Another Week of GW News, December 30, 2012

Logging the Onset of The Bottleneck Years

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

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Another Week of Anthropocene Antics

Logging the Onset of The Bottleneck Years

December 30, 2012

• Chuckles, Seasonal, COP19+, Bromwich, Arctic Cyclone, Retrospectives
• Bottom Line, Thermodynamics, Cook
• Fukushima Note, Fukushima News, Suing TEPCO, Nuclear Policy
• Melting Arctic, Polar Bears, Geopolitics, Antarctica
• Food Crisis, Fisheries, GMOs, Food Production
• Hurricanes, Temperatures, Aerosols, Paleoclimate
• Cosmic Rays, Oceans, Extinctions, Volcanoes
• Impacts, Forests, Notable Weather, Extreme Weather
• Tornadoes, Wildfires, Glaciers, Sea Levels, Floods & Droughts
• Transportation, Buildings, Sequestration, Adaptation
• Journals, Other Docs, Misc. Science, Models, Hansen
• International Politics: Hormuz, South China Sea, Rare Earths Law & Activism, Activism, Polls, H2O Biz, Groundwater
• National Politics: America, Post Sandy, Jackson, Keystone, Carbon Tax, Birth Control, Obama, USAdmin, Congress
• Britain, Europe, Australia, India, Japan, Asia, South America
• Canada, IdleNoMore, Ottawa, Harris, CNOOC, Biodiesel Train, BC, Tar Sands, Alberta, Ontario, Quebec, Canadiana
• Ecological Economics, IPAT, Apocalypso, Media, Books, Video, Courts
• Energy, Transitions, Fracking, Coal, Oil & Gas, Pipelines, US Tar Sands, Biofuel
• Wind, Solar, Nukes, Nuclear Fusion, Grid, Efficiency, Cars, Energy Storage
• Business, Insurance, Carbon Lobby, Misc., Useful Links
• Shameless Self Promotion, .sig

 

Just to keep things in perspective:

• 2012/12/30: uComics: (cartoon - Toles) Cliffs & Cliffs
• 2012/12/25: AFTIC: (cartoon - Hallatt) Happy Holiday Feasting!
• 2012/12/25: SkS: (cartoon - Cook) Powerpoint friendly version of SkS Christmas cartoon
• 2012/12/24: QuarkSoup: (cartoon - Cook) This is Pretty Funny
• 2012/12/24: SwissInfo: Snowmen alarmed by springlike temperatures
  

  Seasonal ruminations:

• 2012/12/26: CDreams: Christmas, Winter Solstice, A Time of Renewal, and the Beginning of End of the World As We Know It
• 2012/12/25: TP:JR: The Ghost Of Climate Yet To Come
• 2012/12/24: Moyhu: Merry Christmas, and plans for the New Year
  

  Looking ahead to COP19 and future international climate negotiations:

• 2012/12/26: CNN: Quicker fix for climate change
  Tseming Yang: Result of Doha climate change conference less than desirable - Yang: It's time to abandon the myth that a consensus solution is the best approach - He says the 25 major carbon emitters should work out an agreement among themselves - Yang: Smaller, focused discussions may be better than large, U.N.-style gatherings
• 2012/12/24: TMoS: The Dream of a Global Deal is Over
  

  The Bromwich et al. paper on West Antarctica warming seemed to shake up a few people:

• 2012/12/23: Nature:GeoSci: (ab$) Central West Antarctica among the most rapidly warming regions on Earth by David H. Bromwich et al.
• 2012/12/27: TP:JR: West Antarctica Warming Three Times Faster Than Global Average, Threatening To Destabilize This Unstable Ice Sheet
• 2012/12/25: SkS: West Antarctica warming more than expected by John Hartz
• 2012/12/25: Stoat: You can't blog on Christmas day!
• 2012/12/24: Time: Antarctica: It's Getting Hot at the Bottom of the Planet
• 2012/12/25: TreeHugger: Antarctic Ice Warming More Rapidly Than Anticipated, Significant Sea Level Rise
• 2012/12/24: CDreams: Ominous' New Research: Earth's Coldest Regions Warming Fastest -- Latest research adds to litany that puts climate crisis in stark perspective
• 2012/12/23: Eureka: Study shows rapid warming on the West Antarctic Ice Sheet
• 2012/12/23: CCentral: Soaring Temps in West Antarctica May Fuel Sea Level Rise
• 2012/12/24: CSM: West Antarctica warming much faster than expected
• 2012/12/24: ABC(Au): Ice sheet warming faster than thought: study
  A study of temperature records over more than half a century shows the west Antarctic ice sheet is warming nearly twice as quickly as previously thought. A re-analysis of temperature records from 1958 to 2010 revealed an increase of 2.4 degrees Celsius over the period, three times the average global rise. The increase means west Antarctica is one of the fastest-warming regions on Earth, according to paper co-author David Bromwich of the Byrd Polar Research Centre.
• 2012/12/23: RealClimate: The heat is on in West Antarctica
• 2012/12/23: BBC: A new analysis of temperature records indicates that the Western Antarctic Ice Sheet is warming nearly twice as fast as previously thought
  

  That unprecedented Arctic Cyclone:

• 2012/12/15: GRL: (ab$) The great Arctic cyclone of August 2012 by Ian Simmonds & Irina Rudeva
• 2012/12/27: CCentral: Great Arctic Cyclone in Summer 'Unprecedented': Study
• 2012/12/29: C&S: What DID happen to the ice during the Arctic Storm?
  

  End of year retrospectives, synopses and celebrations:

• 2012/12/29: ERabett: Vote for the top climate story of 2012
• 2012/12/29: TP:JR: Editor's Choice: Five Important U.S. Energy Stories Of 2012
• 2012/12/29: Wunderground:RR: End of 2012: Potpourri (Not a List of Extreme Events!)
• 2012/12/28: GLaden: Top Climate Stories of 2012
• 2012/12/28: CSW: Top climate stories of 2012
• 2012/12/28: SBrophy: Top Climate Stories of 2012
• 2012/12/28: CSM: Top energy stories of 2012. What's your pick?
• 2012/12/27: TheConversation: 2012, the year that was: Energy & Environment
• 2012/12/27: CJR: Must-reads of 2012: science
• 2012/12/26: TP:JR: Top Ten U.S. Weather Events Of 2012
• 2012/12/26: CCentral: Sandy Tops List of 2012 Extreme Weather & Climate Events
  

  And on the Bottom Line:

• 2012/12/27: CSM: Cleantech venture investing: dying --- or just resting?
  

  Delving into the laws of thermodynamics this week:

• 2012/12/29: TSoD: Clouds & Water Vapor - Part Six - Nonlinearity and Dry Atmospheres
  

  John Cook and friends continue their point-counterpoint articles:

• 2012/12/30: SkS: Mexican Climate Legislation and Other Hopeful News by dana1981
• 2012/12/29: SkS: 2012 SkS Bi-Weekly News Roundup #12 by John Hartz
• 2012/12/29: SkS: Perspectives of 8 Scientists Attending AGU Fall Meeting by greenman3610
• 2012/12/28: SkS: The Y-Axis of Evil by Rob Honeycutt
• 2012/12/27: SkS: Contrary to Contrarian Claims, IPCC Temperature Projections Have Been Exceptionally Accurate by dana1981
• 2012/12/26: ERabett: A Tale of Frankenfish or Salmoning Thru the Gates
• 2012/12/26: SkS: Food Security: the first big hit from Climate Change will be to our pockets by John Mason
• 2012/12/25: SkS: West Antarctica warming more than expected by John Hartz
• 2012/12/25: SkS: (cartoon - Cook) Powerpoint friendly version of SkS Christmas cartoon
• 2012/12/24: SkS: New research from last week 51/2012 by Ari Jokimäki
• 2012/12/24: SkS: 2012 SkS Weekly Digest #51 by John Hartz
• 2012/12/23: SkS: Arctic continues to break records in 2012: Becoming warmer, greener region with record losses of summer sea ice and late spring snow 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:

• 2012/12/29: BBC: Japan PM Abe praises Fukushima nuclear work during visit
• 2012/12/28: CDreams: 'Where Do the Children Play?' In Shadow of Fukushima Disaster... Inside
  Victims of Fukushima say Japanese government 'trivializing the disaster'
• 2012/12/27: CDreams: TEPCO Can't Keep Up with Costs of Its Nuclear Disaster at Fukushima -- Corporate utility looks for increased public funding yet again
• 2012/12/27: EneNews: Legal Expert in Tokyo: Fukushima perpetrators are escaping responsibility
• 2012/12/27: DD: Video: Distribution of Cesium-137 contamination in the Pacific Ocean from Fukushima, modeled to the year 2021
• 2012/12/26: Asahi: Flimsy waste tanks cause new delay in Fukushima plant decontamination
• 2012/12/26: ABC(Au): Radiation fears linked to obesity in Japan
  Children in Fukushima are getting fatter as outdoor activities have been cut in the area due to radiation fears after last year's nuclear disaster, a Japanese government report said Tuesday.
• 2012/12/24: CNN: Trying to revive a Fukushima 'ghost town'
  Japanes village evacuated after meltdown of rectors at Fukushima Daiichi power plant - Former residents can return during the day only - Clean up efforts are pain-stakingly done by hand - Many are critical that the clean-up is ineffective
• 2012/12/23: EneNews: CNN: Experts call Japan cleanup effort meaningless - An endless task that's simply spreading around radiation (video)
  

  The sailors suing TEPCO have got a lot of press:

• 2012/12/27: FuelFix: Tokyo Electric sued by U.S. sailors exposed to radiation
• 2012/12/26: EneNews: Navy rescue workers sue Japan over Fukushima cover-up - "Irreparable harm to life expectancy" - Gov't and Tepco conspired
• 2012/12/26: CourthouseNews: U.S. Sailors Sue Japan Over Fukushima
  The Fukushima nuclear disaster exposed Navy rescue workers to dangerous levels of radiation, which the government-owned power plant covered up, eight U.S. sailors claim in court. Eight crew members of the U.S.S. Ronald Reagan, whose home port is San Diego, sued the Tokyo Electric Power Co. in Federal Court. They claim the utility company, "a wholly owned public benefit subsidiary of the government of Japan," misrepresented radiation levels to lull the U.S. Navy "into a false sense of security."
• 2012/12/28: CNN: U.S. Navy sailors sue Japan over nuclear accident
  8 sailors from an aircraft carrier allege they were sickened by radiation exposure - The disaster occurred in 2011 when a massive earthquake was followed by a tsunami - Officials were "lying through their teeth," plaintiffs' lawyer says
• 2012/12/28: BBC: Japan's Tepco sued by US sailors over radiation
  Tokyo Electric Power Company (Tepco), owner of the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, has been sued by eight US sailors over radiation exposure. They claim that Tepco lied about the threat posed by the leaks after the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami damaged the plant. The sailors were involved in relief operations after the natural disasters. They have each sought $10m (£6m) in compensatory damages and $30m in punitive damages from Tepco. The eight, who have filed the case in a US Federal Court in San Diego, also want Tepco to set up a $100m fund to pay for their medical expenses.
• 
  

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

   

• 2012/12/27: BBC: Japan says it will review plans to abandon nuclear power
  The new government in Japan has announced it will review the planned nuclear power phase-out proposed by the previous administration. Trade and Industry Minister Toshimitsu Motegi said that reactors would be restarted if considered safe by the nuclear authority.
• 2012/12/28: BBerg: Japan to Review 'Nuclear-Free by 2030s' Goal, Minister Says
  

  The Arctic melt continues to garner attention:

• 2012/12/29: CCP: Hansen & Sato: Update of Greenland Ice Sheet Mass Loss: Exponential?
• 2012/12/29: ASI: Looking for winter weirdness 4
• 2012/12/24: ASI: Looking for winter weirdness 3
• 2012/12/28: ArcticNews: Albedo changes in the Arctic -- How global warming and feedbacks are causing huge albedo changes in the Arctic
• 2012/12/28: ERabett: Polar Bear Frolics
• 2012/12/25: PSinclair: Warmer Arctic Waters Sprout Frost Flower Meadows
• 2012/12/23: SkS: Arctic continues to break records in 2012: Becoming warmer, greener region with record losses of summer sea ice and late spring snow by John Hartz
  

  As for the charismatic megafauna:

• 2012/12/24: BBC: Polar bear trade ban divides campaigners
  Wildlife campaigners are at odds over a new attempt to ban the global trade in polar bear parts. Some activists say the market for rugs and ornaments made from the bears is driving them to extinction, But others argue that the most pressing problem for the species is climate change and the disappearance of polar ice. The issue will be decided at a UN wildlife conservation meeting in Thailand in March 2013.
• 
  

  As for the geopolitics of Arctic resources:

   

• 2012/12/28: DOE:EIA: Arctic oil and natural gas resources
  

  While in Antarctica:

• 2012/12/27: BAS: [Press Release] Antarctic lake mission called off
• 2012/12/28: ScienceInsider: British Antarctic Survey Fails to Penetrate Antarctica's Lake Ellsworth
• 2012/12/27: SciNews: Antarctic subglacial drilling effort suspended -- British team calls off campaign to penetrate Lake Ellsworth
• 2012/12/27: NatureNB: UK team abandons effort to reach subglacial Antarctic lake
• 2012/12/28: CSM: British team abandons drilling in Antarctic lake
• 2012/12/27: BBC: Why did the Antarctic drilling project fail?
• 2012/12/27: BBC: Lake Ellsworth Antarctic drilling project called off
  An ambitious mission to drill through 3km (1.8 miles) of Antarctic ice to a lake that has been sealed off for thousands of years has been cut short.
• 
  

  The food crisis is ongoing:

   

• 2012/12/29: SimpleC: Warming brings home the value of a meal
• 2012/12/28: Reuters: Implications of climate change on Indian agriculture: Is it a food or famine situation?
• 2012/12/26: SkS: Food Security: the first big hit from Climate Change will be to our pockets by John Mason
• 2012/12/23: DD: Hunger and homelessness rise in U.S. cities
• 2012/12/24: ChinaDaily: Climate change offers pros, cons for grain supply
• 2012/12/24: AllAfrica:ZimStandard: Zimbabwe: Dozens of Cattle Die of Thirst in Masvingo
  Hundreds of communal farmers from Masvingo province are losing draught power as dozens of cattle are reportedly dying owing to lack of drinking water as well as pastures.
• 2012/12/24: ABC(Au): Aussies wasting record amount of food
  New figures show Australians are wasting a record $8 billion worth of food every year.
• 
  

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

   

• 2012/12/28: ABC(Au): West Australian coastal waters in the grip of marine heatwave
  The ocean temperature off the west coast of Australia has risen by five degrees and it's killing off large numbers of valuable seafood stocks. The marine heatwave that started a year ago is an extreme event that took scientists by surprise, and is causing pain for commercial fishers during the peak summer period.
• 
  

  Regarding the genetic modification of food:

   

• 2012/12/24: FuturePundit: FDA Approves Genetically Modified Atlantic Salmon
• 2012/12/27: NoC: FDA Quietly Pushes Through Genetically Modified Salmon Over Christmas Break
• 2012/12/24: CDreams: 'Frankenfish' Approval Could Open Floodgates for Other GM Animals
  

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

• 2012/12/27: BPA: Mycorrhiza Proves Valuable in Qatar's Saline Soils
• 2012/12/27: CBC: Greenhouses designed for Mars could benefit the North
  New generation greenhouses could make it possible to grow fresh fruit year-round
• 
  

  In the Western Pacific, Tropical Storm Wukong zapped the central Philippines:

   

• 2012/12/30: ABC(Au): Death toll from Philippine storm rises to 20
  The death toll from Tropical Storm Wukong which hit the central Philippines on Christmas Day has risen to 20. The civil defence office says more drowning victims, as well as the body of an elderly man crushed by a fallen tree, had been found on Panay island along with the body of an electrocution victim. Four other people are missing.
• 2012/12/29: Eureka: NASA sees Wukong struggling to survive in South China Sea
• 2012/12/27: ABC(Au): Tropical Storm Wukong has left six people dead and two missing in the central Philippines
  

  Also in the Western Pacific, Tropical Cyclone Freda [05P] is troubling the Solomon Islands and New Caledonia:

• 2012/12/30: ABC(Au): Cyclone Freda headed for New Caledonia
  New Caledonia is being warned to prepare for the arrival of a powerful cyclone on Wednesday. Tropical Cyclone Freda is currently south of the Rennell Islands in the Solomon Islands. The category four system is weakening as it heads south, south east at about 13 kilometres per hour.
• 2012/12/30: al Jazeera: Solomon Islands hit by [Tropical Cyclone Freda] -- Four days of torrential rain cause widespread flooding
• 2012/12/29: ABC(Au): Cyclone Freda strikes Solomon Islands
  Tropical Cyclone Freda has lashed the Solomon Islands with heavy rains and winds of up to 130 kilometres an hour. Witnesses say roofs have been ripped off houses and trees have been flattened. A Solomon Islands Meteorological Service spokesman Manoah Tepa says there has also been flooding from rising rivers, but no reports of deaths or injuries.
• 2012/12/29: ABC(Au): Cyclone develops south of Soloman Islands
  A category-one cyclone has developed in the Coral Sea, south of the Solomon Islands. Cyclone Freda is about 200 kilometres south of Rennell Island in the Solomons and is expected to continue moving south over the next few days.
• 2012/12/28: ABC(Au): Cyclone warning issued for Solomon Islands [TC 05P]
• 2012/12/28: ABC(Au): Fresh cyclone brews in Pacific
  

  Tropical Cyclone Evan [04P] is gone now:

• 2012/12/26: ABC(Au): Majority of Fji's cyclone evacuees home for Christmas
  Disaster management officials in Fiji say the majority of cyclone evacuees have been able to spend Christmas at their own homes. The officials say little more than 2,500 cyclone evacuees will be spending the festive period at emergency shelters. More than 50 emergency centres - mostly in the west - are still open, a week and a half after parts of the country were pounded by Cyclone Evan.
• 2012/12/24: MODIS: Tropical Cyclone Evan (04P) over the Fiji Islands [on Dec. 16th]
  

  While elsewhere in the hurricane wars...
  There is an unnamed storm on the African side of the South Indian Ocean and Mitchell on the Australian side :

• 2012/12/29: CCP: Gyms which double as hurricane shelters are being built with financial assistance from FEMA
• 2012/12/28: CBC: Texas building 28 hurricane domes along Gulf Coast
  Domes to serve as evacuation centres for residents unable to leave before a storm
• 
  

  As for the temperature record:

   

• 2012/12/29: al Jazeera: Boiling in Brazil
  Record breaking temperatures have made for sizzling conditions in Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro. While winter storms cause chaos across parts of North America, the weather couldn't be more different to the south of the equator. Some parts of Brazil have been sweating it out as we approach the New Year festivities with record breaking heat for some. In Rio de Janeiro, locals and tourists flocked to the sunny beaches as temperatures exceeded 40 Celsius marking the hottest start to summer in nearly 100 years.
• 2012/12/28: ABC(Au): Perth to swelter in heatwave until New Year's Day
  Western Australia's Department of Health is urging people to stay out of the heat as Perth's high temperatures continue. The Bureau of Meteorology has forecast maximum temperatures of more than 40 degrees every day until New Year's Day.
• 
  

  Aerosols are making their presence felt:

   

• 2012/12/27: MODIS: Dust storms in southwest Asia
• 2012/12/24: DD: Graph of the Day: Average Level of Fine Particulate Matter in Asia Air Pollution, 1993-2010
  

  While in the paleoclimate:

• 2012/12/28: ABC(Au): How many hours were in a dinosaur's day?
• 2012/12/26: Eureka: Saber-toothed cats in California were not driven to extinction by lack of food
• 2012/12/23: Eureka: New data challenge old views about evolution of early life
  UC Riverside-led research team rules out zinc as a factor in the delayed diversification of single-celled and multicellular organisms
• 
  

  Regarding the cosmic ray hypothesis:

   

• 2012/12/25: RealClimate: A review of cosmic rays and climate: a cluttered story of little success
  

  And the State of the Oceans:

• 2012/12/27: BBC: Marine Scotland survey uncovers 'huge' flame shell bed
  A huge colony of an elusive and brightly coloured shellfish species has been discovered in coastal waters in the west of Scotland.
• 
  

  What's new on the extinction front?

   

• 2012/12/28: ABC(Au): More funding needed to control cane toads as more species disappear
• 2012/12/27: SciAm:EC: Amazing Photos of Florida Panther and Cubs Bring a Bright Spot to a Deadly Year
• 2012/12/27: NatGeo:Laelaps: Bronze Art Sparks Debate Over the Extinction of the Straight-Tusked Elephant
• 2012/12/27: TheConversation: Australian endangered species: Beautiful Nursery Frog
• 2012/12/26: TreeHugger: Tween Boys Help Save a 500-million-year-old Species [chambered nautilus]
• 2012/12/20: PopSci: Inject Rhino Horns With Poison, That'll Stop Poachers
  Poison, dye, and GPS chips. Poachers, you've been warned: these are not the horns you want.
• 2012/12/24: DerSpiegel: 'Straight Out of a Western Film' -- European Bison Return to Wild in Germany
  For the first time since the 18th century, the European bison is returning to Germany to live in the wild. The wisent, as it is also known, has been brought to the country by a famous prince. Although the creatures' survival is uncertain, the project has already attracted considerable attention.
• 2012/12/24: NatureN: Yangtze finless porpoises in peril -- Survey finds that the freshwater mammal is in serious decline
  

  What's up with volcanoes this week?

• 2012/12/27: al Jazeera: Nicaragua volcano sparks evacuation orders
  Authorities order evacuations as San Cristobal volcano, one of seven active in the country, emits hot gas and ash.
• 2012/12/25: MODIS: Eruption at Plosky Tolbachik, Kamchatka Peninsula, eastern Russia
  

  More GW impacts are being seen:

• 2012/12/29: P3: How Bad Will It Get?
• 2012/12/28: Grist: 2012: The year cities stood up to climate change -- and took a beating
• 2012/12/27: CBC: Snowy owls starving in southern B.C. -- Record number of migrating Arctic birds of prey arriving early in Delta
  

  And then there are the world's forests:

• 2012/11/02: GlobalWitness: [link to 2.7 meg pdf] In the future, there will be no forests left
• 2012/12/21: GlobalWitness: Logging company flouts Liberian President's timber export ban and drives breakdown in rule of law
  The logging company Atlantic Resources has shipped millions of dollars worth of illegal timber from Liberia in breach of President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf's August order to halt timber exports, Global Witness revealed today. These are the most significant illegal log exports since the timber-fuelled civil wars of the Charles Taylor era, and threaten to undermine the progress the President has made in bringing order to the forest sector.
• 2012/12/24: NatureN: Severe drought has lasting effects on Amazon -- Satellite data reveal effects of climate change on tropical forests
• 2012/12/24: Eureka: Deforestation in the Amazon equals net losses of diversity for microbial communities
• 2012/12/24: Eureka: Amazon deforestation brings loss of microbial communities
• 2012/12/24: HCN: Underwater forest reveals the story of a historic megadrought
• 2012/12/24: NYT: As Forests Disappear, Examining the Mechanisms of Their Death
• 2012/12/24: SciAm: Is the Amazon Rainforest Drying Out?
• 2012/12/24: TMoS: British Columbia' Climate Change Scourge - the Mountain Pine Beetle
  

  This week in notable weather:

• 2012/12/29: CapClimate: Boxing Day Storm Punches Out East Coast Rainfall Records
• 2012/12/28: CBC: Winter storm in U.S. leaves thousands without power
• 2012/12/28: CNN: Frustrations amid brutal U.S. storms -- Snow covers 65% of lower 48; more coming
  Snow now covers 65% of lower 48 states, forecasters say - More snow predicted for Ohio Valley and the Northeast - This week's wicked weather blamed for 10 deaths, authorities say
• 2012/12/27: BBC: Winter snow storm hits New England as '12 die' in US
• 2012/12/27: CBC: Deadly U.S. snowstorm heads to northeastern states -- Weather system swept through mid-U.S., blamed for six deaths
• 2012/12/26: Wunderground: Heavy snow and largest Christmas tornado outbreak on record slam U.S.
• 2012/12/26: CSM: Tornadoes and deaths in its wake, powerful winter storm aims at Northeast
• 2012/12/26: BBC: Severe snowstorm hits US, bears down on East Coast
  A severe winter storm that whipped up tornadoes in the southern US has brought heavy snow to the Midwest and threatens disruption in the east. At least six people have been killed and authorities have told people to stay at home rather than brave freezing temperatures and treacherous roads. A state of emergency has been declared in Mississippi and Alabama after the storm downed power lines.
• 2012/12/27: ABC(Au): Massive Christmas storms wreak havoc in US
  A winter storm system has wreaked havoc in southern and central areas of the United States, spawning more than 30 tornadoes, as well as blizzards and snowstorms. At least seven people were killed as the storm hit areas from the Gulf of Mexico to the Great Lakes on Christmas Day. The system is now heading north-east, leaving an estimated 200,000 people without power in its wake
• 2012/12/26: BBerg: Tornado-Spawning Winter Storm Threatens North With Snow
  A powerful winter storm that spawned tornadoes from Texas to Alabama, killing at least six people and leaving thousands without power, is bringing heavy snow to the Midwest and threatening rain and high wind in the East. A blizzard warning stretches from northeastern Arkansas to Cleveland, Ohio, where almost 14 inches (35.6 centimeters) of snow is expected to fall by tomorrow, according to the National Weather Service. Winter storm warnings are in effect from Illinois into Maine.
• 2012/12/26: CNN: Tornado risks, snowstorms expected as weather systems push east
  More than 25 storm-related injuries reported in Mississippi - More than 200,000 people are without power in several states - Man describes seeing tornado on the side of the road in Alabama - Preliminary reports show close to 30 tornadoes reported
• 2012/12/26: W&C: Holiday Weather Update: A Snowy, Stormy Pattern Ahead
• 2012/12/26: CapClimate: Snowiest Christmas on Record at Little Rock, Second Highest All-Time December Amount
• 2012/12/26: CapClimate: Oklahoma City Christmas Snowfall 2nd Highest on Record
• 2012/12/26: al Jazeera: Winter storm brings severe weather to the US
  Tornadoes, snow and freezing rain cause major disruption on Christmas Day
• 2012/12/25: CBC: Christmas Day storms in U.S. kill 2 -- Tornadoes and blizzards at various locations over holiday
• 2012/12/25: CNN: Snow, severe weather knock on Christmas Day
  A man is killed in a weather-related incident - Tornadoes remain the biggest threat - Many areas in Arkansas and Oklahoma are under winter storm warnings - Air travelers are urged to call ahead, as some flights already are canceled

• After hitting the States, the storms moved on up into Canada:

• 2012/12/30: CBC: Second winter storm in a week hits the Maritimes -- Over 2,300 people in N.S. without power
• 2012/12/29: CBC: Atlantic Canadians brace for second winter wallop -- As much as 40 centimetres of snow expected
• 2012/12/28: CBC: Record-breaking storm moves east from Montreal -- Montreal hit by more than 45 cm of snow by system
• 2012/12/27: CBC: Snowstorm from U.S. blasts Eastern Canada -- Flight cancellations, delays build up at airports
• 2012/12/26: CBC: Toronto, southern Ontario brace for big snowstorm -- Toronto expecting biggest snowfall in 2 years
  

  And elsewhere in the world:

• 2012/12/27: DerSpiegel: Christmas at the Beer Garden -- Holiday Temperatures Unseasonably Warm in Germany
  Merrymakers hoping for a White Christmas were disappointed in Germany and some parts of Europe this week as a low-pressure front created record-high holiday temperatures. Beer gardens reopened and bathers flocked to nearby lakes.
• 2012/12/25: BBC: At least 25 people have died in a cold snap sweeping across northern India, state-run broadcaster All India Radio has said
• 2012/12/19: RT: Down to -50C: Russians freeze to death as strongest-in-decades winter hits (photos)
  Russia is enduring its harshest winter in over 70 years, with temperatures plunging as low as -50 degrees Celsius. Dozens of people have already died, and almost 150 have been hospitalized. The country has not witnessed such a long cold spell since 1938, meteorologists said, with temperatures 10 to 15 degrees lower than the seasonal norm all over Russia.
• 2012/12/24: BBC: Eastern Europe deadly freeze leaves hundreds dead
  Freezing weather in eastern Europe has claimed at least 220 lives this month, most of them in the former USSR. Temperatures in Russia have been 10 to 15 degrees below average, with -50C (-58F) recorded in Siberia. At least 88 deaths have been reported. Ukraine reported 83 deaths on Friday and Poland 49, while heavy snow caused disruption in the Balkans.
• 
  

  This week in the New Normal -- extreme weather:

   

• 2012/12/27: BBC: Extreme weather: 'Turbulent times ahead' for UK
• 2012/12/27: CDreams: Winter Storm Euclid Punctuates Year of Extreme Weather
  Record breaking tornadoes, 'thundersnow' and cross-country snow fall: a sign of things to come
• 
  

  On the tornado front:

   

• 2012/12/27: Wunderground: Two EF-3 tornadoes confirmed from Christmas Day; heavy snows hit 19 states [Winter Storm Euclid]
• 2012/12/26: CSM: Christmas snow storm kills 3, tornadoes leave thousands in the South without power
• 2012/12/26: CBC: U.S. South snowstorm, tornadoes blamed for 3 deaths -- Same storm system headed for southern Ontario
  

  As for heatwaves and wild fires:

• 2012/12/27: ABC(Au): Fire crews in Western Australia are battling a blaze that is threatening lives and homes in Chidlow in the Perth hills
• 2012/12/24: ABC(Au): Grassfires sweep through Cowra district [NSW]
  The Rural Fire Service says it is lucky noone has been hurt in a major grassfire which has swept through hundreds of hectares near Cowra. A house, farm buildings and machinery have been destroyed in the blaze which burnt more than 500 hectares at North Logan Road yesterday.
• 2012/12/24: ABC(Au): High temps, winds test Victorian firefighters
  Strong winds are testing firefighters who are continuing to battle a large number of blazes across Victoria.
• 
  

  Glaciers are melting:

   

• 2012/12/27: ERabett: Eli Goes Photoshopping for the New Year [Note: huge anim gif]
• 2012/12/27: FaGP: Roosevelt Glacier Retreat, Mount Baker, Washington
• 2012/12/24: FaGP: December 2012 Glacier Post Index
  

  Sea levels are rising:

• 2012/12/29: ABC(Au): City sinks as water supplies dry up in booming Jakarta
  Experts in Indonesia are preparing to build a huge wall, to stop the ocean from swamping parts of the capital, Jakarta. Some suburbs already go under water when there's a big tide but the problem's expected to get even worse. Jakarta is sinking by up to 10 centimetres a year. Indonesia's national disaster centre says with oceans rising, large parts of the city including the airport will be going underwater by 2030.
• 2012/12/29: TheCanadian: Sinking Cities: A Future with Rising Oceans
• 2012/12/26: Jacksonville: Planners wary of coastal sea rise in St. Augustine area
  St. Augustine - Scientists studying the effect of higher sea levels on the 100,000-acre Matanzas Basin -- which runs from Anastasia Island to Crescent Beach -- say that rising waters will turn coastal marshes into open water and coastal forests into marshes.
• 
  

  As for hydrological cycle disruptions [floods & droughts]:

   

• 2012/12/30: BBC: Rain set to plague UK for rest of year
  Widespread flood warnings are still in force across the UK, with more downpours expected on Sunday. Rain is expected in Northern Ireland, parts of Wales, north-west England and south-west Scotland later. There are currently more than 81 warnings and about 197 alerts in force in England and Wales, with 11 alerts and 10 warnings in Scotland. Forecasters say there is a "good chance" that 2012 will be the wettest year in the UK since records began. And for much of the UK, the final weekend of the year will close in the same manner that characterised the previous 12 months.
• 2012/12/28: Wunderground: Great Drought of 2012 continuing into 2013
• 2012/12/28: BBC: Flood warnings are on the rise again in the UK, with further rain forecast to hit the UK on the last weekend of 2012
• 2012/12/28: BBC: Flood-hit areas face further rain
  Flood-hit areas have been warned they face renewed problems from storms, as further rain is forecast across the UK. There are 77 flood warnings and 177 flood alerts in England and Wales, and six alerts and one warning in Scotland. The main rail line in the South West of England, which was closed between Exeter St Davids and Tiverton due to flooding, is expected to reopen later. Meanwhile, Met Office figures suggest 2012 is set to be one of the wettest years since records began in 1910.
• 2012/12/27: Google:AP: Mississippi River drops, threatening barge traffic
• 2012/12/26: ABC(Au): Thousands flee flooding in Malaysia
  Floods triggered by torrential monsoon rains in Malaysia has forced almost 14,000 people to flee their homes and seek shelter at relief centres, state media reports. Rain showers which coincided with high tide flooded hundreds of homes in three north-eastern states - Terengganu, Pahang and Kelantan - with some 13,746 people being housed at evacuation centres. The official Bernama news agency said the flood situation was deteriorating as the number of evacuees continued to rise and some major roads in Pahang were closed as rivers burst their banks. Muhammad Helmi Abdullah, the meteorological department's weather forecast director, warned that there could be more rain in Terengganu, Pahang and southern Johor state in the next few days.
• 2012/12/26: BBC: Landslide and rockfall warning for south-west England
  A rare landslide and rockfall warning has been issued for south-west England by the British Geological Survey (BGS). The BGS has concerns about the stability of cliff edges and cliff sides because of the quantity and intensity of the recent heavy rain.
• 2012/12/25: BBC: Christmas flood risk remains with rain set for days
  Wet weather is set to continue until at least Friday, potentially bringing further flooding to parts of the UK, weather forecasters have predicted.
• 2012/12/24: ABC(Au): Sri Lanka braces for more flooding
  At least 42 people have been killed and nine are reported missing after more than a week of heavy rains continuing to hit various parts of Sri Lanka. The Disaster Management Centre says flooding in central, north central and eastern Sri Lanka has displaced thousands, and more than 17,000 people have been housed in 100 relief camps. The Meteorological department forecasts heavy rains to continue for another week,
• 2012/12/23: Google:AFP: Dry spell projected for southwest US
• 2012/12/24: BBC: Flood fears heightened by new downpours
  Rain has returned to south-west England, bringing a renewed flood risk to areas already saturated by heavy downpours. Forecasters predict the rain will sweep across England and Wales to Scotland, where it could be heavy and prolonged. There is major disruption to trains in south-west England.
• 2012/12/23: CBC: Flooding disrupts holiday travel in England -- Flood warnings issued for the southwest and Scotland
  

  On the mitigation front, consider transportation & GHG production:

• 2012/12/28: NBF: US EPA highest mileage car rankings
• 2012/12/27: CanDim: Free and Accessible Transit Now -- Toward A Red-Green Vision for Toronto
• 2012/12/20: DOE:FuelEconomy: 2013 Most and Least Efficient Vehicles
• 2012/12/26: BBC: Toyota poised to reclaim world's biggest carmaker title
  Toyota is set to reclaim the title of world's biggest carmaker in 2012, after falling into third place in 2011. The Japanese firm said it anticipated a 22% increase in group sales for 2012, reaching 9.7 million vehicles globally.
• 2012/12/26: al Jazeera: China launches longest high-speed train line
  Trains travelling at 300kph on world's fastest rail line run 2,298km between the capital and Guangzhou.
• 2012/12/25: BBC: China has officially opened the world's longest high-speed rail route, linking the capital Beijing with the southern commercial hub of Guangzhou
  

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

• 2012/12/30: Grist: Living large in small houses
• 2012/12/27: EarlyWarning: Carbon Neutral Household Operations in 2012
• 2012/12/27: TreeHugger: More Lessons from Grandma on Green Building and House Design
• 2012/12/26: AnnistonStar: Our warming planet: We need tougher building codes, better roads for climate change's future
  

  As for carbon sequestration:

• 2012/12/25: NBF: DOE study shows at Least 2,400 Billion Metric Tons of U.S. CO2 Storage Resource
  

  While on the adaptation front:

• 2012/12/28: ABC(Au): Cyclone-proofing Queensland orchards
• 2012/12/24: UP: A Research Agenda for Climate Change Adaptation
  

  Meanwhile in the journals:

• 2012/12/26: PLoS One: Implications of Diet for the Extinction of Saber-Toothed Cats and American Lions by Larisa R. G. DeSantis et al.
• 2012/12/15: GRL: (ab$) The great Arctic cyclone of August 2012 by Ian Simmonds & Irina Rudeva
• 2012/12/23: Nature:GeoSci: (ab$) Central West Antarctica among the most rapidly warming regions on Earth by David H. Bromwich et al.
• 2012/12/29: GRL: (ab$) On the statistical significance of surface air temperature trends in the Eurasian Arctic region by C. Franzke
• 2012/12/23: Nature:GeoSci: (ab$) Bioavailability of zinc in marine systems through time by Clint Scott et al.
• 2012/12/23: Nature:GeoSci: (ab$) Central West Antarctica among the most rapidly warming regions on Earth by David H. Bromwich et al.
• 2012/12/14: Science: (ab$) The Greening of Insurance by Evan Mills
• 2012/11/21: JSWSC: A cosmic ray-climate link and cloud observations by Benjamin A. Laken et al.
• 2012/12/24: AGWObserver: New research from last week 51/2012
  

  And other significant documents:

• 2012/11/02: GlobalWitness: [link to 2.7 meg pdf] In the future, there will be no forests left
  

  As for miscellaneous science:

• 2012/12/29: RealClimate: What is signal and what is noise?
• 2012/12/27: CDreams: How Big Business Poisons Academic Research
  The energy industry and Big Agribusiness are distorting academic research by wielding corporate influence.
• 2012/12/30: NatureN: India commits to boosting science -- Five-year spending plan backs massive investment in research and scientific facilities
• 2012/12/24: Eureka: Why some grasses evolved a more efficient photosynthesis and others didn't -- Key differences in anatomy evolved in PACMAD and BEP clades
• 2012/10/31: MoJo: Big Sugar's Sweet Little Lies -- How the industry kept scientists from asking: Does sugar kill?
  

  What's new in models?

• 2012/12/29: RBroberg: GREB Decomposition: Solar Radiation
• 2012/12/28: RBroberg: GREB: Multilevel CO2 Doubling Experiment
• 2012/12/27: RBroberg: GREB: Globally Resolved Energy Balance
  

  Regarding Hansen:

• 2012/12/29: CCP: Hansen & Sato: Update of Greenland Ice Sheet Mass Loss: Exponential?
• 2012/12/23: CCP: James Hansen: Storms of My Grandchildren's Opa
  

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

• 2012/12/29: al Jazeera: Obama enacts anti-Iran bill for the Americas
  President Obama signs into law bill passed by Congress requiring State Department to employ new strategy against Tehran. President Barack Obama has signed a law to counter Iran's alleged influence in Latin America, through a new diplomatic and political strategy to be designed by the State Department, the AFP news agency reported. Enacted on Friday, the Countering Iran in the Western Hemisphere Act, passed by lawmakers earlier this year, calls for the State Department to develop a plan within 180 days to "address Iran's growing hostile presence and activity".
• 2012/12/28: EarlyWarning: Stabilization of Iranian Oil Production
• 2012/12/28: al Jazeera: Iran starts war games in Strait of Hormuz
  Tehran begins naval drills in oil and gas shipping route aimed at showcasing its military capabilities.
• 2012/12/06: Reuters: Iran shipping signals conceal Syria ship movements
  Iranian oil tankers are sending incorrect satellite signals that confuse global tracking systems and appear to conceal voyages made by other ships to Syria, which, like Iran, is subject to international sanctions.
• 2012/12/24: ZeeNews: Iran says it has enough oil for 150 years
• 2012/12/24: CLIB: Iran launches international insurance company to insure its oil tankers
  

  South [& East] China Sea tension persists:

• 2012/12/28: JakartaPost: Taiwan to explore oil, gas in South China Sea
• 2012/12/28: WO: CNOOC : Two new oil fields in South China sea start production
• 2012/12/26: AntiWar: Four More Years: The Asia Pivot
  

  In the Rare Earths tussle:

• 2012/12/26: ShanghaiDaily: Rare earth output halt remains to help prices
  

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

• 2012/12/29: al Jazeera: A bloody year for Southeast Asia's environmentalists
  A murky "military-government nexus backed by powerful business forces is behind" silencing environmental movements. The year hasn't been kind to Southeast Asia's environmental defenders. Anti-copper mine protesters in Myanmar have been firebombed and Laotian journalists critical of major hydropower projects were silenced; in Cambodia, two activists, including famed anti-logging campaigner Chut Wutty, have been killed; in the Philippines, the number of land activists alone who were assassinated stands at six. The levels of oppression are consistent with a global increase in the number of assassinations of activists, journalists and community workers who expose the ills of economic development - in 2009, according to research by Global Witness, 56 killings took place across the world; last year, 106 were slain.
• 2012/12/23: CCP: FBI calls peaceful OWS protesters "domestic terrorists" -- throws Constitution out the window -- Free Speech and the Right to Assemble apparently no longer exist
  

  What are the activists up to?

• 2012/12/25: ABC(Au): Activist spends second Christmas up tree
  Tasmanian anti-logging activist Miranda Gibson is spending her second Christmas Day in her tree-top home. Ms Gibson has been living on a platform in a eucalyptus tree, 60 metres above the forest floor in the Tyenna Valley in southern Tasmania, for more than a year. She has been campaigning to protect high conservation-value forests from logging, and says she hopes it will be her last Christmas in the tree.
• 
  

  Polls! We have polls!

   

• 2012/12/27: CBC: Canadians lack trust in some scientists, poll suggests
  

  Regarding Water Politics and Business:

• 2012/12/29: IVPress: Officials worry that agriculture community will bear burden of water shortages
  Global warming and increased demand for water by urban and municipal users make shortages of the Colorado River inevitable, according to a recently-released study by the Bureau of Reclamation and the seven Colorado River Basin states.
• 2012/12/27: ABC(Au): Underground Appin mine damages water supply
• 2012/12/26: RawStory: EPA allows uranium mining that pumps toxic waste into Wyoming drinking water
• 2012/12/25: JFleck: On water supply importation
• 2012/12/23: JFleck: Farmers vs. fish, pot-growing edition
• 2012/12/23: JFleck: Stuff I wrote elsewhere: trouble on the Rio Grande
• 2012/12/23: Eureka: Smaller Colorado River projected for coming decades, study says
  Some 40 million people depend on the Colorado River Basin for water but warmer weather from rising greenhouse gas levels and a growing population may signal water shortages ahead. In a new study in Nature Climate Change, climate modelers at Columbia University's Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory predict a 10 percent drop in the Colorado River's flow in the next few decades, enough to disrupt longtime water-sharing agreements between farms and cities across the American Southwest, from Denver to Los Angeles to Tucson, and through California's Imperial Valley.
• 
  

  And on the groundwater front:

   

• 2012/12/29: ABC(Au): Jakarta sinking as water supplies dry up
  

  And on the American political front:

• 2012/12/26: NPR: Climate Change Gets Real For Americans
• 2012/12/23: RI: There's no such thing as energy independence in our globalized, fossil-fueled world
• 2012/12/28: BaltimoreSun: State building changes ordered to avert flood damage -- O'Malley calls rise in sea level a threat to public infrastructure
  Declaring that Maryland's coastal areas are increasingly at risk from a rising sea level, Gov. Martin O'Malley has ordered state agencies to weigh the growing risks of flooding in deciding where and how to construct state buildings.
• 2012/12/27: WSWS: US mayors' survey: Food insecurity, homelessness rising across the country
• 2012/12/26: QuarkSoup: Tea Party Goes Rogue
• 2012/12/26: OregonLive: Electric-car owners in Washington will be hit with $100 fee
• 2012/12/21: AlterNet: Trading Sex for a "F--cking Happy Meal?" Mom Can't Get Food Stamps After Drug Offense, Resorts to Prostitution to Feed her Kids
• 2012/12/25: ICH: Enriching Big Oil and Coal - U.S. Energy Independence is a Sham
• 2012/12/25: TP:JR: Friedman: GOP Denial Is Destroying The Party And The Nation
• 2012/12/25: TimesUnion: DEC selling out to fracking industry
  The battle over allowing hydrofracking in New York has become an increasingly embittered one, as the state Department of Environmental Conservation's missteps in managing the regulatory review of fracking. Its seeming disregard of the mass of substantive comments filed on DEC's proposals has convinced most opponents that state government is pro-fracking and is unwilling to seriously address the reality of their powerful arguments for a ban.
• 2012/12/23: DD: Hunger and homelessness rise in U.S. cities
• 2012/12/23: TP:JR: Seattle Mayor Calls For Divesting City Pension Funds From Fossil Fuels
  

  Post-Sandy commentary and news:

• 2012/12/29: BBerg: Sandy Aid Worth $60 Billion Passes Senate as House Balks
  The U.S. Senate approved a $60 billion disaster-aid package for victims of Hurricane Sandy, forwarding it to the House where lawmakers are balking at the price tag. The chamber today voted 61-33 for the plan that would pay to clean up debris, repair mass-transit systems, rebuild flooded buildings and myriad other expenses, some only tangentially related to the storm. House Republicans have expressed doubts that so much money is needed anytime soon, though they haven't said how much they're inclined to provide.
• 2012/12/22: Nation:B: David Koch Now Taking Aim at Hurricane Sandy Victims
  

  Lisa Jackson is resigning as head of the EPA:

• 2012/12/29: CSW: Lisa Jackson EPA resignation a refusal to support Obama Keystone XL pipeline decision?
• 2012/12/27: NatureNB: US environmental agency chief to resign
• 2012/12/28: ScienceInsider: Jackson Resigns as U.S. EPA Chief
• 2012/12/27: CSM: EPA head Lisa Jackson will resign
• 2012/12/27: Grist: EPA administrator Lisa Jackson has left the building
• 2012/12/27: TreeHugger: Lisa Jackson to Step Down as EPA Director
• 2012/12/27: NYT: E.P.A. Chief to Step Down, With Climate Still Low Priority
  Lisa P. Jackson is stepping down as administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency after a four-year tenure that began with high hopes of sweeping action to address climate change and other environmental ills but ended with a series of rear-guard actions to defend the agency against challenges from industry, Republicans in Congress and, at times, the Obama White House. Ms. Jackson, 50, told President Obama shortly after his re-election in November that she wanted to leave the administration early next year. She informed the E.P.A. staff of her decision on Thursday morning and issued a brief statement saying that she was confident "the ship is sailing in the right direction."
• 2012/12/27: Guardian(UK): EPA chief Lisa Jackson resigns after tenure marked by friction with GOP
• 2012/12/27: CDreams: EPA Chief's Resignation Imperils Obama's Already Ambiguous Environmental Policy
  Environmentally friendly replacement for Lisa Jackson would face GOP gauntlet for confirmation
• 2012/12/27: CSW: EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson resignation
  

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

• 2012/12/27: ICN: In 2012, Canada's 'Dilbit' Becomes a Contentious American Issue
  Last year it was just a technical term known mainly by the oil industry. This year "dilbit" was at the center of the fight over the Keystone XL pipeline
• 2012/12/24: JournalStar: Grinch takes anti-pipeline message to governor
  The "Grinch" showed up outside the Governor's residence Monday, Dec. 24, 2012, to urge him to reject the proposed Keystone XL pipeline route. On the day before Christmas, the Grinch showed up outside the governor's house to urge him not to be "a mean one" by allowing the proposed Keystone XL pipeline to travel over the Ogallala Aquifer. The Grinch was joined Monday by Cindy Lou Who of Dr. Seuss fame and a small group of other pipeline route opponents at a frigid gathering near the gate of the Governor's residence to send a message to Gov. Dave Heineman to reject TransCanada's proposed new pipeline route through Nebraska.
• 2012/12/25: NPR: Texas Man Takes Last Stand Against Keystone XL Pipeline
  An east Texas landowner was so determined to block the Keystone XL pipeline from coming through his forest that he took to his trees and built an elaborate network of treehouses eight stories above the ground.
• 
  

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

   

• 2012/12/24: LA Times: Trying to sell a carbon tax in a no-new-taxes world
  

  The GOP War on Women continues. See also:

• 2012/12/24: ACLU: State Court Temporarily Halts Georgia Abortion Ban
  

  The Obama chatter is nonstop:

• 2012/12/28: TP:JR: New York Times Pushes Obama On Climate: 'He Needs To Do A Great Deal More Than "Foster A Conversation"
  

  The actions of the Obama administration are being watched closely:

• 2012/12/30: Reuters: EPA faces legal battles, might take easy confirmation road
• 2012/12/24: FuturePundit: FDA Approves Genetically Modified Atlantic Salmon
• 2012/12/26: RawStory: EPA allows uranium mining that pumps toxic waste into Wyoming drinking water
• 2012/12/26: CDreams: On a Wyoming Ranch, Feds Sacrifice Tomorrow's Water to Mine Uranium Today
• 2012/12/24: DallasNews: EPA to issue greenhouse gas permits in Texas
  The Environmental Protection Agency said Thursday that it will seize authority from Texas to regulate major emitters of greenhouse gases because Gov. Rick Perry and state regulators refused to implement the rules. The move caps a long dispute between Texas and the EPA, which have clashed over the Obama administration's push to regulate industrial sources of carbon dioxide emissions.
• 2012/12/25: SF Gate: Sandia Lab building solar test centers across US
  One of the National Security Administration's three national laboratories is building regional testing centers around the country to field-test hardware for solar companies before their multimillion-dollar solar systems are installed in buildings. The Sandia National Laboratory is building test centers in Albuquerque, Denver, Las Vegas, Orlando, Fla., and Burlington, Vt., the Albuquerque Journal reported
• 
  

  As for what is going on in Congress:

   

• 2012/12/30: S&R: Screw these guys
  Here's a list of the estimable members of the US Senate who voted against disaster relief for New Jersey, Connecticut and New York yesterday
• 2012/12/27: Forbes: Going Off The Fiscal Cliff Could Mean Missing The Next Hurricane Sandy
  [...]
  According to the Aerospace Industries Association, a trade association representing aerospace manufacturers, the spending cuts mandated if the U.S. hits the Fiscal Cliff would include an 8.2 percent cut to NOAA's weather satellite program
• 2012/12/24: CCP: Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, American climate hero, speaks out on the future being left to our children by corrupt politicians soaking in oil and coal money [vid]
  

  While in the UK:

• 2012/12/29: Scotsman: Millions of pounds to fund electric cars is left 'gathering dust'
• 2012/12/28: Guardian(UK): The rain falls -- while the government pulls the plug on flood defences
  Britain is getting wetter, and yet funding for flood defence schemes is being cut. This is madness
• 2012/12/26: Telegraph(UK): Minister 'misleads' over fracking
  Energy Minister John Hayes has been accused of misrepresenting a Durham University study after he claimed it concluded fracking could not contaminate drinking water.
• 
  

  And in Europe:

   

• 2012/12/24: DerSpiegel: Big Gift to Big Business -- Berlin to Exempt 1,550 Firms From Electricity Surcharge
  Germany plans to exempt 1,550 large firms from a power price surcharge that covers part of the cost of switching to renewable energy. Critics say the list of exemptions is spurious and unfair to households and small businesses. It risks undermining faith in the government's switch to clean power.
• 2012/12/24: BBerg: German Utilities Pay Power Users as Warm, Windy Christmas Looms
  

  Meanwhile in Australia:

• 2012/12/29: ABC(Au): The economics of going off the grid
• 2012/12/28: ABC(Au):TDU: We are guardians of the future
• 2012/12/27: ABC(Au): Gas-fired plant put on hold
  A major energy company has decided to shelve plans for a new gas-fired power station in Victoria's east. Energy Australia had lodged a planning request to build a gas-turbine power station at Yallourn in the La Trobe Valley. [...] Energy Australia says the change of plans for its gas-fired plant won't affect its brown coal operations at Yallourn
• 2012/12/27: WSWS: Australian utility companies disconnect thousands of households
• 2012/12/27: ABC(Au): Onus on MPs in Greens policy rethink
  Federal Greens MPs will be responsible for drawing up policies which will then be costed by the new Parliamentary Budget Office, acting leader Adam Bandt announced this morning. The Greens say the new policy platform, unveiled by Mr Bandt today, aims to give the party's federal parliamentarians greater flexibility to negotiate. The are fewer specific policies, and more aims and principles in the document.
• 2012/12/26: ABC(Au): Study casts doubt on safety of fracking for gas
  The Northern Territory Environment Centre says it wants the government to re-draft its gas drilling laws. A study from Cornell University in the United States has found a strong link between the gas drilling practice of fracking and ill-health in cattle. There are several companies exploring for shale and coal seam gas in the Territory. The environment centre's Stuart Blanch says the current laws are outdated and need to be reviewed.
• 2012/12/24: PlanetJ: Australia embraces Paris Hilton's energy policy
• 2012/12/23: QuarkSoup: Is Australian Carbon Tax Causing Inflation?
• 2012/12/24: ABC(Au): Aussies wasting record amount of food
  New figures show Australians are wasting a record $8 billion worth of food every year.
• 2012/12/27: ABC(Au): Underground Appin mine damages water supply
  A woman whose property is near the Upper Nepean River has told of the damage a local coal mining is causing to her water supply.
• 
  

  And in the Indian subcontinent:

   

• 2012/12/29: CCurrents: She Is Dead, But Can We Be Said To Live?
• 2012/12/27: CCurrents: We Do Not Want This Nuclear Power Plant
• 2012/12/27: RawStory: Indian teen kills self after police pressure her to marry rapist
  A 17-year-old Indian girl who was gang-raped committed suicide after police pressured her to drop the case and marry one of her attackers, police and a relative said on Thursday.
  [...]
  Official figures show that 228,650 of the total 256,329 violent crimes recorded last year in India were against women.
• 2012/12/22: WaPo: India confronts mountain of coal problems
  Across India, thermal power stations are running below capacity because they cannot get enough coal, and factories are running on expensive diesel generators because they cannot get enough power. But here at one of India's largest mines, millions of tons of coal are stockpiled because they cannot be transported quickly to the nearest rail yard. Plans to expand production have been put on hold because a branch line to the mine, already three years behind schedule, is still less than half built. And the sorry state of India's railway network is only part of the story. At a time when the country's energy needs are growing at a staggering pace, India depends heavily on coal, drawing on the fifth-largest reserves in the world. But mining has consistently fallen below target, imports are rising fast, and the problems in the largely state-run industry may have even more far-reaching implications.
• 
  

  While in Japan:

   

• 2012/12/29: BBC: Japan PM Abe praises Fukushima nuclear work during visit
  Japan's newly elected Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has visited the Fukushima nuclear plant, which was damaged by an earthquake and tsunami last year. Mr Abe said the process of dismantling the plant, which was decommissioned after the disaster, was an "unprecedented challenge". The plant is now stable, but removing all the radiation could take decades. On Thursday, Japan said it would review the previous administration's plans to phase out the use of nuclear power.
• 2012/12/27: BBC: Japan says it will review plans to abandon nuclear power
• 2012/12/26: al Jazeera: Abe formally named as Japan's prime minister
  Lower House elects conservative leader as PM after he led Liberal Democratic Party's return to power. Japan's lower House of parliament has formally elected Shinzo Abe, leader of the Liberal Democratic Party, as country's prime minister after he swept to power on a hawkish platform of getting tough on diplomacy while fixing the economy.
• 
  

  And elsewhere in Asia:

   

• 2012/12/29: al Jazeera: A bloody year for Southeast Asia's environmentalists
  A murky "military-government nexus backed by powerful business forces is behind" silencing environmental movements. The year hasn't been kind to Southeast Asia's environmental defenders. Anti-copper mine protesters in Myanmar have been firebombed and Laotian journalists critical of major hydropower projects were silenced; in Cambodia, two activists, including famed anti-logging campaigner Chut Wutty, have been killed; in the Philippines, the number of land activists alone who were assassinated stands at six. The levels of oppression are consistent with a global increase in the number of assassinations of activists, journalists and community workers who expose the ills of economic development - in 2009, according to research by Global Witness, 56 killings took place across the world; last year, 106 were slain.
• 
  

  And South America:

   

• 2012/12/30: al Jazeera: Bolivia nationalises electricity companies
  Leftist President Evo Morales took control of two electricity distribution companies owned by Spanish utility Iberdrola.
• 2012/12/29: BBC: Bolivia takes over Spanish-owned energy suppliers
  Bolivia has brought two Spanish-owned electricity supply companies under state control. President Evo Morales accused the subsidiaries of the Spanish company, Iberdrola, of overcharging consumers in rural areas.
• 
  

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

   

• 2012/12/24: TMoS: A Look Into the Cardboard Soul of Steve Harper
• 2012/12/29: LeftistJab: Absurd Talking Point of 2012: Carbon Tax!
• 2012/12/28: LeDaro: Harper's Not Done Selling Canada to China
• 2012/12/29: LeftistJab: Big Oil's Political Mouthpiece of 2012: Joe Oliver
• 2012/12/24: PostMedia: Harper government climate regulations to cost $11.2 billion, but offset by savings
  Tougher fuel economy standards on new cars proposed by Environment Canada could actually put more drivers on the road and cost Canadians consumers and the economy up to $11.2 billion between 2017 and 2025, says a new analysis posted online by the Harper government. But in the analysis, the department estimates benefits of up to $41.9 billion from reduced refuelling time, additional driving and reductions in fuel consumption and pollution.
• 
  

  The IdleNoMore movement contiues to grow:

   

• Idle No More
  Idle No More calls on all people to join in a revolution which honors and fulfills Indigenous sovereignty which protects the land and water. Colonization continues through attacks to Indigenous rights and damage to the land and water. We must repair these violations, live the spirit and intent of the treaty relationship, work towards justice in action, and protect Mother Earth.
• Idle No More
• 2012/12/29: SixthEstate: Theresa Spence, the Tibetan Monks, and Canada's Hypocrisy
• 2012/12/29: CBC: First Nations chief Theresa Spence calls for solidarity protests -- 'Willing to die' for her people
• 2012/12/29: ABC(Au): Canadian aboriginal protests put pressure on PM
  A Canadian aboriginal chief in the third week of a hunger strike is urging prime minister Stephen Harper to "open his heart" and meet with native leaders angered by his policies as small impromptu protests spread beyond Canada's borders. Theresa Spence from the remote northern Ontario community of Attawapiskat has been fasting since December 11 and has vowed to continue until Mr Harper commits to talks on a litany of complaints, including new legislation that she says will harm native lands.
• 2012/12/29: CPW: Amnesty International Urges Harper to meet with hunger striker Chief Spence
• 2012/12/29: MSimon: Idle No More and the Bigot Voices
• 2012/12/28: 350orBust: The Drumbeat Continues
• 2012/12/28: CDreams: 'Idle No More' Actions Taking Place Across Canada
• 2012/12/28: CDreams: Support Grows as Harper Continues to Ignore Indigenous Upswell -- 'Idle No More' support spreads from Hawaii to Palestine
• 2012/12/28: MSimon: Idle No More and the Con Denial of History
• 2012/12/27: CBC: Regina protesters fast in support of First Nations chief
  A group of Idle No More protesters is starting a four-day fast in Regina today in support of Chief Theresa Spence. The chief of Ontario's Attawapiskat First Nation is nearing the third week of her hunger strike in Ottawa. The Idle No More movement has been trying to call attention to the federal government's omnibus budget bill over concerns people haven't been properly consulted about First Nations and environmental issues.
• 2012/12/27: CDreams: Justice at Stake: Chief Theresa Spence Inspires a Nation
• 2012/12/27: CDreams: Support Pours In As 'Idle No More' Movement Steams Ahead
  Rail blockades, street protests, flash mobs and an ongoing hunger strike give fuel to indigenous rights campaign in Canada
• 2012/12/27: TStar: Prime Minister Stephen Harper should meet Chief Theresa Spence
• 2012/12/27: ZNet: As Chief Spence Starves, Canadians Awaken From Idleness And Remember Their Roots
• 2012/12/27: Impolitical: Navigable waters nightmare
• 2012/12/26: CanDim: #IdleNoMore: A Longer View
• 2012/12/26: CBC: Idle No More protests aim to disrupt Boxing Day shoppers
  Demonstrations set up in malls in Edmonton, Calgary and Saskatchewan
• 2012/12/26: CPW: To Chief Theresa Spence, From Aboriginal Affairs Minister John Duncan
  If it's a Christmas present, it's a terrible one. No, an insult. A window into the insidious, hostile and frozen core of political power in Canada under Prime Minister Stephen Harper and the Conservatives.
• 2012/12/26: Rabble:AJ: Justice at stake: Chief Theresa Spence passes Day 15 of hunger strike
  Launched in the shadows of Parliament Hill two weeks ago, the hunger strike by Attawapiskat First Nation Chief Theresa Spence goes on. There is little to be heard from the federal government or Prime Minister Stephen Harper, but a cowardly silence. Chief Spence said she is willing to die in an attempt to get the federal government and aboriginal leaders to discuss the treaty process and make fundamental changes.
• 2012/12/26: DemNow: Idle No More: Indigenous-Led Protests Sweep Canada for Native Sovereignty and Environmental Justice
• 2012/12/25: CBC: Native protesters in Sarnia, Ont., demand meeting with Harper -- Protest blocking CN rail line began Friday
• 2012/12/24: CDreams: Idle No More: Women Rising to Lead When it's Needed Most
• 2012/12/24: CDreams: As Chief Spence Starves, Canadians Awaken from Idleness and Remember Their Roots
• 2012/12/24: CDreams: Canada's 'Idle No More' Movement Spreads Like Wildfire -- Chief Theresa Spence on 14th day of hunger strike
• 2012/12/21: TheCanadian: Toronto Star Editorial: Why All Canadians Should Care About Growing 'Idle No More' Movement
• 2012/12/14: TheCanadian: Financial Post: Biggest Winning Streak in Canadian Legal History Empowers First Nations in Resource Battles
• 2012/12/24: KCairo: Chief Spence and the Way forward. . . .
  I have not blogged much lately because it seems to me that there is a story that is so big that it has taken the wind out of my sails and muted me with its raw implications. That story is the Idle No More movement and the hunger strike of Chief Spence. In light of the injustice perpetrated against the Indigenous people in Canada and the slow death of Chief Spence in the face of Conservative indifference, all the other stories going on seem to pale in comparison.
• 2012/12/23: iPolitics: Why is Stephen Harper afraid to look this woman in the eye?
• 2012/12/23: CBC: First Nation blockade of Sarnia CN Rail track in 3rd day
  

  One of the problems in Ottawa, by way of Elizabeth May:

• 2012/12/27: Rabble: Greens demonstrate power of independent thought in politics
  In a packed hall near the southern shore of Vancouver's False Creek, Elizabeth May, the leader of the federal Green party, detailed what imperils our country and our world. During her speech at the Green party gala on November 16, she touched on the dire threat of climate change -- but it was her depiction of her fellow members of Parliament which might have counted as the most astounding and disillusioning. In a message she repeated in front of a cheering crowd of 1,300 in Victoria on November 19, she pointed out that many of her colleagues -- NDP, Liberal, and Conservative -- are directed on how to vote on various pieces of legislation. And, in light of that, they simply don't read much of the legislation which lands on their desks. They don't have to, they reason -- and, as she suggests, if they did, they might be appalled by what they're voting for. So they just avoid the trouble and refrain from reading it at all. Consequently, the Canadian democratic tradition of responsible governance is in peril. Our politicians are not informing themselves about important pieces of legislation. And they're letting things through which will benefit corporations while hurting many people -- all without their consultation. This is where the pending ratification of the Canada-China Foreign Investment Promotion and Protection Agreement (FIPA) enters the picture. This FIPA, a treatise which enforces binding obligations in favour of foreign investors, will not be Canada's first with another state, but it certainly ranks among the least transparent. It will also do far more to serve the interests of Chinese investors than Canadian citizens.
• 
  

  Tom Harris being a bad boy:

   

• 2012/12/27: PostMedia: Ottawa must get real on climate change
• SourceWatch: Tom Harris (Canadian engineer/PR specialist)
  

  The spooks on that CNOOC-Nexen deal:

• 2012/12/23: Reuters: Insight: Security fears dogged Canada debate on China energy bid
  In September, two months after China's state-owned CNOOC Ltd made an unexpected $15.1 billion bid for Canadian energy company Nexen Inc, Canada's spy agency told ministers that takeovers by Chinese companies may threaten national security.
• 
  

  About that biodiesel train:

   

• 2012/12/21: TreeHugger: Biodiesel Train Crossed US-Canada Border 24 Times to Exploit Biofuel Loophole
  

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

• 2012/12/27: NI: Pay no attention to the men behind the curtain
• 2012/12/27: PostMedia: Strategic voting wields a double-edged sword
  Guy Dauncey is a longtime supporter of the B.C. Green Party who won't be voting Green in the next election. Instead, he says he'll cast his vote for an entity that means more to him. "I don't have loyalty to any political party that outweighs my loyalty to the planet Earth," the environmental activist and writer told me Wednesday.
• 2012/12/25: NI: Deception and financial fakery for friends - the loss of revenue government derives from natural resources, even though prices have risen
• 2012/12/24: TMoS: British Columbia' Climate Change Scourge - the Mountain Pine Beetle
• 2012/12/24: CBC: Chevron buys 50% stake in Kitimat LNG terminal -- Encana exits project in complicated transaction
  Chevron Canada Ltd. is moving to acquire a 50 per cent stake in a proposed liquefied natural gas export terminal near Kitimat, B.C., in a series of deals that will result in the exit of two of the three current partners. Under the deal, the subsidiary of Chevron Corp. has agreed to buy out the stakes held by Encana Corp. and a subsidiary of EOG Resources Inc., which each hold 30 per cent. As part of an transaction with Chevron, Apache Corp., which holds the remaining 40 per cent stake, will increase its ownership of the plant and pipeline to 50 per cent.
• 
  

  Meanwhile in that Mechanical Mordor known as the tar sands:

   

• 2012/12/27: ICN: In 2012, Canada's 'Dilbit' Becomes a Contentious American Issue
  Last year it was just a technical term known mainly by the oil industry. This year "dilbit" was at the center of the fight over the Keystone XL pipeline
• 
  

  Also in Alberta:

   

• 2012/12/20: PostMedia: Leaked fracking fluid contaminated groundwater near Grande Prairie: ERCB
  Leaked fracking fluid has contaminated groundwater after a "serious" incident at a well site near Grande Prairie in September 2011, according to an investigation by the Energy Resources Conservation Board which regulates the energy industry. Calgary-based Crew Energy "inadvertently" released toxic fluids at too shallow a level in a natural gas well and then failed to realize the leak was occurring underground, said the ERCB report released Thursday. "There were multiple opportunities to recognize that a problem existed which could have prevented or at least minimized the impact of hydraulic fracturing operation above the base of groundwater protection," says the report. While a drinking water source near the surface was not affected, a groundwater basin below it was contaminated, said ERCB spokesman Daren Barter, adding this is considered a "serious" if rare incident. The ERCB gave the company a "high risk enforcement action" ordering it to supply a revised fracking plan.
• 2012/12/21: TheCanadian: Calgary Company Contaminated Groundwater with Toxic Fracking Fluids, Investigation Finds
  

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

• 2012/12/29: BCLSB: More On Birds, Turtles, And Wind Farms
• 2012/12/26: CBC: Toronto, southern Ontario brace for big snowstorm -- Toronto expecting biggest snowfall in 2 years
  

  While in la Belle Province:

• 2012/12/28: CBC: Quebec's Gentilly-2 nuclear plant shuts down after 29 years
  Chamber of commerce says it will keep fighting the closure
• 2012/12/26: CBC: Thousands still without power in Quebec -- Hydro-Québec workers still out to restore power to 4,300 people
• 2012/12/25: CBC: 10,000 customers still without power in Quebec
• 2012/12/24: CBC: Hydro-Québec reports nearly 11,600 still without power -- Not all customers will have power restored for Christmas, Hydro-Québec says
• 2012/12/23: CBC: Thousands still without power in storm-hit Quebec, Ontario -- People in remote areas may be in the dark until Christmas Eve
  

  As for miscellaneous Canadiana:

• 2012/12/27: CBC: Canadians lack trust in some scientists, poll suggests
  

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

• 2012/12/24: Resilience: The Outlook for Steady State Economics in 2013
  

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

• 2012/12/29: BBC: Philippines President Benigno Aquino has signed into law a bill providing for free access to contraception and family planning
• 2012/12/29: al Jazeera: Philippine president signs contraception law
  A family-planning bill that was blocked by the Catholic Church for more than a decade is approved by the president.
• 2012/12/29: ABC(Au): Reproductive health law finally passed in Philippines
  The Philippines has finally passed a controversial reproductive health law which allows it a more active role in the campaign for birth control, particularly among the poor. The law - which pits the government against the influential Catholic church - took 13 years of deliberations. Under the new law, the Philippines Government will provide the public, particularly poor women, with more information and access to birth control methods.
• 2012/12/29: CNN: Philippines leader signs divisive reproductive health bill
  President Benigno Aquino signs legislation - The bill provides sex education classes and government-funded contraception - It will take effect in mid-January - The Catholic Church opposed it
• 
  

  Apocalypso anyone?

   

• The Goddamn Apocalypse
• 2012/12/24: BRitholtz: End of World Predictions Are for Suckers Only
  

  How do the media measure up?

• 2012/12/27: TP:JR: Australian Press Council Criticizes Climate Denier Columnists For 'Highly Offensive' Comments
• 2012/12/27: SciAm:GB: Climate Model Coverage: Far from Model Journalism
• 2012/12/27: KSJT: New Yorker: Two variants on new environmental journalism - climate change gets sotto voce treatment
• 2012/12/23: QuarkSoup: The Ever-Shrinking David Rose Hole
  

  Governments around the world, whether democracies or dictatorships, realize that in order to remain in power they have to control the information available to their citizenry, ie. manage the media. The process is calledManufacturing Consent. Occasional missteps reveal the dynamic:

• 2012/12/27: KSJT: FDA releases findings on genetically modified salmon on holiday weekend after months of unexplained delay
• 2012/12/27: NoC: FDA Quietly Pushes Through Genetically Modified Salmon Over Christmas Break
  

  Here is something for your library:

• 2012/12/28: GLaden: Top (mostly climate change related) Science Denialist Books
• 2012/12/26: Grist: New Agtivist: Rebecca Thistlethwaite knows how to spot farms with a future
  [Book Plug & Author Interview] _Farms with a Future: Creating and Growing a Sustainable Farm Business_ by Rebecca Thistlethwaite
• 2012/12/25: Grist:Going, going, gonzo: A famously twisted mind tackles the extinction crisis with a wicked pen
  [Book Plug & Author Interview] _Extinct Boids_ by Ralph Steadman & Ceri Levy
• 
  

  And for your film & video enjoyment:

   

• 2012/12/29: Grist: New Matt Damon fracking flick is worthy, but lacks sound and fury
• 2012/12/27: DD: Video: Distribution of Cesium-137 contamination in the Pacific Ocean from Fukushima, modeled to the year 2021
• 2012/12/27: QuarkSoup: The Evolution of Ocean Garbage Patches
• 2012/12/26: AFTIC: "Our Greatest Challenge" - Symphony of Science
• 2012/12/24: SciAm:HoG: Armageddon !!!
• 2012/12/24: CCP: Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, American climate hero, speaks out on the future being left to our children by corrupt politicians soaking in oil and coal money [vid]
• 2012/12/24: Tamino: Tell it like it is
• 2012/12/24: PSinclair: Eric Rignot on West Antarctica Warming
• 2012/12/23: CCP: Climate Change and Intergenerational Evil
  

  Meanwhile among the 'Sue the Bastards!' contingent:

• 2012/12/27: FuelFix: Tokyo Electric sued by U.S. sailors exposed to radiation
• 2012/12/28: CNN: U.S. Navy sailors sue Japan over nuclear accident
• 2012/12/28: BBC: Japan's Tepco sued by US sailors over radiation
• 2012/12/27: S&S: US sailors sue Japanese utility over radiation exposure
• 2012/12/26: EneNews: Navy rescue workers sue Japan over Fukushima cover-up - "Irreparable harm to life expectancy" - Gov't and Tepco conspired
• 2012/12/26: CourthouseNews: U.S. Sailors Sue Japan Over Fukushima
  The Fukushima nuclear disaster exposed Navy rescue workers to dangerous levels of radiation, which the government-owned power plant covered up, eight U.S. sailors claim in court. Eight crew members of the U.S.S. Ronald Reagan, whose home port is San Diego, sued the Tokyo Electric Power Co. in Federal Court. They claim the utility company, "a wholly owned public benefit subsidiary of the government of Japan," misrepresented radiation levels to lull the U.S. Navy "into a false sense of security."
• 
  

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

   

• 2012/12/26: TheHill:e2W: [EIA] Report finds US energy production growing, consumption down
  A new report shows U.S. energy consumption dropping, even as the industry experiences a boost in production. U.S. energy consumption declined 3 percent between January and September compared with that period last year, according to data the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) released Wednesday. During the period evaluated, energy use from transportation and industry dropped 1.2 and 1.5 percent, respectively. Residential and commercial energy use declined 5.2 percent. Energy production, however, rose 2 percent through the same time frame. Fossil fuel development increased 3.14 percent, while renewable energy production fell 2.8 percent.
• 2012/12/23: RI: There's no such thing as energy independence in our globalized, fossil-fueled world
• 2012/12/28: NBF: Accelerator driven sub-critical reactor could burn nuclear waste and create diesel at less than $2 per gallon
• 2012/12/23: CSM: Energy in 2013: What's next for oil, gas, renewables?
• 2012/12/23: Resilience: There's no such thing as energy independence in our globalized, fossil-fueled world
  

  What do you have in energy comparisons and transitions?

• 2012/12/27: AutoBG: Diesel group, biodiesel producers come together in fight against natural gas
  

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

• 2012/12/28: TP:JR: Kidnappings, Pirates, Halliburton, Fracking, And Me.
• 2012/12/27: IOTD: Gas Drilling, North Dakota
• 2012/12/26: ABC(Au): Study casts doubt on safety of fracking for gas
• 2012/12/26: Telegraph(UK): [Energy Minister John Hayes] 'misleads' over fracking
• 2012/12/25: TimesUnion: DEC selling out to fracking industry
  The battle over allowing hydrofracking in New York has become an increasingly embittered one, as the state Department of Environmental Conservation's missteps in managing the regulatory review of fracking. Its seeming disregard of the mass of substantive comments filed on DEC's proposals has convinced most opponents that state government is pro-fracking and is unwilling to seriously address the reality of their powerful arguments for a ban.
• 2012/12/20: PostMedia: Leaked fracking fluid contaminated groundwater near Grande Prairie: ERCB
• 2012/12/21: TheCanadian: Calgary Company Contaminated Groundwater with Toxic Fracking Fluids, Investigation Finds
  

  On the coal front:

• 2012/12/29: CSM: Why is world using more coal? The China trade.
• 2012/12/22: WaPo: India confronts mountain of coal problems
  

  On the gas and oil front:

• 2012/12/28: BBerg: Closing oil prices Friday
  OIL (US$/bbl)
  Dated Brent Spot....110.62
  WTI Cushing Spot.....90.80
• 2012/12/28: ABC(Au): Chevron announces gas discovery off WA coast
• 2012/12/28: CSM: LNG exports still iffy, even if they win approval
• 2012/12/27: CSM: Energy independence for fossil fuels? There's no such thing.
• 2012/12/27: TripleP: U.S. to Become World's Top Oil and Gas Producer by 2017
• 2012/12/27: BBerg: Brent Oil's Third Year Over $100 Looms on Supply Risk
  Brent crude is poised to trade above $100 a barrel for a third consecutive year in 2013 as tension in the Middle East threatens to disrupt supply and global demand is buoyed by Chinese imports. Oil will average $110 next year, according to the median of 30 forecasts compiled by Bloomberg, compared with about $111.68 a barrel so far in 2012. Brent is more likely to overshoot the 2013 median than miss it as Iran spars with the west over its nuclear program and the conflict in Syria deepens, Morgan Stanley and UBS AG said.
• 2012/12/24: ZeeNews: Iran says it has enough oil for 150 years
  

  The OilDrum did a top ten stories of 2012 series:

• 2012/12/29: OilDrum: #5 - Gas Boom Goes Bust
• 2012/12/28: OilDrum: #6 - Naked Oil
• 2012/12/27: OilDrum: #7 - Bill O'Reilly is Misinforming Americans About Oil Supplies
• 2012/12/26: OilDrum: #8 - Oil will decline shortly after 2015, says former IEA oil expert
• 2012/12/25: OilDrum: #9 - Shale Oil: The Latest Insights
  

  And in pipeline news:

• 2012/12/27: ICN: Little Oversight for Enbridge Pipeline Route that Skirts Lake Michigan
• 2012/12/26: DeutscheWelle: Russian oil pipeline to the Pacific goes into service
  Russia's East Asia oil pipeline has officially gone into service. The pipeline is a reflection of the country's shift from European to Asian markets. President Vladimir Putin commissioned the pipeline Tuesday with the completion of the 4,740 km-long (2,945 miles) East Siberia - Pacific Ocean (ESPO) section, which runs between the Siberian city of Skovorodino and the Pacific port of Kosmino, Russian media reported.
• 2012/12/26: ICN: Enbridge Says Work on New Dilbit Pipeline [in Michigan] Delayed Until Spring
• 2012/12/26: ICN: Pipeline Safety Enters National Spotlight in 2012
  After news broke that human error caused the Enbridge oil spill and fears spread over Keystone XL, pipeline safety moved into the mainstream.
• 2012/12/21: Reuters: Russia clashes over energy with Belarus, Ukraine, EU
  Russia plunged back into the disputes over energy with Ukraine and Belarus that have repeatedly disrupted oil and gas supplies to European Union countries, and it also termed EU energy policy as "uncivilized".
• 
  

  Marvelous. Now the USA have their own Mechanical Mordor:

   

• 2012/12/24: CCP: RJ Sigmund: Got gas? Bakken oil wells flaring natgas, as seen from space
  

  Biofuel bickering abounds:

• 2012/12/21: BCSEA: Biofuel that's better than carbon neutral
  The race is on to create a biofuel that sucks carbon out of the sky and locks it away where it can't warm the planet
• 2012/12/28: AutoBG: Iowa newspaper finds no problems using E15; biofuel could have saved drivers $69m
• 2012/12/25: SlashDot: The New Ethanol Blend May Damage Your Vehicle
• 2012/11/30: AAA: New E15 Gasoline May Damage Vehicles and Cause Consumer Confusion
  

  The answer my friend...:

• 2012/12/26: MiamiHerald: Largest wind farm in Kansas to begin operation soon
• 2012/12/29: CSM: Wind energy: Boom sputters as industry tax credit is set to expire
• 2012/12/29: BBC: Wind power deadline sees US firms rush to build turbines
  US energy companies are racing to install wind turbines before a federal tax credit expires at the end of this year.
• 2012/12/27: BBC: Turbine installation complete at London Array wind farm
  One of the world's largest offshore wind farms off the east Kent coast is on target to become fully operational in the spring.
• 2012/12/25: PressHerald: Wind farm projects looking up in Maine
  Despite a looming tax credit expiration, developers' interest does not seem to be waning.
• 
  

  Meanwhile among the solar aficionados:

   

• 2012/12/28: TreeHugger: New World Record Set for Solar Cells: 44% Efficiency
• 2012/12/28: TreeHugger: Nanomaterials that Split Sunlight Into Separate Colors Could Bring Solar Panels to 50% Efficiency
  

  The nuclear energy controversy continues:

• 2012/12/29: NBF: China generates power at the Ningde 1 reactor and starts work on the 30th under construction nuclear reactor
• 2012/12/28: CBC: Quebec's Gentilly-2 nuclear plant shuts down after 29 years
• 2012/12/23: WSJ: New [Vogtle] Nuclear Plant [in Georgia, USA] Hits Some Snags
  The first newly licensed nuclear-power plant to be built in the U.S. in decades, the Vogtle project in Georgia, has run into construction problems and may be falling years behind schedule, according to an engineering expert advising the state. The $14 billion plant is being closely watched by energy experts as a bellwether for the rebirth of the U.S. nuclear industry, because it involves a new type of nuclear reactor and a modular construction method that are supposed to reduce construction time and cost.
• 
  

  Nuclear fusion projects around the world limp along:

   

• 2012/12/29: NBF: Guided Impact Fusion
• 2012/12/29: NBF: Efficient Energy Conversion of the 14MeV Neutrons in DT Inertial Confinement Fusion
  

  More people are talking about the electrical grid:

• 2012/12/29: ABC(Au): The economics of going off the grid
  

  And then there is the matter of efficiency & conservation:

• 2012/12/24: NYT: City's Law Tracking Energy Use Yields Some Surprises
  

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

• 2012/12/27: CSM: Best value cars? Hybrids.
  Prius replaces Honda Fit as best value car, according to Consumer Reports. Although hybrids cost more, they're cheaper to operate. Prius costs owners 49 cents per mile, half the average for gasoline-only cars.
• 2012/12/28: TreeHugger: Nissan Beefs Up LEAF Battery Warranty to Cover Capacity Loss (Will Others Follow?)
• 2012/12/29: ShanghaiDaily: Shanghai offers extra subsidies for electric cars
• 2012/12/29: Scotsman: Millions of pounds to fund electric cars is left 'gathering dust'
• 2012/12/24: PSinclair: NYTimes: A Banner year for Plug ins
  

  As for Energy Storage:

• 2012/12/27: AutoBG: Nissan Leaf battery warranty upgraded in US, first to cover capacity loss
• 2012/12/26: SciAm:PI: The Value of Short-term Energy Storage for Renewable Energy
  

  The reaction of business to climate change will be critical:

• 2012/12/26: CSM: Why are US firms going 'green': CEOs or customers?
  

  Insurance and re-insurance companies are feeling the heat:

• 2012/12/24: ArsTechnica: Climate change is big business (for the insurance industry)
  The world's largest industry is taking climate change very, very seriously.
• 2012/12/24: PSinclair: One More Giant [Re-]Insurer Tallies up Climate Costs
• 2012/12/23: DeSmogBlog: Swiss Re Tallies Huge Costs of Climate Inaction
  

  The carbon lobby are up to the usual:

• 2012/12/27: CChallenge: Fake skeptic draws fake picture of Global Temperature
• 2012/12/27: HotWhopper: Liars in the MSM are called to account
• 2012/12/28: UKISS: It's in the literature
• 2012/12/29: CChallenge: "Global Warming caused by the sun's variability"
• 2012/12/30: HotWhopper: Yes, Mr Spooner, Deniers are Deniers
• 2012/12/22: Nation:B: David Koch Now Taking Aim at Hurricane Sandy Victims
  

  As for climate miscellanea:

• 2012/12/27: DeSmogBlog: How Electric Providers Use Sleazy Scams To Sell Energy
• 2012/12/28: RAN: Rainforest Action Network mourns the unexpected loss of our visionary Executive Director Rebecca Tarbotton
• 2012/12/28: Grist: Rebecca Tarbotton, head of Rainforest Action Network, dies at 39
• 2012/12/28: CDreams: Rainforest Action Network's Rebecca Tarbotton, 39, Dies in Swimming Accident
• 2012/12/24: QuarkSoup: Peak Sun
• 2012/12/24: EconView: Paul Krugman: When Prophecy Fails
  When people are "absurdly wrong for years on end," it's time to stop listening to them
• 
  

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

   

• MetaBunk - All about bunk, and how to debunk it
• Contrail Science - The Science and Pseudoscience of Contrails and Chemtrails
• FLAP: Fatal Light Awareness Program
• Global Witness
• HotWhopper
  Global warming, climate change and denier Whoppers; and sexism on the internet (esp from HotCopper)
• SourceWatch
• DOE: National Energy Technology Laboratory
• Arctic Circle Cartoons
• Idle No More
  Idle No More calls on all people to join in a revolution which honors and fulfills Indigenous sovereignty which protects the land and water. Colonization continues through attacks to Indigenous rights and damage to the land and water. We must repair these violations, live the spirit and intent of the treaty relationship, work towards justice in action, and protect Mother Earth.
• Idle No More
• CGIAR: Commission on Sustainable Agriculture and Climate Change 
  

  ---

  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.

  ---

  "[T]here is a more fundamental reason that science has failed to properly inform public debate -- its inherent conservatism. For scientists, an asymmetric reward structure means that it is better to be a little late in what proves to be an important discovery than to publish too soon and be proved wrong. As a result, scientists often ignore apparent patterns in their data if there is as little as a 5 percent probability that they could have arisen by chance. But while this philosophy makes sense for science, it can be disastrous when applied to risk assessment." -Kerry Emanuel

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