This weekly posting is brought to you courtesy of H. E. Taylor. Happy reading, I hope you enjoy this week's Global Warming news roundup
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Logging the Onset of The Bottleneck Years
November 10, 2013
- Chuckles, COP19+, WG2 Leak, Haiyan, Fukushima, Maldives, Energiewende
- Bottom Line, Subsidies, GFIs, Cook, Shrinkology
- Fukushima: Note, News
- Melting Arctic, Megafauna, Methane, Geopolitics, Antarctica
- Food: Crisis, Fisheries, Prices, GMOs, GMO Labelling, Production
- Hurricanes, Extreme Weather
- GHGs, Nitrogen Cycle, Solar, Cosmic Rays, Aerosols, Volcanoes
- ENSO, Temperatures, Tipping Points, Attribution, Oceans, Extinctions
- Impacts, Forests, Climate Refugees, Disease, Smog & Health
- Wildfires, Corals, Glaciers, Sea Levels, Floods & Droughts
- Mitigation, REDD, Transportation, Buildings, Sequestration, Geoengineering, Conservation, Adaptation
- Journals, Other Docs, Misc. Science, Science Orgs, Models, James&Jules, Mann, Bolin
- International Politics: UN, Carbon Trade, Hormuz, South China Sea, NSA, Nile
- Treaties, Misc., Security, Law & Activism, Activism, Divestment, H2O Biz, Religioso
- National Politics: Britain, Europe, Australia, Abbott, Carbon, MDBP, India, China, Japan, Asia, South America
- Canada, Lac-Mégantic, Elsipogtog, Maxwell, Mismanagement, Insurance, Trudeau
- Clark, BC, Tar Sands, Alberta, Ontario, Quebec, Maritimes, Canadiana
- America, BP Disaster, Keystone, Birth Control, Research, Elections, Obama, USAdmin, Congress, Lobbyists
- Ecological Economics, Recycling, IPAT, Apocalypso, Media, Books, Video, Podcasts, Courts, BP Trial
- Energy, Transitions, Fracking, Coal, Oil & Gas, Fossil Fuel Corps, Oil & the Economy
- Pipelines, Oil Transportation, Energy Independence, Peak Oil, Biofuel
- Wind, Solar, Nukes, Hydrogen, Grid, Utilities, Efficiency, Cars, Energy Storage
- Business, Insurance, FAQs, Other Lists, Carbon Lobby, Clean Coal, Inaction, Miscellaneous, Useful Links
- Shameless Self Promotion, A Simple Plea, .sig
Live and direct from the black humour department:
- 2013/11/09: RealEconomics: Saturday toons
- 2013/11/06: uComics: (cartoon - Toles) The Grand Compromise
- 2013/11/05: JamiolsWorld: (cartoon - Jamiol) Jamiol's World 'toon
And if your taste leans toward the surreal:
Looking ahead to COP19 at (Warsaw Nov.11-22) and future international climate negotiations:
- 2013/11/09: CDreams: Poland Books Coal Industry Summit Alongside UN Climate Talks
- 2013/11/09: RTCC: Marlene Moses: climate change stakes are high for island nations
Head of Alliance of Small Island States delegation outlines goals for UN's COP19 climate summit - 2013/11/08: Grist: U.N. climate talks will be all about the Benjamins
- 2013/11/08: RTCC: UN climate jargon buster: a guide to deciphering the Warsaw talks
- 2013/11/08: TP:JR: As Global Emissions Rise, Countries Prepare For 2013 Climate Talks In Warsaw
- 2013/11/08: Guardian(UK): UN climate talks: Poland gives coal a voice
- 2013/11/08: Guardian(UK): Former UN climate chief: 'Australia should send minister to Warsaw talks'
- 2013/11/08: RTCC: Figueres: UN climate talks in Warsaw a "pivotal" moment
- 2013/11/08: RTCC: World's poorest set to press rich nations for climate compensation
Whether or not rich countries should pay compensation to most vulnerable states expected to prove controversial at UN climate talks Next week, hordes of negotiators will flood into Warsaw to discuss how to reduce the world's emissions in time to avoid catastrophic climate change. - 2013/11/08: BostonGlobe: Poland gives coal a voice during UN climate talks
With coal-reliant Poland hosting U.N. climate talks, the fossil fuel industry will get a rare chance to play a more visible role in the global warming debate. But in a move that has infuriated climate activists, the Polish government will also preside over a high-level coal industry event on the sidelines of the two-week climate conference, which starts Monday. - 2013/11/08: UN: Climate change deal in Warsaw vital for small farmers, rural poor, UN agency stresses
- 2013/11/07: CDreams: Climate Summit: Don't Turn Farmers into 'Climate Smart' Carbon Traders!
'Support small farmers and agroecology, not carbon markets,' say campaigners - 2013/11/07: RTCC: Is Poland's coal and climate summit outrageous or irrelevant?
- 2013/11/07: ICN: Climate Talks in Poland Will Open Amid Flurry of New Scientific Warnings
- 2013/11/07: ABC(Au): Climate Conference
The government says it won't send a minister to climate talks in Poland, as Australia's economy remains sluggish with a big fall in full time jobs. - 2013/11/06: RTCC: Intensive diplomacy central to success of 2015 climate deal - report
- 2013/11/06: Reuters: Hopes for strong 2015 climate deal fade, as risks grow
World governments are likely to recoil from plans for an ambitious 2015 climate change deal at talks next week, concern over economic growth at least partially eclipsing scientists' warnings of rising temperatures and water levels. - 2013/11/06: Grist: U.N.: Hurry up on climate action or we're screwed!
- 2013/11/06: EUO: World acting 'too slowly' on climate change
- 2013/11/05: Guardian(UK): Warsaw climate talks warned time is running out to close 'emissions gap'
- 2013/11/04: Resilience: Why United Nations Climate Change Conferences Will Always Fail
- 2013/11/04: RTCC: Twitter watch: Who to follow at the UN climate talks in Warsaw
- 2013/11/04: EurActiv: France spells out ambitions for 2015 climate conference in Paris
The French ambassador for climate negotiations at the UN has issued a rallying call for both the public and private to work towards climate abatement ahead of the 2015 global climate conference in Paris, with success largely depending on the EU's support.
Regarding the WG2 leak:
- 2013/11/05: NewYorker: Is It Too Late to Prepare for Climate Change? by Elizabeth Kolbert
- 2013/11/04: KSJT: AP: Big Story on latest IPCC super gloomy report...
- 2013/11/04: Grist: Leaked IPCC report: Humans are adapting -- but hunger, homelessness, and violence lie ahead
- 2013/11/03: CBC: Climate change draft report predicts war, heat waves, starvation -- 'Climate change threatens our health, land, food and water security'
One of the strongest typhoons ever recorded -- 300+ kph winds -- has struck the Philippines.
Much more here:
- 2013/11/09: CNN: Tacloban emerges as one of Typhoon Haiyan's most damaged targets
No building in the city of 200,000 appeared to have survived intact - All communications except for satellite phones were down - A couple loses three of their daughters - Red Cross may charter a boat to reach area - 2013/11/08: CNN: Super Typhoon Haiyan, perhaps strongest ever, plows across Philippines
"Around 20" people drown after storm surge, state news agency says, citing TV reports - "This is really a wallop," says the governor of a typhoon-hit province - The storm is one of the strongest ever observed - People left homeless by a quake on Bohol Island are among the most vulnerable - 2013/11/08: CBC: Typhoon Haiyan, strongest storm ever at landfall, rocks Philippines
At the Fukushima nuclear plant, TEPCO is just beginning a very dangerous procedure -- pick up nuclear sticks. Much more here:
- 2013/11/07: Telegraph(UK): Decommissioning Fukushima: how Japan will remove nuclear fuel rods from damaged reactor
Experts say no one has ever attempted such a procedure before and that a mistake could be disastrous
[...]
"Did you ever play pick up sticks?" asked a foreign nuclear expert who has been monitoring Tepco's efforts to regain control of the plant. "You had 50 sticks, you heaved them into the air and than had to take one off the pile at a time.
"If the pile collapsed when you were picking up a stick, you lost," he said. "There are 1,534 pick-up sticks in a jumble in top of an unsteady reactor 4. What do you think can happen?
"I do not know anyone who is confident that this can be done since it has never been tried."
Even now, it is not clear whether any of the rods, containing transuranic and transplutonic elements, are cracked, he said. - 2013/11/07: Guardian(UK): Fukushima nuclear clean-up enters critical phase
Tokyo Electric Power to begin removing more than 1,500 fuel assemblies from spent fuel pool in unprecedented operation
The Maldives have voted (again) but the Supreme Court intervened (again) to postpone the runoff vote:
- 2013/11/10: Xinhuanet: Maldives Supreme Court postpones runoff in presidential race
- 2013/11/10: IndiaTimes: Political chaos as Maldives Supreme Court suspends run-off vote
- 2013/11/10: al Jazeera: Maldives court postpones presidential runoff
Supreme Court delays second round for six days amid bickering between political factions in Indian Ocean nation. - 2013/11/09: BBC: Maldives election: Supreme Court delays run-off vote
The Supreme Court in the Maldives has suspended a presidential election run-off, after protests from a candidate. On Saturday, ex-President Mohamed Nasheed polled nearly 47%, just short of the 50% needed for outright victory. The second round was to have taken place on Sunday, but the runner-up Abdulla Yameen sought a delay, saying he needed time to campaign afresh. Mr Nasheed has been seeking to regain power after he was forced to resign in 2012, sparking a political crisis. This is the third time the presidential elections have been derailed. - 2013/11/09: IndiaTimes: Counting begins for presidential elections in Maldives
- 2013/11/09: Xinhuanet: Voting ends peacefully in Maldives presidential elections
- 2013/11/09: Xinhuanet: News Analysis: Maldives ready for back to back polls to elect new president
- 2013/11/09: al Jazeera: Maldives votes in presidential polls
Indian Ocean archipelago's residents hope to end political crisis with third such vote in two months. - 2013/11/08: BBC: Maldives holds fresh election for president
Voters in the Maldives are going to the polls to elect a president after two previous rounds failed. - 2013/11/07: AP: Maldives moves up runoff vote to avoid deadlock
Maldives officials on Thursday moved up a possible presidential runoff to Sunday, one day after the election in a bid to avoid a potential constitutional crisis. Two presidential election attempts since September have failed, and the Indian Ocean archipelago must have an elected president by Nov. 11, when the current presidential term ends. If no clear winner emerges Saturday, the country could have faced a political deadlock as the runoff was originally planned for Nov. 16 and no interim caretaker is mentioned in the constitution. Elections Commission spokesman Asim Sattar said the runoff was rescheduled for Sunday. - 2013/11/06: IndiaTimes: Maldives likely to hold presidential vote on Saturday
Male, Maldives: The president of the Maldives said the presidential election will likely be held on Saturday after he mediated an agreement among the three candidates on a disputed voters' register. - 2013/11/05: Guardian(UK): Maldives activists urge tourism industry to boycott country's resorts
Activists hijack Twitter hashtag for World Travel Market, posting pictures of alleged Maldives police brutality - 2013/11/03: Guardian(UK): Maldives police buy weapons shipment from UK-owned firm
Fears escalate over political instability in Maldives after teargas, grenades and rubber bullets shipped to authorities
How is the German Energy Transition [Energiewende] doing?
- 2013/11/07: CleanTechnica: [link to 4 meg pdf] Germany Solar PV Report - A Must-Read For Any Energy Reporter
- 2013/11/04: Lenz: I Would Not Buy Prokon Anyway
- 2013/11/05: TreeHugger: Major German utility rethinks business model, bets on renewables
And on the Bottom Line:
- 2013/10/28: Meteos: [link to 897k pdf] Systems not Silos: Investor Perspectives on the Energy System
- 2013/11/08: CDreams: World Headed for a High-Speed Carbon Crash
- 2013/11/07: Guardian(UK): 'Unburnable' carbon fuels investment concerns
Investors group with E7.3tn of assets asks energy giants about their exposure and response to the risk of falling demand for oil and coal - 2013/11/05: Eureka: Emissions pricing revenues could overcompensate profit losses of fossil fuel owners
- 2013/11/04: RTCC: Energy investors ignoring climate change challenge - [Meteos] report
Who's getting the subsidies?
- 2013/11/06: ODI: [link to 1 meg pdf] Time to change the game: fossil fuel subsidies and climate
- 2013/11/07: Guardian(UK): Fossil fuel subsidies 'killing UK's low-carbon future'
£2.6bn yearly incentive favours investment in carbon at the expense of green energy, says thinktank [ODI] - 2013/11/07: CDreams: Global Fail: Govts Pour $500 Billion Into Fossil Fuel Subsidies
Governments are 'subsidizing the very activities that are pushing the world towards dangerous climate change,' states new report - 2013/11/07: RTCC: Fossil fuel subsidies equal $112 per adult in rich countries
Report from the Overseas Development Institute shows fossil fuel subsidies undermine EU carbon pricing The world's richest countries are "shooting themselves in both feet" by providing high subsidies to the fossil fuel industry, according to a report from the Overseas Development Institute. - 2013/11/07: TP:JR: Fossil Fuels Receive $500 Billion A Year In Government Subsidies Worldwide
- 2013/11/06: BBC: Fossil fuel subsidies 'reckless use of public funds'
The world is spending half a trillion dollars on fossil fuel subsidies every year, according to a new report. The Overseas Development Institute (ODI) says rich countries are spending seven times more supporting coal, oil and gas than they are on helping poorer nations fight climate change. Some countries including Egypt, Morocco and Pakistan, have subsidies bigger than the national fiscal deficit. The new report calls on the G20 to phase out the payments by 2020.
What are the global financial institutions up to?
- 2013/11/08: RTCC: HSBC accused of financing Borneo rainforest destruction
- 2013/11/08: RTCC: World Bank chief condemned for backing 4000MW India coal plant
- 2013/11/06: Guardian(UK): World Bank warrior [Rachel Kyte] spearheading the fight against climate change
John Cook and friends continue their point-counterpoint articles:
- 2013/11/09: SkS: 2013 SkS Weekly News Roundup #45B by John Hartz
- 2013/11/09: SkS: Greenhouse Gas Concentrations in Atmosphere Reach New Record by John Hartz
- 2013/11/08: SkS: Climate contrarians are more celebrity than scientist by John Abraham
- 2013/11/07: SkS: 2013 Gap Report Strengthens Case for Wide-Ranging Global Action to Close Emissions Gap by John Hartz
- 2013/11/06: SkS: Book review - The Hockey Stick and the Climate Wars now Available in Paperback
- 2013/11/05: SkS: Oceans heating up faster now than in the past 10,000 years, says new study by John Abraham
- 2013/11/04: SkS: Climate Science History - interactive style by Paul D
- 2013/11/03: SkS: 2013 SkS Weekly Digest #44 by John Hartz
Various psychological angles arise in considerations of the ecological crisis:
- 2013/11/04: Tyee: The Four Tribes of Climate Change
More than ever, influential subcultures shape our response to global warming. Which do you belong to?
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.
[Now some people are talking about a century or more. Sealing it in concrete for 500 years.]
We'll see.
At any rate this situation is not going to be resolved any time soon and deserves its own section.
Meanwhile...
It is very difficult to know for sure what is really going on at Fukushima. Between the company [TEPCO], the Japanese government, the Japanese regulator [NISA], the international monitor [IAEA], as well as independent analysts and commentators, there is a confusing mish-mash of information. One has to evaluate both the content and the source of propagated information.
How knowledgeable are they [about nuclear power and about Japan]?
Do they have an agenda?
Are they pro-nuclear or anti-nuclear?
Do they want to write a good news story?
Do they want to write a bad news story?
Where do they rate on a scale of sensationalism?
Where do they rate on a scale of play-it-down-ness?
One fundamental question I would like to see answered:
If the reactors are in meltdown, how can they be in cold shutdown?
Not much good news coming out of Fukushima:
- 2013/11/09: EneNews: Japan Lawmaker: "Children coming down with many health problems,,, this is reality" - CNN: "Many parents of Fukushima blame nuclear accident" for higher cancer rate (videos)
- 2013/11/08: EneNews: Pro-Nuclear Engineer: Potential for "a very, very serious accident" when unloading Fukushima Unit 4; "The thing that keeps me up late at night"
- 2013/11/08: EneNews: Japan Experts: "Very worried" about accident at Fukushima Unit 4...
- 2013/11/08: CCurrents: Arranging The Deck Chairs While Death Comes From Japan
- 2013/11/08: BBC: Fukushima's fuel rod removal plan
- 2013/11/08: RealEconomics: The mess that is Fukushima
- 2013/11/08: NakedCapitalism: Gaius Publius: Japanese Mafia Feared in Charge of Fukushima Cleanup
- 2013/11/07: CNN: Fukushima's nuclear power mess: Five big questions
Fukushima officials must figure out what to do with increasing amounts of radioactive water - There are questions about lingering effects for people near the facility during meltdowns - Experts don't know exactly how to remove molten nuclear fuel from the melted down reactors
[...]
Here are five of the biggest questions still out there:- How dangerous for your health is Fukushima?
- What can you do with radioactive water?
- Is it safe to remove spent fuel rods?
- How do you remove molten fuel in melted down reactors?
- How do you stop running out of skilled labor?
- 2013/11/07: CNN: TEPCO to begin removing nuclear fuel rods at Fukushima
Plant operators will begin the delicate work of removing nuclear fuel from Fukushima - TEPCO will begin taking out 1,500 spent fuel units from Reactor 4 for storage - Plant damaged by the earthquake and tsunami that struck Japan in March 2011 - Cleanup beset by numerous problems, including the leak of 300 tons of radioactive water - 2013/11/07: EneNews: Top Nuclear Official: "Very large risk potential" when attempting fuel removal at Fukushima Unit 4 pool...
- 2013/11/06: BBC: Fukushima nuclear plant set for risky operation
A task of extraordinary delicacy and danger is about to begin at Japan's Fukushima nuclear power station. Engineers are preparing to extract the first of more than 1,000 nuclear fuel rods from one of the wrecked reactor buildings. This is seen as an essential but risky step on the long road towards stabilising the site. The fuel rods are currently in a precarious state in a storage pool in Unit 4. - 2013/11/06: EneNews: Nuclear Expert: Fuel rods are "in a jumble" at Fukushima Unit 4 pool; Unclear if they are cracked...
- 2013/11/06: RawStory: Fukushima plant readies for removal of dangerous fuel rods
- 2013/11/06: EneNews: U.S. Ambassador's letter from former Japan Ambassador: "Worsening radioactive contamination of the sea will soon awaken whole world" - Problem at Fukushima is "beyond control"
- 2013/11/06: IndiaTimes: UN nuclear inspectors in Japan as China demands openness
Tokyo: Inspectors from the UN's nuclear watchdog arrived in Tokyo on Wednesday to monitor marine pollution near Fukushima as China demanded Japan provide "accurate" information on how it is handling the crisis. China told the UN general assembly it was worried about radioactive water leaks from the Japanese plant, which went into meltdown after being hit by a tsunami in March 2011. - 2013/11/06: EneNews: Former Ambassador to President Obama: Fukushima Unit 4 can cause "major global catastrophe" - This is the "most pressing global security issue"
- 2013/11/05: TheCanadian: David Suzuki: Fukushima the most terrifying situation imaginable
- 2013/11/05: SCfR: Medical experts criticize UNSCEAR report for playing down consequences of Fukushima nuclear accident
- 2013/11/05: CDreams: Fukushima Trial Run Begins Dangerous Reactor 4 Clean-Up
- 2013/11/05: ABC(Au): High thyroid cancer rates detected in Fukushima children
- 2013/11/04: EneNews: Postponed: Fuel removal attempt at Fukushima Unit 4 delayed, possibly for weeks - Gov't safety agency wants tests conducted...
- 2013/11/04: EneNews: Japan Nuclear Engineer: I don't think they'll ever get Fukushima's melted cores; Will probably start covering reactors in concrete - German Expert: May encase areas in sarcophagus
- 2013/11/04: EneNews: Nuclear Expert Invited by Japan: Melted fuel may have 'sprayed up' rather than flowing down at Fukushima - Not known where molten mass went
- 2013/11/04: EneNews: ABC Correspondent: Nobody knows where Fukushima's melted cores are now, expert says - TEPCO admitted fuel "is actually eating through the concrete"...
- 2013/11/03: EneNews: US Energy Secretary "shocked" and "stunned" after being at Fukushima plant...
- 2013/11/03: EneNews: TV: "A new and disturbing development" around Fukushima - Worrying claims of 'cancer cluster' emerging...
- 2013/11/03: EneNews: Professor: There are fuel rods probably 'fused' in Fukushima Unit 4 ... AP: International concern about "catastrophic open-air meltdown" (audio)
- 2013/11/01: DOE: A Statement from U.S. Secretary of Energy Ernest Moniz Regarding Fukushima
- 2013/10/25: AlterNet: Could the Entire Pacific Fishery Be Tainted by Fukushima?
The Arctic melt continues to garner attention:
- 2013/11/10: ASI: PIOMAS October 2013, take two
- 2013/11/08: Dosbat: The 2013 Sea Ice Rebound (that never was)
- 2013/11/06: ASI: PIOMAS October 2013
As for the charismatic megafauna:
- 2013/11/05: Guardian(UK): Live webcams get up close and personal with Hudson Bay polar bears
Cameras located around Churchill, Canada capture bears' migration routes - and increasing amount of time on land - 2013/11/04: Guardian(UK): Polar bear attacks: scientists warn of fresh dangers in warming Arctic
Two people injured in latest attack as hungry bears deprived of access to sea ice increasingly look for food on land
That Damoclean sword still hangs overhead:
As for the geopolitics of Arctic resources:
- 2013/11/08: CSM: Will Shell return to the Arctic to drill for oil?
- 2013/11/07: CCP: Shell moves to resume Arctic Alaska drilling, again with no spill plan
- 2013/11/05: RT: Russia lays down world's largest icebreaker
- 2013/11/04: Grist: Accidents? What accidents? Shell's Arctic drillers are ready to roll again
While in Antarctica:
- 2013/11/07: Princeton: 'Tiger stripes' underneath Antarctic glaciers slow the flow
- 2013/11/07: Xinhuanet: Chinese icebreaker embarks on 30th Antarctic expedition
Shanghai -- Chinese research vessel and icebreaker Xuelong (Snow Dragon) left Shanghai on Thursday, setting sail on the country's 30th scientific expedition to Antarctica. - 2013/11/06: ABC(Au): Scientists discover [East] Antarctic ice sheet believed to be 1.5 million years old
- 2013/11/06: ABC(Au): Search for 'holy grail' of ice cores in Antarctia
Australian scientists are hunting for an ancient ice core that they expect to yield vital evidence about climate change. It's a piece of ice in Antarctica that's more than a million years old. They've used radar to isolate an area in east Antarctica, where they think the old ice is, and they hope to start drilling this summer.
The food crisis is ongoing:
- 2013/11/09: WSWS: Nearly one in five hit by food stamp cuts in Michigan
- 2013/11/08: WSWS: California: Food stamp recipients speak about cuts
- 2013/11/06: TreeHugger: China and the Soybean Challenge by Lester Brown
- 2013/11/06: Grist: Climate change is decreasing farm yields just when we need them to go up
- 2013/11/06: WSWS: Food stamp cuts devastate New York City's poor
- 2013/11/05: GG&G: Weather, storage and an old climate impact debate
- 2013/11/05: FDL: New Cuts To Food Stamps Come At Worst Time
- 2013/11/05: AllAfrica:SW Radio: Zimbabwe: Traditional Leaders and Councillors Named in Partisan Food Distribution
A human rights activist from Manicaland has exposed several traditional leaders and ZANU PF councillors who are distributing government food along partisan lines, denying the MDC-T and other opposition supporters. - 2013/11/05: CCurrents: American Hunger And The Christian right
- 2013/11/04: ABC(Au): Rangelands to lose fertility under climate change
Global trends show arid rangeland soils are set to lose fertility, carbon and nitrogen with hotter drier weather. - 2013/11/04: RTCC: World's soil moisture could decrease 15% by 2099
Scientists have discovered that a change in atmospheric conditions could have serious consequences for soil chemistry A warmer, drier world will be bad news for those people who already live on the edge. Higher temperatures will do more than evaporate the soil moisture: they will alter the natural soil chemistry as well. - 2013/11/04: WSWS: Food assistance cut for 48 million Americans -- Inequality and the political vacuum in the United States
- 2013/11/02: TDB: Food Stamp Cuts Add to Walmart's Troubles
The retail giant is as dependent on SNAP benefits as the poorest Americans. Why new cuts will be a double whammy for Bentonville -- and anyone with a mutual fund.
The state of the world's fisheries is a concern:
- 2013/11/07: ERabett: The Better Tasting Jellyfish Appetizer
- 2013/11/07: PNNL: Tracking young salmon's first moves in the ocean -- Knowledge informs efforts to restore endangered salmon stocks
- 2013/11/05: ScienceInsider: E.U. Parliament Committee Adopts Watered-Down Restrictions on Deep-Sea Fishing
- 2013/11/05: DD: Tiny parasite threatens Georgia shrimp in prime season after record rainfall in U.S. Southeast...
- 2013/11/05: EUO: Faroe islands takes EU fishing restrictions to the WTO
- 2013/11/04: ABC(Au): Barramundi supplies take a dive
The commercial barramundi season in northern Australia has wrapped up for another year, and as expected, this season has been well below average. A poor wet season meant catch volumes were always going to be down, and early numbers suggest the Northern Territory has supplied 60 per cent of what it produced last year. - 2013/11/04: EneNews: Sardine population plummets along U.S. West Coast - AP: Collapse of species feared - "Canadian Pacific fishermen catch no sardines in 2013"
- 2013/10/25: AlterNet: Could the Entire Pacific Fishery Be Tainted by Fukushima?
Food Prices are still problematic:
- FAO: World Food Situation - Food Price Indices
- 2013/11/07: FAO: FAO expects more balanced food markets, less price volatility
Food Price Index rose slightly in October, driven by higher sugar prices
Regarding the genetic modification of food:
- 2013/11/08: ABC(Au): South Australia to extend GM ban
- 2013/11/07: ScienceInsider: After 12-Year Limbo, New GM Maize May Hit Europe's Fields
- 2013/11/07: EurActiv: Brussels reopens 12-year old GMO cultivation request
- 2013/11/06: EUO: EU commission backs GM maize cultivation
- 2013/11/04: EUO: EU commission to discuss GM crop authorisation
- 2013/10/30: Grain: Seed laws in Latin America: the offensive continues, so does popular resistance
The world's agribusiness corporations are pursuing their attempts to privatize and monopolize our seeds. Behind their efforts is a clear goal: to make the age-old practice of saving and breeding seeds into a crime and gain monopoly control over seeds. - 2013/10/30: AlterNet: 5 Things We Can Learn from the Battle Against GMOs
Regarding labelling GM food:
- 2013/11/08: MoJo: Big Food Wants to Crush the GMO Labeling Movement
In a confidential memo, the industry reveals its plan to push for a national no-label law -- one that would preempt any state efforts. - 2013/11/08: Grist: Memos highlight Big Food's GMO-labeling stonewall strategy
- 2013/11/06: RT: Washington [state] votes against GMO labeling - preliminary results
And how are we going to feed 9 billion, 10 billion, 15 billion?
- 2013/11/08: Resilience: Scaling up agroecology: A tool for policy
- 2013/11/08: Eureka: Defending food crops: Whitefly experimentation to prevent contamination of agriculture
- 2013/11/07: ScienceInsider: Desert Farming Experiment Yields First Results
- 2013/11/07: CassandrasLegacy: Turning electricity into food
- 2013/11/06: MODIS: Fires and smoke in northern India [on Oct.27]
- 2013/11/06: ABC(Au): Grass is the priority says NT beef producer
A Northern Territory cattleman says the main focus of his business is managing grass, not beef. Although growing high quality beef is the aim for John Dunnicliff, it's nurturing the grasses to support his stock, that takes up most of his time and expenses. - 2013/11/05: UFZ: Global map provides new insights into land use
In the Western Pacific, Super Typhoon Haiyan [31W] hammered the Philippines and headed for Vietnam:
- 2013/11/10: ABC(Au): Fears at least 10,000 dead in Philippines as Super Typhoon Haiyan approaches Vietnam
- 2013/11/10: Guardian(UK): Typhoon Haiyan: at least 10,000 reported dead in Philippine province
- 2013/11/10: CNN: Philippines reels from catastrophic damage as Typhoon Haiyan heads to Vietnam
- 2013/11/10: Xinhuanet: China issues higher Typhoon alert as Haiyan nears
- 2013/11/10: Xinhuanet: UN boosts efforts to relieve Philippines from super typhoon
- 2013/11/10: Xinhuanet: Vietnam reports 6 deaths as it poised to meet Typhoon Haiyan's landing
- 2013/11/10: Xinhuanet: 10,000 people in Philippines feared dead in super typhoon Haiyan [pix]
- 2013/11/10: IndiaTimes: Pentagon announces help for Philippines after typhoon
- 2013/11/10: IndiaTimes: China issues orange alert as typhoon Haiyan hits coast
- 2013/11/10: IndiaTimes: Typhoon Haiyan: More than 10,000 feared dead in Philippines; 600,000 evacuated in Vietnam
- 2013/11/10: RT: 10,000 feared killed in Philippines by super typhoon Haiyan
- 2013/11/10: Guardian(UK): Philippines calls for help as huge rescue operation begins after typhoon Haiyan
- 2013/11/10: BBC: In pictures: Tacloban in ruins
- 2013/11/10: BBerg: Vietnam Girds for Typhoon as 10,000 Reported Dead in Philippines
- 2013/11/09: NYT: Philippine Typhoon Death Toll Feared in Thousands
- 2013/11/09: Wunderground: Typhoon Haiyan Kills 1,200 in the Philippines, Heads for Vietnam
- 2013/11/09: BBC: Typhoon Haiyan: Thousands feared dead in Philippines
Police in the Philippines say they fear 10,000 people may have died in the devastation wreaked by Typhoon Haiyan. The Philippine government has so far only confirmed the death of several hundred people after the storm struck. But regional police chief Elmer Soria said he was told by the provincial governor of Leyte that there were about 10,000 deaths on the eastern island alone. - 2013/11/09: BBC: In pictures: Philippines counts cost of Typhoon Haiyan
- 2013/11/09: CBC: Typhoon Haiyan death toll tops 10,000: police
- 2013/11/09: Guardian(UK): Super typhoon Haiyan leaves trail of destruction - in [20] pictures
- 2013/11/09: CCP: Haiyan intensified by energy of deeper warmer waters
- 2013/11/09: IOTD: Super Typhoon Haiyan Surges Across the Philippines [on Nov.8]
- 2013/11/09: CBC: Philippines recovering after powerful typhoon -- Evacuations underway as storm heads for Vietnam
Rescuers in the central Philippines counted at least 100 dead and many more injured Saturday, a day after one of the most powerful typhoons on record ripped through the region, wiping away buildings and leveling seaside homes in massive storm surges, then headed for Vietnam. - 2013/11/09: ABC(Au): Fears hundreds dead as Super Typhoon Haiyan approaches Vietnam
- 2013/11/10: ABC(Au): In pictures: Super Typhoon Haiyan devastates Philippines
- 2013/11/09: WSWS: Record typhoon Haiyan hits central Philippines
- 2013/11/09: al Jazeera: Mass casualties feared after Philippine storm
Death toll and damage estimates expected to rise sharply as rescue workers reach areas cut off by Typhoon Haiyan. - 2013/11/09: IndiaTimes: Typhoon Haiyan kills at least 1,200 in Philippines
- 2013/11/09: Xinhuanet: Over 100 killed in Central Philippine city Tacloban by Typhoon
- 2013/11/09: Xinhuanet: Typhoon Haiyan approaches south China
- 2013/11/09: Xinhuanet: 138 killed, 4 mln affected in Philippines by Typhoon Haiyan
- 2013/11/09: RT: At least 1,200 dead as super-typhoon Haiyan rips through Philippines - Red Cross
- 2013/11/09: PLNA: UN: Devastating Scene of Typhoon Passage Through Philippines
The typhoon Haiyan left behind in Philippines absolute scene of devastation and damages rarely seen, reported today a UN Group for the Assessment and Coordination in Case of Disasters (UNDAC). - 2013/11/09: al Jazeera: Hundreds feared killed in Philippine Typhoon
Philippine Red Cross estimates that more than 1,000 people killed in coastal city of Tacloban and 200 dead in Samar. - 2013/11/09: CSM: Typhoon Haiyan hammers Philippines, heads toward Vietnam
- 2013/11/09: CNN: Death toll likely exceeds 1,000 after typhoon slams Philippines
People died in evacuation centers, too, says Red Cross chairman - The typhoon is headed toward Vietnam and could land Sunday morning - Shell-shocked Filipinos are looking for food and water - Officials say the number of casualties is expected to go up - 2013/11/09: WFP: WFP Mobilises To Assist Philippines Government In Aftermath Of Typhoon Haiyan
- 2013/11/09: Guardian(UK): Philippines: 'bodies in the streets', with many feared dead in typhoon Haiyan
Reports from worst-hit areas suggest the death toll will rise significantly as storm's passing reveals scale of damage - 2013/11/09: ABC(Au): Super Typhoon Haiyan leaving trail of devastation across the Philippines
- 2013/11/09: ABC(Au): Massive typhoon hits the Philippines
One of the biggest and most powerful storms ever recorded has ripped through the central islands of the Philippines. Typhoon Haiyan has been gusting up to 320 kilometres per hour. So far, three people are known to have been killed, but it's thought that many more lives have been lost. Hundreds of thousands of people in the path of the storm have been evacuated and it could be days before the full extent of the destruction is known. - 2013/11/09: DD: Video: Destruction in wake of Super Typhoon Haiyan...
- 2013/11/09: DD: Massive destruction as Typhoon Haiyan kills at least 1,200 in Philippines...
- 2013/11/08: BBC: Super Typhoon Haiyan: Satellite images
- 2013/11/08: Eureka: NASA's TRMM satellite sees Super-typhoon Haiyan strike Philippines
- 2013/11/08: CCurrents: Typhoon Haiyan 'One Of The Strongest Storms Ever' Strikes The Philippines
- 2013/11/08: BBC: Typhoon Haiyan: 'At least 100 dead' says official
Typhoon Haiyan is one of the strongest storms ever recorded, as Jon Donnison reports At least 100 people have reportedly been killed by Typhoon Haiyan in one city, according to a Philippine official. Capt John Andrews, deputy director general of the Civil Aviation Authority, said the bodies were lying in the streets of the city of Tacloban. - 2013/11/08: CBC: Typhoon Haiyan kills over 100 in Philippines: official
- 2013/11/08: Guardian(UK): Philippines death toll from typhoon Haiyan 'could rocket within 24 hours'
- 2013/11/08: Guardian(UK): Typhoon Haiyan rolls into Philippines - in [19] pictures
- 2013/11/08: Guardian(UK): Typhoon Haiyan the biggest yet as world's tropical storms gather force
- 2013/11/08: Guardian(UK): Typhoon Haiyan: what really alarms Filipinos is the rich world ignoring climate change
- 2013/11/08: QuarkSoup: Hot Southern Hemisphere & Typhoon Haiyan
- 2013/11/08: Xinhuanet: At least one person killed in S. Philippines due to Super Typhoon Haiyan
- 2013/11/08: PeakEnergy: Historic Super Typhoon Haiyan Assaults Philippines
- 2013/11/08: Xinhuanet: China issues yellow alert for typhoon Haiyan
- 2013/11/08: IndiaTimes: Typhoon Haiyan, potentially strongest storm ever to make landfall, hits Philippines
- 2013/11/08: IndiaTimes: Typhoon Haiyan hits Philippines, millions flee
- 2013/11/08: al Jazeera: Several killed in Philippines super typhoon
Three dead and one missing as one of the world's strongest ever recorded cyclones, Typhoon Haiyan, hits the Philippines. - 2013/11/08: ABC(Au): Deadly Typhoon Haiyan ... lashes Philippines [pix]
- 2013/11/08: ABC(Au): Big storms compared: Typhoon Haiyan v Cyclone Yasi
- 2013/11/08: ABC(Au): Typhoon slams into Philippines
One of the most powerful typhoons ever recorded has slammed into the Philippines, forcing millions of people to bunker down and take shelter. The super typhoon is still a major threat, as it moves north-west. It's called Typhoon Haiyan, it's cut communications in towns and cities. The maximum wind speeds have been recorded reaching 315 kilometres per hour. - 2013/11/08: ABC(Au): Typhoon Haiyan devastates northern island of Palau
- 2013/11/08: Wunderground: Super Typhoon Haiyan Finishes Pounding the Philippines, Headed for Vietnam
- 2013/11/08: PSinclair: Haiyan Update from Jeff Masters
- 2013/11/08: PSinclair: Typhoon Haiyan: Is this a Cat 6 Hypercane?
- 2013/11/08: ABC(Au): Mass evacuations underway as Typhoon Haiyan heads for Philippines
- 2013/11/08: ABC(Au): Mass evacuations as Philippines braces for powerful Typhoon Haiyan
- 2013/11/08: TP:JR: Super Typhoon Haiyan Now One Of The Strongest Tropical Cyclones Ever To Make Landfall
- 2013/11/07: Guardian(UK): Typhoon Haiyan bears down on Philippines
Most powerful storm to hit the western Pacific this year expected to make landfall on Friday between Samar and Leyte - 2013/11/07: Guardian(UK): Philippines waits for Super Typhoon Haiyan to hit - harder than Katrina
- 2013/11/07: Guardian(UK): Philippines hit by 'worst typhoon on record'
Experts predict catastrophic damage and winds of up to 195 mph... - 2013/11/07: ABC(Au): Palau assesses damage after Super Typhoon Haiyan [pix]
- 2013/11/07: BBerg: Super Typhoon Haiyan Slams Philippines With Category-5 Power
Super Typhoon Haiyan, the equivalent of a Category 5 hurricane, slammed into the Philippines today after forcing thousands of people to evacuate. Haiyan had top winds of almost 196 miles (315 kilometers) per hour when it was about 489 miles southeast of Manila, the U.S. Navy's Joint Typhoon Warning Center said at 2 p.m. East Coast time. Winds gusted to as high as 235 mph, the Navy said - 2013/11/07: CDreams: Philippines Slammed by 'One of the Strongest Storms Ever'
- 2013/11/07: P3: Extraordinary Super-Typhoon Approaches Philippines
- 2013/11/07: RScribbler: Abnormally Hot Pacific Ocean Explodes Haiyan into 195 mph Monster - Possibly Strongest Storm On Record
- 2013/11/07: Wunderground: Super Typhoon Haiyan: Strongest Landfalling Tropical Cyclone on Record
- 2013/11/07: Wunderground: Super Typhoon Haiyan Closes in on the Philippines With 190 mph Sustained Winds
- 2013/11/07: W&C: Super Typhoon Haiyan makes landfall in the Philippines
- 2013/11/07: CBC: Super typhoon Haiyan slams into central Philippines
Wind gusts of 300 km/h whip up giant waves, millions flee to safer ground - 2013/11/07: TP:JR: Super Typhoon Haiyan, Stongest Storm On Earth This Year, Heading For Philippines
- 2013/11/07: PSinclair: Monster Typhoon Haiyan Bearing Down on Phillipines
- 2013/11/07: DD: Super typhoon Haiyan slams into central Philippines, millions flee - 'The strongest tropical cyclone on record to make landfall in world history'
- 2013/11/07: RScribbler: 175 Mph Super Typhoon Haiyan Bears Down on Philippines
- 2013/11/07: CBC: Typhoon Haiyan hits central Philippines
Strongest tropical cyclone in the world in 2013, says U.S. Navy's Joint Typhoon Warning Centre - sustained winds were 314 kilometres per hour, with gusts up to 379 kilometres per hour - 2013/11/07: CNN: Super Typhoon Haiyan, one of strongest storms ever, heads for central Philippines
The storm is one of the strongest ever observed - The storm is forecast to make landfall in the Eastern Visayas region Friday - Authorities have relocated thousands of people ahead of its arrival - People left homeless by a quake on Bohol island are among the most vulnerable - 2013/11/07: IndiaTimes: Thousands flee in Philippines as typhoon [Haiyan] nears
- 2013/11/07: BBC: Philippines braces for [Cat 5] Typhoon Haiyan
- 2013/11/07: al Jazeera: Winners and losers in the cyclone seasons
A look at the differences between the great storms of the Atlantic and Pacific oceans - 2013/11/07: CCP: Nat Cohn: How Strong Is Super Typhoon Haiyan? Compare It to This Pic of Katrina
- 2013/11/06: ABC(Au): Typhoon Haiyan gaining strength, heading towards Philippines
- 2013/11/06: al Jazeera: The Philippines face further flood threat
Typhoon Haiyan intensifies in the western Pacific and heads towards the central Philippines. - 2013/11/06: Wunderground: Category 5 Super Typhoon Haiyan Headed Towards the Philippines
- 2013/11/06: Eureka: NASA sees heavy rain around Super-Typhoon Haiyan's eye
- 2013/11/05: Wunderground: Dangerous Category 2 Typhoon Haiyan Headed For the Philippines
- 2013/11/04: NASA: NASA Sees Strengthening Tropical Storm Haiyan [31W] Lashing Micronesia
In the South China Sea, Tropical Storm 30W zinged Southern Vietnam; died unnamed:
A numbered storm in the Arabian Sea is headed for Somalia:
Earlier in the Eastern Pacific:
Tropical Storm Sonia makes its way into western Mexico with the possibility of further flooding and damaging winds
While elsewhere in the hurricane wars:
This week in the New Normal -- extreme weather:
- 2013/11/08: TP:JR: Top Climatologist Slams Science Magazine For Getting The Extreme Weather Story Very Wrong
Meanwhile on the GHG front:
- 2013/11/05: UNEP: [links to several pdfs] The Emissions Gap Report 2013
- 2013/11/10: PeakEnergy: CO2 levels hit record high
- 2013/11/07: CCurrents: CO2 Levels Hit Record High Again, "Time Is Not On Our Side"
- 2013/11/07: DD: Greenhouse gas concentrations in atmosphere reach new record...
- 2013/11/06: CBC: Greenhouse gas levels hit new record high -- CO2 emissions grew faster in 2012 than in previous decade, WMO reports
- 2013/11/06: BBC: Concentrations of warming gases break record
- 2013/11/06: CSM: Climate change: Global emissions hit record high, UN [WMO] says
- 2013/11/06: WMO: Greenhouse Gas Concentrations in Atmosphere Reach New Record
The amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere reached a new record high in 2012, continuing an upward and accelerating trend which is driving climate change and will shape the future of our planet for hundreds and thousands of years. - 2013/11/06: UN: Amount of greenhouse gases in atmosphere reach record high, says UN [WMO] agency
- 2013/11/06: ABC(Au): Carbon Emissions Record
Global emissions of carbon dioxide reached a new record in 2012 of 34.5bn tonnes, according to a UN report. - 2013/11/06: RTCC: Climate warming gases hit record high in 2012 - WMO
- 2013/11/06: Guardian(UK): CO2 levels hit record high
- 2013/11/05: CDreams: 'Window of Opportunity' to Curb Climate Change Quickly Closing: [Emissions Gap] Report
- 2013/11/05: Guardian(UK): Carbon emissions must be cut 'significantly' by 2020, says UN [Emissions Gap Report 2013]
- 2013/11/05: RTCC: UNEP: efforts to slow global warming are failing
- 2013/11/05: BBerg: Failure to Cut Carbon Seen Keeping Dirty Plants Operating
Failure to tackle excessive greenhouse-gas output threatens to keep polluting power stations and factories operating for decades to come, raising the costs of tackling climate change beyond 2020, the United Nations said. - 2013/11/04: CSM: Good news on global warming? Emissions going up, but more slowly
- 2013/11/04: RTCC: Rising waste levels driving global methane threat
Methane emissions from global rubbish dumps likely to continue to rise into next century Human waste production has multiplied tenfold in the last century. - 2013/11/01: CBrief: 2012's carbon emissions in five graphs
And in the nitrogen cycle:
- 2013/11/04: Eureka: The nitrogen puzzle in the oceans -- Nitrogen isotope effects by anammox deciphered
Regarding the solar hypothesis:
Regarding the cosmic ray hypothesis:
Aerosols are making their presence felt:
- 2013/11/06: SciNews: Natural aerosols confound climate predictions -- Researchers can't say how much cooling these floating particles cause
- 2013/11/06: TheConversation: Climate change and aerosols: new research
What's up with volcanoes this week?
- 2013/11/10: MODIS: Plume from Mt. Etna in Sicily [on Oct.29]
- 2013/11/06: IOTD: Volcanic Plumes Tower over Mount Etna [on Oct.26]
And on the ENSO front:
- 2013/11/07: NOAA:NCEP: El Niño/Southern Oscillation (ENSO) Diagnostic Discussion
Synopsis: ENSO-neutral is expected through the Northern Hemisphere spring 2014.
As for the temperature record:
- 2013/11/06: RealEconomics: Keep an eye on the water -- ocean warming
- 2013/11/05: RScribbler: New Study Finds Arctic Experiencing Hottest Temps in Nearly 120,000 Years; Lead Author: All Baffin Ice Caps Set to 'Eventually Disappear'
- 2013/11/05: CCurrents: Oceans Heating Up Faster Now Than In The Past 10,000 Years, Find Scientists
- 2013/11/04: CCP: Deep Greenland Sea Is Warming Faster Than the World Ocean
- 2013/11/03: TP:JR: Hottest September On Record, Fastest Pacific Warming In 10,000 Years, Warmest Arctic In 120,000 Years
The cliff, aka tipping points, aka planetary boundaries, put in an appearance:
In the attribution debate:
What's the State of the Oceans?:
- 2013/11/09: Grist: Sardines have nearly disappeared off West Coast
- 2013/11/09: DD: Record number of dolphins dying off U.S. East Coast in 'measles' outbreak -- Recovery teams 'overwhelmed' as hundreds of the animals wash up on beaches
- 2013/11/08: ProMedMail: Sea star die-off - USA: (CA) wasting syndrome
- 2013/11/07: ERabett: The Better Tasting Jellyfish Appetizer
- 2013/11/07: EneNews: Mystery: Starfish turn to 'slime' along Pacific coast - "We're talking about a loss of millions and millions"...
- 2013/11/07: EneNews: Fishermen report boats surrounded by hundreds of dead Eastern Pacific green sea turtles - Official says some found swimming in circles as if dazed or confused
- 2013/11/05: MNN: Mysterious wasting syndrome is turning West Coast starfish into goo
An unknown disease is causing starfish to lose their limbs, dissolve and die. - 2013/11/05: Guardian(UK): Starfish wasting disease baffles US scientists
Deadly disease ravages sea creatures in record numbers along west coast of US from south-east Alaska to Orange County - 2013/11/04: CNN: Jellyfish taking over oceans, experts warn
Scientists say jellyfish are proliferating faster than ever before - Changing water temperatures and overfishing are behind the surge in population - Irukandji, box jellyfish among the world's most deadly varieties - Contrary to popular belief, treating a jellyfish sting with urine isn't advised - 2013/11/04: EneNews: PHOTOS: Sea star began "ripping itself into pieces" ... AP: Deaths from Alaska to S. California...
- 2013/11/04: CBC: What's going on in B.C.'s weird ocean waters?
- 2013/11/04: Resilience: Stronger Efforts Needed to Reduce Nitrate Pollution in Mississippi River Basin
- 2013/11/04: EneNews: Sardine population plummets along U.S. West Coast - AP: Collapse of species feared - "Canadian Pacific fishermen catch no sardines in 2013"
And on the extinction watch:
- 2013/11/09: ABC(Au): Almost 500 protected turtles found in Thai airport bags, over 1,000 creatures found in a week
- 2013/11/09: TheConversation: The Ivory War: militarised tactics won't work
- 2013/11/09: Guardian(UK): Critically endangered species in Sumatra on the road to extinction
Some of the world's most vulnerable creatures could be wiped out if a highway through the Haparan rainforest is approved - 2013/11/06: ABC(Au): No rosy future for pink dolphins
As Hong Kong continues to pursue relentless expansion, it seems the iconic local dolphins may be among the casualties. - 2013/11/06: TreeHugger: Last seen in 2006: A moment of silence for the Western Black Rhino
- 2013/11/06: Guardian(UK): Harlequin toad rediscovery raises hope for deadly fungus survivors
Scientists hopeful of finding other amphibian species presumed to have been wiped out by chytrid fungus infection - 2013/11/05: TreeHugger: 4,000 pounds of ivory found in Chinese smuggler's home in Tanzania (that's 200+ dead elephants)
- 2013/11/04: CCP: Bats Dying in Unprecedented Numbers
And for the people who do not understand or accept the epithet "top predator":
More GW impacts are being seen:
- 2013/11/04: ESA: Special issue of ESA Frontiers assesses the impacts of climate change on people and ecosystems, and strategies for adaptation
And then there are the world's forests:
- 2013/11/08: RT: Genetically engineered trees under USDA consideration could harm environment - report
- 2013/11/07: Princeton: If a tree falls in Brazil...? Amazon deforestation could mean droughts for western U.S. [w machine]
- 2013/11/05: Resilience: Agroforestry: The Art of Farming With Trees
Climate refugees are becoming an issue:
- 2013/11/08: ABC(Au): Indonesia says it will not accept rescued asylum seekers Australia has tried to return
- 2013/11/06: TMoS: Filling the Moats and Raising the Drawbridges, The Developed World Establishes Walls Against the Rest
- 2013/11/03: RT: Asylum hell: Italy struggles to deal with migrant influx
Emerging diseases accompany ecological change:
Aerosols affect the climate, but they also affect people's health:
- 2013/11/09: BBC: Smoggy Beijing sees lung cancer cases soar
The number of lung cancer cases in the Chinese capital Beijing has soared over the last decade. According to figures published by the state-run Xinhua news agency, they have increased by more than 50%. - 2013/11/04: RTCC: Clean cookstoves can save lives and slow climate change
Deaths from cookstove emissions are higher than the toll of HIV/AIDS, malaria, and tuberculosis combined Reducing emissions from cookstoves could save a million lives a year and slow global warming says a World Bank report. - 2013/11/04: EurActiv: Cut developing world deaths with better stoves, urges World Bank
Simple measures to reduce pollution from cooking stoves in developing nations could save a million lives a year and help slow global warming, a World Bank study showed today (4 November). - 2013/11/04: Xinhuanet: World Bank says improved stoves crucial for saving lives, protecting environment
The World Bank is urging the use of advanced cooking stoves in developing countries to reduce harmful emissions and death from indoor biomass cooking smoke.
As for heatwaves and wild fires:
- 2013/11/10: IOTD: Burn Scar near Sydney [Australia, on Nov.5]
- 2013/11/09: ABC(Au): Dreamworld evacuated as Queensland firefighters battle grass fire
- 2013/11/08: MODIS: Fires near Sydney, Australia [on Oct.29]
- 2013/11/07: USGS: Wildfire Science Returns to Rim Fire
- 2013/11/07: ABC(Au): Authorities monitoring several bushfires across southern Queensland
- 2013/11/06: ABC(Au): Authorities are battling a large bushfire south of Gympie in south-east Queensland
- 2013/11/05: NASA: Wollemi National Park Bushfires in New South Wales, Australia
- 2013/11/05: DD: South Australia braces for extreme heat and catastrophic fire conditions
- 2013/11/04: ABC(Au): A bushfire is burning out of control near Manjimup with a Watch and Act in place
- 2013/11/03: DD: Bushfire smoke engulfs Australia's biggest city Sydney
Corals are a bellwether of the ocean's health:
Glaciers are melting:
- 2013/11/07: FaGP: Gora Bashkara Region Glacier Retreat, Western Caucasus, Russia and Georgia
- 2013/11/04: IOTD: Upsala Glacier Retreat
- 2013/11/03: FaGP: Marconi Glacier Retreat, Patagonia, Argentina
Sea levels are rising:
- 2013/11/06: UCSUSA:B: Florida Sea Level Rise: A State's Race Against The Sea
- 2013/11/05: TreeHugger: This is what Earth will look like if we melt all the ice
- 2013/11/05: SciAm:PI: What if all the ice melted?
- 2013/11/05: TP:JR: Britain's New Flood Protection Plan: Surrender To The Ocean
- 2013/11/04: Guardian(UK): New York, London and Mumbai: major cities face risk from sea-level rises
As for hydrological cycle disruptions [floods & droughts]:
- 2013/11/09: EPOD: Catastrophic Damage During the Colorado Front Range Flood of September 11-13, 2013
- 2013/11/08: PSinclair: Following Drought: Historic Flash Floods in Austin
- 2013/11/07: Xinhuanet: China's largest freshwater lake is drying out
- 2013/11/05: TP:JR: Austin Declares A State Of Disaster After Flooding Kills Five
- 2013/11/04: ABC(Au): The Forgotten Drought
First, stop subsidizing fossil fuels
Second, put a price on carbon
Third, begin to reduce the human population
And elsewhere on the mitigation front:
- 2013/11/08: Xinhuanet: New grass developed to help curb greenhouse gas emissions
- 2013/11/06: CCurrents: UNEP Report Warns Global Efforts To Combat Climate Change Could Fail
- 2013/11/06: Eureka: Companies close to reusing the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide
- 2013/11/06: P3: Why not buy out the coal industry?
- 2013/11/05: TheConversation: Making sense of chaotic emissions reduction pledges
- 2013/11/05: QuarkSoup: Coal Problem Solved: Buy Them Out
- 2013/11/05: BBC: UN highlights role of farming in closing emissions gap
Reduced Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation has somehow seemed chimeric:
- 2013/11/04: ERW: Insight: REDD+ projects need better forest monitoring
- 2013/11/05: RTCC: REDD+ mechanism could be too late to save world's rainforests
Consider transportation & GHG production:
- 2013/11/08: UCSUSA:B: Fording an Energy Fjord: Norway's Oil Savings
- 2013/11/04: Xinhuanet: Commentary: China's high-speed rail ready for export
While in the endless quest for zero energy, sustainable buildings and practical codes:
- 2013/11/01: Guardian(UK): Actively cutting energy bills in Oldham - welcome to the 'Passivhauses'
- 2013/11/05: CleanTechnica: Dallas Goes All-In On Green Building With Mandatory Regulations
- 2013/11/05: Guardian(UK): There is more to sustainability than a building's environmental impact
As for carbon sequestration:
- 2013/11/08: Eureka: Safe long term storage of CO2 is possible
Conclusion of an international project [CO2CARE - CO2 Site Closure Assessment Research] for the geological storage of carbon dioxide - 2013/11/07: TP:JR: Obama Administration Just Invested $84M In A Clean Coal Technology That Might Cause Earthquakes
- 2013/11/05: TP:JR: Carbon Capture and Storage Can Cause Earthquakes, Making It 'A Risky And Likely Unsuccessful Strategy'
- 2013/11/04: SciNews: Greenhouse gas injections may unleash earthquakes
Plans to sequester carbon dioxide by pumping it into the ground could create other problems
Large scale geo-engineering keeps popping up:
- 2013/11/: CE-Conf: Climate Engineering Conference 2014 -- International engagement and African perspectives on geoengineering
- 2013/11/09: Grist: Carbon-sucking golf balls and other crazy climate patents
- 2013/11/07: MPirie: Different geo-engineering proposals are designed to use technology to redress any possible global warming
- 2013/11/04: 50+NW: Can geo-engineering stave off global warming?
- 2013/11/05: GOC: A History of Weather and Climate Control (Opinion Article)
- 2013/11/05: CCurrents: Geoengineering: A Pick- Your- Poison Solution
- 2013/10/11: HuffPo: Communicating Climate Geoengineering to the Public
What's new in conservation?
- 2013/11/08: BBC: Isles of Scilly rat eradication to 'save seabirds' begins
- 2013/11/05: TheConversation: Should we move Tasmanian Devils back to the mainland?
While on the adaptation front:
Meanwhile in the journals:
- 2013/11/04: GMD: A semi-implicit, second-order-accurate numerical model for multiphase underexpanded volcanic jets by S. Carcano et al.
- 2013/11/04: GMDD: Are vegetation-specific model parameters required for estimating gross primary production? by W. Yuan et al.
- 2013/11/04: GMDD: Modelling methane emissions from natural wetlands: TRIPLEX-GHG model integration, sensitivity analysis, and calibration by Q. Zhu et al.
- 2013/11/04: GMDD: The North American Carbon Program Multi-scale Synthesis and Terrestrial Model Intercomparison Project - Part 2: Environmental driver data by Y. Wei et al.
- 2013/11/05: OSD: On the tides and resonances of Hudson Bay and Hudson Strait by D. J. Webb
- 2013/11/05: OSD: Adapting to life: ocean biogeochemical modelling and adaptive remeshing by J. Hill et al.
- 2013/11/05: OSD: First air-sea gas exchange laboratory study at hurricane wind speeds by K. E. Krall & B. Jähne
- 2013/11/05: OSD: Intrinsic variability of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current system: low- and high-frequency fluctuations of the Argentine Basin flow by G. Sgubin et al.
- 2013/11/05: TCD: Hydrochemical composition of thermokarst lake waters in the permafrost zone of western Siberia within the context of climate change by R. M. Manasypov et al.
- 2013/11/05: TCD: Impact of varying debris cover thickness on catchment scale ablation: a case study for Koxkar glacier in the Tien Shan by M. Juen et al.
- 2013/11/04: TCD: Near-surface permeability in a supraglacial drainage basin on the Llewellyn glacier, Juneau Ice Field, British Columbia by L. Karlstrom et al.
- 2013/11/05: PNAS: (abs) Functional traits predict relationship between plant abundance dynamic and long-term climate warming by Nadejda A. Soudzilovskaia et al.
- 2013/11/05: PNAS: (abs) Long-term fate of nitrate fertilizer in agricultural soils by Mathieu Sebilo et al.
- 2013/11/05: PNAS: (abs) Increased dry-season length over southern Amazonia in recent decades and its implication for future climate projection by Rong Fu et al.
- 2013/11/05: PNAS: (ab$) Cyclic 100-ka (glacial-interglacial) migration of subseafloor redox zonation on the Peruvian shelf by Sergio Contreras et al.
- 2013/11/05: PNAS: (ab$) Stratospheric water vapor feedback by A. E. Dessler et al.
- 2013/11/05: PNAS: (letter$) Reply to Boslough et al.: Decades of comet research counter their claims by William M. Napier et al.
- 2013/11/05: PNAS: (letter$) Younger Dryas impact model confuses comet facts, defies airburst physics by Mark Boslough et al.
- 2013/10/22: Springer:CC: (ab$) Global fossil energy markets and climate change mitigation - an analysis with REMIND by Nico Bauer et al.
- 2013/11/07: ACP: Projected effects of declining aerosols in RCP4.5: unmasking global warming? by L. D. Rotstayn et al.
- 2013/11/07: ACP: Refined estimate of China's CO2 emissions in spatiotemporal distributions by M. Liu et al.
- 2013/11/05: ACP: Uncertainty in modeling dust mass balance and radiative forcing from size parameterization by C. Zhao et al.
- 2013/11/04: ACP: The contribution of the strength and structure of extratropical cyclones to observed cloud-aerosol relationships by B. S. Grandey et al.
- 2013/11/04: ACP: Circulation anomalies in the Southern Hemisphere and ozone changes by P. Braesicke et al.
- 2013/11/07: ACPD: Atmospheric measurement of point source fossil fuel CO2 emissions by J. C. Turnbull et al.
- 2013/11/06: ACPD: Horizontal divergence of typhoon-generated gravity waves in the upper troposphere and lower stratosphere (UTLS) and its influence on typhoon evolution by S. H. Kim et al.
- 2013/11/06: ACPD: Investigation of negative cloud radiative forcing over the Indian subcontinent and adjacent oceans during the summer monsoon season by B. V. Thampi & R. Roca
- 2013/11/05: ACPD: The effect of atmospheric aerosol particles and clouds on Net Ecosystem Exchange in Amazonia by G. G. Cirino et al.
- 2013/11/04: ACPD: Estimating the volcanic emission rate and atmospheric lifetime of SO2 from space: a case study for Ki-lauea volcano, Hawai'i by S. Beirle et al.
- 2013/11/08: BG: Examining soil carbon uncertainty in a global model: response of microbial decomposition to temperature, moisture and nutrient limitation by J.-F. Exbrayat et al.
- 2013/11/07: BG: Soil organic carbon dynamics of black locust plantations in the middle Loess Plateau area of China by N. Lu et al.
- 2013/11/06: BG: Sea-air CO2 fluxes in the Indian Ocean between 1990 and 2009 by V. V. S. S. Sarma et al.
- 2013/11/05: BG: Estimating global carbon uptake by lichens and bryophytes with a process-based model by P. Porada et al.
- 2013/11/04: BG: Multiresolution quantification of deciduousness in West-Central African forests by G. Viennois et al.
- 2013/11/08: BGD: Climate-mediated spatiotemporal variability in the terrestrial productivity across Europe by X. Wu et al.
- 2013/11/06: BGD: Impacts of droughts on carbon sequestration by China's terrestrial ecosystems from 2000 to 2011 by Y. B. Liu et al.
- 2013/11/05: BGD: Methane and nitrous oxide fluxes from the tropical Andes by Y. A. Teh et al.
- 2013/11/04: BGD: Quantifying the role of fire in the Earth system - Part 2: Impact on the net carbon balance of global terrestrial ecosystems for the 20th century by F. Li et al.
- 2013/11/04: BGD: Plankton community response to Saharan dust fertilization in subtropical waters off the Canary Islands by G. Franchy et al.
- 2013/11/04: BGD: What is the importance of climate model bias when projecting the impacts of climate change on land surface processes? by M. Liu et al.
- 2013/11/08: CP: A new Himalayan ice core CH4 record: possible hints at the preindustrial latitudinal gradient by S. Hou et al.
- 2013/11/06: CP: A brief history of ice core science over the last 50 yr by J. Jouzel
- 2013/11/06: CP: A reconstruction of atmospheric carbon dioxide and its stable carbon isotopic composition from the penultimate glacial maximum to the last glacial inception by R. Schneider et al.
- 2013/11/05: CP: Where to find 1.5 million yr old ice for the IPICS "Oldest-Ice" ice core by H. Fischer et al.
- 2013/11/05: CP: Consistency of the multi-model CMIP5/PMIP3-past1000 ensemble by O. Bothe et al.
- 2013/11/05: CP: Multivariate statistic and time series analyses of grain-size data in quaternary sediments of Lake El'gygytgyn, NE Russia by Francke et al.
- 2013/11/04: CP: Tree-ring-inferred glacier mass balance variation in southeastern Tibetan Plateau and its linkage with climate variability by Duan et al.
- 2013/11/04: CP: Greenland accumulation and its connection to the large-scale atmospheric circulation in ERA-Interim and paleoclimate simulations by Merz et al.
- 2013/11/08: CPD: Onset of intense permafrost conditions in Northern Eurasia at ~2.55 Ma seen in a cryogenic weathering record from Lake El'gygytgyn by G. Schwamborn et al.
- 2013/11/07: CPD: Pulses of enhanced North Pacific Intermediate Water ventilation from the Okhotsk Sea and Bering Sea during the last deglaciation by L. Max et al.
- 2013/11/04: CPD: Impact of solar vs. volcanic activity variations on tropospheric temperatures and precipitation during the Dalton Minimum by J. G. Anet et al.
- 2013/11/08: ESDD: Problems with solar, volcanic, and ENSO attribution using multiple linear regression methods on temperatures from 1979-2012 by T. Masters
- 2013/11/08: ACP: A sensitivity study of radiative fluxes at the top of atmosphere to cloud-microphysics and aerosol parameters in the community atmosphere model CAM5 by C. Zhao et al.
- 2013/11/08: GMD: EMPOL 1.0: a new parameterization of pollen emission in numerical weather prediction models by K. Zink et al.
- 2013/11/08: GMD: The GREENROOF module (v7.3) for modelling green roof hydrological and energetic performances within TEB by C. S. de Munck et al.
- 2013/11/06: GMD: A bulk parametrization of melting snowflakes with explicit liquid water fraction for the COSMO model by C. Frick et al.
- 2013/11/07: GMDD: Turbulent transport, emissions, and the role of compensating errors in chemical transport models by P. A. Makar et al.
- 2013/11/06: GMDD: Suitability of modelled and remotely sensed essential climate variables for monitoring Euro-Mediterranean droughts by C. Szczypta et al.
- 2013/11/06: GMDD: APIFLAME v1.0: high resolution fire emission model and application to the Euro-Mediterranean region by S. Turquety et al.
- 2013/11/07: OSD: Antarctic Circumpolar Transport and the Southern Mode: a model investigation of interannual to decadal time scales by C. W. Hughes et al.
- 2013/11/07: TC: Comparison of feature based segmentation of full polarimetric SAR satellite sea ice images with manually drawn ice charts by M. -A. N. Moen et al.
- 2013/11/07: TC: Changing basal conditions during the speed-up of Jakobshavn Isbræ, Greenland by M. Habermann et al.
- 2013/11/06: TC: Parameter and state estimation with a time-dependent adjoint marine ice sheet model by D. N. Goldberg & P. Heimbach
- 2013/11/08: TCD: Tracing glacier changes since the 1960s on the south slope of Mt. Everest (central Southern Himalaya) using optical satellite imagery by S. Thakuri et al.
- 2013/11/07: ERL: Cosmic rays, solar activity and the climate by T Sloan & A W Wolfendale
- 2013/09/23: ERL: Are there persistent physical atmospheric responses to galactic cosmic rays? by Rasmus E Benestad
- 2013/11/03: Nature:CC: (ab$) Hybridization may facilitate in situ survival of endemic species through periods of climate change by Matthias Becker et al.
And other significant documents:
- 2013/11/05: UNEP: [links to several pdfs] The Emissions Gap Report 2013
- 2013/11/07: CleanTechnica: [link to 4 meg pdf] Germany Solar PV Report - A Must-Read For Any Energy Reporter
- 2013/10/28: Meteos: [link to 897k pdf] Systems not Silos: Investor Perspectives on the Energy System
As for miscellaneous science:
- 2013/11/04: Stoat: How science goes wrong goes wrong
- 2013/11/04: CLBook: Sources of uncertainty in CMIP5 projections
In the science organizations:
- 2013/11/09: CCP: Australian PM climate-denier Tony Abbott axes 1,400 science jobs at CSIRO
- 2013/11/08: NakedCapitalism: Philip Pilkington: What Happened to Science and Research Funding?
- 2013/11/08: ABC(Au): CSIRO to cut up to 600 jobs under hiring freeze
What's new in models?
- 2013/11/07: Smithsonian: This "Climate Models" Calendar Wants You to Check Out These Model Scientists -- And Their Work
Regarding James and Jules:
Regarding Mann:
- 2013/11/06: ScienceInsider: The Political Scientist: Michael Mann's Moment in the Campaign Spotlight
Regarding Bolin:
Meanwhile at the UN:
- 2013/11/04: Eureka: As world sets new development goals, Malaysia calls for poverty relief within green agenda
And on the carbon trading front:
- 2013/11/08: BBerg: EU Nations Authorize CO2-Market Fix Talks With Parliament
European Union governments approved a mandate to start talks with the bloc's Parliament on a draft rescue plan for the EU carbon market, overcoming a 15-month deadlock over the measure to alleviate a record oversupply. - 2013/11/08: EurActiv: EU in new push to revive the carbon market
- 2013/11/05: BBC: Elderly investors warned over £24m carbon credit scam
- 2013/11/04: NakedCapitalism: McLaren F1 & Jenson Button One Minute, Boiler Room Scams the Next: the Remarkable Double Life of Carbon Neutral Investments, Limited, (CNI)
On the international political front, tensions continue as the empire leans on Iran:
- 2013/11/10: Guardian(UK): Geneva talks end without deal on Iran's nuclear programme
Diplomats said to be furious after France objected to a stopgap deal being presented as a fait accompli - 2013/11/09: EmptyWheel: After Reportedly Being Offered Saudi Weapons Sales, France Tries to Blow Up Iran Deal
- 2013/11/09: CBC: Iran nuclear talks end with no deal -- 'Still some questions to be addressed,' says French foreign minister
- 2013/11/08: AntiWar: Iran Nuclear Talks Likely to Extend Into Next Week -- Unspecified 'Roadblock' Delays Planned Signing Ceremony
- 2013/11/08: BBC: Iran nuclear talks to enter third day after 'progress'
- 2013/11/08: Guardian(UK): Iran nuclear deal hopes rise as foreign ministers fly into Geneva
- 2013/11/08: Guardian(UK): White House ambitions on Iran deal face challenge from hawks in Congress
Hopes that US will announce short-team deal Iran nuclear plans could be frustrated by bid to impose new sanctions on Tehran - 2013/11/08: Asia Times: Glow of talks flattens nuclear reality
- 2013/11/07: BBC: Iran says Geneva nuclear deal possible on Friday
- 2013/11/07: Asia Times: US, Iran try to narrow gaps on nuclear deal
- 2013/11/07: Xinhuanet: World powers, Iran hold new round of nuclear talks
- 2013/11/07: IndiaTimes: Guarded hopes as Iran nuclear talks kick off in Geneva
Geneva: A fresh round of talks between Iran and world powers kicks off in Geneva on Thursday amid guarded hopes a deal may finally be possible in the standoff over Tehran's nuclear programme. In their second meeting here in less than a month, negotiators from the United States and five other world powers will sit down with Iranian officials for two days in the hopes of hammering out a framework agreement. - 2013/11/07: Guardian(UK): Iran and west to begin drafting nuclear deal after great leap forward in Geneva
- 2013/11/06: CDreams: Iran Talks: Do We Want a Deal or a War?
- 2013/11/06: CSM: Iran nuclear talks: Can the window stay open long enough for a deal?
- 2013/11/05: flc: "America's Moment of Truth on Iran"
- 2013/11/05: AntiWar: Iran: Basic Framework of Nuclear Deal Possible This Week -- Iran FM Warns 'Distrust' May Slow Final Pact
- 2013/11/05: Guardian(UK): Iran looks to oil to ease the pressure of economic sanctions
- 2013/11/05: Xinhuanet: Iran urges to abandon pressure policy ahead of nuclear talks
- 2013/11/05: Asia Times: America's forked tongue on Iran
- 2013/11/04: WSWS: Geneva talks to restart on Iran's nuclear program
In the lead-up to the second round of international talks this week on Iran's nuclear programs, the Obama administration is already indicating that there will be no significant reduction in US-led sanctions that are crippling the Iranian economy. - 2013/11/03: SST: "Khamenei tells Iran's hardliners not to undermine nuclear talks" Reuters
South [& East] China Sea tension persists:
- 2013/11/09: Xinhuanet: Feature: Intensifying hate speeches causing increasing distress for Koreans in Japan
- 2013/11/07: Asia Times: A strategic pearl for US-Philippine ties
- 2013/11/06: WSWS: China and Japan hold rival military exercises
- 2013/11/05: Xinhuanet: Commentary: WSJ should not serve as mouthpiece for Japan on Diaoyu Islands
- 2013/11/05: BBC: Japan 'disappointed' by South Korea summit remarks
A Japanese official has expressed disappointment after the South Korean president said there was no point holding a summit with Tokyo due to outstanding historical issues. - 2013/11/03: BBC: South Korea President Park: 'No purpose' to Japan talks
South Korea's president has highlighted a deep rift with Japan...
Who's teed off at the NSA this week?
- 2013/11/04: DemNow: Inside the "Electronic Omnivore": New Leaks Show NSA Spying on U.N., Climate Summit, Text Messaging
Negotiations over damming the Nile are not quite starting:
- 2013/11/06: al Jazeera: Ethiopia: Egypt objections delaying dam panel
Differences between two countries over panel's composition persist, with Egypt fearing reduction of its water supply. Egyptian objections are delaying formation of a committee to implement expert recommendations on an Ethiopian dam project, Ethiopia's water minister says. Egypt fears the 6,000 MW Grand Renaissance Dam, which will be Africa's largest when completed in 2017, could diminish its water supply, At a one-day meeting in Khartoum, the water ministers of Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia agreed to form the panel, Alemayehu Tegenu said on Tuesday. "But we didn't agree about the composition of this committee," he said. "We have differences with Egypt."
These 'free trade' treaties are a corporate wet-dream with anti-democratic dispute resolution mechanisms:
- 2013/11/10: AIMN: Warning: Beware of Abbott's "Free Trade" Trojan horse!
- 2013/11/07: FDL: TPP And Its Atlantic Cousin Set Stage For Corporatocracy
- 2013/11/06: JToddRing: NAFTA, "Free Trade" and the TPP: Fast-Track To Full Corporate Rule
- 2013/11/06: CEPR:BtP: NYT Endorses Imaginary TPP Deal
- 2013/11/04: Monbiot: A Global Ban on Left-Wing Politics -- That's what the new rules being smuggled into trade agreements are delivering
- 2013/11/04: FDL: Trans-Pacific Partnership Secrecy Raising Doubts About Legitimacy
- 2013/11/04: Guardian(UK): This transatlantic trade deal is a full-frontal assault on democracy
Brussels has kept quiet about a treaty that would let rapacious companies subvert our laws, rights and national sovereignty - 2013/11/03: NakedCapitalism: The Global Corporatocracy is Almost Fully Operational
As for miscellaneous international political happenings:
- 2013/11/07: RTCC: UK and South Korea agree to collaborate on tackling climate change
UK strikes deal with South Korea to join forces on developing nuclear power and emissions trading scheme - 2013/11/04: TreeHugger: California, Oregon and Washington join British Columbia to create new environmental superpower
Climate Change is a threat multiplier exacerbating existing conflicts in food, energy, water, race, resources, religion, ideology ... etc.:
The issue of the law and activism is playing out around the world:
- 2013/11/07: CBC: Greenpeace activists to face additional charges in Russia
Some of the 30 people arrested during Arctic drilling rig protest could be charged with resisting police - 2013/11/06: Reuters: Dutch ask sea tribunal to free Greenpeace activists
Hamburg - The Netherlands asked an international court on Wednesday to order Russia to release 30 people detained during a Greenpeace protest against oil drilling in the Arctic at a tribunal Moscow refused to attend. - 2013/11/06: ABC(Au): International tribunal begins Arctic Sunrise hearing against Moscow
An international maritime court has begun hearing a Dutch complaint over Russia's weeks-long detention of a Greenpeace protest ship and its 30 crew members, including an Australian man. Moscow is boycotting proceedings at the German-based International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea, based in the northern port city of Hamburg. - 2013/11/04: ABC(Au): Magistrate throws out vexatious police case against CSG protesters
The New South Wales police have been accused of running an absurd, ridiculous and appalling case against a pair of coal seam gas protesters. Last week a New South Wales magistrate threw a police case out of court, accusing the police of running a weak and vexatious case. The magistrate raised questions about political interference, asking why an innocuous minor traffic matter worthy of a $67 fine wasted the court's time.
What are the activists up to?
- 2013/11/08: TruthOut: "We Have to Be the Carbon Tax" -- an Interview With Tim DeChristopher
- 2013/11/06: TP:JR: Nuns Hold Anti-Pipeline Protest At The Kentucky State Capitol
- 2013/11/04: CD: How science is telling us all to revolt by Naomi Klein
The move to divest from fossil fuel investments is growing slowly:
Regarding Water Politics and Business; See also:
- 2013/11/09: ERabett:BSD: Your friendly water district lobbyist, reporting out
- 2013/11/08: PSinclair: WSJ: Water Shortages Will Cut Energy Options
- 2013/11/07: Resilience: The Farmers of Hoxie [Kansas] Inaugurate a Water Commons
- 2013/11/07: GreenGrok: Electric Power Conundrum at the Crossroads of Energy, Climate and Water
- 2013/11/06: RTCC: Salt Lake City faces water shortages as planet warms
- 2013/11/05: JFleck: Owens Valley and the 100th anniversary of the LA Aqueduct: Chinatown was just a movie
- 2013/11/05: ERW: Human water use has boosted drought
- 2013/11/04: JFleck: When streams reclaim flood plains in a human-altered world
Among the world's religions:
While in the UK:
- 2013/11/09: RT: Prepare for fracking, UK minister tells Southern England
Households right across the south of England should prepare for gas fracking in their backyards, a senior government minster warned. He also said the government would be cutting back on the number of wind farms built in the future. Michael Fallon said that a study by the water industry, due to be released in a few weeks, will conclude that fracking is safe. - 2013/11/09: CleanTechnica: Double Standard For Nuclear Energy & Wind Energy In UK?
I'll be honest -- I'm not a "nuclear power hater." But if you look at nuclear power objectively and calculate its costs -- including insurance costs and waste management costs -- it is simply a bad deal. It's very, very expensive. The private industry would never develop nuclear on its own. The only way it gets built anywhere is from huge government support. - 2013/11/07: Guardian(UK): Fossil fuel subsidies 'killing UK's low-carbon future'
£2.6bn yearly incentive favours investment in carbon at the expense of green energy, says thinktank [ODI] - 2013/11/07: Guardian(UK): Nick Clegg to say he won't allow government U-turn on environment
- 2013/11/07: Guardian(UK): Nick Clegg's LBC phone-in and his environment speech: Politics live blog
- 2013/11/07: BBC: The chief executive of Npower, Paul Massara, has dismissed giving up a bonus in response to anger over rising energy prices as a "gimmick"
- 2013/11/07: RTCC: Nick Clegg: senior Tories are blocking UK climate policy
Liberal Democrat leader and Deputy Prime Minister said Coalition partners are ignoring climate change in the face of scientific evidence Senior members of the Conservative party openly question the threat of climate change, UK Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg warned in a speech on Thursday. - 2013/11/07: RTCC: Carbon budget row risks UK influence at UN climate talks
- 2013/11/06: Guardian(UK): British Gas owner secures £4.4bn deal with Qatar for four-year LNG supply
- 2013/11/06: BBC: Britain is playing its part in a worldwide bid to reduce emissions and should not weaken its proposed cuts, says a report to the UK government
- 2013/11/06: BBC: Hinkley firm denies fuel claim
- 2013/11/06: Guardian(UK): Nick Clegg, be bold and set the green agenda for Britain
- 2013/11/05: BBC: Elderly investors warned over £24m carbon credit scam
Small investors, particularly the elderly, have been warned to avoid a scam involving carbon credits, after more than 1,000 people were duped out of a total of £24m. Financial firms operating the ploy sold investment in the credits, a UN-issued permit that allows a company to emit carbon dioxide, but can also be traded. The market in trading carbon credits is not accessible to small investors. The government's Insolvency Service has closed down 19 companies involved. - 2013/11/05: TP:JR: Britain's New Flood Protection Plan: Surrender To The Ocean
- 2013/11/04: CSM: In Britain, to frack, or not to frack?
- 2013/11/04: Guardian(UK): House of Lords votes to bring old coal power stations under new regulations
- 2013/11/03: BBC: Sea surrender plan to ease flood fears on south coast
A scheme to combat flooding by surrendering land to the sea will be completed on Monday on the south coast. The £28m "managed realignment" at Medmerry in West Sussex has seen the building of 7km (four miles) of new sea walls up to 2km inland. By letting the waters in, the Environment Agency says the risk of flooding for hundreds of homes will be reduced. The surrendered land will become a wetland habitat for many species.
And in Europe:
- 2013/11/08: BBerg: EU Nations Authorize CO2-Market Fix Talks With Parliament
European Union governments approved a mandate to start talks with the bloc's Parliament on a draft rescue plan for the EU carbon market, overcoming a 15-month deadlock over the measure to alleviate a record oversupply. - 2013/11/08: UCSUSA:B: Fording an Energy Fjord: Norway's Oil Savings
- 2013/11/08: EurActiv: EU in new push to revive the carbon market
EU diplomats today (8 November) agreed to begin talks on a legal text to slash permit supply and prop up carbon prices in the bloc's Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS), marking a big step forward for the divisive proposal. - 2013/11/08: EurActiv: Greens select four candidates to run in primaries ahead of 2014 elections
Four Green MEPs are entering the race for two top positions in the EU elections campaign ahead of the vote in May 2014. - 2013/11/08: EurActiv: Britain starts paying cash to help industry with EU CO2 costs
Britain has begun paying firms millions of pounds in compensation to industrial companies help shield them from higher energy bills due to European carbon permits, a government spokeswoman said on Thursday (7 November). - 2013/11/07: RTCC: EU starts process to ratify Kyoto Protocol extension
Decision likely to dampen concerns from developing countries but critics say 20% reduction target should be raised The European Union has announced plans to formally ratify an extension to the Kyoto Protocol that was agreed at last year's UN climate summit in Doha. - 2013/11/07: EurActiv: Brussels reopens 12-year old GMO cultivation request
- 2013/11/07: EurActiv: Germany resists EU plans to slash renewable energy subsidies
- 2013/11/07: EurActiv: Brussels reopens 12-year old GMO cultivation request
European ministers will decide whether to approve the cultivation of variety of genetically modified maize, after the European Commission was legally obliged to pass on the 12-year-old request. - 2013/11/05: ScienceInsider: E.U. Parliament Committee Adopts Watered-Down Restrictions on Deep-Sea Fishing
- 2013/11/04: DerSpiegel: Energy Referendum: Public Buy-Back of Berlin Grid Fails
An attempt to buy Berlin's energy grid from the Swedish mega firm Vattenfall fell short at the polls on Sunday. Activists argued the company isn't doing enough to foster green energy, while opponents questioned the logistical advantages of a change. - 2013/11/04: EUO: EU commission to discuss GM crop authorisation
- 2013/11/03: BBC: Berlin energy grid nationalisation fails in referendum
A bid to renationalise the electricity grid in the German capital Berlin has narrowly failed in a referendum.
Meanwhile in Australia:
- 2013/11/10: ABC(Au): Bill Shorten accuses Government of hiding behind military on tough border protection questions
The Opposition has accused the Government of hiding behind the military to avoid answering tough questions on border protection, as a Jakarta newspaper reports Indonesia will no longer accept asylum seekers from Australia. - 2013/11/08: ABC(Au): Former president slams 'unelectable' Canberra Liberals
Former Canberra Liberals president Gary Kent has slammed the current leadership team, claiming the party is becoming too far right and unelectable. - 2013/11/08: WSWS: Australian election outcome heads for the High Court
Two months after the September 6 federal election, the make-up of the Australian parliament remains uncertain because of mooted legal challenges to the Senate results for the state of Western Australia. A potential political, and even constitutional, crisis looms because the outcome is set to be determined by the High Court, the country's supreme court, which also functions as the Court of Disputed Returns. The court has almost unlimited powers, including to call a fresh Senate election in the state or to declare any candidate elected. Its decision, which is not subject to appeal, will directly affect the Abbott government's ability to get its legislation through parliament. Because of the wafer-thin victory margins in the state's Senate vote, an as-yet unexplained loss of 1,375 ballot papers, out of about 1.4 million votes cast, has tainted the official result declared by the Australian Electoral Commission (AEC). - 2013/11/08: TheConversation: If coal's in trouble, why build more coal ports?
- 2013/11/08: ABC(Au): South Australia to extend GM ban
The South Australian government wants to extend a moratorium on genetically modified crops until at least 2019. - 2013/11/08: CCurrents: 120 Reasons Why Australians Must Vote 1 Green & Put The Coalition Last [Polya]
- 2013/11/07: ABC(Au):TDU: When grave facts and political calculation collide
Accepting the science of climate change and its ramifications while opposing action out of political necessity? That would be bordering on outright evil, writes Jonathan Green. - 2013/11/06: CCP: Graham Readfearn: The whopping climate change footprint of two Australian coal mining projects in Queensland
- 2013/11/06: ABC(Au): Former PM John Howard advocates use of nuclear power, unconvinced on climate change 'catastrophe'
- 2013/11/06: ABC(Au): Commercial fishing removed from Broome waters after licences bought back by [WA] Government
- 2013/11/06: Guardian(UK): Climate change 'exaggerated', says former Australian PM
John Howard says Tony Abbott's victory was founded on climate scepticism and global deal on emissions will never be reached - 2013/11/06: TMoS: John Howard Praises Tony Abbott's Climate Change Denialism
- 2013/11/06: Guardian(UK): Will Abbott replicate Howard's climate change betrayal?
- 2013/11/06: Guardian(UK): Election ploy: why John Howard put climate scepticism on hold in 2006
- 2013/11/05: ABC(Au): Calls for better planning to keep pace with CSG growth
- 2013/11/05: ABC(Au): North Coast Nationals MP wants ban on protests near logging sites
Coffs Harbour MP Andrew Fraser said he stands by comments he made in Parliament about a recent logging accident near Byron Bay. - 2013/11/05: ABC(Au): Allyn Purkiss named Major Incident Controller for merging fire
- 2013/11/05: ABC(Au): Hearing into Peter Slipper dishonesty charges to go ahead in December/A>
- 2013/11/04: Guardian(UK): Green groups explore legal action to halt massive Queensland coalmine
- 2013/11/04: ABC(Au): Environmental checks for Queensland coal mine were 'rigorous' [says coal company, GVK Hancock]
- 2013/11/04: ABC(Au): Gas field could fuel Territory for 100 years
A natural gas field discovered in the Timor Sea has enough reserves to power the Northern Territory for 100 years. The Evans Shoal Gas field is controlled by ENI and Shell, and the Northern Territory Government said it will encourage the companies to process the gas reserves in the Top End. However, ENI told the ABC, it is likely all the gas will be exported and it cannot guarantee any onshore plants would be needed.- 2013/11/04: JQuiggin: The end of the coal boom
- 2013/11/04: PeakEnergy: Clive Palmer to launch challenge to Western Australia Senate recount
- 2013/11/04: ABC(Au): Australian Electoral Commissioner apologises over WA Senate vote and says he expects legal challenge
Now we get to watch the suppository of wisdom destroy what little Australia has done to fight climate change:
- 2013/11/09: CCP: Australian PM climate-denier Tony Abbott axes 1,400 science jobs at CSIRO
- 2013/11/10: AIMN: Warning: Beware of Abbott's "Free Trade" Trojan horse!
- 2013/11/08: Guardian(UK): Cabinet rethinks Australia's backing of global Green Climate Fund
'Longer term involvement' under consideration after ministers raise objections in discussions before UN climate talks - 2013/11/08: Guardian(UK): Former UN climate chief: 'Australia should send minister to Warsaw talks'
- 2013/11/08: ABC(Au): CSIRO to cut up to 600 jobs under hiring freeze
- 2013/11/08: TheConversation: Why 'the boats' are a national emergency and climate change isn't
- 2013/11/08: ABC(Au): Indonesia says it will not accept rescued asylum seekers Australia has tried to return
- 2013/11/07: TheConversation: Abbott's climate 'diplomacy' sends the wrong message
- 2013/11/07: Guardian(UK): UN climate talks: Labor calls [Australia's] Coalition an 'embarrassment on the world stage'
- 2013/11/07: Guardian(UK): Coal for Christmas? No thanks, Tony Abbott
- 2013/11/07: ABC(Au): [Agriculture Minister Barnaby Joyce's] package falls short of expectation
Graziers who'd been anxiously waiting to hear how the Federal Government responds to Queensland's escalating drought crisis say they're disappointed no new emergency relief measures have been announced. - 2013/11/07: ABC(Au): Climate Conference
The government says it won't send a minister to climate talks in Poland, as Australia's economy remains sluggish with a big fall in full time jobs. - 2013/11/07: TheConversation: Obama prepares US for climate change impacts -- what is Australia waiting for?
- 2013/11/06: ABC(Au): Government Axes Old Taxes
Treasurer Joe Hockey says he will ditch a raft of unlegislated taxes at a cost of more than three billion dollars to the budget. - 2013/11/06: Guardian(UK): Climate change talks: no minister to represent Australia
Neither Greg Hunt nor Julie Bishop will be at vital talks in Warsaw next week, breaking tradition going back to 1997
The carbon laws remain a matter of contention:
- 2013/11/10: ABC(Au): Former prime minister Julia Gillard calls on Parliament to keep price on carbon
- 2013/11/08: ABC(Au): BHP Billiton voices concern over any delay to carbon tax repeal
- 2013/11/06: ABC(Au): WA Premier Colin Barnett is confident electricity prices will fall if the carbon tax is removed
- 2013/11/06: ABC(Au): No big savings to come from repeal of carbon tax, [Australian Industry Group] warns
- 2013/11/04: WSWS: Australia: Further turmoil threatened over carbon tax repeal
After years of wrangling, the Murray Darling Basin Plan is in place, but the water management fights are far from finished:
- 2013/11/07: ABC(Au): Drought aid not reaching NSW Farmers
- 2013/11/07: ABC(Au): Baan Baa potable water supply design before Narrabri Shire Council
- 2013/11/07: ABC(Au): EPA prosecutes Boggabri Coal
The Environment Protection Authority has fined Boggabri Coal $3,000 for polluting the Namoi River, about 17km north-east of Boggabri. - 2013/11/06: ABC(Au): Drought funding redirected toward eastern states
- 2013/11/05: ABC(Au): Mining town residents find water woes hard to swallow
Residents in the mining town of Dysart in Queensland's Central Highlands say more needs to be done to ensure the quality of their water supplies. The town's residents, south-west of Mackay, have complained about the water in recent years, saying it smells and tastes bad and has even been black on occasions. - 2013/11/05: ABC(Au): Nyngan dam proposed to secure water
The Cobar and Bogan Shire Councils are seeking government support for a $12 million dam near Nyngan, to improve water supplies in extreme droughts. The councils met to consider possible water security options under a worst case scenario where there is no water available from Burrendong Dam. The Bogan Shire Mayor, Ray Donald, says a 2,000 megalitre storage near Nyngan is the most cost effective choice. - 2013/11/05: ABC(Au): Farmers calling for targetted drought measures
Drought affected farmers in Queensland are eligible for a raft of government support measures, but farmers who are struggling with drought in parts of NSW say they're not getting the help they need.
And in the Indian subcontinent:
While in China:
- 2013/11/07: GlobalTimes: China faces a long battle for blue skies
- 2013/11/06: Guardian(UK): China cracks down on emissions to combat choking smog
New guidelines call for traffic and factory restrictions amid public outcry over severe smog and air pollution - 2013/11/06: Asia Times: Pollution clash leads to Guangdong anger
- 2013/11/05: Xinhuanet: China to build more photovoltaic power stations
- 2013/11/05: Guardian(UK): China's smog reduction plan could add to water stress and boost emissions
- 2013/11/04: TheConversation: China is groping its way through another 'airpocalypse'
And in Japan:
- 2013/11/08: BBC: Japanese lawmaker reprimanded for approaching emperor
A member of the Japanese parliament has been reprimanded for attempting to involve the emperor in politics. Taro Yamamoto is to be barred from future events at the Imperial Palace after handing a letter to Emperor Akihito about the impact of the Fukushima nuclear disaster.
While elsewhere in Asia:
- 2013/11/05: Guardian(UK): Marshall Islands pioneers sustainable technology solutions to climate change [Tony de Brum Q&A]
- 2013/11/04: OilChange: Burma Auctions "Crown Jewels"
And South America:
- 2013/11/06: Guardian(UK): FARC rebels and Colombian government reach deal over political participation
- 2013/11/03: CSM: Is Brazil feeding the world as Brazilians go hungry?
- 2013/11/03: CDreams: Seed laws in Latin America: The Offensive Continues, So Does Popular Resistance
In Canada, neocon PM Harper, aka The Blight, pushes petroleum while ignoring the climate and ecology:
- 2013/11/05: CBC: 800,000 Canadians still relying on food banks
- 2013/11/03: TMoS: Chomsky Slams Greasy, Gassy Harperland
The Lac Mégantic tragedy drags on:
The New Bruinswick fracking protestors aren't going away:
- 2013/11/05: CDreams: First Nations to Resume Blockade in Canadian Fracking Fight
Renewed protests follow announcement that energy company will re-start shale gas exploration - 2013/11/03: CensoredNews: Mi'kmaq Sacred Fire Blockade: SWN resistance Nov. 4, 2013
The Commissioner of the Environment delivered a bad news report this week:
- 2013/11/05: OAG: 2013 Fall Report of the Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development
- 2013/11/06: Guardian(UK): Canada's poor environment record could hit energy exports, says watchdog
Environment commissioner warns country is failing to protect ecosystems as it exploits tar sands - 2013/11/05: CBC: No federal plan for biodiversity, environment watchdog warns
Neil Maxwell's fall report notes 'pattern of unfulfilled commitments and responsibilities' Canada's environmental watchdog says that while the federal government talks a good game about biodiversity, and the protection and restoration of ecosystems, creating and executing a plan to follow up on those priorities remains a challenge. - 2013/11/05: NNW: More talk than action on conservation: audit
Further examples of mismanagement by the Harper gang:
- 2013/11/08: Rabble:BP: Harper weakens rules for offshore oil drilling
- 2013/11/07: UCalgary: Study: Changes to fisheries legislation have removed habitat protection for most species in Canada
- 2013/11/07: Eureka: Changes to fisheries legislation have removed habitat protection for most fish species in Canada
University of Calgary and Dalhousie University fisheries biologists say federal Fisheries Act revisions were unscientific Federal government changes to Canada's fisheries legislation "have eviscerated" the ability to protect habitat for most of the country's fish species, scientists at the University of Calgary and Dalhousie University say in a new study. The changes were "politically motivated," unsupported by scientific advice -- contrary to government policy -- and are inconsistent with ecosystem-based management, fisheries biologists John Post and Jeffrey Hutchings say. - 2013/11/06: G&M: Ottawa scales back oversight of offshore drilling
The federal government has released new regulations that reduce environmental oversight for offshore drilling as the oil industry is planning new exploration in the Beaufort Sea and the Gulf of St. Lawrence. The Harper government overhauled the country's environmental assessment legislation in its omnibus budget bill last year. - 2013/11/06: ClimateSight: Cover Your Ears and Sing Loudly
At public hearings on the environmental impacts of proposed oil pipelines, Canadians are no longer allowed to discuss climate change: any testimonials concerning how the oil was produced ("upstream effects") and what will happen when it is burned ("downstream effects") are considered inadmissible. This new policy was part of a 2012 omnibus bill by the federal government. - 2013/11/04: CriticalAngle: Pipelines cause climate change, let's talk about it
These billion dollar cats are zapping insurance companies. Expect rates to rise:
- 2013/11/06: CBC: Intact Financial takes insurance losses from flooding
Profit halved to $47M as flooding, hail and Lac-Mégantic lead to $201M in losses Canadian insurer Intact Financial Corp. has seen its latest quarterly profit cut nearly in half compared with a year ago as the insurer by losses due to major rain and hail storms in Quebec, Ontario and Alberta as well as the Lac-Mégantic tragedy. The company reported Wednesday a profit of $47 million, or 32 cents per share, down from $92 million, or 67 cents per share, a year ago.
Looks like Trudeau's pro-tarsands stance is drawing fire:
- 2013/11/06: CBC:B: New Democrats to hold Trudeau's feet to the fire over Keystone XL
- 2013/11/06: TheCanadian: Justin Trudeau, Oil Man
- 2013/11/04: PostMedia: Trudeau walking fine line on oilsands, environment
Liberal leader Justin Trudeau is walking an intentionally fine line following two high-profile expressions of support in recent weeks for the oil sands and the controversial Keystone XL pipeline. The gamble is that Canadians are tired of the either-or positions adopted by the governing Conservatives and opposition NDP, and want a more middle-of-the-road policy in favour of oil sands development amid increased environmental protection.
Well, well ... Christy Clark is finally showing her colours:
- 2013/11/07: SquamishChief: Sellout in progress
[...]
Clark, whose previous statements on new pipelines made it appear she was prepared to stand up to Alberta and the Feds on the subject, hasn't yet sold the three-quarters of British Columbians who have voiced opposition to the Northern Gateway proposal down the river. After all, by herself, Clark doesn't have the authority to do that.
What she did, however, is send a strong message that a sellout may well be just around the next bend -- before or after other hurdles are cleared. - 2013/11/07: WCEL: BC is (still) Not for Sale
- 2013/11/07: NI: Big [BC] Liberal supporter: "sellout in progress"
- 2013/11/08: TheCanadian: Support for First Nations critical after Clark-Redford pipeline deal
- 2013/11/06: CBC: Pipeline agreement dramatic step forward, energy experts say
Framework deal between Alberta and B.C. hailed by industry insiders as turning a political corner - 2013/11/06: LiP: Northern Gateway Pipeline Pricetag: Enbridge CEO Lauds Alberta-B.C. Deal, Updating Price
- 2013/11/06: Rabble:KG: Christy Clark and Alison Redford choose short-term politics over future generations
- 2013/11/05: Daveberta: BC approves the Alberta pipeline to China
- 2013/11/05: CBC: B.C., Alberta premiers agree on pipeline framework
Redford, Clark make pipelines, energy exports announcement after cancelling meeting - 2013/11/05: CBC: Alberta-B.C. pipeline agreement divides key stakeholders
Industry officials buoyed by today's developments, environmentalists dismayed - 2013/11/05: Global: B.C. and Alberta premiers reach pipeline agreement
- 2013/11/05: TheCanadian: Clark, Redford reach Alberta-BC oil pipeline deal
- 2013/11/05: TheCanadian: Canadian communities to rally for climate as BC, Alberta pen pipeline deal
- 2013/11/05: CBC: B.C., Alberta premiers cancel energy meeting
- 2013/11/04: Tyee: Premier Clark Played by Oil by Rail Push?
Why are she and Alberta's Redford talking about risky rail transport as a pipeline alternative?
Meanwhile in BC:
- 2013/11/09: TMoS: What'll It Be, Christy - Alberta or Norway?
- 2013/11/08: WCEL: Who benefits from water in BC?
- 2013/11/08: WCEL: Water Sustainability Act and Groundwater
- 2013/11/08: TheCanadian: Farmland advocates fire back at secret plan to gut ALR
- 2013/11/08: BBerg: Talisman Sells Montney to Petronas for $1.4 Billion
Talisman Energy Inc. (TLM), the Canadian oil and natural gas producer being targeted by investor Carl Icahn, agreed to sell part of its Montney acreage to Malaysia's Petroliam Nasional Bhd for C$1.5 billion ($1.4 billion). The transaction involves about 127,000 net acres, representing 75 percent of Talisman's Montney shale holdings in the Farrell Creek and Cypress areas of British Columbia, the Calgary-based company said today in a statement. It includes C$800 million in drilling costs. - 2013/11/08: CBC: B.C. LNG properties sold for $1.5 billion cash to Progress
Malaysia-based Petronas undertook a takeover bid for Calgary-based Progress Energy Corp. in 2012 - 2013/11/07: TheCanadian: BC's Agricultural Land Commission to be plowed under for gas industry
- 2013/11/07: TheCanadian: Southlands: Canada's longest, least democratic farmland battle
- 2013/11/07: TheCanadian: Need for Site C Dam exaggerated as public hearings start next month
- 2013/11/07: CBC: B.C.'s natural gas reserves double previous estimates
[BC Govt.] Report estimates B.C. has 1,965 trillion cubic feet of natural gas available - 2013/11/05: TreeHugger: TarSandsSOS lets you track tar sands oil tankers
- 2013/11/05: WCEL: Water for fish and the [BC] Water Sustainability Act
- 2013/11/05: TheCanadian: Port's secret donation to coal conference raises questions of bias
- 2013/11/04: TheCanadian: Rafe: Gordon Wilson finds religion on LNG -- for $12,500 a month
- 2013/11/04: TheCanadian: Protestors stage mock fracking on premier's lawn
- 2013/11/03: CBC: B.C. premier's home 'fracked' by protesters -- Fake fracking rig set up outside Christy Clark's house
Meanwhile in that Mechanical Mordor known as the tar sands:
- 2013/11/08: CBC: Ottawa delays decision on controversial Jackpine oilsands mine [35 days until Dec. 11]
- 2013/11/07: TP:JR: The Climate Impact Of Canada's Tar Sands Is Growing
- 2013/11/05: CBC: Encana laying off 20% of workers -- Oil and gas producer plans to sell assets, spin off mineral rights
- 2013/11/05: TheCanadian: Encana laying off 20% of workforce, slashing dividend
- 2013/11/04: BCLSB: Ethical Oil's Troubled Relaunch Runs Afoul Of Fatboy Slim
- 2013/11/04: BCLSB: 23 Seconds Of Truth
- 2013/11/04: TMoS: Suzuki and Schindler's Dire Warning for Canada
Also in Alberta:
- 2013/11/08: CBC: Greenhouse gas reduction called threat to oil industry
Alberta freedom of information document shows industry looking for weak regulations Alberta's proposed oil and gas regulations are too ambitious and will hobble the Canadian industry's ability to compete, says the industry association in Alberta government documents obtained through provincial freedom of information laws. The industry group says the proposed regulations won't buy any goodwill and the government should delay their introduction. - 2013/11/08: BBerg: Canadian Oil Companies Trail on Environmental Disclosure
Canada's biggest energy companies including Suncor Energy Inc. (SU) and Imperial Oil Ltd. (IMO) are trailing global peers in reporting environmental performance as scrutiny of the oil sands intensifies. The 10 largest Canadian oil and natural gas producers by market value scored an average 31.7 out of 100 on environmental-performance disclosures in 2011, the last year with information for all companies, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. - 2013/11/08: TheCanadian: Fracking, dead cows and...RADIATION?
- 2013/11/08: PI:B: Documents raise concern over industry influence on delayed oilsands emissions regulations
- 2013/11/08: CBC: TransCanada pipeline supporters urged to speak out
Small group of vocal opponents could hurt west-east pipeline, says company executive
In Ontario, Wynne is struggling to establish herself. Energy still looms large:
- 2013/11/04: TreeHugger: Ontario to issue 'green bonds' to fund mass transit expansion
- 2013/11/04: PI:B: Meeting Toronto's transit needs today and down the line
While in la Belle Province:
In the Maritimes:
- 2013/11/06: OilChange: Newfoundland Halts Fracking
- 2013/11/05: CBC: Fracking on hold near Gros Morne, across N.L.
- 2013/11/04: CBC: Fracking on hold near Gros Morne, Dunderdale gov't says -- Opposition, residents happy with announcement
- 2013/11/04: CBC: Point Lepreau [nuclear power plant] leaks toxic chemical into Bay of Fundy
NB Power says levels of hydrazine low; will investigate to prevent future releases - 2013/11/04: TheCanadian: Newfoundland passes fracking moratorium
As for miscellaneous Canadiana:
And on the American political front:
- 2013/11/09: DD: Got Science? Nebraska climate scientists stand up against political interference
- 2013/11/09: WSWS: Nearly one in five hit by food stamp cuts in Michigan
- 2013/11/08: DD: Possible U.S. Senate candidate David Barton: Climate change is God's 'judgement' for abortion
- 2013/11/08: NakedCapitalism: Philip Pilkington: What Happened to Science and Research Funding?
- 2013/11/08: TP:JR: Exxon's Fine For Massive Tar Sands Spill Is A Mere 1/3000th Of Their Third-Quarter Profits
- 2013/11/08: WSWS: California: Food stamp recipients speak about cuts
- 2013/11/07: UCSUSA:B: Which [American] States Rank Highest on Energy Efficiency Efforts? Latest Results May Surprise
- 2013/11/07: TP:JR: Louisiana Permits Coal Terminal Adjacent To $300M Wetlands Restoration Project
- 2013/11/07: TP:JR: Handouts For Frackers: The Pennsylvania Plan To Give Drillers $1 Billion
- 2013/11/07: Grist: Bay Area commits to 80 percent greenhouse gas reduction
- 2013/11/07: RawStory: Texas school tosses 6th grader's breakfast in trash after he can't pay 30 cents
- 2013/11/06: TP:JR: Texas Passes $2 Billion Drought Fund, Putting Faith In Government To Secure Water Future
- 2013/11/05: DeSmogBlog: Tea Party Holding GOP Back On Climate Change
- 2013/11/05: FDL: New Cuts To Food Stamps Come At Worst Time
- 2013/11/05: CCurrents: American Hunger And The Christian right
- 2013/11/05: ERabett: While Eli Freely Giggles
- 2013/11/05: TP:JR: Despite Ample Opportunity, Conservatives Say They Haven't Had Time To Complain About New EPA Rules
- 2013/11/05: CleanTechnica: Dallas Goes All-In On Green Building With Mandatory Regulations
- 2013/11/05: ICN: 'Frac Sand' Mining Boom: Health Hazard Feared, but Lawmakers Aim to Ease Regulation
Number of Wisc. frac sand facilities increased from 7 in 2010 to 145 today, even though the health implications of the boom aren't yet fully understood. - 2013/11/04: LA Times: California must adopt aggressive climate-change policies, report says
- 2013/11/04: Grist: Most Tea Partiers think warming is "just not happening"
- 2013/11/04: UCSUSA: New Report Green Lights Michigan to Expand Renewable Energy Standard
- 2013/11/04: WSWS: Food assistance cut for 48 million Americans -- Inequality and the political vacuum in the United States
- 2013/11/04: WSWS: Los Angeles area residents speak out against food stamp cuts
- 2013/11/03: SameFacts: Food stamps
- 2013/11/03: ERabett:JF: Cuccinelli fights off stench of doom
- 2013/11/03: CBC: New York marathon returns after Superstorm Sandy cancellation -- Security high with 50,740 runners in race through New York's boroughs
- 2013/11/02: TDB: Food Stamp Cuts Add to Walmart's Troubles
The retail giant is as dependent on SNAP benefits as the poorest Americans. Why new cuts will be a double whammy for Bentonville -- and anyone with a mutual fund.
The BP disaster continues to twist US politics. See also:
The Keystone XL wheel grinds slowly. And it grinds woe:
- 2013/11/08: Grist: Old hobbits die hard: Why pundits poo-poo the Keystone fight, and why they're wrong
- 2013/11/06: ICN: Need for Keystone XL Erodes as U.S. Oil Floods Gulf Coast Refining Hub
Many benefits being touted by Keystone supporters are being delivered by the domestic oil rush. 'It's become a political football more than anything.' - 2013/11/04: TreeHugger: Was Keystone XL a huge mistake? Weighing the strategic importance of the tar sands pipeline fight
The GOP War on Women continues. See also:
- 2013/11/08: ACLU: Seventh Circuit Rules on For-Profit Companies' Challenge to Contraception Rule
- 2013/11/06: CDreams: 'After Tiller': The Abortions No One Wants To Talk About
- 2013/11/06: AlterNet: Koch Brothers Secretly Funding Anti-Choice Movement
- 2013/11/04: ACLU: Texas Health Care Providers Take Fight Against Unconstitutional Law to U.S. Supreme Court
- 2013/11/04: Guardian(UK): Texas healthcare providers take abortion fight to US supreme court
Women's healthcare groups file emergency request to strike down new restrictions they say will cause 'irreparable harm'
The GOP are foolishly trying to direct research:
- 2013/11/07: SciAm: Republicans Put "National Interest" Requirement on National Science Foundation
A proposed bill would require the NSF to justify awards using criteria including economic competitiveness and national defense - 2013/11/06: EconView: 'Ignorance' - Chris Dillow
- 2013/11/05: NatureN: Republican proposal puts 'national interest' requirement on US science agency
Congressional bill would require the National Science Foundation to justify its awards on goals including economic competitiveness and national defence. - 2013/11/05: ScienceInsider: NSF Advises Political Science Applicants to Pay Heed to Senator's Amendment
There were a variety of state and local elections across the nation Tuesday:
- 2013/11/08: Wonkette: Election 2013 Loose Ends: America Elects A Whig And A Klingon
- 2013/11/08: TP:JR: Colorado Town's Fracking Ban Comes Down To 13 Votes
- 2013/11/08: MoJo: Big Food Wants to Crush the GMO Labeling Movement
In a confidential memo, the industry reveals its plan to push for a national no-label law -- one that would preempt any state efforts. - 2013/11/08: DeSmogBlog: South Portland [Maine] Tar Sands Pipeline Defeat: Big Oil Outspends Local Grassroots 6-to-1
- 2013/11/08: ABC(Au): Antony Green says WA Senate result comes down to just one vote
ABC election analyst Antony Green says the outcome of the Senate vote in Western Australia would have come down to a solitary vote. - 2013/11/08: DemNow: Washington State Vote to Label GM Food Defeated By Corporations' "Sophisticated Propaganda Machine"
- 2013/11/07: CBS: Recount Could Determine Broomfield Fracking Vote
- 2013/11/07: Grist: People power beats corporate utility 2-to-1 in Boulder
- 2013/11/06: Guardian(UK): Virginia governor race: Terry McAuliffe elected in blow to Republicans
- 2013/11/06: Guardian(UK): Virginia governor's race shows global warming science denial is a losing political stance
- 2013/11/06: CBC: Pragmatism beat out ideology in U.S. off-year elections
- 2013/11/06: CSW: Closing the book on Ken Cuccinelli, climate science denialist witch-hunter and Tea Party favorite
- 2013/11/06: TP:JR: Mann 2, Cuccinelli 0: Climate Denial Becomes Wedge Issue, As Hockey Stick Beats Tea Party
- 2013/11/06: CDreams: Tar Sands In Southern Maine: What $600,000 In Oil Industry Money and Scare Tactics Will Get You (Alas, Us)
- 2013/11/06: CDreams: Big Food Crushes Consumer Rights in Washington State
- 2013/11/06: CDreams: What Really Happened to GMO Labeling in Washington
- 2013/11/06: CDreams: Democracy Loses Out as Big Money Overwhelms Grassroots Campaigns
In Washington and Maine, a flood of corporate cash swings popular opinion on key ballot issues - 2013/11/06: CDreams: Election Day 2013: Results on Key Progressive Issues
- 2013/11/06: CSM: Election 2013: What takeaways from votes on marijuana taxes, GMO foods?
- 2013/11/06: CSM: Election day 2013: Fossil fuels take hits from Virginia to Washington State
- 2013/11/06: Grist: Colorado voters tell fracking industry to frack off
- 2013/11/06: Grist: Ballot effort to ban tar-sands oil from Maine city appears to have failed
- 2013/11/06: NatureNB: GM labeling initiative likely defeated in Washington state
- 2013/11/06: ScienceInsider: Effort to Require Labeling of Genetically Modified Foods Losing in Washington State
- 2013/11/06: UCSUSA:B: Colorado Towns Pass Fracking Moratoria, Bans Despite Big Spending by the Oil and Gas Industry
- 2013/11/06: BBerg: Christie, De Blasio Win as McAuliffe Prevails in Virginia
- 2013/11/06: RT: Washington [state] votes against GMO labeling - preliminary results
- 2013/11/06: UCSUSA:B: Can Attacking Scientists Be a Political Liability?
- 2013/11/06: Grist: The big election winner: Deep-pocketed Tom Steyer
- 2013/11/06: Grist: Washington GMO labeling initiative flames out
- 2013/11/06: TP:JR: Western Voters Say No To Fossil Fuels
- 2013/11/06: TFTJO: Ken Cuccinelli defeated in Virginia. A victory for science
- 2013/11/05: CSM: Virginia governor's race: EPA supporter narrowly beats 'war on coal' messenger
- 2013/11/05: Grist: Four epic green ballot battles to watch today
- 2013/11/05: CleanTechnica: On November 5th, Local Power Is On The Line
- 2013/11/05: CBC: Governor Chris Christie wins re-election in New Jersey
- 2013/11/05: Guardian(UK): Election results 2013: Bill de Blasio wins New York City mayoral race - live
- 2013/11/04: CNN: Pot tax, secession top Tuesday ballot measures
Voters in 6 states will consider 31 ballot measures Tuesday - Marijuana taxes and labels for genetically modified foods are on the ballot - Voters in 11 Colorado counties are considering the question of secession - New Jersey voters are being asked to raise their state's minimum wage to $8.25 per hour - 2013/11/05: TP:JR: Boulder, Colorado Faces Key Vote In Fight Against Carbon Pollution
- 2013/11/05: Grist: It's Election Day, and the Koch brothers have more votes than you do
- 2013/11/04: CSM: Coloradans weigh fracking bans. A litmus test for oil and gas?
Coloradans in four communities will vote Tuesday on whether to prohibit a controversial drilling technique that has been central to a boom in US energy production.
Now that he doesn't need their vote any more, how will Obama treat liberals and their policy issues?
- 2013/11/05: CSW: Obama Executive Order on climate change preparedness (Part 2) -- a long-overdue step forward
- 2013/11/04: CSW: Obama Executive Order on climate change preparedness (Part 1) -- a long-overdue step forward
- 2013/11/03: QuarkSoup: Obama Taunts Cuccinelli on Mann and Climate
- 2013/11/03: DD: Fact Sheet: President Obama's Executive Order on Climate Preparedness
The actions of the Obama administration are being watched closely:
- 2013/11/09: DeSmogBlog: Coast Guard Proposal to Allow Barges to Haul Fracking Wastewater Draws Fire From Environmentalists
- 2013/11/08: Grist: Obama admin keeps trying to help coal industry, coal industry keeps whining
- 2013/11/07: WaPo: Energy Dept. failed to report concerns as green-tech firm was heading for bankruptcy
- 2013/11/07: TP:JR: Obama Administration Just Invested $84M In A Clean Coal Technology That Might Cause Earthquakes
- 2013/11/04: MWEN: With new FERC rule, outlook improving for energy storage
- 2013/11/04: Grist: Forest Service's firefighting fund can't keep up with wildfires
- 2013/11/01: DOE: A Statement from U.S. Secretary of Energy Ernest Moniz Regarding Fukushima
As for what is going on in Congress:
- 2013/11/08: ScienceInsider: Report Tallies U.S. Shutdown Costs
- 2013/11/07: CDreams: Industry's Secret Plan to Get the Feds to Kill GMO Labeling in Every State
- 2013/11/07: CDreams: Amid Food Stamp Slash, Fat Cats Plunder Farm Subsidies
New report highlights how, despite drastic food stamp cuts, Congress is preparing less oversight for crop subsidies - 2013/11/07: CDreams: Monsanto May Have Won the Battle for I-522, But the Future of Food Is Not Lost
As final results come in for Initiative 522, advocates of GMO labeling are saying we need to change the system, not just the supermarket. - 2013/11/06: TP:JR: Budget Cuts And Closures Threaten Wildlife Refuges
- 2013/11/06: CleanTechnica: Markey Legislation Tackles Climate Change, Clean Energy
- 2013/11/05: UCSUSA:B: Congress Wants to Keep the Feds Out of Fracking: Bad Idea
- 2013/11/05: ScienceInsider: Senator Warren Says Fighting for Science Is a Top Priority
- 2013/11/04: ScienceInsider: High Contrast: U.S. Legislators Plot Disparate Courses for Department of Energy Research
Democrats would like to amp up the science office's budget by 33.7% over 5 years to $6.263 billion. Republicans are calling for more modest increases. [...] 2.7% over 2 years.
What are the lobbyists pushing?
- 2013/11/07: Grist: Kochs and Republicans launch bid to snuff out wind-energy tax incentives
- 2013/11/07: OilChange: Release: Pennsylvania fracking boom coincides with increase in fossil fuel industry [lobbying] money
- 2013/11/06: DeSmogBlog: Oil Industry Spending Big To Win Unfettered Fracking Rights In The Golden State
- 2013/11/06: OilChange: Industry campaign to lift crude export ban confirmed through leaked API documents
The movement toward a long term ecologically viable economics is glacial:
- 2013/11/08: PeakEnergy: Misunderstanding The Limits To Growth
- 2013/11/08: CCurrents: The Future Must Be Green, Red, Black, And Female
- 2013/11/07: FergusB: Being Resourceful; can we fix it?
- 2013/11/07: Resilience: Economic Growth: A Social Pathology
- 2013/11/04: CCP: Exponential Economist Meets Finite Physicist
- 2013/11/04: CassandrasLegacy: The Club of Rome Reloaded
- 2013/11/04: Resilience: Growing Fruit in a Nuthouse: Designing Our Orchards for Economic Collapse and Climate-Destabilization
In nature, there is no garbage:
- 2013/11/07: TreeHugger: Trash as far as the eye can see: Worldwide waste production could increase 3X by 2100
IPAT [Impact = Population * Affluence * Technology] raised its head once again:
- 2013/11/10: LoE: Don't panic about population (energy is the problem)
- 2013/11/04: Eureka: Population Council to present more than 40 studies at International Conference on Family Planning
Research will highlight development of new contraceptive technologies, strategies for expanding access to family planning, and efforts to promote gender equity
Apocalypso anyone?
How do the corporate media measure up?
- 2013/11/08: TP:JR: Top Climatologist Slams Science Magazine For Getting The Extreme Weather Story Very Wrong
- 2013/11/08: KSJT: Godzilla? Fox News reports Japan's 'toxic monster' creeping toward U.S. [media]
- 2013/11/06: DeSmogBlog: On Anniversary of Superstorm Sandy, CNBC Host Joe Kernen Mocks Climate Investments
- 2013/11/06: TP:JR: What You Read On MSNBC.com Might Be Written By The Fossil Fuel Industry
- 2013/11/05: CJR: Sounding the alarm -- Climate Desk's Chris Mooney talks to CJR about how the press help perpetuate global warming pseudo-science
- 2013/11/04: TP:JR: Tucker Carlson: Obama Is Trying To 'Single-Handedly Prevent Hurricanes'
- 2013/11/04: DeSmogBlog: MSNBC "Leans Forward" Into Running "Native Ads" Promoting Fracking
Here is something for your library:
- 2013/11/06: GLaden: [Book Plug] _The Hockey Stick and the Climate Wars: Dispatches from the Front Lines_ by Michael Mann
- 2013/11/06: SkS: Book review - The Hockey Stick and the Climate Wars now Available in Paperback
- 2013/11/06: Resilience: [Book Review] _A Cubic Mile of Oil: Realities and Options for Averting the Looming Global Energy Crisis_ by co-authors Hewitt Crane, Edwin Kinderman & Ripudaman Malhotra
And for your film & video enjoyment:
- 2013/11/08: HuffPo: Is This the Most Anti-Science, Anti-Environmental TV Ad Ever? by Peter H. Gleick
- 2013/11/07: PSinclair: Debating Pandora's Promise
- 2013/11/05: PSinclair: New Video: Mann and Rahmstorf on IPCC 2013
- 2013/11/04: TMoS: Suzuki and Schindler's Dire Warning for Canada
As for podcasts:
Meanwhile among the 'Sue the Bastards!' contingent:
- 2013/11/08: Grist: Supreme court disadvantage: Judges could gut key environmental justice standard
- 2013/11/08: TP:JR: Texas Homeowner Battles $3 Million Defamation Lawsuit For Exposing Fracking Company's Pollution
- 2013/11/07: TP:JR: Lawsuit Accuses EPA Of Not Doing Enough To Regulate Toxic Soot
- 2013/11/06: BBerg: Brent Crude Traders Claim Proof BFOE Boys Rigged Market
Four longtime traders in the global oil market claim in a lawsuit that the prices for buying and selling crude are fixed -- and that they can prove it. Some of the world's biggest oil companies including BP Plc (BP/), Statoil ASA (STL), and Royal Dutch Shell Plc conspired with Morgan Stanley and energy traders including Vitol Group to manipulate the closely watched spot prices for Brent crude oil for more than a decade, they allege. The North Sea benchmark is used to price more than half the world's crude and helps determine where costs are headed for fuels including gasoline and heating oil. - 2013/11/06: RT: Oil rigging: Traders accuse BP and Shell of fixing prices
A new law suit claims some of the world's largest oil companies -- including BP, Royal Dutch Shell, manipulated Brent Crude spot prices in collaboration with Morgan Stanley, Vitol Group, and other energy traders. The plaintiffs accuse the companies of deliberately submitting false and misleading information about Brent prices to Platts, the energy and oil market news outlet, which is used by traders worldwide in daily transactions, Bloomberg reports. - 2013/11/06: BBC: BP and Shell among oil firms named in price-fixing lawsuit
BP, Royal Dutch Shell, and Statoil are among firms accused in a lawsuit of manipulating the Brent oil market. Four traders have filed a class action in a Manhattan court alleging that oil majors and trading houses have fixed prices since at least 2002. Among others named in the lawsuit are investment bank Morgan Stanley and energy traders including Vitol Group. - 2013/11/06: BBC: Nigeria oil firms 'deflect blame for spills', says Amnesty
Amnesty International has accused major oil companies, including Shell, of failing to report the true picture of oil spills in Nigeria. - 2013/11/06: Guardian(UK): Shell made false claims about Niger delta oil pollution, says Amnesty
Report cites discrepancies between evidence of environmental damage from Nigeria spills and claims made by oil company - 2013/11/05: EUO: Faroe islands takes EU fishing restrictions to the WTO
- 2013/11/04: BBerg: Ecuador Lawsuit Backer Tells Chevron Judge He Backed Out
A lawyer who helped fund pollution litigation in Ecuador against Chevron Corp. that resulted in a $19 billion judgment told a judge he became concerned about how the case was being handled and recommended plaintiffs settle. Joseph Kohn of Philadelphia's Kohn, Swift & Graf PC testified yesterday in a non-jury trial in Manhattan federal court that he left the environmental case in November 2009 after the plaintiffs refused to allow his firm to take a more active role in its management. Kohn said his firm invested more than $6 million in the lawsuit, which was filed over a polluted oil drilling site in the Ecuadorean Amazon. - 2013/11/04: TP:JR: Coal Baron Sues Activist For Defamation
- 2013/11/04: ACLU: Texas Health Care Providers Take Fight Against Unconstitutional Law to U.S. Supreme Court
- 2013/11/03: DeSmogBlog: Coal Baron and Major Ken Cuccinelli Campaign Donor Sues Blogger [Mike Stark] for Defamation, Invasion of Privacy
- 2013/11/03: BismarckTrib: More N.D. mineral owners seek to join gas lawsuits
Lawyers says dozens of western North Dakota mineral owners have expressed interest in joining lawsuits seeking damages from oil drilling companies for natural gas that is lost when it is burned instead of being captured as a byproduct of oil production. The lawsuits against 10 oil companies in the Bakken oilfields seek class-action status to represent other western North Dakota mineral rights owners. The lawsuits argue the mineral owners have lost millions of dollars in royalties because oil drilling companies burn off large amounts of gas instead of capturing and selling it.
It looks like this BP trial over the Gulf oil spill is going to take a long while:
- 2013/11/03: WaPo: Gulf oil spill settlement back in court as BP contests interpretation of business claims
Developing a new energy infrastructure is a fundamental challenge of the current generation:
- 2013/11/08: TreeHugger: 5 signs the energy sector is changing fast
- 2013/11/08: PSinclair: WSJ: Water Shortages Will Cut Energy Options
- 2013/11/07: Guardian(UK): Abundant fossil fuels leave clean energy out in the cold
From Cuadrilla's well in West Sussex to Gazprom's rig in the Arctic, unconventional sources of gas and oil are putting the transition to renewable energy at risk - 2013/11/07: GreenGrok: Electric Power Conundrum at the Crossroads of Energy, Climate and Water
- 2013/11/07: CleanTechnica: Transition To Sustainable Energy Won't Be Easy Or Painless, Report Argues -- Will Only Occur As Result Of Determined Intervention Or Severe Crisis
- 2013/11/07: CleanTechnica: 18 Fun Renewable Energy Charts From NREL Director Dan Arvizu & Ren21?s Renewables 2013 Global Status Report
- 2013/11/06: CSM: Fuel cell technology: has its moment finally arrived?
- 2013/11/05: NBF: Combining nuclear with artificial geothermal, shale oil, or hydrogen production could help slow climate change [misc]
- 2013/11/05: RT: Electrifying the Olympics: $310 million thermal power plant opens near Sochi
- 2013/11/05: Grist: Five charts that explain the great energy shift
What do you have in energy comparisons and transitions?
- 2013/11/09: CleanTechnica: Double Standard For Nuclear Energy & Wind Energy In UK?
I'll be honest -- I'm not a "nuclear power hater." But if you look at nuclear power objectively and calculate its costs -- including insurance costs and waste management costs -- it is simply a bad deal. It's very, very expensive. The private industry would never develop nuclear on its own. The only way it gets built anywhere is from huge government support. - 2013/11/06: ToledoBlade: Natural gas boom takes toll on nuke power plants
- 2013/11/04: Lenz: Solar Deployment Faster than Nuclear: Jim Hansen Open Letter
- 2013/11/03: RWER: Energy: shifting tar sands
Hey! Let's contaminate the aquifers for thousands of years! It'll be a fracking gas!
- 2013/11/09: DeSmogBlog: Coast Guard Proposal to Allow Barges to Haul Fracking Wastewater Draws Fire From Environmentalists
- 2013/11/09: CBC: Lure of shale gas royalties divides [Pennsylvanian] town -- Susquehanna asks: at what cost?
- 2013/11/08: TheCanadian: Fracking, dead cows and...RADIATION?
- 2013/11/08: TP:JR: Texas Homeowner Battles $3 Million Defamation Lawsuit For Exposing Fracking Company's Pollution
- 2013/11/06: DeSmogBlog: Fracking Victim Steve Lipsky's Flaming Water is No Joke
- 2013/11/06: OilChange: Newfoundland Halts Fracking
- 2013/11/05: Grist: Frackers might soon be allowed to float their wastewater down rivers
- 2013/11/05: Grist: If you think fracking is a free-market success story, think again
- 2013/11/04: PSinclair: Fracking and Red Queen Syndrome
- 2013/11/04: TheCanadian: Bird's eye view of Texas fracking causes rumble
- 2013/11/01: PublicSource: U.S. Coast Guard publishes proposed policy on moving frack wastewater by barge
On the coal front:
- 2013/11/05: OilChange: The Slow Death of King Coal
Slowly but surely the concept of "stranded assets" is taking hold and dirty coal looks likely to take the first big hit from a huge Norwegian pension fund. Norway's $800 billion Sovereign Wealth Fund (NBIM) is now "likely" to divest from coal assets as the country's Labour Party is signally that the vast pension fund should follow its disinvestments from palm oil and tobacco and disinvest from coal. - 2013/11/04: DD: Largest coal mine in Australia approved, will use more than nine billion liters of water per year...
- 2013/11/04: TP:JR: How The American Coal Industry Found Itself In An Economic No Man's Land
- 2013/11/04: WaPo:B: Here's why Central Appalachia's coal industry is dying
On the gas and oil front:
- 2013/11/08: BBerg: Closing oil prices Friday
OIL (US$/bbl)
Dated Brent Spot....105.12
WTI Cushing Spot.....94.60 - 2013/11/06: Resilience: The downside of higher U.S. energy exports
- 2013/11/06: OilChange: Industry campaign to lift crude export ban confirmed through leaked API documents
- 2013/11/06: Guardian(UK): British Gas owner secures £4.4bn deal with Qatar for four-year LNG supply
- 2013/11/05: Asia Times: China in dilemma over gas shortages
- 2013/11/04: NatureN: Oil recovery may have triggered Texas tremors
Gas injections used to enhance oil production linked to quakes in the Permian Basin. - 2013/11/03: Xinhuanet: Iran elected to lead GECF [Gas Exporting Countries Forum]
In the gas and oil corps:
- 2013/11/08: TP:JR: Exxon's Fine For Massive Tar Sands Spill Is A Mere 1/3000th Of Their Third-Quarter Profits
- 2013/11/07: Salon: Exxon "disappointed" with $2.7 million fine for Arkansas pipeline spill
- 2013/11/07: Grist: Exxon fined for Arkansas spill, sued over Yellowstone spill, and still just keeps making piles of money
Regarding oil and the economy:
And in pipeline news:
- 2013/11/06: MichiganRadio: Enbridge will miss deadline to finish cleaning up 2010 Kalamazoo River oil spill
- 2013/11/06: P3: It's the climate, not the oil spill
- 2013/11/06: TP:JR: Company Responsible For Costliest Pipeline Spill In U.S. History Plans Huge Pipeline In North Dakota
- 2013/11/05: CBC: $2.6B Enbridge pipeline would carry North Dakota oil
Calgary-based Enbridge Energy has applied to build the $2.6 billion Sandpiper pipeline from western North Dakota's booming oil patch to refineries in Minnesota and Wisconsin. Enbridge applied to North Dakota regulators, saying the 980-km line would carry 225,000 barrels of oil to a hub in northern Minnesota and 375,000 barrels to one in northwestern Wisconsin every day. - 2013/11/04: PBM: Enbridge applies to PSC for new oil pipeline
Ships and boats and trains -- How to tranport the stuff?
- 2013/11/08: SciAm:PI: Exploding oil train, Alabama edition
- 2013/11/08: AlterNet: Oil Train Derails and Explodes in Alabama
- 2013/11/05: Rabble:BP: Oil shipments on the Great Lakes, now and to come
A rush of American triumphalism pervades the energy independence PR campaign. Think it will last?
- 2013/11/07: DeSmogBlog: Could California's Shale Oil Boom Be Just a Mirage?
- 2013/11/03: USAToday: Could fracking boom peter out sooner than DOE expects?
The future of the U.S. fossil fuel industry rests largely on fracking, which has brought a surge in oil and gas production. Energy experts disagree, though, on how long this boom will last.
Yes we have a peak oil sighting:
- 2013/11/08: PeakEnergy: Why Peak Oil Might Matter
- 2013/11/04: PeakEnergy: Peak Coal: Will the US Run Out of Coal in 20 Years or 200 Years?
Biofuel bickering abounds:
- 2013/11/06: Eureka: Burning biomass pellets instead of wood or plants in China could lower mercury emissions
- 2013/11/05: Grist: More corn grown in U.S. this year than ever before. Thanks, biofuels.
- 2013/11/04: Eureka: Crafting a better enzyme cocktail to turn plants into fuel faster -- Tapping fungus to unlock energy
The answer my friend...
- 2013/11/10: PeakEnergy: Record Year Blows United Kingdom Small Wind Energy Installations Past 102MW
- 2013/11/09: CleanTechnica: Wind Energy Blows Michigan Toward 30% Renewables By 2035
- 2013/11/08: Eureka: High bat mortality from wind turbines
- 2013/11/08: CleanTechnica: Offshore Wind Experiences Its Best Growth In 2013
- 2013/11/08: ABC(Au): Staggered turbines catch more wind
Wind farms, along with solar energy, could soon provide enough energy to provide for half the world's needs, researchers say. The only problem is working out how best to build them. - 2013/11/05: CleanTechnica: US Wind Industry Goes Into 4th Quarter With Strong Winds At Its Back
- 2013/11/05: CleanTechnica: Independent Grid Operator Study Confirms Wind Power's Economic, Environmental Value
- 2013/11/04: UCSUSA:B: The Falling Cost of Wind Power Spurs New Investments
- 2013/11/04: CleanTechnica: Xcel Sets 60% Wind Energy Record In Colorado
Meanwhile among the solar aficionados:
- 2013/11/09: CleanTechnica: CIGS Solar Cell Efficiency Gets A Tweak From Swiss Research Team
- 2013/11/08: CleanTechnica: 315 MW Solar Power Purchase Agreement Signed In Andhra Pradesh
- 2013/11/08: CleanTechnica: Is Solar Worth It?
- 2013/11/07: CleanTechnica: First Solar Reports Largest Quarterly Decline In CdTe Module Cost Per-Watt Since 2007
- 2013/11/07: CleanTechnica: 24-hour Power Solar and Heat Tech Gets $11.5 Million in Funding
- 2013/11/06: Eureka: Big beats bolster solar cell efficiency
- 2013/11/06: Clemson:B: The Next Big Thing in the Energy Sector: Photovoltaic Generated DC Electricity
The nuclear energy controversy continues:
- 2013/11/10: JQuiggin: Pandora Post-mortem
- 2013/11/09: NBF: Laser Uranium Enrichment has completed first test loop
- 2013/11/09: CleanTechnica: Nuclear Energy Verdict: Very Disappointing
- 2013/11/09: UCSUSA:B: Climate Science, Nuclear Power, and a Renewable Energy Future
- 2013/11/09: CSM: Nuclear fuel: How to store it safely
- 2013/11/08: P3: To those influencing environmental policy but opposed to nuclear power
- 2013/11/08: PSinclair: Nuclear Prices Itself Out of the Market
- 2013/11/08: BNC: Stayin' alive in the gene pool - Part II by Geoff Russell
- 2013/11/07: Guardian(UK): Reviving nuclear power debates is a distraction. We need to use less energy
- 2013/11/07: EneNews: Caldicott: 50 years or more of highly contaminated water flowing into Pacific from Fukushima - Tepco VP not optimistic: "I have concerns" for long-term plan - Location of melted fuel a mystery (video)
- 2013/11/07: Grist: More nukes? Are you kidding? Enviros push back against Hansen's call
- 2013/11/07: RT: 'Any country with a nuclear plant is a bomb factory' - Dr Helen Caldicott
- 2013/11/07: PSinclair: Debating Pandora's Promise
- 2013/11/06: BBC: Hinkley firm denies fuel claim
The company building Britain's first nuclear power station in a generation has denied a suggestion that the new plant would use controversial MOX fuel. French state-owned utility EDF said the use of plutonium-based Mixed Oxide fuel was not under consideration for use at the Hinkley Point C plant in Somerset. Under questioning by the Public Accounts Committee, Mark Higson from the Office for Nuclear Development, said MOX could be used. Mr Higson was speaking on 4 November. - 2013/11/06: APR: [Press Release] SCE Releases Further Documents in SONGS RSG Dispute
- 2013/11/06: CNN: The 'nuclear renaissance:' What went wrong?
Cheap natural gas, Fukushima and no carbon limits hurt promised "nuclear renaissance" - Five U.S. reactors are being built, but others are shutting down or being canceled - The nuclear industry "got hit between the eyes," former NRC commissioner says - 2013/11/05: CleanTechnica: Nuclear Prices Itself Out Of The Market - Graph
- 2013/11/05: CleanTechnica: Leading Scientists Promote Need For Nuclear To Slow Global Warming
- 2013/11/04: TP:JR: To Those Who Want To See Nuclear Power Play A Bigger Role In Climate Action
- 2013/11/04: Grist: More nukes: James Hansen leads call for "safer nuclear" power to save climate
- 2013/11/04: RTCC: Nuclear "essential" in climate fight say leading scientists
- 2013/11/04: RealEconomics: Is nuclear power necessary?
- 2013/11/03: CNN: Climate change warriors: It's time to go nuclear
Four top environmental scientists raised the stakes Sunday in their fight to reverse climate change and save the planet. Climate and energy scientists James Hansen, Ken Caldeira, Kerry Emanuel and Tom Wigley have released an open letter calling on world leaders to support development of safer nuclear power systems. - 2013/11/03: Guardian(UK): Top US climate scientists support development of safe nuclear power
Like a mirage, the dream of a Hydrogen Economy shimmers on the horizon:
- 2013/11/05: Eureka: New aluminum alloy stores hydrogen -- Versatile, lightweight material opens the door to fuel cells of the future
More people are talking about the electrical grid:
- 2013/11/04: PeakEnergy: Germany Reaches 59% Renewable Energy Peak, Power Grid Doesn't Blow Up
- 2013/11/03: BBC: Berlin energy grid nationalisation fails in referendum
A bid to renationalise the electricity grid in the German capital Berlin has narrowly failed in a referendum.
How are the utilities adjusting (or not)?
And then there is the matter of efficiency & conservation:
- 2013/11/07: UCSUSA:B: Which [American] States Rank Highest on Energy Efficiency Efforts? Latest Results May Surprise
- 2013/11/06: TP:JR: How Does Your State Score On Energy Efficiency?
- 2013/11/05: CSM: How 'smart' street lights save energy
- 2013/11/05: CSM: Your thermostat is about to get 'smart'
- 2013/11/04: CleanTechnica: Buenos Aires LED Streetlamp Retrofit - 125,000 Streetlamps Being Replaced With LEDs
- 2013/11/03: NBF: Joe Eck has superconductor at ... 48 celsius
Automakers & lawyers, engineers & activists argue over the future of the car:
- 2013/11/07: CleanTechnica: VIA Motors Launches First High-Volume EV Assembly Plant [in a free-trade zone] In San Luis Potosi, Mexico
- 2013/11/06: AutoBG: Build it and they will come: I-5 corridor EV fast charge stations getting lots of use
- 2013/11/06: CleanTechnica: US Electric Car Sales Have Increased 361% In 2013 So Far
- 2013/11/05: RTCC: Renault-Nissan and Mitsubishi announce electric car venture
- 2013/11/05: CleanTechnica: 1 Million EVs In Germany Within The Decade An Achievable Goal According To VW CEO
- 2013/11/04: TreeHugger: Tesla signs deal for 2 BILLION battery cells from Panasonic, enough to quintuple EV production
- 2013/11/04: CleanTechnica: Demand For 261 MPG VW XL1 Outstrips Supply
As for Energy Storage:
The reaction of business to climate change will be critical:
- 2013/11/08: KSJT: New Yorker: Michael Specter does a global warming business story with a whole new angle
- 2013/11/08: CSM: Clean energy in big business: How to make it happen
Insurance and re-insurance companies are feeling the heat:
Who's fielding theFAQs?
- 2013/11/06: TheConversation: Explainer: what is climate sensitivity?
- 2013/11/06: TheConversation: Explainer: how does the electricity grid work?
What do we have in other (weekly) lists?
- 2013/11/09: SkS: 2013 SkS Weekly News Roundup #45B by John Hartz
- 2013/11/08: BPA: Agriculture News Links
- 2013/11/05: SkS: 2013 SkS Weekly News Roundup #45A by John Hartz
The carbon lobby are up to the usual:
- 2013/11/05: BostonGlobe: Researcher helps sow climate-change doubt
- 2013/11/05: QuarkSoup: David Rose Hole Update
- 2013/11/05: HillHeat: Google-Funded Organizations Join Kochs To Call for Wind Production Tax Credit to Expire
- 2013/11/06: TheConversation: Look out for that turbine! Climate sceptics are the real Chicken Littles
- 2013/11/07: DeSmogBlog: Heartland Institute Tries To Poison Classrooms With Partisan Climate Pseudoscience
- 2013/11/06: CCP: From Angela Fritz's wunderground blog -- a marvelous takedown by one commenter of a troll/denier
- 2013/11/07: HotWhopper: Tim Ball and his audience at WUWT complain about naming and shaming!
- 2013/11/08: Guardian(UK): Climate contrarians are more celebrity than scientist
- 2013/11/08: UCSUSA:B: Through the Looking Glass: Climate Change Denial, Conflict of Interest and Connecting Science to Policy
- 2013/11/09: GLaden: WUWT Science Denialist Blog Hits New, Historic Low
- 2013/11/09: Stoat: Thrust
Note: You may notice my denialist coverage flagging. I am finding it increasingly difficult to give any attention to these people.
Meanwhile in the 'clean coal' saga:
So why is nothing getting done?
As for climate miscellanea:
- 2013/11/06: Stoat: Leftie guardianista arguing for more space for right-wing ideas in climate discussion
- 2013/11/07: TP:JR: A New Investment Project [REDIMENA] Could Point The Way To Renewables For The Global Poor
- 2013/11/08: GreenGrok: Climate Chatter, Issue 12 [quotes]
- 2013/11/06: AtlanticCities: The Climate Mapping Tool You've Been Waiting For - NOAA Views
- 2013/11/05: PSinclair: Dealing with a Dryer World
- 2013/11/04: GaianEcon: A New Carbon Budgeting Tool -- CBAT: Carbon Budget Analysis Tool
- 2013/11/04: RealClimate: Cows, Carbon and the Anthropocene: Commentary on Savory TED Video
- 2013/11/03: RealClimate: From global climate change to local consequences
- 2013/11/03: Resilience: Does the Earth need saving?
And here are a couple of sites you may find interesting and/or useful:
- Tar Sands SOS: Save Our Shore -- Keep Our West Coast Tar Sands Free
- Wiki: Dalton Minimum
- American Fisheries Society journals
- American Fisheries Society
- Eat Drink Politics
- Wiki: Saffir-Simpson hurricane wind scale
- Wiki: Hurricane Severity Index
- Wiki: Tropical cyclone scales
- : PopCouncil: 2013 International Conference on Family Planning -- Addis Ababa, Ethiopia -- 12-15 November
- CO2CARE
- Wisc:SSEC: Sea Surface Temperatures
- Grain
- Fossil Agenda - Legacy energy, exposed
- IISD on COP19
- Renew Economy
Low Key Plug
- Global Warming Links
- Global Warming News Archive
- Energy
- Energy News
- Environmental Issues
- ---
- H.E. Taylor (homepage)
My first novel _Water_ was published in May 2007. An Introduction is available.
My most recent novel _The Bottleneck Years_ is being serialized online atmy siteand on AFTIC at Table of Contents
If you want further information, see A Gentle Introduction. If you want a copy, see The Deal.
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>
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."...when you get up into winds in excess of 155 mph (249 km/h) you have enough damage if that extreme wind sustains itself for as much as six seconds on a building it's going to cause rupturing damages that are serious no matter how well it's engineered". -Robert Simpson
Last modified November 10, 2013
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