Australia: Climate change role in floods won't be clear for a decade, say scientists
Sydney Morning Herald: THE floods inundating northern NSW and Queensland are likely to have been driven in part by human-induced climate change - although the precise extent of this influence won't be known for another decade.
Leading climate researchers said the frequency of El Nino and La Nina events that bring drought and flood to Australia seems to have increased in the past 30 years, even though such events have been occurring independently of human influence for far longer.
''It's completely naive to exclude... United States: Solar project on French Quarter home still lacking juice
Times-Picayune: A year after the New Orleans City Council voted to let a French Quarter resident install solar panels on the roof of his 19th-century home, the project is no further along. But it's not for lack of trying. In late 2010, Glade Bilby sought approval to install the panels, which turn sunlight into electric power, on one side of the roof of his 3 1/2-story brick townhouse in the 600 block of Esplanade Avenue. However, the Vieux Carre Commission, the city's regulatory agency for the Quarter, voted 5-3... Canada: TransCanada asked to disclose if using Indian steel
Business Standard: US lawmakers have asked a Canadian company to immediately disclose that it is not using steel made in India for trans-America pipeline -- Keystone XL.
At a Congressional hearing last December, TransCanada Corporation had told lawmakers that the steel to be used in trans-America pipeline -- Keystone XL -- would be produced in North America, not India.
Click here for Cloud Computing Also Read Related Stories News Now -India Steel Works cuts its losses to Rs 2 cr-Small players strategic gain... Can Efficiency Counter a Loss of Nuclear Power?
New York Times: The carbon intensity of Japan`s energy mix rose after some nuclear plants shut down in 2011.
In an era when almost every energy technology is unpopular with somebody, the people who don?t want wind turbines, generating stations or new transmission lines installed in their neighborhoods often raise the idea of improving energy efficiency as an alternative.
That argument is particularly common in New York State and in Vermont, where state governments are trying to close nuclear reactors within... Arctic warms to highest level yet as researchers fear tipping points
Mongabay: Last year the Arctic, which is warming faster than anywhere else on Earth due to global climate change, experienced its warmest twelve months yet. According to recent data by NASA, average Arctic temperatures in 2011 were 2.28 degrees Celsius (4.1 degrees Fahrenheit) above those recorded from 1951-1980. As the Arctic warms, imperiling its biodiversity and indigenous people, researchers are increasingly concerned that the region will hit climatic tipping points that could severely impact the rest... Satellites for Climate Checks Get Boost in Demand After Durban Talks
Bloomberg: Brazilian deforestation and melting polar ice caps are feeding a boom in demand in the $2.1 billion market for satellite data, images and services used to monitor the planet.
More images means more satellites and that need has spurred the development of the European Space Agency?s Vega rocket, which lifted off from Kourou, French Guiana, today at about 7 a.m. local time to release nine satellites into orbit on its maiden flight.
?We?re adding this smaller brother to our launchers as there is... With climate change, today's '100-year floods' may happen every three to 20 years: research
Physorg: However, researchers from MIT and Princeton University have found that with climate change, such storms could make landfall far more frequently, causing powerful, devastating storm surges every three to 20 years. The group simulated tens of thousands of storms under different climate conditions, finding that today's "500-year floods" could, with climate change, occur once every 25 to 240 years. The researchers published their results in the current issue of Nature Climate Change.
MIT postdoc Ning... Pressure mounts on EU over aviation emissions trading
Business Green: Europe is becoming increasingly isolated in the face of growing worldwide opposition to its legislation compelling airlines to pay for carbon emitted during flights in and out of EU airports.
China has already banned its carriers from complying with the legislation, which came into force at the beginning of the year, while the US Congress is expected to express its formal opposition for the plan soon, despite the fact a legal bid by US airlines to prove the EU was contravening international aviation... Emissions from deforestation: Out of the woods
Economist: FORESTS are chock-full of carbon. Some three-quarters of the stuff on the Earth's surface lies trapped in leaves, branches, stems and roots. Two to three times more is buried in the soil but it is hard to dislodge. Vegetal carbon, by contrast, is released into the atmosphere whenever woods are engulfed by fire, pests or tree-uprooting winds. Or humans: some experts reckon that deforestation accounts for as much as 17% of global manmade emissions. Others, though, put the figure at as little as 6%.... Japan approves $9 bilion support for Fukushima plant operator
Reuters: Japan's trade minister approved nearly $9 billion in additional support for Tokyo Electric Power Co to help compensate victims of the Fukushima nuclear crisis on Monday, but said the government would not go ahead with a plan to inject tax money into utility unless it got adequate management say.
The utility's Fukushima plant was wrecked by a quake and tsunami last March, triggering the world's worst nuclear crisis in 25 years and swamping the firm with huge cleanup, compensation and decommissioning... Indonesia?s Oil Supply Runs Deep
Jakarta Globe: About 90 kilometers off the eastern coast of Kalimantan, Chevron is undertaking one of the most ambitious projects in Indonesia, drilling almost two kilometers below sea level to tap crude oil and natural gas from the nation?s vast potential of reserves.
The US energy giant began the $6 billion project in 2008 and the operation won?t start production until 2015, when it is expected to pump more than 30,000 barrels of oil per day, or about 3 percent of the country?s current annual output. It?s... India: Growth should not be at cost of environment: PM
Times of India: Ahead of a meeting with environment ministers of BASIC countries, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Monday said growth is important for the people but should take place in a way which does not harm the environment.
"Economic growth is essential for the people, but we cannot allow growth to be pursued in a manner which damages our environment," the PM said on Twitter, according to the PMO.
Environment ministers of BASIC countries- Brazil, South Africa, India and China- are calling upon the Prime... New Fukushima scare blamed on faulty thermometer
Reuters: A scare over temperatures rising near danger level in a reactor at Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, where workers are battling to prevent a resurgence of the radiation crisis, could be a false alarm, the plant operator said on Monday.
Instruments showed the temperature inside the plant's No.2 reactor topped 90 Celsius on Monday, double what it was a month ago and close to boiling point, in which water cooling nuclear fuel in the reactor could evaporate and start a new meltdown.
But a faulty... A Story of the Earth Liberation Front - BBC trailer
Guardian: Watch the trailer for an Academy Award-nominated documentary, which tells the story of an American environmentalist involved with the Earth Liberation Front - a group the FBI came to describe as America's 'number one domestic terrorism threat'. Tensions grow over EU aviation emissions
Reuters: Global planemaker Airbus joined a chorus of concern that a European scheme to charge airlines for carbon emissions risks triggering a full-blown trade war, with implications for plane deals and even Europe's crippling sovereign debt crisis.
The EU's Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS), introduced on January 1, has drawn howls of protest from airlines around the world, with China banning its carriers from taking part.
The escalating row comes on the eve of a China-EU summit in Beijing, with the EU... EU Won't Drop Aviation CO2 Scheme
Reuters: The European Union will not bow to pressure to suspend a controversial scheme to charge airlines for their carbon emissions, but is willing to be flexible in finding a solution to a row that threatens to escalate into a full-blown trade war. The introduction on January 1 of the European Union's Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) has drawn howls of protest from airlines around the world, with China banning its carriers from taking part. "If you think Europe will be forced to suspend, this is not the... EU open to talks but won't scrap carbon tax
Associated Press: Europe is willing to discuss its new carbon emissions tax for airlines with disgruntled governments but has no plans to scrap the levy, top EU officials said Monday.
Airlines and governments have complained the tax is too costly and was implemented without consultation. Industry leaders are warning the disagreement could spark a trade war between Europe and the rest of the world.
"We're ready to negotiate within our framework," Siim Kallas, European Commission vice president and transport commissioner,... Australia: Polluters may pay top-up fee for permits
AAP: A top-up mechanism will mean that big emitters will pay the same price for international and domestic permits when Labor's emissions trading scheme (ETS) gets under way in mid-2015, even if overseas units are ostensibly much cheaper.
The Gillard government's carbon tax starts on July 1 with a $23-a-tonne fixed price before transforming to an ETS with a floating price three years later.
It's possible that at that time the European carbon price - now about $9.60 - will be below the Australian... Canada: Pro-oil lobby retreat urges feds to deliver climate-change solutions
Vancouver Sun: A taxpayer-funded pro-oil lobbying retreat, involving Canada?s European diplomats and industry, has urged the federal government to deliver real climate change solutions to restore the country?s sagging environmental reputation.
The two-day retreat, held last February 1 and 2 in London, England, concluded that Canada?s foreign diplomats don?t have enough resources to deliver on the federal government?s aggressive lobbying strategy to promote the oilsands and fight foreign climate change policies.... Climate change causes harmful algal blooms in North Atlantic: study
Physorg: The study, published in Nature Climate Change found there has been a dramatic switch between the prevalence of dinoflagellates to diatoms ? two groups which include many of the microscopic planktonic plants forming the base of the ocean's food chain.
The patterns show shifts in the distribution of species known to cause harmful effect through toxin poisoning.
The researchers, from Swansea University's Institute of Life Science and the Sir Alister Hardy Foundation for Ocean Science in Plymouth... What Does A Coup In The Maldives Mean For Climate Change?
Scientific American: ?Kyoto divided the world?between rich and poor, developed and developing?our task now is to unite the world behind the shared vision of low carbon growth. The Maldives is trying to lead the way.?
That's Maldives President Mohammed Nasheed at the 2009 Copenhagen Climate Summit.
Or should I say former president? Nasheed was forced out of office this week. Allies of the dictator he democratically defeated seem to have taken over. And Nasheed could be headed to jail, where he?s already been 27... Opposing winds in turbine use
South Coast Today: Editor's note: As Fairhaven looks toward two turbines to claim its stake in what some people consider clean energy's future, the present has become a divisive nightmare. While the debate rages in SouthCoast, two different Massachusetts towns show how differently wind power can affect the people and places that receive them. In one town, the turbines are a source of pioneering pride. The other? A bitter ? and some say literal ? pain.
On a chilly weekday, atop a capped landfill, the massive blades... Community power projects urged to challenge big firms
Scotsman: COMMUNITY-run renewable energy projects should be promoted by ministers to break the grip that the Big Six power firms have over consumers, a leading think-tank director has said.
Philip Blond, the director of Respublica and the man behind David Cameron?s Big Society, has cited examples of community energy projects in Scotland as a potential blueprint for ending the ?closed shop? in the energy market.
His intervention comes as the Big Six energy firms, which include Scottish Power and British... The new anti-science assault on US schools
Guardian: You might have thought it was all over after the 2005 decision by the US district court of Middle Pennsylvania (pdf), which ruled in the case of the Dover Area schools that teaching intelligent design is unconstitutional. You might have guessed that they wouldn't come back after the 1987 US supreme court decision in Edwards v Aguillard, which deemed the teaching of creationism in Louisiana schools unconstitutional. Or maybe you figured that the opponents of evolution had their Waterloo in the 1925... Fukushima reactor readings raise reheating concern
Guardian: Concern is growing that the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in Japan is no longer stable after temperature readings suggested one of its damaged reactors was reheating.
The plant's operator, Tokyo Electric Power (Tepco), said the temperature inside No 2 reactor ? one of three that suffered meltdown after last year's earthquake and tsunami ? may have reached 82C on Sunday.
Tepco said there was no evidence that the melted fuel inside had reached criticality. The utility reportedly increased... Drilling deeper on talk of U.S. energy independence
Seattle Times: If you're like me, you've been reading about a renaissance in American fossil-fuel production. Not just that, but that the United States is on course to gain "energy independence" and even become a significant exporter of natural gas.
"The transformation ... could see the country become the world's top energy producer by 2020," Bloomberg recently reported. Drill, baby, drill, would seem to have succeeded.
Big talk is as old as the Oil Patch. Reality often disappoints. The gusher of cheerleading... Climate experts say warm U.S. winter is due in part to Arctic Oscillation
Dallas Morning News: While Europe suffers a brutal winter of record proportions, the weather has been so mild in the United States that you can slip out some sunny afternoons to the golf course or bike path.
Up north, many snow shovels have stayed in storage. Heating bills have fallen. Nationwide, the average mean temperature was 5 degrees or more above normal over the past month.
Part of the explanation for this year?s mildness stems from the Arctic Oscillation -- atmospheric pressure patterns in the Arctic and... IATA calls for U.N. deal to avert carbon trade war
Reuters: Global airlines called on Sunday for a U.N.-brokered deal to prevent a row over aviation emissions between China and the European Union spilling into a damaging trade war.
The call by the head of the International Air Transport Association (IATA) comes amid signs that the EU may be willing to soften a unilateral stance that also risks souring efforts to resolve Europe's sovereign debt crisis with Chinese support.
In an interview, IATA Director General Tony Tyler said airlines had become wedged... Central African rainforests disappearred from climate change
Economic Times: Climate change combined with human activity caused the disappearance of tropical rainforests in central Africa 3,000 years ago, a study has found.
According to the Prensa Latina news agency, an analysis of marine sediment of the Congo river shows that at that time there was the influence of a strong chemical erosion.
Experts from the French Research Institute for Marine Exploration ( IFREMER) said this deterioration occurred with the arrival of tribal communities that brought agricultural and... China's strategic change on climate has wider aim
Australian: CHINA'S new, high-profile enthusiasm for a green revolution, including a carbon tax and trial carbon trading scheme, reflects strategic concerns that extend well beyond the boundaries of climate change and the desire for a cleaner world.
Both welcomed and greeted with some suspicion, China's internal decisions on carbon pricing cannot be separated from the bigger questions of global trade and reciprocal market access.
China's primary objective is not necessarily to save carbon but to bolster... Where's the Beef? Less of It in Texas
Wall Street Journal: A severe drought in the southern Great Plains is fueling a massive cattle drive north that is pushing beef prices higher and threatening to alter the country's production of red meat.
Surrounded by parched prairies and dry watering holes, ranchers in Texas and Oklahoma have deeply culled their herds and helped cut the national cattle population to the lowest level in decades. They have found greener pastures in states such as Iowa and Nebraska, but land there is more valuable for corn than cattle,... United Kingdom: Problems cast shadows of doubt on solar project
LA Times: One of California's showcase solar energy projects, under construction in the desert east of Los Angeles, is being threatened by a deadly outbreak of distemper among kit foxes and the discovery of a prehistoric human settlement on the work site.
The $1-billion Genesis Solar Energy Project has been expedited by state and federal regulatory agencies that are eager to demonstrate that the nation can build solar plants quickly to ease dependence on fossil fuels and curb global warming.
Instead,... Iran to announce 'major nuclear progress'
Guardian: Iran will soon reveal "very big new achievements" in its controversial nuclear programme, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has announced.
Speaking at a rally in Tehran to mark the 33rd anniversary of the Islamic revolution, Ahmadinejad also said Iran would never give up its uranium enrichment progamme.
"In the coming days the world will witness Iran's announcement of its very important and very major nuclear achievements," Ahmadinejad told a crowd at Tehran's Azadi [Freedom] Square broadcast on... Paleontologists reveal ancient Arctic ecosystem teeming with life
Calgary Herald: Two Canadian scientists have completed a comprehensive portrait of the lush, rainforest-like ecosystem -- populated by prehistoric creatures akin to alligators, hippos and flying lemurs -- that prevailed some 40 million years ago in what is now Canada's northernmost landmass: Ellesmere Island.
The study of hundreds of fossilized species, published in the latest issue of the journal Geological Society of America Bulletin, paints a picture of the ancient Arctic that contrasts sharply with the barren... 2 Celsius is low estimate for climate change by 2100: study
Vancouver Sun: French scientists unveiling new estimates for global warming said the 2 C goal enshrined by the United Nations was "the most optimistic" scenario left for greenhouse-gas emissions.
The estimates, compiled by five scientific institutes, will be handed to the UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) for consideration in its next big overview on global warming and its effects.
The report - the fifth in the series - will be published in three volumes, in September 2013, March 2014... Ocean current slowdown made Earth spin faster
New Scientist: IT SOMETIMES feels as though some months go by faster than others, but November 2009 really did. Events in the Southern Ocean conspired to make the Earth spin ever-so-slightly faster, shortening half of the days in the month by 0.1 milliseconds each.
Different factors affect how fast the Earth spins. For instance, if the winds that whip around the planet slow down, the Earth spins faster to conserve angular momentum.
There was a more down-to-earth cause in November 2009, however. The Antarctic... Climate change speeds up microbial change
Indo-Asian News Service: Climate change could affect Antarctica's Dry Valleys more rapidly than previously expected, particularly the microbial communities in the soil, a study reveals.
"We used to think that microbial change took place slowly over centuries," said Craig Cary, professor at the University of Waikato, who led the study.
"It's important we keep documenting the current biodiversity in Antarctica so we can predict the effects of climate change," said Cary, the journal Nature Communications reported.
To... UN recognizes US Girl Scouts for palm oil effort
Agence France-Presse: The United Nations Thursday recognized two US teens as International Forest Heroes for their efforts to cut the use of Southeast Asia palm oil, production of which is linked to rainforest destruction.
The two 16-year-old Girl Scouts from Michigan, Rhiannon Tomtishen and Madison Vorva, who shared the award with four others from different nations, were recognized for campaigning to get Southeast Asian palm oil out of Girl Scout cookies.
They were among 15 finalists from 14 countries nominated... United Kingdom: Drought alerts remain despite rain and snow
Independent: Much of eastern England remains in a state of drought, despite winter rain and snow, the Environment Agency warned yesterday.
A broad region covering Lincolnshire, Cambridgeshire, west Norfolk and parts of Bedfordshire and Northamptonshire is seriously water-stressed, with springs, rivers and wells drying up.
In North Norfolk, springs at an RSPB nature reserve have run dry, leaving less marshland for wading birds to feed on; domestic wells are drying up on the South Lincolnshire limestone with... Makeup of rain forest may have been altered by farmer
LA Times: Deforestation and climate change may sound like familiar concerns to the modern ear. But a team of French scientists is arguing that even 3,000 years ago, humans may have played a role in transforming the Central African rain forest into the savannas we see today.
As Bantu farmers expanded south and east into the rain forest in search of fertile agricultural land, they may have created savanna 'corridors' that cut into the forest and helped turn that lush landscape into drier grassland, according... Climate change speeds up microbial change
Indo-Asian News Service: Climate change could affect Antarctica's Dry Valleys more rapidly than previously expected, particularly the microbial communities in the soil, a study reveals.
We used to think that microbial change took place slowly over centuries, said Craig Cary, professor at the University of Waikato, who led the study.
It's important we keep documenting the current biodiversity in Antarctica so we can predict the effects of climate change, said Cary, the journal Nature Communications reported.
To do... States Sue E.P.A. Over Delayed Soot Rules
New York Times: The Obama administration, already contending with a lawsuit from health and environmental groups arguing that ozone pollution standards are inadequate, now faces another suit over soot.
Eleven states, including New York and California, joined forces on Friday to sue the federal Environmental Protection Agency in federal district court in Manhattan over the agency?s delays in tightening air quality standards involving fine particulate matter, or soot, from diesel trucks, buses, power plants and... Debate Over Global Warming/Climate Change Heats Up
Voice of America: Hardly a week goes by that we aren`t reporting a story on concerns about global warming.
But, a growing number of people in the scientific community are coming forward to express doubts about the prevailing scientific opinions concerning global warming.
Recently, 16 respected scientists signed a letter, published in the Wall Street Journal, which indicated there is no need to panic about global warming, arguing there`s no compelling scientific argument for drastic action to 'decarbonize' the... Australia: Streams need trees to withstand climate change
Physorg: Researchers from Monash University, the Environment Protection Authority and the Arthur Rylah Institute for Environmental Research studied the effects of drought on Australia's fragile freshwater ecosystems using data collected in Victoria before, during and after the severe drought that lasted from 1997 until 2009.
The sustained monitoring allowed researchers to compare how sites with differing levels of vegetation responded to sustained drought.
The research, published in Global Change Biology,... Scottish renewable energy industry dismisses Donald Trump attack
Guardian: The renewable energy industry has dismissed as "trumped-up nonsense" an attack by Donald Trump on Scottish wind energy projects. But the Scottish government has declined to respond directly to the billionaire's stinging criticism of Alex Salmond's plans for renewable energy.
When asked in an interview on Thursday night about Trump's comments, Salmond replied only with a prediction that once renewable energy created a large number of jobs in Scotland, "just about everybody will get on board, even... 4 million homes will be solar-powered by 2020
Guardian: Nearly 4m homes across the UK will be powered by the sun within eight years, the government said on Thursday, in a dramatic increase of ambition for the fledgling solar power industry.
But the estimate comes on the back of a cut in the subsidies available for solar energy generation, to take effect from April, which will greatly reduce the amount of money households with solar panels will receive. Ministers said the cut was needed because the costs of solar panels have plummeted in recent months,... EU energy-saving law hit by amendments avalanche
Reuters: Plans to improve the European Union's record on energy saving risk stalling over hundreds of highly technical amendments, including one that could be good for Germany and its giant utilities, but bad for poorer nations.
Denmark has made moving towards a political deal on the EU's Energy Efficiency Directive a priority for its six-month tenure as president of the 27-member bloc.
It argues saving energy through measures such as better building insulation would create jobs and help to reduce reliance... Will New Hampshire have a say in developing a regional low-carbon fuel standard?
New Hampshire Business Review: Over the past few years, New Hampshire and 10 other states have been looking to develop a low-carbon standard for transportation fuels. The program would be market based - similar to the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, and the same states would be involved, with the addition of Pennsylvania.
The plan, proponents say, would create an independent energy infrastructure, slow global warming and would have benefits for New Hampshire's wood industry. Opponents, however, see it as based on faulty... Global warming forces elephant seals to dive deeper
Summit Voice: The deep-diving elephant seals of Marion Island, in the southwestern Indian Ocean, are going to even greater depths to find prey like squid, as global warming heats up the water.
Scientists with the Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research who have been tracking the pinnipeds for the past few years say that warming in the upper levels of the ocean has pushed prey to greater depths than ever before, forcing the elephant seals to follow.
?The food in the sea is unevenly distributed.... Nuclear safety, costs loom over OK'd reactors
National Public Radio: The nuclear industry is celebrating the federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission's decision to give the go-ahead for a utility company to build two new nuclear reactors in Georgia, the first license to be granted for a new reactor in the U.S. since 1978. But last year's accident at reactors in Fukushima, Japan, still clouds the future of nuclear power, as does the cost of new power plants.
Southern Co. will build the reactors at its Vogtle site in Georgia, where two older reactors already operate.... United States: Flood warnings at risk as cuts to critical gauges loom
Climate Central: This is the first in an occasional Climate Central series on how reduced funding for scientific observations is affecting climate and weather research and forecasting.
On Sept. 7, 2011, a record deluge associated with Tropical Storm Lee struck Binghamton, N.Y., dumping 7.5 inches of rain in a 24-hour period -- the most the city had ever seen in such a short time. Weather forecasters, emergency managers and rescue teams knew the nearby Susquehanna River was already rising from an unusually wet... Trouble in the air, double on the ground
Economist: COULD a fresh row over airline emissions lead to a global trade war? That is the scariest prospect raised by China?s objections this week to the European Union?s new plan for controlling greenhouse-gas emissions from aeroplanes. The scheme, which came into effect on January 1st, forces airlines flying into the EU to buy tradable carbon credits as part of its broader emissions-trading system.
Many countries are unhappy with the policy, but China?s proclamations this week--official news agencies... Early Humans Played Role in Deforestation of Central Africa, Study Says
Yale Environment 360: A new study says that the activities of early humans ? and not simply a dramatic shift in climate ? played a significant role in transforming the ancient rainforests of Central Africa into savanna. In an analysis of sediment cores taken from the mouth of the Congo River, a team of scientists found evidence that weathering of clay sediment samples, which had been consistent for thousands of years, intensified abruptly about 3,000 years ago, indicating a significant increase in deforestation. According... Nuclear Power vs. Natural Gas
New York Times: When critics say nuclear power is risky, they often mean the risk of an accident. But people in the nuclear industry say that the bigger threat is natural gas.
To look like a smart move, the $14 billion nuclear project undertaken by the Southern Company and its partners must meet several challenges, including actually completing the job for that figure, always a question in nuclear construction.
But for the 104 nuclear reactors now running in this country, and for many of the ones that have... U.S. Oil Fields Stage "Great Revival," But No Easing Gas Prices
National Geographic: The United States has long been seen as a nation in its twilight as an oil producer, facing a relentless decline that began when President Richard Nixon was in the White House. He and every president since pledged to halt the U.S. slide into greater dependence on foreign oil, but the trend seemed irreversible?until now. Forty-one years later, U.S. oil production is on the rise. U.S. oil fields yielded an estimated 5.68 million barrels per day in 2011?their highest output since 2003, thanks largely... Study: Obama mentioning climate change far less in speeches
Brown Herald: Last summer, Brown U. senior Graciela Kincaid was digging around for White House budget statistics on climate finance policy as part of her Undergraduate Teaching and Research Award when she stumbled across something that caught her attention.
"I started looking at speeches online and just out of curiosity started doing word searches on them," she said.
Poring over speeches and press releases of the Obama administration`s top officials, Kincaid compared the number of times officials referred... How not to move forward on achieving sustainability
SciDev.Net: A new intergovernmental panel would not be the best way of tackling the multifaceted challenges of sustainable development.
Whatever its faults, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has successfully brought global warming to the attention of policymakers.
It has marshalled scientific evidence for climate change and its potential impacts in a way that most policymakers (with some notable exceptions) have been able to accept. And success has come despite highly publicised errors... Santorum goes after Romney on energy, climate change
The HIll: Rick Santorum took aim at Mitt Romney for the former governor's position on climate change Friday at the Conservative Political Action Conference.
?Who would be the better person to go after the Obama administration on trying to control the energy and manufacturing sector of our economy and trying to dictate to you what lights to turn on and what car to drive?? Santorum said during his speech at the conference.
?Would it be someone who bought into man-made global warming and imposed the first... Wastewater Reuse Could Increase U.S. Supplies 27 Percent, Report Says
Yale Environment 360: Advanced treatment of municipal wastewater could increase available water supplies in the U.S. by 27 percent, according to a recent report by the National Academy of Sciences. Of the 32 billion gallons of municipal wastewater discharged each day nationwide, about 12 billion gallons of effluent is emptied into an ocean or estuary, the report said. Existing treatment technologies would allow municipalities to reuse that water for a variety of purposes -- including irrigation, industrial use and drinking... Earth Summit is doomed to fail, say leading ecologists
New Scientist: We can forget about fixing the planet's ecosystems and climate until we have fixed government systems, a panel of leading international environmental scientists declared in London on Friday. The solution, they said, may not lie with governments at all.
"We are disillusioned. The current political system is broken," said Bob Watson, the UK government's chief environmental science advisor, who chaired the meeting.
The panel, all winners of the prestigious Blue Planet prize, often seen as the... Early farmers may have impacted climate
United Press International: Present-day humans may not be the first to have affected world climate, researchers say, citing possible changes in Africa triggered by farmers 3,000 years ago.
French geochemist Germain Bayon, writing in the journal Science, says early farmers in Central Africa may have contributed to the disappearance of rainforests that were "abruptly" replaced by savannas, broad grasslands dotted with shrubs and trees.
Bayon and his colleagues studied weathering of sediment samples drawn from the mouth... Climate Change Bird Atlas
Mother Jones: There's an interesting database online through the US Forest Service called the Climate Change Bird Atlas. It's based on another database, the Climate Change Tree Atlas (both are forecasts for eastern forests and birds). One leads to the other, since the fate of forests will affect the future of many species of birds. From the USDA/Forest Service site: Changing forests mean changing habitat for the wildlife species that depends on them. The current and modelled distribution of 150 bird species is... Dunsmore: Candidates and Climate Change
Vermont Public Radio: (Host) Tuesday was a big night for former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum as he significantly won three states in the Republican presidential nomination sweepstakes. Today, commentator and retired ABC News diplomatic correspondent Barrie Dunsmore relates these victories to a important campaign issue.
(Dunsmore) As a consequence of Rick Santorum?s wins, he got much more air time on the cable news channels than he normally receives. So many viewers got a chance to hear what the former senator... Probing a link from Sahara dust to climate change
Physorg: The National Science Foundation (NSF) awarded Min a three-year $399,900 grant to investigate how aerosol affects cloud systems. While many factors are at play, most cannot be accurately measured except by satellite.
Atmospheric aerosols play an important role in the climate. Aerosol is a colloid suspension of fine, solid particles in the air reflecting sunlight and producing cloud droplets. Additional aerosols would therefore brighten clouds and extend their lifetime. Mineral dust is one of four... NRC approves first new nuclear plant in a generation
Reuters: Regulators on Thursday approved plans to build the first new nuclear power plant in the U.S. in more than 30 years, despite objections of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission chairman, who cited safety concerns stemming from Japan's 2011 Fukushima disaster.
The NRC voted 4-1 to allow Atlanta-based Southern Co to build and operate two new nuclear power reactors at its existing Vogtle nuclear power plant in Georgia. The units will cost Southern and partners about $14 billion and enter service as soon... Watchdog clears State Department of impropriety in Keystone pipeline project
New York Times: The State Department?s inspector general has found no conflict of interest or improper political influence in the agency?s review of the disputed Keystone XL pipeline project. But in a report released on Thursday, the official said the department had not adequately weighed concerns about the route of the 1,700-mile pipeline and should strengthen its oversight of contractors performing environmental impact statements for major projects. The proposed Keystone pipeline, which is to carry heavy oil... Super PACs turning to energy donors to spread their message
E and E Daily: While super PACs linked to presidential candidates have drawn most of the spotlight -- and the biggest checks -- so far this election season, groups taking unlimited contributions to play in House and Senate races are starting to see their first cash infusions from donors with a stake in congressional energy debates.
The biggest energy-industry donations to a congressional super PAC, according to an E&E Daily analysis of campaign finance data, came from three coal players to American Crossroads,... United States: Study: Oil-gas pollution tops expectations
Associated Press: Ozone-forming air pollution measured along the Colorado Front Range by scientists is up to twice the amount that government regulators have calculated should exist, according to a new study.
The researchers pinpoint oil and gas development as the main source - a finding that could have broad implications for the petroleum industry across the Rocky Mountain region.
The Front Range in recent years hasn't met U.S. Environmental Protection Agency standards for ozone pollution during the summertime.... U.N. concludes Year of Forests
United Press International: The United Nations is wrapping up its Year of Forests highlighting their social and economic value, officials at U.N headquarters in New York said.
The Year of Forests was a campaign to raise awareness on the importance of forests and the people who depend on them.
"Each of us, all 7 billion people on Earth, has our physical, economic and spiritual health tied to forests," Jan McAlpine, director of the U.N. Forum on Forests Secretariat, said in a release.
A series of events and activities... In Texas Border Town, Drawing a Line on Coal for Mexico
Texas Tribune: George Baxter knows how to fight. The East Coast native dodged bullets while serving in Vietnam. Later, as a United States Border Patrol agent, he guarded a vast swath of rough terrain just across from Mexico. But Mr. Baxter may be gearing up for his toughest battle yet, as he and a coalition of residents in his adopted town of Eagle Pass ? across the border from Piedras Negras, Mexico ? fight a coal partnership that they say is intent on destroying their peaceful way of life. The Dos Republicas... La Nina seems to have peaked, set to decline: WMO
Reuters: La Nina, a weather phenomenon usually linked to heavy rains and flooding in Asia-Pacific and South America and drought in Africa, seems to have reached its peak and is expected to fade between March and May, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) said on Friday.
A weak to moderate La Nina pattern has cooled the tropical Pacific since around October, a considerably weaker event than in 2010-11, the United Nations agency said in a statement.
"Model forecasts and expert interpretation suggest... United Kingdom: Small wind sector predicts big problems if government slashes incentives
Business Green: The wind industry has joined with the solar sector in protesting against proposed cuts to the level of feed-in tariff incentives available for small scale renewables, which according to experts threaten to "kill" the expanding market for small scale wind turbines.
Cuts to the level of support available for solar installations had been widely expected, but in a surprise move the government yesterday unveiled proposals to drastically reduce the level of incentives for small scale wind turbines.... For us climate change is a matter of survival: Maldives
Indo-Asian News Service: The Maldives, the tiny Indian Ocean archipelago that underwent a tumultuous regime change, says the "mistrust" between rich and poor nations on climate change negotiations needs to go and all countries should shun the blame game while dealing with an issue so critical to everyone's survival, particularly small island nations like theirs.
"There is lot of mistrust in climate change negotiations as developing countries think this is obstruction to their development while developed countries think... Canada PM vows to ensure key oil pipeline is built
Reuters: Canada's prime minister on Friday made his strongest comments yet in support of a proposed pipeline from oil-rich Alberta to the Pacific coast, saying his government was committed to ensuring the controversial project went ahead.
Enbridge Inc's Northern Gateway pipeline, which is strongly opposed by green groups and some aboriginal bands, would allow Canada to send tankers of crude to China and reduce reliance on the U.S. market.
An independent energy regulator -- which could in theory reject... United States: World's largest concentrated solar power tower completed
Business Green: US renewable energy developer SolarReserve has this week completed construction of a 540ft (165m) molten salt tower in the Nevada desert thought to be the world's largest.
The tower will form the centrepiece of the 110MW Crescent Dunes concentrated solar power plant, although more than 10,000 tracking mirrors still need to be installed before it opens at the end of 2013.
The mirrors will focus sunlight onto the tower, which will heat up molten salt that then flows down the piping inside the... Did Early Man Contribute to Central Africa Climate Change?
Voice of America: If humans are responsible for speeding the climate change currently underway, it may not be the first time. Scientists say a long time ago in Central Africa, early farmers may have contributed to the disappearance of rainforests. The question is being raised in the journal Science.
Scientists say about 3,000 years ago some of the rainforests were ?abruptly replaced? by savannas ? broad grasslands dotted with shrubs and trees. It was thought that climate change was the reason. But now research... U.S. approves first new nuclear plant in a generation
Reuters: U.S. regulators on Thursday approved plans to build the first new nuclear power plant in more than 30 years in spite of objections of the panel's chairman who cited safety concerns stemming from Japan's disastrous 2011 Fukushima disaster.
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission voted 4-1 to allow Atlanta-based Southern Co to build and operate two new nuclear power reactors at its existing Vogtle nuclear power plant in Georgia. The units will cost Southern and partners about $14 billion and enter service... Glaciers, Ice Caps Losing 150 Billion Tons of Ice Annually
Yale Environment 360: A new analysis of global satellite data has found that the world?s glaciers and ice caps ? excluding Antarctica and Greenland ? lost about 150 billion tons of ice per year between 2003 and 2010, adding about 0.4 millimeters to global sea rise annually. Using data from the twin Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) satellites, researchers at the University of Colorado-Boulder compiled what they say is the most comprehensive data on planetary ice loss. The satellites, which are part of a... Humans drove rainforest into savannah in ancient Africa
Mongabay: Three thousand years ago (around 1000 BCE) several large sections of the Congo rainforest in central Africa suddenly vanished and became savannah. Scientists have long believed the loss of the forest was due to changes in the climate, however a new study in Science implicates an additional culprit: humans. The study argues that a migration of farmers into the region led to rapid land-use changes from agriculture and iron smelting, eventually causing the collapse of rainforest in places and a rise... Ocean microbe communities changing, but long-term environmental impact is unclear
Physorg: The forces at work are enormous and the stakes huge, said Oregon State University scientists in an article to be published Friday in the journal Science.
But inadequate ocean monitoring and lack of agreement on how to assess microbial diversity has made it difficult to reach a consensus on what the future may hold, they said.
"We're just beginning to understand microbial diversity in the oceans and what that may mean to the environment," said Stephen Giovannoni, an OSU professor of microbiology.... Early humans implicated in Africa's deforestation
Nature: Humans may have played a significant part in the sudden disappearance of rainforests from Central Africa, according to a study published online in Science1. The work contradicts the prevailing view that the expansion of farming practices on the continent was made possible by the increased incidence of long, severe dry spells that destroyed vast tracts of rainforest.
Geochemist Germain Bayon and his colleagues at the French Research Institute for Exploration of the Sea in Plouzané examined the... NRC approves first new nuclear plant in 3 decades
Associated Press: The nation's first new nuclear power plant in a generation won approval Thursday as federal regulators voted to grant a license for two new reactors at a site in eastern Georgia.
Atlanta-based Southern Co. hopes to begin operating the $14 billion reactors at its Vogtle site south of Augusta as soon as 2016. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission approved the company's plans on a 4-1 vote.
The NRC last approved construction of a nuclear plant in 1978, a year before a partial meltdown of the Three... Tropical ecologist: Australia must follow U.S. and EU in banning illegally logged wood
Mongabay: Australia should join the widening effort to stamp out illegal logging, according to testimony given this week by tropical ecologist William Laurance with James Cook University. Presenting before the Australian Senate's rural affairs committee, Laurance argued that the massive environmental and economic costs of illegal logging worldwide should press Australia to tighten regulations against importing illegally logged timber at home.
"Countries like Australia import a lot of timber and wood and... United Kingdom: Barker tells solar industry to "get real" over feed-in tariff cuts
Business Green: Climate Change Minister Greg Barker has defended government plans to cut the feed-in tariff for solar PV three times this year, potentially seeing rates reach 12.9p/kWh by October, insisting the industry will continue to grow.
The government today launched a package of changes to the feed-in tariff scheme for all renewable technologies, including a consultation to introduce automatic cuts designed to ensure the tariff remains in line with the falling cost of technology.
Solar industry players... Solar subsidy cuts spark job fears
Press Association: The Government today unveiled plans for further cuts to solar subsidies, sparking concerns over the future of the industry and thousands of clean-tech jobs.
Energy Minister Greg Barker claimed the reforms to payments for small-scale solar would mean a bigger scheme that could deliver an "extraordinarily ambitious" 22GW of panels - the equivalent of 3.3 million installations for homes and businesses.
He insisted the changes would mean that the payments tracked the falling costs of solar technology,... United Kingdom: Offshore energy 'needs efficiency'
Press Association: Offshore renewable projects could be developed more efficiently and quickly under recommendations of a new blueprint on green energy, it has emerged.
A task force examined how to streamline initial development of offshore projects, as well as the process of planning them and gaining approval. Its report, which includes a series of recommendations, has been welcomed by leading energy firms.
First Minister Alex Salmond also stressed the importance of ensuring that "scoping, planning, development... Warning on EU carbon market 'meddling'
Financial Times: High quality global journalism requires investment. Please share this article with others using the link below, do not cut & paste the article. See our Ts&Cs and Copyright Policy for more detail. Email ftsales.support@ft.com to buy additional rights. http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/37bff658-5270-11e1-ae2c-00144feabdc0.html#ixzz1luV8Xq1C Europe?s largest employers? group has warned against meddling in the carbon market to prop up sagging prices, just a day after one of the continent?s top energy executives... On the Road Back to Rio, Green Direction Has Been Lost
Yale Environment 360: It is easy to be cynical. Back in 1992, more than 100 world leaders, including George H.W. Bush, showed up for the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro. It was a two-week mega-event that attracted huge attention, highlighted by the signing of two groundbreaking treaties on climate change and biodiversity and grand declarations about creating a future green and equitable world.
To put it mildly, the subsequent two decades have not lived up to the promises. George W. Bush effectively broke the climate... Call for new indicators of sustainable development
SciDev.Net: The world must develop different indicators on sustainable development that are not biased against developing countries, a major conference has heard.
Bharrat Jagdeo, former president of Guyana, said current assessments and rankings use indicators such as access to potable water and sanitation, or malaria levels, which automatically rank developed countries higher.
He was speaking at the 12th Delhi Sustainable Development Summit in India last week (2--4 February), organised by The Energy Resources... Global sea level rise: NASA mission takes stock of Earth's melting land ice
ScienceDaily: In the first comprehensive satellite study of its kind, a University of Colorado at Boulder-led team used NASA data to calculate how much Earth's melting land ice is adding to global sea level rise.
Using satellite measurements from the NASA/German Aerospace Center Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE), the researchers measured ice loss in all of Earth's land ice between 2003 and 2010, with particular emphasis on glaciers and ice caps outside of Greenland and Antarctica.
The total... Study: GOP votes drive public opinion on climate change
Washington Post: You might think opinions on climate change are driven by news stories, or extreme weather events, or, if you're really optimistic, publicly available scientific research. But it turns out that politicians affect the way that Americans view the issue more than almost anything else,
The researchers behind the study created a "Climate Change Threat Index' to gauge how the public views the impact of climate change over a nine-year period, and they conclude that GOP votes on environmental legislation... Britain to urge green accounting at Rio+20 summit
Reuters: Britain will urge businesses and governments to start accounting for natural capital as an additional way of measuring economic activity at a U.N. sustainability summit in June, its environment minister said on Thursday.
This could mean moving towards a concept of GDP+, or measuring the use or loss of natural resources like water, agriculture and forests to gauge economic activity, in addition to relying solely on economic output.
"A snapshot of the state of economies based on GDP (gross domestic... Damage from tropical cyclones 'set to soar'
SciDev.Net: Tropical cyclone damage costs will increase four-fold to US$109 billion a year across the world by 2100, according to a study published in Nature Climate Change last week (1 February).
Predicted increases in population and economic activity by 2100 will increase cyclone damage costs to US$56 billion a year -- more than double the current figure of US$26 billion.
And more frequent and stronger cyclones as a result of climate change are expected to add a further US$53 billion a year to the bill,... World?s Largest Offshore Wind Farm Opens Off British Coast
Yale Environment 360: A coalition of European companies today opened a 367-megawatt wind farm off the British coast, a massive project that developers say will power as many as 320,000 households annually and is the world?s largest offshore wind project to date. The Walney Wind Farm, located nine miles (15 kilometers) off Cumbria in the Irish Sea, is comprised of 102 wind turbines, each with a capacity of 3.6 megawatts. The £1 billion ($1.58 billion) project was developed by some European utility giants -- including British... More Gyrations in the Price of Food
New York Times: Global food prices had been falling for months. However, hopes that the decline would continue, easing the price run-up of recent years, were dashed on Thursday. An index that tracks food prices around the world has taken its first monthly jump since July, and a big one.
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations reported that food prices rose about 2 percent from December to January, although the preceding months-long decline still leaves them 7 percent below the levels of January... UK wants sustained cuts to solar panel tariffs
Reuters: The UK government on Thursday recommended slashing subsidies for solar panels on homes from July 1 after a boom in installations last year nearly exhausted its support budget.
The move paves the way for a gradual and sustained lowering of the tariff that aims to control spiraling costs and restore faith in the industry, according to a consultation document.
It follows a government decision set out last month to halve subsidies from March 3 to 21 pence per kilowatt-hour, which could save it... United Kingdom: Government to half solar subsidies
Independent: The Government confirmed today it was halving the subsidies paid to households who install solar panels - but insisted it had made improvements to the controversial changes.
Ministers have warned the falling costs of solar technology made the subsidies too generous and the feed-in tariffs scheme, which pays people for small scale renewables projects. risked spiralling over budget.
But critics have claimed the bid to slash the payments could put thousands of jobs at risk in the clean tech industry,... New 367 MW offshore wind farm opens in UK
Reuters: A new 367 megawatt offshore wind farm opened off the Cumbrian coast in Britain Thursday and will supply up to 320,000 households with renewable power a year, the companies behind the project said.
The 1 billion pound ($1.58 billion) Walney wind farm is a joint venture between utilities DONG Energy, SSE and OPW, a consortium of the Dutch pension fund service provider PGGM and Ampere Equity Fund.
The companies claim Walney is the world's biggest offshore windfarm, with 102 wind turbines, each... Challenge Of Making Climate Change News Sound Newsy
Climate Central: Dog bites man: news or not? If you?re a journalist, you don?t even need to think about it. The phrase is our professional shorthand for an idea that hardly qualifies as news, that it's not out of the ordinary. Man bites dog (goes the second half of the cliché), now that?s news!
It?s not an ironclad rule, though: if the dog bites the man after winning first place at the Westminster Dog Show, or if a marauding dog is biting its way through a terrified neighborhood, or if First Dog Bo bites Sasha... |
