Phillips 66 Signs Deals to Boost Oil Deliveries by Pipe, Rail

Bloomberg: Phillips 66 (PSX) will increase deliveries of cheaper crudes to its refineries nationwide by as much as 130,000 barrels a day under three transportation deals and a new investment. The steps announced by the company today are the latest in a series of moves by Phillips to take advantage of rising North American oil production, following rail-car and tanker-ship orders and a 50,000-barrel-a-day deal with Global Partners LP. (GLP) "It solidifies the idea that if you're a refinery bringing in...

URL: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-03-20/phillips-66-signs-deals-to-boost-oil-deliveries-by-pipe-rail.html

Kerry: Policymakers 'toy' with oceans by not addressing climate

The Hill: Secretary of State John Kerry said during a Monday speech in Washington, D.C., that policymakers have "the responsibility as human beings" to combat climate change in defense of oceans and aquatic ecosystems. Kerry called climate change an economic and national security issue -- as well as an environmental one -- because it affects oceans, aquatic ecosystems and the food they produce. "Climate change is coming back in a sense as a serious international issue because people are experiencing...

URL: http://thehill.com/blogs/e2-wire/e2-wire/288977-kerry-do-not-toy-with-oceans-by-failing-on-climate

Green groups press EPA for climate rule industry loathes

Bloomberg: Environmental groups are stepping up pressure on President Barack Obama to issue the first greenhouse-gas limits for power plants as the utility industry seeks to weaken the standards before a deadline next month. The Sierra Club and its allies say a top priority for Obama in meeting his second-term pledge to deal with climate change is for his Environmental Protection Agency to issue restrictions on carbon dioxide coming from power plants. They warned against bowing to industry criticism and...

URL: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-03-20/green-groups-press-epa-for-climate-rule-industry-loathes.html

Canadian and U.S. natives vow to block oil pipelines

Reuters: An alliance of Canadian and U.S. aboriginal groups vowed on Wednesday to block three multibillion-dollar oil pipelines that are planned to transport oil from the Alberta tar sands, saying they are prepared to take physical action to stop them. The Canadian government, faced with falling revenues due to pipeline bottlenecks and a glut that has cut the price for Alberta oil, say the projects are a national priority and will help diversify exports away from the U.S. market. But the alliance of...

URL: http://uk.reuters.com/article/2013/03/20/canada-pipelines-aboriginals-idUKL1N0CCB7720130320

U.K. Pledges Tax Breaks for Shale Gas, Low Emissions Cars

Bloomberg: U.K. Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne offered tax breaks to low emissions vehicles while promising support for shale gas developers and energy- intensive industries in his annual budget today. Osborne told lawmakers the U.K. will support the manufacture of "ultra-low emission vehicles" with tax incentives. He also said he'll bring in a "generous new tax regime" to promote early investment in shale gas, and will exempt ceramics and other industries from the climate change levy, a tax...

URL: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-03-20/u-k-pledges-tax-breaks-for-shale-gas-low-emissions-cars.html

Global warming could fuel European hurricanes

Summit County: European climate scientists say global warming will drive a northeastward expansion of the tropical Atlantic hurricane breeding ground, with four times as many storms of tropical origins affecting parts of Western Europe in coming decades. In the Bay of Biscay, the number of storms with tropical-storm-force winds could increase from 2 to 13 by the end of the century, said researcher Reindert Haarsma. The initial results suggest that the impacts may not be as great in the low-lying Netherlands...

URL: http://summitcountyvoice.com/2013/03/20/global-warming-could-fuel-european-hurricanes/
Enclosure: http://summitvoice.files.wordpress.com/2013/03/655px-helene_2006_track.png?w=300&h=274

Chevron, Green Groups Agree Set Standards for Shale Gas

Bloomberg: Chevron Corp. (CVX) joined natural gas producers and environmental groups to form an independent center that will set standards for drilling by hydraulic fracturing in the U.S. Appalachian region. Gas output in Pennsylvania, Ohio and West Virginia is booming as drillers unlock shale deposits using the process, also called fracking, that shoots water, sand and chemicals underground to crack rock and free trapped gas. The process has spurred complaints from landowners and environmental groups about...

URL: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-03-20/chevron-green-groups-agree-set-standards-for-shale-gas.html

Asia Pulp & Paper says 'Thank you' to Greenpeace

BusinessGreen: Following its landmark commitment to end all deforestation on natural forest land, Asia Pulp and Paper (APP) has revealed the debt of gratitude it owes to Greenpeace - the campaign group that has spent much of the past decade orchestrating boycotts against the company. In a wide-ranging interview detailing how the company came to announce last month that it had halted all development on natural forest land, APP's managing director for sustainability and stakeholder engagement, Aida Greenbury,...

URL: http://www.businessgreen.com/bg/news/2256084/exclusive-asia-pulp-paper-says-thank-you-to-greenpeace?WT.rss_f=Home&WT.rss_a=Exclusive%3A+Asia+Pulp+%26+Paper+says+%27Thank+you%27+to+Greenpeace

New center to set stringent standards for fracking in East

Chicago Tribune: A coalition of energy companies, environmentalists and Pennsylvania-based philanthropies announced Wednesday the creation of a center that would provide more stringent standards for fracking and natural gas development in the Eastern United States. The Marcellus Shale formation, which extends from central New York to eastern Kentucky, is the site of a vast gas boom, most of it centered in Pennsylvania. But the production method of fracking, high-volume hydraulic fracturing that has tapped the gas...

URL: http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/la-na-nn-fracking-marcellus-shale-20130320,0,1184243.story

If you thought 2012 was hot, just wait a few years

Climate Central: It's already March, but the country is still recovering from last year's extreme weather and climate events. As the hottest year on record in the U.S., 2012 brought intense drought across the Midwest and Great Plains, record wildfires in the West, and Hurricane Sandy's path of destruction to the East Coast. But if you thought 2012 was hot, just wait a few years. Within the coming decades, years like 2012 may become simply "average.' And if we keep emitting CO2 at the current rate, it won't be...

URL: http://www.climatecentral.org/news/record-setting-hot-2012-will-be-average-year-in-future-years-15756
Enclosure: http://www.climatecentral.org/images/sized/images/uploads/news/12-13-12-CC-Annual-Average-Temp-lineschart-final-500x313.jpg

Keystone XL pipeline debate rattles Massachusetts Senate race

Reuters: A former hedge fund manager turned environmental activist who opposes the Keystone XL pipeline has waded into the Massachusetts Senate race, threatening to undermine a pledge by the two Democratic candidates to reject outside money. California billionaire Tom Steyer has called on Democratic Representative Stephen Lynch to abandon his support for the proposed Keystone XL pipeline, which would transport crude from Canada's oil sands to refineries in Texas. The Obama administration is expected...

URL: http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/politics/sns-rt-us-usa-congress-massachusettsbre92j13f-20130320,0,4138815.story

Pennsylvania Judge Orders Records Opened in Fracking Case

Bloomberg: A Pennsylvania judge, handing a victory to local media and health groups, ordered documents unsealed in a settlement between gas-drillers and homeowners who accused the companies of contaminating their water. Common Pleas Court Judge Debbie O'Dell-Seneca said in a ruling today that the natural-gas drillers failed to overcome the presumption that the records should be open unless the companies, including Fort Worth, Texas-based Range Resources Corp. (RRC), showed they'd suffer harm to trade secrets...

URL: http://www.businessweek.com/news/2013-03-20/pennsylvania-judge-orders-records-opened-in-fracking-case

United Kingdom: Why it's a mistake to trim climate change from the curriculum

Independent: The Department for Education (DfE), headed by the Secretary of State for Education Michael Gove MP, is proposing to remove climate change from several sections of the National Curriculum for under-14s. I'm angry about this. I'm angry because every day I speak to young people, teachers, outreach workers, parents and individuals who want to know more about climate science, the energy system and the impacts of climate change. Removing climate change from core sections of the Curriculum reduces their...

URL: http://www.independent.co.uk/voices/comment/why-its-a-mistake-to-trim-climate-change-from-the-curriculum-8540423.html
Enclosure: http://www.independent.co.uk/incoming/article8339502.ece/BINARY/original/climate.jpg

UK increased recycling rates fastest in Europe over past decade

Guardian: Recycling rates in the UK rose faster in the first decade of the millennium than any other country in Europe, according to official statistics published on Tuesday. Although the UK started from a low base in 2001 – recycling rates were just 12% for all municipal waste – it increased by the greatest amount by 2010, reaching 39%, on a par with the average for the EU. But the European Environment Agency, which released the figures, warned that many countries will fail to meet a European directive...

URL: http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2013/mar/19/uk-recycling-rates-europe
Enclosure: http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Guardian/Pix/pictures/2009/2/26/1235660296428/Greenstar-Recycling-facil-001.jpg

Appalachians Unite Calling for an End to Extreme Fossil Fuel Extraction

EcoWatch: The movement against extreme energy and extraction in Appalachia is uniting like never before. Last week, more than 100 coalfield and gasfield activists, and youth allies from across the country stormed the West Virginia State Capitol building in Charleston, and spoke against the industries that are poisoning their communities. The protest started in the capitol courtyard and was led by local residents. Deirdre Lally, an activist from the Pennsylvania gasfields, said to the crowd: "We are here...

URL: http://ecowatch.com/2013/end-extreme-fossil-fuel-extraction/
Enclosure: http://ecowatch.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/ramps4.jpg

Los Angeles set to ditch coal power

BusinessGreen: Los Angeles plans to abandon coal power in favour of renewable energy, natural gas, and a programme of energy efficiency. The City's municipal-owned utility, the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP), yesterday announced it will phase out electricity from the coal-fired 2,250MW Navajo Generating Station and 1,800MW Intermountain Power Project (IPP) in Utah that currently provide just under 40 per cent of the metropolis's power. "The era of coal is over. Today we affirm our commitment...

URL: http://www.businessgreen.com/bg/news/2256030/los-angeles-set-to-ditch-coal-power?WT.rss_f=Home&WT.rss_a=Los+Angeles+set+to+ditch+coal+power

China focuses on emissions plan

Brisbane Times: The Chinese government has unveiled a detailed roadmap for a national emissions trading scheme in a significant sign the world's largest greenhouse gas emitter will introduce a country-wide carbon price. Speaking in Washington, the deputy director of China's powerful National Development and Reform Commission, Wang Shu, backed a national scheme, saying it could provide ''an efficient and lower-cost approach for addressing climate change and realising low carbon development''. The speech to...

URL: http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/world/china-focuses-on-emissions-plan-20130318-2gb3g.html
Enclosure: http://images.brisbanetimes.com.au/2013/03/18/4120262/dan-20130318194815265361-300x0.jpg

As odds grow long, critics move to stop Keystone XL

Associated Press: With a sense of grim determination, a group of unlikely allies has begun gathering at kitchen tables, in churches and along fence rows here to plot what could be the final battle in the four-year conflict over the Keystone XL pipeline. After months of quiet, a recent State Department report dismissing the ecological impact of the pipeline has cleared the way for a final decision on the plan for transporting oil extracted from the Alberta tar sands more than 1,700 miles to refineries on the Texas...

URL: http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/odds-grow-long-opponents-move-stop-pipeline-18756230

A Closer Look at Obama's Plan to Pay for Energy Research With Drilling Fees

New York Times: As was discussed here last Friday, President Obama has proposed using a tiny portion of federal revenues from offshore oil and gas production to build an "Energy Security Trust" to pay for the kinds of tough or longer-term energy research projects that the private sector tends to neglect. (A White House explanatory graphic is here.) Below you can read an excerpt from an Energy Collective post in which Obama`s funding plan is dissected by Jesse D. Jenkins, a writer at the blog and graduate student...

URL: http://dotearth.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/03/19/a-closer-look-at-obamas-plan-to-pay-for-energy-research-with-drilling-fees/?partner=rss&emc=rss

Los Angeles Halts Using Electricity From Coal Plants

Bloomberg: Los Angeles will become the biggest U.S. city to abandon coal-fueled electricity after the taxpayer- owned utility said it will support renewable sources, boost energy efficiency and build a new natural-gas fired plant. The city's Department of Water and Power, the nation's largest municipal-owned utility, will phase out the electricity it imports from the Navajo Generating Station in Arizona and Intermountain Power in Utah, according to a statement yesterday. The two coal plants provide 39 percent...

URL: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-03-19/los-angeles-halts-using-electricity-from-coal-plants.html

Science reveals climate change

Quad City Times: Evidence that the planet is warming can be found by reviewing the historical record of temperatures taken around the world, in the oceans and by satellite. While there are temperature downturns and extra-cold storms within the data, the long-term trend is clear. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, or NOAA, published a report in July 2010 looking at 10 key climate indicators that all point to the same finding: The world is warming. The NOAA report emphasized that humans have...

URL: http://qctimes.com/science-reveals-climate-change/article_b2c37aec-8fef-11e2-830c-0019bb2963f4.html

Link between tornadoes and global warming is complicated

Courier-Journal: We keep hearing scientists tell us that we can expect more potent storms as part of climate change brought on by global warming. But what about tornadoes? It`s complicated and uncertain. After deadly tornadoes last March ripped through the eastern part of the United States, hitting Kentucky and Indiana especially hard, there was some speculation that global warming might have been at least partly to blame. "As spring moves up a week or two, tornado season will start in February instead...

URL: http://blogs.courier-journal.com/watchdogearth/2013/03/17/tornadoes-and-global-warming-2/
Enclosure: http://blogs.courier-journal.com/watchdogearth/files/2013/03/bilde1-300x199.jpg

Researchers devise hidden dune filters to treat coastal stormwater runoff

ScienceDaily: When it rains, untreated stormwater can sweep pollutants into coastal waters, potentially endangering public health. Now researchers from North Carolina State University have developed low-cost filtration systems that are concealed beneath sand dunes and filter out most of the bacteria that can lead to beach closures. "It was not economically feasible to use a tract of beachfront property to treat stormwater. Instead, we were able to devise a system that could be installed in an area that was...

URL: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/03/130319124223.htm?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+sciencedaily%2Fearth_climate+%28ScienceDaily%3A+Earth+%26+Climate+News%29
Enclosure: http://images.sciencedaily.com/2013/03/130319124223-large.jpg

Major fuel, emissions savings unlikely in autos - report

Daily Climate: Efforts to drastically slash automobile emissions and fuel use within 40 years don't stand a chance without subsidies, technology improvements and more stringent government standards, according to a report by a panel of experts released Monday. Congress in 2010 directed the National Research Council to assess the feasibility of reducing both gasoline use and greenhouse gas emissions in cars and light trucks by 80 percent by 2050. The council concluded that goal would be "extremely challenging."...

URL: http://wwwp.dailyclimate.org/tdc-newsroom/2013/03/alternate-fuels-face-hard-road
Enclosure: http://wwwp.dailyclimate.org/tdc-newsroom/2013/03/03fotos/car-sales-768.jpg/image_large

Tech giants team up with EU to develop uniform CO2 reporting

BusinessGreen: The European Commission is drawing up plans for standardised tools to measure the carbon emissions of the ICT sector, which will allow consumers to compare the environmental impact of the products they buy. Nearly 30 technology firms, including Alcatel-Lucent, Cisco, Dell, Ericsson and Huawei, have been working with the EU over the last year, testing out 10 international methodologies and standards for measuring the carbon footprints of their products. A report on the tests concluded that standards...

URL: http://www.businessgreen.com/bg/news/2255601/tech-giants-team-up-with-eu-to-develop-uniform-co2-reporting?WT.rss_f=Home&WT.rss_a=Tech+giants+team+up+with+EU+to+develop+uniform+CO2+reporting+

Poll: President Obama voters don't want Keystone

Politico: Environmentalists armed with new poll numbers have a warning for President Barack Obama: Approving the Keystone XL pipeline would put him at odds with core members of his base. The poll reveals an electorate deeply split on the Canada-to-Texas oil pipeline, which is wildly popular among Republicans and almost equally unpopular among Democrats. A small majority of people overall either support the project or don't know what to think, according to results provided to POLITICO. But the Center for...

URL: http://www.politico.com/story/2013/03/obama-keystone-poll-89108.html?hp=l5
Enclosure: http://images.politico.com/global/2012/12/29/121229_keystone_protest_ap_605.jpg

'Fattest' polar bears survive climate change

Telegraph: The polar bears of Hudson Bay, Canada migrate onto land in the summer when the sea ice melts, relying on fat reserves to survive until the sea re-freezes in late November or early December. During the winter and spring months they use the sea ice to hunt their prey of seals. But the bears were coming to land earlier and leaving later in recent years as a result of climate change which was reducing the ice, researchers writing in the Journal of Animal Ecology from the British Ecological Society...

URL: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/earthnews/9941022/Fattest-polar-bears-survive-climate-change.html
Enclosure: http://i.telegraph.co.uk/multimedia/archive/02514/polar_bears_2514328b.jpg

Geography taught me climate change is unjust – and inspired me to fight

Guardian: My name is Esha, I am a secondary school student from the Heathland School in Hounslow and a member of the UK Youth Climate Coalition (UKYCC). Geography has always fascinated me. Volcanoes, globalisation, development, you name it. It's the one subject that has left me with the desire to find out more. In fact, it inspired me enough to appreciate that not only is the Earth a beautiful place, but that it is one in desperate need of our help. More importantly, it inspired me to get out there and do...

URL: http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/blog/2013/mar/19/geography-climate-change-unjust?CMP=twt_gu
Enclosure: http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Environment/Pix/columnists/2013/3/19/1363694439759/Youth-for-Green-Jobs-of-Y-006.jpg

The Red-Dead water conveyer can avoid a dead end

SciDevNet: The Red-Dead canal could take a small step forward in light of projected environmental impacts and other constraints, says Batir Wardam. After a delay of more than six months, the World Bank has finally released the final drafts of the feasibility and environmental assessment studies for the controversial Red Sea-Dead Sea Water Conveyance project, designed to channel some 1.2 billion cubic metres of water 180 kilometres from the Red Sea to the Dead Sea. [1] The plan is to pump sea water from...

URL: http://www.scidev.net/en/agriculture-and-environment/opinions/the-red-dead-water-conveyer-can-avoid-a-dead-end.html?utm_source=link&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=en_agricultureandenvironment
Enclosure: http://c96267.r67.cf3.rackcdn.com/Dead_Sea_Flickr_DragonWoman_140x140_130313105442867.jpg

Stories Sprout like Warnings in Japan’s Tsunami Wasteland

Inter Press Service: As a survivor of Japan's deadliest tsunami in living memory, Shun Ito dedicates his mornings to evoking stories of heroism that helped to save lives in this port town that was decimated on that fateful March afternoon two years ago. Two names - Miki Endo and Takeshi Miura - frame the narrative that 37-year-old Ito shares with visitors as he guides them through this once quiet fishing resort, which still bears the scars of devastation left by the powerful waves on Mar. 11, 2011. Among the few,...

URL: http://www.ipsnews.net/2013/03/stories-sprout-like-warnings-in-japans-tsunami-wasteland/
Enclosure: http://ipsnews-net.wpengine.netdna-cdn.com/Library/2013/03/5709204775_98cb0cf98d_z-629x419.jpg

Chinese solar power firm defaults on debts

Associated Press: Suntech, one of the world's biggest solar panel manufacturers, has defaulted on a $541m (£358m) bond payment in the latest sign of the financial squeeze on the struggling global solar industry. Suntech Power Holdings' announcement was a severe setback for a company lauded by China's Communist government as a leader of efforts to make the country a centre of the renewable energy industry. Its founder, Shi Zhengrong, became one of the industry's most prominent entrepreneurs and a billionaire, only...

URL: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/mar/19/suntech-china-solar-power-default
Enclosure: http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Business/Pix/pictures/2013/3/19/1363681267434/FILES-This-file-picture-t-010.jpg

Renewable Energy Standards Target of Multi-Pronged Attack

InsideClimate: Despite little success so far and growing support nationally for clean energy, a multi-pronged campaign to undercut renewable power mandates in the states is showing no signs of letting up. Over the past few years, a rising tide of legislation has sought to repeal or weaken renewable portfolio standards (RPS), which require a certain share of a state's electricity supply to come from sources like solar and wind. Lesser known are the few lawsuits filed to challenge the constitutionality of these...

URL: http://insideclimatenews.org/news/20130319/renewable-energy-standards-target-multi-pronged-attack?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+solveclimate%2Fblog+%28InsideClimate+News%29
Enclosure: http://insideclimatenews.org/sites/default/files/imagecache/home_page_slideshow/windpower_3.jpg

Renewable energy fight to unfold in Vermont Senate

Associated Press: The Vermont Senate is slated to debate a measure that one side says aims to strengthen reviews of ridge-top wind power projects and the other says would bring development of renewable energy in the state to a halt. Senate bill 30 is being pushed by critics of wind projects that they say have been damaging Vermont's mountaintops without significantly reducing the state's greenhouse gas emissions. It would call for the Legislature's Joint Energy Committee to examine reports from an energy siting commission...

URL: http://www.boston.com/news/local/vermont/2013/03/20/renewable-energy-fight-unfold-vermont-senate/lqk6ffx7l0qj5otpAI6yqO/story.html

Erosion eats away land along 22 percent of Thai coastline

AlertNet: Thailand has lost 22 percent of its 2,600-km coastline - more than 12,600 hectares of land - over the past 30 years as a result of climate change and upstream dams, The Nation newspaper reported. The damage was caused by stronger and bigger waves triggered by climate change, as well as upstream dams that deposit less sediment at river-mouth areas, Thanawat Jarupongsakul, head of the Chulalongkorn University's unit for disaster and land information studies, told the newspaper. The Chao Phraya...

URL: http://www.trust.org/alertnet/news/erosion-eats-away-land-along-22-percent-of-thai-coastline
Enclosure: http://www.trust.org/contentAsset/resize-image/abfc10bc-cc82-41f7-a31b-b12e2ecb66a8/photowide/?w=460&vn=201303201100

Post-Sandy, rebuilding Jersey’s boardwalk empire puts green groups at loggerheads

Grist: As bikini season approaches, Jersey Shore beach towns are preparing for their annual influx of tourists. This year, that will mean more than dusting off the cotton candy machines and stocking up on vomit deodorizer. When Hurricane Sandy hit last fall, boardwalks from Long Branch to Atlantic City - including Seaside Heights, of Jersey Shore fame - were damaged or destroyed. The shore is now in a frenzy of rebuilding and repairing, gearing up for Memorial Day. But environmental activists have been...

URL: http://grist.org/climate-energy/post-sandy-rebuilding-jerseys-boardwalk-empire-puts-green-groups-at-loggerheads/?utm_source=syndication&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=feed
Enclosure: http://grist.files.wordpress.com/2013/03/new-jersey-shore-after-sandy.jpg?w=250&h=165

United Kingdom: Owen Paterson calls for email block after bee 'cyberattack'

Telegraph: The "bee-mails' were sent in protest at the UK Government's failure to back a ban on pesticides environmentalists believe are killing bees. But Mr Paterson, the MP for North Shropshire, said the "cyber-attack' was a waste of his time that stopped him from carrying out important national and constituency work. "Everyone has a right to express their view and write to me but this is a cyber-attack on the constituency office,' he said. "The danger is that someone may have a real problem, they...

URL: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/earthnews/9940849/Owen-Paterson-calls-for-email-block-after-bee-cyberattack.html

California continues to lead nation in green technology

LA Times: When it comes to the green technology sector, there's California and then there is everyone else. The state has managed to reduce per capita greenhouse gas emissions even as its economy and population have grown, according to Next 10, the San Francisco nonprofit group that has produced the California green innovation index for the last five years. In its just released 2013 report, Next 10 said the state continues to be the national leader in areas such as venture capital funding for green technology,...

URL: http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-green-tech-20130320,0,3113374.story
Enclosure: http://www.trbimg.com/img-51491ba7/turbine/la-174361-me-0924-wind-01-rrc-jpg-20130319/600

Disney buys $3.5M in REDD credits from rainforest conservation project in Peru

Mongabay: The Walt Disney Company has purchased $3.5 million dollars' worth of carbon credits generated via rainforest conservation in Peru, reports Point Carbon. Disney bought 437,000 VCUs (verified carbon units) issued by the Alto Mayo Initiative, a project that aims to protect 2.8 million hectares of tropical forest in northeastern Peru. Alto Mayo is a joint initiative run by the Peruvian government and Conservation International. The credits are generated by reducing emissions from deforestation...

URL: http://news.mongabay.com/2013/0321-disney-redd-peru.html
Enclosure: http://s3.amazonaws.com/mongabay/peru/150/peru_aerial_0495.jpg

Mali conflict ups pressure on climate-stressed herders

AlertNet: The recent conflict in northern Mali, where the situation remains volatile, has left many livestock herders in fear of losing millions of cattle, sheep and goats at a time when they were already struggling to find enough pasture for their animals due to drought. Since the spring of 2012, violence between Islamist groups who grabbed much of the north from Tuareg nomads, and the army, supported by foreign troops for the past two months, has disturbed the West African nation's traditional grazing...

URL: http://www.trust.org/alertnet/news/mali-conflict-ups-pressure-on-climate-stressed-herders
Enclosure: http://www.trust.org/contentAsset/resize-image/a0d69056-c2c3-4354-92fe-e1e75d0cf35f/photowide/?w=460&vn=201303200857

Solar Power close to Cost Parity with other Energy Sources

Environmental News Network: They said it couldn't be done. They tried to tell us that renewable energy could only survive if it were propped up with government subsidies. Never mind that our whole system of economic development, beginning with the patent office, is predicated on the idea that fledgling, underfunded industries need special protection for a limited time until they are strong enough to go it alone. Never mind that the fossil fuel industry, which can hardly be considered fledgling or underfunded, is still receiving...

URL: http://www.enn.com/climate/article/45731?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+ClimateChangeNews-Enn+%28Climate+Change+News+-+ENN%29
Enclosure: http://www.enn.com/image_for_articles/45731-1.jpg/medium

New EU farm subsidy plan criticised by green groups

BBC: Farmers will be paid twice by taxpayers for the same work if Europe's farm ministers get their way over subsidies. Ministers have backed double payments for environmental activities - even though the EU Commission and MEPs warn this would be wasteful and illegal. They also watered down the Commission's plan to oblige farmers to deliver some public benefit for their 58bn-euro (£50bn; $75bn) annual subsidies. The Irish EU presidency praised the outcome. But green groups are outraged. The...

URL: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-21857459#sa-ns_mchannel=rss&ns_source=PublicRSS20-sa
Enclosure: http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/66288000/jpg/_66288794_frstrawafp.jpg

About 23 percent of world's rigs drilling in Texas

San Antonio Express-News: The Texas oil industry for several decades seemed headed into territory best described by the old saying "all hat and no cattle." But the state appears awash again in oil and gas, with drilling in fields across the state, including one West Texas shale formation that could dwarf both the Eagle Ford Shale in South Texas and North Dakota's famous Bakken Shale. Texas recently had 839 drilling rigs operating -- nearly half of all rigs in the U.S. and 22.7 percent of rigs worldwide, according to...

URL: http://www.mysanantonio.com/default/article/About-23-percent-of-world-s-rigs-drilling-in-Texas-4368130.php

United Kingdom: Organic sales slip again amid economic gloom

Guardian: Sales of organic products in the UK have fallen by 1.5% over the past year, continuing their downward slide in the face of ongoing tough economic conditions. Supermarkets are blamed in a new report for cutting back their ranges and shelf space, leading to a 2.4% slump in organic sales across the multiple retailers. But at the same time a "Jamie [Oliver] generation" of ethically aware shoppers aged under-35 is driving growth through other outlets, accounting for 16% of all sales, and significantly...

URL: http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2013/mar/20/organic-sales-slip-again-economic-gloom
Enclosure: http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Guardian/Pix/pictures/2013/3/20/1363772758324/Stacks-of-vegetables-008.jpg

Polar bear hunting and migration 'hit by warming climate'

Press Association: One of the most southerly populations of polar bears now has only limited time to hunt on sea ice due to a warming climate, research suggests. The polar bears of Hudson Bay, Canada, migrate onto land in the summer when the sea ice melts, relying on fat reserves to survive until the sea refreezes in late November or early December. During the winter and spring months they take to the sea ice to hunt their prey of seals. But the bears have been coming to land earlier and leaving later in recent...

URL: http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2013/mar/20/polar-bear-hunting-migration-warming-climate
Enclosure: http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Guardian/Pix/pictures/2013/3/20/1363775285808/Polar-bear-standing-atop--008.jpg

N.R.C. Votes for Upgrades to Fukushima-Like Reactor Vents

New York Times: The Nuclear Regulatory Commission voted 3 to 2 on Tuesday to require improvements to the emergency vents at 31 American reactors that share design similarities with the Japanese reactors that melted down two years ago. The agency stopped short, however, of requiring filters to scrub out radioactive particles coming through those vents. The nuclear industry had readily agreed to many improvements recommended by the staff of the five-member commission after the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster,...

URL: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/20/business/energy-environment/nrc-votes-for-upgrades-to-fukushima-like-reactor-vents.html?partner=rss&emc=rss&utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter

Planet organic: achieving sustainable food security and environmental gains

Mongabay: The global farmland area certified organic has expanded more than threefold to 37 million hectares since 1999, according to new research conducted by the Worldwatch Institute. The Institute argues that organic farming has the potential to contribute to sustainable food security by improving nutrition intake and sustaining rural livelihoods, while reducing vulnerability to climate change and enhancing biodiversity. "Organic farming is now established in international standards, and 84 countries...

URL: http://news.mongabay.com/2013/0319-handley-organic-worldwatch.html
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Panama's indigenous people drop REDD+

Mongabay: The National Coordinator of Indigenous Peoples in Panama (COONAPIP) has announced it is withdrawing from the United Nation's REDD+ program following a series of disagreements. The exit of COONAPIP from the negotiating table with UN officials and the Panamanian government will likely be a blow to the legitimacy of REDD+ in the central American country. REDD, or Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation, is a program to reduce emissions by safeguarding forests. In a statement COONAPIP...

URL: http://news.mongabay.com/2013/0319-hance-coonapip-redd.html
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U.S. Urged to Reject New World Bank Focus on Large Infrastructure

Inter Press Service: A group of environmentalists, gender activists and international finance watchdogs are calling on the U.S. government to support calls for the World Bank to step back from a new programmatic focus on large-scale infrastructure, which critics say does little to help alleviate poverty. The call comes just ahead of a major funding meeting, to be held Mar. 20-21 in Paris, of donors to the International Development Association (IDA), the World Bank's fund for the world's poorest countries. In a background...

URL: http://www.ipsnews.net/2013/03/u-s-urged-to-reject-new-world-bank-focus-on-large-infrastructure/

Transportation Study Reveals Potential for Deep Cuts to Petroleum Use and Carbon Emissions

ScienceDaily: The U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) and Argonne National Laboratory (ANL) today announced the release of the Transportation Energy Futures (TEF) study, an assessment of avenues to reach deep cuts in petroleum use and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in the transportation sector. "Transportation is an engine of our economic strength, but it also represents a key challenge for the future of U.S. energy use," NREL Senior Analyst Austin Brown said. "Transportation...

URL: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/03/130319155640.htm?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+sciencedaily%2Fearth_climate+%28ScienceDaily%3A+Earth+%26+Climate+News%29

Chevron shuts diesel pipeline after release in Utah

Reuters: Chevron Corp shut a 29,400 barrel per day (bpd) pipeline carrying diesel and jet fuel between its Salt Lake City, Utah, refinery and Boise, Idaho after a leak was discovered, the company said on Tuesday. "There are no further details about the impact on operations at this stage. The volume of the release is still to be determined," Chevron spokesman Gareth Johnstone said in an email. The leaking pipeline carries diesel and jet fuel from the 45,000 bpd Salt Lake City refinery through Burley, Idaho...

URL: http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/03/20/us-pipeline-operations-chevron-idUSBRE92I19W20130320?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=20130320&t=2&i=714387500&w=460&fh=&fw=&ll=&pl=&r=CBRE92I1SM400

Melting Sea Ice Keeps Hungry Polar Bears on Land

LiveScience: Polar bears, the iconic victims of climate change, are shifting their migration patterns because of changes in sea ice. The bears are arriving on land earlier and departing later, a new study found, and it's threatening their access to food. A team of researchers studied the migration patterns of polar bears (Ursus maritimus) in Hudson Bay, Canada, using satellite-tracking data collected between 1991 and1997 and 2004 and 2009. They found that the rate at which sea ice melts and re-freezes, as...

URL: http://news.yahoo.com/melting-sea-ice-keeps-hungry-polar-bears-land-000751895.html
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Honduras: Activists Protest Lack of Transparency in Extractive Industry

Inter Press Service: The Honduran government's announcement of its plans to join the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) has raised expectations as well as doubts, particularly due to the speed with which it aims to complete a process that has taken several years in other countries of the region. The EITI is a coalition of governments, companies, civil society groups, investors and international organisations that promotes better governance in countries rich in natural resources, through the publication...

URL: http://www.ipsnews.net/2013/03/honduras-activists-protest-lack-of-transparency-in-extractive-industry/
Enclosure: http://ipsnews-net.wpengine.netdna-cdn.com/Library/2013/03/TA-small1.jpg

Britain Approves Construction of New Nuclear Power Plant

New York Times: The British government on Tuesday cleared away the last big regulatory hurdle for building the country's first new nuclear power plant in nearly 20 years. But whether construction will proceed remains uncertain, because the government has not finalized financial terms with the builder, EDF Energy. The plant, at Hinkley Point in southwest England, is to generate enough electricity for five million homes, and be the first step toward updating Britain's fleet of nine aging nuclear plants. Edward Davey,...

URL: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/20/business/global/britain-approves-construction-of-new-nuclear-power-plant.html?partner=rss&emc=rss&utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter

A Model For Reducing Emissions

New York Times: Who would have thought the United States would one day be a leader in cutting greenhouse gas emissions? This is the nation, after all, where a former chairman of the Senate committee on the environment, James Inhofe, wrote a book about global warming called "The Greatest Hoax." This is where a presidential election took place not six months ago in which climate change barely merited a mention, buried under an avalanche of promises to dig for coal and drill for oil. Fuel economy performance for...

URL: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/20/business/us-example-offers-hope-for-cutting-carbon-emissions.html?partner=rss&emc=rss&utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter&_r=0

EU politicians back narrow loopholes in clean car law

Reuters: EU politicians backed a compromise on Tuesday that would give carmakers limited leeway in the race to cut CO2 emissions in line with targets while rejecting German calls for more lenient rules. The issue of how strictly to enforce European Union (EU) efficiency rules to reduce fuel use, curb reliance on expensive oil imports and lower greenhouse gas emissions has divided the car industry. The goal is measured across a car manufacturer's fleet of vehicles. Germany, home to carmakers such...

URL: http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/03/19/us-eu-cars-idUSBRE92H00F20130319?feedType=RSS&feedName=environmentNews&utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+reuters%2Fenvironment+%28News+%2F+US+%2F+Environment%29
Enclosure: http://s1.reutersmedia.net/resources/r/?m=02&d=20130319&t=2&i=714251755&w=460&fh=&fw=&ll=&pl=&r=CBRE92H00UC00

Melting of Greenland’s ‘fringe’ glaciers adds to sea level rise

Summit Voice: Glaciers on the edge of Greenland are pouring at about 50 gigatons of water into the Atlantic every year. That's about half the volume of Lake Geneva, one of Europe's largest lake, and enough to account for about 10 percent of annual global sea level rise, according to a new study by Swiss and Danish scientists. The research, published in Geophysical Research Letters, will help scientists improve the predictions of the future contribution of Greenland's ice to sea-level rise. The data could also...

URL: http://summitcountyvoice.com/2013/03/19/melting-of-greenlands-fringe-glaciers-adds-to-sea-level-rise/
Enclosure: http://summitvoice.files.wordpress.com/2013/03/greenland_melt_days_201212311-682x1024.png?w=199&h=300

Chevron pipeline leaks 4,200-6,300 gallons of diesel in Utah: media report

Reuters: The Willard Bay State Park in Utah was closed after around 4,200 to 6,300 gallons (100-150 barrels) of diesel leaked from a Chevron Corp pipeline that runs just north of the park, the Salt Lake Tribune reported on its website on Tuesday. The pipeline carries diesel from Chevron's Salt Lake refinery to Boise, Idaho, according to the article. Chevron could not immediately be reached for comment. The Tribune report said the company had dispatched more than 100 cleanup workers, who laid down absorbent...

URL: http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/03/19/us-pipeline-operations-chevron-idUSBRE92I19W20130319?feedType=RSS&feedName=environmentNews&utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+reuters%2Fenvironment+%28News+%2F+US+%2F+Environment%29
Enclosure: http://s1.reutersmedia.net/resources/r/?m=02&d=20130319&t=2&i=714362855&w=460&fh=&fw=&ll=&pl=&r=CBRE92I1SM400

United Kingdom: Climate change: our sin of omission

Guardian: Betrayal is a word not to be used lightly. But no betrayal is worse than the betrayal of children, and the Department for Education's attempt to remove all explicit reference to climate change from the national curriculum guidelines up to the age of 14 would, if it succeeds, betray a whole generation of children. The purpose of education is to prepare us for the challenges we will face in life. Climate change, and our success or failure in dealing with it, will be a defining challenge. A successful...

URL: http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2013/mar/19/climate-change-sin-of-omission
Enclosure: http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Guardian/Pix/pictures/2013/3/19/1363717965952/Children-and-climate-chan-008.jpg

From Heat Wave to Snowstorms, March Goes to Extremes

Climate Central: What a difference a year makes. Last March, the U.S. was basking in a heat wave that drove temperatures into the 70s all the way to the Canadian border, as winter snows rapidly retreated and flowers bloomed. Unaware of the devastating drought to follow, the warmth prompted farmers all across the nation to plant their crops several weeks early, and a record corn harvest was predicted. Forecast sea level pressure departures from average from the GFS computer model. This shows the large area of...

URL: http://www.climatecentral.org/news/from-heat-wave-to-snowstorms-March-weather-goes-to-extremes-15763?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+climatecentral%2FdjOO+Climate+Central+-+Full+Feed
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Alternative Fuels Could Cut 80 Percent Of Greenhouse Gas Emissions By 2050

RedOrbit: The United States could cut petroleum consumption and greenhouse gas emissions by 80 percent by 2050 for light-duty vehicles through the use of alternative fuels and strong government policies aimed at overcoming high costs and influencing consumer choices, according to a National Research Council report released on Monday. "To reach the 2050 goals for reducing petroleum use and greenhouse gases, vehicles must become dramatically more efficient, regardless of how they are powered," said Douglas...

URL: http://www.redorbit.com/news/science/1112806239/greenhouse-gas-emissions-drop-80-percent-205-alternative-fuel-031913/
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Huge hurricanes will become 10 times more frequent with just two degrees of warming

Daily Mail: Storm surges as devastating as those caused by Hurricane Katrina could happen 10 times more often if global temperatures rise by just two degrees, new research warns. An estimated 1,836 people lost their lives and millions more were left homeless by the cyclone, the worst to ever hit the U.S., after it submerged New Orleans and other Gulf of Mexico communities in 2005. Much of the devastation was caused by storm surges whipped up by fierce winds, which saw sea levels rise by between 24 and...

URL: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2295305/Hurricanes-big-Katrina-10-TIMES-frequent-just-degrees-global-warming-study-warns.html?ito=feeds-newsxml

UK air pollution: why are we only now waking up to this public health crisis?

Guardian: When Justin Bieber collapsed last week at the O2 arena in London and was taken to a private clinic feeling "short of breath" and needing oxygen, the rumours started flying that he had had an asthma attack. They were denied by his management, but it would have been understandable if he had. Most of last week, London's air was heavily polluted, with many of the capital's pollution monitors recording "high" nitrogen dioxide (NO2) levels as an acute photochemical smog of fumes and microscopic particles...

URL: http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2013/mar/19/uk-air-pollution-health-crisis
Enclosure: http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Guardian/Pix/pictures/2013/3/19/1363716151138/London-pollution-010.jpg

2012 German Nuclear & Gas-Fired Generation Falls Further While Renewables Grow


Apparently my article last October documenting the growth of renewables in Germany while nuclear generation continues to decline got under the skin of pro-nuclear bloggers.

URL: http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news/article/2013/03/2012-german-nuclear-gas-fired-generation-falls-further-while-renewables-grow?cmpid=rss

Canada aboriginal movement poses new threat to miners

Reuters: An aboriginal protest movement that's often compared with Occupy Wall Street has the potential to disrupt mining projects across Canada, threatening to undermine the country's coveted reputation for low-risk resource development. Idle No More, a grass-roots movement with little centralized leadership, swept across Canada late last year with the help social media. Protesters blocked roads and rail lines, and staged big rallies in the country's largest cities to press a sweeping human rights and...

URL: http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/sns-rt-us-mining-canada-aboriginalsbre92g0ek-20130317,0,7825157.story
Enclosure: http://snsimages.tribune.com/media/photo/2013-03/74871122.jpg

European Car-Efficiency Rule Would Cut Fuel Bill by 25%

Bloomberg: A European Union plan to tighten emissions standards on cars would cut auto-fuel costs by almost a quarter in 2030, according to a report e-mailed by a group promoting policies to reduce carbon emissions in the region. Fuel bills would fall 57 billion euros ($75 billion) from a projected cost of 245 billion euros in 2030, said the European Climate Foundation, which contributed to the report prepared by Cambridge Econometrics and Ricardo-AEA. Producing fuel-efficient vehicles would add 22 billion...

URL: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-03-17/europe-s-car-efficiency-standard-would-cut-fuel-bill-by-quarter.html

NY fracking foes: will become lobby if necessary

Associated Press: Artists Against Fracking said Monday neither the group nor Yoko Ono or Sean Lennon have been told to register as lobbyists in their campaign against gas drilling in New York, but will if necessary to continue their work. A good-government advocate and two lobbying experts said the state should review whether Artists Against Fracking and its supporter-celebrities should be registered as lobbyists. The group and nearly 200 entertainers connected with it aren't currently registered lobbyists, a search...

URL: http://www.mercurynews.com/celebrities/ci_22814181/apnewsbreak-celeb-fracking-group-not-registered
Enclosure: http://extras.mnginteractive.com/live/media/site333/2013/0318/20130318__USGasDrillingCelebrities~1_GALLERY.jpg

Japan: Fukushima loses cooling power

Associated Press: Four fuel storage pools at Japan's Fukushima nuclear plant have been without fresh cooling water for more than 15 hours due to a power outage. The plant's operator has said it is trying to repair or replace a broken switchboard that might be the problem. The 11 March 2011 earthquake and tsunami destroyed the plant's power and cooling systems, causing three reactor cores to melt and fuel storage pools to overheat. The plant has since been using makeshift systems. Plant operator Tepco said pool...

URL: http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2013/mar/19/fukushima-loses-cooling-power
Enclosure: http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Guardian/Pix/pictures/2013/3/19/1363667521162/A-damaged-reactor-buildin-010.jpg

Russia Adopts Texas Drilling to Revive Soviet Oil Fields: Energy

Bloomberg: Fracking isn't just for shale. In Russia, producers are importing techniques from the U.S. to squeeze billions of dollars of extra oil from Soviet-era fields. TNK-BP, Russia's third-largest producer, will use hydraulic fracturing combined with horizontal drilling in almost half the wells it sinks this year, a sixfold increase in just two years, the company said. OAO Rosneft (ROSN), OAO Lukoil (LKOH) and OAO Gazprom Neft have similar plans. So-called fracking, the process of blasting oil from...

URL: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-03-18/russia-adopts-texas-drilling-to-revive-soviet-oil-fields-energy.html

Saudi Arabia to Drill Seven Shale Gas Test Wells, Al-Naimi Says

Bloomberg: Saudi Arabia, the world's biggest oil exporter, will drill about seven test wells for shale gas this year, according to Oil Minister Ali Al-Naimi. "We know where the areas are," Al-Naimi said at the Credit Suisse Asian Investment conference in Hong Kong today. "We have rough estimates of over 600 trillion cubic feet of unconventional and shale gas, so the potential is very huge and we plan to exploit it." Saudi Arabia is seeking to develop its natural gas resources to meet rising domestic energy...

URL: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-03-18/saudi-arabia-to-drill-seven-shale-gas-test-wells-al-naimi-says.html

New Chinese Premier Vows to Tackle Pollution With ‘Iron Fist’

Yale Environment 360: China's new premier, Li Keqiang, has vowed aggressive government action to curb the rampant pollution that has provoked growing public outrage, saying the country would phase out "backward production facilities" that have contributed to dangerous health conditions in numerous regions. Speaking at his first press conference, Li said the government would set deadlines to address the public health controversy, exemplified by choking air pollution over Beijing that has kept air quality at dangerous levels...

URL: http://e360.yale.edu/digest/new_chinese_premier_vows_to_tackle_pollution_with_iron_fist/3793/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+YaleEnvironment360+%28Yale+Environment+360%29

Global warming effect on Antarctica, ice cover disappears from King George Island

Times of India: Could anyone imagine the islands on the South Pole (Antarctica) without its proverbial ice? It seems unthinkable as the man's flirtation with nature, though for scientific research purposes, is paving way to global warming and seems to have cast its shadow on the icy lands as well. Antarctica has gone through major geographical changes of late and one of its islands' (King George) ice cover has totally disappeared. Even the penguins are facing the threat of extinction. This came to light after...

URL: http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2013-03-17/global-warming/37786644_1_urgent-points-expedition-antarctica

Scotland and South Korea seal CCS research deal

BusinessGreen: UK and South Korean researchers will work together to develop carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology after institutions in the two countries yesterday signed a ground-breaking strategic agreement. The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between Edinburgh-based Scottish Carbon Capture and Storage (SCCS) and the Korea Carbon Capture and Sequestration Research and Development Center (KCRC) is thought to be the first such agreement to be signed between UK and South Korean CCS researchers. It...

URL: http://www.businessgreen.com/bg/news/2255554/scotland-and-south-korea-seal-ccs-research-deal?WT.rss_f=Home&WT.rss_a=Scotland+and+South+Korea+seal+CCS+research+deal

EU Told States It Expects Parliament to Back Carbon Fix in April

Bloomberg: The European Union's executive told EU national governments last month that it expected the bloc's Parliament to approve in April the start of negotiations on a proposal to reduce a record glut of carbon permits. The European Commission updated representatives of EU nations on the status of the draft measure during a meeting of climate experts from member states on Feb. 27 in Brussels, according to a summary of the gathering obtained by Bloomberg News. The proposal, which includes an amendment...

URL: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-03-18/eu-told-states-it-expects-parliament-to-back-carbon-fix-in-april.html

Logging studies plagued by sampling problems

Mongabay: Although research into the impact of selective logging in tropical forests has been booming recently, much of it is undercut by basic research flaws, according to a new study in mongabay.com's open access journal Tropical Conservation Science. Selective logging means targeting certain species or only a particular number of trees per hectare, and as such is considered generally more environmentally-friendly than clearcutting, which strips entire forests. "Selective logging has been proposed as...

URL: http://news.mongabay.com/2013/0318-hance-tcs-logging-research.html
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12 Arrested Blockading Controversial Fracking Infrastructure

EcoWatch: Sandra Steingraber PhD., biologist, author and Trumansburg, NY resident, was arrested alongside residents of Seneca Lake and local college students to oppose Kansas City, MO based Inergy, natural gas and liquid petroleum gas storage facility, which would lock in natural gas development in the Marcellus Shale region. Protesters have linked arms and deployed a banner reading "Our Future is Unfractured, We Are Greater Than Dirty Inergy" across the entrance to the facility on NY State Route 14. The...

URL: http://ecowatch.com/2013/12-arrested-blockading-fracking-infrastructure/
Enclosure: http://ecowatch.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/inergy.jpg

Pledging to Resist the Keystone XL Madness

Rainforest Action Network: In the smart new F/X drama "The Americans" about Elizabeth and Phillip, a pair of lovable Soviet sleeper agents living in the DC suburbs during the Reagan-era 1980s, a top Soviet spy tells Elizabeth "the American people have elected a madman as their president. He makes no secret of his desire to destroy us." The Reagan years represented a dangerous time in global history. Along with the nuclear arms race that eventually bankrupted the already faltering Soviet Union and took the world to the edge...

URL: http://understory.ran.org/2013/03/18/pledging-to-resist-the-keystone-xl-madness/
Enclosure: http://understory.ran.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/tar-sands-blockade-300x187.jpeg

Deforestation in key Madagascar park accelerated after 2009 coup d'etat, finds satellite analysis

Mongabay: Deforestation and forest disturbance in Madagascar's largest national park increased significantly less than a year after a coup displaced the country's democratically-elected president in 2009, finds a new study that analyzed forest cover in Masoala National Park. The study, published in Mongabay.com's open-access academic journal Tropical Conservation Science, is based on analysis of high resolution satellite data and ground surveys in the park, which is located in northeastern Madagascar. It...

URL: http://news.mongabay.com/2013/0318-tcs-madagascar-logging.html
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Ten reasons why fracking for dirty oil in California is a stupid idea

Grist: The latest target of the unconventional oil craze is California, specifically the Monterey Shale in southern California (see map). Will California become the next North Dakota? Let us ponder. Oil in California is nothing new - it`s the third highest oil-producing state in the U.S. (after Texas and North Dakota, which recently displaced Alaska for the No. 2 spot). The Monterey area has been drilled for years, profitably, though production has been steadily declining since its peak in the mid `80s....

URL: http://grist.org/climate-energy/top-10-reasons-why-fracking-for-dirty-oil-in-california-is-a-stupid-idea/?utm_source=syndication&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=feed
Enclosure: http://grist.files.wordpress.com/2013/03/0204-nat-webshale1.jpg?w=250&h=253

5 Lessons for Sustaining Global Forests

World Resources Institute: As the old adage suggests, it is important to see the forests for more than just the trees. While an estimated 500 million people depend directly on forests for their livelihoods, the entire world depends on them for food, water, clean air, and vital medicines. Forests also absorb carbon dioxide, making them critical to curbing climate change. Despite some encouraging anti-deforestation efforts in places like Brazil, Indonesia, and Africa, globally, forests are under threat, particularly in the...

URL: http://insights.wri.org/news/2013/03/5-lessons-sustaining-global-forests
Enclosure: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=fQaSUn9Cjnc

Can a Divestment Campaign Move the Fossil Fuel Industry?

Yale Environment 360: Last fall, the climate advocacy group 350.org held a series of rallies in 21 cities across the U.S., making the case that combating climate change requires fossil fuel companies to leave a large portion of their reserves in the ground -- and that large-scale divestment by their shareholders could help convince them to do so. Since then, four small U.S. colleges have committed to ridding their endowments of fossil fuel investments, and more than 250 other colleges and universities have spawned student-...

URL: http://e360.yale.edu/feature/can_a_divestment_campaign_move_the_fossil_fuel_industry/2629/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+YaleEnvironment360+%28Yale+Environment+360%29
Enclosure: http://e360.yale.edu/images/features/hampshire_students_divestment_e360.jpg

Oregon Showing Interest in BC’s Carbon Tax

News 1130: BC`s environment minister is going to Oregon to discuss the province`s carbon tax. Terry Lake has been invited to speak with business and policy leaders as the state shows interest in possibly implementing the tax as a source of revenue. "Oregon has shown a lot of interest in revenue-neutral style of carbon tax, as has Washington State for that matter. This is an opportunity to go and meet with business leaders in Portland and then in Salem, Oregon," he says. Lake says legislators in Oregon...

URL: http://www.news1130.com/2013/03/17/oregon-showing-interest-in-bcs-carbon-tax/
Enclosure: http://www.news1130.com/files/2011/07/4995e99e4668b4a2de24076e74fc.jpeg

Could climate change cost polar bears their white fur?

Anchorage Daily News: It's long been known that the brown bears found on islands in Southeast Alaska are more closely related to polar bears than other brown bears. Now scientists wonder if they're a harbinger of what's to come for polar bears in the warming high Arctic. Researcher Beth Shapiro of the University of California in Santa Cruz told the Canadian Press the bears on Admiralty, Baranof and Chichagof islands (known as the ABC bears) appear to be descended from a polar bear population that got cut off from other...

URL: http://www.adn.com/2013/03/18/2830307/could-climate-change-cost-polar.html
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Ohio is Not the Nation’s Fracking Waste Toilet

EcoWatch: Fifty people, including Athens County Commissioner Charlie Adkins and Athens Mayor Paul Wiehl, braved the rain and cold today to gather at the Athens County Courthouse plaza, bedecked for the occasion with a full-sized outhouse, chanting "We are not the nation`s toxic toilet." The Athens rally was one of four events in Ohio announcing the filing of a citizens' petition to U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), which was written on behalf of all Ohio citizens by Teresa Mills from the Center...

URL: http://ecowatch.com/2013/ohio-not-fracking-waste-toilet/
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Inner Earth Could Have Caused Ancient Climate Change

RedOrbit: Researchers wrote in a newspaper published by the American Geophysical Union that Earth's interior cycles have contributed to long-term sea-level rises and climate change. New York University and Ottawa's Carleton University scientists say activity below the earth's surface has played a role before in ancient rises in sea levels and global warming. Although it may seem like welcoming news for climate change skeptics, the authors point out these changes took place in periods ranging from 60 million...

URL: http://www.redorbit.com/news/science/1112805692/inner-earth-global-climate-change-031813/
Enclosure: http://www.redorbit.com/media/uploads/2013/03/shutterstock_3435522-617x416.jpg

State should plan for climate changes

Press Herald: Climate change should be the least controversial issue in American politics. The science of heat-trapping greenhouse gases is observable and easy to document. Unfortunately, it has become a political dogfight pitting the people who want to slow global warming by releasing less carbon into the atmosphere against those who argue that climate change is natural and that humankind couldn't stop it if it tried. But usually, there is at least one point of agreement -- the climate is changing. The...

URL: http://www.pressherald.com/opinion/state-should-plan-for-climate-changes_2013-03-19.html
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Russia tax breaks for shale, offshore oil seen on Jan.1

Reuters: Russian tax breaks for shale and offshore oil, to unlock millions of barrels, will come in to force on Jan. 1 2014, a Finance Ministry official said on Monday. The tight oil tax package will make Russia one of the few countries to incentivise the production of energy resources from shale and other 'tight' rock. The package will cut the tax burden which is one of the world's highest for oil and gas production and exports and prevents investment in fracking and other expensive unconventional...

URL: http://www.cnbc.com/id/100563309

Warming Has Doubled Risk of Katrina-like Storm Surges

Climate Central: Global warming has already doubled the risk of Hurricane Katrina-magnitude storm surges in the U.S., according to a new study published Monday. The study, which was published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, estimates that for every 1.8°F increase in global average surface temperatures, there could be a two-fold to seven-fold increase in the risk of Katrina-magnitude surge events. The latest climate projections call for the globe to warm by between 3.2°F and 7.2°F...

URL: http://www.climatecentral.org/news/study-shows-global-warming-dramatically-raises-u.s.-storm-surge-risks-15755?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/3_18_13_news_andrew_katrinasurgedamage-500x374.jpg

Masdar cuts ribbon on world’s largest concentrated solar power plant

BusinessGreen: Abu Dhabi's Masdar project has officially inaugurated the world's largest solar thermal power project, after yesterday bringing online the 100MW Shams 1 concentrated solar power (CSP) plant. The $600m project, which was developed in partnership with oil giant Total and Spanish energy developer and solar specialist Abengoa, is now expected to displace approximately 175,000 tonnes of CO2 a year and act as a forerunner for further CSP projects in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). "The inauguration...

URL: http://www.businessgreen.com/bg/news/2255577/masdar-cuts-ribbon-on-world-s-largest-concentrated-solar-power-plant?WT.rss_f=Home&WT.rss_a=Masdar+cuts+ribbon+on+world%E2%80%99s+largest+concentrated+solar+power+plant
Enclosure: http://www.businessgreen.com/IMG/369/253369/masdarsolar-370x229.jpg?1363651776

Corruption in Malaysia laid bare as investigation catches Sarawak’s ruling elite on camera

Global Witness: A new investigation by Global Witness today reveals the systemic corruption and illegality at the heart of government in Sarawak, Malaysia's largest state. A film, shot undercover during the investigation, shows for the first time the instruments used by the ruling Taib family and its lawyers to skirt Malaysia's laws and taxes. It shows how they cream off huge profits at the expense of indigenous people, and hide their dirty money in Singapore. Sarawak still exports more tropical logs than South...

URL: http://www.globalwitness.org/library/corruption-malaysia-laid-bare-investigation-catches-sarawak%E2%80%99s-ruling-elite-camera?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter
Enclosure: http://www.globalwitness.org/sites/default/files/screen%20grab.jpg

Behind the oil boom lurks oil well depletion

Christian Science Monitor: With the media awash in stories telling us how much oil is being discovered around the world, there is one word which the optimists quoted in these stories refuse to utter: Depletion. The simple fact is that depletion never sleeps. It starts as soon as an oil well begins production and goes on 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Furthermore, it is not exactly news that oil is being discovered all around the world. The industry has been spending record amounts to find it. What's critical is the...

URL: http://www.csmonitor.com/Environment/Energy-Voices/2013/0318/Behind-the-oil-boom-lurks-oil-well-depletion
Enclosure: http://www.csmonitor.com/var/ezflow_site/storage/images/media/content/2013/0318-oildepletion/15300943-1-eng-US/0318-oildepletion_full_380.jpg

Indonesian palm oil giant launches conservation pilot project

Mongabay: Golden Agri-Resources, one of the largest palm oil producers in Indonesia, is launching a pilot program designed to protect forests within its concession areas that have high carbon stock and those most important for conservation. Greenpeace Indonesia, which has long urged the company to adopt more sustainable practices, praised the effort, and called on other palm oil companies and the Indonesian government to follow suit. Under its Forest Conservation Policy, developed together with Greenpeace...

URL: http://news.mongabay.com/2013/0319-dparker-gar-conservation-project.html

China's new premier vows to tackle pollution

Reuters: Chinese premier, Li Keqiang, pledged on Sunday that his government would "show even greater resolve" in tackling China's festering pollution crisis, a source of increasing public fury. Li's remarks at his debut press conference as premier were the highest-level public comments on the problem to date, though he gave few specifics about how the government planned to address the environmental effects of rapid economic growth. Street-level anger over the air pollution that blanketed many northern...

URL: http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2013/mar/18/china-new-premier-vow-tackle-pollution
Enclosure: http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Guardian/Pix/pictures/2013/3/17/1363515716537/Chinas-new-premier-Li-Keq-010.jpg

SBY and Minister of Forests must work together to protect Indonesia’s forests

Greenpeace: The coalition of Indonesian NGOs on forests and climate today called for urgent action to strengthen and extend the two-year moratorium on deforestation which expires on 20 May. The moratorium has been weakened by lobbying from industry and even some government ministries, including the Ministry of Forestry. Recent Greenpeace analysis of the latest moratorium maps shows that the Ministry of Forestry's SK 458 Decree consigned over 600,000 hectares of forest, just in the province of Papua alone,...

URL: http://www.greenpeace.org/seasia/id/press/releases/SBY-and-Minister-of-Forests-must-work-together-to-protect-Indonesias-forests/

Israel: New technique dusts off solar cells, increases efficacy

Mother Nature Network: A new technique could help keep dust off of solar cells, a major obstacle that reduces the efficiency of photovoltaic panels. The technique, developed by Sergey Biryukov, a researcher at the Ben-Gurion National Solar Energy Center, uses an electric field to charge dust and small particles before repelling them. At a recent demonstration, Biryukov poured a small amount of a dustlike powder onto an electrified solar cell. The dust was immediately thrown back prevented by the electric field from settling...

URL: http://www.mnn.com/earth-matters/energy/stories/new-technique-dusts-off-solar-cells-increases-efficacy
Enclosure: http://images.mnn.com/sites/default/files/solar%20cell.jpg

United Kingdom: Fracking communities should get incentives, says minister

Guardian: Communities near shale gas fracking sites should be given handouts to accept drilling in their area, a government minister has said. The suggestion is markedly similar to a proposal made by the fracking company Cuadrilla in a letter to the energy minister John Hayes, released to the Guardian under the Freedom of Information Act, for taxpayers' money to be offered as a "quid pro quo" to help communities accept wells on their doorstep. In the 11-page letter to Hayes in November last year, the...

URL: http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2013/mar/18/fracking-communities-incentives-minister

Nuclear Power: Damned If You Do, Damned If You Don't?

Huffington Post: To some critics, there is no riskier source of electricity than nuclear power. For others, nuclear power's minimal greenhouse gas footprint makes it a vital alternative to carbon-belching coal and natural gas in the pitched battle to curb climate change -- and a far more reliable energy source, at least for now, than wind and solar power. To still others, nuclear power's advantages in the carbon war are eclipsed by the crippling economics of getting a nuclear power plant built, making it a prohibitive...

URL: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/tom-zeller-jr/nuclear-power_b_2897674.html?utm_hp_ref=climate-change

Move to drop debate on climate change in schools faces backlash

Guardian: Educationists and student groups have joined environmental organisations to condemn government plans to drop debate about climate change from the national curriculum for under-14-year-olds in English schools. The Guardian revealed on Monday that new draft guidelines for children in key stages 1 to 3 make no mention of it in the geography syllabus, with only a single reference to how carbon dioxide produced by humans affects the climate in the chemistry section. All references to sustainable development...

URL: http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2013/mar/18/climate-change-schools-backlash
Enclosure: http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Guardian/Pix/pictures/2013/3/18/1363638911196/Geography-class-010.jpg

China pours cash into melting Arctic in bid to win influence

Guardian: At face value, it is not one of the world's most important relationships. When Norway and China fell out two years ago over a Nobel prize awarded to a Chinese dissident, the spat had little wider resonance. But diplomatic relations are thawing as quickly as Arctic ice – and the upshot could be significant for the frigid northern wastes of the planet, which are thought to sit on formidable quantities of mineral reserves. China has been cosying up to Arctic countries as part of its effort to...

URL: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/mar/18/china-arctic-mineral-investment
Enclosure: http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Guardian/Pix/pictures/2013/3/18/1363638419143/An-iceberg-off-the-west-c-010.jpg

UK should use shale gas to cut emissions, report says

Guardian: The UK should use natural gas, including from "fracking", to help cut carbon by replacing coal for power supplies over the next few years, a report has suggested. But it would be risky to assume gas prices will be low in the coming years or that the UK has extensive supplies of shale gas which is extracted through the controversial process of fracking, the study said. And gas-fired power stations can only play a significant role in generating electricity beyond 2030 if they are fitted with...

URL: http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2013/mar/18/shale-gas-cut-emissions
Enclosure: http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Guardian/About/General/2011/9/23/1316769648884/Fracking-007.jpg

Even More Evidence Climate Change Will Hit East Coast Cities Particularly Hard

Atlantic Cities: Batten down the hatches, East Coasters: A new study argues that for every one degree Celsius (1.8 degrees F) of global warming, the American Atlantic seaboard could see up to seven times as many Katrina-sized hurricanes. That's the conclusion of Aslak Grinsted, a climatologist at Copenhagen's Niels Bohr Institute, who led an effort to match East Coast storm surge records from the last 90 years with global temperatures. His results, published today in the Proceedings of the National Academy of...

URL: http://www.theatlanticcities.com/technology/2013/03/even-more-evidence-climate-change-will-hit-east-coast-cities-particularly-hard/5018/
Enclosure: http://cdn.theatlanticcities.com/img/upload/2013/03/18/RTR1T23Z/largest.jpg

Japan: Power Blackout Halts Cooling at Fukushima Nuclear Plant

Environment News Service: A power blackout occurred today at Japan`s damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, knocking out the system that cools four pools of water holding spent fuel rods. Operator Tokyo Electric Power Company, TEPCO, said the blackout took place just before 7 pm Monday. The affected system is used to cool three pools containing about 2,100 spent fuel rods from the plant`s number 1, 3, and 4 reactors, which suffered core meltdowns in the week following the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami that...

URL: http://ens-newswire.com/2013/03/18/power-blackout-interrupts-cooling-at-fukushima-nuclear-plant/
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Study: Climate change to worsen hurricane storm surge

USA Today: Could the USA deal with a Hurricane Katrina every two years? Such a scenario is possible by the end of the century due to climate change, according to a study published Monday in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The frequency of extreme storm surges — the deadly and devastating walls of water that roar ashore during hurricanes — is projected to increase by as much as 10 times in coming decades because of warming temperatures, the study finds. Global warming has already doubled...

URL: http://www.usatoday.com/story/weather/2013/03/18/storm-surge-hurricane-climate-change-global-warming/1997113/
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Eight member states breach EU air quality rules: data

Reuters: Fewer European countries could face fines for breaching air pollution limits after recession slowed industrial activity and limits on sulfur emissions kicked in. Eight EU states, including France and Germany, are likely to have failed to meet EU emission standards in 2011, down from 12 countries in 2010, according to preliminary figures released on Monday by the European Environment Agency (EEA). Transport emissions were a major cause for overshooting the agreed limits and debate continues...

URL: http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/03/18/us-eu-air-idUSBRE92H0IR20130318?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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Six new nations expected to get forest funding this week

AlertNet: Six additional countries are slated to receive shares in a $23 million fund during a meeting this week of a global partnership focused on reducing emissions from deforestation and enhancing forest carbon stocks. The Forest Carbon Partnership Facility's participants committee (FCPF), which is meeting in Washington, DC on March 19-22, works on reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation plus forest carbon stock conservation, sustainable management of forests and enhancement of forest...

URL: http://www.trust.org/alertnet/news/six-new-nations-expected-to-get-forest-funding-this-week
Enclosure: http://www.trust.org/contentAsset/resize-image/023a5282-2a98-41c8-94c5-173b598be19d/photowide/?w=460&vn=201303182357

Significant Contribution of Greenland's Peripheral Glaciers to Sea-Level Rise

ScienceDaily: Glaciers at the edge of Greenland which are not connected to its huge ice sheet, or can be clearly separated from it, are contributing to sea-level rise much more than previously thought. Scientists from the University of Zurich together with colleagues from Denmark have found that, though these peripheral glaciers make up just 5-7 % of total ice coverage on the land mass, they account for up to 20% of the rise in sea level created by the region's melting. The scientists looked at glaciers which...

URL: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/03/130318104956.htm?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+sciencedaily%2Fearth_climate+%28ScienceDaily%3A+Earth+%26+Climate+News%29
Enclosure: http://images.sciencedaily.com/2013/03/130318104956-large.jpg

Earth's interior cycles contribute to long-term sea-level and climate change, researchers find

ScienceDaily: Ancient rises in sea levels and global warming are partially attributable to cyclical activity below Earth's surface, researchers from New York University and Ottawa's Carleton University have concluded in an analysis of geological studies. However, the article's authors, NYU's Michael Rampino and Carleton University's Andreas Prokoph, note that changes spurred by Earth's interior are gradual, taking place in periods ranging from 60 million to 140 million years -- far less rapidly than those brought...

URL: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/03/130318132819.htm?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+sciencedaily%2Fearth_climate+%28ScienceDaily%3A+Earth+%26+Climate+News%29
Enclosure: http://images.sciencedaily.com/2013/03/130318132819-large.jpg

Petroleum Use, Greenhouse Gas Emissions of Automobiles Could Drop 80 Percent by 2050: U.S. Report

ScienceDaily: A new National Research Council report finds that by the year 2050, the U.S. may be able to reduce petroleum consumption and greenhouse gas emissions by 80 percent for light-duty vehicles -- cars and small trucks -- via a combination of more efficient vehicles; the use of alternative fuels like biofuels, electricity, and hydrogen; and strong government policies to overcome high costs and influence consumer choices. While achieving these goals will be difficult, improving technologies driven by strong...

URL: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/03/130318151627.htm?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+sciencedaily%2Fearth_climate+%28ScienceDaily%3A+Earth+%26+Climate+News%29
Enclosure: http://images.sciencedaily.com/2013/03/130318151627-large.jpg

Oxygen-poor 'boring' ocean challenged evolution of early life

ScienceDaily: A research team led by biogeochemists at the University of California, Riverside has filled in a billion-year gap in our understanding of conditions in the early ocean during a critical time in the history of life on Earth. It is now well accepted that appreciable oxygen first accumulated in the atmosphere about 2.4 to 2.3 billion years ago. It is equally well accepted that the build-up of oxygen in the ocean may have lagged the atmospheric increase by well over a billion years, but the details...

URL: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/03/130318151525.htm?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+sciencedaily%2Fearth_climate+%28ScienceDaily%3A+Earth+%26+Climate+News%29
Enclosure: http://images.sciencedaily.com/2013/03/130318151525-large.jpg