Another Week of Anthropocene Antics, February 16, 2014

By illconsidered on February 18, 2014.

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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Sipping from the Internet Firehose...

February 16, 2014

Chuckles, COP20+, London Declaration, AAAS, England, Energiewende
Bottom Line, Thermodynamics, Cr*p Detector, Cook
Fukushima: Note, News, Policies
Melting Arctic, Polar Bears, Methane, Antarctica
Food: Crisis, Fisheries, GMOs, Production
Hurricanes, Notable Weather, Abrupt CC, Extreme Weather, New Weather
GHGs, Carbon Cycle, Aerosols, Volcanoes, Temperatures, Satellites
Tipping Points, Paleoclimate, Attribution, Oceans, Biosphere, Extinctions, Bees & CCD
Impacts, Forests, Disease, Wildfires, Corals, Glaciers, Sea Levels, Floods & Droughts
Transportation, Buildings, Sequestration, Geoengineering, Conservation, Adaptation
Journals, Other Docs, Misc. Science, Science Orgs, DIY Science, Free Science, Emanuel
International Politics: Carbon Trade, Hormuz, South China Sea, Resources, Solar Spat
Treaties, NSA, China-USA, Misc., Security, Law & Activism, Activism, Divestment
Polls, H2O Biz, Religioso, Education
National Politics: Britain, Europe, Australia, Abbott, MDBP, New Zealand, India, China, Japan, South America
Canada, Lac-Mégantic, Libricide, Silencing Dissent, Northern Gateway, Alberta Clipper
Species At Risk, BC, Tar Sands, Alberta, Ontario, Quebec, Maritimes, North
America, Keystone, Birth Control, Sequestration, Spills & Leaks, Keeling, 2016, USAdmin, Congress, Lobbyists
Ecological Economics, Children, IPAT, Apocalypso, Media, Books, Video, Podcasts, Courts, Mann Suit, BP Trial
Energy, Transitions, Fracking, Coal, Oil & Gas, The Corps, Pipelines, Oil Transportation, Peak Oil, Biofuel
Wind, Solar, Nukes, Nuclear Waste, Nuclear Fusion, Hydrogen, Grid, Utilities, Cars, Energy Storage
Business, Insurance, Other Lists, Quotes, Carbon Lobby, Miscellaneous, Useful Links
Shameless Self Promotion, A Simple Plea, .sig

More black humour in a climatic vein:

Looking ahead to COP20 and future international climate negotiations:

France: 21st Conference of the Parties on Climate Change 2015
2014/02/14: RTCC: President Xi tells John Kerry China "will do more" on climate
2014/02/13: Grist: U.S. wants poor and rich countries alike to cut emissions under next climate treaty
2014/02/12: RTCC: US outlines plans for 'durable and ambitious' UN climate deal
Early submission to UN reveals White House support for flexible deal involving developed and developing nations The USA has outlined the conditions it believes are necessary for a global climate change deal to be signed off at a planned Paris summit next year.
2014/02/11: RTCC: Rich - poor divide 'main question' at UN climate talks says [Poland's climate envoy Marcin Korolec, who is the current President of the UN negotiating process]
2014/02/10: Time: Hollande and Obama Push For Global Climate Change Pact
2014/02/10: RTCC: Obama and Hollande call for 'ambitious' 2015 climate agreement
2014/02/10: WaPo: France and the U.S. enjoy a renewed alliance by Barack Obama & François Hollande
[...]
This includes our leadership to combat climate change. Even as our two nations reduce our own carbon emissions, we can expand the clean energy partnerships that create jobs and move us toward low-carbon growth. We can do more to help developing countries shift to low-carbon energy as well, and deal with rising seas and more intense storms. As we work toward next year's climate conference in Paris, we continue to urge all nations to join us in pursuit of an ambitious and inclusive global agreement that reduces greenhouse gas emissions through concrete actions. The climate summit organized by the U.N. secretary general this September will give us the opportunity to reaffirm our ambitions for the climate conference in Paris.
2014/02/10: BBC: French President Francois Hollande and US counterpart Barack Obama have issued a joint call for an "ambitious" global climate change agreement

A group of nations conferred over illegal wildlife trade and came up with the London Declaration:

2014/02/14: NatureN: Nations pledge to make poaching a 'serious crime' -- London Declaration attempts to stem slaughter of wildlife
2014/02/13: BBC: Declaration signed on illegal wildlife trade
Governments from around the world have vowed to take action on the illegal trade in wildlife. At the conference at Lancaster House in London, delegates from 46 different countries and 11 UN organisations have signed The London Declaration.
2014/02/13: Guardian(UK): Global accord on combatting illegal wildlife trade agreed by 46 nations
2014/02/12: BBC: Declaration sought on illegal wildlife trade
Leaders from 40 states are gathering in London to discuss the illegal wildlife trade. The aim is to draw up a global declaration that will tackle animal trafficking.
2014/02/10: BBC: Animal trafficking: Wildlife trade crisis talks held
Experts from around the world are gathering in London to discuss "the global crisis" in the wildlife trade. Conservationists say animal trafficking is reaching unprecedented levels and species such as rhinos, elephants and tigers are under threat of extinction. The aim of the meeting, hosted by the Zoological Society of London, is to find new ways to protect animals and reduce demand for wildlife products.

The AAAS had their annual meeting this week in Chicago:

The England et al. paper on stronger Pacific Trade Winds burying warm surface waters sparked some interest:

2014/02/09: Nature:CC: (ab$) Recent intensification of wind-driven circulation in the Pacific and the ongoing warming hiatus by Matthew H. England et al.
2014/02/11: PSinclair: Stronger Winds Shift Heat to Deeper Pacific
2014/02/11: RTCC: Is global warming hiding in the Pacific Ocean?
Global warming hasn't slowed say researchers, trade winds have simply carried the heat into the Pacific Ocean -- temporarily
2014/02/10: Guardian(UK): Unprecedented trade wind strength is shifting global warming to the oceans, but for how much longer?
2014/02/10: CBC: Surface global warming hiatus blamed on Pacific winds
2014/02/10: ABC(Au): Warming slowdown caused by Pacific winds
2014/02/10: SciShot: Pacific Ocean Keeping Earth Cool -- For Now
2014/02/10: ABC(Au): Global warming: Australian scientists say strong winds in Pacific behind pause in rising temperatures
2014/02/09: Guardian(UK): Global warming 'pause' due to unusual trade winds in Pacific ocean, study finds
Study shows sharply accelerating trade winds have buried surface heat underwater, reducing heat flowing into atmosphere
2014/02/09: TMoS: A Cool Pacific Breeze Masks Global Warming
2014/02/09: Eureka: Pacific trade winds stall global surface warming -- for now
The strongest trade winds have driven more of the heat from global warming into the oceans; but when those winds slow, that heat will rapidly return to the atmosphere causing an abrupt rise in global average temperatures
2014/02/09: TheConversation: Global warming stalled by strong winds driving heat into oceans
2014/02/09: Yahoo:Reuters: Stronger Pacific winds explain global warming hiatus: study

How is the German Energy Transition [Energiewende] doing?

2014/02/14: BBerg: Germany Set to Cut Rebates for Companies That Generate Own Power
Germany is set to reduce the number of companies being exempted from an environmental levy to appease European Union competition concerns and spread the costs of clean energy more fairly, a senior coalition lawmaker said. While companies that fire generators with their own gas byproducts, such as BASF SE (BAS) and steelmakers, should pay a reduced EEG-Umlage levy as they're vital to the economy, others "abuse" the rule and should pay in full, said Hubertus Heil, energy policy spokesman for the Social Democrats. The levy, which helps finance the country's clean-energy expansion, jumped 18 percent to 6.24 euro cents a kilowatt-hour this year, driving up bills that are the second-highest in the EU after Denmark. The exemptions are blamed for helping to inflate costs for other consumers and have aroused competition concerns from the European Commission.
2014/02/13: EurActiv: Germany extends disputed renewable energy subsidies to industry
The value of exemptions to green energy charges Germany grants heavy industry will rise to E5.1 billion in 2014 from last year's 4 billion euros, even though the exemptions are subject to an anti-competition probe by the European Union.
2014/02/13: GET: Energy subsidies - Less is more
2014/02/13: BBerg: German Power Generators Split Over State Payments to Plants
Utilities operating in Germany are divided over whether the government should pay generators to keep uneconomic power plants open to ensure supply can meet peak demand. Vattenfall AB, the third-biggest utility operating in Germany, says that stability of power supply is not an issue and the market is so oversupplied that so-called capacity payments aren't necessary.
2014/02/12: RealEconomics: The German transition to solar gets more complicated
2014/02/12: GEB: BDEW: Majority of German Population Still Supports Energy Transition - New Figures for the Heat Market
2014/02/13: GEB: BAFA Publishes Figures on Reduction of EEG Surcharge for Energy Intensive Companies
2014/02/10: DeutscheWelle: Germany to charge fee for off-grid electricity
The German government has proposed a new fee that will affect companies generating their own electricity. Critics say the fees will drive companies away from renewables altogether.

And on the Bottom Line:

Delving into the laws of thermodynamics this week:

2014/02/13: ERabett: The Sceptic or the Skeptic

Here is something for your Crap Detector:

2014/02/13: DeSmogBlog: 8 Logical Fallacies That Misinform Our Minds

John Cook and friends continue their point-counterpoint articles:

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?

No good news out of Fukushima yet:

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

2014/02/11: NBF: Japan plans to restart 10 nuclear reactors by summer
2014/02/11: NYT: Nuclear Issue in Limbo as Indecision Grips Japan
2014/02/09: BBC: Pro-nuclear candidate Masuzoe 'wins Tokyo governor vote'
2014/02/08: SciAm:Reuters: Japan's Nuclear Re-start Bogged down in Safety Checks and Paperwork
Tokyo - Hundreds of technicians and engineers are camped out in Tokyo hotels trying to revive Japan's nuclear industry, shut down in the wake of the Fukushima disaster almost three years ago. It's proving a hard slog. A new, more independent regulator is in place, asking difficult questions and seeking to impose tougher safety rules on powerful utilities that were largely their own masters for the past 50 years. The Nuclear Regulation Authority (NRA) was created in 2012 and set new safety guidelines in July last year. It now has four teams vetting reactors at nine nuclear power stations on a list of those seeking to re-start. A deadline to complete the checks has been missed as the NRA is still asking for reams of information. No one is able to predict when the first of 48 reactors will be turned back on.

The Arctic melt continues to garner attention:

As for the charismatic megafauna:

2014/02/10: UBuffalo: How do polar bears stay warm? Research finds an answer in their genes

That Damoclean sword still hangs overhead:

2014/02/09: ArcticNews: High methane readings over Greenland

While in Antarctica:

The food crisis is ongoing:

2014/02/15: al Jazeera: Millions of cattle at risk in Bolivia floods
Drowning of livestock in meat-producing northeast could lead to long-lasting problems with food supplies
2014/02/15: WSWS: Thai government to end rice subsidy
2014/02/14: ABC(Au): Drought forces farmers to sell herds
2014/02/12: ABC(Au): Tens of thousands of animals die in fires
2014/02/11: DD: Record Brazil heat pressures crops, energy prices
Northeast is in worst drought in at least 50 years, hundreds of thousands of cattle have died
2014/02/11: ABC(Au): Grain milling boss says farmers and food production system in trouble
The head of one of the country's biggest grain milling companies says the current drought is not only posing a risk to farming families, but to Australia's ability to supply its customers
2014/02/12: FAO: Farmers need urgent help to plant in the Central African Republic
Missing the March planting season will increase risk of a full-scale food and nutrition security crisis
2014/02/10: PSinclair: UK Floods Impacts Widen. Wildlife, Food Security Under Threat?
2014/02/10: TP:JR: How California's Worsening Drought Could Make Your Grocery Bill Spike

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

Regarding the genetic modification of food:

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

Except for Tropical Cyclone Fobane in the South Indian Ocean, it has been a quiet week:

The post Haiyan situation in the Philippines is not good:

2014/02/12: RTCC: Philippines warning as communities return to danger zones post Haiyan
Inadequate funding and local opposition means Filipinos are rebuilding homes destroyed by typhoon in vulnerable areas Devastated communities in the Philippines are returning to dangerous areas due to a lack of help in finding new accomodation, say aid workers in the islands.
2014/02/16: ABC(Au): UN warns that 100 days after Typhoon Haiyan hit the Philippines, millions of survivors still need shelter

While elsewhere in the hurricane wars:
2014/02/11: MODIS: Tropical Cyclone Edilson (13S) over Reunion and Mauritius [on Feb.6]
2014/02/10: ABC(Au): Kimberley on cyclone watch, following record falls in Kununurra

This week in notable weather
First in the UK:
- 2014/02/15: BBC: UK storms: Two die as fierce storms continue
- 2014/02/15: BBC: Valentine's Day diners rescued from water-surge cafe
  The Army and emergency services have rescued 32 people trapped by surging flood water in a beachfront restaurant in Hampshire.
- 2014/02/15: CBC: U.K. storms leave 2 dead
  Winds of up to 129 km/h, heavy rain lash southern England and Wales
- 2014/02/13: al Jazeera: Another huge storm hits UK [pix]
  The UK is enduring the worst sequence of winter weather in 300 years, with the prospect of more to come.
- 2014/02/13: ABC(Au): UK floods: One dead, 100,000 without power as storms batter flooded Britain [pix]
- 2014/02/13: CBC: U.K. storms, floods leave 1 man dead -- More than 100,000 left without power in Britain
- 2014/02/13: BBC: Tens of thousands of homes are without power and there is renewed travel disruption after hurricane-force winds battered the UK on Wednesday
- 2014/02/13: BBC: UK storms: Living with contaminated flood water
  The water running thigh deep through Ham Sandhu's house in Wraysbury in Berkshire is freezing cold and murky.
- 2014/02/12: PSinclair: Soaked British Isles Could Remain Flooded for Months
- 2014/02/12: CNN: Floods hit homes in England as wild weather batters Europe
  Irish province faces gale-force winds with gusts up to 105 mph, forecasters say - More than 1,100 homes to west of London flood after the River Thames burst its banks - UK weather service issues warning for high winds in western England and Wales - Parts of northwest France are also facing the risk of flooding
- 2014/02/12: BBC: UK storms: Met Office issues 'Red Warning' for wind
  Winds of up to 100mph are expected to batter west Wales and north-west England, with the Met Office issuing its first "red warning" of the winter. The warning for 13:30 to 21:00 GMT means there is a "risk to life" and people should "avoid dangerous areas" with widespread damage expected. Sixteen severe flood warnings remain for Berkshire, Surrey and Somerset. Meanwhile, David Cameron has repeated his pledge that "money is no object in this relief effort".
- 2014/02/12: CBC: U.K. battered by storms, high winds, flooding
  England seeing its wettest January since records were first kept almost 250 years ago
- 2014/02/12: BBerg: Thames Level Peaks in Commuter Towns as Rains Persist
  The River Thames approached peak levels in commuter towns west of London as more rain threatened to prolong two months of flooding in the U.K., while dangerous winds were forecast in Wales and farther north. The Environment Agency has 14 severe flood warnings along the Thames and two in Somerset in southwest England. The Met Office, the government forecaster, issued a red wind warning, the highest threat, for northwest England and parts of northern Wales, where gusts may reach 100 miles (160 kilometers) an hour.
- 2014/02/11: ABC(Au): UK floods: Britain's River Thames on flood alert, lives at risk
And in North America:
2014/02/15: CBC: Power normalizing on island following severe wind gusts
Gusts of 138 km/h registered in Cape Pine; Marine Atlantic crossings affected
2014/02/15: Guardian(UK): US north-east pelted by second winter storm in three days
2014/02/14: Wunderground: Snowstorm Kills 21, Drops 2' of Snow; January U.S. Temperatures Near Average
2014/02/14: BBC: Huge snow storm pushes into Canada
2014/02/14: al Jazeera: Deadly ice storm engulfs East Coast of US
Pregnant woman struck and killed by snowplough in New York as more than 6,500 flights are grounded and army mobilised.
2014/02/13: LeDaro: Massive Snowstorm Blankets New York, Boston and Charlotte
2014/02/13: Guardian(UK): Heavy snow as winter storm hits US east coast - live updates
2014/02/13: BBC: A giant winter storm is unleashing a second wave of heavy snowfall on the US north-east, as hundreds of thousands of people remain without power in the states in its southern wake
2014/02/14: CBC: Deadly U.S. winter storm pummels East Coast, kills 15
2014/02/13: al Jazeera: Second ice storm causes havoc across US south
Storm, which has left at least 11 people dead and hundreds of thousands without electricity, seen heading for northeast.
2014/02/13: CBC: U.S. winter storm heads north after devastating South
12 weather-related deaths reported after storm hits South
2014/02/13: CBC: Maritimes prepare for 'nasty' weather Friday and Saturday
Snow, freezing rain, rain all in the forecast for Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, P.E.I.
2014/02/13: WSWS: Winter storm paralyzes US South
2014/02/13: WSWS: Pennsylvania residents go days without power after ice storm
2014/02/13: CBC: U.S. winter storm blamed for 17 deaths
2014/02/13: Wunderground: Heavy Snow Belts East Coast; Southeast Ice Storm Leaves 700,000 Without Power
2014/02/12: NASA: Satellite Video Shows Movement of Major U.S. Winter Storm
2014/02/12: Guardian(UK): Winter storm intensifies with millions of Americans braced for heavy snow
Weather warnings in place in 20 US states as National Weather Service says storm will get worse as it moves east
2014/02/12: CNN: Southeast shivers, slides under winter storm
Red Cross opens shelters, reports blood shortage because of canceled drives - More than 3,000 flights canceled; about 252,000 customers are without power - Five are dead in weather-related incidents in Texas and Mississippi, authorities say - Hundreds of school, business, church and government office closings across Southeast
2014/02/12: Wunderground: Dangerous Winter Storm Pounds Georgia and South Carolina
2014/02/12: CBC: U.S. South faces 'catastrophic' ice conditions today
Area from Louisiana to South Carolina and mid-Atlantic region expect to get hit by wintry mix
2014/02/12: BBC: US 'catastrophic' ice storm rolls north
A "catastrophic" ice storm wreaking havoc in the American South is now poised to pummel the eastern seaboard, say forecasters.
2014/02/12: BBC: Storm bears down on US east coast as havoc persists in South
2014/02/11: BBerg: 'Historic' Storm Ices Atlanta as Northeast Faces Snow
2014/02/11: Wunderground: Dangerous Ice Storm Hitting Southern U.S.
2014/02/10: Guardian(UK): Georgia [USA] governor declares state of emergency as winter storm looms
2014/02/10: BBerg: U.S. Winter Storm Seen Spreading Snow, Sleet Across South

And elsewhere:
2014/02/16: ABC(Au): Japan snowstorm kills 12, strands thousands of motorists
2014/02/16: CBC: Japan snowfall causes deaths, power outages
As many as 12 people killed, 1,500 injured in snow-related accidents since Friday The second heavy snowfall in a week to hit Japan killed up to a dozen people and injured hundreds over the weekend, while paralyzing traffic and causing power outages.
2014/02/15: ABC(Au): Fresh Japan snow storm leaves three dead, 850 injured

Abrupt Climate Change put in an appearance:
- 2014/02/10: TP:JR: Climatologist: When Souped-Up Ocean Warming Ends, 'Global Temperatures Look Set To Rise Rapidly'
This week in the New Normal -- extreme weather:
- 2014/02/15: ArcticNews: Extreme weather strikes around the globe - update
- 2014/02/14: Resilience: "This Should Not Come as a Surprise": Bill McKibben on Global Extreme Weather from U.S. to Sochi
- 2014/02/11: ArcticNews: Extreme weather strikes around the globe
Polar Vortex? Rossby Waves? Blocking Patterns? Arctic Oscillation?
What is the Arctic melt doing to our weather?
- 2014/02/16: Dosbat: Mid Monthly Miscellanea: February 2014
- 2014/02/15: BBC: Wavier jet stream 'may drive weather shift'
  New research suggests that the main system that helps determine the weather over Northern Europe and North America may be changing. The study shows that the so-called jet stream has increasingly taken a longer, meandering path. This has resulted in weather remaining the same for more prolonged periods. The work was presented at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) in Chicago.
- 2014/02/15: CNN: The weather is cuckoo this winter, but there's method to the madness
  Yep, this is unusual; NOAA says so -- and, in part, why - The odd weather pattern stretches from California to Russia - It includes the Southwest's drought, the recent blasts of snow, UK flooding - And it's warming the Winter Olympic Games in Sochi
- 2014/02/15: AAAS: Santa's Revenge: The Impacts of Arctic Warming on the Mid-Latitudes
- 2014/02/15: TStar: Rapidly warming Arctic may be causing our polar-vortex winter
  Arctic warming is driving persistent extreme weather patterns, a new theory advanced at the AAAS scientific meeting in Chicago Saturday suggests.
- 2014/02/15: TMoS: CNN Discovers Rossby Waves
- 2014/02/13: DemNow: Meteorologist Jeff Masters: Climate Change Affecting Weather Patterns Regardless of Season
As for GHGs:
- 2014/02/14: NYT: Study Finds Methane Leaks Negate Benefits of Natural Gas as a Fuel for Vehicles
- 2014/02/14: DeSmogBlog: New Study Shows Total North American Methane Leaks Far Worse than EPA Estimates
And in the carbon cycle:
- 2014/02/13: ERW: Diverse forests 'store more carbon in soil'
Aerosols are making their presence felt:
- 2014/02/16: ATTPh: Aerosols
- 2014/02/12: ICN: Pollution Makes Beijing Almost 'Uninhabitable for Human Beings'
What's up with volcanoes this week?
- 2014/02/15: IOTD: Indonesia's Mount Kelut Erupts
- 2014/02/14: ABC(Au): Java volcano sends thousands fleeing
  More than 200-thousand people are evacuating their homes in Indonesia after a volcano erupted in east Java, spewing ash and debris over a large area, including the city of Surabaya, 130km away.
- 2014/02/14: CBC: Indonesia volcano, Mount Kelud, erupts killing 2
- 2014/02/14: ABC(Au): Tens of thousands evacuated, flights cancelled, as Indonesia's Mt Kelud volcano erupts [pix]
- 2014/02/14: al Jazeera: Mass exodus as volcano erupts in Indonesia
  Booms from Java's Mount Kelud heard 130km away, while about 200,000 people flee as ash, sand and rocks rain down.
- 2014/02/13: BBC: Mass evacuation in Indonesia as Java volcano [Mount Kelud] erupts
As for the temperature record:
- 2014/02/14: QuarkSoup: GISS: 4th-warmest January
- 2014/02/13: TP:JR: Arctic Autumns On Track To Warm A Staggering 23°F, NOAA Warns
- 2014/02/13: QuarkSoup: Is the Hockey Stick a Surprising Result?
- 2014/02/12: CCP: Record warmth in Siberia and Brazil and cold in U.S. Upper Midwest
- 2014/02/12: ATTPh: The "pause" that isn't
- 2014/02/12: PSinclair: Faux Pause, Part 2
- 2014/02/12: Moyhu: TempLS global temp up 0.04°C in January
- 2014/02/12: TMoS: About that "Hiatus" in Surface Warming
- 2014/02/12: Guardian(UK): The 'pause' in global warming is not even a thing
- 2014/02/11: al Jazeera: An icy blast for China
  Temperatures are tumbling across southern parts of the country.
- 2014/02/10: CCP: NASA Finds 2013 Sustained Long-Term Climate Warming Trend
Meanwhile in near earth orbit:
- 2014/02/11: NASA: Largest Flock of Earth-Imaging Satellites Launch into Orbit From Space Station
- 2014/02/11: IOTD: Landsat 8's First Year
The cliff, aka tipping points, aka planetary boundaries, put in an appearance:
- 2014/02/09: P3: Approaching a planetary state shift
While in the paleoclimate:
- 2014/02/13: SciAm:Sym: Largest Assemblage of Cambrian Fossils Since 1909 Discovered in British Columbia [pix]
- 2014/02/12: UKISS: An extinction in the blink of an eye -- CO2 implicated
  MIT researchers find that the end-Permian extinction happened in 60,000 years -- much faster than earlier estimates.
- 2014/02/11: CBC: New fossil bed found by scientists hailed as 'motherlode'
  Marble Canyon in B.C.'s Kootenay National Park yielding dozens of discoveries
In the attribution debate:
- 2014/02/15: PSinclair: Debating the Causes of Extremes
- 2014/02/15: SimpleC: Is our weird weather linked to climate change? Oddly, sport can show us the score
- 2014/02/13: Guardian(UK): Flooding and storms in UK are clear signs of climate change, says Nicholas Stern
- 2014/02/13: SciAm: U.K. Probes whether Strange, Wet Winter Is Part of a Changing Climate
- 2014/02/12: ABC(Au): Human influence heats up Australia
  Anthropogenic impact Global warming caused by human greenhouse gas emissions were the likely cause of last year's record-breaking temperatures in Australia, say researchers. The Australian summer of 2012/13 was the hottest on record and the calendar year 2013 saw the highest average temperatures recorded in over 100 years of observations,
- 2014/02/11: Guardian(UK): Why has it rained so much in the UK -- and is it climate change?
- 2014/02/10: RTCC: UK Met Office links heavy rains to climate change
- 2014/02/09: PSinclair: UK Met Office: Current Storms "..highly Unusual", Consistent with Climate Change
- 2014/02/09: Dosbat: Met Office Chief: "the evidence suggests there is a link to climate change"
What's the State of the Oceans?:
And the State of the Biosphere?
- 2014/02/12: Eureka: New data shows continued decline of African forest elephants -- 65 percent of forest elephants lost between 2002 and 2013
- 2014/02/12: Eureka: Poaching threatens savannah ecosystems
  White rhinoceros may be extinct in 20 years with the current poaching rates; The loss of this megaherbivore is in itself a tragedy, but it may also have tremendous effects on the ecosystems they now live in
- 2014/02/12: ABC(Au): 20 per cent of world's bird species found in cities, says urban biodiversity report
  Scientists studying the impact of urbanisation on the world's biodiversity have found that 20 per cent of the world's bird species are found in cities. The biggest study of urban biodiversity to date looked at more than 100 cities worldwide, including Melbourne, Brisbane, and Adelaide. And researchers say they were surprised by the numbers of plant and animal species which survive, even when cities take over much of their habitat.
- 2014/02/11: BBC: Study shows urbanisation's impact on biodiversity
  A dataset, described as the largest of it kind to date, has assessed the impact of urbanisation on biodiversity levels around the globe. It found that cities supported far fewer species of birds and plants compared with similar areas of undeveloped land.
- 2014/02/11: SciShot: Warming World Is Shrinking Panda Habitats
- 2014/02/11: SciAm:EC: Manumea Found: Strange Bird Seen Breeding for the First Time in a Decade
And on the extinction watch:
- 2014/02/15: BLongstaff: The human legacy -- one of the world's six greatest catastrophes
- 2014/02/15: ABC(Au): Plans to save African elephants
- 2014/02/15: ABC(Au): Elephant herds in Kenya's wildlife conservation area at lowest level in more than a decade, volunteers find
  One of Africa's largest elephant populations is at its lowest level in more than a decade, according to a survey carried out by volunteers. The group of volunteers has been flying over Kenya's Tsavo National Park counting elephants, and have found in preliminary results that numbers are down from 12,500 three years ago, to about 11,000.
- 2014/02/13: CensoredNews: Leonard Peltier: Saving endangered species
- 2014/02/13: DD: Ivory's shocking toll: 65 percent of forest elephants killed in 12 years...
- 2014/02/12: SciAm:EC: Slaughtered for Ivory: 65 Percent of Forest Elephants Killed Since 2002
- 2014/02/11: DemNow: The Sixth Extinction: Elizabeth Kolbert on How Humans Are Causing Largest Die-Off Since Dinosaur Age
- 2014/02/11: ScienceInsider: U.S. Announces Crackdown on Ivory Sales
- 2014/02/11: WaPo: There have been five mass extinctions in Earth's history. Now we're facing a sixth.
- 2014/02/11: CSW: Elizabeth Kolbert on "The Sixth Extinction"
- 2014/02/10: Guardian(UK): Rhino microchipping in Kenya - video
- 2014/02/10: SciAm:EC: Lion Tamarins versus Climate Change
- 2014/02/10: SDU: Threatened eels disappear in the deep on their way to the Sargasso Sea
- 2014/02/10: CSIRO: New maps reveal locations of species at risk as climate changes
  An international team of scientists has produced global maps showing how fast and in which direction local climates have shifted.
- 2014/02/09: SciAm:EC: Sunday Species Snapshot: Coquerel's Sifaka
The bees and Colony Collapse Disorder are a constant concern. And then, there are the Neonicotinoids:
- 2014/02/11: UGuelph: Urban Bees Using Plastic to Build Hives
- 2014/02/10: TreeHugger: GMO soybeans are bad for Mexico's beekeepers
More GW impacts are being seen:
- 2014/02/15: ABC(Au): Central Queensland University to investigate effects of climate change on Kazakhstan's snow leopard population
- 2014/02/14: BBC: US factory output hit by 'severe weather' - Output fell by 0.8%
- 2014/02/14: TP:JR: MAP: Here's How Climate Change Has Impacted Your City
- 2014/02/10: QuarkSoup: Jobs Lost in Ski Industry
- 2014/02/10: Guardian(UK): Climate-change map shows how plants and animals will need new homes
  Australian map shows where species are moving to find their optimal temperature, with some animals facing extinction
And then there are the world's forests:
- 2014/02/14: Guardian(UK): Forests: time to reclaim the 'wastelands'?
- 2014/02/12: TheConversation: How global forest-destroyers are turning over a new leaf
- 2014/02/12: NatureN: Carbon sequestration: Managing forests in uncertain times
- 2014/02/11: Eureka: Biodiversity in production forests can be improved without large costs
Emerging diseases accompany ecological change:
- 2014/02/14: SciNow: Melting Arctic Ice Releases Deadly Seal Parasite
- 2014/02/10: CBC: West Nile virus cost U.S. about $800M in the past 14 years -- Total costs due to hospitalizations and lost productivity
As for heatwaves and wild fires:
- 2014/02/13: IOTD: City-sized [Snowy River Complex] Fire in Australia [on Feb.10]
- 2014/02/12: DD: Image of the Day: Satellite view of bushfires in Southeastern Australia, 9 February 2014
- 2014/02/11: WtD: Stunning NASA images of Victorian fires: why we are choking on smoke
- 2014/02/11: ABC(Au): Australia bushfires: Bangor blaze tackled by hundreds of firefighters and volunteers
- 2014/02/11: ABC(Au): At least 30 homes destroyed in Victorian fires
- 2014/02/11: BBerg: Early California Wildfires Jeopardize Homes and Vineyards
- 2014/02/11: ABC(Au): 'We did the best we could': Vic firefighter leaves poignant note to home owner
- 2014/02/10: al Jazeera: Australia wildfires edge closer to Melbourne
  Officials warn city could also be affected in the worst fire conditions since 2009 inferno that killed 173 people.
- 2014/02/10: WtD: Season of purgatory: the "new Australian summer" revealed in Victoria's current bushfire emergency
- 2014/02/10: ABC(Au): Houses lost and stock killed in northern Victoria fire [pix]
- 2014/02/10: ABC(Au): Victoria bushfires: Crews work to gain upper hand on Mickleham Road fire raging north of Melbourne [pix]
- 2014/02/10: ABC(Au): Victorian bushfires: Up to 12 homes destroyed, including 20 properties assessed for structural damage [pix]
- 2014/02/10: ABC(Au): SA fire threat intensifies
  In South Australia, a bushfire which has been burning for almost a month in the mid-north has jumped containment lines and is now threatening three communities. Residents have been told to leave their homes as the Bangor blaze, which has already blackened thousands of hectares, heads their way. The fire is burning out of control, with dangerous localised winds fuelling the flames.
- 2014/02/10: ABC(Au): Victoria bushfires: authorities warn residents to remain vigilant as crews continue to battle blazes [pix]
- 2014/02/10: ABC(Au): Live blog: Fire authorities battle dozens of blazes across Victoria
  Firefighters are continuing to battle dozens of blazes that have destroyed at least 26 homes across Victoria. Around 6,000 firefighters have been mobilised to help deal with the worst fire situation since Black Saturday. Twenty-eight fires are burning out of control, and crews are focusing their resources on the 19,000-hectare Mickleham Road fire on Melbourne's northern fringe. Emergency warnings are in place for that fire, which has now spread across 40 kilometres, taking in areas including Kilmore and Wallan.
- 2014/02/09: Guardian(UK): Victorian fires: emergency continues after at least 20 homes lost - live updates
  A fire front 40km long and a burning coal mine are among blazes still threatening homes in Victoria after the worst fire day since 2009's deadly Black Saturday saw thousands evacuated across the state.
Corals are a bellwether of the ocean's health:
- 2014/02/14: ABC(Au): Research aims to track climate change and tourism impact on Rottnest reefs
- 2014/02/13: TP:JR: Marine Heat Waves Have Caused 'Almost Unprecedented' Damage To Australian Coral
- 2014/02/13: Guardian(UK): Coral off WA suffers shocking damage from marine heatwaves, scientists say
  Study reveals that remote reef with coral hundreds of years old has undergone severe bleaching and 'decimation'
- 2014/02/10: Eureka: High pollutant levels in Guánica Bay 'represent serious toxic threat' to corals
Glaciers are melting:
- 2014/02/13: FaGP: West Hoboe Glacier Retreat, British Columbia
Sea levels are rising:
- 2014/02/10: CBC: 1,000 P.E.I. homes in danger of falling into ocean -- Island sandstone provides little protection from rising sea levels, says researcher
As for hydrological cycle disruptions [floods & droughts]:
- 2014/02/16: IOTD: Extratropical Cyclone over the United Kingdom [on Feb.12]
- 2014/02/15: CNN: Rising rivers threaten more flood misery for England
  Rising waters may bring more flooding to communities near swollen rivers - Two people died Friday amid stormy weather, one when a rogue wave hit a cruise ship - 20 severe flood warnings, meaning there's a risk to life, are in place around England - Environment Agency says the flood risk will continue for at least a week
- 2014/02/15: QuarkSoup: California's Missing Rainfall
- 2014/02/15: al Jazeera: Millions of cattle at risk in Bolivia floods
- 2014/02/14: ABC(Au): Interactive: Panorama photos reveal NSW drought conditions
- 2014/02/15: Grist: You don't have to live on a coast to get flooded out by climate change
- 2014/02/14: ABC(Au): Floods follow heat in Adelaide's crazy summer
- 2014/02/14: IOTD: Drought Stressing California's Plantscape [Jan.17-Feb.1]
- 2014/02/13: BBC: River Thames breaks records for water flows in January
  The amount of water flowing through the Thames this January was the highest recorded for that month since records began in 1883.
- 2014/02/13: BBC: UK floods: Stormy weather due to return
- 2014/02/13: TP:JR: U.K.'s Historic Flooding Is Washing Sewage Into The Streets
- 2014/02/13: DD: UK floods: Homes without power as new storm approaches
  "This is an exceptional event. It was the highest rainfall in January since 1776 and we think it is likely December, January and February will be the highest for 250 years."
- 2014/02/13: Grist: It hasn't rained this much in England in 248 years
- 2014/02/12: Guardian(UK): UK Storms: Met office issues red warning for damaging winds - live updates
- 2014/02/12: Eureka: Dartmouth study shows US Southwest irrigation system facing decline after 4 centuries
  Reduced snowmelt, socioeconomic factors reflect pressures on once isolated communities around world
- 2014/02/12: UK Govt: Surveying storm damage from space: UK satellite provides images of Somerset floods
- 2014/02/11: DD: Record Brazil heat pressures crops, energy prices
  Northeast is in worst drought in at least 50 years, hundreds of thousands of cattle have died
- 2014/02/11: Guardian(UK): England's floods -- everything you need to know
  Are this year's floods the worst ever? What happens to flooded crops? Are we facing a rat invasion? Find out in our guide
- 2014/02/11: CNN: Flooding kills 50 in Burundi after torrential rains
  The Central African country was hit by torrential rains Sunday - The storm caused flooding and landslides - The government says 50 bodies have been identified, scores of people have been injured - Two days of national mourning have been declared
- 2014/02/11: DD: UK floods could last months, scientist warns -- 1.6 million properties across Britain at risk of groundwater flooding
- 2014/02/11: Grist: Beyond a reasonable drought: California's dry spell could be the worst in 500 years
- 2014/02/11: BBC: Flood waters 'could last for months'
  Groundwater levels are so high in some parts of the country that flooding is likely to persist for weeks or even months, reports suggest.
- 2014/02/10: Copernicus: EMSR069: Floods in Southern England
- 2014/02/10: DD: Homes evacuated as swollen Thames keeps rising...
- 2014/02/10: al Jazeera: Scores killed by flooding in Burundi capital
  Police in Bujumbura say death toll is highest in living memory from freak weather after 10-hour rainfall.
- 2014/02/10: RealEconomics: California's drought
- 2014/02/10: CBC: Thames breaches its banks, floods towns near London -- England had wettest January since 1766
- 2014/02/10: GlobalPost: UK floods go from bad to worse as Thames River bursts its banks (photos)
- 2014/02/10: TP:JR: 'Most Exceptional Period Of Rainfall In 248 Years' In The U.K. Is 'Consistent' With Climate Change
- 2014/02/10: Grist: Climate change has turned southern England into a soggy teabag
- 2014/02/10: BBC: Burundi floods: Many dead in Bujumbura
  At least 50 people are reported to have died after floods and landslides hit the Burundi capital, Bujumbura.
- 2014/02/10: Wunderground: California's Sierras Get Over 10 Inches of Precipitation; Snow, Ice Coming to Southern States
- 2014/02/10: CBC: Thames flooding threatens towns upstream of London -- England had wettest January since 1766
- 2014/02/10: al Jazeera: Flood alerts rise as storms batter Britain
  Army brought in to build defences in southeast as residents in southwest battle a month of deluge.
- 2014/02/10: al Jazeera: Flooding in South America -- Images from the flooding currently affecting Uruguay and Bolivia
- 2014/02/09: BBC: UK floods: Severe flood warnings issued for Thames
- 2014/02/09: DD: UK faces another week of storms after wettest January since 1766
On the mitigation front, consider transportation & GHG production:
- 2014/02/11: TreeHugger: 500,000 car purchases avoided in US thanks to carsharing
While in the endless quest for zero energy, sustainable buildings and practical codes:
- 2014/02/13: CleanTechnica: Cost Of "Zero Carbon" Building Halved In UK
- 2014/02/11: TP:JR: White Roofs Beat Green Ones On Economics And Climate, New Research Says
- 2014/02/09: TheConversation: Our cities need more trees and water, not less, to stay liveable
As for carbon sequestration:
- 2014/02/12: BBerg: CO2 Capture Could Raise Wholesale Energy Price 80 Percent
Large scale geo-engineering keeps popping up:
- 2014/02/14: QuarkSoup: Once Geoengineering is Out of the Bag
- 2014/02/13: GEP: Who Should Pay for Solar Geoengineering Liability?
- 2014/02/13: Stoat: Who Should Pay for Solar Geoengineering Liability?
- 2014/02/13: TMoS: The Age of Reason - Cancelled Due to Lack of Interest
- 2014/02/12: TruthOut: What Is Climate Geoengineering? Word Games in the Ongoing Debates Over a Definition
- 2014/02/12: NPR: Risky Tech Fixes For Climate Becoming Likelier, Critic [Clive Hamilton] Warns
  As time runs out to put the brakes on global warming, world leaders seem loath to reduce gas emissions, because it's politically hard, says social scientist Clive Hamilton. Instead, he worries, we'll try to engineer the atmosphere -- a tech fix that sounds quicker and simpler - but is fraught with risk.
- 2014/02/11: Guardian(UK): Climate change means we won't in future be able to engineer our way out of flooding
- 2014/02/10: CCentral: White Roofs Could Offset Summer Warming by 2100
What's new in conservation?
- 2014/02/12: BBC: Scientists have demonstrated a new method for counting whales from space
- 2014/02/12: BBC: Declaration sought on illegal wildlife trade
  Leaders from 40 states are gathering in London to discuss the illegal wildlife trade. The aim is to draw up a global declaration that will tackle animal trafficking.
- 2014/02/10: DD: Study finds 59 percent of Marine Protected Areas are ineffective
- 2014/02/10: TreeHugger: Palau to ban commercial fishing and become a marine sanctuary "roughly the size of France"
While on the adaptation front:
- 2014/02/16: Guardian(UK): [Editorial] Britain needs to learn to live with water
  We must learn to live with and adapt to extreme weather conditions
- 2014/02/15: Guardian(UK): The Dutch solution to floods: live with water, don't fight it
  With more than half the country at or below sea level, the Dutch are experts on water management - and its people have had to make sacrifices
- 2014/02/13: PSinclair: A Dawning Realization: Retreat from Coastlines Inevitable
- 2014/02/11: Resilience: Logic in the Face of Sea Level Rise
- 2014/02/11: BBC: Sea level threat to force retreat of communities in Wales
  Coastal communities in Wales face being abandoned as rising sea levels mean the cost of maintaining defences can no longer be justified, BBC Wales can reveal. A 2010 report found £135m must be spent annually on defences by 2035 just to maintain the current level of risk. Councils across Wales are now planning for a "managed retreat".
- 2014/02/10: Maribo: Adapting to climate change, in the real world
- 2014/02/10: Eureka: Research reveals the give and take of urban temperature mitigating technologies
  Life in a warming world is going to require human ingenuity to adapt to the new realities of Earth. Greenhouse-gas induced warming and megapolitan expansion are both significant drivers of our warming planet. Researchers are now assessing adaptation technologies that could help us acclimate to these changing realities. But how well these adaptation technologies -- such as cool roofs, green roofs and hybrids of the two -- perform year round and how this performance varies with place remains uncertain.
Meanwhile in the journals:
- 2014/02/05: WoL:GRL: (ab$) Stratospheric Ozone Response to Sulfate Geoengineering: Results from the Geoengineering Model Intercomparison Project (GeoMIP) by Giovanni Pitari et al.
- 2014/02/11: PNAS: (ab$) Climate policies under wealth inequality by Vítor V. Vasconcelos et al.
- 2014/02/11: PNAS: (ab$) Reconciling disagreement over climate-conflict results in Africa by Solomon M. Hsiang & Kyle C. Meng
- 2014/02/11: PNAS: (ab$) Very early warning of next El Niño by Josef Ludescher et al.
- 2014/02/11: PNAS: (letter$) Modeling and data choices sway conclusions about climate-conflict links by John O'Loughlin et al.
- 2014/02/11: PNAS: (letter$) Concealing agreements over climate-conflict results by Halvard Buhaug
- 2014/02/11: Nature:Comm: (ab$) Regional climate model simulations indicate limited climatic impacts by operational and planned European wind farms by Robert Vautard et al.
- 2014/02/11: BDJ: Open source data logger for low-cost environmental monitoring by Ed Baker
- 2014/02/12: RSPB: A global analysis of the impacts of urbanization on bird and plant diversity reveals key anthropogenic drivers by Myla F. J. Aronson et al.
- 2014/02/12: Nature: (ab$) Fuel gain exceeding unity in an inertially confined fusion implosion by O. A. Hurricane et al.
- 2014/02/13: ACP: Radiative and dynamical contributions to past and future Arctic stratospheric temperature trends by P. Bohlinger et al.
- 2014/02/13: ACP: Temporal changes in the emissions of CH4 and CO from China estimated from CH4 / CO2 and CO / CO2 correlations observed at Hateruma Island by Y. Tohjima et al.
- 2014/02/12: ACP: Biases in regional carbon budgets from covariation of surface fluxes and weather in transport model inversions by I. N. Williams et al.
- 2014/02/10: ACP: Reconstruction of Northern Hemisphere 1950-2010 atmospheric non-methane hydrocarbons by D. Helmig et al.
- 2014/02/11: ACPD: The thermodynamic structure of summer Arctic stratocumulus and the dynamic coupling to the surface by G. Sotiropoulou et al.
- 2014/02/10: ACPD: Factors controlling temporal variability of near-ground atmospheric Rn222 concentration over Central Europe by M. Zimnoch et al.
- 2014/02/10: ACPD: What controls the recent changes in African mineral dust aerosol across the Atlantic? by D. A. Ridley et al.
- 2014/02/12: PLoS One: Whales from Space: Counting Southern Right Whales by Satellite by Peter T. Fretwell et al.
- 2014/02/11: Nature:Comm: (ab$) A new phyllopod bed-like assemblage from the Burgess Shale of the Canadian Rockies by Jean-Bernard Caron et al.
- 2014/02/13: BG: Mangroves facing climate change: landward migration potential in response to projected scenarios of sea level rise by D. Di Nitto et al.
- 2014/02/11: BG: Polar coralline algal CaCO3-production rates correspond to intensity and duration of the solar radiation by S. Teichert & A. Freiwald
- 2014/02/11: BG: Responses of carbon dioxide flux and plant biomass to water table drawdown in a treed peatland in northern Alberta: a climate change perspective by T. M. Munir et al.
- 2014/02/14: BGD: On the apparent CO2 absorption by alkaline soils by X. Chen & W. F. Wang
- 2014/02/12: BGD: Tree-ring responses to extreme climate events as benchmarks for terrestrial dynamic vegetation models by A. Rammig et al.
- 2014/02/11: BGD: Impacts of sea ice on the marine iron cycle and phytoplankton productivity by S. Wang et al.
- 2014/02/14: CP: Multidecadal to millennial marine climate oscillations across the Denmark Strait (~ 66° N) over the last 2000 cal yr BP by J. T. Andrews & A. E. Jennings
- 2014/02/12: CP: Qualitative and quantitative reconstructions of surface water characteristics and recent hydrographical changes in the Trondheimsfjord, central Norway by G. Milzer et al.
- 2014/02/10: CP: Deglacial intermediate water reorganization: new evidence from the Indian Ocean by S. Romahn et al.
- 2014/02/11: CPD: Coupled ice sheet-climate modeling under glacial and pre-industrial boundary conditions by F. A. Ziemen et al.
- 2014/02/10: CPD: Hydroclimate variability of the South American Monsoon System during the last 1600 yr inferred from speleothem isotope records of the north-eastern Andes foothills in Peru by J. Apaéstegui et al.
- 2014/02/14: Science: (ab$) Crude Oil Impairs Cardiac Excitation-Contraction Coupling in Fish by Fabien Brette et al.
- 2014/01/05: WoL:GRL: (ab$) Arctic Cryosphere Response in the Geoengineering Model Intercomparison Project (GeoMIP) G3 and G4 scenarios by Mira Berdahl et al.
- 2014/01/15: WoL:GRL: (ab$) Quantifying the global carbon cycle response to volcanic stratospheric aerosol radiative forcing using Earth System Models by A. M. Foley et al.
- 2014/02/10: HESS: Contribution of snow and glacier melt to discharge for highly glacierised catchments in Norway by M. Engelhardt et al.
- 2014/02/10: HESS: Globalization of agricultural pollution due to international trade by C. O'Bannon et al.
- 2014/02/10: HESS: Analyzing streamflow changes: irrigation-enhanced interaction between aquifer and streamflow in the Republican River basin by R. Zeng & X. Cai
- 2014/02/11: HESSD: A baseline probabilistic drought forecasting framework using Standardized Soil Moisture Index: application to the 2012 United States drought by A. AghaKouchak
- 2014/02/10: HESSD: Development of a zoning-based environmental-ecological-coupled model for lakes: a case study of Baiyangdian Lake in North China by Y. W. Zhao et al.
- 2014/02/10: OS: Enhancing the accuracy of automatic eddy detection and the capability of recognizing the multi-core structures from maps of sea level anomaly by J. Yi et al.
- 2014/02/10: TCD: The impact of ice layers on gas transport through firn by K. Keegan et al.
- 2014/02/09: Nature:CC: (ab$) Recent intensification of wind-driven circulation in the Pacific and the ongoing warming hiatus by Matthew H. England et al.
- 2014/02/14: ACP: Assessment of the effect of air pollution controls on trends in shortwave radiation over the United States from 1995 through 2010 from multiple observation networks by C.-M. Gan et al.
- 2014/02/14: ACPD: Evolution of the complex refractive index in the near UV spectral region in ageing secondary organic aerosol by J. M. Flores et al.
- 2014/02/14: ACPD: Spatially resolving methane emissions in California: constraints from the CalNex aircraft campaign and from present (GOSAT, TES) and future (TROPOMI, geostationary) satellite observations by K. J. Wecht et al.
- 2014/02/14: ACPD: Characterization of particulate matter emissions from on-road gasoline and diesel vehicles using a soot particle aerosol mass spectrometer by T. R. Dallmann et al.
- 2014/02/13: HESS: Sr isotopic characteristics in two small watersheds draining silicate and carbonate rocks: implication for studies on seawater Sr isotopic evolution by W. H. Wu et al.
- 2014/02/12: HESSD: Historical land-use induced evapotranspiration changes estimated from present-day observations and reconstructed land-cover maps by J. P. Boisier et al.
- 2014/02/14: OS: The CO2 system in the Mediterranean Sea: a basin wide perspective by M. Álvarez et al.
- 2014/02/14: OSD: Assessment of the structure and variability of Weddell Sea water masses in distinct ocean reanalysis products by T. S. Dotto et al.
- 2014/02/14: TC: Sea-ice extent and its trend provide limited metrics of model performance by D. Notz
- 2014/02/14: TCD: Combining damage and fracture mechanics to model calving by J. Krug et al.
- 2014/02/09: Nature:GeoSci: (ab$) Climate change: Impacts in the third dimension by Michael Dettinger
And other significant documents:
- AODP: [link to 2.9 meg pdf] 2013-14 Global Climate Index Report
As for miscellaneous science:
- 2014/02/12: ABC(Au): Top climate scientists gather in Hobart
- 2014/02/12: Grist: How a pesticide company went after a frog-loving scientist
- 2014/02/10: ScienceInsider: Pesticide Study Sparks Backlash
- 2014/02/14: CCP: "Future Australian severe thunderstorm environments. Part B: The influence of a strongly warming climate on convective environments," by J.T. Allen, D.J. Karoly & K.J. Walsh, J. Climate; doi: 10.1175/JCLI-D-13-00426.1
In the science organizations:
- 2014/02/11: ScienceInsider: Embattled President [Vladimir Fortov] Seeks New Path for Russian Academy
- 2014/02/10: ScienceInsider: Swiss Vote to Curb Immigration Could Hamper Research
More DIY science:
What developments in the ongoing struggle for Open Science?
- 2014/02/12: NatureNB: AAAS announces open-access journal
- 2014/02/12: ScienceInsider: AAAS Launches Open-Access Journal
  Joining a herd of other scientific societies, today AAAS (publisher of ScienceInsider) announced that it will launch the organization's first online, fully open-access journal early next year. The new journal, called Science Advances, will give authors another outlet for papers that they are willing to pay to make immediately free to the public.
Regarding Emanuel:
- 2014/02/13: ERabett: Kerry Emanuel is doing a Reddet IAMA
And on the carbon trading front:
On the international political front, tensions continue as the empire leans on Iran:
- 2014/02/15: WSWS: Iran-Pakistan gas pipeline stalled
  A $7.6 billion Iran-Pakistan gas pipeline remains stalled amid continuing US-led sanctions against Tehran over its nuclear program, and the threat of penalties for any company that participates in the project.
- 2014/02/13: SciAm:PI: How deep is the Strait of Hormuz?
- 2014/02/13: WSWS: Growing unease in Iran over rapprochement with Washington
- 2014/02/11: Asia Times: Iran looks to private sector
- 2014/02/11: Asia Times: Six steps to a done deal on nuclear Iran
South [& East] China Sea tension persists:
- 2014/02/13: Asia Times: US blind to barbs in Japan defense plan
- 2014/02/11: FPIF: Abe Road
  Under Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Japan's chauvinistic surge has inflicted unmistakable damage on its national brand image.
- 2014/02/10: WSWS: US analysts debate plans for war against China
- 2014/02/09: BBerg: U.S. General Tells Japan, Philippines to Cool China Rhetoric
In the "global competition for natural resources":
- 2014/02/10: CassandrasLegacy: The Mineral Question: how energy and technology will determine the future of mining
So now the Germans are suing the Taiwanese in America and just to add to the general confusion, we have a solar spat between the USA and India:
- 2014/02/13: GTM: How the New US-China Trade Case Could Change the American Solar Market
- 2014/02/12: CleanTechnica: SolarWorld To US Solar Industry: Drop Dead
  It makes so little sense that it reads like a round of Madlibs: a German company brings a trade case in the United States that claims to be protectionist but would result in severe domestic job losses and industry contraction. That’s the mad game that German solar manufacturer SolarWorld is playing with the US economy.
- 2014/02/11: Grist: U.S. whacks India with WTO complaint over its local solar program
- 2014/02/11: BBerg: India to Dispute U.S. Solar WTO Complaint as Ties Fray
  India will dispute a U.S. complaint at the World Trade Organization that it unlawfully restricts imports of solar equipment, saying American panel makers such as First Solar Inc.have access to most of its market.
These 'free trade' treaties are a stealth corporate takeover with anti-democratic dispute resolution mechanisms:
- 2014/02/13: NakedCapitalism: Obama Lame Duck Watch: Pelosi Puts Another Nail in Toxic Trade Deal Coffin, Says She Opposes Giving Administration "Fast Track" Authority
- 2014/02/12: DeSmogBlog: Canada Risking Environment By Playing Along With Trans Pacific Partnership
- 2014/02/12: CPunch: Democracy or Corporatocracy? Food Fights, Corporate Trade Agreements, and States' Rights
- 2014/02/11: EurActiv: EU-Canada free trade deal 'opens door to environmental lawsuits'
  Multinationals will have wide-ranging powers to sue EU states that enact health or environmental laws breaching their "legitimate expectations" of profit, according to a leaked 'investment chapter' from the Canada-EU free trade agreement (CETA), which was signed last November. A separate 'nature and scope' document for EU-US free trade talks, which EurActiv has seen, makes clear that similar parameters are foreseen for a Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) agreement.
Who's teed off at the NSA this week?
- 2014/02/12: DeSmogBlog: The NSA and Climate Change Spying: What We Know So Far
Whot's all this then?
- 2014/02/15: Guardian(UK): Kerry announces 'unique co-operative effort' with China on climate change
- 2014/02/15: ABC(Au): US, China to share policy ideas to fight global warming
  The United States and China have announced they are joining forces to share more information on efforts to combat climate change. In a joint statement announced as US secretary of state John Kerry wrapped up a two-day visit to Beijing, both countries said they would work together "to collaborate through enhanced policy dialogue, including the sharing of information regarding their respective post-2020 plans to limit greenhouse gas emissions".
As for miscellaneous international political happenings:
Climate Change is a threat multiplier exacerbating existing conflicts in food, energy, water, race, resources, religion, ideology ... etc.:
- 2014/02/15: TMoS: Water Wars a Decade Off
- 2014/02/13: Guardian(UK): Climate change is here now and it could lead to global conflict by Nicholas Stern
- 2014/02/11: DD: Why global water shortages pose threat of terror and war...
The issue of the law and activism is playing out around the world:
- 2014/02/14: Grist: Russian enviro who criticized Olympics sentenced to three years of forced labor
- 2014/02/13: Grist: Froggy went a courting: Rev. Billy's climate protest heads to trial
- 2014/02/11: CPunch: The Fossil Fuels Industry's Protection Racket -- If You're Reading This, You're Probably a Terrorist
What are the activists up to?
- 2014/02/13: RTCC: Australian MPs receive climate change-themed Valentine's Day cards
  Environmentalists delivered roses and Valentine's Day cards to the Australian Parliament today, hoping that a show of affection might dissuade politicians from repealing the country's carbon tax.
- 2014/02/13: DemNow: "This Should Not Come as a Surprise": Bill McKibben on Global Extreme Weather from U.S. to Sochi
The move to divest from fossil fuel investments is growing slowly:
- 2014/02/14: Guardian(UK): Students call on universities to reduce investments in fossil fuels
- 2014/02/13: RTCC: Church of England considers divesting from fossil fuels
- 2014/02/10: CCP: Divest Harvard Takes Out Full-Page Advertisement In The Crimson
- 2014/02/09: DeSmogBlog: Harvard and Brown Are Wrong To Reject Calls To Divest From Fossil Fuels
Polls! We have polls!
- 2014/02/13: RTCC: 83% of Americans believe US should act on climate change
- 2014/02/12: TP:JR: New Poll: Most Republicans Want To Regulate Carbon Pollution
- 2014/02/10: Grist: Good news: Most Americans want climate action. Now for the bad news ...
Regarding Water Politics and Business; See also:
- 2014/02/15: JFleck: "If something cannot go on forever, it will stop."
- 2014/02/14: JFleck: They're pumpin' down in Texas
- 2014/02/14: CCurrents: Humans vs. Rivers
- 2014/02/14: JFleck: Losing the groundwater pumping race to the bottom: your choice
- 2014/02/14: WSWS: Water privatization in England: 25 years on
- 2014/02/13: DeSmogBlog: Maryland At High Risk of Water Contamination From Fracking, Independent Assessment Finds
- 2014/02/13: Resilience: Enough is Enough: Coal Pollution Spills Reveal a Water Safety Crisis
- 2014/02/13: al Jazeera: Israelis outraged by EU official comments
  Ministers slam comments by European Parliament president on Gaza Strip blockade and unjust water supply to Palestinians.
- 2014/02/13: JFleck: Water policy implications of Steinbeck
- 2014/02/13: TP:JR: California Drought Emergency Sparks Call To Ban Fracking And Protect Water
- 2014/02/13: TMoS: World Water Wrapup - The Crisis is Real and It's Here Now
- 2014/02/13: EurActiv: Israeli officials furious with Schulz over water use remark
  A dispute broke out in the Israeli legislature yesterday (12 February) when the European Parliament's president, Martin Schulz, suggested that Israelis were using four times more water than Palestinians.
- 2014/02/12: OilChange: "The drought is a game changer on fracking"
- 2014/02/12: PSinclair: Not Just California - China's Water Crisis
- 2014/02/11: AbqJournal: Gila River diversion plan 'fatally flawed,' water expert says
  New Mexico is overestimating the amount of water available from a proposed Gila River diversion and underestimating the cost and technical difficulty of the project, according to the former head of the state agency involved. The project, as currently formulated, is "fatally flawed," former New Mexico Interstate Stream Commission head Norm Gaume said in an interview Monday.
- 2014/02/10: AllAfrica:SW Radio: Zimbabwe: Thousands Flee As Dam Threatens to Collapse
  Thousands of villagers have been forced to flee their homes, downstream of Tokwe Mukorsi dam in Masvingo, amid fears the dam will burst after torrential rains pounded the province.
- 2014/02/10: PNT: Drought, drinking water, and the worth of a creek
- 2014/02/09: JFleck: Caplan on California drought
- 2014/02/09: JFleck: Long term drought: just two years since 1999 have been above average on the Rio Grande
- 2014/02/09: JFleck: It's not like California hasn't had the time to get in front of this problem
Among the world's religions:
- 2014/02/13: TP:JR: Church Of England Takes On 'Giant Evil' Of Climate Change
- 2014/02/13: TreeHugger: Church of England to fight "great demon" climate change, mulls divestment from fossil fuels
- 2014/02/12: Guardian(UK): Church of England vows to fight 'great demon' of climate change
  General Synod says it is willing to disinvest from companies that do not live up to its theological, moral and social priorities
Regarding science education:
While in the UK:
- 2014/02/16: BBC: UK floods: Army to carry out 'rapid inspection' of defences
  The Army is to carry out a "rapid inspection" of the nation's flood defences to assess the damage left by unprecedented flooding. Defence Secretary Philip Hammond told the BBC's Andrew Marr show that the inspection - which would normally take two years - would be done over the next five weeks. The announcement comes as 15,900 homes remain without power. And scores of flood warnings and alerts are still in force across the country.
- 2014/02/15: Guardian(UK): Climate change is an issue of national security, warns Ed Miliband
- 2014/02/15: Guardian(UK): Ed Miliband: 'Britain is sleepwalking to a climate crisis'
  Dither - and denial - over the widely agreed cause of extreme weather are paralysing government and steering the country towards a security crisis, believes the Labour leader
- 2014/02/14: Guardian(UK): UK floods making climate sceptics hot under the collar
  Bid by Lawson to question the link between global warming and extreme weather is undermined by irrefutable evidence
- 2014/02/14: Guardian(UK): The government has to act now on climate change
  Floods and extreme weather will become more intense, so Britain needs a long-term plan. The time for buck-passing is over
- 2014/02/14: Guardian(UK): [Letters] Giant leap needed on climate change
- 2014/02/13: Guardian(UK): UK storms hit railways, roads and power supplies - live updates
- 2014/02/13: Guardian(UK): After the UK floods, where do our politicians stand on climate change?
- 2014/02/13: Guardian(UK): UK storms should be catalyst for climate change treaty, says Ed Davey
- 2014/02/13: BBC: Dredging could 'make flooding worse'
  Dredging is a "cruel offer of false hope" to those living in flood-prone communities according to a new report. The document is the work of an independent body of experts from the Chartered Institution of Water and Environmental Management (CIWEM). It says that solely relying on dredging could make some areas more vulnerable to rising waters. The CIWEM says working with nature to slow down the rate that landscapes drain water is a more practical option.
- 2014/02/13: RTCC: UK floods prove case for UN climate deal, says Ed Davey
- 2014/02/13: TheConversation: Decisions made while we are waist-deep in floodwater won't keep us dry in the future
- 2014/02/13: WSWS: Years of government cuts worsen UK flooding
- 2014/02/13: LoE: History repeats itself because people do not listen [UK pol]
- 2014/02/12: Guardian(UK): Flood crisis: dredging is a simplistic response to a complex problem
- 2014/02/12: Guardian(UK): Floods: David Cameron must face down climate scepticism in his own party
- 2014/02/12: Guardian(UK): Climate change policy at risk because of denial and fear, Ed Davey warns
- 2014/02/12: Guardian(UK): Costly insurance 'will create flood-risk ghettos and £4.3tn fall in house values'
  Surveyor warns of flood risk for 10m homes and many not paying premiums, as MPs urge rethink on insurance subsidy
- 2014/02/12: PSinclair: Soaked British Isles Could Remain Flooded for Months
- 2014/02/12: CCP: 3 reasons why David Cameron must get rid of Owen Paterson...
- 2014/02/12: CleanTechnica: Greenpeace's Analysis Of The UK's New Nuclear Deal
  The European Commission (EC) has delivered what can only be called a scathing initial verdict on the UK Government's deal with French state-owned EDF to build the first new nuclear reactors in the UK for a generation, according to a blog post from Greenpeace UK.
- 2014/02/12: RTCC: UK floods: a warning to those who ignore threat of climate change
- 2014/02/12: BBC: Will we ever learn lessons from flooding?
- 2014/02/11: CoveredInBees: Cameron climate fudge is hugely dangerous
- 2014/02/11: Guardian(UK): Floods should be sharp reminder to climate sceptics of risks - Spelman
- 2014/02/11: Guardian(UK): UK floods: Cameron says 'money is no object' -- live updates
- 2014/02/10: BBC: UK floods: Somerset farmland water plan defended
- 2014/02/10: BBC: UK floods: Pickles insists ministers not divided
- 2014/02/10: Guardian(UK): Flooding crisis hits the Thames as political row worsens - live updates
- 2014/02/10: Guardian(UK): [Letters] Excuses flood in, but nothing on climate change
- 2014/02/10: Guardian(UK): Weatherwatch: Be careful what you wish for
- 2014/02/10: RTCC: UK governments accused of 'dismantling' climate adaptation strategy
  Former Environment Secretary Lord Deben says national flood programmes have been neglected in past decades. The catastrophic flooding experienced by parts of the UK is a result of successive governments ignoring the possible consequences of global warming for the past 20 years.
- 2014/02/10: BBC: UK floods: David Cameron seeks to calm ministerial row
  David Cameron is urging unity after reports of a clash between senior ministers over the UK's response to the flooding crisis. Environment Secretary Owen Paterson and Communities Secretary Eric Pickles are thought to be at odds over the performance of the Environment Agency. But the prime minister said everyone should "get on with their jobs" and deal with the current difficulties.
And in Europe:
- 2014/02/14: BBerg: EU Factories Facing First Carbon Shortfall Since 2008: Energy
- 2014/02/14: EurActiv: EU states try to bury energy state aid guidelines
  A proposal to limit the state aid that EU governments can offer their energy sectors would do "massive harm" to industry and needs to be "thoroughly revised," according to a position paper signed by Germany, and several other countries. The policy document, which EurActiv has seen, is a 'living paper' that was submitted to the European Commission two weeks ago, and may be updated soon. Its strong language reflects alarm in some European capitals that the proposed guidelines could barricade planned transitions by states such as Germany and the UK towards renewable and nuclear energy-based systems, respectively.
- 2014/02/13: EurActiv: EU ministers ask Commission to withdraw GMO proposal in open letter
  Twelve EU ministers have sent an open letter to the health commissioner, Tonio Borg, pressuring the Commission to withdraw its proposal to approve the genetically modified maize 'Pioneer 1507'.
- 2014/02/13: EurActiv: Greens threaten Commission with censure over GM crop
  The European Parliament's Greens group on Wednesday (12 February) threatened to table a motion of censure against the European Commission, because of its persistence to authorise a GM crop that was rejected by 19 member states and a parliamentary majority.
- 2014/02/13: WNN: Power struggle over EU nuclear safety
- 2014/02/13: RTCC: Danish parties back 40% carbon reduction target
- 2014/02/12: EurActiv: France explores 'clean' shale gas extraction technique
  France is looking into a new technique of shale gas extraction with non-flammable propane, which has yet to be proven safe and efficient. Even though the exploitation of shale gas remains banned in France, the industry minister, Arnaud Montebourg, has openly stated he is in favour of it.
- 2014/02/12: BBC: EU set to grow more GM maize despite strong opposition
  The EU is set to approve a new type of genetically modified maize for cultivation despite huge opposition. The European Commission says the US-developed maize variety, called Pioneer 1507, is safe and the decision is now in the Commission's hands. Most EU governments objected to it in a vote, but the vote tally was still not enough to block it. Under EU rules, the Commission can now authorise it. Only one GM crop - another maize variety - is grown in the EU currently.
- 2014/02/11: ScienceInsider: Cultivation of Unpopular GM Maize in Europe Hangs in the Balance
- 2014/02/11: EurActiv: EU divisions pave way for new GMO grain approval
  European Union ministers were divided on Tuesday (11 February) over whether to allow a new strain of genetically modified maize to be grown on EU soil, handing responsibility for the decision to the European Commission, the EU executive. Nineteen states opposed approval of the insect-resistant maize, known as Pioneer 1507, developed jointly by DuPont and Dow Chemical, while five supported it and four abstained from any view, EU officials said.
- 2014/02/11: EUO: GMO maize vote highlights 'absurd' EU rules
- 2014/02/10: GET: Are the Western Balkans the new Desertec?
- 2014/02/10: RTCC: Local opposition to wind grows as EU leaders mull targets
  European governments may have to grapple with growing grass-roots opposition to wind energy projects and new overhead power lines as they thrash out plans on renewable energy quotas as part of the EU's climate and energy package.
Meanwhile in Australia:
- 2014/02/16: ABC(Au): More than 10,000 Victorians without electricity after power pole fires
- 2014/02/14: ABC(Au): Carbon tax repeal could offset ACT electricity price rises recommended by ICRC
- 2014/02/14: RNE: The $5bln IPA mistake that derailed Australia's renewable policy
- 2014/02/14: ABC(Au): Opening a window to wind and the sun as the car door closes
  With Australian car manufacturing in terminal decline, the government needs to establish new industries to fill the void. Renewable energy is an opportunity going begging
- 2014/02/14: ABC(Au): Report says too early to detect CSG mining impact on Surat Basin water
  [...]
  The annual Surat Underground Water Impact Report was released yesterday, showing it is too early to detect any water pressure impacts in aquifers near CSG activity. Randall Cox from the Office of Groundwater Impact Assessment says that is because CSG development in the Surat Basin was delayed.
- 2014/02/14: ABC(Au): Drought forces farmers to sell herds
  As the drought takes hold across New South Wales and Queensland, graziers are taking drastic steps to deal with their parched properties, including selling their entire herds in the hope their stricken lands will recover.
- 2014/02/14: Guardian(UK): Barnaby Joyce says drought-stricken farmers 'need money on the table'
  Despite intense lobbying for drought assistance, no announcement expected on tour of affected areas with PM
- 2014/02/13: ABC(Au): Victorian Government announces $22m assistance package for SPC Ardmona
- 2014/02/13: ABC(Au): NSW Farmers' Association pushes Minister on drought package
- 2014/02/13: ABC(Au): Green light for Australia's biggest wind farm
- 2014/02/13: RNE: Feed-in tariffs do not amount to guaranteed revenue
- 2014/02/13: RNE: SA govt approves $1.5bn 600MW Ceres wind farm
- 2014/02/13: RNE: Can an Australian Tesla emerge from wreckage of car industry?
- 2014/02/13: ABC(Au): Insurance questions to be answered at Lake Macquarie meeting
  Inquiries by ratepayers to Lake Macquarie Council about the increased cost of insurance premiums has prompted it to host an information forum. A representative of the Insurance Council of Australia will attend the meeting at Marks Point tonight to discuss the impact of bushfires, floods and storms on insurance policies.
- 2014/02/12: ABC(Au): Tens of thousands of animals die in fires
  Tens of thousands of head of livestock are believed to have died in bushfires in Victoria in recent days. State Agriculture Minister Peter Walsh says it's hard to estimate stock losses while some fires are still burning.
- 2014/02/12: ABC(Au): [Western Australian eastern] Wheatbelt shire echoes calls for drought aid
- 2014/02/12: ABC(Au): Farmers desperate for federal help as towns run dry in outback drought
- 2014/02/12: ABC(Au): Internal pressure on the Federal Government to provide urgent drought relief
- 2014/02/12: ABC(Au): Farmers wait for drought relief
  Drought stricken farmers are waiting for a decision on whether the government will give them any financial assistance.
- 2014/02/12: ABC(Au): Clive Palmer's company Queensland Nickel not prosecuted over toxin discharge in Barrier Reef marine park
- 2014/02/11: TheConversation: Old MacDonald sold the farm: so what's the future for agriculture?
- 2014/02/11: EnvEcon: RFF: Carbon tax impact in Australia
- 2014/02/11: TheConversation: Victoria's trial by fire: why we still need to tackle complacency
- 2014/02/11: ABC(Au): Senior barrister had Queensland Government brief stripped days after criticism of LNP policies
- 2014/02/11: ABC(Au): MP [Rick Wilson (Liberal - O'Connor)] pushes drought aid case for Wheatbelt growers
- 2014/02/11: ABC(Au): Grain milling boss says farmers and food production system in trouble
- 2014/02/11: RNE: Regulations cause dead spot in WA solar market
  The WA solar market is being held back by regulations being placed on the industry by grid operator Western Power. The regulations are specifically affecting the commercial rooftop space, creating two effective dead spots.
- 2014/02/11: RNE: [Australia's biggest investment bank, Macquarie Group] enters solar finance market in Australia
- 2014/02/11: RNE: Will any Australian politician stand up for renewables?
- 2014/02/11: ABC(Au): 'We did the best we could': Vic firefighter leaves poignant note to home owner
- 2014/02/11: ABC(Au): Teachers union says some ACT classrooms are getting too hot [34C] during summer for students
- 2014/02/10: ABC(Au): Murrumbidgee GPs concerned about climate change impact on residents' health
- 2014/02/10: Guardian(UK): What are the top five climate challenges for Australia?
- 2014/02/10: TheConversation: Is $15 a year really too much to pay for renewable energy?
- 2014/02/11: ABC(Au): Token efforts in managing heatwaves
  With Victoria temperatures soaring again, Mark Wakeham says the only measure the State Government has taken to address deaths from heatwaves is token at best. Here's a statistic many Australians would be unaware of: heatwaves cause more deaths in Australia each year than any other type of natural disaster.
- 2014/02/10: ABC(Au): E10 consumers missing out on full subsidy discount, ethanol report finds
- 2014/02/10: ABC(Au): Leaders of environmental groups gather at Leard State Forest
  The heads of Australia's environmental organisations have today travelled to the Leard State Forest to hold talks about Whitehaven Coal's Maules Creek mine. The mine was granted federal government approval in February last year to clear parts of the forest for its open-cut coal operation near Boggabri, in the state's north west. CEO's from Greenpeace, the National Conservation Council, 350.org and Lock the Gate attended the meeting.
- 2014/02/10: ABC(Au): Tiwi Islands sign historic forestry agreement
  A Japanese company has today signed a deal to export and sell woodchips from the Tiwi Islands in the Northern Territory. Over five years, the local Tiwi Plantations Corporation (TPC), in partnership with Mitsui, will export up to 400,000 green metric tonnes of Acacia mangium to Japan, China and India.
- 2014/02/10: JQuiggin: After the car industry (revised and updated)
- 2014/02/10: RNE: 'Australian' solar PV deception harms industry
- 2014/02/10: BBC: Toyota to end car production in Australia by 2017
- 2014/02/10: WSWS: Australian by-election reveals voter disaffection
- 2014/02/10: WSWS: West Australian fires expose government failure to provide safe electricity supplies
Now we get to watch the suppository of wisdom destroy what little Australia has done to fight climate change:
- 2014/02/16: ABC(Au): Tony Abbott's drought tour: Longreach grazier John Milne hopes PM will 'persevere' with agriculture industry
- 2014/02/16: ABC(Au): Rainmaker Prime Minister on weekend drought tour
- 2014/02/16: ABC(Au): Abbott tours drought-hit NSW, Queensland
- 2014/02/16: ABC(Au): [Immigration Minister] Scott Morrison says Navy intrusion report to be shared with Indonesia
- 2014/02/15: ABC(Au): Climate change: Greg Hunt backs Coalition policy after IMF chief Christine Lagarde urges Australia to remain 'pioneers'
- 2014/02/15: ABC(Au): Indonesia to raise Australian asylum seeker policy with United States
  Indonesia says it will raise the Abbott Government's asylum seeker policy with the United States during official talks next week. Jakarta has stepped up its protest to the Coalition's boat turn-back policy, calling in the Australian ambassador in Jakarta for a meeting with a senior official. Indonesia's foreign affairs minister Marty Natalegawa says a strong protest message was given to Australian ambassador Greg Moriarty over the use of lifeboats to send asylum seekers back. Dr Natalegawa says Australia was already violating its international commitments, but the use of lifeboats to send people back is an escalation.
- 2014/02/14: ABC(Au): Greens, Labor warn Gov't they'll fight de-listing of Tasmanian World Heritage forest
- 2014/02/14: TFTJO: A chilling sensation down your spine.....
- 2014/02/13: DeSmogBlog: Australia Appoints Climate Science Denier [Minchin] As Top New York Official
- 2014/02/13: ABC(Au): Renewable energy: what would Warren do?
- 2014/02/13: ABC(Au): Australia Post sell-off possible: Federal Treasurer Joe Hockey fails to rule out privatisation
- 2014/02/12: RNE: Australia's Energy White Paper - a prescription for poor health
- 2014/02/11: ABC(Au): SPC Ardmona: Coalition MPs challenge Tony Abbott in party room over decision to reject bailout
  Three MPs have challenged Prime Minister Tony Abbott in the party room over the Cabinet's decision to reject a $25 million bailout for fruit cannery SPC Ardmona.
- 2014/02/10: CCurrents: Australian Coalition Government Sacrifices Key Industries While Committing Hundreds Of Billions Of Dollars To Carbon Pollution & War [Polya]
- 2014/02/10: ABC(Au): Prime Minister Tony Abbott announces royal commission to "shine spotlight" on alleged union corruption
After years of wrangling, the Murray Darling Basin Plan is in place, but the water management fights are far from finished:
- 2014/02/14: ABC(Au): Heavy wet season rain prompts dam overflow warning
  The Cairns Regional Council is warning the risk to swimmers in local streams and waterholes could increase. Patrick Ram, 18, drowned at Crystal Cascades on Tuesday. Councillor Linda Cooper says Copperlode Dam is 99 per cent full and further rain is likely to push the level over the spillway.
- 2014/02/14: ABC(Au): Drought assistance program in need of further funding
- 2014/02/12: ABC(Au): Longreach faces threat of 'drastic' water bans
- 2014/02/12: ABC(Au): Ord flood damage starts to add up
  Farmers in Western Australia's Ord are facing hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of damages to their irrigation systems after last week's heavy rain. The region copped more than 500 millimetres of rain over four days, which led to widespread flooding.
- 2014/02/12: ABC(Au): [Western Australia's Water Minister, Mia Davies] sees Kununurra flood impact first-hand
- 2014/02/11: ABC(Au): Partnership to fight for better River Murray infrastructure
- 2014/02/11: ABC(Au): Kempsey has water restrictions for the first time in 20 years
  Continuing low flows in the Macleay River have prompted the Kempsey Shire council to bring in Level Three Water restrictions.
- 2014/02/10: ABC(Au): Council 'confident' Emu Swamp Dam worries addressed
  The Southern Downs Regional Council says it is certain the construction of a dam is the best option for managing water supply on the Granite Belt. Councillor Vic Pennisi says the final environmental impact statement (EIS) for Emu Swamp Dam will be submitted to the Queensland Government within a month.
- 2014/02/10: ABC(Au): New drought support measures for SA
  The South Australian state government has introduced a new collection of drought support measures for pastoralists in the state's north.
- 2014/02/10: ABC(Au): Much needed rain fills dams in NW QLD
  A monsoonal low in the Gulf of Carpentaria has brought much needed rain as far south as Cloncurry, 600 kilometres from the Carpentaria coast.
- 2014/02/10: ABC(Au): Widespread flooding forecast for Pilbara towns as tropical low tracks inland
And in New Zealand:
- 2014/02/13: WSWS: New Zealand: Mana and Green parties stage anti-oil drilling protest
While in the Indian subcontinent:
And in China:
- 2014/02/13: ICN: China's Plan to Clean Up Air in Cities Will Doom the Climate, Scientists Say
  Coal-to-gas projects in rural areas could double carbon footprint of fuel burned in cities, spelling disaster for earth's climate, warn scientists.
- 2014/02/13: RNE: China confirms new solar PV target of 14GW for 2014
And Japan:
- 2014/02/09: BBC: Pro-nuclear candidate Masuzoe 'wins Tokyo governor vote'
In South America:
- 2014/02/09: CensoredNews: Videos Rights of Nature Ethics Tribunal Ecuador 2014
- 2014/02/10: CensoredNews: Tandoo Cardinal judge's ruling on Hydraulic Fracking Case - Rights of Nature Tribunal
- 2014/02/10: CensoredNews: Blood Oil in North Dakota, Rights of Nature Tribunal in Ecuador
In Canada, neocon PM Harper, aka The Blight, pushes petroleum while ignoring the climate and ecology:
- 2014/02/15: TCCB2: Disappointing ... But Unsurprising
- 2014/02/12: ScienceInsider: Harper Unveils New Fund for Canadian Research Excellence
- 2014/02/11: TMoS: Corporatism Rides Roughshod Over Tennessee. You Wonder Where Harper Gets It
- 2014/02/11: CPunch: How Far Will Harper Go to Neutralize Opposition to Tar Sands? Big Oil's Chokehold on Canadian Democracy
- 2014/02/10: Tyee: Has Big Oil Hijacked Democracy?
  Canada's government spies on and harasses citizens who peacefully question petro-corporate aims
Resonances of the Lac Mégantic tragedy linger:
- 2014/02/14: CBC: Lac-Mégantic mayor talks disaster planning
  About 400 municipal leaders from across Canada gathered, hearing Lac-Mégantic, Que., mayor speak
- 2014/02/15: CBC: Transport Canada report calls for increased rail tanker safety
The Harper gang is pushing some fundamentally destructive science policies:
- 2014/02/15: CBC: Scientist silencing continues for federally-funded research
  Scientists at annual conference of Fishermen and Scientists Research Society met in Truro, N.S. At an annual conference in Truro, N.S., that brings fishermen and scientists together to promote ocean research, some researchers declined to discuss their work with media because they did not have approval to do so. Scientists across the country have been expressing growing alarm over federal programs monitoring areas that range from climate change and ocean habitats to public health, worried Canadians are being deprived of crucial scientific information.
- 2014/02/14: UCSUSA:B: An Update on Scientific Integrity in Canada, and How Scientists In Other Countries Can Help
- 2014/02/10: BCLSB: Federal Government Sacking Another Library?
- 2014/02/12: Tyee: Key DFO Library Closure Questions Go Unanswered: Scientists
Silencing the environmental opponents is well under way:
- 2014/02/14: CCP: Oil-corrupted Harper government makes moves to silence Canada's leading environmental groups by declaring their activities non-charitable
- 2014/02/14: ICN: Harper Govt Makes Moves to Silence Canada's Leading Environmental Groups
  Environmental organizations that oppose tar sands expansion have become the subject of rigorous audits that could force some to shut their doors.
- 2014/02/14: CSW: Harper using Canada's tax agency to intimidate anti-tar sands groups
- 2014/02/11: Rabble:BC: Who will they come for next? Charities and the federal budget
- 2014/02/10: BLongstaff: Is the CRA reacting to political pressure? [the current spate of audits of environmental organizations]
The battle over the Northern Gateway pipeline rages on:
- 2014/02/14: WCEL: Strict timelines for environmental assessments, but not for government
- 2014/02/14: TP:JR: New Pipeline Would Bring Tankers Of Tar Sands Through Tribal Waters Every Day
- 2014/02/12: TRR: Indirect Impacts of Pipelines Should Be Included in Assessments
The Alberta Clipper is being delayed by the Yanks:
The Harper gang lost a big court case. They'll likely file an appeal at the last moment:
Meanwhile in BC:
- 2014/02/14: CriticalAngle: Andrew Weaver's support for a big bitumen refinery on the BC coast angers Greens
- 2014/02/12: CBC: Rio Tinto to sell or lease Kitimat port to LNG Canada -- B.C. budget to lay out LNG tax regime
- 2014/02/11: TheCanadian: California rejects green label for BC's private "run of river"
- 2014/02/10: TheCanadian: Exploding BC LNG Myths - Part 1
Meanwhile in that Mechanical Mordor known as the tar sands:
- 2014/02/14: BLongstaff: Our dangerous dependence on the tar sands
- 2014/02/13: OilChange: Five Per Cent of Canadian Jobs Linked to Tar Sands in 2025
- 2014/02/11: PostMedia: Oilsands the giant of Canada's economy, study finds
  Edmonton - The oilsands, Canada's biggest industry, make an economic contribution to the country that in 2012 was far greater than Saskatchewan's, a new study has determined. And with oilsands production expected to double by 2025, the benefits to Alberta and every province, as well as the U.S., are expected to double. That's according to Oilsands Economic Benefits: Today and in the Future, a report prepared by U.S.-based IHS in co-operation with three Canadian university business departments and various petroleum associations and companies. The study found that oilsands production supported more than 478,000 direct, indirect and induced Canadian jobs in 2012 -- three per cent of all jobs in the country -- and contributed $91 billion of Canada's gross domestic product. Saskatchewan's contribution to GDP in 2012 was $78 billion. By 2025, 753,000 jobs -- equivalent to five per cent of total Canadian employment in 2012 -- will be linked to the oilsands.
Also in Alberta:
- 2014/02/12: CBC: Conservationists ask Alberta to end bounties on wolves
- 2014/02/12: Resilience: Record Bitumen Seepage in Alberta Continues Unabated
- 2014/02/09: TP:JR: Company Has Yet To Stop Leaks That Have Been Spilling Tar Sands In Alberta For 9 Months
In Ontario:
- 2014/02/11: DeSmogBlog: Ontario Approves Importing U.S. Fracked Gas
- 2014/02/10: BCLSB: Why Ontario Anti-Wind Forces Keep Losing Their ERT (Environmental Review Tribunal) Appeals
While in la Belle Province:
In the Maritimes:
In the North:
And on the American political front:
- 2014/02/14: Grist:America's natural gas system is super-leaky, and that's bad news for the climate
- 2014/02/14: TreeHugger: Protecting pristine lands for future generations
- 2014/02/13: RTCC: New York $1 billion green bank "open for business"
  New York's $1 billion green bank said yesterday it is open for business and will work with the private sector to lend money to renewables and energy efficiency projects that could help lower carbon emissions.
- 2014/02/12: Grist: Dems and GOP have competing visions for making oil trains safer in Washington state
- 2014/02/12: DeSmogBlog: Documents Reveal Calvert County Signed Non-Disclosure Agreement with Company Proposing Cove Point LNG Terminal
- 2014/02/12: WSWS: New Yorkers condemn food stamp cuts
- 2014/02/12: Guardian(UK): The GOP has a hot air problem on climate change
- 2014/02/11: TP:JR: The Republican Party Now Wants States To Seize Public Lands For Drilling And Mining
- 2014/02/11: RTCC: California's rate of CO2 cuts 'need to be doubled' after 2020
- 2014/02/11: FAIR: ABC on Food Stamp Cuts: Hey, It Could Be Worse
- 2014/02/11: DeSmogBlog: Colorado Communities Battle to Ban Fracking
- 2014/02/10: Grist: Good news: Most Americans want climate action. Now for the bad news ...
- 2014/02/10: AutoBG: Vets group says EPA should stand up to Big Oil, stand up for US military
- 2014/02/10: Portside: How the U.S. Exports Global Warming
  While Obama talks of putting America on the path to a clean, green future, we're flooding world markets with cheap, high carbon fuels
- 2014/02/10: CPunch: Ending Congressional Stupor Now! by Ralph Nader
- 2014/02/10: ICN: The Oil Industry's Fight to Kill Renewable Fuels -- and Why It May Win
  For all its faults, the Renewable Fuels Standard is the only federal policy that is steadily eroding the oil industry's de facto monopoly on motor fuels.
- 2014/02/08: CCurrents: Climate Disasters - Ending Congressional Stupor Now! by Ralph Nader
The Keystone XL wheel grinds slowly. And it grinds woe:
- 2014/02/15: ERabett:BSD: Obama's political key for rejecting Keystone
- 2014/02/14: Grist:The top 3 flaws with the State Dept.'s Keystone study
- 2014/02/14: SciAm:GB: Pretending Keystone XL Politics Is Science
- 2014/02/14: CensoredNews: Al Jazeera in Black Hills: Lakotas fight Keystone tarsands pipeline
- 2014/02/13: DemNow: Bill McKibben on Fight Against Keystone XL, Fossil Fuel Divestment and Obama's Failures on Climate
- 2014/02/12: FuelFix: Keystone comments rushing in to State Dept.
- 2014/02/11: ICN: Environmental Movement to Test Its Muscle in Keystone Final Stretch
- 2014/02/09: BLongstaff: Supporting Keystone is supporting the Kochs
- 2014/02/07: BBerg: TransCanada Asks Texas Supreme Court to Skip Keystone Review
- 2014/02/07: WaPo: Environmental firm writing U.S. Keystone report studied pipelines for landowners
The GOP War on Women continues. See also:
- 2014/02/11: Salon: Ohio abortion law forces pregnant patients to carry dangerous, doomed pregnancies to term
- 2014/02/09: Salon: America's Plan B problem: The contraception misinformation epidemic
  Emergency contraception is supposed to be available to teens, but pharmacists are telling them they're too young...
The impacts of the sequestration are starting to come home:
- 2014/02/13: ScienceInsider: U.S. Antarctic Scientists Still Reeling From October Shutdown
Leaks and spills:

Jeez! It's getting hard to keep all the spills and leaks straight. So, let's see... we have:
1. In North Caroline, Duke Energy spilled coal ash slurry into the Dan River
2. In West Virginia, Patriot Coal spilled coal ash slurry into Fields Creek which runs into the Kanawha River
3. In West Virginia, Freedom Industries spilled coal cleaning chemicals into the Elk river
4. In Michigan, Enbridge spilled dilbit into the Kalamazoo River
5. In Arkansas, Exxon, spilled dilbit into the suburb of Mayflower
6. In the Gulf of Mexico, BP and company had the Deepwater Horizon oil spill
In North Carolina, Duke Energy spilled coal ash slurry into the Dan River:
- 2014/02/13: DemNow: N.C. Governor No Longer Works for Duke Energy, But After Coal Spill, Is He Doing Their Bidding?
- 2014/02/13: Guardian(UK): North Carolina coal ash spill under federal criminal investigation
  Subpoenas issued to Duke Energy and State Department - Dan River spill was third-largest in US history
- 2014/02/13: CharlotteObserver: Grand jury launches criminal probe of coal ash spill
  The pressure on Duke Energy over its coal ash practices has intensified as federal authorities revealed a criminal investigation of a "suspected felony" surrounding a Feb. 2 ash spill on North Carolina's Dan River. Duke and the N.C. Department of Environment and Natural Resources confirmed Thursday that they were subpoenaed to produce records before a federal grand jury that will meet in Raleigh next month.
- 2014/02/12: CharlotteObserver: NC tells downstream users not to eat the fish or touch polluted Dan River water
- 2014/02/11: TP:JR: After Coal Ash Spill, North Carolina Rethinks Prior Paltry Duke Energy Water Pollution Fine
- 2014/02/11: TRN: Regulatory Agencies Close Ties To Industry Lead to Failure of Accountability for NC Coal Ash Leak
- 2014/02/10: TP:JR: After Coal Ash Spill, North Carolina Warns Residents To 'Avoid Prolonged Direct Contact' With River
- 2014/02/10: WaPo: Duke starts dredging river as coal ash deal dumped
  Raleigh, N.C. - Duke Energy says it plans to begin dredging coal ash out of a North Carolina river on Tuesday as the state's environmental agency moved to scuttle a previously proposed settlement with the company over pollution leaking from waste dumps at its power plants. Lawyers for the N.C. Department of Environment and Natural Resources asked a judge late Monday to disregard its own proposed settlement with the nation's largest electricity provider. Under the deal, Duke would have paid fines of $99,111 for pollution that leaked from two coal dumps like the one that ruptured Feb. 2, spewing out enough toxic sludge into the Dan River to fill 73 Olympic-sized pools. The deal proposed over the summer covered plants near Asheville and Charlotte, while this month's spill was near the town of Eden. The state dumped the settlement one day after a story by The Associated Press in which environmentalists criticized the arrangement as a sweetheart deal aimed at shielding Duke from far more expensive penalties the $50 billion company might face under the federal Clean Water Act.
- 2014/02/10: Grist: Ash decisions: North Carolina helped river-ruining Duke Energy duck pollution complaints
- 2014/02/09: LA Times: Arsenic levels in Dan River exceeded safe standards, N.C. says
In West Virginia, Patriot Coal dumped 100,000 gallons of coal slurry into a river:
- 2014/02/15: DD: Another day, another river ruined by a big coal-industry [Patriot Coal] spill...
- 2014/02/14: WSWS: More than 100,000 gallons released in West Virginia coal slurry spill
  More than 100,000 gallons of coal slurry -- a toxic liquid mixture of cleaning chemicals and coal refuse -- contaminated about six miles of a stream in Kanawha County, West Virginia on Tuesday.
  [...]
  According to the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), the slurry spill occurred at the Kanawha Eagle coal processing plant operated by Patriot Coal after a valve malfunctioned in the line carrying the toxic coal waste from the facility's preparation plant to its impoundment. The slurry dumped into Fields Creek and then flowed into the Kanawha River.
- 2014/02/13: Grist: Another day, another big coal-industry [Patriot Coal] spill ruins a river
- 2014/02/12: TP:JR: This Is What It Looks Like When 100,000 Gallons Of Coal Waste Spill Into A West Virginia Stream
- 2014/02/12: CDreams: West Virginia Creek Runs Black After Catastrophic Coal Slurry Spill
  Third such spill from Patriot Coal plant likely to 'wipe the stream out'
- 2014/02/12: Wonkette: Introducing Patriot Coal, Your New Favorite Ironically Named Company That's Ruining West Virginia
- 2014/02/11: TP:JR: Pipe Break At [Patriot Coal's Kanawha Eagle] Facility Contaminates West Virginia Waterway
- 2014/02/11: DeSmogBlog: Disastrous Day in Fossil Fuels: WV coal slurry spill, PA gas well explosion, ND gas explosion
In West Virginia, Freedom Industries spilled coal cleaning chemicals into the Elk river:
- 2014/02/14: UCSUSA:B: West Virginia's Chemical Spill: The Cost of Coal Isn't Cheap
- 2014/02/13: WaPo: West Virginia wants more disaster funding, FEMA says no
- 2014/02/11: Grist: No rules governed tank that leaked coal-cleaning poison into W.Va. river
  The Jan. 9 spill of as much as 10,000 gallons from a steel tank next to the Elk River didn't just poison water supplies relied upon by 300,000 West Virginians. It revealed holes in state and federal safety rules big enough to drive hazmat-loaded trucks through. The tanks that Freedom Industries uses to store chemicals at its facility in Charleston are more than 50 years old, and company officials knew that chemicals were being stored in them in ways that did not meet industry or EPA standards.
- 2014/02/11: TP:JR: West Virginia Water Nightmare: Private Testing Finds Coal Chemical In 40 Percent Of Homes
- 2014/02/11: Nation:B: One Month After the Spill, Here Are 5 Things You Need to Know About West Virginia's Water Crisis
- 2014/02/10: TP:JR: Company Responsible For West Virginia Chemical Spill Skips Congressional Hearing
- 2014/02/10: al Jazeera: West Virginia officials avoid calling state's water safe
- 2014/02/10: PSinclair: Big Coal's War on Water: West Virginia Residents Fleeing Toxic Water
- 2014/02/09: NYT: One Month After Toxic Spill, West Virginians Face 'Crisis of Confidence'
  Weeks after health authorities had told West Virginians that their water was safe to drink again following a toxic spill, schools in Charleston sent students home abruptly last week when students and staff members detected the telltale licorice odor of the leaked chemical. Officials have repeatedly backtracked since lifting a tap-water ban about a week after the Jan. 9 spill, first advising pregnant women not to drink the water and then resuming the distribution of bottled water. Around Charleston, the capital, restaurants advertise that they cook only with bottled water. What began as a public health emergency after chemicals contaminated the drinking water of 300,000 people has spiraled into a crisis of confidence in state and federal authorities, as residents complain of confusing messages and say they do not trust experts. The spill continues to arouse fear and outrage, and it threatens a political crisis in a state where lawmakers have long supported the coal and chemical industries.
Earlier in Michigan, Enbridge spilled dilbit into the Kalamazoo River:
- 2014/02/13: MichRadio: Enbridge unveils new plans to dredge oily sediment from Kalamazoo River
Earlier in Arkansas, Exxon, spilled dilbit into the suburb of Mayflower:
Almost one year after ExxonMobil's pipeline burst and caused a major oil spill near Mayflower, Arkansas, officials say the area is safe to live in. But locals are still suffering from dizziness, headaches, and nausea -- prompting many to move away.
The BP disaster continues to twist US politics. See also:
- 2014/02/14: BBC: Tuna hearts 'affected by oil spill'
  Scientists say that tuna swimming in the Gulf of Mexico during the Deepwater Horizon oil spill may have experienced heart damage.
- 2014/02/14: TP:JR: Toxins From Oil Spills Are Putting Fish Into Cardiac Arrest, Study Finds
- 2014/02/13: Nola: BP Deepwater Horizon spill oil causes heart damage that can kill tuna, new study finds
The Keeling CO2 monitoring project still needs funding:
- 2014/02/15: CCP: Climate scientist Ralph Keeling Makes Crowdfunding Plea to keep funding the Keeling Curve reseach
Looking ahead to the 2016 elections:
- 2014/02/10: FAIR: What Will 2016 Political Landscape Look Like? USA Today Has No Clue
The actions of the Obama administration are being watched closely:
- 2014/02/16: CBC: John Kerry blasts climate change deniers, 'shoddy scientists'
  Speech expected to address how Asia will be affected by climate change Climate change may be the world's "most fearsome" weapon of mass destruction and urgent action is needed to combat it, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said on Sunday, comparing those who deny its existence or question its causes to people who insist the Earth is flat. In a speech to Indonesian students, civic leaders and government officials in Jakarta, Kerry laid into climate change deniers, accusing them of using shoddy science and scientists to delay measures needed to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases at the risk of imperiling the planet. He also went after those continue to dispute who is responsible for such emissions, arguing that everyone and every country must take responsibility and act immediately.
- 2014/02/15: ScienceInsider: Obama to Propose $1 Billion Climate Resilience Fund
- 2014/02/15: BBC: John Kerry to urge climate action in Indonesia address
  US Secretary of State John Kerry is to deliver a speech urging the global community to act against climate change, during a visit to Indonesia.
- 2014/02/15: WSWS: US secretary of state's new round of bullying in Beijing
  As part of his tour of Asia, US Secretary of State John Kerry yesterday met with Chinese leaders in Beijing in a new round of bullying designed to pressure China to toe the US line in Asia. Having deliberately inflamed dangerous flashpoints such as the Korean Peninsula and stoked territorial disputes in the South and East China Seas, as part of its "pivot" or "rebalance" to Asia, Washington is making provocative new demands on Beijing.
- 2014/02/14: TP:JR: The White House Is Going To Ask Congress For A $1 Billion Climate Resilience Fund
- 2014/02/14: UCSUSA: Obama Announces Much Needed Resiliency Fund
- 2014/02/14: RTCC: Obama announces $1 billion climate resilience fund
- 2014/02/12: CCP: Feds approve more fracking off California coast
- 2014/02/12: Grist: EPA is finally taking at least a small step to protect water supplies from fracking
- 2014/02/12: CSW: Federal wolf delisting proposal found to lack scientific basis
- 2014/02/12: TP:JR: The EPA Finally Moves To Oversee Diesel Fuel Use In Fracking Fluids
- 2014/02/11: RTCC: US plans for tougher carbon pollution cuts gather pace
- 2014/02/11: TheHill:RW: EPA moves to regulate diesel in fracking
- 2014/02/07: Nola: EPA agrees to review, strengthen rules governing air pollution from refineries after suit by Louisiana Bucket Brigade, other environmental groups
As for what is going on in Congress:
- 2014/02/15: JFleck: [Rep. Devin] Nunes (R-Cal): "There was plenty of water."
- 2014/02/12: WaPo:B: New head of Senate Energy Committee has environmentalists seeing red
  Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-La.) will bring a sharply different outlook to the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee now that she has taken the gavel from Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), who has moved over to chair the Senate Finance Committee. Landrieu favors building the Keystone XL pipeline, protecting tax breaks or incentives for oil drilling, and placing limits on the power of federal agencies to set mercury or carbon dioxide guidelines for coal-fired power plants. Wyden takes the opposite position on all those issues. Landrieu supports giving oil companies the right to export crude oil as well as natural gas, while Wyden, who before becoming chairman introduced a bill to block natural gas exports, does not have a public position on crude oil exports. The Louisiana Democrat helps maintain the Democrats' majority in the Senate, but she is closer to the oil and gas industry than most other members of her party.
- 2014/02/11: TP:JR: House Republicans Voted Against Environmental Interests 95 Percent Of The Time In 2013
- 2014/02/11: OilChange: Big Oil Set to Claim Influential Senate Energy Chair -- Response to Senator Landrieu Election
- 2014/02/10: TP:JR: 6 Ways Ted Cruz Wants To Increase Carbon Pollution, All In One Bill
- 2014/02/10: Inforum: Congress to investigate rail safety
  The U.S. House and Senate plan separate hearings on railroad safety after a series of derailments produced a flood of safety concerns. A Senate committee plans a Thursday hearing, while one in the House will be Feb. 26.
- 2014/02/10: UCSUSA:B: How a (Farm) Bill Became a Law
- 2014/02/11: RTCC: Obama faces new Congress challenge on coal curbs
  House of Representatives to question feasibility of 'clean coal' as Republicans ramp up pressure ahead of midterms US Congress will this week scrutinise President Obama's plans to regulate the US coal industry and try and elicit support from Democrats in mining states, but the sector is on the defensive after two major spills that have poisoned rivers in West Virginia and North Carolina.
- 2014/02/09: WaPo: House Republicans muddy California's water crisis
What are the lobbyists pushing?
- 2014/02/10: DeSmogBlog: Business Coalition Announces Massive Offensive Against Environmental Protections
  As the Obama administration begins to take action to rein in the emissions from the dirty energy industry, big business groups all over the country have announced that they aren't willing to stop polluting without putting up a very serious fight. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the American Gas Association, and 74 other big business groups said that they are banding together to fight the administration's forthcoming power plant standards that will require carbon capture technologies to be in place at all plants. According to The Hill, the groups said that they are planning "everything from lobbying to litigation" in order to fight the administration's efforts.
- 2014/01/30: TheHill:e2W: Fearing they'll 'be next,' industries unite against Obama's climate change rules
The movement toward ecologically based economics is glacial:
- 2014/02/14: Resilience: Planning must be centered in the cooperative movement
- 2014/02/13: Resilience: Do We Have the Courage to Bring the 800-lb Gorilla out of the Corner?
- 2014/02/12: Resilience: Another village is possible
- 2014/02/12: Resilience: Mary Wood's Crusade to Reinvigorate the Public Trust Doctrine
- 2014/02/12: Resilience: Limits to Growth-At our doorstep, but not recognized
- 2014/02/11: Resilience: Radio Ecoshock: Crash on Demand with David Holmgren and Nicole Foss
- 2014/02/10: P3: Rob Hopkins' Two-Factor Map of Eco-Change Thinkers
- 2014/02/10: Resilience: Come on Home!: Ecological Agriculture and Sixteen Wonderful Farms that Point the Way
- 2014/02/10: Resilience: Cooperative Movement Should Embrace Discussion of Systemic Issues
- 2014/02/09: RI: Remembering where we live: Physics vs. biology
- 2014/02/09: Resilience: Remembering where we live: Physics vs. biology
What do we tell the children?
IPAT [Impact = Population * Affluence * Technology] raised its head once again:
- 2014/02/12: BBC: A controversial bill in Spain to end women's right to abortion on demand is set to be passed after an opposition challenge was defeated in parliament
- 2014/02/11: MSU: Population bomb may be defused, but research reveals ticking household bomb
- 2014/02/11: NBF: The World is safe for Radical life extension - We can research life extension to rejuvenate the old because we will use technology that is over 100 years old to provide food for over 100 billion people
- 2014/02/10: Salon: British crisis pregnancy center: Abortion increases women's "statistical likelihood of child abuse"
Apocalypso anyone?
- 2014/02/16: CassandrasLegacy: The rampage of the top predators
How do the corporate media measure up?
- 2014/02/16: DWWSJ: Meet The Press Shows How Not To Cover Science
- 2014/02/15: QuarkSoup: "Meet the Press" Avoids Real Scientists When Discussing Science
- 2014/02/14: PSinclair: Great Moments in Stupidity
- 2014/02/13: Guardian(UK): [Editorial] Climate change: hard rain, hard truths
  Recent coverage has contained few clues that increased incidence of extreme weather was predicable and predicted
- 2014/02/13: BCLSB: Global Warming Denier James Delingpole Gets Ass Booted Out [UK Telegraph] Door
- 2014/02/12: AutoBG: Fox Business finds nothing but bad things to say about EVs
- 2014/02/11: TP:JR: New York Times Op-Ed 'The Dustbowl Returns' Never Mentions Climate Change
- 2014/02/10: Grist: Quick, change the channel! Al Jazeera is talking about the environment again
- 2014/02/10: MSimon: Why the CBC Should Fire Rex Murphy Immediately
Here is something for your library:
- 2014/02/15: Tyee: Three Dystopic Novels for Unpleasant Times -- Great new fictions that force us to examine our rather alarming present
- 2014/02/12: UCSUSA:B: New Book "Fukushima: The Story of a Nuclear Disaster" Released
- 2014/02/10: NYT: [Book Review] _The Sixth Extinction: An Unnatural History_ by Elizabeth Kolbert
- 2014/02/11: UCSUSA: [Book Plug] _Fukushima - The Story of a Nuclear Disaster_ by The Union of Concerned Scientists, David Lochbaum, Edwin Lyman & Susan Q. Stranahan
And for your film & video enjoyment:
- 2014/02/14: SEasterbrook: Climate Model vs. Satellite Data
- 2014/02/14: NewAnthropocene: Senator Ludlam's take on the Abbott government and his vision for WA
- 2014/02/13: DeSmogBlog: Polluter Harmony Video Spoofs Duke Energy and ALEC
- 2014/02/13: PSinclair: New Video: Abrupt Climate Change, and the Expected Unexpected
- 2014/02/13: PSinclair: The Next El Nino
- 2014/02/12: CCP: Prof. England explains trade winds piling up heat in western Pacific [vid]
- 2014/02/11: TP:JR: Video: Explosion And Fire At Chevron Natural Gas Well In Pennsylvania
As for podcasts:
- 2014/02/15: CBC:Q&Q: #1) The Sixth Extinction #3) Ancient Fossil Motherlode #5) World's Fastest Glacier
Meanwhile among the 'Sue the Bastards!' contingent:
- 2014/02/15: BBC: Linking to free web content is legal, says EU Court
  Websites can link to freely available content without the permission of the copyright holder, the European Court of Justice says.
- 2014/02/14: HuffPo: Species At Risk Act: Court Finds 'Enormous Systemic Problem' In Enforcement
- 2014/02/14: ScienceInsider: Organic Farmer Sues GM Farming Neighbor
- 2014/02/13: DeSmogBlog: St. Louis Judge Cites Citizens United to Protect Tax Breaks for Peabody Energy
- 2014/02/12: TP:JR: 'Megaloads' Of Tar Sands Equipment Face Legal Challenges In Oregon
- 2014/02/12: ABC(Au): Queensland grazier wins landmark CSG decision
  A landmark court ruling has given landholders another tool to use when working out Conduct and Compensation Agreements (CCA) with coal seam gas companies. A Queensland Supreme Court judge has ruled that landholders can elect for arbitration if the parties aren't able to come to an agreement.
- 2014/02/11: BBC: Australia genetically modified crops row goes to court
  An Australian farmer is suing his neighbour after his farm was allegedly contaminated by genetically modified (GM) crops from the neighbour's farm.
- 2014/02/11: BBC: Donald Trump loses Aberdeen offshore wind farm challenge
- 2014/02/10: CPunch: New Suit Against Tokyo Electric Power -- U.S. Sailors Sick From Fukushima Radiation
- 2014/02/10: ABC(Au): Landmark court case on genetically modified food production begins
  A landmark court case to decide on a farmer's right to produce genetically modified crops begins in the Western Australian Supreme Court today. An organic farmer in Kojonup, Western Australia, is suing his neighbour for loss of income and damages after his property was allegedly contaminated with genetically modified (GM) canola.
- 2014/02/07: BBerg: TransCanada Asks Texas Supreme Court to Skip Keystone Review
  TransCanada Corp. (TRP) asked the Texas Supreme Court to reject a farmer's request to review condemnation rulings allowing the Keystone XL pipeline to cross her land against her will. Julia Trigg Crawford has asked the state high court to review two lower-court decisions giving TransCanada the right to use eminent-domain statutes to install its 2,151-mile Canadian tar-sands pipeline across property her family has farmed for generations in northeastern Texas.
The Mann defamation suit saga rolls on:
- 2014/02/16: IP: On scientific fraud
- 2014/02/14: QuarkSoup: National Review, Humbled
- 2014/02/14: ERabett: EINALBHBWO
- 2014/02/13: BBickmore: The Free Speech Brigade Suppresses Free Speech
- 2014/02/12: DD: Why this climate scientist's libel case matters: 'Science, like free speech, needs protecting too' [M/S]
- 2014/02/11: QuarkSoup: Steyn Outsources His Defense to the Blogosphere
It looks like this BP trial over the Gulf oil spill is going to take a long while:
- 2014/02/13: FuelFix: Way cleared for medical claims in 2010 BP spill
Developing a new energy infrastructure is a fundamental challenge of the current generation:
- 2014/02/15: CleanTechnica: 320 MW Swansea Bay Tidal Lagoon Project Moves Closer
- 2014/02/15: CleanTechnica: Lockheed Martin Cranks Up World's Largest Wave Energy Project
- 2014/02/13: Eureka: Amidst bitter cold and rising energy costs, new concerns about energy insecurity
- 2014/02/13: PeakEnergy: Grantham: Wind, solar to replace fossil fuels within decades
- 2014/02/12: TMoS: Even Lockheed Can Do the Right Thing When They Put Their Minds To It
- 2014/02/11: Resilience: The Purposely Confusing World of Energy Politics
- 2014/02/11: SciAm:PI: Guest Post: Energy innovation - do niche markets really matter?
- 2014/02/11: RNE: Grantham: Wind, solar to replace fossil fuels within decades
- 2014/02/10: RNE: Renewables provide 15% of supply during California gas emergency
What do you have in energy comparisons and transitions?
- 2014/02/13: BBerg: Coal Burns Brighter as Utilities Switch From Natural Gas
  Natural gas prices at a four-year high have utilities shifting to coal to generate 4.519 million megawatt-hours a day, the most since 2011, government data show. Within three years, coal's share of power production could climb to 40.3 percent from about 39 percent last year, while gas's share will probably drop to 27 percent from 27.5, the U.S. Energy Information Administration said.
- 2014/02/13: ScienceInsider: Natural Gas for Coal a Good Climate Trade-Off Despite Leaks, Researchers Argue
Hey! Let's contaminate the aquifers for thousands of years! It'll be a fracking gas!
- 2014/02/14: Grist: Just a fracking well exploding into flames -- nothing to see here!
- 2014/02/13: DeSmogBlog: Maryland At High Risk of Water Contamination From Fracking, Independent Assessment Finds
- 2014/02/13: TP:JR: California Drought Emergency Sparks Call To Ban Fracking And Protect Water
- 2014/02/12: EurActiv: France explores 'clean' shale gas extraction technique
On the coal front:
- 2014/02/13: TMoS: The Toll of Coal
  Coal is dirt cheap, or so we're told. It sells for dirt cheap prices because it is so abundant, or so we're told. Yet, like every other fossil fuel, the price of coal is rigged, literally floating on a cushion of subsidies, deferrals and grants and, above all, something known as "externalities" - very real impact costs that are never factored into the market price. These are costs that are borne by the rest of us, freebies of death, dislocation and inevitable suffering that fossil fuelers are able to keep off their balance sheets. And, with that sleight-of-hand they're quick to condemn clean, alternative energy as just too damned expensive to be worth it.
- 2014/02/10: TP:JR: Coal Dust Pollution, Dirty White Pants, And Coverups: The Consequences Of Exporting Coal
On the gas and oil front:
- 2014/02/14: BBerg: Closing oil prices Friday
  OIL (US$/bbl)
  Dated Brent Spot....109.08
  WTI Cushing Spot....100.30
- 2014/02/14: Grist:America's natural gas system is super-leaky, and that's bad news for the climate
- 2014/02/13: BismarckTrib: Two oil spills reported in western N.D.
- 2014/02/13: WSWS: Worker killed in Pennsylvania gas well explosion
- 2014/02/12: CBC: Husky Energy sells east coast oil to India
- 2014/02/12: BBerg: CO2 Capture Could Raise Wholesale Energy Price 80 Percent
- 2014/02/11: BismarckTrib: North Dakota oil spill cleanup to last at least two more years
- 2014/02/10: BBerg: Total Plans More Drilling After Oil Exploration Failures
  Total SA began life as Cie Francaise des Petroles, or CFP, almost a century ago. Thirty years since changing its name, the French oil giant is fighting to prevent its "Can't Find Petroleum" moniker from coming back. Three years and $7.3 billion into an exploration drive, Chief Executive Officer Christophe de Margerie still finds large discoveries elusive. Better drilling results -- at least 12 "high-impact" wells are planned this year -- are critical to bolster output and profit.
- 2014/02/10: Resilience: Commentary: A 10-Year Oil Supply Retrospective Shows Unwarranted Optimism
- 2014/02/10: ICN: The Oil Industry's Fight to Kill Renewable Fuels -- and Why It May Win
- 2014/02/09: VoxEU: The housing-market impacts of shale-gas development by Lucija Muehlenbachs, Beia Spiller & Christopher Timmins
  Compared to coal and oil, shale gas offers the prospect of greater energy independence and lower emissions of carbon dioxide and other pollutants. However, fracking is controversial due to the local externalities it creates -- particularly because of the potential for groundwater contamination. This column presents evidence on the size of these externalities from a recent study of house prices. The effect attributable to groundwater contamination risk varies from 10% to 22% of the value of the house, depending on its distance from the shale gas well.
In the gas and oil corps:
- 2014/02/12: Grist: BP found another shady way to cheat public, get richer
- 2014/02/10: Reuters: Duo tracks double-dipping in U.S. oil firms' toxic tank cleanup
  A pioneer in cleaning up toxic messes, Thomas Schruben long suspected major oil companies of being paid twice for dealing with leaks from underground fuel storage tanks - once from government funds and again, secretly, from insurance companies.
And in pipeline news:
- 2014/02/15: WSWS: Iran-Pakistan gas pipeline stalled
- 2014/02/14: CBC: Enbridge's Alberta-Wisconsin pipeline expansion delayed by U.S. regulators
- 2014/02/13: TP:JR: Natural Gas Pipeline Explosion Levels Homes In Kentucky Town
Ships and boats and trains -- How to tranport the stuff?
- 2014/02/14: DeSmogBlog: Why Nothing Is Being Done to Improve Oil by Rail Safety
- 2014/02/13: TP:JR: Train Derails In Pennsylvania, Spilling Up To 4,000 Gallons Of Oil
- 2014/02/13: TP:JR: When Oil Trains Come Through, There's No Room For Humans
- 2014/02/12: Grist: Dems and GOP have competing visions for making oil trains safer in Washington state
- 2014/02/12: SciAm:PI: Crude by rail has exploded in the last three years - here's a map that shows how much
- 2014/02/11: Grist: When it trains, it pours: The 10 worst oil-by-rail spills of the decade
Yes we have peak everything:
- 2014/02/14: QuarkSoup: Peak Copper
Biofuel bickering abounds:
- 2014/02/10: TP:JR: How Scientists Could Expand The Menu Of Biofuel-Making Microbes
The answer my friend...
- 2014/02/15: PSinclair: How Wind Power Holds Down Electric Prices During Extremes, and Every Other Time
- 2014/02/13: ABC(Au): Green light for Australia's biggest wind farm
  The South Australian Government has just approved what's set to be Australia's biggest wind farm. The $1.5 billion Ceres Project on the Yorke Peninsula has been hampered by community opposition since it was first mooted a few years ago. Now it's been given the green light, construction could start by the end of this year, with the full project operational by 2016.
- 2014/02/12: TreeHugger: Awesome interactive USGS map shows the 47,000 onshore wind turbines in the U.S.
- 2014/02/12: Grist: Monster wind farm planned in South Dakota
- 2014/02/12: ABC(Au): Climate risk from wind farms is minimal
- 2014/02/12: CleanTechnica: Massive Wind Farm Takes Shape Off...Rhode Island?
- 2014/02/11: TP:JR: Californians Could Save $750 Million On Energy Bills Thanks To Huge Wind Farm In Wyoming
- 2014/02/11: TheConversation: Wind power affects climate - cooling and warming regions around farms, studies claim
- 2014/02/10: CleanTechnica: 402 GE Wind Turbines To Get PowerUp Upgrade At 5 EDP Renewables Wind Farms
Meanwhile among the solar aficionados:
- 2014/02/14: RNE: Biggest solar tower storage plant starts commissioning
- 2014/02/14: RNE: Australia's first EV-charging dual-axis solar array swings into action
- 2014/02/13: RealEconomics: Have we passed solar's tipping point?
- 2014/02/13: RTCC: World's largest thermal solar plant [Ivanpah] opens in California
- 2014/02/13: Helmholtz: Light-induced degradation in amorphous silicon thin film solar cells: New insight into microscopic mechanism
- 2014/02/13: Grist: Solar is keeping California's lights on as hydro dries up
- 2014/02/13: CleanTechnica: Controversial [392MW] Ivanpah Solar Power Plant Sets Record, Settles Controversy
- 2014/02/12: CleanTechnica: Solar Panels Receive Big Boost From Micro-Machined Fresnel Lenses, Research Shows
- 2014/02/12: CleanTechnica: Northern Ireland Gets Its First Utility-Scale Solar Farm
- 2014/02/12: TP:JR: Could This Glass Orb Be The Future Of Solar Energy?
- 2014/02/11: TP:JR: 90 Percent Of States Added Solar Jobs In 2013, Fueled By Growth In The South
- 2014/02/10: RNE: Graph of the Day: Rooftop solar provides 20% of SA demand
The nuclear energy controversy continues:
- 2014/02/14: WNN: Hamaoka 4 seeks restart approval
  Chubu Electric Power Company has requested a safety review by Japan's nuclear regulator of unit 4 at its Hamaoka plant in Shizuoka prefecture. It becomes the seventeenth Japanese reactor to seek permission to restart.
- 2014/02/13: WNN: Power struggle over EU nuclear safety
  National regulators should remain responsible for nuclear safety in the European Union (EU), the nuclear industry has argued. The European Commission has proposed to increase its powers in a new safety directive.
- 2014/02/12: TheCanadian: Will thorium save us from climate change?
- 2014/02/11: RNE: French Disconnection: Reacting to nuclear cost curse
- 2014/02/10: CCurrents: Atoms For Peace?
Nuclear waste storage requires _very_ long term thinking:
- 2014/02/16: FukuLeaks: Radiation Leak At US WIPP [Waste Isolation Pilot Plant] Nuclear Storage Facility [in Carlsbad, N.M.]
Nuclear fusion projects around the world limp along:
- 2014/02/12: Nature: (ab$) Fuel gain exceeding unity in an inertially confined fusion implosion by O. A. Hurricane et al.
- 2014/02/06: LLNL: NIF experiments show initial gain in fusion fuel
- 2014/02/13: KSJT: Lots of Ink: Big gov't laser blaster finally ends utter failure as fusion machine. Now just lousy at it?
- 2014/02/13: ABC(Au): US scientists achieve 'turning point' in fusion energy quest
- 2014/02/12: NBF: Fuel gain over unity in an inertially confined fusion implosion
- 2014/02/12: SciNow: Baby Steps on the Road to Fusion Energy
- 2014/02/12: NatureN: Laser fusion experiment extracts net energy from fuel -- Milestone is passed on the long road to fusion energy
- 2014/02/12: CBC: Nuclear fusion hits energy milestone -- Total energy input still far higher than output
  For the first time, fuel for a nuclear fusion reaction has generated more energy than put into it -- a scientific milestone.
- 2014/02/12: LA Times: Nuclear fusion reactions mark a 'milestone'
  Physicists create nuclear fusion reactions that produce more energy than was in the fuel involved -- the power at work in the sun and other stars. It may be a step toward cleaner nuclear energy.
Like a mirage, the dream of a Hydrogen Economy shimmers on the horizon:
- 2014/02/11: CleanTechnica: Friendly Mutant Algae Could Churn Out Sustainable Hydrogen On Your Desktop
More people are talking about the electrical grid:
- 2014/02/10: CleanTechnica: Microgrid-As-A-Service & Other Alternatives To Conventional Macrogrids
How are the utilities adjusting (or not)?
- 2014/02/16: PSinclair: The Weekend Wonk: Utilities Ignore Renewables at Own Risk
- 2014/02/13: CleanTechnica: Utility Companies Should Welcome EVs
- 2014/02/12: CleanTechnica: Duke vs. North Carolina: More Than Just Basketball [utils]
- 2014/02/12: RNE: Former Duke CEO: US grid will be 'blank sheet of paper'
- 2014/02/12: RNE: Energy Darwinism to hit Australian utilities - Citigroup
- 2014/02/11: CleanTechnica: Coloradans To Xcel: Don't Stifle Rooftop Solar
- 2014/02/10: CleanTechnica: Dominion Virginia Power Blocks Net Metering Bill
- 2014/02/10: RNE: New solar threat to networks - death spiral for gas
Automakers & lawyers, engineers & activists argue over the future of the car:
- 2014/02/16: CleanTechnica: Dealers & Republicans Attempt Anticompetitive, Anti-Free Market Tesla Ban... Again
- 2014/02/12: TreeHugger: Worldwide electric car production predicted to soar by 67% in 2014!
- 2014/02/12: UCSUSA:B: Comparing Electric Vehicles: Hybrid vs. BEV vs. PHEV vs. FCEV
- 2014/02/12: UCSUSA:B: Diesel vs Hybrids: The Costs and Benefits of Both...
- 2014/02/11: TreeHugger: Ohio car dealers are fighting tooth and nail to keep Tesla out of the state
As for Energy Storage:
- 2014/02/14: CleanTechnica: Giant Solar Battery Made Of Salt (Almost) Ready To Charge Up
- 2014/02/10: CleanTechnica: Sumimoto Hopes To Settle Used EV Batteries Energy Storage Question
- 2014/02/10: RNE: Solar storage from used EV batteries set for testing in Japan
The reaction of business to climate change will be critical:
- 2014/02/12: TreeHugger: Apple wants its massive Arizona sapphire plant to run on renewable energy "from day one"
Insurance and re-insurance companies are feeling the heat:
- 2014/02/12: Guardian(UK): Costly insurance 'will create flood-risk ghettos and £4.3tn fall in house values'
What do we have in (weekly) lists?
- 2014/02/15: SkS: 2014 SkS Weekly News Roundup #7 by John Hartz
- 2014/02/14: RTCC: UK floods: 10 'must read' articles on climate, science and resilience
- 2014/02/12: BPA: Recap of the Month's Starred News Items from Sowing Agricultural Seeds Daily
Anything in pithy quotes this week?
- 2014/02/12: P3: Pete Seeger Quote
- 2014/02/06: EnvEcon: Quote of the Day: I'm skeptical of skeptics
- 2014/02/09: QuarkSoup: "The Bitter Truth Is..."
The carbon lobby are up to the usual:

Note: You may notice my denialist coverage flagging. I am finding it increasingly difficult to give any attention to these people.
- 2014/02/12: GLaden: Trolls = Sadists?
- 2014/02/12: CChallenge: Open letter to contrarian Dr. John Nielsen-Gammon
- 2014/02/13: ATTPh: A quick science lesson for Nigel Lawson
- 2014/02/13: HotWhopper: Oh no! Not "it's the sun" again. Recycling regimes at WUWT...
- 2014/02/13: Tamino: Making Up Stuff
- 2014/02/12: Guardian(UK): Nigel Lawson condemns Met Office scientist's 'absurd' floods comment
- 2014/02/11: CPunch: The Fossil Fuels Industry's Protection Racket -- If You're Reading This, You're Probably a Terrorist
- 2014/02/11: CNN: Survey: Online trolls are 'everyday sadists'
  Survey says Internet trolls show sadistic tendencies - Psychopathy and "Machiavellianism" were also linked with trolling behavior - Trolling is the act of saying offensive things online solely for the enjoyment of it - Increasingly, websites are trying to cut down on trolling
- 2014/02/14: TFTJO: A chilling sensation down your spine.....
- 2014/02/11: PSinclair: Meet the Skeptics! James Taranto of the WSJ in a Charm Offensive
- 2014/02/14: Independent(UK): Nigel Lawson's climate-change think tank [GWPF] risks being dismantled after complaint it persistently misled public
- 2014/02/16: BCLSB: On Benny Peiser: A Brief Note
- 2014/02/15: QuarkSoup: Rumor: Door Hits Delingpole's Ass on the Way Out
- 2014/02/15: QuarkSoup: Another Crazy Shows Up Here, Wearing Bells
- 2014/02/16: Guardian(UK): Climate change: time for the sceptics to put up or shut up
- 2014/02/15: ATTPh: A new logo for the GWPF
- 2014/02/15: HotWhopper: Mis-"Quote of the Week" at WUWT!
- 2014/02/14: CoveredInBees: (gfx) Global Warming Policy Foundation: web banner data plus the rest
- 2014/02/10: QuarkSoup: Piously Using the Poor as an Excuse
- 2014/02/10: Tamino: The Real Difference between Skeptics and Deniers
As for climate miscellanea:
- 2014/02/12: Grist: Designer Vivienne Westwood thinks climate change is more important than the fashion industry
- 2014/02/11: PostMedia: Opinion: Scientists certain human activity causes climate change by Simon Donner
  Pick and choose: Dealing with contrarians using dirty tactics is like a game of whack-a-mole
- 2014/02/12: al Jazeera: Soggy in Sochi
  As the temperatures rise at the Olympic Games, the snow struggles.
- 2014/02/13: TCoE:CCB: Climate Change Bridge discussion forum is open
- 2014/02/12: Guardian(UK): Discussing global warming: why does this have to be so hard?
- 2014/02/11: TCoE:CCB: CCB Contributor Guidelines
- 2014/02/14: Resilience: The Gravitational Pull of Planet Carbon
- 2014/02/10: TMoS: Have Humans Become a Climate Change "Feedback Mechanism"?
- 2014/02/13: ABC(Au): What's making our planet so hot?
- 2014/02/14: SciAm:Obs: "Team Climate" Gets Sochi Athletes All Abuzzing About Climate Change
- 2014/02/10: CCP: Michael Mann: Global Warming Speed Bump? The Answer May Be Blowing in the Wind!
- 2014/02/10: DD: Up to 1 billion U.S. birds killed each year by window collisions
And here are a couple of sites you may find interesting and/or useful:
- The Solar Foundation
- AMOS: Australian Meteorological and Oceanographic Society
- Harper Watch
- GET: German Energy Transition - the energiewende blog
- GEB: German Energy Blog
- The Open University
- 2014 AAAS Annual Meeting
- RFF: Common Resources
- Cooperate and No One Gets Hurt
- Energy & Policy
- Carbon Majors
- CSIRO Climate Response (blog)
- Wiki: MOX fuel
- France: 21st Conference of the Parties on Climate Change 2015
Low Key Plug

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>

-het

P.S. Recent postings can be found in the week archive and the ancient postings can be accessed here, which should open to this.

I notice moyhu has set up a monster index to old AWoGWN on AFTIC.

"The nay-sayers insist loudly that they're "climate sceptics", but this is a calculated misnomer - scientific scepticism is the method of investigating whether a particular hypothesis is supported by the evidence. Climate sceptics, by contrast, persist in ignoring empirical evidence that renders their position untenable. This isn't scepticism, it's unadulterated denialism, the very antithesis of critical thought." -David Robert Grimes
- Global Warming Links
- Global Warming News Archive
- Energy
- Energy News
- Environmental Issues
- ---
- H.E. Taylor (homepage)
Last modified February 16, 2014

Another Week of Anthropocene Antics, February 16, 2014

Sipping from the Internet Firehose...

February 16, 2014

More black humour in a climatic vein:

Looking ahead to COP20 and future international climate negotiations:

A group of nations conferred over illegal wildlife trade and came up with the London Declaration:

The AAAS had their annual meeting this week in Chicago:

The England et al. paper on stronger Pacific Trade Winds burying warm surface waters sparked some interest:

How is the German Energy Transition [Energiewende] doing?

And on the Bottom Line:

Delving into the laws of thermodynamics this week:

Here is something for your Crap Detector:

John Cook and friends continue their point-counterpoint articles:

A note on theFukushima disaster:

No good news out of Fukushima yet:

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

The Arctic melt continues to garner attention:

As for the charismatic megafauna:

That Damoclean sword still hangs overhead:

While in Antarctica:

The food crisis is ongoing:

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

Regarding the genetic modification of food:

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

Except for Tropical Cyclone Fobane in the South Indian Ocean, it has been a quiet week:

The post Haiyan situation in the Philippines is not good:

While elsewhere in the hurricane wars:

This week in notable weather First in the UK:

And in North America:

And elsewhere:

Abrupt Climate Change put in an appearance:

This week in the New Normal -- extreme weather:

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

As for GHGs:

And in the carbon cycle:

Aerosols are making their presence felt:

What's up with volcanoes this week?

As for the temperature record:

Meanwhile in near earth orbit:

The cliff, aka tipping points, aka planetary boundaries, put in an appearance:

While in the paleoclimate:

In the attribution debate:

What's the State of the Oceans?:

And the State of the Biosphere?

And on the extinction watch:

The bees and Colony Collapse Disorder are a constant concern. And then, there are the Neonicotinoids:

More GW impacts are being seen:

And then there are the world's forests:

Emerging diseases accompany ecological change:

As for heatwaves and wild fires:

Corals are a bellwether of the ocean's health:

Glaciers are melting:

Sea levels are rising:

As for hydrological cycle disruptions [floods & droughts]:

On the mitigation front, consider transportation & GHG production:

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

As for carbon sequestration:

Large scale geo-engineering keeps popping up:

What's new in conservation?

While on the adaptation front:

Meanwhile in the journals:

And other significant documents:

As for miscellaneous science:

In the science organizations:

More DIY science:

What developments in the ongoing struggle for Open Science?

Regarding Emanuel:

And on the carbon trading front:

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

South [& East] China Sea tension persists:

In the "global competition for natural resources":

So now the Germans are suing the Taiwanese in America and just to add to the general confusion, we have a solar spat between the USA and India:

These 'free trade' treaties are a stealth corporate takeover with anti-democratic dispute resolution mechanisms:

Who's teed off at the NSA this week?

Whot's all this then?

As for miscellaneous international political happenings:

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:

What are the activists up to?

The move to divest from fossil fuel investments is growing slowly:

This week in notable weather
First in the UK:

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