Climate News and Resources

Here's something to ponder as you park your Prius: What if gas guzzling isn't the problem?

By Dana Milbank, courtesy of the Washington Post

Has any phrase in the English language ever spread more quickly than “carbon footprint”? There are contenders — “hanging chad,” for instance — but they don’t reflect the potential revolution in consciousness that carbon footprint suggests. After all, carbon footprint captures something we’ve never really had a simple phrase for before: the measurable totality of your environmental impact, or, to put it more simply, what your way of life actually costs the planet. “Carbon footprint” is to your physical being what “soul” is to your spiritual being.

By Verlyn Klinkenborg, courtesy of the New York Times

20 Years Ago, a 98-Degree Day Illustrated Scientist's Warning

There have been hotter days on Capitol Hill, but few where the heat itself became a kind of congressional exhibit. It was 98 degrees on June 23, 1988, and the warmth leaked in through the three big windows in Dirksen 366, overpowered the air conditioner, and left the crowd sweating and in shirt sleeves.

By David A. Fahrenthold, courtesy of the Washington Post

In July 1893, 115 years ago, the historian Frederick Jackson Turner told an academic symposium that the American frontier was closed -- a shocking notion for a people who'd defined themselves by their steady expansion across the continent. This spring, something just as profound and defining has happened: Pulled back by the inescapable gravity of higher prices and the growing scarcity of fossil fuels, we're starting a slow recoil into more dense and compact regions and localities. The frontier of endless mobility that we've known our entire lives is closing.

By Bill McKibben, courtesy of the Washington Post

Like two rival filling-station owners across the highway in long-bygone price wars, Democratic Sen. Barack Obama and Republican Sen. John McCain keep putting up flashy signs and offering new incentives in hopes of attracting customers battered by $4 gas prices.

From the AP, courtesy of the New York Times

John McCain will push on Monday for car makers to build more environmentally friendly vehicles, threatening new legislation if they do not comply and proposing tax breaks to encourage consumers to buy "cleaner" cars.

From Reuters, courtesy of the New York Times

A hastily convened global energy summit meeting led by Saudi Arabia ended largely in disagreement on Sunday, with only a modest pledge of increased production by the Saudis and no resolution on what other practical steps should be taken to ease the crisis over soaring oil prices.

By Robert F. Worth and Jad Mouawad, courtesy of the New York Times

The world's major cities are also among the planet's worst polluters but they have the solutions to most of their problems at their fingertips, a leading environmental consultancy said on Monday.

From Reuters, courtesy of the New York Times

Twenty years ago Monday, James E. Hansen, a climate scientist at NASA, shook Washington and the world by telling a sweating crowd at a Senate hearing during a stifling heat wave that he was “99 percent” certain that humans were already warming the climate.

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

As the United States moves toward taking action on global warming, practical experience with carbon markets in the European Union raises a critical question: Will such systems ever work?

By James Kanter, courtesy of the Washington Post

The world's developed countries should take the lead in the battle against global warming and push for halving global emissions of greenhouse gases by 2050, a group of business leaders said Friday.

By Joseph Coleman of the AP, courtesy of the Washington Post

Listening to the back and forth this week about oil drilling and energy prices, you have to wonder whether there's anyone in Washington who understands what leadership is about.

By Steven Pearlstein, courtesy of the Washington Post

More Droughts Likely in North America

As greenhouse-gas emissions rise, North America is likely to experience more droughts and excessive heat in some regions even as intense downpours and hurricanes pound others more often, according to a report issued yesterday by the U.S. Climate Change Science Program.

By Juliet Eilperin, courtesy of the Washington Post

Gov. Charlie Crist stepped on the third rail of Florida politics this week when he abandoned his opposition to drilling offshore for oil and natural gas. But surprise, surprise, he did not die.

By Damien Cave, courtesy of the New York Times

One was an oilman from Texas, the other a high-paid energy executive. Despite that, or perhaps because of it, for seven years George W. Bush and Dick Cheney have been unable to persuade Congress and the public that domestic oil drilling is an answer to America’s energy needs.

By Sheryl Gay Stolberg, courtesy of the New York Times

It was almost inevitable that a combination of $4-a-gallon gas, public anxiety and politicians eager to win votes or repair legacies would produce political pandering on an epic scale. So it has, the latest instance being President Bush’s decision to ask Congress to end the federal ban on offshore oil and gas drilling along much of America’s continental shelf.

An Editorial, courtesy of the New York Times

President Bush called on Congress today to lift a 26-year-old ban on oil drilling off the shores of the United States, arguing that the country needs more domestic energy production to alter the circumstances that are driving up oil prices.

By William Branigin and Michael Abramowitz, courtesy of the Washington Post

We all know that gasoline is at $4 a gallon and that oil is at $135 a barrel. But if you think that's the end of the story, don't talk to economist Jeffrey Rubin of CIBC World Markets.

By Robert J. Samuelson, courtesy of the Washington Post

While the Senate failed to make progress this month on legislation to address global warming, the stage is set for consideration next year ["Senate Leaders Pull Measure on Climate," news story, June 7]. Carbon dioxide emissions into the atmosphere are an important starting point. But climate change is a complex process that also includes the influence of ocean and terrestrial systems. In fact, most of the carbon emitted into the atmosphere through the burning of fossil fuels ultimately is stored in the oceans, which are the engines of the planetary climate system.

An Editorial, courtesy of the Washington Post

Sen. John McCain called yesterday for an end to the federal ban on offshore oil drilling, offering an aggressive response to high gasoline prices and immediately drawing the ire of environmental groups that the presumptive Republican presidential nominee has courted for months.

By Michael D. Shear and Juliet Eilperin, courtesy of the Washington Post

It looks like an ordinary family sedan, costs more to build than a Ferrari and may have just moved the world one step closer to a future free of petroleum.

By Martin Fackler, courtesy of the New York Times

Republican presidential candidate John McCain will call on Tuesday for energy conservation and the lifting of a ban on oil and natural gas exploration as two ways to help address the nation's "dangerous" dependence on foreign oil.

From Reuters, courtesy of the New York Times

The United States and China must increase their cooperation on energy issues in the face of increased demand and record high oil prices, Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said Tuesday as he opened a meeting of high-level economic officials from the two countries.

From the AP, courtesy of the New York Times

It’s hard to convince most Americans that there is a silver lining to $4-a-gallon gasoline. But General Motors provided a nugget of good news when it announced that it would shutter much of its production of pickups and sport utility vehicles — and might even get rid of the Hummer, the relative of the Abrams tank unleashed on the streets in the cheap-gas days of the 1990s.

An Editorial, courtesy of the New York Times

"Another Failure on Climate Change," the June 11 editorial about the recent Senate debate on global warming legislation, was off the mark.

Questioning the scheduling of the debate because of high gas prices makes little sense. If gas prices don’t go down, should we never address global warming? Of course not.

A letter to the Editor, courtesy of the New York Times

Last month the Wall Street Journal accused me of advocating subsidies for food-based ethanol. I ought to "take a vow of embarrassed silence," it said, for claiming that ethanol's contribution to the food crisis is "overblown." The Journal's claims would be laughable if the stakes were not so high.

By Vinod Khosla, courtesy of the Washington Post

Another Call for U.S. Leadership on Climate change.

A29-MEMBER independent task force of the Council on Foreign Relations released a report Friday that adds another authoritative voice to the clamor for U.S. leadership on climate change. Co-chaired by former New York governor George E. Pataki (R) and former Iowa governor Tom Vilsack (D), the bipartisan document makes an argument that has fallen on deaf ears at the White House. "As the United States takes increasingly aggressive action at home," the authors correctly note, "it will be in a stronger position to ask more of others."

An Editorial, courtesy of the Washington Post

Honda's new zero-emission, hydrogen fuel cell car rolled off a Japanese production line Monday and is headed to Southern California, where Hollywood is already abuzz over the latest splash in green motoring.

From the AP, courtesy of the New York Times

The Senate can do something for global warming by approving a bill to extend vital tax credits for renewable fuel sources like wind and solar power.

An Editorial, courtesy of the New York Times

The European Union accused United States producers of biodiesel fuel of benefiting from subsidies that threaten to put European producers out of business.

By James Kantner, courtesy of the New York Times

One of Alaska's most eroded villages is getting more than $3 million in state aid to help it relocate to higher ground as Alaska tries to cope with the effects of global warming.

From the AP, courtesy of the New York Times

Finance ministers from the Group of Eight industrialized nations urged oil producers Saturday to boost output to help stabilize record-high oil and food prices, calling the situation a serious threat to global economic growth.

From the AP, courtesy of the New York Times

Helping developing nations fight global warming and sharing views on towering oil and food prices were among the topics on hand at a Group of Eight finance ministers' meeting opening Friday.

From the AP, courtesy of the New York Times

Vice President Cheney yesterday called for a substantial increase in domestic drilling for oil and other natural resources, including in environmentally sensitive areas, saying that only increased production -- and not new technology -- will satisfy the nation's demand for energy.

By Zachary A. Goldfarb, courtesy of the Washington Post

No one ever said that dealing with climate change would be easy or cost-free. But we expected better from the Senate.

A New York Times Editorial

Toyota is introducing a plug-in hybrid with next-generation lithium-ion batteries in Japan, the U.S. and Europe by 2010, under a widespread strategy to be green outlined Wednesday.

From the AP, courtesy of the New York Times

The scientific academies of 13 countries on Tuesday urged the world to act more forcefully to limit the threat posed by human-driven global warming.

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

Toyota will start making the Camry gas-electric hybrid in Australia from early 2010, as part of the Japanese automaker's efforts to step up production of such green cars around the world, the company said Tuesday.

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

Gasoline prices, which shattered the $4-a-gallon mark on average in the Washington area Friday, ranged as high as $4.39 a gallon for regular yesterday amid signs that cash-strapped Americans are changing vacation plans, consolidating errands, and turning to carpools and mass transit.

By Steven Mufson and David Cho, courtesy of the Washington Post

Senate Republicans today blocked a proposal to eliminate tax breaks for the nation's biggest oil companies and tax their windfall profits, rejecting Democratic claims that the measure would help ease consumer anger over $4-a-gallon gasoline.

By Lori Montgomery and Steven Mufson, courtesy of the Washington Post

The Group of 8 countries, joined by China, India and South Korea, pledged greater investments in efficiency but also urged oil producers to increase output.

From the AP, courtesy of the New York Times

apan will cut its greenhouse gas emissions 60-80 percent by 2050 and can match or better European reduction levels over the next 12 years, Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda announced Monday.

From the AP, courtesy of the New York Times

The world needs to invest $45 trillion in energy in coming decades, build some 1,400 nuclear power plants and vastly expand wind power in order to halve greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, according to an energy study released Friday.

By Joseph Coleman of the AP, courtesy of the Washington Post

Senate Republicans on Friday blocked a global warming bill that would have required major reductions in greenhouse gases, pushing debate over the world's biggest environmental concern to next year for a new Congress and president.

From the AP, courtesy of the New York Times

A Manhattan skyscraper that is home to The New York Times became the site of twin daredevil stunts Thursday, with two men scaling the 52-story office tower within a matter of hours.

From the AP, courtesy of the New York Times

A U.S. carbon-capping bill aimed at curbing climate change died on Friday in the Senate but its supporters looked to the next president to enact a global warming law as early as 2009.

From Reuters, courtesy of the New York Times

The United Nations urged the world on Thursday to kick the habit of producing carbon dioxide, saying everyone must act to fight climate change.

From Reuters, courtesy of the New York Times

About a day into the debate over legislation to combat global warming but before Republicans brought the discourse to a stop on Wednesday by insisting that the clerk read every word of the 492-page bill, Senator James M. Inhofe decided to get a few things off his chest.

By David Herzenhorn, courtesy of the New York Times

A Senate debate over global warming legislation turned into late-night drama Wednesday marked by an eight-hour reading of the 492-page bill and a call for senators to return -- some of them from their homes -- to cast a procedural vote not long before midnight.

From the AP, courtesy of the New York Times

The Bush administration has worked overtime to manipulate or conceal scientific evidence — and muzzled at least one prominent scientist — to justify its failure to address climate change.

An Editorial, courtesy of the New York Times

We'll have to discard the old adage "Everyone talks about the weather, but no one does anything about it." It is inoperative in this era of global warming, because the whole point of controlling greenhouse gas emissions is to do something about the weather. This promises to be hard and perhaps futile, but there are good and bad ways of attempting it. One of the bad ways is cap-and-trade. Unfortunately, it's the darling of environmental groups and their political allies.

By Robert J. Samuelson, courtesy of the Washington Post

Sadly, even having a debate is progress.

THE SENATE is scheduled to vote today on a motion to proceed to debate on the Climate Security Act of 2008. Given this nation's sluggish response to global warming, that will qualify as a big step. The chances of passage this year are worse than 50-50. But the markers being laid for the next president are worth pursuing.

Courtesy of the Washington Post

The White House on Monday slammed legislation the U.S. Senate will consider this week aimed at controlling climate change, arguing it would cut economic growth and lead to soaring gasoline prices.

From Reuters, courtesy of the New York Times

President Bush weighed in Monday against a Senate bill that would require dramatic cuts in climate-changing greenhouse pollution, cautioning senators "to be very careful about running up enormous costs for future generations of Americans".

From the AP, courtesy of the New York Times

The difficult bottom line in the negotiations is that dealing with climate change will almost certainly hurt some industries and enrich others.

By Jad Muawad, courtesy of the New York Times

A tax on airline tickets and an auction of pollution rights are just two ideas likely to be studied at a 162-nation conference examining ways of raising the billions of dollars needed every year to fight global warming.

From the AP, courtesy of the New York Times

Toyota said Friday that nothing had been decided yet on using its California joint venture plant with General Motors to produce its Prius hybrid _ a move that would mark the first North American plant for the hit "green" car.

By Yuri Kageyama of The Associated Press, courtesy of the Washington Post

Despite support, plans to take the carbon dioxide that spews from coal-burning power plants and pump it back into the ground have hit roadblocks.

By Matthew L. Wald, courtesy of the New York Times

The Bush administration, bowing to a court order, has released a fresh summary of research pointing to harmful impacts in the United States from human-caused global warming.

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

At a Model United Nations Conference, Students Turn Into Diplomats for a Day

Courtesy of the Washington Post

A new federal report says the rise in levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide is influencing climate patterns and will produce an uneven national map of harms and benefits.

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

After part of a cooling tower collapsed last August at Vermont’s only nuclear power plant, the company that runs it blamed rotting wooden timbers that it had failed to inspect properly. The uproar that followed rekindled environmental groups’ hopes of shutting down the aging plant.

By Kate Galbraith, courtesy of the New York Times

WILL the food crisis that is menacing the lives of millions ease up — or grow worse over time? The answer may be both. The recent rise in food prices has largely been caused by temporary problems like drought in Australia, Ukraine and elsewhere. Though the need for huge rescue operations is urgent, the present acute crisis will eventually end. But underlying it is a basic problem that will only intensify unless we recognize it and try to remedy it.

By Amartya Sen, courtesy of the New York Times

For seven long years, President Bush has refused to confront the challenge of climate change and provide the leadership that this country and the world needs to reduce greenhouse gases and avoid the destructive consequences of global warming.

A Washington Post Editrial

The international fight to control climate change heads to a new arena in June when the Senate is to debate a bill that could cut total U.S. global warming emissions by 66 percent by 2050.

By Deborah Zabarenko, Environment Correspondent for Reuters, courtesy of the Washington Post

Under pressure to boost talks on a new global warming pact, Group of Eight environment ministers on Monday endorsed halving greenhouse gas emissions by mid-century but failed to agree on much more contentious near-term targets.

By Joseph Coleman of the Associated Press, courtesy of the Washington Post

The Rockefeller family built one of the great American fortunes by supplying the nation with oil. Now history has come full circle: some family members say it is time to start moving beyond the oil age.

By Clifford Krausse, courtesy of the New York Times