Another Week of Climate Disruption News, April 27, 2014

By illconsidered on April 28, 2014.

(featured image taken from here)

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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Information Overload is Pattern Recognition

April 27, 2014

Chuckles, COP20+, Post WG3, Earth Day, Earth Year, Energiewende
Bottom Line, Pricing Nature, Crap Detector, Cook
Fukushima: Note, News, Policies
Melting Arctic, Geopolitics, Antarctica
Food: Crisis, Fisheries, Prices, Food Riots, Agro Corps, GMO Labelling, Production
Hurricanes, Monsoon, Notable Weather, Forecasts, GHGs, Aerosols
Weather Machine, ENSO, Temperatures, Proxies, Satellites
Tipping Points, Paleoclimate, Oceans, Extinctions, Bees & CCD, Overshoot
Impacts, Forests, Disease, Phenology
Tornadoes, Wildfires, Corals, Glaciers, Sea Levels, Floods & Droughts
Mitigation, Cities, Transportation, Buildings, Sequestration, Geoengineering, Conservation, Adaptation
Journals, Other Docs, Misc., Science Orgs, Free Science, Wilson, Mann, Hayhoe, Lovelock
International Politics: UN, IPCC, Bank Tax, Hormuz, South China Sea, Ukraine, Resources
Solar Spat, Treaties, Nile, Activism, Divestment, Polls, H2O Biz, Groundwater, Education
National Politics: Britain, Europe, Australia, Abbott, RET, MDBP, Tas Forest Deal
India, China, Japan, Asia, Russia, Africa, Canada, Lac-Mégantic, Humpbacks, ELA
Grain Backlog, Pipelines, Salmon, BC, Tar Sands, Alberta, Sask, Manitoba, Maritimes
America, Keystone, Spills & Leaks, Birth Control, USAdmin, Congress
DeGrowth, IPAT, Apocalypso, Media, Books, Video, Podcasts, Courts, Mann Suit
Energy, Transitions, Investment, Fracking, Coal, Oil & Gas, Biofuel
Wind, Solar, Nukes, Nuclear Waste, Fusion, Grid, Utilities, Efficiency, Cars, Energy Storage
Business, Other Lists, Quotes, Carbon Lobby, Misc., Useful Links
Shameless Self Promotion, A Simple Plea, .sig

It's always nice to start with a chuckle:

And in the unintentional humour department:

2014/04/25: Guardian(UK): Apocalyptic error puts the F in AFR
Newspaper editor apologises for 'World is Fukt' headline and other errors on the front page of its long-weekend edition

Looking ahead to COP20 and future international climate negotiations:

2014/04/22: RTCC: [link to 266k pdf] UN releases 'multiple choice' of options for 2015 climate deal
2014/04/25: RTCC: China emissions peak key to UN climate deal, says Hedegaard
2014/04/24: RNE: 'Censored' IPCC summary reveals jockeying for key UN climate talks
In the wake of this month's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report on ways to cut global greenhouse gas emissions, accusations began to fly in the media that the report had been censored by governments. Are these accusations true? Well no, not exactly. Parts were edited out of the summary, although all of the details survive elsewhere in the report. But although this doesn't amount to the censorship scandal some people clearly wanted to read about, the edits do tell an interesting story. They show us that countries are already looking at how their bargaining chips will stack up at the crucial round of United Nations climate negotiations in Paris next year.
2014/04/23: TheConversation: 'Censored' IPCC summary reveals jockeying for key UN climate talks

Some post WG1/WG2/WG3 commentary:

Rah Rah Earth Day!

Boo Hiss Earth Day!

How is the German Energy Transition [Energiewende] doing?

2014/04/26: CleanTechnica: We Should Have Invested In Solar Sooner, CEO of German Utility RWE Says
2014/04/24: GET: German Renewable Energy Act Reform is not a "Feed-in Tariff 2.0"
2014/04/22: GET: Energy policy designed to keep industries at home
It is ironic that there is so much talk about the Energiewende hurting Germany's energy-intensive industry, for as Craig Morris points out these firms are the biggest winners in the German energy transition.

And on the Bottom Line:

So, If we put a price on nature, will it deal with externalities and lead to greater conservation
or will it lead to greater exploitation or what?

2014/04/22: Monbiot: Reframing the Planet
People who think they are protecting nature by costing it are stepping straight into the destroyers' trap.

Here is something for your Crap Detector:

2014/04/21: PostMedia: Blinded by scientific gobbledygook
Bad chemistry: How fake research journals are scamming the science community

John Cook and friends continue their point-counterpoint articles:

A note on theFukushima disaster:

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

Not much good news coming out of Fukushima:

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

2014/04/25: FukuLeaks: Japan Finds Continuing With Nuclear Power More Than Challenging

The Arctic melt continues to garner attention:

As for the geopolitics of Arctic resources:

2014/04/24: DeSmogBlog: Report: Arctic Oil Spill Readiness Virtually Nonexistent
2014/04/24: TreeHugger: U.S. is NOT prepared for a major oil spill in the Arctic
2014/04/24: Grist:If oil spills in the Arctic and no one is around to clean it up, does it just stay there?
2014/04/23: NatPo: Canada under increasing pressure to come up with co-ordinated NATO response to Russia in Arctic
Canada, which has long blocked discussion of Arctic issues at NATO, is under increasing pressure from allies to drop its resistance and come up with a co-ordinated response to Russia's aggressive militarization in the Far North. President Vladimir Putin this week detailed Russia's plans for a united system of naval bases, ships and next-generation submarines at a meeting of his country's security council. The Arctic is "a sphere of special interest," he said, and Russia's goal is to not only to restore its influence there "but to make it even stronger." "We need to take additional measures so as not to fall behind our partners, to maintain Russian influence in the region and, maybe in some areas, to be ahead of our partners," he said. Russia is in the process of strengthening military infrastructure in the Arctic Circle, including re-opening two bases 50km from the Finnish border; creating a new Northern Fleet signals intelligence unit, staffed by 3,000 electronic warfare specialists; developing unmanned airships for surveillance; and, building a new 3,000-strong naval aviation unit.
2014/04/23: JCMorton: Putin says experts should hold on to every area of Russia's Arctic continental shelf
2014/04/23: ScienceInsider: Panel Says U.S. Not Ready for Inevitable Arctic Oil Spill
2014/04/21: TP:JR: In Russia, World's First Ice-Resistant Oil Platform Starts Production
2014/04/21: NOAA: NOAA releases Arctic Action Plan

While in Antarctica:

2014/04/25: ERW: B31: huge Antarctic iceberg headed for open ocean
2014/04/25: CBC: Massive Antarctic iceberg B31 heads for open ocean
2014/04/23: ABC(Au): Scientists pinpoint source of 'bio-duck' sound
2014/04/23: BBC: Mystery of 'ocean quack sound' solved
The mystery of a bizarre quacking sound heard in the ocean has finally been solved, scientists report. The noise - nicknamed "the bio-duck" - appears in the winter and spring in the Southern Ocean. However, its source has baffled researchers for decades. Now acoustic recorders have revealed that the sound is in fact the underwater chatter of the Antarctic minke whale.
2014/04/22: CNN: Iceberg [B31] is twice the size of Atlanta
Iceberg is 255 square miles in size - Massive berg calved from glacier last year - Scientists fear it could get lost in the Antarctic darkness

The food crisis is ongoing:

2014/04/26: TP:JR: The Coffee Apocalypse Is Nigh: Brutal Brazilian Drought Forces Starbucks To Pause Purchases
2014/04/25: UN: In Central African Republic, 'more children will die from malnutrition than bullets' - UN agency
2014/04/23: Eureka: More Americans in their golden years are going hungry
2014/04/23: Grist: When your produce gets wasted, it's really a cry for help
2014/04/22: RealEconomics: Peak soil?
2014/04/22: EurActiv: Deutsche Bank clashes with NGOs over food speculation
2014/04/22: RTCC: Climate linked drought adding to Syria's misery
Drier than average conditions placing huge stress on eastern Mediterranean states, says World Food Programme The conflict in Syria has devastated much of the country's agricultural sector. But while the fighting has left large tracts of farmland abandoned, irrigation systems smashed and livestock neglected, other forces have also been at work.
2014/04/21: WSWS: America's hungry 21st Century
Feeding America, the US national network of food banks, released its annual report on local food insecurity Thursday, showing that one in six Americans, including one in five children, did not have enough to eat at some point in 2012.
2014/04/21: ABC(Au): Food security concerns in wake of Solomon Islands floods
2014/04/20: SFGate: California drought: Food banks drying up, too
2014/04/17: SciDaily: Food shortages could be most critical world issue by mid-century

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

Food Prices are still problematic:

It has been blessedly quiet after TC Jack [24S] faded in the South Indian Ocean:

While elsewhere in the hurricane wars:

2014/04/26: ABC(Au): Taiwan court rejects typhoon [Morakot (2009)] victims compensation claim
2014/04/23: GLaden: Atlantic Hurricanes and El Niño
2014/04/22: MODIS: Tropical Cyclone Ita (23P) over Australia [on April 11]
2014/04/21: TP:JR: The Jersey Shore Rebuilds Higher After Superstorm Sandy

And on the Monsoon front:
- 2014/04/23: WMO: South Asian Climate Outlook Forum issues Consensus Statement on 2014 summer monsoon season
- 2014/04/21: BBerg: India Said to Forecast Normal Monsoon Rainfall as El Nino Looms
This week in notable weather:
- 2014/04/24: IOTD: Persistent Ice on Lake Superior [on April 20]
- 2014/04/21: al Jazeera: India's wild weather [pix]
  Over the past few days, thunderstorms and dust storms have battered the north of the country.
Got any forecasts?
- 2014/04/24: ABC(Au): Average rainfall predicted for Tasmanian winter
As for GHGs:
Aerosols are making their presence felt:
- 2014/04/25: IOTD: China's Great Wall of Dust [on April 23]
What's new in the Weather Machine?
- 2014/04/21: TreeHugger: Air pollution from China = stronger storms in the Pacific?
- 2014/04/20: NatureN: Mechanism behind mega-heatwaves pinpointed
  Two recent record hot spells traced to feedback loop between dry soils and trapped air.
And on the ENSO front:
As for the temperature record:
- 2014/04/23: TP:JR: Last Month Was The Fourth-Hottest March On Record
- 2014/04/23: Wunderground: Earth Has Its 4th Warmest March on Record; Weekend Severe Weather Outbreak Coming
What's new in proxies?
- 2014/04/25: QuantPalaeo: A topsy turvy world of climate proxies
Meanwhile in near earth orbit:
- 2014/04/26: CChallenge: SkyTruth, keeping an eye on illegal fishing, etc.
- 2014/04/24: NOAANews: First JPSS-1 [Joint Polar Satellite System] satellite instrument is ready for installation
The cliff, aka tipping points, aka planetary boundaries, put in an appearance:
- 2014/04/20: ERabett: Fate of the World - PowerFlip 2036
While in the paleoclimate:
- 2014/04/21: Eureka: Today's Antarctic region once as hot as California, Florida
What's the State of the Oceans?:
- 2014/04/22: TreeHugger: What?! 65,000 tonnes of Nazi chemical weapons were dumped in the Baltic Sea 70 years ago
- 2014/04/20: EneNews: CBS San Francisco: Record number of sick seals & sea lions...
And on the extinction watch:
- 2014/04/25: ABC(Au): Cougars show how to survive extinction [be an omnivore]
- 2014/04/25: ABC(Au): Spilt grain proves hazardous to threatened cockatoos
  Environmental authorities say a disturbing number of endangered black cockatoos are being killed on roads, while feeding on grain spilled from trucks. Populations of the Carnaby's black cockatoo, which is found across the south-west land division, have declined dramatically in the past 40 years.
- 2014/04/23: SciAm:EC: Blue-Footed Boobies Have Stopped Breeding -- But Why?
- 2014/04/22: SciAm:EC: Giant Tusked Insect Saved from Extinction (Just in the Nick of Time)
- 2014/04/20: DD: Land grabs threaten last elephant bastions
The bees and Colony Collapse Disorder are a constant concern. And then, there are the Neonicotinoids:
- 2014/04/22: Grist: The secret life of Rust Belt beekeepers
Intimations of Overshoot:
- 2014/04/21: SaskBoy: Flickering: Foretelling Crisis in an Ecosystem
More GW impacts are being seen:
And then there are the world's forests:
- 2014/04/27: IOTD: Guitar Forest [on Nov.2, 2007]
- 2014/04/24: Eureka: Amazon rainforest survey could improve carbon offset schemes
- 2014/04/23: NASA: NASA Satellites Show Drought May Take Toll on Congo Rainforest
- 2014/04/23: RTCC: Central African tropical forests becoming browner - study
- 2014/04/21: NSF: Earth Week: Bark beetles change Rocky Mountain stream flows, affect water quality
  What happens when millions of dead trees, killed by beetles, no longer need water?
Emerging diseases accompany ecological change:
- 2014/04/24: GreenGrok: The Chemicals That Promise A Summer Without Mosquitoes
Changes in natural cycles are showing up:
- 2014/04/25: DD: Naomi Klein: Climate change is the fight of our lives, yet we can hardly bear to look at it
- 2014/04/23: NatureN: CO2 makes growing seasons longer -- Elevated greenhouse gas levels, not just rising temperatures, are extending annual plants' life cycles
On the tornado front:
As for heatwaves and wild fires:
Corals are a bellwether of the ocean's health:
Glaciers are melting:
Sea levels are rising:
- 2014/04/23: Eureka: AGU: Odds of storm waters overflowing Manhattan seawall up 20-fold, new study shows
  Newfound rise of storm tides by almost a foot since 1844 adds to risk from sea-level rise
- 2014/04/22: Stuff: Rising sea threatens [Wellington, NZ] city's tap water
- 2014/04/22: Grist: Street artist Swoon takes on rising sea levels and drowning communities
- 2014/04/21: UCSUSA:B: Spring Break in Florida: A Lesson in the Costs of Climate Change
As for hydrological cycle disruptions [floods & droughts]:
- 2014/04/27: ABC(Au): Death toll in northern Afghanistan floods tops 100, officials say
- 2014/04/26: CBC: Peguis First Nation homes evacuated because of flooding
  Dozens of people forced out homes, emergency official says 400 homes threatened
- 2014/04/26: ABC(Au): Over 80 killed in Afghanistan's flash floods: officials
- 2014/04/26: ABC(Au): Exmouth flooding: Town in north-west Western Australia cut off by floods
- 2014/04/25: al Jazeera: Dozens dead in Afghanistan flash floods
  At least 36 dead and thousands displaced following days of torrential rain in northern Afghanistan.
- 2014/04/25: DD: Drought worsens in western U.S. - All of California now in drought, cost estimated to be at least $7.48 billion
- 2014/04/24: ABC(Au): Heavy rain alert issued for flood-hit provinces in Solomon Islands
- 2014/04/24: RTCC: 'No end in sight' to California drought
  Falling water levels in US state more severe than any event since the late 1500s megadrought, say scientists California's ground water levels are dropping and the winter just finished has left snow pack at a fraction of historical levels in a continuing drought, the state's Department of Water Resources said this week.
First, stop putting GHGs into the atmosphere,
Second, begin to reduce current levels of GHGs,
Third, save as many species as possible,
Fourth, begin to reduce the human population,
And elsewhere on the mitigation front:
- 2014/04/25: RScribbler: Renewable Energy and The Fierce Urgency of Now: A Second Call For Fossil Fuel Abolition
- 2014/04/25: RTCC: Halving meat consumption offers 'significant' climate benefits
  Changing global diets could yield biggest cuts in carbon emissions from farming, say scientists
- 2014/04/24: RNE: 10 charts that explain climate change mitigation
- 2014/04/23: ABC(Au): Act and adapt or face a bleak future
  We could take steps to at least minimise the impact of climate change and population growth, but willful blindness to the current situation creates a poor vision for the future, argues Paul Willis.
- 2014/04/22: ABC(Au): Vegetable crops set to reduce greenhouse gas emissions
Can cities take up the slack when nations shirk their responsibilities?
- 2014/04/25: CleanTechnica: US Mayors Leading The Way On Emission Cuts & Climate Resilience
Consider transportation & GHG production:
- 2014/04/25: CleanTechnica: Public Transportation In US Now Better Deal Than Ever, Thanks To Seemingly Ever-Rising Gas Prices
- 2014/04/23: CBC: Toyota world's biggest automaker in Q1 -- 2.58 million vehicles sold, outstripping GM, Volkswagen
  Toyota kept its position at the top in global vehicle sales for the first quarter of this year, outpacing rivals General Motors and Volkswagen. Toyota Motor Corp. said Wednesday that it sold a record 2.583 million vehicles in the January-March period, putting the Japanese automaker ahead of Detroit-based GM at 2.42 million and Volkswagen of Germany at 2.4 million.
- 2014/04/22: TheConversation: Which transport is the fairest of them all?
- 2014/04/21: CNN: Want green cities? Lose the cars
  Eric Sanderson: Earth Day's theme is green cities. How to get there? Get cars out of town - He says Americans would save substantial money and time by not driving in cities - He says cars pollute and harm the health of humans and the environment - Sanderson: Biking, walking and light rail would obviate need for cars
- 2014/04/21: TheConversation: With a bullet: China's high-speed rail dream begins to take flight
- 2014/04/21: Stuff(NZ): Scrapping trolley buses foolhardy
  The future of Wellington's trolley buses will be decided in June.
While in the endless quest for zero energy, sustainable buildings and practical codes:
- 2014/04/23: TreeHugger: [SlideShow] AIA/ COTE top ten green buildings awards announced
- 2014/04/21: CleanTechnica: Passive Houses Could Help Norway Significantly Reduce Its Energy Consumption And Carbon Emissions, Research Shows
As for carbon sequestration:
Large scale geo-engineering keeps popping up:
What's new in conservation?
- 2014/04/24: TheConversation: We need a global conservation agreement for the high seas
- 2014/04/22: ABC(Au): Huge marine park in Cook Islands on track for 2015
While on the adaptation front:
Meanwhile in the journals:
And other significant documents:
As for miscellaneous science:
In the science organizations:
What developments in the ongoing struggle for Open Science?
- 2014/04/24: TreeHugger: First open source seeds released by Open Source Seed Initiative
Regarding Wilson:
- 2014/04/23: GreenGrok: Taking a Stroll With E.O. Wilson
Regarding Mann:
Regarding Hayhoe:
Regarding Lovelock:
- 2014/04/25: Monbiot: Brilliance and Bunkum
Meanwhile at the UN:
- 2014/04/24: WMO: Indian Ocean governments to collaborate on rescuing climate data
There is more talk about changing the IPCC process:
The Robin Hood tax, aka the Tobin tax, aka the Bank tax, aka the Financial Transaction tax, keeps coming up:
- 2014/04/25: EurActiv: EU court seen rejecting UK challenge to transaction tax
On the international political front, tensions continue as the empire leans on Iran:
- 2014/04/26: AntiWar: Five Ways the Myth That Iran Was Developing Nuclear Weapons Was Hyped
South [& East] China Sea tension persists, as the empire leans on China:
- 2014/04/26: WSWS: The danger of war in Asia
- 2014/04/24: AntiWar: Obama: We Will Go To War For Other Nations' Petty Territorial Disputes
  President Obama, who is in Japan today, has announced that the U.S. defense treaty with Japan applies to the Senkaku/Diaoyu Islands.
- 2014/04/24: WSWS: Obama affirms US backing for Japan in any conflict with China
- 2014/04/24: al Jazeera: Obama backs Japan in islands row with China
  US president says islands at centre of Sino-Japanese dispute are Japanese and fall under terms of US-Japan defence pact.
- 2014/04/24: al Jazeera: China frees Japanese cargo ship in $28m deal
  Seizure, relating to unpaid compensation for Chinese ships leased in 1936, sparked Japanese formal diplomatic complaint.
- 2014/04/24: BBC: Obama Asia tour: US-Japan treaty 'covers disputed islands'
  US President Barack Obama has reaffirmed his support for Japan in its row over islands with China, after talks with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.
- 2014/04/23: Xinhuanet: Commentary: Dynamic Asia needs U.S. to reshape anachronistic policy
  Six months after a government shutdown forced him to scrap an Asia visit, U.S. President Barack Obama comes to the dynamic continent to consolidate Washington's engagement with the Asia-Pacific region. The four-nation tour unfolds on the background of the Obama administration's so-called "rebalancing to Asia" policy, which features a U.S. commitment to shifting priorities and resources toward the other side of the Pacific Ocean. Washington has good reason to pivot. Asia has grown into the powerhouse of the world economy; it is home to important U.S. allies and brimful of significant U.S. interests. Any country disregarding or even discounting the role of Asia would do so to its own peril.
- 2014/04/24: Asia Times: Obama empty-handed in Asia
- 2014/04/24: Asia Times: Steps toward trust in South China Sea
- 2014/04/24: BBC: Obama Asia tour: US-Japan treaty 'covers disputed islands'
  US President Barack Obama has reaffirmed his support for Japan in its row over islands with China, after talks with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.
- 2014/04/24: ABC(Au): Barack Obama reaffirms support for Japan in territorial dispute, unable to secure FTA
- 2014/04/23: CNN: Obama enters Japan-China dispute - Obama begins Asia tour with reassurance to Japan
- 2014/04/23: BBC: Obama pledges Japan islands support as Asian tour begins
  US President Barack Obama has assured Japan that islands at the centre of its territorial dispute with China are covered by a bilateral defence treaty. In an interview ahead of his Asian tour, Mr Obama said the US would oppose any attempt to undermine Japan's control over the islands. US officials have made such comments in the past, but this is the first time Mr Obama has given such explicit support.
- 2014/04/23: WSWS: Japan to erect new radar base close to China
- 2014/04/22: Asia Times: Obama runs China's pivot gauntlet
- 2014/04/22: Asia Times: Japan warns Beijing over ship seizure
- 2014/04/21: BBC: China seizes Japanese cargo ship over pre-war debt
- 2014/04/21: ABC(Au): Japan warns China over ship seizure
  Japan's government has warned that the seizure of a Japanese ship in Shanghai over pre-wartime debts threatened its ties with China and could undermine the basis of their diplomatic relationship.
Tensions continue as the empire leans on Syria, Ukraine, Russia...:
- 2014/04/27: BBC: Slovakia and Ukraine agree over gas supply
  Slovakia and Ukraine have reached a deal that will allow gas from Central Europe to reach Ukraine via Slovakia.
- 2014/04/26: AntiWar: The Kiev Gambit -- Faltering Empire Seeks Meaning
  The statement signed last week in Geneva was correctly seen as an attempt to buy time by all the parties involved -- Russia, the Atlantic Empire, and the coup regime in Kiev. But while Moscow may have stalled to give the volatile situation on the ground time to calm down, Washington and Kiev sought to use the truce as a chance to regroup for another attack.
- 2014/04/26: WSWS: US and Europe push confrontation with Russia toward war
- 2014/04/25: GET: Achieving Energy Independence from Russia
  Can the Ukraine crisis force Germany to backtrack on the Energiewende? No, regardless of Poland's off-the-cuff critique. But it's fueling anew the debate in Germany over supply security. Renewables could go a long way toward bolstering Germany's energy security vis-à-vis Russia, while energy-saving measures could be the true clincher.
- 2014/04/24: BBerg: Ukraine Seeks More EU Gas Imports as Russia Demands Billions
  Ukraine is seeking to import more natural gas from Europe via Slovakia as Russia demands an extra $11.4 billion for contracted fuel and clashes with pro-Russian forces in the country's east escalate. The European Union, Slovakia and Ukraine failed today to agree on flows from the west, aimed at reducing Kiev's dependence on Russian gas, as officials met in Bratislava, Slovakia. EU Energy Commissioner Guenther Oettinger said an accord to supply substantial volumes to Ukraine would require Russian consent. With current proposals, European supplies could replace less than half the imports from Moscow-based OAO Gazprom (GAZP) this year, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
- 2014/04/24: WSWS: Does Washington want war with Russia?
  Does Washington want a war with Russia? A review of recent US actions surrounding the crisis in Ukraine clearly poses what would have once seemed an unthinkable question. The Obama administration is playing a very dangerous game of Russian Roulette.
- 2014/04/24: CPunch: When in Ukraine... Joe Biden Promotes U.S. as Fracking Missionary Force
- 2014/04/24: EUO: Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak has invited EU Energy Commissioner Guenther Oettinger to discuss the Ukrainian gas issue in Moscow on Monday
- 2014/04/23: BBerg: Poland Pushes Coal on Europe as Putin Wields Gas Weapon
- 2014/04/23: DeSmogBlog: Vice President Joe Biden Promotes U.S. as Fracking Missionary Force On Ukraine Trip
- 2014/04/23: CBC: Canadian oil and gas touted for Europe amid Ukraine troubles
  Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird heads to Poland for two days of meetings
- 2014/04/23: RealEconomics: Canada loses its diplomatic mind
- 2014/04/22: EurActiv: Poland calls for EU action to end Russia's energy stranglehold
- 2014/04/22: EUO: Time for EU energy union, says Polish PM
  Brussels - The European Union must create an energy union to secure its supply and reduce its dependence on Russian gas, Poland's Prime Minister Donald Tusk has said.
- 2014/04/21: Tyee: Putin, Petrorubles and Our PM's Bad Posture
  On Ukraine, Harper as useful idiot -- but for whom?
- 2014/04/21: UBardi: The West and Russia: a tit for tat game. Part 3 by Tatiana Yugay
- 2014/04/21: Grist: Ukraine belatedly seeks renewable energy as weapon against Russia
- 2014/04/20: IPSNews: Poland Uses Ukraine to Push Coal
In the "global competition for natural resources":
While in the solar spat between India and the USA:
These 'free trade' treaties should be called the corporate control treaties:
- 2014/04/22: iPolitics: Vancouver group calls on Harper, Obama to release TPP text
- 2014/04/25: CPunch: How the Democrats Re-Branded Fast-Track
  The Democratic Party has responded to the resistance against ramming through new trade agreements by giving the process a new name. "Fast-track" has been rebranded as "smart-track" and, voilà, new packaging is supposed to make us forget the rotten hulk underneath the thin veneer.
The conflict over damming the Nile above the Aswan is percolating in the background:
What are the activists up to?
The move to divest from fossil fuel investments is growing slowly:
- 2014/04/24: CCP: More institutional investors consider divesting from fossil fuel stocks
Polls! We have polls!
- 2014/04/24: DeSmogBlog: New Poll Finds Most B.C. Residents Want Shift From Fossil Fuels to Clean Energy
- 2014/04/23: ACLU: Clear Majority of Americans Support Birth Control Rule
- 2014/04/22: CBC: Big Bang, evolution, climate change widely doubted in U.S., poll suggests
  Poll finds confidence in major science concepts strongly dependent on politics, religion
- 2014/04/22: KSJT: Forget about the science people don't know: How confident are they about what they *do* know?
- 2014/04/22: Eureka: More than two-thirds of Americans support mandated coverage of birth control in health plans
- 2014/04/21: CleanTechnica: Ohioans Are Bonkers About Renewable Energy
Regarding Water Politics and Business; See also:
And on the groundwater front:
- 2014/04/24: JFleck: "the groundwater problem"
- 2014/04/24: PSinclair: More Than Half of China's Groundwater is Toxic
- 2014/04/22: Xinhuanet: China's underground water quality worsens: report
  Nearly 60 percent of monitored areas of China had "very poor" or "relatively poor" underground water quality last year, a new report showed on Tuesday. Among 4,778 spots in 203 cities monitored by the Ministry of Land and Resources, underground water quality was ranked "relatively poor" in 43.9 percent of them and "very poor" in another 15.7 percent last year, said the annual report unveiled by the ministry.
- 2014/04/22: ERW: Irrigation may reduce dependability of groundwater
Regarding science education:
While in the UK:
- 2014/04/27: BBC: Scottish universities given funding [by the Scottish Funding Council (SFC)] for low carbon projects
  Three Scottish universities are to receive £20m as part of a scheme to help Scotland meet its carbon emission reduction targets. Strathclyde, Stirling and St Andrews universities will be given the Scottish government funding to build a number of new projects.
- 2014/04/26: BBC: Insurance premiums down despite floods, says BIBA
  The cost of household insurance policies dropped at the start of the year, despite insurers facing a huge bill from flooding damage. The average household premium was 5.5% lower in the first three months of the year compared with the first quarter of 2013, research by the British Insurance Brokers' Association (BIBA) found.
- 2014/04/25: BBC: UK science to get £200m polar ship
  UK scientists are to get a £200m icebreaker, which will be one of the biggest, most capable polar research vessels in the world.
- 2014/04/25: NatureNB: Polar icebreaker pledged as UK launches science spending consultation
- 2014/04/25: EurActiv: UK shale industry claims it could create over 60,000 jobs
- 2014/04/25: ScienceInsider: Britain to Build $340 Million Polar Research Ship
- 2014/04/24: TP:JR: Is This The End Of Onshore Wind In The U.K.?
- 2014/04/24: RTCC: Does Cameron's attack on onshore wind power add up?
- 2014/04/24: PSinclair: In the UK, at Least, Cold Weather does Not Dampen Climate Change Understanding
- 2014/04/24: BBC: Onshore wind farms subsidies would be scrapped by Tories
  The Conservatives have said they will not subsidise new onshore wind farms if they win the 2015 general election.
- 2014/04/24: WSWS: Oppose the fracking operation at Barton Moss
- 2014/04/23: BBC: Eight renewable energy projects approved
  Eight major renewable energy projects, expected to support 8,500 jobs, have been given government approval. The contracts, which include offshore wind farms and conversions of coal-powered plants to run on biomass, are the first awarded under the government's energy market reforms. Energy Secretary Ed Davey said the projects would help power up to three million homes.
- 2014/04/22: TPride: Cameron's office calls police on Bishop trying to deliver letter on poverty (not satire!)
- 2014/04/22: BBC: Ministers want to change trespass law to boost fracking
  Ministers want to give energy companies the right to run shale gas pipelines under private land, Whitehall sources have confirmed. The planned move - aimed at kick-starting the fracking industry - will be included in the Queen's Speech as part of an Infrastructure Bill.
- 2014/04/21: BBC: Agency counts cost of 'unprecedented' UK storms
  For the first time in its history, the Environment Agency has assessed the state of all of its flood defences in England following the winter's storms. One thousand sites were identified as in need of repair, with the unprecedented series of storms causing £135m worth of damage. Agency staff and members of the armed forces took six weeks to inspect more than 150,000 sites across the country. To date, 350 defences have been repaired, the Agency said. Over the winter, a series of powerful storms swept across the UK, resulting in coastal areas being battered by high waves and storm surges. The Met Office said it was England's wettest winter on record, leaving saturated river systems struggling to cope with the deluge.
- 2014/04/20: al Jazeera: UK row over Christian values and food poverty
  David Cameron talks of UK as 'Christian country' while under fire from church leaders over skyrocketing food poverty.
And in Europe:
- 2014/04/25: EurActiv: Bulgaria, [EU Energy] Commission, lost in translation over South Stream
- 2014/04/25: RTCC: UK and Poland to fund joint study into shale gas potential
- 2014/04/24: RTCC: Ireland outlines low-carbon transition plans with new climate bill
- 2014/04/24: RTCC: Just three EU countries on track to meet energy savings target - report
  Denmark, Ireland and Croatia praised for efficiency measures, but others falling short
- 2014/04/23: BBerg: Poland Pushes Coal on Europe as Putin Wields Gas Weapon
- 2014/04/22: EurActiv: Deutsche Bank clashes with NGOs over food speculation
- 2014/04/22: EurActiv: Environmental NGOs launch election demands as Green support dips
- 2014/04/22: EUO: Time for EU energy union, says Polish PM
  Brussels - The European Union must create an energy union to secure its supply and reduce its dependence on Russian gas, Poland's Prime Minister Donald Tusk has said. Tusk's energy blueprint, set out in an article in the Financial Times on Tuesday (22 April), would establish a single European body that would buy gas for the whole 28-nation bloc. This would end a system that currently sees the different countries negotiate their own deal with energy giant Gazprom, the government-backed firm which dominates Russia's gas market. Meanwhile, "solidarity mechanisms" between EU countries would kick into action if countries were threatened with being cut off from gas supplies.
- 2014/04/20: IPSNews: Poland Uses Ukraine to Push Coal
Meanwhile in Australia:
- 2014/04/25: ABC(Au): Outback mayor urges satellite use to help prioritise drought aid
- 2014/04/25: ABC(Au): Billion-dollar power price shock
  Territorians could be in for a nasty shock. An independent watchdog has decided to let Power and Water charge up to a billion dollars in network fees over the next five years.
- 2014/04/24: RNE: Graph of the Day: Australia's strongest (and weakest) solar suburbs
- 2014/04/24: RNE: NSW solar tariffs cut again, as regulator approves gas price rises
- 2014/04/24: ABC(Au): Qld Govt shuns calls for more details about gas exports
  A proposal by the New South Wales pricing regulator to boost gas prices by as much as $225 a year to some households is prompting calls for more transparency around gas export deals. Australia will triple its gas production in the next few years as key gas projects in Queensland ramp up production. But most of the new gas generated will be exported to Asia.
- 2014/04/24: ABC(Au): Cross-border tensions between Qld and NSW over gas supply
- 2014/04/24: ABC(Au): Forecaster says mining in Galilee won't go ahead
  A financial analyst says plans for the development of Australia's largest ever coal mine won't go ahead in the Galilee Basin in central west Queensland. Tim Buckley is the Australasian Director at the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis. He says the global coal industry is in decline, making coal mining in the Galilee Basin commercially unviable.
- 2014/04/23: ABC(Au): Queensland Resources Council's ad campaign disputes industry impact on Great Barrier Reef
- 2014/04/23: ABC(Au): Landholders object to Springsure Creek Coal Project
- 2014/04/23: ABC(Au): Australian Beef Association slams global sustainability proposal
- 2014/04/23: ABC(Au): Council to withdraw approval for Bentley anti-gas protest camp
- 2014/04/23: ABC(Au): Gas price hike in NSW could extend to other states
- 2014/04/23: ABC(Au): Energy company responds to proposed increase in [gas] prices
- 2014/04/22: RNE: Renewables advocates hail NEM reforms as win for consumers
- 2014/04/22: ABC(Au): Bill Shorten's push for Labor Party reform on relationship with unions prompts criticism
- 2014/04/20: TheConversation: Taking stock of the opportunities and risks with landscape carbon
- 2014/04/21: ABC(Au): Maules Creek coal mine plan to offset land clearing in Leard State Forest given thumbs up
Now we get to watch the suppository of wisdom destroy what little Australia has done to fight climate change:
- 2014/04/26: ABC(Au): Key Independent wants changes to PM's climate policy
  A key Independent says he's not prepared to support the Prime Minister Tony Abbott's climate change policy in its present form. The Independent Senator for South Australia, Nick Xenophon, says he'd like to make the so-called Direct Action policy much more efficient.
- 2014/04/25: ABC(Au): Carbon farming red tape freed up under Direct Action Plan
  A sustainability specialist says changes proposed for the Carbon Farming Initiative (CFI) under the Direction Action Policy are a win for farmers. The Federal Government has released the White Paper on Direct Action which details the policy design of its Emissions Reduction Scheme (ERF). But Research Fellow with the Curtin University Sustainability Policy Unit, Jemma Greene, says the most important criteria of how emissions reductions baselines are set is seriously flawed and difficult to determine. Ms Greene believes that using historical emissions data over five years, and setting the baseline at the highest point during that time, won't reduce emissions and could even see them increase.
- 2014/04/25: TheConversation: Direct Action policy still leaves loopholes open for big polluters
- 2014/04/25: GReadfearn: George Brandis and the "settled science" of climate change
- 2014/04/24: ABC(Au): Direct Action: Government releases policy white paper on climate change plan
- 2014/04/24: ABC(Au): Direct action plan sets generous emission levels
  The Federal Environment Minister Greg Hunt has revealed generous baseline emissions criteria with the release of the Direct Action White Paper. Direct Action is the Coalition Government's climate change policy based on an Emissions Reduction Fund (ERF) that pays polluters to reduce emissions. Setting emissions baselines will set a floor level of allowable CO2 emissions industries such as oil and gas, mining, electricity and cement. Minister Hunt says the baselines for industry will be set using the highest emissions level over the last five years.
- 2014/04/24: BBerg: Australia Puts Off Penalties in Proposed Fund to Cut Emissions
  Australia will focus on rewards rather than penalties to slow greenhouse-gas emissions, according to a government blueprint for a new climate policy proposed to start this year. Prime Minister Tony Abbott's government, vowing to throw out the existing levy on emitters, unveiled final details today for an Emissions Reduction Fund with as much as $2.6 billion to help firms lower Australia's emissions, the highest per capita in the developed world. The government will wait until next year to consider consequences for emitters going over their historical baselines, and no more than 130 of the largest polluters would be bound by this "safeguard mechanism."
- 2014/04/24: RTCC: Australia slashes emission penalties in new climate plan
- 2014/04/23: RNE: Tony Abbott's business guru insists the world is cooling
- 2014/04/23: RTCC: Australia's climate policies on verge of meltdown
- 2014/04/23: HotWhopper: Is Maurice Newman telling Tony Abbott he should fire him?
- 2014/04/23: ABC(Au): Treasurer Joe Hockey was concerned GrainCorp bidder Archer Daniel Midland 'not of good character'
- 2014/04/22: ABC(Au): PUP 'will not vote for direct action', says Clive Palmer
- 2014/04/22: ABC(Au): Clive Palmer on collision course with Federal Government over Direct Action climate change policy
- 2014/04/22: ABC(Au): No evidence that man has caused warming [says Maurice Newman, the chairman of the Prime Minister's Business Advisory Council]
- 2014/04/21: ABC(Au): Pensions before action on climate change
  Clive Palmer has called the Abbott government's direct action policy a 'token effort' and urged that the money be spent on supporting pensioners instead.
- 2014/04/21: CPunch: Dark Histories -- Tony Abbott, the NDH and Australia's Fascist Affair
The Renewable Energy Target Review is underway:
- 2014/04/24: RNE: "Farcical" start to Tony Abbott's renewable energy review
- 2014/04/22: RNE: Renewables review kicks off with big battle over numbers
  The Abbott government's controversial review of Australia's renewable energy target (RET) begins in earnest on Wednesday with a public meeting in Sydney that will wrestle with one of the key issues -- how to define the numbers.
After years of wrangling, the Murray Darling Basin Plan is in place, but the water management fights are far from finished:
- 2014/04/25: ABC(Au): Lake Wyangan safe after a five month shut down
- 2014/04/24: ABC(Au): New water source [Bungaroo Valley bore] switched on for Pilbara iron ore operations
- 2014/04/23: ABC(Au): Tibooburra to have at least 2 years' water supply
  Authorities believe Tibooburra residents now have at least two years' water supply. The town faced a serious water shortage earlier this year, prompting the State Government to step in and fund tanks and water cartage to the town. Tibooburra Water's Dan Hough says the town would have been at crisis point without the help. He says recent rainfall and repairs to the treatment plant's ensured the town will have a secure supply in the future.
- 2014/04/23: ABC(Au): Mixed fortunes for drought-ravaged farmers across New South Wales
- 2014/04/22: ABC(Au): South Australians paying highest water prices in the nation: Essential Services Commission
- 2014/04/22: ABC(Au): Conservation Foundation wants Water Commission reprieve
  The Australian Conservation Foundation has urged the Federal Government to continue funding the National Water Commission beyond this year. The ABC understands it's likely the independent, national water auditing and monitoring agency will be scrapped in the upcoming Federal Budget, as the government chases savings.
- 2014/04/21: ABC(Au): National Water Commission under budget threat
- 2014/04/21: ABC(Au): National Water Commission under threat from Federal Government budget cuts
- 2014/04/21: ABC(Au): Irrigators not worried about Water Commission cuts
  The head of the National Irrigators' Council says he's not surprised by reports the National Water Commission faces the axe in the upcoming Federal Budget. The ABC understands the Commission is likely to be cut altogether in the May Budget, after surviving significant cuts to funding in recent years. The Commission was formed almost a decade ago to drive water policy reform, and plays an auditing and monitoring role in the Murray-Darling Basin in particular.
The Federal and now the State Liberals are bent on trashing the hard won Tasmanian forest deal:
- 2014/04/27: ABC(Au): Hundreds rally in the Florentine over the government's move to delist some of Tasmania's world heritage forest
- 2014/04/25: ABC(Au): Timber assets of collapsed company Gunns sell for $330m
  A Sydney-based forestry investment company has bought the timber assets of collapsed Tasmanian company Gunns for $330 million. The ABC understands New Forests has bought the timber business, which includes Gunns' plantations and access to the port in Burnie.
And in the Indian subcontinent:
- 2014/04/22: Asia Times: India's women lose the election
While in China:
- 2014/04/25: TP:JR: China's Legislature Moves To Crack Down On Polluters
- 2014/04/25: DD: China takes on pollution with biggest changes in 25 years - 'It's good news for just about everyone except U.S. coal mining companies'
- 2014/04/24: BBerg: China Takes On Pollution With Biggest Changes in 25 Years
- 2014/04/24: ABC(Au): China amends environmental protection law to tackle pollution
  Chinese lawmakers have passed amendments to the country's environmental protection law that will impose tougher punishments for polluters. The revisions - the first change to the legislation in 25 years - were approved by the National People's Congress on Thursday.
- 2014/04/22: RTCC: China struggling to meet emissions targets, says top official
  Strong policy mechanisms needed to keep China on track to reduce emissions intensity 17% by 2015, says NDRC chief
- 2014/04/21: BBerg: China Premier Li Reiterates Plans to Boost Clean Energy
And in Japan:
- 2014/04/22: OilChange: Japan Urged To Stop Financing Coal ahead of Obama-Abe Summit
While elsewhere in Asia:
And in Russia:
While in Africa:
- 2014/04/23: RTCC: African Development Bank launches new climate change fund
In Canada, neocon PM Harper, aka The Blight, pushes petroleum while ignoring the climate and ecology:
Resonances of the Lac Mégantic tragedy linger:
- 2014/04/25: Grist: Canada orders dangerous oil cars off its railways
- 2014/04/25: PostMedia: Off the rails: B.C. train derailments jump 20 per cent to five-year high (with map and chart)
  A total of 110 incidents in 2013 marked a five-year high, according to the Transportation Safety Board
- 2014/04/23: BCLSB: Oil By Rail Just Got More Expensive
- 2014/04/23: CBC: Rail safety improvements announced by Lisa Raitt in wake of Lac-Mégantic
  Transport minister wants rapid phase-out of old tanker cars, emergency response plans
- 2014/04/20: PostMedia: The legal quagmire of Lac-Mégantic
  Plans are finally taking shape for financial compensation of derailment victims Nine months after a runaway oil train derailed in Lac-Mégantic, killing 47 people and destroying a large chunk of the town, a plan for financially compensating disaster victims is taking shape. Judges in Quebec and Maine have approved a joint cross-border process for victims of the accident to file claims against Montreal, Maine and Atlantic Railway and its Canadian operations, Montreal, Maine and Atlantic Canada. The two companies have been under bankruptcy protection since August. Thousands of claims related to the derailment are expected to be filed against MMA. Public information meetings on the financial-claims process are to begin in Lac-Mégantic next week. Claims must be filed by the middle of June.
In case you had any doubt what the Federal Cabinet's decision would be after the NEB approves the Northern Gateway:
- 2014/04/23: DeSmogBlog: Critics Concerned Pipelines, Tankers Reason for Downgrading "Threatened" Status of Humpback Whales
- 2014/04/23: MSimon: The Con Regime and the Whale Songs of Resistance
- 2014/04/22: CfC: Whale of a tale
- 2014/04/22: Reuters: Canada aims to ease whale protection as pipeline decision looms
- 2014/04/22: CBC: Humpback whale losing 'threatened' status amid Northern Gateway concerns
- 2014/04/21: PostMedia: Ottawa removing North Pacific humpback whales from list of 'threatened' species
  The Harper government is downgrading the protection of the North Pacific humpback whale despite objections from a clear majority of groups that were consulted. Critics say the whales could face greater danger if two major oilsands pipeline projects get the go-ahead, since both would result in a sharp increase in movement of large vessels on the West Coast that occasionally collide with, and kill, whales like the humpback. The decision was made under the Species At Risk Act (SARA), and declares the humpback a "species of special concern" rather than "threatened." The reclassification means the humpback will no longer be "subject to the general prohibitions set out in SARA, nor would its critical habitat be required to be legally protected under SARA," states the federal government notice published this month in the Canada Gazette. The decision removes a major legal hurdle that the environmental group Ecojustice said stood in the way of the $7.9-billion Northern Gateway pipeline project that would bring 550,000 barrels of diluted bitumen crude from Alberta to Kitimat.
Regarding the ELA:
- 2014/04/23: NatureNB: Sponsor a fish and save Canada's experimental lakes
Regarding the grain backlog:
- 2014/04/23: Rabble:DH: Grain, trains and autocrats: Farmers pay the price of dismantling the Wheat Board
Pipelines - Natural Gasand Liquids:

There are getting to be so manyoil andgas pipelines, one almost needs a scorecard:
1. The battle over the Northern Gateway pipeline rages on
2. There are hearings for the Kinder Morgan expansion coming up
The battle over the Northern Gateway pipeline rages on:
They're arguing about the Kinder Morgan Trans Mountain pipeline expansion hearings:
What's the state of the West Coast salmon fishery?
- 2014/04/24: AlexandraMorton: DFO's Mandate is Not What You Think
- 2014/04/23: TheCanadian: First Nations show Nancy Greene, Harper govt positive alternative to open net fish farms
Meanwhile in BC:
- 2014/04/26: TheCanadian: Northwest Transmission Line: Environmental, financial boondoggle
- 2014/04/24: PI: Poll: British Columbians ready to shift away from fossil fuels
  Seven in ten see economic opportunity in developing cleaner sources of energy
- 2014/04/24: Tyee: Sketchy Claims Inflate BC's Wood Energy Exports
  In efforts to sell 'biomass energy' to Europe and beyond, the climate may be the loser.
- 2014/04/24: DeSmogBlog: New Poll Finds Most B.C. Residents Want Shift From Fossil Fuels to Clean Energy
- 2014/04/21: TheCanadian: Environment Ministry staff warn BC govt about LNG emissions
- 2014/04/20: G&M: Environment Minister Polak warned about LNG greenhouse gas emissions
  British Columbia Environment Ministry staff have warned their minister that the province's dreamed-of liquefied natural gas industry poses some big challenges with greenhouse gas emissions. Internal briefing notes prepared for Environment Minister Mary Polak since she took office last year and obtained by The Canadian Press, single out methane emissions for concern.
Meanwhile in that Mechanical Mordor known as the tar sands:
- 2014/04/25: CBC: Syncrude coker shutdown will reduce oil output
- 2014/04/21: PostMedia: Worker killed at Suncor site
  An electrician at the Suncor Energy oilsands site in northern Alberta is dead after being severely injured on the job Sunday morning. The man had been working at the company's site about 25 kilometres outside Fort McMurray.
Also in Alberta:
- 2014/04/24: DeSmogBlog: Alberta Ramps Up "Responsible Energy Development" Sales Pitch in Wake of New Keystone XL Delay
While in Saskatchewan:
- 2014/04/22: CBC: Keystone XL delay a 'major blow' to energy industry: Sask.'s Brad Wall
And in Manitoba:
In the Maritimes:
- 2014/04/23: CBC: Maritime flooding fears grow as rainfall warnings issued
And on the American political front:
- 2014/04/25: Grist: Al Gore talks climate, Tesla, and the Koch brothers in a new Politico interview
- 2014/04/25: RawStory: SC Republican wants to end public schools: Nothing 'in the Bible about state education'
- 2014/04/24: UCSUSA:B: The U.S. National Climate Assessment: A Detailed Evaluation of the Scientific Evidence on Climate Change
- 2014/04/24: UCSUSA:B: Proposal to Dismantle Ohio's Clean Energy Standards Based More on Science Fiction than Fact
- 2014/04/24: TP:JR: Six Major Cities Add Their Support To Chesapeake Bay Cleanup Plan
- 2014/04/24: TP:JR: The Weird And Wondrous Politics Of Climate Change In Massachusetts
- 2014/04/24: Grist: Oregon tells rail companies to keep oil deliveries secret
- 2014/04/23: RTCC: Carter slams Koch brothers for funding climate denial
  Climate debate skewed by "uncontrollable" donations from vested interests, says former US president Jimmy Carter has criticised the Koch brothers for distorting the climate change debate through multi-million dollar donations to sceptic organisations.
- 2014/04/23: PSinclair: Republicans Who Oppose Solar "will be wiped out"
- 2014/04/23: TP:JR: After Some Counties In Texas Released Air Pollution Data, A State Agency Cut Their Funding
- 2014/04/23: ICN: Texas Yanks Funding From San Antonio Air Quality Program For Releasing Emissions Data
  San Antonio loses 25% of its state-funded air quality grant after an employee makes some draft data on oil and gas drilling pollution public.
- 2014/04/22: TP:JR: Will Pennsylvania's Proposed Anti-Smog Regs Actually Create New Pollution Hot Spots?
- 2014/04/22: UCSUSA:B: California, Don't Put the Brakes on Cleaner Diesel Trucks
- 2014/04/22: RNE: How a small county in California went grid positive - Yolo County produces 152 percent more energy than it uses
- 2014/04/21: SFGate: Fracking foes cringe as unions back drilling boom
- 2014/04/21: WSWS: America's hungry 21st Century
  Feeding America, the US national network of food banks, released its annual report on local food insecurity Thursday, showing that one in six Americans, including one in five children, did not have enough to eat at some point in 2012.
The Keystone XL wheel grinds slowly. And it grinds woe:
- 2014/04/26: Grist: Cowboys and Indians stage a feisty Keystone XL protest
- 2014/04/25: CensoredNews: Reject Keystone! Ponca Casey Camp opens ceremony at Sec State John Kerry home
- 2014/04/25: PoliticsReSpun: Let's Play Cowboys and Indians
- 2014/04/24: 350orBust: Indians And Cowboys Join Together To Reject & Protect
- 2014/04/24: PSinclair: Has Obama Made up His Mind on Keystone?
- 2014/04/24: CBC: Keystone XL protesters get wet, but not arrested, in D.C. -- Protesters stood in the reflecting pool beside the Lincoln Memorial
- 2014/04/23: CPunch: The Cowboy-Indian Alliance - Building Bridges to Protect the Land
- 2014/04/23: OilChange: Cowboys and Indians Unite Against the KXL
- 2014/04/23: CensoredNews: Hundreds of media cover Cowboy Indian Alliance in DC resisting Keystone XL pipeline
- 2014/04/23: BCLSB: Jonathon Chait On Keystone XL
- 2014/04/22: RTCC: Cowboys and Indians unite on Capitol Hill in Keystone protest
- 2014/04/22: CBC: Keystone XL pipeline protesters gather in Washington
  'Reject and Protect' demonstrators promise to fight together against common foe
- 2014/04/22: CensoredNews: Marvel Handboy's Photos: Cowboys and Indians Resist Keystone in DC
- 2014/04/22: CensoredNews: Faith Spotted Eagle 'Indian Women defending land from Keystone XL pipeline'
- 2014/04/22: CensoredNews: VIDEO 'Reject and Protect' Cowboy Indian Alliance 'NO!' Keystone pipeline
- 2014/04/22: CensoredNews: John Kane, Mohawk 'It's not just the pipe -- it's what's in it'
- 2014/04/22: TP:JR: Delaying The Keystone XL Decision Wasn't All About Politics
- 2014/04/22: OilChange: KXL: "Reject and Protect" Protest Begins
- 2014/04/21: ICN: What the Latest Keystone XL Delay Really Means
  The passage of time may shift the debate to two substantive issues: the pipeline's effect on America's oil supply and on international climate talks.
- 2014/04/21: BBerg: Keystone Pipeline Fate Now in Hands of Nebraskan Jurists
  The focus of the Keystone XL debate has shifted from a fierce lobbying war in Washington to Lincoln, Nebraska, where the state Supreme Court has been asked to weigh a legal challenge to the pipeline.
Leaks and spills:

Jeez! It's getting hard to keep all the spills and leaks straight. You need a map. Let's see...:
In West Virginia, Freedom Industries spilled coal cleaning chemicals into the Elk river:
- 2014/04/23: TP:JR: Federal Report Shines Light On Health Impacts Of West Virginia [Freedom Industries] Chemical Spill
The BP disaster continues to twist US politics:
Corporations dumped toxic waste in the Toms River for years:
- 2014/04/23: DemNow: Toms River: How a Small Town Fought Back Against Corporate Giants for Toxic Dumping Linked to Cancer
Williams Partners LP Natural Gas Plant Explosion Forces Evacuation Of Opal, Wyoming:
- 2014/04/25: Grist: This [company Williams energy's] gas plants just keep on exploding
- 2014/04/24: TP:JR: Explosion At [Williams Partners LP] Natural Gas Plant Forces Evacuation Of Wyoming Town. Opal
The GOP War on Women continues. See also:
- 2014/04/25: Wonkette: Come Bathe In This Torrent Of Young Republican Tears, Weeping About Wire Hangers
- 2014/04/23: ACLU: Clear Majority of Americans Support Birth Control Rule
- 2014/04/22: Eureka: More than two-thirds of Americans support mandated coverage of birth control in health plans
  As Obamacare's contraceptive coverage mandate is challenged in Supreme Court, national survey finds women, blacks and Hispanics more likely to agree with policy
The actions of the Obama administration are being watched closely:
- 2014/04/26: AutoBG: EPA says automakers ahead of schedule for 54.5 MPG by 2025
- 2014/04/25: UCSUSA:B: EPA Emission Standards: The First Inning is Over, and Automakers are Ahead...For Now
- 2014/04/24: ICN: Federal Pipeline and Oil-by-Rail Regulator Facing 9% Staff Cut, Confounding Experts
  Job cuts come at a time when PHMSA is struggling to regulate the nation's aging pipeline network and new pipelines tied to the oil and gas boom.
- 2014/04/23: SciAm: Biofuels Mandate Is Cut Drastically [to 810,185 gallons from 6 million gallons]
  EPA decision to sharply reduce the amount of cellulosic biofuel in the U.S. fuel supply strangely pleases oil companies and environmental groups
- 2014/04/23: CPI: U.S. announces sweeping reforms to protect coal miners from black lung disease
- 2014/04/22: TP:JR: White House Approves Coal Dust Rules Aimed At Dropping Rates Of Black Lung Disease
- 2014/04/22: RTCC: US military told to boost renewables in energy policy overhaul
- 2014/04/21: NOAA: NOAA releases Arctic Action Plan
- 2014/04/21: CleanTechnica: Department Of Energy Releases Strategic Plan With Priority On Vehicle Efficiency
As for what is going on in Congress:
- 2014/04/26: PSinclair: Climate-Change-Denial Doofus Turns Climate-Change-Acknowledging Doofus [Grimm]
- 2014/04/25: TPM: GOP Climate Change Skeptic Becomes A True Believer After Sandy
  In a rare move, a sitting Republican congressman is publicly accepting the scientific consensus of man-made climate change, breaking with the vast majority of his party to join the vast majority of climate scientists. Rep. Michael Grimm (R-NY) reveals his change of heart in an interview with MSNBC anchor Chris Hayes airing Sunday on the Showtime documentary series "Years Of Living Dangerously," the transcript of which was provided in advance to TPM. "[T]he mass majority of respected scientists say that it's conclusive, the evidence is clear. So I don't think the jury is out," Grimm says.
- 2014/04/24: ScienceInsider: NSF's Science Board Criticizes Bill to Alter Agency's Programs
- 2014/04/24: EENews: Energy Policy: Following pipeline delay, KXL politics may derail efficiency bill
- 2014/04/23: OilChange: New Bill Aims to Tackle Dirty Money in Politics
- 2014/04/21: NatJo: Not a Single Republican Has Mentioned Earth Day in Congress Since 2010
What comes after Capitalism?
- 2014/04/23: Nation: This Is How to Create a Green Economy That Works for All
IPAT [Impact = Population * Affluence * Technology] raised its head once again:
Apocalypso anyone?
How do the corporate media measure up?
Here is something for your library:
- 2014/04/24: Rabble: 'The Sixth Extinction' and our looming catastrophe
  [Book Review] _The Sixth Extinction: An Unnatural History_ by Elizabeth Kolbert
- Abrams: [Book Page] _Terra Nova: The New World After Oil, Cars, and Suburbs_ by Eric W. Sanderson
And for your film & video enjoyment:
As for podcasts:
Meanwhile among the 'Sue the Bastards!' contingent:
- 2014/04/26: DeSmogBlog: Favorable Court Ruling Lets Americans Breathe Easier
- 2014/04/24: CleanTechnica: Fracking Loses Huge Fight, In Texas No Less
- 2014/04/24: WSWS: Minnesota renewable energy law overturned by North Dakota coal company lawsuit
  On Friday, a federal judge struck down the essential parts of Minnesota's 2007 coal law, which effectively barred Minnesota from building new coal plants and importing new sources of coal-based electricity. The lawsuit, brought by a variety of powerful corporate energy groups, demonstrates the colossal power large corporations have over public policy.
- 2014/04/23: Grist: Pony up, frackers: Texas family wins $3 million in contamination lawsuit
- 2014/04/23: DeSmogBlog: Barnett Shale Fracking Victims Win First Round in Court Battle with Gas Industry
- 2014/04/23: TP:JR: In Landmark Ruling, Jury Says Fracking Company Must Pay $3 Million To Sickened Family
- 2014/04/22: DeSmogBlog: Breaking: $3 Million Jury Verdict in Texas Fracking Nuisance Case
- 2014/04/18: StarTrib: Judge strikes down Minnesota's anti-coal energy law
  A federal judge on Friday struck down a landmark 2007 Minnesota law that bans new power generation from coal, saying it regulates business activities of out-of-state utilities in violation of the U.S. Constitution's commerce clause.
- 2014/04/21: Grist: Minnesota can't say no to coal power, judge rules
Among the several suits involving Michael Mann:
- 2014/04/23: CJR: Climate scientist's privacy victory may prove a loss for journalists -- Court ruling limits access to public information in Virginia
Developing a new energy infrastructure is a fundamental challenge of the current generation:
What do you have in energy comparisons and transitions?
- 2014/04/27: Lenz: New Nuclear More Expensive Than Solar/Wind -- So What?
- 2014/04/23: RNE: Wind and solar generation half the cost of nuclear
- 2014/04/22: CNN: As nuclear power dies, solar rises
  Writers [Denis Hayes & Scott Denman]: On Earth Day we celebrate the dawn of the Solar Age, decline of nuclear power - They say in the U.S. and worldwide, solar power installations are proliferating - Writers: Nuclear reactors are aging and uncompetitive and it's too expensive to build new ones - Writers: In 2013, U.S. and the world on threshold of sustainable, clean energy future
What's changing in energy investments?
- 2014/04/25: GLaden: Clean Energy Tipping Point
Hey! Let's contaminate the aquifers for thousands of years! It'll be a fracking gas!
- 2014/04/25: TP:JR: Drilling Company Announces It Will Disclose All The Chemicals In Fracking Fluid
- 2014/04/25: RTCC: How long can the fracking revolution last?
  Water shortages and concerns over fugitive emissions are causing some to question how long shale drilling will last
- 2014/04/25: DeSmogBlog: Ohio Geologists Link Earthquakes to Fracking, State Introduces Seismic Monitoring
- 2014/04/25: TruthDig: Questions on the Future of Fracking
- 2014/04/24: USAToday: Major firm to disclose fracking chemicals
  In a major shift quietly announced Thursday, a leading hydraulic fracturing supplier said it would begin disclosing all of the chemicals used in so-called fracking without regard to trade secrets.
Houston-based Baker Hughes said it "believes it is possible to disclose 100% of the chemical ingredients we use in hydraulic fracturing fluids without compromising our formulations -- a balance that increases public trust while encouraging commercial innovation."
2014/04/24: CleanTechnica: Fracking Loses Huge Fight, In Texas No Less
2014/04/24: WSWS: Oppose the fracking operation at Barton Moss
2014/04/23: Grist: Pony up, frackers: Texas family wins $3 million in contamination lawsuit
2014/04/23: DeSmogBlog: Barnett Shale Fracking Victims Win First Round in Court Battle with Gas Industry
2014/04/21: SFGate: Fracking foes cringe as unions back drilling boom

On the coal front:
- 2014/04/23: CPI: U.S. announces sweeping reforms to protect coal miners from black lung disease
- 2014/04/22: NBF: China and Japan plan on using more coal power
On the gas and oil front:
- 2014/04/25: BBerg: Closing oil prices Friday
  OIL (US$/bbl)
  Dated Brent Spot....109.58
  WTI Cushing Spot....100.60
- 2014/04/25: al Jazeera: Iran petrol prices surge after subsidies cut
  Prices rise by up to 75 percent as president makes potentially risky bid to used saved money to tackle unemployment.
  [...]
  Subsidised petrol, available to each motorist in limited amounts, rose from $0.16 a litre to $0.28. The price for petrol sold outside that ration rose from $0.28 to $0.39.
- 2014/04/23: BBerg: Shale Boom Sends U.S. Crude Supply to Highest Since 1930s
- 2014/04/22: DeSmogBlog: Very Little Cheap Natural Gas in New York Marcellus Shale, New Report Concludes
- 2014/04/20: RI: Perverse outcomes: Lifting U.S. oil export ban would mean greater dependence on foreign oil
Ships and boats and trains -- How to tranport the stuff?
- 2014/04/25: Grist: Canada orders dangerous oil cars off its railways
- 2014/04/24: ICN: Federal Pipeline and Oil-by-Rail Regulator Making 9% Staff Cut, Confounding Experts
  Job cuts come at a time when PHMSA is struggling to regulate the nation's aging pipeline network and new pipelines tied to the oil and gas boom.
- 2014/04/24: Grist: Oregon tells rail companies to keep oil deliveries secret
Biofuel bickering abounds:
- 2014/04/25: UCSUSA:B: New Study on Corn Waste Biofuel's Emissions: Worthy Topic, Flawed Conclusion
- 2014/04/23: SciAm: Biofuels Mandate Is Cut Drastically [to 810,185 gallons from 6 million gallons]
  EPA decision to sharply reduce the amount of cellulosic biofuel in the U.S. fuel supply strangely pleases oil companies and environmental groups
- 2014/04/23: NatureN: Renewable energy: Biofuels heat up
  A new generation of industrial plants can make liquid fuels from almost any organic scraps -- from corn stalks and wood chips to urban rubbish.
- 2014/04/23: Tyee: Biomass Fuel: Worse for Climate than Coal?
  It depends. Do you mean now, or decades later?
- 2014/04/22: Tyee: Are Climate Claims for Burning Renewable Trees a Smokescreen?
  The answer surprised us too.
- 2014/04/22: Grist: Turkey's nutty green idea for heating its eco-city? Pistachios
- 2014/04/22: Grist: Corn waste-based ethanol could be worse for the climate than gasoline
- 2014/04/21: AutoBG: AMA points to EPA document to prove ethanol damages small engines
- 2014/04/21: CBC: Ethanol made from corn stalks spews more CO2 than gasoline -- Study suggests biofuel won't qualify for subsidies as renewable fuel
- 2014/04/21: SciAm:PI: Corn-waste biofuels might be worse than gasoline in the short term
- 2014/04/20: UNL: Study casts doubt on climate benefit of biofuels from corn residue
- 2014/04/20: NBF: Ethanol is bad for the environment overall and is increasing the cost of food for 500 million poor people
The answer my friend...
Meanwhile among the solar aficionados:
The nuclear energy controversy continues:
Nuclear waste storage requires _very_ long term thinking:
- 2014/04/25: EneNews: Strange Events in Gov't WIPP Report: Emergency personnel needed for 'reddish-brown vapors' observed after 'unplanned, excessive exothermic reaction'...
- 2014/04/24: EneNews: PHOTO: Broken roof bolts directly above WIPP nuclear waste were reported the day before radiation event -- Cracks seen in nearby wall...
- 2014/04/24: EneNews: Gov't Report: 'Green burst' seen at WIPP utility yard just minutes before radiation event began -- 'Popping noise' heard by facility manager investigating incident
- 2014/04/24: EneNews: Wall St. Journal: Report reveals WIPP containment system leaked radiation
- 2014/04/24: EneNews: New data shows spike in babies born missing parts of brain around [Hanford] leaking US nuclear site...
- 2014/04/22: AbqJournal: WIPP workers face big changes
  Their jobs won't ever be the same. Now that contamination has been discovered underground - although the extent is still unknown - the contractor that runs the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant says workers will face a new paradigm when they return to the site: more formality, tougher rules and more protective gear.
- 2014/04/21: WSWS: Search crew finds location but not source of leak at [WIPP] New Mexico nuclear waste storage site
- 2014/04/20: Guardian(UK): Cumbrian nuclear dump 'virtually certain' to be eroded by rising sea levels
  One million cubic metres of waste near Sellafield are housed at a site that was a mistake, admits Environment Agency
Nuclear fusion has been 'Just 20 years away' for the past 60 years:
- 2014/04/24: BBC: UK centre to shoot for nuclear fusion record [by the end of the decade]
More people are talking about the electrical grid:
How are the utilities adjusting (or not)?
- 2014/04/26: CleanTechnica: Oklahoma Law Allows Utilities To Apply For Higher Rooftop Solar Rates
- 2014/04/23: RNE: Oklahoma utilities hit homes using solar with extra fee
- 2014/04/22: EENews: Electricity: Why aren't Southern utilities jumping into the solar business?
- 2014/04/22: NewsOK: Okla. Utilities Hit Homes Using Solar With Extra Fee
- 2014/04/22: CleanTechnica: What Was Kansas Really About? Trying to comprehend the net metering wars.
- 2014/04/22: RNE: Will utilities control behind-the-meter solar batteries?
- 2014/04/21: NewsOK: Oklahoma electric utilities want higher rate for solar, wind energy producers
  Senate Bill 1456 allows regulated utilities to apply to the Oklahoma Corporation Commission to charge a higher base rate to customers who generate solar and wind energy and send their excess power back into the grid. The bill passed the Legislature and is on Gov. Mary Fallin's desk.
- 2014/04/21: PSinclair: Utilities: Transformation or Die-Off?
And then there is the matter of efficiency & conservation:
Automakers & lawyers, engineers & activists argue over the future of the car:
- 2014/04/27: CleanTechnica: What's The Greenest Car When You Take Fuel Sources Into Account? (chart)
- 2014/04/24: CNN: Chinese drivers hesitant to adopt electric cars
  Denza is an affordable electric vehicle that taps the Chinese mass market - Government hopes to put 5 million green cars on the roads by 2020 - Nationwide network of charging stations may soon be reality
- 2014/04/24: CleanTechnica: BMW Boosting Production Of The i3 To Keep Up With Strong Demand
- 2014/04/23: CleanTechnica: Canada Approves BYD's eBus
- 2014/04/23: CleanTechnica: Tesla Will Get Less For Its ZEV Credits Under New California Rule
- 2014/04/22: CleanTechnica: Volvo S60 Plug-In Hybrid Debuts In Beijing
- 2014/04/22: UBardi: Lao Tzu on electric vehicles
- 2014/04/22: CBC: Earth Day 2014: Electric cars at a 'tipping point' -- Clean vehicles challenge the auto-industry status quo
As for Energy Storage:
The reaction of business to climate change will be critical:
- 2014/04/26: TP:JR: General Electric To Invest $1 Billion A Year In Renewable Projects
- 2014/04/22: TruthDig: Business Leaders Are Concerned About Climate Change, Just Not in North America
What do we have in (weekly) lists?
- 2014/04/26: SkS: 2014 SkS Weekly News Roundup #17 by John Hartz
- 2014/04/21: FukuLeaks: Fukushima Nuclear News Roundup
Anything in pithy quotes this week?
- 2014/04/21: PSinclair: In Your Heart, You Know He's Right
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.
More on that forced retraction of the Recursive Fury paper:
2014/04/24: HotWhopper: No need for fury: Ethics and internet research
2014/04/21: SBrophy: Down the Rabbit Hole: The Surreal Case of Frontiers in Psychology Retracting a Paper by Lewandowsky, et al. (Part 1)

As for climate miscellanea:
And here are a couple of sites you may find interesting and/or useful:
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.

"For the first time in human history, food production will be limited on a global scale by the availability of land, water and energy. Food issues could become as politically destabilizing by 2050 as energy issues are today." -Dr. Fred Davies, senior science advisor for USAID
Last modified April 27, 2014

Another Week of Climate Disruption News, April 27, 2014

Information Overload is Pattern Recognition

April 27, 2014

It's always nice to start with a chuckle:

And in the unintentional humour department:

Looking ahead to COP20 and future international climate negotiations:

Some post WG1/WG2/WG3 commentary:

Rah Rah Earth Day!

Boo Hiss Earth Day!

How is the German Energy Transition [Energiewende] doing?

And on the Bottom Line:

So, If we put a price on nature, will it deal with externalities and lead to greater conservation or will it lead to greater exploitation or what?

Here is something for your Crap Detector:

John Cook and friends continue their point-counterpoint articles:

A note on theFukushima disaster:

Not much good news coming out of Fukushima:

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

The Arctic melt continues to garner attention:

As for the geopolitics of Arctic resources:

While in Antarctica:

The food crisis is ongoing:

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

Food Prices are still problematic:

Regarding the food factor in rebellion:

What are the food corps up to?

Regarding labelling GM food:

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

It has been blessedly quiet after TC Jack [24S] faded in the South Indian Ocean:

While elsewhere in the hurricane wars:

And on the Monsoon front:

This week in notable weather:

Got any forecasts?

As for GHGs:

Aerosols are making their presence felt:

What's new in the Weather Machine?

And on the ENSO front:

As for the temperature record:

What's new in proxies?

Meanwhile in near earth orbit:

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

While in the paleoclimate:

What's the State of the Oceans?:

And on the extinction watch:

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

Intimations of Overshoot:

More GW impacts are being seen:

And then there are the world's forests:

Emerging diseases accompany ecological change:

Changes in natural cycles are showing up:

On the tornado front:

As for heatwaves and wild fires:

Corals are a bellwether of the ocean's health:

Glaciers are melting:

Sea levels are rising:

As for hydrological cycle disruptions [floods & droughts]:

First, stop putting GHGs into the atmosphere, Second, begin to reduce current levels of GHGs, Third, save as many species as possible, Fourth, begin to reduce the human population, And elsewhere on the mitigation front:

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

Consider transportation & GHG production:

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

As for carbon sequestration:

Large scale geo-engineering keeps popping up:

What's new in conservation?

While on the adaptation front:

Meanwhile in the journals:

And other significant documents:

As for miscellaneous science:

In the science organizations:

What developments in the ongoing struggle for Open Science?

Regarding Wilson:

Regarding Mann:

Regarding Hayhoe:

Regarding Lovelock:

Meanwhile at the UN:

There is more talk about changing the IPCC process:

The Robin Hood tax, aka the Tobin tax, aka the Bank tax, aka the Financial Transaction tax, keeps coming up:

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

South [& East] China Sea tension persists, as the empire leans on China:

Tensions continue as the empire leans on Syria, Ukraine, Russia...:

In the "global competition for natural resources":

While in the solar spat between India and the USA:

So, If we put a price on nature, will it deal with externalities and lead to greater conservation
or will it lead to greater exploitation or what?

First, stop putting GHGs into the atmosphere,
Second, begin to reduce current levels of GHGs,
Third, save as many species as possible,
Fourth, begin to reduce the human population,
And elsewhere on the mitigation front: