Climate News and Resources

From the AP, courtesy of The Washington Post

By Steven Mufson, courtesy of The Washington Post

By Larry Rohter, courtesy of the New York Times

Alarmed at recent indications of climate change here in the Amazon and in other regions of Brazil, the government of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has begun showing signs of new flexibility in the tangled, politically volatile international negotiations to limit human-caused global warming.

By Ingfei Chen, courtesy of the New York Times

In Monterey Bay, a creature with 10 arms, a sharp beak and a ravenous appetite is behaving like an uninvited house guest who will not go away. And it is raiding the refrigerator.

By Edmund L. Andrews and Matthew L. Wald of the New York Times
A provision buried in a recent Senate bill could make new nuclear plants eligible for tens of billions of dollars in government loan guarantees.

By Reuters, courtesy of the Washington Post

By Aaron Clark of the AP, courtesy of the Washington Post

By Yuri Kageyama of the AP, courtesy of The Washington Post

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By Reuters, courtesy of the New York Times
MOSCOW (Reuters) - Two Russian deep-sea submersibles made a test dive in polar waters on Sunday ahead of a mission to be the first to reach the seabed under the North Pole, Itar-Tass news agency said.

Four writers report on how the environment is faring in their parts of the globe. Here are their dispatches.
Courtesy of The New York Times

By Del Quentin Wilber, courtesy of the Washington Post
Airlines and airplane makers have largely slipped under the radar in the debate over global warming.

By Terence Chea of the AP, courtesy of The Washington Post

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Large chunks of ice, one of them reportedly about 50 pounds, fell from the sky in this northeast Iowa city, smashing through a woman's roof and tearing through nearby trees.

By the AP, courtesy of The New York Times

By the AP, courtesy of the New York Times

California air quality regulators on Thursday adopted the nation's toughest emission standards for off-highway diesel vehicles like bulldozers, airport baggage trucks and ski resort snowcats.

By Felicity Barringer, courtesy of the New York Times

For the Navajo nation, energy is the most valuable currency. The tribal lands are rich with uranium, natural gas, wind, sun and, most of all, coal.

From Reuters, courtesy of The New York Times

The Bush administration's environment chief drew fire on Thursday from Democratic senators for delaying a decision on whether to let California regulate global warming emissions from cars and light trucks.

By Matthew Daly of the AP, courtesy of The Washington Post

From the AP, courtesy of the Washington Post

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Crafting a regional response to climate change will top the agenda at a summit of Asia-Pacifc leaders in September, but they are unlikely to come up with a one-size-fits-all solution, an official said Wednesday.

By the AP, courtesy of The New York Times

Graduates of the class of 2007 are finding that being environmentally friendly is a growth industry.
By Anna Kuchment of Newsweek, courtesy of MSNBC

It blocks them from absorbing carbon dioxide, researchers say.
By Andrea Thompson of teh AP, courtesy of MSNBC

An Editorial courtesy of the Washington Post

Higher fuel economy standards may be doomed without Nancy Pelosi's support.

THERE IS a pitched battle underway in the House of Representatives over whether to introduce an amendment to increase the corporate average fuel economy (CAFE) standard in the energy package due to hit the floor before Congress takes off for its August recess.

By Maya MacGuineas and Adam Carasso, courtesy of The Washington Post

By Chang-Ran Kim, courtesy of the Washington Post

By Claudia H. Deutsch, courtesy of the New York Times

By Reuters, courtesy of The New York Times

GDP could fall by 1.6 percent by 2030, it says in report to senators
From Reuters, courtesy of MSNBC

From The Associated Press, courtesy of The Washington Post

By Kirsty Wigglesworth of the The AP, courtesy of the Washington Post.

Idea is part of program to have 2 million new homes by 2016.

From the AP, courtesy of MSNBC

First time 'human fingerprint' on precipitation detected, authors report.

From Reuters, courtesy of MSNBC

By Douwe Miedema of Reuters, courtesy of The Washington Post

By John Flesher of the AP, courtesy of The Washington Post

By Erik Kirschbaum of Reuters, courtesy of The Washington Post

From the AP, courtesy of the NY Times
Muddy slopes, slushy peaks, unused lifts — one town in the French Alps is living out the nightmare of many a ski resort in a century scientists say is doomed to keep becoming warmer.

By Mac Margolis of Newsweek International, courtesy of MSNBC
The world's treasures are under siege as never before. So get out and see as many as possible—before they disappear.

By Ken Thomas, courtesy of the Washington Post
If motorists used rechargeable "plug-in" hybrid-electric vehicles in large numbers, the U.S. could see a significant drop in greenhouse gas emissions by the middle of the century, says a study released Thursday.

We've also included an Environmental Assessment of Plug-In Hybrid Electric Vehicles obtained from the Electric Power Research Institute.

By David Ivanovich, courtesy of the Houston Chronicle.
WASHINGTON — Warning that the world faces "hard truths about the global
energy future," a government advisory group this week is expected to
urge policymakers to adopt a multipronged strategy to boost energy
supplies and reduce demand.

By Edmund L. Andrews, courtesy of the NY times
Democrats planning a hefty increase in auto fuel economy face opposition from one of their own in John D. Dingell.

By David A. Fahrenthold courtesy of the Washington Post

Evidence strong even if 100 percent certainty isn't possible, they say.
By Andrea Thompson, courtesy of MSNBC

Warming experts expect more of the same at lower elevation resorts.
From the AP, courtesy of MSNBC

By Steven Mufson, courtesy of the NY Times

Firm's Emission Plans Have Critics Aplenty

A small California company is planning to mix up to 80 tons of iron particles into the Pacific Ocean 350 miles west of the Galapagos islands to see whether it can make a splash in the markets where people seek to offset their greenhouse gas emissions.

By Martin Fackler, courtesy of the NY Times

KASHIWAZAKI, Japan, July 18 — The Japanese operator of a nuclear power plant stricken by an earthquake earlier this week said Wednesday that damage was worse than previously reported and that a leak of water was 50 percent more radioactive than initially announced.

From Reuters, courtesy of the NY Times

The world's richest corporations and finest minds spend billions trying to solve the problem of carbon emissions, but three fishing buddies in North Wales believe they have cracked it.

By Jad Mouawad, courtesy of the NY Times

WASHINGTON, July 18 — It started with a simple question by Samuel W. Bodman, the energy secretary: What does the future hold for supplies of oil and natural gas?

By Paul Burkhardt of the AP, courtesy of the Washington Post

Study ties scenario to global warming; recent unusual storms cited.
From Reuters, courtesy of MSNBC

Scientists report that wetlands provide less water due to evaporation
Courtesy of MSNBC

From the AP, courtesy of the NY Times

From the AP, courtesy of the NY Times
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Chief executives of many of the country's largest corporations joined the growing chorus Tuesday calling for action to reduce the risks of global warming.

With the Senate already having voted on an energy bill and the House expected to take up energy legislation this month, the next course of action expected after the August recess will be a debate on emissions reduction legislation. Will Congress favor a cap-and-trade approach or a carbon tax? Are there enough votes in the House and Senate to pass a climate bill? During today's OnPoint, Eileen Claussen, president of the Pew Center on Global Climate Change, discusses Sens. Jeff Bingaman (D-N.M.) and Arlen Specter's (R-Pa.) recently introduced climate bill. She explains why she believes the safety valve option is not the best approach and compares cap-and-trade to a carbon tax. (Video Link)

From the AP, courtesy of the NY Times.
ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) -- After negotiations continued beyond what supporters said was a federal deadline of midnight, Gov. Eliot Spitzer and New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg on Tuesday had a new tentative proposal for a Manhattan traffic congestion plan to pitch to the state Legislature, a spokeswoman for Spitzer said.

By Felicity Barringer, courtesy of the NY Times
Gov. Charlie Crist of Florida has drafted a series of executive orders to slow climate change and cut the state’s emission of heat-trapping gases by more than 25 percent, to 1990 levels, over the next 18 years.

By Edith M. Lederer of the Associated Press, courtesy of the Washington Post

By David A. Fahrenthold, courtesy of the Washington Post

By Steven Mufson courtesy of the Washington Post

By James Kanter, courtesy of the NY Times

By Juliet Eilperin, courtesy of the Washington Post

By Claudia Parsons of Reuters, courtesy of the Washington Post

By Steven Mufson, courtesy of the Washington Post.

An article from the Washington Post containing excellent and clear graphics on the size of the carbon problem, how much has to be reduced, how the reduction should be distributed among nations, and the costs to consumers.

By Darren Samuelsohn, E&E Daily senior reporter
Sens. Jeff Bingaman (D-N.M.) and Arlen Specter (R-Pa.) are expected to officially join the fight over global warming today with a bill that would cap heat-trapping emissions across the U.S. economy.

While details of the "Low Carbon Economy Act of 2007" remained under wraps at press time yesterday, sources off Capitol Hill said they expect the legislation to propose launching the new standards in 2012 as the Kyoto Protocol winds down for the European Union, Japan, Russia and several other major sources of greenhouse gases.

By 2020, sources said the Bingaman-Specter bill would call for U.S. emissions to fall to 2006 levels. By 2030, emissions would need to reach 1990 levels, with a long-term "aspirational" goal to cut emissions by about 60 percent from 1990 levels by midcentury.

That goal, while voluntary, comes close to what many scientists suggest is necessary to avert some of the most catastrophic effects from climate change.

Bill Wicker, a Bingaman spokesman, declined comment on the legislation until today's noon press conference with Specter, other cosponsors, a dozen industry CEOs, labor leaders and conservationists. Bingaman, the chairman of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, also intends to speak about the bill on the floor this morning.

The Bingaman-Specter bill is expected to win support from leading industry and labor voices, including Michael Morris, the CEO of American Electric Power Corp., one of the nation's largest coal-fired electric utilities, and Jeff Sterba, CEO of PNM Resources and the current chairman of the Edison Electric Institute.

Officials from the 9-million member AFL-CIO, as well as the International Brotherhood of Electric Workers and the United Mine Workers of America, are also expected to sign off on the bill because it includes a provision that would impose trade penalties against China and India if either country does not take similar steps.

Major environmental groups said yesterday they would welcome Bingaman's decision to set tougher pollution limits compared with earlier drafts, but they also will hold back any endorsements because they see the requirements as insufficient.

"I've not heard anything to suggest this bill is achieving what the NWF has asked for," said Jeremy Symons, executive director of the National Wildlife Federation's climate program.

Symons said he did not support the bill's expected "safety valve" provision, which would set a limit of $12 per ton of carbon dioxide in the first year for how much industry must pay for reducing their pollution. The price ceiling, Symons said, would crimp the overall integrity of the emerging U.S. carbon market and halt innovation in new energy technologies.

Environmentalists said they welcomed Bingaman's effort to craft the legislation in a way that sends it to the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee. Off the Hill, conservation groups have suggested in recent weeks that Bingaman would try to write his bill in such a way that the Senate parliamentarian would refer it to the Energy and Natural Resources Committee.

Wicker insisted the bill will go to the EPW Committee. "That never really originated from this office," he said.

Bingaman's approach to the climate debate has long been aimed at limiting the new program's effects on the U.S. economy, while also maintaining domestic competitiveness with fast-emerging economies in Asia. Pushing a bill with that approach, Bingaman has tried to win support from senators who previously would not sign up for global warming legislation.

In 2005, Bingaman lobbied Sen. Pete Domenici (R-N.M.), then the chairman of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, to sign up as a cosponsor. Domenici considered the measure but ultimately backed down under pressure from the Bush administration.

Since then, Bingaman has teamed with Specter, the former chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee. Wicker said at least two other senators, including a Republican, also will sign on today as cosponsors.

One member who won't be on board is Sen. George Voinovich (R-Ohio). In an interview last month, Voinovich said Bingaman approached him about cosponsoring the bill but he turned it down. "I haven't and I don't think I will," Voinovich said. "The point is, and what everyone has to understand, is I'm from Ohio. I'm a manufacturing state."

By Steven Mufson of the Washington Post
Florida Gov. Charlie Crist said yesterday that he is set to sign executive orders tomorrow matching California's standards for greenhouse gas emissions from automobiles, adding the nation's fourth-most-populous state to the roster of those embracing aggressive new limits on vehicle emissions.

John Edwards is the winner of MoveOn.org's second virtual town hall, focusing on climate issues. The former North Carolina senator earned 33 percent of votes, followed by Hillary Clinton and Dennis Kucinich with 15.7 percent each. The liberal group held its first virtual town hall back in April, focusing on Iraq (Sen. Barack Obama was the winner). It will hold a similar event related to health care in August or early Fall.

Watch one of Edwards' award-winning answers here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nulc0WwPiXo

By Edmund L. Andrews of the NY Times
Representative John D. Dingell, Democrat of Michigan, plans to propose raising the cost of burning oil, gas and coal, in a move that could shake up the debate on global warming.

By Ken Livingstone; courtesy of the NY Times
Success in London suggests that properly executed congestion pricing works, and works well.

By Al Gore; courtesy of the NY Times
America should join an international treaty that cuts global warming pollution by 90 percent in developed countries and by more than half worldwide.

An editorial By Nicholas D. Kristof of the NY Times
Subsistence villagers in Africa will pay with their lives for our refusal to curb greenhouse gas emissions.

Respiratory infections constitute the most widespread human infectious disease, and a substantial proportion of them are caused by unknown etiological agents. Reoviruses (respiratory enteric orphan viruses) were first isolated from humans in the early 1950s and so named because they were not associated with any known disease.