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		News Archive     08/01/2010 07:00 PM Dispute Over 'Fracking' For Natural Gas National Public Radio: Hydraulic fracturing, or "fracking," uses water and an array of chemicals to push apart underground rock formations, releasing natural gas for collection. Environmental groups want more regulation of the chemicals used in fracking; industry groups say more rules aren't necessary. read more 08/01/2010 07:00 PM Debate heats up over IPCC melting glaciers claim New Scientist: Glaciologists are this week arguing over how a highly contentious claim about the speed at which glaciers are melting came to be included in the latest report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. In 1999 New Scientist reported a comment by the leading Indian glaciologist Syed Hasnain, who said in an email interview with this author that all the glaciers in the central and eastern Himalayas could disappear by 2035. Hasnain, of Jawaharlal Nehru University in Delhi, ... read more 08/01/2010 07:00 PM Warmer Climate Could Stifle Carbon Uptake By Trees redOrbit: Contrary to conventional belief, as the climate warms and growing seasons lengthen subalpine forests are likely to soak up less carbon dioxide, according to a new University of Colorado at Boulder study. As a result, more of the greenhouse gas will be left to concentrate in the atmosphere. "Our findings contradict studies of other ecosystems that conclude longer growing seasons actually increase plant carbon uptake," said Jia Hu, who conducted the research as a graduate student ... read more 08/01/2010 07:00 PM United Kingdom: Foreign firms gain most from off-shore wind power deals Guardian: Foreign-owned firms today seized the lion's share of the development contracts to kickstart a wind revolution in offshore Britain that ministers say will eventually match the glory days of the North Sea oil industry. But Gordon Brown said he was still confident that UK supply firms could win many of the £75bn-worth of contracts needed to build enough clean power to generate 25% of the country's electricity. Nine wind power consortiums have signed agreements with the Crown Estate, ... read more 08/01/2010 07:00 PM Beleaguered climate bill seeks lift from Obama Reuters: President Barack Obama's State of the Union speech to Congress could indicate how badly he wants a global warming bill, which opponents say will cost U.S. jobs and raise prices -- a scary prospect for politicians trying to ride out a horrible economy in an election year. Obama, who played a dramatic role in negotiating a nonbinding international climate change accord last month in Copenhagen, now faces a tough economic and environmental balancing act to win the climate change ... read more 08/01/2010 07:00 PM Solarcentury to sun itself in brightening Middle East solar market Business Green: The growing attractiveness of the solar energy market in the Middle East and North Africa was underlined this week as a flurry of new project announcements underlined the potential for the region to establish itself as a major renewable energy hub. UK-based solar energy firm Solarcentury led the way, inking a major new partnership agreement with Abu Dhabi-based renewable energy firm Enviromena Power Systems that will see the two companies co-operate in the development of commercial ... read more 08/01/2010 07:00 PM United Kingdom: Gas shortages highlight firms' exposure to energy security risks Business Green: National Grid yesterday sought to downplay reports that businesses are having their gas supplies "cut off" as it battles to cope with the increased demand brought about by the on-going cold smap. The Guardian revealed yesterday that 94 businesses on " interruptible" contracts have had their supply of gas cut off for the first time since the 1970s as energy firms seek to avert the risk of a gas shortage. The National Grid, which operates the UK transmission networks for both ... read more 06/01/2010 07:00 PM Children not getting enough access to nature warns Kate Humble Telegraph: read more 06/01/2010 07:00 PM Urban dwellers flock to the countryside for quality of life Telegraph: The influx of urban dwellers also appreciate being closer to nature and the wide open spaces. Contrary to popular myth, the new comers integrate well into rural life and are welcomed by country folk. They even become friendlier themselves, with two thirds saying they talk to their neighbours more in the countryside and become more involved with the community. The survey of more than 750 people by rural insurer NFU Mutual shows that nearly seven in ten of today's rural ... read more 06/01/2010 07:00 PM Japanese whalers accused of sinking protest boat Reuters: Australia joined New Zealand on Thursday in investigating a clash between an anti-whaling protesters and Japanese whalers, but refused to send a patrol ship to Antarctic waters as activists promised a "whale war". Canberra called for calm on all sides after the hardline Sea Shepherd Conservation Society's futuristic powerboat Ady Gil had its bow sliced off in a collision with the Japanese ship Shonan Maru No. 2 on Wednesday and was left foundering in frigid seas. "It concerns ... read more 06/01/2010 07:00 PM * South American Environmental Trusts Join Columbia Center to Create Amazon Forest Carbon Credits Columbia News: Dec. 21, 2009 Five environmental trust funds in Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru have joined with Columbia University's Center for Environment, Economy, and Society to establish the Amazon Forest Carbon Partnership, a collaboration to reduce carbon emissions and provide an economic alternative for forest dwelling communities and commercial enterprises in the Amazon. The issue of forest carbon credit, in which wealthy countries offset their emissions by compensating land ... read more 06/01/2010 07:00 PM In Cold Snap, Floridians Shiver, and Pray for the Strawberries New York Times: Icicles hang from the thermometer: 25 degrees, at dawn, and the strawberries that should be on cereal sit suspended beneath hard ice, shiny and clear as lacquer. Michelle Williamson smiles. The ice, she says, did its job of keeping all but the ripest berries safe, and the worst has been averted. Again. For now. Tuesday brought the fourth consecutive night of freezing temperatures and all-night watering to the nation`s winter strawberry capital, and with another cold front on ... read more 07/01/2010 07:00 PM Germany Pledges $39m for REDD Pilot Project Jakarta Globe: Germany Pledges $39m for REDD Pilot Project Germany has committed 27 million euros ($39 million) for a pilot project that would demonstrate how the Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation program would work ahead of its implementation in 2012. The pilot project is scheduled to begin this month in three districts in Kalimantan -- Kapuas Hulu in West Kalimantan and Malinau and Berau in East Kalimantan -- and will continue until 2016. The project will help ... read more 07/01/2010 07:00 PM 'Harness Untapped Renewable Energy Sources' -- Experts Inter Press Service: With its vast renewable energy potential, South Asia can lead the world in achieving energy security. But sources within the region said it needs technological and financial support from the developed countries before it can tap its rich energy resources. "Remember, renewable energy is not that easy to achieve. It needs a lot of resources and technology, which the South Asian countries don't have," Sunita Narain, environmentalist and director of New Delhi-based Centre for ... read more 07/01/2010 07:00 PM Government report highlights benefits of waste-based biofuels Business Green: The environmental benefits of biofuels made from food and energy crops has come in for questioning yet again, with the publication of a new government-commissioned report that concludes fuels made from waste materials cut greenhouse gas emissions more effectively than those created from substances already used for other purposes. The study, commissioned by the UK's Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) and the Renewable Fuel Agency, found that using material such as animal ... read more 07/01/2010 07:00 PM Indonesia wants forestry to meet climate target Carbon Positive: Forest carbon & sustainability Thursday, 7 January 2010 Indonesia says reforestation and cuts to deforestation will enable it to meet its Copenhagen emissions reduction commitment solely from the land-use sector. Along with other developing nations such as China, India and Brazil, the Indonesian government announced a commitment in the lead up to the Copenhagen climate conference to cut greenhouse emissions – in its case by at least 26 per cent below business as usual levels by ... read more 07/01/2010 07:00 PM Climate change's possible effects on Finger Lakes wine to be explored - Rochester Democrat and Chronicle Democrat Chronicle .com: For the first class, winemaker Paul King will discuss how climate change might affect the wine industry in the Finger Lakes and elsewhere. Perhaps Zinfandel could be grown in the Finger Lakes in the future, while California might be too hot to grow some of its current signature wines, he said. Food will be cooked and served to participants along with two dry Rieslings and two Merlots, comparing Finger Lakes and California wines of each type. Four other wines also will be ... read more 07/01/2010 07:00 PM US climate change legislation Q&A: what will happen in 2010? Guardian: What is the state of play for climate change legislation in America? Barack Obama put his reputation on the line at Copenhagen by saying America would act on climate change. Now it's up to Congress. The House of Representatives passed the Waxman-Markey bill last June which would set a price on carbon, and would put progressively tighter limits on greenhouse gas emissions with a 17% cut from 2005 levels by 2020, and 80% by 2050. Barbara Boxer, a California Democrat, passed a ... read more 07/01/2010 07:00 PM Beauly Denny power line is vandalism | Ed Douglas Guardian: At first glance, approval for the Beauly Denny power line through the Highlands of Scotland looks like a victory in the battle against climate change. The upgrade was required to plug a series of proposed renewable electricity projects in northern Scotland into the grid. The Highlands may be beautiful, Friends of the Earth Scotland argued yesterday, but in the face of a global crisis, marching huge pylons across mountain landscapes is a price worth paying. Renewable energy investors ... read more 07/01/2010 07:00 PM Clean tech enjoys record breaking venture capital support Business Green: The overall amount of venture capital invested in clean tech firms may have fallen last year as a result of the recession, but investment in low carbon technologies is increasingly dominating the private equity sector according to a major new study. Preliminary figures released yesterday by analyst firm the Cleantech Group and consultancy giant Deloitte, show that while total venture capital investment in clean tech globally fell 33 per cent during 2009 to $5.64bn (£3.54bn), the ... read more 07/01/2010 07:00 PM Super-Earth 'began as gas giant' BBC: The smallest-known planet outside our Solar System, Corot-7b, probably began as a Saturn-sized "gas giant" planet, say researchers. They say the planet, which orbits at one-sixtieth the distance from the Earth to the Sun, has had much of its mass boiled away by the star's heat. The team also suggests that, if its orbit is not exactly circular, Corot-7b is a hotbed of volcanic activity. The research was presented at the 215th American Astronomical Society ... read more 07/01/2010 07:00 PM Airline bomb plot accused Abdulmutallab 'joined al-Qaida in London' Guardian: A Nigerian man accused of attempting to blow up a US-bound plane on Christmas Day was recruited by al-Qaida in London and may have met a radical Islamist cleric linked to the Fort Hood mass shooting, Yemen's deputy prime minister said today. Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, 23, was indicted yesterday on charges including attempted murder and trying to use a weapon of mass destruction to kill nearly 300 people aboard the Northwest Airlines flight from Amsterdam to Detroit. He has ... read more 07/01/2010 07:00 PM Now the hard work begins for UK's offshore wind industry Business Green: As Winston Churchill once observed, "it is not even the beginning of the end, but it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning". Tomorrow, Prime Minister Gordon Brown is expected to announce the names of those firms that have successfully secured the rights to build the UK's next wave of offshore wind farms, the so-called Round Three projects that are widely regarded as the most important plank in the UK's strategy to dramatically increase its renewable energy capacity over the next ... read more 07/01/2010 07:00 PM Gatecrash protesters released Guardian: Four protesters held for 20 days in a Copenhagen prison have been released today after embarrassing the Danish state by impersonating world leaders at last month's UN climate summit. The four, from Greenpeace groups in Germany, Switzerland, Norway and Spain, have had to promise that they will return to Copenhagen for a trial later this year. They will be accompanied by a further five protesters who took part in the action, the details of which were passed to police by Greenpeace this ... read more 07/01/2010 07:00 PM EU carbon price stabilises following UK auction Business Green: The spot price for EU emission allowances (EUAs) inched back up above EUR12.15 this afternoon after hitting a nine-month low of EUR12.12 ahead of the latest UK auction of emission permits earlier today. The drop in prices was mirrored by the price of EUA futures for delivery in December 2010, which similarly fell to a low of EUR12.25 before recovering to EUR12.42 by mid-afternoon. The fall in prices came ahead of the UK auction of 4,886,799 EUAs, which fetched a price of ... read more 07/01/2010 07:00 PM Carbon Market Grew as Prices Fell in 2009 New York Times: The global carbon market rose to 8.2 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent in 2009, according to a consulting firm. In spite of the global economic slowdown, the market for trading carbon dioxide jumped by 68 percent last year compared with the previous year, but the value of the market remained roughly unchanged after carbon prices fell. The global carbon market rose to 8.2 billion metric tons -- or gigatons -- of carbon dioxide equivalent, according to the ... read more 07/01/2010 07:00 PM Grassley seeks accounting of 'Cash for Clunkers' costs Washington Post: read more 07/01/2010 07:00 PM U.S. carbon rules pose hurdles for oil sands Various: Canada's oil sands producers face the prospect of a patchwork of costly climate regulations in their key U.S. markets as American states step up their efforts to adopt California-style low-carbon fuel standards. Dozens of states are moving ahead with regulations that would penalize more carbon-intensive fuels like those made from oil sands bitumen, and encourage the use of greener alternatives. The states are proceeding amid growing doubts about President Barack Obama's ability to get ... read more 07/01/2010 07:00 PM Coastal ban could cost NSW billions The Australian: THE NSW government could be up for billions of dollars if it accepts a radical coastal management plan proposed by civic leaders in the resort centre of Byron Bay. Researcher Ralf Buckley, who established the climate response research program at Griffith University on the Gold Coast, said the Byron Shire policy of "coastal retreat" effectively handed responsibility for protection of homes on the coast from those who lived there to governments. "If that precedent is accepted by ... read more 07/01/2010 07:00 PM Smart grids: The energy storage problem Nature: In February 2008, during a sudden cold snap, the normally relentless winds of west Texas fell silent and the thousands of wind turbines that dot that part of the state slowed to a halt. Local utility operators, unable to make up the shortfall with power from elsewhere in the grid, were forced to cut service to some users for up to an hour and a half before the winds picked up again. It is refreshing to see that the issue of energy storage for renewables is being discussed and brought ... read more 07/01/2010 07:00 PM BBC probes bias in its science coverage Daily Mail: The body which oversees the BBC is to launch a full-scale review into whether its coverage of science and the environment is biased. The BBC Trust acted after a string of complaints that the corporation is acting as a cheerleader for the theory that climate change is a man-made phenomenon. There have also been concerns over its coverage of genetically-modified foods and the MMR vaccine. The year-long investigation will establish whether the complaints are justified -- ... read more 07/01/2010 07:00 PM Graham says he's ready to make a deal on climate change legislation Charleston Business Journal: Sen. Lindsey Graham is ready to be the 60th Senate vote to get the climate change and energy bill passed, he told a Midlands audience Tuesday at Harbison State Forest. "Since they've got no Republicans but me, business is open," Graham said. Graham has been criticized by his own party for pursuing bipartisan resolutions on such issues as illegal immigration and possible filibusters of judicial nominees. And he believes that the cap-and-trade bills being debated this year are ... read more 07/01/2010 07:00 PM Melt season for Canadian Arctic sea ice outpacing global average Brandon Sun Online: American researchers suggest the melting season for Arctic sea ice is growing faster across much of the Canadian Arctic than anywhere else in the world. A recently published article outlines how they used satellite microwave data to measure when sea ice begins to melt in the spring and when it starts refreezing in the fall. The researchers were able to look with 99 per cent accuracy as far back as 1979 and examine the entire circumpolar globe, the first time scientists have been able ... read more 07/01/2010 07:00 PM Ottawa orders study into environmental, health effects of making renewable fuels New York Times: The Harper government is taking a harder look at an industry that has been a political and policy darling amid soaring fuel prices and fretting about greenhouse gases. A study has been ordered into the environmental and health effects of producing ethanol and biodiesel after other countries found facilities that make renewable fuels could be behind problems with air, water and human health. "Based on global production levels from the past three years alone, there is now ... read more 07/01/2010 07:00 PM Extreme weather: Why has mother nature gone bonkers? Fox News: With record snowfalls in China and freezing cold blanketing the U.S., this winter has been a doozy for half the planet! Yet the other half is enduring unseasonable heat. What's going on? A wave of frigid air spilled down over Europe and Russia from the Arctic in mid-December, creating a deadly cold snap. Blue indicates temperatures as low as -20 Centigrade. What happened to global warming? Mother Nature is in a very, very bad mood. Much of the Northern Hemisphere is in ... read more 07/01/2010 07:00 PM Long drought ahead from global warming, study says New West News: A University of Montana study led by acclaimed scientist Steven Running shows that climate change will significantly extend drought periods in the Northern Rockies, stressing forests and inviting more frequent and virulent wildfires. Running, the author of the study, is a Regents professor of ecology in UM`s College of Forestry and Conservation and a co-winner of the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize for his leading role with the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. The peer-reviewed ... read more 07/01/2010 07:00 PM Greens seek review of carbon offsets on U.S. lands Reuters: Conservationists urged Obama administration officials on Wednesday to move cautiously on the use of carbon offsets on public lands, saying the mechanisms may interfere with land managers charged with protecting forests and other lands. Under cap-and-trade legislation being considered by Congress, private carbon offsets could be applied to public forests and other federal lands. Some federal forests, such as ones in the Pacific Northwest, have some of the highest carbon storage ... read more 07/01/2010 07:00 PM Could re-wilding avert the 6th Great Extinction? Scientific American: Over the years, coyotes ate many of Michael Soulé's cats. For most people, this might have been the end of the story, a nasty reminder of nature's darker proclivities. But Michael Soulé is not most people. Soulé is a biologist. At the time, he was a professor at the University of California at San Diego, living in the chaparral canyons outside the city. He had grown up in the canyons, poking around in the leaf litter, catching lizards. When the boy became a biologist, he ... read more 07/01/2010 07:00 PM UK young suffering from "nature starvation": charity Reuters: Young people in Britain are increasingly missing out on the stress-relieving benefits of spending time in nature, Europe's largest wildlife conservation charity said on Thursday. Britain's Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) said it uncovered a worrying trend of "nature starvation" among young Britons when it conducted a study to find out just how important it is for people to connect with the natural world. The survey of 1,000 people found that only about a third ... read more 06/01/2010 07:00 PM Poland: Footprints show creatures moved from water to land earlier than thought Times (UK): A reappraisal of ancient footprints discovered in Poland suggests that creatures emerged on to land from the sea much earlier than previously thought. The tracks, believed to be the oldest footprints ever discovered, date to 395 million years ago, long before the emergence of dinosaurs. They are likely to have been left by a large crocodile-like creature. Previously the earliest evidence for fully walking four-legged creatures, known as tetrapods, dated to 360 million years ... read more 06/01/2010 07:00 PM Anti-whaling ship's bow sliced off by Japanese Times (UK): A high-tech powerboat piloted by self-styled green "pirates' was run down by a Japanese surveillance ship yesterday in the latest violent collision between the country's whaling fleet and radical environmentalists. The Sea Shepherd Conservation Society declared "whale war' on the Japanese fleet after its $2 million (£1.3 million) vessel was seriously damaged in a collision with the whaling ship. The Ady Gil, a unique fibreglass trimaran that holds the world record for the fastest ... read more 06/01/2010 07:00 PM Canada sets April hearings for Mackenzie pipeline Reuters: Canada's National Energy Board said on Wednesday it will start hearing final arguments on the C$16.2 billion ($15.7 billion) Mackenzie gas pipeline on April 12, more than four years after it began the regulatory process for the massive project. The schedule comes a week after the Joint Review Panel, which assessed the Northwest Territories project's socioeconomic and environmental impact, gave conditional support to it. The NEB said it will co-ordinate formal reaction to the ... read more 06/01/2010 07:00 PM Top British firms drag their feet to reduce carbon footprints Guardian: Greenhouse gas targets set by many of Britain's largest companies are too weak to meet UK commitments on climate change, a new analysis shows. A report from the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) says a lack of ambition from companies in the energy, materials and utilities sector threatens government plans to cut emissions by 2020. The CDP report found that 77% of FTSE 100 companies said they have a target to reduce emissions, with an average annual reduction rate of 2.5%. That ... read more 06/01/2010 07:00 PM Another two weeks of the big freeze still to come Independent (UK): Freezing conditions will continue for another two weeks with another major snowfall expected to blanket parts of Britain on Sunday and Monday when up to 20cm is forecast. Yesterday more than 1,500 schools were closed and thousands of hospital operations cancelled as nearly half the workforce stayed at home. Train services were badly hit while fears rose that councils were running out of grit to keep roads open. While Berkshire, Surrey and Hampshire were severely hit with some areas ... read more 06/01/2010 07:00 PM Energy: UK has enough gas for another 65 days Independent (UK): Demand for gas hit an all-time high yesterday during the UK's longest cold snap for more than 20 years. Demand rose to 453 million cubic metres (mcm), smashing the 449mcm record set in January 2003. And it is forecast to climb to 460mcm today. The National Grid insisted that the unprecedented consumption levels will not leave Britain short. "We are absolutely not going to run out of gas," said a spokesman. "The UK is well supplied." The shadow Energy Secretary Greg Clark ... read more 07/01/2010 07:00 PM Kenya green lights wind farm as Spain eyes expanding African renewables market Business Green: The Kenya Electricity Generating Company (KenGen) has this week invited tenders for the construction of a 10MW wind farm, following the award of a EUR20m concessional loan from the Spanish government to help finance the project. KenGen, which generates approximately 77 per cent of Kenya's electricity, has been assigned the responsibility of choosing a contractor for the project by the Kenyan energy ministry. An advertisement, published in the local Daily Nation stated: "KenGen ... read more 07/01/2010 07:00 PM Global carbon market expanded 68 per cent in 2009 Business Green: Despite global recession, falling carbon prices and ongoing questions about the effectiveness of carbon trading, credits equivalent to 82bn tonnes of carbon dioxide were traded last year, an increase of 68 per cent. According to research released yesterday by analyst firm Point Carbon, the falling price of carbon meant that the value of the global carbon market rose only marginally from EUR92bn (£82bn) in 2008 to EUR94bn (£84bn) in 2009. However, the market still continued to ... read more 06/01/2010 07:00 PM Smog Standards Need Tightening, Activists Say HealthDay: A coalition of clean air advocacy groups wants the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to propose new standards that would reduce allowable levels of smog-causing ozone. Current standards, which have reduced smog by about 5 percent a year, are still too weak, with some 186 million Americans breathing unhealthy air, according to the American Lung Association. "The upcoming EPA plans to review national clean air standards for ground level ozone may be the single most ... read more 06/01/2010 07:00 PM Cold snap doesn't disprove global warming Associated Press: Beijing had its coldest morning in almost 40 years and its biggest snowfall since 1951. Britain is suffering through its longest cold snap since 1981. And freezing weather is gripping the Deep South, including Florida's orange groves and beaches. Whatever happened to global warming? Such weather doesn't seem to fit with warnings from scientists that the Earth is warming because of greenhouse gases. But experts say the cold snap doesn't disprove global warming at all - it's just ... read more 06/01/2010 07:00 PM After health care, Obama must arm-twist Senate on climate bill Christian Science Monitor: President Obama is making personal pitches with US lawmakers this week to resolve the last sticking points for passage of a final healthcare bill. That may be a model soon for the kind of hands-on persuasion he'll need for his other big legislative goal – a law on climate change. Mr. Obama's persuasive style will be required to convince a dozen or so senators from coal-dependent states who are reluctant to tackle global warming. In two weeks, the Senate is expected to vote on a ... read more News Archive     Back to Homepage
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