Another Week of GW News, December 2, 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 in the Planetary Crisis

Logging the Onset of The Bottleneck Years

December 2, 2012

• Chuckles, Doha - COP18: Misc., Irony, Kyoto, Finance, Dailies
• Grafton, Bednarek, Rahmstorf, Shepherd, Subsidies, WB, Equador, Cook
• Fukushima Note, Fukushima News, Nuclear Policy
• Melting Arctic, Polar Bears, Methane, Geopolitics, Antarctica
• Food Crisis, Fisheries, Food vs. Biofuel, IP Issues, GMOs, Food Production
• Hurricanes, GHGs, Temperatures, Feedbacks, Aerosols, Paleoclimate, Attribution
• Solar, Climate Sensitivity, Tipping Points, Extinctions, Proxies, Satellites
• Impacts, Forests, Notable Weather, Wacky Weather, Extreme Weather
• Tornadoes, Wildfires, Corals, Acidification, Glaciers, Sea Levels, Floods & Droughts
• Mitigation, Transportation, Buildings, Sequestration, Geoengineering, Adaptation
• Journals, Other Docs, Misc. Science, Hansen
• International Politics: UN, Carbon Trade, Carbon Tax, Bank Tax, Hormuz
• South China Sea, EU ETS & Airlines, Rare Earths, Law & Activism, H2O Biz, Education
• National Politics: America, BP Disaster, Sandy, 2016, Keystone, Carbon Tax
• Birth Control, Coal Exports, Obama, USAdmin, Congress, Lobbyists
• Britain, Europe, Australia, Carbon Law, Minority, MDBP, New Zealand, India, China, Japan, South America
• Canada, Doha, FIPPA, Bill C-45, Northern Gateway, Salmon, BC, Tar Sands, Alberta, Ontario, Quebec, North, Canadiana
• Ecological Economics, IPAT, Apocalypso, Media, Books, Video, Podcasts, Courts, Betting
• Energy, Fracking, Coal, Oil & Gas, Fossil Fuel Corps, Pipelines, Peak Oil, Biofuel
• Wind, Solar, Nukes, Efficiency, Cars
• Insurance, FAQs, Joe's List, Carbon Lobby, Misc., Useful Links
• Shameless Self Promotion, .sig

Here's a wee chuckle for ye:

• 2012/11/28: uComics: (cartoon - Rall) All the top GOP candidates for prez in 2016 support Creationism
• 2012/11/29: JoeMohrToons: (cartoon - Mohr) Hank D and the Bee: Predicting the Future of Weather
• 2012/11/27: LA Times: (cartoon - Horsey) Despite storms and floods, humans willingly ignore global warming
• 2012/11/28: LA Times: (cartoon - Horsey) Ocean acidification is killing sea life, and we are the culprits
  

  The Doha COP18 conference is in session:

• 2012/11/30: Maribo: The lowdown on COP18 in Doha
  [...] The summit, as I see it, is being dominated by three key issues:
  1. Renewing the Kyoto Protocol [...]
  2. Slow march to a universal emissions agreement [...]
  3. Financial and technical assistance to the developing world
• 2012/11/30: Reuters: Pledges to fight global warming inadequate, U.S. off track: study
  Major nations' policies are inadequate to limit global warming and the United States is off track even in carrying out its weak pledge to limit greenhouse gas emissions, a scientific scorecard showed on Friday. The Climate Action Tracker report, issued on the sidelines of talks among almost 200 countries in Doha about climate change, said a toughening of policies was still possible to avert damaging floods, heat waves and rising seas. Major emitters China, the United States, the European Union and Russia all got "inadequate" ratings for their plans to help limit global warming to an agreed U.N. ceiling of below 2 degrees Celsius (3.6F) above pre-industrial times, it said.
• 2012/11/29: GreenGrok: International climate negotiations: Consensus on the need for change
• 2012/11/29: BizGreen: NGOs demand Doha cancellation of carbon credit surplus -- Over 150 organisations say Kyoto loopholes are undermining carbon-cutting efforts
• 2012/11/29: BBerg: China, EU Comments Show Reduced Scope of UN Climate Talks
  China teamed with the European Union and envoys from the bloc of 48 Least Developed Countries to dial back expectations for United Nations climate talks, indicating that there probably aren't any new promises for aid or cuts in greenhouse gases on the horizon. China ruled out the idea of capping growth in fossil-fuel emissions from developing nations before 2020, while EU Climate Commissioner Connie Hedegaard said she can't provide specific details about how the bloc's 27 countries plan to meet meet commitments for boosting aid to poorer nations. The comments circumscribe potential agreements as delegates from more than 190 countries gather in Doha, Qatar...
• 2012/11/28: Reuters: As nations haggle, global carbon cut targets get impossibly deep
  As the nations of the world struggle in Doha to agree even modest targets to tackle global warming, the cuts needed in rising greenhouse gas emissions grow ever deeper, more costly and less likely to be achieved.
• 2012/11/28: Reuters: Extreme weather calls for action, [WMO head, Michel Jarraud] says
  Extreme weather from melting Arctic ice to Superstorm Sandy shows snail-paced U.N. climate talks have to do more to cut greenhouse gas emissions, the head of the U.N. weather agency and its climate chief said on Wednesday.
• 2012/11/28: CSW: Open letter to climate treaty negotiators: Leave 80% of coal, oil, and gas reserves in the ground
• 2012/11/30: CSW: Talking with Al Jazeera about the Doha climate conference
• 2012/11/29: Guardian(UK): Contemplating climate change catastrophe at COP 18 in Doha
• 2012/11/28: CCurrents: Doha Climate Talks: USA Makes False Claims Of GHG Emission Reduction
• 2012/11/26: DerSpiegel: Failed CO2 Targets -- Going Through the Motions in Doha
  The United Nations Climate Change Conference beginning in Doha this week is turning into a farce. While negotiators are sticking to the goal of limiting global warming to 2 degrees Celsius, even climatologists admit that the project has failed.
• 2012/11/26: DerSpiegel: Waiting for Obama -- Hope Not Enough in Battle against Climate Change
  In the search for a negotiated agreement to combat global climate change, US domestic politics play an outsized role. But even if President Barack Obama unexpectedly pushes emissions reduction legislation through Congress, the resulting treaty would still have to be ratified. Such a process would take too much time -- and it is time we don't have.
• 2012/11/28: al Jazeera: Doha climate talks: Any signs of life?
  All governments participating in COP18 should put "people and the planet before the polluters and their profits".
• 2012/11/26: PI: [link to 1.3 meg pdf] UN climate negotiations in Doha, Qatar
• 2012/11/30: USNews: UN Climate Boss [UNFCC head, Christiana Figueres]: No Support for Tough Climate Deal
• 2012/12/01: Xinhuanet: UN official [UNFCC head, Christiana Figueres] says significant progress hopeful at Doha talks
• 2012/11/30: CCurrents: Leave The Carbon In The Ground: An Open Letter To Governments And Their Negotiators
• 2012/11/30: BBerg: Climate Gridlock Frustrating Envoys at UN Talks in Doha
• 2012/11/26: P3: A lack of interest in Doha
• 2012/11/27: NYT: U.N. Climate Talks Promise Little Drama
• 2012/11/27: TP:JR: At Doha Climate Talks, U.S. Touts 'Enormous' Progress Cutting Carbon Pollution. Seriously.
• 2012/11/27: TP:JR: What To Expect In Doha: An Overview Of This Year's UN Climate Change Negotiations
• 2012/11/26: TreeHugger: Updated for Day 2: The COP18 UN Climate Conference Is On!
• 2012/11/27: Eureka: Paralysis by analysis should not delay decisions on climate change
• 2012/11/27: TMoS: What We're Really Fighting Over at Doha
• 2012/11/20: OFW: Climate Change: The Standard Fixes Don't Work
• 2012/11/27: Wunderground:RR: Energy Security - All the Oil We Want
• 2012/11/26: Guardian(UK): Doha 2012: US claims 'enormous' efforts to cut carbon emissions
• 2012/11/26: Guardian(UK): The highs and lows of 15 years of climate talks - in [21] pictures
• 2012/11/26: Guardian(UK): Doha climate talks: US defends 'enormous' efforts
• 2012/11/26: UN: UN climate change talks begin in Doha with call to build on existing agreements
• 2012/11/26: DD: UN climate talks open in Qatar
• 2012/11/26: DD: Will U.S. role at climate talks change after Hurricane Sandy?
• 2012/11/26: DD: UN talks seen falling short despite climate change fears - 'Ambition is very low'
• 2012/11/19: WRI: Issues to Watch at the Doha Climate Negotiations (COP 18)
• 2012/11/25: ChinaDaily: China urges turning climate talks into action
  The main job for the Doha Climate Change Conference is to start implementing what we've already agreed on in the past, China's chief climate change negotiator said on Sunday.
• 2012/11/26: CSM: Climate change talks: What are the goals in Qatar?
• 2012/11/26: SwissInfo: Doha conference: Swiss urged to play pioneering climate role
  As the latest United Nations climate change conference gets underway in Qatar, the government's advisory body on the issue says Switzerland should adopt a more ambitious strategy rather than align itself with the European Union.
• 2012/11/25: BBC: Qatar's capital Doha set to host UN climate talks
  Some 17,000 participants are due to attend the latest round of UN climate talks later in Qatar's capital, Doha.
• 2012/11/26: BBC: Doha climate talks represent 'golden opportunity' [says former Qatari energy minister H E Abdullah bin Hamad Al-Attiyah, President of COP18]
• 2012/11/26: al Jazeera: UN climate summit opens in Qatar
  About 17,000 delegates expected to attend the latest round of the climate talks, with carbon permits high on the agenda.
• 2012/11/25: Guardian(UK): Doha climate talks: what to expect
• 2012/11/25: Guardian(UK): Time is running out: the Doha climate talks must put an end to excuses
  

  Doha: The Irony of Qatar:

• 2012/12/01: al Jazeera: Qatari poet jailed for life to appeal
  Muhammad Ibn al-Dheeb al-Ajami's lawyer says he will appeal against the verdict next week.
• 2012/11/28: Guardian(UK): Doha: a strange place to host a climate-change conference
  Qatar makes most of its money from selling fossil fuels - and its capital is a massive consumer of state-subsidised energy
• 2012/11/29: Guardian(UK): Qatari poet jailed for life after writing verse inspired by Arab spring
• 2012/12/02: RTCC: Qatar facing dose of climate reality at UN talks
• 2012/11/27: al Jazeera: Qatar defends right to host climate talks
  Climate talks being held in Doha has placed a spotlight on the country's carbon dioxide emissions.
• 2012/11/26: Maribo: Inconvenient meeting: the optics of talking climate policy in Qatar
  

  Doha: The fate of Kyoto should be clear post-Doha:

• 2012/11/30: NatureN: Kyoto Special
• 2012/11/28: NatureN: The Kyoto Protocol: Hot air
  Commitments made under the Kyoto climate treaty expire at the end of 2012, but emissions are rising faster than ever.
• 2012/11/28: NatureN: Legacy of a climate treaty: After Kyoto
• 2012/12/01: TP:JR: Negotiations Over The Kyoto Protocol Continue At The Doha Climate Talks
• 2012/11/26: Guardian(UK): Has the Kyoto protocol made any difference to carbon emissions?
• 2012/11/26: Guardian(UK): The Kyoto protocol is not quite dead
• 2012/11/26: Guardian(UK): Canada, the surprise 'pariah' of the Kyoto protocol
• 2012/11/26: CNN: Trying to agree a Kyoto 2.0, as the planet simmers
  Nearly 200 delegations have gathered in Qatar to plan for a new international climate pact - Developed, developing countries disagree over how to share burden of cutting emissions - Earth is seeing crop failures, new weather patterns, record ice melt, acidifying oceans - There's doubt that at the global level, emissions-cutting goals will be matched by deeds
• 2012/11/25: JapanTimes: Doha talks to map out Kyoto future
• 2012/11/26: CBC: UN climate talks resume in Qatar as Kyoto expiry looms -- 20-year-old talks have failed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions
  

  Doha: Finance, GCF, SE4ALL etc:

• 2012/12/02: RTCC: Calls for fossil fuel subsidies to be addressed at UN climate summit
• 2012/11/30: ChinaDaily: Developing countries seek commitment on climate funds
• 2012/11/28: EurActiv: Funding devils in the detail of the UN's energy targets
  Funding plans for initiatives as ambitious as the UN's Sustainable Energy For All project (SE4ALL) traditionally contain as many details as they do devils, and from financing sources to fossil fuel emissions, SE4ALL is no exception.
• 2012/11/26: EconView: 'Wreaking Havoc on the Environment with Little or No Accountability' -- Jeff Sachs says "polluters must pay"
• 2012/11/26: Guardian(UK): Climate change adaptation cash for poor countries fails to materialise
• 2012/11/26: EurActiv: Climate cash debate rages as Doha summit opens
  The EU will not commit to renew climate funding which runs out at the year's end ahead of talks at the Doha climate summit, which opens today (26 November). But new climate aid may be announced in the conference's second week.
• 2012/11/25: IndiaTimes: Industrialised countries failed to provide $30 billion to tackle climate change in developing nations
• 2012/11/25: CBC: Climate financing to run out unless UN talks find solution
  A $100-billion-a-year promise from rich nations -- including Canada -- to help poor countries deal with climate change is still unfunded as of the end of 2012, a new report shows. And a second [$30 billion] fund, meant to jump start the promise, will run dry by Dec. 31.
• 2012/11/25: CBC: UN launching new climate talks in Qatar -- Financial commitments made in 2009 expire this year
• 2012/11/26: BBerg: Doubts on $30 Billion Climate Aid Threaten UN Talks
  

  Doha: Daily reports:

• 2012/11/30: IISD: Coverage on Friday, 30 November 2012
• 2012/11/29: IISD: Coverage on Thursday, 29 November 2012
• 2012/11/28: IISD: Coverage on Wednesday, 28 November 2012
• 2012/11/27: IISD: Coverage on Tuesday, 27 November 2012
• 2012/11/26: IISD: Coverage on Monday, 26 November 2012
• 2012/11/30: CAN: Eco6 Newsletter
• 2012/11/29: CAN: Eco5 Newsletter
• 2012/11/28: CAN: Eco4 Newsletter
• 2012/11/27: CAN: Eco3 Newsletter
• 2012/11/26: CAN: Eco2 Newsletter
• 2012/11/25: CAN: Eco1 Newsletter
• 2012/12/01: RTCC: COP18 Live: Latest news from Day 6 of Doha climate summit
• 2012/11/30: RTCC: COP18 Live: Latest news from Day 5 of Doha climate summit
• 2012/11/29: RTCC: COP18 Live: Latest news from Day 4 of Doha climate summit
• 2012/11/28: RTCC: COP18 Live: Latest news from Day 3 of Doha climate summit
• 2012/11/27: RTCC: COP18 Live: Latest news from Day 2 of Doha climate summit
• 2012/11/26: RTCC: COP18 Live: Latest news from Day 1 of Doha climate summit
  

  The Grafton et al. paper on river resources was an uncomfortable reminder:

• 2012/11/25: Nature:CC: (ab$) Global insights into water resources, climate change and governance by R. Quentin Grafton et al.
• 2012/11/26: ABC(Au): Study find world's major rivers under pressure
  Under pressure New research into the world's major river systems has found that too much water is being taken out, and the situation is likely to get worse with climate change.
• 2012/11/26: ABC(Au): Findings reveal world's major river systems remain under pressure
  

  The Bednarek et al. paper on dissolving sea snail shells raised concerns:

• 2012/11/25: Nature:GeoSci: (ab$) Extensive dissolution of live pteropods in the Southern Ocean by N. Bednarek et al.
• 2012/11/26: CBC: CO2 levels threaten marine food chain, study says -- Rising oceanic acidity is dissolving shells of sea snails in Antarctica
• 2012/11/26: CNN: Sea snails' shells dissolving in Earth's increasingly acidic oceans, study says
  This is the first case of ocean acidification affecting living organisms, scientists say - They say increasing carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is making oceans more acidic - That in turn is causing the shells of tiny sea snails to dissolve at shallower depths - The snails, known as sea butterflies, are a key food source for fish and birds
• 2012/11/26: ABC(Au): Snails show impact of more acidic ocean
• 2012/11/26: ABC(Au): Sea butterfly's shell dissolved by ocean acidification
• 2012/11/25: Eureka: First evidence of ocean acidification affecting live marine creatures in the Southern Ocean
• 2012/11/26: BBC: Antarctic marine wildlife is under threat, study finds
  Marine snails in seas around Antarctica are being affected by ocean acidification, scientists have found. An international team of researchers found that the snails' shells are being corroded. Experts says the findings are significant for predicting the future impact of ocean acidification on marine life.
• 
  

  The Rahmstorf et al. paper checking IPCC projections, unnerved some watching sea level rise:

   

• 2012/11/27: ERL: Comparing climate projections to observations up to 2011 by Stefan Rahmstorf et al.
• 2012/12/01: Tamino: Sea Level Rise: Faster than Projected
  A new paper by Rahmstorf et al. compares observed climate changes, specifically global temperature and sea level rise, to projections from IPCC reports. The result: temperature is rising in outstanding agreement with IPCC projections, while sea level is rising faster than expected.
• 2012/11/30: ClimateShifts: Projections of sea level rise are vast underestimates
• 2012/11/29: SkS: Rahmstorf et al. Validate IPCC Temperature Projections, Find Sea Level Rise Underestimated by dana1981
• 2012/11/28: ERW: Sea level rising faster than IPCC projected
• 2012/11/28: PIK: Projected sea-level rise may be underestimated
• 2012/11/28: TP:JR: Study: Sea Levels Rising 60% Faster Than Projected, Planet Keeps Warming As Expected
• 2012/11/28: TreeHugger: Sea Levels Rising 60% Faster Than Expected
• 2012/11/28: Reuters: Seas rising faster than projected, low areas threatened - study
  

  The Shepherd et al. paper reconciling many records of ice-sheet mass balance grabbed a lot of attention:

• 2012/11/30: Science: (ab$) A Reconciled Estimate of Ice-Sheet Mass Balance by Andrew Shepherd et al.
• 2012/11/30: TP:JR: Science Stunner: Greenland Ice Melt Up Nearly Five-Fold Since Mid-1990s, Antartica's Ice Loss Up 50% In Past Decade
• 2012/11/30: ESA: Clearest evidence yet of polar ice losses
• 2012/11/30: ABC(Au): Satellites show increased melting at both poles
• 2012/11/29: Stoat: A Reconciled Estimate of Ice-Sheet Mass Balance
• 2012/11/29: CSM: Polar ice melt accelerates (+video)
• 2012/11/29: CSM: Are polar ice sheets shrinking? Report offers definitive answer at last.
• 2012/11/29: PSinclair: Greenland, Antarctic Ice Loss Confirmed in Landmark Study
• 2012/11/29: TP:JR: Scientific American: 'Loss of Ice, Melting Of Permafrost And Other Climate Effects Are Occurring At An Alarming Pace'
• 2012/11/29: BBC: Sea-level rise from polar ice melt finally quantified
• 2012/11/29: CBC: Greenland glacier melting 5 times faster than in 1990s
• 2012/11/29: Guardian(UK): Greenland and Antarctica 'have lost 4tn tonnes of ice' in 20 years
• 2012/11/29: NASA:JPL: Ice Sheet Loss at Both Poles Increasing, Study Finds
• 2012/11/30: TreeHugger: Polar Ice Sheets Melting 3 Times Faster Than Two Decades Ago
  

  Who's getting the subsidies?

• 2012/11/29: EurActiv: UN energy goals threatened by fossil fuel subsidies, campaigners say
  UN plans to double the world's renewable energy capacity within two decades are under threat from fossil-fuel handouts, which have almost doubled in three years, campaigners say.
• 
  

  After their big 4 degrees warning last week, we'll soon see if the WB's right hand know what the left is doing:

   

• 2012/11/28: TP:JR: 4-GW Tata Mundra Coal Plant Is A Test Of The World Bank's Stated Commitment To Address Climate
• 2012/11/27: Rabble:SB: Why the World Bank should take its own advice on climate change
  

  Remember that Ecuadorian deal to leave the carbon in the ground?

• 2012/11/26: TreeHugger: $300 Million Raised by Ecuador to Leave the Oil in the Soil
  

  John Cook and friends continue their point-counterpoint articles:

• 2012/12/01: SkS: 2012 SkS Bi-Weekly News Roundup #6 by John Hartz
• 2012/12/01: SkS: The Latest Pre-Bunked Denialist Letter in Lieu of Real Science by dana1981
• 2012/11/30: SkS: SkS at the AGU 2012 Fall Meeting
• 2012/11/29: SkS: 2012 SkS Bi-Weekly News Roundup #5 by John Hartz
• 2012/11/28: SkS: Subcap Methane Feedbacks, Part 1: Fossil methane seepage in Alaska by Andy S
• 2012/11/27: SkS: Climate of Doubt Strategy #2: Exaggerate Uncertainty by dana1981
• 2012/11/26: SkS: New research from last week 47/2012 by Ari Jokimäki
• 2012/11/25: SkS: 2012 SkS Weekly Digest #47 by John Hartz
• 2012/11/25: SkS: Climate change evident across Europe, confirming urgent need for adaptation by John Hartz
  

  A note on theFukushima disaster:

  It is evident that the Fukushima disaster is going to persist for some time. TEPCO says 6 to 9 months. The previous Japanese Prime Minister, Naoto Kan, said decades. Now the Japanese government is talking about 30 years. [Whoops, that has now been updated to 40 years.] We'll see. At any rate this situation is not going to be resolved any time soon and deserves its own section.
  Meanwhile...
  It is very difficult to know for sure what is really going on at Fukushima. Between the company [TEPCO], the Japanese government, the Japanese regulator [NISA], the international monitor [IAEA], as well as independent analysts and commentators, there is a confusing mish-mash of information. One has to evaluate both the content and the source of propagated information.
  How knowledgeable are they [about nuclear power and about Japan]?
  Do they have an agenda?
  Are they pro-nuclear or anti-nuclear?
  Do they want to write a good news story?
  Do they want to write a bad news story?
  Where do they rate on a scale of sensationalism?
  Where do they rate on a scale of play-it-down-ness?
  One fundamental question I would like to see answered:
  If the reactors are in meltdown, how can they be in cold shutdown?

• 
  

  Not much good news coming out of Fukushima:

   

• 2012/12/01: EneNews: WHO: Fukushima workers had radiation dose over 10 sieverts in their thyroids
• 2012/11/30: TEPCO: Disclosure of the Video of our TV Conference (Second time)
• 2012/11/30: EneNews: More Fukushima Footage Released: "We have confirmed a worst situation - Water containing extremely high levels of radiation flowing into sea" (video)
• 2012/11/29: EneNews: Again: Tepco edits image of Fukushima Unit 4 - Still attempting to hide something at bottom of reactor building (photo)
• 2012/11/29: EneNews: "This is the Reality": Mayor from Fukushima reveals thyroid cysts when overseas - "He couldn't mention anything like that in Japan"...
• 2012/11/28: EneNews: Foreign doctors on Fukushima trip "very surprised" at condition of patients: "Symptoms are always the same" - Pains at rear of ears, stomatitis, skin disease...
• 2012/11/27: EneNews: NHK: One person stops working at Fukushima plant each day - A serious problem, conditions deteriorating (video)
• 2012/11/26: NatureN: Lack of Humility and Fear of Public Misunderstandings Led to Fukushima Accident
• 2012/11/25: NYT: Hopes of Home Fade Among Japan's [Fukushima] Displaced
• 2012/11/26: EneNews: NHK shows curium detection 100 km from Fukushima plant? - Professor: Wind blew this way and radiation levels were high as Fukushima City (video)
• 2012/11/26: UN: Following Japan visit, UN expert stresses need for monitoring effects of nuclear radiation on people
• 2012/11/26: DD: Hopes of returning home fade among Japan's Fukushima refugees
• 2012/11/26: EneNews: UN informs Japan: Radiation went far beyond Fukushima, affected people should get health checked - Gov't not protecting residents properly...
• 2012/11/26: EneNews: UN Press Conference: Fukushima parents denied access to children's medical records - Must go through FOIA requests (video)
• 2012/11/26: CBC: UN says Fukushima nuclear risks underestimated in Japan
  Rights investigator says Japan overemphasized optimistic views of radiation risks A United Nations rights investigator says Japan hasn't fully served the health needs of residents and workers affected by the Fukushima nuclear crisis. Anand Grover, UN special rapporteur on the right to health, said Monday that Japan has overemphasized optimistic views of radiation risks and conducted limited health checks after a meltdown at the Fukushima nuclear power plant that was caused by an earthquake and tsunami in 2011.
• 
  

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

   

• 2012/12/01: CNN: Fukushima inspires safety features for Georgia nuclear reactors
  The two new nuclear reactors are the first to be approved by the NRC since 1978 - NRC group focuses on implementing regulations based on lessons learned at Fukushima - Critics say natural gas is cheaper; so why use nuclear energy? - Because of the events at Fukushima, other countries have stopped using nuclear energy.
• 
  

  The Arctic melt continues to garner attention:

   

• 2012/11/29: NatureN: Grim picture of polar ice-sheet loss
  Antarctica and Greenland are rapidly losing their ice sheets because of climate change, says a comprehensive review.
• 2012/11/29: SciNews: Shrinking polar ice caused one-fifth of sea level rise
  Comprehensive analysis quantifies ice sheet loss in Greenland and Antarctica
• 2012/11/29: SimpleC: Space agencies pinpoint polar ice sheet damage
• 2012/11/29: IOTD: Ice-Free Crater Lakes on Ungava Peninsula
• 2012/11/28: Eureka: Clearest evidence yet of polar ice losses
  International satellite experts release definitive record of ice sheet changes
• 2012/11/27: Princeton: Embracing data 'noise' brings Greenland's complex ice melt into focus
• 2012/11/29: Guardian(UK): Polar ice sheets melting - in [9] pictures
• 2012/11/28: WMO: 2012: Record Arctic Sea Ice Melt, Multiple Extremes and High Temperatures
• 2012/11/27: TMoS: Thawing the Far North
• 2012/11/27: Guardian(UK): Chasing Ice: glacial melting in the Arctic - in [9] pictures
• 2012/11/27: ABC(Au): Arctic meltdown not caused by nature
• 2012/11/26: Tamino: Ice Free
• 2012/11/26: Tamino: Response from Ian Eisenman
  

  As for the charismatic megafauna:

• 2012/12/01: PostMedia: Canada must explain polar bear policies to global watchdog
  Canada is being forced to explain its polar bear policies to an international environmental watchdog. The Commission on Environmental Co-operation, which is part of the North American Free Trade Agreement, has accepted a petition from a U.S.-based group that says Canada isn't following its own laws on protecting the bears. In accepting the petition, the commission has found that the Center for Biological Diversity has registered a legitimate concern under the terms of the treaty.
• 2012/12/01: CBC: Canada must explain polar bear policies to NAFTA group
  

  That Damoclean sword still hangs overhead:

• 2012/11/29: PSinclair: On the Edge of Permafrost Crash
• 2012/11/29: EurActiv: UN: Methane released from melting ice could push climate past tipping point
  The United Nations sounded a stark warning on the threat to the climate from methane in the thawing permafrost as governments met for climate change negotiations in Doha, Qatar.
• 2012/11/28: ABC(Au): Emissions from permafrost not taken into account
• 2012/11/28: ABC(Au): Melting permafrost releases greenhouse gases
  A UN report has warned that carbon dioxide and methane released from melting permafrost could push the climate past a tipping point and dangerously accelerate global warming.
• 2012/11/28: SkS: Subcap Methane Feedbacks, Part 1: Fossil methane seepage in Alaska by Andy S
• 2012/11/27: Guardian(UK): UN: methane released from melting ice could push climate past tipping point
• 2012/11/27: UN: Thawing of permafrost to be 'major factor' in global warming, warns [UNEP] report
• 2012/11/27: DD: Melting permafrost 'will double carbon and nitrogen levels in the atmosphere'
• 2012/11/26: Eureka: GI researcher co-author of international permafrost report [for UNEP]
• 2012/11/27: UNEP: Thawing of Permafrost Expected to Cause Significant Additional Global Warming, Not yet Accounted for in Climate Predictions
• 2012/11/27: CCentral: [UNEP] Report Says IPCC Needs to Address Melting Permafrost
• 2012/11/27: Google:AFP: Melting permafrost 'may speed global warming'
• 2012/11/27: CBC: UN warns thawing permafrost could increase global warming
  

  As for the geopolitics of Arctic resources:

• 2012/11/26: Grist: For the first time, a fossil fuel tanker is navigating the Arctic
• 2012/11/25: BBC: Gas tanker Ob River attempts first winter Arctic crossing
  A large tanker carrying liquified natural gas (LNG) is set to become the first ship of its type to sail across the Arctic. The carrier, Ob River, left Norway in November and has sailed north of Russia on its way to Japan. The specially equipped tanker is due to arrive in early December and will shave 20 days off the regular journey.
• 
  

  While in Antarctica:

   

• 2012/11/26: NatureN: Life abounds in Antarctic lake sealed under ice -- Lake Vida's cold brine has yielded a bounty of microbes
  

  The food crisis is ongoing:

• 2012/11/30: DD: Nearly 15 million U.S. households on food stamps
• 2012/11/30: MPG: Carbon dioxide could reduce crop yields
  High-yielding dwarf plant varieties lose their advantage due to increasing carbon dioxide concentration
• 2012/11/30: ABC(Au): Pacific food security threatened by climate, economic changes: scientist
  One of Australia's leading experts on climate change says Pacific nations are facing serious challenges when it comes to food security. Mark Howden, from Australia's national science agency the CSIRO, says climate change, rising sea levels and the cost of shipping food to outer islands, are all factors to be considered over the next few decades. Dr Howden is leading the food security chapter of a forthcoming United Nations report on climate change.
• 2012/11/30: UN: Over 3.5 million people in drought-hit areas of Africa to receive food relief from UN
• 2012/11/29: al Jazeera: The shadow of climate change reaches the kitchen
  With the world population expected to rise, "we need to produce more food with less emissions".
• 2012/11/28: ICH: Hungry For The Holidays: 20 Facts About Hunger In America That Will Blow Your Mind
• 2012/11/30: AllAfrica:WFP: Southern Africa: Hunger Season Bites Across Region as Millions Face Prospect of Food Shortages
• 2012/11/29: BBC: Smaller, fewer, thinner - the future for American beef?
• 2012/11/26: BPA: A Must-Read on Meeting the Future Challenges of Global Food Production
• 2012/11/28: WSWS: Britain: Soup kitchens become part of mainstream welfare provision
• 2012/11/30: TMoS: Global Warming Hits Texas Longhorns
• 2012/11/27: GWU: Increasing Drought Stress Predicted to Challenge Vulnerable Hydraulic System of Plants, George Washington University Professor Finds
  

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

• 2012/11/26: ABC(Au): Senate sinks cuttlefish protection bill
  Greens' Senator Penny Wright says she is frustrated the Senate has rejected a bill to protect the giant Australian cuttlefish.
• 
  

  The conflict between biofuel and food persists:

   

• 2012/11/28: TripleCrisis: Biofuels and the Right to Food: Time for the US to get its head out of the sand
  

  Look out! the IP Rentiers are coming!

• 2012/11/28: BBerg: DuPont Sends in Former Cops to Enforce Seed Patents: Commodities
  DuPont Co. (DD), the world's second- biggest seed company, is sending dozens of former police officers across North America to prevent a practice generations of farmers once took for granted. The provider of the best-selling genetically modified soybean seed is looking for evidence of farmers illegally saving them from harvests for replanting next season, which is not allowed under sales contracts. The Wilmington, Delaware-based company is inspecting Canadian fields and will begin in the U.S. next year, said Randy Schlatter, a DuPont senior manager.
• 
  

  Regarding the genetic modification of food:

   

• 2012/11/27: SciNow: Taking a Slice at the Wheat Genome
• 2012/11/29: ABC(Au): Scientists crack difficult wheat genome
  The genome of the bread wheat, whose DNA is notoriously complex, is close to being completed, according to an international team of scientists. Publishing in the journal Nature, they say they had analysed between 94,000 and 96,000 genes in bread wheat (Triticum aestivum). According to the paper, the plant's genome is nearly five times as big as humans.
• 2012/11/29: ScienceInsider: European Agency's Final Verdict on Controversial GM Study: Not Scientifically Sound
  The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) today delivered its final verdict on a controversial study that examined the toxicity of genetically modified (GM) maize. The study "does not meet acceptable scientific standards" and there is therefore no need to reevaluate the safety of GM maize, the group concluded.
• 2012/11/28: BBC: Wheat genome's key parts unlocked in new study
• 2012/11/30: Grist: Are you a farmer worried about GMO contamination? USDA says 'get insurance'
• 2012/11/27: NatSoc: Top US Healthcare Giant: GMOs Are Devastating Health
  

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

• 2012/11/30: BBC: Bread that lasts for 60 days could cut food waste
• 2012/11/28: Grist: Pasture blazed: How more wildfires could result in less grass-fed meat
• 2012/11/28: SciAm:Obs: New Slice of Wheat Genome Could Help Feed Growing Global Population
• 2012/11/28: USDA:ARS: USDA Scientists and Cooperators Sequence the Wheat Genome in Breakthrough for Global Food Security
• 2012/11/26: Cornell: Genome decoded: Scientists find clues to more disease resistant watermelons
• 2012/11/25: Eureka: Chinese scientists decode watermelon genome, possible future benefits for crop improvement
  

  In the Western Pacific, Super Typhoon Bopha is taking a run at the Philippines:

• 2012/12/02: ABC(Au): Palau, Philippines brace for powerful Typhoon Bopha
  The island nation of Palau in the western Pacific is bracing for the arrival of a powerful typhoon. The National Weather Service in Guam says Super Typhoon Bopha is carrying winds of up to 250 kilometres an hour and will hit early on Monday.
• 2012/12/02: al Jazeera: Philippines braced for Bopha battering
  An out-of-season typhoon is set to bring severe weather conditions to the central and southern part of the archipelago.
• 2012/11/30: NASA: NASA Sees "Hot Towers" in Intensifying Typhoon Bopha
• 2012/11/29: Eureka: NASA sees Tropical Storm Bopha moving through Southern Yap state
• 2012/11/28: Eureka: Infrared NASA imagery sees Tropical Storm Bopha grow a tail
• 2012/11/27: Eureka: NASA sees Tropical Storm Bopha intensifying in Micronesia
• 2012/11/26: Eureka: NASA spots heavy rainfall in Tropical Depression 26W threatening Micronesia
  

  Earlier in the week, in the Indian Ocean:

• 2012/11/28: MODIS: Tropical Storm Three (03B) in the Bay of Bengal
  

  While elsewhere in the hurricane wars:

• 2012/11/30: Wunderground: The bizarrely active hurricane season of 2012 draws to a close
• 2012/11/30: NASA: NASA's TRMM Satellite Video Reveals 2012 Hurricane Season Rainfall
• 2012/11/30: CCentral: Hurricane Season Ends; Sandy Will Long be Remembered
• 2012/11/30: LSE: Historical Echoes: The Aftermath of a Devastating Hurricane . . . in 1938
• 2012/11/29: NOAANews: Busy 2012 hurricane season continues decades-long high activity era in the Atlantic -- Four U.S. land-falling storms include devastating Sandy and Isaac
• 2012/11/28: Wunderground: Nineteen Atlantic tropical storms 3 consecutive years: a very rare event
• 2012/11/28: UIowa: UI researcher predicts more intense North Atlantic tropical storms
• 2012/11/26: Wunderground: Damaging Katrina-level storm surges are twice as likely in warm years
  

  As for GHGs:

• 2012/11/27: CCurrents: Greenhouse Gas Emissions Gap Widening Says UNEP Study
• 2012/11/24: RedOrbit: Greenhouse Gas Emissions From Drained Wetlands Equal To Industrial Sources
• 2012/11/26: Guardian(UK): German renewable energy drive brings emissions cuts success
• 2012/11/26: EurActiv: UN energy targets 'would jack up global emissions 20%'
  

  And the temperature record:

• 2012/11/29: CSM: UN: 2012 was one of the hottest years ever
• 2012/11/29: ABC(Au): 2012 in the top 10 hottest years
• 2012/11/28: UN: 2012 set to be ninth warmest year on record - UN [WMO] report
• 2012/11/29: ABC(Au): Southern Australia swelters in sign of summer
  Southern Australia is facing a sweltering heatwave, with near record November temperatures expected across parts of Victoria and South Australia. Both states have declared their first total fire bans for the season, with temperatures in many areas tipped to easily exceed 40 degrees Celsius.
• 2012/11/28: Guardian(UK): 2012 expected to be ninth warmest year on record
  

  Yes we have feedbacks:

• 2012/11/28: ICN: Plants and Soils Could Accelerate Climate's Warming, Study Warns
  As the climate warms, plants and soils may not absorb more carbon as scientists once thought.
• 2012/11/28: ABC(Au): UN warns permafrost is melting
  

  Aerosols are making their presence felt:

• 2012/12/01: MODIS: Dust across the Arabian Sea
• 2012/11/26: DD: Image of the Day: Satellite view of dust storm on the Kansas-Colorado border, 10 November 2012
• 2012/11/26: IOTD: Ashfall from the Karymsky [Kamchatka] Volcano
  

  While in the paleoclimate:

• 2012/11/26: ClimateSight: The PETM
  

  In the attribution debate:

• 2012/11/29: Eureka: A human-caused climate change signal emerges from the noise
• 2012/11/29: DD: UN climate scientist: Sandy no coincidence
• 2012/11/27: WaPo: UN climate scientist says Sandy no coincidence in warming world
  Though it's tricky to link a single weather event to climate change, Hurricane Sandy was "probably not a coincidence" but an example of the extreme weather events that are likely to strike the U.S. more often as the world gets warmer, the U.N. climate panel's No. 2 scientist said Tuesday. Jean-Pascal van Ypersele, the vice chairman of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, predicted that as stronger and more frequent heat waves and storms become part of life, people will stop asking whether global warming played a role.
• 
  

  Regarding the solar hypothesis:

   

• 2012/11/26: ABC(Au): Sunspots not an indicator of solar cycle
  Not clear cut A new study of ice core samples has found the link between sunspot activity and the Sun's solar cycle isn't as strong as previously thought. Researchers have found the Sun's eleven-year solar cycle continued normally during the Maunder Minimum between 1645 and 1715, when sunspot activity was unusually low. This was also a time when northern Europe experienced unusually cold conditions.
• 
  

  Regarding Climate Sensitivity:

   

• 2012/11/28: Eureka: Scientists develop new approach to support future climate projections
  

  Tipping points aka planetary boundaries popped up again:

• 2012/11/26: ABC(Au): Marine scientist warns we're living on borrowed time
  As world leaders gather in Doha for the latest round of United Nations climate talks this week, one of the world's top marine scientists is warning that several boundaries affecting life on earth have already been crossed and that we're living on "borrowed time". The director of the ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies at James Cook University, Professor Terry Hughes, will deliver his warning to the Australian Academy of Science conference in Canberra tomorrow.
• 
  

  What's new on the extinction front?

   

• 2012/11/28: DD: Rhino poaching for horns rises rapidly in South Africa = At least 588 slaughtered in 2012
• 2012/11/27: BBC: Ice Age warmth wiped out lemmings, study finds
  Lemmings became "regionally extinct" five times due to rapid climate change during the last Ice Age, scientists have found.
• 2012/11/27: ABC(Au): Rare Tassie Devil joins survival breeding program
  The captive breeding program of Tasmanian Devils is probably the best hope of the species outlasting a devastating facial tumour outbreak. The disease is predicted to wipe out the wild population within decades.
• 
  

  What's new in proxies?

   

• 2012/11/29: RealClimate: Responses to volcanoes in tree rings and models
• 2012/11/27: ERW: Shrubs could reveal glacier secrets
  

  Meanwhile in near earth orbit:

• 2012/11/28: NOAANews: Next generation geostationary satellite program undergoes successful review
  The GOES-R Series Program, which is leading the effort to replace and upgrade NOAA's existing fleet of geostationary satellites that track severe weather across the United States, received a favorable appraisal conducted by an external team of aerospace experts of its preparations to launch the new series, beginning in late 2015.
• 2012/11/28: NatureN: Microsatellites aim to fill weather-data gap -- Commercial network would use radio-sounding system
• 2012/11/27: NatureN: Space budget blow to climate science
  Economic difficulties take their toll on European Space Agency's Earth-observation programme.
• 
  

  More GW impacts are being seen:

   

• 2012/12/01: Eureka: Long-term research reveals how climate change is playing out in real ecosystems
• 2012/11/30: Guardian(UK): A sea of red that evokes thoughts of more than just algae
• 2012/11/26: Duke: Rapid Changes in Climate Don't Slow Some Lizards
• 2012/11/27: BBC: Ancient poo gives clues to human impact on environment
• 2012/11/27: WSWS: The growing impact and dangers of global warming
• 2012/11/26: TP:JR: New Scientist Special Report: 7 Reasons Climate Change Is 'Even Worse Than We Thought'
• 2012/11/24: Atlantic: 5 Charts About Climate Change That Should Have You Very, Very Worried
  

  And then there are the world's forests:

• 2012/11/30: CNN: Drought-stressed trees face race to adapt
  New global study of trees concludes that majority of species highly susceptible to drought - Seventy percent of trees studied adapt closely to local environment taking on just enough water to survive - Pace of global warming could leave many trees with no time to adapt to drier conditions - Trees currently soak up 25% of human CO2 emissions but heat stress means this percentage may fall
• 2012/11/29: TreeHugger: China Now World's Largest Importer of Illegal Timber (Video)
• 2012/11/28: Eureka: New study shows how climate change could affect entire forest ecosystems
• 2012/11/27: UCSUSA:B: Another Large Drop in Deforestation in Brazil
• 2012/11/28: BBC: Amazon deforestation 'at record low'
  The destruction of Amazon rainforest has reached its lowest level since monitoring began 24 years ago, the Brazilian government says. Environment minister Izabella Teixeira said it was thanks to government action against offenders. Figures show the rate of deforestation fell 27% in the year to July compared with the previous 12 months. Even so, more than 4,600 sq km (1,780 sq miles) of rainforest have been lost in a year.
• 2012/11/27: DD: Photos reveal destruction of Cameroon rainforest for palm oil
• 2012/11/26: ABC(Au): Hope for bug to halt Mary Valley weed
  The Gympie and District Landcare Group in south-east Queensland is trialling biological controls in rainforest areas affected by the devastating weed, cat's claw.
• 
  

  This week in notable weather:

   

• 2012/11/29: ABC(Au): Roofs caved in as storm batters Perth
  The State Emergency Service received more than 200 calls for help overnight as a storm lashed Perth and WA's southern coast. SES crews were called to help with major structural damage as the storm tore roofs off buildings, and brought down trees and powerlines, cutting off power to thousands of homes.
• 2012/11/28: ABC(Au): Japan storm cuts power to tens of thousands
  Tens of thousands of people in northern Japan have spent the night without heat or light after a powerful storm knocked out electricity cables. The blizzard cut electricity to some 56,000 households in the northern main island of Hokkaido on Tuesday, forcing nearly 300 people to evacuate their homes overnight.
• 2012/11/29: al Jazeera: The Pineapple Express arrives
  Heavy rain, high winds and flooding is in store for northern California and Oregon
• 2012/12/01: ABC(Au): Ballarat begins clean-up after wild storm
  A big clean-up is underway in Ballarat in central Victoria, where a storm has brought down trees, damaged houses and caused flash flooding.
• 2012/12/01: ABC(Au): SA storm leaves thousands of homes without power
  

  Yes we have no wacky weather, except:

• 2012/11/29: P3: Weird Weather in Thailand
  

  This week in the New Normal -- extreme weather:

• 2012/11/30: CCurrents: 'Alarming' Year Of Extremes As Climate 'Tipping Point' Looms
  

  On the tornado front:

• 2012/11/29: PSinclair: Midwest Style Twister strikes Italy
  

  As for heatwaves and wild fires:

• 2012/11/30: MODIS: Fires across Cape York Peninsula, Australia
• 2012/11/28: IOTD: Fires Across Cape York Peninsula [Northern Australia]
• 2012/12/01: ABC(Au): Summer arrives with a punch
  Sweltering conditions will continue across the New South Wales Hunter Valley today, after the mercury soared Friday. Several inland areas recorded temperatures above 40 degrees yesterday afternoon.
• 2012/11/27: Tamino: the Wild, Wild West ... on Fire
• 2012/11/27: MODIS: Fires in the Falkland Islands
• 2012/11/26: ABC(Au): Crews keep watch on blaze near Herberton
  Firefighters are monitoring a large blaze on the Atherton Tablelands, west of Cairns, in far north Queensland.
• 2012/11/26: ABC(Au): Victoria warned of dire bushfire season
  

  Corals are a bellwether of the ocean's health:

• 2012/11/30: NOAA:News: NOAA proposes listing 66 reef-building coral species under the Endangered Species Act
• 2012/12/01: ClimateShifts: NOAA proposes listing 66 reef-building coral species under the Endangered Species Act
• 2012/11/29: ABC(Au): Fears weed killer decision a death knell for reef
  Conservationists say the decision by Australia's chemical regulator to allow the continued use of a toxic weed killer could kill the Great Barrier Reef. The Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority has approved the continued use of most Diuron products, with some restrictions on sugarcane and pineapple crops.
• 
  

  Acidification is changing the oceans:

   

• 2012/11/28: al Jazeera: CO2 dangerously acidifying world's oceans
  Oceans are sucking up increased carbon emissions, raising fears acidification could lead to marine life extinctions.
• 2012/11/27: NatureN: US state declares war on acid waters -- Washington announces science-based plan to tackle ocean acidification
• 2012/11/27: DD: Rising acidity levels threaten ocean food chain, study finds
  

  Glaciers are melting:

• 2012/11/28: FaGP: Dusty Glacier, Glacier Peak, WA
• 2012/12/01: FaGP: Jones Ice Shelf Loss, Antarctica
• 2012/11/27: CBC: Alaska's Columbia glacier to stop retreat in 2020 -- Will stop 24 km upstream from where it was in 1980s
• 2012/11/25: FaGP: Lodalsbreen Retreat, Norway
  

  Sea levels are rising:

• 2012/12/01: NBF: New Study measures sea level rise at 3.2 millimeters a year for 2 decades for a total rise of 6.4 centimeters
• 2012/11/26: ArcticNews: The Growing Threat of Catastrophic Storm Surge in the Next 30 Years on a Fast, Global Warming Induced, Sea Level Rise and its Consequences for Coastal Cities and Humanity
• 2012/11/27: Guardian(UK): US coastal cities in danger as sea levels rise faster than expected, study warns
• 2012/11/27: RealClimate: Don't estimate acceleration by fitting a quadratic...
• 2012/11/26: VIMS: VIMS professor studies "middle ground" of sea-level change
• 2012/11/24: NYT: What Could Disappear
  Maps show coastal and low-lying areas that would be permanently flooded, without engineered protection, in three levels of higher seas. Percentages are the portion of dry, habitable land within the city limits of places listed that would be permanently submerged.
• 2012/11/26: EnvEcon: Waterworld
• 2012/11/26: DD: Coastal erosion reaches alarming levels in Vietnam
  

  As for hydrological cycle disruptions [floods & droughts]:

• 2012/12/01: PSinclair: Hard Rain Falling in California
• 2012/11/30: SciAm:Obs: Mysterious Atmospheric River Soaks California, Where Megaflood May Be Overdue
• 2012/11/30: TP:JR: 'Exceptional' Drought Conditions Expand In The U.S., Likely Persisting Through February
• 2012/11/29: GLaden: Major weather in the American West? [Atmospheric rivers]
• 2012/11/29: CCentral: Tenacious U.S. Drought Worsens, To Last Through Winter
• 2012/11/29: CapClimate: Record Northern Pacific Coast Rainfall
• 2012/11/29: DD: Thousands evacuated in U.K. as major flooding follows record drought - 'We have not seen that sort of turnaround before'
• 2012/11/28: Guardian(UK): UK flooding latest
• 2012/11/28: DD: Drought-parched Mississippi River is halting barges
• 2012/11/27: Yahoo:AP: As Great Lakes plummet, towns try to save harbors
• 2012/11/28: al Jazeera: A week of UK flooding -- A selection of [15] pictures showing flooding as torrential rain moved across the UK
• 2012/11/28: BPA: PBS Raises Modern Day Dust Bowl Questions [K. Burns]
• 2012/11/27: Guardian(UK): UK floods: threat from rising rivers - As it happened
• 2012/11/27: Guardian(UK): [Letters] Flood warning: will it force UK government to act on climate change?
• 2012/12/01: CapClimate: Pacific Coast Rainfall Record Update: Focus Shifts to Central California; 133-Year San Francisco Record Broken
• 2012/11/26: JFleck: Atmospheric River headed California way
• 2012/11/27: BBC: The body of an elderly woman has been found in a flooded home in St Asaph, north Wales, as wet weather continues to cause problems in England and Wales
• 2012/11/27: al Jazeera: Panama flooding
  Severe storms have caused widespread flooding in Panama resulting in major devastation to the west of the capital.
• 2012/11/27: BBerg: Drought-Parched Mississippi River is Halting Barges
• 2012/11/26: al Jazeera: UK's deadly floods head north
  North of England and north Wales brace for flooding as heavy rains kill at least two people in the south.
• 2012/11/25: DD: Graph of the Day: Winter Precipitation and Summer Temperature in the Eastern Mediterranean, 1900-2012
• 2012/11/26: al Jazeera: UK flooding latest
  As rain clears the West Country northern parts of the UK brace for their turn to experience flooding.
• 2012/11/25: al Jazeera: Deadly storms batter UK
  Two people have died and hundreds of homes flooded as environmental officials warn of more rains to come.
• 2012/11/25: BBC: Floods in UK: Storm front expected to move north
• 2012/11/25: CBC: Hundreds of UK homes deluged in heavy storm -- At least 2 dead
  

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

• 2012/11/29: ABC(Au): Methane mitigation in livestock -- Forty six per cent of New Zealand carbon emissions comes from agriculture
• 2012/11/30: CAT: Two degrees possible, but time is not on our side
  

  Consider transportation & GHG production:

• 2012/11/27: CBC: New Japan train to hit 500 km/h -- Tokyo to Nagoya line to carry 1,000 passengers
• 2012/11/27: NBF: High Speed Rail News Roundup for India, China and Japan
  

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

• 2012/11/28: SciAm:GB: The Environmental Fallout of Greener Buildings
• 2012/11/26: GBA: Net-Zero For a Competitive Price
  A California model home comes in at $150 a square foot -- demonstrating that net-zero doesn't have to cost much more than conventional construction
• 
  

  As for carbon sequestration:

   

• 2012/11/29: ArsTechnica: The promises and pitfalls of carbon capture
  Although a few projects are going forward, the tech remains stuck in neutral.
• 
  

  Large scale geo-engineering keeps popping up:

   

• 2012/12/01: BostonGlobe: Put carbon tax before such emergency steps as geoengineering
• 2012/11/29: CPunch: Mad Scientists and Geo-Engineering
• 2012/11/28: UTexas: Engineering Professor Urges More Research into Climate Engineering
• 2012/11/28: PopMech: Can We Stop Modern-Day Mad Scientists?
• 2012/11/27: FCS: Geoengineering, Climate Change, Risks And Benefits
• 2012/11/27: FCB: Iron Fairy Dust: Wonders Of Geoengineering
• 2012/11/26: ArcticNews: Climate management will be the key to massively improving renewable energy performance and the eradication of poverty [geo eng]
• 2012/11/30: ITracker: Adapt, Geoengineer, Mitigate (AGM)
• 2012/11/30: OnEarthMag: Earth: Under Repair, Forever by Kim Stanley Robinson
  Geoengineering sounds like something from a science fiction novel, but we actually do it every day
• 2012/11/27: NBF: $100 Trillion Climate Change or $20 to 50 Billion Climate Control
• 2012/11/26: NBF: Low cost geo-engineering and actual field tests
• 2012/11/26: al Jazeera: Geoengineering: A climatic 'Frankenstein'?
  Some scientists believe schemes like sending particles into the air to block the sun's light could stop climate change.
• 2012/11/26: ClimateEngineering: Climeworks - Direct Air Capture Company
  

  While on the adaptation front:

• 2012/11/29: Grist: Troubled waters: Farmers and scientists work together to save oysters
• 2012/11/28: NatureN: Adapting to a warmer world: No going back
  With nations doing little to slow climate change, many people are ramping up plans to adapt to the inevitable.
• 
  

  Meanwhile in the journals:

   

• 2012/11/27: PNAS: (ab$) Unexpected nondenitrifier nitrous oxide reductase gene diversity and abundance in soils by Robert A. Sanford et al.
• 2012/11/27: PNAS: (ab$) Generalized reproduction numbers and the prediction of patterns in waterborne disease by Marino Gatto et al.
• 2012/11/27: PNAS: (ab$) Homogeneous record of Atlantic hurricane surge threat since 1923 by Aslak Grinsted et al.
• 2012/11/27: PNAS: (ab$) Hydroperiod regime controls the organization of plant species in wetlands by Romano Foti et al.
• 2012/11/27: PNAS: (ab$) Carbon and other light element contents in the Earth's core based on first-principles molecular dynamics by Yigang Zhang & Qing-Zhu Yin
• 2012/11/27: PNAS: (ab$) Carbon dioxide reduction to methane and coupling with acetylene to form propylene catalyzed by remodeled nitrogenase by Zhi-Yong Yanga et al.
• 2012/11/27: PNAS: (letter$) Hurricanes and rising global temperatures by Greg J. Holland
• 2012/11/27: ACP: Iodine emissions from the sea ice of the Weddell Sea by H. M. Atkinson et al.
• 2012/11/27: ACP: Density currents as a desert dust mobilization mechanism by S. Solomos et al.
• 2012/11/29: ACPD: Stratospheric ozone interannual variability (1995-2011) as observed by Lidar and Satellite at Mauna Loa Observatory, HI and Table Mountain Facility, CA by G. Kirgis et al.
• 2012/11/28: ACPD: Preindustrial to present day changes in tropospheric hydroxyl radical and methane lifetime from the Atmospheric Chemistry and Climate Model Intercomparison Project (ACCMIP) by V. Naik et al.
• 2012/11/27: ACPD: Reconciliation of essential process parameters for an enhanced predictability of Arctic stratospheric ozone loss and its climate interactions by M. von Hobe et al.
• 2012/11/27: ACPD: A pervasive and persistent Asian dust event over North America during spring 2010: lidar and sunphotometer observations by P. Cottle et al.
• 2012/11/30: Science: (ab$) Experts Agree Global Warming Is Melting the World Rapidly by Richard A. Kerr
• 2012/11/30: Science: (ab$) A Reconciled Estimate of Ice-Sheet Mass Balance by Andrew Shepherd et al.
• 2012/11/28: ESD: The influence of dynamic vegetation on the present-day simulation and future projections of the South Asian summer monsoon in the HadGEM2 family by G. M. Martin & R. C. Levine
• 2012/11/27: ESD: The influence of vegetation dynamics on anthropogenic climate change by U. Port et al.
• 2012/11/26: ESD: Effects of land cover change on temperature and rainfall extremes in multi-model ensemble simulations by A. J. Pitman et al.
• 2012/11/28: CP: An independently dated 2000-yr volcanic record from Law Dome, East Antarctica, including a new perspective on the dating of the 1450s CE eruption of Kuwae, Vanuatu by C. T. Plummer et al.
• 2012/11/27: CP: Climate warming and vegetation response after Heinrich event 1 (16 700-16 000 cal yr BP) in Europe south of the Alps by S. Samartin et al.
• 2012/11/26: CP: Depositional dynamics in the El'gygytgyn Crater margin: implications for the 3.6 Ma old sediment archive by G. Schwamborn et al.
• 2012/11/30: CPD: An optimized multi-proxy, multi-site Antarctic ice and gas orbital chronology (AICC2012): 120-800 ka by L. Bazin et al.
• 2012/11/29: CPD: Mid-Holocene climate reconstruction for eastern South America by L. F. Prado et al.
• 2012/11/29: CPD: Temperature and precipitation signal in two Alpine ice cores over the period 1961-2001 by I. Mariani et al.
• 2012/11/29: CPD: Contrasting patterns of climatic changes during the Holocene in the Central Mediterranean (Italy) reconstructed from pollen data by O. Peyron et al.
• 2012/11/27: CPD: Influence of dynamic vegetation on climate change and terrestrial carbon storage in the Last Glacial Maximum by R. O'ishi & A. Abe-Ouchi
• 2012/11/26: NERC:NORA: Multi-decadal glacier surface lowering in the Antarctic Peninsula by Matthias Kunz et al.
• 2012/11/29: NERC:NORA: The WISER metadatabase: the key to more than 100 ecological datasets from European rivers, lakes and coastal waters by Astrid Schmidt-Kloiber et al.
• 2012/11/30: ACPD: Volatile organic compounds in the Western Mediterranean Basin: urban and rural winter measurements during the DAURE campaign by R. Seco et al.
• 2012/11/30: ACPD: North American acetone sources determined from tall tower measurements and inverse modelling by L. Hu et al.
• 2012/11/28: GMD: Describing Earth system simulations with the Metafor CIM by B. N. Lawrence et al.
• 2012/11/29: GMDD: A numerical study of the Southern Ocean including a thermodynamic active ice shelf - Part 1: Weddell Sea by V. Meccia et al.
• 2012/11/30: OS: Improvement to the PhytoDOAS method for identification of coccolithophores using hyper-spectral satellite data by A. Sadeghi et al.
• 2012/11/29: OS: Deep Western Boundary Current transport variability in the South Atlantic: preliminary results from a pilot array at 34.5° S by C. S. Meinen et al.
• 2012/11/30: OSD: ENSO components of the Atlantic multidecadal oscillation and their relation to North Atlantic interannual coastal sea level anomalies by J. Park & G. Dusek
• 2012/11/30: TCD: Evidence and analysis of 2012 Greenland records from spaceborne observations, a regional climate model and reanalysis data by M. Tedesco et al.
• 2012/11/28: TCD: Influence of ablation-related processes in the built-up of simulated Northern Hemisphere ice sheets during the last glacial cycle by S. Charbit et al.
• 2012/11/23: Science: (ab$) Carbon Storage with Benefits by Saran P. Sohi
• 2012/04/26: Springer:CC: The effects of rerouting aircraft around the arctic circle on arctic and global climate by Mark Z. Jacobson et al.
• 2012/11/26: GMD: The Model of Emissions of Gases and Aerosols from Nature version 2.1 (MEGAN2.1): an extended and updated framework for modeling biogenic emissions by A. B. Guenther et al.
• 2012/11/26: GMDD: Modeling the Caspian Sea and its catchment area using a coupled regional atmosphere-ocean model (RegCM-ROMS): model design and preliminary results by U. U. Turuncoglu et al.
• 2012/11/27: OS: Effect of variable winds on current structure and Reynolds stresses in a tidal flow: analysis of experimental data in the eastern English Channel by K. A. Korotenko et al.
• 2012/11/26: TC: Monte Carlo ice flow modeling projects a new stable configuration for Columbia Glacier, Alaska, c. 2020 by W. Colgan et al.
• 2012/11/27: TCD: Increased glacier runoff enhances the penetration of warm Atlantic water into a large Greenland fjord by A. J. Sole et al.
• 2012/11/21: Nature: (ab$) Global convergence in the vulnerability of forests to drought by Brendan Choat et al.
• 2012/11/25: Nature:CC: (ab$) Ground water and climate change by Richard G. Taylor et al.
• 2012/11/25: Nature:GeoSci: (ab$) Persistent inflow of warm water onto the central Amundsen shelf by L. Arneborg et al.
• 2012/11/25: Nature:GeoSci: (ab$) Summertime climate response to mountain pine beetle disturbance in British Columbia by H. Maness et al.
• 2012/11/26: AGWObserver: New research from last week 47/2012
• 2012/11/25: Nature:CC: (ab$) Global insights into water resources, climate change and governance by R. Quentin Grafton et al.
• 2012/11/25: Nature:GeoSci: (ab$) Extensive dissolution of live pteropods in the Southern Ocean by N. Bednarek et al.
  

  And other significant documents:

• 2012/11/28: PacInst: [link to 4 meg pdf] Costs and Financing of Seawater Desalination in California
• 2012/11/26: PI: [link to 1.3 meg pdf] UN climate negotiations in Doha, Qatar
• 2012/11/30: CAT: [link to 758k pdf] 2° be or not 2° be
  

  As for miscellaneous science:

• 2012/11/27: JCBaez: Mathematics of the Environment (Part 9)
• 2012/11/28: Eureka: Tiny algae shed light on photosynthesis as a dynamic property
• 2012/11/28: P3: Science is not a Democracy
• 2012/11/29: QuarkSoup: Early Work on Climate and CO2
• 2012/11/29: P3: The Atmosphere Business - A special issue of the academic journal Ephemera...
• 2012/12/01: RealClimate: AGU time again...
• 2012/11/30: ScienceInsider: French Scientists Give Government an Earful in 4-Month Listening Tour
• 2012/11/26: SMandia: My Three Presentations for AGU 2012 Fall Meeting
• 2012/11/25: IsaacHeld: 32. Modeling land warming given oceanic warming
  

  Regarding Hansen:

• 2012/11/29: Guardian(UK): Climate change is happening now - a carbon price must follow by James Hansen
  The extreme weather events of 2012 are what we have been warning of for 25 years, but the answer is plain to see
• 
  

  While at the UN:

   

• 2012/11/26: EurActiv: UN energy targets 'would jack up global emissions 20%'
  An ambitious but little known set of UN sustainable energy goals for 2020 aims to double global improvements in energy efficiency and renewable energy capacity, and provide universal access to modern energy services. But achieving this last target would cause a carbon emissions explosion, according to a senior UN economist.
• 
  

  And on the carbon trading front:

   

• 2012/11/30: BBerg: EU CO2 Fix May Avoid Delays as Lawmaker Seeks Faster Vote
• 2012/11/30: Reuters: EU climate fight hit by new record low carbon price
  The European Union's leadership in the fight against climate change, already under fire at U.N. talks in Qatar, suffered a further setback on Friday as the carbon market it created to help spur a switch to greener energy tumbled to a record low.
• 2012/11/29: al Jazeera: Combating climate change on credit
  Nations around the world have signed up for a CO2 'cap-and-trade' system, but questions abound over its effectiveness.
• 2012/11/27: BWeek: CO2 Markets 'Cautiously Optimistic' on Global Links
  Participants in carbon emissions trading worldwide are "cautiously optimistic" that climate envoys will devise a global carbon market by 2015, the International Emissions Trading Association said.
• 2012/11/27: BizGreen: Vietnam approves carbon trading plan
• 2012/11/27: BBerg: EU Lawmakers Seek One-Time Move to Reduce Carbon Market Glut
  

  The idea of a carbon tax is still bouncing around:

• 2012/11/28: P3: The Trouble With Carbon Taxes
• 2012/11/29: CCurrents: The Daly-Correa Tax: Background And Explanation
• 2012/11/27: TP:JR: After 30 Years, Al Gore Still Advocates A Carbon Tax
  

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

• 2012/11/29: NUPGE: PSI - A Robin Hood Tax for the Common Good
  

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

• 2012/11/24: DeutscheWelle: Iran facing medicine shortages
  

  South [& East] China Sea tension persists:

• 2012/12/01: al Jazeera: South China Sea maritime dispute escalates
  The Philippines rejects China's plan to board and search foreign ships that enter the disputed areas.
• 2012/11/29: al Jazeera: Philippines will not stamp new China passport
  Tensions continue to rise over new travel document showing vast portions of South China Sea as Chinese territory.
• 2012/11/29: ABC(Au): Philippines declines to stamp Chinese passports
  The Philippines says it will refuse to stamp Chinese passports containing a map showing most of the South China Sea as belonging to China, as it steps up protests over the controversial move. The new passports have provoked angry reactions from around the region, with Vietnam, Taiwan and India all expressing their objections amid an ongoing row over Beijing's territorial claims.
• 2012/11/28: ChinaDaily: Patrols in Hainan get more clout
  Police in Hainan will be authorized to board and search ships that illegally enter the province's waters in 2013, the latest Chinese effort to protect the South China Sea. Under a set of regulation revisions the Hainan People's Congress approved on Tuesday, provincial border police are authorized to board or seize foreign ships that illegally enter the province's waters and order them to change course or stop sailing. The full texts of the regulations, which take effect on Jan 1, will soon be released to the public, said Huang Shunxiang, director of the congress's press office.
• 2012/11/28: CSM: Chinese officials will board, seize ships in disputed waters
  Police in the southern Chinese island province of Hainan will board and search ships which enter into what China considers its territorial waters in the disputed South China Sea, state media said on Thursday, a move which could raise tensions further. The South China Sea is Asia's biggest potential military trouble spot with several Asian countries claiming sovereignty. New rules, which come into effect on January 1, will allow Hainan police to board and seize control of foreign ships which "illegally enter" Chinese waters and order them to change course or stop sailing, the official China Daily reported.
• 2012/11/28: al Jazeera: US concerned over China passport map
  US says it will raise concerns with Beijing over "tension and anxiety" among South China Sea claimant states.
• 2012/11/27: Guardian(UK): Chinese passport map causes diplomatic dispute
• 2012/11/26: al Jazeera: New China passport stokes diplomatic ire
  Travel documents show disputed territories as Chinese, angering Asian neighbours.
• 
  

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

   

• 2012/11/28: EurActiv: Obama shields US airlines from EU's carbon scheme
  President Barack Obama signed a bill yesterday (27 November) shielding US airlines from paying for each tonne of carbon their planes emit flying into and out of Europe, despite a recent move by Europe to suspend its proposed measure for one year.
• 2012/11/27: TheHill:TR: Obama quietly signs bill shielding airlines from carbon fees in Europe
• 2012/11/27: Yahoo:Reuters: Obama shields U.S. airlines from EU carbon fees
  President Barack Obama signed a bill on Tuesday shielding U.S. airlines from paying for each ton of carbon their planes emit flying into and out of Europe, despite a recent move by Europe to suspend its proposed measure for one year. The carbon fee bill was the first piece of legislation debated on the House floor after Congress returned from recess on November 13, and had been cleared by the Senate in September in a rare unanimous vote. It directs the U.S. transportation secretary to shield U.S. airlines from Europe's carbon emissions trading scheme (ETS) if he or she deems it necessary. Lawyers have said the bill is unusual because it would prevent U.S. companies from complying with the laws of another country.
• 2012/11/27: WSJ: Obama Vetoes a Carbon Tax -- in Europe
• 2012/11/27: TheHill:TR: Obama quietly signs bill shielding airlines from carbon fees in Europe
• 2012/11/30: NakedCapitalism: Obama Signs Bill to Exempt US Airlines from EU Aviation Carbon Tax
  

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

• 2012/11/30: CNN: Helium prices rise as supplies run out
  Global production of helium has sharply fallen this year in the US and Algeria - Sale of inflatable Mickey Mouse heads at Disneyland in Tokyo suspended - Companies in Japan, the world's leading helium importer, are looking for alternatives - Squeeze represents the second big shortage for the $500m helium market in five years
• 2012/12/01: al Jazeera: There's a ration card in your future - and that's not all bad
  There is a need to impose a strict and low ceiling on consumption of fossil fuels while ensuring fair access to them.
• 
  

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

   

• 2012/11/30: BBC: Canadian 'eco-terrorist' surrenders in US
  A Canadian woman accused of involvement in the "largest eco-terrorism case" in US history has surrendered after a decade on the run. Rebecca Jeanette Rubin, 39, handed herself over to FBI agents on the Canadian-US border. She is alleged to have been one of 13 members of a cell - known as The Family - linked to arson attacks in the western United States from 1996-2001.
• 2012/11/29: ABC(Au): Police remove Toro anti-nuclear protesters
  The company planning to operate Western Australia's first uranium mine says police have had to remove protesters from its office in Perth. Toro Energy, which plans to have its Wiluna uranium project in the northern Goldfields operating in 2015, says anti-nuclear protesters were permitted to enter the reception area.
• 2012/11/30: CBC: B.C. 'eco-terrorism' suspect to plead guilty in U.S.
  

  Regarding Water Politics and Business:

• 2012/11/30: DD: How will climate change impact on fresh water security?
• 2012/11/30: JFleck: The shortcomings of the Colorado train wreck metaphor
• 2012/11/29: ABC(Au): Water shortage in Samoa prompts rationing
• 2012/11/28: PacInst: [link to 4 meg pdf] Costs and Financing of Seawater Desalination in California
• 2012/11/27: HuffPo: Desalination: Let the Buyer Beware by Peter H. Gleick
• 2012/11/21: QCTimes: River vs. river: Corps manages Missouri, Mississippi rivers for conflicting goals
  The Army Corps of Engineers this week began shutting flow from a Missouri River reservoir that feeds the Mississippi River, setting up a showdown between the rivers. The 2012 drought is dropping levels in both rivers. The Corps decided to slow water release Monday at Gavins Point Dam in Yankton, S.D., and conserve for the next Missouri River shipping season. But the Mississippi River below St. Louis needs that Missouri River water right now to keep the shipping channel at least nine-feet deep. That same drought is expected to drop Mississippi River levels below the Corps' guaranteed 9-foot level by Dec. 10. So the Corps' decision to protect Missouri River commerce next year is shutting down Mississippi River commerce this year.
  But it gets worse.
  North Dakota leaders are eager to tap Missouri River reservoirs for the state's oil fracking boom. Forcing oil from beneath North Dakota requires hundreds of millions of gallons of water. North Dakota Gov. Jack Dalrymple says he will contest any Corps plan to restrict oil companies from using that water.
• 2012/11/28: AgriNews: Plan to lower river levels could mean hike in farm input costs
• 2012/11/26: ABC(Au): Findings reveal world's major river systems remain under pressure
  

  Regarding science education:

• 2012/11/27: P3: NSF Funded Project Seeks Climate and Energy Scientists' Help in Outreach Project
• 2012/11/28: P3: The Nature of Science
  

  And on the American political front:

• 2012/11/30: CSM: Mayor on food stamps? Cory Booker to live on $1.40 per meal
• 2012/11/27: ScienceInsider: Washington State Targets Pollutants that Lead to Ocean Acidification
• 2012/11/27: NatureN: US state declares war on acid waters -- Washington announces science-based plan to tackle ocean acidification
• 2012/11/30: TreeHugger: 100 More Colleges Join Fight to Divest From Fossil Fuel Companies
• 2012/11/27: HuffPo: Electric Vehicle Naysayers: Get Over It, Support American Jobs by former Michigan Governor, Jennifer M. Granholm
• 2012/12/01: CleanBreak: Fiscal, climate cliffs lead us to the same place
• 2012/12/01: CSM: US to sell offshore wind leases
• 2012/11/27: TP:JR: In 1989, NJ Republican Governor Issued Climate Order, Warning Of 'Increase In The Intensity Of Major Storms'
• 2012/11/26: ToledoBlade: [Editorial] Climate and security
• 2012/11/26: CSM: US energy: What's oil production got to do with national security?
• 2012/11/26: CSM: How the myth of oil abundance impedes progress on climate change
• 2012/11/26: DeSmogBlog: Pennsylvania's Top Environmental Regulator Champions Drilling Industry at Shale Conference
• 2012/11/25: TP:JR: NY Times Warns On Climate Change: 'Fear Death By Water', Rising Seas Likely To Swallow Up City If We Don't Act Soon
  

  The BP disaster continues to twist US politics:

• 2012/12/01: EneNews: TV: More oil reported at BP disaster site - 'Persistent' and 'recurring' sheen (video)
• 2012/12/01: EneNews: Radio: Tests indicate Minnesota pelicans exposed to contamination in Gulf - Concern for what it could do to population - Dispersant chemicals in 1/3 of birds - Official: 'Really interesting' results coming in
• 2012/11/28: BBC: BP faces temporary ban from new US contracts
• 2012/11/28: CSM: EPA bans BP from federal contracts, citing 'lack of business integrity'
• 2012/11/28: al Jazeera: BP suspended from new US contracts
  Temporary hold issued due to "lack of business integrity" over company's handling of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.
• 2012/11/28: CNN: BP barred from U.S. government work -- The spill: How much should BP suffer?
  Trade association [Louisiana Mid-Continent Oil and Gas Association]: "BP has done everything that the federal government has asked" - Two years after the oil spill, experts weigh in on possible punishments for BP - BP says it expects the temporary ban will be lifted soon - The EPA says the oil giant showed a "lack of business integrity"
• 2012/11/29: ConvEcon: The BP Spill: What's the Monetary Cost of Environmental Damage?
• 2012/11/30: CBC: BP oil spill cleanup toxic to key species
  Plankton-like animals suffer when chemical dispersants and crude are mixed, study finds
• 2012/12/02: TreeHugger: Clean Up Chemical Made BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill 52 Times More Toxic
• 2012/11/19: TPR: Former EPA Officials: Why Hasn't The Justice Department Indicted BP's Top Executives?
  

  Post-Sandy commentary and news:

• 2012/12/01: WSWS: One month since Hurricane Sandy
• 2012/11/30: CSM: Superstorm Sandy batters November retail sales
• 2012/11/30: CBC: 'Secret Santa' showers Sandy victims with cash
• 2012/11/29: TP:JR: Changing The Paradigm Of Disaster Preparedness And Rebuilding Post-Sandy
• 2012/11/28: BBC: New Jersey Governor Chris Christie has requested $37bn (£23bn) from the US federal government to help the state recover from "Superstorm" Sandy
• 2012/11/27: UCSUSA:B: Hurricane Sandy: Sand Castles and Seawalls
• 2012/11/26: USGS: Lidar Confirms Sandy's Dramatic Coastal Change Impacts and Future Coastal Vulnerability
• 2012/11/29: CG&G: Boehner Really In The Hot Seat On Hurricane Sandy Aid
• 2012/12/01: CSM: Cold, mold loom as hazards in Sandy disaster zones
• 2012/11/26: TreeHugger: $29.4 Billion: Superstorm Sandy's Estimated Damages to New Jersey Alone
• 2012/11/26: CSM: Superstorm Sandy racks up $32 billion in NY damages
• 2012/11/27: CBC: New York's Cuomo likens Sandy to Hurricane Katrina
  Most recent East Coast damage estimates total more than $62B
• 2012/11/27: WSWS: Hurricane Sandy and the criminal failure of the utility companies
• 2012/11/26: CBC: Hurricane Sandy losses hit $42B across New York
  

  Looking forward to 2014, 2016 election:

• 2012/11/26: KSJT: A Few Non-Obvious Stories on Rubio's Creationist Sympathies
  

  The Keystone XL saga grinds slowly. And it grinds woe:

• 2012/11/29: Grist: No Keystone XL? Big Oil will just take the train
• 2012/11/29: StarTelegram: Court rules against Texas landowners in pipeline case
  TransCanada Corp. can use eminent- domain law to seize Texas land to build the Keystone XL pipeline to transport Canadian tar-sands crude to Gulf Coast refineries, an appeals court said Thursday. Texas landowners opposing Keystone XL claimed that TransCanada doesn't meet the definition of a "common carrier" under a 2011 Texas Supreme Court ruling and shouldn't be allowed to use state eminent-domain laws to obtain easements across their properties. A lower court rejected the farmers' claim and the appeals court upheld the dismissal.
• 2012/11/30: ICN: Texas Landowner Sues State Agency Over Keystone Pipeline
  

  With the deficit hawks panicking about the fiscal cliff, there has been talk of a carbon tax solution:

• 2012/12/01: CSM: Carbon tax: It's not coming soon
• 2012/11/29: EnvEcon: "The economics of carbon taxes"
• 2012/12/01: Guardian(UK): America's carbon tax offers a lesson to the rest of the planet on fighting climate change
• 2012/11/26: TP:JR: How A Cornucopia of Prosperity Can Flow From Carbon Tax
  

  The GOP War on Women continues. See also:

• 2012/11/26: Grist: Does your state suck at reproductive rights? Find out
  

  The NorthWest coal export debate remains heated:

• 2012/11/26: Tyee: Coal Port to China Barges ahead without Public Support: Activists
• 2012/11/27: Grist: Will Jay Inslee, Washington's next governor, fight coal trains?
• 2012/11/26: DCBureau: Big Coal Targets Northwest to Get to Asian Markets -- Environmentalists Fight Back
• 2012/11/26: ICN: Will Washington's Super Green Governor Take Up the Fight Against Coal Exports?
  Enviros say Gov. Jay Inslee, a pioneer of the U.S. clean economy, gives them a shot at blocking NW coal terminals. Is it wishful thinking?
• 
  

  The Obama chatter is nonstop:

   

• 2012/11/27: WSJ: Obama Vetoes a Carbon Tax -- in Europe
• 2012/11/28: EurActiv: Obama shields US airlines from EU's carbon scheme
  President Barack Obama signed a bill yesterday (27 November) shielding US airlines from paying for each tonne of carbon their planes emit flying into and out of Europe, despite a recent move by Europe to suspend its proposed measure for one year.
• 2012/11/27: TreeHugger: Obama Drops Two Big Fat Carbon Bombs on the World
• 2012/11/27: TheHill:TR: Obama quietly signs bill shielding airlines from carbon fees in Europe
• 2012/11/28: RStone: What Obama Must Do Now for the Environment
• 2012/11/28: OilChange: Obama Continues to "Drill Baby Drill"
• 2012/11/30: NakedCapitalism: Obama Signs Bill to Exempt US Airlines from EU Aviation Carbon Tax
• 2012/12/01: CBC: Obama's Keystone XL decision will set tone for 2nd term
• 2012/11/26: ChinaDaily: Obama may take on climate change during 2nd term
  China expects US President Barack Obama will give climate change more attention in his upcoming second term, top climate change negotiator Su Wei said ahead of the climate change talks in Doha, Qatar
• 
  

  The actions of the Obama administration are being watched closely:

   

• 2012/11/27: SusBiz: US Funds Development of Small, Modular Nuclear Reactors
• 2012/11/28: TreeHugger: EPA Threatened With Lawsuit to Force Cap on Greenhouse Gas Emissions
• 2012/11/29: TP:JR: Susan Rice, Top Candidate For Secretary Of State, Has Millions Tied To Canadian Tar Sands
• 2012/11/29: TreeHugger: Obama's Secretary of State Candidate [Susan Rice] Has Significant Financial Stake in Tar Sands Companies
• 2012/11/28: Guardian(UK): Campaigners sue EPA over carbon emissions
• 2012/11/30: Grist: Are you a farmer worried about GMO contamination? USDA says 'get insurance'
• 2012/11/30: KSJT: American U.N. Ambassador Susan Rice said to have millions invested in Canadian oil and tar sands
• 2012/11/30: ScienceInsider: U.S. Senate Restores Military Biofuels Programs
• 2012/11/30: NOAA:News: NOAA proposes listing 66 reef-building coral species under the Endangered Species Act
• 2012/11/30: LA Times: U.S. seeks to protect 66 kinds of coral
  The proposal, which covers corals in the Pacific and the Caribbean, lists 19 ways that corals are under assault. The government was prodded into action by the Center for Biological Diversity.
• 2012/11/21: QCTimes: River vs. river: Corps manages Missouri, Mississippi rivers for conflicting goals
• 2012/11/28: AgriNews: Plan to lower river levels could mean hike in farm input costs
• 2012/12/02: OilDrum: Tech Talk - The ARPA-E 2012 Awards
  

  As for what is going on in Congress:

• 2012/11/30: Grist: Sen. Jeff Merkley on the (surprisingly nontrivial) chances for filibuster reform
• 2012/11/29: TreeHugger: House of Reps' Science & Tech Committee Head [Lamar Smith] is Climate Skeptic
• 2012/11/28: ScienceInsider: [Representative Lamar Smith (R-Tx)] Wins Chair of U.S. House Science Committee
• 2012/11/28: TP:JR: Rep. Lamar Smith, Who Criticized 'The Idea Of Human-Made Global Warming,' Set To Chair House Science Panel
• 2012/11/28: NatureNB: Lamar Smith wins nomination for top House science position
• 2012/11/29: Wonkette: Surprise, Climate Change Denier Appointed To Head House Science Committee
• 2012/11/30: TP:JR: House Committee Leaders Deny Climate Change While Extreme Weather Devastates Their States
• 2012/11/27: TP:JR: Senator Inhofe And The Heartland Institute Roll Out Underwhelming Campaign To Slash The EPA
• 2012/11/26: ICN: Election Outcome Changes the Climate and Energy Conversation in Congress
  Environmentalists are optimistic that the electoral defeat of 11 of a targeted 'dirty dozen' sends a signal and opens new possibilities for action.
• 2012/11/26: TP:JR: Virginia Senator Tim Kaine: 'We Have A Responsibility To Do Something' About Climate
• 2012/11/26: TP:JR: Dear Senator Inhofe: Listen To Your Military, Climate Readiness And Hoaxiness Don't Mix
  

  What are the lobbyists pushing?

• 2012/11/28: TP:JR: Since Election Day, Big Oil Lobby Dropped $3 Million On Ads To Protect Its Tax Loopholes
• 2012/11/30: TP:JR: How The Big Oil Lobby Secretly Funded 2012 Election Attack Ads
• 2012/11/29: Nation:B: Saudi-Led Oil Lobby Group [API] Financed 2012 Dark Money Attack Ads
• 2012/11/27: OilChange: ALEC and Heartland Try to Kill Renewables
• 2012/11/26: TP:JR: Conservative Groups Team Up To Fight Renewable Energy: 'We're Going To See A Knock-Out, Drag-Out Fight'
  

  While in the UK:

• 2012/12/01: Independent(UK): The great rush: Government to give green light to mass exploration for shale gas
  'Fracking' exploration could affect 60 per cent of UK, despite safety fears
• 2012/12/01: BBC: Fracking 'exploitation' report dismissed by energy department
  The energy department has dismissed a report that "60% of the UK countryside could be exploited" for fracking, the controversial gas extraction method. The Independent reported that more than 32,000 square miles could be affected, notably in south, north-west and north-east England and central Scotland. It said it based this on official maps, but the department called the 60% figure "nonsense". Meanwhile, an anti-fracking protest has been taking place in London.
• 2012/11/30: TreeHugger: Contentious Energy Bill May Be Secret Victory for UK Renewables
• 2012/11/29: BBC: Energy Bill and plans to pay firms to cut energy use due
• 2012/11/28: TP:JR: British MP On Climate Committee Advising On Coal Power For $300 An Hour
• 2012/11/29: BBC: Energy Bill to create 'low carbon economy', says Davey
  Energy minister Ed Davey has unveiled the government's much-trailed Energy Bill, setting out the roadmap for the UK's switch to "a low-carbon economy".
• 2012/11/29: Guardian(UK): Energy bill published -- as it happened
• 2012/11/27: DeSmogBlog: British MP [Peter Lilley] On Climate Committee Advising On Coal Power For $300 An Hour
• 2012/11/28: WSWS: Britain: Soup kitchens become part of mainstream welfare provision
• 2012/11/30: Guardian(UK): David Cameron turns hit man over top energy and climate job
• 2012/11/27: LoE: Osborne 1, Planet 0 -- but it is not Game Over yet
• 2012/12/02: BBC: Fracking firm ready to press on with extraction
  The head of a company involved in fracking has said it is ready to press on quickly with production if a UK ban on the technique is lifted. Cuadrilla Resources chief executive Francis Egan told the Sunday Telegraph that the development of gas resources in the UK was an economic necessity. A government review has concluded that fracking - extracting shale gas - is safe if adequately monitored. Mr Egan warned his company may "walk away" if the ban is not lifted soon.
• 2012/11/26: BBC: The first nuclear site licence for 25 years has been granted to Hinkley Point in Somerset
• 2012/11/26: TreeHugger: Flood-Ravaged Britain Ponders "All-Of-The-Above" Energy Future
• 2012/11/26: TreeHugger: Letter Reveals UK Energy Minister's Deep Skepticism About Wind Power
  

  And in Europe:

• 2012/11/28: EurActiv: Greens urge Brussels to slam brakes on 'super credits' for low-emission cars
  The EU's proposal to grant "super credits" to carmakers for low-emission vehicles threatens to add at least 10g of CO2 per kilometre to the EU's 2020 target, say Green groups and other transport stakeholders.
• 2012/11/29: EurActiv: EU clinches deal to speed up grid, pipeline approvals
  The European Union has agreed on a streamlined approval process to speed up strategic energy pipelines and grids, the European Commission said on Wednesday (28 November). The draft law still requires the final approval of the European Parliament and member states, which are expected to decide on it early next year so it could come into force around March or April. Energy Commissioner Günther Oettinger said the political agreement was already a major step forwards.
• 2012/11/30: EurActiv: Half of Europe's renewable energy 'comes from wood'
• 2012/11/30: EurActiv: EU probes alleged misuse of Germany's green energy incentives
  The European Commission said on Thursday (29 November) it was investigating the possibility Germany's new renewables energy law is leading to the misuse of incentives and exemptions.
• 2012/11/30: EurActiv: EU must change tack on oil, gas and minerals: Report
• 2012/11/27: NatureN: Space budget blow to climate science
  

  Meanwhile in Australia:

• 2012/11/30: WSWS: Australian opposition leader under pressure after accusing PM of criminality
  Leader of the opposition Liberal-National coalition, Tony Abbott, is under pressure from within ruling circles to advance a policy agenda in tune with corporate demands after his attempt to oust Prime Minister Julia Gillard through a union scandal collapsed in parliament yesterday.
• 2012/11/30: ABC(Au):TDU: Now it's Abbott with questions to answer
• 2012/11/29: WtD: Tony Abbott "Why not have a carbon tax"? The 2009 video in which Abbott argues for a price on carbon
• 2012/11/30: ABC(Au): LNP defector launches stinging attack on Newman
  A former Queensland Government MP has launched a stinging attack on Premier Campbell Newman in an interview with 7.30 Queensland. Alex Douglas, the Member for Gaven, resigned from the LNP this week after a public disagreement over his removal from the Parliamentary Ethics Committee. He was one of three LNP backbenchers to leave the party in a tumultuous week for the Government.
• 2012/11/29: ABC(Au): Government conspiring to put me in jail: Palmer
  Mining magnate Clive Palmer says he has evidence members of the Queensland Government and public servants conspired to have him jailed and confiscate his assets. Mr Palmer made the claims at a brief press conference in Brisbane today.
• 2012/11/26: ABC(Au): Palmer pushes for Newman to quit LNP
  Billionaire mining magnate Clive Palmer is urging disgruntled Queensland Government MPs not to quit the Liberal National Party (LNP), saying Premier Campbell Newman should go instead. The LNP will meet in Brisbane today to prepare for what is likely to be a fiery last week of State Parliament.
• 2012/11/29: ABC(Au): Disconnections soar with electricity price rises in SA
  In South Australia scorching heat has had many householders turning on the air conditioner today as the temperature hit the mid 40s. But welfare agencies fear that for many, that's not an option. The number of people disconnected for not paying their electricity bills has soared.
• 2012/11/29: ABC(Au): Greens want high speed rail fast tracked
• 2012/11/28: ABC(Au): Taxpayers foot bill for bungled solar project [in SA]
• 2012/11/30: ABC(Au): Power transfer angers Greens
  The Tasmanian Greens have labelled as disastrous a plan to overhaul Australia's environmental laws. The Federal Government is expected to transfer responsibility for decisions on major developments, such as mines and pulp mills, from the Commonwealth to the states. Tasmania's Greens minister Cassy O'Connor says they can not be trusted.
• 2012/11/28: ABC(Au): Wind farm study aims for quiet achievement
• 2012/12/02: JQuiggin: Rachel Nolan on the case for privatisation
• 2012/12/02: ABC(Au): Federal Government announces power price plan
  Prime Minister Julia Gillard has announced a plan she says will reduce household power price increases from 2014. The announcement is aimed at pressuring states and territories to take action on power price rises. Ms Gillard says her plan will stop the so-called "gold plating" of electricity networks, allow for a stronger industry regulator and the creation of two new consumer bodies.
• 2012/11/27: ABC(Au): Smart meters will not be compulsory for consumers
  The New South Wales government says it has no plans to force electricity customers to use smart meter technology. The Energy Minister Chris Hartcher has released a discussion paper, canvassing options for the roll out of smart meters in New South Wales.
• 2012/11/26: ABC(Au): Hot rocks cool for geothermal industry
  On paper, the potential for geothermal energy in Australia is staggering. Government data suggests that using just one per cent of our hot rocks to generate power could meet Australia's energy needs for 26,000 years. But for now it seems the hot rock industry has gone cold.
• 
  

  The carbon bill is law. The Aus-EU ETS is codified. Now come the practicalities...and the finagling:

   

• 2012/11/30: ABC(Au): Carbon farming could be worth a billion dollars to northern Australia
• 2012/11/27: ABC(Au):TDU: Carbon neutral: how the 'toxic tax' lost its punch
  

  That fragile minority lurks:

• 2012/11/29: ABC(Au): Live blog: Opposition ramps up attacks on Gillard
• 2012/11/28: WSWS: Union corruption scandal plagues Australian PM
• 2012/11/28: ABC(Au): Brandis uses privilege to suggest Gillard broke law
  The Coalition has stepped up its attack on the Prime Minister, with Liberal senator George Brandis using parliamentary privilege to suggest Julia Gillard broke criminal laws while working as a lawyer in the early 1990s. Ms Gillard has consistently denied any wrongdoing in relation to her role in providing legal advice to establish the Australian Workers Union (AWU) Workplace Reform Association while working at Slater & Gordon. She has said she believed the association's funds would be used for legitimate purposes.
• 2012/11/27: ABC(Au): Ex-boyfriend defends Gillard's role in slush fund
  Julia Gillard's ex-boyfriend and former union official Bruce Wilson has broken his silence on allegations surrounding an AWU slush fund, saying she is innocent of any wrongdoing. In his first television interview, Mr Wilson spoke to ABC1's 7.30 to deny he or Ms Gillard benefited from the establishment of the Australian Workers Union (AWU) Workplace Reform Association.
• 2012/11/27: ABC(Au): Labor attacks Bishop over Gillard slush fund claim
  Labor says Deputy Liberal Leader Julie Bishop's position is untenable after she suggested Prime Minister Julia Gillard directly benefited from a union slush fund. While working as a lawyer at Slater & Gordon, Ms Gillard provided legal advice for the establishment of the Australian Workers Union (AWU) Workplace Reform Association, saying that she believed it would be used for legitimate purposes. Instead, the association was used as a slush fund by her then boyfriend, former AWU official Bruce Wilson.
• 2012/11/26: ABC(Au): Blewitt defends credibility after PM's attack
  The man at the centre of union slush fund allegations against Julia Gillard has defended his credibility following a blistering attack from the Prime Minister.
• 2012/11/26: ABC(Au): Furious Gillard fires back over AWU claims
• 2012/11/26: ABC(Au): Politicians set for 'incredibly toxic' final week
  Tony Abbott has renewed his push for tougher penalties on union officials found guilty of misusing members' funds, as part of a broader attack on the Prime Minister over her knowledge of a union slush fund.
• 
  

  After years of wrangling the Murray Darling Basin plan is in place. Now the real fight begins:

   

• 2012/11/30: ABC(Au): Attempts to dump Basin Plan fail
  Two motions to disallow the Murray-Darling Basin Plan have been comprehensively defeated in the House of Representatives, on the last sitting day of the year.
• 2012/11/30: ABC(Au): Irrigators say setback strengthens resolve
  An irrigators' group trying to have the Murray-Darling Basin plan declared unconstitutional says a High Court deferral has strengthened its resolve. Murray Valley United represents about 500 irrigators from South Australia, Victoria and New South Wales.
• 2012/11/29: JQuiggin: The Murray Darling Basin: the end of an era
• 2012/11/29: ABC(Au): High Court rejects irrigators' constitutional challenge
  The High Court of Australia has rejected an application by a group of irrigators to bring a constitutional challenge to the laws which establish the Murray-Darling Basin Authority. Members of the Murray Valley United Irrigators Group were in the High Court in Canberra for the hearing.
• 2012/11/28: ABC(Au): Researchers claim Greens' water savings target has been achieved
  Scientists in South Australia are questioning the Greens' reasoning for trying to disallow the Murray-Darling Basin Plan in Parliament. The Goyder Institute for Water Research says the Greens are relying on outdated science to support their opposition to the plan.
• 2012/11/27: ABC(Au): Conservationists want SA floodplain funding included in Basin Plan
• 2012/11/27: ABC(Au): Disallowance motions for Basin Plan
  It was signed into law last week, but the new Murray-Darling Basin plan is facing challenges in both Houses of Parliament. In the Senate, the Greens are planning to move a disallowance motion, in the House, a Nationals MP is bringing on his own disallowance motion. If either of these pass it would kill the plan, and the Government says if this opportunity is lost, it is unlikely there will ever be another one.
• 2012/11/28: ABC(Au): NSW threatens to impose limit on water buybacks
  The NSW Government has upped the ante over the Murray-Darling Basin plan, saying it will impose a limit on water buybacks from January, if state and federal governments don't commit to a cap.
• 2012/11/28: ABC(Au): Stone to back motion against basin plan
  A Liberals' MP from northern Victoria says her constituents remain opposed to the Murray-Darling Basin plan. The Member for Murray, Sharman Stone, will support a disallowance motion against the plan, despite the Coalition opting to back the Federal Government's laws.
• 2012/11/28: ABC(Au): Dire warning sounded for Lake Eyre's future
  A Queensland grazier and environmentalists have sounded a dire warning about the future of three rivers that feed into Lake Eyre in outback South Australia. A conference in Adelaide has been warned the spectacle of a brimming lake could become a memory if the Queensland Government proceeds with a plan to open up the rivers to irrigation and mining uses.
• 2012/11/27: ABC(Au): Murray River MPs and Greens move to block Basin Plan
• 2012/11/27: ABC(Au): Bourke irrigator says plan is better - but not perfect
• 2012/11/27: ABC(Au): 'A shame' wetlands funding not in basin plan
  The Conservation Council of South Australia says new funding to rejuvenate flood plains in the Riverland should have been included in the Murray-Darling Basin Plan.
• 2012/11/27: ABC(Au): Last-ditch efforts to stop Murray-Darling plan
• 2012/11/26: ABC(Au): Finalisation of Basin Plan confirms irrigation upgrade for Sunraysia
  The Victorian Government says it's secured $103 million from the Commonwealth for the modernisation of Sunraysia's irrigation system in the state's north-west.
• 2012/11/26: ABC(Au): McCormack not saying how he'll vote on Basin Plan
  Riverina Nationals Member of Parliament Michael McCormack will not say if he will cross the floor in any vote on the Murray Darling Basin Plan this week. The MP has been critical of the final plan adopted by the government last week and has previously said he would vote against the Coalition on the document.
• 2012/11/26: ABC(Au): Cautiously optimistic
  Member for the federal seat of Parkes, Mark Coulton says the new Murray-Darling Basin Plan may fall short of 'ideal' but it's a much better document than previous drafts.
• 2012/11/26: ABC(Au): Government accused of desal cover-up
  The Opposition claims the South Australian Government knew when it raised water prices earlier in the year that SA Water was considering whether to mothball the Adelaide desalination plant.
• 
  

  And in New Zealand:

   

• 2012/11/27: ABC(Au): New Zealand rules out ban on fracking
  

  While in the Indian subcontinent:

• 2012/11/26: TreeHugger: India's Wind Power Installations "Falling Off a Cliff" [because of policy uncertainty]
  

  And in China:

• 2012/11/26: Guardian(UK): China's emissions expected to rise until 2030, despite ambitious green policies
  

  While in Japan:

• 2012/12/01: JapanTimes: The elephant in the room
  Despite the catastrophe at Tokyo Electric Power Co.'s Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant, the issue of nuclear power has been given lower priority in the runup to the Dec. 16 Lower House election. But the launch of a new party, Nippon Mirai no To (Japan Future Party), by Gov. Yukiko Kada of Shiga Prefecture, a veteran environmental studies scholar, will not only help deepen discussions on the subject but also offer a concrete option for voters who are concerned about the problems posed by nuclear power. The new party's main theme is "graduation from nuclear power generation," meaning the eventual abolition of all of Japan's nuclear power reactors.
• 2012/12/01: JapanTimes: Another suit filed to halt reactors at Kepco's over Oi nuclear plant
• 2012/11/30: WSWS: New Japanese party formed to capitalise on anti-nuclear sentiment
• 2012/11/28: ABC(Au): Japan's ruling party to phase out nuclear power
• 2012/11/27: BBerg: Japan Opposition's Hosoda Calls for Restarting Nuclear Reactors
  

  And South America:

• 2012/12/01: al Jazeera: Mexico's new president takes office
  Pena Nieto vows to govern democratically, appointing close allies as top security ministers to run his administration.
• 2012/11/30: BBC: Rousseff vetoes part of Brazil oil royalty plan
  Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff has vetoed part of a law intended to share royalties from Brazil's oil fields across the country's 26 states.
• 2012/11/26: BBC: Brazil oil revenue: Mass protest in Rio de Janeiro
  Some 200,000 people have protested in the Brazilian city of Rio de Janeiro against a bill they say will deprive Rio state of much of its oil revenue.
• 
  

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

   

• 2012/12/01: iPolitics: Harper 'newspeak' and the war on the environment
• 2012/12/01: NorRe: The New Newspeak
• 2012/11/28: DD: Outcry grows as Canada government undermines climate science - 'We're hemorrhaging scientists here'
• 2012/12/01: PostMedia: Canada must explain polar bear policies to global watchdog
• 2012/11/30: PostMedia: Environment minister's office kept scientist from speaking, documents reveal
  Environment Minister Peter Kent has repeatedly said the government does not muzzle its scientists. But Kent's office stopped David Tarasick, an Environment Canada researcher, from talking to journalists about a report on last year's unprecedented Arctic ozone hole, according to documents obtained by Postmedia News under the Access to Information Act. It's the latest case uncovered by Postmedia News where ministers' offices or the Privy Council Office have prevented federal scientists from talking to the media about their science. The documents also say Kent's office and the Privy Council Office, which reports to the prime minister, decide when and if Environment Canada scientists are allowed to brief the media about anything from wildlife to water quality.
• 2012/11/27: CBC: New vehicle emissions rules aim for better mileage
  [...] The regulations are designed to match U.S. standards first proposed more than a year ago ...
• 2012/12/02: MSimon: Con Canada: Harperland or Pottersville?
• 2012/11/27: P3: Weaver and Others: Canadian Government Systematically Squelching Climate Science
• 2012/11/27: ICN: Outcry Grows Over Canadian Govt's Undermining of Climate Science
• 2012/11/26: PostMedia: Conservative attack ads lie about Mulcair planning a carbon tax
  Sadly, we have come to expect that politicians don't always tell the truth based on our understanding of the word. We expect them to equivocate, to misdirect, to evade awkward questions or take things their opponents say out of context. But it's still rare for them to out-and-out lie. It's even rarer to for them to aggressively repeat a lie once it has been exposed as such. But lie and lie again is exactly what the Conservatives in Ottawa are doing in the radio attack ads now running across the country denouncing NDP leader Thomas Mulcair's "carbon tax" plan. According to the ads, Mulcair wants to bring in a carbon tax that will take $20 billion out of the pockets of Canadians, add 10 cents to the cost of a litre of gas and "make everything you need cost more." "We can't afford Mulcair's NDP, we just can't," the ads conclude. If the ad sounds familiar, it's because it's similar to the assault that was launched on then Liberal leader Stephane Dion for what the Conservatives called his "tax on everything."
• 
  

  The embarassment in Doha:

   

• 2012/11/30: 350orBust: Fossils In Harper Government Recognized In Doha
• 2012/11/28: CAN: Fossil bounty for backtracking Canada and New Zealand
  

  That Canada-China FIPPA deal is churning in the background:

• 2012/11/30: Tyee: Investment Treaties Like FIPA Spin Huge Profits for Lawyers
• 2012/11/27: Rabble:ST: Reasons to worry about the Canada-China trade deal
  

  More ramifications of Bill C-45:

• 2012/11/26: TheCanadian: TransCanada Announces Yet Another Proposed Gas Pipeline to Kitimat - May Skirt Environmental Assessment
• 2012/11/25: PostMedia: TransCanada gas pipeline may sidestep environmental review
  Federal environmental assessment not guaranteed on B.C. pipeline with 320 water crossing
  TransCanada's planned 650-kilometre natural gas pipeline to Kitimat would cross about 320 watercourses including the habitat of more than 100 species at risk, such as white sturgeon, woodland caribou and marbled murrelet, company documents show. But under Conservative government changes to environmental laws, there's no guarantee the Coastal GasLink project will undergo a federal environmental assessment. "It's a travesty of the public trust," said Otto Langer, retired head of habitat assessment and planning for the federal fisheries department in B.C. and Yukon. "If we can't have an environmental review on a project of this sort, this is proof we have gutted Canada's environmental protection."
• 2012/11/27: CBC: Artists join opposition to Navigable Waters Act changes
  Musician Sarah Harmer among water advocates concerned about omnibus budget legislation Musicians, including environmental activist Sarah Harmer, are joining those raising concerns about the Harper government's second omnibus budget legislation. C-45 includes changes to the Navigable Waters Protection Act that limit federal protection for waterways to only 62 rivers, 97 lakes and three oceans that are specifically included in a list annexed to the bill. The government says these waterways met specific criteria for navigation.
• 
  

  The battle over the Northern Gateway pipeline rages on:

   

• 2012/11/29: CBC: Enbridge seeks pipeline talks with B.C. government
• 2012/11/27: TheCanadian: Indigenous Opposition to Oil and Gas, Pipelines Ramps up in BC and Yukon - Unist'ot'en, Clan Takes on Apache
• 2012/11/27: DeSmogBlog: Interview: Filmmakers Explore Enbridge Tanker Route Along BC's Rugged Coast
  

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

• 2012/11/29: TheCanadian: CFIA Tries to Strip World-Class Lab of its Certification Over Salmon Virus Research
• 2012/12/01: TheCanadian: Food Safety Agency Should Protect Public, Not Cover up Virus for Salmon Farming Industry
  

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

• 2012/11/29: DeSmogBlog: Mining Corporation Looks to BC for Frac Sand Open Pit Mine
• 2012/11/28: TheCanadian: Moose Licks: Mineral Springs Disappear Amid Drought and Hydraulic Fracturing
• 2012/11/26: Tyee: Coal Port to China Barges ahead without Public Support: Activists
  Fraser Surrey Docks aims to boost US coal exports; opponents warn climate impacts worse than Northern Gateway.
• 2012/11/29: Tyee: BC's Plan to Wipe Away Climate Progress -- How hugely would LNG exports spike emissions impact?
  

  Meanwhile in that Mechanical Mordor known as the tar sands:

• 2012/11/29: Grist: No Keystone XL? Big Oil will just take the train
• 2012/11/28: CBC: Imperial to pay $1.55B for 50% stake in Celtic
• 2012/11/26: PostMedia: First Nations upset after Alberta appeal court rejects argument over Jackpine Mine
  The Alberta Court of Appeal on Monday dismissed a leave to appeal from First Nations groups who complained their treaty rights are being violated by Shell Oil's proposed expansion of its Jackpine Mine 100 kilometres northeast of Fort McMurray. Justice Frans Slatter rejected an application from the Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation and the Métis Nation of Alberta, who requested the $12-billion project be delayed because the Crown failed to consult with the bands whose traditional lands will be affected by the development. Earlier, a review panel convened to hear arguments about the project ruled that the bands' request for a stay was beyond its jurisdiction. The Court of Appeal agreed.
• 2012/11/28: CBC: Injunction against Suncor drug tests upheld on appeal -- Tarsands giant cites 3 deaths at plant related to alcohol and drug use
• 2012/11/29: Yale360: Tar Sands Oil Boom Drives Push for A Northern Pipeline
  The rapid development of Alberta's tar sands has spawned a new proposal for a 731-mile pipeline that would transport oil to the British Columbia coast. The project is strongly opposed by conservationists and First Nations leaders, who fear the environmental risks it would bring.
• 2012/11/30: CBC: Kent rejects Cenovus Energy gas project in Alberta
• 2012/11/28: 350orBust: Canada's Ethical Oil - Why Stop There?
• 2012/11/30: PostMedia: U.S. ambassador [Jacobsen] assures Canadian oil producers -- Energy independent America will still buy northern oil, summit hears
• 2012/11/26: TP:JR: Are Your Unused Tar Sands Like 'Unmarried Single Women?' Call The Tar Sands Love Line.
  

  Also in Alberta:

• 2012/11/28: CBC: Resource revenues take $1.4B hit, drag Alberta into red
  Lack of market access for province's bitumen hurting revenue stream, says finance minister
• 
  

  Now that Dalton has quit, the Liberal leadership is in play and then probably an election:

   

• 2012/12/01: CleanBreak: Ontario falling short in climate strategy goals
• 2012/11/30: Rabble: Learning from a victory: How Ontario communities stopped a mega quarry
  

  While in la Belle Province:

• 2012/11/30: Rabble:EC: The political assasination of an honest politician: Daniel Breton resigns as Quebec Environment Minister
  

  In the North:

• 2012/11/27: PostMedia: Canada not ready for Arctic 'great melt,' report says
  While Prime Minister Stephen Harper's annual summer visits to the Arctic and his government's smattering of northern policy initiatives are "admirable as far as they go," Canadian planning for the vast region in the midst of a "great melt" - one that places the Arctic "at the cusp of tremendous economic development" - is still plainly "inadequate," according to a new report by a Canadian team of foreign policy and marine transportation experts.
• 
  

  As for miscellaneous Canadiana:

   

• 2012/11/28: CBC: Oil firms issued fracking-caused earthquake advice
  The Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers has issued a new set of guidelines for dealing with earthquakes caused by fracking, a controversial technique for extracting natural gas from shale.
• 2012/12/02: WpgFP: Federal commission says 'no' to building code changes for wildfire-prone areas
• 2012/11/27: Macleans: Tease the day: Will anyone talk about the Green Party?
  

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

• 2012/11/30: EurActiv: EU must change tack on oil, gas and minerals: Report
  Access to natural resources in Europe through 2040 will depend on economic, political and technological factors that are hard to predict. Therefore, the policy approach from the EU has to be broader and more flexible, according to a new EU-funded research project. The EU-funded research project Polinares has identified the main challenges facing the EU and the rest of the world in securing supplies of oil, gas and minerals over the next three decades.
• 2012/11/29: CassandrasLegacy: "Limits to Growth": an alternative history
• 2012/11/28: TMoS: A Turbulent Sea of People
• 2012/11/27: EurActiv: Is green growth possible?
  Clean tech jobs to power green growth is considered a no-brainer by progressive policy makers, NGOs and businesses, and the idea forms the core of the UN's Year of Sustainable Energy For All (SE4ALL). But some economists, academics and environmental thinkers increasingly question its central premise.
• 
  

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

   

• 2012/11/30: DerSpiegel: How Far Is Too Far? Sex Ed Pamphlet Sparks Uproar in Austria
  How much do children need to know about sexuality? A new brochure has Austrians debating exactly that question. Critics say the booklet goes too far in presenting alternative lifestyles, but its publisher counters that it is just an honest reflection of current realities.
• 2012/11/28: al Jazeera: China mulls changes in one-child policy
  Proposed changes would allow for more urban couples to have a second child to balance rapidly ageing society.
• 
  

  Apocalypso anyone?

   

• 2012/11/28: TBAS: Armageddon 2.0
• 2012/11/26: TruthDig: Stand Still For the Apocalypse
• 2012/11/24: TheCanadian: 'Apocaholics': A New Word for New Times
  

  How do the media measure up?

• 2012/11/29: KSJT: Ars Technica: Journalist-style, near-technical tale of carbon capture. An example for more such reporting?
• 2012/11/29: KSJT: A science writer in Doha metamorphoses into... Mr. Global Warming
• 2012/11/28: WtD: Front page climate change news? The Age gets it right on permafrost story
• 2012/11/28: BizGreen: Study confirms true scale of renewables' bad press
  Research reveals top five newspapers offering badly unbalanced view of wind power and other forms of renewables
• 2012/11/28: CJR: Dull news from Doha -- UN climate summit a ho-hum affair for the press
• 2012/11/26: TP:JR: The Most Anti-Solar Reporter In The Mainstream Media?
  

  Here is something for your library:

• 2012/11/28: Grist: How cities can lead the climate fight: Introducing Alex Steffen's 'Climate Zero'
• 2012/11/28: Grist: Cities in the age of climate consequences: 'Carbon Zero,' chapter 1
• 2012/11/29: Grist: Why clean energy isn't enough: 'Carbon Zero,' chapter 2
• 2012/11/30: Grist: Move a little closer, please: 'Carbon Zero,' chapter 3
  

  And for your film & video enjoyment:

• 2012/11/28: CCP: Dr. Kerry Emanuel talks "Sandy" with Peter Sinclair
• 2012/11/28: PSinclair: Fox News Fan: "Chasing Ice" Changed my Life
• 2012/11/28: TreeHugger: The Beauty of "Chasing Ice" and The Importance of Climate Action
• 2012/11/27: P3: The History of Climate Change Negotiations in 83 seconds
• 2012/11/28: 350orBust: Canada's Ethical Oil - Why Stop There?
• 2012/11/30: PSinclair: Fort Lauderdale Highway disappears into the Sea
• 2012/11/30: NBF: Eric Lerner of Lawrenceville Plasma Physics Gives an Overview of Current Nuclear Fusion Work
• 2012/12/02: PSinclair: The History of Climate Change Negotiations in 83 seconds
• 2012/12/02: PSinclair: The Weekend Wonk: Osha Gray Davidson and Germany's Renewable Breakout
• 2012/11/27: DD: Video: MIT professor compares climate change to playing Russian roulette with our children's future
• 2012/11/27: SciAm:PI: Video: 1.5 Minute Climate Talk Crash Course
• 2012/11/26: TreeHugger: Everything You Need to Know About Global Climate Negotiations in a Video and a Chart
  

  As for podcasts:

• 2012/12/01: CBC:Q&Q: Dead Trees, Warm Forests -- Peruvian Peak Water
  

  Meanwhile among the 'Sue the Bastards!' contingent:

• 2012/11/29: ICN: Enbridge Bid to Dismiss Landowners' Lawsuit Fails, Pipeline Case to Continue
• 2012/11/26: PostMedia: First Nations upset after Alberta appeal court rejects argument over Jackpine Mine
• 2012/11/28: TreeHugger: EPA Threatened With Lawsuit to Force Cap on Greenhouse Gas Emissions
• 2012/11/28: Guardian(UK): Campaigners sue EPA over carbon emissions
• 2012/11/29: ABC(Au): BP oil rig workers plead not guilty to manslaughter
  Two BP workers have pleaded not guilty to manslaughter charges stemming from the 2010 oil spill disaster in the Gulf of Mexico, as the British energy giant was suspended from winning US government contracts. Robert Kaluza, 62, and Donald Vidrine, 65, were the highest ranking supervisors onboard the Deepwater Horizon rig at the time of the explosion that killed 11 people and caused one of the worst oil spills in history. Prosecutors told a New Orleans court the on-site managers ignored "glaring red flags that the well was not secure" and failed to take "appropriate action" to prevent the blowout. Defence lawyers said the pair were being unfairly targeted.
• 2012/11/29: StarTelegram: Court rules against Texas landowners in pipeline case
• 2012/11/30: ICN: Texas Landowner Sues State Agency Over Keystone Pipeline
• 2012/11/30: AutoBG: American Petroleum Institute sues EPA over biodiesel
• 2012/11/29: CBC: Ecuadorians take $19B suit against Chevron to Toronto
  

  Among the non-members of Gamblers Anonymous:

• 2012/11/26: Stoat: Sea ice betting report
  

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

• 2012/11/30: NatureN: A clickable guide to the world's energy use
• 2012/11/28: NatureN: The global energy challenge: Awash with carbon
  More than ever, nations are powering themselves from abundant supplies of fossil fuels
• 2012/11/28: NBF: Thermoelectrics made from dirt cheap materials
• 2012/11/28: CCurrents: World Energy Report 2012 by Michael T. Klare
• 2012/12/01: al Jazeera: World Energy Report 2012: The good, the bad, and the really, truly ugly [Klare]
  Energy industry's ability to boost production of oil, coal and gas is ensuring ever higher levels of carbon emissions.
• 2012/11/27: CDreams: A Thermonuclear Energy Bomb in Christmas Wrappings -- World Energy Report 2012: The Good, the Bad, and the Really, Truly Ugly
• 2012/12/02: PeakEnergy: World Energy Report 2012: The Good, the Bad, and the Really, Truly Ugly
• 2012/11/26: CSM: US energy: What's oil production got to do with national security?
• 2012/11/26: CSM: How the myth of oil abundance impedes progress on climate change
• 2012/11/26: TP:JR: Ground Source Heat Pumps: Good Enough For Queen Elizabeth So Why Not For The Northeast?
• 2012/11/26: ABC(Au): Hot rocks cool for geothermal industry
  

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

• 2012/12/01: Independent(UK): The great rush: Government to give green light to mass exploration for shale gas
• 2012/12/01: BBC: Fracking 'exploitation' report dismissed by energy department
• 2012/11/30: DD: Is there enough water for 'fracking' boom?
• 2012/11/28: CBC: Oil firms issued fracking-caused earthquake advice
  The Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers has issued a new set of guidelines for dealing with earthquakes caused by fracking, a controversial technique for extracting natural gas from shale.
• 2012/11/27: Guardian(UK): China planning 'huge fracking industry'
• 2012/11/28: Eureka: Fracking in Michigan: U-M researchers study potential impact on health, environment, economy
• 2012/11/29: Syracuse: Revised hydrofracking regulations are released in New York state
• 2012/11/28: Nation: Fracking Our Food Supply
• 2012/11/27: ABC(Au): New Zealand rules out ban on fracking
• 2012/11/26: BBerg: Europe's Shale Boom Lies in Sahara as Algeria Woos Exxon
  Europe's answer to the U.S. shale boom may lie beneath the Sahara desert. While environmental regulation and disappointing drilling tests have held back the development of shale gas reserves in Europe, Algeria is using tax breaks to encourage exploration. Pipelines under the Mediterranean to Spain and Italy already link Africa's largest gas exporter into Europe's grid.
• 
  

  On the coal front:

   

• 2012/11/28: ICN: China and India Plan 818 New Coal Plants
• 2012/11/27: SciAm:PI: U.S. coal exports feeding markets in Europe and Asia hungry for power and steel
  

  On the gas and oil front:

• 2012/11/30: BBerg: Closing oil prices Friday
  OIL (US$/bbl)
  Dated Brent Spot....111.23
  WTI Cushing Spot.....88.91
• 2012/11/30: CSM: Former Shell Oil president [John Hofmeister]: Global warming debate is over
• 2012/11/29: DD: Graph of the Day: OPEC 12 Crude Oil Production, 2002-2012
• 2012/11/29: OilDrum: Russian Oil Production to 2020
• 2012/11/28: CSM: New source of Mexican oil could hold 1 billion barrels
• 2012/11/27: EconView: 'By 2035, We Project Oil Imports into the US of Only 3.4 Million Barrels a Day' [IEA]
• 2012/12/02: BBerg: Russian Oil Output Hits Record 10.5 Million Barrels a Day
• 2012/11/19: NatInt: The Great Oil Fallacy
• 2012/11/26: OilDrum: Oil Watch - OPEC Crude Oil Production (IEA)
  

  In the gas and oil corps:

• 2012/11/29: BBC: BP to raise $1.1bn from North Sea field sale
  BP has sold its stakes in several North Sea oil and gas fields to a state-owned Abu Dhabi energy group for $1.06bn (£663m).
• 
  

  And in pipeline news:

   

• 2012/11/27: CSM: Unnatural disasters: What can be done about natural gas pipeline explosions?
• 2012/11/26: DeSmogBlog: New Enbridge Spill Near Chicago Continues Company's "Pattern of Failures"
• 2012/11/26: BBC: BP has held preliminary talks with the Russian government and stakeholders in the Nordstream pipeline about extending the line to deliver gas to the UK
  

  Yes we have peak everything:

• 2012/11/28: CassandrasLegacy: The devil's best trick applied to oil production forecasts
• 2012/11/28: MoJo: Are We Heading Toward Peak Fertilizer?
  The planet is running dangerously low on phosphorous and potassium. If we run out, growing crops will be impossible -- at least the way we're growing them now.
• 
  

  Biofuel bickering abounds:

   

• 2012/11/30: EurActiv: Half of Europe's renewable energy 'comes from wood'
  Practically half of the EU's renewable energy currently comes from wood and wood waste, according to the EU statistics office Eurostat, but a lack of sustainability criteria for measuring its environmental impact is stoking fears of a hidden carbon debt mountain.
• 2012/11/30: UCSUSA:B: "Sustainable" Palm Oil Should Not Drive Deforestation
• 2012/12/01: AutoBG: Nobel Prize winner Hartmut Michel reasons biofuels are a bad idea
• 2012/11/27: NatureN: Growth of ethanol fuel stalls in Brazil -- Shortages are a sobering lesson from a biofuels pioneer
• 2012/11/26: TreeHugger: All Biofuels Are 'Nonsense', Says Nobel-Winning Photosynthesis Expert Hartmut Michel
• 2012/11/26: Eureka: Bioengineered marine algae expands environments where biofuels can be produced
• 2012/11/25: Eureka: Engineering plants for biofuels
  

  The answer my friend...:

• 2012/11/28: UCSUSA:B: Offshore Wind Advances: NSTAR-Cape Wind Deal Approved
• 2012/11/28: ABC(Au):TDU: Fanning fear: the wind farm nocebo effect
  Most wind farms around the world have no history of complaints, but the few that do have seen the local area targeted by external activists who spread panic. Simon Chapman reflects on the nonsense claims of anti-wind farm activists.
• 2012/12/01: CSM: US to sell offshore wind leases
• 2012/11/28: ABC(Au): Wind farm study aims for quiet achievement
  Researchers are hoping a wind turbine experiment will give them greater insight into the noise problems some people complain about. An Adelaide University team says it is investigating precisely how the turbines produce noise, especially in the low-frequency range.
• 2012/11/26: TreeHugger: India's Wind Power Installations "Falling Off a Cliff" [because of Policy uncertainty]
  

  Meanwhile among the solar aficionados:

• 2012/11/29: MWEN: Report: Solar keeps getting cheaper as panel prices decline
• 2012/11/29: Grist: Solar panels are getting cheaper -- time to make the rest of solar power cheap, too
• 2012/11/28: MoJo: Cost of Going Solar Takes a Nosedive
• 2012/11/28: TreeHugger: Solar Power Installation Prices Fell Up to 14% in Past Year, Even More in California
• 2012/11/25: MIT: Funneling the sun's energy
  MIT engineers propose a new way of harnessing photons for electricity, with the potential for capturing a wider spectrum of solar energy.
• 2012/11/29: TreeHugger: New Technology Uses Nanoparticles to Convert Solar Energy Directly into Steam
• 2012/11/28: LoE: Solar power - can we get enough of it?
• 2012/11/27: LBL: The Installed Price of Solar Photovoltaic Systems in the U.S. Continues to Decline at a Rapid Pace
• 2012/11/26: ABC(Au): Australia leading world in solar installs: Flannery
  

  The nuclear energy controversy continues:

• 2012/11/28: al Jazeera: Ukraine's Chernobyl site reaches milestone
  Colossal arch-shaped structure created to shelter exploded reactor raised to its full height by decontamination workers.
• 2012/11/27: SusBiz: US Funds Development of Small, Modular Nuclear Reactors
• 2012/11/28: EneNews: Footage of new giant sarcophagus at Chernobyl...
• 2012/11/27: NBF: Update on China's High Temperature Gas-cooled Reactor HTR-PM
• 2012/11/26: BBC: The first nuclear site licence for 25 years has been granted to Hinkley Point in Somerset
  

  And then there is the matter of efficiency & conservation:

• 2012/11/28: EarlyWarning: Top Home Electricity Users
• 2012/11/30: CSM: Hidden factor behind brighter US energy outlook
  

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

• 2012/11/30: AutoBG: Fisker to delay Karma production because of A123 battery shortage
• 2012/11/27: TreeHugger: Chevy Spark EV to be Priced Below $25k After Incentives
• 2012/11/29: TreeHugger: Fiat Unveils the 500e Electric Car at the Los Angeles Auto Show
• 2012/11/30: CSM: Bankrupt battery maker A123 stalls Fisker Karma production
• 2012/11/30: AutoBG: Ex-Michigan governor [Jennifer Granholm] says 'get over it,' and just support electric vehicle production
• 2012/11/27: Grist: When it comes to fuel efficiency, car companies are seeing the light
• 2012/11/26: CSM: Electric cars: niche technology or the auto industry's future?
  

  Insurance and re-insurance companies are feeling the heat:

• 2012/11/30: al Jazeera: Insurance report: Extreme weather already costing us dearly
  Like Katrina, Hurricane Sandy represents the potential consequences of continuing to ignore global warming.
• 2012/11/30: DD: U.K. floods to cost insurers as much as $800 million, PwC says
• 2012/11/28: Guardian(UK): After the floods, we must rebuild homes differently
  The recent UK flooding caused terrible damage and waste, yet many insurers insist that things must be put back as they were
• 2012/11/28: CBC: Sandy caused $100M in Canadian insurance claims -- Winds reached 100 kilometers per hour
• 2012/11/27: TP:JR: Cost Of Superstorm Sandy, And Other 2012 Extreme Weather Events, On The Rise
• 2012/11/28: NYT: End Federal Flood Insurance
  

  Who's fielding theFAQs?

• 2012/11/29: Guardian(UK): To what extent could planting trees help solve climate change?
  

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

• 2012/11/30: TP:JR: Nov. 30 News...
• 2012/11/29: TP:JR: November 29 News...
• 2012/11/28: TP:JR: November 28 News...
• 2012/11/27: TP:JR: November 27 News...
• 2012/11/26: TP:JR: November 26 News...
  

  Other (weekly) lists:

• 2012/11/27: BPA: A 60 Billion Gallon Biofuels Market by 2022, Plus More Agriculture News This Week
• 2012/11/30: BPA: The Latest in Climate Change and Agriculture News
• 2012/12/01: SkS: 2012 SkS Bi-Weekly News Roundup #6 by John Hartz
• 2012/11/29: SkS: 2012 SkS Bi-Weekly News Roundup #5 by John Hartz
  

  The carbon lobby are up to the usual:

• 2012/11/28: TP:JR: Watch: Self-Described Climate Skeptic Says She's Changed By 'Chasing Ice' Documentary
• 2012/11/29: P3: Denialist Effort Leaked
• 2012/11/29: CDL: Dr Norman Page
• 2012/11/29: CDL: Dr. Ole Humlum
• 2012/11/29: WtD: The Bolt report named one of the worst shows of 2012: and we're surprised?
• 2012/11/28: BCLSB: Canuck Climate Change Denier Tom Harris Up To More No Good
• 2012/11/30: DeSmogBlog: Denial-a-Palooza Hits Germany and DeSmog is There... Kind Of
• 2012/11/29: CCP: Meet The Climate Denial Machine: Patrick Michaels, Marc Morano, Anthony Watts, Myron Ebell, Steve Milloy, Larry Bell, Joe Bastardi, Heartland Institute, Heritage Foundation, American Enterprise Institute, Cato, Koch dirty oil money
• 2012/11/30: Grist: Prominent fundamentalist: God gets sad when we don't use the oil He gave us
• 2012/11/30: PSinclair: Right Wing Preacher: Not Using Fossil Fuels Insults God
• 2012/11/30: DeSmogBlog: Denial-a-Palooza: Heartland Institute's 5 Most Offensive Attacks On Science and Public Health
• 2012/11/30: Guardian(UK): Climate change: you can't ignore it
  Anne Karpf is not a climate-change sceptic, she's a climate-change ignorer. She knows it's happening -- the floods, Arctic ice melt, Hurricane Sandy -- but after a flash of fear, helplessness takes over and she 'tunes out'. Read her confessions
• 2012/11/27: DeSmogBlog: Hey Bill O'Reilly, You're Busted! Fan Watches 'Chasing Ice' And Now Understands Global Warming Is Real
• 2012/11/27: DeSmogBlog: Denial-a-Palooza: Does German Media Really Believe There is No Link Between Cigarettes and Lung Cancer?
• 2012/12/02: WottsUWT: An open letter to the U.N from climate skeptics
• 2012/12/01: DeSmogBlog: U.S. Evangelist: Not Using Fossil Fuels Is An Insult To God
• 2012/11/26: TreeHugger: Most Important Pie Chart You'll See Today: 13,950 Peer-Reviewed Scientific Articles on Earth's Climate [d]
• 2012/11/26: CDL: Dr. Oliver W. Frauenfeld
  

  Meanwhile in the 'clean coal' saga:

• 2012/11/28: GreenGrok: Clean coal turnabout?
• 2012/11/19: Slate: Do Coal Plants Really Kill People?
  [...] while politicians have been busy obscuring their views on coal, public health researchers have been accumulating ever clearer data. Emissions from coal-fired power plants and other coal-burning sources have been linked to neurological and developmental deficits in children, a worsening of asthma, and cardiovascular disease and other health woes. Coal-burning is bad, bad, bad for your health...
• 
  

  As for climate miscellanea:

   

• 2012/11/28: PSinclair: The Must-Have Appliance for a Changing Planet
• 2012/11/30: LoE: How a post-carbon World might look
• 2012/11/29: WtD: Mad, mad and getting hotter world: the top 6 climate stories of 2012
• 2012/11/28: Guardian(UK): Green investment bank to set itself emissions targets
• 2012/11/29: SciAm: Evidence for Man-Made Climate Change Getting Even Stronger: U.N.
• 2012/11/27: WtD: Reprint: Straw man science: keeping climate simple
• 2012/11/26: OilChange: Golden Opportunity or Wasted Opportunity?
  

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

• Current U.S. Drought Monitor
• NOAA:NCEP: North Atlantic Oscillation
• Wiki: Arctic oscillation
• Wiki: North Atlantic Oscillation
• Ricky Rood's Climate Change Blog Repository
• IMPLICC: IMPLICC - Implications and risks of engineering solar radiation to limit climate change
• MPIMet: IMPLICC - Implications and risks of engineering solar radiation to limit climate change
• AGU Fall Meeting 2012 -- December 3-7 in San Francisco
• Wiki: Geothermal heat pump [aka ground source heat pump (GSHP) or ground heat pump]
• NECSI: New England Complex Systems Institute
• Wiki: Chagas disease
• ESGP: Earth System Governance Project
• High-Level Panel on the CDM Policy Dialogue
• EPI: Earth Policy Institute - Press Releases
• FHI: Future of Humanity Institute
• WREC/WREN: World Renewable Energy Congress / Network

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.

"You never change things by fighting the existing reality. To change something, build a new model that makes the existing model obsolete." -Buckminster Fuller

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