Cameroon palm oil plantation deal 'must be stopped': report

Agence France-Presse: A large palm oil plantation project in development in Cameroon since 2010 will put livelihoods and ecosystems in peril if allowed to continue, a US-based think-tank warned Wednesday. "With the loss of livelihoods by thousands of Cameroonians on the line and critical and unique ecosystems in peril, this project must be stopped," the Oakland Institute said in a report Wednesday. Authoured in collaboration with Greenpeace International, the report said the project from SG Sustainable Oils Cameroon...

URL: http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5hi5voE18_MAYyLMjddmHRPznWznQ?docId=CNG.229e1ed397ce2fca388f424f0c2cc3ea.821

Life Without Indian Point, Redux

New York Times: The consequences of running the Indian Point nuclear reactors or shutting them down run from easy-to-spot to hard-to-calculate. Is a serious accident plausible? Would retiring the reactors open the way for alternative sources of electricity that pose a lower safety risk? Or simply ensure an economic blow? Two Westchester County business groups have sponsored a study, released on Friday, that takes the latter view - a counterpoint a 2011 study by opponents that argued that there was nothing...

URL: http://green.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/09/07/life-without-indian-point-redux/?partner=rss&emc=rss
Enclosure: http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2012/09/06/blogs/indian/indian-blog480.jpg

LED Bulb Technology Widening Gap in Energy Efficiency, Report Says

Yale Environment 360: While today's light-emitting diode (LED) bulbs are slightly better for the environment than compact fluorescent lamps, the energy efficiency gap will widen over the next five years as the technology and manufacturing methods of LEDs improve, according to a new report. In an analysis of the impacts of the light technologies in 15 categories — including the energy and resources required to manufacture, operate, and dispose of the bulbs — researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy's Pacific Northwest...

URL: http://e360.yale.edu/digest/led_bulbs_widening_gap_in_energy_efficiency_report_says/3617/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+YaleEnvironment360+%28Yale+Environment+360%29

Obama rebuts Romney, says climate change is no 'hoax'

USA Today: President Obama embraced his environmental record Thursday and fought back at his GOP rival's recent mockery by telling the Democratic National Convention that "climate change is not a hoax." In accepting the Democratic presidential nomination, Obama cited his efforts to boost cars' fuel efficiency, cut energy waste in buildings and expand solar and wind power. "My plan will continue to reduce the carbon pollution that is heating our planet, because climate change is not a hoax," he told the delegates...

URL: http://content.usatoday.com/communities/greenhouse/post/2012/09/obama-rebuts-romney-saying-climate-change-is-not-a-hoax/1

Ocean Energy Teams Compete for $16 Million Scotland Prize

National Geographic: People have long dreamed of harnessing the tremendous power of the ocean's waves and tides. Off the jagged and wild coast of Scotland, a competition is now under way to demonstrate a practical means of capturing that vast renewable energy for electricity. Four United Kingdom companies are vying for the Saltire Prize, a £10 million (about $16 million) award offered by the government of Scotland, which boasts that 25 percent of Europe's tidal energy potential is surging off its shores. The prize...

URL: http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/energy/2012/09/120907-scotland-wave-energy-saltire-prize/
Enclosure: http://images.nationalgeographic.com/wpf/media-live/photos/000/590/cache/news-saltire-prize-pelamis-machine_59003_600x450.jpg

Mangrove deforestation 3x worse for climate than rainforest loss

Mongabay: Degradation and destruction of the world's seagrasses, tidal marshes, and mangroves may generate up to a billion tons in carbon dioxide emissions annually, reports a new study published in the journal PLOS ONE. The research looked at the world's 49 million hectares of coastal ecosystems and attempted to estimate emissions from conversion. Due to high levels of uncertainty about the extent of these ecosystems and the rate of conversion as well as the variance in carbon stocks, the study came up...

URL: http://news.mongabay.com/2012/0907-coastal-ecosystems-blue-carbon.html

Yuppies are killing rhinos, tigers, elephants

Mongabay: Yuppies, not elderly rural consumer, are driving the trade that is decimating some of the world's most iconic endangered species, including tigers, elephants, rhinos, pangolins, and bears, said experts meeting at a workshop in Vietnam. The meeting, sponsored by the United States Agency for International Development "ARREST" Program (Asia's Regional Response to Endangered Species Trafficking), involved conservation groups from Asia as well as media and advertising agencies. It sought to develop...

URL: http://news.mongabay.com/2012/0907-yuppies-consuming-wildlife.html
Enclosure: http://s3.amazonaws.com/mongabay-images/12/yaoming.q8a7213-2.568.jpg

Thousands of fish wash up on Lake Erie beaches

MSNBC: Tens of thousands of dead fish that washed up on Lake Erie beaches in Ontario, Canada -- and had locals wondering if something or someone had poisoned the water -- were likely killed by a lack of oxygen caused when lake sediment was stirred up, the province reported Friday. Water samples "do not show evidence of a manure spill or anything unusual in terms of contaminants," Ministry of Environment spokeswoman Kate Jordan told NBC News. Jordan said it wasn't known if the die-off was unprecedented,...

URL: http://worldnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/09/07/13733019-tens-of-thousands-of-fish-die-in-lake-erie-lack-of-oxygen-cited?lite
Enclosure: http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/j/MSNBC/Components/Photo/_new/120907_deadfish.photoblog600.jpg

Less Forest, Less Rain: Deforestation Reduces Tropical Rainfall

LiveScience: Deforestation can significantly reduce rainfall in tropical areas and beyond, according to a study published today (Sept. 7) in the journal Nature. Over a majority of the Earth's tropics, air passing over forested land produces twice as much rain as air passing over areas of sparse vegetation, the study found. Loss of forest cover can decrease levels of rainfall thousands of miles away. Deforestation has already reduced rainfall in heavily populated areas adjacent to the Amazon and Congo rainforests,...

URL: http://news.yahoo.com/less-forest-less-rain-deforestation-reduces-tropical-rainfall-214509180.html

Disease-Spreading Ticks on the Move as Climate Changes

National Geographic: The blood-sucking, disease-spreading parasites are expanding into new territories as wildlife populations, forest habitats and weather patterns change across North America, biologists have found. "This year`s mild winter and early spring were a bonanza for tick populations in the eastern United States," the National Science Foundation said today. "Reports of tick-borne disease rose fast." While Lyme disease is the most common tick-borne disease in the Northeast and Upper Midwest, new research...

URL: http://newswatch.nationalgeographic.com/2012/09/07/disease-spreading-ticks-on-the-move-as-climate-changes/
Enclosure: http://newswatch.nationalgeographic.com/files/2012/09/tick_disease5_h-590x499.jpg

Obama and Romney Part Ways on Climate Change and Energy

StateImpact: Pres­i­dent Obama touted his record on energy devel­op­ment to del­e­gates of the Demo­c­ra­tic National Con­ven­tion Thurs­day night in Char­lotte, NC, and chas­tised Rom­ney for mak­ing light of global warming. "And yes, my plan will con­tinue to reduce the car­bon pol­lu­tion that is heat­ing our planet, because cli­mate change is not a hoax," said Obama to thun­der­ous applause. "More droughts and floods and wild­fires are not a joke. They are a threat to our children's future." Dur­ing...

URL: http://stateimpact.npr.org/pennsylvania/2012/09/07/obama-and-romney-part-ways-on-climate-change-and-energy/

Climate change: why it could be a hot topic on the campaign trail

Christian Science Monitor: Like Lord Voldemort in the Harry Potter saga, climate change has been the issue "that shall not be named" – mostly a political no-show in the presidential campaign. But that may be changing thanks to the political heat generated by the two conventions. In Tampa, Mitt Romney threw down the gauntlet to Barack Obama, for whom global warming – and the consequent sea level rise – has been a signature issue since he promised in 2008 to do something about it as president. "President Obama promised...

URL: http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Elections/President/2012/0907/Climate-change-why-it-could-be-a-hot-topic-on-the-campaign-trail
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Those with conspiracy beliefs apt to deny global warming, too

NBC: A study suggesting climate change deniers also tend to hold general beliefs in conspiracy theories has sparked accusations of a conspiracy on climate change-denial blogs. The research, which will be published in an upcoming issue of the journal Psychological Science, surveyed more than 1,000 readers of science blogs regarding their beliefs regarding global warming. The results revealed that people who tend to believe in a wide array of conspiracy theories are more likely to reject the scientific...

URL: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/48947384/ns/technology_and_science-science/

Chilling Effect: Smugglers Sell Coolant Tied to Global Warming

New York Times: The chief executive of the century-old company from America's heartland shifted nervously on the witness stand here as he tried to explain how a trusted senior vice president had been caught on a wiretap buying half a million dollars in smuggled merchandise, much of it from China. But the contraband purchased by Marcone, a St. Louis-based company that claims to be the nation's largest authorized source for appliance parts, was not counterfeit handbags or fake medicines. It was a colorless gas that...

URL: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/08/science/earth/smugglers-sell-coolant-tied-to-global-warming.html

United Kingdom: David Cameron's chill wind of change blows apart the green agenda

Telegraph: Eric Pickles makes an unlikely eco-warrior. So it speaks volumes about this week's Cabinet reshuffle that his survival is the only thing that pleased environmentalists. Both they and climate sceptics agree that it has radically changed policy, finally strangling those huskies and ditching the green agenda which David Cameron embraced to help make his party (nearly) electable. To be honest, I have yet to be entirely convinced. But even the perception of such a massive U-turn is likely to cause...

URL: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/countryside/9528151/David-Camerons-chill-wind-of-change-blows-apart-the-green-agenda.html
Enclosure: http://i.telegraph.co.uk/multimedia/archive/02332/B3CBDG_2332217b.jpg

Climate Change Among Causes For Decline In Caribbean Coral Reef

ForexTV.com: The International Union for Conservation of Nature [IUCN] warns that the Caribbean coral reef ecosystems are undergoing a period of rapid decline. Average live coral cover, according to the report, occupies 8% of the reef today, compared with 50% in the 1970s. "The major causes of coral decline are well known and include overfishing, pollution, disease and bleaching caused by rising temperatures resulting from the burning of fossil fuels,' says Carl Gustaf Lundin, Director of IUCN's Global Marine...

URL: http://www.forextv.com/forex-news-story/climate-change-among-causes-for-decline-in-caribbean-coral-reef
Enclosure: http://www.forextv.com/js/kcfinder/upload/images/Ancient_coral_reefs%281%29.jpg

Shell gets EPA OK for Chukchi operations; drilling imminent

Reuters: Royal Dutch Shell on Friday received permission to operate an oil drilling ship and support vessels in the Chukchi Sea, even though the company's activities there are expected to violate previously established air-quality standards, the Environmental Protection Agency said. EPA said it granted Shell a compliance order allowing the company's fleet to emit pollutants at levels beyond limits set in a major permit issued to the company in January. Shell in June informed EPA that it could not meet...

URL: http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/09/07/us-oil-shell-chukchi-idUSBRE8861CV20120907?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=20120907&t=2&i=650600137&w=460&fh=&fw=&ll=&pl=&r=CBRE8861QFI00

Getting Into the Business of Environment

Inter Press Service: Regulations that stand in the way of conservation programmes lower their likely success, experts warned at the World Conservation Congress of the International Union of Conservation of Nature (IUCN) in Jeju, South Korea. They say there is mounting evidence to show that with participation of communities, businesses and other groups, conservation efforts have shown better results. "Generally we find that protection efforts are more effective if they involve participation by different stakeholders,"...

URL: http://www.ipsnews.net/2012/09/getting-into-the-business-of-environment/

Florida sea turtle numbers up, but climate change poses threat

Bend Bulletin: Canaveral National Seashore and neighboring beaches in central Florida are reporting record numbers of loggerhead sea turtle nests, a promising change from a decade-long drop. But now a new threat is looming: rising temperatures. Summers are gradually getting warmer at Canaveral. And with climate change scenarios projecting the trend to continue, there's increasing concern it might get so hot that the eggs literally fry. This could mean trouble especially for the male of the species, which...

URL: http://www.bendbulletin.com/article/20120908/NEWS0107/209080356/
Enclosure: http://www.bendbulletin.com/apps/pbcsi.dll/bilde?Site=BB&Date=20120908&Category=NEWS0107&ArtNo=209080356&Ref=AR&MaxW=570

Obama's 'Climate Change Is Not A Hoax' Declaration At DNC Challenges Romney

Huffington Post: "Climate change is not a hoax," President Obama declared to a cheering crowd on Thursday night at the Democratic National Convention. Obama's declaration was a drastic departure from Mitt Romney's statements at the Republican National Convention. The GOP presidential nominee evoked laughter from his audience last week when he announced, "President Obama promised to begin to slow the rise of the oceans and to heal the planet. My promise ... is to help you and your family." At the time, critics...

URL: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/09/07/obamas-climate-change-dnc-romney_n_1864747.html?utm_hp_ref=elections-2012

Pact Is Signed to Protect Great Lakes

New York Times: The United States and Canada signed an accord in Washington on Friday to protect the Great Lakes, the world's largest freshwater system. The agreement, which updates promises between the two nations first made in 1972, sets goals for each country to address invasive species like the Asian carp; curb phosphorus runoff, which can contribute to algae blooms; and cut pollution from industry and vessels. Each nation will now need to develop policies to implement their common objectives, according to the...

URL: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/08/us/pact-is-signed-to-protect-great-lakes.html

Deforestation affects rainfall, another reason to protect the rainforests

Environmental News Network: From regulating climate systems to offering food and medicines, to being home to many plants, animals, and indigenous people, rainforests are not only a local ecosystem but their benefits extend globally. Adding to its effects is new research that shows rainforests have a huge impact on rainfall. A team from the University of Leeds and the NERC Centre for Ecology & Hydrology found that air passing over tropical forests produces at least twice as much rain as air passing over little vegetation...

URL: http://www.enn.com/climate/article/44908?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+ClimateChangeNews-Enn+%28Climate+Change+News+-+ENN%29

How sea otters can reduce CO2 in the atmosphere

ScienceDaily: Can an abundance of sea otters help reverse a principal cause of global warming? A new study by two UC Santa Cruz researchers suggest that a thriving sea otter population that keeps sea urchins in check will in turn allow kelp forests to prosper. The spreading kelp can absorb as much as 12 times the amount of CO2 from the atmosphere than if it were subject to ravenous sea urchins, the study finds. The theory is outlined in a paper released online September 7, 2012 in Frontiers in Ecology and the...

URL: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/09/120907161437.htm?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+sciencedaily+%28ScienceDaily%3A+Latest+Science+News%29
Enclosure: http://images.sciencedaily.com/2012/09/120907161437-large.jpg?1347051780

Obama Re-pledges Renewables Commitment as E&Y Reports US Falling Behind

 When he stepped up to the podium on Thursday night to accept his party's nomination at the Democratic National Convention, President Barack Obama had quite a few things on his mind. One of those things was renewable energy. Another was climate change. In a speech that touched on issues ranging in scope from health care to job creation, Obama took time to restate his commitment to the improvement of fuel standards and continued investment in renewables.

URL: http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news/article/2012/09/obama-re-pledges-renewables-commitment-while-e-y-reports-us-falling-behind?cmpid=rss

China Price War Draining Jobs in Germany's Solar Valley

 When Thomas Behling returned to his home state of Saxony-Anhalt in 2006, he was drawn by a job in the solar industry and the chance to participate in Germany's renewable energy boom. He was fired in July.

URL: http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news/article/2012/09/china-price-war-draining-jobs-in-germanys-solar-valley?cmpid=rss

Obama Counterpunches on Climate Change

New York Times: Mitt Romney, the Republican presidential nominee, took a not-too-subtle jab at President Obama in his convention speech last week, mocking Mr. Obama's soaring 2008 campaign language about rolling back the rising seas and healing the planet. Mr. Romney's gibe drew thunderous applause from the Republican delegates, many of whom express doubt about the existence of climate change. Mr. Obama jabbed back on Thursday night in his acceptance speech while detailing his energy program, which includes increased...

URL: http://green.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/09/07/obama-counterpunches-on-climate-change/
Enclosure: http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2012/09/07/blogs/jab/jab-blog480.jpg

Climate change a mixed blessing for wheat, say experts

SciDev.Net: Climate change may have a profound effect on the world's ability to produce wheat -- one of its staple crops -- and adaptation efforts must take into account both the positive and negative effects of climate shifts, say wheat experts. Production in some regions, such as India and Mexico, is predicted to be negatively affected by climate change, according to Thomas Lumpkin, director general of the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT). But, in other regions, such as northern...

URL: http://www.scidev.net/en/agriculture-and-environment/news/climate-change-a-mixed-blessing-for-wheat-say-experts.html?utm_source=link&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=en_agricultureandenvironment
Enclosure: http://c96267.r67.cf3.rackcdn.com/Wheat_Flickr_WheatInitiative_140x140.jpg

Politicians Who Deny Climate Change Cannot Be Pro-Business - Bloomberg

Bloomberg: It finally seems to be dawning on many Americans that there's something to this climate change thing. The historic drought has been hard to ignore. While belief in a long-term trend because it's hot out right now is a bit ridiculous, it's a start. You can see a shift in how the media covers weather. The statement "because of climate change..." is often stated clearly without caveats such as, "what some scientists think may be a warming planet." You see it in the UN calling for action to help the...

URL: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-09-07/politicians-who-deny-climate-change-cannot-be-pro-business.html

A third runway at Heathrow would be an off-the-scale betrayal

Guardian: The prime minister believes we face a crisis over aviation capacity in London. As a result, he has put Heathrow's third runway back into the mix. Given the "no ifs, no buts" pledge he made before the election, it's a major leap. Combined with the removal of the well-respected transport secretary, Justine Greening, and the equally respected aviation minister, Theresa Villiers, both of whom resolutely defended the government's stated opposition to Heathrow expansion, all this points to an imminent...

URL: http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2012/sep/07/third-runway-heathrow-betrayal
Enclosure: http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Guardian/Pix/pictures/2012/9/7/1347023020688/Aerial-Views-Of-Grounded--008.jpg

Company Profits Unaffected by Climate Change Laws: Poll

Bloomberg: Almost 50 percent of global investors in a survey said government efforts to combat climate change will have little effect on corporate profits, while most say global warming is a danger to the planet. Actions to limit pollution will have "not much impact" on profitability, according to 49 percent of respondents in the Bloomberg Global Poll, while a third said profit may fall. Eight percent of the investors, analysts and traders surveyed among Bloomberg's global customers said such efforts would...

URL: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-09-07/company-profits-unaffected-by-climate-change-laws-poll.html
Enclosure: http://www.bloomberg.com/image/iVP8YkkaaGJ0.jpg

Nuclear safety boosted to help avert another Fukushima -expert

Reuters: Many countries have taken concrete steps to improve safety at nuclear power plants to help prevent extreme natural hazards such as earthquakes from causing another Fukushima-style disaster, the chairman of an expert meeting said on Friday. Speaking after a four-day conference at the Vienna headquarters of the United Nations' atomic agency, Antonio Godoy, an Argentinean seismic expert, said the 2011 Fukushima disaster in Japan had prompted real change in the industry. "Physical upgrades have...

URL: http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/09/07/us-nuclear-safety-hazards-idUSBRE8860UJ20120907?feedType=RSS&feedName=environmentNews&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+reuters%2Fenvironment+%28News+%2F+US+%2F+Environment%29

Russia will participate in the second period of the Kyoto Protocol all the same

Itar-Tass: The Russian authorities ceased to consider the climatic policy only as a domestic affair of the country, the Kommersant daily reported. The newspaper said the Russian officials under the influence of business associations decided that the country will participate in the second period of the Kyoto Protocol all the same. The final negotiating position will be put forward by the next round of the climatic negotiations, which will be held in Doha in December 2012. Meanwhile, the authorities and the...

URL: http://indrus.in/articles/2012/09/06/russia_will_participate_in_the_second_period_of_the_kyoto_protocol_a_17459.html

United States: Yosemite hantavirus claims third victim as park moves to warn thousands

Associated Press: A West Virginian is the third person to die so far from a rodent-borne illness linked to some tent cabins at Yosemite National Park that has affected eight people in all, health officials said. Five people are ill from the outbreak reported last week by officials at the California park, who said up to 10,000 guests could have been exposed to hantavirus pulmonary syndrome from sleeping in the cabins since 10 June. More infections could be reported. Alerts from the US Centers for Dsease Control...

URL: http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2012/sep/07/yosemite-hantavirus-third-victim
Enclosure: http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Guardian/Pix/pictures/2012/9/7/1347007572825/Tourists-in-Yosemite-nati-010.jpg

Hurricane Link To Climate Change Explained

Discovery News: As we approach the peak of this year's hurricane season, one question that is frequently asked - particularly in the wake of this summer's succession of extreme weather events - is whether hurricanes are becoming, or will become, more frequent or stronger as climate change strengthens its grip. It's a question with which atmospheric scientists have been grappling for a relatively short amount of time, and as such the answer is something of a moving target. Were we to consult a climatological Magic...

URL: http://news.discovery.com/earth/does-climate-change-mean-more-or-stronger-hurricanes-120907.html
Enclosure: http://blogs.discovery.com/.a/6a00d8341bf67c53ef017d3be3500b970c-800wi

Environmentalists and indigenous people against carbon offset trading

Latinamerica Press: World Bank pushes program that could bring negative environmental and social consequences. Central American environmentalists and indigenous people are intensifying efforts to prevent governments in the region from participating in a program promoted by the World Bank that seeks to include these countries in the carbon credits market, claiming it will have deleterious effects on the environment and the people. Social organizations have sent letters to the World Bank's Forest Carbon Partnership...

URL: http://lapress.org/articles.asp?art=6700

Obama acceptance speech soft pedals climate goals

Bellona: In a speech inspiring for its embrace of responsibility to future generations, President Barack Obama nonetheless accepted the Democratic nomination in a sobering manner that was longer on political survival and shorter on ambitious climate goals than many environmental observers had hoped. Hovering over his appeal to voters at the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, North Carolina, were clouds that this was no longer 2008, and that the political course to a greener economy that lay ahead...

URL: http://www.bellona.org/articles/articles_2012/obama_speech_analysis
Enclosure: http://www.bellona.org/imagearchive/ingressimage_obama_dnc_speech_youtube

United Kingdom: Solar support set to be cut again

BusinessGreen: The government today proposed new subsidy rates for solar power will ensure the technology plays an important role in boosting the UK's energy security and tackling climate change. The new levels outlined in a consultation apply to solar photovoltaic (PV) installations larger than 5MW of capacity, which are supported under the Renewable Obligation (RO), and were published alongside new sustainability criteria for biomass. The rates have dropped from the current 2 ROCs per MWh, which was proposed...

URL: http://www.businessgreen.com/bg/news/2203898/solar-support-set-to-be-cut-again?WT.rss_f=Home&WT.rss_a=Solar+support+set+to+be+cut+again

Climate Change Makes An Appearance At Political Conventions — But Is It More Than A Cameo?

ThinkProgress: After being left out in the cold all year, global warming is making a reappearance on the campaign trail. President Obama, who campaigned aggressively in 2008 on the promise of fighting climate change, has barely mentioned the subject during this campaign, despite a summer of record heat and drought and news reports linking such extreme weather events to increases in greenhouse gases. [National Journal] But on Thursday night, under the spotlight at the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte,...

URL: http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2012/09/07/811151/sept-7-news-climate-change-makes-an-appearance-at-political-conventions-but-is-it-more-than-a-cameo/?mobile=nc

Southeastern farmers might benefit from climate change

Online Athens: Farmers in Georgia and other southeastern states might actually benefit as the world's atmosphere heats up in the first part of the 21st century. "I think we're really in good shape for the long term, compared to some parts of the country," said University of Georgia agricultural climatologist Pam Knox. "The Southeast is really well positioned for the future in terms of climate change." Knox and two other climatologists recently interviewed state climatologists across the region to get their...

URL: http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=t&fd=R&usg=AFQjCNGwxV_-B01blwvSRmV-xZGmgZGP-w&url=http://onlineathens.com/uga/2012-09-06/southeastern-farmers-might-benefit-climate-change

African farming makes progress against climate change

Examiner: A report of the improvements in East African farming and livestock management that help small farmers adapt to climate change developed by the CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS) and the Nairobi-based World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF) appeared online before publication in the journal Food Security on September 7, 2012, and was reviewed at the Eureka Alert web site the same day. Food insecurity in this part of the world is a constant threat from changing...

URL: http://www.examiner.com/article/african-farming-makes-progress-against-climate-change

Mild weather helps trim EU's greenhouse gas emissions

EurActiv: Reduced heating demand during a mild winter helped cut greenhouse gas emissions 2.5% in the European Union last year, the European Environment Agency reported today (7 September). The EEA said preliminary figures show emissions fell even more sharply – 3.5% - in the 15 countries that were among the original EU signatories of the Kyoto Protocol, the 1997 international agreement that committed developed nations to reducing their greenhouse gas emissions from 1990 levels. Under Kyoto, the EU agreed...

URL: http://www.euractiv.com/climate-environment/mild-weather-helps-trim-eu-green-news-514660

Salinity and Climate

Environmental News Network: The degree of salinity in oceans is a driver of the world's ocean circulation, where density changes due to both salinity changes and temperature changes at the surface of the ocean produce changes in buoyancy, which cause the sinking and rising of water masses. Changes in the salinity of the oceans are thought to contribute to global changes in carbon dioxide as more saline waters are less soluble to carbon dioxide. A NASA-sponsored expedition is set to sail to the North Atlantic's saltiest spot...

URL: http://www.enn.com/climate/article/44907?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+ClimateChangeNews-Enn+%28Climate+Change+News+-+ENN%29

Concord, Mass., bans sale of plastic water bottles

NBC: Bans on plastic bags have taken root in communities across the country, but banning the sale of water in plastic bottles? The town of Concord, Mass., is in line to be the first in the nation to do just that, now that the state's attorney general has signed off. The bottled water industry, for its part, is considering a lawsuit. Championed by an 84-year-old resident during a three-year battle, the law bans the sale of single-serving PET water bottles of one liter or less starting on Jan. 1 in Concord,...

URL: http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/09/07/13710037-concord-mass-the-first-us-city-to-ban-sale-of-plastic-water-bottles?lite

United Kingdom: Biomass generators to face sustainability criteria

BusinessGreen: Biomass power stations will have to meet strict sustainability criteria to receive government subsidies, according to new proposals published today. A consultation outlining the measures and recommending a cap on the support provided to new dedicated biomass power under the Renewables Obligation (RO) as well as drops in subsidy levels was published today alongside proposed cuts to payments for large-scale solar systems. According to the government's bioenergy strategy published in April, burning...

URL: http://www.businessgreen.com/bg/news/2203915/biomass-generators-to-face-sustainability-criteria?WT.rss_f=Home&WT.rss_a=Biomass+generators+to+face+sustainability+criteria

Climate change ruins world for children

Evansville Courier and Press: My daughter was born in July 2011, within a week of air quality alerts. This year, she celebrated her first birthday within a summer of them. Summer 2012 should have been the first that we could really enjoy as a family, but with poor air quality, regular heat advisories with temperatures topping 100 degrees, and the threat of West Nile virus-carrying mosquitoes in the cooler evenings, my husband and I have kept our daughter inside. We had hoped to take her to the Vanderburgh County Fair, but...

URL: http://www.courierpress.com/news/2012/sep/07/climate-change-ruins-world-for-children/

As Sea Ice Fades, The Arctic Becomes A Nautical Highway

Climate Central: The timing couldn't have been better: just a week or so after scientists announced the greatest meltback of Arctic sea ice on record, three adventurers declared they'd slipped through the McClure Strait in Canada's Arctic Archipelago, thus achieving the first-ever sailboat trek through the northernmost part of the fabled Northwest Passage. Together, the two events made it abundantly clear that the Arctic is warming dramatically. That in turn could pose great risks to Arctic wildlife, accelerate...

URL: http://www.climatecentral.org/news/as-sea-ice-disappears-the-arctic-is-becoming-a-nautical-highway-14952?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+climatecentral%2FdjOO+Climate+Central+-+Full+Feed

Arctic melting at 'amazing' speed

BBC: Scientists in the Arctic are warning that this summer's record-breaking melt is part of an accelerating trend with profound implications. Norwegian researchers report that the sea ice is becoming significantly thinner and more vulnerable. Last month, the annual thaw of the region's floating ice reached the lowest level since satellite monitoring began, more than 30 years ago. It is thought the scale of the decline may even affect Europe's weather. The melt is set to continue for at least...

URL: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-19508906#sa-ns_mchannel=rss&ns_source=PublicRSS20-sa
Enclosure: http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/62737000/jpg/_62737338_glacier.jpg

Obama Says Climate Change Not A Hoax, Extreme Weather Not A Joke

Climate Desk: President Obama, often shy of turning climate change into a marquee campaign issue, last night made a full-throated endorsement of climate action, calling out Governor Romney and the Republicans as disbelievers of reality, and jokesters about a real threat. He also explicitly linked this summer's extreme weather to global warming. "And yes," he said to some of the longest applause of the night, "my plan will continue to reduce the carbon pollution that is heating our planet – because climate change...

URL: http://climatedesk.org/2012/09/obama-says-climate-change-not-a-hoax-extreme-weather-not-a-joke/

Australia's NSW Pledges Streamlined Renewables Planning Process

 New South Wales, Australia's most-populous state, promised to streamline planning and improve network connections to attract renewable energy investment.

URL: http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news/article/2012/09/australias-nsw-pledges-streamlined-renewables-planning-process?cmpid=rss

FTC Warns Window Makers on Exaggerated Energy Claims

Subtitle:&nbsp_place_holder;

The agency hasn't let up on its push to reduce misleading or erroneous marketing claims of energy savings resulting from replacement-window installations

Images:&nbsp_place_holder;

[](http://www.greenbuildingadvisor.com/blogs/dept/green-building-news/ftc-warns-window-makers-exaggerated-energy-claims)

Early this year, five window makers [agreed to settle Federal Trade Commission charges](http://www.greenbuildingadvisor.com/blogs/dept/green-building-news/ftc-rattles-windows-over-energy-savings-claims) that the firms had made deceptive claims about the energy efficiency and energy cost savings that their windows could deliver. But that was just one step in the agency's quest to address deceptive marketing in this building-component category.

URL: http://www.greenbuildingadvisor.com/blogs/dept/green-building-news/ftc-warns-window-makers-exaggerated-energy-claims

FTC Warns Window Makers on Exaggerated Energy Claims

Subtitle:&nbsp_place_holder;

The agency hasn't let up on its push to reduce misleading or erroneous marketing claims of energy savings resulting from replacement-window installations

Images:&nbsp_place_holder;

[](http://www.greenbuildingadvisor.com/blogs/dept/green-building-news/ftc-warns-window-makers-exaggerated-energy-claims)

Early this year, five window makers [agreed to settle Federal Trade Commission charges](http://www.greenbuildingadvisor.com/blogs/dept/green-building-news/ftc-rattles-windows-over-energy-savings-claims) that the firms had made deceptive claims about the energy efficiency and energy cost savings that their windows could deliver. But that was just one step in the agency's quest to address deceptive marketing in this building-component category.

URL: http://www.greenbuildingadvisor.com/blogs/dept/green-building-news/ftc-warns-window-makers-exaggerated-energy-claims

Merrimack Village Dam: The Impact of Removing a Dam in New Hampshire

 Post-dam removal monitoring is ongoing to identify the impacts of removing Merrimack Village Dam in New Hampshire. The dam was removed to restore diadromous fish habitat, improve water quality, restore natural sediment transport and avoid high maintenance costs associated with the aged structure.

URL: http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news/article/2012/09/merrimack-village-dam-results-of-removing-a-dam-in-new-hampshire?cmpid=rss

Guess Who's Chopping Down The Amazon Now?

National Public Radio: Though Brazil's Amazon has been the focus of environmental groups for decades, the deforestation rate there has fallen dramatically in recent years as clear-cutting of Amazonian jungle in eight other countries has started to rise. As a result, the 40 percent of Amazonia located in a moon-shaped arc of countries from Bolivia to Colombia to French Guiana faces a more serious threat than the jungle in Brazil. The culprits range from ranching to soybean farming, logging to infrastructure development...

URL: http://www.npr.org/2012/09/06/160171565/guess-whos-chopping-down-the-amazon-now
Enclosure: http://pd.npr.org/anon.npr-mp3/npr/atc/2012/09/20120906_atc_03.mp3?dl=1

Issac tar balls came from BP oil spill

Associated Press: Laboratory tests show that globs of oil found on two Louisiana beaches after hurricane Isaac came from the 2010 BP spill. Tests run by Louisiana State University (LSU) for state wildlife officials confirmed that oil found on Elmer's Island and Grand Isle matched the biological fingerprint of the hundreds of millions of gallons of oil that spewed from BP's Macondo well. On Wednesday, BP said oil from its spill had been exposed by Isaac's waves and that the company would work to clean it up....

URL: http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2012/sep/07/issac-tar-balls-bp-oil-spill
Enclosure: http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Environment/Pix/pictures/2012/9/7/1347009664140/Clean-up-workers-collect--008.jpg

Balkans drought fuel fear of repeat winter energy crisis

Reuters: A second straight winter of blackouts and escalating energy prices is hanging over the Balkans as the driest weather in 40 years has depleted water levels and shows no signs of easing. Hydro power accounts for about a quarter of the region's generation, and with nearly 1,800 MW of coal-fired capacity offline for planned maintenance, utilities may have to turn to costly imports to maintain supply as they did a year ago. "If the drought continues the situation in the power sector is set to be...

URL: http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/09/07/us-balkans-drought-energy-idUSBRE8860F020120907?feedType=RSS&feedName=environmentNews&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+reuters%2Fenvironment+%28News+%2F+US+%2F+Environment%29

More Solar Outrage Over EU Probe

 The headlines are filled this morning with chatter on the latest news that the European Union is launching an anti-dumping probe into Chinese solar panel makers, following a similar investigation by the US that is likely to result in punitive tariffs by the end of this year. In addition to news of the probe itself, most of the major Chinese panel m

URL: http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/blog/post/2012/09/more-solar-outrage-over-eu-probe?cmpid=rss

Barack Obama swipes at Mitt Romney over climate change jibe

Guardian: Barack Obama chose the biggest night of his re-election campaign to acknowledge the dangers of climate change – and to take a swipe at Mitt Romney for turning global warming into a laugh line in his convention speech. Obama thrilled Democrats when he accepted his party's presidential nomination on Thursday with a blunt rebuttal to the climate change contrarians who now dominate the Republican party. The president said he would continue to invest in wind and solar energy if he wins a second...

URL: http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2012/sep/07/barack-obama-mitt-romney-climate?newsfeed=true

New government may raise Quebec's carbon target

Reuters: Quebec's new government would not change the province's plans to launch a carbon market that would link to California's next year, but its new leadership may try to raise its target to cut greenhouse gas emissions to 25 percent below 1990 levels by 2020. The left-leaning, separatist Parti Quebecois (PQ) last week won 54 out of 125 seats in the Canadian province's legislature, giving it a narrow four-seat edge over the incumbent Liberal party and control of a minority government. While the PQ's...

URL: http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/09/07/us-quebec-carbon-idUSBRE8860AW20120907?feedType=RSS&feedName=environmentNews&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+reuters%2Fenvironment+%28News+%2F+US+%2F+Environment%29

South Australia hits wind power milestone

Wind power in South Australia provided more than half of the state's power on Wednesday, September 5, according to the Clean Energy Council (CEC). And in the past year wind in the state has for the first time ever provided more energy than coal.

URL: http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news/article/2012/09/south-australia-hits-wind-power-milestone?cmpid=rss

Brazil forecast for huge renewables growth

 Brazil's total installed wind capacity could rocket from the current 2769 MW to 19,420 MW by 2020 according to new research.

URL: http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news/article/2012/09/brazil-forecast-for-huge-renewables-growth?cmpid=rss

Controversial palm oil license issued in Indonesian orangutan forest revoked

Mongabay: An Indonesian court has instructed the governor of Aceh province to revoke a controversial license owned by a palm oil company accused of destroying orangutan habitat and carbon-rich peatlands on the island of Sumatra, reports The Jakarta Post. The permit allowing PT Kallista Alam to establish a 1,605-hectare plantation in the Tripa peat swamp is controversial because it violated a country-wide moratorium on new concessions in peatlands and primary forests issued in 2011 by Indonesian president...

URL: http://news.mongabay.com/2012/0906-tripa-revoked.html

APP establishes deforestation moratorium in Jambi; greens remain skeptical

Mongabay: Asia Pulp & Paper (APP) has established a moratorium on natural forest conversion in Jambi province on the island of Sumatra, according to a report issued by the Indonesian forestry giant. The moratorium covers 55,584 hectares of forest land, including concessions owned outright by APP and two independent pulpwood suppliers. APP says it has now conducted a preliminary high conservation value forest (HCVF) assessment across 80 percent of its concessions in Jambi and Riau and 50 percent of its concessions...

URL: http://news.mongabay.com/2012/0906-app-jambi-roadmap.html

The Baffling Nexus of Climate Change and Health

New York Times: In 2004, a rare tropical fungus caused a string of respiratory failures and neural disorders along the Pacific Northwest coast, baffling the health community. That same year, Alaskan cruise ship passengers dining on local oysters fell sick with a gastric virus typically found in warm water estuaries. Now Texas, after an unusually wet spring and dry summer, is battling what may become the country`s worst recorded outbreak of West Nile virus. Meteorological and ecological shifts driven by climate...

URL: http://green.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/09/06/the-baffling-nexus-of-climate-change-and-health/
Enclosure: http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2012/09/06/blogs/westnile/westnile-blog480.jpg

Shale: the hidden treasure that could transform Britain's fortunes

Telegraph: For years, the countryside has had pitifully few friends in Westminster. The Labour Party had abandoned hope of winning votes there: its interest in rural England extended solely to imposing a fox-hunting ban. The Tory modernisers, meanwhile, took rural voters for granted, so felt able to pick fights over planning laws and ludicrously expensive railway lines. Both parties also allowed their environmental policy to be shaped by the prevailing fashion in London: so mainly concerns about carbon emissions...

URL: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/countryside/9525542/Shale-the-hidden-treasure-that-could-transform-Britains-fortunes.html

If the new runway can't be at Heathrow airport, what are the alternatives?

Guardian: A third Heathrow runway Why? The solution most in aviation favour. Bar the politics, the most deliverable option, to be funded through private investment. Why not? Puts another swath of west London directly under a flight path, and blights thousands more. Transport secretary Justine Greening stood against it – and lost her job in the cabinet reshuffle earlier this week. Some argue – even Willie Walsh, boss of British Airways' parent company IAG, concurs – it's not a long-term answer to a lack...

URL: http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2012/sep/06/new-runway-heathrow-airport-alternatives
Enclosure: http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Guardian/Pix/commercial/2012/9/6/1346954825354/Planes-queueing-at-Heathr-010.jpg

Destroyed coastal habitats produce significant greenhouse gas

ScienceDaily: Destruction of coastal habitats may release as much as 1 billion tons of carbon into the atmosphere each year, 10 times higher than previously reported, according to a new Duke-led study. Published online this week in PLoS ONE, the analysis provides the most comprehensive estimate of global carbon emissions from the loss of these coastal habitats to date: 0.15 to 1.2 billion tons. It suggests there is a high value associated with keeping these coastal-marine ecosystems intact as the release of...

URL: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/09/120906123234.htm?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+sciencedaily+%28ScienceDaily%3A+Latest+Science+News%29

U.N. touts climate change talks progress

United Press International: The United Nations said progress was made at the latest climate talks in Bangkok. The talks, which concluded Wednesday, were intended to prepare the way for major climate change meetings Nov. 26-Dec 7, in Doha, Qatar. "There are still some tough political decisions ahead but we now have a positive momentum and a greater sense of convergence that will stimulate higher-level political discussions ahead of Doha and set a faster pace of work once this year's conference begins," Christiana Figueres,...

URL: http://www.upi.com/Business_News/Energy-Resources/2012/09/06/UN-touts-climate-change-talks-progress/UPI-52771346952337/

Drought hit Q3 farm income expectations in Midwest: Fed

Reuters: Farm income expectations in key Midwestern states for the third quarter have been badly dented by the harsh drought, according to a report released by the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis on Thursday. Crops have been stunted by withering heat across the U.S. heartland, with corn and soybean yields hit hard. Hay and cattle farming have also suffered significantly. Based on an Agricultural Finance Monitor survey of 88 agricultural banks in its district, with the exception of the Memphis, Tennessee,...

URL: http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/09/06/us-usa-fed-farming-idUSBRE8851AP20120906?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=20120906&t=2&i=650171982&w=460&fh=&fw=&ll=&pl=&r=CBRE8851O9E00

Rains From Isaac Don’t Put Much Dent in U.S. Drought

Climate Central: Despite locally drenching rains from the remnants of Hurricane Isaac, the worst drought in more than 50 years is still firmly entrenched across much of the U.S. According to the new U.S. Drought Monitor, released Thursday, the numbers didn't change dramatically across the country, but the locations of the worst drought conditions did shift. The remnants of Isaac eased the dryness dramatically in Arkansas, Missouri, Illinois, and Louisiana, while rains also moistened states in the mid-Atlantic...

URL: http://www.climatecentral.org/news/isaacs-rains-dont-put-much-dent-in-u.s.-drought-14949?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/9-6-12_drough_monitor-468x298.jpg

Presidential Candidates, Studies Dissect Climate Change

National Geographic: As campaigning for the November presidential election moves forward, President Barack Obama and his Republican challenger Mitt Romney spelled out their interpretations on one issue in a bit more detail than usual. To Science Debate, Obama identifies climate change as one of the most pressing concerns of the era and lists the steps he has taken during his term to mitigate the effects climate change. Mitt Romney, meanwhile, agrees that "human activity contributes to that warming, and that policymakers...

URL: http://newswatch.nationalgeographic.com/2012/09/06/presidential-candidates-studies-dissect-climate-change/

Deforestation reduces rainfall in tropics, says study

SciDev.Net: Large-scale deforestation in tropical rainforests can dramatically reduce rainfall rates both locally and thousands of kilometres away, according to a study published in Nature yesterday (5 September). This could have a potentially devastating impact on communities living in or close to the Amazon and Congo rainforests. This drop occurs because deforestation reduces the natural recycling of moisture from soils, through vegetation, and into the atmosphere, from where it returns as rainfall. When...

URL: http://www.scidev.net/en/agriculture-and-environment/news/deforestation-reduces-rainfall-in-tropics-says-study.html?utm_source=link&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=en_agricultureandenvironment
Enclosure: http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/vaop/ncurrent/full/nature11390.html

Big banks weigh risks, rewards of California's new CO2 market

Reuters: Major banks are weighing whether to wade into the California carbon market, which experts believe could grow into a $40 billion a year market by 2020, but one that is also loaded with risk and uncertainty. Following last week's successful test of the state's auction platform, the reality is starting to settle in: California carbon trading has overcome legal and political challenges to position itself a mere 10 weeks away from its first official CO2 permit sale. The carbon market's success or...

URL: http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/09/07/us-california-carbon-idUSBRE88600S20120907?feedType=RSS&feedName=environmentNews&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+reuters%2Fenvironment+%28News+%2F+US+%2F+Environment%29

Obama, Romney spar over climate, other science issues in online debate

Deseret News: Our take: Have presidential candidates responses to American's top science questions changed over the years? Shawn Lawrence Otto, co-founder of Sciencedebate.org, analyzes President Barack Obama's and Governor Mitt Romney's recent responses to questions on climate change and vaccines relating to autism. "President Barack Obama and his challenger, Governor Mitt Romney, have answered 14 Top American Science Questions put to them by the grassroots nonprofit I lead, ScienceDebate.org. The candidates'...

URL: http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865561880/Obama-Romney-spar-over-climate-other-science-issues-in-online-debate.html
Enclosure: http://www.deseretnews.com/images/article/contentimage/972865/972865.jpg

Don't Look to U.S. Politics to See Climate Change Momentum

Bloomberg: Stalled U.S. policy and United Nations talks in recent years have made institutional investors, large companies, and civil-society groups some of the bright lights of international climate change leadership. Next week, catch up on their efforts, when corporate and investment leaders mix it up at the Carbon Disclosure Project's online Global Climate Change Forum. The event will be moderated by Bloomberg Businessweek's Diane Brady and live-streamed to Bloomberg.com between 9 am and 10:30 am Eastern...

URL: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-09-06/don-t-look-to-u-s-politics-to-see-climate-change-momentum.html

African farmers must do more to beat climate change -study

Reuters: African farmers are finding new ways to cope with droughts, erosion and other ravages of climate change but need to develop even more techniques to thrive in an increasingly uncertain environment, scientists said on Friday. Smallholders have started to plant more drought-resistant and faster-growing crops to keep the harvests coming in, according to a survey of 700 households in Kenya, Ethiopia, Uganda and Tanzania. "The good news is that a lot of farmers are making changes," said Patti Kristjanson,...

URL: http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/09/07/climate-africa-farms-idUSL6E8K6C1S20120907

Drought Withers U.S. Corn Crop, Heats Debate on Ethanol

National Geographic: Ethanol has been good to Galva, Iowa. This kernel of a community has grown almost 20 percent since the 2000 census, to 434 people-a growth spurt that locals attribute to a new golden age for corn and their very own ethanol plant, which opened in 2002. The Galva plant has been a windfall to the area, thanks in part to the Renewable Fuel Standard that was adopted by the U.S. Congress in 2005 and expanded in 2007. The standard mandates that oil refiners blend 13.2 billion gallons of corn-based ethanol...

URL: http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/energy/2012/09/120906-drought-heats-ethanol-debate/
Enclosure: http://images.nationalgeographic.com/wpf/media-live/photos/000/589/cache/news-ethanol-drought-crops_58953_600x450.jpg

No ban on pesticides that 'threaten bees'

Independent: Nerve-agent pesticides should not be banned in Britain despite four separate scientific studies strongly linking them to sharp declines in bees around the world, Government scientists have advised. An internal review of recent research on neonicotinoids – pesticides that act on insects' central nervous systems and are increasingly blamed for problems with bee colonies – has concluded that no change is needed in British regulation. The British position contrasts sharply with that of France,...

URL: http://www.independent.co.uk/environment/nature/no-ban-on-pesticides-that-threaten-bees-8114020.html
Enclosure: http://www.independent.co.uk/incoming/article8114037.ece/ALTERNATES/w460/v206-pesticides-afp.jpg

North America's Rocky Mountains affect Norway’s climate

ScienceDaily: Both the Gulf Stream and the Norwegian Sea have a major impact on Norway's climate. However, it turns out that weather conditions are also influenced by geographical elements from much farther away. The Rocky Mountains, for instance, play a major role in weather in Norway. Running simulations on advanced climate models, researchers can now study climate in completely new ways impossible just a few years ago. For example, one can see the simulated outcome of "removing" major mountain ranges known...

URL: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/09/120906074029.htm?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+sciencedaily+%28ScienceDaily%3A+Latest+Science+News%29

Markey: Romney's an 'empty chair' on subject of climate change

The Hill: Rep. Edward Markey (D-Mass.) says there's simply no use trying to engage with Mitt Romney on climate change anymore. Markey jabbed Romney by recalling Clint Eastwood's rambling speech at last week's Republican convention, where Eastwood used an empty chair to have an imaginary chat with President Obama. "[Romney] actually used to talk about climate change when he was the governor of Massachusetts and not make jokes about it," Markey said at a Thursday event hosted by The Hill. "But talking...

URL: http://thehill.com/conventions-2012/dem-convention-charlotte/247983-markey-romneys-an-empty-chair-on-climate-change

NRC staff to review nuclear reactor waste storage rules

Reuters: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) directed its staff on Thursday to start an environmental review into the temporary storage of spent nuclear fuel, following a court ruling that led the agency to stop issuing new reactor licenses. The NRC did not say when it would start issuing new reactor licenses again. The NRC has more than a dozen reactor operating license renewal applications and a dozen new reactor license applications pending. The NRC said it told its staff to develop an...

URL: http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/09/06/us-utilities-nrc-waste-idUSBRE88515T20120906?feedType=RSS&feedName=environmentNews&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+reuters%2Fenvironment+%28News+%2F+US+%2F+Environment%29

The Difference Between Storage and Tankless Water Heaters

Subtitle:&nbsp_place_holder;

While offering higher efficiency, tankless water heaters usually don't make sense

Images:&nbsp_place_holder;

[](http://www.greenbuildingadvisor.com/blogs/dept/energy-solutions/difference-between-storage-and-tankless-water-heaters)

There are two primary types of water heaters: storage and tankless. In this column I'll try to explain the differences between these two approaches and offer some guidance on choosing between them. (There are also "hybrid" water heaters with features of both that I'll cover in a future blog.)

### Storage water heaters

Most water heaters are _storage_ models. These are insulated tanks holding 20 to 120 gallons with either electric heating elements or gas burners. The storage tank stratifies with hot water at the top and cold incoming water at the bottom, so that as you draw off hot water (from the top), you get consistently hot water until the hot water is nearly depleted. The "first-hour rating" tells you how many gallons of hot water can be delivered in an hour.&nbsp_place_holder;

URL: http://www.greenbuildingadvisor.com/blogs/dept/energy-solutions/difference-between-storage-and-tankless-water-heaters

Japan Weighs Its Energy Options Amid Nuclear, Renewables Debate

 Phasing out nuclear power in Japan will cost the country the equivalent of $622 billion to build a power grid around renewable energy and means it will fail to meet a target to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

URL: http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news/article/2012/09/japan-weighs-its-energy-options-amid-nuclear-renewables-debate?cmpid=rss

A Solar Panel Quality Manifesto

 Falling prices for PV technology – new average price for inventory, $0.65/Wp, off brand b- and c-grade modules, falling margins, failing PV companies, fraud, poorly installed systems and even counterfeit module product that carries a name brand and is really an off brand – good grief, what's an industry to do? Any day now we may encounter a guy on the corner with a pile of counterfeit modules, an armful of fake Rolexes and a pile of faux-Gucci purses all to be had at $9.99.

URL: http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news/article/2012/09/a-solar-panel-quality-manifesto?cmpid=rss

Massachusetts Launches Regional Renewable Energy Initiative With Other 5 New England States

Initiative will help pave the way for large scale investments in renewable energy across the region.

URL: http://www.green-energy-news.com/nwslnks/clips912/sep12003.html

Claiming the Future: A Seven-Point Action Plan for Repowering America

 Mitt Romney's acceptance speech at the Republican National Convention last week ought to serve as an urgent wake-up call to anyone that cares about America's energy, environmental, and economic future. At the podium, Romney chided President Obama on global warming, and his hoped-for GOP administration is advancing an "energy independence" plan built much more on the polluting industries of the past than the innovative clean technologies of the present and future. Somehow, global warming, renewables, and other clean-tech pursuits have become some of his favorite punch lines.

URL: http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news/article/2012/09/claiming-the-future-a-seven-point-action-plan-for-repowering-america?cmpid=rss

Should Solar Marketers Focus on Preaching to the Choir or to the Skeptics?

 Yesterday, I received a message on Twitter from Tom Kimbis over at SEIA. He Tweeted, "WSJ wants to know what you think about promoting #solar. VOTE HERE!! @SEIA @SolarFred http://ow.ly/dv9o9. When I clicked on the link, it took me to Wall Street Journal blog post where the author asked readers if solar and wind subsidies should be eliminated, incre

URL: http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/blog/post/2012/09/should-solar-marketers-focus-on-preaching-to-the-choir-or-to-the-skeptics?cmpid=rss

Illegal Logging Deals Rife in Liberia, Group Reports

New York Times: For years, the environmental group Global Witness has been investigating the destruction of forests in the developing world. Much of the wood illegally harvested there ends up in the hands of international companies that manufacture furniture, paper and biofuels. Global Witness has campaigned against illegal harvesting of ebony and rosewood in Madagascar, exposed illegal exports of timber from Myanmar to China and documented the killings of antilogging activists in Cambodia. In a new report that...

URL: http://green.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/09/04/illegal-logging-deals-rife-in-liberia-group-reports/?partner=rss&emc=rss
Enclosure: http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2012/09/04/business/liberia/liberia-blog480.jpg

Climate Needs to Move to Top of Political Agendas, Denmark Says

Bloomberg: The fight against global warming should move to the top of the world's political agenda and the European Union has to lead the shift to climate-friendly policies, Denmark's Climate Minister Martin Lidegaard said. "Climate change is not only an environmental time-bomb, it is a serious threat to our economies and wellbeing," Lidegaard wrote in a statement during an online discussion hosted by the WWF's Climate and Energy Forum today. "The writing on the wall is crystal clear: we have to act now."...

URL: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-09-05/climate-needs-to-move-to-top-of-political-agendas-denmark-says.html

Human rights key to rainforest conservation, argues report

Mongabay: Recognizing the rights of forest people to manage their land is critical to reducing deforestation rates and safeguarding global forests, argues a new report published by Rainforest Foundation Norway. The report, published Wednesday and titled Rights-based rainforest protection, reviews the current status of tropical forests and the people who inhabit them, highlighting a series of examples where forest people are responsibly managing forest resources. The report makes the case that past approaches...

URL: http://news.mongabay.com/2012/0905-rfn-rights-based-rainforests.html
Enclosure: http://www.regnskog.no/languages/english/_attachment/35434?_ts=13996420cd0

Heathrow runway row: Cameron flies into storm of Tory criticism

Guardian: David Cameron's attempts to defuse the growing political storm over airport capacity in London are floundering after renewed criticism from the mayor of London and a threat by a high-profile Conservative MP to trigger a byelection if the government performs a U-turn and decides to go ahead with a third runway at Heathrow. Boris Johnson demanded on Wednesday that the Tories make a pledge not to expand Heathrow that would last beyond the next election, while Zac Goldsmith, a former environmental...

URL: http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2012/sep/05/heathrow-runway-row-cameron-tory
Enclosure: http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Guardian/Pix/pictures/2012/9/5/1346835768569/Boris-Johnson-with-David--010.jpg

Scientists Solve the Paradox of Why Oeans Exude So Much Methane

New York Times: Four percent of the methane found in the earth`s atmosphere comes from oceans. But for decades, researchers have been flummoxed by how that could be. The only known biological source of methane is a class of microorganisms that produce methane when they are alive but die when exposed to oxygen. How could these microorganisms, called methanogens, be so plentiful in the oxygen-rich ocean? A new paper in the journal Science proposes a plausible explanation for this seemingly impossible reality, which...

URL: http://green.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/09/04/solving-the-ocean-methane-paradox/?partner=rss&emc=rss

Canada: Shell And Chevron Make Oil Sands 'Green' With Carbon Capture Project

Forbes: Shell, Chevron and Marathon Oil announced today that they will build a carbon capture and sequestration mechanism into their 225,000 barrels per day Athabasca Oil Sands Project. The goal, when the system is completed in 2015, will be to capture 1 million metric tons a year of carbon dioxide and inject it a mile underground. The oil sands catch a lot of flack from the antis for being, among other things, more carbon intensive than other sources of oil. That's because the sludge has to be partially...

URL: http://www.forbes.com/sites/christopherhelman/2012/09/05/shell-and-chevron-to-green-oil-sands-with-carbon-capture-project/
Enclosure: http://blogs-images.forbes.com/christopherhelman/files/2012/09/300px-Athabasca_Oil_Sands_map1.png

Amazon deforestation could trigger drop in rainfall across South America

Mongabay: Deforestation could cause rainfall across the Amazon rainforest to drop precipitously, warns a new study published in the journal Nature. Using a computer model that accounts for forest cover and rainfall patterns, Dominick Spracklen of the University of Leeds and colleagues estimate that large-scale deforestation in the Amazon could reduce basin-wide rainfall 12 percent during the wet season and 21 percent in the dry season by 2050. Localized swings would be greater. Forest clearing in the Congo...

URL: http://news.mongabay.com/2012/0905-effects-of-deforestation-on-rainfall.html
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Analysis: U.S. bankers say, love or hate it, ethanol here to stay

Reuters: Before the U.S. biofuels boom took off in 2007, the food vs. fuel debate raged: can we afford to use corn for ethanol in a starving world? Five years later, farm bankers ask: can we afford not to? "Ethanol demand is the linchpin of the current pricing model that we have," said Michael Swanson, agricultural economist at Wells Fargo, the largest commercial bank lender to U.S. farmers. "It's a completely different question whether it's right or wrong." Amid the worst drought to hit the Midwest...

URL: http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/09/05/us-usa-ethanol-farmbankers-idUSBRE88413O20120905?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=20120905&t=2&i=649795744&w=460&fh=&fw=&ll=&pl=&r=CBRE8841U0U00

Kiribati Man Wanting 'Climate Change Refugee' Status Denied by New Zealand Immigration

Huffington Post: Advocates for the victims of climate change often use the evocative terms "climate change refugee" when referring to individuals who must relocate due to climate change related impacts. Academics and those that know refugee law have appropriately criticized the use of this term, pointing out the fact that well-settled refugee law simply excludes climate change victims from its definition. Still, it is quite frequent in my line of work to hear the term climate change refugee. I have been guilty of...

URL: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/brook-meakins/kiribati-wanting-climate-_b_1859518.html

Shell promises to bring CCS to Canada’s tar sands

BusinessGreen: In what could represent a major milestone for the emerging carbon capture and storage (CCS) industry, oil giant Shell has confirmed it is to proceed with plans for one of the world's largest carbon capture projects as part of the Athabasca Oil Sands development in Canada. The controversial Canadian oil sands industry has long-argued it will be able to tackle its carbon footprint by pioneering the use of CCS technology capable of capturing and storing emissions from the highly carbon-intensive...

URL: http://www.businessgreen.com/bg/news/2203240/shell-promises-to-bring-ccs-to-canada-s-tar-sands?WT.rss_f=Home&WT.rss_a=Shell+promises+to+bring+CCS+to+Canada%E2%80%99s+tar+sands

Climate threat to world's poor is underestimated: Oxfam

Reuters: Climate change may pose a much more serious threat to the world's poor than existing research has suggested because of spikes in food prices as extreme weather becomes more common, Oxfam said on Wednesday. More frequent extreme weather events will create shortages, destabilize markets and precipitate price spikes on top of projected structural price rises of about 100 percent for staples such as maize over the next 20 years, the charity said in a report. Droughts in the U.S. Midwest and Russia...

URL: http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2012-09-04/business/sns-rt-us-oxfam-food-pricesbre884001-20120904_1_climate-change-extreme-weather-oxfam

Critics say Canada softens coal-fired power rules

Reuters: Canada's government finalized much-anticipated regulations on Wednesday for phasing out the country's old coal-fired power plants in a move critics condemned as a watering down of earlier proposals to cut carbon emissions. Under rules to take effect on July 1, 2015, generating units commissioned before 1975 will reach the end of their operations after 50 years or by the end of 2019, whichever is earlier, federal Environment Minister Peter Kent said. Units commissioned after 1975 but before...

URL: http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/09/05/us-environment-idUSBRE8841MM20120905?feedType=RSS&feedName=environmentNews&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+reuters%2Fenvironment+%28News+%2F+US+%2F+Environment%29

Pentagon maps Japan radiation, says U.S. personnel safe

Reuters: The Pentagon on Wednesday posted a website mapping the amount of radiation to which the tens of thousands of Americans in Japan at the time of last year's earthquake and nuclear disaster were exposed and said none of the doses posed health risks. The 9.0 magnitude March 11, 2011 earthquake and tsunami devastated the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant north of Tokyo, triggering meltdowns, spewing radiation and prompting the Pentagon to announce voluntary evacuation for families of service members...

URL: http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/09/05/us-usa-japan-radiation-idUSBRE8841JV20120905?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=20120905&t=2&i=649787969&w=460&fh=&fw=&ll=&pl=&r=CBRE8841QFH00

United States: Ottawa unveils new coal-fired plant emissions rules

Globe and Mail: The federal government has released final regulations for coal-fired power plants that eases the expected burden on utilities by allowing them to run their plants longer before having to replace them with lower-emission alternatives, and to average emission reductions among their plants. The new regulations may force the closing of at least two coal-fired plants in Alberta by 2020 and prevent construction of one planned by Maxim Power Corp., unless the provincial government can reach an agreement...

URL: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/industry-news/energy-and-resources/ottawa-unveils-new-coal-fired-plant-emissions-rules/article4522237/?cmpid=rss1&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+TheGlobeAndMail-Front+%28The+Globe+and+Mail+-+Latest+News%29

EU launches investigation into Chinese solar panel imports

Reuters: The European Commission said on Thursday it launched an investigation into suspected dumping of solar panels by Chinese producers, a move that could trigger a trade war between the European Union and China. The investigation into one of the biggest import sectors ever targeted stems from a complaint by a group of European solar companies, led by Germany's SolarWorld. The group, comprising of members in Germany, Italy, Spain and other EU countries, says Chinese solar firms have been selling...

URL: http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/09/06/us-chinasolarcos-dumping-idUSBRE8841MI20120906?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=20120906&t=2&i=649805988&w=460&fh=&fw=&ll=&pl=&r=CBRE88500QC00

Oil Sands, Carbon Capture and the Keystone XL Verdict

New York Times: In the view of environmentalists, Canada's oil sands operations are one of the biggest threats to the planet. The synthetic fuel they produce emits more carbon than almost any conventional fuel oil, and the mining in northern Alberta destroys vast sections of the boreal forest, which harbors many species of birds and other wildlife. But with the battle for approval of the proposed Keystone XL pipeline likely to return after the American presidential elections, the Canadian authorities and the...

URL: http://green.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/09/05/for-oil-sands-a-1-36-billion-carbon-capture-effort/?partner=rss&emc=rss
Enclosure: http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2012/09/05/blogs/oil/oil-blog480.jpg

Major Chinese City Restricts the Number of New Cars

Yale Environment 360: Government officials in Guangzhou, China's third-largest city, have enacted measures to limit the number of new cars on city streets, a policy some analysts say reflects a broader effort by Chinese cities to protect public health and well-being in the face of worsening highway congestion. In Guangzhou, a city of 15 million people and a center for auto manufacturing, officials last week introduced license plate auctions and lotteries, a strategy that is expected to cut the number of cars by half,...

URL: http://e360.yale.edu/digest/guangzhou_china_restricts_number_of_new_cars_in_city/3614/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+YaleEnvironment360+%28Yale+Environment+360%29

Palm oil company in Cameroon drops bid for eco-certification of controversial plantation

Mongabay: Herakles Farm, a U.S.-based agricultural developer, will no longer seek eco-certification of its 70,000-hectare oil palm plantation in Cameroon, reports the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO). The move comes amid criticism from environmental groups that Herakles is converting high conservation value rainforest for the plantation. Herakles announced the decision in a letter to the RSPO, following complaints filed by a range of NGOs against the palm oil developer's planned project. Had Herakles...

URL: http://news.mongabay.com/2012/0905-herakles-leaves-rspo.html
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A pale green tinge for US presidential campaign

Reuters: When it comes to the environment, the presidential contest has offered sharply contrasting images: Barack Obama posing beside an Iowa wind turbine and Mitt Romney standing in front of an Ohio coal mine. But in their rhetoric, both candidates have focused on a similar theme - sustainable development, the notion that the private sector can work with government to protect the environment while boosting the economy and creating jobs. The pro-business focus has disappointed some ardent environmentalists....

URL: http://in.reuters.com/article/2012/09/05/usa-campaign-environment-idINL2E8K4BME20120905

Climate change 'serious threat' to economies: Danish minister

Brisbane Times: The fight against global warming should move to the top of the world`s political agenda and the European Union has to lead the shift to climate-friendly policies, Denmark`s Climate Minister Martin Lidegaard said. "Climate change is not only an environmental time-bomb, it is a serious threat to our economies and wellbeing," Lidegaard wrote in a statement during an online discussion hosted by the WWF`s Climate and Energy Forum today. "The writing on the wall is crystal clear: we have to act now."...

URL: http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/environment/climate-change-serious-threat-to-economies-danish-minister-20120906-25fe4.html

BP accused of 'gross negligence' in Gulf oil spill

Reuters: Hopes that BP can settle early out of court on liability for its 2010 U.S. Gulf of Mexico oil spill looked forlorn on Wednesday after U.S. prosecutors laid out a legal case for gross negligence on which tens of billions of dollars hang. In the two years that have passed since the spewing Macondo deep-water well was capped, the Department of Justice has made it clear BP may have a gross negligence case to answer -- implying a potential $21 billion fine on top of other payments, some already made,...

URL: http://openchannel.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/09/05/13682500-justice-department-alleges-gross-negligence-by-bp-in-gulf-oil-spill?lite
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Report Assails Palm Oil Project in Cameroon

New York Times: On Tuesday, we told you about land grabs by timber companies in Liberia that are threatening that country's tropical rain forest. Today environmental groups and forestry experts are abuzz about a project in nearby Cameroon that is overseen by Herakles Farms, an affiliate of the New York-based company Herakles Capital that pursues agricultural initiatives in Africa. The company has acquired a huge tract of land in southwestern Cameroon under long-term lease and plans to develop one of the world's...

URL: http://green.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/09/05/report-assails-palm-oil-project-in-cameroon/?partner=rss&emc=rss

Obama vs. Romney 101: 4 ways they differ on climate change

Christian Science Monitor: As recently as 2008, presidential candidates openly sparred over their own plans for dealing with climate change. This year it's such a touchy topic that both sides prefer instead to talk about energy policy – a kind of proxy for climate threat. Here are four ways the candidates differ on climate change: Is climate change a problem caused by humans? Should the US adopt market-based approaches to curbing greenhouse gases? Has the Environmental Protection Agency gone too far? Is the Obama administration...

URL: http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/DC-Decoder/2012/0905/Obama-vs.-Romney-101-4-ways-they-differ-on-climate-change/Is-climate-change-a-real-problem-and-is-it-manmade