Climate News and Resources

Executive Summary
Global warming poses a profound threat to America’s future. Science suggests that, to avoid the most dangerous impacts of global warming, America and the world must take immediate action to reduce emissions of global warming pollutants. In the United States, that means halting the growth in global warming emissions now, reducing emissions by at least 15 to 20 percent by 2020, and achieving reductions of at least 80 percent by mid-century.

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People want their leaders to move boldly to help the environment but give them dismal grades for their actions so far, according to a poll released Wednesday that highlighted rampant pessimism on the issue.

From the AP, courtesy of The New York Times

Arnie" and "Al," Republican and Democrat, shared the world spotlight to press for climate action, adding a touch of star quality to the staid proceedings of a U.N. summit.

By Charles J. Hanley of the AP, courtesy of The Washington Post

By Juliet Eilperin, courtesy of The Washington Post

Moving inexorably to the inevitable.

An Editorial courtesy of The Washington Post

By Ylan Q. Mui, courtesy of The Washington Post

Corporations have become better about disclosing their greenhouse gas emissions and somewhat better about curbing them. But few investors are using that information to decide where to put their money.

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

By Jeff Mason of Reuters, courtesy of The Washington Post

By Colum Lynch, courtesy of The Washington Post

By Seth Borenstein of the AP, courtesy of The Washington Post

Dozens of world leaders are to gather at the United Nations on Monday for a full agenda of talks on how to fight global warming, and President Bush is skipping all the day’s events but the dinner.

By Steven Lee Meyers, courtesy of The New York Times

Australia's prime minister, facing a tough re-election fight and under pressure over his climate credentials, has pledged new "clean energy" targets in a move environment groups said would not sway green-leaning voters.

From Reuters, courtesy of The New York Times

U.N. Secretary - General Ban Ki-moon and California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger had the same message on Monday at a special session on climate change, urging quick action to stem emissions that heat the planet.

Fron Reuters, courtesy of The New York Times

By Gerard Wynn of Reuters, courtesy of The Washington Post

French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner met Friday with Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice amid U.S. expressions of satisfaction that his government is taking a harder line on Iran's nuclear program.

From the AP, courtesy of The New York Times

The cap of floating sea ice on the Arctic Ocean, which retreats under summer’s warmth, this year shrank more than one million square miles — or six Californias — below the average minimum area reached in recent decades, scientists reported Thursday.

By Andrew C. Revkin, courtesy of The New York Times

An ancient British bog that pumped out high amounts of greenhouse gases during a period of global warming 55 million years ago may offer clues about future climate change, researchers said on Wednesday.

From Reuters, courtesy of MSNBC

By Kirstin Downey, courtesy of The Washington Post

By Terence Chea, courtesy of The Washington Post

From Reuters, courtesy of The Washington Post

From the AP, courtesy of The Washington Post

A letter to The New York Times Editor by Jon Hinck
Portland, Me., Sept. 13, 2007

Backed by the White House, corn-state governors and solid blocks on both sides of Congress’s partisan divide, the politics of biofuels could hardly look sunnier. The economics of the American drive to increase ethanol in the energy supply are more discouraging.

A New York Times Editorial

A federal judge in Vermont gave the first legal endorsement yesterday to rules in California, being copied in 13 other states, that intend to reduce greenhouse gases emitted by automobiles and light trucks.

By Felicity Barringer, courtesy of The New York Times

The prospect of a comprehensive energy package’s emerging from Congress this fall is rapidly receding, held up by technical hurdles and policy disputes between the House and the Senate and within the parties.

By John M. Broder, courtesy of The New York Times.

Released Date: September 2007

A report released this week by the DOE's Energy Information Administration (EIA) projecting the economic impacts of a 25-percent renewable energy future shows that increased reliance on renewable energy will provide important benefits to the nation at low cost to consumers. The 86-page EIA report, which was requested earlier this year by Sen. James Inhofe (R-OK), says moving to the 25 percent renewable energy level would cut U.S. carbon dioxide emissions in 2030 by 14 percent over 2005 levels, including a 22-percent drop in emissions from the electricity sector and a 14-percent decrease in the transportation sector. In return for those benefits, the report says, only minor increases in electricity and gas prices can be expected under a 25-percent renewable energy scenario. The report projects a drop of only one-eighth of one percent in GDP, while consumer expenditures would rise only by one-tenth of one percent.

Commenting on the report 25x'25 Project Coordinator Ernie Shea said the EIA study produced "better than expected results, including major reductions in U.S. oil dependence and carbon dioxide emissions." Shea also noted that the EIA analysis assumes only modest advances will incur in renewable energy technology going forward. "We believe this is a flawed assumption, as massive investments in research and development are rapidly improving the economic viability and availability of renewable energy resources across the country. When these technological improvements are realized, the economic benefits of renewable energy will be multiplied many times over."

Also, he says, the report does not quantify major economic benefits gained by reductions in dependence on foreign oil and increases in economic activity. A study by the University of Tennessee shows that a 25x'25 renewable energy scenario would boost annual economic activity in the United States by $700 billion, with much of that occurring in rural areas. Net farm income would grow by $180 billion, including $37 billion in 2025 alone. And more than 5 million new jobs would be created.

The EIA Executive Summary and full report can be accessed at the following link: http://www.eia.doe.gov/oiaf/servicerpt/eeim/index.html

By Steven Mufson, courtesy of The Washington Post

By Dmitry Solovyov of Reuters, courtesy of The Washington Post

In 1985, scientists studying the air over Antarctica stumbled on a gaping breach in the billion-year-old atmospheric radiation shield that makes Earth’s surface habitable.

By Andrew C. Revkin, courtesy of The New York Times

Harvard has agreed to limit greenhouse gas emissions from the university’s proposed four-building science center in the Allston section of Boston, the state’s environmental officials announced yesterday.

By Felicity Barringer, courtesy of The New York Times

The science is clear and the time short, but the political will is lacking to confront global warming, the U.N. secretary-general said Tuesday.

From The AP, courtesy of The New York Times

The annual gathering of the global reinsurance industry in Monaco is an arcane, 50-year-old ritual of lavish parties and secret tete-a-tetes where the industry negotiates renewal contracts for the coming year.

From Reuters, courtesy of The New York Times

Attorney General Andrew M. Cuomo of New York has opened an investigation of five large energy companies, questioning whether their plans to build coal-fired power plants pose undisclosed financial risks that their investors should know about.

By Felicity Barringer and Danny Hakim, courtesy of The New York Times

Sergei Zimov bends down, picks up a handful of treacly mud and holds it up to his nose. It smells like a cow pat, but he knows better.

"It smells like mammoth dung," he says.

From Reuters, courtesy of The New York Times

This summer the cardinals at the Vatican accepted an unusual donation from a Hungarian start-up called Klimafa: The company said it would plant trees to restore an ancient forest on a denuded stretch of land by the Tisza River to offset the Vatican’s carbon emissions.

By Elisabeth Rosenthal, courtesy of The New York Times

The CO2 from fossil fuels lingers in the atmosphere, so global warming can't be undone. But catastrophe can still be averted.

By Bill McKibben, courtesy of National Geographic

By Bradley S. Klapper of the AP, courtesy of The Washington Post

By Alejandro Lazo, courtesy of The Washington Post

By David A. Fahrenthold, courtesy of The Washington Post

David A. Fahrenthold, courtesy of The Washington Post

Courtesy of MSNBC.com

Courtesy of the New York Times

Courtesy of the Washington Post

Courtesy of the New York Times

Courtesy of the New York Times

Courtesy of the New York Times

Courtesy of the Washington Post

Courtesy of the Washington Post

Courtesy of the Washington Post

Courtesy of the Washington Post

Courtesy of MSNBC.com

Courtesy of the New York Times

Courtesy of the Washington Post

Courtesy of the Washington Post

By Juliet Eilperin, courtesy of The Washington Post

Courtesy of The Washington Post

By Sybille de La Hamaide of Reuters, courtesy of The Washington Post

Expert ties sharp decline in breeding pairs to warming temperatures.

By Daniel Grossman, courtesy of MSNBC

Deep below the dry scrub, sagebrush and industrial areas near the town of Wallula in the state's southeast corner, a giant basalt flow stands ready to test a new approach to curbing greenhouse gases.

By Deirdre Gregg of BusinessJournal, courtesy of MSNBC.

Belgian effort pitched as zero emissions, will be placed on ice shelf.

From the AP, courtesy of MSNBC

By Jane Black, courtesy of The Washington Post

By Alister Doyle, Environment Correspondent at Reuters, courtesy of The Washington Post

EVERY president comes into office complaining about the 11th-hour judicial appointments and midnight regulations left on the White House doorstep by his predecessor. And every president turns around and does the same to his successor.

By John M. Broder, courtesy of The New York Times

The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation meeting here limped to a close on Sunday, with a heavily compromised agreement on tackling climate change and few answers on how to advance the global trade agenda.

By Tim Johnston, courtesy of The New York Times

U.S. Geological Survey says two-thirds could vanish because of ebbing ice.

From the AP, courtesy of MSNBC

The Arctic ice cap is melting faster than scientists had expected and will shrink 40 percent by 2050 in most regions, with grim consequences for polar bears, walruses and other marine animals, according to government researchers.

By Doug Struck, courtesy of The Washington Post

More than two-thirds of the world's polar bears will be killed off by 2050 _ including the entire population in Alaska _ because of thinning sea ice from global warming in the Arctic, government scientists forecast Friday.

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

A typhoon pounded Tokyo and surrounding areas on Friday, killing at least one man and prompting a flood warning, while snarled transport and power cuts affected thousands.

By Hiroaki Watanabe of Reuters, courtesy of The Washington Post

Pacific Rim nations reached preliminary agreement Friday on a declaration for tackling climate change, overcoming squabbling between rich and poor nations about emissions targets, two Southeast Asian officials said.

From the AP, courtesy of The New York Times

The biggest power generator in Texas could soon belong to private owners, after shareholders of TXU Corp. voted Friday to sell the company for $32 billion in one of the largest leveraged buyouts ever.

From the AP, courtesy of The New York Times

The federal government needs to do a better job addressing how climate change is transforming the hundreds of millions of acres under its watch, according to a Government Accountability Office report to be released today.

Courtesy of The Washington Post

Europeans are skeptical that trans-Atlantic relations will improve after Americans select a new president next year, according to a survey released Thursday.

From the AP, courtesy of The New York Times

By Bill Tarrant of Reuters, courtesy of The Washington Post

By Juliet Eilperin, courtesy of The Washington Post

Two Kyoto Foes Push Technology Approach

By Michael A. Fletcher, courtesy of The Washington Post

Los Angeles and Pittsburgh provide examples of what to do -- and not to do -- about China's severe air pollution in the face of surging energy use from rapid economic growth, U.S. and Chinese scientists say.

From the AP, courtesy of the New York Times

United Nations environment agencies have launched a virtual marketplace to bring together buyers and sellers of carbon offsets in rich and poor countries.

From Reuters, courtesy of The New York Times

Global warming may be melting glaciers and forcing polar bears onto land, but doctors warn it could also affect your heart.

From the AP, courtesy of The New York Times

By Gerard Wynn of Reuters, courtesy of The Washington Post

By Christopher Bodeen, courtesy of The Washington Post

Cornflake makers and socialists alike are pointing to green fuel for high food prices. Are they right?

By Barrett Sheridan of Newsweek, courtesy of MSNBC

Pontiff speaks to up to half-a-million at Church's 'eco-friendly' youth rally.

From Reuters, courtesy of MSNBC

As Bush calls on developing nations to curb CO2, two federally controlled agencies are enabling them to emit more.

By Judy Pasternak, courtesy of The Los Angeles Times

Plans for New Plants Stalled by Growing Opposition
The mayor of Missoula, Montana, is the latest person to discover just how unpopular coal plants have become.

By Steven Mufson, courtesy of The Washington Post

Thousands of miles of fiber-optic cables are strung across the world’s oceans, connecting continents like so many tin cans in this age of critical global communication.

By William Yardley, courtesy of The New York Times

More than a decade after the drive began to convert electricity from a regulated industry into a competitive one, many states are rolling back their initiatives.

By David Cay Johnston, courtesy of The New York Times.

Oregon Iron Works has the feel of a World War II-era shipyard, with sparks flying from welders' torches and massive hydraulic presses flattening large sheets of metal. But this factory floor represents the cutting edge of American renewable-energy technology.

By Juliet Eilperin, courtesy of The Washington Post

Cooperation on global warming is pledged after the governor meets with the European nation's foreign minister.

By Marc Lifsher, courtesy of The Los Angeles Times