Politics

Panel on climate faces challenges.

The Nobel-prize-winning Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change faces new challenges following a call for an investigation of its conduct and for its chairman to resign amid continuing criticism of the scientific basis of its reports. Wall Street Journal

Greens call on Scott Brown with talk of jobs.

It’s no secret that the Senate’s newest Republican will oppose health care reform. But what about the president’s energy and climate agenda? That’s one of the most intriguing questions churning on Capitol Hill as Scott Brown takes his seat. Politico

Solutions

Roof insulation turns houses 'live.'

Hundreds of homes that have been fitted with foil insulation under the Rudd government's stimulus program have been turned into potential death traps because installers have laid the insulation over live wires or used metal fasteners, causing it to become electrified. Sydney Australian

ADB approves $135 mln loan for China's green power plant.

The Asian Development Bank on Monday said it has approved a 135 million U.S. dollar loan to help China build a coal-fired integrated gasification combined cycle power plant, whose carbon dioxide emission rate is only one tenth of a usual coal-fired plant. Xinhua News Agency

Other News

Editorials

Tackling our feral footprint.

In the wake of Copenhagen, and the collapse of a consensus on what needs to happen next, it is clear that global edicts should not dictate our policies. Camels may not rate in Geneva or New York but they are worth counting, and killing, here. Sydney Australian

The changing climate.

We know that adding to the supply of solar, wind and geothermal power can create valuable jobs. Research into global warming must continue, of course. But already, there exists plenty of evidence to support sensible steps toward clean energy. Sarasota Herald-Tribune

More energy from renewables.

A Colorado House bill raising renewable energy standards to 30 percent is admirable - and smart to anticipate tax and cost fluctuations. We think that's good for Colorado's economy, as it would stimulate the solar industry, and also good for the environment. Denver Post

Opinion

Road map to a balanced energy-climate bill.

Weeks of speculation about the president’s commitment to an energy-climate bill ended with President Obama committing to a bill in his Status of the Union address. Next up: weeks of speculation about whether this was a wise decision. Politico

Green investment leads to job growth.

Passing energy and climate legislation is as urgent as ever, and the Senate must act so we can continue to move forward and demonstrate international leadership. In the meantime, we must look at other ways to curb global warming emissions while putting Americans to work. Politico

Turnbull: why I will vote for Rudd's CPRS.

The ETS allows Australian businesses to make their own decisions as to how to reduce their emissions - Government sets the rules and in part sets the cap on total emission and then lets the market work out the most efficient and effective result. Sydney ABC News

Obama-backed wind farm in Mass. meets strong resistance.

The nearly decade-long fight over whether to construct a 130-turbine offshore wind farm near Martha's Vineyard has spurred numerous state and federal regulatory reviews. Washington Post

Rajendra Pachauri raises more eyebrows.

The Indian head of the UN climate change panel, already under fire over errors in a key 2007 report, is raising eyebrows again after publishing a raunchy environmental novel and accepting help in promoting it from BP and the head of India’s biggest gas producer. London Times

Water at core of climate change impacts-UN experts.

The main impact of climate change will be on water supplies, experts said on Sunday. Desertification, flash floods, melting glaciers, heatwaves, cyclones or water-borne diseases such as cholera are among global warming impacts inextricably tied to water. Reuters

Seaweed beds, the 'cradle of the sea,' vanishing.

The rich seaweed beds stretching 8,000 hectares and brimming with fish in the western coast of the bay off Shizuoka Prefecture have been transformed into a barren wasteland. Pollution, climate change, and other factors are suspects, but the exact causes are unknown. Asahi Shimbun

MPs urge higher carbon price.

The carbon markets are failing in their role of encouraging investment in cutting carbon dioxide emissions, MPs have concluded. London Financial Times

Smarter farming key to saving Amazon rainforest.

It's a simple system, long practiced in the U.S., of rotating crops instead of simply chopping down forest. But here in the state of Mato Grosso ("thick forest"), where ranchers and farmers have destroyed more of the Amazon than anywhere else, it's a relatively new idea. Associated Press

Australia power plants face $19 bln funding headache.

Australia's electricity sector faces a A$22 billion ($19 billion) headache as it seeks to refinance debt over the next two years, with uncertainty over efforts to put a price on carbon pollution hurting investment, ratings agency Fitch said on Monday. Reuters

Conservationist: Colorado sees climate change effects.

The head of one of the country's largest conservation groups is warning that Colorado is in the "bull's eye of climate change" and says the state's hunters and anglers are seeing firsthand the effects of warmer temperatures. Associated Press

Western Australia drought is 'proof of climate change.'

The author behind a new study linking 30-year drought in Western Australia with heavy snowfall in Antarctica says it is strong evidence man-made greenhouse gases have provoked dramatic climate change. Australian Associated Press

Warming to hit wheat production in Punjab.

For each degree rise in the temperature in the region, Punjab will lose 750 kg per hectare of wheat. Chandigarh Tribune

China's high-speed trains may offer tips for U.S.

Like railway advocates in the USA, China's Ministry of Railways touts rail as a greener, more energy-efficient form of transportation than driving or flying. For passengers, it promotes high-speed trains as "fast, safe, comfortable, convenient and punctual." USA Today

Lobbyists rush to block EPA action on climate change.

The prospect of EPA greenhouse gas regulation looms large - mostly because agriculture and other interests haven’t liked any of the climate bills so far on Capitol Hill. And now the lobbyists for those same interests are trying to block the EPA regulations as well. Center for Public Integrity


Inside TDC
Miller-McCune 03 Feb
Daily Shame 06 Feb

Senate debate keeps coming back to power plants.

Should they be the guinea pigs for cap-and-trade?

ClimateWire 04 Feb

Monday, February 8 2010

Top Consequences

Water at core of climate change impacts-UN experts.

The main impact of climate change will be on water supplies, experts said on Sunday. Desertification, flash floods, melting glaciers, heatwaves, cyclones or water-borne diseases such as cholera are among global warming impacts inextricably tied to water. Reuters

Seaweed beds, the 'cradle of the sea,' vanishing.

The rich seaweed beds stretching 8,000 hectares and brimming with fish in the western coast of the bay off Shizuoka Prefecture have been transformed into a barren wasteland. Pollution, climate change, and other factors are suspects, but the exact causes are unknown. Asahi Shimbun

Conservationist: Colorado sees climate change effects.

The head of one of the country's largest conservation groups is warning that Colorado is in the "bull's eye of climate change" and says the state's hunters and anglers are seeing firsthand the effects of warmer temperatures. Associated Press

Top Solutions

MPs urge higher carbon price.

The carbon markets are failing in their role of encouraging investment in cutting carbon dioxide emissions, MPs have concluded. London Financial Times

China's high-speed trains may offer tips for U.S.

Like railway advocates in the USA, China's Ministry of Railways touts rail as a greener, more energy-efficient form of transportation than driving or flying. For passengers, it promotes high-speed trains as "fast, safe, comfortable, convenient and punctual." USA Today

Roof insulation turns houses 'live.'

Hundreds of homes that have been fitted with foil insulation under the Rudd government's stimulus program have been turned into potential death traps because installers have laid the insulation over live wires or used metal fasteners, causing it to become electrified. Sydney Australian

Top Causes

Smarter farming key to saving Amazon rainforest.

It's a simple system, long practiced in the U.S., of rotating crops instead of simply chopping down forest. But here in the state of Mato Grosso ("thick forest"), where ranchers and farmers have destroyed more of the Amazon than anywhere else, it's a relatively new idea. Associated Press

Feral camels clear in Penny Wong's carbon count.

Culling the one million feral camels that currently roam the outback would be equivalent to taking 300,000 cars off the road in terms of the reduction to the country's greenhouse gases. But only the CO2 of the domesticated variety is counted under the Kyoto Protocol. Sydney Australian

BP faces protest over oil sands development.

BP has become the latest oil company to face a shareholder revolt over its investments in Canada’s controversial oil sands. A coalition of shareholders has tabled a resolution for the oil giant’s annual meeting on April 15 highlighting what they describe as the environmental and social risks of tar sands development. London Times

Top Politics

Obama-backed wind farm in Mass. meets strong resistance.

The nearly decade-long fight over whether to construct a 130-turbine offshore wind farm near Martha's Vineyard has spurred numerous state and federal regulatory reviews. Washington Post

Rajendra Pachauri raises more eyebrows.

The Indian head of the UN climate change panel, already under fire over errors in a key 2007 report, is raising eyebrows again after publishing a raunchy environmental novel and accepting help in promoting it from BP and the head of India’s biggest gas producer. London Times

Australia power plants face $19 bln funding headache.

Australia's electricity sector faces a A$22 billion ($19 billion) headache as it seeks to refinance debt over the next two years, with uncertainty over efforts to put a price on carbon pollution hurting investment, ratings agency Fitch said on Monday. Reuters

From the Daily Climate Newsroom

US loses opportunity with home energy efficiency.

25 January 2010
US loses opportunity with home energy efficiency.
Great Lakes Home Performance

Despite EPA gains with its Energy Star program, some 99 percent of American houses remain "sick" – damp, drafty, expensive to heat and cool – and could be made at least 30 percent more energy-efficient with "highly cost-effective, tried-and-true" improvements, according to experts. more

Stern: Copenhagen Accord 'best way to make progress.'

15 January 2010
Stern: Copenhagen Accord 'best way to make progress.'
Demark Foreign Ministry

Lead U.S. climate negotiator Todd Stern said Thursday the Copenhagen Accord represents the best way forward for a binding global climate deal but that success likely rests with a smaller group of countries working outside the unwieldy, multi-national United Nations process. more

Disappearing options.

12 January 2010
Disappearing options.
Denmark Foreign Ministry

Climate policy has a tipping point. Failure to set and meet strict emissions targets over the next 40 years puts long-term goals – such as limiting planetary warming to 2ºC by 2100 – permanently out of reach, according to a study published Monday. more

Top environmental health stories of 2009.

11 January 2010

In 2009, the team at Environmental Health News hand-selected and posted 71,143 stories that were published in the worldwide media. Here's a list of those we consider the year's most important. more

2009 offered a trove of climate stories.

11 January 2010
2009 offered a trove of climate stories.
D.Fischer/Daily Climate

Journalists worldwide produced more than 32,000 stories on climate change last year, but the coverage failed to garner a spot on a map showing major news events of 2009. more