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		News Archive     06/01/2010 07:00 PM Forests & REDD: US climate bills compared Carbon Positive: The two climate and energy bills in the US Congress, one passed in the House last June, the other being drafted in the Senate, both make provision for large use of international forest carbon offsets as a cornerstone of emissions reduction efforts. But the role of the growing project-based forest carbon sector, where mainly private project developers initiate forest activity, remains very much up in the air in these bills. The Congressional Research Service has released a detailed ... read more 05/01/2010 07:00 PM North America's Cooling Due to Natural Causes in 2008? National Geographic: Average temperatures across North America dropped in 2008–which may seem to contradict global warming theory. Not so, scientists say. The cooling, caused by natural changes in global air circulation, temporarily masked the effects of global warming, which is getting worse, a new study says. New computer-model simulations suggest that the continent-wide dip resulted from an unusually long cooling of the Pacific Ocean, driven by the La Niña phenomenon. During a La Niña, ... read more 06/01/2010 07:00 PM United States: Native tribes fight Cape Cod wind farm Independent (UK): The plan to build an enormous wind farm in Nantucket Sound, off the coast of Cape Cod in Massachusetts, has seen off a string of formidable enemies. They include the Kennedy clan, and others among the old money families of the coast, and Bill Koch, the billionaire oil and coal tycoon, the main financial force behind the opposition. The struggle to obtain the necessary permits has been under way for almost a decade. The installation would, if constructed, be the biggest offshore wind ... read more 06/01/2010 07:00 PM Heavy snowfall sees Met Office put Britain on high alert Independent (UK): Millions of people living in southern England and the Home Counties were told to prepare themselves for up to 40cm (16in) of snow last night, as Britain remained in the grip of the longest prolonged spell of cold weather in 30 years. The Met Office issued its highest level of alert, warning of an impending "extreme weather event" that would bring travel chaos and threaten power supplies. Worst hit overnight will be Dorset, Wiltshire, Hampshire, Berkshire and Oxfordshire -- parts of ... read more 06/01/2010 07:00 PM Global warming is happening, even if it doesn't feel like it Independent (UK): You might think the current weather conditions are almost Siberian -- and you'd be right. Britain's most prolonged spell of freezing weather since 1981 is being caused by a huge mass of intensely cold air over north-east Russia, with easterly winds sweeping its glacial temperatures across northern Europe to the UK. And just as in the 20th century's coldest ever winter in Britain, of 1962-63 -- although not on such a severe scale -- the cold is being held in place over the British ... read more 06/01/2010 07:00 PM Secretive carbon startup brings Condoleezza Rice and $26m on board Business Green: A secretive US startup specialising in energy and emissions management has revealed that it has raised $26m (£16m) in funding and put together a board dominated by influential political and business figures including former secretary of state Condoleezza Rice. The company, known as C3, was founded a year ago by Thomas Siebel, the entrepreneur who sold his business software firm Siebel to Oracle $5.7bn, and over the past two weeks has filed documents with the Securities and Exchange ... read more 06/01/2010 07:00 PM Miliband: UK will push EU to raise emissions target to 30 per cent Business Green: Energy and climate change secretary Ed Miliband yesterday said that he would continue to press other European countries to raise the EU's emissions reductions targets, as part of efforts to secure a legally-binding international climate change deal in Mexico at the end of the year. Updating the House of Commons on the failure of last month's Copenhagen Summit to deliver an ambitious and binding international deal, Miliband vowed that the government would continue to lobby other ... read more 06/01/2010 07:00 PM Tobacco: bad for you, good for the planet? Business Green: It may be bad for your health, but it appears that tobacco might yet prove good for the environment. Researchers at Thomas Jefferson University's Biotechnology Foundation Laboratories in the US have genetically engineered the plant's leaves to create a biofuel that they claim is more efficient than biofuels made from any other agricultural crop. "Tobacco is very attractive as a biofuel because the idea is to use plants that are not used in food production," said Dr Vyacheslav ... read more 05/01/2010 07:00 PM The Blowback Effect: 2020 Huffington Post: As the second decade of the twenty-first century begins, we find ourselves at one of those relatively rare moments in history when major power shifts become visible to all. If the first decade of the century witnessed profound changes, the world of 2009 nonetheless looked at least somewhat like the world of 1999 in certain fundamental respects: the United States remained the world's paramount military power, the dollar remained the world's dominant currency, and NATO remained its foremost ... read more 05/01/2010 07:00 PM Bingaman: Cap and trade bill unlikely this year Associated Press: The chairman of the U.S. Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee said Tuesday that it's unclear whether Congress will be able to pass cap and trade legislation aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions this year. Sen. Jeff Bingaman, D-N.M., said there's no consensus on what form a cap-and-trade system would take, but strong desire exists in both the Senate and House to pass other energy-related bills that would curb pollution blamed for global warming. Bingaman said the ... read more 05/01/2010 07:00 PM Mexico vows to set new efficiency rules for autos Reuters: Mexico will limit imports of inefficient used cars and encourage low-carbon technology to reduce its overall volume of tailpipe exhaust, the energy ministry said on Tuesday. The ministry said it was also mulling regulations that would for the first time set a national standard for auto emissions. Such standards would be at the "vanguard" of international best standards, the agency said. Officials hope to slowly purge heavy, inefficient autos from among the roughly 21 million ... read more 05/01/2010 07:00 PM Starving hyenas kill and eat 12-foot-long python during drought Mongabay: Members with the conservation group Lion Guardians stumbled on a rare site in the Amboseli area of Kenya recently: six hyenas and a number of jackals were attacking and eating a 12-foot-long python. On their blog at WildlifeDirect, Lion Guardians describe the attack: "[the hyenas and jackals] tore into its body from the back, and were taking their share while the upper part of the python was still alive! The Lion Guardian team was shocked and surprised at the same time, having never ... read more 05/01/2010 07:00 PM Winter, Nighttime Tornadoes Pose Greatest Risk, National Weather Service Warns ScienceDaily: Shrouded in darkness, nighttime tornadoes can be deadly, especially during the winter season when people are not accustomed to such severe weather. Given the dangers, forecasters with NOAA's National Weather Service are increasing efforts to alert people of a potential threat in their area before they go to sleep. The NOAA Storm Prediction Center, in conjunction with local National Weather Service offices across the country, is now issuing new public severe weather outlooks when ... read more 05/01/2010 07:00 PM Australia suffers hottest decade as globe warms Agence France-Presse: Australia has sweltered through its hottest decade on record, officials said Tuesday, linking a rise in heatwaves, drought, dust storms and extreme wildfires with global warming. The Bureau of Meteorology also said 2009 was the second warmest year since detailed records began in 1910, with an annual mean temperature almost one degree Celsius (1.8 degrees Fahrenheit) above average. Senior climatologist Dean Collins said the average for the decade -- about 22.3 degrees Celsius ... read more 05/01/2010 07:00 PM IPCC chair warns of threat from climate change deniers Guardian read more 05/01/2010 07:00 PM EPA launches New Year crackdown on chemicals and pollutants Business Green: The US Environment Protection Agency (EPA) delivered an unwelcome Christmas gift to the chemical industry over the holiday period, making two decisions that were welcomed by environmentalists but which have angered industry groups. The watchdog announced tough new measures to regulate the use of four chemical groups, and also listed the chemicals industry as one of three sectors that will face more demanding environmental clean-up regulations. In a move that mirrors a similar ... read more 05/01/2010 07:00 PM United Kingdom: Householders to get £400 for old boilers Telegraph: Up to 125,000 households with working boilers with the lowest ''G'' rating in England can apply for vouchers from the Energy Saving Trust towards ''A'' rated boilers or renewable heating systems such as a biomass boiler or heat pump. The Government said the £50 million scheme will save as much carbon as taking 45,000 cars off the roads and will also cut a household's energy bill by up to £235 a year. The average cost of a boiler and its installation is around £2,500, according ... read more 05/01/2010 07:00 PM Britain must grow more sustainable food, says Benn Guardian: Britain must grow more food, while using less water and reducing emission of greenhouse gases, to respond to the challenge of climate change and growing world populations, the environment secretary, Hilary Benn, said yesterday. "Food security is as important to this country's future wellbeing, and the world's, as energy security. We need to produce more food. We need to do it sustainably. And we need to make sure what we eat safeguards our health," he said. Launching the ... read more 05/01/2010 07:00 PM United Kingdom: Oil rig-style "offshore communities" to maintain wind farms Business Green: The difficulties in accessing and maintaining offshore wind farms around the UK means that "offshore communities" will have to live and work near the turbines on accommodation facilities similar to oil rigs. That is the view of experts at the Carbon Trust who have identified accessing turbines in high seas as one of the main barriers to the successful development of the government's £100bn offshore wind strategy. The improvement of maintenance support for offshore wind farms is ... read more 05/01/2010 07:00 PM Rahall: EPA drops objection to W.Va. surface mine Associated Press: The Environmental Protection Agency has dropped its objections to a permit that would allow a large West Virginia surface mining complex to continue operating, U.S. Rep. Nick Rahall said Monday. The Democratic congressman said EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson told him on New Years Eve that the agency will send Patriot Coal Corp.'s application for the Hobet 45 mine to the Army Corps of Engineers this week. The EPA reviews applications; it's up to the corps to issue Clean Water Act ... read more 05/01/2010 07:00 PM A new app to become an undercover environmentalist Independent (UK): The EcoSnoop social networking application, launched December 16, allows users to document bad environmental behavior in their communities, share it with fellow microbloggers, and work together to find a solution. The application relies on both the camera and GPS features of the iPhone and iPod Touch. Imagine you see an office building with all its lights on, even though the business is closed. Or you spot a public faucet with a steady leak. Simply open an EcoSnoop case, including a ... read more 05/01/2010 07:00 PM The coldest winters in the UK Guardian: Apart from the "little ice age" that held Britain in its frosty embrace between the 16th and 19th centuries, allowing frost fairs and bull-baiting on the Thames, the UK has largely escaped the savage winter weather that afflicts our more northern neighbours. The four coldest winters of the last century were, in order of chilliness: 1963, 1947, 1940 and 1979. But it is 63 and 47 that remain the benchmarks for seasonal suffering. It was 1963 that had the distinction of being the ... read more 05/01/2010 07:00 PM Australia has its hottest decade on record Times (UK): Australia has sweltered through its hottest decade on record and its second warmest year since records began, according to the Australian Bureau of Meteorology. Weeks before the first anniversary of the country's worst wildfires, which killed 173 people, the bureau said that 2009 would be remembered for extreme bushfires, duststorms, lingering rainfall deficiencies, areas of flooding and record-breaking heatwaves. With an annual mean temperature almost 1C (1.8F) above average, ... read more 05/01/2010 07:00 PM North Sea nations planning renewable energy network Local: Germany and several other European nations are planning to create a billion-euro renewable energy network spanning the North Sea, the Süddeutsche Zeitung reported on Tuesday. The EUR30-billion project would link German and British offshore wind farms, Norwegian hydroelectric plants, and Belgian and Danish tidal power stations with undersea cables in order to compensate for the irregular nature of renewable energy. According to the paper, representatives from Germany, Britain, ... read more 05/01/2010 07:00 PM Australia: Labor seizes on temperature figures as evidence of global warming Australian: AUSTRALIA had the second warmest year on record last year, the Bureau of Meterology confirmed today in a finding the Rudd government has seized on as fresh evidence of climate change. The BOM said 2009 "will be remembered for extreme bushfires, dust-storms, lingering rainfall deficiencies, areas of flooding and record-breaking heatwaves'. Extreme heatwaves across southern Australia during late January/early February set a new Melbourne maximum temperature record of 46.4C, new ... read more 05/01/2010 07:00 PM United States: New coal-fired power plant fuels debate St. Louis Post-Dispatch: On a clear December morning, drivers traveling south on state Route 4 in southwest Illinois can see the Prairie State Energy Campus' stack rising 700 feet above the surrounding corn fields -- 70 feet taller than the Gateway Arch. The scope of project is even more striking once on site. The hulking plant will consume more than 50,000 tons of structural steel, 15,000 tons of steel rebar and 160,000 cubic yards of concrete. It is surrounded by more than a dozen tower cranes, their jibs ... read more 05/01/2010 07:00 PM China blames freak storm on global warming Sydney Morning Herald: Freak snowstorms and record low temperatures sweeping northern China are linked to global warming, say Chinese officials. But, unlike the unseasonal snow falls that hit Beijing at the start of winter, the dump this week appears to have no link to the Government's relentless efforts to change the micro climate. There are about 2000 weather modification offices in China, according to the media, which are responsible for bombing the skies with silver iodide to induce ... read more 04/01/2010 07:00 PM United States: Feds side with tribes in Cape Cod wind farm case Associated Press: Federal officials on Monday agreed to a request by two Indian tribes for special protections for Nantucket Sound, a move that could delay construction of a proposed wind farm off Cape Cod. The National Park Service said the sound is eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places as a significant traditional cultural, historic and archaeological property. The Mashpee and Aquinnah Wampanoag tribes say the designation, which would come with new regulations for ... read more 05/01/2010 07:00 PM For Cape Cod wind farm, new hurdle is spiritual New York Times: In a new setback for a controversial wind farm proposed off Cape Cod, the National Park Service announced Monday that Nantucket Sound was eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places, guaranteeing further delays for the project. Known as Cape Wind, the project is the nation's first planned offshore wind farm and would cover 24 square miles in the sound, an area roughly the size of Manhattan. The park service decision came in response to a request from two ... read more 04/01/2010 07:00 PM New BLM rules limit wind farms in Wyoming to protect sage grouse Reuters: Wind energy development is "functionally precluded" in about 20 percent of Wyoming under new Bureau of Land Management guidelines laid out on Monday to protect a threatened bird, the governor's office said. "It functionally precludes it (wind power development) in about 20 percent of Wyoming," Ryan Lance, deputy chief of staff to Wyoming Governor Dave Freudenthal, told Reuters in a phone interview. He said the new rules -- which have been lauded by environmental groups such as ... read more 05/01/2010 07:00 PM U.S. government seeks agreement on Cape Wind power project Reuters: The U.S. Interior Department said on Monday it hopes to reach an agreement by March 1 over the controversial and long-delayed Cape Wind power project that would be located in federal waters off Cape Cod in Massachusetts. Approval of the offshore wind farm would be a big boost to the Obama administration's plan to increase U.S. renewable energy production and create advance-technology jobs, while a defeat of the project could undermine White House efforts to develop a clean energy ... read more 04/01/2010 07:00 PM France tries to thrash out new carbon tax formula Reuters: France's government is trying to piece together new carbon tax legislation that would cover big polluters without double-charging them, after a previous attempt to tax emissions was scrapped at the last minute. French ministers have been scrambling to come up with a workable system for compensating companies that are already part of a European Union emissions trading scheme, while closing the many loopholes that led to the failure of the first proposal. "There should be no ... read more 05/01/2010 07:00 PM Man saves energy, angers neighbors Bucks County Courier Times: Some neighbors in Plumstead are unhappy with a homeowner's backyard solar panels. Andy Capreri believes he's doing his part to help the environment. But some of his neighbors in Plumstead aren't so enthusiastic about his efforts. "I'm very, very disappointed," said Chess Schmitt, whose Cheshire Road property sits behind Capreri's. "We used to have a beautiful panoramic view." The problem is three soaring solar panels Capreri just had mounted in his Essex Drive backyard. ... read more 04/01/2010 07:00 PM Mount Rainier glacier gravel filling rivers Associated Press: The fallout from Mount Rainier's shrinking glaciers is beginning to roll downhill, and nowhere is the impact more striking than on the volcano's west side. "This is it in spades," said Park Service geologist Paul Kennard, scrambling up a 10-foot-tall mass of dirt and boulders bulldozed back just enough to clear the road. As receding glaciers expose crumbly slopes, vast amounts of gravel and sediment are being sluiced into the rivers that flow from the Northwest's tallest peak. ... read more 04/01/2010 07:00 PM Path from climate summit unclear for many New York Times: When presidents and prime ministers departed the U.N. climate conference in Copenhagen last month, they left behind a vast legal tangle that experts have barely begun to unravel. When presidents and prime ministers departed the U.N. climate conference in Copenhagen last month, they left behind a vast legal tangle that experts have barely begun to unravel. A half-dozen edicts that world leaders handed down -- dealing with everything from verifying carbon emission cuts to ... read more 05/01/2010 07:00 PM A once-dark Polaroid factory goes green National Public Radio: Many old factories around the country now sit dark and empty. But at a once-defunct Polaroid film factory in New Bedford, Mass., the lights are on again and a new industry is rising up inside the ruins of an old one. The company Konarka makes solar panels, but not the kind most people have seen. These are thin, lightweight, flexible plastic sheets, and that enables them to be used in all sorts of new ways. "We make what's called plastic solar cells; we call it 'power plastic,' ... read more 05/01/2010 07:00 PM Lebanon: A year of inaction on the environment Daily Star: Whereas some countries spent the last year preparing negotiating positions to take to Copenhagen, Lebanon left it late in 2009 to work out how to approach the climate change summit. The COP15 round of talks was billed by politicians and environmentalists alike as the last chance for the world to agree on a binding framework for curbing carbon emissions and limiting global temperature rises. The lack of concrete legislation for CO2 cuts prompted many to label Copenhagen a failure. The ... read more 04/01/2010 07:00 PM Living roofs rise in popularity Marketplace: Kai Ryssdal: If you are environmentally minded, you're already plugged into the virtues of energy efficiency. It'll help control global warming and save the planet. It helps cut down on utility bills and saves you money. And in its more unusual forms, it helps farmers find new markets for their crops. From Montana Public Radio, Kevin Maki has more. KEVIN MAKI: Nate Lengacher turns a valve on an irrigation system and begins watering an acre of sedums and other succulents he's growing ... read more 05/01/2010 07:00 PM United States: Trash to gas: Landfill energy projects increasing Associated Press: Hundreds of trash trucks across California are rumbling down city streets using clean fuel made from a dirty source: garbage. The fuel is derived from rotting refuse that San Francisco and Oakland residents and businesses have been discarding in the Altamont landfill since 1980. Since November, the methane gas created from decaying detritus at the 240-acre landfill has been sucked into tubes and sent into an innovative facility that purifies and transforms it into liquefied natural ... read more 05/01/2010 07:00 PM Australia bakes through warmest decade on record Australian Broadcasting Corporation: The Bureau of Meteorology says figures showing Australia has experienced its hottest decade since records began in 1910 are clear evidence of climate change. The Bureau's annual report has found the average temperature over the past 10 years was 0.48 degrees Celsius above average. Climatologist David Jones says each decade since the 1940s has been warmer than the previous one. And he has warned that this year is set to be even hotter, with temperatures likely to be ... read more 05/01/2010 07:00 PM Climate change warning for UK farmers Sky News: British farming is about to get political, as climate change and rising prices mean food security will become a major issue. Agriculture will increasingly become a political issue, warns ex-NFU boss Sir Ben Gill Climate change will help British farmers in some ways, giving them better growing conditions. But since most of our food is imported, falling yields and increased demand for staple foods like wheat and milk could have serious consequences for UK ... read more 05/01/2010 07:00 PM Brunei: UK expert warns of greater likelihood of drought Brunei Times: THERE is a strong chance of Brunei suffering from droughts due to an increase in temperatures, despite the Sultanate enjoying good forest cover, said a climate change researcher. Dr Daniel P Bebber, head of climate change research at Earthwatch Institute in United Kingdom, said that a small temperature increase in the tropics could push trees and plants to their limit of being able to survive. "Global warming increases temperature and this may result in droughts. So in the ... read more 05/01/2010 07:00 PM Sarkozy wants French carbon tax to start in July Agence France-Presse: The French government decided Tuesday that a new carbon tax to fight global warming will go into force in July, a week after the constitutional court struck down a previous version of the measure. President Nicolas Sarkozy told the council of ministers that the revamped tax would be presented to the cabinet later this month and that it would go into force on July 1, government spokesman Luc Chatel told reporters. The Constitutional Council last Tuesday declared the tax illegal, ... read more 05/01/2010 07:00 PM Big French firms to pay variable carbon tax Reuters: Large French companies that pollute heavily will be penalized under new carbon tax legislation but are likely to pay variable rates, French Economy Minister Christine Lagarde said in remarks published on Tuesday. More than 1,000 companies would be penalized according to how much energy they use to produce and how much competition their sectors face, Lagarde told French daily Les Echos. The companies had been exempted from paying carbon tax in France under legislation that was ... read more 05/01/2010 07:00 PM 'No conflict' between Big Freeze and climate change Press Association: The current cold weather gripping the UK does not undermine the fact the world is warming, experts said today. Stephen Dorling, of the University of East Anglia's school of environmental sciences, said it was not surprising the cold period raised questions over climate change - but the snowy weather should not be used as evidence against it. He said: "It's no surprise that people look out of their window at the snow and find it hard to rationalise what's going on with the ... read more 05/01/2010 07:00 PM Food labels to show 'carbon footprint' under Government plans Telegraph: Hilary Benn, the Environment Secretary, said in future people will have to eat less "carbon intensive' foods like red meat or excessively packaged products to make sure Britain meets targets to cut greenhouse gases. To help consumers do this, new "green' food labels will show how much carbon was produced in the manufacture and transportation of f Tesco, Pepsi and other leading brands are already displaying a "carbon reduction label' on certain products showing the amount of ... read more 05/01/2010 07:00 PM 'Grow your own' strategy unveiled BBC: It says it will pilot healthy cooking classes for "at risk" families as part of efforts to tackle obesity and will help local landowners and community groups work together to make land available temporarily, to grow food. It would also look into a community "land bank" to act as a broker between land-holders and community groups who want somewhere to grow food. Mr Benn said the expansion of fair trade and free-range food illustrated how shoppers could drive trends in food ... read more 05/01/2010 07:00 PM Chinese official links extreme snowstorm to global warming Mongabay: Bitter cold and snow have shut down Beijing after it received 4-8 inches (10-20 centimeters) of snow on Sunday, the largest snowfall since 1951, according to the Sydney Morning Hearld. Guo Hu, the head of the Beijing Meteorological Bureau linked the storm to global climate change. "In the context of global warming, extreme atmospheric flows are causing extreme climate incidents to appear more frequently, such as the summer's rain storms and last year's icestorm disaster in southern ... read more 05/01/2010 07:00 PM Intrigue over new role for climate negotiator Guardian: A senior member of the Chinese negotiating team at Copenhagen has been shifted from his post, prompting speculation that he has been punished for the debacle of the climate talks. He Yafei, who was at the forefront of China's blocking actions on the final fraught day of the summit, has been removed as vice foreign minister, according to a short summary of government appointments by the Xinhua news agency. The agency gave no explanation, but the Hong Kong newspaper Sing Tao ... read more 05/01/2010 07:00 PM Snow globe: How the freeze has hit abroad Independent (UK): How the freeze has hit abroad With snow in the UK causing mass travel disruption it's good to remember it's not just us who have been hit by the freeze. From China right across to the USA, here's a selection of snowy scenes from around the world this week. read more News Archive     Back to Homepage
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