Another Week of GW News - August 19, 2012

Logging the Onset of The Bottleneck Years

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

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Another Week of Climate Disruption News

Sipping from the Internet Firehose...

August 19, 2012

• Chuckles, G20, Ocean Health Index, CSIRO, BEST, Bottom Line, Cook
• Fukushima Note, Fukushima News
• Melting Arctic, Greenland, Methane, Geopolitics, Antarctica
• Food Crisis, Fisheries, Food Prices, Food vs. Biofuel, GMOs, GMO Labelling, Food Production
• Hurricanes, Monsoon, GHGs, Temperatures, Historical Climate
• ENSO, Extinctions, Anthropocene, Proxies, Satellites
• Impacts, Forests, Disease, Wacky Weather, Extreme Weather
• Wildfires, Corals, Glaciers, Sea Levels, Floods & Droughts
• Mitigation, Transportation, Buildings, Sequestration, Geoengineering, Adaptation
• Journals, Other Docs, Misc. Science, Models, Free Science, Hansen, Kröpelin
• International Politics: UN, Carbon Trade, Carbon Tax, Bank Tax
• Hormuz, S&E China Sea, Solar Spat, Security, Activism, Polls, H2O Biz, Groundwater, Education, Predictions
• National Politics: America, BP Disaster, 2012, Gas Prices, Keystone
• Ethanol, Canute, Coal ExPorts, Monnett, Obama, USAdmin, Congress
• Britain, Europe, Australia, Carbon Law, MDBP, New Zealand, India, China, Asia, Middle East
• Canada, Post G20, 2% Poll, Bill C-38, Mulcair, NorGate, Black, BC, Tar Sands, Alberta, Sask, Quebec, North, Canadiana
• Ecological Economics, IPAT, Apocalypso, Media, Video, Courts, Betting
• Energy, Transitions, Fracking, Oil & Gas, Oil & the Economy, Pipelines, Peak Oil, Biofuel
• Wind, Solar, Nukes, Nuclear Fusion, LENR, Hydrogen, Grid, Efficiency, Cars, Energy Storage
• Insurance, Joe's List, Carbon Lobby, Clean Coal, Miscellaneous Climate, Useful Links
• Shameless Self Promotion, .sig

 

Laugh. I dare ya:

• 2012/08/16: uComics: (cartoon - Toles) US Water Wells
• 2012/08/16: Grist: (cartoon - Nesci) Agenda 21: Everything you need to know about the secret U.N. plot, in one comic
• 2012/08/18: VastLeft: (cartoon - VLWC) American Extremists: "Men o' war"
• 2012/08/19: S&R: (cartoon - Szep) Mitt woos women voters
  

  There is some talk about putting hunger on the upcoming G20 conference agenda:

• 2012/08/13: CBC: Drought, food shortages get early G20 attention
  There is increasing alarm over the drought hitting North America and the effect it's having on food prices. Officials from the United States, Mexico and France will hold a conference call later this month to discuss whether an emergency international meeting is needed.
• 
  

  The Halpern et al. paper lays out an Ocean Health Index:

   

• 2012/08/15: Nature: (ab$) An index to assess the health and benefits of the global ocean by Benjamin S. Halpern et al.
• Ocean Health Index
• 2012/08/18: TP:JR: Ocean Health Study Raises Concerns, Offers Some Hope
• 2012/08/15: ScienceInsider: The Health of the Oceans in a Single Number
• 2012/08/15: NatureN: Ocean health index unveiled -- World's oceans score 60 out of 100 on measures of ecological health and human benefit
  

  CSIRO released their 2012 Marine Climate Change Report Card this week:

• 2012/08/: OceanCC: [link to 1.1 meg pdf] 2012 Marine Climate Change Report Card
• 2012/08/17: CSIRO-NB: Report card shows Australia's oceans are changing
• 2012/08/17: ABC(Au): Climate change sees tropical fish arrive in Tasmania
  The CSIRO is warning climate change is having a big impact on the country's oceans, with tropical fish turning up as far south as Tasmania. A major report on oceans and climate change, released today, says the damage under the sea is much clearer than when it released its last report on the subject three years ago.
• 2012/08/17: ABC(Au): Climate change moves tropical fish south
• 2012/08/17: SBS: Climate change driving tropical fish south
  

  Muller is making the media rounds:

• 2012/08/16: PeakEnergy: Climate results convert sceptic: 'let the evidence change our minds'
• 2012/08/15: DeepClimate: Berkeley Earth, part 1: Divergences and discrepancies
• 2012/08/14: CapClimate: Muller Keeps Spinning
• 2012/08/15: ABC(Au): Climate sceptic reborn a believer
  

  And on the Bottom Line:

• 2012/08/15: BBC: Asian nations 'face greatest natural disaster risk'
  Emerging economies in Asia, including India and the Philippines, face the greatest financial risk from natural disasters, an analysis suggests. The authors based their rankings on nations' economic activity and exposure to natural hazards, such as floods, droughts, earthquakes and cyclones.
• 
  

  John Cook and friends continue their point-counterpoint articles:

   

• 2012/08/19: SkS: Global Warming - A Health Warning by Agnostic
• 2012/08/18: SkS: Sea Level Isn't Level: This Elastic Earth by Rob Painting
• 2012/08/17: SkS: Teaching Climate Change in Schools by monkeyorchid
• 2012/08/16: SkS: Students sprout creative communications on climate change Inside the Greenhouse by Max Boykoff, Beth Osnes
• 2012/08/16: SkS: The Continuing Denial of the Scientific Consensus on Climate Change by Andy S
• 2012/08/15: SkS: Hansen's New Climate Dice - Hot, Loaded, and Misunderstood by dana1981
• 2012/08/14: SkS: The New Climate Dice: Public Perception of Climate Change by Daniel Bailey, John Hartz
• 2012/08/14: SkS: Book review: Language Intelligence by Joe Romm by John Cook
• 2012/08/13: SkS: New research from last week 32/2012 by Ari Jokimäki
• 2012/08/13: SkS: A game designer's contribution to the climate solution by Chris Crawford
  

  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?

•  

  No good news out of Fukushima:

   

• 2012/08/18: JapanTimes: No. 1, 2 plants' reactors written off
  National policy minister Motohisa Furukawa has said that reactors 5 and 6 at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant and the nearby No. 2 power station should never be restarted.
  [...]
  Of the [No. 1 power plant] facility's six reactors, Tokyo Electric Power Co. plans to decommission reactors 1 through 4. However, Tepco has not clarified its plans on the remaining two units or the four reactors at Fukushima No. 2, which has been idled since March 2011.
• 2012/08/17: NHK: Japanese beef exports to US postponed
• 2012/08/17: EneNews: Reuters: Thyroid cancer risk lasts entire life after radiation exposure - Leukemia risk peaks in a few years
• 2012/08/18: EneNews: Time: A positive way to spin mutant butterflies found near Fukushima
• 2012/08/17: Dissensus: Local Newspaper `We receive tons of frightening information' -- A majority of Evacuees from Namiecho died of acute symptoms
• 2012/08/16: EneNews: Japan gov't concealed Reactor No. 3 explosion until just before it happened - Ordered that alarming spike of pressure inside containment vessel be kept from public
• 2012/08/17: EneNews: Fukushima Plant Volunteer: It's not just an accident for Japan, but for people around the world - Pressure from U.S. is needed - Tepco can't handle situation -Kyodo
• 2012/08/16: EneNews: Plutonium releases from Fukushima plant highlighted in final sentence of butterfly mutation study
• 2012/08/18: EneNews: Tepco Manager: "I thought situation could end up ruining the whole country"...
• 2012/08/15: PlanetArk: Japan video shows delay in using seawater to cool meltdown reactor
• 2012/08/14: NatureNB: Butterflies and balloons at Fukushima
• 2012/08/14: EneNews: NBC: "It's pretty clear something has gone wrong with the ecosystem" -Japan Researcher
• 2012/08/14: DD: 'Severe abnormalities' found in Fukushima butterflies
• 2012/08/06: Asahi: Nuclear power plants: A hidden world of untruths, unethical behavior
  The long and the short of it is this: Nuclear power plants probably would not operate properly in Japan if workers were not willing to sacrifice their health, and possibly their lives. It emerges that workers at nuclear plants routinely resorted to ingenious ways to conceal the true levels of radiation to which they were exposed--simply to go on earning a living.
• 2012/08/13: BBC: 'Severe abnormalities' found in Fukushima butterflies
• 2012/08/13: ABC(Au): Fukushima radiation spawned mutant butterflies
  

  The Arctic melt continues to garner attention:

• 2012/08/18: Moyhu: Sea Ice - more melting
• 2012/08/18: ASI: First Petermann Ice Island photos
• 2012/08/17: ASI: Record dominoes 1: Uni Bremen sea ice extent
• 2012/08/17: JQuiggin: Disappearing Arctic Ice
• 2012/08/16: ASI: Peeking through the clouds 4
• 2012/08/16: P3: A Bad Situation in the Arctic
• 2012/08/16: QuarkSoup: Probability of New Arctic Ice Record: 72% (Est.)
• 2012/08/13: ArcticNews: Getting the picture
• 2012/08/14: ArcticNews: Another Arctic Cyclone brewing
• 2012/08/14: ArcticNews: Sea ice extent update
• 2012/08/17: ArcticNews: Arctic sea ice updates
• 2012/08/17: NYT: Arctic Drilling Will Begin This Year, Shell Official Says
• 2012/08/17: BBerg: Arctic Sea Ice Heads for Record Low as Melt Beats Forecasts
• 2012/08/15: ClimateSight: A Bad Situation in the Arctic
• 2012/08/18: QuarkSoup: Less Than 30% of Arctic Ice Melt is Natural
• 2012/08/15: GLaden: The Melting of Earth's Northern Ice Cap: Update
• 2012/08/15: ASI: NSIDC Daily Extent Sea Ice Index - More Information - Duplication
• 2012/08/15: PSinclair: Graph of the Day: Sea Ice Crashing to New Low. Deniers - "Co2 Good for Crops"
• 2012/08/15: CCurrents: Arctic Sea Ice Could Vanish In 10 Years: Study
• 2012/08/14: CCP: A Summer Storm In The Arctic - NSIDC
• 2012/08/14: ASI: August SEARCH Contribution Update
• 2012/08/13: CBC: Arctic ice could vanish in 10 years, scientists warn -- Data shows ice melting 50% faster than predicted by some polar scientists
• 2012/08/13: BBC: Arctic sea ice 'melting faster'
  Arctic sea ice is vanishing much faster than generally expected, according to preliminary data from European Space Agency satellite Cryosat.
• 2012/08/13: EurActiv: Rate of Arctic summer sea ice loss is 50% higher than predicted
  Sea ice in the Arctic is disappearing at a far greater rate than previously expected, according to data from the first purpose-built satellite launched to study the thickness of the Earth's polar caps.
• 2012/08/13: CCP: Sam Carana, Arctic News: Getting the picture -- Sea ice volume in September trends to zero by 2015, according to PIOMAS curve
• 2012/08/12: CBC: Massive cyclone blows over central Arctic ocean
  Scientist says cyclone is causing sea ice to melt faster this year A massive cyclone blew over the central Arctic Ocean this past week, north of the Beaufort Sea, and some Arctic researchers said they have never seen anything like it.
• 2012/08/12: RealClimate: Arctic sea ice minimum 2012...
  

  The Greenland melt is breaking records:

• 2012/08/16: CCP: Jason Box: Greenland albedo lowest since 1150 A.D.
• 2012/08/16: RStone: The Arctic Ice Crisis -- Greenland's glaciers are melting far faster than scientists expected [McKibben]
• 2012/08/18: MODIS: Iceberg from Petermann Glacier, northern Greenland
• 2012/08/15: DeSmogBlog: "Goliath" Melting Year Shatters Records in Greenland
• 2012/08/15: P3: Another Outlier - 2012 Greenland Melt
• 2012/08/15: ASI: Greenland melting breaks record 4 weeks early
• 2012/08/16: HotTopic: Greenland's extraordinary summer #3: new record melt year, and summer's not over yet
• 2012/08/15: Eureka: Greenland melting breaks record 4 weeks before season's end
• 2012/08/13: CCP: Greenland enters melt mode: Island-wide thaw is one for the record books -- Marco Tedesco
  

  That Damoclean sword still hangs overhead:

• 2012/08/12: ArcticNews: Charting Mankind's Arctic Methane Emission Exponential Expressway to Total Extinction in the Next 50 Years by Malcolm P.R. Light
• 2012/08/17: ArcticNews: Opening the Doorways to Doom
• 2012/08/14: CCP: "Modeling sub-sea permafrost in the East Siberian Arctic Shelf: The Laptev Sea Region," JGR (2012), by Dmitry J. Nicolsky, Vladimir E. Romanovsky, Nicolai Romanovskii, Alexander Lvovich Kholodov, Natalia Shakhova & Igor P. Semiletov; doi:10.1029/2012JF002358
• 2012/08/12: NJStarLedger: Methane's profile on the rise as gas raises global warming worries
• 2012/08/13: GeoMar: Are Methane Hydrates Dissolving? Examining gas outlets off the coast of Spitsbergen with the submersible JAGO
  West of Spitsbergen methane gas is effervescing out of the seabed. Is this an indication that methane hydrates in the seabed are dissolving due to rising temperatures? And what would the effects be? An expedition with the German research vessel MARIA S. MERIAN and the submersible JAGO lead by GEOMAR | Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel hopes to help answer these questions. The expedition begins today in Reykjavik.
• 
  

  As for the geopolitics of Arctic resources:

   

• 2012/08/17: DeutscheWelle: Chinese vessel traverses Arctic Ocean for first time
• 2012/08/16: OttCit:B: Canadian Government Does Not See A Military Threat in the Arctic, Says DND
• 2012/08/14: GreenPeace(UK): Greenpeace uncovers Gazprom's expired oil spill response plan
• 2012/08/15: OilChange: Gazprom's Oil Response Plan "Illegal"
• 2012/08/15: G&M: Canada's not ready to have the [yacht called the] World in the Arctic
  [...] the risk is of an accident involving more than 400 people in a remote and inhospitable region where Canada's search-and-rescue capabilities are inadequate to the task.
• 2012/08/14: CCP: Caution vs. Recklessness in the Arctic. Shell will attempt to drill in the Chukchi with no spill plan or capability
• 2012/08/13: TP:JR: Caution Vs. Recklessness In The Arctic: What We Can Learn From The Fishing Industry
• 2012/08/10: NEurope: Putin's Arctic Backyard: Polar Bears and Oil
  

  While in Antarctica:

• 2012/08/15: PE: Western Antarctic Ice Shield
  

  The food crisis is ongoing:

• 2012/08/17: PlanetArk: Light rains give some relief to drought-stricken U.S. corn, soy
• 2012/08/17: PlanetArk: Drought slashes EU maize crop, adds to global squeeze: analyst
• 2012/08/16: PlanetArk: After drought blights crops, U.S. farmers face toxin threat
  The worst U.S. drought in five decades has parched the land and decimated crops. It now threatens to deal a second blow to farmers, who may have to throw out metric tons of toxic feed. Growers are rushing to check the nitrate levels of that silage, the stalks and leaves that corn farmers often harvest to feed to locally raised cattle or hogs. Agriculture groups are warning farmers that drought-hit plants may have failed to process nitrogen fertilizer due to stunted growth, making them poisonous to livestock.
• 2012/08/16: PlanetArk: Rise in U.S. farmland values slows; drought hits income
• 2012/08/16: BWeek: Thailand Sees U.S. Drought Lifting Rice as Stockpiles Grow
• 2012/08/16: Reuters: Climate change poses risks to food, beyond US drought
• 2012/08/17: CSM: Midwest rains help drought-stricken farmers, but how much?
  Rainstorms that pounded the Midwest Thursday provided relief to farmers hit hard by the worst drought in 56 years, but agriculture experts say it wasn't enough to mitigate the lasting devastation to corn and soybean crops this summer.
• 2012/08/18: WSWS: Spanish trade union plays Robin Hood with supermarket raids
• 2012/08/17: BBC: Sudanese refugees face 'humanitarian disaster'
  People are dying in large numbers in a refugee camp in South Sudan, Medecins Sans Frontieres has warned. The medical charity says as many as four young children die at the Batil camp every day - twice the established emergency threshold. The rainy season makes it impossible to bring food in by road, and the only way to deliver aid is by air. Some 170,000 refugees have fled to camps in South Sudan from Sudan following fighting north of the border.
• 2012/08/15: EarlyWarning: Estimated 2012 US Corn Yield
• 2012/08/15: ABC(Au): Leaders urged to heed global food crisis warning
• 2012/08/15: WSWS: US downgrades crop outlook
• 2012/08/14: PlanetArk: Drought relief but no bonanza for crops
• 2012/08/12: BBC: Drought-stricken woman rancher has to 'sell cows or watch them starve'
• 2012/08/14: ABC(Au): Wheat crop critical as shortage looms
  A prominent American commodities analyst says Australian grain growers have a significant role to play in easing a global food shortage.
• 2012/08/13: Guardian(UK): America's disastrous corn harvest will hit world's poor hardest
• 2012/08/13: Reuters: As drought looms in India, fear for its cattle
  Armed with the latest monsoon rainfall data, weather experts finally conceded this month that India is facing a drought, confirming what millions of livestock farmers around the country had known for weeks.
• 2012/08/11: GG&G: Forecasting Corn Yields
• 2012/08/12: al Jazeera: Hunger crisis continues in Niger
  As conference on hunger opens in London, thousands die in the African country, moving from one crisis to the next.
• 
  

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

   

• 2012/08/18: FAO: FAO Director-General welcomes new international declaration [Yeosu Declaration] on oceans, fisheries
  Says fisheries and aquaculture vital for complete defeat of hunger
• 2012/08/11: OregonLive: Managing the Pacific fishery: Catch share system recasts commercial fishing
  

  Food Prices are problematic:

• FAO: World Food Situation - Food Price Indices
• 2012/08/14: EUO: Global maize price hike impacting EU livestock
• 2012/08/13: PlanetArk: El Nino emerges, raising fears over food prices
  

  The conflict between biofuel and food persists:

• 2012/08/16: EurActiv: Food costs stoke debate about EU biofuels targets
  Drought-stricken crops and record-high grain prices have strengthened critics of the European Union biofuel industry, adding fears of a food crisis to their claims that it does not ultimately reduce carbon dioxide emissions.
• 2012/08/15: CDreams: Must the Poor Go Hungry Just So the Rich Can Drive?
• 2012/08/16: BBerg: Ethanol Would Suffer Under Waived U.S. Mandate, Vilsack Says
  Investment in U.S. ethanol production, which along with a drought-plagued crop is being blamed for near-record corn costs, may decline should federal use requirements for the biofuel be reduced, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said.
• 2012/08/15: Reuters: Food crisis strengthens EU biofuel critics, may hasten deal
  

  Regarding the genetic modification of food:

• 2012/08/16: PlanetArk: U.S. weed resistance growing to 2,4-D herbicide: report
• 2012/08/15: Reuters: U.S. weed resistance growing to 2,4-D herbicide: report
  As U.S. farmers struggle to control the rise of "superweeds" choking key crop land, a leading herbicide known as 2,4-D that has shown good weed control for decades appears to be losing its effectiveness, a report from a science journal said on Wednesday.
• 2012/08/18: NBF: Genetically modified Golden Rice prevents Vitamin A deficiency and Blindness
• 2012/08/14: Grist: Pesticide-resistant insects add insult to drought injury
  

  Regarding labelling GM food:

• 2012/08/17: Grist: These companies don't want GMOs labeled in California
  

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

• 2012/08/15: UN: UN food aid agency drops life-saving supplies for refugees in South Sudan
• 2012/08/16: EarlyWarning: Thinking About Yields under Future Drought
• 2012/08/16: DD: Emergency well drilling brings relief to U.S. farmers stricken by drought
• 2012/08/15: UCSUSA:B: Many Good Reasons to "Eat Local"
• 2012/08/15: Grist: Don't box me in: The unstoppable growth of CSA-style produce delivery
• 2012/08/14: Grist: New Agtivist: From backyard farmer to community visionary in Oakland
• 2012/08/14: IRRI: Seeds of hope amidst Philippine floods [Submarino rice]
• 2012/08/13: IRIN: Laos: Diversifying crops to cope with climate change
  

  In the Western Pacific, Kai-Tak brushed northern Luzon and then headed for mainland China:

• 2012/08/17: PlanetArk: Hong Kong and south China brace for Typhoon Kai Tak
• 2012/08/17: MODIS: Typhoon Kai-tak (14W) approaching China
• 2012/08/16: al Jazeera: Tropical storm heads towards China
  Typhoon Kai-Tak sweeps across the South China Sea after devastating parts of Philippines.
• 2012/08/16: al Jazeera: Tropical storm [Kai-Tak] dumps more rain on Philippines
  Floods and landslides from the heavy rains have killed 99 in the Pacific island nation since last week.
• 2012/08/14: MODIS: Tropical Storm Kai-tak (14W) off the Philippines
• 2012/08/14: Eureka: NASA sees more rain for the Philippines from Tropical Storm Kai-Tak
• 2012/08/15: CBC: 2 dead after tropical storm [Kai-Tak] batters Philippine
• 2012/08/15: al Jazeera: Philippines braced for another battering
  The clean-up operation is underway but yet more rain is on its way thanks to another tropical storm [Kai-tak]
• 2012/08/13: Eureka: NASA sees Tropical Storm Kai-tak brushing the Philippines
• 2012/08/13: ABC(Au): New storm threatens flood-hit Philippines
  Philippine authorities are evacuating more people from their homes in the capital Manila, as a new storm heads for the city just a week after it was inundated by torrential monsoon rains. Authorities are on alert as nine northern provinces brace for the effects of storm Kai-Tak, which has intensified with heavy rain and wind speeds reaching up to 80 kilometres an hour.

• In the Eastern Pacific, Gilma and Hector faded:

   

• 2012/08/15: NASA: GOES-15 Satellite Sees Fading Tropical Storm Hector and TD7's Remnants
• 2012/08/14: Eureka: NASA's TRMM Satellite sees a small area of heavy rain left in Tropical Storm Hector
  

  In the Atlantic and Caribbean:

   

• 2012/08/19: Wunderground: 94L still disorganized; Hurricane Gordon bearing down on the Azores
• 2012/08/18: Wunderground: 94L a threat to the Lesser Antilles; Gordon a hurricane; Helene hits Mexico
• 2012/08/17: Wunderground: Ex-TD 7 reawakening; Gordon Azores-bound; 94L may be a long-range threat
• 2012/08/17: Eureka: NASA sees wind shear affecting Tropical Storm Gordon
• 2012/08/16: Eureka: NASA sees System 93L explode into Tropical Storm Gordon
• 2012/08/17: PlanetArk: Tropical Storm Gordon churns over open Atlantic Ocean
• 2012/08/16: Wunderground: Tropical Storm Gordon forms; 5th earliest appearance a season's 7th storm
• 2012/08/15: Eureka: NASA sees large Tropical Storm Kai-tak headed for a landfall near Hong Kong
• 2012/08/18: Wunderground: Tropical Storm Helene arrives; 94L a potential threat to the Lesser Antilles
• 2012/08/17: NASA: Satellite Imagery Hints That Tropical Depression 7 May Be Reborn
• 2012/08/17: CBC: Tropical Storm Gordon weakens in the Atlantic [as it moves East]
• 2012/08/19: MODIS: Tropical Storm Gordon (08L) in the North Atlantic Ocean
• 2012/08/14: Wunderground: 93L a possible threat to the Azores
• 2012/08/13: Eureka: NASA observes a quieter Atlantic to start the week; Hector in east Pacific
• 2012/08/13: PlanetArk: Death toll in Mexico from storm Ernesto rises to six
• 2012/08/13: Wunderground: Two minor threat areas to watch in the Atlantic
• 2012/08/12: Wunderground: Remains of TD 7 kill two in Trinidad; 93L too dry to develop
  

  While elsewhere in the hurricane wars:

• 2012/08/17: ERW: Hurricane forecasters seek to improve intensity predictions
• 2012/08/13: NOAANews: NOAA provides easy access to historical hurricane tracks
• 2012/08/13: Eureka: Hurricanes can be 50 percent stronger if passing over fresh water, says Texas A&M study
  

  And on the Monsoon front:

• 2012/08/17: PlanetArk: India's water reservoirs at 51 percent of capacity: government
• 2012/08/17: al Jazeera: Flooding grips West Africa -- Senegal and Nigeria are both struck by torrential rain.
  The West African Monsoon is in full swing. Every year these life-giving rains move northwards across western Africa during June and July, and eventually ease away again in September and October.
• 
  

  As for GHGs:

   

• 2012/08/17: TP:JR: Historic Drop In U.S. Carbon Emissions: Is This Real 'Weight' Loss, Or Just A Fad Diet?
• 2012/08/16: TreeHugger: U.S. Economy's Carbon Intensity Declined 4.2% in 2011
• 2012/08/17: BobPark: What's New?
  2. Carbon dioxide: As long as there's money to be made.
• 2012/08/17: DailyAstorian: CO2 emissions in US drop to 20-year low
• 2012/08/14: TreeHugger: CARB Releases Google Earth Layer with California's Main Greenhouse Gas Sources
• 2012/08/12: NJStarLedger: Methane's profile on the rise as gas raises global warming worries
  

  And the temperature record:

• 2012/08/15: TreeHugger: It Has Now Been Over 110 Degrees in Phoenix For Nine Straight Days
• 2012/08/17: QuarkSoup: UAH LT Temperature at Mid-Month
• 2012/08/17: IOTD: Mapping the Hot Summer
• 2012/08/18: Wunderground: July 2012: Earth's 4th warmest; update on 94L--a threat to the Antilles
• 2012/08/18: BBC: Hottest UK day of 2012 recorded in Suffolk
• 2012/08/15: NOAA:ClimateWatch: Hot and cold contrasts add up to planet's 4th warmest July on record
• 2012/08/14: Moyhu: July GISS Global Temp down 0.09°C
• 2012/08/12: CapClimate: 34th and 35th Consecutive Warm Weeks Continue U.S. Hot Trend Into 9th Month
  

  In historical times:

• 2012/08/13: NatureN: Climate change shaped ancient burial rituals
  

  While on the ENSO front:

• 2012/08/15: PlanetArk: Australia says signs El Nino weather pattern forming
• 2012/08/12: NatureN: El Niño exerts a deadly effect -- Lighter rains mean more fires - and more pollution
• 2012/08/12: al Jazeera: El Nino Explained
  The phenomenon was first discovered by Peruvian fishermen, but its impacts reach around the globe.
• 
  

  What's new on the extinction front?

   

• 2012/08/15: NatureN: Brazil's Atlantic forests lose key species
  Survey reveals that local extinctions of large mammals are far worse than predicted.
• 2012/08/17: CBC: Quebec-Labrador caribou herd in free fall
• 2012/08/14: TreeHugger: Extinction Rates Soar in Brazil's Fragmented Forests
• 2012/08/14: Guardian(UK): Jaguars among species 'virtually extinct' in Brazil's Atlantic forest
  Species are being lost faster than previously believed owing to the destruction of once dense canopy, research shows
• 
  

  Oh look! The Anthropocene came up again:

   

• 2012/08/14: Grist: Save the axolotl! Um, sure, but why?
  

  What's new in proxies?

• 2012/08/16: USGS: Climate and Drought Lessons from Ancient Egypt -- Using Fossil Pollen to Augment Historical Records
  

  Meanwhile in near earth orbit:

• 2012/08/16: ArcticNews: CryoSat
  

  More GW impacts are being seen:

• 2012/08/16: Eureka: Warming causes more extreme shifts of the Southern Hemisphere's largest rain band
• 2012/08/16: Eureka: Some like it hot: Tropical species 'not as vulnerable' to climate change extinction
• 2012/08/18: SimpleC: Temperature rises could hamper developing world growth
• 2012/08/18: al Jazeera: Never mind the heat - feel the humidity -- A look at the combined effect of heat and humidity
• 2012/08/17: Guardian(UK): Temperature rise 'slows economy in poor countries'
  Higher temperatures associated with climate change can slow down the economy and lead to political instability in poor countries, says a US study
• 2012/08/16: CSIRO-NB: Warming causes more extreme shifts of the Southern Hemisphere's largest rain band
• 2012/08/14: CBC: Manitoba, Alberta lakes surveyed have high levels of [blue-green algae] toxin [called microcystin]
• 2012/08/13: PlanetArk: Parasites may get nastier with climate swings: study
  

  And then there are the world's forests:

• 2012/08/16: AllAfrica:Reuters: Zimbabwe: Nation's Forests Go Up in Smoke Amid Energy Crisis
  [...]
  The parastatal Forestry Commission estimates deforestation at around 330,000 hectares per year. Between 1990 and 2010, Zimbabwe lost more than 30 percent of its forest cover, according to commission data. As its forests shrink, Zimbabwe has yet to confront the far-reaching ramifications of its energy crisis.
• 2012/08/15: CNN: Judge halts construction on Brazil's Belo Monte dam
• 2012/08/14: BBC: Brazilian court halts Belo Monte hydro-electric dam project
  A federal court in Brazil has ordered the immediate suspension of work on the huge Belo Monte hydro-electric dam in the Amazon. The court says local indigenous people have not been properly consulted. Officials point out that the builders of the dam will be able to appeal against the decision.
• 2012/08/15: al Jazeera: Court suspends Amazon dam construction
  Brazilian judge rules environmental and rights activists' concerns regarding massive $11bn project must be addressed.
• 2012/08/14: DD: Graph of the Day: Spread of Colorado Mountain Pine Beetle, 1996-2011
  

  Emerging diseases accompany ecological change:

• 2012/08/16: ProMedMail: West Nile virus - USA (04): national
• 2012/08/16: ProMedMail: Schmallenberg virus - Europe (54): UK, Switzerland
• 2012/08/15: ProMedMail: Schmallenberg virus - Europe (52): Switzerland, OIE
• 2012/08/17: NatureNB: West Nile virus hits Texas
• 2012/08/18: al Jazeera: Dallas uses aerial pesticides to curb virus
  Half of the US city sprayed with insecticide to contain mosquito-borne virus that has killed 17 people.
• 2012/08/18: ABC(Au): Emergency declared as West Nile virus strikes US
  The United States is experiencing its worst seasonal outbreak of the mosquito-borne West Nile virus. In Dallas, Texas, a state of emergency has been declared with pesticides being sprayed across suburbs from the air Dallas officials have not seen anything like it for decades. Ten people are dead and hundreds sick. The mayor of Dallas, America's ninth biggest city, has authorised an aerial assault on mosquitoes, with small aircraft spraying pyrethrin based pesticides. Worried locals have been told to stay inside and close windows.
• 2012/08/17: BBC: Dallas aerial sprays to combat West Nile virus outbreak
• 2012/08/16: al Jazeera: Virus emergency declared in Texas
  Mayor of Dallas city announces emergency after mosquito-borne West Nile virus claims 14 people.
• 2012/08/15: BBC: Dallas in state of emergency after West Nile virus
  The city of Dallas in the US state of Texas has declared a state of emergency as it struggles to contain an outbreak of mosquito-borne West Nile virus. At least 14 people have died after contracting the virus in the state so far this year. Almost 700 cases have been reported across the country - the highest number since 2004.
• 2012/08/12: BBC: Climate change may boost frog disease chytridiomycosis
  More changeable temperatures, a consequence of global warming, may be helping to abet the threat that a lethal fungal disease poses to frogs.
• 
  

  Yes we have no wacky weather, except:

   

• 2012/08/15: Wunderground: Hottest rain on record? Rain falls at 115°F in Needles, California
• 2012/08/14: CBC: Severe storm blasts through Calgary
  

  This week in the New Normal -- extreme weather:

• 2012/08/16: ABC(Au): Extreme weather events to double in Pacific
  

  As for heatwaves and wild fires:

• 2012/08/16: CNN: 70 Wildfires roast western states
• 2012/08/16: PlanetArk: Wildfires blaze across U.S. West, threaten Idaho towns
• 2012/08/16: CBC: U.S. wildfire arsonist guilty of 5 heart attack deaths
• 2012/08/17: PlanetArk: Wildfires menace towns in Idaho, California
• 2012/08/17: PlanetArk: Rare wildfires threaten Canadian polar bear habitat
• 2012/08/17: al Jazeera: Wildfires continue to rage across western US
  Millions of acres burned as wildfires destroy dozens of homes in Idaho, Oregon and California.
• 2012/08/15: MODIS: Fires and smoke in western United States
• 2012/08/15: ITracker: Hot times in Phoenix
• 2012/08/19: CSM: Vacationers ordered to evacuate Idaho resort as wildfire presses closer
• 2012/08/19: IOTD: Wildfires Send Smoke Across the United States
• 2012/08/19: ABC(Au): Authorities battle bushfire in north-west Brisbane
• 2012/08/15: CNN: Heartbreaking losses as Western wildfires rage
  More acreage has burned so far than last year at this time, national fire officials say - 63 large fires are burning west of the Mississippi River - Marine Corps units join National Guard and Air Reserve personnel in the wildfire fight - An Idaho fire could force more evacuations
• 2012/08/15: PlanetArk: Wildfire destroys 60 homes, burns 20,000 acres in Washington state
• 2012/08/14: STimes: Neighbors in fire's path 'running for our lives'
  Neighbors race together to keep the Taylor Bridge wildfire from burning their homes.
• 2012/08/15: CCurrents: Record Temperatures And Forest Fires In Russia
• 2012/08/15: CSM: Wildfire destroys about 70 homes in rural Washington
• 2012/08/15: WSWS: Record temperatures and forest fires in Russia
• 2012/08/15: IOTD: Western Wildfires
• 2012/08/14: BBC: Scores of wildfires burn across western US
  Wildfires raging across the western states of the US have destroyed dozens of homes and scorched thousands of acres of land, officials say. The US Forest Service reported 62 large uncontained fires, mostly in the states of Idaho, Nevada, Utah and California.
• 2012/08/14: CNN: 62 Wildfires blaze through Western states
  At least 60 homes have been destroyed in Washington state - An Idaho firefighter was killed battling a blaze; two others injured in Oregon and California - Continuing dry heat is making it tough for firefighters - In all, 62 new fires were burning
• 2012/08/13: DD: Okanagan Valley smoked out by Siberia forest fires -- 94 forest fires rage on 12,588 hectares
• 2012/08/14: PlanetArk: Western wildfires force evacuations, firefighter killed
• 2012/08/14: BBC: Firefighters in Spain's Canary Islands are still struggling to contain a blaze on La Gomera described by a local official as an "ecological disaster"
• 2012/08/14: CBC: Firefighter killed as wildfires rage in western U.S.
  Wildfires have destroyed dozens of homes and threatened hundreds more in several western U.S. states, including Idaho, where an on-duty firefighter was killed by a falling tree.
• 2012/08/13: CNN: Residents evacuate as hundreds of firefighters battle California wildfires
  One firefighter is injured and three structures are destroyed, a fire official says - Two wildfires are burning in Lake County, California - The fires started about the same time at two spots along a highway, an official says - About 5,000 acres have been burned
• 2012/08/13: PlanetArk: Thousands evacuated in Spain forest fires
• 2012/08/13: BBC: Fire in Spain's Canary Islands forces La Gomera exodus
  Firefighters are battling a forest fire on La Gomera in Spain's Canary Islands which forced the evacuation of nearly 1,000 people by ferry overnight.
• 2012/08/13: al Jazeera: Wildfires scorch Spain and Canary Islands
  Two firefighters killed in southeastern Alicante province and thousands evacuated on Spain's Atlantic archipelago.
• 2012/08/12: al Jazeera:Spain wildfires turn deadly
  Aircraft dump water on the hillsides of Alicante and the Canary Islands, two of the areas badly hit by summer blazes.
• 
  

  Corals are a bellwether of the ocean's health:

   

• 2012/08/18: NatureN: Spawning coral monitored for effects of climate change -- As waters warm, researchers keep a wary eye on reef life cycles
  

  Glaciers are melting:

• 2012/08/14: STimes: No more glaciers? Imagine that
  Eight years until "Glacier National Park" is just "National Park." The ice had been the lure to get the family to go see the great glaciers before they're gone. But I misjudged how far gone they already are. As did the scientists.
• 
  

  Sea levels are rising:

   

• 2012/08/16: SciAm:Obs: Sea Level Rise Dramatized in Multimedia "Book App"
  

  As for hydrological cycle disruptions [floods & droughts]:

• 2012/08/16: TP:JR: Mississippi River Reaches Historic Lows: 'We Have 50-Year Guys Who've Never Seen Anything Like This Before'
• 2012/08/16: CapClimate: Tropical Rainfall Rate in Arctic Alaska
• 2012/08/17: NewsOK: Oklahoma's exceptional drought area more than doubles in week, report shows
• 2012/08/17: TP:JR: The Shape Of Droughts To Come: 2012 Versus The 1930s Dust Bowl
• 2012/08/16: Wunderground: Comparing the 2012 drought to the Dust Bowl droughts of the 1930s
• 2012/08/17: BRitholtz: 2012 Drought Disaster
• 2012/08/17: CSM: Rain breaks Midwest dought: Too late for corn, soybean crops?
• 2012/08/15: PlanetArk: Little relief seen from U.S. drought despite cooler trend
• 2012/08/13: WaPo: Climate models that predict more droughts win further scientific support
• 2012/08/13: al Jazeera: Flood-hit Philippines braces for more rain
  Authorities forecast more heavy rain, as they struggle to help people in flood-devastated areas.
• 2012/08/12: al Jazeera: Fears of disease as Philippines floods recede
  Sanitation a major concern as government rushes doctors and emergency food aid to affected areas.
• 
  

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

   

• 2012/08/16: ABC(Au): Turning willow waste into valuable biochar
• 2012/08/13: USDA:FS: Climate Change Effects, Potential Mitigation in Northeast Forests Subject of Forest Service Report
• 2012/08/17: CCurrents: Weapons For The Weak In The Climate Struggle
• 2012/08/14: CCurrents: Forsaking Meat Can Save The Planet
  

  Consider transportation & GHG production:

• 2012/08/19: TP:JR: U.S. Hits 30 Bike Shares In Just Four Years
• 2012/08/18: EnergyBulletin: Running on empty: big airlines in big trouble
• 2012/08/13: TreeHugger: 100 MPH Passenger Train to Link Miami and Orlando -- With No Government Funds
  

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

• 2012/08/14: TP:JR: Leaking Energy And Money From Affordable Housing
  

  As for carbon sequestration:

• 2012/08/17: Eureka: A urine based 'potion' can act as a CO2 absorbent
  

  Large scale geo-engineering keeps popping up:

• 2012/08/15: SciAm:Obs: Has the Time Come to Try Geoengineering?
• 2012/08/15: UBristol: Climate, economic growth, and national preferences for geoengineering
  

  While on the adaptation front:

• 2012/08/18: TMoS: Brace Yourself
  

  Meanwhile in the journals:

• 2012/06/19: Hindawi: The Real Economics of Climate Engineering by Gernot Klepper & Wilfried Rickels
• 2012/08/16: ACP: Mixing of dust and NH3 observed globally over anthropogenic dust sources by P. Ginoux et al.
• 2012/08/16: ACP: Importance of tropospheric volcanic aerosol for indirect radiative forcing of climate by A. Schmidt et al.
• 2012/08/16: ACPD: Distributions and climate effects of atmospheric aerosols from the preindustrial era to 2100 along Representative Concentration Pathways (RCPs) simulated using a global aerosol model SPRINTARS by T. Takemura
• 2012/08/13: ACPD: Ten-year trends of atmospheric mercury in the high Arctic compared to Canadian sub-Arctic and mid-latitude sites by A. S. Cole et al.
• 2012/08/08: ACS Nano: (ab$) Core-Shell Strategy Leading to High Reversible Hydrogen Storage Capacity for NaBH4 by Meganne L. Christian & Kondo-François Aguey-Zinsou
• 2012/08/14: P3: Weather Abnormalities in Present and Future Climate
• 2012/08/13: USDA:FS: [link to 2.2 meg pdf] Changing climate, changing forests: The impacts of climate change on forests of the northeastern United States and eastern Canada by Lindsey Rustad et al.
• 2012/08/16: ESDD: Minor effect of meltwater on the ocean circulation during deglaciation by G. Lohmann et al.
• 2012/08/17: CP: Vegetation history of central Chukotka deduced from permafrost paleoenvironmental records of the El'gygytgyn Impact Crater by A. A. Andreev et al.
• 2012/08/16: CP: The relative roles of CO2 and palaeogeography in determining late Miocene climate: results from a terrestrial model-data comparison by C. D. Bradshaw et al.
• 2012/08/17: CPD: Influence of orbital forcing and solar activity on water isotopes in precipitation during the mid and late Holocene by S. Dietrich et al.
• 2012/08/15: CPD: A multi-model assessment of last interglacial temperatures by D. J. Lunt et al.
• 2012/08/14: CPD: On the differences between two semi-empirical sea-level models for the last two millennia by M. Vermeer et al.
• 2012/08/13: CPD: Skill and reliability of climate model ensembles at the Last Glacial Maximum and mid Holocene by J. C. Hargreaves et al.
• 2012/08/13: CPD: Arctic sea ice in the mid-Holocene Paleoclimate Modelling Intercomparison Project 2 simulations by M. Berger et al.
• 2012/08/13: CPD: Climate, people, fire and vegetation: new insights into vegetation dynamics in the Eastern Mediterranean since the 1st century AD by J. Bakker et al.
• 2012/08/15: NERC:NORA: Book review of 'Geological Disposal of Carbon Dioxide and Radioactive Waste' by Joanna Wragg
• 2012/08/17: ACP: Quantifying population exposure to airborne particulate matter during extreme events in California due to climate change by A. Mahmud et al.
• 2012/08/17: ACP: Trends and variations in CO, C2H6, and HCN in the Southern Hemisphere point to the declining anthropogenic emissions of CO and C2H6 by G. Zeng et al.
• 2012/08/17: ACPD: Sea-spray geoengineering in the HadGEM2-ES Earth-system model: radiative impact and climate response by A. Jones & J. M. Haywood
• 2012/08/15: OS: TOPAZ4: an ocean-sea ice data assimilation system for the North Atlantic and Arctic by P. Sakov et al.
• 2012/08/16: TC: Thin-layer effects in glaciological seismic amplitude-versus-angle (AVA) analysis: implications for characterising a subglacial till unit, Russell Glacier, West Greenland by A. D. Booth et al.
• 2012/08/15: TC: Ikaite crystals in melting sea ice - implications for pCO2 and pH levels in Arctic surface waters by S. Rysgaard et al.
• 2012/08/15: TC: Drifting snow climate of the Greenland ice sheet: a study with a regional climate model by J. T. M. Lenaerts et al.
• 2012/08/15: TC: Arctic sea ice variability and trends, 1979-2010 by D. J. Cavalieri & C. L. Parkinson
• 2012/08/15: TC: Antarctic sea ice variability and trends, 1979-2010 by C. L. Parkinson & D. J. Cavalieri
• 2012/08/15: TCD: Variability of mass changes at basin scale for Greenland and Antarctica by V. R. Barletta et al.
• 2012/07/24: GRL: (ab$) Coupled Model Intercomparison Project 5 (CMIP5) simulations of climate following volcanic eruptions by Simon Driscoll et al.
• 2012/08/14: PNAS: (ab$) Images reveal that atmospheric particles can undergo liquid-liquid phase separations by Yuan You et al.
• 2012/08/14: PNAS: (ab$) The urgency of the development of CO2 capture from ambient air by Klaus S. Lackner et al.
• 2012/08/14: PNAS: (letter$) Reply to Powell and Cocke: On the probability of catastrophic damage to offshore wind farms from hurricanes in the US Gulf Coast by Stephen Rose et al.
• 2012/08/14: PNAS: (letter$) Hurricane wind fields needed to assess risk to offshore wind farms by Mark D. Powell & Steven Cocke
• 2012/08/15: Nature: (ab$) An index to assess the health and benefits of the global ocean by Benjamin S. Halpern et al.
• 2012/07/30: GRL: Modeling sub-sea permafrost in the East Siberian Arctic Shelf: The Laptev Sea Region by Dmitry J Nicolsky et al.
• 2012/08/13: GMD: Quality assessment concept of the World Data Center for Climate and its application to CMIP5 data by M. Stockhause et al.
• 2012/08/14: GMDD: Quantifying the model structural error in carbon cycle data assimilation systems by S. Kuppel et al.
• 2012/08/13: OS: Variability of synoptic-scale quasi-stationary thermohaline stratification patterns in the Gulf of Finland in summer 2009 by T. Liblik & U. Lips
• 2012/08/14: OSD: Export of Arctic freshwater components through the Fram Strait 1998-2010 by B. Rabe et al.
• 2012/08/12: Nature:CC: Stratospheric aerosol particles and solar-radiation management by F. D. Pope et al.
• 2012/08/13: AGWObserver: New research from last week 32/2012
  

  And other significant documents:

• 2012/08/: OceanCC: [link to 1.1 meg pdf] 2012 Marine Climate Change Report Card
  

  As for miscellaneous science:

• 2012/08/17: NatureN: First evidence for photosynthesis in insects -- Aphids may have a rudimentary sunlight-harvesting system
• 2012/08/16: CBC: Biologists test method to stop blue-green algae blooms
  Researchers are testing a clay-like substance to halt algae blooms A team of biologists in Moncton is trying to find a way to stop blue-green algae from finding its way into many New Brunswick lakes during the summer months.
  [...]
  The researchers are also testing a clay-like substance called phoslock that bonds to the phosphorous and removes it from the water.
• 2012/08/16: DeSmogBlog: Fracking Industry Paying Off Scientists For "Unbiased" Safety Studies
• 2012/08/12: Eureka: Modeling reveals significant climatic impacts of megapolitan expansion
  

  What's new in models?

• 2012/08/17: MetaSD: On the usefulness of big models
• 2012/08/18: ERabett: The Arrhenius Dilemma - Better Models, the Same Predictions
• 2012/08/15: Wunderground:RR: Balancing the Budget: Models, Water, and Temperature (5)
• 2012/08/12: QuarkSoup: Assessing climate model software quality
  

  What developments in the ongoing struggle for Open Science?

• 2012/08/13: NatureNB: Neanderthal sex debate highlights benefits of pre-publication
• 2012/08/14: DM:GNXP: Why you shouldn't publish in PNAS
  

  Regarding Hansen:

• 2012/08/18: RealClimate: Extreme metrics
• 2012/08/15: SkS: Hansen's New Climate Dice - Hot, Loaded, and Misunderstood by dana1981
• 2012/08/13: Tamino: Hansen et al. 2012
  

  Regarding Kröpelin:

• 2012/08/15: NatureN: Science in the Sahara: Man of the desert
  Stefan Kröpelin has carved out a career where few dare to tread - in the heart of the Sahara
• 
  

  While at the UN:

   

• 2012/08/13: UN: UN food relief agency supporting efforts to assist flood victims in the Philippines
• 2012/08/12: UN: Secretary-General launches new initiative to protect world's oceans
• 2012/08/13: NEurope: Ban Ki-moon launches new UN initiative to protect oceans [Oceans Compact]
  

  And on the carbon trading front:

• 2012/08/12: VoxEU: The US sulphur dioxide cap and trade programme and lessons for climate policy by Robert N. Stavins et al.
  

  The idea of a carbon tax is still bouncing around:

• 2012/08/13: Grist: A climate change fix conservatives can love
  

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

• 2012/08/15: TRN: Wall St. "Cheetahs" and the Financial Transaction Tax
  

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

• 2012/08/17: GRC: The Impact of Economic Sanctions on Iran's Oil Exports
• 2012/08/15: InsuranceJournal: Insurance Deal Lets India Resume Shipping Iran Oil
• 2012/08/15: DemNow: From Military Threats to Crippling Sanctions, U.S.-Israel Posturing on Iran Stokes Fears of War
• 2012/08/13: AntiWar: Israeli Warmongering Pushes Oil Prices Higher
  The unnecessary international quarrel between the US, Israel and Iran puts salt in the wounds in troubled economic times
• 2012/08/13: BigThink: Is the World in Need of Iran's Oil?
  

  South [and East] China Sea tension persists:

• 2012/08/19: al Jazeera: Japanese activists arrive at disputed islands
  Twenty boats made the journey despite China anger, days after Japan deported pro-China activists from the archipelago.
• 2012/08/18: CBC: China protests Japanese visit to disputed islands
• 2012/08/18: CalcuttaNews: India has not withdrawn from Vietnamese oil block: Minister
  India has not withdrawn from oil and gas exploration in a block in the South China Sea where China claims territorial rights over blocks originally allocated by Vietnamese oil company PetroVietnam, the government has said.
• 2012/08/18: al Jazeera: China demands Japan stop disputed island trip
  Beijing tells Tokyo to stop "harming" its territorial sovereignty in dispute over archipelago in East China Sea.
• 2012/08/16: AntiWar: US Provoking China Militarily, in Both Rhetoric and Policy
  The US accused China of militarizing the region, when Washington is the one doing the militarizing Recent US statements criticizing China for militarizing the South China Sea area have been bitterly rejected by Chinese authorities, who view Washington as doing the militarizing and trying to provoke China.
• 
  

  While in the solar panel trade war between China and the USA:

   

• 2012/08/13: RenBiz: Chinese solar imports continue decline -- Effects of trade case felt
  

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

• 2012/08/16: TP:JR: Threat Multiplier: An Interview With Climate Conflict Expert Ian Shields
• 2012/08/16: TheBulletin: Climate change and the Syrian uprising
• 2012/08/16: TP:JR: Jeremy Grantham on "Welcome to Dystopia": We Are "Entering A Long-Term And Politically Dangerous Food Crisis"
  

  What are the activists up to?

• 2012/08/15: ABC(Au): Gas hub protesters locked to each other on road
  Police in Broome say they are preparing for a long night as protests against the proposed $30 billion Kimberley gas hub continue.
• 2012/08/13: 350orBust: The Fight Of Our Time: Breaking The Power of the Dirtiest And Richest Industry On the Planet
• 2012/08/12: TheCanadian: Carbon's Terrifying Mathematics [McKibben]
  

  Polls! We have polls!

• 2012/08/15: PostMedia: Only 2 per cent of Canadians don't believe in climate change: survey
  Only two per cent of Canadians who responded to a new opinion poll believe climate change is not occurring. However, a majority believes natural climate variation is playing at least some role in the warming trend. The findings are in a survey conducted by Insightrix Research, Inc. for IPAC-CO2 Research Inc., a Regina-based centre that studies carbon capture and storage. The online poll of 1,550 people was done between May 29 and June 11. The results were to be released on Wednesday.
• 2012/08/13: NorthernStar(Au): Humans impact climate: research
• 2012/08/13: WtD: Aussies accept climate change: 90% accept, 71% want action, 54% see its impact and 6.5% reject it
  

  Regarding Water Politics and Business:

• 2012/08/17: DeSmogBlog: Drought, Fracking, Coal and Nukes Wreak Havoc on Fresh Water Supplies
• 2012/08/14: EcoWatch: Drought, Fracking, Coal and Nukes Wreak Havoc on Fresh Water Supplies
• 2012/08/15: JFleck: making water conservation tougher than we need to
• 2012/08/15: al Jazeera: Desalination and the Israel-Palestine issue
  Desalination can have significant repercussions on the environment, and much of those are not fully understood yet.
• 2012/08/13: al Jazeera: US drought exposes water management problems
  Intense irrigation has worsened water shortages in some regions, leading to higher food prices, experts say.
• 
  

  And on the groundwater front:

   

• 2012/08/15: EnergyBulletin: Our Oversized Groundwater Footprint
  

  Regarding science education:

• 2012/08/15: BaltimoreSun: Maryland gets grant to help teach climate change -- National Science Foundation funds joint effort with Delaware
  Teachers in Maryland are about to get new help and encouragement to talk about the touchy topic of global warming in their classrooms. The National Science Foundation announced Wednesday that it is awarding $5.8 million for improving climate-change education in Maryland and Delaware...
• 2012/08/17: Wonkette: Kentucky GOP Outraged Colleges Want Students to Know Things
• 2012/08/17: SkS: Teaching Climate Change in Schools by monkeyorchid
  

  Who's making predictions this week?

• 2012/08/15: FuturePundit: 4C Warming Coming In Megapolitan Urban Areas
• 2012/08/12: GulfNews: Severe dry spell to hit Pakistan next year
  Meteorological Department says acute water shortage expected in major reservoirs
• 
  

  And on the American political front:

   

• 2012/08/16: SciAm:PI: Tax credits - the wind in wind energy
• 2012/08/15: AutoBG: 54.5 MPG fuel rule negotiations were not harmonious
  If you assumed that the federal mandate requiring automakers to reach the 54.5 miles per gallon corporate average fuel economy standard by 2025 was negotiated cordially and ended in a group hug, think again. Verbal fisticuffs and head butting would be more accurate descriptions, with members of Congress and automakers joining the squabble with the federal regulatory agencies.
• 2012/08/17: Grist: These companies don't want GMOs labeled in California
• 2012/08/17: NatureNB: Citizen provision found beneficial to US Endangered Species Act
• 2012/08/17: KSJT: Climate Central: How could a huge drought wreck so much of America's corn crop without warning?
• 2012/08/18: Tamino: Jim Crow. Republican (PA)
• 2012/08/15: TP:JR: Michigan Renewable Energy Ballot Initiative Would Double State's Green Jobs, Concludes Study
• 2012/08/14: TreeHugger: Talk Climate Change Solutions, Win Votes: Yale Study
• 2012/08/08: SP: Energy policy: Follow the money
  If you want to know why our energy policy is what it is, and why the transition to renewables is so slow, there's an easy way to find out: Follow the money.
• 2012/08/14: S&R: Surprise! Corporations secretly investing in U.S. politics, increasing need for DISCLOSE Act
• 2012/08/13: LA Times:B: Jerry Brown sets sights on climate-change 'deniers'
• 2012/08/14: TP:JR: Investors Speak Up: We Need To Extend The Wind Production Tax Credit
• 2012/08/13: Grist: A climate change fix conservatives can love
• 2012/08/12: EconoSpeak: Teach Your Children (Probability Theory) Well
• 2012/08/13: TP:JR: Cap And Trade: California's Best Secret
• 2012/08/13: Grist: L.A. needs desert solar farms --- but not everyone's happy about it
  

  The BP disaster continues to twist US politics:

• 2012/08/14: DD: Giant Asian tiger prawn invade Gulf of Mexico waters
• 2012/08/15: ABC(Au): Gulf [of Mexico] fisherman report 'deformed' catch post spill
• 2012/08/14: BBerg: BP Said to Seek $7.9 Billion Selling Gulf of Mexico Fields
• 2012/08/13: CBC: BP sells more assets to cover Gulf spill claims
  Oil company BP says it has agreed to sell its refinery in Carson, California and other West Coast assets to Tesoro Corp. BP said Monday that Tesoro is paying $2.5 billion US cash for the refinery, pipelines, storage terminals and Arco-branded retail outlets in southern California, Arizona and Nevada.
• 
  

  On the 2012 campaign trail:

   

• 2012/08/17: TP:JR: Republican Senator On Romney's Anti-Wind Position: It Was 'Like A Knife In My Back'
• 2012/08/16: TP:JR: After Documents Show Paul Ryan Secured $20 Million In Stimulus Grants, He Claims 'I Never Asked For Stimulus'
• 2012/08/17: Grist: Paul Ryan's food and agriculture track record: Neither 'refreshing' nor 'bold'
• 2012/08/16: Grist: A correction to our article about Paul Ryan
• 2012/08/17: ScienceInsider: Paul Ryan's Record on Science and Government
• 2012/08/16: CJR: Ryan re-energizes coverage -- VP candidate brings fossil fuels, alternatives back into focus
• 2012/08/19: TP:JR: Flashback: Paul Ryan And His Family To Benefit From The $45 Billion In Subsidies For Big Oil In His Budget
• 2012/08/17: Grist: The backwards, inside-out politics of Mitt Romney, Barack Obama, and coal
• 2012/08/15: TP:JR: Republican Party Officially Embraces 'Garbage' Agenda 21 Conspiracy Theories As Its National Platform
• 2012/08/15: PSinclair: Paul Ryan's "Biblical" Understanding of Environment
• 2012/08/15: TP:JR: Video Short: As Wind Tax Credit Dominates Presidential Campaign, A Look At What's At Stake
• 2012/08/14: Wunderground: The odds of a hurricane spoiling the Republican National Convention in Tampa
• 2012/08/14: Yahoo:Reuters: Romney, Obama in rare battle over energy policy
• 2012/08/14: Wonkette: Poor Paul Ryan Reduced to Enduring Hecklers Who Haven't Even Paid $15 Each to Yell at Him
• 2012/08/14: TP:JR: While Calling Stimulus 'Wasteful,' Paul Ryan Secured Millions Of Dollars In Grants For Clean Energy
• 2012/08/13: TreeHugger: Paul Ryan: Not Exactly Gunning for the Green Vote
• 2012/08/11: STimes: How hot is it? Climate change settles in for the long haul
  The weather is trying to tell us something, writes Eugene Robinson. You can almost hear a parched, raspy voice whispering, "What part of 'hottest month ever' do you people not understand?"
• 2012/08/13: DeSmogBlog: What To Expect When You're Electing: Representative Paul Ryan
• 2012/08/12: TP:JR: Flashback: Paul Ryan's Big Oil Budget Halts Clean Energy Innovation
  

  Gas Prices are going up again. Maybe they'll be able to blame Obama this time...:

• 2012/08/14: USA Today: 2012 gas prices head for record
• 2012/08/14: AutoBG: EIA: 2012 average shows U.S. using less gas than at any time since 2007
  

  The Keystone XL saga rolls along:

• 2012/08/16: Grist: For some reason, this lady is mad about Enbridge cutting down her trees without permission
• 2012/08/16: Grist: Texans putting their bodies on the line to stop Keystone pipeline [McKibben]
• 2012/08/17: TreeHugger: Construction Begins on Keystone XL, Protesters Hit Back
  

  The epic drought across the sattes has spurred calls to waive the ethanol mandate:

• 2012/08/14: CSM: Midwestern drought, election year politics add to pressure on ethanol
• 2012/08/13: AutoBG: Severe drought hurts corn production, turns ethanol into election-year issue. Again
• 2012/08/13: PlanetArk: Drought crop damage worsens, ethanol waiver urged
  

  Another kick at the Canute can:

• 2012/08/13: JournalNow: Editorial: Sea-level rise must be taken seriously
  

  One shoe drops in the coal export tussle:

• 2012/08/15: Grist: One down: Planned coal export terminal in Washington is cancelled
• 2012/08/14: TDW: RailAmerica drops pursuit of coal terminal for Grays Harbor
  RailAmerica has abandoned any current plans to construct a coal storage and export facility at the Port of Grays Harbor's Terminal 3 in Hoquiam.
• 
  

  The Monnett saga is unbelievably still ongoing:

   

• 2012/08/14: CCP: Disgusting Big Oil (Shell) BOEM-Sen. Inhofe witch hunt of polar bear scientist Charles Monnett still not over...
• 2012/08/13: ERabett: Polar Bear Follies Act XXIV
• 2012/08/13: NatureN: Polar bear scientist opposed industry research initiative -- Assistance to a rival proposal was investigated.
  A researcher who became the subject of an unexplained US government investigation last year has been under scrutiny in part for his role in advancing a US$1.8-million government-led research effort to integrate scientific studies of the Arctic environment, Nature has learned. Charles Monnett, a wildlife biologist and former contracting official with the US Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) in Anchorage, Alaska, was suspended from his post in July 2011 because of undisclosed "integrity issues". Monnett was later assigned to a different position within the Bureau. Previously, his job involved the review and oversight of contracts awarded to outside research groups, but he is better known for his report in 2006 of drowned polar bears in the Beaufort Sea (C. Monnett and J. S. Gleason, Polar Biol. 29, 681-687; 2006), which helped to make the animal a poster species for climate change.
• 
  

  The Obama chatter is nonstop:

   

• 2012/08/15: TP:JR: The Sounds Of Silence On Science: The Country Is On Fire, But Obama Isn't
• 2012/08/15: PlanetArk: White House hopeful on renewal of wind tax credit
• 2012/08/14: PSinclair: Why Obama Can and Should Start Talking About Climate
• 2012/08/14: Grist: Obama's stimulus package was a ginormous clean energy bill, says Michael Grunwald
• 2012/08/13: Guardian(UK): Obama announces federal aid for drought-stricken agriculture industry
  

  The actions of the Obama administration are being watched closely:

• 2012/08/17: ScienceInsider: U.S. Watchdog Agency Backs Basis for Tightening Rules on Coal Dust Exposure
  After an extensive review -- including a visit to a working coal mine in Pennsylvania -- a U.S. government watchdog agency has concluded that mine safety regulators relied on sound science in proposing a new rule designed to reduce miners' exposure to coal dust. Industry groups had challenged the research underlying the 2010 proposal, and late last year Congress asked its investigative arm, the Government Accountability Office (GAO), to look into the matter.
• 2012/08/16: USGS: Northeast Climate Science Center Director Announced
  Mary Ratnaswamy has been selected as the director of the Department of the Interior's Northeast Climate Science Center, headquartered at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. Ratnaswamy will be the first permanent director of the center, which is one of eight regional Climate Science Centers recently established and managed by the U.S. Geological Survey.
• 2012/08/16: BBerg: Ethanol Would Suffer Under Waived U.S. Mandate, Vilsack Says
  Investment in U.S. ethanol production, which along with a drought-plagued crop is being blamed for near-record corn costs, may decline should federal use requirements for the biofuel be reduced, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said.
• 2012/08/16: AutoBG: 54.5 MPG CAFE rule implemention delayed, review will be completed 'soon'
• 2012/08/14: TP:JR: Leaking Energy And Money From Affordable Housing
• 2012/08/13: WaPo: Drought puts federal crop insurance under scrutiny
• 2012/08/14: PlanetArk: DOI proposes new development, protections in Arctic
• 2012/08/13: CSM: Drought: USDA throws livestock farmers a lifeline. Will it help?
  

  As for what is going on in Congress:

• 2012/08/18: CCP: Farm bill languishes while fields bake in drought. Congress' inaction raises aid questions for farmers
• 2012/08/14: TP:JR: Rep. Shea-Porter (D-N.H.): There Are 'Too Many Climate Deniers In Congress'
• 2012/08/12: NYT: Enduring Drought, Farmers Draw the Line at Congress
  

  While in the UK:

• 2012/08/15: WtD: Scotland the brave: clean energy future for a small country
• 2012/08/15: Guardian(UK): Rail fare rises are a problem for the whole of Britain
  Other countries such as France and Germany recognise the wider benefits of railways and fund them accordingly
• 
  

  And in Europe:

   

• 2012/08/16: DerSpiegel: Energy Revolution Hiccups -- Grid Instability Has Industry Scrambling for Solutions
  

  Meanwhile in Australia:

• 2012/08/17: WtD: "You're an absolute disgrace!" Full text of Tony Windsor's speech that put Abbott in his place
• 2012/08/19: ABC(Au): Giant kelp forests granted endangered status
• 2012/08/17: PlanetJ: Gillard's policy slammed by... younger Gillard
• 2012/08/16: Reuters: Australia's opposition backs Kyoto 2
  Australia's opposition Liberal party climate spokesman Greg Hunt on Thursday gave his "in principle" backing to signing up for a second commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol, making it easier for the under-fire government to sign the U.N. climate treaty.
• 2012/08/15: ABC(Au): Australia Institute claims CSG industry could be under-taxed
• 2012/08/15: ABC(Au): CSG industry hits back at Australia Institute over CSG emissions claims
• 2012/08/15: ABC(Au): El Nino looming, but no exceptional circumstances funding
• 2012/08/15: ABC(Au): Slipper seeks change to wording of Ashby claim
  Parliamentary Speaker Peter Slipper is seeking to withdraw his claim that a former staffer "unlawfully" leaked his diary before launching a sexual harassment case.
• 2012/08/15: al Jazeera: Australian MPs back asylum-centres plan
  Lower house of parliament backs law enabling processing of asylum seekers in Papua New Guinea and Nauru.
• 2012/08/14: ABC(Au): Sun rises on South Pacific solar
  The Kingdom of Tonga and the New Zealand territory of Tokelau are switching to solar electricity generation, reducing multi-million-dollar diesel bills.
• 2012/08/14: ABC(Au): Australia urged to act as South Pacific goes solar
• 2012/08/13: ABC(Au): Electricity demand falling in Australia
  A new report shows demand for new electricity generation in Australia is slowing down. Across the country the demand for new baseload power generators has been pushed back by around four years. What's more, that baseload power is being increasingly supplied by renewables like wind and gas, which produce less CO2 than coal. One expert in the electricity market says reasons for the reduced demand include greater efficiency in electronic goods, consumer education and an increasing number of rooftop solar panels.
• 2012/08/13: ABC(Au): Court shortage threatens Black Saturday case
  A Victorian Supreme court judge is warning the bushfire class action over the Kilmore East fire could be derailed without urgent Government assistance. The fire on Black Saturday killed 119 people in the Kinglake area and burnt 1,242 homes. The case is due to start in January next year and is expected to run at least six months. If energy provider SP Ausnet is found liable, there could be many years of further hearings.
• 
  

  The carbon bill is law. Now comes the implementation:

   

• 2012/08/16: ABC(Au): Windsor launches attack on 'disgrace' Abbott
• 2012/08/14: ABC(Au): Opposition claims Australian farmers could be locked out of Europe's carbon markets
• 2012/08/13: ABC(Au): Carbon price drop casts doubt on power station closure scheme
  A lower carbon price is fuelling speculation the Federal Government will abandon its contract for closure program targeted at shutting down coal power stations such as Alinta Energy's Playford station in Port Augusta. The CEO of consulting firm ACIL Tasman, Paul Hyslop, says the price of carbon by 2015 is expected to be less than the Government initially forecast, potentially costing it an extra $1 billion to $1.5 billion to buy out 2,000 megawatts. Mr Hyslop says the current global economic situation has brought international carbon prices down, whereas the Government was expecting it to rise after the announcement of the carbon tax.
• 
  

  After a 10 year drought and 2 years of flooding, water usage planning is controversial and difficult:

   

• 2012/08/17: ABC(Au): Water 'crisis' sparks plea for Perth help
  The Western Australian Greens have called on the State Government to reintroduce water efficiency plans in Perth to resolve a water crisis in the state's south-west. The Greens say the Government has to reintroduce the Waterwise program and stormwater recycling.
• 2012/08/17: ABC(Au): Fears basin plan to impact tourism
• 2012/08/15: ABC(Au): NSW Irrigators also "not happy" and goodwill disappearing
  The New South Wales Irrigators Council says Federal Water Minister Tony Burke must act immediately to salvage the Basin Plan or watch the goodwill built up over several years disappear.
• 2012/08/14: ABC(Au): Shire to decide on farmland water audit
  The South Gippsland Shire will decide whether to ask the Victorian Government to audit all water wells and bores on farm-zoned land. A shire councillor, Kieran Kennedy, will put a motion at next week's meeting asking the State Government to fund the audit. If the motion is passed, council will also write to the Victorian Farmers Federation requesting its position on coal seam gas exploration.
• 2012/08/13: ABC(Au): Using the groundwater in Australia
• 2012/08/13: ABC(Au): Irrigators say Basin Plan ignores Living Murray achievements
• 2012/08/13: ABC(Au): 'Catastrophic' flood fears aired for Hume Dam
  A group that represents Murray Valley farmers has renewed its call for an urgent lowering of the Hume Dam to reduce the risk of major flooding in spring.
• 2012/08/12: JFleck: A clever argument for reduced flows in the Murray Darling
  

  And in New Zealand:

• 2012/08/15: HotTopic: Nick Smith: another fossil fuel fail
• 2012/08/14: HotTopic: NZ ETS, you are the weakest (international) link
  

  While in the Indian subcontinent:

• 2012/08/12: CCurrents: AERB And Regulatory Capture In India: Conflict of Interest?
  

  And in China:

• 2012/08/14: ChinaDaily: Youth summit discusses climate change
  The recent examples of extreme weather across China - such as the heavy rain in Beijing last month - have highlighted climate change issues, China's chief climate change negotiator said on Monday. "Climate change is not necessarily the direct reason behind extreme weather events, but it's definitely one of the reasons," said Su Wei, who heads the Department of Climate Change of the National Development and Reform Commission.
• 2012/08/14: NatureN: Green protests on the rise in China -- Environmental groups use momentum to push for reforms
  

  While elsewhere in Asia:

• 2012/08/16: al Jazeera: Bangladesh mulls solar-energy options
  Authorities in Dhaka install solar lighting as part of effort to reduce the South Asian nation's huge power shortfall.
• 
  

  In the Middle East:

   

• 2012/08/17: NatureN: Gulf states 'need a more unified approach to R&D' -- Improving scientific systems could strengthen the region's economies
  

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

• 2012/08/16: PI: Federal government misses caribou protection deadline...again
• 2012/08/17: CBC: Harper to embark on annual Arctic tour
  PM will visit Yukon, the Northwest Territories, Nunavut and northern Manitoba
• 2012/08/16: OttCit:B: Canadian Government Does Not See A Military Threat in the Arctic, Says DND
• 2012/08/15: G&M: Doctors call on Ottawa to reject 'backdoor' attempt to recriminalize abortion
• 2012/08/15: BCLSB: In Canada, Abortion Could Become Illegal Again As Soon As This Fall
• 2012/08/12: PostMedia: Emissions targets slip away as governments underachieve on climate change -- Record heat can't deflect focus on flagging economy
• 2012/08/12: BuckDog: Stephen Harper's Recent Embrace Of 'Science' Is Laughable!
  

  The G20 controversy lingers:

• 2012/08/13: PaiD: From A Star Reader
  

  This poll generated a lot of interest because it contradicts Harper's ideology and the American norm:

• 2012/08/16: TP:JR: Just Two Percent Of Canadians Deny Climate Change
• 2012/08/15: TreeHugger: Only 2% of Canadians Now Deny Climate Change
• 2012/08/16: P3: Only 2% of Canadians think the climate is not changing
• 2012/08/17: DeSmogBlog: Just 2% of Canadians Deny Climate Change Occurring, Poll Finds
• 2012/08/16: NatPo: Climate change is real, Canadians say, but they can't agree on the cause
• 2012/08/15: CBC: Only 2% of Canadians deny climate change, suggests poll
• 2012/08/15: NorRe: Canadians and Climate Change
  Stephen Harper likes to claim that his values are Canadian values. If Harper truly based his decisions on evidence, he might begin to revaluate that assumption. According to a new poll from Insightrix Reseach, only 2% of Canadians believe that climate change is a hoax
• 2012/08/15: PostMedia: Only 2 per cent of Canadians don't believe in climate change: survey
  Only two per cent of Canadians who responded to a new opinion poll believe climate change is not occurring. However, a majority believes natural climate variation is playing at least some role in the warming trend. The findings are in a survey conducted by Insightrix Research, Inc. for IPAC-CO2 Research Inc., a Regina-based centre that studies carbon capture and storage. The online poll of 1,550 people was done between May 29 and June 11. The results were to be released on Wednesday.
• 
  

  Another ramification of Bill C-38:

   

• 2012/08/16: Sierra: Bill C-38's first victim: Groups forced to drop court action against radioactive waste export
  

  NDP Leader Tom Mulcair visited the tarsands this week:

• 2012/08/19: PostMedia: Mulcair touts oilsands as 'important' resource
  NDP leader Thomas Mulcair is touting the benefits of Canada's "important" oil resources, but he said the federal government needs to work hard on supporting spinoff jobs and ensuring proper environmental protection. In a radio interview Saturday, Mulcair suggested that efforts to add new refining jobs in Canada would become a "win-win" situation for the oilsands industry and the rest of the country.
• 2012/08/18: CBC: NDP leader considers Northern Gateway pipeline dead -- New Democrats prepared to start a provincial party in Quebec
  NDP Leader Tom Mulcair says he supports the idea of refining Alberta's oil in Canada instead of shipping crude to Kitimat, B.C., and then on to Asia, as would be the case with Enbridge's proposed Northern Gateway pipeline project -- which he calls a "non-starter."
• 
  

  The battle over the Northern Gateway pipeline rages on:

   

• 2012/08/15: RHughes: Enbridge is a Loser No Matter How the Bitumen Travels!
• 2012/08/17: TheCanadian: Cartoonist Murphy at it Again: New Video Mocks Enbridge's Route Animation
• 2012/08/15: DeSmogBlog: Enbridge Video Stunningly Misleading
• 2012/08/15: PostMedia: Enbridge stirs up controversy with depiction of West Coast waterway as containing no islands
  Critics say video an attempt to mislead public
• 2012/08/15: TheCanadian: Replacing Enbridge with Rail, Other Routes Misses the Point
• 2012/08/15: DEaves: Lying with Maps: How Enbridge is Misleading the Public in its Ads
• 2012/08/18: CBC: Energy Board demands Enbridge Michigan spill report
• 2012/08/15: CBC: Enbridge pipeline panel demands scathing U.S. spill report
• 2012/08/14: VanSun:B: What is the Northern Gateway pipeline panel up to?
• 2012/08/14: PostMedia: Northern Gateway pipeline review panel demands consideration of 'Keystone Kops' report on Enbridge
  The federal review panel assessing the controversial Northern Gateway oilsands pipeline to B.C. is now demanding that Enbridge table a report from a U.S. regulator who concluded that the company acted like the Keystone Kops in a 2010 Michigan spill and had a corporate "culture of deviance." The request was among a series of tough new questions the panel is putting to Enbridge on matters relating to safety, including the company's plan to deal with leaks and with unforeseen weather calamities that might endanger supertankers approaching or leaving Kitimat.
• 2012/08/14: TStar: Prime Minister hedges his bets on B.C. pipeline
• 2012/08/14: OilChange: "We're facing a very strong, almost revolutionary movement"
• 2012/08/13: PostMedia: Enbridge CEO says environmental groups have taken control of pipeline debate
• 2012/08/13: WCEL: 5 rules for a science-based decision on the Enbridge Pipelines
• 2012/08/13: ChronicleHerald: Pipeline politics: Does risk outweigh reward for Ottawa?
  

  BC businessman, David Black proposes building a refinery in Kitimat:

• 2012/08/18: PostMedia: If Black can back his proposal, it could change the game
• 2012/08/17: PostMedia: Kitimat oil refinery could blacken province's reputation, foes say
  Facility's carbon footprint might negate B.C.'s 'green targets' If the proposed oil refinery in Kitimat is built, it could end up forcing the province to jettison its long-term environmental goals, opponents say. "Building the refinery would have very large implications for B.C.'s green commitment," said Jennifer Grant, director of the oilsands program at Alberta's Pembina Institute.
• 2012/08/17: RHughes: David Black Wants To Build A Refinery In Kitimat-Uh huh!
• 2012/08/18: RHughes: Excuse Me Mr. Black, Rafe Mair Has A Few Words About Your Refinery Proposal!
• 2012/08/18: RHughes: When Did Premier Clark Know of David Black's Bitumen Refinery Proposal?
• 2012/08/17: TheCanadian: BC Media Mogul David Black Proposes $13 Billion Refinery in Kitimat Linked to Enbridge Pipeline
• 2012/08/18: TheCanadian: Refining the Black Stuff in Kitimat Doesn't Make Sense
  

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

• 2012/08/17: CBC: B.C. publisher proposes $13B crude refinery near Kitimat
  A prominent B.C. businessman is proposing to build an oil refinery near Kitimat to refine crude oil shipped from the Enbridge Northern Gateway pipeline. David Black, owner of Black Press Group Ltd., said his other company, Kitimat Clean Ltd., is submitting an environmental assessment application for approval to build the plant.
• 2012/08/16: PI: British Columbians Imagine a Better Future
• 2012/08/17: PostMedia: Victoria should brace for rising sea levels, more storms: climate change report
• 2012/08/15: BCGEU: Timber supply report exposes failed B.C. government forest policies
• 2012/08/17: RHughes: NDP Energy Critic John Horgan Isn't Buying Into David Black's Refinery Scheme
• 2012/08/16: RHughes: BC NDP Challenge on Enbridge But Embrace Fracking and the Pacific Trails Pipeline!
• 2012/08/15: CBC: Cut more B.C. timber to fight pine beetle, says report -- Logging increase would also help Burns Lake
  A B.C. government report recommends increasing logging in the province's central Interior, a region hit hard by the pine beetle epidemic and an explosion that demolished the Burns Lake sawmill. The report from the Special Committee on Timber Supply indicates the pine beetle epidemic has killed 53 per cent of the total pine volume on the timber harvesting land base. The report makes 22 recommendations, including advising the B.C. government to increase the timber supply and value of pine beetle wood, improve forest management, engage local communities and First Nations in future forests plans and find more ways to grow more wood.
• 2012/08/15: PostMedia: Tax could be pipeline power play
  Province has a number of cards in its hand that could be used to exert control over future projects Public opinion is growing increasingly hostile to building oilsands pipelines across British Columbia and shipping it in large, fragile tankers down the treacherous waters of Douglas Channel, or though busy Burrard Inlet and Georgia Strait. Many in B.C. think that, with enough political will, the provincial government can stop these projects. I am not so sure, and it's time to look at how they could be stopped and at what cost.
• 2012/08/14: WCEL: Will your tax dollars subsidize BC's unsustainable fish farms?
  

  Meanwhile in that Mechanical Mordor known as the tar sands:

• 2012/08/15: Tyee: Norway vs. Canada: Where to Draw the Line with Big Oil
  By owning a large stake in the business, Norway has more control over safety and the bottom line.
• 2012/08/17: G&M: Pipelines, glut of cheap crude raise doubts over oil sands expansion
  Strained pipeline systems and a glut of North American crude will force Canadian oil sands companies to cut back on their ambitious expansion plans over the next several years, a major new report warns. Based on a review of all major producing regions, the CIBC World Markets report says North American crude production should grow annually over the next five years by a stunning 900,000 barrels a day.
• 2012/08/16: NPR: When This Oil [dilbit] Spills, It's 'A Whole New Monster'
• 2012/08/16: NBF: Unlocking more of Canada's Oilsands While Emitting Less Pollution and Using Less Water
• 2012/08/18: RHughes: Is Alberta's Dirty Dilbit Actually Black's Gold Or Is It Just Fools Gold?
  

  Also in Alberta:

• 2012/08/17: CBC: Alberta wants pipeline review by end of November
  Alberta wants a review into the safety of its vast network of oil and natural gas pipelines to be completed by the end of November.
• 2012/08/18: WaCD: Another Canadian mythology: the NEP destroyed Alberta!
• 2012/08/14: CBC: No increase for B.C. pipeline profits, says Alberta premier
• 2012/08/14: BCLSB: I Think We Can See Where The Problem Lies
• 2012/08/14: DClimenhaga: Ethical Oil charity complaint sparks Alberta corporate complaint
  

  In Saskatchewan Potash is back in the news:

• 2012/08/17: CBC: Vale's $3B Saskatchewan potash mine venture on hold
  Brazilian mining giant Vale SA says it is postponing a $3 billion potash project in Saskatchewan. The huge mine was to be developed near Kronau, a small community southeast of Regina. "We find ourselves in some challenging economic times today and we have reviewed the projects that we have on our plate, one of those being the Kronau project, and we have made a decision to postpone it for the time being," Cory McPhee, a Vale vice-president, said Thursday from Toronto. It was expected to produce up to 2.9 million metric tonnes of potash, a key ingredient in fertilizer, per year. McPhee said Vale will continue working to secure a water source for the mine and on the project's environmental impact assessment. But he said there is no firm timeline on when construction of the potash mine will begin.
• 2012/08/14: PEF: 1% Potash Royalties: Typo or Foreshadowing?
  

  While in la Belle Province:

• 2012/08/17: CBC: Quebec-Labrador caribou herd in free fall
  A new survey by wildlife officials in two provinces shows an astonishing decline in the population of what had been a major caribou herd. The George River herd, which migrates between Quebec and Labrador, now has a population of about 27,600 animals, according to a census completed in July. That's down from 74,000 animals in a 2010 census, and a drop of 93 per cent from a census done in 2001.
• 
  

  In the North:

   

• 2012/08/15: G&M: Canada's not ready to have the [yacht called the] World in the Arctic
  [...] the risk is of an accident involving more than 400 people in a remote and inhospitable region where Canada's search-and-rescue capabilities are inadequate to the task.
• 
  

  As for miscellaneous Canadiana:

   

• 2012/08/12: CBC: Good year for farmers making solar power
  While last week's rain arrived too late for many farmers across Eastern Ontario and Western Quebec, it's been a good year for farmers who bought into solar energy.
• 
  

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

   

• 2012/08/18: TP:JR: Addressing Our Looming Climate Bankruptcy
• 2012/08/18: GaianEcon: It's the Green Economy, Stupid!
• 2012/08/12: RI: Can we bear the legacy costs of industrial society's toxic pollution?
• 2012/08/15: ERW: Enmity and co-operation together bring stable ecosystems
• 2012/08/16: CCurrents: Our Cooperative Darwinian Moment
• 2012/08/13: CCurrents: The Triumph Of Fantasy Over Science
• 2012/08/13: CCurrents: The Real Deficits That Are Killing Us by David Korten
• 2012/08/13: EnergyBulletin: Re-reading The Limits to Growth
• 2012/08/12: EnergyBulletin: Can we bear the legacy costs of industrial society's toxic pollution?
  

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

• 2012/08/16: NatureN: Birth control for men edges closer -- Researchers make male mice reversibly infertile without using hormones
• 2012/08/14: OccupyCorporatism: The Groundwater Footprint: Over-Population Threatens Water Resources
• 2012/08/17: BBC: Male contraceptive pill 'step closer' after mice studies
• 2012/08/17: ABC(Au): Researchers stumble upon male pill breakthrough
  United States researchers say they have identified a compound that may finally lead to a birth control pill for men. In lab experiments, male mice given the pill were rendered completely infertile during treatment as they produced fewer and less mobile sperm.
• 2012/08/14: CCurrents: The Problem Of Unnecessary Humans
• 2012/08/12: CCurrents: Overpopulation And Depopulation
• 2012/08/13: TreeHugger: If 7 Billion People Lived Like... (Infographic)
  

  Apocalypso anyone?

• 2012/08/16: CoveredInBees: Cutting through the branch we're standing on
  

  How do the media measure up?

• 2012/08/16: Stoat: More weird sea ice stuff
• 2012/08/17: ERabett:JF: CBS This Morning: Good Story, Muffled Conclusion
• 2012/08/16: P3: Why the Press Finds Climate Boring
• 2012/08/18: EneNews: Time: A positive way to spin mutant butterflies found near Fukushima
• 2012/08/16: Guardian(UK): How do newspapers deal with politicians who go on repeating lies?
• 2012/08/15: DeSmogBlog: Media Fails Again On Climate Change Coverage During Massive Heat Waves
• 2012/08/14: OPS: You Can't Make This Stuff Up
  

  While activists search for effective communication techniques:

• 2012/08/13: SMandia: What do Winston Churchill and Lady Gaga Know that You Don't?
  

  And for your film & video enjoyment:

• 2012/08/17: PSinclair: The Weekend Wonk: Lester Brown on the Emerging Battle for Water
• 2012/08/17: PSinclair: Jay Leno's Garage - "The Truck version of the Chevy Volt"
• 2012/08/18: EnergyBulletin: "Mother: Caring for 7 Billion" (documentary film review)
• 2012/02/15: NOAA:ClimateWatch: Ethics and Issues Surrounding Geo-engineering to Mitigate Climate Change
• 2012/08/14: P3: In a sane world, it would be front page news
  

  Meanwhile among the 'Sue the Bastards!' contingent:

• 2012/08/16: PlanetArk: Oregon seed, farm groups sue state over GMO canola
• 2012/08/16: PlanetArk: German grid regulator opens case against TenneT
  German energy network agency BnetzA said on Wednesday it had opened a case against grid operator TenneT stemming from its failure to link a North Sea wind farm to the grid. The move follows a complaint brought by developer Windreich and is part of a wider clash between the German government spurring offshore wind projects and TenneT, the firm responsible for linking them to the grid.
• 2012/08/18: AutoBG: U.S. Appeals Court throws out E15 lawsuit against EPA
• 2012/08/13: RegisterGuard: Climate lawsuit appealed
  Two Eugene students ask two appeals courts to force the state of Oregon to take action on climate change
• 
  

  Among the non-members of Gamblers Anonymous:

   

• 2012/08/18: Moyhu: Lucia's bet on Arctic Sea Ice
  

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

• 2012/08/16: TP:JR: Exporting Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) Is Still Bad For The Climate -- And A Very Poor Long-Term Investment
• 2012/08/16: SBO: Report shows geothermal heating up across Oregon
• 2012/08/14: SciAm:PI: Oregon Breakthrough in Generating Electricity from Wastewater
• 2012/08/15: 350orBust: It Is Time To Stop Our Dependence On Dirty Energy
• 2012/08/08: SP: Energy policy: Follow the money
  If you want to know why our energy policy is what it is, and why the transition to renewables is so slow, there's an easy way to find out: Follow the money.
• 2012/08/13: OSU: Major advance made in generating electricity from wastewater
• 2012/08/13: OilDrum: Comments on BP Statistical Review 2012
  

  What do you have in energy comparisons and transitions?

• 2012/08/17: C&S: The Reliabilty of Nuclear stations compared to Wind Power
  

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

• 2012/08/17: Houston Chronicle: Energy leader [IEA head, Maria van der Hoeven] wants transparency on hydraulic fracturing
• 2012/08/16: DeSmogBlog: Fracking Industry Paying Off Scientists For "Unbiased" Safety Studies
• 2012/08/14: ScienceInsider: Can University of Texas Dispel Concerns About Fracking Study?
• 2012/08/15: OilDrum: Shale Gas Assets - Overpriced Or a Liquid Turn for Mining Giant BHP?
• 2012/08/14: BBerg: Fracking Hazards Obscured in Failure to Disclose Wells
• 2012/08/14: PlanetArk: Frackers in frantic search for guar bean substitutes
• 2012/08/10: CDreams: New Groundwater Study Exposes Deep Folly of Fracking
  

  On the gas and oil front:

• 2012/08/17: BBerg: Closing oil prices Friday
  OIL (US$/bbl)
  Nymex Crude Future...96.01
  Dated Brent Spot....115.77
  WTI Cushing Spot.....96.01
• 2012/08/15: SoberLook: Crude oil denominated in euros hits record [E94.83/barrel]
• 2012/08/17: EarlyWarning: Global Oil Production Fell 1mbd in June/July
• 2012/08/16: EurActiv: Ukraine picks Western firms for offshore gas project
  Ukraine has selected ExxonMobil and Royal Dutch Shell to develop its Skifska hydrocarbon field in the Black Sea, choosing the American and Dutch companies over Russia's Lukoil for the E8.15-billion project.
• 2012/08/17: CNN: Mexico's big oil problem
  Mexico, one of the largest suppliers of oil to the United States, has a big problem: Its production of crude is falling fast.
• 2012/08/17: TreeHugger: US Oil Imports from Saudi Arabia Spike 20% This Year
• 2012/08/16: CBC: Gas burst at Encana's Colorado site kills 1, injures 3
• 2012/08/13: FTAlphaville: Shale oil everywhere... for a while
• 2012/08/19: OilDrum: Tech Talk - Considerations of Chinese Demand Growth
• 2012/08/14: GreenPeace(UK): Greenpeace uncovers Gazprom's expired oil spill response plan
• 2012/08/14: S&R: Surprise! Corporations secretly investing in U.S. politics, increasing need for DISCLOSE Act
• 2012/08/13: NatureN: Exxon Valdez laid to rest -- The Oriental Nicety (née Exxon Valdez), born in 1986 in San Diego, California, has died after a long struggle with bad publicity
• 2012/08/14: BBerg: Nigeria Agency Wants Chevron to Pay $3 Billion for Fire
  

  Regarding oil and the economy:

• 2012/08/14: EnergyBulletin: An Energy/GDP Forecast to 2050
• 2012/08/12: McClatchyDC: Will high oil costs permanently ruin world's economy?
  

  And in pipeline news:

• 2012/08/18: CCP: Keystone XL rival Enbridge avoids scrutiny of oil pipeline plans
  

  Yes we have a peak oil sighting:

• 2012/08/16: PeakEnergy: David Strahan On Monbiot's Peak Oil U-Turn
  

  Biofuel bickering abounds:

• 2012/08/18: AutoBG: U.S. Appeals Court throws out E15 lawsuit against EPA
  

  The answer my friend...:

• 2012/08/16: TreeHugger: Largest Building-Integrated Wind Power System in U.S. Installed in Oklahoma City
• 2012/08/17: NBF: Offshore wind should use steel cables to hold towers in place for more efficient use of material
• 2012/08/14: NAWP: Citing PTC Uncertainty, Vestas Lays Off Workers At Colorado Manufacturing Facility
• 2012/08/14: Eureka: New study finds the US wind power market riding a wave that is likely to crest in 2012
  The expiration of key federal incentives could bring that wave crashing down in 2013, despite a significant decline in the cost of wind energy
• 2012/08/14: Eureka: A model designed to balance the bolting load of wind turbines is developed
  

  Meanwhile among the solar aficionados:

• 2012/08/16: PeakEnergy: US: 200,000 GW of solar could be installed
• 2012/08/13: Eureka: University of Houston researcher develops solar panel coating
  Nanoparticle coating makes it easier to keep solar panel clean, which reduces maintenance and operations costs
• 2012/08/09: NYT: The Secret to Solar Power
  

  The nuclear energy controversy continues:

• 2012/08/17: EurActiv: Belgium shuts two nuclear reactors amid safety concerns
  Belgium's nuclear regulator has questioned the safety of the Electrabel-operated Doel 3 reactor due to cracks in the pressure vessels that have already forced the shutdown of a similar unit at the Tihange nuclear plant. Belgium has halted the 1,006-megawatt Doel 3 reactor until at least the end of August after the discovery of suspected cracks in the pressure vessel. But it is possible that the reactor could be shut down for good.
• 2012/08/17: EUO: Thousands of cracks found in Belgian nuclear power plant
  Belgium's nuclear safety chief, Willy De Roovere, on Thursday (16 August) said there could be thousands of cracks in the reactor vessel of the ageing Doel 3 nuclear reactor situated 25 km outside Antwerp and 3 km from the Dutch border. The inspector said the cracks are parallel to the surface of the walls and pose no immediate threat but the large number has left him concerned, reports AFP. Repairs, he noted, would be almost impossible.
• 2012/08/16: BNC: Talking turkey on nuclear $$ costs
• 2012/08/15: ANSNC: Doel-3 in Belgium reports possible pressure vessel flaw -- Findings could be significant for other reactors
• 2012/08/17: UCSUSA: Disputes and Rising Costs Spell Trouble for the Vogtle Nuclear Plant
• 2012/08/17: CCurrents: More On The Obsolete Reactor Pressure Vessel At The Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant
• 2012/08/17: GRC: Radiation Danger Covered Up Ever Since Nuclear Weapons Invented
• 2012/08/15: PlanetArk: Foreign regulators to examine cracks at Belgian nuclear plant
• 2012/08/13: CCurrents: From Fukushima To India: A Future That's Renewable
• 2012/08/12: CCurrents: AERB And Regulatory Capture In India: Conflict of Interest?
• 2012/08/14: CDreams: Sign of Warmer Times: Shutdown at Conn. Nuclear Plant Due to High Cooling Water Temperature -- Cooling waters for plant averaging 1.7 degrees above limit
  

  Nuclear fusion projects around the world limp along:

• 2012/08/16: SciNow: How to Line a Thermonuclear Reactor
  

  Low energy nuclear keeps coming up:

• 2012/08/18: NBF: Some of the Full papers and presentations from ICCF-17
• 2012/08/14: NBF: Reports from the 17th International Conference on Cold Fusion
• 2012/08/12: NBF: Leaked picture and information on the high temperature energy catalyzer
  

  Like a mirage, the dream of a Hydrogen Economy shimmers on the horizon:

• 2012/08/16: ABC(Au): Hydrogen storage no longer up in the air
  Scientists have developed a safe and practical method of storing hydrogen in nanoparticles, opening the way for its wide spread use as a fuel source.
• 
  

  More people are talking about the electrical grid:

   

• 2012/08/16: DerSpiegel: Energy Revolution Hiccups -- Grid Instability Has Industry Scrambling for Solutions
  Sudden fluctuations in Germany's power grid are causing major damage to a number of industrial companies. While many of them have responded by getting their own power generators and regulators to help minimize the risks, they warn that companies might be forced to leave if the government doesn't deal with the issues fast.
• 
  

  And then there is the matter of efficiency & conservation:

   

• 2012/08/17: TP:JR: How To Market Efficiency: What Clean Energy Can Learn From The Sara Lee Baking Company
• 2012/08/16: TreeHugger: Wattvision Looking for Support on Kickstarter for Improved Smart Energy Sensor
• 2012/08/14: CleanBreak: Sorry Mr. Jevons, your energy efficiency paradox really isn't
• 2012/08/13: TP:JR: Debunking False Claims About Compact Fluorescents (CFLs)
  

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

• 2012/08/14: AutoBG: McKinsey: Battery cost reduction looks very good for EVs
• 2012/08/15: AutoBG: How people and politicians play politics with plug-in cars
• 2012/08/13: UCSUSA:B: Future State of Charge: How Clean Will Electric Vehicles Get?
  

  As for Energy Storage:

• 2012/08/16: AutoBG: Flexible batteries may be tiny now, but end effect could be big
• 2012/08/17: TreeHugger: Self-Charging Battery Generates and Stores Energy Simultaneously
• 2012/08/17: TreeHugger: New Salt-Based Battery Could Make Grid-Scale Storage Affordable
  

  Insurance and re-insurance companies are feeling the heat:

• 2012/08/14: CCP: Severe Losses for Reinsurers from US Drought According to Munich Re CEO Nikolaus von Bomhard
  

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

• 2012/08/17: TP:JR: August 17 News...
• 2012/08/16: TP:JR: August 16 News...
• 2012/08/15: TP:JR: August 15 News...
• 2012/08/14: TP:JR: August 14 News...
• 2012/08/13: TP:JR: August 13 News...
  

  Other (weekly) lists:

• 2012/08/15: BPA: Hot 5: Farmland Prices. GMOs are NOT Scary. Ken Caldeira on Climate Change. 23 Million New U.S. Acres Plowed for Crops. Documentary "Generation Food"
• 2012/08/13: BPA: Agriculture News
  

  The carbon lobby are up to the usual:

• 2012/08/15: TheHill:e2W: Rebuked over Unabomber ad, Heartland Institute resumes fight on carbon rules
• 2012/08/17: DebunkingDenialism: Butchering Scientific Studies [see checklist]
• 2012/08/16: CCurrents: Destroying The World For Profit
• 2012/08/17: WtD: "Look over there, a badger!" Lomborg's latest piece of faux myth-busting distraction in The Australian
• 2012/08/16: ERabett:BSD: Hi Mom
• 2012/08/16: BCLSB: Denier Comes To T.O., Denies
• 2012/08/19: WtD: New World Order anyone? The video in which David Evans claims a world government "may" be coming...
• 2012/08/19: WottsUWT: Apparently Governor Brown, you've never visited the weather station at Lake Tahoe
• 2012/08/17: BrassCheck: Thirteen Techniques for Truth Suppression
• 2012/08/18: P3: McIntyre Says Some Sensible Things
• 2012/08/14: WtD: Guilty pleasure: messin' with The Galileo Movement's Twitter feed
• 2012/08/13: TP:JR: Debunking False Claims About Compact Fluorescents (CFLs)
• 2012/08/13: Stoat: When will it start cooling?
• 2012/08/13: ITracker: Weaponized ignorance
• 2012/08/12: WtD: Reprint: Climate science and policy: the tension between 'argument' and 'debate'
• 2012/08/12: P3: Fighting the Good Fight
• 2012/08/12: HC: Climate *skeptics* don't doubt CO2 is a greenhouse gas, except when they do
• 2012/08/04: NV: Confirmation bias - Matt Ridley may have some
• 2012/08/12: ExpBook: On confirmation bias
  

  Meanwhile in the 'clean coal' saga:

• 2012/08/17: ScienceInsider: U.S. Watchdog Agency Backs Basis for Tightening Rules on Coal Dust Exposure
  

  As for climate miscellanea:

• 2012/08/17: TP:JR: The Heat Is On, And It's Time To Prepare
• 2012/08/16: P3: The End of the World as We Know It
• 2012/08/17: 350orBust: Arctic Sends Clear Message: Act Now To Reduce Carbon Dioxide Pollution
• 2012/08/19: ERabett: Cognitive Dissonance and Good Advice
• 2012/08/19: Eureka: New space-age insulating material [aerogel] for homes, clothing and other everyday uses
• 2012/08/18: QuarkSoup: Molina on Feeling Global Warming
• 2012/08/15: CCurrents: "Common Sense Revolution" Needed To Tackle Climate Change
• 2012/08/14: CCurrents: A Degree By Degree Explanation Of Global Warming
• 2012/08/12: SciNow: Years After Slash and Burn, Brazil Haunted by 'Black Carbon'
  

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

• Greenland Melting
• Icy Seas - Scientific Musings of a Sailor in a Changing Climate
• Arctic Methane
• The Better Future Fund: What does our better future look like?
• Wiki: DilBit - diluted bitumen
• NOAA:NRC: State of the Science Fact Sheets
• MeltFactor [Jason Box]
• Ocean Health Index
• Planet Extinction
• Berrens(nl): A degree by degree explanation of what will happen when the earth warms
• Udemy: [Free Course] Economics of Energy and the Environment
• Wiki: Fluoroform
• ANS Nuclear Cafe
• Yale Environment 360
• Common Ground
• EneNews
• Wiki: Fujita scale
• California WaterBlog
• GMWatch

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.

"The law locks up both man and woman
Who steals the goose from off the common,
But lets the greater felon loose
Who steals the common from the goose." -Anonymous

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