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		News Archive     01/08/2009 08:00 PM Australia: Climate change poised to feed on itself Herald: Around the world, thousands of scientists have devoted their professional lives to studying the climate. Not centrally organised, they sometimes build temporary affiliations but they remain scientists throughout – that is, they are independent, constantly challenge each other and are committed to searching for truth through objective, independently verifiable evidence. Overwhelmingly, this evidence has led to four conclusions. The first is that the world is warming. The global average ... read more 31/07/2009 08:00 PM Activists cheer China's plan to move refinery Reuters: read more 31/07/2009 08:00 PM United Kingdom: The folly of 'magical solutions' for targeting carbon emissions Yale Environment 360: Fifty years ago, political scientist Harold Lasswell explained that some policies are all about symbolism, with little or no impact on real-world outcomes. He called such actions "magical solutions," explaining that "political symbolization has its catharsis functions." Climate policy is going through exactly such a phase, in which a focus on magical solutions leaves little room for the practical. Evidence for this claim can be found in the global reaction to the commitment made by ... read more 31/07/2009 08:00 PM Australia: Single-desk carbon trade could earn billions Sydney Morning Herald: THE former Australian of the year Tim Flannery has proposed a single Australian Government trading desk – similar to the former wheat desk – to sell carbon credits to the United States. The government-operated desk could ensure Australia up to 10 per cent of the 1 billion tonnes of carbon offsets the US would buy offshore a year if legislation to establish a US emissions trading scheme passes the US Senate later this year, he said. Mr Flannery backed the Coalition's proposed ... read more 31/07/2009 08:00 PM 'Global warming as new religion?' Give me a break -- climate change is serious Vancouver Sun: There is a strange conviction, in certain circles, that the world's environmental community has grown superhumanly strong -- an idea that, with the cock of an eyebrow or the curl of a lip, any leading environmentalist can strike fear into the hearts of academics, politicians and businesspeople around the globe. As the chair of the David Suzuki Foundation, the leading environmental organization in Canada, I wish that it were so. To borrow the fiery rhetoric of Vancouver Sun columnist ... read more 31/07/2009 08:00 PM Brakes put on 'cash for clunkers' plan USA Today: The Obama administration promised Friday that the financially strapped "cash for clunkers" program would be alive at least through the weekend, and the House of Representatives approved additional money for the program later in the day. Senate action is expected next week. "If you were planning on going to buy a car this weekend, using this program, this program continues to run," White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs told reporters. The House passed a bill 316-109 ... read more 31/07/2009 08:00 PM Vietnam's high wind power potential United Press International: Vietnam has more wind energy potential than Thailand, Laos and Cambodia, experts say. A World Bank survey says Vietnam has the capacity to produce 513,360 megawatts of wind power annually. That translates into 200 times the output of Southeast Asia's largest power plant, the Son La Hydroelectric Plant in northern Vietnam, reports the VietNamNet Bridge news site. Vietnam's renewable energy is slated to increase 5 percent under the Ministry of Trade and Industry's plan to develop ... read more 31/07/2009 08:00 PM Population, urbanization and environment Jakarta Post: Pressing global challenges such as climate change, poverty and food insecurity are essentially human-induced problems. There are approximately 6.77 billion people in the world today, and the global population is still growing at a rate of 1.14 percent annually. That equates to nearly 80 million new individuals on this planet every year. At the current rate, projections indicate that by 2015 there will be 7.2 billion people inhabiting earth. Southeast Asia, including East ... read more 31/07/2009 08:00 PM Africa must protect forests to mitigate global warming Citizen: I recently attended a Nobel laureates symposium at St James Palace in London, where a memorandum emphasised the need for action based on scientific evidence on climate change. That memo called for reduction of emissions to at least 50 per cent by 2050 on a 1990 baseline, with interim reductions of at least 25-40 per cent by 2020. Various reports indicate that Africa will be disproportionately affected, with predictions of crises like sea rise, desertification, floods, droughts ... read more 31/07/2009 08:00 PM India to assess climate gain; pump millions in forests Reuters: India will spend some $200 million to protect its forests and will announce how much carbon emission is being captured by its green cover, the environment minister said on Friday. Jairam Ramesh said the money would go into conserving and restoring unique vegetation, controlling forest fires and strengthening forestry infrastructure, among other goals. 'This reflects the high priority that the prime minister accords to the renewal of our forestry establishment which is critical ... read more 31/07/2009 08:00 PM 'Cash for clunkers' program runs out of gas LA Times: With surprising swiftness, the government's "cash for clunkers" program has burned through its $1-billion budget in less than a week as car buyers swarmed dealerships, and federal officials were scrambling late Thursday night to find more money to keep it going. The program, designed to jump-start car sales and improve the fuel efficiency of the nation's auto fleet, unleashed a wave of pent-up demand that threatened to exhaust funds before dealers could be fully reimbursed for rebates ... read more 30/07/2009 08:00 PM Africa needs funds to fight climate change New Vision: AFRICAN countries have identified climate change as an issue of concern. During the Bonn talks recently, world leaders called for the need for national climate mitigation actions. National mitigation plans have not been defined because developing countries are different. However, mitigation plans will include actions like reducing greenhouse emissions, degradation and deforestation. In an African minister's environment meet in Nairobi in May, the ministers agreed to mainstream ... read more 31/07/2009 08:00 PM Global warming target unlikely AAP: An international pledge to peg global warming to two degrees is a pipe dream, and most governments know it, says an Australian researcher. World leaders gathered in Italy in July to discuss the global offensive on climate change and agreed on at least one target - to hold surface temperatures to two degrees celsius. But, based on reduction targets set by a range of countries, including Australia, Russia and the United States, Australian National University scientist Andrew ... read more 30/07/2009 08:00 PM Thaw point Economist: THE Arctic tundra is one of the world's most extensive ecosystems, and the frozen soil known as permafrost, which underlies it, can be hundreds of metres deep. But as the world warms up in response to the millions of tonnes of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases being poured into the atmosphere each year, so does the permafrost. As the permafrost thaws, bacteria start chewing up the organic matter it contains. This releases yet more carbon dioxide, as well as methane, another ... read more 30/07/2009 08:00 PM Becalmed Economist: ON THE back of $16 billion-worth of investment, America overtook Germany to become the world's biggest wind-power generator last year. Wind accounted for 42% of new generating capacity, up from just 2% four years earlier. America's blustery and lightly populated heartland states are ideal sites for turbines, so the country's wind industry seemed poised for big things. But this year momentum has slowed. An indication of the way the wind is blowing came in July when T. Boone Pickens, an ... read more 31/07/2009 08:00 PM Japan: Power firms to slash CO2 from coal plants Asahi Shimbun: An experimental project by two of the nation's biggest electric power firms could eventually eliminate carbon emissions from new coal-fired thermal power plants. The technology, which would remove carbon dioxide from combustible gases before they are burned to generate electricity, could revolutionize the way electricity is generated globally. The firms are also working on ways to slash emissions from existing coal-fired plants, which produce about 30 percent of the country's ... read more 31/07/2009 08:00 PM Indonesia: Prince Charles gives $2.8b to preserve rain forests Jakarta Globe: Britain's Prince Charles has set aside 2 billion euros ($2.8 billion) to help Indonesia and other developing countries preserve their rain forests, State Minister for the Environment Rachmat Witoelar said on Thursday. "His representative came on Wednesday afternoon and asked Indonesia's government to prepare to discuss the scheme further," Witoelar said at a seminar on bank funding and environmental projects. Aside from Indonesia, the money will also be used in other developing ... read more 31/07/2009 08:00 PM Japan: Asian youths call for ambitious climate pact Japan Times: Alarmed by the slow progress in global negotiations on a new carbon-capping pact, young people in Asia are increasingly calling on China, Japan and other major greenhouse gas emitters to step up to the plate, emphasizing that transformation to a low-carbon economy would generate new jobs and other opportunities. Global warmth: Akira Hiraishi (right), a student at the University of Tokyo's Graduate School of Public Policy, greets China's Yupu Zhao, who attends Franklin & Marshall ... read more 31/07/2009 08:00 PM New Jersey outshines 48 of its peers in solar power Wall Street Journal: New Jersey's biggest utility is outfitting 200,000 utility poles with solar panels, part of the state's embrace of a try-anything strategy that has made it the nation's second-biggest producer of solar energy behind California. Instead of bemoaning what it doesn't have -- bright sunshine, high winds, empty land -- New Jersey has looked for places where solar capacity can be squirreled away inconspicuously. In addition to utility poles, the state is pushing solar panels for industrial ... read more 30/07/2009 08:00 PM Some little states with big emissions could see allowance windfall Climatewire: Small states with potent carbon dioxide emissions could win big under House climate legislation, according to a new analysis that shows residents of power-pumping states collecting a large number of free pollution permits to soften the rising cost of energy. Every person in Wyoming stands to receive 16 permits, or allowances, in 2016, amounting to a minimum of $160 to reduce the price of their electricity. That's the biggest per person benefit provided by the cap-and-trade bill that ... read more 31/07/2009 08:00 PM British Insurers Prepare for 'Worst Case' Climate Impacts; Americans Mostly Don't Climatewire: British insurers are raising rates on homeowners to insulate themselves from increasing claims blamed on climate change, a justification that U.S. companies are hesitant -- or unable -- to embrace. The price of policies covering buildings in the United Kingdom rose 10 percent over the last year as insurers struggle to harness losses from severe weather occurring in places that historically had been impervious to events like flooding, according to the Automobile Association, a large ... read more 31/07/2009 08:00 PM India wants climate change pact at Copenhagen Agence France-Presse: India insisted Friday it wanted to reach a global agreement on fighting climate change at the upcoming UN summit in Copenhagen but reiterated its opposition to binding carbon emission cuts. "We are not defensive, we are not obstructionist. We want an international agreement in Copenhagen," Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh Ramesh told reporters in New Delhi. But India "simply is not in a position to take on legally binding emissions reductions targets," he said, while pressing ... read more 31/07/2009 08:00 PM Uncertainties surround future monsoons BBC: It is almost halfway through the rainy season, and the monsoon in many parts of South Asia continues to remain unreliable. In some places it has been crippling weak, while in others it has been devastatingly intense. There are places reeling from drought, yet at the same time there are areas that have been hit by torrential rains, triggering floods and landslides in a very short span of time. This has made the lives of millions of people difficult and has left them ... read more 31/07/2009 08:00 PM The all-new Toyota Prius - silence of the lanes Guardian: I drove it down to Brighton, because it seemed a very Brighton sort of car – a hybrid vehicle for a transition town. I was expecting it to receive admiration, affirmation, perhaps even sly congratulation. But did it get envying sideways looks from cyclists? Thumbs up from Green activists? Tranced out nods from dog-on-string trustafarians? No, not really. In fact, it was much better at passing unnoticed, particularly at passing unheard. When running only on its self-recharging battery, ... read more 31/07/2009 08:00 PM United Kingdom: Car exhausts: The invisible killer in our cities Telegraph: Fast forward precisely three years. The London Olympics -- which Britain partly secured by promising that they would be the "greenest ever" -- are now well under way. But the Government has been convicted in court of failing to clean up the capital's dangerously polluted air and is having to pay heavy, daily fines. Embarrassing? I'll say! Picture defeated athletes, gleefully filmed by their national TV crews, claiming that they lost because they could not breathe properly. Think of ... read more 31/07/2009 08:00 PM U.S. ready to issue grants for renewable energy Reuters: The U.S. government on Friday said it is now accepting applications for some $3 billion in government grants to boost development of renewable energy projects around the country. The money, from the economic stimulus package, will provide direct payments to companies in lieu of tax credits to support an estimated 5,000 biomass, solar, wind and other renewable energy production facilities. Projects must begin construction this year or in 2010 to get the grants. The Treasury and ... read more 31/07/2009 08:00 PM U.S.: Coal Power Hitting Roadblocks Inter Press Service: As more and more states are turning against coal power facilities in the U.S., advocates have been using the legal system to halt new pending plants. In Georgia, a major case is testing the implications of the 2007 ruling by the Supreme Court in Massachusetts v. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), that carbon dioxide is a pollutant. Two subsequent rulings by a Fulton County Superior Court Judge and the Court of Appeals in Georgia have so far each held up a new plant, ... read more 31/07/2009 08:00 PM Family Planning A Major Environmental Impact redOrbit: Some people who are serious about wanting to reduce their "carbon footprint" on the Earth have one choice available to them that may yield a large long-term benefit – have one less child. A study by statisticians at Oregon State University concluded that in the United States, the carbon legacy and greenhouse gas impact of an extra child is almost 20 times more important than some of the other environmentally sensitive practices people might employ their entire lives – things like ... read more 31/07/2009 08:00 PM SF eyes UN Climate Center at polluted shipyard Associated Press: Mayor Gavin Newsom and the United Nations are eyeing a former naval shipyard contaminated by radiation, heavy metals and other industrial toxins as the future site of a sprawling new green technology complex and climate change think tank. The proposal would turn a section of the Hunters Point Shipyard, one of the most polluted places in the nation according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, into a UN "Global Compact Center" meant to help solve the world's pollution dilemmas ... read more 30/07/2009 08:00 PM US and China Vow Climate Change Cooperation ClimateBiz: The U.S. and China signed a memorandum of understanding this week that is being billed as a joint commitment to reach an international agreement to tackle climate change. The world's top two emitters said the development elevates climate change as an issue for the countries, which vowed to hold regular consultations on the issue. The agreement calls for cooperation in a range of areas, such renewable energy, sustainable transportation and natural resource conservation, but lacks firm ... read more 01/08/2009 08:00 PM United States: Forged letters to congressman anger local groups Charlottesville Daily Progress: As U.S. Rep. Tom Perriello was considering how to vote on an important piece of climate change legislation in June, the freshman congressman`s office received at least six letters from two Charlottesville-based minority organizations voicing opposition to the measure. The letters, as it turns out, were forgeries. "They stole our name. They stole our logo. They created a position title and made up the name of someone to fill it. They forged a letter and sent it to our ... read more 30/07/2009 08:00 PM Low Prices Melt Profit For Solar Investor's Business Daily: Falling solar prices are pinching most solar firms now, but could end up spurring more use of solar power in the near future. Prices for crystalline-silicon solar panels, or modules -- the most common type of solar panel -- have plunged on the heels of a drop in prices of the main material used to make them, polysilicon. Both declines stem from a solar module supply glut tied to the financial crisis, which quashed project financing, and a harsh winter in Europe, which hampered ... read more 30/07/2009 08:00 PM Rodent size linked to human population and climate change EurekAlert: You probably hadn't noticed -- but the head shape and overall size of rodents has been changing over the past century. A University of Illinois at Chicago ecologist has tied these changes to human population density and climate change. The finding is reported by Oliver Pergams, UIC research assistant professor of biological sciences, in the July 31 issue of PLoS One. Pergams said that such size-and-shape changes in mammals, occurring around the world in less than a century, are ... read more 30/07/2009 08:00 PM United States: Shell pipeline fix could take a few weeks: experts Reuters: A crack in Shell's 173,000 barrel-per-day (bpd) Eugene Island oil pipeline off the shore of Louisiana should be easy to repair, although the damaged section may not carry crude for a few weeks, industry experts said Thursday. Shell said late Thursday all but 20,000 bpd of the 100,000 bpd flowing at the time the line was shut down because of a leak Saturday has been rerouted through other pipelines, which reduces the impact on markets for the duration of the outage. "My guess is ... read more 30/07/2009 08:00 PM Germany: Frustrated Berlin commuters discover pedal power Reuters: Every morning, lawyer Peter Kupisz hops on his bicycle and rides to his office, joining a fast-growing crowd of 500,000 who pedal along Berlin's cycle paths and boulevards each day. Deteriorating rail services, high petrol prices, climate change worries and a desire for exercise have combined to make commuting by bicycle in Berlin more popular than ever, with an estimated 13 percent of all trips done by bike. Defying Germany's reputation as a car-mad country, Kupisz said he ... read more 31/07/2009 08:00 PM 'Adapt to climate change' Reuters: THE United States must prepare for unstoppable climate changes that will have a major impact on farming, industry, recreation and government services, Obama administration officials said on Thursday. 'As much as we can try to avoid (it), there will undoubtedly be changes in our climate that will have devastating impacts, very significant impacts, on all sectors from recreation to industry and business to agriculture' and government, US Commerce Secretary Gary Locke said. A new ... read more 31/07/2009 08:00 PM Clean tech investment recovers strongly during second quarter Business Green: Global venture capital investments in clean technology rose 73 per cent during the second quarter of the year, totalling $572m (£347m) across 48 deals, according to new data from Dow Jones VentureSource. Investment levels are still well down on the $1.41bn invested across 57 deals during the second quarter of 2008, but the performance marks a dramatic recovery following the collapse in VC activity during the first three months of the year. Joe Muscat, Ernst & Young LLP ... read more 30/07/2009 08:00 PM REDD shouldn't neglect biodiversity say scientists Mongabay: Schemes to mitigate climate change by protecting tropical forests must take into account biodiversity conservation, said two leading scientific organizations at the conclusion of a four day meeting in Marburg, Germany. The Association for Tropical Biology and Conservation (ATBC) and the Society for Tropical Ecology (GTOE) jointly issued a "Marburg Declaration" highlighting the dangers of excluding biodiversity from emissions mitigation strategies like the proposed Reducing Emissions ... read more 30/07/2009 08:00 PM Publics See Warming as Urgent, Govts as Failing Inter Press Service: A poll of 19 nations released here Wednesday reveals that majorities in most countries believe climate change should be a high priority for their governments, but relatively few thought that their leaders were doing enough about the problem. The poll by WorldPublicOpinion.org, a project of the Programme on International Policy Attitudes (PIPA) at the University of Maryland, found that publics in 16 of the countries surveyed want their governments to focus more attention on climate ... read more 30/07/2009 08:00 PM Ecological restoration substantially boosts biodiversity and ecosystem services Mongabay: A new analysis reports that ecological restoration generally deliver benefits for both conserving biodiversity and supporting human livelihoods, but does not completely reverse degradation caused by humans. The research, published in Science, examined 89 studies and found that ecological restoration increased provision of biodiversity and ecosystem services by 44 percent and 25 percent respectively. Values of both, however, remained lower in restored than in intact reference ... read more 30/07/2009 08:00 PM United States: Heat wave: Burning questions about what this week bodes for Seattle's future Seattle Times: Top of the News: As someone who misspent more than half his life in Phoenix, let me tell you the prime fact about the heat we've experienced in recent days: It is deadly. That's double so for cities with little air conditioning. Ask Chicago, where 600 died in a 1995 heat wave. Thanks initially to an urban heat island created by sprawl, Phoenix's temperatures have risen 10 degrees in my lifetime. The fifth most populous city in America just suffered through its hottest July on record. ... read more 30/07/2009 08:00 PM Sea Animals Change Climate Via Flutters and Flaps? National Geographic: Predicting global warming is far from an exact science, and it may have just gotten even more complicated. Despite having been largely ignored by climate science, sea creatures' countless tentacle snaps, fin flaps, and tail twitches are responsible for a third or more of all "ocean mixing"--as much as winds or tides--according to a new study of jellyfish. This mixing of seawater layers-- and their salt, nutrients, carbon dioxide, and even heat--helps guide ocean circulation, ... read more 30/07/2009 08:00 PM Lebanon: Global Warming Makes Mischief Worse Inter Press Service: With its long, dry summers, Lebanon's diminishing woodlands are devastated by wild fires every year - and this year is no exception. Last week, more than 30 fires were started at the same time in the Bekaa valley, pointing to arson. A source working as part of the fire fighting team in Lebanon, who chose to remain anonymous, showed IPS charred Pepsi cans smelling of oil and gas connected to a fuse, indicating that the blazes were purposely set. "We have noticed in the last few ... read more 30/07/2009 08:00 PM Climate Change a Threat To Nat'l Security Say Senators Talk Radio News Service: Climate change is a real and imminent threat to national security, said a group of senators Thursday during a Senate Environment and Public Works Committee hearing. During a discussion regarding the value of the American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009 (Waxman-Markey bill), the senators agreed that it is important to decrease dependence on foreign oil. "We're not going to say no to importing all foreign oil, but when we look at some of the countries where we rely on for ... read more 30/07/2009 08:00 PM Climate change deniers claim they're censored. What hypocrites Guardian: One of the allegations made repeatedly by climate change deniers is that they are being censored. There's just one problem with this claim: they have yet to produce a single valid example. On the other hand, there are hundreds of examples of direct attempts to censor climate scientists. Most were the work of the Bush administration. In 2007 the Union of Concerned Scientists collated 435 instances of political interference in the work of climate researchers in the US. Scientists ... read more 27/07/2009 08:00 PM A carbon protection racket Christian Science Monitor: If your neighbors were making a terrible racket, would you offer to pay them to stop? Of course not. Sure, they'll stop today. But they'll soon be clamoring for more payments. One of the major features of the Waxman-Markey cap-and-trade bill – the ambitious climate change legislation recently passed by the House – offers just such payments. It pays polluting countries not to pollute. And, as with the noisy neighbor, this will just encourage a continuing ... read more 29/07/2009 08:00 PM U.S. Northwest heat wave continues Associated Press: Northwesterners more accustomed to rain and cooler climate sought refuge from a heat wave on Wednesday, as Seattle recorded the hottest temperature in its history and Portland edged closer to its own record-breaker. The National Weather Service in Seattle recorded 102 degrees by midday at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, breaking a previous record of 100 degrees, set in downtown Seattle in 1941 and repeated at the airport in 1994. Jay Albrecht, a meteorologist with the ... read more 30/07/2009 08:00 PM Prices tank for farmers in carbon credit program Agence France-Presse: Farmers enrolled in a program that rewards them for reducing greenhouse gasses are finding the market for their carbon credits has shrunk amid the recession and uncertainty about climate legislation being crafted by Congress. Carbon dioxide credits are fetching about 60 cents a metric ton, down from a high of about $7 a year ago, according to the National Farmers Union, which runs the program. "We're just kind of treading water at this point," said Roger Johnson, president of ... read more 30/07/2009 08:00 PM Study: Global warming speeds CO2 release United Press International: Global warming is speeding the release of carbon dioxide, a chief greenhouse gas, from underground peat in subarctic wetlands, Dutch research indicates. The research suggests rising temperatures are adding to the magnitude and velocity of global warming, Free University plant ecologist Ellen Dorrepaal and colleagues write in the journal Nature. Their research shows that raising temperatures about 1 degree Celsius accelerates total ecosystem respiration rates by as much as 60 ... read more 30/07/2009 08:00 PM Recession helps reshape India carbon deals Reuters: The recession and falling prices of U.N.-backed carbon credits are changing the way carbon deals are structured in India, project developers and consultants say, with more players seeking partners to spread financial risks. India is the second top source of carbon offsets under the U.N.'s Clean Development Mechanism, or CDM, and until recently clean-energy projects were developed by Indian investors by themselves. Most usually hung on to the credits hoping for higher ... read more 30/07/2009 08:00 PM Concern about air pollution declines in California LA Times: The percentage of Californians who believe air pollution is a "big problem" has dropped precipitously in recent years, especially in Los Angeles County and the Central Valley, among the nation's dirtiest regions, according to a new survey. At the same time, the poll by the nonpartisan Public Policy Institute of California found that support for the state's landmark 2006 law to slash greenhouse gases has declined, and fewer people think that global warming is a serious threat to the ... read more 30/07/2009 08:00 PM Efficiency Drive Could Cut Energy Use 23% by 2020, Study Finds New York Times: The biggest opportunity to improve the nation's energy situation is a major investment program to make homes and businesses more efficient, according to a study released Wednesday by the consulting firm McKinsey. An investment of $520 billion in improvements like sealing ducts and replacing inefficient appliances could produce $1.2 trillion in savings on energy bills through 2020, the study found. The report said such a program, if carried out over the next decade, could cut the ... read more 30/07/2009 08:00 PM Californians' global warming concern cools: poll Reuters: The tough economy has undermined the environmental enthusiasm of Californians, hitting the U.S. state that pioneered climate change legislation just as the federal government is taking on the issue, a survey showed on Wednesday. The poll by the Public Policy Institute of California shows support for urgent action on climate change has split on political lines, with a third of respondents from the more conservative Republican Party now saying global warming will never ... read more 30/07/2009 08:00 PM United Kingdom: The Big Question: Why did the Met Office get it so wrong? Independent (UK): Why are we asking this now? In case it has escaped your attention, which is unlikely, this summer is rapidly turning into a washout. The bad weather has led the Met Office to revise its summer forecast saying that instead of the warm, dry weather it predicted in April, the beginning of August is likely to be unsettled and wet. The misery of heavy showers, cooling winds and cloudy skies has dampened expectations that Britain could finally experience the sort of summer it had ... read more 30/07/2009 08:00 PM Australian PM vows to create 50,000 'green' jobs Associated Press: Australia's prime minister promised Thursday to create 50,000 "green" jobs and apprenticeships to combat climate change and unemployment simultaneously. Prime Minister Kevin Rudd has prioritized environmental legislation this year even as his government forecast that Australian unemployment would rise to 8.5 percent next year from the current 5.8 percent because of the global downturn. "The government I lead will not stand idly by while thousands of young Australians have their ... read more 30/07/2009 08:00 PM Jellyfish help to stir the ocean BBC: Jellyfish help to stir up the ocean as they move, researchers have found. Using a green dye, scientists showed how the animals' umbrella-shaped bodies were a key factor in this mixing. The distribution of heat, nutrients and chemicals helps maintain the marine environment and has an important influence on global climate. Reporting in the journal Nature, the researchers said that marine animals of many shapes and sizes contributed to ocean turbulence. Charles ... read more 30/07/2009 08:00 PM United Kingdom: Universities told to cut carbon Guardian: Universities should exceed ambitious national targets for cutting greenhouse gas emissions, the government's higher education funding body said today. Launching a new consultation on how the higher education sector can reduce its carbon footprint, the Higher Education Funding Council for England (Hefce) said universities should aspire to cutting emissions 50% by 2020 against 1990 levels, and 80% by 2050. The 2020 aspiration is much tougher than the government's legally-binding target ... read more 30/07/2009 08:00 PM United Kingdom: Global warming pushes up building insurance costs Guardian: Householders face higher building insurance premiums after a sharp increase in property damage blamed on climate change. A rise in insurance claims has been caused by flash floods and storms in areas of Britain previously immune to severe weather events. The AA, which produces an insurance premium index monitoring costs, reports a 15% rise in claims in the first six months of 2009 over the same period in 2008 "in the number and cost of payments for buildings damaged by flash floods ... read more 30/07/2009 08:00 PM Australian coal-fired plant sued for carbon emissions Business Green: The increasing legal risk faced by carbon-intensive firms worldwide was underlined this week with the news a coal-fired power plant in Australia is to face the country's first legal challenge against a company's carbon emissions. Green group Rising Tide earlier this week lodged a civil court action against the government-owned Bayswater power station, which is one of the largest greenhouse gas emitters in New South Wales (NSW). The action could result in stricter emission laws ... read more 30/07/2009 08:00 PM China: Beijing closing coal plants in environmental move Associated Press: China has taken advantage of a drop in electricity demand due to the global financial crisis to speed up a campaign to close small coal-fired power plants and improve its battered environment, an official said Thursday. Authorities have closed power plants with a total of 7,467 generating units, meeting a previously announced goal 18 months ahead of schedule, said Sun Qin, deputy administrator of the Cabinet's National Energy Administration. "This couldn't be done when power ... read more 30/07/2009 08:00 PM Global poll shows differing attitudes to climate change Guardian: A majority of peoples around the world want their governments to put action on climate change at the top of the political agenda, a new global public opinion poll suggests. Unfortunately for Barack Obama though, who has put energy reform at the top of his White House to-do list, Americans are not necessarily among them. Only 44% of Americans thought climate change should be a major preoccupation for the Obama administration, the survey co-ordinated by the University of ... read more 30/07/2009 08:00 PM Taiwan revs up electric scooter market with new subsidy Business Green: Taiwan will subsidise the purchase of electric scooters starting in November in a bid to boost domestic production and sales of the eco-friendly transport vehicle. Under the plan, announced earlier this month, subsidies of $246 (£150) to $339 (£207) will be provided to buyers of e-scooters with a plug-in detachable lithium-ion battery pack. The size of the subsidy will be determined according to the vehicle's engine size, but they are likely to represent a sizable discount given that ... read more 30/07/2009 08:00 PM United Kingdom: London to plant 2m trees by 2025 Press Association: London needs more parkland and to plant more trees to combat predicted rises in summer temperatures, an environment chief said today. Mayor Boris Johnson's environment adviser Isabel Dedring said climate projections showed average summer temperatures in London could be some 3.9C higher than today by 2080, and as much as 6C to 10C on the hottest days. The "urban heat island effect" in which buildings absorb and release heat, maintaining a higher temperature in cities than ... read more 30/07/2009 08:00 PM Jellyfish Stir Up Oceans, May Influence Climate National Public Radio: Jellyfish and other related creatures may be playing an unwitting role in the Earth's climate by stirring up the oceans, according to a new study in this week's issue of the journal Nature. The findings are helping to revive a decades-old debate over whether animals in the ocean can contribute significantly to ocean mixing, the process by which warm water on the surface combines with the cold water far below. Mixing is a key regulator of the Earth's temperature and the ocean's ... read more 29/07/2009 08:00 PM Green states to get few rewards in U.S. climate bill Reuters: The U.S. climate bill would give states that are heavily reliant on greenhouse-gas emitting fuels, like coal, more carbon credits on a per capita basis than those that use clean fuels, according to an analysis of the legislation released on Wednesday. States that have taken early action to cut emissions of gases blamed for warming the planet have long wondered how well they would be rewarded under federal climate regulation. But mostly the only perks they will get under the ... read more 29/07/2009 08:00 PM China says wants climate deal this year: U.N.'s Ban Reuters: China's leaders told U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon that Beijing wants to reach a new agreement on combating climate change in Copenhagen in December, Ban said on Wednesday. "I was pleased that President Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao assured me that China wants to seal a deal in Copenhagen in December and that China will play an active and constructive role in the negotiations," Ban told a monthly news conference. The U.N. chief returned on Tuesday from official visits ... read more 29/07/2009 08:00 PM Nitrogen Dioxide Pollution Standards Debated Greenwire: U.S. EPA's planned toughening of health standards for nitrogen dioxide (NO2) emissions is not tough enough for some advocacy groups. The EPA proposal would set a new one-hour maximum NO2 limit to prevent spikes in air pollution. The proposal also involves setting up new monitors in locations with the highest concentrations, like major roads in urban areas. The agency is proposing to retain the current annual average standard of 53 parts per billion (ppb). The proposal's range ... read more 29/07/2009 08:00 PM U.S. Senate climate bill to have tough market controls Reuters: Senator John Kerry, a leading architect of climate change legislation being drawn up in the U.S. Senate, on Wednesday said the bill will have tough controls to stop abusive financial market speculation on pollution permits that will be traded among companies. "There will be no derivatives, there will be no credit swaps," Kerry said in response to a question following a speech at the National Press Club that focused mainly on U.S.-China efforts to control climate change. The ... read more 29/07/2009 08:00 PM Arctic CO2 Fueling Fierce Global Warming Cycle redOrbit: A new European study finds that climate change is accelerating the release of carbon dioxide (CO2) from sub-Arctic peatlands, stimulating a fierce cycle of global warming. Northern peatlands contain one-third of the Earth's soil-bound organic carbon, the equivalent of half the CO2 in the entire atmosphere. An increase of just 1.8 degrees Fahrenheit (1.0 degree Celsius) over current average temperatures would more than double the amount of CO2 released from the peatlands, the study ... read more 29/07/2009 08:00 PM Energy efficiency could save U.S. $600 billion Reuters: The United States could save about $600 billion in energy costs by 2020 if it hiked annual efficiency spending about five-fold, business consultants McKinsey and Co said in a report on Wednesday. Governments, businesses and the general public would have to boost annual spending on existing energy-saving measures, like insulating walls and more efficient appliances, from about $10 billion annually to $50 billion per year. The upfront costs would pay off by saving $1.2 trillion by 2020, ... read more 29/07/2009 08:00 PM UN chief says China wants climate deal Associated Press: Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon says China's leaders have assured him they want to seal a deal on a new U.N. climate treaty at a conference in Copenhagen, Denmark, in December. The U.N. chief says President Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao told him during his recent visit to Beijing that China will play an active and constructive role in the negotiations to reach agreement on a treaty to replace the 1997 Kyoto Protocol, which expires in 2012. Ban told a news conference Wednesday ... read more 29/07/2009 08:00 PM Study: Wildfires will increase with climate change Oregonian: read more 29/07/2009 08:00 PM Greek hunters take dim view of solar energy scheme Reuters: Lignite power plants belch dust and smoke into the air above the southern Greek town of Megalopolis, but residents resistant to environmental arguments have blocked a scheme to build the country's biggest solar energy project on a nearby hillside. Local game hunters, angry that an earlier plan to grow a forest on the site was scrapped, have gone to court to try to stop the construction of a 50-megawatt solar panel park. "Under no conditions will we accept sacrificing even one ... read more 29/07/2009 08:00 PM Senate Passes Energy And Water Bill Associated Press: The Senate on Wednesday passed a $34.3 billion energy spending bill that backs up President Barack Obama's promise to close the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste facility in Nevada. The bill, passed by a 85-9 vote, also covers hundreds of water projects being undertaken by the Army Corps of Engineers. The Yucca Mountain project 90 miles from Las Vegas was designed to hold 77,000 tons of waste, but has been strongly opposed by the Nevada delegation, which had been outgunned in its ... read more 30/07/2009 08:00 PM When It Comes To Going Green, People Want Smaller Gains Now, Not Bigger Gains Later ScienceDaily: People make environmental choices the same way they manage money, preferring smaller gains right away to bigger gains later, according to new research published by the American Psychological Association. This behavior reflects "delay discounting," a mental filter used to make decisions about current versus future gains and losses, David Hardisty, M.Phil., and Elke Weber, Ph.D., of Columbia University, report in the August Journal of Experimental Psychology: General. Just how much ... read more 29/07/2009 08:00 PM USGS: large tree population declining in Yosemite Associated Press: Scientists with the U.S. Geological Survey said Wednesday there are fewer large-diameter trees growing in Yosemite National Park than in years past, most likely because of climate change. Warmer temperatures and smaller snow packs are creating conditions where fewer Ponderosa and sugar pines and other heartier trees can flourish, said Jim Lutz, a researcher at the University of Washington who co-wrote the study. "Most of the water that becomes available in the Sierra Nevada ... read more 29/07/2009 08:00 PM NJ to more than double solar power generationr Associated Press: Regulators approved more than $515 million in projects Wednesday that will more than double the amount of solar power generated in New Jersey and will solidify the state's No. 2 spot behind California in power produced from the sun. The state Board of Public Utilities gave the green light to proposals from four utilities that together will yield 145 megawatts of solar energy, enough to power about 130,000 homes, and will boost the state total to 232 megawatts. "We're all in ... read more 29/07/2009 08:00 PM U.S. court approves Gulf of Mexico oil drilling plan Reuters: In a big win for oil companies, a federal appeals court said it will allow the U.S. Interior Department to move forward with oil and natural gas leasing plans for the Gulf of Mexico that were drawn up by the Bush administration. The department in May sought clarification of a court decision that struck down the Bush administration's five-year (2007 to 2012) offshore oil and gas drilling plan based on the court's findings that a proper review had not been done on how the drilling would ... read more 29/07/2009 08:00 PM Sub-Arctic timebomb: warming speeds CO2 release from soil Agence France-Presse: - Climate change is speeding up the release of carbon dioxide from frigid peatlands in the sub-Arctic, fuelling a vicious circle of global warming, according to a study to be published Thursday. An increase of just 1.0 degree Celsius (1.8 degrees Fahrenheit) over current average temperatures would more than double the CO2 escaping from the peatlands. Northern peatlands contain one-third of the planet's soil-bound organic carbon, the equivalent of half of all the CO2 in the ... read more 28/07/2009 08:00 PM China energy firms must take action on climate: Greenpeace Agence France-Presse: China's energy firms must do more to combat climate change and reduce dependence on coal, environmental group Greenpeace said on Tuesday, warning of a rise in "extreme" weather. "China is suffering the pains of extreme weather events such as droughts, heatwaves, typhoons and floods, worsened by climate change," Greenpeace China's climate campaigner Yang Ailun said as he unveiled a new report. "These power companies can and must help China to prevent climate disaster by rapidly ... read more 28/07/2009 08:00 PM US and China sign memorandum on climate change Reuters: The United States and China, the world's largest emitters of greenhouse gases, signed an agreement on Tuesday that promises more cooperation on climate change, energy and the environment. Chinese and U.S. officials signed the memorandum of understanding at the State Department following two days of high-level economic and strategic talks. The document was not released publicly but Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said it highlighted the importance of climate change in ... read more 28/07/2009 08:00 PM France considers launching carbon tax Agence France-Presse: France's government was set to consider taxing carbon emissions as part of a drive to fight global warming, after experts handed in a report on the issue on Tuesday. The government-named panel headed by former Socialist prime minister Michel Rocard recommended that the tax be paid "by everybody without exception and exemption." Trade unions and consumers' associations have already said they oppose any new taxes for French households. "The government will raise several ... read more 27/07/2009 08:00 PM Gulf of Mexico Dead Zone Shrinks Scientific American: At first glance it seems like good news: This summer the size of the Gulf of Mexico dead zone is less than half its forecasted size, measuring about 3,000 square miles, according to the Louisiana Universities Marine Consortium. Well, it might be smaller--but unfortunately it's more severe. Typically dead zones affect waters near the ocean floor but this year the zone extends up closer to the surface. Dead zones are waters that have become so choked of oxygen that they're ... read more 24/07/2009 08:00 PM Fish Shrink to Beat Heat Scientific American: A study in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences finds that the planet's warming oceans are inducing fish to get smaller as a strategy to deal with increased temperature. Karen Hopkin reports Forget the meek. If the Earth keeps getting warmer, a recent study shows that it's the small that are gonna come out on top--at least in the world's oceans. With global temperatures on the rise, scientists are trying to figure out what a warmer earth will mean for worldwide ... read more 28/07/2009 08:00 PM Brazilian soy industry extends moratorium on Amazon deforestation Mongabay: The Brazilian soy industry has agreed to extend a moratorium on soy production in newly deforested areas in the Amazon rainforest, reports Greenpeace. The moratorium has been in place since 2006. Carlos Minc, Brazil's environmental minister, announced the extension during a press conference in Brasilia. "Soya is no longer a significant force in the destruction of the Amazon rainforest. However, we cannot say the same about cattle. The soya moratorium is a model for all relevant ... read more 28/07/2009 08:00 PM Brazil: Soya traders extend moratorium on Amazon destruction Greenpeace: Greenpeace congratulated Brazilian soya traders today for helping to both protect the Amazon and avert a climate catastrophe by agreeing to extend for another year the moratorium on buying soya linked to Amazon destruction. The landmark moratorium was first agreed in 2006 following a campaign by Greenpeace. (1) "This is the sort of industry initiative we need to stop the destruction of the Amazon and help to prevent runaway climate change. It was only possible because companies ... read more 28/07/2009 08:00 PM United Kingdom: Climate strategy twisting in the wind Guardian: Europe's largest onshore windfarm project has been thrown in severe doubt after the RSPB and official government agencies lodged formal objections to the 150-turbine plan, it emerged today. The setback adds to the problems facing the government's ambition to install 10,000 new turbines across the UK by 2020 as part of its plan to cut the carbon emissions causing climate change. The proposed 550MW windfarm, sprawling across the centre of Shetland's main island, would add almost ... read more 28/07/2009 08:00 PM Global warming-induced forest fires to increase health risks in western U.S Mongabay: Warmer, drier climate in the American West will increase the incidence and severity of forest fires, worsening air quality, reports a new study accepted for publication in the Journal of Geophysical Research - Atmospheres. Using climate models to forecast the impact of moderate global warming on western U.S. wildfire patterns and atmospheric chemistry, Harvard University's Jennifer Logan and colleagues forecast that organic carbon aerosols would increase by about 40 percent over the ... read more 28/07/2009 08:00 PM United Kingdom: Isle of Wight police prepare for activists after cancellation of green festival Guardian: Police in the Isle of Wight are bracing themselves for the possible arrival of thousands of environmental activists who are heading to the island in a show of support for workers facing the closure of the Vestas wind turbine factory. Around 25 Vestas workers are continuing their eight-day occupation of the the plant. Hundreds of protesters have already flocked to the island in support of the staff, camping nearby in a show of solidarity that has been described as a new "red and ... read more 28/07/2009 08:00 PM Scientists find a microbe haven at ocean's surface New York Times: The world's oceans are like an alien world. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration estimates that 95 percent of them remain unexplored. But the mysteries do not start a mile below the surface of the sea. They start with the surface itself. Scientists are now discovering that the top hundredth-inch of the ocean is somewhat like a sheet of jelly. And this odd habitat, thinner than a human hair, is home to an unusual menagerie of microbes. "It's really a distinct ecosystem ... read more 28/07/2009 08:00 PM A quest for batteries to alter the energy equation New York Times: In a gleaming white factory here, Bob Peters was gently feeding sheets of chemical-coated foil one afternoon recently into a whirring machine that cut them into precise rectangles. It was an early step in building a new kind of battery, one smaller than a cereal box but with almost as much energy as the kind in a conventional automobile. The goal of Mr. Peters, 51, and his co-workers at International Battery, a high-tech start-up, is industrial revolution. Racing against other ... read more 28/07/2009 08:00 PM When rain falls on snow, Arctic animals may starve National Public Radio: When wildlife biologists visited a remote spot in Canada called Banks Island in the spring of 2004, they discovered thousands upon thousands of dead musk oxen. It took years to determine the cause. They called it "rain-on-snow" -- the worst case of it ever documented. Musk oxen clash horns in a battle for dominance on Alaska's Seward Peninsula. Researchers suspect that herds of reindeer, musk oxen, and other Arctic animals may face starvation as a warming climate impacts their ability ... read more 28/07/2009 08:00 PM Utility PACs generous to key lawmakers in climate debate New York Times: Large electric utilities that rely heavily on coal poured money into re-election campaigns as the House shaped and passed landmark climate legislation, a bill that helps those businesses partly sidestep its toughest provisions. Employee-run committees for American Electric Power Co. Inc., Duke Energy Corp. and Southern Co. gave $165,000 to 70 House members in April, May and June. They sprinkled money among senators, too, contributing $46,500 to 18 Senate re-election ... read more 29/07/2009 08:00 PM US, China push issue of climate change Sydney Morning Herald: THE chief US climate negotiator, Todd Stern, has given his most bullish prediction yet of a successful outcome at the forthcoming Copenhagen meeting, saying China is equally keen to achieve a new climate treaty. Speaking after the first day of a US-China economic and strategic dialogue between the world's two powerhouse economies, Mr Stern said that ''on the US side, the issue has risen to the top of the US national security set of priorities''. ''With respect to prospects, you ... read more 29/07/2009 08:00 PM DR Congo needs clear logging policies: Greenpeace Agence France-Presse: Greenpeace has urged authorities in the Democratic Republic of Congo to clarify reforms bringing transparency to the logging sector in the world's second biggest rainforest after the Amazon. The "objective is still far from being reached," the global environment campaign group said in a letter to the minister of the environment, a copy of which was given to AFP on Tuesday. "It is urgent to have clarifications of the current situation, marked by irregularities." Since ... read more 27/07/2009 08:00 PM Offshore wind could be next wave for U.S Reuters: The Cape Cod resort area, famous for sandy beaches and centuries-old fishing villages, could in the next few years claim a new title of home to the United States' first offshore wind farm. The United States has experienced a surge in investment in wind power over the past four years, more than tripling its ability to turn wind into electricity. But construction has been entirely on land and largely in America's rural midsection -- leaving open the costly challenge of how to transmit ... read more 28/07/2009 08:00 PM Australia mulling more coal support in carbon plans Reuters: Australia's government is considering doubling compensation for coal miners under its carbon trade scheme, media reports said on Tuesday, as a new poll found Australians want the plan delayed to next year. Australia is the world's top coal exporter but the coal industry has complained the planned emissions trading system (ETS), due to start in July 2011, would force mines to close and lead to thousands of job losses. The Australian newspaper said the government was considering ... read more 27/07/2009 08:00 PM United States: Shell pipeline spills crude in Gulf of Mexico: U.S. Coast Guard Reuters: A Shell pipeline spilled 1,400 barrels of crude oil into the U.S. Gulf of Mexico off Louisiana, the U.S. Coast Guard reported Monday. The leak Saturday afternoon came from a 20-inch line in Eugene Island Block 281, part of the Eugene Island pipeline system, Shell confirmed. The leak was controlled, cleanup was underway and the cause was being investigated, officials said. The location is 75 miles south of Atchafalaya Bay off the coast of Louisiana, the Coast Guard ... read more 27/07/2009 08:00 PM U.S. and China Meet on Climate Change Greenwire: President Obama opened high-level U.S.-China meetings in Washington today by underscoring the need for enhanced cooperation between the countries -- the world's largest greenhouse gas emitters -- on low-carbon energy sources. "Let's be frank: Neither of us profits from a growing dependence on foreign oil, nor can we spare our people from the ravages of climate change unless we cooperate," Obama said. "Common sense calls upon us to act in concert." Obama spoke at the first ... read more 27/07/2009 08:00 PM World will warm faster than predicted in next five years, study warns Guardian: The world faces a new period of record-breaking temperatures as the sun's activity increases, leading the planet to heat up significantly faster than scientists had predicted over the next five years, according to a new study. The hottest year on record was 1998, and the relatively cool years since have led to some global-warming sceptics claiming that temperatures have levelled off or started to decline. However, the new research firmly rejects that argument. The work is the ... read more News Archive     Back to Homepage
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