Great Barrier Reef's coral crisis could find help in deeper waters

MSNBC: A robot diving deeper than any human diver has found that coral deep below Australia's Great Barrier Reef is very healthy even though the shallower coral is suffering from storms, warming seas and pollution. The robot's handlers hope the deeper coral will provide the "recruits" needed to naturally repair the shallower reefs. "Up until now our knowledge was limited to the shallow reefs accessible by scuba diving," Ove Hoegh-Guldberg, chief scientist for the Catlin Seaview Survey, said in a statement...

URL: http://worldnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/10/26/14725855-great-barrier-reefs-coral-crisis-could-find-help-in-deeper-waters?lite

Sandy Is a Truly Unusual Event, Worthy of Our Attention

Climate Central: Sandy has already begun to expand as it loses some of its tropical characteristics, and this expansion should continue. The National Hurricane Center is currently predicting that Sandy will retain enough tropical character to still be a hurricane as it makes its approach to the coast, but the storm should be large enough that gale-force winds will cover a wide area. The exact path will determine which locations are subject to the heaviest rains and most severe coastal flooding. The latter will be...

URL: http://www.climatecentral.org/blogs/hurricane-sandy-is-a-truly-unusual-event-worthy-of-our-attention-15162?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/10_26_12_sandysat-375x327.png

Historic ‘Frankenstorm’ Aimed At Mid-Atlantic, Northeast

Climate Central: Hurricane Sandy is evolving into a potentially unprecedented storm, nicknamed "Frankenstorm,' and is headed for the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast, where it threatens to cause widespread damage that will rival some of the biggest storms on record in the region. The storm, which has already killed at least 29 people in the Caribbean and Bahamas, will be part hurricane, part fearsome nor'easter, and is expected to bring tropical storm force winds to a wide swath of the coastline, from North Carolina northward...

URL: http://www.climatecentral.org/news/historic-frankenstorm-hurricane-sandy-taking-aim-at-mid-atlantic-northeast-15161?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+climatecentral%2FdjOO+Climate+Central+-+Full+Feed
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Hurricane Sandy Aims For East Coast As a ‘Frankenstorm’

Climate Central: As Category 2 Hurricane Sandy continues to lash the Bahamas with strong winds, heavy rain, and a damaging storm surge, computer models were projecting even more dire scenarios for locations along the East Coast of the U.S. from Virginia north to Maine, with an intense, perhaps even historic, storm making landfall there early next week. Most projections from Thursday were indicating that Sandy will slam much of the northeastern corridor, home to about 50 million people, not to mention billions in...

URL: http://www.climatecentral.org/news/hurricane-sandy-aims-for-east-coast-as-a-frankenstorm-15159?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/10_25_12_andrew_sandywow-500x282.png

The Real Frankenstorm

Huffington Post: As forecasters in the Northeast predict a major storm they have labeled "Frankenstorm" -- the confluence of Hurricane Sandy with other weather conditions -- another, less visible perfect storm with potentially much more devastating consequences has been developing throughout the last few decades. Climate change and its resulting dramatic consequences remain a footnote in political discourse as discussion of effective climate policy has been squashed by the radical right and ignored by the media....

URL: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/peter-cannavo/the-real-frankenstorm_b_2023839.html

Climate Change and Mideast Insecurity: The Hidden Connection

Huffington Post: The remarkable silence of this year's presidential candidates on the issue of global warming was all the more notable during Monday's debate on foreign policy. For all the talk of violent threats to American security in Syria and North Africa, neither candidate connected them to a powerful contributing cause: climate change. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration concluded in 2011 that "human-caused climate change [is now] a major factor in more frequent Mediterranean droughts." That...

URL: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jonathan-marshall/climate-change-food-prices_b_2007614.html

What's A Lake Doing In The Middle Of The Desert?

National Public Radio: One place you don't expect to see waves lapping against the shore is in the middle of a desert. But that's exactly what's happening deep inside the United Arab Emirates, where a recently formed lake is nestled into the sand dunes, and a new ecosystem is emerging. Drive through the desert in the United Arab Emirates, and all you see mile after mile are red, rolling dunes. Maybe some occasional trees or shrubs, but otherwise a dry, red sandscape. And then, suddenly, a bright blue spot comes into...

URL: http://www.npr.org/2012/10/26/163723606/whats-a-lake-doing-in-the-middle-of-the-desert?ft=1&f=1025
Enclosure: http://www.npr.org/player/v2/mediaPlayer.html?action=1&t=1&islist=false&id=163723606&m=163730143

Hurricane Sandy: 41 dead as as authorities declare state of emergency

Guardian: A state of emergency was declared in some areas along the US east coast on Friday as experts warned Hurricane Sandy could contribute to a storm of "historic" proportions. The hurricane left 41 people dead as it passed through the Caribbean and headed north. Sandy could strike the US coastline anywhere between Virginia and Massachusetts as early as Monday. Meteorologists warned that weather conditions could be complicated as Sandy is expected to meet two separate weather systems somewhere over...

URL: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/oct/26/hurricanes-sandy-41-dead-emergency
Enclosure: http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Guardian/Pix/audio/video/2012/10/26/1351287673652/Hurricane-Sandy-passes-by-008.jpg

Has climate change created a monster?

Climate Science Watch: To adapt a famous quote on another subject: you may not be interested in climate change, but climate change is interested in you. While both presidential candidates and moderators of the debates have taken criticism for avoiding the subject of climate change, it may not be that easy for residents on the U.S. East Coast to avoid the effects of the "Frankenstorm" -- Hurricane Sandy. I can see it now, a few decades in the future. It's Halloween 2075 and a little girl walks up to a home in a Philadelphia...

URL: http://www.climatesciencewatch.org/2012/10/26/has-climate-change-created-a-monster/
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U.S. East Coast battens down ahead of Hurricane Sandy

Reuters: Virginia declared a state of emergency on Friday, neighboring states readied utility crews and New York City said it may shut down mass transit as authorities along the U.S. East Coast prepared for a potential pounding from Hurricane Sandy. From the Carolinas to Maine, municipal authorities kept a close watch on forecasts tracking the shifting path of the fierce "Frankenstorm," which could come ashore Monday with heavy rain, storm surges and possibly near hurricane-force winds. In New York...

URL: http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/10/26/us-storm-sandy-hurricane-northeast-idUSBRE89P0XW20121026?feedType=RSS&feedName=environmentNews&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+reuters%2Fenvironment+%28News+%2F+US+%2F+Environment%29

Climate change mitigation 'far cheaper than inaction'

SciDevNet: Tackling the global climate crisis could reap significant economic benefits for both developed and developing countries, according to a new report. The impacts of climate change and a carbon-intensive economy cost the world around US$1.2 trillion a year -- 1.6 per cent of the total global GDP (gross domestic product), states 'Climate Vulnerability Monitor: A Guide to the Cold Calculus of A Hot Planet'. For this reason, "adapting to climate change is very likely a cost-effective investment in almost...

URL: http://www.scidev.net/en/agriculture-and-environment/news/climate-change-mitigation-far-cheaper-than-inaction-.html?utm_source=link&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=en_agricultureandenvironment
Enclosure: http://daraint.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/CVM2ndEd-FrontMatter.pdf

Exposing REDD: The False Climate Solution

YouTube: Do you know about REDD? The Mending News checks in with IEN (Indigenous Environmental Network) Executive Director, Tom Goldtooth, to get the download on the real story of REDD, the deceptive climate 'solution' proposed by the UN. It sounds good on paper "Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation in Developing Countries" but the reality is that REDD enforces the global colonization of mother earth and a stolen future.

URL: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7OzB-WBuwgk&feature=share

Hurricane Sandy looks as the 'Bride of Frankenstorm' Approaching U.S. East Coast

ScienceDaily: NASA's TRMM satellite revealed Hurricane Sandy's heavy rainfall and the storm is expected to couple with a powerful cold front and Arctic air to bring that heavy rainfall to the Mid-Atlantic and northeastern U.S. Some forecasters are calling this combination of weather factors "Frankenstorm" because of the close proximity to Halloween. However, because Sandy is a woman's name, the storm could be considered a "bride of Frankenstorm." NASA satellites have provided forecasters at the National Hurricane...

URL: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/10/121026143305.htm?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+sciencedaily+%28ScienceDaily%3A+Latest+Science+News%29
Enclosure: http://images.sciencedaily.com/2012/10/121026143305-large.jpg?1351276626

The October Surprise: BP Cancels Plans for US Cellulosic Ethanol Plant


In Florida, BP announced it is canceling plans to build a 36 million gallon commercial-scale cellulosic ethanol plant in Highlands County. The company said that it would refocus its US biofuels strategy on R&D, as well as licensing its industry–leading biofuels technology.

URL: http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news/article/2012/10/the-october-surprise-bp-cancels-plans-for-us-cellulosic-ethanol-plant?cmpid=rss

Australia Urged to Stick With Renewable Energy Policy


Australia's renewable energy target should be retained in its current form to avoid undermining investors' confidence in wind, solar and geothermal power, according to the government's adviser on climate change.

URL: http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news/article/2012/10/australia-urged-to-stick-with-renewable-energy-policy?cmpid=rss

30-Year-Old Solar Module Performing to Factory Specs


Martin Halloway, a green building designer, had been living without electricity for five years before he purchased his first solar panel in 1980.  This exact module, an Arco Solar 16-2000, 33 Watt solar panel, was manufactured in 1979. In 2010, Halloway decided to bring the solar panel down from his roof after 30 years to test it out.  It was an od

URL: http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/blog/post/2012/10/solar-panels-outliving-their-warra?cmpid=rss

Five Scary Solar PR No-No's for Halloween. Boo!


Since it's nearing Halloween, it's a good time to visit five ways you may be scaring away a solar reporter. Be very, very frightened. This list actually comes from personal experience. I'm in a quasi solar reporter world and a professional solar world. By day, I'm a solar marketer, and by whenever I have time or inspiration — about once a week — I

URL: http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/blog/post/2012/10/five-scary-solar-pr-no-nos-for-halloween-boo?cmpid=rss

Flood-hit Pakistan moves toward disaster insurance

AlertNet: Hussain Khan lost everything in the 2010 floods that swept through Pakistan: His two children, his home on the banks of the Swat River, his dozens of cattle, sheep and goats, and his six-acre cherry crop. Today the 43-year-old farmer, the sole breadwinner for a family of 10, works as a motel waiter in Mingora, a bustling town in the Swat Valley, some 160 kms (100 miles) northwest of Pakistan's capital city Islamabad. He is grateful to no longer be begging to survive, but he doubts he will recover...

URL: http://www.trust.org/alertnet/news/flood-hit-pakistan-moves-toward-disaster-insurance
Enclosure: http://www.trust.org/contentAsset/resize-image/71a820af-a1b1-412e-a6fc-227b26500e0c/photowide/?w=460&h=318&vn=201210261306

Cutting Carbon: Is Europe's Emissions Trading System Broken?

Spiegel: Emitting CO2 into the atmosphere is dirt cheap in Europe these days. At just 8 euros per ton, the low price is undermining the European Union's effort to establish an effective cap and trade system. Implementing necessary fixes to the system, however, won't be easy in the face of industry opposition. Europe's carbon market is in deep trouble and it's not just environmentalists sounding the alarm. Back in April, the CEO of Shell said that the European Union's system for trading allowances for the...

URL: http://www.spiegel.de/international/europe/europe-looks-to-fix-problems-with-its-carbon-emissions-trading-system-a-863609.html#ref=rss
Enclosure: http://cdn4.spiegel.de/images/image-287713-panoV9free-hvfm.jpg

EU environment ministers clash over carbon plans

Reuters: EU environment ministers clashed over a huge surplus of UN pollution permits, a technical spat with the potential to derail international efforts to tackle climate change. Settling the issue is crucial to UN environment talks in Doha, beginning next month, which will seek to hammer out the detail of a second phase of climate action after the first Kyoto commitment period expires at the end of this year. "There is no agreement in sight," an EU official said on Thursday, speaking on condition...

URL: http://www.watoday.com.au/environment/climate-change/eu-environment-ministers-clash-over-carbon-plans-20121026-288y8.html

Shale oil and gas boom puts global warming issue on the back burner

South China Morning Post: A technological revolution is transforming the world's energy landscape as we move from an expectation of shortages of oil and gas to a new era of abundance. The development of natural gas from shale, that has already taken off in the US, and a variety of technologies are creating new options for oil development, so much so that the notion of peak oil has vanished from the conversation. We can expect some consequences. Chief among them is the fact that, as energy gets more abundant, the incentives...

URL: http://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1069621/shale-oil-and-gas-boom-puts-global-warming-issue-back-burner

Canada: Haida Gwaii experiment may embolden others, critic warns

Canadian Press: A small British Columbia First Nation making waves around the world with a controversial experiment in the Pacific Ocean is on the front lines of climate change, critics admit. And as the fears of global warming grow, there is a risk that potentially dangerous geoengineer-ing experiments like the ocean fertilization carried out off the islands of Haida Gwaii will be unleashed as a quick fix, warns Jim Thomas, spokesman for Montreal-based ETC Group, a geo-engineering watchdog. "In desperate...

URL: http://www.timescolonist.com/More%20ocean%20fertilization%20feared/7451207/story.html

The Asia Report: Brightsource and Alstom Target Australia and India with New Funding


U.S. solar thermal developer BrightSource Energy and Europe's second largest power-equipment maker Alstom said they plan to expand their geographical partnership to India and Australia, where solar conditions best suit BrightSource's tower technology and where Alstom has a strong track record in engineering and construction of power plants.

URL: http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news/article/2012/10/asia-pacific-report-brightsource-and-alstom-target-australia-and-india-with-new-funding?cmpid=rss

Fans in the Attic: Do They Help or Do They Hurt?

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Homeowners in hot climates need to understand the difference between whole-house fans and powered attic ventilators

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There's a lot of confusion surrounding attic fans. Here at GBAGreenBuildingAdvisor.com, we regularly receive e-mails from homeowners with questions about attic fans: What's the purpose of the fan in my attic? How often should I run it? Do I need a bigger fan?

Before addressing these recurring questions, it's important to define our terms. First, we need to distinguish between three different types of ventilation fans.

URL: http://www.greenbuildingadvisor.com/blogs/dept/musings/fans-attic-do-they-help-or-do-they-hurt

EU environment ministers clash over "hot air"

Reuters: EU environment ministers clashed over a huge surplus of U.N. pollution permits, a technical spat with the potential to derail international efforts to tackle climate change. Settling the issue is crucial to U.N. environment talks in Doha, beginning next month, which will seek to hammer out the detail of a second phase of climate action after the first Kyoto commitment period expires at the end of this year. "There is no agreement in sight," an EU official said on Thursday, speaking on condition...

URL: http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/10/25/us-eu-environment-idUSBRE89O1BK20121025?feedType=RSS&feedName=environmentNews&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+reuters%2Fenvironment+%28News+%2F+US+%2F+Environment%29

Experts fear Hurricane Sandy could do more damage than Irene

Reuters: As Hurricane Sandy makes its way toward the eastern seaboard of the United States, disaster experts and meteorologists warn that the mid-Atlantic and Northeastern states face dangerous winds and heavy rains that could trigger flooding in the coming days. Some forecasters even say that Sandy has the potential to be a multibillion dollar disaster greater than last year's Hurricane Irene, though it may be too soon to tell if it has the power and trajectory to fulfill that worst-case scenario. There...

URL: http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/10/25/us-storm-sandy-losses-idUSBRE89O1AO20121025?feedType=RSS&feedName=environmentNews&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+reuters%2Fenvironment+%28News+%2F+US+%2F+Environment%29
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BP caps dome believed to be source of oil sheen

Associated Press: BP PLC said Thursday it has capped and plugged an abandoned piece of equipment that is believed to be the source of a sheen spotted near the site of its massive 2010 oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. The London-based oil giant said it placed a 750-pound cap over an 86-ton steel container that the company had deployed in a failed effort to contain the spill. BP also inserted plugs on the top and sides of the container, which had been lowered over a leaking drill pipe in an effort to funnel oil to...

URL: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/49554574/ns/us_news-environment/

Renewables Take On Fossil Fuels: Vote Now for the Readers' Choice Award


Finalists have been chosen for the Projects of the Year Awards, and now it's time to cast your vote for the Readers' Choice Award. But this year is different.  Not only have we this year opened nominations to a global audience, Renewable Energy World North America is now co-located with Power-Gen International, which is where we will present the aw

URL: http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/blog/post/2012/10/renewables-take-on-fossil-fuels-vote-now-for-the-readers-choice-project-of-the-year-award?cmpid=rss

David Attenborough: US politicians duck climate change because of cost

Guardian: The broadcaster and naturalist Sir David Attenborough says scientists and environmentalists have been cautious of overstating the dangers of global warming Link to this video One of the world's leading naturalists has accused US politicians of ducking the issue of climate change because of the economic cost of tackling it and warned that it would take a terrible example of extreme weather to wake people up to the dangers of global warming. Speaking just days after the subject of climate change...

URL: http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2012/oct/25/climate-change-david-attenborough
Enclosure: http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/video/2012/oct/25/david-attenborough-climate-change-video

Rapid Thinning of Glaciers Seen After Collapse of Antarctic Ice Shelf

Yale Environment 360: NASA has released satellite photos that vividly depict the precipitous thinning and retreat of two Antarctic glaciers following the disintegration of the Larsen B Ice Shelf. That ice shelf -- which floated on top of the Weddell Sea and once was the size of Connecticut -- collapsed in 2002 after several years of warm summer temperatures. The Larsen B had acted as a buttress slowing the flow of numerous glaciers into the sea. The NASA satellite images, taken in 2002 and in 2012, demonsrate how swiftly...

URL: http://e360.yale.edu/digest/thinning_of_green_hektoria_glaciers_seen_in_nasa_images/3674/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+YaleEnvironment360+%28Yale+Environment+360%29
Enclosure: http://e360.yale.edu/images/slideshows/green_glacier_changes_nasa.jpg

China lifts nuclear power ban in attempt to accelerate emissions reduction

BusinessGreen: The Chinese government has released a new nuclear strategy, confirming that it has lifted the moratorium on new nuclear plants imposed in the wake of the Fukushima disaster and expects a "small number" of new coastal nuclear reactors to be approved before 2015. The cabinet yesterday approved a package of new nuclear safety and inspection rules, which would ensure all new plants would be restricted to coastal areas and forced to comply with "third generation safety standards". The new standards...

URL: http://www.businessgreen.com/bg/news/2219971/china-lifts-nuclear-power-ban-in-attempt-to-accelerate-emissions-reduction?WT.rss_f=Home&WT.rss_a=China+lifts+nuclear+power+ban+in+attempt+to+accelerate+emissions+reduction

Rains help shrink drought but High Plains still parched

Reuters: Many areas of the drought-stricken United States continued to see improvement over the last week as steady rains started recharging parched soils, but for key agricultural areas of the U.S. Heartland, there was little relief, according to a climatology report issued Thursday. "We've seen some improvement ... but the impact of the drought and the dryness is far from over," said Brian Fuchs, a climatologist at the National Drought Mitigation Center at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Roughly 61.79...

URL: http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/10/25/us-usa-drought-idUSBRE89O17X20121025?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=20121025&t=2&i=667258561&w=460&fh=&fw=&ll=&pl=&r=CBRE89O1C2M00

Cameroon urged to reduce disaster risk after northern floods

AlertNet: Following severe flooding in the north of Cameroon, the country is being urged by the United Nations to take steps to reduce disaster risks in the face of extreme weather. Three weeks of heavy rain in August in the North region caused the partial collapse of the Lagdo dam and the overflow of the Benue River, triggering deadly flooding in some 15 villages of both Cameroon and Nigeria. According to UN reports, 30 people died and 60,000 were displaced in Cameroon's North and Far North regions,...

URL: http://www.trust.org/alertnet/news/cameroon-urged-to-reduce-disaster-risk-after-northern-floods
Enclosure: http://www.trust.org/contentAsset/resize-image/c1c97581-00fe-40b2-bd0f-d1201bffc91a/photowide/?w=460&h=318&vn=201210251542

Where to put Fukushima's radioactive water?

MSNBC: Japan's crippled nuclear power plant is struggling to find space to store tens of thousands of tons of highly contaminated water used to cool the broken reactors, the manager of the water treatment team said. About 200,000 tons of radioactive water -- enough to fill more than 50 Olympic-sized swimming pools -- are being stored in hundreds of gigantic tanks built around the Fukushima Dai-ichi plant. Operator Tokyo Electric Power Co. has already chopped down trees to make room for more tanks and...

URL: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/49550842/ns/world_news-world_environment/
Enclosure: http://msnbcmedia2.msn.com/j/ap/japan%20nuclear%20water--787877299_v2.grid-6x2.jpg

Solar islands floated as clean energy source for crowded continents

BusinessGreen: Global consultancy and certification firm DNV has unveiled designs for floating solar arrays that could rival offshore wind farms. The plans envisage a group of hexagonal artificial islands linked together and supporting 4,200 solar photovoltaic panels across an area the size of a football stadium. Multiple islands connected together could then make up a solar field of 50MW or more, producing enough electricity for 30,000 people. The concept, dubbed SUNdy, is made possible using 560W thin film...

URL: http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2012/oct/25/solar-islands-clean-energy-source

France: No damage from leak at Flamanville nuclear reactor

Reuters: A contained radioactive water leak detected at EDF's Flamanville nuclear plant did not cause any damage to the environment or harm any employees, France's nuclear safety watchdog ASN and EDF said on Thursday. The nuclear safety agency said on its website EDF had detected a leak in a water pipe that feeds the plant's reactor 1 primary circuit late on Wednesday. It was stopped and did not cause any radioactive contamination. The incident was defined as a grade 1 incident on the international...

URL: http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/10/25/us-edf-nuclear-leak-idUSBRE89O10F20121025?feedType=RSS&feedName=environmentNews&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+reuters%2Fenvironment+%28News+%2F+US+%2F+Environment%29

Utah board backs first US oil sands project

Associated Press: Utah gave its final approval Wednesday for the nation's first commercial tar sands project, handing a victory to a Canadian company that aims to start producing 2,000 barrels of oil next year in the start of what could grow into a much larger operation. The Utah Water Quality Board upheld the decision of state regulators and turned back an appeal from a Moab-based environmental group that vows to take up its fight in the state courts. Living Rivers has fought the project every step of the way,...

URL: http://www.sfgate.com/business/energy/article/Utah-board-backs-1st-US-oil-sands-project-3976582.php

Canada: Can controversial ocean iron fertilization save salmon?

Scientific American: In a bid to restore lost fish abundance, the Haida Salmon Restoration Corp. (HSRC) undertook to mimic the effects of a volcanic eruption by fertilizing the ocean with iron. The idea was to provide the missing nutrient for a plankton bloom that would then trickle up the food web and restore salmon—with the ancillary effects of gathering data on the ocean food web and, potentially, removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. "What if this is a means by which ocean pastures can be stewarded and...

URL: http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=fertilizing-ocean-with-iron-to-save-salmon-and-earn-money
Enclosure: http://www.scientificamerican.com/media/inline/fertilizing-ocean-with-iron-to-save-salmon-and-earn-money_1.jpg

Pacific Ocean hacker speaks out

Scientific American: This past July Russ George served as chief scientist on a cruise to fertilize the northeastern Pacific Ocean with iron—the latest in a long string of similar, and usually controversial, efforts he has led. He has been attempting to commercialize such ocean fertilization efforts for years, including setting up the failed company Planktos. In parallel, he has also been promoting plans to generate carbon credits for companies and governments, allowing them to emit greenhouse gases in exchange for replanting...

URL: http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=questions-and-answers-with-rogue-geoengineer-carbon-entrepreneur-russ-george

Energy independence for US? Try energy security

National Public Radio: Gone from this year's presidential campaign are most mentions of climate change, environmental pollution, or green jobs. Former Gov. Mitt Romney, the GOP presidential nominee, prefers to call attention instead to the country's continuing dependence on foreign energy sources. "I will set a national goal of North American energy independence by the year 2020," Romney declared in August. The line is now a standard part of Romney's stump speech, and he repeated it in his first two debates with...

URL: http://www.npr.org/2012/10/25/163573768/energy-independence-for-u-s-try-energy-security
Enclosure: http://www.npr.org/player/v2/mediaPlayer.html?action=1&t=1&islist=false&id=163573768&m=163606573

Old ship logs seen holding Arctic clues

Reuters: A project to help track Arctic climate change using volunteers to transcribe US ship logs online was launched on Wednesday by the National Archives and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Using citizen scientists to transcribe thousands of pages of logbooks from Navy, Coast Guard and other ships from 1850 to World War Two will fill a big data gap, NOAA Administrator Jane Lubchenco said. Scientists in recent decades have gotten weather data from satellites and ground...

URL: http://www.smh.com.au/environment/climate-change/old-ship-logs-seen-holding-arctic-clues-20121025-286kh.html

EU likely to exceed Kyoto carbon-cut target

Bloomberg: European Union governments will probably reduce emissions outside the bloc`s carbon market by 8.8 per cent more than required under the 1997 Kyoto Protocol, according to projections published today on an EU website. The oversupply of reductions among the 15 older members of the bloc will amount to 1.03 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent in the five years through 2012 compared with a limit of 11.8 billion tons, according to the data. That includes 419 million tons of United Nations...

URL: http://www.smh.com.au/environment/climate-change/eu-likely-to-exceed-kyoto-carboncut-target-20121025-286kt.html

Gulf Stream might be releasing seafloor methane

ScienceNews: While it's no ice-nine, a frozen form of methane trapped in ocean sediments could be cause for concern. Warm Gulf Stream waters off the east coast of North America are converting large amounts of the substance into methane gas, which could lead to underwater landslides and influence global climate. A good portion of the biological carbon on Earth is stored in the seafloor as methane hydrate, a frozen mixture of methane and water formed at high pressure and low temperature. Changes in the temperature...

URL: http://www.sciencenews.org/view/generic/id/346009/description/Gulf_Stream_might_be_releasing_seafloor_methane

Monterey climate-change workshop looks at the latest shoreline impacts

Monterey County Weekly: A sand-mining operation in Marina is chewing at the southern Monterey Bay shoreline, and the West Coast sea level is rising faster than we thought. This is among the evidence that climate change is here, and our policies have a lot of catching up to do. Last December, the Monterey-based Center for Ocean Solutions initiated that regional conversation with a workshop on climate change impacts on the Monterey Bay coast. This Thursday, Oct. 25, it's inviting local science and policy leaders back for...

URL: http://www.montereycountyweekly.com/news/2012/oct/25/chaos-slow-motion/
Enclosure: http://climatechangemontereybay.org/

A call for climate diplomacy

Trinidad Express: IT'S an issue noticeably absent from the US presidential election but climate change and its effects are felt everywhere. So pressing are the economic, social and environmental effects of climate change that there is an urgent need for the world's governments, particularly foreign ministries, to engage in climate diplomacy to avert future crises, warn representatives from Adelphi. According to its website, Adelphi is a think tank that offers creative solutions and services on global environment...

URL: http://www.trinidadexpress.com/featured-news/A_call_for_climate_diplomacy-175715601.html

Newly Launched Hanwha Q.CELLS Becomes World's Third Largest Solar Manufacturer


In one swift move, Korean business conglomerate Hanwha Group has officially positioned itself as the third largest solar manufacturer in the world. With the purchase of bankrupt solar cell manufacturer Q.CELLS, the newly launched entity – appropriately named Hanwha Q.CELLS – now claims ownership of a total of 2.3 gigawatts of manufacturing capacity across Germany, Malaysia and China. That multinational position also puts Hanwha in the unique position of being able to deliver supply to any region in the world without concern over trade sanctions.

URL: http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news/article/2012/10/newly-launched-hanwha-q-cells-becomes-worlds-third-largest-solar-manufacturer?cmpid=rss

U.S. Solar Employment Faces Bright Future as Wind Jobs Flutter


Job growth in the U.S. solar industry, fueled by falling panel prices, will outpace employment in wind energy, which faces the looming expiration of a federal credit, according to a report from CleanEdison Inc.

URL: http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news/article/2012/10/u-s-solar-employment-faces-bright-future-as-wind-jobs-flutter?cmpid=rss

Energy Democracy Becomes More Real


Will new technologies democratize energy much the way the Internet did information? Industry movement seems to point in that direction with the rise of the smart grid, time-of-day pricing, distributed solar, and the electric vehicle. Together these technologies offer a vision of a less centralized energy system, one where communities and households

URL: http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/blog/post/2012/10/energy-democracy-becomes-more-real?cmpid=rss

Connecticut's Solar Lease Program Demonstrates High Borrower Fidelity


Third-party financing has become the mechanism for funding solar at the residential level in many markets. For example, third-party financed systems — which can include solar power purchase agreements (PPAs) and solar leases — are reported to have made up two-thirds of installations in the California market during the first half of 2012. The reason for their popularity? PPAs and solar leases significantly reduce or even eliminate the high upfront costs associated with solar photovoltaic (PV) systems.

URL: http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news/article/2012/10/connecticuts-solar-lease-program-demonstrates-high-borrower-fidelity?cmpid=rss

Sign on now, UN climate chief says

WA Today: THE United Nations climate chief has called on Australia to sign up to a new round of the greenhouse-gas-limiting Kyoto Protocol, saying it already has significant clean-energy policies in place. EU likely to exceed Kyoto carbon-cut target ''From a national perspective it wouldn't change that much what Australia is already doing,'' the head of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, Christiana Figueres, said in Sydney. ''It would send a very clear message internationally that what...

URL: http://www.watoday.com.au/environment/climate-change/sign-on-now-un-climate-chief-says-20121024-285si.html

Heating With Wood Pellets

Subtitle:&nbsp_place_holder;

What to like and what not to like about pellet stoves and pellet boilers

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[](http://www.greenbuildingadvisor.com/blogs/dept/energy-solutions/heating-wood-pellets)

My wife and I have a sort-of love-hate relationship with our pellet stove. She leans more toward the latter, while I see the benefits outweighing the negatives.

In this column I'll outline the primary advantages and disadvantages of pellet heating.

URL: http://www.greenbuildingadvisor.com/blogs/dept/energy-solutions/heating-wood-pellets

French Maker of Barracuda Submarines Eyes Tidal Power Takeover


DCNS SA, the French maker of Barracuda submarines part owned by Thales SA, is considering the takeover of a tidal-power business as it looks to diversify into more resilient consumer-orientated markets, according to Chief Executive Officer Patrick Boissier.

URL: http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news/article/2012/10/french-maker-of-barracuda-submarines-eyes-tidal-power-takeover?cmpid=rss

How Much Do U.S. Tax Benefits Cost per kWh of Solar Production?


Many frequently wonder: what is the cost to the taxpayer/ratepayer of the various benefits (federal, state, utility) bestowed on renewable energy projects, and is there a more cost-effective way to support these fledgling technologies? Also, how do U.S. support structures compare in cost to other places, say, Germany, which incentivizes investment in renewable technologies through feed-in tariffs (FITs)?

URL: http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news/article/2012/10/how-much-do-u-s-tax-benefits-cost-per-kwh-of-solar-production?cmpid=rss

Vote Now for Your Favorite Project of the Year! Readers' Choice Voting Closes Soon

http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/awards/2012/vote

URL: http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news/article/2012/10/vote-now-for-your-favorite-project-of-the-year-readers-choice-voting-closes-soon?cmpid=rss

Shi, Beijing in Solar Energy Battle for Heart of Suntech


Solar panel maker LDK (NYSE: LDK) started its long march to a takeover by the state with a major stake sale this week, but the equally cash-starved Suntech (NYSE: STP) looks like it may put up a bigger fight to maintain its independence. What's happening at Suntech comes down to a single word: Pride. The latest twist at Suntech also has broader imp

URL: http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/blog/post/2012/10/shi-beijing-in-solar-energy-battle-for-heart-of-suntech?cmpid=rss

REC Is Merger Candidate as Solar Takeovers Loom, CEO Says


Renewable Energy Corp., the Norwegian solar-energy company struggling with falling demand and excess capacity, said it's a merger candidate as the industry gears up for a probable consolidation.

URL: http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news/article/2012/10/rec-is-merger-candidate-as-solar-takeovers-loom-ceo-says?cmpid=rss

Climate change shut out of presidential debates

The Hill: Climate change never emerged as a topic in the three presidential debates, disappointing greens who say President Obama and GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney have avoided discussing the issue. With Defense Secretary Leon Panetta commenting in May that "climate change has a dramatic impact on national security," some environmental activists thought the topic could wriggle its way into Monday's foreign policy debate. But like the previous two debates, climate change was shut out of the conversation....

URL: http://thehill.com/blogs/e2-wire/e2-wire/263453-climate-change-shut-out-of-presidential-debates

Romney, Obama Go One Last Round in Debate on Clean Energy, Solyndra

The Hill: President Obama and GOP White House nominee Mitt Romney grappled over federal funding for clean energy in Monday's final presidential debate. Obama said the federal government must maintain basic research to keep pace with nations like China, which heavily subsidizes its clean energy industry. "We will lose the lead in things like clean energy technology" if basic research funding falls, Obama said. Romney responded that he supports basic research funding for universities and laboratories,...

URL: http://insideclimatenews.org/todaysnews/20121023/romney-obama-go-one-last-round-debate-clean-energy-solyndra?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+solveclimate%2Ftodaysclimate+%28Today%27sClimate+-+Today%27s+climate+news+headlines%29

Canada: B.C. Premier Christy Clark Warns of National Crisis Over Pipeline

Globe and Mail: Any move by Ottawa to green-light the Northern Gateway pipeline over British Columbia's objections would ignite a national political crisis, says Premier Christy Clark. Putting its foot down on a provincial matter would fan the flames on both sides of the debate and run afoul of political reality: the pipeline will only get built if it has the "social licence" to proceed, Ms. Clark said. She made the comments in a wide-ranging interview with The Globe and Mail, in which she softened some of...

URL: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/british-columbia/bc-premier-christy-clark-warns-of-national-crisis-over-pipeline/article4627532/

Ignoring Climate Change and Global Warming

Seattle Post-Intelligencer: Last week, 350.org sent out an "email pointing out that 270 minutes of Presidential debate had passed without a single mention of the words 'climate change.' If the candidates don`t speak up tonight, this will be the first time since 1988 that climate change hasn`t been discussed in a Presidential debate. " It's at 360 minutes now. With the fossil fuel industry blocking progress our politicians won`t even mention the words "climate change" - ExxonMobil PAC and Koch Industries PAC spent a over...

URL: http://blog.seattlepi.com/robertbrown/2012/10/22/ignoring-climate-change-and-global-warming/

As unconventional U.S. oil, gas boom, so do jobs: report

CNBC: The U.S. oil and gas rush is cutting into jobless numbers, supporting a total of 1.7 million jobs this year, a number that will swell to almost 3 million by 2020, a leading consultant said in a study released on Tuesday. The report by forecaster IHS Global Insight is part of a series attempting to quantify the impact that booming production of so-called "unconventional" oil and gas has had on the American economy. Using new technology to blast fossil fuels trapped in shale rock has...

URL: http://www.cnbc.com/id/49512974/As_unconventional_U_S_oil_gas_boom_so_do_jobs_report

What Killed Climate Change Legislation?

Atlantic Wire: The presidential debates are over and to the chagrin of earthly-minded individuals, the topic of global warming was roundly ignored by the moderators and both candidates. The lack of discussion wasn't due to a sinister corporate plot, but the reality that no climate legislation is even remotely in the works in Congress, and few foresee it happening anytime soon. How come? AsNew York Timescolumnist David Brooks pointed out last week, the outlook wasn't always so grim: "The period around 2003 was the...

URL: http://www.theatlanticwire.com/business/2012/10/what-killed-climate-change-legislation/58269/
Enclosure: http://cdn.theatlanticwire.com/img/upload/2012/10/23/RTR3362B/large.jpg

A Look at Climate Silence and the Romney-Obama Debates

New York Times: Below you can see my two-slide Powerpoint explanation for the presidential debates` resounding #climatesilence (that`s the Twitter hashtag for the failed push to get global warming on the debate agenda). Try to find slide one - depicting the online tussle over climate science and policy - within slide two, which places the first issue in the flow of the moment`s news (via the fascinating newsmap.jp Web site): Obviously, Bob Schieffer could have slipped in a reference to climate in various ways,...

URL: http://dotearth.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/10/23/one-reason-for-debate-climate-silence/?partner=rss&emc=rss
Enclosure: http://www.slideshare.net/Revkin/2slide-talk-on-the-reason-for-debate-climate-silence

Low Electricity Prices Lead Dominion to Decommission Wisconsin Reactor

E and E: Richmond, Virginia-based Dominion Resources Inc. said Monday it will shut down and decommission the Kewaunee Power Station near Green Bay, which would make it the first U.S. nuclear reactor to be permanently retired since 1998. The company said the decision was purely based on economics, which may signal trouble for other nuclear power plants at a time when cheap natural gas and the slowly recovering economy are holding down electricity prices in many parts of the country. Dominion President...

URL: http://www.midwestenergynews.com/2012/10/23/low-electricity-prices-lead-dominion-to-decommission-wisconsin-reactor/
Enclosure: http://www.midwestenergynews.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/kewaunee-power-station-456x304.jpg

An opportunity to debate climate change

The Hill: 270 minutes. That's how long the leading candidates for president and vice president have stood on stage in front of the American people without mentioning a challenge as big as the national debt, education, health care, and national security: climate change. It's not that they haven't had plenty of opportunities. When asked about the slow economy, neither ticket laid out a bold green jobs plan to put people back to work making our homes and places of work and worship more energy-efficient....

URL: http://thehill.com/blogs/congress-blog/energy-a-environment/263217-an-opportunity-to-debate-climate-change

Sierra Club chief says 'reasonable' Republicans doomed

Seattle Post-Intelligencer: Whatever happened to Massachusetts "green" Gov. Mitt Romney, who once championed a regional climate initiative and staged a photo op in front of a coal plant to decry its dirty emissions and tout clean energy? "Go to OpenSecrets.org and look at his contributor base, which is filled with money from executives within fossil fuel industries, and there`s a second reason: It is almost impossible for a thoughtful, reasonable person to make it through the Republican primaries," Michael Brune, executive...

URL: http://blog.seattlepi.com/seattlepolitics/2012/10/22/reasonable-republican-doomed-sierra-club-leader/

Canada: Shell's Tar Sands Expansion Could Violate First Nations Treaties

SustainableBusiness: The residents of Fort Chipewyan, an indigenous community near the Arctic Circle, that lives directly downstream from Canada's tar sands in Alberta, are officially challenging tar sands expansion there on constitutional grounds - saying it violates their rights under Canada's First Nations treaties. For the first time, a Canadian First Nation will officially challenge tar sands development on the grounds of aboriginal rights. If this test case is successful, it would embolden indigenous groups across...

URL: http://www.sustainablebusiness.com/index.cfm/go/news.display/id/24206?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+SBGeneralNews+%28SustainableBusiness.com+General+News%29

Official radiation monitoring stations in Fukushima unreliable: Greenpeace

Greenpeace: Following new radioactive contamination checks in Fukushima City and the heavily contaminated Iitate(1) last week, Greenpeace has found that official monitoring stations systematically underestimate the radiation risks for the population, and that the Government's decontamination work remains patchy, misdirected, and insufficient, with evacuated areas receiving greater attention than heavily populated ones. More than 75% of the 40 government monitoring posts checked by Greenpeace in Fukushima City...

URL: http://www.greenpeace.org/international/en/press/releases/Official-radiation-monitoring-stations-in-Fukushima-unreliable-Greenpeace/

Canada: Northern Gateway Protesters Vow to Lie Down in Front of Bulldozers to Stop Pipeline

CTV: Thousands of protesters demonstrated against the proposed Northern Gateway pipeline Monday in B.C., vowing to lie down in front of bulldozers if necessary. When asked by a speaker whether they were willing to block machinery if the project is approved, thousands shouted "Yes!" However, the demonstration in front of the provincial legislature in Victoria didn't take the violent turn that some expected it to. Organizers had said demonstrators would be carrying out acts of civil disobedience during...

URL: http://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/protesters-vow-to-lie-down-in-front-of-bulldozers-to-stop-pipeline-1.1005694

Climate Change, the Taboo Phrase in U.S. Electoral Politics

Inter Press Service: The United States endured its hottest summer in history this year, with droughts and wildfires ravaging the country. And according to a new report from the global reinsurance giant Munich Re, insurance losses related to extreme weather have nearly quadrupled in the U.S. since 1980. So one might expect that climate change would be a hot topic in the debates being held ahead of the U.S. presidential election on Nov. 6. But during the four nationally televised debates held so far -- three presidential...

URL: http://www.ipsnews.net/2012/10/climate-change-the-taboo-phrase-in-u-s-electoral-politics/
Enclosure: http://ipsnews-net.wpengine.netdna-cdn.com/Library/2012/10/U.S._flooding_640-629x416.jpg

Can cities be both “resilient” and “sustainable”?

Scientific American: This article arises from Future Tense, a partnership of Slate, the New America Foundation, and Arizona State University. On the evening of Wednesday, Oct. 24, Future Tense and Scientific American will be hosting an event in New York City on building resilient cities. To learn more and to RSVP, visit the New America Foundation website. If you`ve successfully flushed a toilet recently, then you appreciate (at least subconsciously) the workings of a good sewer system. Waste disappears, no matter...

URL: http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/observations/2012/10/22/can-cities-be-both-resilient-and-sustainable/

South Africa: Climate change activists arrested after Eskom protest

Business Day: SEVERAL climate change activists who blocked the entrance to Eskom's headquarters in Johannesburg on Tuesday morning were arrested by police. The campaigners were protesting against the electricity supplier's current management and its reliance on coal for energy. Eskom had failed South Africans by "failing to deliver clean, affordable and accessible electricity by continuing to invest in coal", said Greenpeace Africa climate and energy campaigner Melita Steele. Greenpeace has challenged...

URL: http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=t&fd=R&usg=AFQjCNH57r2uYgGVOxoKg6YicbuYMbnmow&url=http://www.bdlive.co.za/national/science/2012/10/23/climate-change-activists-arrested-after-eskom-protest

14 Activists Arrested Protesting Coal in South Africa

Greenpeace Africa: Fourteen activists including groundWork's Bobby Peek, Earthlife`s Makoma Lekalakala and Greenpeace Africa's Melita Steele have been arrested while protesting at the Eskom megawatt park. Today, three campaigning organizations joined forces to put South Africa's energy utility, Eskom, under "new management." Activists confronted the utility to publicly highlight that Eskom has failed to deliver clean, affordable, accessible electricity to the people of this country, and demand a shift away from coal....

URL: http://ecowatch.org/2012/14-arrested-protesting-coal/
Enclosure: http://www.greenpeace.org/africa/en/

United States: Judge Postpones Hearing to Halt Enbridge Pipeline Project

Inside Climate News: A federal judge in Michigan has postponed a hearing to decide whether a Canadian company should be blocked from further work on a project to replace an aging oil pipeline until the company complies with state and local regulations. The continuance came yesterday after a brief hearing before U.S. District Judge Robert Cleland in which the judge asked for clarification about whether the group seeking the injunction against Enbridge Inc. could legally ask for an order to halt to the billion-dollar...

URL: http://insideclimatenews.org/news/20121023/enbridge-oil-pipeline-dilbit-disaster-line-6b-replacement-michigan-landowners-townships-hearing-federal-judge?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+solveclimate%2Fblog+%28InsideClimate+News%29
Enclosure: http://insideclimatenews.org/sites/default/files/assets/2012-09/map.png

A New Sustainability Chief for New York

New York Times: New York City's Office of Long-Term Planning and Sustainability is about to see a changing of the guard. In a few weeks Sergej Mahnovski, the current director of energy policy for Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, will take over the sustainability office, which puts changes into effect related to the mayor`s PlaNYC environmental agenda. Mr. Mahnovski succeeds David Bragdon, who will become the director of planning for the revitalization of parkland around Jamaica Bay. That program will turn 10,000 acres...

URL: http://green.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/10/23/a-new-sustainability-chief-for-new-york/

Nations meet prior to climate change talks in Doha

China Daily: The Like Minded Developing Countries (LMDCs) on climate change, a new group of developing countries, have been coordinating their positions on climate change negotiations ahead of the upcoming climate change talks in Doha, Qatar, the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) has said. Representatives of a number of developing countries-from Bolivia, China, Ecuador, Egypt, India, Malaysia, Nicaragua, Pakistan, Philippines, Saudi Arabia, Thailand and Venezuela-attended the first meeting...

URL: http://europe.chinadaily.com.cn/world/2012-10/23/content_15840391.htm

MUST SEE TV Ad Reveals the True Costs of Fracking

EcoWatch: As scientists and physicians continue outlining the disastrous health impacts of fracking, New Yorkers Against Fracking today began a new effort to outline the negative economic impacts of fracking. In a new television ad that will air starting tomorrow in the Binghamton and Elmira markets, Pennsylvania residents detail lies the gas industry told and the devastating impacts on property values that came along with fracking. "I'm holding a mortgage on a home I can't give away," says Pam Judy in...

URL: http://ecowatch.org/2012/true-costs-of-fracking/
Enclosure: http://youtu.be/WZx7kLFSgbM

Climate Scientist Michael Mann Sues National Review for Libel

Daily Climate: Michael Mann, an influential climatologist who has spent years in the center of the debate over climate science, has sued two organizations that have accused him of academic fraud and of improperly manipulating data. Mann, director of Pennsylvania State University's Earth System Science Center, on Monday sued the National Review and the Competitive Enterprise Institute, along with two of their authors, Rand Simberg and Mark Steyn. The lawsuit, Mann's lawyer said in a statement, was based upon...

URL: http://insideclimatenews.org/breaking-news/20121023/climate-scientist-michael-mann-sues-national-review-libel?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+solveclimate%2Fblog+%28InsideClimate+News%29
Enclosure: http://legaltimes.typepad.com/files/michael-mann-complaint.pdf

US Presidential Debates’ Great Unmentionable: Climate Change

Guardian: The Pentagon ranks it as a national security threat and, left unchecked, climate change is expected to cost the US economy billions of dollars every year – and yet it has proved the great unmentionable of this election campaign. Amid unprecedented melting of the Arctic summer sea ice, new temperature records in the US and a historic drought, the last of three presidential debates wound up on Monday night without Barack Obama or Mitt Romney ever uttering the words climate change. It was the...

URL: http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2012/oct/23/us-president-debates-climate-change?newsfeed=true
Enclosure: http://climatedesk.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/prez-debates.jpg

A new way to measure the ocean's health

Mongabay: A diverse array of institutions have come together to release a new, revolutionary ocean health assessment called the Ocean Health Index. Researchers formed the index in order to gauge the health of the world's oceans. The index is the result of a huge collaborative effort, including top researchers crossing a diverse range of disciplines such as the National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis (NCEAS) and Conservation International. "We are very excited about the launch of the Ocean...

URL: http://news.mongabay.com/2012/1023-lloyd-ocean-health-index.html
Enclosure: http://www.oceanhealthindex.org//

The Issue that Dare Not Speak Its Name

New York Times: A mountain of scientific evidence points to climate change as a serious risk for the human future. The Pentagon sees it as a threat to national security. Arctic sea ice hit a record low this summer. In some low-lying countries threatened by sea level rise, evacuation planning has already begun. Yet the presidential debates are now over, and not once did climate change surface explicitly as an issue. This campaign is the first time that has happened since 1988, and environmental groups – and environmentally...

URL: http://green.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/10/23/the-issue-that-dare-not-speak-its-name/
Enclosure: http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2012/10/23/blogs/debate/debate-blog480.jpg

Coal Exports Booming at U.S. Taxpayers’ Expense

ThinkProgress: Here's an energy-related foreign policy issue that isn't getting any campaign attention: Coal exports are booming, fueling a surge in global warming pollution--and American taxpayers are picking up a good portion of the tab. The latest figures from the Energy Information Administration shows just how strongly coal exports have risen. Boosted by growing demand in Asia, the U.S. is on track to ship record amounts of coal overseas this year, surpassing the previous all-time high set in 1981. If...

URL: http://ecowatch.org/2012/coal-exports-booming/
Enclosure: http://ecowatch.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/coalexp.png

Canada: Thousands Say No to Northern Gateway Pipeline

EcoWatch: And so they came in their thousands to gather on the front lawn of the legislature of British Columbia yesterday to protest against the controversial Northern Gateway pipeline. More than 3,000 people braved the rain and cold to protest against the Northern Gateway, which is planned to take the dirty tar sands from Alberta through the forests of British Columbia to the west coast of Canada. At the end of the protest they unfurled a black banner which was 235 metres long, the same length as an...

URL: http://ecowatch.org/2012/no-northern-gateway-pipeline/
Enclosure: http://ecowatch.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/signfi.jpg

Lack of climate change in presidential debates part of larger trend

Mongabay: The final presidential debate between President Barack Obama and Governor Mitt Romney, focusing on foreign policy, ended like all the others: without a mention of climate change or its likely impacts on Americans, from rising sea levels to worsening extreme weather to the threat of instability abroad. While environmental groups have kicked-off a campaign to target this "climate silence," the lack of discussion on climate change is a part of a larger trend in the U.S. where media coverage of the issue...

URL: http://news.mongabay.com/2012/1023-hance-climate-change-debate.html
Enclosure: http://www.mongabay.com/images/2006/graphs/co2_global_1750-2000.jpg

Food and Climate: A New Warning

New York Times: As we have noted many times, one of the major questions about climate change is what it will do to the world's food supply. Competing factors are at work. On the one hand, the rising level of carbon dioxide in the air significantly bolsters the growth of plants, potentially raising yields. Conversely, rising heat and, in some places, additional weather extremes like drought and heavy rains threaten to reduce yields. Climate contrarians like to cite the upside potential of rising carbon dioxide...

URL: http://green.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/10/23/food-and-climate-a-new-warning/?partner=rss&emc=rss
Enclosure: http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2012/10/22/blogs/rice/rice-blog480.jpg

United States: Governor's race brings rare climate discussion

Crosscut: This election season it's unusual for candidates in any race to talk about clean energy as a solution to the jobs crisis let alone the climate crisis. The Washington state governor's race gets about as close as any to talking about the issues. Jay Inslee, the Democratic candidate in the Washington governor's race, has a long track record in championing renewable energy and environmental protections. During the Bush administration, then-Congressman Inslee introduced the New Apollo Energy Act, a...

URL: http://crosscut.com/2012/10/23/elections/111104/governors-race-brings-rare-climate-discussion/
Enclosure: http://crosscut.com/media/static_file/2012/10/22/Green_Acre_Radio_Clean_Energy__Govs_Race.mp3

Tribe Appeals EPA Ruling Over Coal-Fired Power Plant

Yahoo!: The Moapa Paiutes, represented by Earthjustice, have filed a suit in federal court, appealing a decision that allows a coal-fired power plant in Nevada to continue emitting nitrogen oxide. According to a press release from Earthjustice, the tribe -- along with the Sierra Club and the National Parks Conservation Association -- is calling for retirement of the plant and a "transition to cleaner sources." Here are the details. * The Reid Gardner Generating Station is a 557-megawatt coal-fueled, steam-electric...

URL: http://news.yahoo.com/tribe-appeals-epa-ruling-over-coal-fired-power-202400965.html

Nuclear test ban body's new head to seek compliance of key powers

Reuters: A 183-nation body set up to monitor a ban on nuclear bomb tests elected a new head on Tuesday to face the tricky task of helping convince the United States and other hold-outs to finally turn the landmark treaty into global law. After four rounds of voting to separate the five candidates, Burkina Faso geophysicist Lassina Zerbo was picked as new executive secretary of the Preparatory Commission for the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO). Seen as a cornerstone of efforts...

URL: http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/10/23/us-nuclear-test-ban-idUSBRE89M10X20121023?feedType=RSS&feedName=environmentNews&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+reuters%2Fenvironment+%28News+%2F+US+%2F+Environment%29

Australia: Climate change unit axed in cost-cutting push

Australian Broadcasting Corporation: The Northern Territory Government is disbanding the Energy Policy and Climate Change Unit set up by Labor inside the Environment Department. The Government says the move will save about half a million dollars, and was put forward as a cost-cutting measure by the new Department of Lands, Planning and Environment. Territory Environment Centre spokesman Stuart Blanch says the three-person unit deserved more funding, not the axe. "We don't want to slip behind other states and other countries...

URL: http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-10-23/cost-cutting-sees-climate-change-unit-axed/4329928?section=nt

Bird watchers descend on Rhode Island for rare sighting

Reuters: Scores of bird watchers have descended on Rhode Island to glimpse a bird rarely seen on the U.S. mainland and that may have flown from as far away as Siberia. The wood sandpiper, a migratory bird commonly found in Europe, Asia and North Africa, was first spotted 10 days ago in a marshy area in Jamestown, George Armistead, events coordinator for the American Birding Association, said on Tuesday. The brown-and-white medium-size shore bird has been seen and recorded only a few times in the lower...

URL: http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/10/23/us-usa-rhodeisland-birds-idUSBRE89M18U20121023?feedType=RSS&feedName=environmentNews&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+reuters%2Fenvironment+%28News+%2F+US+%2F+Environment%29

Ikea unveils plans to use 100% clean energy by 2020

Business Green: Ikea plans to be energy and resource independent by 2020 under an ambitious new sustainability strategy backed by EUR1.5bn in clean energy investment and unveiled today by the global furniture retailer. The People and Planet Positive plan is designed to protect the company from price shocks and tap into customers' desire for a greener lifestyle, the firm said in a webcast this morning. Alongside its energy and resource goals, the plan commits the company to helping Ikea's 770 million customers...

URL: http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2012/oct/23/ikea-clean-energy
Enclosure: http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Guardian/Pix/pictures/2012/10/21/1350834778192/Ikea-009.jpg

Obama, Romney like green energy. Climate change? Not so much

Christian Science Monitor: No one wants to talk about it. With a few exceptions, voters don't ask. And presidential candidates don't tell. Now that the 2012 presidential debates are over, commentators have begun to take notice. Not once during the three presidential encounters or the single vice-presidential debate did the subject come up. "National elections should be a time when our nation considers the great challenges and opportunities the next President will face," opines the website ClimateSilence.org, a project...

URL: http://www.csmonitor.com/Environment/Energy-Voices/2012/1023/Obama-Romney-like-green-energy.-Climate-change-Not-so-much
Enclosure: http://www.csmonitor.com/var/ezflow_site/storage/images/media/content/2012/1023-climatedebate/14111463-1-eng-US/1023-climatedebate_full_380.jpg

Scientists Eat Crow on Geoengineering Test. Me, Too

Climate Central: Harvard's David Keith calls it the "goofy Goldfinger scenario' -- a rogue nation, or even an individual, would conduct an unsupervised geoengineering experiment -- and he confidently predicted in a story I wrote last month that it would never happen. It took about a month for him to be proven wrong. In mid-October, the Guardian reported that an American named Russ George had dumped 100 metric tons of iron sulfate into the waters off western Canada, triggering a bloom of algae. George claimed he...

URL: http://www.climatecentral.org/blogs/iron-dumping-leaves-geoengineers-with-egg-on-their-faces.-me-too-15147?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/algae_bloom2-500x377.jpg

Helping North America's marine protected areas adapt to a changing climate

ScienceDaily: Top marine predators like tuna and sharks are suffering from the effects of climate change as the availability of prey decreases and the spatial distribution of their prey shifts. Countless other marine plants and animals are also affected. One way to adapt to or mitigate these changes is to design marine protected areas (MPA) and MPA networks that integrate these and other climate-related considerations. Accordingly, the Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC) has published Scientific...

URL: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/10/121023161256.htm?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+sciencedaily+%28ScienceDaily%3A+Latest+Science+News%29

Colorado goes fracking free: we have the power

Guardian: Recently, I joined a movement called Frack Free Colorado, helping to educate all of us energy consumers on the ease of moving to renewables like wind and solar, and away from the more toxic oil, gas and coal. I'll be speaking on Tuesday, on the lawn of the Colorado state capitol, along with others like Leilani Munther, known as the "Carbon-free Girl" race car driver, actor and environmental activist Daryl Hannah, scientist Sandra Steingraber, musicians Jakob Dylan and Rami Jafee of the Wallflowers,...

URL: http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2012/oct/23/colorado-fracking-free-forever-mariel-hemingway
Enclosure: http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Business/Pix/pictures/2012/8/21/1345563968251/Fracking-protest-009.jpg

Independent supervision urged of carbon market

China Daily: A climate change organization on Monday suggested Chinese policymakers establish a national regulatory commission for the country's fledging carbon market, noting that current plans call for setting up a national market within the decade. To drum up the financing needed to contend with climate change, seven emissions trading systems are being tested out in China. The National Development and Reform Commission, China's top economic planner, is now in charge of the systems, but an independent...

URL: http://usa.chinadaily.com.cn/business/2012-10/23/content_15838495.htm

Bill McKibben Launches Campus Crusade for Climate

Daily Climate: Bill McKibben is lanky, soft-spoken, scholarly and engaging. He may also be the closest thing the U.S. environmental movement has to a leader. And he's in show business now. Still soft-spoken, but very, very angry. On a crisp night earlier this month, a mostly-Gen Next crowd filled the University of Vermont's Allen Chapel to see the dress rehearsal of the coast-to-coast road show that McKibben hopes will ignite a campus movement. "Do the Math" will visit 20 cities starting Nov. 7. It mixes McKibben's...

URL: http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=bill-mckibben-launches-campus-crusade-for-climate
Enclosure: http://www.scientificamerican.com/media/inline/bill-mckibben-launches-campus-crusade-for-climate_1.jpg

Climate Change Was Shutout of the Debates For First Time Since 1984

Slate: Here was CNN's Candy Crowley consoling environmentalists and climate hawks after leaving a question about global warming on the cutting room floor during the second presidential debate: "Climate change, I had that question. All you climate change people. We just, you know, again, we knew that the economy was still the main thing." And here was CBS's Bob Schieffer getting that same group's hopes back up heading into last night's third and final debate: "That last segment [the rise of China and...

URL: http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2012/10/23/climate_change_debate_questions_global_warming_left_unmentioned_for_first.html

Simulating secure carbon dioxide storage

ScienceDaily: The race is on to develop the most secure solution for storing carbon dioxide in Earth's crust. A small Norwegian company has developed a method for studying precisely how this greenhouse gas is bound inside rock. CO2 capture and storage is a key measure for mitigating climate change. The gas can be pumped into Earth's crust and deposited in various types of porous rock that is currently saturated with seawater. But how secure against leakage is this practice, and what is the holding capacity...

URL: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/10/121023090532.htm?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+sciencedaily+%28ScienceDaily%3A+Latest+Science+News%29
Enclosure: http://images.sciencedaily.com/2012/10/121023090532-large.jpg?1351019089

Great Strides in Solar: Preventing Fraud and Abuse


While Solyndra's bankruptcy drove public and political attention to solar, Consumer Reports drew some in the retail solar industry into a frenzy. The October issue of Consumer Reports contains an article on rising scams and fraud in multiple industries - including solar energy.

URL: http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news/article/2012/10/great-strides-in-solar-preventing-fraud-and-abuse?cmpid=rss

Democrats Seek to Bolster Solar Energy Development by Winning Arizona Utility Board


Arizona Democrats are vying to wrest control of the state utility board so they can expand the use of solar energy in the nation's sunniest state.

URL: http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news/article/2012/10/democrats-seek-to-bolster-solar-energy-development-by-winning-arizona-utility-board?cmpid=rss

LDK Joins China State-led Solar Bailout


The nascent state-led bailout of China's struggling solar industry has taken another step forward with word that LDK (NYSE: LDK) has just sold a big chunk of itself to a partly state-owned consortium for enough cash to perhaps fund its operations for another month or 2. This new rescue package values LDK at just $140 million, which is probably stil

URL: http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/blog/post/2012/10/ldk-joins-china-state-led-solar-bail-out?cmpid=rss

AWEA Reports 2012 the Strongest Year on Record for U.S. Wind Energy, Continued Success Uncertain


There's evidence that the wind's picking up, and it's not all hot air. According to a report published on October 17 by the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA), 2012 has been a record year for the development of wind power within the United States. The U.S. wind industry has surpassed 50,000 megawatts of electrical power generation capacity, with a total of 4,728 megawatts added this year alone and another 8,430 megawatts in active development throughout 29 states and Puerto Rico.

URL: http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news/article/2012/10/awea-reports-2012-the-strongest-year-on-record-for-u-s-wind-energy-continued-success-uncertain?cmpid=rss

Geothermal Innovations, Part 1: Redesigning Reservoir Design from the Subsurface Up


Large-scale projects for the production of geothermal energy begin, essentially, with a detailed study of rocks. As AltaRock Energy's President/Chief Technology Officer Susan Petty told GEA by email, technology improvements "are no substitute for a thorough understanding of geology." The process of gathering and analyzing data on geologic layers of Earth is a complicated dance buoyed in recent years by a focus on innovative research and development from industry experts and aided in part by federal incentives and loans.

URL: http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news/article/2012/10/geothermal-innovations-part-1-redesigning-reservoir-design-from-the-subsurface-up?cmpid=rss

New Video Series: Airtight Drywall

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In a 3-part video series, Myron Ferguson shows how to hang drywall in an airtight manner, using caulk, gaskets, canned foam, and airtight electrical boxes

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Stopping air leaks is the single most important part of making a house more energy efficient. Every building needs at least one, and sometimes two, air barriers. One of the most common ways to install an interior air barrier is to follow the Airtight Drywall Approach.

URL: http://www.greenbuildingadvisor.com/blogs/dept/green-building-blog/new-video-series-airtight-drywall

Coming Soon: A German Energy Consultant


It might sound glib, but one answer to rising energy prices is simply to use less energy. And indeed this is exactly what Germany is saying in the face of higher energy prices. The math of it is easy enough: use less, pay less, and the environment wins, too. But how to do this when one already conscientiously flips off the bathroom lights when not

URL: http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/blog/post/2012/10/coming-soon-a-german-energy-consultant?cmpid=rss

Blessing or Curse? Understanding the Risks of Fracking Poland

EcoWatch: Today, a wide range of Polish and international non-governmental organizations and academics gathered in Warsaw, Poland, to critically assess the ambition of the Polish government to develop its potential shale gas resources on a large scale. After a long string of corporate conferences on the topic, the Boell Foundation in Warsaw and Food & Water Europe offered a platform to concerned citizens and groups to air the legitimate concerns about the environmental and economic impacts of fracking....

URL: http://ecowatch.org/2012/fracking-poland/
Enclosure: http://www.foodandwaterwatch.org/europe/