Another Week of Anthropocene Antics - May 19, 2013

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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May 19, 2013

• Chuckles, COP19+, Arctic Council, Consensus, Warren
• 400 ppmv, Ventus Project, Red List, Bottom Line, Cook
• Fukushima: Note, News
• Melting Arctic, Methane, Geopolitics, Antarctica
• Food: Crisis, Fisheries, Food vs. Biofuel, Land Grabs, GMOs, GMO Labelling, Production
• Hurricanes, Notable Weather, Extreme Weather, New Weather
• GHGs, Temperatures, Aerosols, Paleoclimate, Attribution, Sensitivity
• Oceans, Biosphere, Extinctions, Bees & CCD, Volcanoes, Satellites
• Impacts, Forests, Climate Refugees, Disease, Phenology
• Tornadoes, Wildfires, Corals, Glaciers, Sea Levels, Floods & Droughts
• Mitigation, Cities, Transportation, Buildings, Geoengineering, Conservation, Restoration
• Journals, Other Docs, Misc., Models, Free Science, Mann, Hansen, Fourier, Farman
• International Politics: UN, Carbon Trade, Bank Tax, Hormuz, South China Sea, Airlines
• Rare Earths, Treaties, Misc, Security, Law & Activism, Activism, Buycott, H2O Biz, Groundwater
• National Politics: Britain, Europe, Australia, Budget, Election, MDBP, India, China, Asia
• Canada, TarSands PR, Science, Idle No More, AECL, Franke James, PEARL, Directions
• Northern Gateway, Salmon, BC, Tar Sands, Alberta, Manitoba, Quebec, Maritimes, North
• America, BP Disaster, Post Sandy, Keystone, Birth Control, Sequestration, AB32, Obama, USAdmin, Congress
• Ecological Economics, IPAT, Apocalypso, Fixes, Media, Books, Video, Courts
• Energy, IEA Report, Fracking, Oil & Gas, The Corps, Peak Oil, Biofuel
• Wind, Solar, Nukes, Nuclear Fusion, Hydrogen, Cars, Gee Whiz
• Business, Insurance, Joe's List, Carbon Lobby, Misc., Useful Links
• Shameless Self Promotion, A Simple Plea, .sig

 

Here's a wee chuckle for ye:

• 2013/05/18: TP:JR: (cartoon - Matson) A Vast Human Conspiuracy
  

  Looking ahead to COP19 and future international climate negotiations:

• 2013/05/16: UN: At UN debate, experts weigh clean energy, water strategies to halt 'runaway' climate change
• 2013/05/14: EurActiv: Infographic: Slow progress on UN development targets
  The United Nations' eight Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), adopted in 2000, are edging closer to their 2015 completion target date. But progress remains slow in several areas, such as reducing infant and maternal mortality rates, and access to basic sanitation. EurActiv brings a visual overview. By the end of 2012, nations across the globe had completed three of the 21 targets listed under the UN's eight development goals, according to a World Bank report, which monitors progress in meeting the MDGs.
• 
  

  The Arctic Council meeting in Sweden this week got a fair amount of coverage:

   

• The Arctic Council
• 2013/05/18: Xinhuanet: Interview: China vows to play peaceful role in Arctic region development: [Chinese Embassador to Finland Huang Xing]
• 2013/05/16: EENews: Arctic: Regional council takes first steps to reflect global interests
• 2013/05/15: IndiaTimes: Arctic states open council to China, India, Korea
• 2013/05/15: BBC: China joins Arctic Council but a decision on the EU is deferred
  China is one of a number of countries that has gained permanent observer status on the Arctic Council. At a meeting in Sweden, the eight members of the Council accepted India, Italy, Japan, South Korea and Singapore. However following dissent from Canada, a decision on the EU's application has been deferred. The permanent observers have no decision making powers.
• 2013/05/16: EUO: China beats EU to Arctic Council membership
• 2013/05/15: CSM: Arctic Council: China looks north for oil, gas, and fish
  

  There will be lots of screaming and yelling about this Cook et al. paper:

• 2013/05/15: ERL: Quantifying the consensus on anthropogenic global warming in the scientific literature by John Cook et al.
• 2013/05/18: SkS: 2013 SkS News Bulletin #12: The Consensus Project by John Hartz
• 2013/05/18: CCP: Al Jazeera hosts Michael Mann, Rick Piltz and Dana Nuccitelli to talk about US public's disconnect with climate change reality
• 2013/05/18: TP:JR: Obama Tweets Study Of 97% Scientific Consensus On Manmade Warming, WashPost Confused On What That Means
• 2013/05/18: ITracker: Dear Andrew Revkin: Time to rethink your dismissal of Cook et al
• 2013/05/17: DD: Obama tweet gives Australia climate researcher 31 million reasons to celebrate...
• 2013/05/17: BVerheggen: Consensus: Behind the numbers
• 2013/05/17: QuarkSoup: Fallout from the SkS Study
• 2013/05/17: TreeHugger: Out of 11,944 peer-reviewed climate papers, 97.2% agree on man-made global warming
• 2013/05/16: ERW: Scientists concur that man is causing climate change
• 2013/05/16: CDreams: Duh: Howcum 97% of Scientists Say Humans Cause Climate Change But Americans Still Don't Get It?
• 2013/05/16: Guardian(UK): Survey finds 97% of climate science papers agree warming is man-made
• 2013/05/16: ERabett: The Past is Prologue
• 2013/05/16: CCurrents: Climate Crisis Is Man Made, Scientists Nearly Unanimous [97%]
• 2013/05/16: QuarkSoup: Not Surprisingly, HuffPo Eats Up SkS Study
• 2013/05/16: WtD: Obama retweets Cook paper finding 97% scientists agree AGW real to 31 million followers
• 2013/05/16: Wunderground: Study: 97% Agreement on Manmade Global Warming
• 2013/05/16: QuarkSoup: The Big Stumbling Block
• 2013/05/16: CAbyss: The Size of the C
• 2013/05/16: GLaden: Global Warming Consensus: We can haz it!
• 2013/05/16: UCSUSA:B: Scientists Agree Human-Caused Climate Change is Real: But Wait, We've Known That for Decades!
• 2013/05/16: MTU: Most Scientists Agree: Humans are Causing Global Climate Change
• 2013/05/16: TheConversation: It's true: 97% of research papers say climate change is happening
• 2013/05/15: RTCC: New study confirms science consensus on climate change
• 2013/05/15: QuarkSoup: About the SkS Study That Finds a 97% Consensus
• 2013/05/16: WtD: 97% - Study of 12,000 peer-reviewed papers shows overwhelming consensus that climate change is happening
• 2013/05/16: SkS: Skeptical Science Study Finds 97% Consensus on Human-Caused Global Warming in the Peer-Reviewed Literature by dana1981, John Cook
• 2013/05/15: TP:JR: Study Finds 97% Consensus on Human-Caused Global Warming in the Peer-Reviewed Literature
• 2013/05/16: HotWhopper: Cook et al Paper Confirms 97% Scientific Consensus - Prompting Silly Conspiracy Theories from Anthony Watts and WUWT
• 2013/05/15: DeSmogBlog: Climate Denial's Death Knell: 97 Percent of Peer-Reviewed Science Confirms Manmade Global Warming, Consensus Overwhelming
• 2013/05/15: S&R: Largest study of peer-reviewed literature to date finds overwhelming climate disruption consensus
• 2013/05/16: ABC(Au): 'Overwhelming' consensus for manmade warming: review
  A comprehensive assessment of climate change research has found an overwhelming consensus among scientists that recent warming is human-induced.
• 2013/05/15: Guardian(UK): Climate research nearly unanimous on human causes, survey finds
  

  The Warren paper is an ominous foreshadowing:

• 2013/05/12: Nature:CC: (ab$) Quantifying the benefit of early climate change mitigation in avoiding biodiversity loss by R. Warren et al.
• 2013/05/13: UKISS: Climate change will cause widespread global-scale loss of common plants and animals, researchers predict
• 2013/05/13: Guardian(UK): One-third of animal species will be hit by climate change, scientists warn
• 2013/05/13: Time: Why a Hotter World Will Mean More Extinctions
• 2013/05/13: DD: 'Dramatic decline' warning for plants and animals - 'Climate change will greatly reduce the diversity of even very common species found in most parts of the world'
• 2013/05/13: RTCC: Global biodiversity levels face climate squeeze by 2080
  Without serious action to limit global warming, more than half of all land plants and a third of all animals could find their living space dramatically reduced later this century.
• 2013/05/12: UEA: Climate change will cause widespread global-scale loss of common plants and animals
• 2013/05/12: BBC: 'Dramatic decline' warning for plants and animals
  More than half of common plant species and a third of animals could see a serious decline in their habitat range because of climate change. New research suggests that biodiversity around the globe will be significantly impacted if temperatures rise more than 2C. But the scientists say that the losses can be reduced if rapid action is taken to curb greenhouse gases.
• 
  

  They're still talking about that symbolic milestone:

   

• 2013/05/14: GreenGrok: CO2 Reaches New Heights: A Symbolic Exercise in Splitting Hairs
• 2013/05/14: SkS: The last time carbon dioxide concentrations were around 400ppm: a snapshot from Arctic Siberia by John Mason
• 2013/05/14: ICN: Carbon Dioxide in Atmosphere Did Not Break 400 PPM at Hawaii Site
• 2013/05/13: DemNow: Climate Tipping Point? Concentration of Carbon Dioxide Tops 400 ppm for First Time in Human History
• 2013/05/14: Guardian(UK): Record 400ppm CO2 milestone 'feels like we're moving into another era'
• 2013/05/14: UCSUSA:B: We've Never Been Here Before: 400ppm of CO2 Measured in the Atmosphere at Mauna Loa
• 2013/05/14: ITracker: So it's come to this
• 2013/05/14: OilChange: Our Oil Addiction Ignores CO2 Milestone
• 2013/05/13: QuarkSoup: Live By Hype, Die By Hype
• 2013/05/13: TheConversation: As carbon dioxide hits a new high, there's still no Planet B
• 2013/05/13: RTCC: [UNFCCC head, Christiana] Figueres: 400ppm a sign leaders must address climate change
• 2013/05/13: WSWS: Atmospheric carbon dioxide levels reach new heights
• 2013/05/12: TP:JR: Climate Sensitivity Stunner: Last Time CO2 Levels Hit 400 Parts Per Million The Arctic Was 14°F Warmer!
• 2013/05/10: NOAA: Carbon Dioxide at NOAA's Mauna Loa Observatory reaches new milestone: Tops 400 ppm
  

  The Ventus Project could get interesting with widespread support:

• The Ventus Project
• 2013/05/14: RTCC: The Ventus project - Online game launched to map world's fossil fuel power plants
  A new crowd-sourced science project to map all the world's fossil fuel power stations has been launched. Researchers from Arizona State University are hoping to create an accurate data set with the location, size, fuel type and CO2 emissions of all the world's estimated 30,000 power plants running on coal, oil and gas.
• 2013/05/13: NatureN: Scientists ask public to hunt for power plants -- Initiative will use crowdsourced data to inform global carbon modelling
  

  Late comment on the IUCN Red List for Ecosystems:

• 2013/05/14: ABC(Au): New Red List for threatened species
  A group of international scientists is travelling around the world identifying and studying eco systems to determine if they are threatened or endangered. So far, 20 areas have been identified for what's called the Red List of endangered eco systems. Of those, eight are in Australia.
• 
  

  And on the Bottom Line:

   

• 2013/05/18: CCP: Taxpayers Billed Nearly $100 Billion for Extreme Weather in 2012
• 2013/05/15: PSinclair: We're Already Paying a Carbon Tax in Disaster Relief
• 2013/05/15: Grist: Climate-related disasters cost American taxpayers $96 billion last year
• 2013/05/15: TP:JR: Taxpayers Get $96 Billion Bill For 2012 Extreme Weather = One-Sixth of Non-Defense Discretionary Spending
  

  John Cook and friends continue their point-counterpoint articles:

• 2013/05/19: SkS: 2013 SkS Weekly News Roundup #20B by John Hartz
• 2013/05/18: SkS: 2013 SkS News Bulletin #12: The Consensus Project by John Hartz
• 2013/05/17: SkS: Measure the climate consensus yourself with our Interactive Rating System
• 2013/05/16: SkS: Skeptical Science Study Finds 97% Consensus on Human-Caused Global Warming in the Peer-Reviewed Literature by dana1981, John Cook
• 2013/05/15: SkS: Schmitt and Happer manufacture doubt by Dumb Scientist
• 2013/05/15: SkS: 2013 SkS Weekly News Roundup #20A by John Hartz
• 2013/05/14: SkS: The last time carbon dioxide concentrations were around 400ppm: a snapshot from Arctic Siberia by John Mason
• 2013/05/13: SkS: 2013 SkS News Bulletin #11: Alberta Tar Sands and Keystone XL Pipeline by John Hartz
• 2013/05/13: SkS: Another Piece of the Global Warming Puzzle - More Efficient Ocean Heat Uptake by dana1981
• 2013/05/12: SkS: 2013 SkS Weekly Digest #19 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.]
  And the IAEA is now saying 40 years too.
  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:

   

• 2013/05/19: JapanTimes: Fukushima photos focus on what can't be seen - Photographer Tomoki Imai
• 2013/05/14: EneNews: Scientist: Nuclear material "continuing to come from the reactor area" at Fukushima Daiichi - First researchers to test within 5 km of plant (video)
• 2013/05/13: ICN: How Fukushima Contamination May Have Spread Via Waterways
  

  The Arctic melt continues to garner attention:

• 2013/05/17: Moyhu: Jaxa Arctic Sea Ice - active polar plot
• 2013/05/16: TFTJO: The Arctic is the real canary in the coal mine!
• 2013/05/16: RScribbler: Lake El'gygytgyn Study Shows Ice-Free Arctic At 400 Parts Per Million CO2
• 2013/05/15: PSinclair: The Weather Channel Covers DarkSnowProject
• 2013/05/15: Dosbat: 2013 PIOMAS Volume Minimum Projection
• 2013/05/15: ASI: When the Arctic was 8 °C warmer
• 2013/05/14: RobertScribbler: Sea Ice Volume Edging Back Into Record Low Territory
• 2013/05/14: Guardian(UK): Arctic expedition to study impact of climate change on plankton
• 2013/05/14: PSinclair: Past Climate is Window to the "Near Future" Arctic
• 2013/05/13: ASI: Party like it's 1989
  

  That Damoclean sword still hangs overhead:

• 2013/05/16: Eureka: Research into carbon storage in Arctic tundra reveals unexpected insight into ecosystem resiliency
• 2013/05/15: SciNews: Warming may not release Arctic carbon -- Element could stay locked in soil, 20-year study suggests
• 2013/05/14: RtS: Pandora's Permafrost Freezer
  

  As for the geopolitics of Arctic resources:

• 2013/05/17: Guardian(UK): Obama's Arctic strategy sets off a climate time bomb
  US National Strategy for the Arctic Region prioritises corporate 'economic opportunities' at the expense of everyone else
• 2013/05/15: RTCC: Arctic Council decision leaves region open for oil and gas drilling
  A pledge from Arctic states to "take action" to address the causes of climate change has been dismissed as meaningless by observers.
• 2013/05/15: CSW: U.S. Arctic strategy aims to exploit oil and gas for 'national security'
• 2013/05/15: al Jazeera: China angles for Arctic power as ice melts
  Arctic nations are meeting for a key summit and China is aiming to expand its influence in the resource rich area.
• 2013/05/15: ABC(Au): [Arctic Council] Diplomacy intensifies as new ocean opens in Arctic
• 2013/05/14: CBC: Aboriginal groups call for Arctic energy moratorium -- Statement urges halt to offshore drilling
• 2013/05/14: CBC: Polar meltdown top challenge for Arctic Council -- Environmental issues key as 8-country council meets in Sweden
• 2013/05/14: TP:JR: Glacial Change: Will The Arctic Council Meeting Be Just Another Missed Opportunity for Climate Action?
• 2013/05/14: CBC: 6 big challenges confronting the Arctic Council -- Environmental issues key when 8-country council meets in Sweden on Wednesday
• 2013/05/13: TStar: Canada to take helm of Arctic Council beginning Wednesday
• 2013/05/13: Eureka: As Canada takes Arctic Council helm, experts stress north's vulnerability to spills, emergencies
• 2013/05/10: ADN: White House outlines new policy for protecting, drilling in Arctic
  

  While in Antarctica:

• 2013/05/16: Grist: Antarctica's "bleeding glacier" is kind of terrifying
• 2013/05/15: UW: Tropical air circulation drives fall warming on Antarctic Peninsula
• 2013/05/15: CChallenge: NetNebraska presents the ANDRILL Project, Ross Ice Sheet, Antarctica
  

  The food crisis is ongoing:

• 2013/05/18: DD: Agriculture under assault as climate heats up...
• 2013/05/18: CDreams: House GOP: No Free Lunch for 200,000 Poor Kids
• 2013/05/16: BBC: Sugar beet 'mystery' condition halts 50% of some crops
  Farmers are counting the cost of "mystery" symptoms affecting sugar beet crops across parts of England.
• 2013/05/13: NYT: [Editorial] No Time to Cut Food Stamps
• USDA: SNAP Monthly Data
• 2013/05/13: CSM: Food stamp use declines in February
  [...]
  The latest data released by the Department of Agriculture indicated that in February, a notable 213,962 individual recipients were removed from the food stamps program with the current total still increasing 2.66% on a year-over-year basis. Individuals receiving food stamp benefits declined to 47.55 million which, as a ratio of the overall civilian non-institutional population, declined 1.66% since February 2012 to now stand at a whopping 19.42% of the population.
• 2013/05/13: RWER: 15 percent of the U.S. population is receiving food-stamp benefits
• 2013/05/13: RealEconomics: Climate change and agriculture
• 2013/05/13: DD: Drought, cold cripple U.S. winter wheat crop - Western Kansas considered a disaster area
• 2013/05/10: EnidNews: Drought, late freezes cut wheat estimates
  

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

• 2013/05/18: SimpleC: Ocean heat puts pressure on poorest fisheries
• 2013/05/17: Xinhuanet: Climate change alters global fishing landscape: study
  Rising global temperatures are driving fish species towards cooler, deeper waters, making warm-water species increasingly dominant in global fisheries catches, a new Canadian study has found.
• 2013/05/16: CSM: Blue crabs in Maine? Something fishy about global warming.
  Warming oceans are changing the mix of species in the world's fisheries as fish try to remain in waters in their preferred temperature range, according to a new study. The movement to keep pace with preferred temperatures shows up most starkly in the North Pacific Ocean and the northeastern Atlantic Ocean, as fish migrate out of the subtropics to beat the heat.
• 2013/05/16: EUO: EU ministers agree fisheries reform
• 2013/05/15: NatureNB: Europe inches towards fisheries reform with ministers' compromise
• 2013/05/15: EurActiv: EU ministers agree on overhaul of fishing rules
  European fisheries ministers have agreed to end decades of overfishing and ban throwing unwanted fish back into the sea to restore stocks to healthy levels by 2020
• 2013/05/15: BBC: The UK says it has secured new laws with the European Union over the controversial dumping of unwanted fish
  

  The conflict between biofuel and food persists:

• 2013/05/01: DeutscheWelle: Jean Ziegler: 'Biofuels a big cause of famine'
  

  So, are these land grabs Colonialism V2.0?

• 2013/05/13: Guardian(UK): Deutsche Bank and IFC accused of bankrolling Vietnam firms' land grabs
  

  Regarding the genetic modification of food:

• 2013/05/16: Resilience: The Corporate Enclosure of Seeds Intensifies
• 2013/05/14: RT: New cables 'expose' US govt lobbies worldwide for Monsanto, other GMO corps
• 2013/05/14: F&WW: [link to 2 meg pdf] U.S. Version - Biotech Ambassadors: How the U.S. State Department Promotes the Seed Industry's Global Agenda
• 2013/05/14: CDreams: Revealed: How US State Department 'Twists Arms' on Monsanto's Behalf
• 2013/05/14: CDreams: Monsanto and Other GM Firms are Winning in the US -- and Globally
• 2013/05/13: TruthOut: Mexico - Ground Zero in the Fight Against Monsanto for the Future of Maize
• 2013/05/13: Grist: Supreme Court hands a big win to Monsanto on GMO seeds
• 2013/05/13: NatureNB: US high court rules against soybean farmer in seed-patent case
• 2013/05/13: CDreams: Corporate Win: Supreme Court Says Monsanto Has 'Control Over Product of Life'
  Indiana farmer must pay agribusiness giant $84,000 for patent infringement
• 
  

  Regarding labelling GM food:

   

• 2013/05/15: CDreams: States Brace for Monsanto's 'Big Stick' in GMO Labeling Fight
  As New England states back new legislation, labeling supporters prepare for Big Biotech's legal assault
• 2013/05/13: Grist: Vermont House passes GMO-labeling law
  

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

• 2013/05/16: FAO: Contribution of forests to food security and nutrition needs more attention -- Conference on Forests and Nutrition calls for secure tenure for smallholders
• 2013/05/15: FAO: Slow Food and FAO join forces -- Three-year agreement to target smallholders, biodiversity
• 2013/05/15: Grist: U.N. to world: "Eat your insects."
• 2013/05/14: BPA: Developing Global Agricultural Small Scale and Urban Food Production Systems
• 2013/05/14: BBC: UN urges people to eat insects to fight world hunger
• 2013/05/14: al Jazeera: UN says eating insects could fight hunger
  Report says insects, which contain lots of protein and minerals, are environment-friendly and could help fight obesity.
• 2013/05/13: FAO: Forest products critical to fight hunger - including insects -- New study highlights role of insects for food and feed consumption
• 2013/05/13: NBF: United Nations says bugs are good edible protein and part food and feed security but they know saying people should be eating bugs sounds bad
• 2013/05/13: CBC: Why not eat more insects, UN asks
  Edible insects offer high-quality protein and nutrients when compared with meat and fish, particularly for undernourished children, UN agriculture agency says
• 2013/05/13: UN: The latest buzz: eating insects can help tackle food insecurity, says FAO
• 2013/05/13: Eureka: Educating women may improve food security in Africa
• 2013/05/12: BPA: The Union of Concerned Scientists Vision for U.S. Agriculture
• 2013/05/06: WHOI:Oceanus: Seafood Safety and Policy -- What's safe to eat? How can we know?
  

  Cyclone Mahasen stormed up the Bay of Bengal and zapped Burma/Myanmar and Bangladesh:

• 2013/05/19: MODIS: Tropical Cyclone Mahasen (01B) in the Bay of Bengal [on May 14th]
• 2013/05/17: Guardian(UK): Cyclone Mahasen: how Burma and Bangladesh prepared - in [15] pictures
• 2013/05/17: Guardian(UK): Cyclone Mahasen: storm eases as it reaches Bangladesh coast
• 2013/05/17: Guardian(UK): Cyclone Mahasen strikes Bangladeshi coast
• 2013/05/17: Eureka: NASA sees Cyclone Mahasen hit Bangladesh
• 2013/05/16: ABC(Au): Rohingya Muslims reluctant to leave, despite cyclone danger
  Coastal parts of India, Bangladesh and Myanmar are bracing for a life threatening cyclone that's bearing down on the Bay of Bengal. The United Nations says eight million people are at risk and mass evacuations have been ordered in low lying areas. But in Myanmar, some Rohingya Muslims are refusing to leave having been displaced by ethnic violence, they're fearful that they may not be allowed back into the refugee camps.
• 2013/05/16: ABC(Au): Deadly cyclone [Mahasen] batters Bangladesh
• 2013/05/16: CNN: Cyclone Mahasen lashes Bangladesh coast with heavy rain
  4 dead in Tropical Cyclone Mahasen - A U.N. agency has warned that millions of people could be in danger - There are concerns about the safety of Muslims living in low-lying camps in Myanmar
• 2013/05/16: CBC: Minority group [Rohingya] in Burma ignores evacuation as cyclone looms
  Cyclone Mahasen could threaten more than 8 million people in 3 countries
• 2013/05/15: BBC: Cyclone Mahasen is bearing down on the Bay of Bengal, with thousands of people ordered to evacuate low-lying areas in Bangladesh and Burma
• 2013/05/15: ABC(Au): Cyclone [Mahasen] threatens Myanmar, Bangladesh and India
  Hundreds of thousands of people in Bangladesh and Myanmar have been ordered to evacuate as a cyclone bears down on coastal areas home to flood-prone refugee camps for victims of sectarian unrest. The United Nations has warned that more than eight million people could be at risk from Cyclone Mahasen, which is expected to make landfall on Thursday or Friday somewhere near the border between the two countries.
• 2013/05/15: al Jazeera: Mass evacuation as cyclone nears Bangladesh
  Hundreds of thousands leave for safety in Bangladesh and Myanmar as Mahasen packs gusts of 100 kilometres an hour.
• 2013/05/15: Wunderground: Mahasen not Strengthening; Eastern Pacific's First Tropical Depression Forming
• 2013/05/15: CNN: Bangladesh, Myanmar prepare for arrival of Cyclone Mahasen
  Tropical Cyclone Mahasen is moving toward the Bangladesh coast - A U.N. agency warns that millions of people could be in danger - The storm is expected to be weaker than hurricane strength when it reaches land - There are concerns about the safety of Muslims living in low-lying camps in Myanmar
• 2013/05/15: al Jazeera: Weakening Cyclone Mahasen heads to Bangladesh
  UN says storm expected to make landfall in Chittagong, sparing Myanmar's restive Rakhine state from its full fury.
• 2013/05/14: Wunderground: Little Change to Tropical Storm Mahasen; First Eastern Pacific Tropical Disturbance
• 2013/05/14: IndiaTimes: Cyclone 'Mahasen' hits Sri Lanka, seven killed
• 2013/05/14: BBC: Rohingya boat sinks off west Burma
  A boat carrying Rohingya Muslims has capsized off western Burma, aid agencies say. The boat, said to be carrying up to 200 passengers, was evacuating people ahead of Cyclone Mahasen, which is expected to hit the area later in the week.
• 2013/05/13: al Jazeera: A tiger roars in the Bay of Bengal
  A tropical cyclone [Mahasen] is expected to bring life-threatening weather to Bangladesh and Myanmar.
• 2013/05/13: Wunderground: Bay of Bengal Tropical Storm Mahasen remains a dangerous threat
• 2013/05/13: NASA: NASA Sees a Strengthening Tropical Cyclone Mahasen
  

  Tropical Storm 01E Alvin, the first of the season in the Eastern Pacific, spun up and died quickly:

• 2013/05/17: Eureka: Satellite sees Tropical Storm Alvin's life end quickly
• 2013/05/15: NASA: Tropical Cyclone 01E -- NASA Sees First Eastern Pacific Tropical Depression to Open Season
  

  While elsewhere in the hurricane wars:

• 2013/05/13: NASA: NASA Sees the Remnants of Tropical Cyclone Jamala Fading
  

  This week in notable weather:

• 2013/05/18: al Jazeera: Late snow hits Iberian Peninsula
  Summer may be around the corner, but wintry weather has hit parts of Spain and Portugal.
• 2013/05/17: al Jazeera: Pictures of the storms -- Cyclone Mahasen sweeps through the Bay of Bengal as twisters hit Tornado Alley in the United States
• 2013/05/16: Grist: Deadly storms in Texas produce grapefruit-sized hail
  

  This week in the New Normal -- extreme weather:

• 2013/05/15: Grist: A 70-degree weather swing had South Dakotans change from parkas to bikinis in one day
• 2013/05/15: Wunderground: Extreme Weather Whiplash: 106° in Iowa on the Heels of Record May Snows
• 2013/05/15: al Jazeera: Springing temperatures -- From frost to heat, in the blink of an eye
  

  Rossby Waves? Blocking Patterns? Arctic Oscillation? What is the Arctic melt doing to our weather?

• 2013/05/16: TheConversation: How cold has it really been in the Northern Hemisphere?
  

  Meanwhile on the GHG front:

• 2013/05/17: TheConversation: How is atmospheric CO2 measured in the Southern Hemisphere?
• 2013/05/15: UCSB: UC Santa Barbara Scientist Studies Methane Levels in Cross-Continent Drive
  

  As for the temperature record:

• 2013/05/17: Wunderground: U.S. has its 23rd coolest April; 16 tornadoes confirmed from Texas outbreak
• 2013/05/15: TP:JR: Study Finds Warming In Central China Far Greater Than Most Climate Models Indicated
• 2013/05/14: DD: Graph of the Day: Continental scale reconstructions of surface temperature for the past two millennia [PAGES2k]
• 2013/05/14: Moyhu: April GISS Temp down by 0.08°C
  

  Aerosols are making their presence felt:

• 2013/05/17: MODIS: Dust plumes off Namibia [on May 5]
• 2013/05/15: IOTD: Dust Plumes off Argentina [on May 12th]
• 2013/05/13: Xinhuanet: Floating dust hits Yinchuan, NW China
  

  While in the paleoclimate:

• 2013/05/17: Eureka: New discovery of ancient diet shatters conventional ideas of how agriculture emerged
• 2013/05/15: Eureka: Clam fossils divulge secrets of ecologic stability
  

  In the attribution debate:

• 2013/05/14: ICN: Both Sides in Climate War Blamed for Cherry-Picking Attribution Research
  Experts say scientists' efforts to determine whether weather events are caused by global warming is being mishandled by both sides of the climate divide.
• 
  

  Regarding Climate Sensitivity:

   

• 2013/05/16: JEB: Yet more sensitivity
• 2013/05/13: NYT: A Change in Temperature
  Since 1896, scientists have been trying to answer a deceptively simple question: What will happen to the temperature of the earth if the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere doubles?
• 
  

  How's the State of the Oceans?

   

• 2013/05/13: MSU Today: Seabird bones reveal changes in open-ocean food chain
  

  And the State of the Biosphere?

• 2013/05/14: TreeHugger: Not too late to reverse dramatic declines in biodiversity
  

  What's new on the extinction front?

• 2013/05/18: SciAm:EC: Deadly Snakes, Ugly Critters, Leonardo DiCaprio and Other Links from the Brink
• 2013/05/18: IndiaTimes: Malabar civet may have become extinct
• 2013/05/17: NatureN: Pregnancy test helped to bring frog-killing fungus to the US
  Imported African animals released into the wild spread chytridiomycosis.
• 2013/05/17: KSJT: What is killing the hooded grebe of Patagonia?
• 2013/05/17: TheConversation: Where did the frog pandemic come from?
• 2013/05/17: UN: Eight countries submit action plans to combat illegal trade in elephant ivory - UN
• 2013/05/17: USGS:B: Front Row Seats to Climate Change
  Increasingly erratic rainfall patterns can lead to declines in southeastern frog and salamander populations, but protecting ponds can improve their plight
• 2013/05/16: BBC: Indian tigers face threat 'due to lack of genetic diversity'
  India's tigers are facing extinction owing to a collapse in the variety of their mating partners, say Cardiff University researchers. They found that 93% of DNA variants found in tigers shot the period of the British Raj were not present in tigers today Prof Mike Bruford said the genetic diversity needed for the species to survive had been "lost dramatically". There are fewer than 2,000 tigers left worldwide, 60% in India.
• 2013/05/15: SciNow: Rising Numbers May Not Be Enough to Save Tigers and Kiwis
• 2013/05/15: SciAm:RP: New Zealand's Little Spotted Kiwi Birds are in More Trouble than We Thought
• 2013/05/15: BBC: World's most distinct mammals and amphibians mapped
  Scientists have developed the first map of the world's most unique and most endangered mammals and amphibians.
• 2013/05/14: NOAA:AF: NOAA releases Steller sea lion protection measures for public comment
• 2013/05/13: NakedCapitalism: Global Warming: Halfway to a Mass Extinction Event?
• 2013/05/13: Eureka: Saving the parrots: Texas A&M team sequences genome of endangered macaw birds
• 2013/05/13: ABC(Au): Climate action could curb biodiversity loss
• 2013/05/13: TreeHugger: Big Data will provide accurate analysis of wind/wildlife impacts
  

  The bees and Colony Collapse Disorder are a constant concern:

• 2013/05/14: P3: Italian Pesticide Ban Improves Bee Colony Health
• 2013/05/14: CBC: Another bad year for New Brunswick honey bees
  On average, beekeepers saw 25 per cent bee die-off among colonies
• 
  

  What's up with volcanoes this week?

   

• 2013/05/15: CNN: Alaska [Pavlof] volcano spews ash 20,000 feet
  National Weather Service issues an advisory for areas around the volcanoes - An observatory reports ash plumes 20,000 feet above sea level over the Pavlof Volcano - That and another Alaska volcano remain on second highest alert status - An expert notes volcanic eruptions over Alaska can seriously affect air travel
• 
  

  Meanwhile in near earth orbit, the DSCOVR mission is showing ssigns of life:

   

• 2013/05/19: ERabett: Don't Worry, Be Happy
• EarthNet: DSCOVR (Deep Space Climate Observatory) [aka Triana]
• Wiki: [DSCOVR aka Triana] Deep Space Climate Observatory
  

  More GW impacts are being seen:

• 2013/05/18: P3: Migratory Species Vulnerable to Five Key Threats
• 2013/05/17: KSJT: Nature news's Rick Lovett gets it first. Global warming tipping the Earth's axis. North Pole 'galloping' toward Greenland's melting icecap.
• 2013/05/17: ABC(Au): Predictions Australia will be hardest hit by climate change
• 2013/05/16: Eureka: Climate change may have little impact on tropical lizards -- Dartmouth study contradicts predictions of widespread extinction
• 2013/05/15: PewEnv: Warming Oceans Are Reshaping Fisheries -- Scientists Detect Global Shift in Species
• 2013/05/15: Eureka: 'Fish thermometer' reveals long-standing, global impact of climate change
• 2013/05/15: NatureN: Polar wander linked to climate change -- Melting ice in Greenland may have helped to shift the location of the North Pole
• 2013/05/16: UKISS: fish on the move
• 2013/05/16: TP:JR: U.S. Geological Survey: Warmer Springs Causing Loss Of Snow Cover Throughout The Rocky Mountains
• 2013/05/13: USGS: Warmer Springs Causing Loss of Snow Cover throughout the Rocky Mountains
• 2013/05/13: DD: Climate change will make hundreds of millions homeless...
• 2013/05/13: Grist: Lots of people, animals, and plants will be homeless thanks to climate change
  

  And then there are the world's forests:

• 2013/05/16: ABC(Au): Seagrass and mangrove capturing carbon
  When you think of a natural system that's well known for absorbing carbon, the Amazon Basin springs to mind. However, scientists are now uncovering the vital role that coastal habitats are playing. Seagrasses and mangroves can capture carbon up to 40 times faster than forests and store it in the seabed for thousands of years.
• 2013/05/16: ABC(Au): Hunter Water planting trees to offset emissions
  One of the largest tree planting projects ever seen in the Hunter region is nearing completion. Hunter Water has spent 18 months planting 300,000 trees around Grahamstown and Chichester Dams.
• 2013/05/17: BBC: UK tree expert issues 'unknown' pest threat warning
• 2013/05/16: P3: Ecuador opening its rainforest to oil drilling despite bitter past experience
• 2013/05/16: TreeHugger: Fewer trees means less rain, decreased hydropower
• 2013/05/15: SciNow: Study of Controversial [Belo Monte] Dam Reveals Hidden Dependence on Rainforest
• 2013/05/15: CChallenge: The changing face of our forests - bark beetle and global warming
• 2013/05/14: BBC: Rainforest plays critical role in hydropower generation
  Deforestation in the Amazon region could significantly reduce the amount of electricity produced from hydropower, says a new study. Scientists say the rainforest is critical in generating the streams and rivers that ultimately turn turbines.
• 2013/05/13: DD: Amazon rainforest on path to lose 65 percent of biomass by 2060 - study
  

  Climate refugees are becoming an issue:

• 2013/05/16: RScribbler: Climate Change Renders 30 Million Homeless in 2012
• 2013/05/14: DD: America's first climate refugees: Alaska native villages threatened with coastal erosion - 'It's real, global warming, it's real'
• 2013/05/15: Guardian(UK): America's Climate Refugees -- "It's happening now... The village is sinking"
• 2013/05/15: Guardian(UK): America's Climate Refugees -- How climate change is stealing the ground from beneath Alaskans' feet
• 2013/05/14: RTCC: USA suffers severe climate induced migration
  Over 30 million people lost their homes due to weather and climate induced disasters in 2012, with the USA surprisingly suffering more than Bangladesh.
• 2013/05/13: QuarkSoup: America's First Climate Refugees
• 2013/05/13: DeSmogBlog: America's First Climate Refugees
• 2013/05/17: Guardian(UK): Climate refugees? Where's the dignity in that?
• 2013/05/13: Guardian(UK): Join the debate: America's first climate refugees
• 2013/05/13: Guardian(UK): America's first climate refugees
  Newtok, Alaska is losing ground to the sea at a dangerous rate and for its residents, exile is inevitable.
• 
  

  Emerging diseases accompany ecological change:

   

• 2013/05/17: DD: Climate change brings disease threat for polar bears...
• 2013/05/13: NBC:Vitals: 2012 was deadliest year for West Nile in US, CDC says
  West Nile virus killed 286 people in the United States last year, making it the deadliest year yet for the virus, the federal government reported on Monday.
• 
  

  Changes in natural cycles are showing up:

   

• 2013/05/17: BBC: UK's rare spring butterflies make a late show
  The UK's spring butterflies are being welcomed by enthusiasts, but weeks later than they usually arrive.
• 2013/05/15: USGS: Spring 2012 Earliest on Record
  

  On the tornado front:

• 2013/05/17: WSWS: Tornadoes rip through northern Texas
• 2013/05/17: CBC: Habitat for Humanity homes destroyed in Texas twisters -- 16 tornadoes killed 6 and injured dozens
• 2013/05/16: al Jazeera: Texas tornado tragedy -- Violent spring storms have left at least half a dozen people dead after sweeping through the Southern Plains of the US
• 2013/05/16: Wunderground: EF-4 tornado kills 6 in Texas; Mahasen makes landfall in Bangladesh, killing 10
• 2013/05/16: BBC: Deadly tornado strikes Texas town of Granbury
  A tornado has ripped through a town in the US state of Texas, resulting in six deaths, officials say.
• 2013/05/15: CBC: Texas tornado outbreak kills at least 6 -- As many as 100 people injured in state's north
• 2013/05/16: ABC(Au): Deadly tornadoes hit northern Texas
• 2013/05/16: CNN: Suspected tornadoes hit Texas; 6 dead, dozens injured
• 2013/05/15: al Jazeera: Tornado slams Hungary
  The storm is caught on camera as it slams into homes in the northeast of the country.
• 
  

  As for heatwaves and wild fires:

   

• 2013/05/14: CBC: Alberta wildfire evacuees hoping weather will bring relief -- Central Alberta towns of Nordegg and Lodgepole remain evacuated
• 2013/05/13: CBC: Evacuations ordered as B.C. wildfire grows
• 2013/05/13: NASA: NASA Sees Controlled Fires in Southern Australia
• 2013/05/13: CBC: Wildfires force evacuations in Alberta, B.C.
  Evacuations affect Nordegg and Lodgepole in Alberta and rural area near Ashcroft, B.C.
• 2013/05/12: CBC: Evacuation notices issued for Nordegg, Lodgepole
  Wildfires raging out of control have forced people in two Alberta communities out of their homes Sunday evening. After spending three days on a one-hour evacuation notice, residents of Nordegg have been told to evacuate immediately.
• 
  

  Corals are a bellwether of the ocean's health:

   

• 2013/05/14: Eureka: Corals turn to algae for stored food when times get tough
• 2013/05/13: ABC(Au): Reef saving efforts turn to Caribbean
  University of Queensland researchers have been studying other coral systems to see how damage to the Great Barrier Reef can be averted. Researchers have studied climate modelling and data on reefs in the Caribbean.
• 
  

  Glaciers are melting:

   

• 2013/05/18: CCurrents: Himalayas Among The Biggest Ice Losers
• 2013/05/17: Grist: Take a photo of a glacier -- it'll last longer
• 2013/05/17: ABC(Au): Glacier melt causes third of sea-level rise
• 2013/05/16: CCentral: Smaller Glaciers Boost Sea Level as Much as the Giants
• 2013/05/16: Eureka: World's biggest ice sheets likely more stable than previously believed
• 2013/05/15: RTCC: Scientists report glacial retreat in Mount Everest region
• 2013/05/15: CCurrents: Extensive Glacial Retreat In Mount Everest While World Enters Danger Zone
• 2013/05/15: FaGP: Lake Cachet 2 Jökulhlaup Colonia Glacier, Chile
• 2013/05/15: TDC: Snowpack, ice cover shrinking on Rocky Mountains, Everest
• 2013/05/14: DD: Scientists find extensive glacial retreat in Mount Everest region - Glaciers have shrunk by 13 percent in the last 50 years and the snowline has shifted upward by 180 meters
  

  Sea levels are rising:

• 2013/05/17: DD: With rising seas, America's birthplace [Jamestown, Va] could disappear...
• 2013/05/16: NASA: NASA Satellite Data Help Pinpoint Glaciers' Role in Sea Level Rise
• 2013/05/16: NASA: NASA Satellite Data Helps Pinpoint Glaciers' Role in Sea Level Rise
• 2013/05/16: Eureka: Sea level: One-third of its rise comes from melting mountain glaciers
• 2013/05/16: SciNews: Glacier melt causes large fraction of sea level rise
• 2013/05/14: KSJT: Sea level rise forecast special: pick the one y'like. Media run a cafeteria on latest (and hardly final) estimate
• 2013/03/27: Ice2Sea: Estimating the future contribution of continental ice to sea-level rise -- Measuring Current Change
• 2013/05/14: SciNow: ScienceShot: The Big Unknown in Sea-Level Rise
• 2013/05/15: BBC: Sea levels are rising - but how quickly?
  Scientists are warning that the level of the sea may rise by slightly more than previously forecast - but they also say that the very worst predictions look much less likely. Confused? If so, you're not alone.
• 2013/05/14: BBC: 'Best estimate' for impact of melting ice on sea level rise
  Researchers have published their most advanced calculation for the likely impact of melting ice on global sea levels. The EU funded team say the ice sheets and glaciers could add 36.8 centimetres to the oceans by 2100.
• 2013/05/14: Guardian(UK): Floods could 'overwhelm Thames Barrier by end of century'
• 2013/05/14: TreeHugger: Sea levels could rise 27 inches by 2100 because of melting ice
  

  As for hydrological cycle disruptions [floods & droughts]:

• 2013/05/18: al Jazeera: Several killed in China rainstorms
  Landslides brought on by heavy rains along the southern coast cause 55 deaths and affect more than a million people.
• 2013/05/18: BBC: Guangdong hit as deadly floods sweep southern China
  Flooding and landslides across nine southern Chinese provinces have killed more than 50 people and left 14 missing, officials say. Guangdong was hardest hit, reporting 36 deaths after days of heavy rain, said the Ministry of Civil Affairs. Six people had died in Jiangxi, added the ministry.
• 2013/05/17: Guardian(UK): Flooding threatens one in four London properties
  Almost £250bn worth of housing in capital at risk as flood defence budget cuts threaten homes and insurance policies across UK
• 2013/05/17: IndiaTimes: 53 killed in heavy rains in China
• 2013/05/15: ABC(Au): Seven killed in Sri Lanka mudslides, floods
• 2013/05/15: ABC(Au): UNICEF provides drought aid to Marshall Islands
  

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

• 2013/05/14: RTCC: NASA moon experiment uncovers 'green steel'
  Scientists at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) say they have discovered a way to make steel without emitting carbon dioxide
• 
  

  Can cities take up the slack when nations shirk their responsibilities?

   

• 2013/05/17: RTCC: Time to adapt to climate change, say world's biggest cities
  

  Consider transportation & GHG production:

• 2013/05/17: BBC: European car sales in first rise for 18 months
  New car sales across Europe rose in April for the first time in 18 months, helped by strong demand in the UK and by the early Easter break. Registrations rose 1.8% to 1.08 million in April, compared with a year ago.
• 2013/05/16: NakedCapitalism: Nathan Tankus: The Transit Coup -- How Robber Barons got New York City to Bail Out Their Subway Lines.
• 2013/05/15: GreenGrok: Statistically Speaking: U.S. Shipping by the Numbers
• 2013/05/14: TreeHugger: Amtrak replaces 30-year old locomotives with high-efficiency 8,600 hp electric models
• 2013/05/13: Reuters: U.N. faces uphill battle to reduce global airline emissions
  Little progress has been made in a United Nations' effort to craft an agreement to lower greenhouse gas emissions from international air travel, raising doubts that its civil aviation body can deliver a final resolution by a September target date, several government officials said on Monday.
• 
  

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

   

• 2013/05/15: TreeHugger: LEED Bashing: Plastic People trying to slip "Trojan Horse" amendments to gut LEED certification
• 2013/05/15: Eureka: New report identifies strategies to achieve net-zero energy homes
  

  Large scale geo-engineering keeps popping up:

• 2013/05/15: Springer:CC: (ab$) Public engagement on solar radiation management and why it needs to happen now by Wylie A. Carr et al.
• 2013/05/10: WOL:GRL: (ab$) Tropical coral reef habitat in a geoengineered, high-CO2 world by E. Couce et al.
• 2013/05/18: GEP: New London Protocol Proposal to Regulate Marine Geoengineering
• 2013/05/16: CDreams: Australia Pushes for Far-Reaching Ban on Geoengineering Scheme 'Ocean Fertilization'
• 2013/05/16: SciAm: 400 PPM: Can Artificial Trees Help Pull CO2 from the Air?
  Although capture technologies show promise, pulling CO2 out of the air is unlikely to reduce greenhouse gas concentrations soon
• 2013/05/15: ENN: Should We Change the Climate If We Could?
• 2013/05/14: eSci: Cooling ocean temperature could buy more time for coral reefs
• 2013/05/15: TreeHugger: Should we geoengineer the climate? We already are.
• 2013/05/14: GOC: A Commentary on the Oxford Principles (Opinion Article)
• 2013/05/16: SMH: Australia seeks to limit ocean 'geoengineering'
  Australia has launched a bid to stop the commercial use of a controversial ''geoengineering'' technique that involves dumping iron into the ocean in a bid to counter the effects of man-made climate change. The practice - known as ocean fertilisation - is proposed as a way to increase carbon dioxide absorption in the ocean and of boosting fish stocks. It rose to prominence last year when a US entrepreneur released 100 tonnes of iron sulphate into Canadian waters in a bid to increase salmon numbers for an indigenous village. In response, Australia has joined South Korea and Nigeria in attempting to ban commercial ocean geoengineering projects by moving a legally binding amendment to the London Protocol - an international treaty countering dumping-related ocean pollution. But the draft amendment would still allow countries to grant permits for legitimate scientific ocean fertilisation research. The amendment will be discussed at a meeting in October.
• 2013/05/13: Slate: Cutting Carbon Dioxide Isn't Enough
  We have to invest in technology to remove the CO2 already in the atmosphere.
• 2013/05/14: Grist: Geoengineering research: Never or now?
• 2013/05/14: MPG: Sulfate aerosols cool climate less than assumed
  Life span of cloud-forming sulfate particles in the air is shorter than assumed due to a sulfur dioxide oxidation pathway which has been neglected in climate models so far
• 
  

  What's new in conservation?

   

• 2013/05/14: Xinhuanet: Birds reveal cost of climate change
  The cost of saving Australia's birds from climate change is estimated at 18.7 million U.S. dollars a year, according to a report released Tuesday. The study looks at Australian birds that are likely to face strong challenges or extinction from climate change, and recommends actions to secure vulnerable species for the future. "Climate change will affect a very wide range of Australian birds, and for the first time we are beginning to understand which ones are most likely to be at risk," said Glenn Ehmke, senior researcher at BirdLife Australia and co-author of the report.
• 2013/05/12: P3: So Much Terrible Serendipity
  

  What's new in restoration?

• 2013/05/13: TreeHugger: Former landfill transformed into a nature reserve in the UK
  

  Meanwhile in the journals:

• 2013/05/14: PNAS: (ab$) Warming-induced upslope advance of subalpine forest is severely limited by geomorphic processes by Marc Macias-Fauria & Edward A. Johnson
• 2013/05/14: PNAS: (ab$) A model comparison approach shows stronger support for economic models of fertility decline by Mary K. Shenk et al.
• 2013/05/14: PNAS: (ab$) Ash from the Toba supereruption in Lake Malawi shows no volcanic winter in East Africa at 75 ka by Christine S. Lane et al.
• 2013/05/14: PNAS: (abs) Genome-wide comparative diversity uncovers multiple targets of selection for improvement in hexaploid wheat landraces and cultivars by Colin R. Cavanagh et al.
• 2013/05/14: PNAS: (ab$) Viscosity of (alpha)-pinene secondary organic material and implications for particle growth and reactivity by Lindsay Renbaum-Wolff et al.
• 2013/05/14: PNAS: (ab$) Degassing of reduced carbon from planetary basalts by Diane T. Wetzel et al.
• 2013/05/14: PNAS: (ab$) Used planet: A global history by Erle C. Ellis et al.
• 2013/05/14: PNAS: (letter$) Limits to upward movement of subalpine forests in a warming climate by Daniel C. Donato
• 2013/05/15: Nature: (ab$) Long-term warming restructures Arctic tundra without changing net soil carbon storage by Seeta A. Sistla et al.
• 2013/05/15: ERL: Quantifying the consensus on anthropogenic global warming in the scientific literature by John Cook et al.
• 2013/05/10: WOL:GRL: (ab$) Tropical coral reef habitat in a geoengineered, high-CO2 world by E. Couce et al.
• 2013/05/15: Springer:CC: (ab$) Public engagement on solar radiation management and why it needs to happen now by Wylie A. Carr et al.
• 2013/05/15: ACP: Aerosol mixing state, hygroscopic growth and cloud activation efficiency during MIRAGE 2006 by S. Lance et al.
• 2013/05/14: ACP: The mass and number size distributions of black carbon aerosol over Europe by C. L. Reddington et al.
• 2013/05/13: ACP: Continuous monitoring of summer surface water vapor isotopic composition above the Greenland Ice Sheet by H. C. Steen-Larsen et al.
• 2013/05/15: ACPD: Reconstruction of Northern Hemisphere 1950-2010 atmospheric non-methane hydrocarbons by D. Helmig et al.
• 2013/05/14: ACPD: Comparison of ensemble Kalman filter and variational approaches for CO2 data assimilation by A. Chatterjee & A. M. Michalak
• 2013/05/15: Nature: (ab$) Signature of ocean warming in global fisheries catch by William W. L. Cheung et al.
• 2013/05/14: OS: Springtime contribution of dinitrogen fixation to primary production across the Mediterranean Sea by E. Rahav et al.
• 2013/05/14: TC: Snow cover thickness estimation using radial basis function networks by E. Binaghi et al.
• 2013/05/14: TC: Satellite-derived volume loss rates and glacier speeds for the Cordillera Darwin Icefield, Chile by A. K. Melkonian et al.
• 2013/05/17: BG: A comprehensive benchmarking system for evaluating global vegetation models by D. I. Kelley et al.
• 2013/05/16: BG: Sulphur compounds, methane, and phytoplankton: interactions along a north-south transit in the western Pacific Ocean by C. Zindler et al.
• 2013/05/15: BG: Effect of CO2 enrichment on bacterial metabolism in an Arctic fjord by C. Motegi et al.
• 2013/05/13: BG: Effects of soil temperature and moisture on methane uptake and nitrous oxide emissions across three different ecosystem types by G. J. Luo et al.
• 2013/05/13: BG: Winter greenhouse gas fluxes (CO2, CH4 and N2O) from a subalpine grassland by L. Merbold et al.
• 2013/05/17: BGD: The full greenhouse gases budget of Africa: synthesis, uncertainties and vulnerabilities by R. Valentini et al.
• 2013/05/17: BGD: Physiological compensation for environmental acidification is limited in the deep-sea urchin Strongylocentrotus fragilis by J. R. Taylor et al.
• 2013/05/16: BGD: Ocean acidification from 1997 to 2011 in the subarctic western North Pacific Ocean by M. Wakita et al.
• 2013/05/15: BGD: Distribution of phytoplankton functional types in high-nitrate low-chlorophyll waters in a new diagnostic ecological indicator model by A. P. Palacz et al.
• 2013/05/14: BGD: Fertilization success of an arctic sea urchin species, Strongylocentrotus droebachiensis (O. F. Müller, 1776) under CO2-induced ocean acidification by D. Bögner et al.
• 2013/05/14: BGD: Catchment-scale carbon exports across a subarctic landscape gradient by R. Giesler et al.
• 2013/05/17: CP: An assessment of particle filtering methods and nudging for climate state reconstructions by S. Dubinkina & H. Goosse
• 2013/05/16: CP: Historical and idealized climate model experiments: an intercomparison of Earth system models of intermediate complexity by M. Eby et al.
• 2013/05/16: CP: Climate of the last millennium: ensemble consistency of simulations and reconstructions by O. Bothe et al.
• 2013/05/15: CP: Tracking atmospheric and riverine terrigenous supplies variability during the last glacial and the Holocene in central Mediterranean by V. Bout-Roumazeilles et al.
• 2013/05/17: CPD: Pre-LGM Northern Hemisphere paleo-ice sheet topography by J. Kleman et al.
• 2013/05/13: CPD: High-resolution glacial and deglacial record of atmospheric methane by continuous-flow and laser spectrometer analysis along the NEEM ice core by J. Chappellaz et al.
• 2013/05/13: CPD: Biogeochemical properties and diagenetic changes during the past 3.6 Ma recorded by FTIR spectroscopy in the sediment record of Lake El'gygytgyn, Far East Russian Arctic by C. Meyer-Jacob et al.
• 2013/05/13: CPD: A new Himalayan ice core CH4 record: possible hints on the preindustrial latitudinal gradient by S. Hou et al.
• 2013/05/17: Science: (ab$) Impact of Shale Gas Development on Regional Water Quality by R. D. Vidic et al.
• 2013/05/17: Science: (ab$) A Reconciled Estimate of Glacier Contributions to Sea Level Rise: 2003 to 2009 by Alex S. Gardner et al.
• 2013/05/16: ESDD: Critical impacts of global warming on land ecosystems by S. Ostberg et al.
• 2013/05/17: ACP: Evaluation of seasonal atmosphere-biosphere exchange estimations with TCCON measurements by J. Messerschmidt et al.
• 2013/05/17: ACPD: Cloud and boundary layer interactions over the Arctic sea-ice in late summer by M. D. Shupe et al.
• 2013/05/17: ACPD: Long term in-situ observations of biomass burning aerosol at a high altitude station in Venezuela - sources, impacts and inter annual variability by T. Hamburger et al.
• 2013/05/17: GMD: A model for global biomass burning in preindustrial time: LPJ-LMfire (v1.0) by M. Pfeiffer et al.
• 2013/05/15: GMD: Present state of global wetland extent and wetland methane modelling: methodology of a model inter-comparison project (WETCHIMP) by R. Wania et al.
• 2013/05/14: GMDD: The Met Office Unified Model Global Atmosphere 4.0 and JULES Global Land 4.0 configurations by D. N. Walters et al.
• 2013/05/14: OS: Recirculation in the Fram Strait and transports of water in and north of the Fram Strait derived from CTD data by M. Marnela et al.
• 2013/05/16: TC: Radio-frequency probes of Antarctic ice at South Pole by D. Besson & I. Kravchenko
• 2013/05/17: TCD: Diffusive equilibration of N2, O2 and CO2 mixing ratios in a 1.5 million years old ice core by B. Bereiter et al.
• 2013/05/15: TCD: Spatial-temporal dynamics of chemical composition of surface snow in East Antarctic along the transect Station Progress-Station Vostok by T. V. Khodzher et al.
  

  And other significant documents:

• 2013/05/14: F&WW: [link to 2 meg pdf] U.S. Version - Biotech Ambassadors: How the U.S. State Department Promotes the Seed Industry's Global Agenda
• 2013/05/09: UCDavis: [link to 259k pdf] Evaluating BCG's Report: Understanding the Impacts of AB32
  

  As for miscellaneous science:

• 2013/05/17: ABC(Au): Journal impact factor 'distorts science'
• 2013/05/16: Eureka: Natural 'keystone molecules' punch over their weight in ecosystems
• 2013/05/16: SciNow: Atlantic Coast Warping Like a 'Magic Carpet'
• 2013/05/16: IsaacHeld: 37. Tropical rainfall and inter-hemispheric energy transport
• 2013/05/16: ScienceInsider: In 'Insurrection,' Scientists, Editors Call for Abandoning Journal Impact Factors
• 2013/05/16: NatureN: Islamic nations are 'failing on R&D links and funding'
  Lack of investment threatens science in Organisation of Islamic Cooperation countries.
• 2013/05/15: Eureka: Innovation in spectroscopy could improve greenhouse gas detection
• 2013/05/15: SciAm:TCW: Global warming slowdown retrospectively "predicted"
• 2013/05/14: Guardian(UK): Oxford University won't take funding from tobacco companies. But Shell's OK
• 2013/05/13: ScienceInsider: Russian Scientists Decry New International Funding Rules
  

  What's new in models?

• 2013/05/15: Eureka: European winter weather harder to forecast in certain years
  

  What developments in the ongoing struggle for Open Science?

• Scholarly Open Access
• 2013/04/30: SOA: The Onslaught of Questionable Open-Access Journals Persists Unabated
• 2012/12/06: SOA: Beall's List of Predatory Publishers 2013
• 2013/05/15: CHE: Publisher Threatens to Sue Blogger for $1-Billion
• 2013/05/15: NPR: Publisher Threatens Librarian With $1 Billion Lawsuit
• 2013/05/15: UCSUSA:B: Towards Open Access to Government Science: The Obama Administration Takes Some Important Steps
  

  Regarding Mann:

• 2013/05/14: CCP: Michael Mann: Why the Attorney General Matters in Virginia
• 2013/05/13: GLaden: Climate Scientist Mann on 400 ppm CO2 [video]
• 2013/05/13: TFTJO: Michael Mann on the role of scientists in communicating the implications of climate change
  

  Regarding Hansen:

• 2013/05/18: CCP: James Hansen: accelerating Greenland ice loss will cause North Atlantic cooling, worse storms
• 2013/05/18: PSinclair: "I Should Correct What you Just Said". Hansen On Global Surface Temps
• 2013/05/17: Guardian(UK): Global warming has not stalled, insists world's best-known climate scientist
  Prof James Hansen warns public not to be fooled by 'diversionary tactic' from deniers
• 2013/05/17: OilChange: Tar Sands Makes Climate Change "Unsolvable"
• 2013/05/15: EurActiv: Ex-NASA scientist says reindustrialising with fossil fuels makes no sense
  A noted climatologist and recently-retired NASA research chief has entered the EU's energy policy debate, with a warning that any re-industrialisation strategy which increases fossil fuels use can only be short-term, irrational and economically wasteful. In a wide-ranging interview with EurActiv, James Hansen branded the EU's Emissions Trading System (ETS) "ineffectual" and flawed, and accused energy firms of preferring government bribes over investments in clean technology.
• 
  

  Regarding Fourier:

   

• 2013/05/16: SciAm:PI: Why we know about the greenhouse gas effect
  

  Regarding Joe Farman:

• 2013/05/17: NatureNB: Co-discoverer of ozone hole dies
  Joe Farman, one of three British scientists who discovered a 'hole' in the ozone layer, died on 11 May...
• 2013/05/13: BBC: Cambridge scientist Joe Farman who helped find ozone 'hole' dies
  The British Antarctic Survey scientist Joe Farman, who helped identify the "hole" in the ozone layer over the southern pole, has died. Dr Farman published the discovery with Brian Gardiner and Jon Shanklin in the journal Nature in 1985.
• 
  

  Meanwhile at the UN:

   

• 2013/05/15: WMO: WMO Executive Council meets as cyclone underlines need for weather warnings
  

  And on the carbon trading front:

• 2013/05/16: RTCC: EU carbon credit surplus doubles in 2012
  A flood of international carbon credits has further distorted the struggling EU carbon market, figures published today have revealed.
• 2013/05/15: BBerg: Carbon Reaches 3-Day High [E3.64 ($4.68)/tonne] as EU's Delbeke Sees Glut Fix Progress
  Carbon permits advanced to the highest in three days after Jos Delbeke, director general for climate at the European Commission, said a decision on a supply fix could be possible in the second half of the year.
• 
  

  The UK is still aiming to protect the City from the dread Tobin tax:

   

• 2013/05/16: EUO: UK bank governor [Mervyn King] attacks FTT
  

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

• 2013/05/19: RT: Tehran ready to allow experts to Parchin in exchange for deal with IAEA -- Iran's ambassador to Russia
• 2013/05/18: Xinhuanet: Iran to allow inspectors in after protocol signed: diplomat
• 2013/05/16: Xinhuanet: No concrete results after Iran, IAEA meeting, further talks agreed
• 2013/05/15: al Jazeera: Why sanctions on Iran are not working
  While sanctions are having a devastating effect on Iran's economy, they have not changed Tehran's nuclear calculus.
• 
  

  South [& East] China Sea tension persists:

   

• 2013/05/18: Xinhuanet: Taiwan probe team returns, slamming Philippines' capricious treatment
• 2013/05/18: WSWS: China challenges Japanese sovereignty over Okinawa
• 2013/05/17: WSWS: Taiwan stages naval drills as tensions mount with Manila
• 2013/05/16: Xinhuanet: U.S. voices concern over Philippines' killing of Taiwanese fisherman
• 2013/05/16: BBC: Taiwan holds military drills amid Philippine row
  Taiwan has conducted military exercises near the Philippines amid a row over the death of a Taiwanese fisherman.
• 2013/05/15: BBC: Taiwan recalls envoy, suspends hiring over Philippine row
  Taiwan is suspending hiring Filipino workers and recalling its envoy amid a row over the killing of a fisherman. Taiwan said the move showed President Ma Ying-jeou's "strong dissatisfaction" with Manila's handling of the case. The fisherman, Hung Shih-cheng, was shot by the Philippine coast guard last week in waters both sides claim.
• 2013/05/15: al Jazeera: Taiwan recalls Philippine envoy over shooting
  Taipei says apology from Manila over shooting of Taiwanese fisherman inadequate and threatens to impose more sanctions.
• 2013/05/15: Guardian(UK): China lays claim to Okinawa as territory dispute with Japan escalates
  China questions Japan's sovereignty over Ryukyu islands, heightening tension over existing Senkakus islands dispute
• 2013/05/14: IndiaTimes: Chinese ships spotted in disputed islands waters: Japan
• 2013/05/14: WSWS: Philippine coast guard kills Taiwanese fisherman in disputed waters
  

  Now that the EU-ETS for airlines is in year long limbo, will it ever be resurrected?

• 2013/05/18: IndiaTimes: China says it will not accept EU measures on emissions
• 2013/05/13: RTCC: USA holds key to aviation emissions deal
  United Nations negotiations to contain emissions from planes and ships recommence in Montreal and London this week, with hopes for a global climate change deal in 2015 resting on these two sectors.
• 
  

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

   

• 2013/05/17: TreeHugger: Honda extracts rare earth metals from used hybrid batteries, turns them into new batteries
• 2013/05/17: BBC: Deep sea 'gold rush' moves closer
  The prospect of a deep sea "gold rush" opening a controversial new frontier for mining on the ocean floor has moved a step closer. The United Nations has published its first plan for managing the extraction of so-called "nodules" - small mineral-rich rocks - from the seabed. A technical study was carried out by the UN's International Seabed Authority - the body overseeing deep sea mining. It says companies could apply for licences from as soon as 2016.
• 
  

  Have you noticed the dispute resolution mechanisms built into these treaties are fundamentally anti-democratic?

   

• 2013/05/17: Rabble:ST: Chevron calls for strong investor rights chapter in U.S.-EU trade deal
  U.S. energy giant Chevron (profits $26.2 billion USD) is encouraging the United States to pursue a strong NAFTA-like investment chapter and investor-state dispute settlement process in the proposed Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) with the European Union. The company, which attracted global outrage for using these kinds of rules to try to avoid paying an Ecuadorian court-ordered $18-billion penalty for horrific contamination of the Amazonian rainforest, is now calling for "the strongest possible protection" from government measures in Europe that might interfere with its investments.
• 2013/05/13: DeSmogBlog: Could NAFTA Force Keystone XL On United States?
  

  And in miscellaneous international political jousting:

• 2013/05/15: RTCC: US backtracks on shipping emissions deal
  Governments are backtracking on efforts to introduce a market based mechanism to reduce emissions in the shipping sector. The UN's International Maritime Organisation (IMO) is hosting its regular round of environmental talks in London this week and it was expected to launch efforts to assess the available options. After the first two days of the week-long event the focus was shifting to reinforcing existing energy efficiency measures, led by the USA.
• 2013/05/15: Guardian(UK): UK signals support for EU import of Canadian tar sands oil
  Leaked papers show UK rejects proposal to classify oil from tar sands as highly polluting, a label that would deter EU countries from importing it
• 
  

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

   

• 2013/05/13: Guardian(UK): Peak oil, climate change and pipeline geopolitics driving Syria conflict
  

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

• 2013/05/14: WSWS: The criminalization of political dissent in America
• 2013/05/12: TPR: Environmental Justice: One Illegal Bid At A Time
  On April 21, the day before Earth Day, Tim DeChristopher was released from custody by the Department of Justice. He had served 21 months for having committed an act of civil disobedience against a government bureau that had violated the law.
• 
  

  What are the activists up to?

   

• 2013/05/18: CCurrents: Greenpeace Activists Take Solar Power To Delhi Power Minister Haroon Yusuf
• 2013/05/17: Resilience: 'Follow the Money': How Rainforest Action Network Is Beating the Corporate Giants
• 2013/05/17: DemNow: Released from Prison, Climate Activist Tim DeChristopher on Civil Disobedience & Building Movements
• 2013/05/16: TreeHugger: Lobster Boat Successfully Blockades 40,000 Ton Coal Shipment
• 2013/05/15: CDreams: 'Summer Heat': Our Bodies vs Industry's Money, Says Climate Movement
• 2013/05/15: CDreams: The Lobster Boat vs. The Coal Freighter as Climate Activists Blockade Power Plant
  In a David vs. Goliath scenario the Henry David T. puts itself between Energy Enterprise and New England's largest coal plant
• 2013/05/15: GLaden: Blockading A Coal Plant in Massachusetts
• 2013/05/14: Grist: Occupy the Farm movement rises again, hours after being raided
• 2013/05/14: Resilience: South African Anti-Fracking Activist Calls for Global Alliance
• 2013/05/13: Resilience: Notre-Dame-des-Landes and the risks of activism
• 2013/05/13: CDreams: Grassroots Campaigns Can Stop Fracking One Town at a Time
• 2013/05/12: PSinclair: Tim DeChristopher: The Next Thing to Do
  

  This Buycott App has the potential to hit the carbon lobby where it hurts -- on the bottom line:

• Buycott App
  Have you ever wondered whether the money you spend ends up funding causes you oppose?
• 2013/05/18: RT: Purchase power: [Buycott] App allows votes against Monsanto, for GMO labeling
• 2013/05/17: TreeHugger: Buycott app helps keep your money out of the hands of Monsanto, Koch Bros., and more
• 2013/05/15: Grist: This [Buycott] app helps you avoid supporting Monsanto and other terrible companies
• 2013/05/14: CCP: New [Buycott] App Lets You Boycott Koch Brothers, Monsanto And More By Scanning Your Shopping Cart
  

  Regarding Water Politics and Business:

• 2013/05/19: IOTD: Two Niles Meet
• 2013/05/18: JFleck: Water's for shippin' over, too
• 2013/05/17: ABC(Au): China approves country's tallest hydroelectric dam
  China's environment ministry has given approval for construction of what will become the country's tallest hydroelectric dam, despite acknowledging it will have an impact on plants and rare fish. The dam, with a height of 314 metres, will serve the Shuangjiangkou hydropower project on the Dadu River in southwestern Sichuan province.
• 2013/05/14: CBC: Poop on roof study helps understanding of E. coli bacteria
  Pucks of manure set outside to check cold-weather hardiness of E. coli
• 2013/05/14: QuarkSoup: Pity the Poor Marina Owner on Lake Powell
• 2013/05/14: ERW: Insight: long-term nitrogen trends in pristine streams
  Researchers at Oregon State University, US, have analysed over 500 years' worth of nitrate and ammonium data from a number of streams across the US. Even near-pristine streams can be affected by nitrate pollution, the study revealed - a finding that will be important for better managing and protecting water resources in the future.
• 
  

  And on the groundwater front:

   

• 2013/05/15: SciNews: Groundwater isolated for eons -- At least 1.5 billion years after it last saw the surface, flowing liquid may host life
  

  While in the UK:

• 2013/05/17: Guardian(UK): UK's climate change adaptation team cut from 38 officials to just six
  Former senior official John Ashton attacks government for 'spooking potential investors' in energy infrastructure
• 2013/05/17: RTCC: John Ashton: No UK political party serious about climate change
  None of the UK's major political parties are serious about climate change, the country's former top climate diplomat has said.
• 2013/05/17: DD: Leaked papers show UK government will backtrack on tar sands extraction being classified as highly polluting
• 2013/05/16: Guardian(UK): Now we know HS2's a fiasco. But can George Osborne admit it?
• 2013/05/15: BBC: HS2 rail benefits to economy 'unclear', says National Audit Office
  The benefits of the HS2 high speed rail project on the economy are unclear, the National Audit Office (NAO) has warned
• 2013/05/13: EurActiv: UK fails in new bid to water down Energy Efficiency Directive
  A British attempt to wriggle out of its energy savings obligations under the EU's flagship Energy Efficiency Directive (EED) has been stymied by a European Commission Legal Services document, which EurActiv has seen.
• 
  

  And in Europe:

   

• 2013/05/17: PSinclair: Item: Renewable Powered German Recovery is Fastest in Europe
• 2013/05/17: EUO: Cold War politics hang over EU shale gas revolution
• 2013/05/16: EUO: EU ministers agree fisheries reform
• 2013/05/16: EurActiv: Hedegaard: Forget US-style shale gas revolution
  Closer cooperation between European countries and an emphasis on energy efficiency would be more effective at lowering prices in Europe than dreams about an American-style shale gas boom, the EU's climate chief said on Thursday (16 May). Speaking at the European Business Summit, EU Climate Commissioner Connie Hedegaard called for "clever regulation" to drive innovation and for a liberalised EU energy market to lower prices, saying renationalisation would be more costly than European-wide climate policies.
• 2013/05/15: EurActiv: EU businesses urge leaders to cut 'green tape'
• 2013/05/15: EurActiv: Industry chief says EU's gas sector is in a 'disastrous' state
  The European gas sector is in a disastrous state and without policies to boost investment, the power supply of some countries could be at risk, a top industry official said. Europe's gas sector has been hit by low growth in demand for electricity, the renewable energy boom and competition from coal-fired plants, Jean-Francois Cirelli, president of Eurogas, which represents the industry, said in a conference speech and in an interview with Reuters on Tuesday (15 May). Cirelli said EU gas consumption dropped 2% in 2012 after falling 10% in 2011. Half of the decrease was caused by lower gas consumption by power plants, the other half to a structural fall in final gas demand, notably the effects of energy efficiency and substitution.
• 2013/05/15: EUO: EU ministers land fish deal
• 2013/05/14: EUO: Online election of Green top EU candidates
• 2013/05/14: EurActiv: Power sector warns of costly 'lost decade' of energy, climate inaction
  Without early investment signals, Europe faces a 'lost decade' of climate and energy policy inaction between 2020-2030, culminating in a mind-bogglingly expensive sprint to decarbonise in the last two decades before 2050, according to a new report by the European association of electricity producers, Eurelectric.
• 2013/05/13: CSM: No clear path forward for Bulgaria after election split
  The discovery of hundreds of thousands of illegal ballot papers has thrown an already complex Bulgarian election into turmoil. The situation was already messy enough - with a governing party that resigned in February during street protests topping a highly-divided field. But with mounting suspicions of fraud, hopes that the election might end a period of political chaos are distrust are fading.
• 2013/05/13: EUO: Inching towards a fisheries deal
  As EU fish ministers meet in Brussels today and tomorrow (13-14 May) the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) is on the brink of a crucial step in its reform process.
• 2013/05/12: Guardian(UK): European energy chief puts forward case for funding coal
  EBRD [European Bank for Reconstruction and Development] chief Riccardo Puliti warns Europe not to be hasty in adopting 'ideological' policy on carbon intensity funding
• 
  

  Meanwhile in Australia:

   

• 2013/05/17: ABC(Au): Predictions Australia will be hardest hit by climate change
• 2013/05/17: PrecariousC: It's still the climate, stupid
• 2013/05/17: TheConversation: Fact check: will scrapping the carbon price lower electricity prices?
• 2013/05/16: ABC(Au): Weipa bauxite mine nod sparks 'destruction' fears
  Conservationists have accused the Federal Government of "environmental vandalism" in approving a large bauxite mine near Weipa on Cape York in far north Queensland. Federal Environment Minister Tony Burke yesterday approved Rio Tinto Alcan's $1.3 billion South of Embley project, subject to 76 conditions aimed at protecting the environment.
• 2013/05/16: ABC(Au): Status quo for solar [feed-in] tariff for now [until at least 2017]
• 2013/05/16: ABC(Au): WWF launches campaign against tree clearing
  Conservationists say they will not let the Queensland Government relax tree-clearing laws without a fight.
• 2013/05/15: CDreams: Mining Project to Unleash 'Environmental Vandalism on a Grand Scale'
  Australian government's OK to controversial bauxite mining operations will turn "World Heritage Area into a shipping superhighway," say environmental groups
• 2013/05/15: ABC(Au): New bauxite mine approved on Cape York
  Conservationists say a new bauxite mine on Queensland's Cape York will require the biggest land-clearing project in the region's history. The Federal Government has given Rio Tinto Alcan the go-ahead to extend its bauxite operations near Weipa. Green groups say up to 30,000 hectares of bush will be cleared to make way for the project, and more ships will be crossing the already fragile Great Barrier Reef.
• 2013/05/15: TheConversation: Australia's 'carbon budget black hole': fact or political fiction?
• 2013/05/15: ABC(Au): Acciona up-beat about future wind farms
  Energy company Acciona Australia says it hopes to have two more wind farms operational in south-west Victoria in the next five years.
• 2013/05/15: ABC(Au): Green group wants fracking ban extended
  The environment group Friends of the Earth says the Victorian Government should extend a ban on fracking.
• 2013/05/14: ABC(Au): Manning happy CSG projects on hold
  A decision by a large scale coal seam gas company to suspend its operations in New South Wales has been welcomed by a Manning Environmental Group. Dart Energy has announced it is putting its New South Wales projects on hold and cutting 70 percent of its workforce. Chris Sheed with the Manning Clean Water Action Group says it's very encouraging news, especially for residents of Fullerton Cove.
• 2013/05/13: ABC(Au): Concern about CSG impact on organic farming
  

  The Federal Budget was released this week:

• 2013/05/16: ABC(Au): Environment groups disappointed by Budget cuts
  Environmental organisations say they're disappointed by cuts to sustainable farming and environment projects under the Federal Budget. More than $350 million from the Federal Government's Biodiversity Fund and Caring for Our Country program will be used to fund other initiatives like drought reform and the Tasmanian Forestry Agreement.
• 2013/05/15: NatureN: Australian budget spares research from further blow -- But response from science advocates is lukewarm
• 2013/05/15: TheConversation: Budget defers renewable energy development when it's needed most
• 2013/05/15: ABC(Au): Scientists lament budget's lack of vision
• 2013/05/14: ABC(Au): Federal Govt defends solar project funds snub
  The Federal Government says it is committed to promoting renewable energy in Victoria, despite renewed criticism for not funding the Mallee Solar Park Project. The Victorian Government has again attacked the Commonwealth for repeatedly failing to fund a proposed solar plant in Sunraysia. The state lost the project to Broken Hill in New South Wales and missed out on federal funding.
• 2013/05/14: ABC(Au): Carbon price to halve by 2015 as revenue cut by billions
  The Gillard Government reaffirmed its commitment to putting a price on carbon as the best way to tackle climate change, but acknowledges the carbon price will likely halve in the next two years. As a result, funding for the national low-emissions coal initiative and the Carbon Capture and Storage Flagships program have both been cut and the government is expecting carbon price revenue to fall by $6 billion over the next four years.
• 2013/05/14: ABC(Au): New environment programs take money from old
• 2013/05/14: ABC(Au): More funding for Tasmanian forestry peace deal
  The Commonwealth Government will provide an additional $94.5 million over five years to help implement the Tasmanian Forestry Agreement. The controversial agreement recently passed the Tasmanian parliament, with a stated aim of locking up more forest reserves in exchange for bringing the state's decades-long forest wars to an end. The additional money comes from funds redirected out of the billion-dollar Biodiversity Fund, as well as the Caring for Our Country program's environment stream.
• 
  

  It's a long way to the September election:

   

• 2013/05/18: ABC(Au): Opposition reaffirms carbon tax double dissolution threat
  The Opposition Leader Tony Abbott has made it clear that the Coalition will scrap the carbon tax if it wins the election in September. But a Tony Abbott victory won't mean an end to the debate. With the changeover in the Senate not due until next year, Labor and the Greens would be able to block repeal legislation. And that would mean voters could face the prospect of having to return to the polls again next year, with the Coalition reaffirming its threat to call a double dissolution election if Labor blocks legislation to repeal the tax.
• 2013/05/13: ABC(Au): Palmer United Party to be divided in Qld
  

  After years of wrangling, the Murray Darling Basin plan is in place, but the water management fights are far from finished:

• 2013/05/17: ABC(Au): Queensland Government considering levy to flood-proof the state
• 2013/05/17: ABC(Au): Faulty dam gates blamed for flooding homes
• 2013/05/14: ABC(Au): Commonwealth commits cash for Murray-Darling
  The Commonwealth will stump up $3.5 billion over the next 12 years as the Murray-Darling Basin Plan is rolled out. The long-awaited Plan was signed into law in November 2012, and Commonwealth investment to implement it will soar to $40.2 million this year.
• 2013/05/13: ABC(Au): Talks to focus on Orroroo desal plant
  The Orroroo Carrieton Council and SA Water will this week discuss the option of desalinated water for the town.
• 
  

  And in the Indian subcontinent:

   

• 2013/05/18: CCurrents: Greenpeace Activists Take Solar Power To Delhi Power Minister Haroon Yusuf
  

  While in China:

• 2013/05/14: RTCC: Does China need better access to green technologies?
  

  And elsewhere in Asia:

• 2013/05/15: Asia Times: Legitimacy crisis in post-election Malaysia
  Protests across peninsular Malaysia after a general election marked by allegations of irregularities and vote-buying and the erosion of popular support for the ruling Barisan Nasional coalition threaten the legitimacy of the new government. While it's unlikely more planned opposition rallies will morph into an Arab Spring-like movement that overturns the result, these are tough times for Prime Minister Najib Razak.
• 2013/05/14: IndiaTimes: Final Pakistan vote count confirms big Nawaz Sharif win - likely a majority
  

  In Canada, neocon PM Harper, aka The Blight, pushes petroleum while ignoring climate and ecology:

• 2013/05/18: TheCanadian: Spinning out of control? [Harperland]
• 2013/05/17: TMoS: Another Harper Black Eye for Canada
• 2013/05/15: Eureka: Canada must addess real climate-change challenge -- Agreeing on provincial share of overall reduction target
• 2013/05/13: TMoS: The Crap That Comes Out of Peter Kent's Mouth
• 2013/05/13: CBC: Tougher oilsands regulations need higher oil price, Kent says
  Environment minister wants end to U.S. price 'discount' so companies can invest in technology
• 
  

  The Harper gang is ramping up their tar sands PR campaign:

   

• 2013/05/17: CDreams: Canadian PM Harper: Tar Sands Are Awesome
• 2013/05/17: Rabble: Harper faces protest in New York City over Canada's dismal climate policies and Keystone XL
• 2013/05/17: CSM: Canada boosts advertising budget for tar sands, Keystone XL
• 2013/05/16: EmbassyMag: Oil sands emissions 'almost nothing globally' says Harper
• 2013/05/16: Guardian(UK): Canadian government doubles advertising spend on tar sands
  Stephen Harper's administration has increased spend from $9m to $16.5m in the last year
• 2013/05/16: BBerg: Harper Seeks to Build Keystone XL Support on U.S. Visit
• 2013/05/14: CBC: Ottawa ramps up ad spending for U.S. pipeline fight
  $16.5M for 'responsible resource development' push, Harper heads to New York Thursday
• 2013/05/13: G&M: Inside Canada's Keystone campaign
  

  The Harper gang is pushing some fundamentally destructive science policies:

• 2013/05/13: P3: Canada to Abandon Pure Science Altogether?
• 2013/05/14: PI:B: Scientists offer much-needed reality check on climate implications of Ottawa's resource agenda
• 2013/05/13: Slate:PPlait: Canada Sells Out Science
• 2013/05/13: KSJT: Canadian gov't says that the only science really worth its time has to make money, fast.
• 2013/05/13: CBC: Research agency faced existential confusion before rebrand, data reveals
• 2013/05/13: HillTimes: Tories 'doing away with research' in more cuts at Agriculture and Agri-Food, say unions
  Nearly 1,000 public servants at six departments told last week their jobs could soon be gone.
• 
  

  The IdleNoMore movement is not going away:

   

• 2013/05/18: CCP: Right-wing Canadian "think" tank attempts smear of First Nations indigenous activists
• 2013/05/15: al Jazeera: Report: Canada could see indigenous uprising
  Former military official says poverty and anger in indigenous communities mean conditions for an "insurgency" are ripe.
• 
  

  It seems Canada still gets to pay the bills for AECL:

   

• 2013/05/17: CBC: AECL to cost $236M more than expected this year
  Report from parliamentary budget officer shows government asked for more money to fund nuclear agency
• 
  

  The saga of Franke James plays on:

   

• 2013/05/17: Guardian(UK): Banned On The Hill and other stories by Franke James - in [8] pictures
• 2013/05/17: Guardian(UK): Artist finds inspiration in Canadian government's attempt to silence her
  Visual essays by Franke James reveal how the 'troublesome artist' was targeted because her views on climate change clashed with the push to develop Alberta's tar sands
• 
  

  A couple of good things actully did happen this week:

   

• 2013/05/17: CBC: High Arctic research station saved by new funding -- Eureka's PEARL gets $5M over 5 years
• 2013/05/13: CleanBreak: 55 "clean energy" projects get $82 million in federal funding... Great news, despite the calculated timing
  

  Okay hotshot, Which way now?

• 2013/05/13: TMoS: The Road Back If We're Brave Enough to Take It. It's Not for the Timid or Those Who Play Safe
  

  The battle over the Northern Gateway pipeline rages on:

• 2013/05/16: CBC: Christy Clark's re-election renews pipeline debate -- Energy industry hopes for improved B.C.-Alberta relationship
• 2013/05/16: ICN: After Upset Election, Route for Tar Sands to Pacific Doesn't Close
  Anti-pipeline candidate ahead in the polls loses British Columbia election, but pipeline projects still face hurdles.
• 
  

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

   

• 2013/05/16: TheCanadian: Piscine Reovirus Pt. 2: Evolution of a New Salmon Virus
• 2013/05/13: TheCanadian: Alexandra Morton: NDP Hold Best Chance for Wild Salmon
  

  Well Christy Clark pulled a surprise victory in the May 14th election. Dix is probably toast:

• 2013/05/18: CBC: First Nations chief asks to meet B.C. premier over pipelines
  A First Nations chief in northern B.C. is demanding a face-to-face meeting with the premier over pipeline projects. Chief Martin Louie is a member of the Yinka Dene Alliance -- a group of six nations living along the proposed Northern Gateway pipeline route. Louie says he has invited Premier Christy Clark for a tour of his traditional territory and plans to take her to the lakes and rivers where his people fish. Louie says he hopes to show her what's at stake if there's an oil spill.
• 2013/05/17: TheCanadian: Rafe: Clark Will Break Up BC Hydro
• 2013/05/16: TheCanadian: Rafe: Dix Let Liberals Get Away with Murder
• 2013/05/16: TMoS: They Have Re-Elected Their "Liberal" Lapdog - Now They're Coming For Our Coast
• 2013/05/15: P3: Climate Scientist Andrew Weaver wins the first ever Green party seat in BC election
• 2013/05/15: BCLSB: WTF Happened In B.C.?
• 2013/05/15: 350orBust: B.C. Votes Against Its Future
• 2013/05/15: TheCanadian: It's the Economy, Stupid NDP
• 2013/05/15: TheCanadian: Polls Apart: Making Sense of Surprise BC Election Outcome
• 2013/05/15: PCat: The most plausible reason for the NDP loss in BC
• 2013/05/15: TStar: B.C. election: Christy Clark pulls off an upset for the ages - Tim Harper
  British Columbia Liberal Leader Christy Clark pulled off an upset for the history books on the West Coast Tuesday night, confounding every pre-election poll and prediction, retaining power for her centre-right coalition. Clark entered the 28-day campaign almost 20 points behind New Democrat Adrian Dix, who ran an error-free, but timid, campaign trying to ensure that voters here would feel no fear of switching to a party which had only governed in the province three times before.
• 2013/05/15: Tyee: In a Greenless World, Would the NDP Have Won? To decide, look at 13 lost New Democrat ridings where the Greens factored in.
• 2013/05/14: CBC: Christy Clark leads Liberals to upset majority in B.C.
• 2013/05/14: Tyee: Clark's Liberals Win in Stunning Comeback
• 2013/05/13: TheCanadian: Rafe Mair Video: Liberals Bankrupting BC with $171 Billion Debt Legacy
• 2013/05/13: TheCanadian: Gordon Campbell's Ex-Chief of Staff: Clark 'Spoiled her own Ballot'
• 2013/05/13: TMoS: What? How Did This Get Past the G&M Editors?
• 2013/05/13: WSWS: British Columbia NDP courts big business in run-up to provincial vote
• 2013/05/12: BWeek: British Columbia Vote Risks Oil-Sands Exports: Corporate Canada
• 2013/05/12: DeSmogBlog: Vote To Protect BC's Most Valuable Resources
• 2013/05/12: TheCanadian: Gary Mason: Change in the Air for BC as Latest Polls Show NDP Recapturing Momentum
• 2013/05/12: TheCanadian: Stephen Quinn: Where the Parties Stand on Public Transit
• 2013/05/12: TheCanadian: Can Political Polls be Trusted?
  

  Meanwhile in that Mechanical Mordor known as the tar sands:

• 2013/05/18: DD: A black 3-story pile of Canada oil waste is rising over Detroit - 'The dirtiest residue from the dirtiest oil on earth'
• 2013/05/17: OilChange: Tar Sands Makes Climate Change "Unsolvable"
• 2013/05/17: PSinclair: Oil Sands Reality Check
• 2013/05/16: OilChange: U.S. oil boom threat to tar sands much greater than State acknowledges
• 2013/05/16: DeSmogBlog: 10 Reasons Canada Needs to Rethink the Tar Sands
• 2013/05/13: SkS: 2013 SkS News Bulletin #11: Alberta Tar Sands and Keystone XL Pipeline by John Hartz
• 2013/05/13: OilChange: Canadian Scientist "Betrayed" Over Tar Sands
• 2013/05/11: G&M: Down the line: How TransCanada fumbled the Keystone pipeline project [6 part series]
  

  Also in Alberta:

• 2013/05/15: CBC: Slave Lake wildfire probe ends without charges -- Fire destroyed 400 buildings and forced 7,000 Slave Lake residents from their homes [in 2011]
• 2013/05/12: TheCanadian: Alberta Premier Determined to Push Pipelines Through BC, Regardless of Province's Election Results
• 2013/05/11: PostMedia: B.C. election may not decide Alberta pipeline projects
  Just days before British Columbians go to the polls, Premier Alison Redford said Friday that the vote's outcome won't necessarily spell the end of controversial energy projects aimed at transporting Alberta bitumen to the West Coast for export overseas. But Redford told an energy conference in Calgary that it is imperative for Canadian crude to gain access to the Asian market in the next three to five years.
• 
  

  In Manitoba:

   

• 2013/05/18: MODIS: Frozen lakes in southern Manitoba
• 2013/05/13: CBC: Winds whip up worry in Manitoba community hit by ice wall
  

  While in la Belle Province:

• 2013/05/15: FuelFix: Quebec proposes law to ban fracking
  

  In the Maritimes:

• 2013/05/17: CBC: Doctor loses legal fight over abortion policy
  Justice Paulette Garnett ruled a doctor was not directly affected by the abortion policy A Court of Queen's Bench justice has ruled the New Brunswick Labour and Employment Board cannot conduct a hearing into whether the province's abortion policy is violating a doctor's ability to offer accessible health care. Court of Queen's Bench Justice Paulette Garnett ruled there wasn't enough evidence to conduct a board of inquiry into the doctor's complaints.
• 2013/05/17: CBC: Fracking may jeopardize Gros Morne UNESCO status -- 'Very clearly this is an issue of concern to us,' UNESCO unit chief says
  

  In the North:

• 2013/05/14: CBC: How Quebec Cree avoided the fate of Attawapiskat -- On the eastern shore of James Bay, a very different story
  

  And on the American political front:

• 2013/05/16: BBickmore: Rebuttal to Former Senator Bob Bennett
• 2013/05/15: TP:JR: Four Charts On How America Can Do Much More To Tackle Climate Change
• 2013/05/15: TP:JR: Taxpayers Get $96 Billion Bill For 2012 Extreme Weather = One-Sixth of Non-Defense Discretionary Spending
• 2013/05/15: TreeHugger: LEED Bashing: Plastic People trying to slip "Trojan Horse" amendments to gut LEED certification
• 2013/05/15: CDreams: States Brace for Monsanto's 'Big Stick' in GMO Labeling Fight
  As New England states back new legislation, labeling supporters prepare for Big Biotech's legal assault
• 2013/05/14: CDreams: Monsanto and Other GM Firms are Winning in the US -- and Globally
• 2013/05/18: CDreams: House GOP: No Free Lunch for 200,000 Poor Kids
• 2013/05/13: NYT: [Editorial] No Time to Cut Food Stamps
• 2013/05/16: SciAm:US: Charges dropped against #KieraWilmot, now let's shower her with science love
• 2013/05/17: Grist: Ag-gag bill chokes in Tennessee
• 2013/05/17: CSM: Tesla Motors can't email customers, says North Carolina law
• 2013/05/16: Guardian(UK): Statutory limits prevent effective response to communities at climate risk
• 2013/05/14: MoJo: MoveOn, Sierra Club, and Daily Kos Spike Facebook Ads to Protest Mark Zuckerberg's Dark-Money Group
  Liberals are steaming mad over new ads by FWD.us, the political group cofounded by Zuckerberg, that give cover to moderate lawmakers.
• 2013/05/13: Grist: Vermont House passes GMO-labeling law
• 2013/05/13: Grist: Pennsylvania's ag-gag law could protect frackers
• 2013/05/13: CSM: Food stamp use declines in February
  [...]
  The latest data released by the Department of Agriculture indicated that in February, a notable 213,962 individual recipients were removed from the food stamps program with the current total still increasing 2.66% on a year-over-year basis. Individuals receiving food stamp benefits declined to 47.55 million which, as a ratio of the overall civilian non-institutional population, declined 1.66% since February 2012 to now stand at a whopping 19.42% of the population.
• 2013/05/14: DeSmogBlog: Pegasus Pipeline Spill: Mayflower Residents Find Conflicting Advice from Arkansas Agencies
  

  The BP disaster continues to twist US politics:

• 2013/05/18: DD: Study finds use of dispersants can increase oil penetration into sandy marine sediments
• 2013/05/18: BBerg: BP, Transocean Are Sued by Texas Over 2010 Gulf Oil Spill
• 2013/05/16: BBC: BP to seek Cameron's help as oil spill costs escalate
  BP wants Prime Minister David Cameron to intervene over the escalating cost of compensating US companies for the Gulf of Mexico oil disaster in 2010.
• 2013/05/13: WSWS: Millions of BP settlement funds go to tourism industry
  A recent decision by the Alabama state legislature to allocate funds from an early settlement with British Petroleum (BP) to build a convention center has aroused anger from Gulf Coast environmental groups. The project is part of a $594 million plan announced last week by BP and the five Gulf Coast states affected by the 2010 Deepwater Horizon disaster.
• 
  

  Post-Sandy commentary and news:

   

• 2013/05/18: DD: Rebuilding the New Jersey coastline, but at what cost? -- 'Do you really want to throw good money after bad?'
• 2013/05/15: NOAANews: NOAA releases final report of Sandy service assessment
• 2013/05/14: CDreams: FEMA Denies Aid To Housing Co-Ops after Sandy
  

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

• 2013/05/18: CCP: OFA Refuses To Push [WhiteHouse] On Keystone
• 2013/05/18: CCP: Great Plains tribal chairmen walk out on State Dept Keystone XL consultation
• 2013/05/18: RT: No peace pipe: Native American tribes on warpath over Keystone XL pipeline
• 2013/05/18: GLaden: Did the Keystone XL Environmental Contractor and the State Department Act Inappropriately or Illegally?
• 2013/05/17: IndianCountryTMN: Chiefs Declare Keystone XL Consultation Meeting Invalid, Walk Out on State Department Officials
• 2013/05/17: CSW: Great Plains tribal chairmen walk out on State Dept Keystone XL consultation
• 2013/05/16: BSnorrell: Red Nations shut down US 'consultation' on tarsands in South Dakota
  Department of State "Consultation" Shut down by Red Nations Opposing Tar Sands
• 2013/05/15: TP:JR: Sensitivity Training: Team Obama Delays Keystone Decision (Again) To Look For Impacts In The Wrong Place
• 2013/05/13: DeSmogBlog: Could NAFTA Force Keystone XL On United States?
• 2013/05/13: Grist: Obama may delay Keystone decision until 2014
• 2013/05/11: G&M: Down the line: How TransCanada fumbled the Keystone pipeline project [6 part series]
• 2013/05/12: CPW: Indigenous resistance grows strong in Keystone XL pipeline battle
  

  The GOP War on Women continues. See also:

• 2013/05/17: ACLU: ACLU and Center for Reproductive Rights Ask Federal Court to Block Arkansas Abortion Ban
• 2013/05/15: TP: North Carolina Women Don 1960s Garb To Protest 'Vintage' Bill That Threatens Birth Control Access
• 2013/05/13: Guardian(UK): We won't stop until the morning-after pill is available to all, regardless of age
  For a decade, we have protested and battled in court for Plan B access. Enough with the Obama administration's delays
• 
  

  The impacts of the sequestration are starting to come home:

   

• 2013/05/15: MStrassler: Not As Painless As They'd Have You Believe
• 2013/05/15: Grist: Just in time for summer: Budget cuts force Forest Service to skimp on firefighters, trucks
• 2013/05/15: TP:JR: Worsening A Climate-Fueled Wildfire Season, Sequestration Threatens Firefighting Efforts
• 2013/05/14: WiredSci: Sequestering Scientific Discovery
• 2013/05/14: TP:JR: Sequestration Causes 70,000 Kids To Be Kicked Off Head Start, But Big Oil Complains About Small, Delayed Lease Sales
• 2013/05/14: CSW: Federal budget sequestration begins to undercut extreme event preparedness
  

  Big Oil is still fighting California's AB32:

• 2013/05/09: UCDavis: [link to 259k pdf] Evaluating BCG's Report: Understanding the Impacts of AB32
• 2013/05/13: AutoBG: Big Oil's favorite anti-clean energy study knocked down by review panel
• 2013/05/09: NRDC:SMui: Scientific Review Finds Fatal Flaws with Oil Industry Study of AB32
  

  At what point do you stop listening to the pretty lies and realize you've been had?

• 2013/05/18: DeSmogBlog: ...Obama DOE Approves 2nd Fracked Gas LNG Export Terminal
• 2013/05/17: Guardian(UK): Obama's Arctic strategy sets off a climate time bomb
  US National Strategy for the Arctic Region prioritises corporate 'economic opportunities' at the expense of everyone else
• 2013/05/17: DD: Obama tweet gives Australia climate researcher 31 million reasons to celebrate...
• 2013/05/15: UCSUSA:B: 10 Places President Obama Should Visit to See Climate Change In Action
• 2013/05/13: Resilience: The Obama Administration's Natural Gas Policy Is Tragically Misguided
• 2013/05/12: DeSmogBlog: Obama, Biden Parroting Bogus Gas Industry Talking Points
  

  The actions of the Obama administration are being watched closely:

• 2013/05/18: CSM: US eases natural gas glut with second export terminal
• 2013/05/17: RT: US weakens fracking rules
• 2013/05/17: CSM: New fracking regulations upset just about everybody
• 2013/05/17: CDreams: New Fracking Rules Show US Bowing to Industry -- Regulations go from minimal to 'harebrained' as BLM proposes fracker handout
• 2013/05/17: Grist: Draft fed rules would let frackers do whatever they want, but they're still not happy
  For everyone who was hoping the Obama administration's proposed new rules for natural gas drilling on public lands would make a difference, the just-released new draft amounts to a big "frack you."
• 2013/05/16: ScienceInsider: NSF Says No to Congressman [Rep. Lamar Smith (R-Tx)] Request for Reviewer Comments
• 2013/05/16: TP:JR: Five Things That Are Needed In New Fracking Rules
• 2013/05/15: CMass: A New Chapter for U.S. Numerical Weather Prediction
  Major news to report. The National Weather Service will be acquiring a radically more powerful computer system during the next year, one that could allow the U.S. to regain leadership in numerical weather prediction. Used wisely, this new resource could result in substantial improvements in both global and regional weather predictions.
• 2013/05/15: Reuters: National Weather Service gets big computing boost
• 2013/05/15: CSW: U.S. Arctic strategy aims to exploit oil and gas for 'national security'
• 2013/05/15: UCSUSA:B: Towards Open Access to Government Science: The Obama Administration Takes Some Important Steps
• 2013/05/14: CDreams: Revealed: How US State Department 'Twists Arms' on Monsanto's Behalf
• 2013/05/14: RTCC: Kerry: US must do more on climate change
  The US response to climate change has been inadequate, Secretary of State John Kerry has admitted.
• 2013/05/13: CSM: White House Arctic strategy: What's next for oil, gas drilling?
• 2013/05/13: UCSUSA:B: USDA to Tackle 2,4-D-Resistant Engineered Crops Without Needed Regulations
• 2013/05/12: CSM: Should EPA gas-mileage ratings tests change?
• 2013/05/11: RSN: Monsanto Has Taken Over the USDA
  

  As for what is going on in Congress:

• 2013/05/17: USAToday: Senator [Ron Wyden (D-Ore)] wants U.S. in oil price-fixing probe
• 2013/05/17: TP:JR: Gina McCarthy Passes Another Hurdle On Path To EPA Confirmation, Could Senate GOP Get On Board?
• 2013/05/17: Grist: Moniz confirmed as energy secretary, McCarthy's EPA nomination advances
• 2013/05/17: Grist: Undead farm bill: Everyone's favorite legislative zombie shuffles on
• 2013/05/16: TPM: Senate Confirms Ernest Moniz As Energy Secretary
• 2013/05/16: CSM: Ernest Moniz confirmed unanimously as Energy secretary
• 2013/05/16: NatureNB: US Senate approves Moniz for energy post and advances EPA nominee
• 2013/05/16: ScienceInsider: U.S. Senate Confirms Ernest Moniz as Secretary of Energy
• 2013/05/16: BBerg: Two-Decade-Old Harvard Data Confounds U.S. EPA Nomination
• 2013/05/16: SymmetryMag: Moniz confirmed as Energy Secretary
• 2013/05/15: Guardian(UK): US House set to approve cuts to food stamp programme with new farm bill
  Democrats to speak out against House bill would cut about $2.5bn a year from the food stamp programme
• 2013/05/13: TheHill:e2W: Panel to try again on EPA nominee
  Democrats will try to advance Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) nominee Gina McCarthy to the full Senate again next week after a GOP boycott thwarted attempts to do so Thursday.
• 2013/05/13: TP:JR: The Facts Behind Senator Vitter's Bogus Campaign Against EPA Nominee Gina McCarthy
• 2013/05/13: TP:JR: GOP Senate Nominee Gomez Says Most Efforts To Combat Climate Change Are 'Not Rational', Invests In Fossil Fuel
• 2013/05/13: ICN: A Rare Bipartisan Clean Energy Bill Is Ready for Passage
• 2013/05/13: RTCC: Sheldon Whitehouse: God will not save USA from climate chaos
  US Senator Sheldon Whitehouse last week delivered a stark message to climate sceptic colleagues on Capitol Hill -- God will allow us to ruin the planet.
• 2013/05/11: FDL: The Assault on Food Stamps Takes Legislative Form, and Jamie Dimon Profits!
• 2013/05/12: CSW: "4 Pinocchios" for Rep. Chris Stewart's dishonest statement about climate science experts
  

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

• 2013/05/14: Resilience: Governance in the Long Emergency
  

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

• 2013/05/17: CBC: Doctor loses legal fight over abortion policy
• 2013/05/15: al Jazeera: Who should not be making the abortion law?
  Making abortion illegal does not stop it, it just makes it less safe, writes [Sophia] Collins.
• 2013/05/13: Eureka: Educating women may improve food security in Africa
  

  Apocalypso anyone?

• 2013/05/13: NakedCapitalism: Global Warming: Halfway to a Mass Extinction Event?
• 2013/05/13: CCurrents: Why We Allow The Destruction Of Our Planet
  

  How are we going to deal with this mess?

• 2013/05/16: TCoE: Is climate change a choice between education and surrender?
  

  How do the media measure up?

• 2013/05/18: GLaden: Correcting BBC's Lousy Journalism
• 2013/05/17: Guardian(UK): Zombie climate sceptic theories survive only in newspapers and on TV
  Study finds overwhelming scientific consensus that humans have caused global warming, but media still hasn't caught up
• 2013/05/17: CSW: Global warming misconceptions on BBC radio
• 2013/05/17: Wonkette: Poors Pooling Their Hobo Beans To Buy Chicago Tribune And Los Angeles Times, Good Luck Poors!
• 2013/05/17: GReadfearn: New blog Planet Oz gets a slot on The Guardian
• 2013/05/17: CDreams: Unsubscribe: Threat of 'Koch Hate' Spawns 'People's Takeover' -- Campaign attempts to outbid the billionaires as readers vow to flee
• 2013/05/16: Resilience: "Apocalyptic Journalism" and Why We Need Reporters to Face the Reality of Our Crumbling Society
• 2013/05/16: ITRacker: The intolerent moderates
• 2013/05/15: TP:JR: How New York Times, NPR And Wall Street Journal Print Fossil Fuel Talking Points Without Full Disclosure
• 2013/05/15: CDreams: The Fire Next Time: Media Advice for Reporting this Year's Climate Change Stories
• 2013/05/15: V V: Readership of all major "sceptic" blogs is going down
• 2013/05/14: TreeHugger: The Wall Street Journal's defense of CO2 is 'monumentally naive'
• 2013/05/14: TP:JR: False Balance Lives: Bloomberg News Gives Equal Weight To Climate Disinformer And Scientists
• 2013/05/16: SOA: More Controversy Over Open-Access Publisher MDPI
• 2013/05/16: CJR: Q&A: Shaun McKinnon, veteran water reporter
  An Arizona Republic reporter and self-described "water geek" on how to cover western water issues
• 2013/05/13: TP:JR: Not The Onion: Wall Street Journal Hits 'Rock Bottom' With Inane Op-Ed Urging 'More Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide'
• 2013/05/13: KSJT: Columbia Journalism Review: Science-media critic Curtis Brainard threatened with layoff
• 2013/05/13: UCSUSA: U.S. News Media Help Koch Brothers and ExxonMobil Spread Climate Disinformation, UCS Investigation Finds
  Top News Outlets Failed to Cite Think Tank Funding in Two-Thirds of Climate and Energy Stories in 2011 and 2012
• 2013/05/19: HotWhopper: Lessons from a journalist
  

  Here is something for your library:

• 2013/05/17: Kirkus: [Book Review] Scatter, Adapt and Remember -- How Humans Will Survive a Mass Extinction by Annalee Newitz
• 2013/05/06: TDB: Can Humans Survive? Five mass extinctions have nearly wiped out life on earth. The sixth is coming.
  [Book Excerpt] _Scatter, Adapt and Remember_ by Annalee Newitz.
• 
  

  And for your film & video enjoyment:

   

• 2013/05/16: TreeHugger: Comedy video spoofs Facebook's Keystone XL support
• 2013/05/17: P3: Taylor Wilson: My radical plan for small nuclear fission reactors
• 2013/05/17: TFTJO: Ian Dunlop: an emergency war footing action against climate change
• 2013/05/12: PSinclair: Tim DeChristopher: The Next Thing to Do
  

  Meanwhile among the 'Sue the Bastards!' contingent:

• 2013/05/16: Reuters: Analysis: Obama climate agenda faces Supreme Court reckoning
  With a barrage of legal briefs, a coalition of business groups and Republican-leaning states are taking their fight against Obama administration climate change regulations to the U.S. Supreme Court.
• 2013/05/17: TP:JR: EPA Is Required To Regulate Carbon Pollution From Existing Power Plants
• 2013/05/16: TP:JR: Industry Groups Urge Supreme Court To Ban EPA From Regulating CO2
  [...] The appeals to the Supreme Court follow the DC Circuit Court of Appeals' refusal to reconsider the matter. The Court is expected to decide whether to hear the petitions in October.
• 2013/05/14: CDreams: Organic Farmers on Alert Following Monsanto Ruling
  Farmers "concerned" for ruling's implication on upcoming suits against the agriculture giant
• 2013/05/14: FuelFix: Exxon challenges $1.7M Yellowstone spill penalty
• 2013/05/13: Grist: Supreme Court hands a big win to Monsanto on GMO seeds
• 2013/05/13: NatureNB: US high court rules against soybean farmer in seed-patent case
• 2013/05/13: CDreams: Corporate Win: Supreme Court Says Monsanto Has 'Control Over Product of Life'
  Indiana farmer must pay agribusiness giant $84,000 for patent infringement
• 2013/05/13: ScienceInsider: U.S. Supreme Court Upholds Monsanto Soybean Patents, Rejects Blame-the-Bean Defense
  

  Wrestling over a new energy infrastructure continues unabated:

• 2013/05/19: OilDrum: Predicting the Weather, Corn, Ethanol and Oil Production
• 2013/05/15: Resilience: Conventional Wisdom About Clean Energy Is Still Way Out of Date
• 2013/05/15: Grist: Utilities vs. rooftop solar: What the fight is about
• 2013/05/15: PSinclair: No More Coal Plants in Germany
• 2013/05/15: TreeHugger: London is building a power plant that burns waste fat from sewers
• 2013/05/17: BNC: Green Junk - In praise of waste
• 2013/05/17: PSinclair: Item: Renewable Powered German Recovery is Fastest in Europe
• 2013/05/16: QuarkSoup: Running *Into* Fossil Fuels
• 2013/05/13: UN: New UN study highlights huge potential for generating clean energy in Africa
• 2013/05/12: OilDrum: Tech Talk - The Dangers of Complacency
  

  The IEA issued a report on oil production that had a lot of people talking:

• 2013/05/14: IEA: Supply shock from North American oil rippling through global markets
• 2013/05/14: G&M: IEA makes the case for oil sands pipelines
  Failure to build needed oil sands pipelines -- particularly Keystone XL -- could result in persistent price discounts and slow expansion of the sector, even as North American production booms, the International Energy Agency warned Tuesday. In a forecast that portends downward price pressure in the coming years, the international agency said supply growth -- fuelled largely by North America -- will outstrip the increase in demand over the next five years, resulting in a buildup of global spare capacity that is typically associated with weak crude prices.
• 2013/05/15: CDreams: Wrong Way Forward: Growth in Fracking, Tar Sands Sending 'Shockwaves'
  New report from International Energy Agency shows surging oil production from shale oil in the U.S. and Canadian tar sands
• 2013/05/15: NBF: World Oil Production projected [by IEA] to increase by 8.4 million barrels per day and North American oil by 3.9 million barrels per day by 2018
• 2013/05/14: CSM: Oil boom boosts US, but Europe could see decline
• 2013/05/14: RT: US shale oil boom will make OPEC voice smaller in energy market- IEA
• 2013/05/14: BBC: US shale oil supply shock shifts global power balance
  A steeper-than-expected rise in US shale oil reserves is about to change the global balance of power between new and existing producers, a report says. Over the next five years, the US will account for a third of new oil supplies, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA).
• 
  

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

   

• 2013/05/17: CSM: New fracking regulations upset just about everybody
• 2013/05/17: Grist: What the frack do we know? Not much, it turns out
• 2013/05/17: GreenGrok: Drilling and Fracking and the Environment
• 2013/05/16: EurActiv: [EU Climate Commissioner Connie] Hedegaard: Forget US-style shale gas revolution
• 2013/05/15: DeSmogBlog: Faulkner County: ExxonMobil's "Sacrifice Zone" for Tar Sands Pipelines, Fracking
• 2013/05/15: Eureka: Groundwater unaffected by shale gas production in Arkansas
  A new study by scientists at Duke University and the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) finds no evidence of groundwater contamination from shale gas production in Arkansas.
• 2013/05/14: Resilience: South African Anti-Fracking Activist Calls for Global Alliance
• 2013/05/13: CDreams: Grassroots Campaigns Can Stop Fracking One Town at a Time
  

  On the gas and oil front:

• 2013/05/17: BBerg: Closing oil prices Friday
  OIL (US$/bbl)
  Dated Brent Spot....103.80
  WTI Cushing Spot.....96.02
• 2013/05/18: CSM: US eases natural gas glut with second export terminal
• 2013/05/17: TP:JR: U.S. Now One Step Closer To Being Net Natural Gas Exporter
• 2013/05/15: CSM: Who benefits when natural gas prices rise?
• 2013/05/09: Reuters: The U.S. oil pipeline glut is upon us: Campbell
  For two years the dominant story in the North American oil market has been a shortage of pipeline capacity, leading to the buildup of gluts of oil as producers cannot get their crude to market. That era is coming to a rapid end. The end of the pipeline capacity crunch means a sea change in the way North American oil will be priced, traded, and balanced.
• 2013/05/15: EarlyWarning: Oil Price Update
• 2013/05/14: TreeHugger: Epic debate: Amory Lovins vs. Charles C. Mann on the future of oil
• 2013/05/13: BizJo: Exxon announces $10B plan to export LNG from Texas
• 2013/05/13: Platts: Global boom in tight oil production may be overplayed: BP's Ruhl
• 2013/05/13: CSM: Nigeria oil production slides amid unrest
• 2013/05/13: EarlyWarning: April Oil Supply Little Changed
  

  In the gas and oil corps:

• 2013/05/17: USAToday: Senator [Ron Wyden (D-Ore)] wants U.S. in oil price-fixing probe
• 2013/05/17: Guardian(UK): The crude reality of oil prices
  Bankers' accusations of trader wrongdoing are fuelled by revenge. The real fixer is OPEC
• 2013/05/16: FDL: Oil Companies Raided In Price-Fixing Probe
• 2013/05/15: EmpireBurlesque: Collusion Course: Machinations of the Double-Headed Beast
• 2013/05/15: EurActiv: Commission probes big oil firms for possible price manipulation
  European authorities have raided offices of oil majors Shell, BP and Statoil in an investigation of suspected manipulation of oil prices, one of the biggest cross-border actions since the Libor rigging scandal.
• 2013/05/15: BBC: Oil company offices raided in EU pricing probe
• 2013/05/15: RStone:MTaibbi: Everything Is Rigged, Continued: European Commission Raids Oil Companies in Price-Fixing Probe
• 2013/04/25: RStone:MTaibbi: Everything Is Rigged: The Biggest Price-Fixing Scandal Ever
  

  Yes we have a peak oil sighting:

• 2013/05/17: RealEconomics: Climate change and Peak Oil - the evidence is overwhelming
• 2013/05/17: EVWorld: Avoiding the 'Energy Abyss'
• 2013/05/16: Resilience: What if there is Peak Oil?
• 2013/05/15: Time: The IEA Says Peak Oil Is Dead. That's Bad News for Climate Policy
  

  Biofuel bickering abounds:

• 2013/05/15: Eureka: Scientists develop 'green' pretreatment of Miscanthus for biofuels
  

  The answer my friend...:

• 2013/05/14: PSinclair: Scotland: The More Wind Power They See, the More They Love It
• 2013/05/14: NBF: Sheerwind funnel system claims to produce 6 times more energy than conventional wind and costs competitive with natural gas and hydro power
• 2013/05/12: TP:JR: 2014 Is Looking To Be A 7,000 Megawatt Year For Wind Power Capacity And Innovation
  

  Meanwhile among the solar aficionados:

• 2013/05/17: ABC(Au): Solar power program set to light up Samoa
• 2013/05/16: RealEconomics: Solar has definitely arrived
• 2013/05/13: TreeHugger: South-Korea's largest rooftop solar installation (10 MW) to be built on a Hyundai factory
• 2013/05/12: National(AE): Dubai looks to rooftop solar power revolution
• 2013/05/12: TP:JR: Why We Should Pay Attention to Utility Rate Design and How It Affects Distributed Solar
  

  The nuclear energy controversy continues:

• 2013/05/18: RT: Hamburg 'avoids radiation disaster' as ship loaded with fissile material, explosives burns [on May 1st]
• 2013/05/17: EneNews: Cover-up? Burning ship with tons of radioactive uranium hexafluoride, explosives...
• 2013/05/19: CassandrasLegacy: The Song of the Gallic Rooster
• 2013/05/16: EneNews: U.S. nuclear reactor cracked, plant shut down [Shearon Harris]
• 2013/05/16: ABC(Au): Concern in US as Japanese nuclear reprocessing plant completed
  It's taken more than 20 years and $20 billion to build, and in a few months time Japan's state-of-the-art nuclear reprocessing plant will be ready for operation. The Rokkasho plant in far northern Japan will be capable of turning used nuclear fuel into eight tonnes of plutonium a year, although the Japanese say this weapons-grade plutonium will be used for power generation only. That hasn't soothed American concerns though. It's worried about the security of the plutonium stockpiles and the risk that the new plant could stoke a nuclear race in the region.
• 2013/05/15: PostMedia: Atomic Energy of Canada says no danger during [Chalk River] nuclear 'near-miss'
• 2013/05/15: EneNews: Leak of radioactive material at U.S. [Catawba in South Carolina] nuclear plant...
• 2013/05/13: FuelFix: Environmentalists praise fed ruling on San Onofre
• 2013/05/14: EneNews: Death Blow? "Complete rejection" of plan to restart ailing California [San Onofre] nuclear reactor without public hearing...
• 2013/05/14: EneNews: Crack at U.S. [Palisades] nuclear plant caused radioactive leak...
• 2013/05/13: NRC: Event Notification Report - Grand Gulf Nuclear Station
• 2013/05/13: EneNews: CNBC: Nuclear power has taken a beating - Engulfed by 'cauldron of events' - Staggering change from just a few years ago - Not many had forecast it would "all go wrong at once"
• 2013/05/12: EneNews: TV: Leaking Strontium-90 is "boiling the material around it" at U.S. nuclear site - Eating through tank liners (video)
  

  Nuclear fusion projects around the world limp along:

• 2013/05/13: NBF: Helion energy fusion project had another $2 million in funds and Made Research Progress
  

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

• 2013/05/17: TreeHugger: Nanoscale artificial leaf can extract hydrogen from water with just sunlight
• 2013/05/16: LBL: Artificial Forest for Solar Water-Splitting
  Berkeley Lab Researchers Report First Fully Integrated Artificial Photosynthesis Nanosystem
• 
  

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

   

• 2013/05/14: PSinclair: Fox News: We Love Tesla Now
• 2013/05/15: AutoBG: 2013 Nissan Leaf officially rated at 115 MPGe, with 75 miles* of range
• 2013/05/14: CSM: How's 3,587 miles per gallon for good gas mileage?
• 2013/05/15: AutoBG: North Carolina targets Tesla, considers banning direct-to-consumer sales
• 2013/05/14: RobertScribbler: The Dawn of The EV: Model S, Volt, Leaf Send Shock-Wave Through Auto Markets
• 2013/05/12: CSM: Should EPA gas-mileage ratings tests change?
  

  This week in the Gee Whiz File:

• 2013/05/10: UBuffalo: Solar panels as inexpensive as paint? It's possible due to research at UB, elsewhere
  

  The reaction of business to climate change will be critical:

• 2013/05/16: EurActiv: Investors start to respond to building efficiency regulations
  Europe's rules on the energy performance of buildings are beginning to affect the investment decisions of pension funds and other financial institutions, said Tatiana Bosteels, the head of Responsible Property Investments at Hermes Funds Managers.
• 2013/05/15: ICN: SEC Upholds Shareholder Vote on Shower Heads Over Climate Concerns
  Hotel chain tries to dismiss a shareholder resolution to switch to low-flow shower heads. But the SEC says no, citing global warming concerns.
• 2013/05/17: GLaden: Investing in fossil fuel free portfolios
  

  Insurance and re-insurance companies are feeling the heat:

• 2013/05/18: DD: Graph of the Day: Insured catastrophe losses, 1970-2012
• 2013/05/14: NYT: For Insurers, No Doubts on Climate Change
• 2013/05/14: CCP: NYT: For Insurers, No Doubts on Climate Change
  

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

• 2013/05/17: TP:JR: May 17 News...
• 2013/05/16: TP:JR: May 16 News...
• 2013/05/15: TP:JR: May 15 News...
• 2013/05/14: TP:JR: May 13 News (sic)...
• 2013/05/13: TP:JR: May 13 News...
  

  Other (weekly) lists:

• 2013/05/19: SkS: 2013 SkS Weekly News Roundup #20B by John Hartz
• 2013/05/15: SkS: 2013 SkS Weekly News Roundup #20A by John Hartz
• 2013/05/13: BPA: Agriculture News: The Drones are Coming, and More
  

  The carbon lobby are up to the usual:

• 2013/05/14: WottsUWT: Watt about the retrospective predictions?
• 2013/05/14: WtD: Andrew Bolt's "the death of global warmism": how Andrew poisons the well (part 2 of 11)
• 2013/05/15: WottsUWT: Is it the beginning of the end?
• 2013/05/15: ERabett: Cook, et al. The prequel, the teeth gnashing, the recursive fury
• 2013/05/15: WtD: Andrew Bolt's "The Death of Global Warmism": false claims about the planet not warming and cherry picking his facts (part 3 of 11)
• 2013/05/15: NewAnthropocene: Being Wrong: How we deal with it makes all the difference
• 2013/05/16: WottsUWT: The Global Warming Policy Foundation
• 2013/05/16: WottsUWT: Watt about the Antarctic?
• 2013/05/16: WtD: 97% or 32.6% consensus (?) - Watts failing to grasp elementary methodology of Cook paper; intellectually dishonest
• 2013/05/16: OParachute: Pseudosceptics are at it again - misrepresenting and attacking climate scientists
• 2013/05/14: WottsUWT: Watt about Willis?
• 2013/05/14: HillHeat: Tobacco Front-Group Chairman Chosen As President Of New Mexico State University
• 2013/05/14: OParachute: Confusion and distortion - has global warming stopped?
• 2013/05/17: WottsUWT: Watt about an analysis of night-time cooling?
• 2013/05/17: WtD: Andrew Bolt's "The Death of Global Warmism": Plimer's book sold 40k copies, ergo climate change not true (part 4 of 11)
• 2013/05/18: HotWhopper: About that 97% - Not a "Great Moment" for WUWT
• 2013/05/17: WottsUWT: John Cook's lie of epic proportions!
• 2013/05/13: QuarkSoup: Desperate Lies from ClimateDepot
• 2013/05/19: OParachute: A New Zealand climate change pseudosceptic apologises!
• 2013/05/13: WottsUWT: Watt about the wild claims at the UEA?
• 2013/05/13: WtD: Andrew Bolt's "The Death of Global Warmism": a special WtD response to his most recent article (part1)
• 2013/05/13: CWars: Shameless liar Andrew Bolt cherrypicks his way to climate failure
• 2013/05/13: SMandas: Junior College Students Put Climate Science Zombies Back Underground Thanks to Skeptical Science
• 2013/05/13: HotWhopper: Gotta give deniers credit...They all agree on one thing...it's a conspiracy!!!
• 2013/05/12: WottsUWT: Watt about the beginning of glaciation?
• 2013/05/19: WottsUWT: Watt did Anthony expect?
• 2013/05/18: al Jazeera: The US disconnect over climate change
  Amid growing scientific proof that global warming is man-made, we look at why the public gives credence to the sceptics.

• Meanwhile in the 'clean coal' saga:

• 2013/05/18: TMoS: Athabasca Bitumen and the Koch Bros' Gift to Windsor, Ontario
• 2013/05/14: Grist:Coal plants could be linked to thousands of North Carolina suicides
• 2013/05/13: Eureka: NC coal plant emissions might play role in state suicide numbers
  New research from Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center finds that suicide, while strongly associated with psychiatric conditions, also correlates with environmental pollution.
• 
  

  As for climate miscellanea:

   

• 2013/05/14: P3: A right wing defence of pure science funding by governments
• 2013/05/14: Resilience: Moronic Oxymorons in the Age of Climate Change
• 2013/05/15: CCP: Financial Times: Climate Chaos -- Why the world faces climate chaos
• 2013/05/17: SciAm:TMU: Eliminating political divides through morality: The case of climate change
• 2013/05/17: QuarkSoup: So What Will Change Their Minds?
• 2013/05/13: RTCC: Post-2015 sustainability goals 'should target consumption'
  

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

• Ice2Sea
• RtS: Read the Science
• Sourcemap: where things come from
• EDGE of Existence :: Evolutionarily Distinct & Globally Endangered
• Ocean acidification -- EPOCA, the European Project on Ocean Acidification
• Technozoic
• Cliff Mass Weather Blog
• Buycott App
  Have you ever wondered whether the money you spend ends up funding causes you oppose?
• Slow Food International - Good, Clean and Fair food
• Precarious Climate [Used to be Planet James]
• Scholarly Open Access
• Green Shadow Cabinet [USA]
• ISA: International Seabed Authority
• USDA: SNAP Monthly Data
• The Ventus Project
• EarthNet: DSCOVR (Deep Space Climate Observatory) [aka Triana]
• Wiki: [DSCOVR aka Triana] Deep Space Climate Observatory

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.

A Simple Plea

Webmasters, web coders and content providers have mercy on your low bandwidth brethren. Because I am on dial-up, I am a text surfer -- no images, no javascript and no flash. When you post a graphic, will you please use the alt text field ... and when you embed a youtube/vimeo/flash video, please add some minimal description. Thank you.

<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.

"Remember the story of the man trapped in his house during a huge flood? A faithful man, he trusted God to save him. As the waters began to rise in his house, his neighbor came by and offered him a ride to safety and he said, I'm waiting for God to save me.

Well, eventually the floodwaters swept over the roof and the man was drowned.

When the man reached heaven, he had some questions for God -- God, he asked, didn't I trust in you to save me?

God answered: I sent you a pickup truck, I sent you a boat, I sent you a helicopter, you refused my help.

Just as God sent the pickup truck, the boat, and the helicopter to the drowning man, he has sent us everything we need to solve this carbon pollution problem. We just refuse. We just refuse. Some of us even deny that the floodwaters are rising."
-Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), May 8, 2013 speech

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