Another Week of GW News, August 12, 2012

This weekly posting is brought to you courtesy of H. E. Taylor. Happy reading, I hope you enjoy this week's Global Warming news roundup

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Logging the Onset of The Bottleneck Years

August 12, 2012

• Chuckles, Rio+20, COP18+, 2 Degrees, Elgin, BEST, Truthiness
• Bottom Line, Pricing Nature, Thermodynamics, Cook
• Fukushima Note, Fukushima News, Nuclear Policy
• Melting Arctic, Greenland, Geopolitics
• Food Crisis, Fisheries, Prices, Food vs. Biofuel, GMOs, GMO Labelling, Production
• Hurricanes, Monsoon, GHGs, Carbon Cycle, Nitrogen Cycle, Temperatures
• Historical Climate, Attribution, ENSO, Oceans, Extinctions, Volcanoes
• Impacts, Forests, Disease, Wacky Weather, Extreme Weather
• Wildfires, Corals, Acidification, Glaciers, Sea Levels, Floods & Droughts
• Mitigation, Buildings, Sequestration, Geoengineering, Conservation
• Journals, Other Docs, Misc. Science, Models, Hansen, Mann, Pielke
• International Politics: UN, IPCC, Carbon Trade, Carbon Tax, Bank Tax
• Hormuz, South China Sea, EU ETS & Airlines, Rare Earths, Misc.
• Security, Activism, Polls, H2O Biz, Groundwater, Education
• National Politics: America, 2012, Keystone, Canute, Ethanol, NRC, Obama, USAdmin, Congress
• Britain, Europe, Australia, Carbon Law, Electricity, Murray-Darling, India, China, Africa
• Canada, Bill C-38, GHGs, Harper & Science, Nexen, Northern Gateway, McLeod
• CWB, Salmon, BC, Tar Sands, Alberta, Ontario, Maritimes, North, Canadiana
• Ecological Economics, IPAT, Apocalypso, Media, Books, Video, Courts
• Energy, Transitions, Fracking, Coal, Oil & Gas, Pipelines, Peak Oil, Biofuel
• Wind, Solar, Nukes, Nuclear Waste, LENR, Grid, Efficiency, Cars, Energy Storage
• Business, Joe's List, Carbon Lobby, Misc., Useful Links
• Shameless Self Promotion, .sig

 

Here's a wee chuckle for ye:

• 2012/08/10: uComics: (cartoon - Danziger) Tea Party Still Refuses Global Warming Facts
• 2012/08/11: DailyKos: (cartoon - TomTom) Nothing can be done
• 2012/08/11: TP:JR: (cartoon - Anderson) Cooking the Ostrich?
• 2012/08/08: ERabett: (cartoon - {modified} Wiley) Non Sequitur by way of Lotharson
• 2012/08/08: uComics: (cartoon - Rall) After ...the Apocalypse
• 2012/08/02: LA Times: (cartoon - Horsey) This Drought Kind Of Makes Me Wonder...
  

  Looking back at Rio+20:

• 2012/08/05: CCurrents: Failure And Hope From Rio+20
  

  Looking ahead to COP18 and future international climate negotiations:

• 2012/08/07: PlanetArk: Analysis: Green growth not targets needed for 2015 climate deal [Stavins]
  

  Todd Stern shook up many when he suggested 'flexibility' on the 2C target:

• 2012/08/02: US State Dept: Remarks at Dartmouth College by Todd Stern, Special Envoy for Climate Change
• 2012/08/09: BBC: Climate: 2C or not 2C?
  Comments by the US climate envoy last week discussing the value of the 2C target in international climate change negotiations have provoked quite a response.
• 2012/08/08: TheAfricanGroup: Africa Disappointed US Does Not Intend to Achieve 2C Climate Goal
• 2012/08/08: EurActiv: EU slams U.S. for backing away from climate goals
  The European Union and small island states criticised the United States on Tuesday (7 August) for backing away from a U.N. goal of limiting global warming to below 2 degrees Celsius. They urged almost 200 governments to stick to the target, one of the few agreed goals in international climate policy, even though U.S. climate envoy Todd Stern said it was unworkable.
• 2012/08/06: Yahoo:Reuters: Factbox - Main issues to be resolved in U.N. climate talks
• 2012/08/08: Reuters: U.S. affirms support for U.N. climate goal after criticism
  The United States reaffirmed support for a U.N. goal of limiting global warming after criticism from the European Union and small island states that Washington seemed to be backing away.
• 2012/08/07: BBC: US criticised on 2C climate 'flexibility' call
  The EU and small island states have criticised the US for saying the target of keeping global warming below 2C should be removed from climate talks.
• 2012/08/06: TP:JR: Obama Administration Abandons Two-Degree Commitment Made In 2010
• 2012/08/06: RTCC: US says two degree guarantee should be dropped by global climate change deal
  The 2°C guarantee should be dropped from the global climate change deal to allow for more flexibility and avoid deadlock, US Special Envoy for Climate Change Todd Stern has said.
• 
  

  Remember the Elgin leak in the North Sea?

   

• 2012/08/06: UPI: Total to abandon Elgin by September
  French energy company Total is expected to have a faulty well in the North Sea plugged by the middle of September, the British government said. Total announced natural gas was leaking from its Elgin complex off the coast of Aberdeen in late March. A dynamic kill operation stopped the leak by May.
• 
  

  The BEST project is still drawing comment:

   

• 2012/08/10: PostMedia: Climate skeptics turn into believers
  Berkeley scientist changes his tune upon reviewing a century of data and concludes that humans are to blame My email, usually chock-ablock with zeal for various global warming skeptics, climate conspiracy theorists and angry anti-green bloggers, has fallen silent on the contentious subject of late. Perhaps it's shock. An important authority for contrarians announced last week that the evidence now compels him to concede that humans are driving global warming. So global warming is happening. It's caused by the humans burning of fossil fuel. And it might occur a lot faster than expected if political will can't be mustered to address it, says University of California physicist Richard Muller.
• 2012/08/06: CJR: Muller's media circus
  Did the press fall for a climate-change publicity stunt?
• 2012/08/09: NBF: Richard Muller is a fake climate convert
• 2012/08/07: TStar: Climate change skeptic causes a stir with his about-face
  

  Here's something to keep your BS detector in shape:

• 2012/08/08: Eureka: Scientists discover the truth behind Colbert's 'truthiness' -- A picture inflates the perceived truth of true and false claims
  

  And on the Bottom Line:

• 2012/08/07: MIT News: The economic cost of increased temperatures -- Study: Warming episodes hurt poor countries and limit long-term growth
  

  So, If we put a price on nature, will it deal with externalities and lead to greater conservation
  or will it lead to greater exploitation or what?

• 2012/08/07: Guardian(UK): Putting a price on the rivers and rain diminishes us all
  Payments for 'ecosystem services' look like the prelude to the greatest privatisation since enclosure
• 
  

  Delving into the laws of thermodynamics this week:

   

• 2012/08/12: TSoD: Temperature Profile in the Atmosphere - The Lapse Rate
  

  John Cook and friends continue their point-counterpoint articles:

• 2012/08/12: SkS: Greenland ice sheet summer temperatures highest in 172 years by Daniel Bailey
• 2012/08/11: SkS: Massive Arctic storm batters sea ice by Neven
• 2012/08/09: SkS: Sequestering carbon nature's way: in coal beds by Sarah
• 2012/08/09: SkS: Pielke Jr and McIntyre Assist Christy's Extreme Weather Obfuscation by Albatross, dana1981
• 2012/08/08: SkS: Christy Once Again Misinforms Congress by dana1981
• 2012/08/07: SkS: New research from last week 31/2012 by Ari Jokimäki
• 2012/08/06: SkS: 'It's not looking good for corn' - new video from Peter Sinclair by John Mason
  

  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:

   

• 2012/08/11: DD: Wild mushrooms contaminated with radioactive cesium in Japan have highest 'official' measurement ever
• 2012/08/09: NYT: Videos Shed Light on Chaos at Fukushima as a Nuclear Crisis Unfolded
• 2012/08/09: Guardian(UK): Fukushima fishermen battle to turn the tide on a crippled industry
• 2012/08/07: ABC(US): Ex-PM Slams Utility Over Japan Nuke Crisis Video
  Ex-PM criticizes utility for limited release of edited videos after nuclear plant disaster
• 2012/08/09: EneNews: AP: Video shows plant officials 'freaked out'...
• 2012/08/08: DD: Prosecutors open criminal probes over 'man-made' Fukushima meltdown disaster
• 2012/08/07: Yomiuri: TEPCO video heavily altered -- Alternation shows utility's reluctance to make information available
• 2012/08/08: EneNews: Tepco Official on Unit 3: "We don't know if it was really a hydrogen explosion"
• 2012/08/08: EneNews: Asahi: Video shows Tepco's hastiness when reporting Unit 3 as a hydrogen explosion - Cause "has yet to be determined"
• 2012/08/07: BBerg: Tepco Weighed Using Firearms to Avoid Fukushima Explosion
• 2012/08/07: CBC: Fukushima disaster videos reveal chaos, communication failures
  'This is serious, this is serious!' nuclear plant chief yells in newly released footage
• 2012/08/06: EneNews: Tokyo Professor: Tepco deleted parts of video, people may suspect they have something to hide - NHK: Reporters banned from making copies, only 1/3 has audio (video)
• 2012/08/06: EneNews: Tepco officials left Tokyo headquarters soon after Reactor 1 exploded - Image not available to public - Claimed "their engineers remained to deal with the situation"
• 2012/08/07: EneNews: Tepco Footage: Top of containment vessel could be destroyed -- Several executives bury faces in hands, others sigh after talk of damaged containment
• 2012/08/01: Cryptome: Fukushima Daiichi NPS Reactor 4 in July 2012
• 2012/08/07: BBC: Tepco releases recordings of Fukushima nuclear crisis
  Videos from Tepco's Fukushima nuclear plant show managers and workers struggling with the accident after the 2011 tsunami critically damaged its reactors Tokyo Electric Power Company (Tepco), owner of the crippled Fukushima nuclear plant, has released footage of how it managed meltdowns in three reactors. In the footage, workers can be seen dealing with what they thought was an explosion and urgently trying to understand the scale of the problem. Tepco has faced criticism over the way it handled the nuclear crisis.
• 2012/08/07: BBC: How Tepco glossed over Fukushima's vulnerability
  The devastating conclusion that Japan's Fukushima nuclear meltdown was an accident waiting to happen has grabbed the headlines. But the investigation has also unearthed worrying questions about the catastrophe and its human cost that deserve attention. Buried in the main body of the official report are new insights into how events unfolded and how as many as 60 local residents died as a result of the muddled response.
• 2012/08/06: EneNews: Asahi: Disturbing picture emerging as nuclear employees come out of the woodwork -- Fukushima workers report groups clocking in with no dosimeters
  

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

• 2012/08/08: EneNews: Report: "Global public sentiment is still vehemently anti-nuclear" - "Extreme public resistance" in Japan, Italy, Germany, Belgium, Switzerland...
• 2012/08/06: EneNews: NHK: With support growing for the 0% nuclear power option, gov't to delay deadline for deciding on an energy policy (video)
  

  The Arctic melt continues to garner attention:

• 2012/08/12: CCP: Alien iceberg floating off US Arctic coast puzzles scientists
• 2012/08/12: HotTopic: Pump up the volume (before the ice is gone)
• 2012/08/11: HotTopic: Arctic sea ice forecast: it's going to be tough to stay cool
• 2012/08/11: ClimateShifts: Rate of arctic summer sea ice loss is 50% higher than predicted
• 2012/08/11: ASI: More news on CryoSat-2?
• 2012/08/11: Guardian(UK): Rate of arctic summer sea ice loss is 50% higher than predicted
• 2012/08/11: ArcticNews: Huge cyclone batters Arctic sea ice
• 2012/08/10: ArcticNews: Sea ice in the Arctic - Shaken and stirred (by a powerful cyclone)
• 2012/08/11: ASI: ASI 2012 update 9: stormy weather
• 2012/08/11: CCP: Water vapor belches over the North and South Poles
• 2012/08/10: ASI: New site with new thickness maps
• 2012/08/10: ASI: Arctic summer storm open thread 1
• 2012/08/10: IOTD: Strong Summer Cyclone Churns Over the Arctic
• 2012/08/09: TMoS: Arctic Sea Ice Isn't Just for Polar Bears
• 2012/08/09: ASI: Further detachment
• 2012/08/09: ERabett: Toujours Gai
• 2012/08/08: TP:JR: Arcticane: Massive Storm Batters Melting Sea Ice
• 2012/08/10: Tamino: (Cryosp)here today, gone tomorrow
• 2012/08/10: ERabett: Eunice Skates on Thin Ice
• 2012/08/10: Guardian(UK): Summer storm spins over the Arctic - big picture
• 2012/08/09: IOTD: Sea Ice Retreats in the Northwest Passage
• 2012/08/08: AFTIC: From Neven: Arctic storm part 3: detachment - Arctic Sea Ice
• 2012/08/06: NSIDC: A most interesting Arctic summer
• 2012/08/08: ASI: Arctic storm part 3: detachment
• 2012/08/07: PSinclair: Climate Crocks on Ice Update
• 2012/08/07: DeSmogBlog: Arctic Ice Decline Much Worse Than Expected
• 2012/08/07: Moyhu: Arctic Storm
• 2012/08/07: ASI: Arctic storm part 2: the color purple
• 2012/08/06: SciAm:Exp: Following the Ice 8: Epic Melting
• 2012/08/06: HotTopic: Favourite worst nightmare
• 2012/08/06: ASI: Arctic storm part 1: in progress
• 2012/08/06: Tamino: Sea Ice Poll
• 2012/08/05: Tamino: Harbinger?
• 2012/08/05: ERabett: One Day in the Death of the Arctic
  

  Greenland is still drawing comment:

• 2012/08/10: CCP: Jason Box: Early August 2012 Greenland ice reflectivity [albedo] dips again below 2 standard deviations
• 2012/08/08: CCP: Greenland ice sheet albedo feedback: mass balance implications, AGU 2012, Jason E. Box, Marco Tedesco, Xavier Fettweis, Dorothy K. Hall, Konrad Steffen, Julienne C. Stroeve
• 2012/08/07: HotTopic: Greenland's extraordinary summer #2: still melting
  

  As for the geopolitics of Arctic resources:

• 2012/08/07: EnergyBulletin: Profiteers of Climate Change in the Arctic
  

  The food crisis is ongoing:

• 2012/08/10: BPA: The Highly Anticipated USDA Corn, Soybean, Wheat, and Cotton Crop Report Released August 10 2012
• 2012/08/10: CNN: USDA predicts big drop in corn yield
• 2012/08/08: BWeek: Global Food Reserves Falling as Drought Wilts Crops: Commodities
  Stockpiles of the biggest crops will decline for a third year as drought parches fields across three continents, raising food-import costs already forecast by the United Nations to reach a near-record $1.24 trillion.
• 2012/08/09: AllAfrica:WFP: WFP and Partners Prepare for Food Shortages As Poor Harvest Hits Zimbabwe
  A new report on food needs in Zimbabwe says that nearly one in five rural people in the country - an estimated 1.6 million people - are likely to need food assistance during the peak of the coming "hunger season." The number of people in need is 60 percent higher than the one million who needed food assistance during the last lean season. The extent of the need is revealed in the just-published Zimbabwe Vulnerability Assessment (ZimVAC) report. The assessment, which estimates national food insecurity levels, is conducted annually by the Government in collaboration with UN agencies and non-governmental organisations.
• 2012/08/06: FAO: FAO lowers global rice forecast for 2012 -- But world production will still increase
• 2012/08/09: CBC: Drought has major impact in North America and worldwide -- Corn and livestock hit hard
• 2012/08/08: TP:JR: Along With Severe Drought, Some Farmers Deal With A 'Wall Of Sand' Covering Fields Due To Last Year's Floods
• 2012/08/08: ABC(Au): 'Jigsaw' grain crop in Victoria
  A Victorian agronomist says he can't recall a year of such variability in the state's grain crop. Rainfall in the Wimmera Mallee and central Victoria has been patchy, meaning some crops are looking excellent as others struggle to establish themselves.
• 2012/08/08: CSM: Drought: Farmers dig deeper, water tables drop, competition heats up
  The long-term drought that is unlocking disaster aid for 40 percent of America's most fertile hillocks and valleys has turned central Georgia into what Deputy Secretary of Agriculture Kathleen Merrigan called in July "the toughest place in the country."
• 2012/08/07: EnergyBulletin: Food production and nature: The deadly paradox of a class-riven society
• 2012/08/07: PlanetArk: Drought seen slashing corn crop to five-year low
• 2012/08/06: EnergyBulletin: One billion already hungry as deeper food crises loom
• 2012/08/06: ProMedMail: Aster yellows, wheat & barley - Canada
• 2012/08/06: UN: Low monsoon rains in India means less rice for the world in 2012 - UN agency
• 2012/08/06: TP:JR: Study: Climate Change Will Reduce Milk Production From U.S. Dairy Cows
  

  The state of the world's fisheries is a concern:

• 2012/08/10: EconView: Our Not So Fishy Future -- North American freshwater fish diversity is in decline
• 2012/08/06: DD: Extreme heat wave dooms millions of fish across American Midwest
  

  Food Prices took a jump this week:

• FAO: World Food Situation - Food Price Indices
• 2012/08/09: FAO: FAO Food Price Index up 6 percent -- Grains and sugar drive increase
• 2012/08/09: BBC: US crops tell story of future world food prices
• 2012/08/11: QuarkSoup: Food Price Increase: Equivalent of $0.32 per Gallon of Gas
• 2012/08/10: ABC(Au): Drought threatens global food price rises
  Global food prices have risen 6 per cent in July as wild swings in weather hit food producing regions like America's abundant grain belt.
• 2012/08/10: CBC: U.S. drought pushing food prices sky high
• 2012/08/09: WaPo: Reports: Worsening drought conditions in key farm states help stoke rising global food prices
• 2012/08/10: PlanetArk: Drought, food prices fan fears of new crisis
• 2012/08/10: Grist: How to keep the 2012 drought from draining your wallet
• 2012/08/09: UCSUSA:B: Will the 2012 U.S. Drought and Other Extreme Weather Events Trigger Another Global Food Crisis?
• 2012/08/09: BBC: Q&A: World food and fuel prices
• 2012/08/10: WSWS: Spiking grain prices raise specter of global food crisis
• 2012/08/09: TMoS: German Banks Take Food Off Commodities Exchange
• 2012/08/10: CCurrents: Spiking Grain Prices Raise Specter Of Global Food Crisis
• 2012/08/10: CSM: Drought slashes corn forecast. So prices fall?
• 2012/08/10: BBC: US corn price forecast to rise sharply
  The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) has slashed its forecasts for corn production and predicted sharp price rises, due to a drought and heatwave destroying much of the country's crop.
• 2012/08/08: TreeHugger: Rising Temperature Raising Food Prices by Lester Brown
• 2012/08/09: BBC: Global food prices rise in July due to extreme weather
  Global food prices sharply rebounded in July due to wild swings in weather conditions, a UN food and agricultural body has said.
• 2012/08/07: CCurrents: Heat, Drought, Rising Food Costs, And Global Unrest
• 2012/08/06: PostMedia: Food prices set to skyrocket thanks to U.S. drought
  Reporting think tank [IFPRI] urges using stockpiles in emergencies, avoiding export bans Drought in the U.S. farm belt may result in higher prices for poor people around the world, according to the head of an agricultural think tank who on Monday also recommended a halt to ethanol production from corn.
• 2012/08/06: CBC: Canadian food prices expected to rise due to U.S. drought
• 2012/08/05: TStar: U.S. drought will hit food prices like a derecho
  

  The conflict between biofuel and food persists:

• 2012/08/09: DerSpiegel: Sacrificed to the Energy Revolution -- Biogas Boom Threatens Future of Germany's Shepherds
  Corn used for biofuel is taking over vast stretches of traditional grazing land in Germany. The change is transforming the landscape, driving shepherds out of business and threatening the dike system crucial for preventing floods.
• 2012/08/08: BBC: New biofuels offer hope to hungry world
  The poorest people in the world face additional hunger as the price of staple foods soar. The growth of crops in 2012 has been badly affected by drought in the US and Russia and prices have risen 50% since June. According to a report about the hike in food prices, from the international agency Oxfam, 40% of US corn stocks are currently being used to produce fuel. The US Renewable Fuel Standard mandate requires that up to 15 billion gallons of domestic corn ethanol be blended into the US fuel supply by 2022. The chairman of the world's largest food producer is highly critical of the rise in bio-diesel. Peter Brabeck-Letmathe of Nestle says crops produced for biofuel use land and water which would otherwise be used to grow crops for human or animal consumption.
• 
  

  Regarding the genetic modification of food:

   

• 2012/08/10: NatureNB: Golden sweet potato shows success
• 2012/08/10: NatureNB: Indian parliamentary panel slams GM crops
  An Indian Parliamentary panel yesterday urged the government to halt all open-field trials of transgenic crops until it develops a better monitoring and oversight system. It also called for a complete overhaul of the regulatory system, saying that it "reflects a pro-industry tilt", and claiming that it is riddled with conflicts of interest.
• 2012/08/10: ScienceInsider: India Should Be More Wary of GM Crops, Parliamentary Panel Says
• 2012/08/05: NoC: Kevlar Tires Now Required to Traverse 'Spear-Like' GMO Crops
  

  Regarding labelling GM food:

• 2012/08/08: TreeHugger: Why PepsiCo is Fighting GMO Labeling in California
  

  And how are we going to feed 9 billion, 10 billion, 15 billion?

• 2012/08/08: WaPo: To confront climate change, US agriculture seeks hardier breeds that can survive long droughts
  [...]
  Across American agriculture, farmers and crop scientists have concluded that it's too late to fight climate change. They need to adapt to it with a new generation of hardier animals and plants specially engineered to survive, and even thrive, in intense heat, with little rain.
• 2012/08/09: UCSUSA:B: Land Sparing, Water Saving, and the 2012 U.S. Drought
• 2012/08/09: Grist: Court to FDA: 35 years is too long to procrastinate on curbing antibiotics in meat
• 2012/08/10: CCurrents: A Critical Mass For Real Food
• 2012/08/08: UCSUSA:B: Coping With Drought: How to Build a More Resilient Agricultural System
• 2012/08/05: CCurrents: Drought, Dignity And Development: Field Findings
• 2012/08/08: al Jazeera: Mexican farmers sow seeds of productivity
  Local farmers combine ancient methods with modern outlook to transform barren land into rich, arable fields.
• 2012/08/07: EnergyBulletin: The Mighty Dehydrator
• 2012/08/10: ABC(Au): FACETS 2012: Big ideas on the future of food security, climate and energy
• 2012/08/07: ABC(Au): Experts work on crown rot resistant wheat
  Researchers at the University of Western Australia (UWA) are working to combat the spread of crown rot in wheat varieties. The disease, which is caused by a fungus, is widespread throughout the Australian wheatbelt and costs farmers nearly $80 million a year in loss of production and quality. UWA has received almost $600,000 from the Australian Research Council Linkage to investigate ways of reducing crown rot.
• 2012/08/06: Guardian(UK): Crop data gives drought-stricken farmers a leg up on getting by with less
  New technology spells out solutions for conserving resources as severe weather forces US farmers into survival mode
• 2012/08/06: Grist: Farming without water
• 2012/08/06: CSM: How to transform African farming: Return to 'orphan crops'
  Farming in sub-Saharan Africa could be transformed, but not by heeding calls for a new "Green Revolution." The 1960s Green Revolution, which averted famine in India and Latin America through the deployment of high-yield crop varieties, is often hailed as one of the greatest humanitarian achievements of the 20th century. Yet this effort focused largely on globally traded staples, neglecting locally important crops. The outcome partly explains today's global malnutrition crisis. The countries reached by the Green Revolution became massive producers of rice, wheat, or maize, but at the expense of the crop diversity necessary for well-rounded diets.
• 
  

  In the Western Pacific:

   

• 2012/08/11: DD: Nearly 2 million evacuated as Typhoon Haikui hits China - Reservoir collapse kills at least 10
• 2012/08/09: Eureka: NASA sees Tropical Storm Kirogi headed for cooler waters
• 2012/08/08: Eureka: NASA's Aqua satellite sees Tropical Storm Haikui make landfall in China
• 2012/08/08: WtD: The New Normal (part 14): third tropical cyclone to hit China in less than a week
• 2012/08/08: NASA: NASA's Aqua Satellite Sees Tropical Storm Haikui Make Landfall in China
• 2012/08/08: CBC: Typhoon Haikui slams Shanghai -- Rural areas swamped, almost 2 million displaced by storm
• 2012/08/06: Eureka: NASA sees Typhoon Haikui approaching China in visible and infrared light
• 2012/08/06: Eureka: NASA's Aqua satellite shows strongest side of Tropical Storm 13W
• 2012/08/07: CBC: Shanghai in east China braces for Typhoon Haikui -- Financial hub plans to evacuate 200,000
• 2012/08/04: BBerg: China Evacuates 867,000 People as Tropical Storms Hit Coast
  

  In the Eastern Pacific:

   

• 2012/08/10: Eureka: NASA sees 2 tropical cyclones in Eastern Pacific
• 2012/08/09: Eureka: The cold power of Hurricane Gilma revealed by NASA satellite
  

  In the Atlantic and Caribbean:

   

• 2012/08/11: Wunderground: TD 7 dies; 93L little threat to develop
• 2012/08/10: Eureka: NASA sees tropical cyclones march across Atlantic: Ernesto, Florence, TD7, System 92L
• 2012/08/10: CBC: Ernesto slows to tropical depression in Mexico
• 2012/08/10: Wunderground: Little change to TD 7; 93L may develop off the coast of Africa
• 2012/08/09: Wunderground: Tropical Depression Seven forms
• 2012/08/09: Eureka: NASA sees very heavy rainfall within Tropical Storm Ernesto
• 2012/08/10: BBerg: Atlantic Storm [TD7] Speeds West, Ernesto Breaks Up Over Mexico
• 2012/08/09: BBC: Tropical Storm Ernesto has hit Mexico for a second time, bringing strong winds and flooding to several areas of the southern Gulf coast
• 2012/08/09: Wunderground: 92L near tropical depression status; Ernesto drenching Mexico
• 2012/08/08: Eureka: NASA sees heavy rainfall and high thunderstorms in Tropical Storm Ernesto
• 2012/08/09: CBC: Tropical storm Ernesto drenches Yucatan Peninsula -- Ernesto gaining strength, could grow into a hurricane again
• 2012/08/09: BBerg: Tropical Storm [Ernesto] Moves Across Mexico's Bay of Campeche
• 2012/08/08: Wunderground: Ernesto hits the Yucatan with 85 mph winds
• 2012/08/07: Eureka: NASA satellites revealed Tropical Storm Ernesto's strongest side
• 2012/08/08: CBC: Ernesto hits Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula
• 2012/08/07: Wunderground: Ernesto reaches hurricane strength as it approaches the Yucatan
• 2012/08/07: BBC: Tropical Storm Ernesto has reached hurricane strength while passing northern Honduras, and is approaching Belize and Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula
• 2012/08/07: CNN: Tropical Storm Ernesto expected to make landfall as a hurricane
  Storm is expected to make landfall on Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula on Tuesday night - Nicaraguan officials say they are evacuating about 1,500 people from coastal areas - Ernesto's center is expected to pass north of the Honduran coast during the day Tuesday - Florence is no longer a tropical system
• 2012/08/07: PlanetArk: Ernesto strengthens, takes aim at Mexico's Yucatan
• 2012/08/07: Wunderground: Ernesto closing in on the Yucatan
• 2012/08/06: Eureka: NASA watches Tropical Storm Florence develop and weaken
• 2012/08/06: Eureka: NASA sees a strengthening Tropical Storm Ernesto
• 2012/08/07: CBC: Tropical storm Ernesto swirls off Honduras
• 2012/08/06: CNN: Tropical Storm Ernesto expected to become a hurricane
  Tropical Storm Ernesto is expected to become a hurricane by Monday night - Florence is no longer a tropical system - Nicaraguan officials say they are evacuating 1,500 people from coastal areas - Ernesto is expected to near the Honduran coast Monday night
• 2012/08/06: PlanetArk: Ernesto spins west over open sea, soaking Jamaica
• 2012/08/06: Wunderground: Ernesto nearing hurricane strength
• 2012/08/05: Wunderground: Ernesto disorganized; more fires, extreme heat for Oklahoma
• 2012/08/06: CBC: Tropical storm warning issued for coast of Honduras -- Tropical storm Ernesto passed south of Jamaica
• 2012/08/06: al Jazeera: Ernesto picks up the pace
  After a lull in the 2012 Atlantic hurricane season, there are signs of activity picking up.
• 2012/08/06: BBerg: Tropical Storm [Ernesto] to Pass Near Honduras, Approach Yucatan
  

  While elsewhere in the hurricane wars:

• 2012/08/09: CBC: Hurricane forecasters predict more Atlantic storms
• 2012/08/09: BBC: US hurricane forecast upgraded to 17 storms
• 2012/08/09: NOAANews: NOAA raises hurricane season prediction despite expected El Niño
  Updated outlook calls for near- or above-normal Atlantic season
• 
  

  As for the Monsoon:

   

• 2012/08/12: CNN: Death toll from Philippines floods rises [to 85]
• 2012/08/10: WSWS: Scores killed in Manila floods
• 2012/08/10: al Jazeera: Death toll rises in Philippine flood disaster
  Government says 60 victims now confirmed dead and number of people affected soars to 2.44 million, mostly around Manila.
• 2012/08/09: ABC(Au): Philippines capital almost completely submerged as deadly floodwaters keep rising
• 2012/08/09: BBC: Philippines ramps up flood relief efforts
• 2012/08/07: BBC: In pictures: Flooding in Manila
• 2012/08/09: al Jazeera: Philippine appeals for flood aid for millions
  Government calls for help in rushing food, water and clothes to nearly two million people displaced by deadly floods.
• 2012/08/08: Guardian(UK): Manila floods displace hundreds of thousands of residents
• 2012/08/08: NatureNB: Indian monsoon disappoints
• 2012/08/08: ABC(Au): More than 1 million battle Philippine floods
  More than one million people in and around the Philippine capital battled deadly floods on Wednesday amid relentless monsoon rains, with neck-deep waters trapping slum dwellers and the wealthy on roofs. Sixty per cent of Manila remained under water and vast tracts of surrounding farmland were also submerged as the deluge stretched into its third day, according to the government.
• 2012/08/08: CBC: Deadly rains relent over Philippines -- 23 dead, thousands displaced by monsoon
• 2012/08/08: al Jazeera: Floods submerge most of Philippine capital
  Emergency workers and troops rush food, water and clothes to nearly 800,000 people displaced and marooned in Manila.
• 2012/08/11: DD: Filipinos should get used to weather disturbances as climate changes, official says - Rainfall breaks 2009 record
• 2012/08/07: BBC: Manila flood death toll rises to 16 as rain continues
• 2012/08/07: CNN: Flooding brings chaos to Philippine capital
  U.S. pledges disaster relief to the Philippines - Nine people die when a mudslide buries two houses in suburban Manila - Flooding has forced nearly 130,000 people from their homes, government says - Manila got about 20 inches of rain Tuesday, with more torrential downpours on the way
• 2012/08/07: CSM: Torrential rains in Manila cause deadly landslide (+video)
• 2012/08/07: BBC: Floods paralyse Philippine capital Manila
  At least nine people have been reported dead as torrential rain caused flooding that paralysed most parts of the Philippine capital, Manila.
• 2012/08/07: ABC(Au): Torrential rain kills 15 in Philippines
• 2012/08/07: CBC: Philippine capital hit by torrential rain, floods
• 2012/08/07: al Jazeera: Philippines crippled by heavy floods
  Flood waters reach up to two metres in capital, forcing schools and offices to shut and people to flee to higher ground.
• 
  

  Meanwhile on the GHG front:

   

• 2012/08/09: TP:JR: Study: Reservoirs May Produce 20 Times More Methane Than Normal During Water 'Drawdown'
• 2012/08/09: BBerg: Japan Utilities Emit Record CO2 After Fukushima Disaster
• 2012/08/08: Eureka: A new global warming culprit: Dam drawdowns -- Methane emissions jump dramatically
  Washington State University researchers have documented an underappreciated suite of players in global warming: dams, the water reservoirs behind them, and surges of greenhouse gases as water levels go up and down.
• 2012/08/07: Eureka: Diseased trees new source of climate gas [CH4]
• 2012/08/02: InsideStory: Climate policy and our sphere of influence
  

  And in the carbon cycle:

• 2012/08/09: ERW: Giant carbon-capturing funnels discovered in Southern Ocean
  A team of scientists from the UK and Australia has shed new light on the mysterious mechanism by which the Southern Ocean sequesters carbon from the atmosphere. Winds, vast whirlpools and ocean currents interact to produce localized funnels up to 1000 km across, which plunge dissolved carbon into the deep ocean and lock it away for centuries. Critically, these processes themselves -- and the Southern Ocean's ability to affect global warming caused by human activities -- could be sensitive to climate variability in as-yet-unknown ways.
• 
  

  And the nitrogen cycle:

   

• 2012/08/10: GeoMar: How much nitrogen is fixed in the ocean?
  

  As for the temperature record:

• 2012/08/10: Moyhu: July TempLS Global Temp down slightly (0.03°C) from June
• 2012/08/09: KSJT: Hottest July on record
• 2012/08/09: CBC: Winnipeg records hottest-ever year
  The heat is on in Winnipeg, as it has never been in at least 140 years. David Phillips, the senior climatologist at Environment Canada, said the city has just come off the warmest 12-month period since record-keeping began in the 1870s.
• 2012/08/09: PlanetArk: Drought-hit US busts heat record from Dust Bowl days
• 2012/08/09: PlanetArk: July was hottest month ever for continental US: NOAA
• 2012/08/10: Wunderground: July 2012: hottest month in U.S. history
• 2012/08/09: al Jazeera: The hottest July ever
  Last month's temperatures in the US broke a 117 year old record.
• 2012/08/08: BBC: July 2012 was hottest US month since records began
• 2012/08/08: CBC: July in U.S. was hottest ever on record
• 2012/08/08: CCP: Seth Borenstein: Ouch! July in US was hottest ever in history books
• 2012/08/08: P3: Hottest Month Ever in Contiguous USA
• 2012/08/08: EnvEcon: It's Getting Hot in Here
• 2012/08/08: CapClimate: NOAA Confirms July 2012 Hottest Month in US History
• 2012/08/08: DD: So far, 2012 is on record as Northeast's hottest year ever, climatologists say
• 2012/08/08: TP:JR: Hottest Year On Record For The Northeastern U.S. So Far
• 2012/08/08: TP:JR: 2012 Has Already Set More Daily Heat Records Than All Of 2011, And More Are On The Way
• 2012/08/08: NatureNB: On cue: US registers hottest month ever
• 2012/08/08: DM:BA: Is it hot in here, or is it just global warming?
• 2012/08/08: TreeHugger: Northeast & Mid-Atlantic US Having Hottest Year on Record - July Hottest Month For US
• 2012/08/05: SciNews: Extreme hot spells rising -- Temperature records reveal inexorable warming and increasing episodes of extreme heat
  

  And in historical times:

• 2012/08/05: Guardian(UK): Mass grave in London reveals how volcano caused global catastrophe
  Scientists search for the explosive source of a disaster that wiped out almost a third of Londoners in 1258
• 2012/08/06: MoL: Cataclysmic volcano wreaked havoc on medieval Britain
  

  In the attribution debate:

• 2012/08/07: Guardian(UK): Nasa scientist's study quantifies climate change link to extreme weather
• 2012/08/06: NatureN: Heatwaves blamed on global warming -- Unusually high frequency points to human influence
• 2012/08/06: NYT: Study Finds More of Earth Is Hotter and Says Global Warming Is at Work
• 2012/08/06: ABC(Au): Climate change to blame for extreme heat: report
• 2012/08/06: TreeHugger: Recent Extreme Heatwaves Were Caused by Climate Change - Even Moderate Heat Has Doubled
• 2012/08/06: NASA: Research Links Extreme Summer Heat Events to Global Warming
  

  And on the ENSO front:

• 2012/08/09: NOAA:NCEP: El Niño/Southern Oscillation (ENSO) Diagnostic Discussion
  Synopsis: El Niño conditions are likely to develop during August or September 2012
• 
  

  And the State of the Oceans:

   

• 2012/08/10: BBC: Marine species' deaths caused by [ultraviolet B] increases
  Increased ultraviolet radiation has caused a sharp rise in the deaths of marine species, scientists have found. An international team gathered information from previous studies looking at the effects of ultraviolet B (UVB) radiation on marine life. Their work shows a close link between UVB levels and death rate, particularly in algae, corals and crustaceans. The team believe this is the first time the effect of UVB on the health of marine ecosystems has been calculated.
• 2012/08/11: DD: Graph of the Day: Area of Mid-Summer Bottom Water Hypoxia in the Gulf of Mexico, 1985-2012
  

  What's new on the extinction front?

• 2012/08/10: Eureka: North American freshwater fishes race to extinction -- Rate of loss of species exceeds that of terrestrial animals
• 2012/08/10: USGS: North American Fish Extinctions May Double by 2050
• 2012/08/10: TreeHugger: Fish Extinctions to Double in North America Over Next 40 Years
• 2012/08/09: DerSpiegel: The Horn Mafia -- Africa Losing the Battle against Rhino Poachers
  As a growing number of endangered African rhinos are poached for their horns, officials and activists are scrambling for ways to halt the slaughter. Suggestions have included pre-emptively cutting off or poisoning their horns, or even deregulating their trade. But nothing promises to quell the insatiable demand for their powder in Asia.
• 2012/08/07: NatureNB: Numbers trump genetic diversity in survival stakes
• 2012/08/06: ABC(Au): Moa's demise: DNA points finger at humans
  Big bird demise Ancient DNA confirms the New Zealand moa adapted well to climate change and suggests humans were responsible for the big bird's demise. Professor Alan Cooper, of the University of Adelaide, and colleagues, report their findings online today in the journal Quaternary Science Reviews.
• 
  

  What's up with volcanoes this week?

   

• 2012/08/07: CBC: New Zealand volcano erupts after century of quiet
  Mount Tongariro eruption spreads a layer of ash for several kilometres
• 
  

  More GW impacts are being seen:

   

• 2012/08/10: EarlyWarning: Latest Drought Science Alarming for US
• 2012/08/10: DD: The sound of a damaged habitat
• 2012/08/08: ERW: Climate change is bad news for Baltic Sea
• 2012/08/08: Grist: Drought: Bad for the Gulf 'dead zone' after all?
• 2012/08/05: WaPo: Alaskan Arctic villages hit hard by climate change
• 2012/08/06: TP:JR: IEA Bombshell: Global Warming May Lead To 'Miami Beach In Boston' Situation Unless Urgent Action Is Taken
• 2012/08/06: ABC(Au): Trains rolling after 5 month flood break
  The first trains in almost five months have been scheduled for a western Queensland rail line this week.
• 
  

  And then there are the world's forests:

   

• 2012/08/11: Atlantic: Today in Astonishment: The Amazon Rainforest Gets Half Its Nutrients From a Single, Tiny Spot in the Sahara
• 2012/08/10: ERW: Does cutting down tropical forest emit less carbon?
• 2012/08/08: DD: Image of the Day: Satellite view of deforestation in Rondônia, Brazil, 1975 and 2012
• 2012/08/07: OPB: Changes in Forests Increase Fire Risks, Insect Outbreaks
• 2012/08/06: Eureka: WSU researcher sees how forests thrive after fires and volcanoes -- Forest succession helps rare plants and animals
  

  Emerging diseases accompany ecological change:

• 2012/08/11: ProMedMail: Anaplasmosis - USA: (ME) increased incidence
• 2012/08/08: CBC: Lyme disease ticks likely breeding in Ottawa
  Ticks carrying Lyme disease are likely breeding in Ottawa, leading to an increase in reported cases, according to a doctor at the Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario (CHEO).
• 2012/08/07: BBC: Schmallenberg virus 'may spread across UK'
  Schmallenberg virus is present in the UK this summer and could spread throughout the country, scientists say. Staff from the Royal Veterinary College (RVC) and Institute for Animal Health (IAH) found the virus in animals on the RVC's farm in Hertfordshire in June. The scientists say this proves the midge-borne virus survived the winter and will spread as midge numbers rise.
• 2012/08/06: ProMedMail: Schmallenberg virus - Europe (51): update, surveillance, classification
• 2012/08/06: Grist: Seven climate-change diseases to ruin your Monday
  

  Yes we have no wacky weather, except:

• 2012/08/09: P3: Freak Snowstorm in SA
• 2012/08/10: ABC(Au): Thousands without power as winds lash Sydney
  Power has been restored to most of the 30,000 homes and businesses that were affected by wild weather that lashed Sydney on Friday afternoon.
• 2012/08/07: CBC: Snow surprises South Africans as cold snap strikes
• 2012/08/06: CBC: High winds bring widespread damage across central Alberta
  

  This week in the New Normal -- extreme weather:

• 2012/08/09: ITracker: The New Normal -- Literally
• 2012/08/08: Guardian(UK): Extreme weather across five continents - video
  

  As for heatwaves and wild fires:

• 2012/08/11: CNN: Wildfires rage on Spain's Canary Islands
  Blazes are burning on the islands of La Gomera and Tenerife - Close to 5,000 people have been evacuated - Weather conditions are complicating efforts to control the flames
• 2012/08/12: al Jazeera: Canary Islands fire forces mass evacuation
  Some 4,700 people evacuated over two days, in fires that follow Spain's driest winter in seven decades.
• 2012/08/11: BBC: Fresh fires blaze on Spain's Canary Islands
  Spanish firefighting teams in the Canary Islands are struggling anew to contain forest fires said to have forced some 4,700 people from their homes.
• 2012/08/10: PlanetArk: Hundreds flee as fire rages at Greece's Mount Athos
• 2012/08/08: WaPo: Wildfire on Utah military camp burns near thousands of unexploded shells
• 2012/08/10: al Jazeera: Making the 2012 heat wave matter
  Summer 2012 has broken thousands of records in the US, bringing misery and suffering to millions.
• 2012/08/11: DD: Siberia forest fires leave 'green deserts' - Cities blanketed in smoke
• 2012/08/11: ABC(Au): Firefighters hold NSW bushfire containment lines
• 2012/08/10: CBC: Fires rage northwest of San Diego -- Residents advised to evacuate as fires burn in the highlands
• 2012/08/08: UMelbourne: Unusual weather events identified during the Black Saturday bushfires
  Research has revealed that the extremely hot, dry and windy conditions on Black Saturday combined with structures in the atmosphere called 'horizontal convective rolls' -similar to streamers of wind flowing through the air - which likely affected fire behaviour.
• 2012/08/06: HuffPo: OK Fire: Some Return To Shelters As Oklahoma Wildfires Continue To Burn (photos)
• 2012/08/07: IOTD: Night View of Fires in Siberia
• 2012/08/06: BBC: Fires hit Spain's Canary Islands, threaten unique flora
• 2012/08/05: LA Times: At least 18 blazes torch Oklahoma; one nears record size
• 2012/08/06: UCSUSA:B: The Drought-Heat Tango: Why Dry Conditions Can Lead to Even Higher Temperatures
• 2012/08/06: al Jazeera: Firefighter dies as wildfire rages in Spain
  Road accident leaves a military firefighter dead and others injured as authorities try to tame blaze in western Spain.
• 2012/08/05: Guardian(UK): Oklahoma wildfires prompt evacuations and destroy dozens of homes
• 2012/08/05: CBC: Oklahoma wildfires destroy homes, force evacuations
  

  Corals are a bellwether of the ocean's health:

• 2012/08/02: SI: Future of Coral Reefs in an Acidifying Ocean
• 2012/08/06: Eureka: Microbes, sponges, and worms add to coral reef woes
  

  Acidification is changing the oceans:

• 2012/08/07: DD: New study helps predict impact of ocean acidification on shellfish
• 2012/08/06: PlanetArk: Ocean acidification could disrupt marine food chains
• 2012/08/05: Eureka: New study helps predict impact of ocean acidification on shellfish
  

  Glaciers are melting:

• 2012/08/10: BCLSB: Bye Bye Angel Glacier?
• 2012/08/11: BCLSB: Glacier Collapse In Jasper National Park
  

  Sea levels are rising:

• 2012/08/06: BBerg: Preparing for the Next Big Flood
  

  As for hydrological cycle disruptions [floods & droughts]:

• 2012/08/10: PlanetArk: Drought tightens grip on top US farm states: climatologists
• 2012/08/10: WtD: Image of the day: US drought worsens
• 2012/08/09: P3: US Drought Worsens
• 2012/08/09: WSWS: US drought feeds wildfires, crop failures
• 2012/08/08: ABC(Au): US endures worst drought in decades
• 2012/08/08: PlanetArk: Wetter outlook for drought-struck U.S. Midwest
• 2012/08/07: CSW: A Tale of Two Droughts
• 2012/08/08: CSM: Weather? Climate change? Why the drought is persisting and growing
• 2012/08/07: TMoS: Will Drought Overtake Athabasca?
• 2012/08/07: TMoS: Drought - America Isn't Alone
• 2012/08/07: WtD: Image of the day: Lake Medina drops 16m in Texas drought
• 2012/08/06: ABC(Au): Study increases confidence in drought predictions
• 2012/08/05: TMoS: America's Latest Drought Victim - the Mighty Mississippi
  

  First, stop subsidizing fossil fuels
  Second, put a price on carbon
  And elsewhere on the mitigation front:

• 2012/08/09: NBF: Climate Change questions do not need to be conclusively answered to determine global actions for the next 30 years
• 2012/08/08: GEP: European Biochar Standards Under Development
• 2012/08/07: OurFiniteWorld: Reaching financial limits -- What kinds of solutions are available?
• 2012/08/07: Grist: In the climate struggle, a hunt for realistic solutions
  

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

• 2012/08/08: TreeHugger: Stone Spray is a 3D Printer for Architecture
  

  And on the carbon sequestration front:

• 2012/08/06: GEP: Renewed Call for BECCS [Bio-Energy with Carbon Capture and Storage] in Europe
• 2012/06/23: Bellona: Successful launch of first-of-a-kind report on Bio-CCS
• 2012/08/05: Guardian(UK): NER 300: Prize fund for carbon capture projects shrinks by £800m
  Michael Liebreich, at Bloomberg New Energy Finance blames eurozone crisis for decline in the value of NER 300
• 
  

  Large scale geo-engineering keeps popping up:

   

• 2012/08/10: ClimateSight: More on Phytoplankton
  

  What's new in conservation?

• 2012/08/07: Eureka: Can nature parks save biodiversity?
  

  Meanwhile in the journals:

• 2012/08/09: ACP: Aerosol scattering and absorption during the EUCAARI-LONGREX flights of the Facility for Airborne Atmospheric Measurements (FAAM) BAe-146: can measurements and models agree? by E. J. Highwood et al.
• 2012/08/07: ACP: The direct effect of aerosols on solar radiation over the broader Mediterranean basin by C. D. Papadimas et al.
• 2012/08/06: ACP: Record-breaking ozone loss in the Arctic winter 2010/2011: comparison with 1996/1997 by J. Kuttippurath et al.
• 2012/08/09: ACPD: Simulating 3-D radiative transfer effects over the Sierra Nevada mountains using WRF by Y. Gu et al.
• 2012/08/09: ACPD: Carbon dioxide and climate impulse response functions for the computation of greenhouse gas metrics: a multi-model analysis by F. Joos et al.
• 2012/08/06: ACPD: The impact of a future H2-based road transportation sector on the composition and chemistry of the atmosphere - Part 2: Stratospheric ozone by D. Wang et al.
• 2012/08/06: ACPD: The impact of a future H2-based road transportation sector on the composition and chemistry of the atmosphere - Part 1: Tropospheric composition and air quality by D. Wang et al.
• 2012/06/01: GRL: (ab$) Geoengineering: Whiter skies? by Ben Kravitz et al.
• 2012/08/: RSTA: [Preface to a series] Geoengineering: taking control of our planet's climate? by Andy Ridgwell et al.
• 2012/01/29: Springer:E&ES: (ab$) Asymmetries in tropical rainfall and circulation patterns in idealised CO2 removal experiments by Robin Chadwick et al.
• 2012/08/10: CPD: Contribution of Greenland ice sheet melting to sea level rise during the last interglacial period: an approach combining ice sheet modelling and proxy data by A. Quiquet et al.
• 2012/08/09: CPD: Climate and African precipitation changes in the mid-Holocene simulated using an Earth System Model MIROC-ESM by R. Ohgaito et al.
• 2012/08/08: CPD: The East Asian summer monsoon at mid-Holocene: results from PMIP3 simulations by W. Zheng et al.
• 2012/08/05: Nature:CC: Increasing drought under global warming in observations and models by Aiguo Dai
• 2012/08/10: Science: (ab$) Challenges in Metal Recycling by Barbara K. Reck & T. E. Graedel
• 2012/08/10: WOL:GE&B: (ab$) Impact of elevated UVB radiation on marine biota: a meta-analysis by Moira Llabrés et al.
• 2011/12/28: NIH:NCBI: Water Pollution Risk Associated with Natural Gas Extraction from the Marcellus Shale by DJ Rozell & SJ Reaven
• 2012/08/: RSTA: Regional climate change mitigation with crops: context and assessment by J. S. Singarayer & T. Davies-Barnard
• 2012/08/: RSTA: Peatland geoengineering: an alternative approach to terrestrial carbon sequestration by Christopher Freeman et al.
• 2012/08/06: NERC:NORA: Examining the case for the use of the Tertiary as a formal period or informal unit by R.W.O'B. Knox et al.
• 2012/08/07: NERC:NORA: Particulate organic carbon (POC) export from soil and vegetation in temperate mountain regions by Jo Smith et al.
• 2012/08/07: NERC:NORA: Jets and topography: jet transitions and the impact on transport in the Antarctic Circumpolar Current by Andrew F. Thompson et al.
• 2012/08/07: NERC:NORA: The geology of the Anthropocene by Simon James Price et al.
• 2012/08/08: NERC:NORA: Volcanic synchronisation between the EPICA Dome C and Vostok ice cores (Antarctica) 0-145 kyr BP by F. Parrenin et al.
• 2012/08/08: NERC:NORA: Habitat associations of thermophilous butterflies are reduced despite climatic warming by Tom H. Oliver et al.
• 2012/08/09: NERC:NORA: Marine invertebrate skeleton size varies with latitude, temperature and carbonate saturation: implications for global change and ocean acidification by Sue-Ann Watson et al.
• 2012/08/10: ACPD: Estimates of aerosol radiative forcing from the MACC re-analysis by N. Bellouin et al.
• 2012/08/10: ACPD: The spring 2011 final stratospheric warming above Eureka: anomalous dynamics and chemistry by C. Adams et al.
• 2012/08/10: ACPD: Simultaneous occurrence of polar stratospheric clouds and upper-tropospheric clouds caused by blocking anticyclones by M. Kohma & K. Sato
• 2012/08/09: GMD: Assessing climate model software quality: a defect density analysis of three models by J. Pipitone & S. Easterbrook
• 2012/08/08: OS: Estimation of positive sum-to-one constrained zooplankton grazing preferences with the DEnKF: a twin experiment by E. Simon et al.
• 2012/08/08: OSD: Observations of water masses and circulation in the Eurasian Basin of the Arctic Ocean from the 1990s to the late 2000s by B. Rudels et al.
• 2012/08/09: TC: Surface and snowdrift sublimation at Princess Elisabeth station, East Antarctica by W. Thiery et al.
• 2012/08/08: TC: Greenland ice sheet albedo feedback: thermodynamics and atmospheric drivers by J. E. Box et al.
• 2012/08/09: TCD: Evidence of meltwater retention within the Greenland ice sheet by A. K. Rennermalm et al.
• 2012/08/09: TCD: Variability of sea ice deformation rates in the Arctic and their relationship with basin-scale wind forcing by A. Herman & O. Glowacki
• 2012/08/08: TCD: An analysis of present and future seasonal Northern Hemisphere land snow cover simulated by CMIP5 coupled climate models by C. Brutel-Vuilmet et al.
• 2012/08/08: TCD: Calving on tidewater glaciers amplified by submarine frontal melting by M. O'Leary & P. Christoffersen
• 2012/08/08: TCD: The footprint of Asian monsoon dynamics in the mass and energy balance of a Tibetan glacier by T. Mölg et al.
• 2012/08/09: Nature: (ab$) Water balance of global aquifers revealed by groundwater footprint by Tom Gleeson et al.
• 2012/08/: RSTA: Lifting options for stratospheric aerosol geoengineering: advantages of tethered balloon systems by Peter Davidson et al.
• 2012/08/07: PNAS: (ab$) Genetic data suggest a natural prehuman origin of open habitats in northern Madagascar and question the deforestation narrative in this region by Erwan Quéméré et al.
• 2012/08/07: PNAS: (ab$) Fungal endophyte communities reflect environmental structuring across a Hawaiian landscape by Naupaka B. Zimmerman & Peter M. Vitousek
• 2012/08/07: PNAS: (abs) Developed and developing world responsibilities for historical climate change and CO2 mitigation by Ting Wei et al.
• 2012/08/06: OS: In situ determination of the remote sensing reflectance: an inter-comparison by G. Zibordi et al.
• 2012/08/06: GMDD: Global high-resolution simulations of CO2 and CH4 using a NIES transport model to produce a priori concentrations for use in satellite data retrievals by T. Saeki et al.
• 2012/08/06: TCD: Past and future sea-level change from the surface mass balance of glaciers by B. Marzeion et al.
• 2012/08/06: TCD: The recent retreat of Mexican glaciers on Citlaltépetl Volcano detected using ASTER data by J. Cortés-Ramos & H. Delgado-Granados
• 2012/08/06: AGWObserver: New research from last week 31/2012
• 2012/08/02: QSR(via doi): The effect of climate and environmental change on the megafaunal moa of New Zealand in the absence of humans by Nicolas J. Rawlence et al.
  

  And other significant documents:

• 2012/08/08: EnviroCan: [link to pdf] Canada's Emissions Trends 2012
  

  As for miscellaneous science:

• 2012/08/10: NatureN: Tree's leaves genetically different from its roots -- Cottonwood trees show genetic differences across individuals as well as within populations
• 2012/08/09: NASA: NASA's New Way to Track Formaldehyde - an automated, lightweight, laser-induced fluorescence device that measures the levels
• 2012/08/09: PLoS:T&C: To Sum Up: We Are Screwed. Questions?
• 2012/08/07: ERW: Insight: understanding future climate change by cooperation between disciplines
• 2012/08/08: VV: Statistical homogenisation for dummies
• 2012/08/07: KSJT: Happy Birthday, Retraction Watch
• 2012/08/06: BBC: Climate science and acts of creation
  The role of formal scientific processes in climate science appear to be under threat as never before.
• 
  

  What's new in models?

   

• 2012/08/07: Wunderground:RR: Ledgers, Graphics, and Carvings: Models, Water, and Temperature (4)
  

  Regarding Hansen:

• 2012/08/09: TP:JR: James Hansen On The New Climate Dice And Public Perception Of Climate Change
• 2012/08/11: CCP: [link to 473k pdf] Hansen, Sato & Ruedy: Increasing Climate Extremes and the New Climate Dice
• 2012/08/05: CCurrents: Climate Change Is Here -- And Worse Than We Thought
  

  Regarding Mann:

• 2012/08/09: TP:JR: Mann: We Must Heed James Hansen On Global Warming And Extreme Weather Since He's Been Right For So Long
• 2012/08/10: ClimateShifts: Climate change is already here - Michael Mann
  

  The Pielke fan clubbe, alas:

• 2012/08/07: P3: Wherein Our Hero Slips Into Social Science Denial
  

  While at the UN:

• 2012/08/08: UN: UN agency [FAO] calls for action to promote sustainable diets and food biodiversity
  

  The Fifth IPCC report is coming up:

• 2012/08/06: JEB: Time Management
  

  And on the carbon trading front:

• 2012/08/11: ERabett: We've got enough problems without shooting ourselves in the foot [HFC23]
• 2012/08/10: EnvEcon: Unintended consequences of carbon offsets [HFC23]
• 2012/08/08: NYT: Profits on Carbon Credits Drive Output of a Harmful Gas [HFC-23]
• 2012/08/07: PlanetArk: NYMEX to absorb GreenX emissions contracts on Aug 25
• 2012/08/06: PlanetArk: California defends use of offsets in CO2 market
  

  The idea of a carbon tax is still bouncing around:

• 2012/08/10: Kentucky: Carbon tax best approach to curbing global warming
  

  The Robin Hood tax, aka the Tobin tax, aka the Bank tax, aka the Financial Transaction tax keeps coming up:

• 2012/08/10: BLongstaff: France embraces Robin Hood tax
• 2012/08/06: Reuters:FS: Chart of the day, HFT edition
  [...]
  Back in 2007, I wasn't a fan of a financial-transactions tax; today, I am. And this chart shows better than anything why my opinion has changed.
• 
  

  On the international political front, tensions continue as the empire leans on Iran:

   

• 2012/08/12: al Jazeera: Tanzania confirms reflagging Iran oil tankers
  Tanzania says shipping agent in Dubai reflagged 36 Iranian oil tankers with the Tanzanian flag without its knowledge.
• 2012/08/10: Reuters: Asian oil buyers help Iran stave off the worst, for now
  Asia's major crude buyers are finding ways around tough U.S. and EU sanctions to maintain imports from Iran, suggesting that, for now, the worst may be over for the OPEC producer that is losing more than $100 million a day in oil export revenues.
• 2012/08/09: NGA: Sanctions on Iranian Gas Exports to be Costly For Europe
  

  And South China Sea tension persists:

• 2012/08/12: OilDrum: Tech Talk - tensions over oil in the South China Sea
• 2012/08/07: CSM: Beijing and US tense up over fresh South China Sea dispute
• 2012/08/07: WSWS: US stokes disputes in South China Sea
• 2012/08/06: BBC: South China Sea: Beijing attacks US 'trouble-making'
  Chinese state media have hit out at US "trouble-making" on the South China Sea, two days after Beijing summoned a US diplomat on the issue.
• 
  

  As the EU-ETS is applied to airlines, we will see who is serious about reducing carbon emissions:

   

• 2012/08/07: PlanetArk: NGOs urge Obama not to undermine ICAO efforts
  

  In the global competition for Rare Earths and other natural resources:

• 2012/08/08: BizGreen: Reports: China moves to further restrict rare-earth exports
  Inner Mongolia Baotou Steel Rare-Earth Hi-Tech Co unveils bourse as China says it will cut rare-earth supply by 20 per cent
• 2012/08/06: EUO: Greenland rare-earths spark China rush
  China's forays into Greenland's untapped rare-earth deposits has roused concerns by industry commissioner Antonio Tajani...
• 2012/08/06: EarlyWarning: Total Available Renewable Resource
  

  And in miscellaneous international political jousting:

• 2012/08/11: al Jazeera: Japan to take islands row to world court
  Threat to take matter to the ICJ follows South Korean leader's visit to the disputed territory.
• 
  

  Climate Change is a threat multiplier exacerbating existing conflicts in food, energy, water, race, ideology ... etc.:

   

• 2012/08/11: al Jazeera: The hunger wars in our future
  Rising food prices due to drought may again lead to social unrest and violent conflict.
• 2012/08/07: EnergyBulletin: The hunger wars in our future: Heat, drought, rising food costs, and global unrest [Klare]
  

  What are the activists up to?

• 2012/08/10: Tyee: To Save Our Ecology, We Must Move Beyond Hope
  Fifty years of 'environmentalism' and we're less sustainable. So what do we do now?
• 
  

  Polls! We have polls!

   

• 2012/08/10: TP:JR: New Poll: 90 Percent Of Latino Voters Believe Protecting America's Land And Water Is 'Critical To Our Economy'
  

  Regarding Water Politics and Business:

• 2012/08/10: PlanetArk: Bureaucracy fuels China's safe water problems - report
• 2012/08/08: al Jazeera: People of the Lake
  The drying up of the Aral Sea was an environmental and human tragedy, but can Kazakhstan undo this man-made disaster?
• 2012/08/05: NBF: New desalination technique uses flow-through electrodes for faster desalination and lower cost
  

  And on the groundwater front:

• 2012/08/09: P3: Global Water Unsustainability Map
• 2012/08/09: TP:JR: How Much Water Debt Are We Taking On? This Scary Map Shows How Much
• 2012/08/09: PlanetArk: World over-using underground water reserves for agriculture
• 2012/08/09: SciAm:Obs: Farmers Deplete Fossil Water in World's Breadbaskets
• 2012/08/09: TMoS: About That Other Shoe, The One That Just Dropped [g water]
• 2012/08/11: JFleck: "This aquifer is slowly going dry"
• 2012/08/09: SciNews: Global groundwater use outpaces supply -- Measure reveals unsustainable use of world's aquifers
• 2012/08/08: NatureN: Demand for water outstrips supply -- Groundwater use is unsustainable in many of the world's major agricultural zones
  

  So what's new on the education front?

• 2012/08/11: al Jazeera: Renewables power Peru education
  Children at a village school are able to do their homework on laptops, thanks to a windmill and solar panels. Children at a school in a village in Peru are learning and doing their homework on computers despite living without electricity.
• 
  

  And on the American political front:

   

• 2012/08/10: Kentucky: Carbon tax best approach to curbing global warming
• 2012/08/11: BPA: Observations From an Iowa Farm by Walter Falcon
• 2012/08/10: DeSmogBlog: Republican Ohio Governor Kasich's Trillion Dollar Shale Gas Lie
• 2012/08/12: Grist: Smile! You're on constant camera: What does the end of privacy mean for green causes?
• 2012/08/08: HuffPo: Six Tips for Newly Climate-Concerned Americans
• 2012/08/08: Guardian(UK): America's drought of political will on climate change
  With US politics paralysed by the partisan divide on climate change, public concern about extreme weather cannot bear fruit
• 2012/08/08: Grist: Ted Cruz, Tea Party's new Latino hero, is a bit loony on green issues
• 2012/08/07: ERabett:BSD: Some real progress on California renewable energy
• 2012/08/07: UCSUSA: Michigan Provides Model For Clean Energy Future, Panel Says -- Renewable Energy Standard, Fuel Efficiency Will Create Jobs
• 2012/08/08: IdahoStatesman: Power struggle [at Idaho Public Utilities Commission] could decide fate of green energy in Idaho
• 2012/08/07: TP:JR: Outdoor Industry To Utah's Governor: Shape Up Or We May Ship Out
• 2012/08/07: TP:JR: Conservatives, Now Is The Time To Positively Influence Climate Policy And Challenge GOP Obstruction
• 2012/08/07: JQuiggin: Spoke too soon
• 2012/08/07: UCSUSA:B: How Congress Should Celebrate National Farmers Market Week
• 2012/08/04: MoJo: 6 Ways California Is Planning to Adapt to Climate Change -- The country's environmental leader is moving towards an adaptation plan
  

  On the 2012 campaign trail:

• 2012/08/11: TP:JR: Meet Paul Ryan: Climate Denier, Conspiracy Theorist, Koch Acolyte
• 2012/08/11: al Jazeera: Romney picks Paul Ryan as running mate
  Republican Mitt Romney's campaign announces 42-year-old Wisconsin representative as US vice presidential running mate.
• 2012/08/11: Grist: The green take on Paul Ryan
• 2012/08/11: DeSmogBlog: Romney's New Campaign Strategy: Attack Green Jobs During Massive Unemployment
• 2012/08/10: RT: "US political system hostile to American people" - Jill Stein interview
• 2012/08/10: TP:JR: Romney Visits Iowa 'Farmer' Who Is Also A Millionaire Real Estate Mogul With A Spaceship House And Personal Car Wash
• 2012/08/09: LA Times: Obama slams Romney's opposition to wind energy tax credit
• 2012/08/09: TreeHugger: Romney Spokesperson Lobbied to Undermine Climate Science for Exxon
• 2012/08/08: MoJo: Romney Spokeswoman Promoted Climate Change Denial on Behalf of Exxon -- Andrea Saul worked on anti-climate-science campaigns on behalf of polluters
• 2012/08/08: CBS: Climate change not a presidential election issue yet
• 2012/08/09: OilChange: Romney Aide Linked to Climate Denial
• 2012/08/07: TruthOut: Interview With the Green Party's Jill Stein, Candidate for Organizer in Chief
• 2012/08/08: GreenPeace: Romney spokesperson Andrea Saul linked to climate science smear campaign
  Greenpeace releases briefing exposing details of Saul's connections to DCI Group, ExxonMobil Today, Greenpeace released a briefing detailing Romney campaign operative and Press Secretary Andrea Saul's involvement with DCI Group, a firm that was on contract to ExxonMobil at the height of the oil company's campaign to attack global warming science and climate change policy.
• 2012/08/08: S&R: A vote for the Green Party presidential ticket is a vote for voting
• 2012/08/08: TP:JR: Romney Campaigns In Iowa, A State Where He's Vowed To Cut Support For The Vital Wind Industry
• 2012/08/08: DeSmogBlog: Science Denial and Andrea Saul -- Romney 2012 Campaign Spokesperson
• 2012/08/07: TP:JR: It's A Mad, Mad World: Obama Ad Touts Coal Record, Slams Romney For Having Admitted Coal Plants 'Kill People'
• 2012/08/06: CassandrasLegacy: Mitt Romney: peak oiler?
  

  The Keystone XL saga rolls along:

• 2012/08/10: CBC: Texas farmer fights Keystone XL route -- Property rights, status of 'common carrier' are focus of opposition
  A Texas farmer is back in court today in her continuing challenge of Calgary-based TransCanada's right to expropriate a part of her farm to build the Keystone XL pipeline. Julia Trigg Crawford's hearing before a county court judge in Paris, Texas, is the beginning of a process to challenge TransCanada's claim to be a common carrier, which in Texas gives it what lawyers call the power of eminent domain, or the right to seize property.
• 2012/08/08: Grist: Meet Keystone XL's worst enemy: The burying beetle
  

  Yet more Canute:

• 2012/08/11: ClimateShifts: North Carolina outlaws sea level rise
• 2012/08/04: SCNow: Southern states fight estimates of sea level rise
  

  There is a concerted push to change the Ethanol Mandate because of the drought and drastically reduced crop:

• 2012/08/10: Stoat: UN urges US to cut ethanol production
• 2012/08/09: WaPo: Mikulski, Cardin among senators urging EPA waiver on corn-to-fuel rule
• 2012/08/10: OilChange: Food Versus Fuel Debate Intensifies in US
• 2012/08/10: BBC: US biofuel production should be suspended, UN [FAO] says
  The United Nations (UN) food agency has called on the United States to suspend its production of biofuel ethanol. Under US law, 40% of the harvest must be used to make biofuel, a quota which the UN says could contribute to a food crisis around the world. A drought and heatwave across the US has destroyed much of the country's corn crop, driving up prices.
• 2012/08/08: PlanetArk: Senators press EPA to cut ethanol mandate
• 2012/08/06: CNN: Calls to scrap ethanol mandate intensify with drought
  

  The NRC has frozen all reactor licensing after an appeal court ruling:

• 2012/08/07: ENS: U.S. Freezes All Nuclear Power Plant Licensing Decisions
  Federal nuclear regulators today froze at least 19 final reactor licensing decisions in response to a ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit that spent nuclear fuel stored on-site at nuclear power plants "poses a dangerous, long-term health and environmental risk." In its ruling, the appeals court invalidated the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission's 2010 updates to the Waste Confidence Rule and also the Temporary Storage Rule and directed the commission to fully comply with federal law. In response, the NRC today put a hold on nine construction and operating licenses, eight license renewals, one operating license, and one early site permit.
• 2012/08/08: TreeHugger: US Nuclear Regulators Freeze 19 Power Plant Licensing Decisions, After Court Ruling on Waste Storage
• 2012/08/07: EneNews: U.S. Freezes All Nuclear Reactor Construction & Operating Licenses
• 2012/08/07: APR: NRC holds up licensing, relicensing over waste storage issue
• 2012/08/07: Reuters: NRC halts plant license approvals to resolve waste issue
  U.S. regulators on Tuesday suspended issuing final decisions on new licenses and on license renewals for nuclear power plants until the agency decides how to deal with the thorny issue of spent nuclear fuel. The order from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission - headed by Allison Macfarlane, a nuclear waste expert - will not stop hearings or other work on licensing activity and no license decisions are imminent, an NRC spokesman said.
• 
  

  The Obama chatter is nonstop:

   

• 2012/07/25: BAR: Should We Really Re-Elect This Fracking President?
  

  The actions of the Obama administration are being watched closely:

• 2012/08/07: Thehill:e2W: White House to seek $7B in green energy contracts for military
• 2012/08/08: TP:JR: Interior Secretary Ken Salazar On Renewables: 'We Can't Afford To Turn The Clock Of Progress Back To The Past'
• 2012/08/: NOAA:NCDC: State of the Climate - National Overview - July 2012
• 2012/08/08: TreeHugger: 5 Gigawatts of Renewable Energy Projects Fast-Tracked by Obama Administration
• 2012/08/06: HillTimes: Defense Dept., Interior seek to speed renewables on military lands
• 2012/08/06: SciAm:PI: Joining Forces on Renewable Energy Development
  

  As for what is going on in Congress:

• 2012/08/08: TreeHugger: Key Republicans Rally Behind Wind Power in Congress
• 2012/08/08: E&E: Reid hopes for carbon pricing bill if Dems keep Senate
• 2012/08/07: TP:JR: Senator Harry Reid Opens Clean Energy Summit With A Bold Speech On Climate Change: 'We Must Act Today'
• 2012/08/07: TreeHugger: Harry Reid: "It's Time to Stop Acting Like Climate Deniers Have a Valid Point of View -- They Don't"
• 2012/08/07: CCP: Sen. Harry Reid: Time to stop acting like climate change deniers have a valid point of view -- they don't!
• 2012/08/07: AutoBG: Senate [Finance] committee approves $2,500 federal tax credit for electric two-wheelers
• 2012/08/06: Wonkette: How Many Stupid, Stupid Lawmakers Do We Have in Congress, Imperiling Very Existence of Life on Earth?
• 2012/08/05: HillTimes:e2W: Harsh weather doesn't prove global warming, Republican lawmakers say
• 2012/08/06: TP:JR: Rep. Jim McDermott (D-Wash. Introduces Carbon Tax Law
• 2012/08/06: TP:JR: Before Attacking Navy Biofuels Program, Sen. Inhofe Pushed Fossil Fuels Costing 29 Times More Than Conventional Fuel
• 2012/08/06: PlanetArk: Lawmaker offers new approach to price carbon in US
• 2012/08/06: DeSmogBlog: House Republicans Sacrifice Human Health For Alleged Job Creation
  

  While in the UK:

• 2012/08/10: GEP: Update on NER300
  Last month the European Commission issued a working document providing an update on the status of award decisions under the EU NER300 funding program for CCS and renewables projects...
• 2012/08/10: Google:UKPA: 100% renewable energy 'attainable' [in Scotland]
• 2012/08/10: BBC: Wylfa nuclear station to generate for two more years
• 2012/08/09: Guardian(UK): Green businesses unite to pressure PM into supporting renewable energy
  David Cameron told he must do more to rein in Treasury after series of U-turns on green power
• 2012/08/09: BBC: Anti-hunger petition goes to Downing Street
  

  And in Europe:

• 2012/08/09: DerSpiegel: Sharing the Burden -- German Opposition Calls for Wealth Tax
  In Germany, the opposition center-left Social Democrats and environmentalist Greens want to copy France and apply new taxes to the wealthy to help reduce the national deficit. So far, Chancellor Angela Merkel's government says it isn't interested. But proponents say it could bring an additional 11.5 billion euros into the public coffers each year.
• 2012/08/09: NatureN: Rapeseed biodiesel fails sustainability test -- European Commission's calculations of greenhouse-gas emissions questioned
  

  Meanwhile in Australia:

• 2012/08/10: ABC(Au): Senate President Hogg announces retirement
  Labor veteran and Senate President John Hogg has announced he will not re-contest his Senate seat. Senator Hogg entered Federal Parliament in 1996 and was appointed president in 2008. He says he will serve out the rest of his term but he will leave federal politics when it ends in mid 2014.
• 2012/08/10: ABC(Au): Deadline looms for solar city energy audit
  The manager of Alice Springs Solar City says the company's free energy auditing program will wind down, despite a continuing need for the service. Sam Latz says the company has provided its auditing service to a quarter of the homes in Alice Springs but it is about to stop because funding is running out.
• 2012/08/09: ABC(Au): Business puts carbon tax in 'too hard basket'
  Almost six weeks after the controversial carbon tax was introduced, few businesses have done anything to integrate its real or potential impact into their long-term strategies. A survey from the international freight company DHL shows 90 per cent of businesses have put the carbon price into the 'too hard basket', put off by the lack of detail from the government. The annual export barometer from DHL spoke to 785 companies - ranging from small home businesses through to large corporations. Seven out of 10 had a familiar complaint - that the $23 per tonne carbon price is too high - with three in 10 worried the impact would hurt their exports. But one result stands out.
  Despite the profile of the carbon tax debate in the lead up to July 1, just one in every 10 companies has bothered to make it part of their business plan.
• 2012/08/09: ABC(Au): Dick Smith urges federal funds for solar thermal trial
• 2012/08/09: ABC(Au): [South Australian Premier Jay] Weatherill says revised basin plan lacking
• 2012/08/09: ABC(Au): Power furphies and fabrications are all Abbott's: [Climate Change Minister, Greg] Combet
• 2012/08/06: ABC(Au):TDU: Abbott faces his own race against time
  As the damning opinion polls continue to mount, many commentators are already writing the Prime Minister's political obituary, but if history is anything to go by, the potential for the Leader of the Opposition to face a political execution of his own, should not be discounted. This claim may seem fanciful when one considers the dominance of the party Mr Abbott leads in the opinion polls, but should he survive as Opposition Leader to the next election, he will be the exception to opposition politics in Australia, rather than the rule. In truth, oppositions in poll winning positions have form when it comes to changing leaders in order to shore up their election prospects. There is only so long an opposition will tolerate an unpopular leader, particularly when the ultimate prize is so tantalisingly close.
• 2012/08/08: ABC(Au): VicForests logging case adjourned
• 2012/08/08: ABC(Au): Engineering firm applauds clean energy funds
• 2012/08/08: ABC(Au): Spotlight falls on food security
  Water supply, climate change and population growth will be on the agenda today at a conference about food security in south-east Queensland. More than 90 government and industry representatives will attend the Southern Queensland Food Futures Symposium on the Sunshine Coast.
• 2012/08/08: ABC(Au): Government calls for nuclear dump designs
  The Federal Government has released a tender calling for concept designs for Australia's first radioactive nuclear waste dump. The Government has previously announced its preferred site for the dump is on Muckaty Station in the Northern Territory, about 120 kilometres north of Tennant Creek. The tender says the concept design will be appropriate for a site in arid to semi-arid areas of Australia.
• 2012/08/06: ABC(Au): Wind farm scale slashed in half
  The size of a proposed $1 billion wind farm near Boorowa has been cut in half. Wind Prospect CWP has revised the plans for its Bango project following consultation with the public. The senior development manager Adrian Maddocks says the company now hopes to build 100 turbines because houses have been built nearby. He says the hopes the project will not suffer any more setbacks.
• 2012/08/06: ABC(Au): Early bid for clean coal funding
  The coal research company Environmental Clean Technologies has confirmed it will apply for part of the $90 million on offer from the Victorian and Federal Governments for new coal technology.
• 2012/08/06: ABC(Au): No peace deal for Tasmania's forests
  

  The carbon bill is law. Now comes the implementation:

• 2012/08/10: ABC(Au): Nurseries relucant to invest in native trees for carbon farming
• 2012/08/10: ABC(Au): SA study finds farmers do their bit to cut carbon emissions
• 2012/08/10: ABC(Au): Doubt over abattoir carbon tax claims
  The Federal Government is urging the Casino meatworks to take its power price concerns to the A-triple-C. The Northern Co-operative Meat Company says it's been told by its power supplier that the carbon tax will push up its power bills by more than 500 thousand dollars.
• 2012/08/08: ABC(Au): Meat processor [Northern Co-operative Meat Company] says carbon tax will cost it half a million dollars a year
• 2012/08/07: ABC(Au): Coke producer faces double expected carbon tax bill
  Australia's only independent coke producer says its carbon tax bill this year will be about double what it originally thought. The Illawarra Coke Company says it now expects to face a $500 000 liability compared to the $250 000 bill it anticipated just before the tax came in.
• 2012/08/06: ABC(Au): Carbon tax price rises limited to utilities: index
  A private index shows the carbon tax had little effect on inflation in its first month of operation, despite pushing up energy costs. The monthly inflation gauge by TD Securities and the Melbourne Institute shows consumer prices rose by only 0.2 per cent in July, with the annual rate hitting a three-year low of 1.5 per cent.
• 
  

  Gillard accused the states of unwarranted electricity rate increases. Then the feathers hit the fan:

   

• 2012/08/07: ABC(Au): Anger mounts over Gillard's power ultimatum
  Prime Minister Julia Gillard has been accused of hypocrisy and compared to a cane toad after she told the states to lower electricity prices, or else. Speaking at the Energy Policy Institute in Sydney on Tuesday afternoon, Ms Gillard said skyrocketing power prices were hurting households and businesses. "I want to say very clearly, the last four years' price rises cannot continue," she said. "[There have been] fifty per cent price increases in many states over four years linked to demonstrable inefficiencies in resource allocation in the market; or in this state, New South Wales, nearly 70 per cent increases. "Some states, like New South Wales and Queensland, are doing very well out of this financially and their revenue from some electricity assets is growing much faster than in the private sector." She challenged the states to come up with ways of reducing power prices, and says if the premiers won't act, she will do it for them.
• 2012/08/12: ABC(Au): Electricity the new petrol: Gillard
  Julia Gillard has attacked state governments for increasing their revenue at the expense of family electricity bills.
• 2012/08/10: ABC(Au): Power players warn price rises will persevere
  This week, political debate has been dominated by power bills. The Prime Minister has launched an attack on the states, blaming them for driving up electricity prices in an effort to "gold plate" the system and line their own coffers. State premiers have hit back, accusing Julia Gillard of trying to deflect the blame for price rises away from the carbon price.
• 2012/08/09: ABC(Au): Blows traded in power stand-off
  Queensland's Energy Minister Mark McArdle says the State Government is doing what it can to contain electricity prices - and the Federal Government should do the same. Prime Minister Julia Gillard says Queensland and New South Wales know there is a problem but are resisting change. Ms Gillard has threatened to give the Australian Energy Regulator (AER) more power if the states do not do more.
• 2012/08/09: ABC(Au): Coalition disunity in power price blame game
  The Federal Opposition Leader is at odds with several of his frontbenchers over the causes of higher electricity prices. Earlier today Tony Abbott was accused of ignoring facts for political gain after describing the energy regulator's position on what is driving power prices as a "furphy".
• 2012/08/08: ABC(Au): Gillard won't rule out taking big stick to states over power prices
• 2012/08/08: ABC(Au): PM's power attack a stunt: Abbott
• 2012/08/08: ABC(Au): Barnett criticises PM over power price rise row
• 2012/08/07: ABC(Au): Aus 'must have energy debate' to deal with changing energy demands
  Energy experts have generally welcomed the debate triggered by the Prime Minister's comments, although some say they contain a degree of hypocrisy. They say an informed national discussion about how much power Australians need and how it should be provided is long overdue...
• 2012/08/07: ABC(Au): The Tasmanian Government has defended the cost of electricity in the state
• 2012/08/07: ABC(Au): PM threatens more regulation if states don't cut power bills
• 2012/08/07: ABC(Au): WA's Energy Minister Peter Collier has hit out at the Prime Minister following her attack on rising power prices
• 2012/08/07: ABC(Au): Gillard warns states on electricity pricing
  

  The Murray-Darling Basin Plan controversy continues:

• 2012/08/10: ABC(Au): Trust backs SA Govt's basin plan response
  The CEO of the Central Irrigation Trust is happy with the South Australian Government's handling of the draft Murray-Darling Basin Plan.
• 2012/08/09: ABC(Au): First-hand drought stories boost SA Murray fight
  Government-funded advertising is using South Australians to tell their drought stories, as the state fights the proposed Murray-Darling Basin water plan. The ads are part of a $2 million campaign the SA Government is funding.
• 2012/08/07: ABC(Au): Murray-Darling plan will be signed off before end of the year: Burke
  The Federal Water Minister Tony Burke says there's still work to do, but he's confident a plan for the Murray-Darling Basin can be agreed to. He's responding to the Basin Authority's latest version of the Plan, which incorporates a number of elements requested by the state and federal governments.
• 2012/08/07: ABC(Au): Winegrowers criticise basin submission snub
• 2012/08/07: ABC(Au): [Northern Victorian] Councils continue push for 'balanced' basin plan
• 2012/08/08: ABC(Au): Floodplain Association says latest Basin Plan still doesn't deliver for the environment
• 2012/08/08: ABC(Au): [Griffith] Business Chamber slams latest Basin Plan
• 2012/08/08: ABC(Au): South Australian Premier Jay Weatherill is in the Riverland today to meet stakeholders over the revised Murray-Darling Basin Plan
• 2012/08/06: ABC(Au): Basin authority releases final version of Murray-Darling plan
• 2012/08/06: ABC(Au): The Victorian Government says it is extremely disappointed with the latest update to the Murray-Darling Basin plan
• 2012/08/06: ABC(Au): NSW ignored in Murray-Darling Basin Plan
• 2012/08/06: ABC(Au): Renewed tensions over Murray-Darling plan
• 2012/08/06: ABC(Au): Environment Minister still not happy with rivers plan
  The Federal Environment Minister Tony Burke says the latest version of the basin plan isn't environmentally ambitious enough and he's still not prepared to sign off on it. Mr Burke says there's still a lot of work to be done before the plan is finalised.
• 2012/08/06: ABC(Au): New Murray-Darling plan criticised
  Premiers and ministers from three states have criticised a new draft plan published by the Murray-Darling Basin Authority. The authority published a new draft this morning in response to a series of proposals put forward by state water ministers last month. The authority says it supports an adjustment mechanism which could see the amount of water available for irrigation move between 2,400 and 3,200 gigalitres a year. The previous target was 2,750 gigalitres -- a figure New South Wales and Victoria argued was too high and South Australia thought was too low. The authority says the targets should be flexible, in case environmental or irrigation works improve the system's efficiency. Federal Environment Minister Tony Burke says he wants more water returned to the Murray-Darling Basin before he approves a plan for the river system.
• 
  

  And in the Indian subcontinent:

   

• 2012/08/11: WSWS: Following grid collapse: Indian bourgeoisie demands privatisation of power sector
• 2012/08/10: Guardian(UK): Indian officials told they can steal a little, but 'don't be a bandit'
  A minister in the country's most populous state, Uttar Pradesh, was caught on camera telling officials they could 'steal some'
• 
  

  While in China:

   

• 2012/08/10: TP:JR: As Severe Storms Overwhelm China's Infrastructure, Experts Warn That Climate Change Will Make The Problem Worse
• 2012/08/07: Guardian(UK): Rare-earth mining in China comes at a heavy cost for local villages
• 2012/08/06: Guardian(UK): Chinese eco pilots find habits hard to change
  Low-carbon city programmes are doing well on public awareness, but survey finds little evidence of greener habits
• 
  

  While in Africa:

   

• 2012/08/10: VanguardNgr: Enough of this hypocrisy
  A one time United States of American Secretary of State, Warren Christopher, once referred to Nigeria as the poorest oil rich nation in the world. What an oxymoron? How can a country be oil rich and yet extremely poor? This is because her wealth is looted by conscienceless power elite given to stealing everything within reach. They steal public funds with the impunity and ruthlessness that will stir the conscience of even the most dangerous armed robber. Paradoxically, they pretend to be sentinels of the public good and paragons of moral rectitude
• 
  

  In Canada, neocon PM Harper pushes petroleum while ignoring climate change:

   

• 2012/08/10: MSimon: Great Furry Leader and the Nasty Pipeline
• 2012/08/10: PostMedia: Critics of climate change are losing their PR battle
  [...]
  Last month, in an unexpected setback to their campaign, a study they funded -- by University of California physics professor Richard A. Muller -- concluded that "global warming was real and that the prior estimates of the rate of warming were correct." The skeptics are losing the public relations battle, helped along by a calamitous drought and melting ice fields. But it is hard to look at this government's record and conclude that it believes the threat is real.
• 2012/08/09: PaiD: The Harper Government and The Eve of Environmental Destruction
• 2012/08/08: PostMedia: More Environment Canada weather stations fall off the radar
• 2012/08/08: PaiD: Thomas Walkom - Harper and Oil
• 2012/08/08: MSimon: Stephen Harper: When the Bully is Beaten
• 2012/08/06: HillTimes: Energy minister Oliver dodges debate on national energy strategy?
  B.C.-Alberta pipeline snafu 'a sign of bigger conflicts to come,' warns resource development expert.
• 
  

  More of what was buried in Bill C-38:

   

• 2012/08/06: PaiD: Another Unpleasant Fact of Omnibus Bill C-38 Revealed
  Given that it is a government with a well-known contempt for openness and democracy, the Harper regime rarely shocks me anymore. Its vilification campaigns of those with opposing views, its use of government power to muzzle the voice of science, its almost demonic obsession with resource extraction at any cost has left me pretty much inured to any emotional reaction other than disgust. Yet even I was both shocked and appalled at what I learned reading The Toronto Star's editorial this morning. The headline tells it all: Drilling for oil in the Gulf of St. Lawrence without a clue
• 2012/08/10: PaiD: More on Drilling for Oil in the Gulf of St. Lawrence
  

  The Enviro Canada GHG report was twisted every which way but straight up:

• 2012/08/08: EnviroCan: [link to pdf] Canada's Emissions Trends 2012
• 2012/08/09: CBC: Sask. has highest per capita greenhouse gas emissions: report
• 2012/08/09: PI:B: Are we there yet? Closing the gap on Canada's climate commitments
• 2012/08/08: PI: Pembina reacts to Environment Canada's 2012 emissions trends report
• 2012/08/09: PostMedia: Canada's greenhouse emissions will be higher than promised
  Canada will protect jobs by not setting targets to cap oilsands pollution: environment minister The federal government estimates that annual greenhouse gas emissions from Canada in 2020 will be 19-per-cent higher than Prime Minister Stephen Harper's international climate change commitment - an improvement on its estimates from a year ago. The estimates from Environment Canada were based on existing federal policies and could change if the government delivers regulations to add to its existing efforts to address pollution, including emerging standards for vehicles and electricity generation. At a news conference Wednesday, Environment Minister Peter Kent said that he will not set a target to cap pollution from the country's fastest growing source of greenhouse gases - oilsands development - because the government wants to protect jobs and growth.
• 2012/08/08: PEF: Canada's Emissions Deception
  The federal government released an updated Canada's Emission Trends 2012 report today.
  [...]
  First of all, it is worth recalling that the Harper government abandoned the Kyoto Protocol and its target of emissions 6% below 1990 levels by 2012 (which works out to a drop from 589 Mt CO2 equivalent in 1990 to 554 Mt in 2012). In its place they made a commitment in the 2009 Copenhagen Agreement to a lesser target of 17% below 2005 levels by 2020 (a drop from 740 Mt in 2005 to 607 Mt in 2020). Kent claims the government is halfway there, but the modeling in Canada's Emission Trends projects that in 2020 emissions will be 720 Mt. This is only 2.7% below 2005 levels, nowhere close to a 17% reduction.
  So where does halfway come in? The report creates an alternative "do nothing" scenario that leads to surging emissions of 850 Mt in 2020, then subtracts estimates of federal and provincial actions taken to date, which gets us to 720 Mt. That is a lot of spin on the numbers, perhaps hoping few people will bother to read the actual report and just report the government's line.
  But even the 720 Mt number is suspect for a variety of reasons
• 2012/08/08: CBC: Kent says Canada 'halfway' to 2020 emissions targets Environment Canada report projects 2020 greenhouse gas emissions at 3% below 2005 levels
  

  What he says; what he does.
  On Friday, the Harper gang made the cabinet the final arbiter of environmental decisions.
  On Monday, Harper stated the Enbridge decision would be scientific not political.
  Duplicity?:

• 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.
• 2012/08/07: CBC: Harper defends independence of pipeline approval process
  PM in Vancouver says federal government does not 'pick and choose' resource projects Prime Minister Stephen Harper is defending the independence of the environmental review process underway for Enbridge's Northern Gateway pipeline, telling reporters in Vancouver the project will be evaluated scientifically and a green light to proceed would not be based on politics.
• 2012/08/12: PostMedia: 'Science' will tell what we already know
  It should be evident to everyone by now that Prime Minister Stephen Harper's apparent embrace of science last week was more like an Olympic wrestler's hold.
• 2012/08/09: G&M: Ottawa still has a role to play in environmental regulation
  In this year's federal budget, Prime Minister Stephen Harper's government outlined a plan to streamline federal and provincial environmental regulations, to reduce overlap and delays in resource development. It's a sensible premise, but news this week that Ottawa plans to effectively defer to Alberta on greenhouse-gas rules - allowing it to place fewer limits on carbon emissions from oil-sands development than might otherwise be the case - raises concerns about what it will lead to.
• 2012/08/09: TStar: Conservatives continue to soften tone on Northern Gateway pipeline
• 2012/08/09: TMoS: PostMedia Paper Calls Harper a Liar
• 2012/08/09: ScottsDiatribe: Harper tells a good joke.
• 2012/08/08: TStar: Harper's pipeline 'about-face' is anything but
• 2012/08/08: PostMedia: Despite PM's vow, politics key to pipeline fate
• 2012/08/08: Impolitical: Tell us more, Mr. Science
• 2012/08/07: TheCanadian: Harper Backtracks on Enbridge Review Panel - Says He'll Listen to Science
  

  The proposed CNOOC buy into Nexen generated some comment:

• 2012/08/10: EmbassyMag: Sinopec Daylight Energy sheds light on the Nexen bid
  If the oil sands are a strategic Canadian asset which warrants the limitation of foreign ownership within its confines, the case of Daylight Energy makes for a thought-provoking comparison.
• 2012/08/08: CBC: Nexen hits the lobby hustings in anticipation of CNOOC bid review
• 2012/08/08: BBerg: CNOOC Bid for Nexen Presses Harper Amid Investor Concern
• 2012/08/06: G&M: The party will write the narrative for Ms. Gu -- and for Nexen
  

  The battle over the Northern Gateway pipeline rages on:

• 2012/08/11: CBC: Harper's pipeline dilemma: can't reject, can't ram through
  Political debate around Northern Gateway shows less clarity, more complexity Figuring out what's likely to unfold with the Northern Gateway pipeline project felt somewhat easier before evidence began trickling out that not all conservatives agree on how to proceed. When the Harper government's senior minister for B.C. popped up on private radio sticking up for B.C.'s right not to be treated like a "doormat" by Enbridge, ears perked up at the prospect of serious cabinet dissent. This was, after all, a project that had been assumed to be a done deal.
• 2012/08/11: CBC: Scathing U.S. report missing from Northern Gateway hearings
  A scathing U.S. government report on the 2010 Enbridge oil spill in the Kalamazoo River, Mich., has yet to be entered as evidence into the proposed Northern Gateway Pipeline hearings, a B.C. economist says. In an interview airing on CBC Radio's The House, independent economist Robyn Allan told guest host Louise Elliott that while the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) report was published in July, "Enbridge hasn't tabled any information, at all, about the spill."
• 2012/08/10: TheCanadian: Meet 'Dil Bit': The Enbridge Testimony Stephen Harper Doesn't Want Heard
• 2012/08/10: WMTC: deadline to comment on northern gateway pipeline is august 31: add your voice to the opposition
• 2012/08/10: CBC: Pipelines to financially boost B.C. more than Alberta, says [Canadian Energy Research Institute] study
• 2012/08/09: CBC: Enbridge defends ad campaign on pipeline safety
• 2012/08/09: CBC: 'Politically charged' pipelines get new public push
  Industry launches campaign as Enbridge CEO admits 'we don't like being in the public eye'
• 2012/08/09: TMoS: "This is Absolutely NOT a P.R. Exercise" - Yeah, Right [NorGate]
• 2012/08/07: Tyee: Piping Crude? 'There Is No Leak Proof System'
  Alberta's atrocious record of pipeline leaks a strong warning to British Columbia.
• 2012/08/08: Straight: Bill Rees slams Stephen Harper over Enbridge's Northern Gateway pipeline
• 2012/08/09: WpgFP: Enbridge defends recent ad campaign, critics say company is playing 'catch up'
• 2012/08/08: PostMedia: Clark's Northern Gateway demands perfectly reasonable
  Christy Clark has done Alberta a huge favour by giving the Northern Gate-way project the only second chance it will ever get in the court of B.C. public opinion. As an Angus Reid online survey of 804 British Columbians reported last week, 51 per cent "are taking a moderate position of support or opposition that could change depending on specific considerations." B.C.'s premier, by articulating five conditions for provincial support of the pipeline between the oilsands and Kiti-mat, has given the $6-billion project a small but fighting chance.
• 2012/08/07: TStar: Walkom: Enbridge pipeline saga shows limits of Stephen Harper's bully-boy tactics
• 2012/08/07: G&M: Feather dust-up highlights Enbridge's culture clash with first nations
• 2012/08/06: G&M: Former MLA -- and Enbridge VP -- weighs in on Northern Gateway
• 2012/08/06: CdnSoapbox: Christian churches speaking out on Northern Gateway - Why are evangelicals silent?
• 2012/08/06: CBC: Churches speaking out on Northern Gateway pipeline project -- United Church considering motion to oppose pipeline construction
• 2012/08/06: WpgFP: Pulpits and the pipeline: more churches speaking out on Northern Gateway project
• 2012/08/05: TMoS: A Glimpse of Enbridge Muscle
  

  N.W.T. Premier Bob McLeod talked down the northern route he proposed last week:

• 2012/08/08: CBC: N.W.T. aboriginal groups against Northern Gateway idea -- Groups say N.W.T. premier should focus on Mackenzie Valley pipeline instead
  Aboriginal groups are speaking out against N.W.T. Premier Bob McLeod's suggestion that the Northern Gateway pipeline could run through the territory if it can't find its way through British Columbia.
• 2012/08/08: HQYellowknife: NWT premier clarifies comments concerning Northern energy
  Everyone thought Premier Bob McLeod had an answer to the Northern Gateway pipeline impasse between Alberta and British Columbia last week, but his words had nothing to do with that at all. The Northern route McLeod had been talking about for oil and gas had to do with the Mackenzie Gas Project, and he based that solution on the territory's resources not being able to flow south.
• 2012/08/09: BCLSB: N.W.T Premier Walks It Back
• 2012/08/05: G&M: NWT Premier throws support behind Alberta over pipeline
  

  Regarding the CWB:

• 2012/08/11: WpgFP: Harper's act of clemency hits at CWB
  

  The ISA/PRV/IHN/Alpha virus in Canadian waters is potentially disastrous:

• 2012/08/11: ProMedMail: Infectious hematopoietic necrosis, salmon - Canada (04): (BC)
• 2012/08/10: OPB: The Northwest's Salmon People Face a Future Without Fish
• 2012/08/07: ProMedMail: Infectious hematopoietic necrosis, salmon - Canada (03): (BC)
  

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

• 2012/08/09: RHughes: A Number of People Should Go to Jail for What Has Been Done to BC Hydro!
• 2012/08/10: TheCanadian: Exxon Valdez Survivor, Marine Toxicologist Dr. Ricki Ott's Message to British Columbians on Enbridge, Tankers
• 2012/08/07: TheCanadian: Time for British Columbians to Get Serious About Energy Issues
• 2012/08/05: TheCanadian: The Rigamarole of 'Public' Environmental Hearings in BC: A Cameraman's Perspective
• 2012/08/06: Tyee: Premier Clark's Lousy Conditions -- Why her five requirements for accepting Enbridge's Northern Gateway project don't add up
• 2012/08/06: RHughes: Christy Clark's Pretend Conditions For Enbridge-Defragged!
  

  Meanwhile in that Mechanical Mordor known as the tar sands:

• 2012/08/09: OilChange: The unethical reality of tar sands oil and the Keystone XL pipeline
• 2012/08/11: ERabett: Ultimately," she says, "I'm responsible for my own behavior."
• 2012/08/09: G&M: The path to a smaller carbon footprint
  Imperial Oil Ltd. has achieved a key milestone at its new Kearl oil sands mine in the bitter battle that its vocal critics are waging against the Canadian industry over greenhouse gas emissions. By investing in new technologies that reduce the amount of energy used to extract bitumen, Imperial says the Kearl production will emit the same level of greenhouse gases (GHGs) as the average barrel of oil used in North America...
• 2012/08/10: PostMedia: Aboriginal groups say Feds, Alberta breaking promises for oilsands monitoring
  Improved environmental monitoring being developed for Alberta's oilsands is being heavily criticized before it gets fully up and running. Aboriginal groups in the area have sent an angry letter to Premier Alison Redford accusing the provincial and federal governments of breaking promises to involve them in setting up and running the program.
• 2012/08/04: CensoredNews: First Nations march against tarsands
• 2012/08/03: CensoredNews: Walking the anti-Tarsands trail: Alberta to Texas
• 2012/08/10: VanSun:B: The people behind Ethical Oil
• 2012/08/08: PostMedia: Oilsands lobby group accuses Tides Canada of 'laundering' money
  An oilsands industry lobby group with links to the Harper government is urging the Canada Revenue Agency to consider whether Tides Canada, a Vancouver environmental and social justice organization, has violated Canada's charity laws. Ethical Oil, in a lengthy legal brief sent Wednesday to the CRA, has accused Tides of "laundering" money from contributors to groups engaged in "non-charitable" political activities.
• 
  

  Also in Alberta:

   

• 2012/08/08: Tyee: Canada Doesn't Obey Oil-Rich Norway's 'Ten Commandments'
  Forty years ago petro giants called Norwegians' demands crazy. They paid off handsomely. Third in a series.
• 2012/08/08: PostMedia: Environmentalists and landowners say Alberta's planned pipeline review too narrow
  Environmentalists and landowners say they're concerned the Alberta government's pipeline review is too narrow and not independent enough. In an open letter Wednesday to Premier Alison Redford, representatives of the Alberta Surface Right Group, the Council of Canadians and Greenpeace Canada said they are glad the province finally listened to the concerns about pipeline safety. "Unfortunately the review they announced still needs some fixing before it can be considered credible," said Mike Hudema, climate and energy campaigner with Greenpeace Canada. "Albertans need and deserve an independent, thorough pipeline review that provides information and answers that we can rely on and trust." One of the concerns is the involvement of the Energy Resources Conservation Board, which regulates pipelines. "They are a huge part of the Alberta pipeline problem" said Hudema. "They shouldn't be reviewing themselves."
• 
  

  In Ontario:

   

• 2012/08/05: PSinclair: Windbaggers Stoop to New Low. Death Threats to Wind Worker
  

  In the Maritimes:

• 2012/08/09: CBC: Bus cuts bode ill for businesses
  The impending shut-down of Acadian Lines in the Maritimes is part of a larger loss of transportation services that could have an effect on the local economy and culture. "This is going to leave the Maritimes with really no public transportation at all," said David Jeans, president of Transportation Action, a national group that follows trends in public transportation.
• 
  

  In the North:

   

• 2012/08/12: WpgFP: New N.W.T oil prospect raising economic hopes and environmental concerns
  

  As for miscellaneous Canadiana:

• 2012/08/10: G&M: Global warming is depressing. Like Conservatives, why not ignore it?
• 2012/08/08: Rabble:DS: Fuelling the future requires bold vision
• 2012/08/07: DCournoyer: canada needs national leadership on energy and natural resource development
  

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

• 2012/08/09: SciAm:Obs: Recycling Reality: Humans Set to Trash Most Elements on the Periodic Table
• 2012/08/07: EnergyBulletin: Degrowth, expensive oil, and the new economics of energy
• 2012/08/06: EnergyBulletin: Eight Fallacies about Growth
  

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

• 2012/08/10: BBC: US nuns won't 'compromise mission'
  US nuns who have come under fire from the Vatican say they will hold further talks with church leaders, but will not "compromise their mission". The Vatican has said the Leadership Conference of Women Religious violated church teaching on birth control and homosexuality, among other issues.
• 2012/08/11: PaiD: The Vatican Needs A Good (Re)boot
  

  Apocalypso anyone?

• 2012/08/05: RI: How cascading failures in the global finance system could mean TEOTWAWKI
• 2012/08/10: CCurrents: Not Even A Spoonful Of Sugar Could Help
  

  How do the media measure up?

• 2012/08/10: KSJT: The false-balance trap
• 2012/08/03: MoJo: The Wall Street Journal's Long War on Science
  

  Here is something for your library:

• 2012/08/08: TreeHugger: [Book Review] _Reinventing Fire_ by Amory B. Lovins and the Rocky Mountain Institute
• 2012/08/09: HotTopic: [Book Review] _Cold Cash, Cool Climate: Science-Based Advice for Ecological Entrepreneurs_ by Jonathan Koomey
• 2012/08/09: EnergyBulletin: Six arguments for the elimination of capitalism
  [Book Review] _The Capitalism Papers_ by Jerry Mander
• 
  

  And for your film & video enjoyment:

   

• 2012/08/09: WtD: Fighting the denial machine with digital activism: After Rio - Brazil
• 2012/08/10: TP:JR: Video: Chronicling The Extreme 2012 Drought
• 2012/08/11: QuarkSoup: HadCRUT4 Updates
• 2012/08/08: Ecologist:B: Texaco's pollution of Ecuador's indigenous lands brought to light in new DVD [Blood of the Amazon]
• 2012/08/07: PSinclair: Drought Update: Vegetable Farmers Hit Hard
• 2012/08/06: PSinclair: Mike Mann on the New Math of Extremes
  

  Meanwhile among the 'Sue the Bastards!' contingent:

• 2012/08/09: Grist: Court to FDA: 35 years is too long to procrastinate on curbing antibiotics in meat
• 2012/08/07: PlanetArk: US business group challenges EPA mercury rule
  The biggest US business lobby group said Monday it has petitioned a federal appeals court to invalidate environmental regulations it claims will lead to sweeping electricity blackouts by forcing coal-fired power plants to close. The US Chamber of Commerce said it filed a friend-of-the-court brief with a broader business coalition in the US Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit on Friday to challenge the Environmental Protection Agency's "Utility MACT" rule, which aims to reduce emissions of mercury and other hazardous air pollutants from coal-fired power plants. The federal agency's Mercury Air Toxics Standards are scheduled to take effect in 2015.
• 2012/08/05: ENS: Youths Appeal Climate Case Against Washington State
  

  Wrestling over a new energy infrastructure continues unabated:

• 2012/08/10: ABC(Au): Sewage-munching microbes to power plants
• 2012/08/06: CleanBreak: Clean energy technologies? No bubble bursting there. Future is growth, growth, growth
• 2012/08/08: BNC: Fit-for-service low-carbon electricity technologies are the key
• 2012/08/08: UCSUSA:B: U.S. Renewable Electricity Future Is Within Reach
• 2012/08/07: Eureka: California's hydroelectricity production is vulnerable to climate change
• 2012/08/07: ABC(Au): Strong interest in wave energy project
  Bio Power Systems says it will do its best to keep the community informed about a 259-kilowatt wave energy project planned off the coast of Port Fairy. The company has been given $5.6 million by the Federal Government to build the demonstration power plant next year.
• 2012/08/06: TreeHugger: Airbus Could Reduce Plane Fuel Consumption 15% with Hydrogen Fuel Cell
• 2012/08/06: TP:JR: The Vast Potential For Renewable Energy In The American West
  

  What do you have in energy comparisons and transitions?

• 2012/08/09: TP:JR: As Coal Sinks, Renewables Soar: Emissions Report Shows Start Of Clean Energy Transition
• 2012/08/08: TP:JR: India's Blackout Lesson: Coal Failed, Solar Delivered
  

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

• 2012/08/07: FuelFix: Disposal of hydraulic fracturing wastewater biggest possible contaminator
  Current wastewater disposal methods for water used in hydraulic fracturing could put nearby drinking water in the Marcellus Shale at risk, according to a study issued on Tuesday.
• 2012/08/06: PostMedia: Fracking poses risk to water systems, research suggests: U.S. study
• 2012/08/08: NBF: China Targeting Huge Shale Gas Reserves Amid Challenges
• 2012/08/07: TP:JR: Shale Gas And The Overhyping Of Its CO2 Reductions
• 2012/08/04: TimesUnion: End of the anti-frack world near
• 2012/08/08: TreeHugger: Fracking to Get Green Light in New York by Labor Day
• 2012/08/08: RawStory: Another study finds fracking wastewater wells make earthquakes more likely
• 2012/08/07: PlanetArk: Minor earthquakes seen near Texas injection wells: study
• 2012/08/06: NatureNB: On fracking and seismic hazards: better data, more quakes
  

  On the coal front:

• 2012/08/10: MetaSD: Beggaring ourselves through coal mining
• 2012/08/08: SeattlePI: Tough coal market means big loss for Alpha Natural
  Coal producer Alpha Natural Resources Inc. said Wednesday it lost $2.2 billion in the second quarter as the industry struggled to compete with cheap natural gas and demand waned in some key markets.
• 2012/08/07: BBerg: Coal to Drop as Steel Output Slows in BHP Setback: Commodities
  Coal used to make steel is set to drop to the lowest price in two years, eroding earnings at BHP Billiton Ltd. (BHP) and Rio Tinto Group (RIO), as European demand wanes and China shifts supply contracts to Mongolia from Australia. The contract price may drop 11 percent to $200 a metric ton in the three months to Dec. 31 from $225 a ton this quarter...
• 
  

  On the gas and oil front:

   

• 2012/08/10: BBerg: Closing oil prices Friday
  OIL (US$/bbl)
  Nymex Crude Future...92.87
  Dated Brent Spot....113.57
  WTI Cushing Spot.....92.87
• 2012/08/08: SeekingAlpha: Is The Inclusion Of Natural Gas Liquids In The Definition Of Oil Plausible?
• 2012/08/09: OilChange: A big mess at Motiva and why Gulf Coast refiners are making a killing
• 2012/08/09: OilDrum: Petroleum Demand in Developing Countries
• 2012/08/09: BBerg: Iraq Oil Tops 3 Million Barrels for First Time Since 2002
• 2012/08/07: TP:JR: Oil Companies Failing To Adequately Disclose Drilling Risks To SEC And Investors
• 2012/08/08: OilChange: Locals Vent Anger After Chevron Refinery Fire
• 2012/08/06: PlanetArk: Insight: A year on, Nigeria's oil still poisons Ogoniland
  

  And in pipeline news:

• 2012/08/06: CBC: Enbridge gets approval to reopen U.S. [Wisconsin] pipeline
• 2012/08/06: PlanetArk: Enbridge says pipeline system safe despite U.S. concerns
  

  Yes we have a peak oil sighting:

• 2012/08/08: EnergyBulletin: Peak Oil Denial: Debunking The Attempted Debunking
• 2012/08/07: NBF: Summarizing a cornucopian case for oil
• 2012/08/07: CanBiz: Jeff Rubin gets Peak Oil wrong
• 2012/08/06: EnergyBulletin: Commentary: Peak Oil, Declining EROI and the New Energy-Economic Reality
  

  Biofuel bickering abounds:

• 2012/08/09: NatureN: Rapeseed biodiesel fails sustainability test -- European Commission's calculations of greenhouse-gas emissions questioned
  

  The answer my friend...:

• 2012/08/10: TreeHugger: American Wind Power Hits Historic Milestone: 50 Gigawatts of Generating Capacity
• 2012/08/10: BBC: Migrating geese avoid offshore wind farms, says study
  Pink-footed geese appear to be avoiding new offshore wind farms when returning to the UK, a study has suggested.
• 2012/08/07: BBC: The consortium behind plans for an 11 turbine wind farm off Donald Trump's Aberdeenshire golf course has said it wants to make them even bigger
• 2012/08/05: TP:JR: Managing Natural Gas Volatility: The Answer Is Blowin' In The Wind
• 2012/08/06: TreeHugger: Colorado Utility Got a Record 57% of Its Electricity From Wind Power
• 2012/08/06: CNN: Wind power hits 57% mark in Colorado
  

  Meanwhile among the solar aficionados:

• 2012/08/09: TreeHugger: Open Source Solar Energy: Zenman Energy's Solar Steam Engine
• 2012/08/10: NBF: Photovoltaics from Any Semiconductor
• 2012/08/09: TreeHugger: Swiss Army Knife Makers Debut Portable Solar Chargers
• 2012/08/09: KIT: Solar Power Day and Night
  KIT Controls Fluctuation of Renewable Energies by Using Modern Storage Systems
• 2012/08/08: EnergyBulletin: Solar Data Treasure Trove by Tom Murphy
• 2012/08/07: TreeHugger: MIT Students Powering African Medical Clinics with Solar Trough Technology
• 2012/08/06: APSmith: Letter to "Physics and Society" on solar energy potential
  

  The nuclear energy controversy continues:

• 2012/08/10: EUO: Belgium shuts down fractured nuclear reactor
• 2012/08/10: EneNews: "Emergency situation" as fractures suspected at [Belgian] nuclear reactor - Ten U.S. plants may use same component - "Likely to reignite a debate over the risks of nuclear energy" -Financial Times
• 2012/08/09: NBF: Thorium Fueled Molten Salt Reactor Research in Shanghai Institute of Applied Physics
• 2012/08/10: BBC: Wylfa nuclear station to generate for two more years
  The Wylfa nuclear power station on Anglesey will be able to produce electricity for another two years after it was given permission to move fuel. The station already had a licence to generate power, but the fuel was in Reactor 2 instead of Reactor 1. It means the it can continue generating electricity until the fuel runs out or September 2014, whichever comes first. The station is due to close after that date and plans for Wylfa B are on hold. Fuel [Magnox] has to be moved within the site as it is no longer manufactured.
• 
  

  Nuclear waste storage requires _very_ long term thinking:

   

• 2012/08/07: APR: NRC holds up licensing, relicensing over waste storage issue
• 2012/08/07: Reuters: NRC halts plant license approvals to resolve waste issue
  U.S. regulators on Tuesday suspended issuing final decisions on new licenses and on license renewals for nuclear power plants until the agency decides how to deal with the thorny issue of spent nuclear fuel. The order from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission - headed by Allison Macfarlane, a nuclear waste expert - will not stop hearings or other work on licensing activity and no license decisions are imminent, an NRC spokesman said.
• 2012/08/08: ABC(Au): Government calls for nuclear dump designs
  The Federal Government has released a tender calling for concept designs for Australia's first radioactive nuclear waste dump. The Government has previously announced its preferred site for the dump is on Muckaty Station in the Northern Territory, about 120 kilometres north of Tennant Creek. The tender says the concept design will be appropriate for a site in arid to semi-arid areas of Australia.
• 
  

  Low energy nuclear keeps coming up:

   

• 2012/08/07: NBF: Celani demonstrates excess power at a conference
  

  More people are talking about the electrical grid:

• 2012/08/07: DM:Crux: Droopy Lines & Overloaded Grids: Inside the Worst-Ever Blackouts in India and the U.S.
• 2012/08/08: CNN: How the U.S. can avoid a blackout like India's
• 2012/08/06: TreeHugger: Smart Grid Technologies Could Cut Peak Power Demand by 20%
  

  And then there is the matter of efficiency & conservation:

• 2012/08/10: TP:JR: Fuel Efficiency Is Powering Job Growth In The U.S. Automotive Sector
• 2012/08/05: TP:JR: Fuel Efficiency Drives America Toward a Sustainable Environment Economy
• 2012/08/06: TreeHugger: How Technology Can Help Us Beat the Heat Without Crippling the Grid
  

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

• 2012/08/10: AutoBG: Mitsubishi follows colleagues by taking a painfully slow approach with hybrids and EVs
• 2012/08/09: AutoBG: Mitsubishi "temporarily suspends" making electric Peugeot Ion, Citroen C-Zero
• 2012/08/09: CSM: Plug-in hybrids to outsell all-electric cars?
• 2012/08/08: AutoBG: GM Ventures invests in new lightweight NanoSteel
• 2012/08/08: AutoBG: 4.1 million electric vehicle charging stations in five years? What?!
• 2012/08/06: AutoBG: 2013 Volkswagen Beetle TDI is America's most fuel-efficient convertible
• 2012/08/05: AutoBG: NEV deal to buy Saab delayed
• 2012/08/06: BBC: Saab owner hits GM with $3bn lawsuit
  The current owner of bankrupt carmaker Saab has sued former partner General Motors for $3bn (£1.9bn). Spyker Cars accuses GM of forcing the Swedish car firm out of business by interfering with a potential sale. Saab had been in takeover talks with China's Zhejiang Youngman Lotus Automobile and filed for bankruptcy in December when those talks failed. GM, which owned part of Saab, did not want Chinese carmakers accessing Saab's technology licences.
• 
  

  As for Energy Storage:

   

• 2012/08/10: AutoBG: Boston Power to supply packs for battery-powered Beijing Electric C70
• 2012/08/09: NBF: GM and Envia System claim 400 Wh/kg batteries wil be commercial in 2014 to 2016
• 2012/08/10: NBF: Korea develops flexible solid state battery which will enable bendable displays and all flexible electronics
  

  The reaction of business to climate change will be critical:

• 2012/08/10: TreeHugger: DHL and Unilever Team Up to Slash Emissions
  

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

• 2012/08/10: TP:JR: August 10 News...
• 2012/08/09: TP:JR: August 9 News...
• 2012/08/08: TP:JR: August 8 News...
• 2012/08/07: TP:JR: August 7 News...
• 2012/08/06: TP:JR: August 6 News...
  

  Other (weekly) lists:

• 2012/08/06: BPA: Hot 5: Subsurface Irrigation. Food Price Infographic. Ethanol Mandate. Crop Insurance. Pasture Conditions.
• 2012/08/08: BPA: Agriculture News
  

  The carbon lobby are up to the usual:

• 2012/08/10: al Jazeera: Walking the waters and bringing Shell ashore
  How to bring the major oil companies ashore and halt the destruction of our oceans
• 2012/08/09: DeSmogBlog: Was Scott Walker Chosen to Headline Heartland Institute Gala Due to His Bradley Foundation Ties? [d]
• 2012/08/10: DeSmogBlog: Republican Ohio Governor Kasich's Trillion Dollar Shale Gas Lie
• 2012/08/12: WtD: Protocols of the elder climate scientists and banksters (part 2): Rothschild's, money masters and global warming
• 2012/08/08: WtD: The profound revolution: libertarians, New World Orders and "banking families" [d]
• 2012/08/08: Lazarus: He Could Have Been Born Yesterday
• 2012/08/08: WtD: DeSmogBlog picks up on the Galileo Movement and Evans "banking families" conspiracy theory
• 2012/08/07: DeSmogBlog: Andrew Bolt Cuts Ties With Climate Science Denying Galileo Movement Over Alleged Anti-Jewish Conspiracy Theory
• 2012/08/07: TP:JR: A Letter To Charles Koch: Do You Consider Climate Science To Be On A 'Solid, Firm Foundation' As Richard Muller Does?
• 2012/08/06: WtD: Climate wars: Crikey gets the point about fighting the denial movement
• 2012/08/06: Bundanga: Climate science deniers imploding
  

  As for climate miscellanea:

• 2012/08/10: ClimateShifts: Fred Krupp: A New Climate-Change Consensus
  It's time for conservatives to compete with liberals to devise the best, most cost-effective climate solutions.
• 2012/08/09: EnergyBulletin: Climate change and developing countries by Robert Rapier
• 2012/07/17: WaPo: Not so fast on blaming global warming
• 2012/08/10: Rabble:CM: Loaded dice in the climate change casino
• 2012/08/11: Guardian(UK): Climate change: how theatre delivered a dramatic warning about the planet's future
• 2012/08/08: P3: Mental Health for the End Times
• 2012/08/08: Guardian(UK): The shape of British summers to come?
  It's been a dull, damp few months and some scientists think we need to get used to it. Melting ice in Greenland could be bringing permanent changes to our climate
• 2012/08/08: CCurrents: Climate Change Action Is Not Hopeless
• 2012/08/07: CSM: Is global warming behind the recent heat waves? (+video)
• 2012/08/07: P3: Is the Tide Turning?
• 2012/08/07: TMoS: There Are Ways to Fix It - Eventually
• 2012/08/07: CassandrasLegacy: Learned helplessness: how to miss your chance
• 2012/08/07: Stoat: Hobbes on climate change
• 2012/08/06: Grist: In the climate crap shoot, it's getting harder and harder to win
• 2012/08/06: PSinclair: The Devil's Rig - Wind Power and the Birth of the Industrial Age
• 2012/08/05: SMandia: Global Warming isn't Tomorrow --- It is Now
  

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

• NACStop: Crawford Family Defense Fund
• FACETS 2012
• Zenman Energy - Open Source Solar Energy
• Apocalypse4Real
• NASA:MODIS: Images of the Day
• Climate Justice
• ESA: CryoSat-2
• The Oxford Geoengineering Online Library
• Bad Science Watch
• VVatts Up With That?
• WSS: Watershed Sentinel - Environmental News Magazine from British Columbia, and the world!
• Tar Sands Action
• Deep Green Resistance
• Climate Abyss -- Weather and climate issues with John Nielsen-Gammon
• Wiki: Great Oxygenation Event
• DoTheMath: Useful Energy Relations
• Wiki: Arctic policy of Russia

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>

-het

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.

"We are like tenant farmers chopping down the fence around our house for fuel when we should be using Nature's inexhaustible sources of energy -- sun, wind and tide. ... I'd put my money on the sun and solar energy. What a source of power! I hope we don't have to wait until oil and coal run out before we tackle that." -Thomas Edison

• Global Warming Links
• Global Warming News Archive
• Energy
• Energy News
• Environmental Issues
• ---
• H.E. Taylor (homepage)

Last modified August 12, 2012