Another Week of GW News, July 15, 2007

Courtesy of H.E.Taylor, here is this week's GW news roundup
(skip to bottom)

• Top Stories, Solar Forcing, US Northeast Impacts, Live Earth, Consensus
• Hurricanes, Man-yi, Proenza Ouster, Ozone, ENSO, Glaciers, Sea Levels, Satellites
• Impacts, Forests, Wacky Weather, Floods & Droughts, Rodents, Biofuel & Food
• Mitigation, Architecture, Sequestration, Geoengineering, Adaptation
• Journals, Misc. Science
• Kyoto, Carbon Tax, Carbon Trading, Optimal Strategy
• Politics, International, Security, America, Britain, India, China, Canada
• Apocalypso, Media, Books, Video, Courts
• Energy, Coal, Biofuel, Nukes, Peak Oil, Efficiency, Cars, Business, Insurance Carbon Lobby
• The Usual, Useful Links
• Shameless Self Promotion
• .sig

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A Royal Society paper on solar forcing was released this week, putting the kibosh on the solar variation hypothesis:

• 2007/07/10: ProcRoyalSocA: (pdf 549k) Recent oppositely directed trends in solar climate forcings and the global mean surface air temperature by Mike Lockwood & Claus Froehlich
• 2007/07/10: ProcRoyalSocA: (pdf 549k) Recent oppositely directed trends in solar climate forcings and the global mean surface air temperature by Mike Lockwood & Claus Froehlich
• 2007/07/12: Tamino: There Goes the Sun
• 2007/07/11: TCE: Sun Not Responsible for Global Warming
• 2007/07/12: SwissInfo: Greenhouse sceptics confounded by solar study
  The Sun's changing energy levels are not to blame for recent global warming, according to a study co-authored by a Swiss scientist
• 2007/07/11: Guardian(UK): Find another culprit [Royal Soc]
• 2007/07/11: CBC: Sun did not cause recent climate change: U.K. study
• 2007/07/11: Register: Sun's activity not to blame for climate change - All quiet on the solar front, research shows
• 2007/07/11: NatureCF: Sun not a cause of global warming
• 2007/07/11: MongaBay: Experts: sun not linked to current global warming
• 2007/07/11: ClimateP: Another Myth Goes Up in Smoke [Royal soc paper]
• 2007/07/11: ABC(Au): New research challenges global warming [denial] theories
• 2007/07/11: NewScientist: Sun's activity rules out link to global warming
• 2007/07/11: PhysOrg: Sun's in the clear over global warming, says study
• 2007/07/11: DeSmogBlog: The Sun Sets (finally) on the Solar Radiation Myth
• 2007/07/11: TreeHugger: Driving Another Nail into Climate Skeptics' Coffin
• 2007/07/11: PlanetArk: Solar Variations Not Behind Global Warming - Study
• 2007/07/11: ENN: Solar Variations Not Behind Global Warming
• 2007/07/11: OilChange: New Study Counters Climate Sceptics' Main Argument
• 2007/07/11: CDreams: Guardian(UK): New Analysis Counters Claims that Solar Activity is Linked to Global Warming
• 2007/07/11: CCurrents: Solar Activity 'Not The Cause Of Global Warming'
• 2007/07/11: BBC: 'No sun link' to climate change
  A new scientific study concludes that changes in the Sun's output cannot be causing modern-day climate change. It shows that for the last 20 years, the Sun's output has declined, yet temperatures on Earth have risen. It also shows that modern temperatures are not determined by the Sun's effect on cosmic rays, as has been claimed.
• 2007/07/11: Guardian(UK): New analysis counters claims that solar activity is linked to global warming
• 2007/07/09: KSJT: The Australian: Solar variability explains global warming? The answer (again) is no.

  A study on impacts in the US Northeast echoed widely:

• 2007/07/13: TruthOut: Study Paints Dire Picture of Warmer Northeast
• 2007/07/13: C411: Quote of the Week [from Confronting Climate Change in the U.S. Northeast]
• 2007/07/13: PlanetArk: US Northeast Faces Flood Risks from Global Warming
• 2007/07/13: ENN: Scientists Detail Cost of Global Warming [on the US Northeast]
• 2007/07/13: UCSUSA: Global Warming Will Hit U.S. Northeast Hard Unless Action Taken Now; Long-term Severity Depends On Near-term Choices, Scientists Say
• 2007/07/12: KSJT: Wires, US Dailies, etc: Big climatology team tells Northeast US of bad times to come
• 2007/07/11: MongaBay: How will climate change impact the U.S. Northeast?
• 2007/07/11: PhysOrg: Changing climate will challenge Northeast agriculture
• 2007/07/12: PhysOrg: Scientists Detail Cost of Global Warming [on the US Northeast]
• 2007/07/12: DeSmogBlog: Heating up the Northeast
• 2007/07/11: Yahoo: Northeast faces flood risks from global warming
• 2007/07/12: WaPo: Report Warns of a Much Warmer Northeast - Effects Could Be Disastrous, Says Two-Year Study
• 2007/07/11: Cornell: Emission choices lead to starkly different futures for Northeast agriculture, says CU expert at briefing

  Late commentary on Live earth:

• 2007/07/11: Maribo: No, please, you go first [LE]
• 2007/07/13: ePM: Answering the Call [LE]
• 2007/07/10: DVoice: Live Earth is DOA - a glaring example of the well intentioned but utterly pointless approach to problem solving
• 2007/07/11: Maribo: The aftermath of Live Earth
• 2007/07/11: ClimateP: Live Earth and Offsets
• 2007/07/11: TreeHugger: Live Earth: "Largest Global Entertainment Event in History"
• 2007/07/11: CCurrents: When Less Is More: Learning About Limits [LE]
• 2007/07/09: Guardian(UK): Al Gore rocks the world, but will he save the planet?
• 2007/07/09: BradBlog: RFK Jr. Speaks Truth To Power In Fantabulous 'Live Earth' Speech [with video]
• 2007/07/09: GristMill: Live Earth party demographics
• 2007/07/09: GristMill: Relive Live Earth
• 2007/07/10: DeSmogBlog: RFK Jr: Change Governments -- Not Lightbulbs!
• 2007/07/10: PlanetArk: Gore Coal Pledge "Short-Sighted" - US Miners' Union
• 2007/07/09: NatureCF: Concerts for a C-change
• 2007/07/08: MTobis: Live Earth House Parties
• 2007/07/08: TCE: Live Earth Draws 2 Billion Viewers, Breaks Internet Record
• 2007/07/09: HuffPo: Live Earth's Critics
• 2007/07/09: CBC: Live Earth sets internet streaming record: MSN

  Logical Science have posted a useful reference on the climate change consensus:

• 2007/07/09: LS: The Consensus on Climate Change: From Science to Industry & Religion

  And Real Climate did a good roundup of that Greenland-DNA story:

• 2007/07/09: RealClimate: Making sense of Greenland's ice

  The Atlantic is still quiet, but the northwest Pacific has been visited by Man-yi:

• 2007/07/15: PhysOrg: Powerful typhoon [Man-yi] lashes Japan coast, kills three
• 2007/07/15: JEB: Wet wet wet [Man-yi]
• 2007/07/15: BBC: Tokyo braces for powerful storm
  Tokyo is bracing itself for a deadly storm that has killed three people and forced thousands from their homes. Typhoon Man-yi has now been downgraded to a tropical storm but is still capable of gusts up to 162km/h (67mph). Man-yi struck the southern islands of Kyushu and Shikoku on Saturday and is moving up the eastern coast. Man-yi is the most powerful typhoon to hit Japan in July and is expected to inundate the capital with up to 250mm (10 inches) of rain late on Sunday.
• 2007/07/14: CBC: Typhoon [Man-yi] lashes east coast of Japan, killing 1
• 2007/07/14: Wunderground: Quiet in the Atlantic
• 2007/07/13: PhysOrg: Powerful typhoon injures dozens in Japan
• 2007/07/13: Wunderground: Major steering current shift; Typhoon Man-Yi wallops Okinawa
• 2007/07/13: PlanetArk: Typhoon [Man-yi] Heads for Japan, Threatening Heavy Rain
• 2007/07/13: Kyodo: Powerful typhoon hurts 8, floods 20 houses in Okinawa
• 2007/07/13: Turkish Press: Powerful typhoon [Man-yi] injures dozens in Japan
• 2007/07/12: CCM: Okinawa and Typhoon Man-Yi

  Late commentary on the Proenza ouster:

• 2007/07/11: Wunderground: Restoring confidence in NHC
• 2007/07/09: TerraDaily: Head Of US Hurricane Agency Ousted In Storm Of Controversy
• 2007/07/10: MiamiHerald: Switch at the top calms hurricane center staff
• 2007/07/10: Wunderground: Bill Proenza gone; tropical update
• 2007/07/09: CNN: National Hurricane Center director leaves position
• 2007/07/09: SunSentinel: Proenza reassigned at hurricane center; deputy director Rappaport succeeds him
• 2007/07/09: Wunderground: More heat

  Elsewhere in the hurricane wars:

• 2007/07/11: DemNow: Storm World: Hurricanes, Politics, and the Battle over Global Warming
• 2007/07/11: EnvEcon: Quote of the Day
• 2007/07/11: HuffPo: It's Accountability If We Like It, Finger-Pointing If We Don't [Katrina]
• 2007/07/10: JFleck: Hurricanes and Wildfires

  Regarding the ozone layer:

• 2007/07/09: C411: Global Warming and the Ozone Hole

  While on the ENSO front:

• 2007/07/12: NOAA: El Niño/Southern Oscillation (ENSO) Diagnostic Discussion
  Synopsis: ENSO-neutral conditions are expected to continue during the next 2 months, with ENSO-neutral or La Niña conditions equally likely thereafter.
• 2007/07/14: PhysOrg: No La Nina This Summer, NOAA Says

  Glaciers are melting:

• 2007/07/13: MongaBay: Glaciers in western China shrank 20% in 40 years
• 2007/07/13: PlanetArk: Tianshan Glaciers Shrinking Fast - China Scientist
• 2007/07/12: Yahoo: China glaciers melting at alarming rate
• 2007/07/12: AP: Glacial collapse severs Mount Hood loop trail, perhaps for good
• 2007/07/10: ABC(Au): Crisis looms for Bolivia as glaciers melt
• 2007/07/10: Stoat: What do we learn from Glaciers in the Highest Altitudes In The Alps?

  Rising sea levels are a problem:

• 2007/07/09: CDreams: Expert Says Rising Sea Levels Pose Threat to Rice
• 2007/07/09: AFP: Expert says rising sea levels pose threat to rice
  Rising sea levels triggered by climate change pose an "ominous" threat to some of the world's most productive rice-growing areas, the International Rice Research Institute has warned. The Philippines-based institution is devoting fresh efforts to mitigating the coming threat, but senior climate scientist Reiner Wassman said adequate funding had yet to materialise. "Some of Asia's most important rice-growing areas are located in low-lying deltas, which play a vital role in regional food security and supplying export markets," Wassman told the IRRI magazine Rice Today. "With Vietnam so dependent on rice grown in and around low-lying river deltas, the implications of a sea-level rise are ominous indeed." Rice is the staple cereal of nearly half the world's 6.6 billion people.

Meanwhile in near earth orbit:

• 2007/07/11: SciDaily: Satellite Survey Links Tropical Park Fires With Poverty And Corruption

  More GW impacts are being seen:

• 2007/07/13: NewScientist: Polar bears deserting unstable ice to give birth
• 2007/07/12: TerraDaily: Warming Causing Gray Whales To Lose Weight
• 2007/07/13: PlanetArk: Melting Ice Drives Polar Bear Mothers to Land
• 2007/07/13: PlanetArk: Greek Island [Skiathos] Fire Rages Unchecked, Tourists Flee
• 2007/07/13: ENN: Coral Shuffle Helps Reefs Survive Warmer World
• 2007/07/13: SFGate: Birthing bears head for land as Arctic ice gets scarcer
• 2007/07/12: PhysOrg: Warming causing gray whales to lose weight, say scientists
• 2007/07/12: Guardian(UK): [Athens] City loses its cool after fire destroys [Mount Parnitha] forest
• 2007/07/10: ClimateP: We're having a heat wave -- and record wildfires
• 2007/07/11: PhysOrg: CO2 hurts reef growth - rising carbon dioxide levels prevent coral from forming tough skeletons
• 2007/07/11: SciDaily: Loss Of Hemlocks [due to invasive insect, hemlock woolly adelgid] Will Affect Water Dynamics In Southern Appalachian Forests
• 2007/07/10: Mercury: Hot weather aids Western wildfires
• 2007/07/10: ABC(Au): Buttongrass global warming warning
  An ecology professor from the University of Tasmania has warned the World Heritage Area in the state's south is under extreme threat from climate change
• 2007/07/09: ABC(Au): Rising sea temperatures put pressure on kelp forests
• 2007/07/09: ABC(Au): Warming waters to drive fish south: CSIRO
• 2007/07/09: Maribo: Fires rage across the western US
• 2007/07/06: QUT: Climate change reduces state's bat numbers
• 2007/07/09: AP: Dozens of Wildfires Ravage the West
• 2007/07/09: BBC: Heatwave fans US wildfires - Scorching temperatures in the western US cause a string of fires, threatening homes and highways
• 2007/07/09: LA Times: A parched West bears the scars of wildfires

  And then there are the world's forests:

• 2007/07/12: TruthOut: Palm Oil Firms Burning Indonesian Forests
• 2007/07/13: Eureka: China's demand for recycled wastepaper, a blessing and a curse for the world's forests
• 2007/07/13: BBC: China's recycling 'saves forests'
  China's massive capacity to recycle waste-paper is preventing many forests around the world from being destroyed, a report has concluded. The nation's paper industry imported almost 20 million tonnes in 2006, primarily from the US, Europe and Japan, according to NGO Forest Trends. The group said about 60% of the fibre used in producing paper was recycled. But it warned that timber from illegal logging was probably still being used to meet the surge in demand.
• 2007/07/12: ENN: Palm Oil Firms Burning Indonesia Forests
• 2007/07/10: ClimateP: Report: Palm Oil Drives Deforestation

  Desertification looms as a threat:

• 2007/07/13: PlanetArk: China Sounds Warning on Threat of Spreading Deserts

  Yes we have no wacky weather, except:

• 2007/07/12: CTV: Record-breaking heat continues throughout B.C.
• 2007/07/12: CBC: B.C. swelters under record highs - Residents respond to requests to think green while staying cool
• 2007/07/09: TerraDaily: India Monsoon Death Toll Nears 700 [this year]

  And speaking of floods & droughts:

• 2007/07/11: PlanetArk: Thousands Need Rescuing After Ethiopia Flood
• 2007/07/08: CBC: Floods, landslides kill 94 in China

  In an odd note, flooding in central China has driven billions of mice ashore:

• 2007/07/12: CBC: Billions of rodents plague flood-stricken China
• 2007/07/11: BBC: China rodents spark disease fears
  Severe flooding in central China has brought a mass invasion of mice, raising fears of outbreaks of disease. The floods forced about two billion mice from islands in Dongting Lake in Hunan province, local officials said. Health authorities have been sent to three cities on the lake and crops have been destroyed by the field mice. Flooding and landslides have killed at least 360 people across southern and central China in recent weeks, with more rain expected, officials say.
• 2007/07/09: DeSmogBlog: In China, Two Billion Unanticipated Consequences of Climate Extremes

  The conflict between biofuel and food persists:

• 2007/07/11: BWeek: Biofuel Boom Driving Up Pasta Prices
  In the latest biofuels-related hike, a poor wheat harvest amid rising demand from fuel makers is expected to boost pasta prices 20%
• 2007/07/10: GristMill: Cheap biofuels, or dear pasta?
• 2007/07/09: TerraDaily: Cheap Fuel Or Pricey Food
• 2007/07/10: Nugget: End of cheap-food era bad news for poor

  And the troubling matter of falling food production is not going away:

• 2007/07/12: GristMill: Myth: Subsidies keep food prices low
• 2007/07/12: GristMill: Organic farming can't feed the world: a myth debunked
• 2007/07/10: UMich: Organic farming can feed the world, U-M study shows
• 2007/07/10: ArabNews: The Era of Cheap Food Is Over After Fifty Years

  Elsewhere on the mitigation front:

• 2007/07/15: WaPo: What It Would Take to Put the Brakes on Global Warming
• CMI: Stabilization Wedges
• 2007/07/10: ABC(Au): Queensland land clearing ban cuts greenhouse gas emissions

  While in the endless quest for sustainable building codes:

• 2007/07/09: ClimateP: Exclusive Look at Kansas Gold (as in LEED Rating)

  On the carbon sequestration front:

• 2007/07/14: NEN: Carbon costs, one way or another - Not capturing carbon is going to cost much more
• 2007/07/13: NEN: Norway Researches Carbon Capture
• 2007/07/12: NEN: Carbon Capture May Cost a Billion
• 2007/07/10: MTobis: Good News for a Change - Carbon sequestration looks better and better to me.

  And the adaptation front:

• 2007/07/10: PlanetArk: Australia to Build Cross-Continent Climate Corridor
• 2007/07/09: ENN: Australia To Build Cross-Continent Climate Corridor

  Large scale geo-engineering keeps popping up:

• 2007/07/12: GristMill: Behind the facade of the Planktos 'Voyage of Recovery'
• 2007/07/: MudCityPress: Geoengineering the Climate: Weighing the Risks
• 2007/07/11: CDreams: Climate Change: The Heart of The Problem

  Meanwhile in the journals:

• 2007/07/13: CliPast: Increased aeolian activity during humidity shifts as recorded in a raised bog in south-west Sweden during the past 1700 years by R. de Jong et al.
• 2007/07/11: CliPast: On the verification of climate reconstructions by G. B?rger
• 2007/07/10: CliPast: Application of sediment core modelling to interpreting the glacial-interglacial record of Southern Ocean silica cycling by A. Ridgwell
• 2007/07/10: CPD: Maintenance of polar stratospheric clouds in a moist stratosphere by D. B. Kirk-Davidoff & J.-F. Lamarque
• 2007/07/10: ProcRoyalSocA: (pdf 549k) Recent oppositely directed trends in solar climate forcings and the global mean surface air temperature by Mike Lockwood & Claus Froehlich
• 2007/07/10: ProcRoyalSocA: (pdf 549k) Recent oppositely directed trends in solar climate forcings and the global mean surface air temperature by Mike Lockwood & Claus Froehlich
• 2007/07/10: PNAS: Paleogene equatorial penguins challenge the proposed relationship between biogeography, diversity, and Cenozoic climate change by Julia A. Clarke et al.

  Before we get into politics, there was some science done:

• 2007/07/12: PhysOrg: Fossilised midges provide clues to future climate change
• 2007/07/12: Eureka: How plants learned to respond to changing environments
• 2007/07/10: TreeHugger: Fossilized Gnat Heads Point to Past Climate Change Incidents
• 2007/07/10: SciDaily: Fossilized Midges Provide Clues To Future [abrupt] Climate Change

  Meanwhile on the Kyoto front:

• 2007/07/12: Yahoo: Guyana criticizes carbon credit scheme of Kyoto Protocol

  And on the carbon trading front:

• 2007/07/14: ClimateP: The Carbon Market Takes Off
• 2007/07/12: EnvFin: European exchange trades 1 billion tonnes of CO2 [since 2005 launch]

  The idea of a carbon tax is still bouncing around:

• 2007/07/13: ABC(Au): Poor 'hit hardest' by carbon taxes [says leading welfare advocate, Michael Raper from the Welfare Rights Centre]

  The debate over the optimal strategy [carbon trading, carbon offsets and/or a carbon tax] to use in dealing with GHGs continues:

• 2007/07/13: GristMill: More rules of the road for offsets: Common sense is good
• 2007/07/13: GristMill: Carbon offsets and tree huggers
• 2007/07/12: GristMill: Offset markets
• 2007/07/11: GristMill: An observation on the offset debate
• 2007/07/11: HuffPo: Zerofootprint Guides: Offsetting, Part 3 - The Problem Of Permanence
• 2007/07/04: GlobeNN: Searching for true Carbon offsets
  The fast-growing carbon offset industry is at risk of being discredited as operators struggle to prove their offsets are actually reducing greenhouse gas emissions. There is unease in the sector amid growing evidence that some carbon offset schemes are of dubious value. Some analysts believe too readily available offsets actually discourage companies from making the investments needed to reduce their greenhouse gas outputs. While the idea of purchasing credits to be "carbon neutral" seems attractive, many are discovering that their dollars have not been well spent. There is an urgent need for a credible standard to differentiate the good from the bad.
• 2007/07/10: ClimateP: Must Read on Offsets
• 2007/07/10: GristMill: Carbon offsets: The real reasons to avoid trees
• 2007/07/10: NEN: Tax vs. Cap-and-Trade: Congressman Raises Stakes
• 2007/07/09: ClimateP: PG&E's "ClimateSmart" Offsets Are Anything But
• 2007/07/09: GristMill: PG&E's 'ClimateSmart' offsets are anything but
• 2007/07/09: GristMill: Rules of the road for carbon offsets: A better map

  Meanwhile on the international political front:

• 2007/07/15: Yahoo: US, China to get unique climate change chance at [APEC] summit: Australia
• 2007/07/12: NatureCF: Developing nations lead on concern for combating climate change, shows survey
• 2007/07/11: BBC: 'New thinking' needed on climate
  The international climate debate needs to embrace a "new way of thinking" to tackle the problem, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has urged. Too much time was being wasted arguing over "historical responsibilities" for past emissions, Mr Ban said. He called for both industrialised and developing nations to focus on limiting future global greenhouse gas emissions. Mr Ban added that he would convene a climate summit to help reach consensus on a global climate action plan. [He didn't say when or where, but he probably meant either the September 24th General Assembly or the UNFCCC Bali meeting in November -het]
• 2007/07/06: Granma: A Global Response to Climate Change

  The GW security meme is still kicking:

• 2007/07/09: SpringerSBM: Global warring - New study suggests climate change could be the root of armed conflicts
• 2007/07/09: SciDaily: Global Warring: Climate Change Could Be The Root Of Armed Conflicts

  This has become a common pattern: national governments refuse to act, so states, provinces and/or municipalities take on their responsibilities:

• 2007/07/12: EnvEcon: Deja vu all over again
• 2007/07/05: BBC: California inspires US revolt on climate - how state legislation to combat climate change may have a knock-on effect across the US

  And on the American political front:

• 2007/07/15: WaPo: Climate Change Debate Hinges On Economics - Lawmakers Doubt Voters Would Fund Big Carbon Cuts
• 2007/07/12: FuturePundit: Americans Against Gas Tax Increases
• 2007/07/12: EnvFin: Battle over renewables shuts Pennsylvania government
  A fight over renewable energy and biofuels led to a temporary shutdown of Pennsylvania's state government and, despite a compromise being reached, the opponents will resume battle in September. At issue is Governor Edward Rendell's energy independence strategy to promote renewables, energy conservation and biofuels. The Democratic governor hoped to fund an $850 million effort through a surcharge of 0.05 cents/kWh on utility bills, but Republican Senate leaders who oppose taxes resisted the idea.
• 2007/07/12: ClimateP: [Former] Surgeon General [Richard H. Carmona] and Global Warming
• 2007/07/11: ClimateP: Hoyer: CAFE will be in Energy Bill
• 2007/07/10: CSW: Former Surgeon General [Dr. Richard Carmona] says Bush political appointees censored science communication
• 2007/07/10: CSW: What is a climate disinformation activist and former Cheney speechwriter [Jeffrey Salmon] doing as #2 at DOE Science?
• 2007/07/11: TreeHugger: U.S. House Farm Bill Draft Supports Subsidizing Sugar for Ethanol Production
• 2007/07/10: CSW: House Oversight deadline for White House to release climate change documents
• 2007/07/09: CBO: Letter to Senator Jeff Bingaman regarding _Trade-Offs in Allocating Allowances for CO2 Emissions_ report
• 2007/07/10: TheHill: Democrats' climate clash heads to floor [Pelosi vs Dingell]
• 2007/07/09: NEN: The Crux of the Matter [US Senate's Energy Bill]

  Rep. John Dingell (D-Mi) has set up an interesting test:

• 2007/07/13: GristMill: Dingell channels Cartman
• 2007/07/12: GristMill: Dingell calls our bluff "I sincerely doubt that the American people are willing to pay what this is really going to cost them."
• 2007/07/11: CSM: 'Faux' gas tax tests resolve on global warming
  Rep. John Dingell says he expects his proposal for a hefty 'carbon tax' on gasoline will prove Americans don't really want to change their energy-rich lifestyle
• 2007/07/09: ClimateP: What Dingell thinks about climate and CAFE
• 2007/07/09: TruthOut: Counting On Failure, Energy Chairman Floats Carbon Tax
• 2007/07/09: AfterGutenberg: The Dingell Gambit

  Senators Bingaman & Specter have introduced The Low Carbon Economy Act:

• 2007/07/12: ClimateP: Sen. Boxer disses the safety valve
• 2007/07/13: GristMill: The Low Carbon Economy Act of 2007
• 2007/07/13: TreeHugger: Flawed U.S. Senate Climate Bill Making the Rounds
• 2007/07/11: ClimateP: The Low Carbon Economy Act of 2007
• 2007/07/11: EnvEcon: Climate change policy watch: Heads up!
• 2007/07/11: BBerg: [Bingaman/Specter] Bill Would Cut Greenhouse Gas Emissions 20% by 2030

  Florida has passed strong anti-GW legislation:

• 2007/07/13: TruthOut: Florida to Introduce Tough Greenhouse Gas Targets
• 2007/07/13: MTobis: Florida gets real - Florida starts to get real, anyway...
• 2007/07/13: TreeHugger: Florida's Climate Summit - Live!
• 2007/07/12: PhysOrg: Fla. Gov. warms to climate change [legislation]
• 2007/07/12: WaPo: Florida's Governor To Limit Emissions
• 2007/07/12: WarmingLaw: Florida Steps Up
• 2007/07/12: ENN: Florida To Introduce Tough Greenhouse Gas Targets [80 percent of 1990 levels by 2050]
• 2007/07/11: Yahoo: Florida to introduce tough greenhouse gas targets

  The 2008 campaign is picking up:

• 2007/07/10: BSD: John Edwards interviewed at Scienceblogs
• 2007/07/11: DeSmogBlog: Edwards tops Democratic poll with stand on emissions cuts
• 2007/07/10: TreeHugger: John Edwards Talks Science and Global Warming

  The Gore-apalooza is still bopping along:

• 2007/07/11: ERabett: AlGorithms - There is a long history of Al Gore being right on many issues and being ridiculed for it.
• 2007/07/08: CasaubonsBook: Al Gore Calls on Everyone To Riot for Austerity - and Why You Should Too

  While in the UK:

• 2007/07/14: GCC: UK Energy Strategy Calls For Zero Carbon in Twenty Years
• 2007/07/09: TruthOut: Radical Vision to Halt Climate Change [UK zero nation plan]
• 2007/07/09: OilChange: Zero Carbon Nation

  While in India:

• 2007/07/14: Yahoo: India plans national strategy to tackle global warming
• 2007/07/14: ThisCanadian: India to plant trees, launch climate change strategy
• 2007/07/13: IndiaTimes: Climate change: Indians most worried
• 2007/07/13: DeSmogBlog: India leads world in climate-change concern, study finds
• 2007/07/13: BBC: India makes climate change move
  India has taken the first steps towards developing a national plan on tackling the effects of climate change. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh chaired a meeting of top government officials and environmental experts which agreed to draft a national policy by October.

And in China:

• 2007/07/10: TWM: The Green Leap Forward...
  In the current issue of the Monthly, Christina Larson reports that people who worry about whether China will agree to caps on greenhouse gases are missing the point. China's government, she says, genuinely wants to tackle its horrific pollution problem. The problem is that it can't...
• 2007/07/05: Nation: China vs. Earth
• 2007/07/09: SF Gate: Warming strikes a note in China - A growing middle class seeing dangers of pollution

  In Canada, minority neocon PM Harper, continues to do as little as possible:

• 2007/07/08: Canoe: Environmentalists accused of being too cosy with Liberal party
• 2007/07/09: CanWest: Liberal leader [Stephane Dion] touts absolute emission reduction targets

  Now here is a headline that made me laugh:

• 2007/07/11: Guardian(UK): Canada flexes its muscles in scramble for the Arctic

  Apocalypso anyone?:

• 2007/07/11: AtlanticFP: What to do? What to do? Taking Action In The Face Of Collapse
• 2007/07/09: CasaubonsBook: Pick Up Your Hat
• 2007/07/09: Yahoo: Global warming: Lessons of history help the future

  As for how the media handles the science of climatology:

• 2007/07/13: GristMill: In a contest run by advocates, Jack Shafer finally finds media distortions that rankle him
• 2007/07/11: KSJT: Real Climate Blog: Did science writers let themselves be had on that Greenland DNA and ice sheet story?
• 2007/07/06: PRWatch: Stauber 'On The Media' & Greenwashing

  Here is something for your library:

• 2007/07/: SocialistRevu: [Pamphlet Review] The Carbon Neutral Myth - Offset Indulgences for your Climate Sins
• 2007/07/12: TWM: [Book Review] _Storm World_ by Chris Mooney
• 2007/07/12: MTobis: Reading List about Climate Change (not "global warming")

  And for your film & video enjoyment:

• 2007/07/09: JEB: Tipping Point: The Movie

  Meanwhile in the 'Sue the Bastards!' crowd:

• 2007/07/11: WarmingLaw: [link to pdf] New CRC Article on Mass. v. EPA

  Wrestling over a new energy infrastructure continues unabated:

• 2007/07/15: AzStarNet: Suddenly, solar's hot - Energy prices have the sun looking good
• 2007/07/14: NewScientist: Amazon dam project gets the go-ahead
• 2007/07/13: TEB: 80 MW Solar Farm for California
• 2007/07/14: NEN: Turbines: Can't get enough
• 2007/07/13: TCE: Producing Solar Power Like Paper
• 2007/07/13: ENN: Harnessing the Sun: Facts and Myths about Solar Power
• 2007/07/13: GG: New Study Says Wind A Cheaper, Efficient Alternative To Nuclear
  A report commissioned in the Netherlands and leaked to a Dutch newspaper confirms that wind power will quickly replace nuclear energy as the fossil fuel alternative of choice.
• 2007/07/13: Yahoo: Brent oil price surges to US$77.45 dollars per barrel
• 2007/07/13: NEN: Germany Plans More Wind
• 2007/07/12: CTB: Sector Close Up- Renewable Energy - Solar Stocks Surge
• 2007/07/09: CTB: Real Companies Entering Renewable Energy
• 2007/07/12: GristMill: The emerging age of hydrogen energy
• 2007/07/11: PlanetArk: Swiss Companies Shine in Solar Energy Boom
• 2007/07/10: EurActiv: Interview: London readies for 'energy revolution'
  London Vice-Mayor Nicky Gavron plans to spearhead decentralised generation so that every household in the city can eventually produce its own energy and cut CO2 emissions. New fines for polluting trucks and coaches are also planned for 2008, she has told EurActiv in an interview.
• 2007/07/11: NEN: New energy could save $180 billion/year - It is not an energy crisis, it is an energy opportunity!
• 2007/07/10: KSJT: NYTimes Biz Section: Cost of new power plants zooms higher, and that's not good for green energy hopes
• 2007/07/10: GristMill: Wind power needs manufacturing
• 2007/07/10: FTimes: The world has two energy crises but no real answers [Peak oil & GW]
• 2007/07/10: EnvEcon: Why higher oil prices are a good thing
• 2007/07/09: GristMill: Monbiot: We can provide all or most of our electricity from renewable sources
• 2007/07/09: TreeHugger: Geothermal Energy: Renewables' Poor Cousin
• 2007/07/09: NEN: Big Sun in CA[lifornia]

  The arithmetic of coal carbon is striking home:

• 2007/07/15: SciAm: Worse Than Gasoline - Liquid coal would produce roughly twice the global warming emissions of gasoline
• 2007/07/12: GristMill: Coal is the enemy of the human race: James Hansen edition
• 2007/07/08: WorldChanging: Old King Coal: Why the World Needs a Coal Power Moratorium

  Biofuel bickering abounds:

• 2007/07/15: Times(UK): Smile that spells biofuel - Farmer Rash has a spring in his step again because of green diesel
• 2007/07/13: GristMill: Sushi powered
• 2007/07/11: ETS: Prediction #3 (of 3) from Oil Expert Matt Simmons: Biofuels Terrific but won't Significantly add to Supply
• 2007/07/10: SciDaily: Measuring The Merits Of Corn Stover-Based Ethanol
• 2007/07/10: Eureka: Illinois-based study of energy crops finds miscanthus more productive than switchgrass

  The nuclear energy controversy continues:

• 2007/07/10: TruthOut: A Nuclear Phoenix? Concern about climate change is spurring an atomic renaissance.
• 2007/07/11: TerraDaily: Lula Resumes Nuclear Program To Make Brazil World Power
• 2007/07/10: CDreams: OrionMag: Reasons Not to Glow - On Not Jumping Out of The Frying Pan Into The Eternal Fires

  The IEA as much as verified peak oil this week:

• 2007/07/13: Yahoo: International Energy Agency: Oil Supply/Demand Trends For 2007-2012
• 2007/07/10: EconBrowser: IEA becomes more pessimistic
• 2007/07/10: TruthOut: Energy Watchdog [IEA] Warns of Supply Crunch Within Five Years
• 2007/07/10: CasaubonsBook: IEA Essentially Confirms Peak Oil
• 2007/07/10: BCLSB: Peak Oil, Green Energy
• 2007/07/09: AltEnStocks: IEA wakes up and smells the Peak Oil
• 2007/07/10: ETS: Prediction #2 (of 3) from Oil Expert Matt Simmons: World to Soon Realize Oil Production Peaked
• 2007/07/10: OilChange: We Face Oil Crunch "in Five Years"
• 2007/07/09: DailyKos: Countdown to $100 oil (42) - IEA predicts shortages within 5 years
• 2007/07/09: ClimateP: IEA warns of impending oil and gas supply crunch

  And we have a peak coal sighting:

• 2007/07/12: OilDrum: Coal - The Roundup [5 reports]
• 2007/07/11: C411: How much coal does the U.S. have?

  Then there is the matter of efficiency & conservation:

• 2007/07/12: ClimateP: A Lot of PC Energy is Wasted
• 2007/07/09: EconBrowser: Energy use in Japan

  Automakers & lawyers, engineers & activists argue over the future of the car:

• 2007/07/12: AfterGutenberg: Dearborn Shell Game, Find the Green [autos]
• 2007/07/10: DeSmogBlog: Auto Alliance Painting Green Efficiency Numbers
• 2007/07/11: PlanetArk: Ford Sees Plug-In Hybrids in 5 to 10 Years
• 2007/07/10: HuffPo: Ford: Hydrogen Cars Close to Production
• 2007/07/10: NewScientist: Ford to develop 'plug-in hybrid' cars
• 2007/07/10: DeSmogBlog: Return of the Electric Car?

  Meanwhile in the "every problem is an opportunity in disguise" crowd:

• 2007/07/12: EnvFin: CEOs sign climate pledge at UN Global Compact
  Business chiefs from 153 global companies have called on governments to establish market mechanisms to tackle climate change, while committing to take practical steps to improve their own energy efficiency and cut the carbon intensity of their products.
• 2007/07/13: GristMill: The future of socially responsible investing
• 2007/07/09: PRWatch: Green as in Money
• 2007/07/10: GristMill: Sustainability gets a warmer embrace from U.S. companies [CERES]
• 2007/07/11: NEN: Businesses Volunteer to Cap Carbon
• 2007/07/09: TreeHugger: How To Speed Up Action On Climate Change - An Industry Point Of View

  Insurance and re-insurance companies are feeling the heat:

• 2007/07/13: EnvEcon: Economics and the wind

  The carbon lobby are up to the usual:

• 2007/07/14: DeSmogBlog: Energy Lobbyist Dupes London (Ontario) Newspaper
• 2007/07/14: BCLSB: Lyndon LaRouche Becomes A Player In The Denialist Movement
• 2007/07/13: ClimateP: Real Clear Politics is Real Fuzzy on Climate
• 2007/07/13: Deltoid: Lubos Motl vs the logarithm function
• 2007/07/13: Denialism: Wow Orac, you found a real winner
• 2007/07/13: BCLSB: The Battleground Shifts...
• 2007/07/12: JQuiggin: Republican War on Science, yet again
• 2007/07/11: Reasic: Green Myth Busting: CO2 Emissions
• 2007/07/11: Stoat: World Climate Report: lying by omission
• 2007/07/11: BCLSB: The Tiniest Denier [KB]
• 2007/07/11: DeSmogBlog: Global-warming deniers shift gears in their distraction conspiracy
• 2007/07/11: DeSmogBlog: An Astroturf group primer
• 2007/07/02: STF: Op-Ed Or Op-Lie?
  What could be more important than dealing with the threat of global warming? Exposing the companies and groups that continue to try and distort the issue for financial gain and holding the media accountable for their role and complicity in the continuing distortion of the truth.
  Let's be perfectly clear. Global warming is a scientific fact - it is not a political issue. But a few corporations are bringing in incredibly high profit margins from the status quo. These profits depend on Americans and people worldwide burning more and more oil instead of working to put less carbon into the air. So they pollute the "marketplace of ideas," deceiving people by spreading the lie of doubt that global warming is a real problem.
• 2007/07/11: PeterboroughExaminer: Smells like a link to Big Oil
• 2007/07/10: SeattlePI: Deniers of global warming harm us
• 2007/07/10: ERabett: Ponder the Maunder [denial]
• 2007/07/10: Stoat: Emulating TGGWS
• 2007/07/10: TreeHugger: The Alamo Of Climate Skepticism: CNN's Glenn Beck Show
• 2007/07/09: GWWatch: Margaret Thatcher started global warming alarmism
• 2007/07/08: Deltoid: Shorter Lavoisier workshop

  TGGWS got played & slammed on ABC(Au):

• 2007/07/14: TLC: The Great Global Warming Swindler
• 2007/07/13: CourierMail: Heat on ABC over 'Swindle' doco
  Climate scientists and politicians have slammed the ABC for going ahead with a broadcast of the documentary The Great Global Warming Swindle.
• 2007/07/13: ABC(Au): Global warming doco 'political propaganda'
• 2007/07/13: Stoat: Meanwhile, back at TGGWS...
• 2007/07/13: DeSmogBlog: Video: [Video] ABC Australia's Tony Jones Dissects, Debunks Martin Durkin
• 2007/07/13: DeSmogBlog: Swindle Update: ABC is now slamming the Swindle
• 2007/07/12: Reasic: TGGWS Revisited
• 2007/07/12: ABC(Au): Great debate or great swindle?
• 2007/07/12: ABC(Au): Don't be swindled
• 2007/07/12: GWWatch: The Great Global Warming Swindle V4.0 still riddled with bugs
• 2007/07/12: GWWatch: Big night on ABC TV after The Great Global Warming Swindle
• 2007/07/12: AFTIC: If there were any sharks left to jump
• 2007/07/12: JQuiggin: Delusionists demolished [TGGWS & ABC(Au)]
• 2007/07/12: JQuiggin: Meltdown at the Oz, Part II
• 2007/07/11: C411: Swindles in the "The Great Global Warming Swindle"
• 2007/07/12: DeSmogBlog: Insider says all not well at ABC(Au) over Swindle decision
• 2007/07/12: DeSmogBlog: Aussie media lambasting Durkin's Swindle film [TGGWS]
• 2007/07/12: AusSMC: The Great Global Warming Swindle - Scientists respond
• 2007/07/11: SMH: Hot reaction to climate 'swindle' doco
• 2007/07/11: GWWatch: Will Tony Jones demolish The Great Global Warming Swindle?
• 2007/07/11: JQuiggin: The Right Swindles Itself on Global Warming

  Then there was the usual news and commentary:

• 2007/07/13: GristMill: Bright green principles
• 2007/07/13: KSJT: NPR: The vanishing of the Anasazi -- and climate change lessons
• 2007/07/13: ClimateP: Dean Koontz and Global Warming
• 2007/07/13: ClimateP: Peatlands and the Emissions they Reap
• 2007/07/12: ERabett: How well can we model pressure broadening?
• 2007/07/12: MTobis: How do we know climate models are useful?
• 2007/07/13: RealClimate: Friday roundup
• 2007/07/12: C411: How We Know Humans Cause Global Warming - Part 5 of 5: The Only Explanation Left
• 2007/07/13: CCurrents: Global Warming Is A Human Rights Issue
• 2007/07/11: GristMill: Global warming: That's a rap!
• 2007/07/12: TruthOut: Water World: Slipping Toward Climate Catastrophe
• 2007/07/10: ERW: Climate extremes hot up
• 2007/07/12: AlterNet: Water World: Slipping Toward Climate Catastrophe
• 2007/07/11: NatureCF: Global Warming and Forecasts of Climate Change
• 2007/07/10: NatureCF: Quantifying climate change - not so certain?
• 2007/07/11: GristMill: [Dessler] A few random climate thoughts
• 2007/07/09: BNFilms: It's FOX Attacks time... again [Home Depot ad pull campaign]
• 2007/07/11: Guardian(UK): What to do in the event of a waterspout
• 2007/07/10: MTobis: Documenting the Consensus
• 2007/07/09: ClimateP: How To Discuss Global Warming With Kids
• 2007/07/08: ERabett: High Pressure Limit...playing with Spectral Calculator...
• 2007/07/08: MTobis: Mann, Tree Rings, etc.
• 2007/07/09: ENN: Spanish Companies Pay Developer To Reduce Greenhouse Gases at Chinese Landfill
• 2007/07/09: SciDaily: World's First Carbon Management MBA Launched
• 2007/07/13: PhysOrg: Scientists Study Livestock Emissions
• 2007/07/12: Stoat: Many Arctic temperature trends

  And here are a couple of sites you may find interesting and/or useful:

• CMI: Stabilization Wedges
• Zero Carbon Britain
• The Ruminant - Environmental Defense
• RealClimateWiki
• Climate Choices
• 2004/11/19: NRCAN:OEE: Keeping the Heat In
• USGBC-LEED: U.S. Green Building Council - Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design
• National Wildlife Federation: Climate Classroom
• LDEO: Persistent drought in North America: a climate modeling and paleoclimate perspective
• ScienceBlogs
• CCM: Chris C. Mooney
• Deltoid - Tim Lambert
• Stoat
• UK RoyalSociety: Climate change documents
• Ross Gelbspan: The Heat is Online
• Millennium Ecosystem Assessment

---

Low Key Plug

My first novel Water was published May, 2007. An Introductionto the novel is available, along with the Unpublished Forewordand the Launch Talk. An overview of my writing is available here.

<regards>
-het

PS. You can access the previous postings of this series here

---

"...the next time you see John Stossel or Glenn Beck or Rush Limbaugh or Sean Hannity --- these flat-earthers, these corporate toadies, lying to you, lying to the American public, and telling you that global warming doesn't exist --- you send an email to their advertisers and tell them that you are not going to buy their products anymore." -Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

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