Another Week in the Ecological Crisis, February 9, 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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Logging the Onset of The Bottleneck Years

February 9, 2014

• Chuckles, C40, NSA, MPAs, Warnings, Fish, Energiewende
• Bottom Line, Subsidies, Cook
• Fukushima: Note, News, Policies
• Melting Arctic, Polar Bears, Greenland, Geopolitics, Antarctica
• Food: Crisis, Prices, GMOs, GMO Labelling, Production
• Hurricanes, Notable Weather, Abrupt CC, New Weather
• GHGs, Carbon Cycle, Milankovitch Cycles, Aerosols, Volcanoes, ENSO
• Temperatures, Paleoclimate, Oceans, Biosphere, Extinctions, Bees & CCD
• Impacts, Forests, Climate Refugees, Phenology
• Wildfires, Glaciers, Sea Levels, GW Deluge, Floods & Droughts
• Mitigation, REDD, Transportation, Buildings, Geoengineering, Conservation
• Journals, Other Docs, Misc. Science, Science Orgs, Free Science, Policy, Mann
• International Politics: UN, IPCC, Carbon Trade, Hormuz, South China Sea
• FQD, Panama, Misc., Security, Law & Activism, Activism, Divestment
• Polls, H2O Biz, Education, Innovation
• National Politics: Britain, Europe, Australia, Abbott, GBR, MDBP
• India, Japan, Asia, Russia, Africa, South America
• Canada, Lac-Mégantic, Libricide, East-West, Northern Gateway, Kinder Morgan
• Charities, CAPP, Salmon, BC, Tar Sands, Alberta, Maritimes, North
• America, Keystone, Birth Control, Spill#1, Spill#2, 2014, Obama, USAdmin, Congress
• Ecological Economics, IPAT, Apocalypso, Fixes, Media, Books, Video, Podcasts, Courts, Mann Suit
• Energy, Transitions, Fracking, Coal, Oil & Gas, Pipelines, Transportation, Independence, Peak Oil, Biofuel
• Wind, Solar, Nukes, Hydrogen, Grid, Utilities, Efficiency, Cars, Energy Storage
• Business, FAQs, Other Lists, Quotes, Carbon Lobby, Intimidation, Miscellaneous, Useful Links
• Shameless Self Promotion, A Simple Plea, .sig

 

Here's a wee chuckle for ye:

• 2014/02/09: uComics: (cartoon - Toles) Save Our Dead Zones
• 2014/02/05: uComics: (cartoon - Toles) Pest Resistance
• 2014/02/05: LA Times: (cartoon - Horsey) The Fried West
• 2014/02/05: SeppoNet: (cartoon - Seppo) Fossils in the tar
• 2014/02/05: JamiolsWorld: (cartoon - Jamiol) Jamiol's World 'toon

The C40 cities and climate meeting went down this week in Johannesburg:

• C40 Cities: Climate Leadership Group
• 2014/02/07: Guardian(UK): Mayors' C40 summit gives megacity leaders a chance to grab global spotlight
• 2014/02/07: Guardian(UK): Mayors of the world unite: C40 summit luminaries
• 2014/02/07: Grist: How much power do cities really have to combat climate change?
• 2014/02/05: TP:JR: While The World Waits For A Real Climate Deal, Megacities Are Taking Action
• 2014/02/05: RTCC: As it happened: C40 cities and climate summit in Johannesburg
• 2014/02/05: RTCC: Cities can help UN climate talks, Bloomberg tells C40 summit
• 2014/02/04: RTCC: Urban leaders gather for C40 cities and climate summit in South Africa
  Mayors of the world's leading cities met in Johannesburg this week to discuss solutions to climate change A summit of the world's biggest cities will get underway in South Africa today, where mayors will discuss urban solutions to climate change. The C40 meeting will bring together local leaders from across the world, providing a forum to exchange ideas on how cities can become efficient and resilient in the face of a warming planet.

I have yet to hear of a single country protesting this matter:

• 2014/02/03: DemNow: Environmental Groups "Shocked" by Reports of NSA Spying of U.N. Climate Talks
• 2014/02/03: BBC: Emissions impossible: Did spies sink key climate deal?
  The revelations of the NSA whistleblower, Edward Snowden, are an ongoing embarrassment for the US government. From Angry Birds to the mobile phone of Angela Merkel to the banal conversations of millions of people, the scale of the National Secutiry Agency's spying activities knew few boundaries. But can the world's inability to fix the problem of global warming also be laid at the spooks' door?
• 2014/02/03: EurActiv: US spied on UN climate summit, Snowden leaks show
  EU commissioners and experts expressed bewilderment after "worrying" revelations on Thursday (30 January) that the US National Security Agency (NSA) spied on heads of state during the UN climate summit in Copenhagen in late 2009.

Here is an interesting example of how the media make news:

Scientists report the conditions necessary for effective marine protected areas.
What is the headline?
Marine protected areas don't work.
It is surely just a coincidence that the Abbott govt. wants to undo the marine protected areas Labour set up ...
A clip from the Abstract:
Here we show that the conservation benefits of 87 MPAs investigated worldwide increase exponentially with the accumulation of five key features: no take, well enforced, old (>10 years), large (>100km2), and isolated by deep water or sand.

• 2014/02/05: Nature: (ab$) Global conservation outcomes depend on marine protected areas with five key features by Graham J. Edgar et al.
• 2014/02/07: TP:JR: Most Marine Protected Areas Don't Successfully Protect Marine Life, Study Says
• 2014/02/06 CSM: Most ocean havens for fish aren't. Researchers ID ways to do better.
• 2014/02/05: ABC(Au): Majority of marine reserves are ineffective: new study
  Most of the areas set aside for marine conservation do not have larger populations of fish, says a new study. But a few manage to get it spectacularly right.

What do we have for warnings this week?

• 2014/02/07: TckTckTck: Warnings of 'merciless' climate change as 2013 ranked 6th hottest year on record
• 2014/02/05: RTCC: IMF chief Lagarde warns of "merciless" climate change
  Speaking in London, Christine Lagarde says UN emissions deal and fossil fuel subsidies cut are priorities The planet is "perilously close" to a climate change tipping point, and requires urgent cooperation between countries, cities and business, International Monetary Fund chief Christine Lagarde has said.

Here's one of those studies I'd like to see replicated:

• 2014/02/07: Eureka: Fish biomass in the ocean is 10 times higher than estimated
  The stock of mesopelagic fish changes from 1,000 to 10,000 million tons With a stock estimated at 1,000 million tons so far, mesopelagic fish dominate the total biomass of fish in the ocean. However, a team of researchers with the participation of the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC) has found that their abundance could be at least 10 times higher.

How is the German Energy Transition [Energiewende] doing?

• 2014/02/07: EurActiv: German energy prices 50% higher than EU average: McKinsey
  One of the biggest challenges to the new German government will be to put the energy transition back on track, according to a recent study. Negative trends persist as Germany's domestic energy prices rose to 48% above the European average, EurActiv Germany reports.
• 2014/02/06: RealEconomics: Germans still trying to go green
• 2014/02/04: GET: EEG Revision: BSW-Solar on Curtailment and Compensation
• 2014/02/03: Yahoo:Reuters: Analysis - Germany's utilities struggle to adapt to renewable revolution
• 2014/02/02: GET: PV Feed-in Tariffs 2014 - 3.3 GWp in 2013, 1% Degression from February to April 2014
• 2014/02/02: RealEconomics: The economics of power generation

And on the Bottom Line:

• 2014/02/05: TP:JR: Sea Level Rise Could Reduce The World Economy By 10 Percent This Century
• 2014/02/04: Eureka: Climate change threatens to cause trillions in damage to world's coastal regions
• 2014/02/04: DeSmogBlog: Risks of Fracking Boom Draw Renewed Attention from Investors
• 2014/02/04: RNE: Adapting to sea level rise could save trillions

Who's getting the subsidies?

• 2014/02/05: CleanTechnica: Fossil Fuel Subsidies Are Back Up To 2008 Levels
• 2014/02/03: DeSmogBlog: No Matter How You Count Them, Fossil Fuel Subsidies Are As High As Ever

John Cook and friends continue their point-counterpoint articles:

• 2014/02/08: SkS: 2014 SkS Weekly News Roundup #6 by John Hartz
• 2014/02/07: SkS: Establishing consensus is vital for climate action by Stephan Lewandowsky, John Cook
• 2014/02/07: SkS: 2014 SkS News Bulletin #1: Keystone XL Pipeline by John Hartz
• 2014/02/06: SkS: 2013 was the second-hottest year on record without an El Niño by dana1981
• 2014/02/06: SkS: Debunking climate myths: two contrasting case studies
• 2014/02/04: SkS: Google Earth: how much has global warming raised temperatures near you? by dana1981
• 2014/02/03: SkS: Why rainbows and oil slicks help to show the greenhouse effect by MarkR
• 2014/02/02: SkS: 2014 SkS Weekly Digest #5 by John Hartz

A note on theFukushima disaster:

It is evident that the Fukushima disaster is going to persist for some time. TEPCO says 6 to 9 months. The previous Japanese Prime Minister, Naoto Kan, said decades. Now the Japanese government is talking about 30 years. [Whoops, that has now been updated to 40 years.]
And the IAEA is now saying 40 years too.
[Now some people are talking about a century or more. Sealing it in concrete for 500 years.]
We'll see.
At any rate this situation is not going to be resolved any time soon and deserves its own section.
Meanwhile...
It is very difficult to know for sure what is really going on at Fukushima. Between the company [TEPCO], the Japanese government, the Japanese regulator [NISA], the international monitor [IAEA], as well as independent analysts and commentators, there is a confusing mish-mash of information. One has to evaluate both the content and the source of propagated information.
How knowledgeable are they [about nuclear power and about Japan]?
Do they have an agenda?
Are they pro-nuclear or anti-nuclear?
Do they want to write a good news story?
Do they want to write a bad news story?
Where do they rate on a scale of sensationalism?
Where do they rate on a scale of play-it-down-ness?
One fundamental question I would like to see answered:
If the reactors are in meltdown, how can they be in cold shutdown?

Not much good news coming out of Fukushima:

• 2014/02/09: EneNews: Japan Nuclear Experts: Footage shows 'major problem' at Fukushima Unit 1; Cesium release to continue for next 5 decades - TEPCO: Even if we knew where it's broken, how can we stop it? ...
• 2014/02/08: EneNews: TV: Hawaii Senators introduce bill to require Fukushima radiation monitoring for at least next 5 years...
• 2014/02/08: FukuLeaks: TEPCO Admits Most Radiation Readings May Be Wrong
• 2014/02/08: RT: Fukushima radiation levels underestimated by five times - TEPCO
  TEPCO has revised the readings on the radioactivity levels at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant well to 5 million becquerels of strontium per liter -- both a record, and nearly five times higher than the original reading of 900,000 becquerels per liter. Strontium-90 is a radioactive isotope of strontium produced by nuclear fission with a half-life of 28.8 years. The legal standard for strontium emissions is 30 becquerels per liter. Exposure to strontium-90 can cause bone cancer, cancer of nearby tissues, and leukemia. Tokyo Electric Power Co. originally said that the said 900,000 becquerels of beta-ray sources per liter, including strontium - were measured in the water sampled on July 5 last year.
• 2014/02/08: EneNews: Leaders on West Coast: Gov't is "highly irresponsible... very negligent" for not testing in Pacific as Fukushima radiation arrives...
• 2014/02/07: Kyodo: TEPCO to review "massive" radiation data due to improper measurement
• 2014/02/07: EneNews: Gov't: 75 Fukushima children with cancers confirmed or suspected in thyroid...
• 2014/02/07: EneNews: Canada Newspapers Catch On: Gov't "profoundly negligent" for not testing...
• 2014/02/07: EneNews: Kyodo: 'Massive' amount of Fukushima data wrong? "Figures can't be trusted" ...
• 2014/02/07: WNN: Ideas for debris removal at Fukushima
  Japan has received around 200 international suggestions on concepts to remove the remains of the Fukushima Daiichi reactor cores.
• 2014/02/07: CCurrents: Fukushima's Future
• 2014/02/06: WNN: Plea for nuclear in Australian energy policy
• 2014/02/06: LBPost: CSULB Leads Charge to Study Possibility of Radioactive Kelp Along Long Beach, West Coast
  Cal State Long Beach (CSULB) researchers have paired with fellow researchers at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory to launch "Kelp Watch 2014," a research/campaign project set out to see the extent to which the Fukishima nuclear power plant disaster has affected California's vast kelp forest.
• 2014/02/06: CBS: UC Berkeley Researchers Study Kelp For Possible Radiation From Japan Fukushima Plant
• 2014/02/06: EneNews: Record-high 10 Million Bq/liter of strontium-90 & beta emitters finally revealed in Fukushima plant groundwater - 1,000% more than Tepco has claimed for last 6 months
• 2014/02/06: FukuLeaks: 5 Million bq/liter Strontium 90 Found In Well At Fukushima Daiichi
• 2014/02/05: Resilience: Fukushima's Future
• 2014/02/05: EneNews: Top Radiation Expert: 'Extremely dangerous' situation in Japan - 14,000 km² of land contaminated by Fukushima - Mayor: Country will be dealing with this for generations to come...
• 2014/02/05: FukuLeaks: Fukushima Unit 3 Spent Fuel Pool Debris Removal Update
• 2014/02/04: EneNews: Kyodo: Dumping Fukushima radioactive water is gov'ts only solution...
• 2014/02/04: FukuLeaks: Fukushima Fuel Inventory Update
• 2014/02/04: WSJ:JRT: Fukushima Watch: Small Step Toward Cutting Water Flowing Into Site
• 2014/02/04: FukuLeaks: Fukushima News Roundup
• 2014/02/04: FukuLeaks: Nuclear Evacuation Risks Still Unsolvable In Japan
• 2014/02/04: BBerg: Fukushima Wash-Up Fears in U.S. Belie Radiation Risks: Energy
• 2014/02/03: FukuLeaks: 264 Fuel Assemblies Removed At Fukushima Unit 4
• 2014/02/03: FukuLeaks: TEPCO Tries To Sell Failed Bypass System Again
• 2014/02/03: FukuLeaks: New Fuel Damage Found At Fukushima Unit 4 -- TEPCO did inspections on a damaged fuel assembly in the unit 4 spent fuel pool
• 2014/02/03: EneNews: Investigation of "deformed fuel assemblies" from Unit 4 pool at Fukushima -- "Confirmation of cracks" due to mishandling in past (video)

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

• 2014/02/07: Asia Times: Japan holds to dangerous plutonium separation plan
  Nearly three years after the Fukushima accident, the fate of nuclear power in Japan remains highly uncertain, with government officials still unable to settle on a new nuclear energy policy. Yet perhaps the most risky element of the Japanese nuclear complex appears to be moving forward with little official consideration: the operation of a massive facility in Rokkasho to separate plutonium in spent nuclear fuel.
• 2014/02/04: EurActiv: Russian nuclear plant divides Hungarians ahead of election
  Hungary's centre-left opposition is mobilising support against a deal between the government of Viktor Orbán and Russia to build two additional reactors in the country's only nuclear central. Parliamentary elections are due on 6 April.

The Arctic melt continues to garner attention:

• 2014/02/08: Dosbat: PIOMAS V2.1
• 2014/02/08: ASI: PIOMAS February 2014 (upgrade to Version 2.1)
• 2014/02/08: Guardian(UK): Vivienne Westwood's Save the Arctic campaign - in pictures
• 2014/02/07: Tamino: CryoSat-2
• 2014/02/05: Dosbat: PIOMAS January 2014
• 2014/02/05: RScribbler: Arctic Warmth in Early February Sees 200,000 Square Kilometers of Sea Ice Lost, Greenland Melt as New Study Finds Massive Glacier Triples its Seaward Velocity
• 2014/02/04: DD: Global warming cuts winter ice season by 24 days, thinning Arctic lake ice...
• 2014/02/04: CCP: Dramatic thinning of Arctic lake ice cuts winter ice season by 24 days compared to 1950
• 2014/02/04: BBC: Alaska's Arctic icy lakes lose thickness
  The ubiquitous shallow icy lakes that dominate Alaska's Arctic coastal plain have undergone a significant change in recent decades. These lakes, many of which are no more than 3m deep, melt earlier in the season and retain open water conditions for much longer. And 20 years of satellite radar also now show that far fewer will freeze right through to the bottom in winter.
• 2014/02/03: CCP: A-Team's comment on Neven's blog showing topography of Greenland, under the ice sheet
• 2014/02/03: UWaterloo: Dramatic thinning of Arctic lake ice cuts winter ice season by 24 days
• 2014/02/03: Dosbat: The PIOMAS Spring Volume Loss
• 2014/02/03: CBC: Arctic lakes' ice season shrinking, study finds
• 2014/02/03: TP:JR: Lake Ice In Northern Alaska Shows A 'Dramatic' Decline In 20 Years, Study Finds
• 2014/02/02: QuarkSoup: Arctic Ice Daily Rankings, for William

As for the charismatic megafauna:

• 2014/02/07: CBC: Climate change has polar bears on egg diet -- Hungry bears devastating seabird nesting colonies
• 2014/02/04: SciShot: Hungry Polar Bears Turn to Seabird Eggs

Greenland's Jakobshavn Glacier is setting a speed record:

• 2014/02/06: TP:JR: Redefining 'Glacial Pace': Greenland's Fastest-Moving Glacier Sets New Speed Record Of 150 Feet A Day
• 2014/02/04: BBC: A river of ice in Greenland has become the fastest-flowing glacier currently known in the world, a study suggests
• 2014/02/03: CCP: Greenland's Jakobshavn Isbræ outflowing 4 times faster than in the 1990s, increasing sea level rise
• 2014/02/03: SciShot: Glacial Speed Record
• 2014/02/03: EGU: Press Release: Greenland's fastest glacier reaches record speeds
  Jakobshavn Isbræ (Jakobshavn Glacier) is moving ice from the Greenland ice sheet into the ocean at a speed that appears to be the fastest ever recorded.

As for the geopolitics of Arctic resources:

• 2014/02/05: TheCanadian: Melting sea ice a help and hindrance to Arctic drilling
• 2014/02/04: CCentral: Melting Sea Ice Makes Arctic Drilling a Risky Business

While in Antarctica:

• 2014/02/08: Xinhuanet: China opens 4th Antarctic research base
• 2014/02/04: Tamino: Antarctic Sea Ice Increase

The food crisis is ongoing:

• 2014/02/08: CSM: Citrus [greening] quarantine widens: Can it save California orange growers?
  California officials have expanded a quarantine for a tiny pest that is potentially fatal to citrus trees. The California Department of Food and Agriculture said on Friday it has added 13 square miles to the Asian citrus psyllid (ACP) quarantine in Tulare County after a psyllid was found in that area. The additional territory is west of Porterville. In total, 746 square miles are now under quarantine in Tulare County because of concerns about the pest. Other parts of the state are also under quarantine, including nearby portions of Fresno and Kern counties, as well as Imperial, Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego, Santa Barbara, and Ventura Counties. The psyllid can carry a bacteria that is deadly to citrus trees. The ACP worries farmers because it can carry the disease huanglongbing (HLB), also known as citrus greening.
• 2014/02/08: CBC: Polar vortex claims another victim: Ontario grapes
  Merlot, Sauvignon Blanc and Syrah crops most vulnerable in the cold, viticulturalist says
• 2014/02/07: ABC(Au): Mysterious cane disease confirmed in new region
  The baffling Yellow Canopy Syndrome (YCS) has been confirmed in the Mackay region of north Queensland. The undiagnosed condition that has significantly reduced yields in northern sugar cane crops has been suspected in the central region since late last year.
• 2014/02/07: DD: Video: California farms going thirsty
• 2014/02/07: TP:JR: Climate Change Comes For Your Cup Of Tea
• 2014/02/07: DD: 20 million people face starvation in Africa's Sahel region...
• 2014/02/06: CBC: Food insecurity in Canada growing worse
  Report indicates 4 million Canadians suffering some degree of food insecurity
• 2014/02/06: ABC(Au): CSIRO casts doubt upon Queensland 'food bowl' irrigation scheme
• 2014/02/05: RScribbler: World Food Security in the Cross Hairs of Human-Caused Climate Change: Mangled Jet Stream, Ocean Heat and Melting Sea Ice To Deliver 500 Year Drought to California? Brazil, Turkey, Australia and More to Follow?
• 2014/02/05: WSWS: US Senate votes to slash $8.7 billion in food assistance
• 2014/02/05: Asia Times: Laos falls short of rice target
• 2014/02/04: al Jazeera: Millions at risk in the Sahel food crisis
  UN says 20 million people face food insecurity in the region, with five million children suffering from malnutrition.
• 2014/02/03: BBC: Africa Sahel belt region faces 'desperate food crisis'
• 2014/02/03: UN: UN seeks $2 billion in international aid for Africa's Sahel region
• 2014/01/21: CBC: Why are maple syrup yields shrinking? Syrup industry looks to science for answers as tap yields decline

Food Prices are still problematic:

• FAO: World Food Situation - Food Price Indices
• 2014/02/06: UN: Food prices fall for first time in three months - UN agency
• 2014/02/06: FAO: FAO Food Price Index falls despite climbing dairy prices

Regarding the genetic modification of food:

• 2014/02/08: RetractionWatch: Weekend reads: Seralini GMO-rat study retraction aftershocks; NEJM investigates conflicts of interest
• 2014/02/07: CCurrents: The Deceptions And Falsehoods Of The GMO Lobby: Acquiesce Or Europe Will Become "Museum of World Farming"
• 2014/02/06: EurActiv: Germany to abstain in EU vote on new GMO maize
• 2014/02/04: ABC(Au): CSIRO keen for GM crop trial near Kununurra
• 2014/02/03: UCSUSA:B: A Hole in the Regulation of GMOs that Kudzu Could Fit Through
• 2014/02/03: AlterNet: Why GM Foods Are a Multi-Front Attack on Human Life

Regarding labelling GM food:

• 2014/02/07: Grist: Food giants try to hijack GMO-labeling issue
• 2014/02/03: CNN: Why we need GMO labels
  David Schubert: Seed producers say there's scientific consensus on GMO safety - Schubert: There is no evidence that GM food is safe for human consumption - He says GM labeling will allow consumers to make an informed choice about what they eat - Schubert: It is critical for the public to educate itself about the realities of GMOs

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

• 2014/02/05: Grist: Federal climate hubs will help farmers adapt
• 2014/02/04: UN: New UN airlift ships food from Iraq to 30,000 Syrians cut off on land by civil war
• 2014/02/04: UN: New UN airlift ships food from Iraq to 30,000 Syrians cut off on land by civil war
• 2014/02/04: WFP: WFP Airlifts Bring Aid To Most Vulnerable In Northeast Syria Amid Growing Challenges
• 2014/02/03: WFP: Russia Helps WFP Support Food-Insecure Families In Kyrgyzstan
• 2014/02/03: WFP: Russia Supports WFP Operations In Sudan
• 2014/02/03: FAO: UN and partners launch 3-year humanitarian plan to help Africa's Sahel region

How are things going in the Philippines post-Super Typhoon Haiyan?

• 2014/02/07: WFP: Three Months After Yolanda, WFP's Support Boosts Recovery For Survivors
• 2014/02/07: WSWS: Philippine typhoon survivors stage protests
• 2014/02/06: Guardian(UK): Tacloban three months after Typhoon Haiyan - in pictures
• 2014/02/06: Guardian(UK): Typhoon Haiyan: [Marcos - Aquino] feud hampers reconstruction of Tacloban
• 2014/02/06: Guardian(UK): Tindog Tacloban: 'Rise up Tacloban' - video

In the Western Pacific, Tropical Storm Edna circled while Fletcher bothered the Gulf of Carpentaria:

• 2014/02/04: NASA: NASA Satellite Catches Australia's Newborn Tropical Storm Edna and Stubborn Fletcher
• 2014/02/03: NASA: NASA's Aqua Satellite Tracking System 94P or "Fletcher" Near Queensland
• 2014/02/03: ABC(Au): Cattle station evacuated as Cyclone Fletcher forms
• 2014/02/03: ABC(Au): Tropical Cyclone Fletcher crosses Queensland coast near Karumba as Mount Isa residents fear inundation
  Residents in north-west Queensland remain on alert tonight after a cyclone crossed the coast in the Gulf of Carpentaria. Tropical Cyclone Fletcher was a category one system but was downgraded to a tropical low shortly after crossing the Queensland coast north of Karumba.

• A string of storms have spun up in the South Indian Ocean:

• 2014/02/07: NASA: NASA Spots Fourteenth Tropical Cyclone of Southern Indian Ocean Season [Fobane]
• 2014/02/06: NASA: NASA Sees Tropical Cyclone Edilson Leaving Mauritius
  

  While elsewhere in the hurricane wars:

• 2014/02/09: ABC(Au): Australia gives additional cyclone assistance to Tonga
  The Australian Government has provided Tonga with additional aid to help those affected by Cyclone Ian.
• 2014/02/08: CCP: Researchers confirm: Warmer Pacific Ocean has increased cyclone risk for China, Japan and Korea
• 2014/02/05: MODIS: Tropical Storm Kajiki (02W) over the Philippines [on Jan.31]
• 2014/02/03: ERW: Where have Australia's tropical cyclones gone?
• 2014/02/03: NASA: Tropical Storm Kajiki Fades Over South China Sea
  

  This week in notable weather:

  • 2014/02/09: ABC(Au): At least seven dead, 1,000 injured as heavy snow hits Japan
    The heaviest snow in two decades has struck Tokyo and other areas across Japan, leaving at least seven people dead and more than 1,000 injured. Up to 27 centimetres of snow was recorded in Tokyo by late Saturday, the heaviest fall in the capital for 45 years, according to meteorologists.
  • 2014/02/09: al Jazeera: Japan hit by heaviest snow in decades
    Severe weather kills seven people, injures 1,000 and leaves tens of thousands without electricity.
  • 2014/02/09: al Jazeera: Rare heavy snow hits Tokyo -- Winter storm brings travel chaos to parts of Japan
  • 2014/02/08: BBC: Japan snowfall disrupts air, rail and road transport
  • 2014/02/06: al Jazeera: Afghanistan is hit by a winter storm -- Kabul is covered in a thick blanket of snow [pix]
  • 2014/02/06: CNN: Some could go days without power in cold Northeast
    About 578,000 in at least three states without power after snow, ice storm - Thousands of utility workers flood storm-damaged states to fix lines - "We're very content," suburban Philadelphia couple say despite no power - Central U.S. to remain cold, but next storm unlikely to cause major problems
  • 2014/02/05: RealEconomics: Our "crazy" winter
  • 2014/02/05: PSinclair: Yeah, That Looks Normal: A Drive Through Icy Hell in Slovenia
  • 2014/02/04: BBC: UK storms: Thousands of homes without power
  • 2014/02/04: ArcticNews: As continental U.S. freezes, Alaska gets record high temperatures
  • 2014/02/04: CBC: U.S. sees more heavy weather as Northeast digs out
    As U.S. recovers from Monday storms, more snow is bearing down on North East and Midwest
  • 2014/02/04: al Jazeera: Power cuts as winter storms hit northern Iran
    Almost half a million people left without gas and electricity as heavy snow hits the country.
  • 2014/02/03: CBC: Great Lakes under the largest cover of ice in 20 years
  • 2014/02/03: PSinclair: Central Europe Sees Crushing Snow Fall

  Abrupt Climate Change put in an appearance:

  • 2014/02/08: Ecologist: We must prevent abrupt climate change
    Weird weather from serious flooding in the UK to acute cold and drought in the USA follows from the warming Arctic and disruptions to the jet stream, writes John Nissen. We must act now to prevent sudden changes in global climate.

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

  • 2014/02/08: TP:JR: Hot Alaska, Cold Georgia: How The Shifted Polar Vortex Turned Winter Upside-Down
  • 2014/02/06: PSinclair: UK Weather Report, Stuck Jet Stream, and Warm Arctic Update
  • 2014/02/06: PSinclair: From NOAA, the Vortex in Profile
  • 2014/02/06: PSinclair: Dr. Jason Box on Warm Arctic, Cold Continents
  • WPE: Atmospheric Blocking
  • 2014/02/05: Wunderground:RR: Are the changes in the Arctic messing with our weather? The Future of Blocking

  As for GHGs:

  • 2014/02/08: ArcticNews: CO2 growth highest on record
  • 2014/02/05: Reuters: U.S. Northeast [RGGI district] carbon market emissions drop in 2013
  • 2014/02/03: RScribbler: Amplifying Feedbacks -- Warming Tropics Found to Now Release 2 Gigatons More Carbon Each Year

  And in the carbon cycle:

  • 2014/02/05: UMt: UM Research Shows Converting Land to Agriculture Reduces Carbon Uptake

  Regarding Milankovitch Cycles:

  • 2014/02/03: TSoD: Ghosts of Climates Past -- Sixteen -- Roe vs Huybers II

  Aerosols are making their presence felt:

  • 2014/02/09: IOTD: Winter Haze over Bangladesh [on Feb.5]
  • 2014/02/09: MODIS: Dust storm over the Mediterranean Sea [on Jan.31]
  • 2014/02/06: ERW: Exposure to black carbon much greater than believed
  • 2014/02/06: IOTD: A Taklimakan Dust Storm [on Feb.1]

  What's up with volcanoes this week?

  • 2014/02/05: IOTD: New Lava Dome Grows on Shiveluch [Kamchatka, Jan.24-31]

  And on the ENSO front:

  • 2014/02/06: NOAA:NCEP: El Niño/Southern Oscillation (ENSO) Diagnostic Discussion
    ENSO Alert System Status: Not Active
    Synopsis: ENSO-neutral is expected to continue through the Northern Hemisphere spring 2014
  • 2014/02/04: NatureNB: US to restore El Niño monitoring array, but seeks international collaboration

  How is the temperature record?

  • 2014/02/08: Tamino: Cherry p
  • 2014/02/08: DD: Graph of the Day: Temperature anomaly for Africa, 2001-2010
  • 2014/02/08: DD: WMO: 2013 among top ten warmest years on record...
  • 2014/02/08: Tamino: Which would you choose?
  • 2014/02/06: QuarkSoup: UAH: Last 5 Years Still the Warmest
  • 2014/02/06: Tamino: Cowtan & Way
  • 2014/02/06: Guardian(UK): 2013 was the second-hottest year without an El Niño since before 1850
  • 2014/02/05: Guardian(UK): 2013 was sixth warmest year on record, UN says
    13 of the 14 warmest years on record occurred in the 21st century, says the World Meteorological Organisation
  • 2014/02/05: WtD: 2013 among top 10 warmest years: a civilisational response is urgently required
  • 2014/02/05: RTCC: Global warming "undeniable" say UN as data reveals 2013 sixth hottest on record
  • 2014/02/04: DD: As continental U.S. freezes, Alaska gets record high temperatures
  • 2014/02/04: TreeHugger: 2013 marked the thirty-seventh consecutive year of above-average temperature
  • 2014/02/04: UEA: World temperature records available via Google Earth
  • 2014/02/04: AFTIC: Too cold for you in Texas? Move to Alaska!
  • 2014/02/04: RealClimate: Exploring CRUTEM4 with Google Earth
  • 2014/02/04: IOTD: Winter Heat Swamps Alaska [on Jan.23-30]
  • 2014/02/03: CapClimate: Top 3 Warmest Januaries Across Alaska
  • 2014/02/03: Grist: Ocean temperatures spiked in 2013
  • 2014/02/02: TP:JR: Groundhog Decade: We're Stuck In A Movie Where It's Always The Hottest Decade On Record

  While in the paleoclimate:

  • 2014/02/07: VTNews: Discovery opens up new areas of microbiology, evolutionary biology
    A team of researchers led by Virginia Tech and University of California, Berkeley, scientists has discovered that a regulatory process that turns on photosynthesis in plants at daybreak likely developed on Earth in ancient microbes 2.5 billion years ago, long before oxygen became available.
  • 2014/02/07: Eureka: Ice age's arctic tundra lush with wildflowers for woolly mammoths, study finds
  • 2014/02/06: Eureka: Research gives new insight into diet of large ancient mammals
  • 2014/02/06: Eureka: DNA reveals new clues: Why did mammoths die out?
  • 2014/02/05: SciDaily: A 'smoking gun' on Ice Age megafauna extinctions
  • 2014/02/04: Yale: Yale study: Forest emissions, wildfires explain why ancient Earth was so hot

  What's the State of the Oceans?:

  • 2014/02/06: Guardian(UK): Unidentified giant jellyfish species washes up on Tasmanian beach
    Discovery of the 1.5m-wide gelatinous creature the size of a Smart car coincides with a global jellyfish bloom
  • 2014/02/06: NOAANews: NOAA study finds high levels of pollutants in Guánica Bay 'represent serious toxic threat' to corals, fish
  • 2014/02/05: DD: More than 400 dead dolphins found on north Peru coast
  • 2014/02/05: Guardian(UK): Mass dolphin deaths in Peru
    400 carcases found in single month on beach in Lambayeque region where more than 800 washed up in whole of 2012
  • 2014/02/02: DD: West Coast sardine crash could radiate throughout ecosystem

  What's the State of the Biosphere?

  • 2014/02/06: BBC: Scientists in Australia are working to classify a new species of giant jellyfish that washed up on a beach in Tasmania
  • 2014/02/06: BBC: Sea wall 'eco-engineering' can help boost biodiversity
    Slight modifications to sea defences - at little or no extra cost - can boost the level of biodiversity found in intertidal zones, a study has shown.
  • 2014/02/03: BBC: Deer 'pose biggest threat' to Scotland's native woodlands
  • 2014/02/03: Eureka: New maps highlight habitat corridors in the tropics -- Biodiversity co-benefits and climate change mitigation strategies
  • 2014/02/03: Eureka: Smithsonian reports fiery-red coral species discovered in the Peruvian Pacific

  And on the extinction watch:

  • 2014/02/09: Guardian(UK): As ivory poaching returns to Africa's plains, campaigners pin hopes on curbing demand
  • 2014/02/07: SciAm:GB: Persian Leopards: Large Cats with a Small Chance for Survival
  • 2014/02/03: DD: Graph of the Day: Worldwide population estimates of large-carnivore species
  • 2014/02/02: SciAm:EC: Sunday Species Snapshot: Did the Axolotl Just Go Extinct?

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

  • 2014/02/05: EHA: Uncovering the Drivers of Honey Bee Colony Declines and Losses
  • 2014/02/04: Resilience: Growing Insects: Farmers Can Help to Bring Back Pollinators
  • 2014/02/04: EurActiv: Pesticides halve bees' pollen gathering ability, research shows
    Bumblebees exposed to controversial pesticides collect just half the pollen they would otherwise harvest, according to new research, depriving their growing young of their only source of protein.

  More GW impacts are being seen:

  • 2014/02/09: CleanTechnica: Report: Heat-Related Deaths In The UK Will Rise 257% By 2050
  • 2014/02/07: BBerg: Frigid Winter Spells Trouble for U.S. Economy
  • 2014/02/04: UU: More deaths due to climate change? Or maybe not.
  • 2014/02/04: Guardian(UK): Heat-related deaths will rise 257% by 2050 because of climate change

  And then there are the world's forests:

  • 2014/02/05: TheConversation: Drying Amazon threatens to increase carbon emissions
  • 2014/02/03: DD: Increased climate stress causing extensive change to Australia's eucalypt ecosystems

  Climate refugees are becoming an issue:

  • 2014/02/03: Grist: Which is more likely to drive people from their homes -- floods or heat waves?

  Changes in natural cycles are showing up:

  • 2014/02/08: SimpleC: Warming makes flowers change dates, or don skates

  As for heatwaves and wild fires:

  • 2014/02/09: BBC: Bushfires spark emergency alerts in south-east Australia
    Dozens of bushfires are sweeping across southern Australia, fanned by hot weather and strong winds. Officials say an unknown number of homes have been destroyed and a firefighter has been injured in the state of Victoria. Some residents have been ordered to leave and flames have spread to the outer suburbs of Australia's second biggest city, Melbourne. Conditions in Victoria are at their worst since 2009, authorities said.
  • 2014/02/09: ABC(Au): Live: Fire crews battle bushfires burning across Victoria, South Australia
  • 2014/02/09: ABC(Au): Victoria bracing for worst fire conditions since Black Saturday; warnings current in South Australia
  • 2014/02/09: Guardian(UK): Bushfires grip Victoria and South Australia
    States facing 'horrendous' conditions with fire authorities issuing emergency warnings that lives and homes are at risk
  • 2014/02/08: MODIS: Fires in southeast Asia [on Feb.3]
  • 2014/02/08: ABC(Au): Bushfires threaten Adelaide Hills as extreme fire conditions grip South Australia, Victoria
  • 2014/02/06: NASA: Fires in Victoria, Australia
  • 2014/02/06: NASA: Fires in Northern Sumatra
  • 2014/02/05: ABC(Au): Bushfire advice issued for blaze in Kwinana
  • 2014/02/04: Grist: Climate change means more wildfires, and that means lots more air pollution
  • 2014/02/03: ABC(Au): Gusty winds causing havoc for firefighters at bushfire in Perth's southern suburbs

  Glaciers are melting:

  • 2014/02/05: FaGP: White River Glacier Disequilibrium Retreat, Washington
  • 2014/02/03: DD: Global warming reveals preserved bodies of World War 1 soldiers as glaciers melt in northern Italy
  • 2014/02/02: FaGP: Mid-Point Accumulation Season for Glaciers Sierra Nevada to North Cascades to Alaska

  Sea levels are rising:

  • 2014/02/04: RTCC: Rising seas could swamp 5% of world's population: report
    Nightmare scenario would see one in 20 dealing with floods by 2100 unless world takes urgent action to cut CO2 The worst of climate change could mean that one in 20 of the world's inhabitants experience regular flooding by the end of the century, underlining the immediate need for deep carbon emissions cuts and major investment in flood defences, a report published on Tuesday said.

  These extreme rainfall events are becoming all too frequent:

  • 2014/02/09: ABC(Au): Record breaking rains hit Queensland's far north
    There has been record breaking rain on Queensland's western Cape York Peninsula. In the last seven days 1.2 metres of rain has been recorded in Kowanyama. The weather bureau says it is the highest monthly total since 1918.

  As for hydrological cycle disruptions [floods & droughts]:

  • 2014/02/08: TMoS: Soggy Old England
  • 2014/02/08: TP:JR: U.K. To Be Slammed By Monster Storm 'Ruth' This Weekend
  • 2014/02/08: PSinclair: Giant Waves Consuming Ancient UK Coastal Landmarks
  • 2014/02/08: CensoredNews: The Emptying of Northern California Reservoirs
  • 2014/02/08: PSinclair: UK Pounding to Continue
  • 2014/02/08: TP:JR: California's Recent Droughts Have Grown Longer And Stronger
  • 2014/02/08: CSM: 'Pineapple Express' storm not enough to bust California's drought
  • 2014/02/08: BBC: UK storms: Coastal areas in west hit by renewed gales
  • 2014/02/07: TP:JR: Amid Epic Drought, South America's Largest City [Sao Paulo] Is Running Out Of Water
  • 2014/02/06: RScribbler: British Isles Endure Endless Barrage of Storms: North Atlantic Riled By Human Warming Forecast to Assault UK With At Least Three More Powerful Cyclones Over Next 7 Days
  • 2014/02/06: DisastersCharter: Flood in south-west England
  • 2014/02/06: Wunderground: Pineapple Express Bringing Significant Rains to Drought-Stricken California
  • 2014/02/05: BBC: Britain is braced for further heavy rain in areas already saturated after being battered by storms
  • 2014/02/05: TheCanadian: California facing 500-year drought, running out of drinking water
  • 2014/02/05: BWeek: California's Drought in Two Terrifying Charts
  • 2014/02/05: ABC(Au): Two-thirds of Queensland gripped by drought
  • 2014/02/05: al Jazeera: Bolivia battered by flooding [pix]
    Torrential rain has killed at least 30 people since the beginning of November.
  • 2014/02/04: Grist: The Great Lakes may be drying up
  • 2014/02/04: CCP: Oxford, UK, breaks 247-year rainfall record
  • 2014/02/04: ERW: Will summer rain become more intense?
  • 2014/02/04: ABC(Au): Rain isolates remote communities
    Rain across central Australia has caused a number of remote communities to be cut off by flooding this morning.
  • 2014/02/04: BBC: Bolivia: 29 killed in torrential rains so far this year
  • 2014/02/03: TP:JR: California Halts Major Water Delivery Service, Yet Doesn't Call For Mandatory Water Restrictions
  • 2014/02/03: FuturePundit: California Water Drought Getting Severe
  • 2014/02/03: Grist: It hasn't rained this much in England since 1767, or maybe since ever
  • 2014/02/03: BBC: Renewed flooding hits coastal towns in Devon and Cornwall
    Several coastal towns in south-west England have been hit by fresh flooding, disrupting business and severing road and rail links.
  • 2014/02/03: TP:JR: Pakistan Has A Month's Worth Of Water Left -- And 5 Percent Of Its Tree Cover
  • 2014/02/03: UCCHM: Satellites Show 'Total' California Water Storage at Near-Decade Low
    Advisory from UC Center for Hydrologic Modeling finds statewide averages of snow, surface water and soil moisture near 10-year lows. Threat of multi-year epoch of unsustainable groundwater depletion imminent if drought continues.
  • 2014/02/03: BBerg: California Drought Raises Stakes for Water Tunnels
    California's worsening drought is raising the stakes for a $15 billion plan endorsed by Governor Jerry Brown to build two 30-mile (48-kilometer) water tunnels under an ecologically sensitive river delta east of San Francisco Bay. The tunnels, each as wide as a two-lane interstate highway, would ship water more reliably from northern California to thirsty farms and cities in the south. They would also bolster the ecosystem of the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta, which is on the verge of collapse from feeding water to 25 million people and 750,000 acres (304,000 hectares) of farmland.
  • 2014/02/03: BBC: Coastal communities in Devon and Cornwall flooded
    Coastal communities have been left flooded in Devon and Cornwall after being hit by strong winds, large waves and a high tide. The Environment Agency earlier warned of extreme danger on the coast and issued a severe flood warning. Looe, Fowey, Newlyn, Porthleven, Mevagissey, Devonport in Plymouth and Kingsbridge are among places flooded.
  • 2014/02/02: DD: California drought: 17 communities at risk of running dry

  First, stop subsidizing fossil fuels
  Second, put a price on carbon
  Third, begin to reduce the human population
  And elsewhere on the mitigation front:

  • 2014/02/06: TreeHugger: Does biochar live up to the hype?
  • 2014/02/04: TP:JR: How The Northeast Could Cut Carbon Pollution By 75 Percent In 5 Simple Steps

  Reduced Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation has somehow seemed chimeric:

  • 2014/02/03: RTCC: Forests could burn unless govts ramp up funding: report
    Efforts at protecting rainforests could wither on the vine unless governments increase backing for REDD scheme

  Consider transportation & GHG production:

  • 2014/02/03: CalcRisk: U.S. Light Vehicle Sales decrease to 15.1 million annual rate in January

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

  • 2014/02/07: TreeHugger: Super-insulated and Passive Homes laugh at the polar vortex
  • 2014/02/05: TreeHugger: Does the Passive House standard make sense in cold climates?
  • 2014/02/04: TreeHugger: Are white roofs really three times more efficient than green roofs?
  • 2014/02/04: TreeHugger: Hewitt Studios show that there's more to Zero Carbon than just what energy you use, it's also how you build
  • 2014/02/03: TreeHugger: They are calling this year's New American Home "the greenest in history."
  • 2014/02/03: RNE: Dream homes of the future still stuck in the past/A>

  Large scale geo-engineering keeps popping up:

  • 2014/01/30: SSRN: The International Regulation of Climate Engineering: Lessons from Nuclear Power by Jesse Reynolds
  • 2014/02/07: Lawrentian: [Robert L.] Olson gives Spoerl Lecture on geoengineering, climate change solutions
  • 2014/02/05: CBC: Haida Gwaii ocean iron dump investigation to proceed [courts & geoeng]
    B.C. Supreme Court judge dismisses Haida Salmon Restoration Corporation bid to quash search warrant The lawyer for a company that conducted a controversial experiment in ocean fertilization to boost salmon populations off B.C.'s north coast maintains his clients have not violated any Canadian laws. In 2012, the Haida Salmon Restoration Corporation dumped about 100 tonnes of iron-rich dust into the ocean about 300 kilometres west of the islands of Haida Gwaii on B.C.'s West Coast.
  • 2014/02/04: CNTVNA: Company behind ocean fertilization experiment loses court bid to block charges
  • 2014/02/04: GOC: A Chinese Perspective on Solar Geoengineering (Opinion Article)
  • 2014/02/04: ITracker: David Keith vs the apocalypse
  • 2014/01/30: CIGIOnline: Climate Geoengineering -- The Case for Climate Geoengineering by David Keith & Andrew Thompson [vid]
  • 2014/02/02: Straight: Gwynne Dyer: Mea culpa on geo-engineering; it's not as bleak as I thought

  What's new in conservation? See also:

  • 2014/02/06: ScienceInsider: Why Won't Simply Creating Lots of Marine Reserves Save Sea Life?
  • 2014/02/05: TheConversation: World's largest survey of marine parks shows conservation can be greatly improved

  Meanwhile in the journals:

  • 2014/02/04: PNAS: (ab$) Complementary molecular information changes our perception of food web structure by Helena K. Wirta et al.
  • 2014/02/04: PNAS: (ab$) Gene-centric approach to integrating environmental genomics and biogeochemical models by Daniel C. Reed et al.
  • 2014/02/04: PNAS: (abs) China's international trade and air pollution in the United States by Jintai Lin et al.
  • 2014/02/04: PNAS: (ab$) Detection of solar wind-produced water in irradiated rims on silicate minerals by John P. Bradley et al.
  • 2014/02/04: PNAS: (ab$) Quantifying the distribution of nanodiamonds in pre-Younger Dryas to recent age deposits along Bull Creek, Oklahoma Panhandle, USA by Leland C. Bement et al.
  • 2014/02/04: PNAS: (letter$) Reply to Butler et al.: A sound hydrologic foundation for interdisciplinary studies of the High Plains Aquifer by David R. Steward et al.
  • 2014/02/04: PNAS: (letter$) Importance of a sound hydrologic foundation for assessing the future of the High Plains Aquifer in Kansas by James J. Butler, Jr. et al.
  • 2014/02/05: ESDD: Background albedo dynamics improve simulated precipitation variability in the Sahel region by F. S. E. Vamborg et al.
  • 2014/02/04: ESDD: Seasonality of the hydrological cycle in major South and Southeast Asian river basins as simulated by PCMDI/CMIP3 experiments by S. Hasson et al.
  • 2014/02/03: ESDD: Inter-hemispheric asymmetry in the sea-ice response to volcanic forcing simulated by MPI-ESM (COSMOS-Mill) by D. Zanchettin et al.
  • 2014/02/06: ACP: Characterizing the impact of urban emissions on regional aerosol particles: airborne measurements during the MEGAPOLI experiment by E. J. Freney et al.
  • 2014/02/05: ACP: A case study into the measurement of ship emissions from plume intercepts of the NOAA ship Miller Freeman by C. D. Cappa et al.
  • 2014/02/03: ACP: On the relationship between Arctic ice clouds and polluted air masses over the North Slope of Alaska in April 2008 by C. Jouan et al.
  • 2014/02/06: ACPD: Solar irradiance in the heterogeneous albedo environment of the Arctic coast: measurements and a 3-D-model study by A. Kreuter et al.
  • 2014/02/06: ACPD: The climate impact of ship NOx emissions: an improved estimate accounting for plume chemistry by C. D. Holmes et al.
  • 2014/02/03: ACPD: Estimating greenhouse gas fluxes from an agriculture-dominated landscape using multiple planetary boundary layer methods by X. Zhang et al.
  • 2014/02/05: Nature: (ab$) Drought sensitivity of Amazonian carbon balance revealed by atmospheric measurements by L. V. Gatti et al.
  • 2014/02/07: BG: Phenology as a strategy for carbon optimality: a global model by S. Caldararu et al.
  • 2014/02/07: BG: High CO2 fluxes from grassland on histic Gleysol along soil carbon and drainage gradients by K. Leiber-Sauheitl et al.
  • 2014/02/06: BG: Air-sea CO2 flux in the Pacific Ocean for the period 1990-2009 by M. Ishii et al.
  • 2014/02/05: BG: Climate and atmospheric drivers of historical terrestrial carbon uptake in the province of British Columbia, Canada by Y. Peng et al.
  • 2014/02/03: BG: Albedo-induced radiative forcing from mountain pine beetle outbreaks in forests, south-central Rocky Mountains: magnitude, persistence, and relation to outbreak severity by M. Vanderhoof et al.
  • 2014/02/07: BGD: Can a bog drained for forestry be a stronger carbon sink than a natural bog forest? by J. Hommeltenberg et al.
  • 2014/02/04: BGD: Impact of nitrogen fertilization on carbon and water fluxes in a chronosequence of three Douglas-fir stands in the Pacific Northwest by X. Dou et al.
  • 2014/02/04: BGD: How well can we predict soil respiration with climate indicators, now and in the future? by C. T. Berridge et al.
  • 2014/02/03: BGD: Physical processes mediating climate change impacts on regional sea ecosystems by J. Holt et al.
  • 2014/02/07: CP: Modeling Northern Hemisphere ice-sheet distribution during MIS 5 and MIS 7 glacial inceptions by F. Colleoni et al.
  • 2014/02/06: CP: Distinct lake level lowstand in Lake Prespa (SE Europe) at the time of the 74 (75) ka Toba eruption by B. Wagner et al.
  • 2014/02/05: CP: Salinity changes in the Agulhas leakage area recorded by stable hydrogen isotopes of C37 alkenones during Termination I and II by S. Kasper et al.
  • 2014/02/05: CP: Using palaeo-climate comparisons to constrain future projections in CMIP5 by G. A. Schmidt et al.
  • 2014/02/05: CPD: Deglacial ice-sheet meltdown: orbital pacemaking and CO2 effects by M. Heinemann et al.
  • 2014/02/05: CPD: Paleoclimate and weathering of the Tokaj (NE Hungary) loess-paleosol sequence: a comparison of geochemical weathering indices and paleoclimate parameters by A.-K. Schatz et al.
  • 2014/02/05: Nature: (ab$) Global conservation outcomes depend on marine protected areas with five key features by Graham J. Edgar et al.
  • 2014/02/07: Science: (ab$) Periodic Variability in the Large-Scale Southern Hemisphere Atmospheric Circulation by David W. J. Thompson & Elizabeth A. Barnes
  • 2014/02/07: Nature:Comm: (ab$) Large mesopelagic fishes biomass and trophic efficiency in the open ocean by Xabier Irigoien et al.
  • 2014/02/05: Nature: (ab$) Fifty thousand years of Arctic vegetation and megafaunal diet by Eske Willerslev et al.
  • 2014/02/07: ACPD: Simplifying the calculation of light scattering properties for black carbon fractal aggregates by A. J. A. Smith & R. G. Grainger
  • 2014/02/06: HESS: Modelling pesticide leaching under climate change: parameter vs. climate input uncertainty by K. Steffens et al.
  • 2014/02/06: HESS: Large-sample hydrology: a need to balance depth with breadth by H. V. Gupta et al.
  • 2014/02/05: HESS: Climate-driven interannual variability of water scarcity in food production potential: a global analysis by M. Kummu et al.
  • 2014/02/07: HESSD: Sensitivity of simulated global-scale freshwater fluxes and storages to input data, hydrological model structure, human water use and calibration by H. Müller Schmied et al.
  • 2014/02/05: HESSD: Attribution of satellite observed vegetation trends in a hyper-arid region of the Heihe River Basin, Central Asia by Y. Wang et al.
  • 2014/02/05: HESSD: Estimating the water needed to end or ameliorate the drought in the Carpathian region by T. Antofie et al.
  • 2014/02/06: OS: Observed decline of the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation 2004-2012 by D. A. Smeed et al.
  • 2014/02/05: OSD: Weighing the ocean with bottom-pressure sensors: robustness of the ocean mass annual cycle estimate by Joanne Williams et al.
  • 2014/02/06: TC: Mapping the bathymetry of supraglacial lakes and streams on the Greenland ice sheet using field measurements and high-resolution satellite images by C. J. Legleiter et al.
  • 2014/02/07: TCD: Time-evolving mass loss of the Greenland ice sheet from satellite altimetry by R. T. W. L. Hurkmans et al.
  • 2014/02/07: TCD: The effect of snow/sea ice type on the response of albedo and light penetration depth (e-folding depth) to increasing black carbon by A. A. Marks & M. D. King
  • 2014/02/06: TCD: The sub-ice platelet layer and its influence on freeboard to thickness conversion of Antarctic sea ice by D. Price et al.
  • 2014/02/06: TCD: Constraining the recent mass balance of Pine Island and Thwaites glaciers, West Antarctica with airborne observations of snow accumulation by B. Medley et al.
  • 2014/02/05: TCD: A data-constrained model for compatibility check of remotely sensed basal melting with the hydrography in front of Antarctic ice shelves by D. Olbers et al.
  • 2014/02/03: HESS: Mapping current and future European public water withdrawals and consumption by I. Vandecasteele et al.
  • 2014/02/03: HESSD: A physical approach on flood risk vulnerability of buildings by B. Mazzorana et al.
  • 2014/02/03: OSD: Extreme winter 2012 in the Adriatic: an example of climatic effect on the BiOS rhythm by M. Gacic' et al.
  • 2014/02/03: OSD: Thermohaline properties in the Eastern Mediterranean in the last three decades: is the basin returning to the pre-EMT situation? by V. Cardin et al.
  • 2014/02/03: OSD: Qualified temperature, salinity and dissolved oxygen climatologies in a changing Adriatic Sea by M. Lipizer et al.
  • 2014/02/03: TC: Brief Communication: Further summer speedup of Jakobshavn Isbræ by I. Joughin et al.
  • 2014/01/30: SSRN: The International Regulation of Climate Engineering: Lessons from Nuclear Power by Jesse Reynolds
  • 2014/02/02: Nature:GeoSci: (ab$) Arctic amplification dominated by temperature feedbacks in contemporary climate models by Felix Pithan & Thorsten Mauritsen
  • 2014/02/03: AGWObserver: New research - January 2014

  And other significant documents:

  • 2014/02/06: PI: [link to 1.3 meg pdf] Climate Implications of the Proposed Energy East Pipeline - A Preliminary Assessment

  As for miscellaneous science:

  • 2014/02/07: IOTD: Seasonal Amazon Greening May Be a Satellite Effect
  • 2014/02/07: ABC(Au): Southern stormy weather comes in waves
    Cyclic weather Weather patterns responsible for bringing storms and cyclones to the Southern Hemisphere repeat themselves every 20 to 30 days, researchers have found.
  • 2014/02/07: KSJT: New Yorker: A tale of herbicide $$$, deformed frogs, character assassination, and rap back atcha, mofo. .
  • 2014/02/06: NASA: NASA Study Points to Infrared-Herring in Apparent Amazon Green-Up
  • 2014/01/06: BriarPatchMag: Science and liberation - Science as human curiosity, as authority, and as business
  • 2014/02/06: CLBook: The cascade of uncertainty in climate projections
  • 2014/02/03: MSU: New scientific field looks at the big picture - Big data + ecology ==> macrosystems ecology
  • 2014/02/03: NewYorker: A Valuable Reputation -- After Tyrone Hayes said that [atrazine] a chemical was harmful, its maker pursued him

  In the science organizations:

  • 2014/02/06: ScienceInsider: By the Numbers: NSF's Science Indicators Offers Answers, of a Sort
  • 2014/02/05: BBC: Dame Jocelyn Bell Burnell to be Royal Society's first female president

  What developments in the ongoing struggle for Open Science?

  • 2014/02/03: NatureN: Elsevier opens its papers to text-mining
    Researchers welcome easier access for harvesting content, but some spurn tight controls.

  Regarding Science and Policy:

  • 2014/02/07: ScienceInsider: A New Top 10: Policymakers Reveal Their Top Questions About Ecosystems
  • 2014/02/07: P3: Consensus vs BS [Hulme]
  • 2014/02/06: ATTPh: Science and Policy

  Regarding Mann:

  • 2014/02/08: NakedCapitalism: The Embattled Climate Scientist Who Fought Back

  Meanwhile at the UN:

  • 2014/02/07: RTCC: Ban Ki-moon summit 'must succeed' says top UK climate envoy
    Ban Ki-moon's global warming summit in September "has to be a success", according to the UK's top climate diplomat, who warns it is critical leaders of the world's top carbon polluters attend. So far no world leader has committed to the meeting, despite it taking place on the sidelines of the 2014 General Assembly, when heads of state are typically in New York.
  • 2014/02/05: Guardian(UK): Michael Bloomberg pledges to help world leaders reach climate deal
    Former New York mayor says he will 'carry the flag' for Ban Ki-moon's attempts to get heads of state to agree 2015 climate deal
  • 2014/02/04: UN: United Arab Emirates to host meeting ahead of UN chief's climate summit

  Regarding the Fifth IPCC report:

  • 2014/02/05: CChallenge: IPCC Working Group I: Physical Science Basis 2013 now available

  And on the carbon trading front:

  • 2014/02/06: BBerg: Fast-Track EU Carbon Fix Gets Approval From EU Parliament
  • 2014/02/05: Reuters: U.S. Northeast [RGGI district] carbon market emissions drop in 2013

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

  • 2014/02/08: Xinhuanet: IAEA officials arrive in Iran for cooperation talks
  • 2014/02/08: RT: Iran resumes nuclear talks with IAEA in Tehran
  • 2014/02/08: BBC: Iranian warships 'to sail close to US maritime border'
  • 2014/02/08: Guardian(UK): Khamenei says US 'wouldn't hesitate' to topple Iranian regime if it could
    Supreme leader: US has 'controlling and meddlesome attitude' - Iranian admiral says ships sent close to US territorial waters
  • 2014/02/08: PLNA: Iran Sends Warships to US Maritime Borders
  • 2014/02/08: al Jazeera: Iran and IAEA resume nuclear talks
    UN atomic agency's inspectors begin day-long meeting to discuss tougher issues following last November's nuclear deal.
  • 2014/02/07: flc: Iran, 'Open for Business'?
  • 2014/02/07: WSWS: US threatens French companies with sanctions over Iran
  • 2014/02/06: Asia Times: Flawed Iran nuclear claims won't die
  • 2014/02/06: AntiWar: Misread Telexes Led Analysts to See Iran Nuclear Arms Program
  • 2014/02/05: AntiWar: Kerry Threatens Sanctions on France Over Iran Business Ties -- 'Iran Knows It's Not Open for Business'
  • 2014/02/05: Guardian(UK): Iran not open for business, says US -- US warns France against business with Iran after trade trip to Tehran
    John Kerry issues warning to counterpart after large French delegation travels to Iranian capital
  • 2014/02/05: Independent(UK): So is Iran open for business? US Secretary of State John Kerry says no - but not everyone is prepared to tow Washington's line

  South [& East] China Sea tension persists:

  • 2014/02/08: WSWS: US disputes China's territorial claims in the South China Sea
  • 2014/02/08: WSWS: The revival of Japanese militarism
    Nearly seven decades after the end of World II, the right-wing government of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is rapidly remilitarising Japan, freeing its armed forces from any legal or constitutional constraints and revising history to whitewash the past crimes and atrocities of Japanese imperialism.
  • 2014/02/08: Xinhuanet: China urges U.S. to drop ADIZ remarks
  • 2014/02/07: Reuters: U.S. stresses commitment to defend Japan in Washington talks
    The United States on Friday stressed its commitment to the defense of Japan and stability in the Asia-Pacific region against a backdrop of increasingly assertive territorial claims by China.
  • 2014/02/06: Asia Times: Going public with China-Japan disputes
  • 2014/02/06: Asia Times: Fear strikes echoes of 1914 in Asia
  • 2014/02/06: WSWS: Philippine President Aquino compares China to Nazi Germany
    [...] Aquino likened the disputed portions of the South China Sea to the Sudetenland, annexed by Hitler in the lead up to the Nazi invasion of Czechoslovakia.
  • 2014/02/06: CNN: China media brands Philippine president 'ignorant and amateurish' after Hitler gibe
    State media calls the Philippine president "ignorant" and "amateurish" - Benigno Aquino compared Beijing's pursuit of disputed territory with the rise of Nazi Germany - Comments echo a similar historical parallel made by Japan's leader - China says it has chosen a path of peaceful development
  • 2014/02/06: Xinhuanet: NHK massacre denier "historically shortsighted": expert
    The official of Japan's public broadcaster who claimed the Nanjing Massacre never happened should not be "historically shortsighted and ignorant to such an extent," a senior Chinese expert on the massacre has said. Naoki Hyakuta, a member of the NHK board of governors, said in a speech this week that the Nanjing Massacre never happened, claiming that the massacre is a "propaganda" by the Chinese side and is ignored by other countries. In a signed article titled "Historical Ignorance or Malicious Mishap" in Thursday's Xinhua Daily, a Nanjing-based paper, Zhu Chengshan, curator of the Nanjing Massacre Memorial Hall, said Hyakuta's remarks not only disavowed the rightful judgment of the International Military Tribunal for the Far East but also induced fresh insult and injuries for those survivors of the atrocities and the relatives of the victims.
  • 2014/02/05: Xinhuanet: Commentary: Philippine leader's senseless attack against China smells of amateurish politician
    Beijing -- Philippine President Benigno S. Aquino III, who has taken an inflammatory approach while dealing with maritime disputes with China, has never been a great candidate for a wise statesman in the region. But his latest reported attack against China, in which he senselessly compared his northern neighbor to the Nazi Germany, exposed his true color as an amateurish politician who was ignorant both of history and reality.
  • 2014/02/05: WSWS: Japanese government promotes militarism in media and schools
  • 2014/02/05: Asia Times: Japan hawks ruffle dovish feathers
  • 2014/02/04: WSWS: US warns China over air defence zone
    In the wake of sharp tensions last November-December following China's declaration of an Air Defence Identification Zone (ADIZ) in the East China Sea, a Japanese newspaper last Thursday raised the prospect that Beijing was planning another ADIZ that would cover disputed waters in the South China Sea.

  Regarding the EU FQD: Fuel Quality Directive:

  • 2014/02/05: OilChange: Will Tar Sands Soon Be on Way to Europe?

  Regarding the Panama Canal...:

  • 2014/02/07: BBC: Panama Canal work stops in $1.6bn row
    The Spanish-led consortium working on a project to widen the Panama Canal has said that work at the site has been halted over a disagreement on cost overruns.
  • 2014/02/05: BBC: The Spanish building company leading the expansion project on the Panama Canal has denied that work at the waterway has been halted
  • 2014/02/05: BBC: Breakdown in Panama Canal expansion row talks
    A Spanish-led consortium expanding the Panama Canal says negotiations with the Panama Canal Authority (ACP) aimed at ending a row over cost overruns of $1.6bn (£1bn) have broken down.

  And in miscellaneous international political happenings:

  • 2014/02/04: WSWS: World Court decision on Peru-Chile border fails to quell nationalist rivalries
    Last week's ruling by the International Court of Justice settling a long-running dispute over maritime boundaries between Chile and Peru has failed to quell nationalist tensions between the two countries. It has also underscored the continued presence of regional fault lines that can become a trigger for broader conflicts.

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

  • 2014/02/09: Guardian(UK): Why global water shortages pose threat of terror and war
    From California to the Middle East, huge areas of the world are drying up and a billion people have no access to safe drinking water. US intelligence is warning of the dangers of shrinking resources and experts say the world is 'standing on a precipice'

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

  • 2014/02/07: Grist: Russia locks up enviros who criticized Olympic construction
  • 2014/02/03: DemNow: Michigan Activists Face Up to 2 Years in Prison for Protesting Oil Pipeline Behind 2010 Spill
  • 2014/01/31: LansingSJ: Enbridge pipeline protesters found guilty -- Three found guilty in summer incident
    Three protesters who attached themselves to excavators last summer at an Enbridge Inc. pipeline construction site were convicted Friday on obstruction and trespassing charges. An Ingham County Circuit Court jury deliberated about nine hours over two days before finding Lisa Leggio, Barbara Carter and Vicci Hamlin guilty of misdemeanor trespassing and resisting and obstructing police, a maximum two-year felony.

  What are the activists up to?

  • 2014/02/08: Guardian(UK): Vivienne Westwood's Save the Arctic campaign - in pictures
  • 2014/02/05: Grist: How 350.org went from "strange kid" to head of the green class
  • 2014/02/05: ABC(Au): Santos machinery halted by protestor sit-in
    Police have moved on a group of protestors at Santos' coal seam gas operation in the Pilliga State Forest.

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

  • 2014/02/04: TheConversation: Fossil fuel [divestement] campaigners win support from unexpected places

  Polls! We have polls!

  • 2014/02/06: EnvEcon: USA TODAY poll: Slight majority backs Keystone pipeline
  • 2014/02/05 Tyee: Two in Three British Columbians Say Northern Gateway Is Inevitable
    Poll finds they oppose the project, distrust federal process, but see little recourse.

  Regarding Water Politics and Business; See also:

  • 2014/02/07: Resilience: Fracking in Water-Stressed Zones Increases Risks to Communities -- and Energy Producers
  • 2014/02/07: NakedCapitalism: As Drought Hits, Fracking Poses Threat to Water Supply
  • 2014/02/07: Grist: Frackers are guzzling water in drought-plagued areas
  • 2014/02/06: TreeHugger: Thermal power plants use 4x more water than all US residents, solar PV doesn't need a drop
  • 2014/02/06: PSinclair: Big Coal's War on Water Continues
  • 2014/02/06: ICN: Fracking's Thirst for Water: Investors Warned of the Hidden Financial Risks
    In dozens of water-scarce counties where fracking is booming, water use is at or approaching more than a billion gallons a year.
  • 2014/02/06: TP:JR: New Report: Fracking Is Stressing Water Supplies In Areas Already Wracked By Drought
  • 2014/02/05: Rabble:DC-D: Pushing back against the privatization of public water services
  • 2014/02/05: AllAfrica:SANews: Zimbabwe: Govt Evacuates Thousands As Dam Cracks Amid Rains
    Harare - Zimbabwean authorities are evacuating thousands of people in a southern province, who are threatened by a nearby dam which partially collapsed amid torrential rains. At least 4 000 families faced the risk of flooding, with some requiring urgent evacuation, after a wall of an upstream dam partially collapsed, officials said on Wednesday.
  • 2014/02/05: USAToday: Report: Fracking raising water supply worries
  • 2014/02/05: CERES: Hydraulic Fracturing & Water Stress: Water Demand by the Numbers
  • 2014/02/05: RT: Fracking is draining water from US areas suffering major shortages - report
  • 2014/02/05: SFGate: California drought sets up fracking face-off
  • 2014/02/04: JFleck: When there's a drought, you pump groundwater, until you can't
  • 2014/02/04: JFleck: Megadroughts: Thirsty Gecko's twitter literature review
  • 2014/02/03: JFleck: Puzzling over water and agricultural economics
  • 2014/02/03: JFleck: Mulroy on growth, supply and water pricing

  Regarding science education:

  • 2014/02/05: Guardian(UK): MOOCs could be revolutionary, but US foreign policy is preventing that
    Banning Massive Open Online Courses in countries under US sanctions is a travesty. These students need them the most
  • 2014/02/03: CChallenge: Visualizing and Understanding the Science of Climate Change

  Think you can innovate your way out of this?

  • 2014/02/08: CleanTechnica: Diamane - Extremely Thin Films Of Diamond Can Be Created Without High-Pressure

  While in the UK:

  • 2014/02/09: ATTPh: Nobody knows!
  • 2014/02/09: BBC: Communities Secretary Eric Pickles says the government "made a mistake" and should have dredged the flood-hit Somerset Levels
  • 2014/02/08: Guardian(UK): Severe floods 'threaten food security', say farmers and environmental groups
    [UK] Government accused of failing to address effects of climate change on coastal and rural areas
  • 2014/02/08: BBC: Met Office: Evidence "suggests climate change link to storms"
    Climate change is likely to be a factor in the extreme weather that has hit much of the UK in recent months, the Met Office's chief scientist has said. Dame Julia Slingo said the variable UK climate meant there was "no definitive answer" to what caused the storms. "But all the evidence suggests there is a link to climate change," she added.
  • 2014/02/07: Guardian(UK): [Editorial] The floods: what a shower
    The misery and fury that have followed the deluge across swaths of Britain have been compounded by drift in place of action
  • 2014/02/07: S&R: A complete and utter failure of political will
  • 2014/02/07: IndiaTimes: Flood-hit UK villagers show anger as bigwigs visit
  • 2014/02/07: CBC: U.K. floods prompt government to pledge £30M toward repairs -- Announcement comes amid criticism that goverment didn't act fast enough
  • 2014/02/06: Guardian(UK): More UK storms prompt new flooding fears - live updates
  • 2014/02/06: Guardian(UK): [Letters] Flooding must serve as a wake-up call for us all
  • 2014/02/04: Guardian(UK): Minister gets carbon savings of plastic bags massively wrong
  • 2014/02/04: BBC: Cuadrilla names [2 new] fracking exploration sites in Lancashire
  • 2014/02/03: Guardian(UK): UK carbon capture industry potential estimated at up to £35bn by 2030
    [CCS Association] Report says pursuing CCS could create a new industry worth £15bn-£35bn and employ tens of thousands of people
  • 2014/02/03: RTCC: UK carbon capture industry could be worth £35 billion [says Carbon Capture and Storage Association]
  • 2014/02/03: RTCC: Fracking opponents head to court, as UK green fightback emerges
    UK landowners have launched a legal challenge against shale gas companies planning to drill under their lands.

  And in Europe:

  • 2014/02/07: Guardian(UK): Europe's 40% emissions cuts target has set the course for a low-carbon future
  • 2014/02/07: TheCanadian: Europe leads the way on building a green economy
  • 2014/02/07: EurActiv: Energy label review proposes beefed up regime
    A comprehensive review of EU energy labelling and Ecodesign measures has called for an overhaul of confusing energy label classes, and tougher market surveillance of eco-cheats, backed up by robust penalties.
  • 2014/02/07: RTCC: EU climate chief says regional unity vital for 2015 Paris deal
  • 2014/02/06: WSJ: Rising Coal Use Clouds Europe's Future
  • 2014/02/06: BBerg: Fast-Track EU Carbon Fix Gets Approval From EU Parliament
    The European Parliament agreed to speed up the approval of a carbon-market rescue plan, enabling an intervention aimed at bolstering prices to begin as soon as this quarter. Carbon prices jumped as much as 6.3 percent to 6.55 euros a metric ton, the highest in more than a year, on the ICE Futures Europe exchange in London after lawmakers today in Strasbourg, France, endorsed by a vote of 306 to 276, with 14 abstentions, the fast-tracking of a measure to temporarily curb the supply of pollution permits.
  • 2014/02/06: RTCC: EU jobs at risk without tough climate targets - [Climate Strategies] report
    Europe could drop out of key economic race with China, USA and India unless it backs low carbon growth Europe's long term competitiveness depends on the region's leaders agreeing ambitious climate and energy targets in March, six leading research institutes said in a new report.
  • 2014/02/06: EurActiv: Parliament backs strong EU stance on 2030 clean energy goals
    The European Parliament sent a "strong message" yesterday (5 February) in favour of an ambitious EU energy and climate policy for 2030, backing legally-binding goals for CO2 emissions, renewables and energy efficiency.
  • 2014/02/06: EurActiv: Germany to abstain in EU vote on new GMO maize
    Germany intends to abstain in a European Union vote on the cultivation of a new type of genetically modified maize, a government spokesman said on Wednesday (5 January).
  • 2014/02/05: Guardian(UK): European parliament votes for stronger climate targets
    MEPs respond to earlier commission proposal with call for binding 2030 targets on renewables, emissions and energy efficiency
  • 2014/02/05: RTCC: EU Parliament backs tougher renewable energy target
    Full sitting of EU Parliament backs 30% renewables target, compared with 27% proposed by European Commission The European Parliament on Wednesday voted for 30% targets on renewable energy and energy efficiency, tougher than what was proposed by EU policymakers last month.
  • 2014/02/05: RNE: EU low on climate ambition, disappoints on renewables: HSBC
  • 2014/02/05: GET: Day-ahead Wholesale Electricity Markets in North-Western Europe Coupled and South-Western Europe Synchronised
  • 2014/02/05: GET: EU Parliament Adopts Resolution on Local and Regional Consequences of Smart Grids Calling for High Standard of Data Protection
  • 2014/02/04: RTCC: Green groups tell Merkel to get a grip on EU climate policy
    Millions of green jobs across Europe are under threat if Angela Merkel does not get a grip of the region's climate and energy policies. That's the view of a coalition of 23 NGOs and lobby groups who have written to Germany's Chancellor warning that a proposed 40% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 is too low.
  • 2014/02/04: EurActiv: France launches probe into EU carbon market reform plan
    The European Commission's proposed carbon price stabilisation mechanism is a "masterpiece of Brussels technocracy" that could fuel greater market volatility, says a group of academics charged with defining France's position on the proposed package of 2030 climate legislation...
  • 2014/02/04: EurActiv: Oettinger feels the heat over climate remarks
    Pressure is growing on the German energy commissioner, Günther Oettinger, over remarks he made at a BusinessEurope conference last week criticising the EU Commission's 2030 climate and energy package, which he himself helped to design and launch.
  • 2014/02/04: EurActiv: Russian nuclear plant divides Hungarians ahead of election
    Hungary's centre-left opposition is mobilising support against a deal between the government of Viktor Orbán and Russia to build two additional reactors in the country's only nuclear central. Parliamentary elections are due on 6 April.
  • 2014/02/03: WNN: Europe lists concerns over Hinkley deal
    Details of the European Commission's specific concerns about the UK government's agreement with EDF Energy for Hinkley Point C have been released. The UK maintains its agreement meets EU law on state aid.
  • 2014/02/03: EurActiv: Buildings efficiency 'absolutely central' to 2030 climate package
    Unlocking the energy saving potential of the continent's ageing building stock will be "absolutely central" to a key review of EU policy this summer, the EU's top energy efficiency official has said. But Paul Hodson, the head of the EU's energy efficiency unit, flagged "micro" public action as the way forward, dampening hopes of major policy advances in the review which will stock-take progress towards meeting 2020 energy saving goals and mull 2030 objectives.

  Meanwhile in Australia:

  • 2014/02/09: ABC(Au): Griffith by-election: Bill Glasson refuses to concede defeat in Griffith to Labor candidate Terri Butler [with about 10,000 absentee and postal votes yet to be counted]
  • 2014/02/09: ABC(Au): No methane leak into Sydney communities from coal seam gas project : AGL
  • 2014/02/08: ABC(Au): Labor's Terri Butler wins Griffith by-election -- Labor has retained former prime minister Kevin Rudd's old seat...
  • 2014/02/07: ABC(Au): Victorians urged to 'leave and live' ahead of weekend of critical fire danger
  • 2014/02/07: RNE: No, wind output was not 'almost zero' at peak heatwave demand
  • 2014/02/07: RNE: Why distributors can't (or won't) deal with renewables [risk]
  • 2014/02/07: RNE: Electricity bill switchers turn focus to rooftop solar leases
  • 2014/02/07: RNE: Australia may lose [SA] last mainland state supportive of renewables
  • 2014/02/07: TheConversation: Why electioneering is at the root of Tasmania's forest furore
  • 2014/02/08: ABC(Au): WA Water Department tells inquiry it has no veto over shale gas fracking below rivers
  • 2014/02/07: ABC(Au): 'Fracking' inquiry begins first round of public hearings
    The chairman of Australia's first parliamentary inquiry into 'fracking' says the investigation is entering a significant new chapter. The WA Upper House committee is conducting a public inquiry into the practice of hydraulic fracturing of unconventional gas.
  • 2014/02/07: CleanTechnica: Solar Thermal Could Augment Australian Power Grid
  • 2014/02/06: RNE: Electricity demand and emissions fall despite heat-waves
  • 2014/02/06: PeakEnergy: Exxon pushing for floating LNG for Scarborough field
  • 2014/02/06: TheConversation: Most Australians overestimate how 'green' they really are
  • 2014/02/06: ABC(Au): Shale gas exploration go ahead in Tasmania
  • 2014/02/06: ABC(Au): Metgasco gets environmental approval for test well near Casino [NSW]
  • 2014/02/06: Guardian(UK): Melbourne: Black Saturday's fires could be all too easily forgotten
  • 2014/02/06: ABC(Au): CSIRO casts doubt upon Queensland 'food bowl' irrigation scheme
    A CSIRO (Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation) report says facts don't back the idea that a massive irrigation scheme will make north Queensland a 'food bowl' for the country. The report released today also casts doubt on the viability of a $2 billion 'mega-farm' project that the Queensland Government has declared a project of state significance. But the findings have bolstered the hopes of small scale farmers in the region.
  • 2014/02/05: ABC(Au): Greens see red over federal CSG taskforce
  • 2014/02/05: ABC(Au): New shale gas fracking draft regulations released for WA
  • 2014/02/05: ABC(Au): Agriculture Minister Barnaby Joyce to urge Cabinet to support drought-hit farmers
  • 2014/02/05: ABC(Au): King Island wind farm legal challenge returns to court
    A bid to stop a wind farm project on King Island has returned to the Federal Court in Hobart.
  • 2014/02/04: TheConversation: Pink batts: what did it teach us about building better buildings?
  • 2014/02/04: ABC(Au): Hunter winery switches on solar
    One of the Hunter region's biggest solar power systems will be unveiled at a winery today. Drayton's Family Wines at Pokolbin will switch on its new 200 kilowatt solar system that is expected to save the business more than $80,000 a year in energy costs.
  • 2014/02/04: ABC(Au): Great Lakes Council not planning to change its sea level rise benchmarks
  • 2014/02/04: RNE: How wind energy matched brown coal in last week's hot spell
  • 2014/02/04: RNE: How solar shifted the peak in SA during heat waves
  • 2014/02/03: ABC(Au): Unions question Government's power sell-off
    The NSW government is being asked to demonstrate how selling off the states remaining power generators will financially benefit NSW residents.
  • 2014/02/03: ABC(Au): CROW seeks legal help to develop solar farm co-operative
    A proposal to build a community-owned solar farm in the Riverina has attracted interest from a number of local organisations. The Climate Rescue of Wagga group (CROW) has secured a $26,000 state government grant to facilitate the project.
  • 2014/02/03: ABC(Au): National parks to remain off-limits to starving cattle in Qld
    The Queensland government has ruled out any prospect of allowing cattle back in to national parks for grazing as drought conditions across two-thirds of the state worsen. A six-month 'drought emergency grazing arrangement' on five national parks ended on December 31, 2013.

  Now we get to watch the suppository of wisdom destroy what little Australia has done to fight climate change:

  • 2014/02/09: NewAnthropocene: The government should stop throwing stones and answer the questions about the clash between naval personnel and asylum seekers
  • 2014/02/09: ABC(Au): Federal Government set to announce royal commission into union finances
  • 2014/02/08: WSWS: Witch-hunt against Australian ABC escalates over refugee torture allegations
  • 2014/02/08: WSWS: Refugee details punishment at sea by Australian navy
  • 2014/02/08: ABC(Au): Tony Abbott wants Australia to be 'affordable energy capital of world'
    Tony Abbott made the statement after one of Australia's largest power generators blamed increasing gas prices for its decision to close a major gas-fired station near Brisbane. Stanwell Corporation will instead fire up a coal facility and sell the gas it would have used to generate electricity.
  • 2014/02/07: BBC: Australia PM defends 'tough' asylum policy amid abuse claims
    Australia's prime minister said tough new asylum policies were "working", as new footage appeared to show asylum seekers being towed back to Indonesia.
  • 2014/02/07: ABC(Au): Asylum seekers towed back in lifeboat: New video emerges as Defence Minister criticises ABC
    The first video of what appears to be a lifeboat full of asylum seekers being towed by an Australian vessel under Operation Sovereign Borders has been obtained by the ABC. The video, received from Indonesian sources, appears to have been filmed from inside an orange lifeboat which is being towed by the Australian Customs patrol boat Triton on the high seas.
  • 2014/02/07: ABC(Au): ABC asylum-seeker coverage 'maliciously maligned' Australian Navy, Defence Minister David Johnston says
  • 2014/02/06: Guardian(UK): Indonesia objects again to turnbacks as second lifeboat washes up on Java
  • 2014/02/07: ABC(Au): Federal shadow agriculture minister Joel Fitzgibbon fears the Prime Minister has 'misled' farmers over his comments to fast-track a new income-support package
  • 2014/02/06: JWight: [Abbott] Government has a double standard on entitlements
  • 2014/02/06: ABC(Au): Pollies slowly starting to move on drought crisis
  • 2014/02/06: ABC(Au): PM makes first offer to drought-stricken farmers
  • 2014/02/06: TheConversation: Sure, let's debate nuclear power - just don't call it "low-emission"
  • 2014/02/06: ABC(Au): Prime Minister vows to revisit renewable energy target
    The Prime Minister is vowing to look closely at changing Australia's Renewable Energy Target (RET), as Queensland's biggest energy generator warns that the target is pushing up costs in the industry. The Stanwell Power Company has announced that it will mothball its biggest gas-fired power station and instead resume using a 1980s coal facility. In its submission to the Federal Government's Energy White Paper, Stanwell blames energy policies, including the renewable energy target and the carbon tax, for its soaring costs.
  • 2014/02/06: Guardian(UK): Tony Abbott 'launching a full-frontal attack' on renewable energy industry
    Labor accuses Coalition of backtracking on election promise as industry grows fearful renewable energy target may be abolished
  • 2014/02/05: WSWS: Australian government SPC decision signals broad assault on wages and conditions
  • 2014/02/05: al Jazeera: Cover up and secrecy in Abbott's Australia
    PM pans 'unpatriotic' national broadcaster for holding govt accountable to its electorate.
  • 2014/02/05: ABC(Au): Academic questions Direct Action emissions standards
    A sustainability expert has raised concerns that the proposed design of the Federal Government's Direct Action policy could favour companies that are high emitters of carbon dioxide.
  • 2014/02/05: ABC(Au): Regional MPs hold ranks on SPC decision
    Some regional MPs may be disappointed about SPC Ardmona's failed bid for government assistance, but those who spoke with ABC Rural today aren't breaking ranks either.
  • 2014/02/05: Guardian(UK): Coalition's direct action climate plan 'could undermine global efforts'
  • 2014/02/05: ABC(Au): SPC Ardmona: Sharman Stone says orchardists committing suicide, reveals 'robust' discussion with Tony Abbott, as row over taxpayer support continues
    Federal Liberal backbencher Sharman Stone is increasing pressure on her Coalition colleagues over a decision not to give taxpayer support to the troubled fruit processor SPC Ardmona, stating in an email that orchardists are committing and attempting suicide.
  • 2014/02/04: Guardian(UK): Owen Paterson is not doing 'everything possible' to help flood victims
    The environment secretary is making promises while presiding over cuts to flooding staff and climate spend, and the relaxation of planning rules to allow building on green spaces
  • 2014/02/04: UKISS: Why does Australian PM Tony Abbott support fossil fuel subsidies?
  • 2014/02/04: ABC(Au): SPC Ardmona denies it's too generous to workers
    SPC Ardmona has hit back at claims by the Prime Minister that its business troubles are due to "extraordinary" workplace conditions, saying the statements are "mistaken and need to be refuted by the facts". Last week Tony Abbott announced a Cabinet decision to knock back a request from the northern Victorian food processer for $25 million in taxpayer assistance to upgrade its Shepparton plant. He said the company needed to renegotiate workplace conditions which were "way in excess of the award" and "extraordinary". The statements prompted local Liberal MP Sharman Stone to accuse Mr Abbott of "lying" about the generosity of SPC's enterprise bargaining agreement.
  • 2014/02/04: ABC(Au): Liberal MP Sharman Stone accuses Prime Minister Tony Abbott and Treasurer Joe Hockey of lying over SPC
    A Liberal backbencher has accused Prime Minister Tony Abbott and Treasurer Joe Hockey of lying about union conditions at SPC Ardmona.
  • 2014/02/03: TheConversation: Australian trade beats aid in boosting global food security
  • 2014/02/03: ABC(Au): Federal Treasurer yet to commit new drought assistance
    The Federal Treasurer remains non-committal on what further assistance the Government will make available to drought affected Queensland primary producers.
  • 2014/02/03: ABC(Au): Tony Abbott defends $16 million federal funding for Cadbury chocolate factory
    Prime Minister Tony Abbott has again defended the Federal Government's decision to spend money on the Cadbury factory in Tasmania while rejecting SPC Ardmona's request for assistance.
  • 2014/02/03: ABC(Au): Regional sawmills may take Tasmanian World Heritage Area timber
    The Tasmanian forest peace plan is again in danger of collapse. This time the blame is being directed towards politicians rather than the old enemies who brokered the deal.
    [...]
    The new Federal Government is writing to the World Heritage Committee asking for the extension to be reduced by almost half because it contains regrowth and plantations. One of the brokers of the peace deal, Phill Pullinger from Environment Tasmania, says the request also includes old growth forests.
  • 2014/02/03: ABC(Au): Tony Abbott continues criticism of ABC over editorial judgement, says the Government is considering future of Australia Network
  • 2014/02/02: Guardian(UK): Why does Australian PM Tony Abbott support fossil fuel subsidies?
    Why does Tony Abbott support $10 billion per year in fossil fuel subsidies but oppose an aid package for food manufacturer SPC-Ardmona?

  The Abbott gang has decided to sacrifice the Great Barrier Reef:

  • 2014/02/07: ABC(Au): Gunning water restrictions Level 5 - the highest level of restrictions possible
  • 2014/02/07: ABC(Au): Community group plans to launch class action against NSW Govt [over Menindee Lakes flow]
  • 2014/02/07: ABC(Au): NSW farmers feel like forgotten drought victims
  • 2014/02/06: ABC(Au): Former Great Barrier Reef boss critical of dredge dumping
    A former boss of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority has slammed a decision to dump dredge spoil in the World Heritage Area. The authority has given the nod for three million cubic metres of spoil to be deposited as part of a plan to expand the Abbot Point coal terminal in north Queensland. Graeme Kelleher was the head of the authority for 16 years. He says a better option would have been to dump the material on land.
  • 2014/02/06: ABC(Au): Abbot Point approval: Former reef authority chair Graeme Kelleher raises concern about dredge spill dumping
  • 2014/02/05: DD: Great Barrier Reef park directors face conflict of interest questions - Dumping of dredging spoil was approved before end of inquiry into links with mining companies
  • 2014/02/03: ABC(Au): Fishing industry divided over dredge spoil dump
  • 2014/02/03: ABC(Au): Locals unsure about marine park dredge spoil decision
  • 2014/02/03: ScienceInsider: Great Barrier Reef to Become Sludge Repository
  • 2014/02/03: Guardian(UK): Could bankers save the Great Barrier Reef?
  • 2014/02/02: JWight: Great Barren Reef: the cost of coal exports

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

  • 2014/02/05: ABC(Au): Grazier calls for water-release review at Menindee Lakes
  • 2014/02/05: ABC(Au): Water supplies pushed to the brink
  • 2014/02/04: ABC(Au): Policy makers 'dropped the ball' on drought reform
    A drought policy specialist says Australia's missed its chance to develop a clear-headed response to drought, before the dry returns.
  • 2014/02/04: ABC(Au): Heffernan says he warned about need for drought plan
    NSW Liberal Senator Bill Heffernan has weighed into the debate on drought policy, saying his suggested plan was ignored in the Coalition party room.
  • 2014/02/04: ABC(Au): Call for WA farmers to be included in any federal drought aid package
  • 2014/02/04: ABC(Au): WA farmers claim drought relief proposals favour eastern states
  • 2014/02/04: ABC(Au): Drought tightens grip on Tablelands
    A trucking company on the Northern Tablelands says it's working around the clock to try and get fodder to starving sheep and cattle in the New England area.
  • 2014/02/04: ABC(Au): Monaro graziers swelter through driest start to summer in 11 years

  While in the Indian subcontinent:

  • 2014/02/08: ABC(Au): Delhi smog capital of the world
    It's a dubious honour but new research suggests India's capital, New Delhi, has overtaken Beijing when it comes to air pollution. Over the past few months the city has been shrouded in smog leaving a blanket of dust and causing a high rate of respiratory problems.
  • 2014/02/07: RealEconomics: Environmentalism in India
  • 2014/02/07: BBerg: Solar Water Pumps Wean Farmers From India's Archaic Grid
  • 2014/02/07: TP:JR: India Wants To Switch 26 Million Water Pumps To Solar Power Instead Of Diesel

  And in Japan:

  • 2014/02/08: BBC: Tokyo residents go to polls to choose new governor
    Voters in Tokyo are going to the polls to elect a new governor in a race widely seen as a popular verdict on the use of nuclear power.
  • 2014/02/06: BBerg: Japan Gets Its Very Own Fox News
  • 2014/02/04: BBC: Governor of Japan broadcaster NHK denies Nanjing massacre
    A governor of Japan's public broadcaster, NHK, has denied that the Nanjing massacre took place, days after a row over Tokyo's use of war-time sex slaves engulfed the new NHK chief. Naoki Hyakuta made his comments as he campaigned for a right-wing candidate in the Tokyo gubernatorial election.
  • 2014/02/04: Asahi: NHK governor campaigns for revisionist in Tokyo election
    A Japan Broadcasting Corp. (NHK) governor [Naoki Hyakuta] handpicked by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said the Nanking Massacre was a fabrication designed to cancel out U.S. atrocities during speeches supporting a like-minded candidate [Toshio Tamogami] in the Tokyo gubernatorial election.
    [...]
    The NHK governor continued to give his views about the war.
    "In 1938, Chiang Kai-shek tried to publicize Japan's responsibility for the Nanking Massacre, but the nations of the world ignored him. Why? Because it never happened," Hyakuta said.
    His views on history are in line with those held by Tamogami.

  Elsewhere in Asia:

  • 2014/02/05: DD: Energy shortages force Pakistanis to scavenge for wood, threatening tree canopy - 'The middle class are now cutting trees and burning trees'
  • 2014/02/03: TP:JR: Pakistan Has A Month's Worth Of Water Left -- And 5 Percent Of Its Tree Cover

  And in Russia:

  • 2014/02/03: RT: Total ban on GM food production mulled in Russia

  While in Africa:

  • 2014/02/04: Grist: Tunisia's new constitution calls for climate protection

  And in the Caribbean and South America:

  • 2014/02/06: DemNow: In Latin American Votes, Honduran Movements Cement Role While El Salvador Poised for Historic Shift
  • 2014/02/06: NYT: Caribbean Islands Agree to Swap Diesel Power for Renewable Sources

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

  • 2014/02/06: BBerg: Japan Turns to U.S. Wheat Amid Canadian Shipment Delays
    Japan, Asia's second-largest wheat buyer, will increase imports from the U.S. after shipments from Canada arrived late for a second month.
  • 2014/02/05: CBC: Railway grain backlog prompts farmers to demand action
    Transport Minister Lisa Raitt has not yet responded to request from Prairie farm groups Prairie farm groups frustrated with an ongoing railway grain backlog want federal Transport Minister Lisa Raitt to intervene to help get their crops to market.
  • 2014/02/06: CBC: Food insecurity in Canada growing worse
    Report indicates 4 million Canadians suffering some degree of food insecurity

  Resonances of the Lac Mégantic tragedy linger:

  • 2014/02/07: CBC: Transport Canada keeps exemptions on rail safety secret
    CBC investigation finds railways given waivers on safety inspections, rules that regulator never makes public. Transport Canada refuses to discuss why it grants exemptions to freight rail companies on issues such as brake inspections and safety rules, claiming it is private information. CBC News this week revealed that Canada's rail regulator has waived a number of safety rules and orders for both CN Rail and CP Rail operations in recent years. But in a statement late Thursday Transport Canada refused to offer reasons.
  • 2014/02/06: G&M: Bakken oil shipments of any size need emergency plans, report urges Ottawa
    Cities, firefighters and industry are calling on Transport Canada to require companies that ship as little as one car of volatile Bakken oil by rail to have detailed emergency response plans. The recommendation is in a new report commissioned after the devastating accident in Lac-Mégantic, Que., that Transport Minister Lisa Raitt expects to make public later this week. The report also recommends new emergency plans for ethanol and other highly dangerous flammable liquids, The Globe and Mail has learned. It was written by a Transport Canada advisory group that includes representatives from Canadian municipalities, first responders, railways and the oil industry.
  • 2014/02/06: CBC: Railway safety: Lisa Raitt rejects rail inspection cuts, but ministry grants exemptions
  • 2014/02/05: CBC: Just before Lac-Mégantic, railways sought to reduce inspections
    CBC News finds request to minister dropped in wake of crude oil explosion Canada's major freight rail carriers attempted to reduce safety inspections on rail cars carrying dangerous goods exactly a month before the Lac-Mégantic tragedy...
  • 2014/02/03: CBC: Transport Canada reports on dangerous goods to be made public

  People are riled by the Harper gang's Libricide:

  • 2014/02/06: CBC: Federal science hobbled by cuts and policies, poll says
    Government's science priorities out of step with public, union for federal scientists says The government's cuts to federal science budgets and its changes to policy are damaging scientists' ability to serve and protect the public, according to a new survey. The survey was commissioned by the union representing federal scientists. As well, the Conservative government's shift in federal science priorities under Prime Minister Stephen Harper toward supporting industry is out of step with the public's view that health, safety and the protection of the environment should be the government's top science priorities, says the Professional Institute of the Public Service of Canada. (PIPSC)
  • 2014/02/04: CBC: Baker: A DFO library gets checked out
    Some 50,000 local fisheries files moved or discarded as part of consolidation of libraries

  The West-East pipeline is suddenly a focus of much dispute:

  • 2014/02/06: PI: [link to 1.3 meg pdf] Climate Implications of the Proposed Energy East Pipeline - A Preliminary Assessment
  • 2014/02/08: CPW: TransCanada's Energy East pipeline would increase Canada's greenhouse gas emissions
  • 2014/02/06: PI: Energy East: new report assesses pipeline's climate impact
    Proposed west-to-east pipeline would have major environmental ramifications
  • 2014/02/06: PI:B: Crunching the numbers on Canada's biggest pipeline proposal
  • 2014/02/06: CBC: Energy East pipeline a potential CO2 traffic jam, report says
    Pembina Institute report says pipeline would add annual CO2 pollution equivalent to 7 million cars
  • 2014/02/06: NNW: Energy East pipeline would affect climate

  The battle over the Northern Gateway pipeline rages on:

  • 2014/02/08: TMoS: Is Enbridge Already Distributing Northern Gateway Pipe? If So, The Fix Is In
  • 2014/02/08: TMoS: The Green Party's Controversial Compromise
  • 2014/02/08: PostMedia: Enbridge claims environmental poll wording about Northern Gateway is misleading
  • 2014/02/06: TheCanadian: RCMP, CSIS spying on Enbridge opponents prompts civil liberties complaints
  • 2014/02/06: CBC: Alleged CSIS, RCMP spying on Northern Gateway pipeline protesters prompts complaint
    RCMP, CSIS accused of violating Charter rights of anti-pipeline activists
  • 2014/02/05: PostMedia: Majority of British Columbians oppose Northern Gateway pipeline: poll
    Results not surprising in survey commissioned by environmental groups
  • 2014/02/05 Tyee: Two in Three British Columbians Say Northern Gateway Is Inevitable
    Poll finds they oppose the project, distrust federal process, but see little recourse.
  • 2014/01/30: WaPo: Aboriginals flex newfound their muscle in Canada, blocking oil and gas projects

  And the Kinder Morgan expansion:

  • 2014/02/08: CriticalAngle: Application to comment at the NEB Kinder Morgan enquiry

  The Harper gang is attacking their environmental foes:

  • 2014/02/07: WCEL: The world is better when charities are heard
  • 2014/02/06: CBC: 7 environmental charities face Canada Revenue Agency audits

  PostMedia and the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers are now best friends. Oh and De Souza is toast:

  • 2014/02/05: Creekside: Joint CAPP/Postmedia tarsands promotion
  • 2014/02/05: BCLSB: Postmedia Fires A Useful Guy
  • 2014/02/05: PostMedia: Mike De Souza and the Buying of the Media
  • 2014/02/05: PoliticsReSpun: The Media Corruption Trifecta!
  • 2014/02/04: VanObs: Presentation suggests intimate relationship between Postmedia and oil industry

  What's the state of the West Coast salmon fishery?

  • 2014/02/06: BBC: Pacific salmon migrate with a 'magnetic map'
  • 2014/02/06: Eureka: Link confirmed between salmon migration, magnetic field
  • 2014/02/06: CBC: Young salmon navigate with built-in magnetic compass
  • 2014/02/04: TheCanadian: Salmon farms net more tax dollars from Harper Govt to grow exports

  Meanwhile in BC:

  • 2014/02/07: CleanTechnica: British Columbia's Climate Better For Solar Power Than Germany's Or Japan's
  • 2014/02/06: TMoS: Why Is British Columbia Pushing Fossil Fuels When It's Easier and Cheaper to Go Green?
  • 2014/02/06: TheCanadian: BC LNG: All pain no gain as Liberals fail to deliver on tax regime...again
  • 2014/02/05: G&M: B.C. delays [until fall] release of fiscal framework for LNG industry
  • 2014/02/04: TheCanadian: Shale gas, LNG exports and the elephant in the room

  Meanwhile in that Mechanical Mordor known as the tar sands:

  • 2014/02/08: Tyee: Record Bitumen Seepage in Alberta Continues Unabated -- Researchers say energy regulator and industry must do more to explain why
  • 2014/02/06: CleanTechnica: Tar Sands Responsible For Much Higher Levels Of Emissions Than Previously Thought, Report Finds
  • 2014/02/06: CBC: Oilsands jobs being taken by temp foreign workers, union says
  • 2014/02/04: TP:JR: Tar Sands Oil Development Is More Toxic Than Previously Thought, Study Finds
  • 2014/02/04: DD: Alberta tar sands toxins with Keystone XL link underestimated - 'The officially reported emissions are very likely too low'
  • 2014/02/04: ICN: Tar Sands Industry Has Greatly Underestimated Pollution Figures, Study Finds
    New study says the exposure risks from polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) may prove to be two to three times higher that industry has reported.
  • 2014/02/04: TMoS: Athabasca's Cancer Ponds
  • 2014/02/03: CBC: Oilsands air pollutants underestimated, researchers find
  • 2014/02/03: CBC: Oilsands pollutants underestimated, researchers conclude
    University of Toronto study finds release of carcinogenic compounds greater than believed The emission levels of some toxic air pollutants in the Alberta oilsands have been greatly underestimated, according to University of Toronto researchers. "When dealing with chemicals that have such great potential to harm people and animals, it is absolutely vital that we truly understand how, and how much they are being released into the environment," Abha Parajulee, lead author of a paper on oilsands pollution, said in a news release.

  Also in Alberta:

  • 2014/02/07: BBerg: Redford: Alberta Won't Play Emissions Chicken on Keystone
    Alberta Premier Alison Redford, who has lobbied the U.S. to approve the Keystone XL pipeline, says her oil-rich Canadian province won't toughen rules to cut carbon emissions from crude producers until the U.S. takes similar steps.
  • 2014/02/07: ICN: U.S. Keystone Report Relied Heavily on Alberta Govt-Funded Research
    State Department review used studies funded by Alberta agencies and carried out by Jacobs Consultancy, a subsidiary of a major tar sands developer.
  • 2014/02/06: Tyee: Fracking Foe Ernst: Alberta Regulator Not Immune to Charter
    Landowner's appeal argument foreshadows what could become a major court battle this May.
  • 2014/02/06: DeutscheWelle: Canadian awaits verdict on fracking nightmare
    Diana Daunheimer still finds it hard to believe that big mining companies have started fracking practically in her backyard. The Canadian vegetable grower sees a court case as her only way out.
  • 2014/02/06: CBC: Pipeline rupture: Alberta resident unaware of blast in 2009 -- Woman living near pipeline angered she wasn't told of the pipeline explosion
  • 2014/02/04: TP:JR: As Keystone Decision Looms, Buried Report Cites TransCanada's 'Inadequate' Pipeline Inspections
  • 2014/02/04: TheCanadian: Regulator buried report on TransCanada pipeline explosion
  • 2014/02/04: TheCanadian: Alberta fracking licenses soar by 650%, documents reveal
  • 2014/02/04: Nation: Alberta Government Quietly Funded [IHS CERA] Researchers Behind 'Independent' Report Boosting Keystone XL
  • 2014/02/04: DeSmogBlog: Is Keystone in the National Interest? Of Canada, That Is?
  • 2014/02/04: CBC: Pipeline rupture report raises questions about TransCanada inspections

  In the Maritimes:

  • 2014/02/08: CBC: White Juan damage funding comes 10 years later
    Storm paralyzed Nova Scotia and forced a state of emergency The federal government has decided how much money it will give Nova Scotia a decade after a massive winter storm shut down Halifax for days. A mere five months after the devastation of Hurricane Juan in 2003 a massive snow storm -- nicknamed "White Juan" -- dumped 50 to 95 centimetres of snow on Nova Scotia, according to Environment Canada.
    [...]
    The Halifax Regional Municipality submitted bills to the federal government totalling $19.9 million after the two storms and had still been waiting for nearly $6 million. On Friday, Nova Scotia MP and Justice Minister Peter MacKay announced the province will receive $3.6 million under the Disaster Financial Assistance Arrangements program.
  • 2014/02/07: CBC: Statoil plans more oil and gas exploration off Newfoundland
  • 2014/02/07: CBC: Fredericton man builds $300 solar furnace, decreases heating bill
    Randy Buchanan made heating unit from pop cans, aluminum eavestrough downspouts, old window

  In the North:

  • 2014/02/07: CBC: Support hunters to fight hunger in Nunavut, says report
    Recommends better subsidies for hunting equipment, hunting training for young Inuit

  And on the American political front:

  • 2014/02/08: DeSmogBlog: Colorado Senate Passes Split Estate Disclosure Bill on Unanimous Vote
  • 2014/02/06: Grist: A Big Oil foe runs for Congress - as a Republican
  • 2014/02/06: Grist: Pennsylvania to start fracking sensitive state forestland
  • 2014/02/06: DeSmogBlog: Coal Industry Report On Social Cost Of Carbon Relies On Climate Science Denial
  • 2014/02/06: TP:JR: Big Oil Tries To Slam Door On Cleaner Fuels In Oregon
  • 2014/02/05: TP:JR: Pennsylvania Governor [Tom Corbett (R)] Wants To Scrap The Ban On Gas Drilling In State Parks And Forests
  • 2014/02/04: NPR: [Pennsylvania Governor Tom] Corbett (R) budget proposal expands drilling in state parks and forests
  • 2014/02/04: TP:JR: Drought Politics: How To Use California's Historic Crisis To Score Political Points
  • 2014/02/04: CoffeePartyUSA: Republicans Face Backlash for Embracing Climate Science
  • 2014/02/04: P3: Being Wrong as a Test of Party Loyalty
  • 2014/02/04: DD: Republicans in U.S. face backlash for embracing climate science - 'Andrew Breitbart called for the assassination of climate scientist Dr. James Hansen'
  • 2014/02/04: DeSmogBlog: Fisherman Fighting Dominion Cove Point LNG Export Terminal Worried About Explosions, Long-Term Impacts
  • 2014/02/03: TP:JR: California Halts Major Water Delivery Service, Yet Doesn't Call For Mandatory Water Restrictions
  • 2014/02/02: DD: Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick unveils climate change prep plan

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

  • 2014/02/08: CCP: Oglala Sioux Vow to Stop Keystone XL on the Ground if Obama Won't Say No
  • 2014/02/07: ICN: U.S. Keystone Report Relied Heavily on Alberta Govt-Funded Research
  • 2014/02/07: CCurrents: Oily Hijack: Corporate Hegemony And The Keystone Pipeline EIS
  • 2014/02/06: KSJT: InsideClimate News: Just how much carbon will Keystone pipeline add to air? Don't ask. Nobody knows. But it's a lot.
  • 2014/02/06: TP:JR: Stopping The 'Black Snake': Native American Alliance Announces Commitment To Resist Keystone XL
  • 2014/02/06: DeSmogBlog: Tom Steyer to Secretary of State Kerry: New Review Necessary of "Defective" Keystone XL Environmental Assessment
  • 2014/02/06: EnvEcon: USA TODAY poll: Slight majority backs Keystone pipeline
  • 2014/02/05: Resilience: Key Analysis Seems to Go KXL's Way -- Or Does It?
  • 2014/02/05: DeSmogBlog: Keystone XL's Northern Leg: A Fracked Oil Pipeline Along with Tar Sands
  • 2014/02/04: TP:JR: As Keystone Decision Looms, Buried Report Cites TransCanada's 'Inadequate' Pipeline Inspections
  • 2014/02/04: OilChange: Keystone XL: What Did API Know and When? Groups FOIA State Department for Communication with Big Oil, Canadian Government
  • 2014/02/04: Nation: Alberta Government Quietly Funded [IHS CERA] Researchers Behind 'Independent' Report Boosting Keystone XL
  • 2014/02/04: DeSmogBlog: Is Keystone in the National Interest? Of Canada, That Is?
  • 2014/02/04: PSinclair: Keystone "Wheel Still in Spin"
  • 2014/02/04: ICN: How to Deconstruct the Difficult Math of Keystone XL's Carbon Footprint
    We may never know the Keystone XL's precise carbon footprint, but it's possible it will add up to a billion tons of CO2 over the lifetime of the project.
  • 2014/02/04: OilChange: KXL "Contractor Controversy" About to "Get Heated"
  • 2014/02/03: TP:JR: The 5 Most Cringeworthy Q&A Moments From The State Department's New Keystone XL Report
  • 2014/02/03: FAIR: Obama's Keystone Moment: Will He Finally Be Nice to Republicans?
  • 2014/02/03: DemNow: Debate: State Dept Moves Keystone XL Closer to Approval, But Does Conflict of Interest Taint Report?
  • 2014/02/03: RTCC: Keystone foes to fight on after government downplays climate risk
  • 2014/02/03: OilChange: Thousands gather across the nation to say #NoKXL
  • 2014/02/03: CSW: Keystone XL tar sands pipeline & the "National Interest"
  • 2014/02/03: EconView: 'Keystone: The Pipeline to Disaster' - Jeff Sachs
  • 2014/02/03: TP:JR: Thousands Expected To Attend Natonwide Vigils Monday To Urge Obama To Reject Keystone XL
  • 2014/02/03: DeSmogBlog: Keystone XL Decision Highlights Coziness Between Oil and Gas Industry, Obama Administration
  • 2014/02/03: BBerg: Keystone Ardor Cools Among Producers With More Options
  • 2014/02/02: CleanTechnica: Oil Spills Are Keystone XL's Greatest Threat To Environment, Limited US State Department Report Concludes

  The GOP War on Women continues. See also:

  • 2014/02/07: ACLU: ACLU and Planned Parenthood Argue in Court Against Alabama Abortion Restrictions
  • 2014/02/04: AlterNet: National Abortion Rate Sees Huge Drop As More Women Are Using Birth Control
  • 2014/02/04: CNN: Why [US] abortions are way down
    Timothy Stanley: New study shows abortion rate at lowest point since 1973 - He says politics of issue remain at high point. Reason is mass culture, politics drifting apart - Many reasons for abortion drop. Better contraception, shifting views among young people - Stanley: Politicians against abortion must face complexities of issue to be relevant
  • 2014/02/03: BBC: The rate at which US women had abortions fell between 2008-11 to the lowest level since abortion was legalised in 1973, a study suggests

  West Virginia's chemical spill travails continue:

  • 2014/02/07: TP:JR: Potential Conflict Of Interest Clouds Freedom Industries' Bankruptcy After WV Chemical Spill
  • 2014/02/06: TRP: Photos That Make the Rude Pundit Want to Down a Dozen Klonopin with Bottled Water
  • 2014/02/06: ICN: School Illnesses in West Virginia Tied to Chemical Spill
  • 2014/02/04: TP:JR: Grand Jury Launches Criminal Investigation Into West Virginia's Chemical Spill
  • 2014/02/04: TRP: West Virginians Don't Know How Fucked They Are Because No One Will Tell Them
  • 2014/02/04: CNN: Federal grand jury investigates West Virginia chemical spill
  • 2014/02/03: BWeek: Freedom Industries Calling: New Tape Reveals False Statements During Chemical Spill
  • 2014/01/31: al Jazeera:USA: Another MCHM spill reported at West Virginia's Freedom Industries
  • 2014/01/30: BWeek: Who Runs Freedom Industries? West Virginia's Chemical Spill Mystery

  There is a massive coal ash spill into North Carolina's Dan River:

  • 2014/02/08: WSWS: Coal ash spill in North Carolina threatens population
  • 2014/02/08: CSM: Despite new coal-ash spill, EPA will stick to semi-tough approach
  • 2014/02/07: TP:JR: The West Virginia Water Contamination Crisis Is Far From Over
  • 2014/02/07: TP:JR: Despite Not Using Water, West Virginians Say Water Bills Have Spiked Since Chemical Spill
  • 2014/02/07: SciAm:Obs: How Many More Coal Ash Spills?
  • 2014/02/07: Grist: Duke Energy belatedly pledges to overhaul coal-ash storage, after destroying river
  • 2014/02/07: TP:JR: Could The EPA Have Prevented Toxic Waste From Filling The Dan River?
  • 2014/02/06: TP:JR: Report: River Contaminated With High Levels Of Lead, Arsenic, Mercury After NC Coal Ash Spill
  • 2014/02/06: CCP: Water Samples Show Disturbing Levels of Heavy Metals from Duke Energy Coal Ash Spill
  • 2014/02/06: Grist: Duke Energy's coal-ash spill has utterly ruined a river
  • 2014/02/05: WaPo: Arsenic detected in NC river after coal ash spill
  • 2014/02/04: CDreams: Tens of Thousands of Tons of Coal Ash Spilling Into N.C. River
    Duke Energy coal plant disaster sends arsenic, mercury, lead, boron and other toxic heavy metals pouring into Dan River
  • 2014/02/04: DeSmogBlog: Duke Energy Spills Thousands Of Tons Of Coal Ash Into North Carolina River
  • 2014/02/04: Salon: Up to 82,000 tons of toxic coal ash spilled into N.C. river
  • 2014/02/04: CleanTechnica: Clean Coal My Foot: Another Coal Related Spill In North Carolina
  • 2014/02/04: Grist: Coal plant accident spews coal ash into North Carolina river
  • 2014/02/03: NPR: In The Wake Of Spill, West Virginians Still Don't Trust Their Tap

  Looking ahead to the 2014 election:

  • 2014/02/04: GLaden: Hope For Climate Change As A Key 2014 Issue

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

  • 2014/02/08: WSWS: Obama hails dismal jobs report, signs bill to slash food stamps
  • 2014/02/05: GreenGrok: Obama's Climate Legacy May Come Down to Coal and 'No'
  • 2014/02/03: RStone: 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
  • 2014/02/04: KSJT: Rolling Stone: How Obama trade policy sabotages climate goals

  The actions of the Obama administration are being watched closely:

  • 2014/02/08: ScienceInsider: U.S. Plan to Lift Wolf Protections In Doubt After Experts Question Science
  • 2014/02/07: DeSmogBlog: GAO Hiding Crucial Documents from the Public While Calling for More Transparency in BLM Coal Leases
  • 2014/02/07: UCSUSA:B: Scientific Integrity, Beetles, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
  • 2014/02/07: Grist: There will be dollars: Obama signs a new farm bill into law
  • 2014/02/07: ICN: White House Taps Insider [Mike Boots] for Acting Enviro Council Head
  • 2014/02/06: ScienceInsider: New U.S. 'Climate Hubs' to Provide Data to Farmers
  • 2014/02/06: CleanTechnica: Cue The Outrage! Obama Administration Foists Climate Agenda On US Farmers
  • 2014/02/05: TP:JR: The White House's New Plan To Help Farmers Grappling With Climate Change
  • 2014/02/05: USDA: Secretary Vilsack Announces Regional Hubs to Help Agriculture, Forestry Mitigate the Impacts of a Changing Climate
  • 2014/02/05: Grist: Step right up, Big Coal, for America's Big Coal Giveaway
  • 2014/02/05: Grist: Federal climate hubs will help farmers adapt
  • 2014/02/05: TP:JR: Oil And Gas Facilities Need To Start Reporting Their Chemical Emissions To The EPA, Group Says
  • 2014/02/04: TP:JR: Federal Leasing Program A Giveaway To Big Coal, Government Watchdog [GAO] Finds
  • 2014/02/04: OPB: GAO Report Faults BLM Coal Lease Practices
  • 2014/02/04: NYT: E.P.A. Staff Struggling to Create [power plant] Pollution Rule
  • 2014/02/04: DeSmogBlog: Government Accountability Office: Taxpayers Getting Stiffed by Flawed Federal Coal Lease System
  • 2014/02/03: RTCC: Latest climate science reports "chilling" warns John Kerry
    US Secretary of State tells security experts climate challenge requires "collective leadership" John Kerry has described the UN's latest report on the science of climate change as "chilling" and warns of a "potential catastrophe" without urgent action.

  As for what is going on in Congress:

  • 2014/02/07: Resilience: We deserve more than this bad Farm Bill
  • 2014/02/06: TheHill:RW: 'Secret science' must end, Republicans declare
  • 2014/02/06: TP:JR: House Republicans Pass Shortsighted California Drought Bill Along Party Lines
  • 2014/02/06: GreenGrok: Waxing Environmental on Rep. Henry Waxman
  • 2014/02/05: TreeHugger: 3 things you need to know about the farm bill
  • 2014/02/05: TP:JR: Bush Presidential Center Fellow: Regulating Carbon Pollution Is 'A Party To Which EPA Wasn't Invited'
  • 2014/02/05: WSWS: US Senate votes to slash $8.7 billion in food assistance
  • 2014/02/05: Grist: Dreading water: Should coastal communities bear the cost of future floods?
  • 2014/02/04: Grist: Farm bill passes Senate, with a little something for everyone
  • 2014/02/03: Grist: Senate votes to keep subsidizing flood insurance in flood-prone areas
  • 2014/02/03: DeSmogBlog: [US] Senate's "Dirty Duo" Ready To Lift Oil Export Ban

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

  • 2014/02/07: CCurrents: Moving Beyond The Corporate Vision Of Sustainability
  • 2014/02/07: Resilience: Edible Ecosystems
  • 2014/02/06: OFW: Limits to Growth-At our doorstep, but not recognized
  • 2014/02/06: Resilience: Embodying the DIY Spirit in Our Creative Projects - Part 1: Eco-Friendly Ethos
  • 2014/02/06: Nation: From Occupy to Climate Justice
  • 2014/02/05: CCurrents: Edge-Dwelling: A Social Ecology For Our Times; Part 3: Middle School, Misfits, And The Milky Way
  • 2014/02/05: NatureN: Climate economics: Make supply chains climate-smart
    Society's infrastructure is hit hard by extreme weather. Networks of trade, transport and production need to adapt globally, says Anders Levermann
  • 2014/02/03: Resilience: Crash on Demand: Pathways by David Holmgren

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

  • 2014/02/06: Grist: Ask your doctor about Not Having Kids, your prescription for a better, greener life
  • 2014/02/03: WSWS: Mass protests in Madrid against new abortion reform
    Thirty thousand people marched in Spain's capital on Saturday to protest the right-wing Popular Party (PP) government's new law that severely limits abortion rights. The law is almost certain to pass in late spring, with the PP having a large majority in parliament.

  Apocalypso anyone?

  • 2009/11/12: Smithsonian: Ten Notable Apocalypses That (Obviously) Didn't Happen

  Okay. So what do we do?

  • 2014/02/04: Grist: Future near perfect: How humans can still save the day by 2050

  How do the corporate media measure up?

  • 2014/02/06: BBerg: Japan Gets Its Very Own Fox News
  • 2014/02/05: BCLSB: Postmedia Fires A Useful Guy
  • 2014/02/05: PostMedia: Mike De Souza and the Buying of the Media
  • 2014/02/05: PoliticsReSpun: The Media Corruption Trifecta!
  • 2014/02/05: Guardian(UK): Rats as big as sheep? The Anthropocene is no laughing matter
  • 2014/02/04: VanObs: Presentation suggests intimate relationship between Postmedia and oil industry
  • 2014/02/04: CSW: Separating fact from fiction: a challenge for the media
  • 2014/02/02: ATTPh: The BBC and its balance!

  Here is something for your library:

  • 2014/02/09: BNC: [eBook Review] _Energy in Australia - Peak Oil, Solar Power, and Asia's Economic Growth_ by Graham Palmer
  • 2014/02/08: JWight: Book Review: _Scorcher_ by Clive Hamilton
  • 2014/02/08: TFTJO: Deep Future: the other side of the carbon pulse
    [Book Review] _Deep Future - The Next 100,000 Years Of Life On Earth_ by Curt Stager

  And for your film & video enjoyment:

  • 2014/02/08: CCP: Senator Sheldon Whitehouse -- soliloquy on climate change
  • 2014/02/08: PSinclair: Classic Climate Crocks Repost: "In the 70s, They Said There'd Be an Ice Age"
  • 2014/02/05: TreeHugger: All of 2013's global weather squeezed into a short video, with commentary by a Geophysicist
  • 2014/02/05: SkS: New Video: Climate, Jetstream, Polar Vortex by greenman3610
  • 2014/02/04: Wunderground: Top Ten Extraordinary Weather Videos of 2013

  As for podcasts:

  • 2014/02/08: CBC:Q&Q: #1) Mammoths Enjoyed Wildflowers #4) Polar Bears Change Diet

  Meanwhile among the 'Sue the Bastards!' contingent:

  • 2014/02/07: TP:JR: $2B Lawsuit Over Citgo's Toxic Oil Emissions Will Result In $2M Criminal Fine
  • 2014/02/06: DeutscheWelle: Canadian awaits verdict on fracking nightmare
  • 2014/02/06: BBerg: Keystone XL Pipeline Records Sought in Sierra Club Suit
    Keystone XL pipeline records are being sought by the Sierra Club in a lawsuit claiming the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has to make public documents related to its review of TransCanada Corp.'s project. The Army Corps has wrongly withheld records describing the pipeline's path in relation to communities and sensitive water resources, according to the environmental group's complaint filed yesterday in federal court in San Francisco.
  • 2014/02/04: CNTVNA: Company behind ocean fertilization experiment loses court bid to block charges
  • 2014/02/04: TP:JR: Grand Jury Launches Criminal Investigation Into West Virginia's Chemical Spill
  • 2014/02/05: CBC: Haida Gwaii ocean iron dump investigation to proceed
    B.C. Supreme Court judge dismisses Haida Salmon Restoration Corporation bid to quash search warrant
  • 2014/02/05: ABC(Au): King Island wind farm legal challenge returns to court
  • 2014/02/03: RTCC: Fracking opponents head to court, as UK green fightback emerges
    UK landowners have launched a legal challenge against shale gas companies planning to drill under their lands.

  The Mann defamation suit saga rolls on:

  • 2014/02/04: QuarkSoup: Steyn Can't Tell...
  • 2014/02/04: BCLSB: Steyn Appeals To The Denio-Sphere!
  • 2014/02/03: BCLSB: Is Mark Steyn Doing A Slo-Mo Double Endo Into The Snow Fence Of Failure?

  Wrestling over a new energy infrastructure continues unabated:

  • 2014/02/07: SciNow: Could Volcanoes Power the World?
  • 2014/02/07: RTCC: World's largest tidal lagoon power project eyes 2018 start
    UK wave power project could be supplying 120,000 homes with carbon-free power by 2018, but will require government backing The world's first tidal lagoon power plant could be powering homes in the UK by 2018, the backers of the project said today, but the scheme will need planning permission and a guaranteed minimum electricity price of around £160 to go ahead. Tidal Lagoon Power, which is working closely with a consortium of technology and construction companies, today lodged an application to build a 9.5 km sea wall in Swansea Bay in Wales to harness energy from the ebb and flow of tides and power up to 120,000 homes, the company said in a statement.
  • 2014/02/07: RNE: Masdar, Abu Dhabi and the future of our global energy system
  • 2014/02/06: CBC: California power supply affected by extreme cold in Canada, U.S. -- Power grid operator asks for voluntary conservation of power
  • 2014/02/05: WNN: Market changes hurt Vattenfall's results
    Rapid change in European energy markets caused Vattenfall to record a SEK13.5 billion ($1.5 billion) loss for 2013...
  • 2014/02/04: 350orBust: The Real Math on Renewable vs Nonrenewable Energy Jobs
  • 2014/02/04: SacBee: Drought cuts into state's hydro power supplies

  What do you have in energy comparisons and transitions?

  • 2014/02/07: CleanTechnica: Renewables, Natural Gas, and Efficiency Leading American Energy Transformation

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

  • 2014/02/08: DeSmogBlog: Colorado Senate Passes Split Estate Disclosure Bill on Unanimous Vote
    A bill requiring disclosure of a possible split estate condition upon the sale of residential property passed the Colorado Senate on January 24, 2014 in a unanimous vote. The consumer protection and fracking-awareness bill orders sellers of residential property to disclose to buyers whether the surface of the property may be separately owned from the mineral rights beneath the land. The bill also requires sellers to disclose any oil and gas-related activity that could possibly occur on or adjacent to the property, including drilling, surveying, oil or gas storage, well completion operations, or gas processing facilities.
  • 2014/02/07: Grist: Frackers are guzzling water in drought-plagued areas
  • 2014/02/06: Grist: Pennsylvania to start fracking sensitive state forestland
  • 2014/02/06: TP:JR: The West Coast Could Soon Get Its First Offshore Wind Farm
  • 2014/02/06: TP:JR: New Report: Fracking Is Stressing Water Supplies In Areas Already Wracked By Drought
  • 2014/02/05: USAToday: Report: Fracking raising water supply worries
  • 2014/02/05: CERES: Hydraulic Fracturing & Water Stress: Water Demand by the Numbers
  • 2014/02/05: RT: Fracking is draining water from US areas suffering major shortages - report
  • 2014/02/05: SFGate: California drought sets up fracking face-off
  • 2014/02/05: UCSUSA:B: Fracking around the Web: New Findings, New Laws, Not-so-new Questions
  • 2014/02/05: Grist: Is fracking pollution deforming babies?
  • 2014/02/05: DeSmogBlog: At State and Federal Level, Regulators Continue to Struggle With Fracking Wastewater
  • 2014/02/04: DeSmogBlog: Risks of Fracking Boom Draw Renewed Attention from Investors
  • 2014/02/04: Resilience: Swarms of Earthquakes Shake Up Shale Gas Fields
  • 2014/02/04: TheCanadian: Alberta fracking licenses soar by 650%, documents reveal
  • 2014/02/04: DeSmogBlog: Study Links Gas Drilling to Heart Defects in Babies
  • 2014/02/04: Tyee: Birth Defects Linked to Natural Gas Mining -- Various US studies probe how fracking pollution, chemicals affect the unborn
  • 2014/02/03: TheCanadian: Fracking tied to birth defects: Colorado study
  • 2014/02/03: OilChange: Second Study Shows Health Link Between Fracking and Babies
  • 2014/02/01: WaPo: Fracking in George Washington National Forest could threaten D.C. area drinking water

  On the coal front:

  • 2014/02/06: WSJ: Rising Coal Use Clouds Europe's Future
  • 2014/02/04: ETI:RRapier: Coal Emissions Equal an Athabasca Oil Sands Reserve Every 4 Years

  On the gas and oil front:

  • 2014/02/07: BBerg: Closing oil prices Friday
    OIL (US$/bbl)
    Dated Brent Spot....109.57
    WTI Cushing Spot.....99.88
  • 2014/02/07: RNE: Natural gas as a 'bridge'. Or dangerous procrastination?
  • 2014/02/07: SciAm:PI: Photo Friday: North Pole, Alaska oil refinery to cease operations
  • 2014/02/06: DeSmogBlog: In Pavillion, Wyoming Water Contamination Case, Questions Continue To Swirl About Oil and Gas Industry's Role
  • 2014/02/04: ERabett: Profit Motive
  • 2014/02/03: UCSUSA:B: Overreliance on Natural Gas: Risky for the Climate and the Economy
  • 2014/02/03: TCoE: Taking the Climate Change Bridge
  • 2014/02/03: PeakEnergy: 5 ways to play the end of the natural gas renaissance
  • 2014/02/03: PeakEnergy: Oh no! The oil price could fall
  • 2014/02/02: CBC: 'Shocking' natural gas prices expected to continue to rise
    Enbridge executive says buying gas on spot markets this winter has been like high-stakes roulette
  • 2014/01/31: EconBrowser: Big oil companies spending more and producing less

  And in pipeline news:

  • 2014/02/04: CBC: Pipeline rupture report raises questions about TransCanada inspections
    2011 report criticized TransCanada's 'inadequate' inspections A CBC News investigation has unearthed a critical report that the federal regulator effectively buried for several years about a rupture on a trouble-prone TransCanada natural gas pipeline. On July 20, 2009, the Peace River Mainline in northern Alberta exploded, sending 50-metre-tall flames into the air and razing a two-hectare wooded area. Few people ever learned of the rupture -- one of the largest in the past decade -- other than the Dene Tha' First Nation, whose traditional territory it happened on. In an early 2011 draft report about the incident, the National Energy Board criticized TransCanada, the operator of the line owned by its subsidiary NOVA Gas Transmission, for "inadequate" field inspections and "ineffective" management.

  Ships and boats and trains -- How to tranport the stuff?

  • 2014/02/06: TP:JR: The 'Traveling Bombs' That Could Devastate A Major American City
  • 2014/02/06: FuelFix: Spike in oil-by-rail fueled by regulatory delays, experts say
  • 2014/02/05: TP:JR: Train Spills 12,000 Gallons Of Oil In Minnesota, No Major Cleanup Effort Planned
  • 2014/02/05: TP:JR: Extra-Flammable Crude Oil Headed For Trains Was Not Labeled Properly, Investigation Shows
  • 2014/02/04: NYT: 3 Companies Fined for Mislabeling Crude Oil in Rail Transit
    [...]
    The inspections found that 11 of 18 samples from cargo tanks were not properly identified and labeled. The companies were the Hess Corporation, the Whiting Oil and Gas Corporation, and the Marathon Oil Corporation.
  • 2014/02/05: CBC: Just before Lac-Mégantic, railways sought to reduce inspections
  • 2014/02/04: BBerg: Exploding Oil Trains Push States to Create Response Plans
  • 2014/02/02: DD: Accidents surge as oil industry takes the train - Since March 2013, no fewer than 10 large crude spills in the U.S. and Canada because of rail accidents
  • 2014/01/31: InForum: Rail shippers have questions about classifying Bakken crude
    Berthold, N.D. - All crude is not created equal -- and the task of classifying oil when it's loaded into railcars has some gray areas. As federal inspectors investigate whether Bakken crude is properly classified at rail-loading facilities in North Dakota, the manager of one rail terminal says the federal guidelines are vague and open to interpretation.
  • 2014/02/02: TP:JR: Train Full Of Hazardous Materials Derails Near Mississippi Mobile Home Park

  A rush of American triumphalism pervades the energy independence PR campaign. Think it will last?

  • 2014/02/06: BizInsider: Grantham: The Great American Shale Boom Is A Dangerous Waste Of Time And Money

  Yes we have a peak oil sighting:

  • 2014/02/03: Resilience: Jean Laherrere uses Hubbert linearization to estimate Bakken shale oil peak in 2014

  Biofuel bickering abounds:

  • 2014/02/07: CleanTechnica: Gasoline-Like Biofuels From Plant Waste -- Promising New Process Developed
  • 2014/02/05: Eureka: Approach helps identify new biofuel sources that don't require farmland [bacteria]
  • 2014/02/03: CleanTechnica: Solazyme Begins Commercial Production Of Algal Oil In The US

  The answer my friend...

  • 2014/02/06: CleanTechnica: 2013 Wind Energy Installations Stall In U.S., Surge In China
  • 2014/02/06: UCSUSA:B: Wind Turbines and Property Values: More Information from a Massachusetts Study
  • 2014/02/06: TMoS: Yes! Floating Wind Power Coming to Oregon
  • 2014/02/04: CleanTechnica: For 1st Time, Wind Power Provides Over 50% Of Denmark's Electricity For 1 Month
  • 2014/02/03: CleanTechnica: What Does $2M Buy? How About 1800 GW Of Wind Power
  • 2014/02/03: ABC(Au): Consultation is the key to curing wind turbine syndrome
    Wind turbine syndrome is a symptom of a community that feels it has lost control. It has very little to do with wind farms and 'infrasound'.

  Meanwhile among the solar aficionados:

  • 2014/02/08: CleanTechnica: Photon Laboratory's 2013 Solar Module Yield Measurements Show That Solar Modules Are Improving
  • 2014/02/07: CBC: Fredericton man builds $300 solar furnace, decreases heating bill
  • 2014/02/06: CleanTechnica: Solar Panel Efficiency Has Come A Long Way (Infographic)
  • 2014/02/06: CleanTechnica: Hawaii May Be A Test Case For Solar Grid Penetration
  • 2014/02/05: RNE: Solar in sights as governments move to reign in renewables
  • 2014/02/04: TP:JR: World's Largest Solar Thermal Plant [Ivanpah] Starts Operating In Drought-Stricken California
  • 2014/02/04: CleanTechnica: Low-Cost Solar Cells Moving Closer Thanks To New Research On Electrodes
  • 2014/02/04: CleanTechnica: What Is The Current Cost Of Solar Panels?
  • 2014/02/04: ABC(Au): Hunter winery switches on solar
  • 2014/02/03: TreeHugger: Crystal ball solar charger concentrates the sun's rays on 1cm square solar cell
  • 2014/02/03: RNE: Rooftop solar provides 10% electricity in three key [Australian] states
  • 2014/02/02: CleanTechnica: Which Solar Panels Are Most Efficient?

  The nuclear energy controversy continues:

  • 2014/02/06: WNN: Plea for nuclear in Australian energy policy
  • 2014/02/04: APR: [Press Release] Co-Owners of San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station Announce Safety, Stewardship and Engagement Principles to Guide Plant Decommissioning
  • 2014/02/04: NBF: Transatomic Power molten salt nuclear reactor design that would generate 75 times more electricity per ton of uranium
  • 2014/02/03: WNN: Fuel loading begins at fast reactor
    The first fuel is being loaded into Russia's newest fast breeder reactor, Beloyarsk 4, in preparation for startup of the unit within months.

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

  • 2014/02/06: AutoBG: Toyota's Bob Carter says far fewer stations needed in shift from gas to hydrogen
  • 2014/02/06: AutoBG: Toyota says freezing temps pose zero problems for fuel cell vehicles

  More people are talking about the electrical grid:

  • 2014/02/05: GET: EU Parliament Adopts Resolution on Local and Regional Consequences of Smart Grids Calling for High Standard of Data Protection
  • 2014/02/04: CleanTechnica: Grid Capacity For Electric Vehicles Is Actually Not A Problem, Studies Find
  • 2014/02/04: CleanTechnica: European Electricity Trade Group Back Revolutionary Changes
    Europe's electricity industry union, Eurelectric, has published a sweeping manifesto outlining a number of changes and policy shifts they believe are necessary to transition to a decarbonised economy and decentralised power generation system.

  How are the utilities adjusting (or not)?

  • 2014/02/07: CSM: Renewables disrupt utilities. That's a good thing.
  • 2014/02/06: RNE: It's not solar tariffs utilities hate, it's solar technology
  • 2014/02/06: RNE: David vs Goliath? Solar shapes up to big utilities
  • 2014/02/05: CleanTechnica: Arizona Rooftop Solar Power Under Threat From APS, Again!
    Not content with getting a tax imposed on solar customers, Arizona Public Service is now looking to back out of promises it made to the Arizona Corporation Commission, its customers, and the people of Arizona. APS is required to get 15% of its power from renewable energy by 2025 with 4.5% of that 15% coming from rooftop solar. However, APS has just submitted a proposal to eliminate its rooftop solar requirement and cut its overall renewable requirement to 10.5%. By comparison, neighboring states have renewable energy targets that range from 20-30%. The Arizona Corporation Commission is expected to discuss APS' latest attempts to kill rooftop solar and customer access to it on Thursday at 10 am in the Corporation Commission hearing room.
  • 2014/02/05: RNE: PowerShop takes on utilities with green energy supermarket
  • 2014/02/03: Yahoo:Reuters: Analysis - Germany's utilities struggle to adapt to renewable revolution
  • 2014/02/03: PeakEnergy: WA grid may become first big victim of "death spiral"

  And then there is the matter of efficiency & conservation:

  • 2014/02/06: CleanTechnica: Understanding Light Bulbs - CFLs vs LEDs
  • 2014/02/03: SciAm:PI: LEDs are reducing energy demand for lighting across the United States

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

  • 2014/02/08: AutoBG: UMTRI: average fuel economy in US climbs yet again
  • 2014/02/06: UCSUSA:B: Electric Vehicle Emissions: 4 Lessons Learned from the Literature
  • 2014/02/04: CleanTechnica: "Insane" GHG Savings From Workplace EV Charging, According To NASA
  • 2014/02/04: UCSUSA:B: Do EVs Matter? Four Takeaways from a Study on Electric Vehicle Emissions
  • 2014/02/03: AutoBG: Why Toyota's fuel cell play is one big green gamble

  As for Energy Storage:

  • 2014/02/05: TreeHugger: New battery management technology could boost Li-ion capacity by 40%, quadruple recharging cycles
  • 2014/02/05: TreeHugger: Chewing gum-like material makes lithium ion batteries safer
  • 2014/02/05: RNE: Redflow signs flow battery manufacturing deal with Flextronics
  • 2014/02/04: PSinclair: Transmission Allows Wind Storage in Canada
  • 2014/02/04: ABC(Au): Hydrogen gets a boost from proton flow
    A new battery fuelled by hydrogen could one day provide a cheaper and more effective alternative to lithium ion batteries, say researchers.
    [...]
    "The normal hydrogen system for storing electrical energy has got three components. It's got the electrolyser [which splits water], the storage of gas, and a fuel cell," says Andrews. "We were seeking to get one integrated unit that was more like a battery but still using the basic principles of hydrogen production from water."
  • 2014/02/04: TreeHugger: Flow battery breakthrough scales cheaply to store renewable energy without scarce metals
  • 2014/02/04: PeakEnergy: American wind power to be stored in Canadian Pumped Hydro
  • 2014/02/03: CleanTechnica: Sodium-Ion Batteries Receive Boost From Graphene Nanosheet Composite Paper
  • 2014/02/03: JQuiggin: Some thoughts on energy storage

  Meanwhile in the "every problem is an opportunity in disguise" crowd:

  • 2014/02/01: Salon: Cashing in on apocalypse: Meet the people making a killing on climate change

  Who's fielding theFAQs?

  • 2014/02/05: TCoE:CCB: Climate Change Bridge FAQ v1.0

  What do we have in (weekly) lists?

  • 2014/02/08: SkS: 2014 SkS Weekly News Roundup #6 by John Hartz
  • 2014/02/04: FukuLeaks: Fukushima News Roundup

  Anything in pithy quotes this week?

  • 2014/02/06: EnvEcon: Quote of the Day: I'm skeptical of skeptics

  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.

  • 2014/02/05: PaiD: The Mind Of The Plutocrat
  • 2014/02/07: HotWhopper: What a difference 19 years makes...
  • 2014/02/06: Tamino: Concern Trolls
  • 2014/02/06: TP:JR: Big Oil Tries To Slam Door On Cleaner Fuels In Oregon
  • 2014/02/05: TP:JR: How To Talk To A Climate Science Denier, If You Must
  • 2014/02/06: ERabett: Grist for Mashey
  • 2014/02/05: Guardian(UK): Denying climate change isn't scepticism - it's 'motivated reasoning'
    True sceptics test a hypothesis against the evidence, but climate sceptics refuse to accept anything that contradicts their beliefs
  • 2014/02/08: CChallenge: Collin Maessen vs. Lord Monckton 2013
  • 2014/02/07: Tamino: Q: How do you Outdo Anthony Watts?
  • 2014/02/08: Tamino: Cherry p
  • 2014/02/08: CCP: The Koch brothers' Kochtopulos web of secret donor money, faux think tanks, and organizations that threaten democracy, as, for example, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce
  • 2014/02/03: Stoat: Arctic amplification dominated by temperature feedbacks in contemporary climate models

  This week in intimidation:

   

• 2014/02/04: DD: Republicans in U.S. face backlash for embracing climate science - 'Andrew Breitbart called for the assassination of climate scientist Dr. James Hansen'
  

  As for climate miscellanea:

  • 2014/02/07: BVerheggen: The role of scientific consensus in moving the public debate forward
  • 2014/02/06: USGS: New Tool Available to Help Track Spilled Oil -- Computer model can help with current, future clean-up efforts
  • 2014/02/05: TheCanadian: David Suzuki: Remembering Pete Seeger
  • 2014/02/04: QuarkSoup: Imminent CAGW is "an attempt to play a trump card..."
  • 2014/02/04: Tamino: Tiny Graphs
  • 2014/02/03: RealEconomics: Drought -- an oldie but goodie
  • 2014/02/03: P3: Amory Lovins Goes Breakthrough
  • 2014/02/03: Wunderground: Groundhog Says: 6 More Weeks of Winter
  • 2014/02/02: GLaden: Peak Oil vs. Peak Chocolate Chip Cookies
  • 2014/02/02: FergusB: Visions and Nightmares

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

  • TUSK: Tell Utilities Solar won't be Killed
  • WPE: Weather Prediction Education
  • WPE: Atmospheric Blocking
  • Wiki: Kriging (Gaussian process regression)
  • Climate Strategies
  • Australian Dept. of Environment: Commonwealth Marine Reserves Review
  • EurElectric - Electricity for Europe
  • NOAA:ESRL: Trends in Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide
  • C40 Cities: Climate Leadership Group
  • Global Canopy Programme
  • DMcNeall: Blogs from working climate scientists
  • Keep Tar Sands Out of Europe -- Support the FQD
  • USAP: U.S. Antarctic Program
  • ICLEI - the global cities network
  • Wiki: Dimethyl ether
  • FAO:CFS: Committee on World Food Security

  ---

  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.

  ---

  "Wet years have a way of covering up a multitude of water management sins. Drought exposes them for all to see." -John Fleck

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  • H.E. Taylor (homepage)

  ---

  Last modified February 9, 2014