Northwest Passage voyage shows climate change impact on Arctic

Yahoo!: I have mixed feelings about news a sailboat named Belzebub II has managed to make its way safely through the northernmost route of the Northwest Passage. On one hand, the voyage by Canadian Nicolas Peissel, Swede Edvin Buregren and American Morgan Peissel, is a tremendous feat of seamanship. On the other hand, the fact they could do it in a nine-metre-long, 35-year-old fibreglass sailboat underscores the effect of climate change on the Arctic. That was one of the expedition's objectives,...

URL: http://ca.news.yahoo.com/blogs/dailybrew/northwest-passage-voyage-shows-climate-change-impact-arctic-183336583.html

Isaac Is Latest Blow to Swampy South Louisiana

New York Times: The end of the earth was farther away than usual. The only lights in the Venice marina were the full moon and the running lights on Acy Cooper's shrimp boat, the Miss Marla Kay, one of a tiny fleet that had made the eight-hour trip down the Mississippi River on Friday. Mr. Cooper and the other shrimpers had weathered Hurricane Isaac on their boats outside of New Orleans. Their arrival here in Venice, the first time they have returned since the storm, roughly doubled the community's population. All...

URL: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/02/us/isaac-is-latest-blow-to-swampy-south-louisiana.html
Enclosure: http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2012/09/02/us/02parish-span/02parish-span-articleLarge.jpg

NLP Solar Sales Training Live Webinar September 5th & 6th


URL: http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/partner/rich-hessler-solar/news/article/2012/09/nlp-solar-sales-training4?cmpid=rss

Better Use of Fertilizer and Water Can Feed Growing Population, Study Says

Yale Environment 360: A new study suggests that the the world can meet the surging demand for food in the coming decades without rampant deforestation if farmers make better use of fertilizer and water resources. In an analysis of management practices and yield data for 17 major crops worldwide, researchers from McGill University in Montreal and the University of Minnesota estimated that yields for most crops can be increased 45 to 70 percent on lands already used for agriculture through more efficient fertilizer application...

URL: http://e360.yale.edu/digest/better_use_of_fertilizer_water_can_feed_growing_population_study_says/3608/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+YaleEnvironment360+%28Yale+Environment+360%29

Brazilian Deforestation Falls Sharply in Past Eight Years

Yale Environment 360: Deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon fell by 77 percent from 2004 to 2011, but carbon emissions did not drop as steeply because of complex processes revealed during on-the-ground studies, scientists say. While analysis of satellite images showed the three-quarters drop in deforestation, researchers said that several factors — including the slow decay of roots and the later burning of wood biomass — meant that carbon emissions from deforestation fell by 57 percent during the same period, according...

URL: http://e360.yale.edu/digest/brazilian_deforestation__falls_sharply_in_past_eight_years/3609/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+YaleEnvironment360+%28Yale+Environment+360%29
Enclosure: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1365-2486.2012.02782.x/abstract;jsessionid=54F9DD65C95815AECD142D46E4E520A9.d03t02

Isaac remnants dumping heavy rain across Missouri, Illinois

Reuters: The remnants of Hurricane Isaac were grinding slowing northward early on Saturday with its center now deep into Missouri and the heavy rain stretching for hundreds of miles east into Illinois amid reports of tornadoes and high winds, meteorologists said. Drought-stricken areas of Missouri and Illinois were easily absorbing the rain Friday and the system was expected to soak the region deep into Sunday, said Jayson Gosselin, meteorologist with the National Weather Service's St. Louis-area office....

URL: http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/09/01/us-storm-isaac-idUSBRE87L0PH20120901?feedType=RSS&feedName=environmentNews&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+reuters%2Fenvironment+%28News+%2F+US+%2F+Environment%29
Enclosure: http://s1.reutersmedia.net/resources/r/?m=02&d=20120901&t=2&i=648312266&w=&fh=&fw=&ll=700&pl=300&r=CBRE87U1GMS00

Clinton hopes US to do more on climate

Agence France-Presse: US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton voiced hope Friday the United States would act beyond its pledges on curbing emissions as she visited Pacific islands threatened by climate change. Clinton, the first US secretary of state to take part in the annual Pacific Islands Forum, pledged $25 million in new assistance to help the low-lying nations of the region plan and adapt to expected rising water levels. She said that the United States stood behind President Barack Obama's promise in 2009 ahead...

URL: http://www.brecorder.com/top-news/109-world-top-news/76441-clinton-hopes-us-to-do-more-on-climate-.html
Enclosure: http://www.brecorder.com/images/pic2012/09/clinton-.jpg

President Obama's Alleged "War On Coal"

Forbes: We have long suspected that the never-ending sturm und drang surrounding climate change would have little real impact on public policy or energy markets because no politician ever got elected by promising to impose – or defending the imposition of – significant, observable costs on the present for the well-being of the future … in any policy arena. Believe what you like about the science, but the inescapable political fact is that voters – and in particular, swing voters – have the time horizons...

URL: http://www.forbes.com/sites/powerlunch/2012/08/31/president-obamas-alleged-war-on-coal-climate-change-edition/

Indigenous groups in Panama wait for UN REDD to meet promises

Mongabay: A dispute over the implementation of REDD+ (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation) in Panama has pitted the United Nations (UN) against the nation's diverse and large indigenous groups. Represented by the National Coordinator of Indigenous Peoples in Panama (COONAPIP), indigenous groups charge that the UN has failed to meet several pledges related to kick-starting REDD+ with their support, including delaying a $1.79 million payment to the group to begin REDD+-related activities. The...

URL: http://news.mongabay.com/2012/0830-hance-panama-indigenous-redd.html
Enclosure: http://s3.amazonaws.com/mongabay/panama/600/panama_0184.jpg

Obama's empty climate change promises

New York Daily News: Hold the phone, liberals are in a tizzy! Apparently, Mitt Romney's mocking reference to President Obama's 2008 boast about slowing the rising oceans has some people upset. And I'll give them this one: They should be upset! The President has been AWOL on the issue of climate change since about 2009. Taking a shot at him now for his old campaign promises seems like shooting fish in a barrel. Romney's joke hits environmentally-conscious Democrats who actually believed the President's 2008 promises right...

URL: http://www.nydailynews.com/blogs/the_rumble/2012/08/obamas-empty-climate-change-promises
Enclosure: http://youtu.be/I0tuAJkbUWU

Price of essentials rises by 10 per cent

Independent: The G20 is under growing pressure to call an emergency food summit after the price of essentials jumped by ten per cent on average in July. New research shows prices are at a record high following "an unprecedented summer of droughts and high temperatures". Cereal prices were particularly hard hit, with maize and wheat rising by a quarter and soybeans by 17 per cent, as poor weather decimated harvests in the US, Russia, Ukraine and Kazakhstan, according to the World Bank. The average global food...

URL: http://www.independent.co.uk/environment/climate-change/price-of-essentials-rises-by-10-per-cent-8100066.html

Merkel seeks Chinese concessions in solar row

Reuters: Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Friday that Germany had no interest in starting a trade war with Beijing over solar exports to Europe, but stressed that China must take action to address distortions to fair competition in the sector. Beijing was also forced to defend its rare earths exports policy on the second and final day of Merkel's China trip, with Premier Wen Jiabao saying China was not intentionally holding back exports amid a supply squeeze that has driven up prices. China accounts...

URL: http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/08/31/us-china-germany-idUSBRE87U1DE20120831?feedType=RSS&feedName=environmentNews&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+reuters%2Fenvironment+%28News+%2F+US+%2F+Environment%29

Climate change: Romney quips, the Goreacle fumes

Seattle Post Intelligencer: Just four days after news that the summer ice pack in the Arctic has shrunk to a record low, Mitt Romney made a joke about global warming to make a point against President Obama in his acceptance speech. "President Obama promised to begin to slow the rise of the oceans and heal the planet . . . My promise is to help you and your family," Romney told the Republican National Convention. He got a big ovation. The delegates apparently did not consider impacts that a rise in ocean levels will...

URL: http://blog.seattlepi.com/seattlepolitics/2012/08/31/climate-change-romney-quips-the-goreacle-fumes/

Drought, Climate Change and Journalism 101

CounterPunch: An Aug. 23 segment on NPR`s Morning Edition about the 2012 drought touched my sentimental side when a Kentucky farmer`s voice quivered while he spoke to correspondent David Schaper. "My wife and I just look at each other every night, and we look at our children`s faces before they go to sleep, and we wonder, will this be one of the last days?" he said. The piece was titled "Drought Extends Reach, Some Farmers Ready to Quit." I`ve spent a lot of time in Kentucky and writing about the place. I`ve met...

URL: http://www.counterpunch.org/2012/08/31/drought-climate-change-and-journalism-101/

Isaac Fades, but Odds of Hurricane Disaster Loom

Climate Central: I got a rather breathless email yesterday from one of my colleagues telling me about a new bulletin from the National Hurricane Center about Tropical Storm Leslie. It said, in part: "THIS IS THE SECOND-EARLIEST FORMATION OF THE 12TH NAMED STORM ON RECORD IN THE ATLANTIC BASIN . . . ECLIPSED ONLY BY LUIS OF 1995.' At first, I have to admit, I rolled my eyes. It felt like the kind of ridiculous statistic baseball announcers dredge up when there's nothing worthwhile to say, but they feel they need...

URL: http://www.climatecentral.org/blogs/isaac-fades-odds-of-hurricane-disaster-loom-14933?utm-source=feedburner&utm-medium=feed&utm-campaign=Feed%3A+climatecentral%2FdjOO+Climate+Central+-+Full+Feed
Enclosure: http://www.climatecentral.org/images/sized/images/uploads/blogs/8-31-12-Mike-HurricaneKirkandLeslie-opt2-500x299.jpg

World's Biggest Offshore Wind Farm to Rise Off Scottish Coast

SustainableBusiness.com: Plans for a 339-turbine wind farm off the Scottish coast that could power up to 40% of the homes in Scotland were filed this week over the objections of critics including American real estate billionaire Donald Trump. The $5.7 billion (4.5 billion euros) project would place the 670-foot towers about 13 miles off Caithness in the Moray Firth. It would have a generating capacity of 1.5 gigawatts (GW), 50% larger than the giant 1 GW London Array, reports TheGuardian. The project, which would rank...

URL: http://www.sustainablebusiness.com/index.cfm/go/news.display/id/24032

Atmospheric heating by black carbon aerosol re-evaluated

R and D: Viewed as a potential target in the global effort to reduce climate change, atmospheric black carbon particles absorb significantly less sunlight than scientists predicted, raising new questions about the impact of black carbon on atmospheric warming, an international team of researchers, including climate chemists from Boston College, report today in the latest edition of the journal Science. Mathematical models and laboratory experiments used to study airborne soot particles led to projections...

URL: http://www.rdmag.com/News/2012/08/Environment-Climate-Atmospheric-heating-by-black-carbon-aerosol-re-evaluated/

Men and Women Farming Together Can Eradicate Hunger

Inter Press Service: Three years ago, the residents of the semi-arid Yatta district in Kenya's Eastern Province lived on food aid due to dwindling crops of maize that could not thrive because of the decreased rainfall in the area. That was until a local bishop, trying to find ways to prevent mothers from forcing their teenage daughters into prostitution, changed everything. Now, on a Saturday evening in the district's village of Makutano, Stephen Mwangangi, his wife, Margaret, and their two children pick bullet...

URL: http://www.ipsnews.net/2012/09/men-and-women-farming-together-can-eradicate-hunger/
Enclosure: http://ipsnews-net.wpengine.netdna-cdn.com/Library/2012/09/womenfarming-629x472.jpg

'Weird chemistry' by microbe is prime source of ocean methane

ScienceDaily: Up to 4 percent of the methane on Earth comes from the ocean's oxygen-rich waters, but scientists have been unable to identify the source of this potent greenhouse gas. Now researchers report that they have found the culprit: a bit of "weird chemistry" practiced by the most abundant microbes on the planet. The findings appear in the journal Science. The researchers who made the discovery did not set out to explain ocean geochemistry. They were searching for new antibiotics. Their research,...

URL: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/08/120830141341.htm?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+sciencedaily+%28ScienceDaily%3A+Latest+Science+News%29
Enclosure: http://images.sciencedaily.com/2012/08/120830141341-large.jpg?1346353521

Biofuel crops transform German farming

BBC: The shepherds of Germany are worried. There are still about 2,000 of them tending sheep on grasslands, plying their ancient trade and defying time and the intrusions of modernity. But it is a losing battle. The pastures they and the sheep need are diminishing. The shepherds blame biofuels. They complain that meadows where sheep have always grazed are being turned over to the growing of crops for power generation. Maik Gersonder tends flocks in eastern Germany. It is getting harder to find suitable...

URL: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-19413408#sa-ns_mchannel=rss&ns_source=PublicRSS20-sa
Enclosure: http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/62560000/jpg/_62560266_sheep3(2).jpg

Antarctic Ice Sheet Could Be Hiding Immense Methane Reservoir

redOrbit: A recent study of the Antarctic Ice Sheet suggests that it could be a largely overlooked source of the potent greenhouse gas methane. An international team of scientists from the University of Bristol, the University of California, Santa Cruz, the University of Alberta, Edmonton, and the University of Utrecht, demonstrate that old organic matter in sedimentary basins located beneath the Antarctic Ice Sheet may have been converted to methane by microbes living under oxygen-deprived conditions....

URL: http://www.redorbit.com/news/science/1112684609/greenhouse-gas-methane-antarctic-ice-sheet-083012/
Enclosure: http://www.redorbit.com/media/uploads/2012/08/science-083012-004-617x416.jpg

U.S. Approves an Initial Step in Oil Drilling Near Alaska

New York Times: The Interior Department granted Shell permission on Thursday to begin preparatory work on its first well in the Arctic Ocean, moving the company a critical step forward on its tortuous quest to drill for oil off the coast of Alaska. Ken Salazar, the interior secretary, said that Shell could conduct the initial steps in drilling in the Chukchi Sea, putting down as much as 1,400 feet of well casing to support the required blowout preventer, a device meant to shut down a runaway well. The move delighted...

URL: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/31/business/energy-environment/us-approves-trial-drilling-for-shell-near-alaska-with-conditions.html

ACEEE Commends White House on Industrial Energy Efficiency Executive Order.

The efficiency and competitiveness of the U.S. industrial sector depend on the extent to which we modernize our manufacturing capacity.

URL: http://www.green-energy-news.com/nwslnks/clips812/aug12038.html

Obama approves preparation for oil drilling in Arctic, Shell en route

Mongabay: In the same week that sea ice in the Arctic Ocean hit another record low due to climate change, the Obama Administration has given final approval to Royal Dutch Shell to prepare for exploratory drilling in the region. Vehemently opposed by environmentalists and indigenous groups, the drilling plans are a part of the Obama Administrations 'all of the above' energy policy. Whether or not Shell will actually drill a well this season, however, is still up in the air as its oil spill containment barge...

URL: http://news.mongabay.com/2012/0830-hance-shell-prepatory-approval.html
Enclosure: http://photos.mongabay.com/j/oil.drilling.shell.arctic.568.jpg

Drought eases in U.S. Midwest, worsens in northern Plains

Reuters: The worst U.S. drought in a half century loosened its grip on the Midwest in the past week, helped by rain and cooler temperatures, but the drought grew more dire in the northern Plains, a report from climate experts said on Thursday. But the improved Midwest weather arrived too late for crops in major farm states such as Kansas, Iowa, Illinois and Indiana, where severe corn and soybean yield losses have already been realized. The portion of the contiguous United States suffering from at least...

URL: http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/08/30/us-usa-drought-idUSBRE87T0Z620120830?feedType=RSS&feedName=environmentNews&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+reuters%2Fenvironment+%28News+%2F+US+%2F+Environment%29
Enclosure: http://s1.reutersmedia.net/resources/r/?m=02&d=20120830&t=2&i=647686073&w=460&fh=&fw=&ll=&pl=&r=CBRE87T18GA00

Argentina, Indonesia accused of dumping biodiesel in EU

Reuters: European producers have lodged a formal complaint that millions of tonnes of Argentine and Indonesian biodiesel are being dumped on the EU market with severe implications for a European industry facing bankruptcies and reduced output. The head of the European Biodiesel Board (EBB), which represents 75 producers and nearly 80 percent of European biofuels output, on Thursday said the body was also "actively working" on getting EU emergency procedures imposed. That would mean any anti-dumping...

URL: http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/08/30/us-eu-trade-biodiesel-idUSBRE87T0UP20120830?feedType=RSS&feedName=environmentNews&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+reuters%2Fenvironment+%28News+%2F+US+%2F+Environment%29

Keeping low "profile" helps Canadian miner gain approval in Peru

Reuters: Canada-based Hudbay Minerals has begun building its $1.5 billion Constancia copper mine in southern Peru after keeping a low profile to win crucial support from local communities, company President David Garofalo said. The groundbreaking ceremony on Wednesday, in which Garofalo participated along with local leaders, came a week after Peru shelved Newmont Mining Corp's $5 billion gold mine in the northern Cajamarca region due to intractable opposition. "We stayed focused on the people that are...

URL: http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/08/30/us-peru-mining-idUSBRE87T0Z820120830?feedType=RSS&feedName=environmentNews&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+reuters%2Fenvironment+%28News+%2F+US+%2F+Environment%29

USCHPA Hails White House Executive Order Supporting Combined Heat & Power.

There is approximately 82 GW of CHP installed in the U.S. and industry estimates indicate the technical potential for additional CHP at existing sites in the U.S. is approximately 130 GW (plus an additional 10 GW of waste heat recovery CHP).

URL: http://www.green-energy-news.com/nwslnks/clips812/aug12037.html

Arkansas rice farmers race against Isaac to harvest crop

Reuters: Farmers in the top rice-producing state of Arkansas were harvesting their crop at breakneck speed, industry sources said Thursday, in a bid to limit damage from Hurricane Isaac, which had weakened and made landfall as a tropical storm. The potential threat to the rice crop from Isaac comes on the heels of the worst drought in half a century, which devastated corn and soybean crops in the Midwest farm belt, but had been beneficial to rice plantings. "I'm real nervous right now with the storm...

URL: http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/08/30/us-markets-isaac-rice-idUSBRE87T14J20120830?feedType=RSS&feedName=environmentNews&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+reuters%2Fenvironment+%28News+%2F+US+%2F+Environment%29

Climate change already challenging farmers, utilities

Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: It is unfortunate that global climate change has become one of those articles of faith by which politicians self-identify. On the left, there is little argument the planet is growing warmer; on the right, there is inadequate proof. In the middle lie industries such as agriculture and utility companies, both nationally and regionally, which must deal with the consequences of a warming planet and its attendant weather disruptions. They are getting precious little help from lawmakers. The languishing...

URL: http://www.democratandchronicle.com/needlogin?type=login&redirecturl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.democratandchronicle.com%2Farticle%2F20120831%2FOPINION04%2F120831003%3Fnclick_check%3D1

Report: Sunspots Can Trigger Frigid Winters in Europe

Climate Central: A major part of the climate change that scientists have documented over the past few decades comes from human emissions of heat-trapping greenhouse gases. Not all of it, however. Natural climate cycles haven't magically disappeared -- the El Niño/Southern Oscillation, or ENSO, for example, is entering a phase that will likely boost global temperatures temporarily -- and scientists are still discovering new ones. The latest comes in a new report published in Geophysical Research Letters. It's well...

URL: http://www.climatecentral.org/news/report-says-sunspots-can-trigger-frigid-winters-in-europe-14879?utm-source=feedburner&utm-medium=feed&utm-campaign=Feed%3A+climatecentral%2FdjOO+Climate+Central+-+Full+Feed

East Coast National Parks at Risk From Sea Level's Rise

New York Times: Labor Day is summer`s last hurrah, and families from across the country will be flocking to the beach this weekend to soak in some final rays. Beachgoers on the East Coast making their way to Cape Cod or one of six other National Seashores, however, might want to pause and take an extra look around at the wind-tossed dunes and sloping sands. Not just because summer is coming to an end, but because these areas are some of the most susceptible to the effects of climate change and may look very different,...

URL: http://green.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/08/30/east-coast-national-parks-at-risk-from-sea-levels-rise/?partner=rss&emc=rss
Enclosure: http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2012/08/30/business/energy-environment/30green-beachpic/30green-beachpic-blog480.jpg

Sun Day Campaign: Renewable Energy Experiences Explosive Growth Since Obama Administration Took Office

Two recently-issued federal studies underscore the dramatic growth in electrical generation from geothermal, solar, wind, and other renewable energy sources during the first three and one-half years of the Obama Administration.

URL: http://www.green-energy-news.com/nwslnks/clips812/aug12034.html

Report: Canaveral, other national seashores could disappear beneath the waves

Orlando Sentinel: Headed for a Central Florida beach to enjoy an end-of-summer surf break over Labor Day weekend? Be glad you can, but also worry about whether your children and grandchildren get to do the same in years to come, two environmental groups warned this week. The Rocky Mountain Climate Organization and the Natural Resources Defense Council chose the three-day holiday weekend to release a report that spells out how certain stretches of Atlantic Ocean shoreline will turn intolerably hot for people...

URL: http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/2012-08-30/news/os-climate-change-canaveral-seashore-20120830_1_seashores-rocky-mountain-climate-organization-rate-of-sea-level-rise

Despite Possible Attacks, Gaza Plans Half-Billion-Dollar Desalination Plant

Inter Press Service: Last May the European Commission reported that scores of infrastructure projects in the Gaza Strip, financed mostly by the European Union, have been damaged or destroyed, wittingly or unwittingly, by Israeli military forces in the ongoing conflict in the Palestinian Occupied Territories. Nevertheless, undaunted by this destruction, the Palestinian Authority plans to launch an ambitious half-billion-dollar project for a new seawater desalination plant in water-starved Gaza next year. When the...

URL: http://www.ipsnews.net/2012/08/despite-possible-attacks-gaza-plans-half-billion-dollar-desalination-plant/
Enclosure: http://ipsnews-net.wpengine.netdna-cdn.com/Library/2012/08/4351071251_f218d55502_b.jpg

Isaac could be blessing and curse in drought areas

MSNBC: Thousands of farmers in drought-hit states will be seeing rain from Isaac, but the question many are wondering is whether it will be a blessing, curse or both. After deluging Louisiana and Mississippi, Isaac on Thursday reached into Arkansas, one of the driest farm states where too much rain could ruin some crops now being harvested. Farmers ran combines overnight Wednesday, the farm extension service at the University of Arkansas reported -- after earlier tweeting this advice: "Harvest in...

URL: http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/08/30/13569603-isaac-could-be-blessing-and-curse-in-drought-areas-harvest-in-a-hurry-farmers-urged?lite
Enclosure: http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/j/MSNBC/Components/Photo/_new/120830_arkansas-drought.photoblog600.jpg

At Gazprom, Views Conflict on Viability of Barents Sea Gas Project

New York Times: Gazprom, the Russian energy company, has long presented the Shtokman field in the Barents Sea as the jewel in the crown of its natural gas reserves, a find that might hold enough gas to meet global demand for a year. But Gazprom, a state-controlled company, has struggled for years to develop the field. This week, executives at Gazprom presented conflicting views of whether the project was even viable. According to news agencies, Vsevolod Cherepanov, chief of Gazprom's development department, said...

URL: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/31/business/global/gazprom-natural-gas-project-in-arctic-seas-in-doubt.html

Wheat scientists seek to slow crop fungus in Africa, Asia

Reuters: Wheat experts are stepping up monitoring of a crop disease first found in Africa in 1999 to minimize the spread of a deadly fungus that is also a threat in Asia, experts said on Friday. A "Rust-Tracker", using data supplied by farmers and scientists, could now monitor the fungus in 27 developing nations across 42 million hectares (103 million acres) of wheat - an area the size of Iraq or California. "It's the most serious wheat disease," Ronnie Coffman, vice-chair of the Borlaug Global Rust...

URL: http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/08/31/us-wheat-idUSBRE87U04M20120831?feedType=RSS&feedName=environmentNews&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+reuters%2Fenvironment+%28News+%2F+US+%2F+Environment%29

Climate Change Likely To Increase Spread Of The Flu

ThinkProgress: The U.S. is going through the worst outbreak of West Nile virus in history, a problem likely to be exacerbated by climate change. Today, new research from the University of Michigan suggests that climate change is also likely to spread the flu: [C]limate change could upset the carefully choreographed interactions between ruddy turnstone shorebirds and the horseshoe crabs that provide the bulk of their food during the birds` annual stopover. Climate change caused disruptions to the well-timed...

URL: http://thinkprogress.org/health/2012/08/30/778661/climate-change-likely-to-increase-spread-of-the-flu/?mobile=nc

Biodiversity faltering: 20% of invertebrates threatened with extinction

Mongabay: Twenty percent of invertebrates are at risk of extinction, according to a new report that looks at the 12,621 invertebrates assessed by the IUCN Red List to date. Although invertebrates never garner the same conservation attention as big, charismatic animals such as tigers and elephants, they play an undeniable role in maintaining healthy ecosystems. In addition, since invertebrates make-up 80 percent of the world's species, the report raises new concerns about global biodiversity decline. "We...

URL: http://news.mongabay.com/2012/0831-hance-invertebrates.html
Enclosure: http://s3.amazonaws.com/mongabay/papua/600/west-papua_0355.jpg

Despite Drought, Some Corn Farmers Reap Bounty

National Public Radio: For every farmer who is hurting this year during the drought, others are benefiting. Many fields in the South, Northwest and Upper Midwest are producing bountiful corn crops. And because the drought has pushed prices to record highs, farmers who have corn to sell expect a terrific payday. "The corn has actually really, really taken off all the way through season. It's grown fast. It's been accelerated. The corn looks really good now," says John Scott, whose family farm in Sargeant, Minn., is just...

URL: http://www.npr.org/2012/08/30/160331758/despite-drought-some-corn-farmers-reap-bounty?ft=1&f=1025
Enclosure: http://www.npr.org/player/v2/mediaPlayer.html?action=1&t=1&islist=false&id=160331758&m=160338567

Phosphorus uptake gene 'could boost rice yields'

SciDev.Net: A rice gene that could significantly raise the rate of phosphorus uptake in rice varieties has been discovered by a team of international researchers, who claim that it could increase rice yields by up to 20 per cent. The gene is called PSTOL1, which stands for Phosphorus Starvation Tolerance. It enhances the root growth of rice plants, enabling them to acquire more phosphorous and other nutrients locked in soils. Sigrid Heuer, a senior scientist at the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI)...

URL: http://www.scidev.net/en/agriculture-and-environment/news/phosphorus-uptake-gene-could-boost-rice-yields-.html?utm_source=link&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=en_agricultureandenvironment
Enclosure: http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v488/n7412/full/nature11346.html

Better Place Secures EUR 40 Million European Investment Bank Support

The majority of the proceeds from the loan (approximately EUR 30 million ($38 million)) will be used to finalize network deployments and fund operations in Denmark. The remaining proceeds will be used for similar purposes in Israel.

URL: http://www.green-energy-news.com/nwslnks/clips812/aug12036.html

Sapphire Energy's Commercial Demonstration Algae-to-Energy Facility Now Operational.

When completed, the facility will produce 1.5 million gallons per year of crude oil and consist of approximately 300 acres of algae cultivation ponds and processing facilities.

URL: http://www.green-energy-news.com/nwslnks/clips812/aug12035.html

Filasa Plans $1.8 Billion Investment in 10 Romanian Wind Parks

 Filasa International, a French closely held company, plans to invest about 1.4 billion euros ($1.8 billion) in 10 wind parks in Romania in coming years, the company said in an e-mailed statement today.

URL: http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news/article/2012/08/filasa-plans-1-8-billion-investment-in-10-romanian-wind-parks?cmpid=rss

Isaac rain stalls U.S. crop harvest, some damage done

Reuters: Rain and wind from the remnants of Hurricane Isaac are expected to move into the central U.S. Midwest on Friday and into the weekend, stalling crop harvests and causing some localized damage, an agricultural meteorologist said. Isaac continued to cause headaches, bringing heavy rainfall and the threat of flash flooding to the lower Mississippi Valley as Gulf Coast residents prepared to start their cleanup efforts. Before Isaac slammed into the U.S. Gulf Coast on Wednesday, the U.S. Department...

URL: http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/08/31/us-storm-isaac-crops-idUSBRE87U0JB20120831?feedType=RSS&feedName=environmentNews&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+reuters%2Fenvironment+%28News+%2F+US+%2F+Environment%29
Enclosure: http://s1.reutersmedia.net/resources/r/?m=02&d=20120831&t=2&i=648033241&w=460&fh=&fw=&ll=&pl=&r=CBRE87U0YXE00

Russia rejects grain export limits as harvest outlook cut

Reuters: Russia's government, coping with a drought which has slashed grain yields by a more than a quarter, will not limit grain exports even if its exportable surplus is exhausted, Deputy Prime Minister Arkady Dvorkovich said on Friday. Markets had been bracing for an indication of some controls on Russian grain exports after watching crop forecasts fall week after week as the drought wore on, raising concerns of a blanket ban as happened after similar weather in 2010. December wheat on the Chicago...

URL: http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/08/31/us-russia-grain-idUSBRE87U0HK20120831?feedType=RSS&feedName=environmentNews&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+reuters%2Fenvironment+%28News+%2F+US+%2F+Environment%29

Schlumberger's clever frack takes aim at gas costs

Reuters: Production costs of natural gas from unconventional fields could tumble in the United States if a new technique developed by Schlumberger lives up to its billing. The world's largest oilfield services company by market value and others working in the industry have suffered this year because the runaway success of hydraulic fracturing (fracking) and horizontal drilling techniques to extract so-called unconventional gas has created a glut and caused a price slide. But using a proprietary system...

URL: http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/08/31/us-oil-conference-schlumberger-idUSBRE87U0GE20120831?feedType=RSS&feedName=environmentNews&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+reuters%2Fenvironment+%28News+%2F+US+%2F+Environment%29

Bioethanol or Biodiesel: Europe Hesitates over Indirect Impact of Green Fuel

 For years Europe has encouraged motorists to use diesel over petrol in its efforts to cut carbon dioxide emissions. Now, as the focus switches to introducing renewable fuels, it is proving far easier to produce clean bioethanol to replace petrol than clean biodiesel, leaving Europe's renewable fuel targets looking vulnerable.

URL: http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news/article/2012/08/europe-hesitates-over-indirect-impact-of-green-fuel?cmpid=rss

Italian Solar Generation Surpasses Wind for First Time

 As Italian solar photovoltaic (solar PV) development continues its furious pace, data has emerged that solar out produced the country's wind turbines in 2011.

URL: http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news/article/2012/08/italian-solar-generation-surpasses-wind-for-first-time?cmpid=rss

First Solar Ahead of Schedule at Agua Caliente, Halts Deliveries, Installation

 First Solar Inc., the biggest U.S. solar manufacturer, halted panel deliveries to the world's largest photovoltaic power plant, which it's building in Arizona, because construction is ahead of schedule and the company must slow down to meet contractual milestones.

URL: http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news/article/2012/08/first-solar-halts-deliveries-installation-at-agua-caliente?cmpid=rss

U.S. Geothermal Energy Potential is Heating Up

 Geothermal energy in the United States has the potential to have an installed capacity of 100,000 megawatts (MW) within the next 50 years, according to a report published by an interdisciplinary panel lead by MIT. That's the total peak energy consumption of France. Given that potential, will we see geothermal energy become a greater part of our power mix?

URL: http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news/article/2012/08/u-s-geothermal-energy-potential-is-heating-up?cmpid=rss

Free Market Hypocrisy: Why Do We Hold Renewables to Different Standards than Fossil Fuels and Nuclear?

 Now that renewables are receiving some of the same incentives that fossil fuels have enjoyed for nearly one hundred years, we're suddenly being inundated with calls for a purely "free-market" approach to energy development from politicians on the right and companies concerned about the growth of clean energy.

URL: http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news/article/2012/08/free-market-hypocrisy-why-do-we-hold-renewables-to-different-standards-than-fossil-fuels-and-nuclear?cmpid=rss

Will Isaac knock sense into America?

Business Spectator: Hurricane Isaac, which was downgraded to a tropical storm as it hit landfall yesterday, acts as a useful reminder of the incredible damage inflicted by Hurricane Katrina and the potential consequences of a warming world. The suburbs of New Orleans are flooding, and the storm has taken out power to 600,000 homes and businesses across Louisiana. At least two dozen people have been killed in Haiti, illustrating the incredible vulnerability of the least fortunate to climate change. In addition, it...

URL: http://www.businessspectator.com.au/bs.nsf/Article/hurricane-isaac-climate-change-global-warming-new--pd20120831-XP7UD?opendocument&src=rss

Romney speech mocks climate crisis

BusinessGreen: Mitt Romney officially launched his bid to become president yesterday with an attack on President Obama's environmental and energy policies that openly mocked efforts to tackle climate change. In a speech that was described by critics as "pedestrian" and "workmanlike", Romney secured some of the biggest applause of the night from the Republican Convention for contrasting his economic priorities with Obama's attempts to address environmental challenges. "President Obama promised to begin to...

URL: http://www.businessgreen.com/bg/news/2202045/romney-speech-mocks-climate-crisis?WT.rss_f=Home&WT.rss_a=Romney+speech+mocks+climate+crisis

Climate scientist Ray Pierrehumbert: “Paul Ryan Is a Climate Change Denialist”

Climate Science Watch: "Classic denialist dogma," Prof. Pierrehumbert calls Ryan's most explicit statement of his views on climate change. Romney and Ryan couldn't be setting the bar any lower for Obama to look good on climate change, if the President ever decides to talk about the problem other than mentioning it in talking to audiences of college students. Raymond Pierrehumbert is the Louis Block Professor in Geophysical Sciences at the University of Chicago, having earlier served on the atmospheric science faculties...

URL: http://www.climatesciencewatch.org/2012/08/31/climate-scientist-ray-pierrehumbert-paul-ryan-is-a-climate-change-denialist/

Who Deserves the Prize for the Greenest Home in the U.S.?

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Journalists love to announce the latest, greatest, greenest home ever built

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[](http://www.greenbuildingadvisor.com/blogs/dept/musings/who-deserves-prize-greenest-home-us)

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It's not unusual for an architect to announce, with great fanfare, that he or she has just designed "the greenest home in America" — nor is it unusual for journalists to rush these stories to print. The phenomenon has been going on for years — so long, in fact, that I decided to do a small survey of the "greenest homes."

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* The $2.2 million house at 2020 Alton Road in Miami Beach has been called [ "the greenest home in South Florida."](http://www.miamibeachcondosandhomes.com/blog/2012/7/2020-alton-road,-the-greenest-home-in-south-florida.htm)

URL: http://www.greenbuildingadvisor.com/blogs/dept/musings/who-deserves-prize-greenest-home-us

Kashmir's Melting Glaciers May Cut Ice With Sceptics

Inter Press Service: Jowhar Ahmed, an air-conditioner dealer in Srinagar, is pleased at a spurt in business this summer caused by temperatures soaring over 35 degrees Celsius -- unusual in this alpine valley ringed by snow-capped mountains. "I sold more than 70 air-conditioners in just one month," Ahmed, who runs the Oriental Sales electrical goods outlet, told IPS. To cope with the demand Ahmed and other dealers have begun stocking air-conditioners in Srinagar rather than book orders for later delivery. That...

URL: http://www.ipsnews.net/2012/08/kashmirs-melting-glaciers-may-cut-ice-with-sceptics/
Enclosure: http://ipsnews-net.wpengine.netdna-cdn.com/Library/2012/08/Kolhai-629x421.jpg

United Nations begin 'informal' negotiations

Resource: The United Nations has launched 'informal' negotiations on a climate change protocol in Bangkok, Thailand, today (30 August), prior to the annual UN Climate Conference, which will held in Doha, Qatar, in November. The negotiations, which will not be translated or broadcast via webcasts due to 'financial constraints', will run until Wednesday (5 September) and are expected to see representatives from over 190 countries begin the process of negotiating the terms of the 2020 Durban Platform for Enhanced...

URL: http://www.resource.uk.com/article/UK/United_Nations_begin_%E2%80%98informal%E2%80%99_negotiations-2151
Enclosure: http://www.resource.uk.com/sites/default/files/Talks_0.jpg

Obama order targets industrial efficiency, emissions

Reuters: President Barack Obama issued an executive order on Thursday that would increase the number of cogeneration plants in the U.S. by 50 percent by 2020, a move that would boost U.S. industrial energy efficiency and slash carbon emissions by 150 million tons per year. The order is the administration's latest effort to deploy cleaner and more efficient energy production in the country by working around political resistance to climate change and "green" energy legislation on Capitol Hill. The measure...

URL: http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/08/31/us-emissions-idUSBRE87U09W20120831?feedType=RSS&feedName=environmentNews&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+reuters%2Fenvironment+%28News+%2F+US+%2F+Environment%29
Enclosure: http://s1.reutersmedia.net/resources/r/?m=02&d=20120831&t=2&i=647967295&w=460&fh=&fw=&ll=&pl=&r=CBRE87U0MGB00

Hidden Cost of Hamburgers is Greater than Reported

Earth Island Journal: When the Center for Investigative Reporting (CIR) recently published a report on the hidden costs of meat, with a video and a transcript of its voice-over, readers and viewers had reason to believe that they could find in it some reliable information. After all, CIR's report was supported by the Climate Desk, a collaborative effort among a number of media outlets that have worked to improve public awareness of climate change. Indeed, if the world is to reverse climate change as needed, then...

URL: http://www.earthisland.org/journal/index.php/elist/eListRead/hidden_cost_of_hamburgers_is_greater_than_reported

Study Reveals that Drought Brought Down Ancient Egypt

Discovery News: The drought parching the United States is one of the worst in the nation's history, but it hasn't been as destructive as the drought that may have withered ancient Egypt's Old Kingdom. Pollen and charcoal buried in the Nile Delta 4,200 years ago tell the tale of a drought of literally Biblical proportions associated with the fall of the pyramid builders. "Even the mighty builders of the ancient pyramids more than 4,000 years ago fell victim when they were unable to respond to a changing climate,"...

URL: http://www.enn.com/climate/article/44871?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+ClimateChangeNews-Enn+%28Climate+Change+News+-+ENN%29
Enclosure: http://www.enn.com/image_for_articles/44871-1.jpg/medium

Small island states need action on climate loss and damage

AltertNet: International climate change negotiations have long been focused on mitigation and adaptation - that is, on reducing the greenhouse gas emissions responsible for the growing climate crisis and helping vulnerable communities adapt to its impacts. But with no end to emissions in sight, and only scant progress made towards building resilience, negotiators have been forced to confront a troubling new reality: what happens when mitigation and adaption efforts fall short? Not only does the most recent...

URL: http://www.trust.org/alertnet/blogs/climate-conversations/small-island-states-need-action-on-climate-loss-and-damage/
Enclosure: http://www.trust.org/contentAsset/resize-image/26ab0b69-fcdb-4f54-9731-b3069c350dff/photowide/?w=460&vn=201208301212

Meteorologists Say Climate Change Is Real and Human Caused

Triple Pundit: Weathercasters in the U.S. not only tend to not ever mention climate change, but the majority of them do not even believe it is human-caused, as an article I recently wrote shows. However, that may change. The American Meteorological Society (AMS) released an official position statement on climate change this week which not only said that it is occurring, but it is human-caused. What is so great about the statement by the AMS is that it includes so much information about climate change, including...

URL: http://www.triplepundit.com/2012/08/meteorologists-climate-change-real-human-caused/

Solar panel set to meet power demand at affordable cost

Financial Express: Bangladesh's prospect to turn its vast dark areas with sunlight has been bright by meeting its future power demand as solar panel installation is becoming gradually affordable with the development of business models, experts said. Thanks to the public and private initiatives, including supports of development partners, who carry the initial burden to popularize solar panels and made solar home system available in rural areas, they stated. Apart from popular micro credit system, getting solar...

URL: http://www.thefinancialexpress-bd.com/more.php?news_id=141716&date=2012-08-31

Isaac Will Lessen Drought, but Only in Some Places

Climate Central: The U.S. Drought Monitor released on Thursday was different from most such reports, in that it was essentially out of date before it was published. As always, the monitor was based on dryness readings as of 7 A.M. the previous Tuesday, and it's unusual for conditions to change drastically in such a short time. In fact, the newest drought map showed little change in the percentage of the lower 48 states feeling some level of drought: it was 52.63 percent, compared with 52.89 percent in the report...

URL: http://www.climatecentral.org/news/hurricane-isaac-will-lessen-drought-but-only-in-some-places-14922?utm-source=feedburner&utm-medium=feed&utm-campaign=Feed%3A+climatecentral%2FdjOO+Climate+Central+-+Full+Feed
Enclosure: http://www.climatecentral.org/images/sized/images/uploads/news/8-30-12_Mike_Isaac_rainfall-450x360.jpg

Food shortages could force world into vegetarianism, warn scientists

Ecologist: Water scarcity's effect on food production means radical steps will be needed to feed a population expected to reach nine billion by 2050, warns Stockholm International Water Institute Leading water scientists have issued one of the sternest warnings yet about global food supplies, saying that the world's population may have to switch almost completely to a vegetarian diet over the next 40 years to avoid catastrophic shortages. Humans derive about 20% of their protein from animal-based products...

URL: http://www.theecologist.org/News/news_analysis/1566070/food_shortages_could_force_world_into_vegetarianism_warn_scientists.html

Amazon forest threat is greater outside Brazil

Washington Post: On a scorching afternoon in the Amazon, all Agustin Villa and his partner needed was a chain saw and gasoline to take down an 82-foot hardwood in less than two minutes. Battling thick brush and mosquitoes, the pair downed 25 trees in all that day, from silk-cotton softwoods to figs, clearing the limbs and sawing them into sections for tractors to drag to a nearby dirt road. Across this corner of eastern Bolivia, peasants torch the forest for subsistence crops, while soy producers clear trees...

URL: http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/amazon-forest-threat-is-greater-outside-brazil/2012/08/30/2d47c4b0-ee08-11e1-b624-99dee49d8d67_story.html
Enclosure: http://www.washingtonpost.com/rf/image_606w/2010-2019/WashingtonPost/2012/08/22/Others/Images/2012-08-22/Amazonas%20deforestation025_1345676820.jpg