http://firstparish.info/HelpingOut/Green_Sanctuary.html News related to climate change collected by David Landskov for Sustainable Arlington and for the Climate Change Team at First Parish UU of Arlington MA. Maximum of 7 items per day. http://eenews.net/public/climatewire/2012/09/25/2 California cannot reach its goal of slashing greenhouse gas emissions 80 percent by 2050 without major advancements in technologies, a new report says. "Existing technologies, off the shelf technologies" and ones likely to be available in the near future are insufficient to power the Golden State to the finish line on reductions mandated by its climate law, A.B. 32, an analysis from Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory released yesterday says. http://eenews.net/public/climatewire/2012/09/25/2 25 Sep 2012 10:70 EDT E&E Publishing, LLC, Public index page http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2012/09/25/907371/markeywaxman-report-carbon-pollution-creating-a-cocktail-of-heat-and-extreme-weather/ Two House Democrats have released a report that aims to connect the dots on climate change and extreme weather events. http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2012/09/25/907371/markeywaxman-report-carbon-pollution-creating-a-cocktail-of-heat-and-extreme-weather/ 25 Sep 2012 10:60 EDT ThinkProgress >> Green http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2012/09/25/903521/20-dollar-per-ton-carbon-tax-could-reduce-deficit-by-12-trillion-in-10-years/ Over the last year, there's been increasing talk in Washington political circles -- including conservative ones -- about how to use a carbon tax as a deficit reduction tool. http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2012/09/25/903521/20-dollar-per-ton-carbon-tax-could-reduce-deficit-by-12-trillion-in-10-years/ 25 Sep 2012 10:50 EDT ThinkProgress >> Green http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2012/09/25/904311/how-the-arctic-death-spiral-fuels-a-wicked-backlash-on-our-weather/ Videographer Peter Sinclair has another excellent video for The Yale Forum on Climate Change & The Media featuring leading Arctic experts One of the featured scientists is Dr. Jennifer Francisof Rutgers' Institute of Marine and Coastal Sciences. http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2012/09/25/904311/how-the-arctic-death-spiral-fuels-a-wicked-backlash-on-our-weather/ 25 Sep 2012 10:40 EDT ThinkProgress >> Green http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2012/09/24/901161/analysis-93-percent-of-fox-news-climate-coverage-is-misleading/ There's a new report out Monday analyzing climate coverage from Rupert Murdoch's Fox News and Wall Street Journal. According to a review of recent climate coverage at these two outlets, 93 percent stories from Fox News on climate were misleading and 81 percent of stories in the WSJ op-ed section were misleading. The assessment was conducted by the Union of Concerned Scientists. http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2012/09/24/901161/analysis-93-percent-of-fox-news-climate-coverage-is-misleading/ 24 Sep 2012 22:30 EDT ThinkProgress >> Green http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2012/09/24/899201/the-co-benefits-of-pricing-carbon-how-lowering-local-pollution-can-help-achieve-environmental-justice/ Reducing our carbon output isn't just good for the climate, it's good for local health. When we price carbon, we potentially reduce other co-pollutants at power plants, oil refineries and industrial facilities -- particularly in minority communities located disproportionately located near these pollution sources. And these co-benefits need to be considered in any carbon pricing mechanism, argues a new report released by the Economics for Equity and the Environment Network. http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2012/09/24/899201/the-co-benefits-of-pricing-carbon-how-lowering-local-pollution-can-help-achieve-environmental-justice/ 24 Sep 2012 22:20 EDT ThinkProgress >> Green http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/09/120924142724.htm A low-cost new material that could lead to innovative technologies to tackle global warming has been discovered. http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/09/120924142724.htm 24 Sep 2012 22:10 EDT ScienceDaily: Global Warming News http://sustainablearlington.org/sa15/sa-blog/climate-change-news _ Monday News Below _ http://sustainablearlington.org/sa15/sa-blog/global-warming-news?start=820 24 Sep 2012 20:00 EDT Sustainable Arlington http://e360.yale.edu/digest/poll_majority_undecided_voters_call_global_warming_important_in_us_election/3636/ The majority of undecided voters in the U.S. presidential race say that the candidates' views on global warming will be an important factor in determining how they vote, according to a new poll. While very few participants called global warming their single-most important issue, about 61 percent of undecided voters say it will be one of several important issues that influence their decision. http://e360.yale.edu/digest/poll_majority_undecided_voters_call_global_warming_important_in_us_election/3636/ 24 Sep 2012 10:70 EDT Yale Environment 360 http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/why-it-matters-despite-the-weather-climate-change-gets-little-mention-in-the-campaign/2012/09/23/3cb2ea74-0582-11e2-9eea-333857f6a7bd_story.html People love to talk about the weather, especially when it's strange like the mercifully ended summer of 2012. This year the nation's weather has been hotter and more extreme than ever, federal records show. Yet there are two people who aren't talking about it, and they both happen to be running for president. http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/why-it-matters-despite-the-weather-climate-change-gets-little-mention-in-the-campaign/2012/09/23/3cb2ea74-0582-11e2-9eea-333857f6a7bd_story.html 24 Sep 2012 10:60 EDT ThinkProgress >> Green http://www.pbs.org/ombudsman/2012/09/climate_change_creates_a_storm.html It was not the PBS NewsHour's finest 10 minutes. In my view, and that of hundreds, even thousands of others, the program stumbled badly. On the other hand, it was not the end of the world, so to speak. http://www.pbs.org/ombudsman/2012/09/climate_change_creates_a_storm.html 24 Sep 2012 10:50 EDT ThinkProgress >> Green http://www.businessgreen.com/bg/news/2207456/report-warns-of-global-food-insecurity-as-climate-change-destroys-fisheries The Persian Gulf, Libya, and Pakistan are at high risk of food insecurity in coming decades because climate change and ocean acidification are destroying fisheries, according to a report released on Monday. http://www.businessgreen.com/bg/news/2207456/report-warns-of-global-food-insecurity-as-climate-change-destroys-fisheries 24 Sep 2012 10:40 EDT ThinkProgress >> Green http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/climate-change-will-shift-marine-predators-habitat-study-says/2012/09/23/3dbc5ae8-0507-11e2-8102-ebee9c66e190_story.html The top ocean predators in the North Pacific could lose as much as 35 percent of their habitat by the end of the century as a result of climate change , according to a study published Sunday in the journal Nature Climate Change. http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/climate-change-will-shift-marine-predators-habitat-study-says/2012/09/23/3dbc5ae8-0507-11e2-8102-ebee9c66e190_story.html 24 Sep 2012 10:30 EDT ThinkProgress >> Green http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/09/120923141212.htm A new study suggests something amazing: Periodic changes in winds high in the stratosphere influence the seas by striking a vulnerable "Achilles heel" in the North Atlantic and changing mile-deep ocean circulation patterns, which in turn affect Earth's climate. http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/09/120923141212.htm 23 Sep 2012 22:20 EDT ScienceDaily: Global Warming News http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/09/120923145056.htm? From rubber dinghies to television sets: the emissions of greenhouse gases in countries like China are to a significant extent caused by the production of goods that are exported to Germany or the United States. But this doesn't necessarily mean that Western countries have relocated their emission-intensive industries and hence escape regulation for climate protection, according to a new study. http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/09/120923145056.htm? 23 Sep 2012 22:10 EDT ScienceDaily: Global Warming News http://sustainablearlington.org/sa15/sa-blog/climate-change-news _ Sunday News Below _ http://sustainablearlington.org/sa15/sa-blog/global-warming-news?start=819 23 Sep 2012 20:00 EDT Sustainable Arlington http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2012/09/21/888691/despite-little-talk-from-candidates-on-climate-change-faith-groups-pledge-to-make-it-an-election-issue/ This week, the National Climate Summit 2013 Coalition released a petition calling on both Presidential candidates to address rapidly accelerating climate change. The statement, written and endorsed by over 1300 faith leaders, elected officials, civil rights groups, environmental activists, business representatives, and others, calls on both Presidential candidates to "act in the best interests of this and all future generations of Americans now by publicly acknowledging the climate emergency"; and committing to host a climate summit to craft actions for national solutions within their first 100 days in office. http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2012/09/21/888691/despite-little-talk-from-candidates-on-climate-change-faith-groups-pledge-to-make-it-an-election-issue/ 23 Sep 2012 10:70 EDT ThinkProgress >> Green http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5jKKr0IRUKbR6Se7mFZu_qfcFWZTw Experts warned of a "planetary emergency" due to the unforeseen global consequences of Arctic ice melt, including methane gas released from permafrost regions currently under ice. http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5jKKr0IRUKbR6Se7mFZu_qfcFWZTw 23 Sep 2012 10:60 EDT Daily Climate http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/09/22/us-usa-carbon-airlines-idUSBRE88L06C20120922 The Senate unanimously passed a bill on Saturday that would shield U.S. airlines from paying for their carbon emissions on European flights, pressuring the European Union to back down from applying its emissions law to foreign carriers. http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/09/22/us-usa-carbon-airlines-idUSBRE88L06C20120922 23 Sep 2012 10:50 EDT Reuters: Green Business News http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/23/technology/data-centers-waste-vast-amounts-of-energy-belying-industry-image.html Tens of thousands of data centers now exist to support the overall explosion of digital information. A yearlong examination by The New York Times has revealed that this foundation of the information industry is sharply at odds with its image of sleek efficiency and environmental friendliness. http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/23/technology/data-centers-waste-vast-amounts-of-energy-belying-industry-image.html 23 Sep 2012 10:40 EDT NYT > Green Blog http://www.climatecentral.org/news/forget-the-melting-arctic-the-sea-ice-in-antarctica-is-growing-skeptics-say-15032 The sea ice that covers the Arctic Ocean has plummeted to its lowest level on record -- but down at the other end of the world, the sea ice surrounding Antarctica has swelled. That's no surprise, considering that winter is just ending in the Southern Hemisphere -- but what may be surprising is that the overall extent of Antarctic ice has grown by about one percent per decade, on average, since satellite records began a little over 30 years ago. http://www.climatecentral.org/news/forget-the-melting-arctic-the-sea-ice-in-antarctica-is-growing-skeptics-say-15032 22 Sep 2012 22:30 EDT Climate Central - Breaking News, Blogs & Features http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2012/09/21/890571/we-saved-the-ozone-layer-we-can-save-the-climate/ Climate change is not the first planetary pollution crisis we have faced. That distinction belongs to the depletion of the earth's protective ozone layer. This Sunday marks the 25th anniversary of the signing of the world's most successful environmental treaty, the Montreal Protocol. That's the treaty that saved the ozone layer, saved millions of lives, and avoided a global catastrophe. http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2012/09/21/890571/we-saved-the-ozone-layer-we-can-save-the-climate/ 22 Sep 2012 22:20 EDT ThinkProgress >> Green http://www.alternet.org/environment/5-diseases-move-north-america-thanks-climate-change As the Environmental Protection Agency notes, disease-causing agents are passed on through food, water, and animals such as "deer, birds, mice, and insects." Climate change may be altering these transmitters, allowing certain diseases to proliferate as extreme changes in water, heat, air quality, and more wreak havoc with the waters and animals that host some of our deadliest diseases. http://www.alternet.org/environment/5-diseases-move-north-america-thanks-climate-change 22 Sep 2012 22:10 EDT Skeptical Science http://sustainablearlington.org/sa15/sa-blog/climate-change-news _ Saturday News Below _ http://sustainablearlington.org/sa15/sa-blog/global-warming-news?start=818 22 Sep 2012 20:00 EDT Sustainable Arlington http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/09/21/us-brazil-climate-idUSBRE88K1AA20120921 Ministers from Brazil, India, China and South Africa called for an extension of the Kyoto Protocol, the world's only treaty that forces countries to cut greenhouse gas emissions, which expires at the end of the year. http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/09/21/us-brazil-climate-idUSBRE88K1AA20120921 22 Sep 2012 10:60 EDT Reuters: Green Business News http://cleantechnica.com/2012/09/21/solar-and-wind-energy-stabilize-the-power-grid/ Solar power, wind power, biogas, and other renewable energy sources are becoming increasingly important in the generation of electricity. As the quantity of wind turbines and photovoltaic systems feeding electrical energy to the grid increases, it makes the grid denser, and more widely distributed. Instead of only a small number of large power plants supplying all the electricity, the larger number of small, decentralized power plants create a much more reliable, more disaster-proof grid. http://cleantechnica.com/2012/09/21/solar-and-wind-energy-stabilize-the-power-grid/ 21 Sep 2012 22:50 EDT CleanTechnica http://www.wunderground.com/blog/JeffMasters/comment.html?entrynum=2237 The extraordinary decline in Arctic sea ice during 2012 is finally over. Sea ice extent bottomed out on September 16, announced scientists at the National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC) on Wednesday. The sea ice extent fell to 3.41 million square kilometers, breaking the previous all-time low set in 2007 by 18%--despite the fact that this year's weather was cloudier and cooler than in 2007. http://www.wunderground.com/blog/JeffMasters/comment.html?entrynum=2237 21 Sep 2012 22:40 EDT Dr. Jeff Masters' WunderBlog http://desmogblog.com/2012/09/18/alberta-bitumen-threatens-health-communities-living-near-refineries-u-s-forestethics-reports Toxins from refineries processing tar sands bitumen are dangerously polluting the air of local communities in the United States, according to a recent report by ForestEthics. Areas surrounding tar sands refineries - where a higher proportion of society's vulnerable minority, aging and poor communities live - exhibit intense levels of sulfur dioxide (SO2) as a result of the high sulfur content of bitumen feed stocks used in the process. Sulfur dioxide pollution is associated with asthma and heart disease. http://desmogblog.com/2012/09/18/alberta-bitumen-threatens-health-communities-living-near-refineries-u-s-forestethics-reports 21 Sep 2012 22:30 EDT DeSmogBlog - Clearing the PR Pollution that Clouds Climate Science http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2012/09/21/888371/transcanadas-long-list-of-flip-flops-on-keystone-xl/ Over the years, TransCanada's political and PR maneuvering has provided a remarkable timeline of alarming contradictions and lies. Compiled by the Sierra Club, NRDC, and the National Wildlife Federation, this list of ridiculous flip-flops puts into perspective just how trustworthy this toxic oil company is. Which is to say, it isn't trustworthy at all. http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2012/09/21/888371/transcanadas-long-list-of-flip-flops-on-keystone-xl/ 21 Sep 2012 22:20 EDT ThinkProgress >> Green http://www.climatecentral.org/news/climate-change-could-damage-fall-foliage-tourist-season-15016 It's admittedly not on a par with the direct threats posed by rising seas or melting icecaps or extreme weather, but with autumn now upon us, it's worth noting that climate change could also affect the brilliant foliage that paints forests from the Ozarks to the Appalachians with vibrant color every fall. http://www.climatecentral.org/news/climate-change-could-damage-fall-foliage-tourist-season-15016 21 Sep 2012 22:10 EDT Climate Central - Breaking News, Blogs & Features http://sustainablearlington.org/sa15/sa-blog/climate-change-news _ Friday News Below _ http://sustainablearlington.org/sa15/sa-blog/global-warming-news?start=817 21 Sep 2012 20:00 EDT Sustainable Arlington http://www.ucsusa.org/news/press_release/media-climate-science-event-0340.html The Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) is calling on News Corporation to improve the representation of climate science on two of its prominent media holdings, Fox News Channel and the Wall Street Journal's opinion section, after an analysis showed both heavily distort the facts on the issue. http://www.ucsusa.org/news/press_release/media-climate-science-event-0340.html 21 Sep 2012 10:70 EDT Union of Concerned Scientists Insurers Pressed to Take Lead in Tempering Climate Risk Insurers and reinsurers should do more to help mitigate the impact of severe weather and climate risks, according to a report issued Thursday by Boston-based Ceres. Insurers Pressed to Take Lead in Tempering Climate Risk 21 Sep 2012 10:60 EDT ThinkProgress >> Green http://www.climatecentral.org/news/drought-expands-again-as-forecasts-show-little-relief-ahead-15024 The massive and widespread 2012 drought that has gripped the nation since the spring refuses to die, according to the latest report from the U.S. Drought Monitor -- and in fact, it's expanded a little: as of September 18, 64.82 percent of the contiguous U.S. was suffering from at least moderate drought, slightly more than the 64.16 percent reported a week earlier, enough of a gain to set a new record for this drought category. http://www.climatecentral.org/news/drought-expands-again-as-forecasts-show-little-relief-ahead-15024 21 Sep 2012 10:50 EDT ThinkProgress >> Green http://desmogblog.com/2012/09/20/army-corps-fast-tracks-port-morrow-coal-export-terminal The Army Corps of Engineers has decided that the transfer of coal from trains onto barges in Oregon's Columbia River is not worthy of a full environmental impact study. For now. http://desmogblog.com/2012/09/20/army-corps-fast-tracks-port-morrow-coal-export-terminal 21 Sep 2012 10:40 EDT DeSmogBlog - Clearing the PR Pollution that Clouds Climate Science http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/brazil-south-africa-india-and-china-discuss-climate-change/2012/09/20/286f6764-0347-11e2-9132-f2750cd65f97_story.html Representatives of Brazil, South Africa, India and China are meeting to define a common position ahead of November's United Nations' climate change conference in Doha. http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/brazil-south-africa-india-and-china-discuss-climate-change/2012/09/20/286f6764-0347-11e2-9132-f2750cd65f97_story.html 21 Sep 2012 10:30 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/09/120921082807.htm Global climate change means that recently discovered ancient forests in Canada's extreme north could one day return, research suggests. http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/09/120921082807.htm 21 Sep 2012 10:20 EDT ScienceDaily: Global Warming News http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/09/120919082924.htm Due to the massive production of the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide, our oceans are becoming increasingly acidic. Scientists studied the consequences of ocean acidification on sponges that bore into calcareous materials such as coral skeletons. Results show that these sponges will profit from global changes, while coral reefs are threatened in their survival. http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/09/120919082924.htm 21 Sep 2012 10:10 EDT ScienceDaily: Global Warming News http://sustainablearlington.org/sa15/sa-blog/climate-change-news _ Thursday News Below _ http://sustainablearlington.org/sa15/sa-blog/global-warming-news?start=816 20 Sep 2012 20:00 EDT Sustainable Arlington http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2012/09/20/879421/we-must-look-at-new-options-for-reducing-water-pollution-from-agriculture/ The Food and Environmental Reporting Network released a striking report this week (Sept. 18) describing how industrial agriculture and climate change are fueling massive blooms of toxic algae: An estimate by Walter Dodds of Kansas State University conservatively puts the annual cost of freshwater algal blooms at more than $1 billion from lost recreation and depressed property values. http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2012/09/20/879421/we-must-look-at-new-options-for-reducing-water-pollution-from-agriculture/ 20 Sep 2012 10:60 EDT ThinkProgress >> Green http://switchboard.nrdc.org/blogs/aswift/pipeline_leak_detection_system.html An investigation of pipeline accident reports from the last ten years has revealed that the much touted leak detection systems employed by pipeline companies only catch one out of twenty spills. Not only do pipeline leak detection systems miss nineteen out of twenty spills, they miss four out of five spills larger than 42,000 gallons. http://switchboard.nrdc.org/blogs/aswift/pipeline_leak_detection_system.html 20 Sep 2012 10:50 EDT ThinkProgress >> Green http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/09/120919191214.htm Arctic sea ice extent fell to an unprecedented annual low last weekend, shattering the record set in 2007 by nearly 20 percent. Ice extent fell to 1.32 million square miles Sunday, leaving the Arctic's icy cap half the average size recorded from 1979 to 2000, the National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC) said yesterday. "We are now in uncharted territory," said NSIDC Director Mark Serreze. "While we've long known that as the planet warms up, changes would be seen first and be most pronounced in the Arctic, few of us were prepared for how rapidly the changes would actually occur." http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/09/120919191214.htm 20 Sep 2012 10:40 EDT ScienceDaily: Global Warming News http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/09/20/us-eu-china-carbon-idUSBRE88J0D820120920 China, the world's biggest carbon dioxide emitter, has struck a deal to work with the European Union to cut greenhouse gases through projects including the development of Chinese emissions trading schemes, the European Commission said on Thursday. http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/09/20/us-eu-china-carbon-idUSBRE88J0D820120920 20 Sep 2012 10:30 EDT Reuters: Green Business News http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/09/120919125604.htm Carbon dioxide (CO2) released into the oceans as a result of water pollution by nutrients -- a major source of this greenhouse gas that gets little public attention -- is enhancing the unwanted changes in ocean acidity due to atmospheric increases in CO2. The changes may already be impacting commercial fish and shellfish populations, according to new data and model predictions. http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/09/120919125604.htm 20 Sep 2012 00:20 EDT ScienceDaily: Global Warming News http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/09/120919190602.htm Malaria has been found in birds in parts of Alaska, and global climate change will drive it even farther north, according to a new study. The spread could prove devastating to arctic bird species that have no resistance to the disease, and may also help scientists understand the effects of climate change on the spread of human malaria. http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/09/120919190602.htm 20 Sep 2012 00:10 EDT ScienceDaily: Global Warming News http://sustainablearlington.org/sa15/sa-blog/climate-change-news _ Wednesday News Below _ http://sustainablearlington.org/sa15/sa-blog/global-warming-news?start=815 19 Sep 2012 20:00 EDT Sustainable Arlington http://eenews.net/public/climatewire/2012/09/19/1 As 2012 wildfire activity edges toward a record high, researchers say current fire levels, once considered high-end outliers, may soon be the new normal for much of the American West. According to a recent analysis by the nonprofit research organization Climate Central, four decades of steady temperature increases correlate strongly with an increase in the prevalence of large fires, as well as an uptick in total annual acres burned. http://eenews.net/public/climatewire/2012/09/19/1 19 Sep 2012 10:70 EDT E&E Publishing, LLC, Public index page http://cleantechnica.com/2012/09/18/east-coast-could-be-powered-by-wind/ A Stanford study titled "US East Coast Offshore Wind Energy Resources and their Relationship to Peak-time Electricity Demand" has concluded, theoretically, that the East Coast could be powered entirely by wind turbines. http://cleantechnica.com/2012/09/18/east-coast-could-be-powered-by-wind/ 19 Sep 2012 10:60 EDT CleanTechnica http://thinkprogress.org.feedsportal.com/c/34726/f/638933/s/2398ada5/l/0Lthinkprogress0Borg0Cclimate0C20A120C0A90C190C8721210Carctic0Edeath0Espiral0Enew0Elocal0Eshipping0Eand0Edrilling0Epollution0Emay0Espeed0Eup0Epolar0Ewarming0Eand0Eice0Emelting0C/story01.htm We've known for a long time about basic polar amplification. Warming melts highly reflective white ice and snow, which is replaced by the dark blue sea or dark land, both of which absorb far more sunlight and hence far more solar energy. http://thinkprogress.org.feedsportal.com/c/34726/f/638933/s/2398ada5/l/0Lthinkprogress0Borg0Cclimate0C20A120C0A90C190C8721210Carctic0Edeath0Espiral0Enew0Elocal0Eshipping0Eand0Edrilling0Epollution0Emay0Espeed0Eup0Epolar0Ewarming0Eand0Eice0Emelting0C/story01.htm 19 Sep 2012 10:50 EDT ThinkProgress >> Green http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2012/sep/18/mega-mine-australia-global-emissions Plans to open up a new Australian "coal export rush" would turn a single Queensland region into the seventh largest contributor of carbon dioxide emissions on the planet, undermining international efforts to keep global warming below 2C, a new report has warned. http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2012/sep/18/mega-mine-australia-global-emissions 19 Sep 2012 10:40 EDT ThinkProgress >> Green http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2012/09/18/868661/mit-study-for-every-1-degree-c-rise-in-temperature-tropical-regions-will-see-10-percent-heavier-rainfall-extremes/ Global warming is expected to intensify extreme precipitation, but the rate at which it does so in the tropics has remained unclear. Now an MIT study has given an estimate based on model simulations and observations: With every 1 degree Celsius rise in temperature, the study finds, tropical regions will see 10 percent heavier rainfall extremes, with possible impacts for flooding in populous regions. http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2012/09/18/868661/mit-study-for-every-1-degree-c-rise-in-temperature-tropical-regions-will-see-10-percent-heavier-rainfall-extremes/ 19 Sep 2012 10:30 EDT ThinkProgress >> Green http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/09/120919103614.htm Researchers have developed a new computational method for identifying candidate refrigerant fluids with low "global warming potential" as well as other desirable performance and safety features. http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/09/120919103614.htm 19 Sep 2012 10:20 EDT ScienceDaily: Global Warming News http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/earth_climate/global_warming/~3/vnrMPdEiEws/120919103610.htm Fast-flowing and narrow glaciers have the potential to trigger massive changes in the Antarctic ice sheet and contribute to rapid ice-sheet decay and sea-level rise, a new study has found. http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/earth_climate/global_warming/~3/vnrMPdEiEws/120919103610.htm 19 Sep 2012 10:10 EDT ScienceDaily: Global Warming News http://sustainablearlington.org/sa15/sa-blog/climate-change-news _ Tuesday News Below _ http://sustainablearlington.org/sa15/sa-blog/global-warming-news?start=814 18 Sep 2012 20:00 EDT Sustainable Arlington http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2012/09/17/861331/june-through-august-was-warmest-period-for-global-land-temperature-ever-recorded/ The average global land surface temperature between June and August of 2012 was the warmest ever recorded, according to data from the National Climatic Data Center. The three month period saw an average land temperature that was 1.03 degrees C (1.85 degrees F) above the 20th century average. http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2012/09/17/861331/june-through-august-was-warmest-period-for-global-land-temperature-ever-recorded/ 18 Sep 2012 10:70 EDT ThinkProgress >> Green http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2012/sep/17/arctic-collapse-sea-ice As sea ice shrinks to record lows, one of the world's leading ice experts warns a 'global disaster' is now unfolding in northern latitudes. http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2012/sep/17/arctic-collapse-sea-ice 18 Sep 2012 10:60 EDT ThinkProgress >> Green http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2012/09/18/864681/video-watch-an-area-of-arctic-sea-ice-the-size-of-alaska-and-canada-combined-melt-away/ When Arctic sea ice fell to its lowest level ever recorded this August, the ice covered an area 45 percent smaller than it did in the 1990's. The amount of ice that melted in the Arctic this year is roughly the size of Canada and Alaska combined. http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2012/09/18/864681/video-watch-an-area-of-arctic-sea-ice-the-size-of-alaska-and-canada-combined-melt-away/ 18 Sep 2012 10:50 EDT ThinkProgress >> Green http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2012/09/17/863551/false-balance-lives-in-worst-climate-story-of-the-year-pbs-channels-fox-news/ At first, their climate segment seemed to be about Koch-funded former "skeptic" Richard Muller and his conversion to scientific reality. But then PBS decided that the way to "balance" a former skeptic who merely confirmed what climate scientists have demonstrated repeatedly for decades was by quoting nonsense from Sen. James Inhofe and then giving an extended interview to former TV weatherman and current A-list disinformer Anthony Watts. http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2012/09/17/863551/false-balance-lives-in-worst-climate-story-of-the-year-pbs-channels-fox-news/ 18 Sep 2012 10:40 EDT ThinkProgress >> Green http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-state-of-nova/post/uva-wins-key-ruling-in-prince-william-global-warming-foia-case-involving-michael-mann/2012/09/18/6c422d98-0133-11e2-b257-e1c2b3548a4a_blog.html After reading all the briefs, a judge ruled Monday that Michael Mann's e-mail correspondence was exempt from the Virginia Freedom of Information Act and did not have to be provided to the American Tradition Institute, which was trying to delve into the discussions and data behind Mann's conclusions that humans are causing the Earth to grow hotter. http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-state-of-nova/post/uva-wins-key-ruling-in-prince-william-global-warming-foia-case-involving-michael-mann/2012/09/18/6c422d98-0133-11e2-b257-e1c2b3548a4a_blog.html 18 Sep 2012 10:30 EDT ThinkProgress >> Green http://insideclimatenews.org/news/20120910/america-only-nation-where-climate-scientists-face-organized-harassment While outspoken scientists of human-caused climate change in the United States endure torrents of freedom of information requests, hate mail and even death threats from skeptics, their counterparts abroad have been free to do their work without fear. http://insideclimatenews.org/news/20120910/america-only-nation-where-climate-scientists-face-organized-harassment 18 Sep 2012 10:20 EDT Skeptical Science http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/09/120918121551.htm During the first six months of 2012, sea surface temperatures in the Northeast Shelf Large Marine Ecosystem were the highest ever recorded. The annual 2012 spring plankton bloom was intense, started earlier and lasted longer than average. This has implications for marine life from the smallest creatures to the largest marine mammals like whales. Atlantic cod continued to shift northeastward from its historic distribution center. http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/09/120918121551.htm 18 Sep 2012 10:10 EDT ScienceDaily: Global Warming News http://sustainablearlington.org/sa15/sa-blog/climate-change-news _ Monday News Below _ http://sustainablearlington.org/sa15/sa-blog/global-warming-news?start=813 17 Sep 2012 20:00 EDT Sustainable Arlington http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/09/120917111054.htm The federal government is significantly underestimating the costs of carbon pollution because it is using a faulty analytical model, according to a new study published in the Journal of Environmental Studies and Sciences. http://cleantechnica.com/2012/09/17/us-underestimates-costs-of-carbon-pollution-and-climate-change-study-finds/ 17 Sep 2012 10:70 EDT ScienceDaily: Global Warming News http://www.southcoasttoday.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20120916/NEWS/209160340/-1/NEWSMAP Thousands of farmers are filing insurance claims this year after drought and triple-digit temperatures burned up crops across the nation's Corn Belt, and some experts are predicting record insurance losses -- exacerbated by changes that reduced some growers' premiums. http://www.southcoasttoday.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20120916/NEWS/209160340/-1/NEWSMAP 17 Sep 2012 10:60 EDT ThinkProgress >> Green http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2012/09/17/852781/banking-on-the-states-for-clean-energy-innovation/ It's a great time--in the realm of energy policy--to look at what's going on in U.S. states, many of which have been at the forefront of implementing innovative clean energy solutions. http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2012/09/17/852781/banking-on-the-states-for-clean-energy-innovation/ 17 Sep 2012 10:50 EDT ThinkProgress >> Green http://cleantechnica.com/2012/09/17/global-cleantech-market-expected-to-expand-to-e4-trillion-by-2020s-germany-to-capitalize/ Specifically, the research found that the clean technology market has "grown at an average of almost 12 per cent a year since 2007, and predicts it will continue to accelerate over the coming years." http://cleantechnica.com/2012/09/17/global-cleantech-market-expected-to-expand-to-e4-trillion-by-2020s-germany-to-capitalize/ 17 Sep 2012 10:40 EDT CleanTechnica http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/09/17/us-ccs-nsea-fracture-idUSBRE88G0LK20120917 Companies looking to store polluting carbon under the sea will have to pay more for tougher seabed screening, after geologists discovered a three-kilometre long fracture near Norway's pioneering subsea carbon storage project in the North Sea. http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/09/17/us-ccs-nsea-fracture-idUSBRE88G0LK20120917 17 Sep 2012 10:30 EDT Reuters: Green Business News http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/09/120917123424.htm Scientists have unraveled the role of Alpine glaciers for carbon cycling. They have uncovered unexpected biogeochemical complexity of dissolved organic matter locked in glaciers and studied its fate for carbon cycling in glacier-fed streams. A new article expands current knowledge on the importance of the vanishing cryosphere for biogeochemistry. http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/09/120917123424.htm 17 Sep 2012 10:20 EDT ScienceDaily: Global Warming News http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/09/120917124208.htm Global warming is expected to intensify extreme precipitation, but the rate at which it does so in the tropics has remained unclear. Now a new study has given an estimate based on model simulations and observations. http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/09/120917124208.htm 17 Sep 2012 10:10 EDT ScienceDaily: Global Warming News http://sustainablearlington.org/sa15/sa-blog/climate-change-news _ Sunday News Below _ http://sustainablearlington.org/sa15/sa-blog/global-warming-news?start=812 16 Sep 2012 20:00 EDT Sustainable Arlington http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/09/120913151130.htm New Approach to Mapping Plant Hardiness Zones Accounts for Effects of Climate Change http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/09/120913151130.htm 16 Sep 2012 10:60 EDT ScienceDaily: Global Warming News http://www.skepticalscience.com/news.php?n=1616 Recently we have seen that if we fail to take serious action very soon to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions, the future climate will be much less hospitable than today's, with potentially catastrophic results. We have also seen that our political leaders are currently failing to take the necessary steps to avoid a potentially catastrophic future. This begs an important question - how do we change that? In this post we will begin with the large-scale changes that are necessary, and work backwards to see what we can do as individuals on a smaller scale to make those big changes happen. http://www.skepticalscience.com/news.php?n=1616 15 Sep 2012 22:50 EDT Skeptical Science http://eenews.net/public/Greenwire/2012/09/14/1 Rising seawater temperatures forced an unprecedented shutdown last month of a nuclear reactor on the Connecticut coast. http://eenews.net/public/Greenwire/2012/09/14/1 15 Sep 2012 22:40 EDT E&E Publishing, LLC, Public index page http://desmogblog.com/2012/09/14/no-breakthroughs-necessary-95-percent-renewable-energy-possible-2050 It's a commonly held belief, even within the climate action advocacy community, that significant technological breakthroughs are necessary to harness enough clean, renewable energy to power our global energy demands. Not so, says a new study published this month, which makes an ambitious case for "sustainable sources" providing 95 percent of global energy demand by mid-century. http://desmogblog.com/2012/09/14/no-breakthroughs-necessary-95-percent-renewable-energy-possible-2050 15 Sep 2012 22:30 EDT DeSmogBlog - Clearing the PR Pollution that Clouds Climate Science http://www.business-standard.com/india/news/solar-power-catching-upconventional-energy/186748/on The rising cost of conventional power, alongside a steady decline in solar power prices -- mostly a function of a sharp reduction in the prices of solar photo voltaic (PV) modules -- could result in solar projects reaching grid parity by 2014, a new study by KPMG has suggested. http://www.business-standard.com/india/news/solar-power-catching-upconventional-energy/186748/on 15 Sep 2012 22:20 EDT Daily Climate http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/15/world/europe/energy-policy-divides-governing-coalition-in-france.html After just four months in power, the governing coalition of the Socialist Party and the Greens is already marred by deep ideological divisions over energy policy, in particular how quickly and sharply France should move to reduce its heavy dependence on nuclear energy. http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/15/world/europe/energy-policy-divides-governing-coalition-in-france.html 15 Sep 2012 22:10 EDT Daily Climate http://sustainablearlington.org/sa15/sa-blog/climate-change-news _ Saturday News Below _ http://sustainablearlington.org/sa15/sa-blog/global-warming-news?start=811 15 Sep 2012 20:00 EDT Sustainable Arlington http://desmogblog.com/2012/09/12/all-dressed-and-nowhere-go-enbridge-looks-east-pipeline-route Last week Eddie Goldenberg, former chief of staff to Prime Minister Jean Chretien and chair of Bennett Jones LLP's government affairs and public policy, suggested that funneling bitumen to North America's eastern shores is a no-brainer: it relieves one of the tricky political hazards of an oppositional public while still retaining the promise of a bolstered economy and rich relations with Asia. http://desmogblog.com/2012/09/12/all-dressed-and-nowhere-go-enbridge-looks-east-pipeline-route 15 Sep 2012 10:70 EDT DeSmogBlog - Clearing the PR Pollution that Clouds Climate Science http://cleantechnica.com/2012/09/14/3-5-billion-wind-power-line-approved-for-oklahoma/ This line will be approximately 800 miles in length and is a high-voltage direct current transmission project. The new line is being developed in order to send clean energy generated by wind farms in western Oklahoma, southwest Kansas, and the Texas Panhandle to customers in the Mid-South and Southeast. http://cleantechnica.com/2012/09/14/3-5-billion-wind-power-line-approved-for-oklahoma/ 15 Sep 2012 10:60 EDT CleanTechnica http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/09/14/us-brazil-us-ethanol-idUSBRE88D19520120914 After years at each other's throats, Brazil and the United States are working together to promote the use of ethanol in a collaboration that could revolutionize global markets and the makeup of the biofuel itself. http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/09/14/us-brazil-us-ethanol-idUSBRE88D19520120914 15 Sep 2012 10:50 EDT http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2012/09/12/834711/leading-global-companies-say-tangible-and-present-climate-change-is-already-creating-business-risk/ The number of large corporations reporting current risks from climate change has grown substantially over the last two years. http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2012/09/12/834711/leading-global-companies-say-tangible-and-present-climate-change-is-already-creating-business-risk/ 14 Sep 2012 22:40 EDT ThinkProgress >> Green http://eenews.net/public/climatewire/2012/09/14/2 Dominion Resources' plan to shed 4,000 megawatts from its merchant power portfolio by next year illustrates just how dramatically electricity markets have changed in an era of tightening regulation, volatile fuel prices and a sluggish economy. http://eenews.net/public/climatewire/2012/09/14/2 14 Sep 2012 22:30 EDT E&E Publishing, LLC, Public index page http://eenews.net/public/climatewire/2012/09/13/1 China became a major player yesterday in a Texas carbon capture and sequestration project that is vying to become one of the world's first commercial demonstrations of the technology. At an oil and gas forum in San Antonio, Texas, Summit Power Group announced that the Export-Import Bank of China will be the sole financial lender of the $2.5 billion Texas Clean Energy Project, which envisions capture of 90 percent of the carbon dioxide from an advanced coal plant http://eenews.net/public/climatewire/2012/09/13/1 14 Sep 2012 22:20 EDT E&E Publishing, LLC, Public index page http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/aa2b5cee-fe70-11e1-8228-00144feabdc0.html#axzz26VNic9Op Country's phase out of nuclear power has sent shockwaves through the energy industry and could provide a significant boost to renewables sector. http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/aa2b5cee-fe70-11e1-8228-00144feabdc0.html#axzz26VNic9Op 14 Sep 2012 22:10 EDT Financial Times (FT.com) - Energy http://sustainablearlington.org/sa15/sa-blog/climate-change-news _ Friday News Below _ http://sustainablearlington.org/sa15/sa-blog/global-warming-news?start=810 14 Sep 2012 20:00 EDT Sustainable Arlington http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/tidal-power-delivered-to-us-power-grid-for-1st-time-through-maine-companys-turbine/2012/09/13/0fe874a0-fdf8-11e1-98c6-ec0a0a93f8eb_story.html Energy officials in Maine say a tidal power project is delivering electricity to the U.S. power grid for the first time. http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/tidal-power-delivered-to-us-power-grid-for-1st-time-through-maine-companys-turbine/2012/09/13/0fe874a0-fdf8-11e1-98c6-ec0a0a93f8eb_story.html 14 Sep 2012 10:70 EDT ThinkProgress >> Green http://www.climatecentral.org/news/2012-us-drought-hits-new-milestones-southwest-gets-relief-14994 The severe drought across much of the U.S. proved stubborn once again during the past week as nearly four-fifths of the country was in some form of drought. And the area of the lower 48 states affected by moderate to exceptional drought expanded slightly, hitting a high for the year, according to data released Thursday morning. http://www.climatecentral.org/news/2012-us-drought-hits-new-milestones-southwest-gets-relief-14994 14 Sep 2012 10:60 EDT ThinkProgress >> Green http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2012/09/13/842441/us-energy-agency-projects-a-28-percent-increase-in-2013-carbon-emissions-from-fossil-fuels-in-the-power-sector/ New data from the Energy Information Administration backs up concerns that the 2012 drop in CO2 isn't as big as it seems. According to the agency's latest short-term outlook, CO2 emissions in the power sector are set to rise by 2.8 percent in 2013 after declining by 2.3 percent in 2011 and 2.4 percent in 2012. Why? Because natural gas prices are on the upswing, thus reducing gas consumption in the electric power sector and encouraging more consumption of coal http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2012/09/13/842441/us-energy-agency-projects-a-28-percent-increase-in-2013-carbon-emissions-from-fossil-fuels-in-the-power-sector/ 14 Sep 2012 10:50 EDT ThinkProgress >> Green http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2012/09/14/850181/pro-fossil-fuel-groups-outspend-clean-energy-advocates-4-1-in-television-campaign-ads/ Groups promoting fossil fuels have spent more than four times more money on television ads than clean energy proponents, independent Democratic groups, and the Obama campaign combined this election season, according to a new analysis from the New York Times. http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2012/09/14/850181/pro-fossil-fuel-groups-outspend-clean-energy-advocates-4-1-in-television-campaign-ads/ 14 Sep 2012 10:40 EDT ThinkProgress >> Green http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2012/09/13/841881/arctic-warning-as-the-system-changes-we-must-adjust-our-science/ The Arctic sea-ice big melt of 2012 "has taken us by surprise, and we must adjust our understanding of the system, and we must adjust our science and we must adjust our feelings for the nature around us," according to Kim Holmen, Norwegian Polar Institute (NPI) international director. http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2012/09/13/841881/arctic-warning-as-the-system-changes-we-must-adjust-our-science/ 14 Sep 2012 10:30 EDT ThinkProgress >> Green http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/09/120913084626.htm Lakes will soon replace glaciers as a characteristic element of the Alpine landscape. A study has now analyzed the potential of these lakes (present and future) in terms of tourism, hydro-electric power and natural dangers. http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/09/120913084626.htm 14 Sep 2012 10:20 EDT ScienceDaily: Global Warming News http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/09/120913141136.htm A new Arctic study is helping to unravel an important mystery surrounding climate change: How quickly glaciers can melt and grow in response to shifts in temperature. According to the new research, glaciers on Canada's Baffin Island expanded rapidly during a brief cold snap about 8,200 years ago. The discovery adds to a growing body of evidence showing that ice sheets reacted rapidly in the past to cooling or warming, raising concerns that they could do so again as Earth heats up. http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/09/120913141136.htm 14 Sep 2012 10:10 EDT ScienceDaily: Global Warming News http://sustainablearlington.org/sa15/sa-blog/climate-change-news _ Thursday News Below _ http://sustainablearlington.org/sa15/sa-blog/global-warming-news?start=809 13 Sep 2012 20:00 EDT Sustainable Arlington http://www.climatecentral.org/news/astonishing-arctic-sea-ice-melt-may-lead-to-extreme-winter-weather-14989 The record loss of Arctic sea ice this summer will echo throughout the weather patterns affecting the U.S. and Europe this winter, climate scientists said on Wednesday, since added heat in the Arctic influences the jet stream and may make extreme weather and climate events more likely. http://www.climatecentral.org/news/astonishing-arctic-sea-ice-melt-may-lead-to-extreme-winter-weather-14989 13 Sep 2012 10:50 EDT Climate Central - Breaking News, Blogs & Features http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2012/09/12/834711/leading-global-companies-say-tangible-and-present-climate-change-is-already-creating-business-risk/ The number of large corporations reporting current risks from climate change has grown substantially over the last two years. http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2012/09/12/834711/leading-global-companies-say-tangible-and-present-climate-change-is-already-creating-business-risk/ 13 Sep 2012 10:40 EDT ThinkProgress >> Green http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2012/09/12/839821/republican-meterologist-to-romney-top-10-reasons-the-gop-needs-to-accept-the-climate-reality/ According to the World Economic Forum, America's global competitiveness fell from 1st to 7th place since 2007. Should we just accept that most breakthrough energy technologies are originating in China and Europe, where there is no more "debate" about climate trends? Why is America still questioning the science? For political entertainment? http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2012/09/12/839821/republican-meterologist-to-romney-top-10-reasons-the-gop-needs-to-accept-the-climate-reality/ 13 Sep 2012 10:30 EDT ThinkProgress >> Green http://eenews.net/public/climatewire/2012/09/12/1 The U.N. body in charge of the world's largest carbon offset market has acknowledged widespread problems with its system in a report, but the panel also insisted its approach is one of the only ways to achieve real greenhouse gas reductions this decade. http://eenews.net/public/climatewire/2012/09/12/1 13 Sep 2012 10:20 EDT E&E Publishing, LLC, Public index page http://www.climatecentral.org/news/dry-soil-more-likely-than-damp-soil-to-trigger-rainstorms-14985 Common sense says that you should get more rainstorms in areas with moist soils, since that's where there's the most water evaporating from the ground. But common sense isn't always the best guide to scientific truth, and a paper released Wednesday in Nature has cast doubt on this bit of conventional wisdom. In fact, say a team of European scientists, parched soil is more likely than damp soil to trigger some kinds of rainstorms -- and the fact that climate models assume the opposite may lead them to make unrealistic projections. http://www.climatecentral.org/news/dry-soil-more-likely-than-damp-soil-to-trigger-rainstorms-14985 13 Sep 2012 10:10 EDT Climate Central - Breaking News, Blogs & Features http://sustainablearlington.org/sa15/sa-blog/climate-change-news _ Wednesday News Below _ http://sustainablearlington.org/sa15/sa-blog/global-warming-news?start=808 12 Sep 2012 20:00 EDT Sustainable Arlington http://www.latimes.com/business/money/la-fi-mo-carbon-emissions-20120911,0,3568947.story The amount of carbon dioxide emitted from energy production declined in the U.S. in 2011 -- the third time in four years and the fourth time in the last six years that has happened, the Energy Department said Tuesday. http://www.latimes.com/business/money/la-fi-mo-carbon-emissions-20120911,0,3568947.story 12 Sep 2012 10:70 EDT ThinkProgress >> Green http://desmogblog.com/2012/09/11/bp-oil-litters-gulf-coast-oil-giant-sells-gulf-mexico-assets It's been a little over two weeks since Hurricane Isaac struck the Gulf Coast, leaving flooding and wind damage in its wake. But one of the side effects of the storm that has gone largely under-reported are the tar balls that are now littering beaches all along the Gulf Coast. http://desmogblog.com/2012/09/11/bp-oil-litters-gulf-coast-oil-giant-sells-gulf-mexico-assets 12 Sep 2012 10:60 EDT DeSmogBlog - Clearing the PR Pollution that Clouds Climate Science http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2012/09/11/829801/international-drilling-trade-group-calls-romneys-plan-to-turn-over-federal-lands-to-states-populist-raw-meat/ Along with the environmental limitations of continuing our reliance on carbon-based resources, the Romney energy plan falsely claims the U.S. can become energy independent and lower prices simply through increased production of fossil fuels, mostly oil -- an impossible goal in a global market. http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2012/09/11/829801/international-drilling-trade-group-calls-romneys-plan-to-turn-over-federal-lands-to-states-populist-raw-meat/ 12 Sep 2012 10:50 EDT ThinkProgress >> Green http://cleantechnica.com/2012/09/11/lithium-ion-battery-that-charges-120-times-faster-than-normal-developed/ The researchers think that they can use this technology to create a battery pack for electric vehicles that will fully charge in less than a minute. http://cleantechnica.com/2012/09/11/lithium-ion-battery-that-charges-120-times-faster-than-normal-developed/ 12 Sep 2012 10:40 EDT CleanTechnica http://www.wunderground.com/blog/JeffMasters/comment.html?entrynum=2227 The summer of 2012 was the 3rd hottest summer in U.S. history, said NOAA's National Climatic Data Center (NCDC) in today's State of the Climate report. June 2012 ranked as the 14th warmest June on record, August was the 16th warmest August on record, and July was the warmest month of any month in U.S. history, bringing the average summer temperature of the contiguous U.S. just 0.2 degrees F shy of the hottest summer on record--the great Dust Bowl summer of 1936. http://www.wunderground.com/blog/JeffMasters/comment.html?entrynum=2227 12 Sep 2012 10:30 EDT Dr. Jeff Masters' WunderBlog http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2012/09/12/834131/study-southwestern-forests-may-be-victim-of-a-vicious-cycle-of-drought-due-to-global-warming/ Even just the small amount of global warming measured to-date has pushed climatic growing conditions to extremes, according to a new report from University of Arizona researchers. http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2012/09/12/834131/study-southwestern-forests-may-be-victim-of-a-vicious-cycle-of-drought-due-to-global-warming/ 12 Sep 2012 10:20 EDT ThinkProgress >> Green http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/09/120912125826.htm Glaciers in the eastern and central regions of the Himalayas appear to be retreating at accelerating rates, similar to those in other areas of the world. http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/09/120912125826.htm 12 Sep 2012 10:10 EDT ScienceDaily: Global Warming News http://sustainablearlington.org/sa15/sa-blog/climate-change-news _ Tuesday News Below _ http://sustainablearlington.org/sa15/sa-blog/global-warming-news?start=807 11 Sep 2012 20:00 EDT Sustainable Arlington http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2012/09/10/819121/us-solar-pv-installations-jump-116-percent-over-q2-2011-driven-partly-by-loan-guarantees/ Congress is back in session after a long summer break. And the first order of business in the House of Representatives is to pass the "No More Solyndras" Act, a bill designed to squash the Department of Energy's embattled loan guarantee program for innovative clean energy projects. But here's something you won't likely hear from lawmakers: Experience on the ground shows that the loan guarantee program is working as designed. http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2012/09/10/819121/us-solar-pv-installations-jump-116-percent-over-q2-2011-driven-partly-by-loan-guarantees/ 11 Sep 2012 10:70 EDT ThinkProgress >> Green http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/11/nyregion/new-york-faces-rising-seas-and-slow-city-action.html With a 520-mile-long coast lined largely by teeming roads and fragile infrastructure, New York City is gingerly facing up to the intertwined threats posed by rising seas and ever-more-severe storm flooding. http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/11/nyregion/new-york-faces-rising-seas-and-slow-city-action.html 11 Sep 2012 10:60 EDT ThinkProgress >> Green http://eenews.net/public/climatewire/2012/09/10/1 Sea level rise threatens cities around the world, and academic leaders must talk about it differently to help people grasp the potential dangers and costs, climate experts said last week. http://eenews.net/public/climatewire/2012/09/10/1 11 Sep 2012 10:50 EDT E&E Publishing, LLC, Public index page http://cleantechnica.com/2012/09/11/1100-jobs-millions-of-dollars-for-local-economy-from-1-typical-wind-farm/ Congressional Inaction on Wind Power Production Tax Credit Threatens to Stop Major Jobs & Economic Boost for U.S. Communities http://cleantechnica.com/2012/09/11/1100-jobs-millions-of-dollars-for-local-economy-from-1-typical-wind-farm/ 11 Sep 2012 10:40 EDT CleanTechnica http://www.skepticalscience.com/news.php?n=1595 With the US presidential election just under 2 months away, and the President being the most important figure in determining American climate policy, it's worthwhile to examine what the two main political party's candidates' policies would mean for the climate if they are elected. http://www.skepticalscience.com/news.php?n=1595 11 Sep 2012 10:30 EDT Skeptical Science http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2012/sep/10/global-carbon-trading-system A panel convened by the UN reported on Monday at a meeting in Bangkok that the system, known as the clean development mechanism (CDM), was in dire need of rescue. The panel warned that allowing the CDM to collapse would make it harder in future to raise finance to help developing countries cut carbon. http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2012/sep/10/global-carbon-trading-system 11 Sep 2012 10:20 EDT ThinkProgress >> Green http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/09/120911103411.htm Southwestern droughts made more severe by warming temperatures are pushing plants up against extremely stressful growing conditions, a new study has found, identifying an increasingly water-thirsty atmosphere as a key force that sucks moisture from plants, drying out the region as temperatures rise in the wake of climate change. http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/09/120911103411.htm 11 Sep 2012 10:10 EDT ScienceDaily: Global Warming News http://sustainablearlington.org/sa15/sa-blog/climate-change-news _ Monday News Below _ http://sustainablearlington.org/sa15/sa-blog/global-warming-news?start=806 10 Sep 2012 20:00 EDT Sustainable Arlington http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/shell-set-to-begin-drilling-off-alaska/2012/09/08/891320f0-f9fc-11e1-8398-0327ab83ab91_story.html With the ice-free drilling season nearing an end, Shell Oil started its first exploration well in the Chukchi Sea off the northwest coast of Alaska on Sunday. http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/shell-set-to-begin-drilling-off-alaska/2012/09/08/891320f0-f9fc-11e1-8398-0327ab83ab91_story.html 10 Sep 2012 10:60 EDT ThinkProgress >> Green http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/climate-change-challenges-power-plant-operations/2012/09/09/42b26b8e-f6a5-11e1-8b93-c4f4ab1c8d13_story.html Drought and rising temperatures are forcing water managers across the country to scramble for ways to produce the same amount of power from the hydroelectric grid with less water, including from behemoths such as the Hoover Dam. http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/climate-change-challenges-power-plant-operations/2012/09/09/42b26b8e-f6a5-11e1-8b93-c4f4ab1c8d13_story.html 10 Sep 2012 10:50 EDT ThinkProgress >> Green http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/09/120909150446.htm There is enough energy available in winds to meet all of the world's demand. Atmospheric turbines that convert steadier and faster high-altitude winds into energy could generate even more power than ground- and ocean-based units. New research examines the limits of the amount of power that could be harvested from winds, as well as the effects high-altitude wind power could have on the climate as a whole. http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/09/120909150446.htm 10 Sep 2012 10:40 EDT ScienceDaily: Global Warming News http://www.climatecentral.org/news/climate-change-stress-killing-forests-and-why-it-matters-14960/ A new paper, released Sunday in Nature Climate Change, has attempted to lay out just how climate stress affects forests, and how serious the consequences of could be. http://www.climatecentral.org/news/climate-change-stress-killing-forests-and-why-it-matters-14960/ 10 Sep 2012 10:30 EDT ThinkProgress >> Green http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2012/sep/10/caribbean-coral-reefs-collapse-environment Caribbean coral reefs -- which make up one of the world's most colourful, vivid and productive ecosystems -- are on the verge of collapse, with less than 10% of the reef area showing live coral cover. http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2012/sep/10/caribbean-coral-reefs-collapse-environment 10 Sep 2012 10:20 EDT ThinkProgress >> Green http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/09/120909150448.htm A new study that ties forest "greenness" in the western United States to fluctuating year-to-year snowpack indicates mid-elevation mountain ecosystems are most sensitive to rising temperatures and changes in precipitation and snowmelt. http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/09/120909150448.htm 09 Sep 2012 22:10 EDT ScienceDaily: Global Warming News http://sustainablearlington.org/sa15/sa-blog/climate-change-news _ Sunday News Below _ http://sustainablearlington.org/sa15/sa-blog/global-warming-news?start=805 09 Sep 2012 20:00 EDT Sustainable Arlington http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=curbing-coal-mine-methane-could-cool-global-warming Capturing or burning the methane escaping from coal mines around the world would help slow climate change--and improve safety. http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=curbing-coal-mine-methane-could-cool-global-warming 08 Sep 2012 22:70 EDT Daily Climate http://www.climatecentral.org/news/as-sea-ice-disappears-the-arctic-is-becoming-a-nautical-highway-14952 If ships can reliably navigate this so-called Central Arctic Shipping Route, it could shave up to 8,000 miles off the journey from Shanghai to Europe, slashing transport costs. And if the ice continues to melt, that's exactly what's likely to happen. http://www.climatecentral.org/news/as-sea-ice-disappears-the-arctic-is-becoming-a-nautical-highway-14952 08 Sep 2012 22:60 EDT Climate Central - Breaking News, Blogs & Features http://www.livescience.com/23003-hurricanes-increase-intensity-global-warming.html Global warming may fuel stronger hurricanes whose winds whip up faster, new research suggests. Hurricanes and other tropical cyclones across the globe reach Category 3 wind speeds nearly nine hours earlier than they did 25 years ago, the study found. http://www.livescience.com/23003-hurricanes-increase-intensity-global-warming.html 08 Sep 2012 22:50 EDT Daily Climate http://www.climatecentral.org/news/blue-carbon-adding-to-carbon-emission-blues-14962 According to a new paper, so-called blue carbon -- carbon that is pulled from the atmosphere by coastal vegetation including mangroves, sea grasses and salt marshes and stored away in sediments at the edge of the sea -- is now being released at the prodigious rate of between 150 million and 1.02 billion tons every year. http://www.climatecentral.org/news/blue-carbon-adding-to-carbon-emission-blues-14962 08 Sep 2012 22:40 EDT Daily Climate http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/opinion/2012/0908/1224323739308.html The politics of water will loom large in international affairs this century. This is emerging under the influence of climate change, unequal access to water between richer and poorer peoples, intensifying agricultural and industrial use and transboundary conflicts. http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/opinion/2012/0908/1224323739308.html 08 Sep 2012 22:30 EDT Daily Climate http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/new-coal-fired-plants-could-be-key-to-german-energy-revolution-a-854335.html One of the biggest challenges of Germany's ambitious energy revolution is the fact that renewables such as wind and solar are subject to large fluctuations in output. Coal has long been considered their dirty alternative, but a new generation of power plants may herald a glowing future for the fossil fuel. http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/new-coal-fired-plants-could-be-key-to-german-energy-revolution-a-854335.html 08 Sep 2012 22:20 EDT Daily Climate http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/09/07/us-climate-antarctica-idUSBRE8860NY20120907 A British plan to drill into a sunless lake deep under Antarctica's ice in December could show the risks of quicker sea-level rise caused by climate change, scientists said on Friday. http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/09/07/us-climate-antarctica-idUSBRE8860NY20120907 08 Sep 2012 22:10 EDT Daily Climate http://sustainablearlington.org/sa15/sa-blog/climate-change-news _ Saturday News Below _ http://sustainablearlington.org/sa15/sa-blog/global-warming-news?start=804 08 Sep 2012 20:00 EDT Sustainable Arlington http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2012/09/07/811831/hot-air-about-cheap-natural-gas/ Would you build a buy-and-hold financial portfolio from only junk bonds and no Treasuries by considering only price, not also risk? Not for long. Yet those who say cheap natural gas is killing alternatives--solar, wind, nuclear--make the same error. In truth, they're doing the math wrong: The gas isn't really that cheap. http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2012/09/07/811831/hot-air-about-cheap-natural-gas/ 08 Sep 2012 10:70 EDT ThinkProgress >> Green http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2012/09/07/809091/americans-for-prosperity-calls-wind-tax-credit-deplorable-but-defends-government-support-of-oil-companies/ Americans for Prosperity, a national political organization that claims to uphold libertarian values, is showing its true intentions: Protect government support of fossil fuel interests. http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2012/09/07/809091/americans-for-prosperity-calls-wind-tax-credit-deplorable-but-defends-government-support-of-oil-companies/ 08 Sep 2012 10:60 EDT ThinkProgress >> Green http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg21528811.700-will-carbon-capture-clean-up-tar-sands.html For the first time, a carbon capture and storage (CCS) plant is going to lock away some of the carbon dioxide produced by refining tar sands oil. However, the oil will still lead to more emissions than conventional crude oil. http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg21528811.700-will-carbon-capture-clean-up-tar-sands.html 08 Sep 2012 10:50 EDT Daily Climate http://www.greencarcongress.com/2012/09/doefc-20120907.html The US Department of Energy (DOE) released a new report showing significant growth for the fuel cell industry in 2011, and forecasting continued growth through 2012. Total, worldwide fuel cell shipments grew 37.5% between 2010 and 2011 and 214% between 2008 and 2011. http://www.greencarcongress.com/2012/09/doefc-20120907.html 08 Sep 2012 10:40 EDT Green Car Congress http://e360.yale.edu/digest/led_bulbs_widening_gap_in_energy_efficiency_report_says/3617/ While today's light-emitting diode (LED) bulbs are slightly better for the environment than compact fluorescent lamps, the energy efficiency gap will widen over the next five years as the technology and manufacturing methods of LEDs improve, according to a new report. http://e360.yale.edu/digest/led_bulbs_widening_gap_in_energy_efficiency_report_says/3617/ 08 Sep 2012 10:30 EDT Yale Environment 360 http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/09/120907161437.htm A new study suggest that a thriving sea otter population that keeps sea urchins in check will in turn allow kelp forests to prosper and help reverse a principal cause of global warming. http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/09/120907161437.htm 07 Sep 2012 22:20 EDT ScienceDaily: Global Warming News http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/09/120907125152.htm The United States' collection of climate models should advance substantially to deliver more detailed, smaller scale climate projections, according to a new report. http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/09/120907125152.htm 07 Sep 2012 22:10 EDT ScienceDaily: Global Warming News http://sustainablearlington.org/sa15/sa-blog/climate-change-news _ Friday News Below _ http://sustainablearlington.org/sa15/sa-blog/global-warming-news?start=803 07 Sep 2012 20:00 EDT Sustainable Arlington http://eenews.net/public/climatewire/2012/09/07/1 President Obama sharply criticized Republican intransigence on climate change last night, rebuking those who disbelieve in man-made carbon effects in an effort to cast a clear choice between him and his opponent, Mitt Romney. http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2012/09/06/810901/obama-to-nation-climate-change-is-not-a-hoax-more-droughts-and-floods-and-wildfires-are-not-a-joke/ 07 Sep 2012 10:60 EDT E&E Publishing, LLC, Public index page http://www.businessweek.com/news/2012-09-06/renewable-energy-is-obama-goal-for-next-term-aide-says President Barack Obama's effort to develop renewable power sources and persuade Congress to adopt a long-term energy policy will be priorities should he win a second term, his top climate and energy aide said. http://www.businessweek.com/news/2012-09-06/renewable-energy-is-obama-goal-for-next-term-aide-says 07 Sep 2012 10:50 EDT ThinkProgress >> Green http://cleantechnica.com/2012/09/05/jim-rogers-of-duke-energy-supports-obama-energy-policies/ On the eve of the Democratic National Convention, Duke Energy CEO Jim Rogers went on CNN and made a straightforward case for the reelection of President Obama, at least in terms of energy policy. Charlotte-based Duke Energy might not yet be a household name outside of its home base in the south, but its recent $32 billion merger with Progress Energy has made it the largest electric utility in the U.S. http://cleantechnica.com/2012/09/05/jim-rogers-of-duke-energy-supports-obama-energy-policies/ 07 Sep 2012 10:40 EDT CleanTechnica http://www.climatecentral.org/news/isaacs-rains-dont-put-much-dent-in-u.s.-drought-14949 Despite locally drenching rains from the remnants of Hurricane Isaac, the worst drought in more than 50 years is still firmly entrenched across much of the U.S. http://www.climatecentral.org/news/isaacs-rains-dont-put-much-dent-in-u.s.-drought-14949 07 Sep 2012 10:30 EDT ThinkProgress >> Green http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2012/09/07/810581/international-agencies-using-flawed-data-to-fast-track-kosovo-coal-plant-put-health-at-risk/ While no new coal plants have broken ground here in the US since 2008, the US government is backing a huge, polluting new coal plant oversees. http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2012/09/07/810581/international-agencies-using-flawed-data-to-fast-track-kosovo-coal-plant-put-health-at-risk/ 07 Sep 2012 10:20 EDT ThinkProgress >> Green http://www.skepticalscience.com/news.php?n=1613 Just before Arctic sea ice fell to record low levels, Steven Mosher predicted five ways that people would avoid the inevitable implications of the precipitous drop in Arctic sea ice. Anthony Watts promptly fulfilled all five predictions. In another ironic twist, the reaction to recent research linking climate denial to conspiracy ideation has been a gush of conspiracy theories. http://www.skepticalscience.com/news.php?n=1613 07 Sep 2012 10:10 EDT Skeptical Science http://sustainablearlington.org/sa15/sa-blog/climate-change-news _ Thursday News Below _ http://sustainablearlington.org/sa15/sa-blog/global-warming-news?start=802 06 Sep 2012 20:00 EDT Sustainable Arlington http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2012/09/05/799761/death-spiral-watch-experts-warn-near-ice-free-arctic-in-summer-in-a-decade-volume-trends-continue/ The sharp drop in Arctic sea ice area has been matched by a harder-to-see -- but equally sharp -- drop in sea ice thickness. The combined result has been a collapse in total sea ice volume. After thousands of years in which the sea ice played a vital role in the relatively stable conditions under which modern civilization, agriculture and a 7 billion strong world population could develop, it increasingly looks as if warming caused by the emission of greenhouse gases is bringing an end to these stable conditions. http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2012/09/05/799761/death-spiral-watch-experts-warn-near-ice-free-arctic-in-summer-in-a-decade-volume-trends-continue/ 06 Sep 2012 10:70 EDT ThinkProgress >> Green http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2012/09/05/797921/the-romney-ryan-ticket-ceding-the-clean-energy-future/ Despite pledging to protect American employment, Republican presidential candidate and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney opposes critical clean energy policies that will encourage investment and create jobs on American soil. http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2012/09/05/797921/the-romney-ryan-ticket-ceding-the-clean-energy-future/ 06 Sep 2012 10:60 EDT ThinkProgress >> Green http://green.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/09/06/the-baffling-nexus-of-climate-change-and-health/ Meteorological and ecological shifts driven by climate change are creating a slow and often unpredictable bloom of novel public health challenges across the United States. The American Public Health Association has declared climate change "one of the most serious public health threats facing our nation," although the precise nature of that threat remains uncertain. http://green.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/09/06/the-baffling-nexus-of-climate-change-and-health/ 06 Sep 2012 10:50 EDT NYT > Green Blog http://green.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/09/06/climate-change-and-the-food-supply/ Perhaps the biggest single question about climate change is whether people will have enough to eat in coming decades. http://green.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/09/06/climate-change-and-the-food-supply/ 06 Sep 2012 10:40 EDT NYT > Green Blog http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/09/120906123234.htm Destruction of coastal habitats may release as much as one billion tons of carbon emissions into the atmosphere each year, 10 times higher than previously reported, according to a new study. http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/09/120906123234.htm 06 Sep 2012 10:30 EDT ScienceDaily: Global Warming News http://e360.yale.edu/digest/destruction_of_tropical_forests_reduces_regional_rainfall_study_says/3615/ A new study has found that destruction of the world's tropical forests may significantly reduce regional rainfall across large regions, a phenomenon researchers say could have devastating effects for people living in and around the Amazon and Congo basins. http://e360.yale.edu/digest/destruction_of_tropical_forests_reduces_regional_rainfall_study_says/3615/ 06 Sep 2012 10:20 EDT Yale Environment 360 http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/09/120905200554.htm Increased precipitation and river discharge in the Arctic has the potential to speed climate change, according to the results of a new study. http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/09/120905200554.htm 05 Sep 2012 22:10 EDT ScienceDaily: Global Warming News http://sustainablearlington.org/sa15/sa-blog/climate-change-news _ Wednesday News Below _ http://sustainablearlington.org/sa15/sa-blog/global-warming-news?start=801 05 Sep 2012 20:00 EDT Sustainable Arlington http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2012/09/05/794641/team-romney-top-response-to-climate-change-should-be-more-defense-spending/ Romney Calls for More Scientific 'Debate' on Climate Change, but Opposes Any Serious Effort to Cut Carbon Pollution http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2012/09/05/794641/team-romney-top-response-to-climate-change-should-be-more-defense-spending/ 05 Sep 2012 10:70 EDT ThinkProgress >> Green http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/09/04/gulf-oil-spill-2010-bp-gross-negligence_n_1856209.html The U.S. Justice Department is ramping up its rhetoric against BP PLC for the massive 2010 oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, laying out in a new court filing examples of what it calls "gross negligence and willful misconduct." http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/09/04/gulf-oil-spill-2010-bp-gross-negligence_n_1856209.html 05 Sep 2012 10:60 EDT ThinkProgress >> Green http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2012/09/05/796771/2012-us-wildfire-activity-moves-past-ten-year-average/ In July, Harris Sherman, Agriculture Undersecretary for Natural Resources and Environment tied the shift in wildfire activity to climate change: "We've had record fires in 10 states in the last decade, most of them in the West... The climate is changing, and these fires are a very strong indicator of that," he said. http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2012/09/05/796771/2012-us-wildfire-activity-moves-past-ten-year-average/ 05 Sep 2012 10:50 EDT ThinkProgress >> Green http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/05/business/experts-issue-a-warning-as-food-prices-shoot-up.html With the worst drought in half a century withering corn across the Midwest, agricultural experts on Tuesday urged international action to prevent the global spike in food prices from causing global hunger. http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/05/business/experts-issue-a-warning-as-food-prices-shoot-up.html 05 Sep 2012 10:40 EDT NYT > Environment http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/09/05/us-oxfam-food-prices-idUSBRE88400120120905 Climate change may pose a much more serious threat to the world's poor than existing research has suggested because of spikes in food prices as extreme weather becomes more common, Oxfam said on Wednesday. http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/09/05/us-oxfam-food-prices-idUSBRE88400120120905 05 Sep 2012 10:30 EDT Reuters: Green Business News http://e360.yale.edu/digest/guangzhou_china_restricts_number_of_new_cars_in_city/3614/ Government officials in Guangzhou, China's third-largest city, have enacted measures to limit the number of new cars on city streets, a policy some analysts say reflects a broader effort by Chinese cities to protect public health and well-being in the face of worsening highway congestion. http://e360.yale.edu/digest/guangzhou_china_restricts_number_of_new_cars_in_city/3614/ 05 Sep 2012 10:20 EDT Yale Environment 360 http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/09/120905110537.htm For the past four decades scientists have monitored the ebbs and flows of the icefields in the southernmost stretch of South America's vast Andes Mountains, detecting an overall loss of ice as the climate warms. A new study, however, finds that the rate of glacier thinning has increased by about half over the last dozen years in the Southern Patagonian Icefield, compared to the 30 years prior to 2000. http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/09/120905110537.htm 05 Sep 2012 10:10 EDT ScienceDaily: Global Warming News http://sustainablearlington.org/sa15/sa-blog/climate-change-news _ Tuesday News Below _ http://sustainablearlington.org/sa15/sa-blog/global-warming-news?start=800 04 Sep 2012 20:00 EDT Sustainable Arlington http://www.climatecentral.org/news/yes-summers-in-the-us-really-are-getting-warmer-14929 If you look on a much grander scale, the disparity of record highs in the U.S. vs. record lows has grown wider every decade since the 1970s. http://www.climatecentral.org/news/yes-summers-in-the-us-really-are-getting-warmer-14929 04 Sep 2012 10:70 EDT Climate Central - Breaking News, Blogs & Features http://www.businessweek.com/news/2012-09-04/global-warming-may-double-un-goal-without-more-carbon-pledges Without further action to lower emissions of heat-trapping gases, the planet is set to warm by 2.6 to 4.1 degrees Celsius, the project, run by three European research groups, said today in a report released in Bangkok, where the UN is holding a week of informal discussions. http://www.businessweek.com/news/2012-09-04/global-warming-may-double-un-goal-without-more-carbon-pledges 04 Sep 2012 10:60 EDT ThinkProgress >> Green http://www.ucsusa.org/news/press_release/sustainable-tropical-wood-production-0385.html Forest Plantations Are among Solutions http://www.ucsusa.org/news/press_release/sustainable-tropical-wood-production-0385.html 04 Sep 2012 10:50 EDT Union of Concerned Scientists http://www.skepticalscience.com/news.php?n=1601 The record Arctic sea ice decline this year has predictably and deservedly received a fair amonut of media attention. Jonathan Leake of the Sunday Times recently penned an article on the impending sea ice record. The bulk of the article was quite good, but at the end succumbed to the standard mainstream media practice of seeking "balance," thus including some comments by John Christy. Christy has become very reliable for arguing that anything and everything related to climate change probably just boils down to natural variability, as he recently told US Congress was the case with regards to the frequency of extreme weather events, contrary to the body of peer-reviewed scientific literature. As we will see in this post, Christy once again misrepresented the body of scientific literature with regards to Arctic sea ice extent in his efforts to paint the Arctic sea ice death spiral as nothing out of the ordinary. http://www.skepticalscience.com/news.php?n=1601 04 Sep 2012 10:40 EDT Skeptical Science http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2012/09/02/785391/coals-road-to-nowhere-the-coalfields-expressway/ King Coal's latest scheme is to try and take $2 billion of federal funds -- our tax dollars -- to build the Coalfields Expressway through rural Southwest Virginia. Coal companies plan to use mountaintop removal mining to flatten the area to make way for the road, while they keep the profits from the coal they extract. While the coal companies call it a road, local residents are calling it a taxpayer financed strip mine. http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2012/09/02/785391/coals-road-to-nowhere-the-coalfields-expressway/ 04 Sep 2012 10:30 EDT ThinkProgress >> Green http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/09/120904100145.htm A new model is allowing researchers to predict coastline erosion due to rising sea levels much more accurately. It would appear that the effects of coastline erosion as a result of rising sea-level rise in the vicinity of inlets, such as river estuaries, have until now been dramatically underestimated. http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/09/120904100145.htm 04 Sep 2012 10:20 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/09/120903153803.htm A new study involving analysis of fossil and geological records going back 540 million years suggests that biodiversity on Earth generally increases as the planet warms. But the research says that the increase in biodiversity depends on the evolution of new species over millions of years, and is normally accompanied by extinctions of existing species. http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/09/120903153803.htm 03 Sep 2012 22:10 EDT ScienceDaily: Global Warming News http://sustainablearlington.org/sa15/sa-blog/climate-change-news _ Monday News Below _ http://sustainablearlington.org/sa15/sa-blog/global-warming-news?start=799 03 Sep 2012 20:00 EDT Sustainable Arlington http://www.ipsnews.net/2012/08/u-s-government-and-industry-partner-to-promote-electric-cars/ A 120-million-dollar grant from the U.S. Department of Energy to the nationwide Electric Vehicle (EV) Project aims to promote and expand the use of electric vehicles in the United States. The EV Project has a goal of handing out 14,000 free electric vehicle chargers, including commercial host stations as well as home smart chargers, that households can use to charge electric vehicles at home. http://www.ipsnews.net/2012/08/u-s-government-and-industry-partner-to-promote-electric-cars/ 03 Sep 2012 10:70 EDT http://www.shreveporttimes.com/article/20120902/NEWS05/209010345/U-S-homes-cracking-because-drought-parched-soil Home repair businesses, especially those specializing basement and foundation repairs, barely can keep up with demand. Drought-related home damage is reported in 40 of the 48 contiguous states; experts say it could exceed $1 billion. http://www.shreveporttimes.com/article/20120902/NEWS05/209010345/U-S-homes-cracking-because-drought-parched-soil 03 Sep 2012 10:60 EDT Daily Climate http://desmogblog.com/2012/08/22/us-chamber-rejoices-courts-rule-polluters While the U.S. Chamber of Commerce was quick to jump on the side of industry claiming that the costs of the regulations were too lofty, they completely ignored all of the available evidence that these new air pollution standards would have actually saved our economy trillions of dollars. http://desmogblog.com/2012/08/22/us-chamber-rejoices-courts-rule-polluters 03 Sep 2012 10:50 EDT DeSmogBlog - Clearing the PR Pollution that Clouds Climate Science http://desmogblog.com/2012/08/23/conquering-coal-tale-one-city-s-fight As another sweltering summer day over 100 degrees came to a close in the Washington, D.C. region, citizens of nearby Alexandria, Virginia witnessed the closure of the Potomac River Generating Station (PRGS) coal-fired power plant also known as the 'Mirant Plant.' http://desmogblog.com/2012/08/23/conquering-coal-tale-one-city-s-fight 03 Sep 2012 10:40 EDT DeSmogBlog - Clearing the PR Pollution that Clouds Climate Science http://tehrantimes.com/science/101134-storms-drought-overshadow-un-climate-change World climate change negotiators faced warnings Thursday that a string of extreme weather events around the globe show urgent action on emission cuts is needed as they opened new talks in Bangkok. http://tehrantimes.com/science/101134-storms-drought-overshadow-un-climate-change 03 Sep 2012 10:30 EDT Daily Climate http://www.hks.harvard.edu/fs/rstavins/Papers/Aldy_&_Stavins_Durban_in_Science_2012.pdf As I have written in many previous essays at this blog, the challenges standing in the way of an effective international climate change agreement are numerous and severe. It is also true that the prospects for a truly meaningful deal may be better now than at any time in the past decade or more. That is the theme of a new article I've co-authored with my Harvard Kennedy School colleague, Joseph Aldy. http://www.hks.harvard.edu/fs/rstavins/Papers/Aldy_&_Stavins_Durban_in_Science_2012.pdf 03 Sep 2012 10:20 EDT Harvard University - Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs - An Economic View of the Environment http://www.dailycamera.com/science-environment/ci_21421313/boulder-scientist-oil-plus-soot-creates-more-warming During a wildfire, particles of soot in the air can become coated with oil, increasing the warming effect of the dark-colored particles by 50 percent to 70 percent, according to Boulder scientists. http://www.dailycamera.com/science-environment/ci_21421313/boulder-scientist-oil-plus-soot-creates-more-warming 02 Sep 2012 22:10 EDT Daily Climate http://sustainablearlington.org/sa15/sa-blog/climate-change-news _ Sunday News Below _ http://sustainablearlington.org/sa15/sa-blog/global-warming-news?start=798 02 Sep 2012 20:00 EDT Sustainable Arlington http://cleantechnica.com/2012/08/31/massachusetts-clean-energy-economy-grows-11-2-creates-71k-jobs/ Government investment and support for clean, renewable energy development is paying off handsomely in Massachusetts, where the clean energy economy grew 11.2% between July 2011 and July 2012. The state's fast-growing clean energy sector now employs 71,523 people at 4,995 clean energy businesses across the state, according to a Massachusetts Clean Energy Center (MassCEC) report released Aug. 16. http://cleantechnica.com/2012/08/31/massachusetts-clean-energy-economy-grows-11-2-creates-71k-jobs/ 01 Sep 2012 22:70 EDT CleanTechnica http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/3b83e00c-f1e3-11e1-bba3-00144feabdc0.html#axzz25BXcJv8N Energy companies have drilled 58,350 oil wells in the US since Barack Obama's inauguration -- the highest figure since Ronald Reagan http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/3b83e00c-f1e3-11e1-bba3-00144feabdc0.html#axzz25BXcJv8N 01 Sep 2012 22:60 EDT Financial Times (FT.com) - Energy http://scienceprogress.org/2012/08/the-networked-energy-web/ How the convergence of IT and energy can remake the U.S. for the better http://scienceprogress.org/2012/08/the-networked-energy-web/ 01 Sep 2012 22:50 EDT Science Progress http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/08/31/1126631/-First-Sailboat-Through-Canada-s-M-Clure-Strait-Completes-Northwest-Passage So it's a record low Arctic ice year. All the major records have fallen over the past week or two. Which will surely affect our weather here in the lower 48. This monumental change in the earth's heating system now allows vessels to travel the fabled Northwest Passage, which until recently was impassable to all but ice-breakers. But not anymore! Two days ago the sailboat Belzebub II completed the trip http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/08/31/1126631/-First-Sailboat-Through-Canada-s-M-Clure-Strait-Completes-Northwest-Passage 01 Sep 2012 22:40 EDT http://cleantechnica.com/2012/08/31/japans-first-floating-wind-farm-gets-going/ Add Japan to the list of countries setting up innovative wind farms. On Wednesday, Japan's first floating wind turbine began operation about half a mile off the coat of the Nagasaki prefecture. http://cleantechnica.com/2012/08/31/japans-first-floating-wind-farm-gets-going/ 01 Sep 2012 22:30 EDT CleanTechnica http://www.earth-policy.org/indicators/C56/forests_2012 Forests cover 31 percent of the world's land surface, just over 4 billion hectares. (One hectare = 2.47 acres.) This is down from the pre-industrial area of 5.9 billion hectares. According to data from the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization, deforestation was at its highest rate in the 1990s, when each year the world lost on average 16 million hectares of forest--roughly the size of the state of Michigan. http://www.earth-policy.org/indicators/C56/forests_2012 01 Sep 2012 22:20 EDT EPI Releases http://www.skepticalscience.com/news.php?n=1591 "The wet get wetter and the dry drier", or "The rich get richer and the poor poorer", these are phrases that pop up from time to time when discussion focuses on future rainfall or drought. But what does it actually mean? http://www.skepticalscience.com/news.php?n=1591 01 Sep 2012 22:10 EDT Skeptical Science http://sustainablearlington.org/sa15/sa-blog/climate-change-news _ Saturday News Below _ http://sustainablearlington.org/sa15/sa-blog/global-warming-news?start=797 01 Sep 2012 20:00 EDT Sustainable Arlington http://www.c2es.org/publications/2012-voter-guide This voter guide outlines the records and positions of President Barack Obama and former Gov. Mitt Romney on key climate and energy issues. A side-by-side summary at the top links to more details below. The nonpartisan guide is based on an examination of the candidates' actions in office, public statements, campaign materials, news reports, and other publications. It is offered to inform the electorate and contribute to public debate about the nation's pressing climate and energy issues. As a nonpartisan organization, the Center for Climate and Energy Solutions (C2ES) does not endorse candidates. http://www.c2es.org/publications/2012-voter-guide 31 Aug 2012 22:70 EDT Center for Climate and Energy Solutions RSS Feed http://green.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/08/30/what-will-it-take/ The League of Conservation voters has started a petition drive calling on PBS's Jim Lehrer, the moderator of the first presidential debate, to force the candidates to answer questions about climate change. http://green.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/08/30/what-will-it-take/ 31 Aug 2012 22:60 EDT ThinkProgress >> Green http://www.desmogblog.com/2012/08/27/expensive-fuel-economy-standards-save-u-s-consumers-billions The crusade against the new CAFE standards is being led by Republican Darrell Issa, the chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. Issa claims that the new standards amount to "coercion" of the auto industry. Rep. Issa has received more than $188,000 from the oil industry during his career, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. http://www.desmogblog.com/2012/08/27/expensive-fuel-economy-standards-save-u-s-consumers-billions 31 Aug 2012 22:50 EDT CleanTechnica http://summitcountyvoice.com/2012/08/29/global-warming-new-forest-service-report-outlines-risk-to-grasslands-other-western-ecosystems/?blogsub=confirmed#blog_subscription-3 Some of the most widely accepted climate change models suggest that, by the end of this century, more than half of all western landscapes won't be able to support the type of vegetation that exist there now. http://summitcountyvoice.com/2012/08/29/global-warming-new-forest-service-report-outlines-risk-to-grasslands-other-western-ecosystems/?blogsub=confirmed#blog_subscription-3 31 Aug 2012 22:40 EDT ThinkProgress >> Green http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/breaking/chi-closure-of-chicagos-crawford-fisk-electric-plants-ends-coal-era-20120830,0,7756829.story The Fisk power plant, in service since 1903, burned its final batch of coal Thursday while its sister plant Crawford shut down by Wednesday, ending Chicago's run as the only major U.S. city with two coal plants operating in its borders. http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/breaking/chi-closure-of-chicagos-crawford-fisk-electric-plants-ends-coal-era-20120830,0,7756829.story 31 Aug 2012 22:30 EDT ThinkProgress >> Green http://inhabitat.com/china-surpasses-us-to-become-number-one-in-wind-power/ This year, China surpassed the US, growing from 2,000 megawatts to 52,580 megawatts in only six years -- and by 2020 the Chinese government projects that number will be 200,000 megawatts. That's an incredible 96 percent increase over 6 years. http://inhabitat.com/china-surpasses-us-to-become-number-one-in-wind-power/ 31 Aug 2012 22:20 EDT Inhabitat - Green Design Will Save the World >> Renewable Energy http://thinkprogress.org.feedsportal.com/c/34726/f/638933/s/22f2a214/l/0Lthinkprogress0Borg0Cclimate0C20A120C0A80C310C78480A10Cfor0Epeats0Esake0Erecord0Etemperatures0Eand0Ewildfires0Ein0Eeastern0Erussia0Edrive0Eamplifying0Ecarbon0Ecycle0Efeedback0C/story01.htm Forests and bog land in far eastern Russia have been burning since the beginning of June 2012. Contributing to the record fires have been the record temperatures of this past summer. This summer in Siberia has been one of hottest on record. The average temperature ranged around 93 degrees Fahrenheit and there doesn't seem to be any break in the weather coming anytime soon. http://thinkprogress.org.feedsportal.com/c/34726/f/638933/s/22f2a214/l/0Lthinkprogress0Borg0Cclimate0C20A120C0A80C310C78480A10Cfor0Epeats0Esake0Erecord0Etemperatures0Eand0Ewildfires0Ein0Eeastern0Erussia0Edrive0Eamplifying0Ecarbon0Ecycle0Efeedback0C/story01.htm 31 Aug 2012 22:10 EDT ThinkProgress >> Green http://sustainablearlington.org/sa15/sa-blog/climate-change-news _ Friday News Below _ http://sustainablearlington.org/sa15/sa-blog/global-warming-news?start=796 31 Aug 2012 20:00 EDT Sustainable Arlington http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2012/08/30/780911/romney-mocks-obamas-pledge-to-address-global-warming/ "President Obama promised to slow the rise of the oceans -- [pauses for audience laughter(!)] -- and to heal the planet. MY promise is to help you and your family." If the Obama people were to take this comment seriously, not just ignore or dismiss it as a nasty crack, but take it seriously as a policy matter, they really could have a winning issue in some swing states. http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2012/08/30/780911/romney-mocks-obamas-pledge-to-address-global-warming/ 31 Aug 2012 10:70 EDT ThinkProgress >> Green http://thinkprogress.org.feedsportal.com/c/34726/f/638933/s/22eff0ac/l/0Lthinkprogress0Borg0Cclimate0C20A120C0A80C310C7814610Cwild0Eweather0Eis0Ethe0Enew0Enormal0Eand0Einsurance0Ecompanies0Emust0Eact0C/story01.htm Severe weather has been clobbering insurance companies, and the headlines just keep coming. "Drought to cost insurers billions in losses," said the Financial Times a few days ago. "Many U.S. hurricanes would cause $10b or more in losses in 2012 dollars," the Boston Globe said about the latest hurricane forecasts. http://thinkprogress.org.feedsportal.com/c/34726/f/638933/s/22eff0ac/l/0Lthinkprogress0Borg0Cclimate0C20A120C0A80C310C7814610Cwild0Eweather0Eis0Ethe0Enew0Enormal0Eand0Einsurance0Ecompanies0Emust0Eact0C/story01.htm 31 Aug 2012 10:60 EDT ThinkProgress >> Green http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2012/08/30/775961/big-moves-in-industrial-efficiency-white-house-directive-could-stimulate-40-billion-in-new-manufacturing-investments/ It's not a new solar manufacturing plant. It's not a revolutionary wind turbine. And it's not a fancy new electric vehicle. But a big clean energy initiative announced by the White House today may be a bigger deal than all of those combined. Yes, the President is pursuing industrial energy efficiency -- a lot of it. http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2012/08/30/775961/big-moves-in-industrial-efficiency-white-house-directive-could-stimulate-40-billion-in-new-manufacturing-investments/ 31 Aug 2012 10:50 EDT ThinkProgress >> Green http://www.latimes.com/business/money/la-fi-mo-world-food-prices-rose-10-percent-july-pushed-by-midwest-drought-20120830,0,1812447.story Global food prices jumped 10% in July from the month before, driven up by the severe Midwest drought which has pushed the price of grains to record levels, the World Bank reported Thursday http://www.latimes.com/business/money/la-fi-mo-world-food-prices-rose-10-percent-july-pushed-by-midwest-drought-20120830,0,1812447.story 31 Aug 2012 10:40 EDT ThinkProgress >> Green http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/08/120830141339.htm Black carbon, in the form of soot particles, has been ranked just behind carbon dioxide for its role in warming regional and global climates. But a new study finds airborne black carbon absorbs significantly less sunlight than scientists had predicted, leading an international team of researchers to reconsider the impact of soot on atmospheric warming. http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/08/120830141339.htm 30 Aug 2012 22:30 EDT ScienceDaily: Global Warming News http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/08/120830141345.htm Fungi found in plants may not be the answer to mitigating climate change by storing additional carbon in soils as some previously thought, according to plant biologists. http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/08/120830141345.htm 30 Aug 2012 22:20 EDT ScienceDaily: Global Warming News http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/08/120830105325.htm A new study shows that an ancient and large carbon pool held in a less-studied form of permafrost ("Yedoma") is thaw-released along the approximately 7000-kilometer desolate coast of northernmost Siberian Arctic. http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/08/120830105325.htm 30 Aug 2012 22:10 EDT ScienceDaily: Global Warming News http://sustainablearlington.org/sa15/sa-blog/climate-change-news _ Thursday News Below _ http://sustainablearlington.org/sa15/sa-blog/global-warming-news?start=795 30 Aug 2012 20:00 EDT Sustainable Arlington http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2012/08/29/767511/gop-budget-cuts-would-devestate-hurricane-and-weather-forecasting/ The Republican problem with hurricanes seems to go well beyond convention timing. A number of hurricanes have erupted into huge political issues, and it has almost always been at the expense of Republican candidates. This is not a coincidence: Republicans seem determined to underfund, undermanage, and understaff the government agencies that respond to hurricanes, putting lives and property at risk, as well as their political careers. http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2012/08/29/767511/gop-budget-cuts-would-devestate-hurricane-and-weather-forecasting/ 29 Aug 2012 22:20 EDT ThinkProgress >> Green http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/08/120829131621.htm The Antarctic Ice Sheet could be an overlooked but important source of methane, a potent greenhouse gas, according to a report in the August 30 issue of Nature by an international team of scientists. http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/08/120829131628.htm 29 Aug 2012 22:10 EDT ScienceDaily: Global Warming News http://sustainablearlington.org/sa15/sa-blog/climate-change-news _ Wednesday News Below _ http://sustainablearlington.org/sa15/sa-blog/global-warming-news?start=794 29 Aug 2012 20:00 EDT Sustainable Arlington http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-08-28/big-coal-faces-steel-slowdown-amid-shale-gas-pain-commodities.html Four of the largest U.S. coal producers made $20 billion of acquisitions last year to reduce their dependence on the domestic power industry. Instead those deals have added to the companies' pain. http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-08-28/big-coal-faces-steel-slowdown-amid-shale-gas-pain-commodities.html 29 Aug 2012 10:50 EDT ThinkProgress >> Green http://cleantechnica.com/2012/08/29/low-cost-high-efficiency-solar-power-technology-developed/ Researchers at RTI International have developed a new solar power technology that could make solar energy much more affordable. This breakthrough in low-cost, high-efficiency solar energy could greatly help to speed-up its market adoption. http://cleantechnica.com/2012/08/29/low-cost-high-efficiency-solar-power-technology-developed/ 29 Aug 2012 10:40 EDT CleanTechnica http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/world_now/2012/08/australia-and-eu-announce-worlds-biggest-carbon-trading-system.html Australia and the European Union plan to link their "cap-and-trade" systems to create the biggest emissions trading market on the globe, energy and climate change officials announced Tuesday. http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/world_now/2012/08/australia-and-eu-announce-worlds-biggest-carbon-trading-system.html 29 Aug 2012 10:30 EDT ThinkProgress >> Green http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/08/28/us-walmart-sustainability-idUSBRE87R19320120828 The world's largest retailer, Wal-Mart Stores, has joined an alliance of other Fortune 500 companies, including Cargill and Kellogg Co, seeking to make agriculture more sustainable. http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/08/28/us-walmart-sustainability-idUSBRE87R19320120828 28 Aug 2012 23:20 EDT Reuters: Environment http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2012/08/28/758271/educating-the-next-generation-to-compete-in-the-clean-energy-economy/ Talk to employers across the advanced energy spectrum, and they'll tell you we don't have a workforce capable of matching job needs, especially in the manufacturing and construction sectors, which comprise nearly half of the new energy economy. http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2012/08/28/758271/educating-the-next-generation-to-compete-in-the-clean-energy-economy/ 28 Aug 2012 23:10 EDT ThinkProgress >> Green http://sustainablearlington.org/sa15/sa-blog/climate-change-news _ Tuesday News Below _ http://sustainablearlington.org/sa15/sa-blog/global-warming-news?start=793 28 Aug 2012 20:00 EDT Sustainable Arlington http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2012/08/28/757991/meteorological-society-warming-is-unequivocal-were-the-dominant-cause-we-need-rapid-reduction-of-co2/ The American Meteorological Society has updated its official position on climate change. There is unequivocal evidence that Earth's lower atmosphere, ocean, and land surface are warming; sea level is rising; and snow cover, mountain glaciers, and Arctic sea ice are shrinking. http://summitcountyvoice.com/2012/08/28/global-warming-american-meteorological-society-says-theres-no-room-for-doubt-on-climate-change/ 28 Aug 2012 10:70 EDT ThinkProgress >> Green http://www.ucsusa.org/news/press_release/cafe-finalization-0383.html The finalization of historic new federal automobile standards covering new passenger vehicles sold between 2017 and 2025 is one of the biggest moves ever taken to reduce U.S. oil use and a huge step on the path toward halving the country's projected consumption within 20 years, the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) said today. http://www.ucsusa.org/news/press_release/cafe-finalization-0383.html 28 Aug 2012 10:60 EDT Union of Concerned Scientists http://www.ucsusa.org/news/press_release/latest-science-on-climate-change-coastal-flooding-hurricanes-0384.html The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change's (IPCC) 2012 assessment report on extreme events associates historical increases in coastal flooding and intense precipitation with human-driven climate change. http://www.ucsusa.org/news/press_release/latest-science-on-climate-change-coastal-flooding-hurricanes-0384.html 28 Aug 2012 10:50 EDT http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/arctic-sea-ice-hits-record-low-scientists-say/2012/08/27/0e11a63a-efe6-11e1-892d-bc92fee603a7_story.html The extent of Arctic sea ice has reached a record low, a historic retreat that scientists said is a stark signal of how climate change is transforming the global landscape. http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/arctic-sea-ice-hits-record-low-scientists-say/2012/08/27/0e11a63a-efe6-11e1-892d-bc92fee603a7_story.html 28 Aug 2012 10:40 EDT Daily Climate http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5gr3_nsyiZiz3L4JUmKplnM0tNDKQ A surge in carbon emissions from power demand in the developing world is overwhelming progress by nations including China and the United States in improving efficiency, new research shows. http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5gr3_nsyiZiz3L4JUmKplnM0tNDKQ 28 Aug 2012 10:30 EDT Daily Climate http://cleantechnica.com/2012/08/27/marine-power-could-increase-twofold/ A team of researchers has found that energy produced from the ocean could increase twofold if a new novel method of predicting the power of an incoming wave is used. http://cleantechnica.com/2012/08/27/marine-power-could-increase-twofold/ 27 Aug 2012 22:20 EDT CleanTechnica http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/08/120827142121.htm Refrigerating coal-plant emissions would reduce levels of dangerous chemicals that pour into the air -- including carbon dioxide by more than 90 percent -- at a cost of 25 percent efficiency, according to a simple math-driven formula. http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/08/120827142121.htm 27 Aug 2012 22:10 EDT ScienceDaily: Global Warming News http://sustainablearlington.org/sa15/sa-blog/climate-change-news _ Monday News Below _ http://sustainablearlington.org/sa15/sa-blog/global-warming-news?start=792 27 Aug 2012 20:00 EDT Sustainable Arlington http://www.greencarcongress.com/2012/08/reilly-20120827.html A new report from MIT's Joint Program on the Science and Policy of Global Change suggests that a tax on carbon emissions could help raise the money needed to reduce the US deficit, while improving the economy, lowering other taxes and reducing emissions. http://www.greencarcongress.com/2012/08/reilly-20120827.html 27 Aug 2012 10:50 EDT Green Car Congress http://edition.cnn.com/2012/08/26/business/us-drought-insurers/index.html The insurance industry faces its biggest ever loss in agriculture as the worst drought to hit the US in more than half a century devastates the country's multibillion-dollar corn and soyabean crops, triggering large claims. http://edition.cnn.com/2012/08/26/business/us-drought-insurers/index.html 27 Aug 2012 10:40 EDT ThinkProgress >> Green http://science.time.com/2012/08/21/why-west-nile-virus-is-a-self-inflicted-wound/ A tropical disease rages in a decidedly untropical place -- Texas. Both science and politics play roles. http://science.time.com/2012/08/21/why-west-nile-virus-is-a-self-inflicted-wound/ 27 Aug 2012 10:30 EDT ThinkProgress >> Green http://e360.yale.edu/digest/desalination_sector_surges_as_technology_improves_demand_grows/3604/ A new report predicts that global investment in water desalination projects will triple over a five-year period from 2011 to 2016, driven by improvements in technology and a surge in companies entering the sector. http://e360.yale.edu/digest/desalination_sector_surges_as_technology_improves_demand_grows/3604/ 27 Aug 2012 10:20 EDT Yale Environment 360 http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2012/08/27/746681/grassroots-movements-driving-back-coal-worldwide/ The global grassroots movement against dirty, polluting coal-fired power has added another continent to the ranks of those finally moving away from the carbon-intensive fuel source: Australia. This July, the government of Australia announced that it is cancelling an A$100 million grant to Australian conglomerate HRL for a 400-megawatt coal-fired power plant in Victoria. This is likely to be the death blow to what many believe is the last coal plant planned for Australia. http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2012/08/27/746681/grassroots-movements-driving-back-coal-worldwide/ 27 Aug 2012 10:10 EDT ThinkProgress >> Green http://sustainablearlington.org/sa15/sa-blog/climate-change-news _ Sunday News Below _ http://sustainablearlington.org/sa15/sa-blog/global-warming-news?start=791 26 Aug 2012 20:00 EDT Sustainable Arlington http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2012/08/26/745571/why-the-arctic-sea-ice-death-spiral-matters/ In the past week the Arctic sea ice cover reached an all-time low, several weeks before previous records, several weeks before the end of the melting season. The long-term decline of Arctic sea ice has been incredibly fast, and at this point a sudden reversal of events doesn't seem likely. The question no longer seems to be "will we see an ice-free Arctic?" but "how soon will we see it?" http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/08/25/1124073/-Arctic-sea-ice-extent-crashes-to-record-low 26 Aug 2012 00:70 EDT Climate Hawks http://thebulletin.org/web-edition/features/climate-change-irreversibility-and-urgency This is from Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists' article published by Richard C.J. Somerville, Distinguished Professor Emeritus and Research Professor at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography. http://www.skepticalscience.com/news.php?n=1594 26 Aug 2012 00:60 EDT Skeptical Science http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2012/08/22/716451/creating-a-truly-level-playing-field-putting-renewables-subsidies-in-context/ US presidential contender Mitt Romney recently said that, if elected, he would not extend the production tax credits (PTCs) that have helped grow the US domestic wind energy industry since the early 1990s. But does Romney's claim that discontinuing PTCs is necessary to "level the playing field" for energy sources stand up? A recent study taking the long view of subsidies to energy sources suggests renewables have received only a fraction of the historical support given to their fossil fuel competitors. http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2012/08/22/716451/creating-a-truly-level-playing-field-putting-renewables-subsidies-in-context/ 26 Aug 2012 00:50 EDT ThinkProgress >> Green http://spectrum.ieee.org/energywise/energy/policy/the-romney-energy-plan-drill-then-drill-some-more-then-stop-supporting-wind-power Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney unveiled his energy plan a week before the G.O.P. convention gets underway in Tampa. The plan seems to stick pretty carefully to conservative energy doctrine, and sets out an ambitious goal of U.S. energy independence--that is, get all energy needs from home (and Canada)--by 2020. Here are a few of the major points of the Romney plan http://spectrum.ieee.org/energywise/energy/policy/the-romney-energy-plan-drill-then-drill-some-more-then-stop-supporting-wind-power 26 Aug 2012 00:40 EDT IEEE Spectrum Energy Channel http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2012/08/24/742441/scott-tipton-wind-energy/ Rep. Scott Tipton (R-CO) is the latest Republican to come out against Mitt Romney's plan to end the production tax credit for the wind industry. http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2012/08/24/742441/scott-tipton-wind-energy/ 26 Aug 2012 00:30 EDT ThinkProgress >> Green http://science.time.com/2012/08/23/judge-says-tennessee-valley-authority-liable-for-massive-tenn-coal-ash-spill/ The Tennessee Valley Authority is liable for a huge spill of toxin-laden sludge in 2008 in Tennessee, a federal judge ruled Thursday. The decision is a victory for hundreds of plaintiffs who sued after a containment dike at TVA's Kingston Fossil Plant burst in 2008. http://science.time.com/2012/08/23/judge-says-tennessee-valley-authority-liable-for-massive-tenn-coal-ash-spill/ 26 Aug 2012 00:20 EDT Time - Ecocentric http://www.eenews.net/public/climatewire/2012/08/24/1 Shenhua Group Corp., one of China's coal giants, has built much of its success at the cost of climate change. But now the company is shifting its course, and the clue is hidden in a coal-to-liquids plant here, deep in northern China's Gobi Desert. http://www.eenews.net/public/climatewire/2012/08/24/1 26 Aug 2012 00:10 EDT E&E Publishing, LLC, Public index page http://sustainablearlington.org/sa15/sa-blog/climate-change-news _ Saturday News Below _ http://sustainablearlington.org/sa15/sa-blog/global-warming-news?start=790 25 Aug 2012 20:00 EDT Sustainable Arlington http://eenews.net/public/Greenwire/2012/08/24/1 Following this week's federal court decision to throw out U.S. EPA's rule for air pollution that drifts across state lines, environmentalists are eyeing a less well-known section of the Clean Air Act as a possible legal vehicle for downwind states to force their neighbors to limit harmful air emissions. http://eenews.net/public/Greenwire/2012/08/24/1 25 Aug 2012 10:70 EDT E&E Publishing, LLC, Public index page http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/texas-judge-rules-in-favor-of-transcanada-in-eminent-domain-case/2012/08/23/87744776-ecda-11e1-a80b-9f898562d010_story.html A judge in Lamar County, Texas, ruled Wednesday night that TransCanada's Keystone XL pipeline has the right of eminent domain, rejecting a plea by farm manager Julia Trigg Crawford and dealing a blow to landowners and environmentalists who have been trying to block construction of the pipeline. http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/texas-judge-rules-in-favor-of-transcanada-in-eminent-domain-case/2012/08/23/87744776-ecda-11e1-a80b-9f898562d010_story.html 24 Aug 2012 22:60 EDT Daily Climate http://grist.org/climate-energy/meeting-the-bruce-springsteens-of-climate-communication/ Weathercaster Jim Gandy, one of the nation's most effective climate change communicators, broadcasts in South Carolina, one of the most conservative states in the nation, providing a powerful example for weathercasters across the country. http://grist.org/climate-energy/meeting-the-bruce-springsteens-of-climate-communication/ 24 Aug 2012 22:50 EDT Grist - the latest from Grist http://e360.yale.edu/digest/us_solar_panel_maker__to_build_solar_farms_in_energy-hungry_india/3602/ First Solar Inc., the U.S.-based solar panel manufacturer, plans to expand its role in the global energy industry by developing solar power farms in India, where an emerging industrial sector is looking to shore up energy security in the aftermath of record blackouts. First Solar is one of the world's most successful photovoltaic panel manufacturers and its plans to operate solar farms and sell electricity would help protect the firm against the falling price of solar panels. http://e360.yale.edu/digest/us_solar_panel_maker__to_build_solar_farms_in_energy-hungry_india/3602/ 24 Aug 2012 22:40 EDT Yale Environment 360 http://www.sciencefriday.com/segment/08/24/2012/tree-rings-tell-tales-of-ancient-fires-and-climate.html Tom Swetnam says tree rings tell the tale of how climate, fire and people interacted hundreds and thousands of years ago. Today that interaction continues, and Swetnam says climate change is causing earlier snowmelt--which can lead to bigger, hotter blazes. Brett Fay joins to talk about predicting the movements of a wildfire. http://www.sciencefriday.com/segment/08/24/2012/tree-rings-tell-tales-of-ancient-fires-and-climate.html 24 Aug 2012 22:30 EDT Science Friday http://www.greencarcongress.com/2012/08/h2-20120823.html Researchers at the University of Cambridge have produced hydrogen from water using an inexpensive cobalt catalyst under industrially relevant conditions (using pH neutral water, surrounded by atmospheric oxygen and at room temperature). http://www.greencarcongress.com/2012/08/h2-20120823.html 24 Aug 2012 22:20 EDT Green Car Congress http://inhabitat.com/osus-new-microbial-fuel-cell-can-generate-10-50-times-more-power-from-wastewater/ A team of engineers from Oregon State University has developed a breakthrough microbial fuel cell that is capable of generating 10 to 50 times more electricity from waste than other MFCs. The team hopes that their innovation will enable waste treatment plants to not only power themselves, but also sell excess electricity back to the grid. http://inhabitat.com/osus-new-microbial-fuel-cell-can-generate-10-50-times-more-power-from-wastewater/ 24 Aug 2012 22:10 EDT Inhabitat - Green Design Will Save the World >> Renewable Energy http://sustainablearlington.org/sa15/sa-blog/climate-change-news _ Friday News Below _ http://sustainablearlington.org/sa15/sa-blog/global-warming-news?start=789 24 Aug 2012 20:00 EDT Sustainable Arlington http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2012/08/23/736941/warming-driven-drought-pushes-crop-prices-to-record-levels-as-we-burn-40-of-corn-crop-in-our-engines/ When will the madness stop? In a piece titled, "Nearly Half Of Corn Devoted To Fuel Production Despite Historic Drought," Bloomberg editorialized: Record-high corn prices should be sending a clear message to policy makers in Washington: Requiring people to put corn-based fuel in their gas tanks is a bad idea. http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2012/08/23/736941/warming-driven-drought-pushes-crop-prices-to-record-levels-as-we-burn-40-of-corn-crop-in-our-engines/ 24 Aug 2012 10:70 EDT ThinkProgress >> Green http://science.time.com/2012/08/24/why-romneys-energy-independence-pledge-is-half-baked/ Mitt Romney promises to make the U.S. energy independent by 2020 by increasing domestic oil and gas production. But without dealing with consumption, he's only tackling half the problem. http://science.time.com/2012/08/24/why-romneys-energy-independence-pledge-is-half-baked/ 24 Aug 2012 10:60 EDT Time - Ecocentric http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/08/23/us-usa-coal-closures-idUSBRE87M15F20120823 Coal-fired power plants will face pressure and in some cases closure despite a Republican energy plan favorable to the industry and a court victory against new environmental rules. http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/08/23/us-usa-coal-closures-idUSBRE87M15F20120823 24 Aug 2012 10:50 EDT Reuters: Green Business News http://eenews.net/public/Greenwire/2012/08/23/2 A proposal to ship predominantly Canadian hydropower into New York City over an underwater power line is at the center of a prickly Empire State debate over how to revamp the state's outdated electric grid. At issue is a $2.2 billion, 333-mile transmission line that Albany-based Transmission Developers Inc. is proposing to build from the U.S.-Canada border into New York City. The high-voltage, direct current transmission line, dubbed the Champlain Hudson Power Express, would be buried under portions of the Hudson and East rivers and Lake Champlain and connect to a proposed converter station in the New York borough of Queens. http://eenews.net/public/Greenwire/2012/08/23/2 24 Aug 2012 10:40 EDT E&E Publishing, LLC, Public index page http://www.desmogblog.com/2012/08/23/daily-kos-climate-change-sos-blogathon-features-wide-range-climate-hawk-voices Daily Kos is running a Climate Change SOS Blogathon this week, featuring dozens of voices from the climate hawk community. Bill McKibben, Michael Mann, John Abraham, Rep. Ed Markey, A Siegel, Richard Heinberg, Heather Libby, Brad Johnson, Kelly Rigg, and DeSmog's IT director Evan Leeson are contributing posts throughout the week-long blogathon. http://www.desmogblog.com/2012/08/23/daily-kos-climate-change-sos-blogathon-features-wide-range-climate-hawk-voices 24 Aug 2012 10:30 EDT DeSmogBlog - Clearing the PR Pollution that Clouds Climate Science http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/08/120823143833.htm Scientists have long suspected that the Sun's 11-year cycle influences climate of certain regions on Earth. Yet records of average, seasonal temperatures do not date back far enough to confirm any patterns. Now, armed with a unique proxy, an international team of researchers show that unusually cold winters in Central Europe are related to low solar activity -- when sunspot numbers are minimal. http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/08/120823143833.htm 23 Aug 2012 22:20 EDT ScienceDaily: Global Warming News http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/08/120823143753.htm A new record of past temperature change in the tropical Atlantic Ocean's subsurface provides clues as to why the Earth's climate is so sensitive to ocean circulation patterns. http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/08/120823143753.htm 23 Aug 2012 22:10 EDT ScienceDaily: Global Warming News http://sustainablearlington.org/sa15/sa-blog/climate-change-news _ Thursday News Below _ http://sustainablearlington.org/sa15/sa-blog/global-warming-news?start=788 23 Aug 2012 20:00 EDT Sustainable Arlington http://eenews.net/public/climatewire/2012/08/23/1 With almost 7 million acres already burned this summer and the end of wildfire season still many weeks away, 2012 is shaping up to be the worst wildfire year on record, federal data show. Forest officials predict an abnormally long fire season this year due to the summer's severe drought. http://eenews.net/public/climatewire/2012/08/23/1 23 Aug 2012 10:70 EDT E&E Publishing, LLC, Public index page http://eenews.net/public/energywire/2012/08/23/1 U.S. regulators have rejected claims by oil and gas companies that a requirement to disclose payments to foreign governments is so big of a burden that it outweighs a broader goal of choking off corruption in countries where they operate. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in a 2-1 vote yesterday approved a rule requiring U.S.-listed multinational oil and gas producers such as Exxon Mobil Corp. and Chevron Corp. to report taxes, royalties, bonuses, fees and dividends paid to the U.S. and foreign governments for access to resources. http://eenews.net/public/energywire/2012/08/23/1 23 Aug 2012 10:60 EDT E&E Publishing, LLC, Public index page http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-19348194 One of the British Government's most senior scientific advisors [and former IPCC chair] has said that efforts to stop a sharp rise in global temperatures were now unrealistic. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-19348194 23 Aug 2012 10:50 EDT ThinkProgress >> Green http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2012/aug/23/un-green-climate-fund-climate-change The fate of billions of dollars of promised funding from rich countries to help the developing world adapt to climate change will be discussed on Thursday in Geneva, at the first meeting of the UN's Green Climate Fund. http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2012/aug/23/un-green-climate-fund-climate-change 23 Aug 2012 10:40 EDT ThinkProgress >> Green http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/08/120823091052.htm Reducing tillage for some Central Great Plains crops could help conserve water and reduce losses caused by climate change, according to studies at the U.S. Department of Agriculture. http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/08/120823091052.htm 23 Aug 2012 10:30 EDT ScienceDaily: Global Warming News http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/08/120822131208.htm Increased capture of natural gas from oil fields probably accounts for up to 70 percent of the dramatic leveling off seen in atmospheric methane at the end of the 20th century, according to new research. http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/08/120822131208.htm 22 Aug 2012 22:20 EDT ScienceDaily: Global Warming News http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/08/120822131212.htm A recent study adds a new dimension to our understanding of Antarctic Peninsula climate change and the likely causes of the break-up of its ice shelves. http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/08/120822131212.htm 22 Aug 2012 22:10 EDT ScienceDaily: Global Warming News http://sustainablearlington.org/sa15/sa-blog/climate-change-news _ Wednesday News Below _ http://sustainablearlington.org/sa15/sa-blog/global-warming-news?start=787 22 Aug 2012 20:00 EDT Sustainable Arlington http://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/21/opinion/the-dangers-of-diluted-bitumen-oil.html Every day more than one million barrels of oil flow to refineries in the United States from western Canada's oil sands region. Producers hope to quadruple that amount in the next decade, arguing that oil from a friendly neighbor will deliver an extra degree of national security. But this oil is no ordinary crude oil, and it carries with it risks that we're only beginning to understand. Its core ingredient -- bitumen -- is not pumped from wells but is strip-mined or boiled loose underground. http://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/21/opinion/the-dangers-of-diluted-bitumen-oil.html 22 Aug 2012 10:70 EDT InsideClimate News http://www.wbur.org/npr/159551828/boston-plans-for-near-term-risk-of-rising-tides "Now, today, more than 50 percent of downtown Boston is filled tidelands," says Jim Hunt, Boston's chief of environmental and energy services. Hunt helped Boston create a comprehensive climate action plan. It focuses both on reducing greenhouse gas emissions and on adapting to the dangers of a warmer climate such as heat waves, storms and the rising sea. http://www.wbur.org/npr/159551828/boston-plans-for-near-term-risk-of-rising-tides 22 Aug 2012 10:60 EDT Daily Climate http://inhabitat.com/using-affordable-materials-ibm-sets-new-world-record-for-photovoltaic-cell-efficiency/ Working together with Solar Frontier, Tokyo Ohka Kogyo (TOK) and DelSolar, IBM's Materials Science team has developed an efficient and affordable PV cell made of abundant natural materials--and they have broken a world record doing it! The team created a solar semiconductor made from readily available elements such as copper, zinc, and tin (known as CZTSSo (Cu2ZnSn(S,Se)4 ), and achieved a PV solar-to-electric power conversion efficiency of 11.1%. That is 10% better than any previous reports for this class of semiconductors. http://inhabitat.com/using-affordable-materials-ibm-sets-new-world-record-for-photovoltaic-cell-efficiency/ 22 Aug 2012 10:50 EDT Inhabitat - Green Design Will Save the World >> Renewable Energy http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/in-us-food-is-wasted-from-farm-to-fork/2012/08/21/2d5fed94-ebdb-11e1-9ddc-340d5efb1e9c_story.html Americans throw away up to 40 percent of their food every year, cramming landfills with at least $165 billion worth of produce and meats at a time when hundreds of millions of people suffer from chronic hunger globally, according to an analysis released Tuesday by the Natural Resources Defense Council. http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/in-us-food-is-wasted-from-farm-to-fork/2012/08/21/2d5fed94-ebdb-11e1-9ddc-340d5efb1e9c_story.html 22 Aug 2012 10:40 EDT ThinkProgress >> Green http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2012/genetically-modified-organism-can-turn-carbon-dioxide-into-fuel-0821.html Genetically modified organism could turn carbon dioxide or waste products into a gasoline-compatible transportation fuel. "This system ... is not competing with the food supply. The potential impact of this approach is huge." http://www.greencarcongress.com/2012/08/mit-20120821.html 22 Aug 2012 10:30 EDT Green Car Congress http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/08/20/us-climate-arctic-ice-idUSBRE87J0T920120820 Sea ice in the Arctic Ocean is likely to shrink to a record small size sometime next week, and then keep on melting, a scientist at the U.S. National Snow and Ice Data Center said on Monday. "A new daily record ... would be likely by the end of August," said Ted Scambos, lead scientist at the data center, which monitors ice in the Arctic and elsewhere. "Chances are it will cross the previous record while we're still in sea ice retreat." http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/08/20/us-climate-arctic-ice-idUSBRE87J0T920120820 22 Aug 2012 10:20 EDT Reuters: Environment http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/08/120822091720.htm Some good news in the world of climate research: the Agulhas Current off the coast of South Africa is said to stimulate North-South ocean circulation in the Atlantic. This 'conveyor belt', which redistributes and controls heat around the globe, is threatening to slow down due to melting ice. As has been shown in a recent study, however, based on satellite altimeter measurements, this famous current is accelerating. http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/08/120822091720.htm 22 Aug 2012 10:10 EDT ScienceDaily: Global Warming News http://sustainablearlington.org/sa15/sa-blog/climate-change-news _ Tuesday News Below _ http://sustainablearlington.org/sa15/sa-blog/global-warming-news?start=786 21 Aug 2012 20:00 EDT Sustainable Arlington http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/08/120821094452.htm Life in the world's oceans faces far greater change and risk of large-scale extinctions than at any previous time in human history, a team of the world's leading marine scientists has warned. The researchers have compared events which drove massive extinctions of sea life in the past with what is observed to be taking place in the seas and oceans globally today. http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/08/120821094452.htm 21 Aug 2012 09:50 EDT ScienceDaily: Global Warming News http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2012/08/21/722531/us-appeals-court-strikes-down-public-health-safeguards-that-would-have-saved-34000-premature-deaths-each-year/ Tuesday, the U.S. Court of Appeals struck down the Cross-State Air Pollution Rule (CSAPR), blocking limits to harmful air pollution. The measure would have limited sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide pollution, the main ingredients of acid rain and smog. Each year, these regulations would prevent up to 34,000 premature deaths and hundreds of thousands of cases of aggravated asthma. It was estimated to provide up to $280 billion in annual economic benefits through health and environmental improvements alone. http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/08/21/us-usa-epa-ruling-idUSBRE87K0NQ20120821 21 Aug 2012 09:40 EDT ThinkProgress >> Green http://www.businessweek.com/news/2012-08-20/energy-week-ahead-vestas-may-offer-plan-for-colorado-job-cuts Vestas Wind Systems A/S (VWS), the world's biggest wind-turbine maker, is likely to give details this week of its plan to cut as many as 1,600 jobs mainly in Colorado amid a standoff in Congress over a tax break for the industry. http://www.businessweek.com/news/2012-08-20/energy-week-ahead-vestas-may-offer-plan-for-colorado-job-cuts 21 Aug 2012 09:30 EDT BusinessWeek.com - Finance http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2012/08/21/720881/eia-natural-gas-renewables-dominate-electric-capacity-additions-in-first-half-of-2012/ The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) is reporting that most of the new electric generation capacity added in the first half of 2012 used either natural gas or renewable energy. http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2012/08/21/720881/eia-natural-gas-renewables-dominate-electric-capacity-additions-in-first-half-of-2012/ 21 Aug 2012 09:20 EDT ThinkProgress >> Green http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2012/08/20/717511/arctic-death-spiral-watch-cryosphere-today-gone-tomorrow/ The record lows for Arctic sea ice area and volume are generally set in mid- to late September. But as Neven's Arctic Sea Ice Blog reports, we're already starting to see those September minimum records being broken in mid-August. Cryosphere Today, for instance, reports that the Arctic has just dropped below its lowest sea ice area on record http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2012/08/20/717511/arctic-death-spiral-watch-cryosphere-today-gone-tomorrow/ 21 Aug 2012 09:10 EDT ThinkProgress >> Green http://sustainablearlington.org/sa15/sa-blog/climate-change-news _ Monday News Below _ http://sustainablearlington.org/sa15/sa-blog/global-warming-news?start=785 20 Aug 2012 20:00 EDT Sustainable Arlington http://www.realclimate.org/index.php/archives/2012/08/extreme-metrics/ There has been a lot of discussion related to the Hansen et al (2012, PNAS) paper and the accompanying op-ed in the Washington Post last week. But in this post, I'll try and make the case that most of the discussion has not related to the actual analysis described in the paper, but rather to proxy arguments for what people think is 'important'. http://www.realclimate.org/index.php/archives/2012/08/extreme-metrics/ 20 Aug 2012 09:70 EDT ThinkProgress >> Green http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2012/08/20/644901/carbon-pollution-update-zombie-power-plants-and-zombie-lawsuits-stagger-on/ As we sweat through this roaring-hot, extreme-weather summer, nearly 3 million Americans have raised their voices in public comments supporting EPA's proposed standards to curb carbon pollution from new power plants and calling for action on the nation's dirty existing power plants too. Meanwhile, a handful of power companies and red states stagger on with zombie lawsuits to block EPA from doing its job, and with zombie plans for coal-fired projects with little prospect of getting financed or built. http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2012/08/20/644901/carbon-pollution-update-zombie-power-plants-and-zombie-lawsuits-stagger-on/ 20 Aug 2012 09:60 EDT ThinkProgress >> Green http://cleantechnica.com/2012/08/20/100000-mw-of-enhanced-geothermal-possible-in-us/ According to a report from an interdisciplinary panel from MIT, the United States could create the capacity for 100,000 MW of enhanced geothermal in just 50 years with relatively modest investments. http://cleantechnica.com/2012/08/20/100000-mw-of-enhanced-geothermal-possible-in-us/ 20 Aug 2012 09:50 EDT CleanTechnica http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2012/08/20/714111/must-see-video-oil-and-ice-dont-mix-the-risks-of-drilling-in-alaskas-arctic-ocean/ As the decision looms whether to allow Shell Oil to begin exploratory drilling in the Arctic Ocean this summer, the Center for American Progress released a new video today examining our lack of preparedness to respond to an oil spill in the remote and untested region. Whether the Department of the Interior approves offshore drilling activity in the Arctic Ocean this year or next, the Arctic is still dangerously deficient in infrastructure and scientific knowledge. In "Oil and Ice: The Risks of Drilling in Alaska's Arctic Ocean," U.S. Coast Guard Captain Gregory Saniel, Chief of Response says the thought of mustering a response to a major incident like an oil spill "keeps me up at night." http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2012/08/20/714111/must-see-video-oil-and-ice-dont-mix-the-risks-of-drilling-in-alaskas-arctic-ocean/ 20 Aug 2012 09:40 EDT ThinkProgress >> Green http://e360.yale.edu/digest/germany_shift_from_nuclear_power_causes_surge_in_coal_burning/3596/ The German government's decision to phase out all of the nation's nuclear power plants following the 2011 Fukushima disaster has led to an increase in coal-burning within Europe's largest economy. http://e360.yale.edu/digest/germany_shift_from_nuclear_power_causes_surge_in_coal_burning/3596/ 20 Aug 2012 09:30 EDT Yale Environment 360 http://www.bna.com/epa-rules-raise-n12884911263/ Four Environmental Protection Agency regulations covering coal-fired power plants would likely increase electricity prices in some regions, such as the South and Midwest, where older plants are more likely to be retired than retrofitted, says a Government Accountability Office report. The report cited previous research that concluded the four rules could raise average electricity prices between 2012 and 2020 from a low of 0.1 percent in the Northwest to a high of 13.5 percent in Kentucky and Tennessee. http://www.bna.com/epa-rules-raise-n12884911263/ 18 Aug 2012 23:20 EDT Daily Climate http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/08/120819153741.htm A new study shows that, over the past 19 years, a warming climate has been reshaping Massachusetts butterfly communities. Subtropical and warm-climate species -- many of which were rare or absent in Massachusetts as recently as the late 1980s -- show sharp increases in abundance. At the same time, more than three quarters of northerly species -- species with a range centered north of Boston -- are now declining in Massachusetts, many of them rapidly. http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/08/120819153741.htm 18 Aug 2012 23:10 EDT ScienceDaily: Global Warming News http://sustainablearlington.org/sa15/sa-blog/climate-change-news _ Sunday News Below _ http://sustainablearlington.org/sa15/sa-blog/global-warming-news?start=784 19 Aug 2012 20:00 EDT Sustainable Arlington http://www.climatecentral.org/news/lack-of-warning-on-2012-us-drought-reflects-flaws-in-forecasting-14823 In May, the U.S. Agriculture Department predicted a record corn yield after farmers planted the largest area of corn and soybeans since 1937. Three months later, after a searing drought engulfed a wide swath of the continental U.S., those crops lie in ruin. Despite all of the resources at forecasters' disposal, the worst drought to strike the U.S. in nearly 50 years came on largely without warning across the fields of the Midwest and High Plains during late spring and early summer. http://www.climatecentral.org/news/lack-of-warning-on-2012-us-drought-reflects-flaws-in-forecasting-14823 18 Aug 2012 22:60 EDT Climate Central - Breaking News, Blogs & Features http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10000872396390443404004577581140907497810.html It's not often the Wall Street Journal sings the praises of the United Nations and global bureaucracies, but that's just what it did last week, in an editorial citing calls by organizations like the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) for an end to corn ethanol subsidies. "Remove provisions of current national policies that subsidize (or mandate) biofuels production or consumption,." advised the FAO and ten other international organizations, after the G20 advanced industrial countries asked them to take a position in 2010. http://spectrum.ieee.org/energywise/green-tech/advanced-cars/us-drought-calls-corn-ethanol-mandate-into-question 18 Aug 2012 22:50 EDT IEEE Spectrum Energy Channel http://www.eenews.net/public/climatewire/2012/08/16/2 Motor fuel retailers are cautiously betting that the filling station of the future will offer a broader range of options than what is available to today's gas-and-go drivers. The change is coming with the integration of tens of thousands of alternative-fuel vehicles into the global motor fleet, including those powered by natural gas, hydrogen, biofuels and electricity. http://www.eenews.net/public/climatewire/2012/08/16/2 18 Aug 2012 22:40 EDT E&E Publishing, LLC, Public index page http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2012/09/extreme-weather/miller-text Rains that are almost biblical, heat waves that don't end, tornadoes that strike in savage swarms -- there has been a change in the weather lately. What's going on? http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2012/09/extreme-weather/miller-text 18 Aug 2012 22:30 EDT Daily Climate http://www.climatecentral.org/news/urbanization-global-warming-could-send-city-temps-soaring-14806/ According to a paper just published in Nature Climate Change, the combination of global warming and urbanization could drive local temperatures up by a whopping 7 degrees F by 2050 in some parts of the U.S. -- some two or three times higher than the effects of global warming alone. http://www.climatecentral.org/news/urbanization-global-warming-could-send-city-temps-soaring-14806/ 18 Aug 2012 22:20 EDT ThinkProgress >> Green http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/08/120817135603.htm Two new studies provide a clearer picture of why some species move -- and where they go -- in response to climate change. One found a dramatic decline in populations of a mountain ground squirrel, except where humans lived. Another paper finds that precipitation is an underappreciated driving force for species' response to climate change. http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/08/120817135603.htm 18 Aug 2012 22:10 EDT ScienceDaily: Global Warming News http://sustainablearlington.org/sa15/sa-blog/climate-change-news _ Saturday News Below _ http://sustainablearlington.org/sa15/sa-blog/global-warming-news?start=783 18 Aug 2012 20:00 EDT Sustainable Arlington http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2012/08/16/698461/mississippi-river-reaches-historic-lows-we-have-50-year-guys-whove-never-seen-anything-like-this-before/ The Mississippi River has gone from one extreme to another. Last year it was historic floods that forced evacuations and caused up to $4 billion in economic damage. This year it's severe drought causing commercial barges to run aground and reducing the flow of trade. http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2012/08/16/698461/mississippi-river-reaches-historic-lows-we-have-50-year-guys-whove-never-seen-anything-like-this-before/ 18 Aug 2012 09:70 EDT ThinkProgress >> Green http://www.npr.org/2012/08/16/158025375/when-this-oil-spills-its-a-whole-new-monster This is not conventional crude. It is so thick, sticky and full of sand that companies have to shoot steam deep underground to liquefy it or scrape it out of sprawling surface mines. These complex extraction techniques are expensive, and they also produce a lot more greenhouse gases than conventional oil wells. But high oil prices are finally making tar sands oil profitable. http://www.npr.org/2012/08/16/158025375/when-this-oil-spills-its-a-whole-new-monster 18 Aug 2012 09:60 EDT Green on HuffingtonPost.com http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2012/08/17/705091/the-heat-is-on-and-its-time-to-prepare/ Extremely hot summers -- warmer than virtually ever occurred during a base period of 1951-1980 -- have occurred across more than 10% of the world's lands during the past several years. This means that extremely hot temperatures are more than 10 times more likely to occur now than 50 years ago. And we are simply not prepared for these temperatures! http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2012/08/17/705091/the-heat-is-on-and-its-time-to-prepare/ 18 Aug 2012 09:50 EDT ThinkProgress >> Green http://cleantechnica.com/2012/08/16/developing-economies-at-highest-risk-of-climate-change-disasters/ Several of the world's fastest-growing economies face the largest financial threats from natural disasters fueled by climate change, according to the new Natural Hazards Risk Atlas. http://cleantechnica.com/2012/08/16/developing-economies-at-highest-risk-of-climate-change-disasters/ 18 Aug 2012 00:40 EDT CleanTechnica http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2012/08/16/692161/threat-multiplier-an-interview-with-climate-conflict-expert-ian-shields/ The next few decades may be unsettled ones. Global stability looks under threat as new global powers rise and a changing climate puts pressure on populations in vulnerable areas. That's part of the conclusion of the latest report from the UK Ministry of Defence's Global Strategic Trends programme, which aims to map the threats and opportunities of the future world. If you thought climate change was just going to be warmer summers and fewer winter deaths, it makes for sobering reading. http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2012/08/16/692161/threat-multiplier-an-interview-with-climate-conflict-expert-ian-shields/ 18 Aug 2012 09:30 EDT ThinkProgress >> Green http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/only-2-per-cent-of-canadians-dont-believe-in-climate-change-poll/article4482183/ Only 2 per cent of Canadians who responded to a new opinion poll believe climate change is not occurring. http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/only-2-per-cent-of-canadians-dont-believe-in-climate-change-poll/article4482183/ 18 Aug 2012 09:20 EDT ThinkProgress >> Green http://e360.yale.edu/digest/new_york_botanical_scientists_propose_simpler_plant_species_evaluation/3595/ With an increasing number of plant species worldwide facing growing threats, from climate change to invasive species, a team of U.S. scientists has developed a process to more rapidly evaluate those plants facing the greatest risks of extinction. http://e360.yale.edu/digest/new_york_botanical_scientists_propose_simpler_plant_species_evaluation/3595/ 17 Aug 2012 22:10 EDT Yale Environment 360 http://sustainablearlington.org/sa15/sa-blog/climate-change-news _ Friday News Below _ http://sustainablearlington.org/sa15/sa-blog/global-warming-news?start=782 17 Aug 2012 20:00 EDT Sustainable Arlington http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2012/08/16/681571/jeremy-grantham-on-welcome-to-dystopia-we-are-entering-a-long-term-and-politically-dangerous-food-crisis/ Summary of the Summary: We are five years into a severe global food crisis that is very unlikely to go away. It will threaten poor countries with increased malnutrition and starvation and even collapse. Resource squabbles and waves of food-induced migration will threaten global stability and global growth. This threat is badly underestimated by almost everybody and all institutions with the possible exception of some military establishments. http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2012/08/16/681571/jeremy-grantham-on-welcome-to-dystopia-we-are-entering-a-long-term-and-politically-dangerous-food-crisis/ 17 Aug 2012 09:70 EDT ThinkProgress >> Green http://newsok.com/oklahomas-exceptional-drought-area-more-than-doubles-in-week-report-shows/article/3701474 The worst of the U.S. Drought Monitor categories, exceptional drought, is broadening its hold on Oklahoma. Thursday's report shows 38.86 percent of the state is experiencing exceptional drought, compared to 16.03 percent the previous week. In all, 100 percent of Oklahoma falls in the severe to exceptional drought categories. http://newsok.com/oklahomas-exceptional-drought-area-more-than-doubles-in-week-report-shows/article/3701474 17 Aug 2012 09:60 EDT ThinkProgress >> Green http://science.time.com/2012/08/17/co2-emissions-in-us-drop-to-20-year-low/ In a surprising turnaround, the amount of carbon dioxide being released into the atmosphere in the U.S. has fallen dramatically to its lowest level in 20 years, and government officials say the biggest reason is that cheap and plentiful natural gas has led many power plant operators to switch from dirtier-burning coal. http://science.time.com/2012/08/17/co2-emissions-in-us-drop-to-20-year-low/ 17 Aug 2012 09:50 EDT Time - Ecocentric http://www.wunderground.com/blog/JeffMasters/comment.html?entrynum=2188 The great U.S. drought of 2012 remained about the same size and intensity over the past week, said NOAA in their weekly U.S. Drought Monitor report issued Thursday, August 16. The area of the contiguous U.S. covered by drought remained constant at 62%, and the area covered by severe or greater drought also remained constant at 46%. However, the area covered by the highest level of drought--exceptional--increased by 50%, from 4% to 6%. http://www.wunderground.com/blog/JeffMasters/comment.html?entrynum=2188 17 Aug 2012 09:40 EDT Dr. Jeff Masters' WunderBlog http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2012/08/16/699601/exporting-liquefied-natural-gas-lng-bad-for-climate-poor-long-term-investment/ The surge in U.S. production of shale gas is creating a surge in permit requests to build liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminals. That's because the glut of U.S. gas has dropped domestic prices sharply below global price levels. I explained back in June why "Exporting LNG Is Bad For The Climate." But the New York Times has just run a misleading op-ed, "The Case for Natural Gas Exports," so the issue clearly merits a revisit. http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2012/08/16/699601/exporting-liquefied-natural-gas-lng-bad-for-climate-poor-long-term-investment/ 17 Aug 2012 09:30 EDT ThinkProgress >> Green http://in.reuters.com/article/2012/08/16/climate-drought-idINL6E8JFAI220120816 Food security experts working on a chapter in a U.N. overview of global warming due in 2014 said governments should take more account of how extremes of heat, droughts or floods could affect food supplies from seeds to consumers' plates. http://in.reuters.com/article/2012/08/16/climate-drought-idINL6E8JFAI220120816 17 Aug 2012 09:20 EDT ThinkProgress >> Green http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/08/120816170307.htm A new carbon cycling model better accounts for the carbon dioxide-releasing activity of microbes in the ground, improving scientists' understanding of the role soil will play in future climate change. http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/08/120816170307.htm 17 Aug 2012 00:10 EDT ScienceDaily: Global Warming News http://sustainablearlington.org/sa15/sa-blog/climate-change-news _ Thursday News Below _ http://sustainablearlington.org/sa15/sa-blog/global-warming-news?start=781 16 Aug 2012 20:00 EDT Sustainable Arlington http://www.wunderground.com/blog/JeffMasters/comment.html?entrynum=2186 A searing heat wave rare even for the Desert Southwest sent temperatures soaring to record levels on Monday, with Needles, California tying its record high for the date of 118 degrees F (47.8 degrees C). The temperature might have gone higher in Needles, but a thunderstorm rolled in at 3:20 pm, and by 3:56 pm PDT, rain began falling at a temperature of 115 degrees F (46.1 degrees C). Most of the rain evaporated, since the humidity was only 11%, and only a trace of precipitation was recorded in the rain gauge. Nevertheless, Monday's rain at 115 degrees in Needles sets a new world record for the hottest rain in world history. http://www.wunderground.com/blog/JeffMasters/comment.html?entrynum=2186 16 Aug 2012 09:70 EDT Dr. Jeff Masters' WunderBlog http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2012/08/15/696291/the-sounds-of-silence-on-science-the-country-is-on-fire-but-obama-isnt/ Does science have anything to say about what is causing all these off-the-charts records today -- and, more importantly, what the future holds if we keep doing what we are doing? Apparently not, according to the man who famously promised that his election would usher in "the moment when the rise of the oceans began to slow and our planet began to heal." http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2012/08/15/696291/the-sounds-of-silence-on-science-the-country-is-on-fire-but-obama-isnt/ 16 Aug 2012 09:60 EDT ThinkProgress >> Green http://insideclimatenews.org/news/20120816/utah-oil-tar-sands-mining-bitumen-water-pr-spring-limonene-alberta-oil-sands-groundwater-pollution-drought The Calgary-based company, U.S. Oil Sands Inc., has scooped open a two-acre test pit in eastern Utah in its first step toward full-scale production. If it keeps to its timetable, the nation's first sizeable oil sands mine will be operating in this largely unspoiled wilderness by early 2014. http://insideclimatenews.org/news/20120816/utah-oil-tar-sands-mining-bitumen-water-pr-spring-limonene-alberta-oil-sands-groundwater-pollution-drought 16 Aug 2012 09:50 EDT InsideClimate News http://www.climatecentral.org/news/globe-records-fourth-warmest-july-with-record-heat-in-us-14813/ July was the fourth-warmest such month on record globally, and the 329th consecutive month with a global-average surface temperature above the 20th-century average, according to an analysis released Wednesday by the National Climatic Data Center (NCDC). http://www.climatecentral.org/news/globe-records-fourth-warmest-july-with-record-heat-in-us-14813/ 16 Aug 2012 09:40 EDT ThinkProgress >> Green http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/08/120815121318.htm Melting over the Greenland ice sheet shattered the seasonal record on Aug. 8 -- a full four weeks before the close of the melting season, researchers report. http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/08/120815121318.htm 16 Aug 2012 09:30 EDT ScienceDaily: Global Warming News http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/08/120816075403.htm In the face of a changing climate, many species must adapt or perish. Ecologists studying evolutionary responses to climate change forecast that cold-blooded tropical species are not as vulnerable to extinction as previously thought. The study considers how fast species can evolve and adapt to compensate for a rise in temperature. http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/08/120816075403.htm 16 Aug 2012 09:20 EDT ScienceDaily: Global Warming News http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/08/120816075441.htm South Pacific countries will experience more extreme floods and droughts, in response to increasing greenhouse gas emissions, according to a new article. http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/08/120816075441.htm 16 Aug 2012 09:10 EDT ScienceDaily: Global Warming News http://sustainablearlington.org/sa15/sa-blog/climate-change-news _ Wednesday News Below _ http://sustainablearlington.org/sa15/sa-blog/global-warming-news?start=780 15 Aug 2012 20:00 EDT Sustainable Arlington http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2012/08/15/695551/report-us-media-barely-mention-change-in-stories-on-extreme-heat/ A new Media Matters analysis of news coverage of this summer's heat wave finds that television outlets mentioned climate change in only 8.7 percent of stories throughout July. Newspaper outlets did a better job, putting just over 25 percent of stories into a climate context. http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2012/08/15/695551/report-us-media-barely-mention-change-in-stories-on-extreme-heat/ 15 Aug 2012 09:70 EDT ThinkProgress >> Green http://insideclimatenews.org/news/20120815/nuclear-power-plants-energy-nrc-drought-weather-heat-water Reactor shutdown in Connecticut is latest sign that nuclear energy would face challenges from climate change. http://insideclimatenews.org/news/20120815/nuclear-power-plants-energy-nrc-drought-weather-heat-water 15 Aug 2012 09:60 EDT InsideClimate News http://www.greencarcongress.com/2012/08/eiaco2-20120814.html The US Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported that after an increase in 2010 of 3.3%, energy-related carbon dioxide emissions in the US in 2011 decreased by 2.4% (136 million metric tons), while GDP grew by 1.8%. This indicates that the carbon intensity of the economy declined by about 4.2%. http://www.greencarcongress.com/2012/08/eiaco2-20120814.html 15 Aug 2012 09:50 EDT Green Car Congress http://cleantechnica.com/2012/08/14/new-doe-report-shows-huge-role-for-wind-power-in-u-s/ When the wind industry first began building up steam early in the Obama Administration, there was some criticism over the role of overseas companies and suppliers in the domestic market. However, all that is in the past. According to the new report, only 35 percent of the equipment installed at U.S. wind farms came from U.S. manufacturers in 2005. Now that figure has risen to almost 70 percent, including the turbines and supporting towers along with blades, gears and generators. In addition to creating thousands of new jobs, technological improvements that include bigger turbines and lighter blades have caused the price of wind power to drop precipitously in just the past few years. http://cleantechnica.com/2012/08/14/new-doe-report-shows-huge-role-for-wind-power-in-u-s/ 15 Aug 2012 09:40 EDT CleanTechnica http://insideclimatenews.org/news/20120814/wind-energy-development-massachusetts-clean-energy-mitt-romney-production-tax-credit-expiring-cape-wind Late last month, Mass. Gov. Deval Patrick proposed the country's first regional bidding process for renewable installations, called the regional Request for Proposals (RFP). The other five New England states agreed to sign on to the plan. The program is intended to make wind power decisively cheaper and could become a model for other U.S. regions. http://insideclimatenews.org/news/20120814/wind-energy-development-massachusetts-clean-energy-mitt-romney-production-tax-credit-expiring-cape-wind 15 Aug 2012 09:30 EDT InsideClimate News http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/08/15/us-eu-biofuel-idUSBRE87E0H420120815 Drought-stricken crops and record-high grain prices have strengthened critics of the European Union biofuel industry, adding fears of a food crisis to their claims that it does not ultimately reduce carbon dioxide emissions. http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/08/15/us-eu-biofuel-idUSBRE87E0H420120815 15 Aug 2012 09:20 EDT Reuters: Environment http://www.eenews.net/public/energywire/2012/08/14/1 The struggling Australian dollar is fresh evidence that China's economic slowdown threatens one of the West's most enduring expansion stories. Coming amid plunging coal and iron-ore prices, and escalating costs at giant natural gas export projects along its coasts, Australia's turbulence is a reminder of the perils of reliance on the export of cyclical commodities to drive growth, even for large and dynamic economies. http://www.eenews.net/public/energywire/2012/08/14/1 15 Aug 2012 09:10 EDT E&E Publishing, LLC, Public index page http://sustainablearlington.org/sa15/sa-blog/climate-change-news _ Tuesday News Below _ http://sustainablearlington.org/sa15/sa-blog/global-warming-news?start=779 14 Aug 2012 20:00 EDT Sustainable Arlington http://www.skepticalscience.com/news.php?n=1573 James Hansen's newest paper, Perception of climate change, has been published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science (PNAS). The paper links increased heat wave frequency and intensity to human-caused climate change. As a result, it has generated a great deal of mainstream media attention, and also a number of misinterpretations and misrepresentations that we will examine in this post. http://www.skepticalscience.com/news.php?n=1573 14 Aug 2012 09:70 EDT Skeptical Science http://www.wbur.org/npr/158756024/climate-weirdness-throws-ecosystems-out-of-kilter "We've had time to act -- and essentially we haven't acted," says science journalist Michael Lemonick. He describes the threats posed by climate change in his new book Global Weirdness: Severe Storms, Deadly Heat Waves, Relentless Drought, Rising Seas, and the Weather of the Future. http://www.wbur.org/npr/158756024/climate-weirdness-throws-ecosystems-out-of-kilter 14 Aug 2012 09:60 EDT Fresh Air http://green.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/08/13/heat-shuts-down-a-coastal-reactor/ While some reactors in inland locations have had to reduce their power output or shut down because of warm cooling water in the past, it is unusual for coastal plants, nuclear industry officials say. http://green.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/08/13/heat-shuts-down-a-coastal-reactor/ 14 Aug 2012 09:50 EDT NYT > Green Blog http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/salazar-plan-puts-half-of-alaska-petroleum-reserve-off-limits-to-drilling/2012/08/13/d542863c-e57f-11e1-8741-940e3f6dbf48_story.html Interior Secretary Ken Salazar on Monday announced the first comprehensive plan to manage the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska, allowing for new drilling on half of the nearly 23 million-acre reserve while putting the rest off-limits to oil and gas exploration. http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/08/14/us-alaska-exploration-idUSBRE87D01P20120814 14 Aug 2012 09:40 EDT Daily Climate http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/climate-models-that-predict-more-droughts-win-further-scientific-support/2012/08/13/cb4e3108-e16f-11e1-ae7f-d2a13e249eb2_story.html The United States will suffer a series of severe droughts in the next two decades, according to a new study published in the journal Nature Climate Change. Moreover, global warming will play an increasingly important role in their abundance and severity, claims Aiguo Dai, the study's author. http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/climate-models-that-predict-more-droughts-win-further-scientific-support/2012/08/13/cb4e3108-e16f-11e1-ae7f-d2a13e249eb2_story.html 14 Aug 2012 09:30 EDT ThinkProgress >> Green http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/08/120813155243.htm A new study has shown how birds, butterflies, other insects and spiders have colonized nature reserves and areas protected for wildlife, as they move north in response to climate change and other environmental changes. http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/08/120813155243.htm 14 Aug 2012 09:20 EDT ScienceDaily: Global Warming News http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/08/14/us-china-coal-water-idUSBRE87D03Q20120814 China's plan to rapidly expand large coal mines and power plants in its arid northern and western provinces threatens to drain precious water supply and could trigger a severe water crisis, a report by environmental activists Greenpeace said on Tuesday. http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/08/14/us-china-coal-water-idUSBRE87D03Q20120814 14 Aug 2012 09:10 EDT Reuters: Green Business News http://sustainablearlington.org/sa15/sa-blog/climate-change-news _ Monday News Below _ http://sustainablearlington.org/sa15/sa-blog/global-warming-news?start=778 13 Aug 2012 20:00 EDT Sustainable Arlington http://e360.yale.edu/feature/natural_gas_role_in_us_energy_endgame/2561/ The boom in natural gas production has undeniable benefits for the United States. But two policy analysts argue that embracing a monolithic energy future dominated by gas will mean the loss of a golden opportunity: Leveraging cheap, abundant gas to create a sustainable future based on renewable power. http://e360.yale.edu/feature/natural_gas_role_in_us_energy_endgame/2561/ 13 Aug 2012 09:60 EDT Yale Environment 360 http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2012/08/12/679621/flashback-paul-ryans-big-oil-budget-halts-clean-energy-innovation/ Mitt Romney has turbo-charged his support for Big Oil by selecting Paul Ryan as his running mate. The House-passed Ryan budget would retain $40 billion in tax breaks over a decade for Big Oil while demanding huge cuts in the budget for innovation and clean energy. In addition, the Romney-Ryan budget would provide $2.3 billion in new tax breaks for the five largest oil companies. http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2012/08/12/679621/flashback-paul-ryans-big-oil-budget-halts-clean-energy-innovation/ 13 Aug 2012 09:50 EDT ThinkProgress >> Green http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2012/aug/11/arctic-sea-ice-vanishing New satellite images show polar ice coverage dwindling in extent and thickness. http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2012/aug/11/arctic-sea-ice-vanishing 13 Aug 2012 09:40 EDT InsideClimate News http://green.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/08/13/climate-insight-from-a-magical-mountain-range/ The Medieval Warm Period, from the 10th to the 13th centuries, is ... beloved by climate contrarians. They would like to claim that conditions worldwide were warmer than they are today and that this somehow proves that humans cannot be influencing modern climate. But evidence has been accumulating for several years that these events and other examples of Holocene climate variability were generally not global in scope. Now, a group of researchers led by Aaron E. Putnam of Columbia University may have come pretty close to nailing the case. http://green.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/08/13/climate-insight-from-a-magical-mountain-range/ 13 Aug 2012 09:30 EDT NYT > Green Blog http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/08/12/us-climate-frogs-idUSBRE87B0HA20120812 Parasites look set to become more virulent because of climate change, according to a study showing that frogs suffer more infections from a fungus when exposed to unexpected swings in temperatures. http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/08/12/us-climate-frogs-idUSBRE87B0HA20120812 13 Aug 2012 09:20 EDT Reuters: Environment http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/08/120812151708.htm In the first study to attempt to quantify the impact of rapidly expanding megapolitan areas on regional climate, a team of researchers has established that local maximum summertime warming resulting from projected expansion of the urban Sun Corridor could approach 4 degrees Celsius. http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/08/120812151708.htm 13 Aug 2012 00:10 EDT ScienceDaily: Global Warming News http://sustainablearlington.org/sa15/sa-blog/climate-change-news _ Sunday News Below _ http://sustainablearlington.org/sa15/sa-blog/global-warming-news?start=777 12 Aug 2012 20:00 EDT Sustainable Arlington http://www.columbia.edu/~jeh1/mailings/2012/20120811_DiceDataDiscussion.pdf We address questions raised about our study, "The New Climate Dice," by using longer base periods that include the 1930s. We show that the 2012 summer heat wave in the United States (June-July data) exceeds any that occurred in the 1930s. We reconfirm our conclusion that the increasing extremity of heat waves and the area covered by extreme events is caused by global warming. The location and timing of weather extremes depends on many factors and to a large degree is a matter of chance. Changing climate can be described, usefully and realistically, by the combination of "climate dice" and a shifting, broadening "bell curve", an approach that we believe can be appreciated by the general public. http://www.columbia.edu/~jeh1/mailings/2012/20120811_DiceDataDiscussion.pdf 12 Aug 2012 00:70 EDT Climate Hawks Dr. James E. Hansen's Email List http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/08/12/1119230/-Eugene-Robinson-NAILS-IT-What-part-of-hottest-month-ever-do-you-people-not-understand Eugene Robinson piece on Saturday shouldn't be missed. Here's how it starts: For those who continue to doubt climate change: It's here to stay. Excuse me, folks, but the weather is trying to tell us something. http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/08/12/1119230/-Eugene-Robinson-NAILS-IT-What-part-of-hottest-month-ever-do-you-people-not-understand 12 Aug 2012 10:60 EDT Climate Hawks http://daily.sightline.org/2011/11/16/coal-exports-are-bigger-threat-than-tar-sands-pipeline/ A carbon comparison of Northwest coal plans and Keystone XL project. http://daily.sightline.org/2011/11/16/coal-exports-are-bigger-threat-than-tar-sands-pipeline/ 12 Aug 2012 00:50 EDT Climate Hawks http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/to-confront-climate-change-us-agriculture-seeks-hardier-breeds-that-can-survive-long-droughts/2012/08/08/e7a48cfe-e187-11e1-89f7-76e23a982d06_story.html Across American agriculture, farmers and crop scientists have concluded that it's too late to fight climate change. They need to adapt to it with a new generation of hardier animals and plants specially engineered to survive, and even thrive, in intense heat, with little rain. http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/to-confront-climate-change-us-agriculture-seeks-hardier-breeds-that-can-survive-long-droughts/2012/08/08/e7a48cfe-e187-11e1-89f7-76e23a982d06_story.html 12 Aug 2012 00:40 EDT ThinkProgress >> Green http://www.tomdispatch.com/blog/175579/tomgram%3A_michael_klare%2C_post-apocalyptic_fantasy_becomes_everyday_reality/ If history is any guide, rising food prices will lead to widespread social unrest and violent conflict. http://www.tomdispatch.com/blog/175579/tomgram%3A_michael_klare%2C_post-apocalyptic_fantasy_becomes_everyday_reality/ 12 Aug 2012 00:30 EDT TomDispatch - Blog http://www.skepticalscience.com/news.php?n=1567 I've managed to update the Box et al. (2009) near-surface air temperature reconstruction and am struck after incorporating 4 more years, it seems little doubt that summer air temperatures for Greenland ice are the highest in at least 172 years. Summer temperatures in the late 2000s are roughly 0.5 C warmer than in the 1930s and even warmer than at any time since at least 1840s. http://www.skepticalscience.com/news.php?n=1567 12 Aug 2012 00:20 EDT Skeptical Science http://journals.ametsoc.org/doi/abs/10.1175/JCLI-D-11-00139.1 We estimate that the warmest epoch in the last nine centuries occurs during the late 20th century, with average temperatures over the last thirty years of our reconstruction (1973 to 2002 CE) approximately 1.3 +/- 0.4 degrees C warmer than the long-term preindustrial mean (1100 to 1850 CE), a change associated with rapid increases in greenhouse gases. Prior to the late 20th century, multidecadal temperature fluctuations covary broadly with changes in natural radiative forcing. http://journals.ametsoc.org/doi/abs/10.1175/JCLI-D-11-00139.1 12 Aug 2012 00:10 EDT AGW Observer http://sustainablearlington.org/sa15/sa-blog/climate-change-news _ Saturday News Below _ http://sustainablearlington.org/sa15/sa-blog/global-warming-news?start=776 11 Aug 2012 20:00 EDT Sustainable Arlington http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2012/08/11/677051/meet-paul-ryan-climate-denier-conspiracy-theorist-koch-acolyte/ Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI), Mitt Romney's vice-presidential pick, is a virulent denier of climate science, with a voting record to match. http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2012/08/11/677051/meet-paul-ryan-climate-denier-conspiracy-theorist-koch-acolyte/ 11 Aug 2012 10:70 EDT ThinkProgress >> Green http://e360.yale.edu/digest/us_wind_energy_capacity_equal_to_11_nuclear_plants_group_says/3585/ Electricity produced by wind energy in the U.S. now equals the output of 11 nuclear power plants, according to a new report from the American Wind Energy Association, a trade organization. As congressional leaders consider the extension of a tax credit for the emerging wind energy sector, the AWEA says that a surge in wind projects since 2008 has pushed the sector past 50 gigawatts, enough electricity for 13 million homes -- or all the residences in Nevada, Colorado, Wisconsin, Virginia, Alabama, and Connecticut combined. http://e360.yale.edu/digest/us_wind_energy_capacity_equal_to_11_nuclear_plants_group_says/3585/ 11 Aug 2012 00:60 EDT Yale Environment 360 http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/sns-rt-us-ethanol-united-nationsbre8790cu-20120810,0,2355868.story Global pressure on the United States to relax its ethanol quota mounted on Thursday as the top United Nations food official said an "immediate, temporary suspension" of the mandate could help head off another world food crisis. http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/sns-rt-us-ethanol-united-nationsbre8790cu-20120810,0,2355868.story 11 Aug 2012 00:50 EDT Daily Climate http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-250_162-57489676/climate-change-not-a-presidential-election-issue-yet/ Barack Obama promised to tackle climate change when he first ran for the White House four years ago, but -- battling this summer for a second term -- he speaks little of the issue even as the United States suffers through a drought of historic proportions, wild storms and punishing heat that topples temperature records almost daily. http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-250_162-57489676/climate-change-not-a-presidential-election-issue-yet/ 11 Aug 2012 00:40 EDT ThinkProgress >> Green http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/08/10/1118634/-Sea-Ice-Decimated-Huge-Storm-May-Have-Broken-Arctic-Ocean-Stratification A huge, long-lived Arctic ocean storm has decimated the sea ice area which was melting out at a record rate before the high waves and winds shattered the Siberian side of the ice cap. http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/08/10/1118634/-Sea-Ice-Decimated-Huge-Storm-May-Have-Broken-Arctic-Ocean-Stratification 11 Aug 2012 00:30 EDT Climate Hawks http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/2012/08/fof_081012.html In August 2009 the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration formally approved a proposal by the North Pacific Fishery Management Council to ban all fishing activity in the U.S. Arctic except subsistence fishing by Alaska Natives. ... The body also opted to close the nearly 150,000-square-mile Arctic Management Area until adequate scientific fish stock assessments and other data could be collected that would ensure this virgin resource could be managed sustainably. The fishing industry's approach to management stands in direct contrast to that taken by the oil-and-gas industry and its federal regulators. Shell has led Big Oil's charge into the Arctic Ocean and is on the cusp of receiving final permits that could allow them to begin drilling operations there as soon as next week. Logic would dictate this means we know more about the science of oil in the Arctic than we do about the science of fish. Not so. http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/2012/08/fof_081012.html 11 Aug 2012 00:20 EDT Center for American Progress - Energy and Environment http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/2012/08/soot_101.html What You Need to Know and How You Can Help Prevent It http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/2012/08/soot_101.html 11 Aug 2012 00:10 EDT Center for American Progress - Energy and Environment http://sustainablearlington.org/sa15/sa-blog/climate-change-news _ Friday News Below _ http://sustainablearlington.org/sa15/sa-blog/global-warming-news?start=775 10 Aug 2012 20:00 EDT Sustainable Arlington http://www.eenews.net/public/Greenwire/2012/08/10/2 In a report closely watched by the livestock and ethanol industries, the Agriculture Department on Friday sharply reduced its projections of this year's corn crop in response to the drought conditions in the Midwest. Average corn yields per acre are expected to be 123.4 bushels, down 22.6 bushels from the forecast last month and the lowest average yield since 1995. http://www.eenews.net/public/Greenwire/2012/08/10/2 10 Aug 2012 10:70 EDT E&E Publishing, LLC, Public index page http://www.eenews.net/public/energywire/2012/08/10/1 A decision yesterday to shelve $2 billion high-voltage transmission projects in the mid-Atlantic region, while expected, demonstrates the far-reaching impact of cheap shale gas and slow economic growth on the nation's power grid, industry and government officials said yesterday. http://www.eenews.net/public/energywire/2012/08/10/1 10 Aug 2012 10:60 EDT E&E Publishing, LLC, Public index page http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2012/08/10/674391/cbo-report-gop-drilling-plan-will-generate-far-less-revenue-than-repealing-oil-tax-breaks/ Proposals from GOP lawmakers to open nearly all federal lands and waters to oil-and-gas development would not generate much additional revenue, according to the Congressional Budget Office. CBO released an analysis on Thursday that said opening protected areas would generate a mere fraction of the revenue from existing oil-and-gas activity on federal land. http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2012/08/10/674391/cbo-report-gop-drilling-plan-will-generate-far-less-revenue-than-repealing-oil-tax-breaks/ 10 Aug 2012 10:50 EDT ThinkProgress >> Green http://bostinno.com/2012/08/09/boston-underwater-global-warming-is-going-to-gobble-up-the-go-to-spots-say-officials/ A powerful storm surge could put some of Boston's most beloved landscapes under water if global warming isn't addressed, according to state elected officials. http://bostinno.com/2012/08/09/boston-underwater-global-warming-is-going-to-gobble-up-the-go-to-spots-say-officials/ 10 Aug 2012 10:40 EDT ThinkProgress >> Green http://www.skepticalscience.com/news.php?n=1566 On August 1st 2012, John Christy once again testified before the US Congress in a Senate hearing on climate issues. ... Christy's latest testimony consisted entirely of five climate myths, four of which we debunked in a previous post. In this post we will examine Christy's comments regarding the link between climate change and extreme weather. http://www.skepticalscience.com/news.php?n=1566 10 Aug 2012 10:30 EDT Skeptical Science http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2012/08/09/663881/study-reservoirs-may-produce-20-times-more-methane-than-normal-during-water-drawdown/ Typically, at moderate sizes, power generated by dams and reservoirs is considered "green." However, a new study from Washington State University has found that during times of drawdown -- a period in which the water level behind a dam is rapidly lowered -- temperate reservoirs can produce up 20 times more methane than normal. "... continuing to overlook reservoirs as a carbon source and treating dams as a 'carbon neutral' energy source is no longer a viable option." http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2012/08/09/663881/study-reservoirs-may-produce-20-times-more-methane-than-normal-during-water-drawdown/ 10 Aug 2012 00:20 EDT ThinkProgress >> Green http://www.skepticalscience.com/news.php?n=1572 We can now add to the 2012 melting season bonanza the appearance of a cyclone the likes of which are rarely seen in winter, let alone in summer. The storm is now losing its strength and dissipating, but its effect on the sea ice has been enormous so far. http://www.skepticalscience.com/news.php?n=1572 10 Aug 2012 00:10 EDT Skeptical Science http://sustainablearlington.org/sa15/sa-blog/climate-change-news _ Thursday News Below _ http://sustainablearlington.org/sa15/sa-blog/global-warming-news?start=774 09 Aug 2012 20:00 EDT Sustainable Arlington http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2012/08/09/663261/as-coal-sinks-renewables-soar-emissions-report-shows-start-of-clean-energy-transition/ For the electric power industry, the signs of change are in the air. Power plants are emitting less pollution than in prior years, and renewable power is a bigger part of the energy mix than ever before. That adds up to cleaner air and a more diverse, resilient and lower-carbon electricity system. The industry is in the midst of a real transition, and a new Ceres report shows that it's happening even faster than experts predicted. http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2012/08/09/663261/as-coal-sinks-renewables-soar-emissions-report-shows-start-of-clean-energy-transition/ 09 Aug 2012 10:60 EDT ThinkProgress >> Green http://www.businessweek.com/news/2012-08-08/global-food-reserves-falling-as-drought-wilts-crops-commodities Stockpiles of the biggest crops will decline for a third year as drought parches fields across three continents, raising food-import costs already forecast by the United Nations to reach a near-record $1.24 trillion. While global wheat inventories are forecast by the USDA to contract 7.5 percent next year, more than any other major crop, they would still be 42 percent larger than in 2008. Global food prices measured by the UN are still 15 percent below the record reached in February 2011. http://www.businessweek.com/news/2012-08-08/global-food-reserves-falling-as-drought-wilts-crops-commodities 09 Aug 2012 10:50 EDT ThinkProgress >> Green http://www.greencarcongress.com/2012/08/a123-20120808.html Struggling battery maker A123 Systems said Wednesday it has reached a preliminary agreement with a Chinese conglomerate to invest as much as $450 million in the Waltham company, becoming the latest Massachusetts energy technology firm to turn to China for funding. http://www.boston.com/business/markets/articles/2012/08/09/chinas_wanxiang_group_invests_in_waltham_battery_maker_a123_systems/ 09 Aug 2012 10:40 EDT Boston Globe - Business http://www.greencarcongress.com/2012/08/cafcp-report-concludes-california-needs-68-hydrogen-fueling-stations-by-end-of-2015-to-support-first.html To support the planned commercial launch of fuel cell electric vehicles by automakers in 2015 (FCEVs), California needs 68 hydrogen fueling stations in five clusters in which most early adopters are expected, according to a new report issued by the California Fuel Cell Partnership (CaFCP). http://www.greencarcongress.com/2012/08/cafcp-report-concludes-california-needs-68-hydrogen-fueling-stations-by-end-of-2015-to-support-first.html 09 Aug 2012 00:30 EDT Green Car Congress http://www.desmogblog.com/arctic-ice-decline-much-worse-expected As the extent of Arctic sea ice declines to levels unrecorded since satellite monitoring began, the National Snow and Ice Data Center has released a new analysis that shows the situation to be worse by far than even the most pessimistic models predicted. http://www.desmogblog.com/arctic-ice-decline-much-worse-expected 09 Aug 2012 00:20 EDT DeSmogBlog - Clearing the PR Pollution that Clouds Climate Science http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/08/08/us-science-environment-water-idUSBRE87713B20120808 The study, published in the journal Nature, found that 80 percent of the world's aquifers are being used sustainably but this is offset by heavy over-exploitation in a few key areas. Those areas included western Mexico, the High Plains and California's Central Valley in the United States, Saudi Arabia, Iran, northern India and parts of northern China. http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/08/08/us-science-environment-water-idUSBRE87713B20120808 09 Aug 2012 00:10 EDT Reuters: Green Business News http://sustainablearlington.org/sa15/sa-blog/climate-change-news _ Wednesday News Below _ http://sustainablearlington.org/sa15/sa-blog/global-warming-news?start=773 08 Aug 2012 20:00 EDT Sustainable Arlington http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/08/120808115055.htm According to NOAA scientists, the average temperature for the contiguous U.S. during July was 77.6 degrees F, 3.3 degrees F above the 20th century average, marking the hottest July and the hottest month on record for the nation. http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/08/120808115055.htm 08 Aug 2012 10:60 EDT ScienceDaily: Global Warming News http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2012/08/08/655961/hottest-year-on-record-for-the-northeastern-us/ The twelve states that make up the Northeastern U.S. are experiencing their hottest year on record, according to data from the Northeast Regional Climate Center at Cornell University. http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2012/08/08/655961/hottest-year-on-record-for-the-northeastern-us/ 08 Aug 2012 10:50 EDT ThinkProgress >> Green http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2012/08/08/656731/along-with-severe-drought-some-farmers-deal-with-a-wall-of-sand-covering-fields-due-to-last-years-floods/ Some farmers in the Missouri River Valley are now dealing with piles of sand -- in some cases 3-4 feet deep -- covering their fields after the flood waters receded. These farmers are looking at tens of millions of dollars in damages. It's another example of the one-two punch that extreme weather brings. As the atmosphere warms due to accumulating greenhouse gases, it holds more water vapor. Therefore, when storms come, the rain is stronger. But in drought conditions, the impacts can be exacerbated by higher evaporation rates. http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2012/08/08/656731/along-with-severe-drought-some-farmers-deal-with-a-wall-of-sand-covering-fields-due-to-last-years-floods/ 08 Aug 2012 10:40 EDT ThinkProgress >> Green http://www.eenews.net/public/Greenwire/2012/08/07/2 The Obama administration today said it will expedite approval of seven commercial-scale solar and wind projects on federal and tribal lands in Arizona, California, Nevada and Wyoming. http://www.eenews.net/public/Greenwire/2012/08/07/2 08 Aug 2012 10:30 EDT http://e360.yale.edu/digest/aging_diseased_trees__a_large_source_of_methane_study_says/3581/ Researchers at the Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies say some diseased trees release methane at a level that may be a globally significant source of the potent heat-trapping gas, according to the study published in Geophysical Research Letters. http://e360.yale.edu/digest/aging_diseased_trees__a_large_source_of_methane_study_says/3581/ 08 Aug 2012 10:20 EDT Yale Environment 360 http://science.time.com/2012/08/07/thousands-of-fish-die-as-midwest-streams-heat-up/ Thousands of fish are dying in the Midwest as the hot, dry summer dries up rivers and causes water temperatures to climb in some spots to nearly 100 degrees. http://science.time.com/2012/08/07/thousands-of-fish-die-as-midwest-streams-heat-up/ 08 Aug 2012 00:10 EDT Time - Ecocentric http://sustainablearlington.org/sa15/sa-blog/climate-change-news _ Tuesday News Below _ http://sustainablearlington.org/sa15/sa-blog/global-warming-news?start=772 07 Aug 2012 20:00 EDT Sustainable Arlington http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2012/08/06/642141/obama-administration-abandons-two-degree-commitment-made-in-2010/ As climate change accelerates, it appears the Obama administration is in retreat. In an address on Thursday, the top climate negotiator for the United States rejected the administration's formal commitment to keeping global warming less than two degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees F) above pre-industrial levels. This about-face from agreements endorsed by President Barack Obama in 2009 and 2010 indicates a rejection of the United Nations climate negotiations process, as well as an implicit assertion that catastrophic global warming is now politically impossible to prevent. http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2012/08/06/642141/obama-administration-abandons-two-degree-commitment-made-in-2010/ 07 Aug 2012 10:70 EDT ThinkProgress >> Green http://thehill.com/blogs/e2-wire/e2-wire/242373-defense-dept-interior-seek-to-speed-renewables-on-military-lands The Pentagon and Interior Department have inked an agreement aimed at developing green electricity projects to feed power-thirsty military bases, a plan that officials said would help ensure energy for bases if the commercial grid is disrupted. http://thehill.com/blogs/e2-wire/e2-wire/242373-defense-dept-interior-seek-to-speed-renewables-on-military-lands 07 Aug 2012 10:60 EDT ThinkProgress >> Green http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2012/08/07/641781/oil-companies-failing-to-adequately-disclose-drilling-risks-to-sec-and-investors/ A new report released by Ceres found that ten of the world's largest publicly-owned oil and gas companies failed to fully report risks associated with deep water drilling and climate change to the SEC or their investors. http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2012/08/07/641781/oil-companies-failing-to-adequately-disclose-drilling-risks-to-sec-and-investors/ 07 Aug 2012 10:50 EDT ThinkProgress >> Green http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2012/08/06/644271/the-vast-potential-for-renewable-energy-in-the-american-west/ Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, and Utah--the "Four Corners" states plus their western neighbors--are home to some of the best renewable electricity potential in the country. These states have consistently sunny skies for solar power, wind-blown plains and deserts for turbines, and underground heat perfect for geothermal energy. They also have incredible potential for smaller-scale technologies like rooftop solar panels and energy efficiency improvements. http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2012/08/06/644271/the-vast-potential-for-renewable-energy-in-the-american-west/ 07 Aug 2012 10:40 EDT ThinkProgress >> Green http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/08/07/us-climate-eu-idUSBRE8760LM20120807 The European Commission urged the world on Tuesday to stick with a goal of limiting climate change to a maximum temperature rise of 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 F) after Washington said the target could not be guaranteed. http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/08/07/us-climate-eu-idUSBRE8760LM20120807 07 Aug 2012 10:30 EDT Reuters: Environment http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/08/120807113327.htm Even temporary rises in local temperatures significantly damage long-term economic growth in the world's developing nations, according to a new study. http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/08/120807113327.htm 07 Aug 2012 10:20 EDT ScienceDaily: Global Warming News http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/africa/us-to-offer-2b-in-renewable-energy-loans-to-south-africa/2012/08/06/4edf1766-dfd2-11e1-8d48-2b1243f34c85_story.html The U.S. will offer South Africa up to $2 billion in loans to fund renewable energy ventures involving American companies, a top official said Monday, a potential boon for both the electricity-hungry nation and U.S. business interests. http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/africa/us-to-offer-2b-in-renewable-energy-loans-to-south-africa/2012/08/06/4edf1766-dfd2-11e1-8d48-2b1243f34c85_story.html 07 Aug 2012 10:10 EDT ThinkProgress >> Green http://sustainablearlington.org/sa15/sa-blog/climate-change-news _ Monday News Below _ http://sustainablearlington.org/sa15/sa-blog/global-warming-news?start=771 06 Aug 2012 20:00 EDT Sustainable Arlington http://science.time.com/2012/08/06/why-the-drought-wont-be-getting-better-any-time-soon-and-why-this-one-wont-be-the-last/ The droughts gets broader and deeper, covering more than three-fifths of the continental U.S. And scientific studies show that this sort of drought could only be the beginning. http://science.time.com/2012/08/06/why-the-drought-wont-be-getting-better-any-time-soon-and-why-this-one-wont-be-the-last/ 06 Aug 2012 10:60 EDT Time - Ecocentric http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2012/08/05/641501/july-heat-records-crush-cold-records-historic-heat-wave-and-drought-fuels-oklahoma-fires/ July saw 3,135 new daily high temperature records in the U.S. -- over 100 per day. That overwhelmed new cold records by a factor of nearly 17 to 1. For the year to date, new heat records are beating cold records by a remarkable 12 to 1, which trumps the pace of the last decade by more than a factor of 5! http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2012/08/05/641501/july-heat-records-crush-cold-records-historic-heat-wave-and-drought-fuels-oklahoma-fires/ 06 Aug 2012 10:50 EDT ThinkProgress >> Green http://wwwp.dailyclimate.org/tdc-newsroom/2012/08/weather-extremes NASA scientist James Hansen's latest research shows the time for debate about the reality of human-caused climate change has now passed. We can have a good faith debate about how to deal with the problem -- how to reduce future climate change and adapt to what is already upon us to reduce the risks that climate change poses to society. But we can no longer simply bury our heads in the sand. http://wwwp.dailyclimate.org/tdc-newsroom/2012/08/weather-extremes 06 Aug 2012 10:40 EDT Daily Climate http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2012/08/06/643891/study-climate-change-will-reduce-milk-production-from-us-dairy-cows/ A new study conducted by researchers at the University of Washington concludes that milk production in dairy cows could fall dramatically in some areas of the U.S. due to climate change. http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2012/08/06/643891/study-climate-change-will-reduce-milk-production-from-us-dairy-cows/ 06 Aug 2012 10:30 EDT http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2012/08/06/644231/iea-bombshell-global-warming-miami-beach-in-boston-unless-urgent-action-is-taken/ The International Energy Agency was, until recently, a conservative and staid body. Attention must be paid when a major international body is so uncharacteristically blunt, when they actually lead their website with this bombshell headline from their own news release! http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2012/08/06/644231/iea-bombshell-global-warming-miami-beach-in-boston-unless-urgent-action-is-taken/ 06 Aug 2012 10:20 EDT ThinkProgress >> Green http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/08/05/us-climate-acidification-idUSBRE8740SB20120805 Ocean acidification caused by climate change is making it harder for creatures from clams to sea urchins to grow their shells, and the trend is likely to be felt most in polar regions, scientists said on Monday. http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/08/05/us-climate-acidification-idUSBRE8740SB20120805 06 Aug 2012 00:10 EDT Reuters: Green Business News http://sustainablearlington.org/sa15/sa-blog/climate-change-news _ Sunday News Below _ http://sustainablearlington.org/sa15/sa-blog/global-warming-news?start=770 05 Aug 2012 20:00 EDT Sustainable Arlington http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2012/08/04/640391/must-read-hansen-climate-change-is-here-and-worse-than-we-thought/ The nation's best-known and most prescient climatologist, NASA's James Hansen, has a must-read op-ed in the Washington Post. http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2012/08/04/640391/must-read-hansen-climate-change-is-here-and-worse-than-we-thought/ 05 Aug 2012 10:70 EDT ThinkProgress >> Green http://www.bna.com/obama-administration-official-n12884910994/ An international agreement on climate change has to be flexible and able to evolve to be successful, said Todd Stern, the State Department's climate envoy. Such an agreement may not guarantee meeting the 2 degree goal, but insisting on an agreement that would guarantee such a limit will only lead to deadlock. http://www.bna.com/obama-administration-official-n12884910994/ 05 Aug 2012 10:60 EDT Daily Climate http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2012/08/05/627771/why-drought-stricken-farmers-will-pay-the-price-for-a-failed-climate-bill/ Climate change affects agriculture more directly and profoundly than most other economic sectors. The Washington Post's Brad Plumer has pointed out that while it's hard to pinpoint climate change by itself as the cause of any particular drought, it's certainly a big factor in how severe it gets. Meanwhile the danger from climate change-fueled droughts will only increase as America dithers about and polluting special interests continually block solutions. http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2012/08/05/627771/why-drought-stricken-farmers-will-pay-the-price-for-a-failed-climate-bill/ 05 Aug 2012 10:50 EDT ThinkProgress >> Green http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2012/08/01/579101/jurassic-park-romneys-bush-era-energy-team-is-dominated-by-fossil-fuel-insiders-and-its-lobbyists/ Romney's energy team relies on the expertise of lobbyists, coal and oil industry insiders, several of whom crafted the polluter agenda of the George W. Bush administration, a trend Politico described as, "Bush-era energy policy wonks ... finding a new home with Mitt Romney." http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2012/08/01/579101/jurassic-park-romneys-bush-era-energy-team-is-dominated-by-fossil-fuel-insiders-and-its-lobbyists/ 05 Aug 2012 00:40 EDT ThinkProgress >> Green http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=facebook-leadership-reduces-internet-growing-physical-impact Computer design and server farm location could dramatically reduce the energy required to run Facebook and the rest of the Internet, reducing greenhouse gases, too. http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=facebook-leadership-reduces-internet-growing-physical-impact 05 Aug 2012 00:30 EDT Daily Climate http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2012/08/04/634901/arctic-death-spiral-continues-new-record-low-sea-ice-volume-appears-likely/ It's pretty safe to say that we're going to have a new record volume low, although the difference with 2010 and 2011 has become smaller. http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2012/08/04/634901/arctic-death-spiral-continues-new-record-low-sea-ice-volume-appears-likely/ 05 Aug 2012 00:20 EDT ThinkProgress >> Green http://geology.gsapubs.org/content/40/8/743.abstract The d44/40Ca of carbonate rocks from southern China exhibits a negative excursion across the End-Permian extinction horizon (ca. 252 million years ago). Such a shift is best accounted for by an episode of ocean acidification, pointing toward strong similarities between the greatest catastrophe in the history of animal life and anticipated global change during the twenty-first century. http://geology.gsapubs.org/content/40/8/743.abstract 05 Aug 2012 00:10 EDT Skeptical Science http://sustainablearlington.org/sa15/sa-blog/climate-change-news _ Saturday News Below _ http://sustainablearlington.org/sa15/sa-blog/global-warming-news?start=769 04 Aug 2012 20:00 EDT Sustainable Arlington http://www.ucsusa.org/clean_energy/our-energy-choices/energy-and-water-use/infographic-energy-water-collision.html As much as 41% of all water used in the United States goes to power plants to produce electricity, making them the single largest water consumer in the nation. - Energy and Water Demands Clash During Hot, Dry Summers http://www.ucsusa.org/clean_energy/our-energy-choices/energy-and-water-use/infographic-energy-water-collision.html 04 Aug 2012 10:60 EDT ThinkProgress >> Green http://www.columbia.edu/~jeh1/mailings/2012/20120803_DicePopSci.pdf The greatest barrier to public recognition of human-made climate change is probably the natural variability of local climate. How can a person discern long-term climate change, given the notorious variability of local weather and climate from day to day and year to year? http://www.columbia.edu/~jeh1/mailings/2012/20120803_DicePopSci.pdf 04 Aug 2012 10:50 EDT Dr. James E. Hansen's Email List http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2012/08/03/629191/on-climate-change-nothing-ventured-nothing-gained/ The bottom line is this: We should not accept political paralysis on a problem as devastating and irreversible as global climate change, and we should not allow national candidates to ignore the issue during the 2012 campaign. If we expect nothing from our leaders, that is exactly what we'll get. http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2012/08/03/629191/on-climate-change-nothing-ventured-nothing-gained/ 04 Aug 2012 10:40 EDT ThinkProgress >> Green http://www.sierraclub.org/pressroom/downloads/SierraClub-CleanEnergyUnderSiege.pdf Thursday the Sierra club issued a report detailing the flow of money from fossil fuel interests to organizations and individuals engaging in the campaign to take down renewable energy. http://www.sierraclub.org/pressroom/downloads/SierraClub-CleanEnergyUnderSiege.pdf 04 Aug 2012 10:30 EDT ThinkProgress >> Green http://green.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/08/02/big-drought-makes-for-a-small-dead-zone/ Because of a lack of rain in the Midwest, far less fertilizer was flushed into rivers and far less nitrates reached the Gulf of Mexico, slowing the process that depletes oxygen there. http://green.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/08/02/big-drought-makes-for-a-small-dead-zone/ 04 Aug 2012 10:20 EDT NYT > Green Blog http://www.eenews.net/public/climatewire/2012/08/03/1 India is in the midst of its second drought in four years, with rainfall roughly 20 percent below average nationwide. In the nation's agricultural areas of the west and north -- the states of Rajasthan, Gujarat, Haryana and Maharashtra, for example -- the situation is far worse. In Punjab -- India's "food basket" -- rainfall is 70 percent below average. http://www.eenews.net/public/climatewire/2012/08/03/1 04 Aug 2012 10:10 EDT ClimateWire - The Politics and Business of Climate Change http://sustainablearlington.org/sa15/sa-blog/climate-change-news _ Friday News Below _ http://sustainablearlington.org/sa15/sa-blog/global-warming-news?start=768 03 Aug 2012 20:00 EDT Sustainable Arlington http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2012/08/03/627131/more-than-50-percent-of-us-counties-declared-disasters-mostly-due-to-drought/ The drought and heat gripping much of the United States this summer continue to worsen. According to Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, 50.3 percent of all counties in the U.S. -- 1,584 across 32 states -- are now under disaster designations, with 90 percent due to drought. http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2012/08/03/627131/more-than-50-percent-of-us-counties-declared-disasters-mostly-due-to-drought/ 03 Aug 2012 10:50 EDT ThinkProgress >> Green http://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/03/business/wind-industry-wins-senate-panels-support-for-a-tax-break.html The Senate Finance Committee voted to renew a tax credit for wind power that is set to expire at the end of this year, with several Republicans joining Democrats to support extending the credit for one more year at a cost of $3.3 billion. http://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/03/business/wind-industry-wins-senate-panels-support-for-a-tax-break.html 03 Aug 2012 10:40 EDT Daily Climate http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2012/08/03/634971/groups-lash-out-at-us-ex-im-bank-financing-coal-in-great-barrier-reef-would-make-a-mockery-of-the-bank/ Two separate environmental coalitions are criticizing the Obama Administration for its intent to support coal and natural gas export terminals near the Great Barrier Reef in Australia. http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2012/08/03/634971/groups-lash-out-at-us-ex-im-bank-financing-coal-in-great-barrier-reef-would-make-a-mockery-of-the-bank/ 03 Aug 2012 10:30 EDT ThinkProgress >> Green http://www.greencarcongress.com/2012/08/caduffrepost.html In a study that could solidify the trend toward construction of gigantic windmills, researchers from Switzerland and the Netherlands have concluded that the larger the wind turbine, the greener the electricity it produces. Their report appears in ACS' journal Environmental Science & Technology. http://www.greencarcongress.com/2012/08/caduffrepost.html 03 Aug 2012 00:20 EDT Green Car Congress http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/08/120802141523.htm Despite the current and rapid melting of the Greenland Ice Sheet, it remains far from certain just when we will have reached a point when scientists will be able to predict its disappearance. http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/08/120802141523.htm 03 Aug 2012 00:10 EDT ScienceDaily: Global Warming News http://sustainablearlington.org/sa15/sa-blog/climate-change-news _ Thursday News Below _ http://sustainablearlington.org/sa15/sa-blog/global-warming-news?start=767 02 Aug 2012 20:00 EDT Sustainable Arlington http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/08/02/us-emissions-idUSBRE8710CB20120802 Carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from energy use in the first quarter of this year fell to their lowest level in the U.S. in 20 years, as demand shifted to natural gas-fired generation from coal-fired electricity due to record low gas prices, the energy department said. http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/08/02/us-emissions-idUSBRE8710CB20120802 02 Aug 2012 10:70 EDT Reuters: Green Business News http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2012/08/02/627381/iea-global-wind-generation-set-to-grow-40-percent-by-2017/ Wind power will be the second biggest contributor to global renewable electricity generation by 2017, according to a ground-breaking report by the International Energy Agency (IEA). http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2012/08/02/627381/iea-global-wind-generation-set-to-grow-40-percent-by-2017/ 02 Aug 2012 10:60 EDT ThinkProgress >> Green http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2012/08/02/628371/fracademia-conflicts-of-interest-taint-important-research-on-fracking/ As the U.S. enjoys a natural-gas boom from a process called hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, producers are taking a page from the tobacco industry playbook: funding research at established universities that arrives at conclusions that counter concerns raised by critics. http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2012/08/02/628371/fracademia-conflicts-of-interest-taint-important-research-on-fracking/ 02 Aug 2012 10:50 EDT ThinkProgress >> Green http://www.ucsusa.org/news/press_release/house-drought-aid-harms-farmers-0381.html According to UCS, Congress must act to help farmers -- especially those without crop insurance -- but sacrificing conservation is not the way to fund the House drought assistance bill. http://www.ucsusa.org/news/press_release/house-drought-aid-harms-farmers-0381.html 02 Aug 2012 10:40 EDT Union of Concerned Scientists http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2012/08/02/628631/the-wall-street-journal-dismissing-environmental-threats-since-1976/ To forestall policy on climate change, the Wall Street Journal editorial board routinely downplays scientific consensus, overstates the cost of taking action, and claims that politics, not science, motivate those concerned about the climate. But an analysis of more than 100 editorials from 1976 to present shows that the Wall Street Journal used these same rhetorical tactics in previous decades on acid rain and ozone depletion and they did not stand the test of time. http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2012/08/02/628631/the-wall-street-journal-dismissing-environmental-threats-since-1976/ 02 Aug 2012 10:30 EDT ThinkProgress >> Green http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2012/08/01/625111/poll-77-percent-of-latinos-understand-global-climate-change-is-already-happening/ Wednesday, the Sierra Club in conjunction with NCLR (National Council of La Raza) released an extensive poll conducted by Project New America and Myers Research. The results of the survey show that Latinos believe in global climate change and want government regulations to protect their air and water -- a combined 92% understand that global warming is either already happening or it will happen in the future. http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2012/08/01/625111/poll-77-percent-of-latinos-understand-global-climate-change-is-already-happening/ 02 Aug 2012 10:20 EDT ThinkProgress >> Green http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/08/120801132432.htm Despite sharp increases in carbon dioxide emissions by humans in recent decades that are warming the planet, Earth's vegetation and oceans continue to soak up about half of them, according to a surprising new study. http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/08/120801132432.htm 02 Aug 2012 10:10 EDT ScienceDaily: Global Warming News http://sustainablearlington.org/sa15/sa-blog/climate-change-news _ Wednesday News Below _ http://sustainablearlington.org/sa15/sa-blog/global-warming-news?start=766 01 Aug 2012 20:00 EDT Sustainable Arlington http://www.usatoday.com/weather/climate/globalwarming/story/2012-07-31/heavy-rain-climate-change-global-warming-environment-america/56621946/1 A new report released by Environment America Research & Policy Center analyzed more than 80 million daily precipitation records across the United States from 1948 through 2011. The analysis reveals that climate change is now affecting the large rain or snowstorms. http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2012/07/31/616441/when-it-rains-it-pours-new-study-finds-extreme-snowstorms-and-deluges-are-becoming-more-frequent-and-more-severe/ 01 Aug 2012 10:70 EDT ThinkProgress >> Green http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0712/79239.html#ixzz22HzEao6H The planet may be getting hotter, but Washington's debate on climate change isn't heating up. Amid a summer marked by droughts, wildfires, record temperatures and freak storms, Congress is squeezing in just one hearing on the changing climate before it dashes out for a hot August recess. "I'm very disappointed that the president after the Rolling Stone interview has done nothing to inject climate change into the presidential campaign," said Clinton-era Energy Department official Joe Romm, who blogs for the liberal-leaning Center for American Progress. "It's a chicken-and-egg thing," Romm told POLITICO. "Obviously, if the political leadership of the country doesn't talk about the problem, ... the public isn't going to care a lot about the problem. Because Obama has not talked about it in two years nor has anyone in the senior leadership of the Democratic Party." http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0712/79239.html#ixzz22HzEao6H 01 Aug 2012 10:60 EDT ThinkProgress >> Green http://www.eenews.net/public/EEDaily/2012/07/31/1 Mitt Romney's presidential campaign came out yesterday with its strongest opposition to date on extending a key wind industry tax credit, saying the presumptive Republican nominee will allow it "to expire" and tying the issue to broader opposition to President Obama's support for renewable energy. http://www.eenews.net/public/EEDaily/2012/07/31/1 01 Aug 2012 10:50 EDT E&E Publishing, LLC, Public index page http://e360.yale.edu/digest/us_meat_producers_call_for__pause_in_ethanol_quotas_in_wake_of_drought/3569/ U.S. meat, poultry, and dairy producers are urging the Obama administration to suspend a quota for corn-based ethanol production, warning that the renewable fuels standard could trigger a food crisis as a prolonged drought pushes corn and soybean prices to record levels. In a letter sent to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, a coalition that includes the National Cattlemen's Beef Association and the National Pork Producers Council asked for a one-year waiver on federal ethanol quotas, saying that the ongoing drought in the U.S. Midwest has slashed the amount of corn available to feed livestock and poultry http://e360.yale.edu/digest/us_meat_producers_call_for__pause_in_ethanol_quotas_in_wake_of_drought/3569/ 01 Aug 2012 10:40 EDT Yale Environment 360 http://www.ucsusa.org/news/press_release/new-findings-on-california-0380.html Reports released by the California Natural Resources Agency and the California Energy Commission reinforce the need for science-based action to adapt to changes already taking place in California: substantially higher temperatures, more extreme wildfires, and rising sea levels. http://www.ucsusa.org/news/press_release/new-findings-on-california-0380.html 01 Aug 2012 10:30 EDT Union of Concerned Scientists http://www.eenews.net/public/climatewire/2012/07/31/1 Solar energy is surging in California, as lower prices power an expansion expected to last at least eight years. Sun-generated electricity by 2020 is projected to make up an average 11 percent of all power sold by Golden State-based utilities Pacific Gas and Electric Co., Southern California Edison Co. and San Diego Gas Electric Co. http://www.eenews.net/public/climatewire/2012/07/31/1 01 Aug 2012 10:20 EDT E&E Publishing, LLC, Public index page http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/08/120801132430.htm Earth's oceans, forests and other ecosystems continue to soak up about half the carbon dioxide emitted into the atmosphere by human activities, even as those emissions have increased, according to a new study. The scientists analyzed 50 years of global carbon dioxide measurements and found that the processes by which the planet's oceans and ecosystems absorb the greenhouse gas are not yet at capacity. http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/08/120801132430.htm 01 Aug 2012 10:10 EDT ScienceDaily: Global Warming News