not the issue -- Latest spill proves Northern Gateway risks too great, they say
- 2012/07/29: PostMedia: Enbridge oil spill in Wisconsin raises new concerns about proposed pipeline
- 2012/07/29: TMoS: Hey Canada, Do You Really Want to Talk?
- 2012/07/29: CBC: Enbridge oil spill [in Wisconsin] worries B.C. pipeline critics
And the Kinder Morgan expansion:
- 2012/08/04: G&M: Trans Mountain: The other Pacific pipeline [aka Kinder Morgan]
- 2012/08/02: TheCanadian: Conservative MP James Moore Dumps Enbridge for Kinder Morgan, Needs Refresher on Company's Record
- 2012/07/31: PostMedia: Pipeline war with Alberta escalates as B.C. adds [Kinder Morgan] Trans Mountain expansion to 'fair share' list
A new pipeline battle between the Alberta and B.C. governments could soon be raging over the expansion of an old oil line that runs to the West Coast. While public attention is focused on Enbridge's controversial Northern Gateway pipeline proposal, B.C. Environment Minister Terry Lake stresses his government also expects a planned expansion of the existing Trans Mountain line to meet five conditions for heavy oil transport in the province. - 2012/08/04: CBC: Northern Gateway pipeline could go north
With Mackenzie Valley pipeline on hold, Northwest Territories looking at 'other options' Should B.C. Premier Christy Clark follow through her promise to block the proposed Northern Gateway pipeline if her conditions for the project aren't met, Northwest Territories Premier Bob McLeod says he would be prepared to step in and support a "northern route" that would see bitumen shipped from Alberta north to the N.W.T. and out to Asia. That's because the Mackenzie Valley pipeline, a $16.2-billion project intended to transport natural gas from the Beaufort Sea through the Northwest Territories, south to a hub in northwestern Alberta and out to North American markets, has been put on hold after its investors suspended the funding. - 2012/08/03: Impolitical: National Farmers Union adds context to pardons
- 2012/08/02: PostMedia: Wheat board pardons from Harper could open the door to abuse of power, critics charge
- 2012/08/03: G&M: Wheat farmers lose a tool in the winds of change
The winds of change are sweeping through the Prairies this summer, the federal government having stripped the Canadian Wheat Board of its marketing monopoly on wheat and barley. Since 1943, the wheat board has had the exclusive authority to sell these grains on behalf of farmers, returning to them all of the proceeds minus the costs of administration. This week, the “single desk” system ceased to exist, ushering in the biggest change in Prairie farming in at least two generations. - 2012/08/01: Impolitical: The pardoner in chief
- 2012/08/01: CBC: Tories pardon farmers arrested under old wheat board law
Prime Minister Stephen Harper in Saskatchewan to celebrate end of Canadian Wheat Board monopoly - 2012/08/01: PostMedia: Conservatives celebrate end of Canadian Wheat Board marketing monopoly
- 2012/07/31: CTV: Wheat Board's death a seismic shift for Prairie agriculture
- 2012/07/31: CBC: Canadian Wheat Board monopoly nears its end
The ISA/PRV/IHN/Alpha virus in Canadian waters is potentially disastrous:
- 2012/08/03: CBC: IHN virus detected at Sunshine Coast fish farm
A fish farm on B.C.'s Sunshine Coast has been quarantined after an apparent breakout of the infectious hematopoietic necrosis salmon virus. Greig Seafood says it voluntarily quarantined its salmon farm at Culloden Point in Jervis Inlet after lab tests revealed preliminary positive results for the IHN virus. - 2012/08/03: AlexandraMorton: Letter to Sue Farlinger
- 2012/07/31: TheCanadian: [IHN] Salmon Virus Detected at Yet Another Norwegian Fish Farm in Clayoquot Sound
In BC, the stage is set. Now what will Clark and Dix do?
- 2012/08/04: PCat: Why a B.C government should halt oil pipelines crossing the province
- 2012/08/04: RHughes: It is a Long Fracking Road From Heaven To Shell!
- 2012/08/03: CBC: Gateway pipeline debate not shifting B.C. voters
- 2012/08/03: LiP: How You can Have Your Healthy Environment and Eat Farmed Salmon Too
- 2012/08/02: G&M: B.C. residents not energetic about energy, see little benefit in oil projects
Fresh off a trip along the B.C. coast that had him meet with several first nations -- and having watched his rival steal all the headlines in the energy debate -- New Democrat Leader Adrian Dix said it's time to stop focusing on pipeline politics. - 2012/08/03: PostMedia: B.C. wants feds to beef up environmental laws, funding
Ottawa must strengthen regulations and inspection requirements to protect the land and the ocean before B.C. will sup-port Enbridge's $6-billion Northern Gateway project, B.C. Environment Minister Terry Lake said Thursday. He said the federal funds available to clean up marine spills must also increase. Lake's comments came as the National Energy Board announced stepped-up audits at Enbridge's control centre in Edmonton, and U.S. regulators told the company it could not restart a Wisconsin pipe-line following a recent leak until it hired an independent party to supervise a new safety plan. - 2012/08/02: TheCanadian: Dix Should be Questioned on his Free Pass for Kinder Morgan
- 2012/08/01: G&M: Gateway pipeline standoff fails to give B.C. Liberals a boost with voters
- 2012/07/30: VanObs: BC "not for sale" to Enbridge Northern Gateway, say aboriginal and former government leaders
- 2012/08/01: TheCanadian: Clark's 'Tough New Stand' on Enbridge Not Only Meaningless but EPICly Duplicitous
- 2012/08/01: CBC: 1 out of 5 natural gas drilling projects stalled in B.C.
B.C.'s natural gas-rich northeast is being pinched by plummeting natural gas prices - 2012/08/01: CBC: B.C. residents could be swayed on Northern Gateway pipeline
Angus Reid online survey shows 59 per cent against proposed Enbridge project - 2012/07/30: TheCanadian: First Nations Outraged by Clark Government's Latest Position on Enbridge Pipeline
- 2012/07/31: TheCanadian: Enbridge Flip-Flops, LNG Pipeline, New Salmon Farm in Clayoquot Perplexing
- 2012/07/30: Tyee: Christy Clark's Wrong Way Walkout
Stepping out of energy talks looks bold, but she's chosen a bad path for BC and Canada. - 2012/07/31: PostMedia: Clark's parochial pipeline play puts price on environment -- British Columbians playing the role of the trolls under the bridge
- 2012/07/31: G&M: Proposed pipelines all risk, little reward for B.C.: report
Alberta stands to rake in more than half a trillion dollars in taxes over 25 years should three major pipeline projects -- all facing stiff opposition -- proceed, a new report says. British Columbia will receive just a trickle in comparison, even though the proposed Northern Gateway pipeline and Trans Mountain network will snake through the province and oil tankers will ship out of its ports. - 2012/07/29: PostMedia: Why B.C. and Alberta can't get along (but could)
- 2012/07/30: iPolitics: Premier Clark and the numbers behind 'a pipeline-for-a price'
Meanwhile in that Mechanical Mordor known as the tar sands:
- 2012/08/03: GEP: Is CCS for Oil Sands Going Too Far?
- 2012/08/04: ChronicleHerald: wise to hazards of the Alberta quicksands
Here's the real news on the big event at the recent Halifax premiers' conference. It was yet another signal that what we gingerly call the oilsands in Canada, but which the rest of the world -- including conservative journals like the Economist -- decidedly calls the tarsands, and which are meant to serve as the pillar of the Canadian economy in the Stephen Harper vision, are actually quicksands in both the environmental and economic sense. - 2012/07/31: OilChange: Tar sands tax loophole highlighted in two more reports
And in Saskatchewan:
- 2012/08/03: PEF: Agrium Halves Potash Royalties
In Manitoba:
- 2012/08/02: CBC: Lake Winnipeg cleanup gets $18M more in federal funds
In Ontario:
- 2012/08/01: CBC: Wind opponents demand Ontario reveal density of turbines
Critics say no map of turbine locations exists but energy minister insists information is out there - 2012/08/01: BCLSB: Wind Concerns Ontario Speaks Out On Death Threats
- 2012/07/31: CBC: Wind turbine worker threatened with gun -- Man said he was confronted while doing preliminary site work
- 2012/08/01: BCLSB: Anti-Wind Groups Should Renounce Violence
- 2012/07/30: PostMedia: Province asks for federal disaster funds for Eastern Ontario drought
After a long, dry summer that has devastated crops across Eastern Ontario, the province is asking the federal government for disaster relief. A spokesman for Ted McMeekin, Ontario's minister of agriculture, confirmed that the ministry had officially requested aid under the AgriRecovery framework for disaster relief on Monday. The federal government has 45 days to respond to the request. - 2012/08/01: CBC: Charlottetown water use 'unsustainable'
- 2012/07/31: CBC: Muskrat Falls deal moves ahead with legal signing
1,500 pages of contract details another milestone on road to decision about project sanction - 2012/08/02: P3: Critique of Classical Economics
- 2012/07/26: TWP: Space, Time and Pinhead Economics
IPAT [Impact = Population * Affluence * Technology] raised its head once again. See also:
- 2012/08/03: Guardian(UK): The implications of overpopulation are terrifying. But will we listen to them?
The Royal Court's new play about overpopulation, Ten Billion, could be seen as a wake up-call -- or just a cry of despair - 2012/08/05: BBC: UN urges Philippines to pass free contraceptives bill
The United Nations has urged the Philippines to pass a bill that will allow the government to provide free contraceptives. - 2012/08/01: S&R: Lack of access to abortion threatens the integrity of the family
- 2012/08/01: al Jazeera: Poor women have free will, too
Appeals for birth control use in poorer nations is a question for the women, not the Catholic Church. - 2012/07/30: Grist: Feminist funnywoman Caitlin Moran says the planet doesn't need your babies
- 2012/07/30: ACLU: Court Upholds Most Extreme and Dangerous Abortion Ban in the Nation -- ACLU and Center for Reproductive Rights Vow to Appeal to Protect Women's Health
How do the media measure up?
- 2012/08/03: P3: We Have All Been Here Before
- 2012/08/02: HotTopic: Fairfax and Stuff.co.nz: presenting propaganda as opinion and lies as fact
- 2012/08/02: KSJT: Science News Loses its Editor, Tom Siegfried
- 2012/08/02: MediaMatters: The Wall Street Journal: Dismissing Environmental Threats Since 1976
- 2012/08/02: WtD: Fairfax starts trumpeting Rinehart's agenda: today's op-ed by climate crank David Evans
- 2012/07/31: PaiD: Media Quietude Over Climate Change
- 2012/07/31: ABC(Au): Planet Ark founders cut ties with 'lost' organisation
The founders of environment group Planet Ark are speaking out about the charity they say has lost its way. Environmentalist Jon Dee and tennis great Pat Cash founded Planet Ark 20 years ago. - 2012/07/30: TStar: Extreme weather fails to trigger discussion on climate change
As one sweltering day melted into another this month, it occurred to me that perhaps climate change is a hoax. How else to explain the way the media all but ignore the subject of climate change in the midst of extreme weather? Is it weird to think there could be a connection? - 2012/08/01: TP:JR: Would Gordon Gekko Go Green?
[Book Review] _Green is Good: Save Money, Make Money, and Help Your Community Profit from Clean Energy_ by Brian Keane - 2012/08/04: BCLSB: The Medieval Warm Period And Other Sciency Stuff
- 2012/08/02: TP:JR: Stunning Video: View From International Space Station Reminds Us What We Can Achieve And What We Must Protect
- 2012/07/31: WtD: Video of the day: This is what global warming looks like 2.0
- 2012/07/30: PSinclair: New Video: This is Not Cool - 2012 Drought Update
Meanwhile among the 'Sue the Bastards!' contingent:
- 2012/08/03: PlanetArk: Chevron says Ecuador arbitration to stretch into 2014
The panel, formed via The Hague's Permanent Court of Arbitration under the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law, is hearing a dispute over whether Ecuador violated a treaty with the United States requiring it to guarantee Chevron a fair trial. An Ecuador court ruled against Chevron in February 2011. Last week, damages stemming from that hotly contested decision were increased to $19 billion from $18.2 billion. Chevron said the international tribunal will hear by late November about the scope of a 1998 settlement and release agreement given by Ecuador's government to Texaco, the company that operated in Ecuador. Chevron, based in San Ramon, California, east of San Francisco, purchased Texaco in 2001. - 2012/08/02: ABC(Au): Legal stoush looms over wind farm noise
- 2012/08/01: CCP: Medical doctor Alfonso Rodriguez sues state of Pennsylvania over gag order Act 13 which prohibits doctors from sharing information on toxic fracking chemicals with their patients injured by them -- states this violates his right to free speech
- 2012/07/31: NYT: West Virginia: Judge Strikes Down Water Rules
Developing a new energy infrastructure is a fundamental challenge of the current generation:
- 2012/08/03: TP:JR: Can Clean Energy Strike Back Against The Growing Smear Campaign?
- 2012/08/03: TreeHugger: California Got 20% of Its Power from Renewable Sources in the First Half of 2012
- 2012/08/04: QuarkSoup: What if Natural Gas Produced All Our Energy?
- 2012/08/01: TP:JR: Infographic On The Energy-Water Collision: How Hot, Dry Summers Impact Water and Power Generation
- 2012/08/01: SciAm:PI: Innovation Cleans Up Waste-to-Energy
Comparisons and energy transitions:
- 2012/07/31: PlanetArk: Nuclear power hard to justify in cheap gas world: GE
Hey! Let's contaminate the aquifer for thousands of years! It'll be a fracking gas!
- 2012/08/03: CSM: Fact sheet: How much does fracking really affect climate change?
- 2012/08/03: DeSmogBlog: Delaware Tax Haven: The Other Shale Gas Industry Loophole
- 2012/08/02: KSJT: AP:Who is doing research on fracking's health impacts? Almost nobody neutral
- 2012/08/02: TP:JR: Fracademia: Conflicts Of Interest Taint Important Research On Fracking
- 2012/08/02: ABC(Au): Shale gas extraction on the rise in Australia
- 2012/08/01: Grist: The secrets drillers can hide about the fracking in your backyard
- 2012/08/01: CCP: Medical doctor Alfonso Rodriguez sues state of Pennsylvania over gag order Act 13 which prohibits doctors from sharing information on toxic fracking chemicals with their patients injured by them -- states this violates his right to free speech
- 2012/07/31: HuffPo: The Real Story Behind the Fracking Debate by Peter H. Gleick
- 2012/08/01: DeSmogBlog: A "War on Shale Gas"?
- 2012/08/01: AtlanticCities: The Secrets Frackers Are Allowed to Keep
- 2012/07/31: OilChange: The Price of Fracking - Report Back from Stop the Frack Attack
- 2012/07/30: NBF: Energy News - Waterless LPG Natural Gas Fracking and Tanzania Uranium
- 2012/07/30: Grist: Smelling a leak: Is the natural gas industry buying academics?
On the coal front:
- 2012/08/02: Grist: Behind the scenes at a big mountaintop-mining protest [Hobet]: The good, the bad, and the ugly
- 2012/07/30: Eureka: 1 in 5 streams damaged by [surface coal] mine pollution in southern West Virginia
- 2012/07/29: CCP: RAMPS: Daring protesters shut down Obama-backed Hobet 45 mountaintop removal strip mine in West Virginia
On the gas and oil front:
- 2012/08/03: BBerg: Closing oil prices Friday
OIL (US$/bbl)
Nymex Crude Future...91.40
Dated Brent Spot....109.54
WTI Cushing Spot.....91.40 - 2012/08/02: CER:RRapier: Petroleum Demand in Developing Countries
- 2012/08/04: al Jazeera: Fallout from Nigerian oil spill haunts locals
Human rights groups say Shell has been slow to respond to 10,000 barrel oil spill in the Niger delta. - 2012/08/03: EnergyBulletin: Petroleum Demand in Developing Countries by Robert Rapier
- 2012/08/03: al Jazeera: Nigeria leaks billions from rampant oil theft
Oil firms and government say nearly 200,000 barrels of oil stolen each day from pipelines and wells by criminal gangs. - 2012/08/02: BBerg: Israel Finds $240 Billion Gas Hoard Stranded by Politics: Energy
- 2012/08/05: OilDrum: Tech Talk - an introduction to China
- 2012/07/29: DeSmogBlog: How Do You Spend $375 Million A Day? Ask The Oil Industry
In the gas and oil corps:
- 2012/08/03: Reuters: Petrobras posts first loss in 13 years; result shocks
- 2012/08/01: SaskBoy: BP Doesn't Pay
- 2012/07/31: CNN: BP suffers big drop in earnings
BP's quarterly earnings fell 35 per cent - It reported adjusted profit of $3.7bn, compared with $5.7bn a year ago - 2012/07/31: BBC: BP profits fall sharply after it cuts asset values
Oil giant BP has reported a sharp fall in profits in the second quarter of the year after it had to cut the value of a number of its key assets. The company made a replacement cost profit - which strips out the effect of oil price movements - of $238m (£151m) in the April to June quarter. This compares with a profit of $5.4bn a year earlier. - 2012/08/03: PlanetArk: US orders major Enbridge oil pipeline review after leak
- 2012/08/02: CBC: Enbridge faces new conditions on [Wisconsin] pipeline restart
- 2012/07/31: TMoS: Enbridge Shut Out Again
- 2012/07/31: CBC: Enbridge barred from restarting leaky oil pipeline
Wisconsin rupture 'absolutely unacceptable,' U.S. transport secretary says - 2012/07/30: TreeHugger: Another Enbridge Pipeline Spills, This Time in Wisconsin
Yes we have a peak oil sighting:
- 2012/07/30: CassandrasLegacy: Strahan demolishes Maugeri
- 2012/07/30: DStrahan: Monbiot peak oil u-turn based on bad science, worse maths
Biofuel bickering abounds:
- 2012/08/02: NBF: Using halophytes [salt-tolerant plants] to grow fuel
- 2012/07/31: EurActiv: EU biofuels claim challenged by academic study
German researchers have unveiled evidence suggesting that EU claims, according to which locally-produced rapeseed biodiesel cut back at least 38% of greenhouse gases (GHG) compared with fossil fuels, are unfounded. - 2012/07/30: AutoBG: Ethanol company CEO says the biofuel is a "most hated" industry
The answer my friend...:
- 2012/08/03: TreeHugger: New Bladeless Wind Turbine Claimed to be Twice as Efficient as Conventional Designs
- 2012/08/02: TP:JR: IEA: Global Wind Generation Set To Grow 40 Percent By 2017
- 2012/08/01: ABC(Au): Siemens to build Snowtown wind farm
- 2012/08/01: TreeHugger: Could Vertical Axis Wind Turbines be Used Offshore?
- 2012/07/30: TreeHugger: Impressive Beast! World's Longest Wind Turbine Rotor Blade Measures 246 Feet!
- 2012/07/31: BBC: Small wind turbines 'halve' bat numbers
A boom in the use of small wind turbines could be halving bat numbers in areas where they are put up, new research has suggested. - 2012/07/30: PSinclair: Wind Turbine Capacity: 50% is the New Normal
Meanwhile among the solar aficionados:
- 2012/08/03: TreeHugger: Germany Installs Over 4 Gigawatts of Solar Power in First Half of 2012
- 2012/08/02: TreeHugger: Rooftop Revolution: Go Solar to Save Money, Make a Difference
- 2012/07/31: CleanBreak: Costs, changing attitudes means the time for building-integrated solar PV has come... maybe
- 2012/08/02: KitsapSun: Bainbridge City Hall now hums with solar energy
- 2012/08/01: TreeHugger: Tokelau Will Be World's First 100% Solar Powered Nation by September
- 2012/08/01: PhiladelphiaInquirer: PSE&G seeks to energize its solar-energy program
- 2012/07/30: BBerg: Top U.S. Solar Company Profits Amid Red for Industry: Energy
- 2012/07/30: TP:JR: National Renewable Energy Laboratory: Solar Has The Most Potential Of Any Renewable Energy Source
- 2012/07/30: TreeHugger: India's Solar Power Passes 1 Gigawatt Mark, As Nation Has Worst Blackout in Past Decade
- 2012/07/29: Eureka: Breakthrough by U of T-led research team leads to record [7%] efficiency for next-generation solar cells
Researchers from the University of Toronto and King Abdullah University of Science & Technology have made a breakthrough in the development of colloidal quantum dot (CQD) films, leading to the most efficient CQD solar cell ever - 2012/07/29: NBF: Colloidal Quantum dot film solar cells reach 7% efficiency
The nuclear energy controversy continues:
- 2012/08/03: EneNews: CEO of GE says nuclear power "really hard" to defend financially - "At some point, really, economics rule"
- 2012/08/02: CCurrents: Who Benefits From Nuclear Power Plants In India?
- 2012/08/03: EneNews: Leaked Email: Nuclear operator [Southern California Edison] warns against leaking documents, specifically mentions Fairewinds Associates
- 2012/08/02: NBF: Canada and China work on Thorium Candu Fuel and India May Start Mining 1 million tons of Thorium
- 2012/07/31: NatureN: South Korean reactor to restart despite protests -- High electricity demand accelerates plans to reopen reactor after malfunction
- 2012/08/01: PeakEnergy: A climate risk to nuclear power
- 2012/07/31: NBF: South Korea starts up another nuclear reactor and begins construction on another APR-1400
- 2012/08/01: CCurrents: Are Fast-Breeder Reactors A Nuclear Power Panacea? [Pearce]
- 2012/07/30: TBAS: SILEX [Separation of Isotopes by Laser Excitation] and proliferation
- 2012/07/31: EneNews: AP: Link between nuclear weapons and nuclear power is "becoming increasingly clear" says Japan professor - Nuclear power industry not thrilled people are talking about it
- 2012/07/30: CSM: California nuclear plant: Up and running by year's end?
The operator of California's troubled San Onofre nuclear power plant [Southern California Edison] estimates that the damaged twin reactors could be running by the end of the year. - 2012/08/02: ABC(Au): [Alice Springs town] Council implored to oppose Muckaty nuclear dump
- 2012/07/30: Guardian(UK): Are fast-breeder reactors the answer to our nuclear waste nightmare?
More people are talking about the electrical grid:
- 2012/08/05: Grist: Investing in the grid: When the going gets tough, the tough get ... creative
- 2012/08/03: Grist: Could America see an India-style blackout?
- 2012/08/01: ITracker: The body electric
Automakers & lawyers, engineers & activists argue over the future of the car:
- 2012/07/31: GreenGrok: A Look at Electric Cars from Chevy and Tesla
- 2012/08/02: AutoBG: Cars are bad for climate change, which is in turn bad for roads
- 2012/07/30: TreeHugger: GE Unveils High-Efficiency Motor for Electric Cars and Hybrids
As for Energy Storage:
- 2012/08/02: TreeHugger: New Iron-Air Battery Could be Energy Storage Solution for Wind and Solar Power
- 2012/08/01: Eureka: Breaking the barriers for low-cost energy storage -- USC-led team develops a battery that could help California transition to renewable energy sources
Insurance and re-insurance companies are feeling the heat:
- 2012/08/04: CCP: U.S. Thunderstorm Insured Losses: 1980-2011
Joe Romm posts a daily list of top energy and climate stories:
- 2012/08/03: TP:JR: August 8 News...
- 2012/08/02: TP:JR: August 2 News...
- 2012/08/01: TP:JR: August 1 News...
- 2012/07/31: TP:JR: July 31 News...
- 2012/07/30: TP:JR: July 30 News...
Other (weekly) lists:
- 2012/08/03: EnergyBulletin: ODAC Newsletter
- 2012/07/30: BPA: Agriculture News
The carbon lobby are up to the usual:
- 2012/08/03: WtD: After such knowledge: response to Manne -- the diagnosis is outstanding, it is the corrective that is needed
- 2012/08/02: ABC(Au):TDU: Victory declared for the climate denialists
- 2012/08/02: RBroberg: Eschenbach's Poisson Pill: Take Two, Call Me In The Morning
- 2012/08/02: WtD: They make a desert and call it peace: Robert Manne on climate denials victory
- 2012/08/02: P3: Incoming AMS President Takes on Bastardi (and, Implicitly, RPJr)
- 2012/08/01: DeSmogBlog: Victory Declared For The Climate Science Denialists
- 2012/08/01: P3: Microwatts
- 2012/07/31: EnergyBulletin: ALEC Lets Corporations Craft Environmental Policy
- 2012/08/04: Tamino: The Small Picture
- 2012/08/01: SMandia: Hey Joe, Where You Goin' With That Dumb in Your Head? [Bastardi]
- 2012/07/31: QuarkSoup: This Has Become Farce [Watts]
- 2012/07/31: C&S: Tony - Free the Data, Free the Code
- 2012/07/31: MoJo: Notorious Astroturf Firm Nabbed Sending Forged Letters Has a New Name [Advocacy to Win]
- 2012/07/31: TP:JR: Coal Front Group Helps Back $6 Million Campaign Against Higher Renewable Energy Standard
- 2012/07/30: Stoat: Why Watts's new paper is doomed to fail review
- 2012/07/31: WtD: Conspiracy culture: how the Australian media overlooked the paranoid politics of the deniers
- 2012/07/30: PSinclair: Climate Change is Real, So What? Look for More of This Spin
- 2012/07/29: QuarkSoup: Venema Review of Watts et al 2012
- 2012/07/29: VV: Blog review of the Watts et al. (2012) manuscript on surface temperature trends
- 2012/07/29: WottsUWT: Press Release
- 2012/07/29: ITRacker: Quote of the Day: Watts on BEST
This week in intimidation:
- 2012/08/02: TP:JR: The Hidden Epidemic Of Murder: Environmentalists Are Being Killed In Record Numbers Around The World
As for climate miscellanea:
- 2012/08/03: EarlyWarning: Climate Change Action is Not Hopeless
- 2012/08/03: ScienceInsider: Bouncing Back From a Natural Disaster
- 2012/07/29: RI: Our current infrastructure was built for a different planet
- 2012/08/02: Tyee: Three Qualifiers to Bill McKibben's Climate Battle Cry
Viral Rolling Stone essay slamming fossil fuels is a must read, but here are three important annotations. - 2012/08/02: P3: What does a climate disaster look like?
- 2012/08/04: P3: Claims of Claims of Certainty
- 2012/08/01: Guardian(UK): Don't fall for comforting illusions of progress on climate change
- 2012/07/31: EnvEcon: Knowledge Problem: CO2 emission reductions: fracking, recession, renewables?
- 2012/08/01: Eureka: Cut emissions further or face risks of high air pollution, study shows
- 2012/08/01: UCSUSA:B: Will the 2012 U.S. Drought Burst the Farmland Property Bubble?
- 2012/07/31: CCurrents: Duty To Warn?
- 2012/07/31: CCurrents: Climate Crisis: All The Bad News, From The Southern Ocean To The US To Food To Kiribati
- 2012/07/31: ERabett: Bunny Bait
- 2012/07/30: TreeHugger: Powerful Storms, Climate Change Linked to Ozone Layer Depletion & Increased UV Radiation
- 2012/07/30: ITracker: Unintended consequences watch: ozone-eating derechos
- 2012/07/30: ERabett: Patricide Pleads for Mercy as an Orphan
- 2012/07/29: PaiD: The Cost of Profound Ignorance
And here are a couple of sites you may find interesting and/or useful:
- TIRN: Turtle Island Restoration Network
- NOAA: ClimateWatch Magazine
- The Department of Wild Salmon
- George Monbiot
- Wiki: Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007
- Wiki: Energy Policy Act of 2005
- International Surface Temperature Initiative
- Wiki: No true Scotsman
- The Superorganic
- Polar Sea Ice Cap and Snow - Cryosphere Today
- DOD Energy Blog
- Our Finite World
- CSIRO News Blog
- US Drought Monitor
- Global Forest Watch Canada
- Clean Technica
Live and direct from the laugh, it's funny, damnit department:
As for the geopolitics of Arctic resources:
The Atlantic is starting to talk:
Meanwhile on the GHG front:
As for the temperature record:
And on the ENSO front:
And the State of the Oceans:
More GW impacts are being seen:
While in the endless quest for zero energy, sustainable buildings and practical codes:
Regarding Gleick:
Regarding Swetnam:
Bingo! We have a Tobin tax!
South China Sea tension persists:
The solar panel trade war is spreading:
So, do you want the vulture capitalist or the hopey-changey kill-list guy?
The carbon bill is law. Now comes the implementation:
In Japan:
In the Middle East:
And South America:
There is a continuing background rumble over the CNOOC bid for Nexen:
I've been wondering if this would happen. Now it's on the table:
The legislated end of the old CWB happened this week, amidst unseemly celebration:
In the Maritimes:
The movement toward a long term ecologically viable economics is glacial:
Here is something for your library:
And for your film & video enjoyment:
And in pipeline news:
Nuclear waste storage requires _very_ long term thinking:
Low Key Plug
My first novel Water was published in Canada May, 2007. The American release was in October. An Introductionto the novel is available, along with the Unpublished Forewordand the Launch Talk(which includes some quotations), An overview of my writing is available here.
<regards>
P.S. Recent postings can be found in the week archive and the ancient postings can be accessed here, which should open to this.
I notice moyhu has set up a monster index to old AWoGWN on AFTIC."Our energy system depends on water. About half of the nation's water withdrawals every day are just for cooling power plants. In addition, the oil and gas industries use tens of millions of gallons a day, injecting water into aging oil fields to improve production, and to free natural gas in shale formations through hydraulic fracturing... All told, we withdraw more water for the energy sector than for agriculture. Unfortunately, this relationship means that water problems become energy problems that are serious enough to warrant high-level attention." -Dr. Michael Webber
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"scientists said Thursday, warning [Antarctica] could be ice-free again within decades"
That surely is a mistake in the reporting? Mixing up Antarctic long-term melting and the rapid decay of Arctic summer sea ice?
Nope, but it may be deliberate misunderstanding.
There is no quote there from the scientists saying "could be ice-free again within decades”. Only the author says that.
The closest I see to that sort of quote is this:
"CO2 is presently estimated at about 395ppm, and Welsh said the most extreme predictions by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) would see ice again receding on Antarctica “by the end of the century”."
Which is a few decades, I suppose, but definitely IS NOT "Ice Free".